"But how can we discover who actually fired the shot?" he asked.
"Wehutti is right. It was very confusing. Nield and Wehutti were both poised to shoot."
They stopped. Obi-Wan saw with surprise that Qui-Gon had brought him to the plaza where Cerasi was shot.
"Now, Obi-Wan. Tell me what you saw that day," Qui-Gon instructed.
"Nield and his forces were here," Obi-Wan said, pointing. "Wehutti, there. I stood here. Their weapons were raised and they were trading threats. Cerasi came up through the fountain grate. I saw her…"
Obi-Wan's throat closed. He cleared it and went on. "I couldn't believe she was there. She began to run, and I ran, and I heard the blaster fire…
I didn't know where it came from, so I kept on running. I was so afraid, but I couldn't move fast enough, and she fell down. It was so cold and gray. She was shivering — "
"Wait," Qui-Gon barked brusquely. "Stop telling me the story like a grieving friend." He softened his tone. "I know it is hard, Obi-Wan. But I can learn nothing if your emotions color what you say. You must remember without guilt and sorrow. Tell me as a Jedi would. Keep your feelings in your heart. Tell me what your mind saw. Now. Close your eyes."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. It took him a few moments to compose himself.
He searched for a clear space to let the memory come. He calmed his mind and slowed his breathing.
"I heard the scrape of the grate before I saw her. I was already turning to the left. She saw everything in one glance. She lifted herself out. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she started to run. She jumped over the wall of the fountain. I turned back to the right for just an instant.
Nield was surprised. I saw Wehutti out of the corner of my eye. He…"
Obi-Wan stopped, shocked at the clarity of his memory. "He lowered his blaster," he said with surprise. "He didn't shoot Cerasi."
"Go on," Qui-Gon said.
"I ran, and I lost sight of Nield. I was facing Cerasi, trying to get to her. I saw the sunlight glint on the roof of the building across the square. I remember hoping the reflection wouldn't get in my eyes. I needed to see everything. I heard blaster fire. That's when she fell."
"Open your eyes, Obi-Wan. I have a question for you."
Obediently, Obi-Wan opened his eyes.
"Didn't you say that the day was gray? Overcast?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"Then how could sunlight glint on a roof?"
Qui-Gon put his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders and spun him around.
"Look. Up there. Could you have seen someone on the roof? Could that glint you saw have been the fire from the barrel of a blaster rifle?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said excitedly. "It could have been."
"And I have another question for you," Qui-Gon continued. "You say the Elders had weapons that day. But that was before they imported them from the countryside. Where did they get them? If you had confiscated all the weapons and kept them in your warehouse, how did the Elders manage to rearm?"
"I don't know," Obi-Wan said. "I assumed they smuggled them in from the country."
Qui-Gon gave a wintry smile. "You assumed? That does not sound like a Jedi."
Obi-Wan tried not to show how crestfallen he felt. Qui-Gon was right.
He had been sunk in his own misery. He had lost the discipline of mind that was the goal of every Jedi.
Qui-Gon saw that. And now his former Master had even less confidence in him than before.
To track how the Elders had been armed, Qui-Gon decided to start at the obvious place: the warehouse where the Security Squad had stored the confiscated weapons. Nield must have raided it. But could the Elders have stolen from it as well?
The walk to the warehouse was conducted in silence. There was so much silence between them now, Qui-Gon realized. And it was not the easy silence of companions. He saw the emotions that Obi-Wan struggled to hide. Chief among them was hope that Qui-Gon had forgiven him.
Of course Qui-Gon had forgiven him. He was not sure when it had happened — when he heard Obi-Wan's voice as he reported Cerasi's death, or when his former Padawan had greeted him at the gate with so much hope in his face. Perhaps it had been gradual, but it was there, in his heart, and he knew it.
Qui-Gon did not think of himself as a hard man. Obi-Wan had made an impulsive choice in the heat of a charged moment. It was a choice that he had come to regret. That was part of growing up.
Forgiveness was not the point. Qui-Gon had already passed to the next step. Would he take Obi-Wan back if he asked? He did not think so.
But that feeling could change, Qui-Gon told himself, struggling to be honest. It had before. So it was better to wait, to say nothing. Obi-Wan must deal with the consequences of his decision. One of them was uncertainty.
The warehouse was deserted, bolted on the outside with a strong lock.
Qui-Gon sliced through it with his lightsaber and pushed open the door. A boy and a girl were sitting on the floor of the empty space, talking. They looked up, startled, when Qui-Gon strode in. He recognized the girl as Deila, one of the Young, but did not recognize the stout, round-faced boy.
Deila scrambled to her feet when she saw Obi-Wan. Then she appeared confused. Since Obi-Wan was no longer her leader, she seemed to be thinking, was it right to show him respect? Quickly, she sat down on the guard's chair. The boy made a halfhearted attempt to rise, but Deila shot him a glance and he quickly sat down again.
Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan's face flush. These two had once been his friends.
But Nield had drawn a battle line, and they were loyal to him now. Qui-Gon wondered how far such loyalty extended. Why were the two sitting in an empty warehouse behind a barred door? They must have climbed in a window. Were they hiding?
"Hello, Deila," Qui-Gon said in friendly tone. "I'm glad to find you well."
Deila nodded coolly at Qui-Gon. "I am surprised to see you back on Melida/Daan."
"Certain factions on Melida/Daan have called for Jedi assistance,"
Qui-Gon answered. "I'm here to help."
Deila glanced at Obi-Wan. "I think I know which faction has called for help."