"I would never hurt the Temple — " she began tearfully.
"Bant, we need your help," Qui-Gon interrupted kindly.
Quickly, he told her what they needed. He didn't want to involve the regular Jedi security patrol if he didn't have to. Everyone at the Temple was still a suspect. But both Qui-Gon and Tahl were convinced of Bant's innocence.
The Calamarian girl was the perfect choice. She swam every day, and her clothes gave off a faint smell of water and humidity. That was the scent Tahl had picked up in Qui-Gon's quarters. Bant no doubt knew the lake bottom well. She could do the search more efficiently than Qui-Gon could.
Bant nodded her acceptance, her tears already drying.
"Of course I can do that," she said. "For a Calamarian, it's nothing."
Together, the three hurried back to the lake.
"You'll have to cover the whole lake," Qui-Gon told Bant as they came to the beach. "But I'm guessing that if something is hidden below, it will be fairly close to shore." He smiled at her. "Not everyone is as good a swimmer as you."
Bant stripped down to the suit she wore for bathing. "Don't worry if I'm underwater for a long time."
Qui-Gon was glad she'd given him the instruction after she disappeared under the surface. Even though he knew she was amphibious, the amount of time she could spend underwater still tried his nerves. He watched and Tahl listened just as intently for the small splash Bant made as she resurfaced.
Each time, she shook her head, took a deep breath, and dived underwater again.
The illumination bank had powered down to dusk when Bant resurfaced again. Qui-Gon was ready to ask her to stop. He didn't want to exhaust the girl. But she waved at them excitedly.
"I found something!"
Qui-Gon slipped off his boots and waded into the cool water. He swam out to Bant. Taking a deep breath, he followed her underwater.
The lake water was dark. He could barely make out the flicker of Bant's pale skin as they swam down, down to the bottom. Qui-Gon wished he'd been prepared. He should have brought an underwater glow rod and a breather. He'd been too impatient.
But suddenly the crate loomed in front of him, settled into the fine sand at the bottom of the lake. Qui-Gon circled around it. There was no plant life or algae on it, which meant it had only sunk recently.
He signaled to Bant to surface, but she remained underwater as he fastened a carbon rope around the container. He tugged at it, and the container rose. It was heavy. Bant grabbed part of the rope to help, and together, they pulled the crate to the surface.
Qui-Gon emerged, gasping for air. Bant was breathing easily. She treaded water while he regained his breath. Then they towed the container to shore. When he could stand, Qui-Gon carried it up to the beach.
He described the container to Tahl. "I've never seen anything like it before."
"I have," Bant said. She knelt and ran her fingers along it. "We have them back on my world. Since so much of it is underwater and prone to floods, we store things in watertight containers. Look." She found a hidden panel and opened it. "You can place things in this compartment. Then you close the panel and activate the vacuum pump. It removes the water, then slides the item into the dry interior compartment. That way you can put things in without taking the container out of the water."
"Clever," Qui-Gon said. "Can you open it?"
"I think so." Bant pressed another button. The hinged top popped open.
Qui-Gon looked inside. "The lightsabers!"
Qui-Gon searched through the items. "Most everything is here, but I think some things are missing."
"The crystals?" Tahl asked.
"Not here," Qui-Gon said. Disappointment thudded through him. But this was a start.
"What do we do now?" Tahl wondered.
Qui-Gon turned to Bant. "You have done well today. Can you keep what you did to yourself?"
Bant nodded. "I will tell no one, of course."
Qui-Gon ran his hands over the container. "I must ask you to do one last thing. Help me return this to where we found it." He looked at the calm, shadowy surface of the lake.
"At last it's time," he said. "We can set the trap."
"I call for a vote on a stop action for the New History Squad's demolitions of the Halls of Evidence," Cerasi called out. Her voice echoed off the crumbling walls of the building.
For once, the council chamber was silent. All of the Young were stunned at the call to oppose Nield. Cerasi, Obi-Wan, and Nield were almost seen as one person by the group. The division between the friends was shocking.
Birds wheeled overhead in the blue sky. Occasionally, one would fly inside the open roof and perch above, and a shrill caw would split the air.
Deila stood. "I second the motion."
The room erupted in shouts and demands. Obi-Wan could only pick out some of them.
The Halls must be destroyed! Nield is right!
Nield has taken this too far!
Cerasi is right! We need housing, not rubble!
Nield's face was still and white as he waited out the shouting. Cerasi gripped her hands together. As council head it was her job to control the crowd.
At last she stood and pounded on the table with the stone she used to maintain order. "Quiet!" she shouted. "Sit down and be quiet!"
Slowly, the boys and girls took their seats. Everyone looked at Cerasi expectantly.
She cleared her throat. "The council shall vote. On the issue of a stop action on the demolition of the Halls, vote yes for the action, and no to continue the demolition." Cerasi turned to Mawat. "You may begin."
"Hey, I agree with Nield," Mawat said. "The demolition must continue. I vote no on the stop action."
Cerasi turned to the next council member, and the next. By the time the vote got back to her, it stood at four against the stop action and four for it.
Cerasi gave a quick, nervous glance to Obi-Wan. There were only three votes left: Cerasi's, Nield's, and Obi-Wan's. Cerasi would vote for the stop action. Nield would vote against it.
Obi-Wan would be the one to break the tie.
"I vote yes," Cerasi said quietly.