"Do you have any idea how many people we get on these ships?"
Qui-Gon had no idea of this man's name, and he was even a little ashamed to discover that he didn't care. He was, at least, a minor official of the port and might be able to tell him where to start looking. "No," he said patiently, and wondered if he'd have to ‘persuade' the man to tell him what he needed to know. "But there must be a lot, and I am sorry to bother you."
The man's animosity eased a little. "Would he have credits?"
"Probably not," the Master said after a moment of contemplation. "He might have bartered skills for passage, however."
"We get some of those, but most of the captains don't bother to check in if they take one of them." He paused, eying Qui-Gon. "Why are you looking?"
"I have lost... my apprentice," he said, opting for a neutral description. It was best, he felt.
The man's eyes narrowed. "Hm," he said, but added no other comment. "Most of the people who come through here are on their way to the Maitreva system."
Qui-Gon paused a moment. "Why there?"
"Because of the Monastery there. Bel Meridah. They offer anonymity and skills, and a chance to find peace, if that's what you're looking for. Care for each other, too," he added. "I had a son go there for a year. He came back much better for it, but it took him a while to get used to being called by the name we gave him."
"Why?"
"They give the residents new names, if they ask for them. My boy did - not because he was hiding, but because he wanted to see what it was like to be someone else for a while."
Qui-Gon nodded. "Thank you," he said gently. "I will look there."
"They won't let you see him," the man said as he turned to go. "Unless you know the name they've given him."
Qui-Gon smiled. "I think I will know if he is there," he said quietly, and left the cramped office. His stride lengthened as he walked toward the small ship he'd been assigned by the Council. "It won't matter if they won't let me see him," he went on as he boarded the ship and began warming it up. "Just to know where he is will be a good start."
It sounded even to his own ears like he was trying to convince himself, and he gave himself a firm shake. In just a few moments, he had his clearance and was on his way.
The journey was fairly short, only six hours, and he took that time to sleep. When he woke, he wondered if his Padawan had dreamed lately; the boy had entertained him often with tales of his dreams. Most of them were just dreams, but some had rung true, disturbingly so. With a shake of his head, he checked the bond. There was something different about it, and he felt that he was getting closer.
When he landed on Maitreva, the feeling in the Force was peace and contentment. It was strange to have those feelings so strong in the space port, but so it was. He didn't relax, requesting the location of the Monastery from a man who was very happy to help him. Public transportation was provided some of the way, and from the end of the line, the conductor pointed him in the right direction. "See those spires?" he said, pointing over the rooftops that surrounded them. "That's it. It's probably an hour's walk from here. You sure you don't want a taxi or something?"
Qui-Gon stared at the spires, reminded vaguely of the Temple, and nodded. "No, thank you, I prefer to walk."
"Good luck to you," the conductor said, and the bus rumbled smoothly off as he closed the door.
The walk was nice. The houses gave way to well cared-for fields, and those gave way to a dense, uncultivated forest. The road was well kept, patched and irrigated, he found out when he was surprised with a short but heavy rain fall. Just after it ended, he emerged from the forest and could see the monastery.
It was a heavy stone building, off-white in color, with three soaring spires that shone in the sun. A wall surrounded it, but the gate was open. The area the wall surrounded was much larger than the building, and he wondered what they kept on the grounds. He'd find out when he got there.
Immediately upon entering the gate, he noticed the gardens. They lay on either side of the walkway; to his left was a well sculpted flower garden that would have done the Temple proud, and on his right was an ordered produce garden. It was lush, beautiful, and he could nearly breathe in the Living Force that existed there. People were in the gardens, weeding from what he could tell, and although they watched him pass, they did not speak to him or even wave.
He wasn't very far inside the gate when he realized that his sense of Obi-Wan was very strong - at least in comparison to what it had been since he'd woken up in the Healer's Wing with a headache. His Padawan was here, somewhere in that building, and if Qui-Gon had to immerse himself into this monastery to find the boy, he would.
Qui-Gon hadn't even reached the end of the gardens when the comm on his belt chimed. He stopped in utter disbelief, his hand automatically going to his belt. The Force insisted than he answer it, and he was too used to following those suggestions that he slowly pulled it off his belt. "Yes."
"You don't sound happy."
Qui-Gon growled under his breath. "What is it, Mace."
"I'm sorry, Qui-Gon. We need you back here."
"Mace..."
"If it wasn't urgent, we wouldn't call you," Mace shortly. "Chancellor Valorum asked for you specifically. He said you had a hand in the situation that's deteriorated on Isserstedt, and you could help it. We need you back here."
"Mace, you don't understand. I just need to check on something." He was trying to remember Isserstedt, what it was he'd done, the situation, almost before the words were out of his mouth. He dismissed the thoughts; they wouldn't go.
"Then explain it to me."
The tone in the Master's voice was one that Qui-Gon knew he couldn't refuse.
"It'll take too long."
"If you can't explain it, Qui-Gon, then you have no time to check, either. I know you want to find Obi-Wan, but this is not something we can let go. You know that."
Qui-Gon sighed in frustration. "Okay. I've got an hour walk back to my ship, I'll contact you for more details when I get there," he said shortly. "Out." He shut off his comm and slammed it onto his belt harder than necessary.
Taking a deep breath that was meant to calm him, Qui-Gon eyed the door. He was tempted to try to see if he could get in, but even as he took a step toward the door, the Force urged him back toward town. It was unbelievable. First Obi-Wan (no, not Obi-Wan. The darkness), then the Council, and now the Force was against him. He turned his back on the door and strode from the courtyard, trying very hard to release his anger into the Force.
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