| "Enter, you may." Yoda's voice sounded distinctly weary, Qui-Gon mused to himself as the door in the visitor's chamber swung back to admit him into the room. He was slightly late for this appointment, something no doubt his former master would not appreciate in the slightest but the fault did not lie with himself. Rather, Jinn reflected with a small amount of satisfaction, the blame belonged to the wizened old master who had at the last moment rescheduled the place of their meeting from his own residence to the comfortable guest suite on the nineteenth floor. Not that Qui-Gon minded. Just because he'd got used to the smell over the years didn't mean he wanted to have high tea in a room that smelled of a wet bog on Dagobah… "Master Yoda," Qui-Gon bowed, "I apologize for my lack of time keeping." The diminutive master stared at him for a moment, as if testing his sincerity. "Hmmm." Yoda shook his head a touch. "No apology do you need. Need a place to talk, we do. And our guest." Qui-Gon had already sensed the being that Yoda alluded to, and stepped up towards the familiar looking figure standing to greet him in return. He'd known this man for a good many years now and counted him as a friend of sorts, albeit one that had a nasty habit of reminding him of their friendship whenever he was in need of some kind of help. Steel grey hair and a distinguished face, topped off by the rigid, almost military stance would have identified Chancellor Valorum to most people anywhere in Coruscant. "It's good to see you again." Jinn offered Valorum his hand, which the politician shook curtly and officially. Too used to dealing with tiresome bureaucrats, Jinn thought to himself. He needs to brush up on the social graces. "I am glad to see you also." Valorum smiled. "It's been too long. The last time was that mission to Valtulas to persuade the local warlords to release those prisoners they captured, remember?" "Oh," Qui-Gon returned the smile. "It's not something I am likely to forget. Neither will Dex Berlingside." "Well, it's not every day you're tied to a stake and executed as a spy." Valorum nodded. "How did he get out of that one, anyway? You never did tell me." Qui-Gon caught sight of Yoda, clearly waiting for the pleasantries to die away so that they could discuss business. That worried Qui-Gon a great deal. Yoda was patient in the extreme -unless he was prodding unruly initiates with his stick - but right now he could feel how urgent the troll thought things were through their bond - a bond that had never died when their padawan/master ties were severed. It never would. "I'll have to leave that one for another day." Qui-Gon answered politely, indicating that Valorum should be seated. The man did so, but never for a moment did he lose the stiff-backed pose. He IS worked up, Qui-Gon realized. Both Valorum and Yoda. What could it be? "Yes, yes!" Yoda tapped his wooden stick on the ground. "Discuss the matter in hand we shall. And an important matter it is. Chancellor Valorum, explain you will?" Valorum let his eyes wander from the eager master to the non-plussed Qui-Gon. "The trouble is, where do I start?" he sat forward, fingers interlaced. "We have had several…shall we say overtures…from fringe planets requesting permission to join the Republic. We get a few such requests every year. Two have already willingly seceded to our rule this quarter. What we usually do is send out small investigatory teams to check out these planets and see if it would be beneficial for both parties to proceed with the request to become fully fledged Republic members. Of course, the further away from Coruscant the harder it is to maintain a working relationship, but usually we can find some planetary representative to sit in the senate and look out for their own needs and such like." Valorum picked up the crystal water jug and began to pour himself a drink, thinking as he did so. "Things - for some inexplicable reason - seemed to have accelerated lately. We have four planets asking for investigatory teams to check them out. Chyralwa, which is a planet mostly inhabited by a cousin species of Wookiee, is being looked over as we speak. Also under investigation are Traeth, Nargotria and some place whose name I can't really pronounce without being suitably drunk, er... Ryuquranaqui or something ridiculous." Valorum sipped at his drink. "These last few are in a sector of space that is known pirate territory so we have tried our very best not to stir the water, so to speak. Our envoys have been hand picked and well briefed for each of their respective missions. We've been extremely careful. Until now." Qui-Gon caught the somber tone in Valorum's voice and frowned at the almost black mood that had descended upon the man. "What do you mean, until now?" he asked cautiously. "What has happened?" "We sent two of our envoys to visit Nargotria. It's a smallish planet in the Jantaurian sector, right on the edge of nowhere. We received a petition from some of the settlers on the south side of the planet to bring people in and colonize the place, to help with the farming. They say that there's great arable and tree harvesting potential there. Naturally we wanted to verify these claims and so we dispatched two of our best people to make a report." Valorum's frown increased. "They never called back." "How long ago was this?" Qui-Gon asked. "Eight standard days." Valorum's eyes fell to his feet. "And what has been done about locating the envoys?" Jinn's suspicions began to grow. Valorum didn't even try to meet his gaze. "Nothing." He replied. "Nothing?" Qui-Gon echoed. "Nothing at all?" "You forget, the place is a known harbor for criminals of every class and persuasion. The system is patrolled by pirates and all types of unsavory characters." Valorum tried to defend himself. "I argued that a team should be sent out to search the system, even if it's a wasted gesture." He held up his hands. "I was overruled. It seems that nobody will risk more lives in an effort to locate these missing persons, no matter how skilled or important I regard them to be." "For the good of the many…" Jinn quoted. "Precisely." Valorum studied his fingers. "Even a chancellor may be overruled. It's called democracy." Qui-Gon blew out a pent up breath. "What did the last communication with the envoy's craft relay?" he asked of the chancellor. "Nothing much. Just standard data. They were only a day from making planet fall, so they reckoned. There was no call for help and no message sent after that." "It could be a communication problem." Qui-Gon offered. "For eight days?" challenged Valorum, dark eyebrows raised in surprise. "I don't think that's likely. No, I think this has something altogether more sinister written all over it." "Pirates?" the master asked. "You think they fell prey to some bandits doing a sweep of the system?" Valorum said nothing for a moment, twirling the glass in his hands. "That would be the logical assumption." He replied finally. "But no. I don't think that…not exactly." "Then what?" Qui-Gon could almost see the turmoil on his friend's features, almost as if he were wondering how much to say. The shrewd politician was beginning to kick in once again. "There have been certain rumors that have recently come to my attention. Unpleasant rumors, regarding Nargotria. Its very place in the center of a hotbed of crime and piracy makes it an ideal location for all sorts of unwanted activity." "Activity?" Jinn persisted. "What kind of activity?" "The rumors regards an area on the planet's North side. The land there isn't particularly fertile or good for commercial farming according to those who submitted their application to join the Republic. All the agriculture seems to be focused in the south of the planet where the weather is more agreeable to farming. But there seems to be a settlement of some description hidden away on the north side. Very nasty. Some kind of brothel…" "Brothels are legal on Coruscant." Qui-Gon answered, knowing full well that Valorum was a regular visitor to such places. He was rewarded by a guilty flush spreading over the chancellor's face. "Yes, and as Nargotria's so far away and not even part of the Republic our own 'regulations' don't apply. But this is different, according to the rumors. Holding people against their will, forcing them into prostitution. At least that's what we have been informed." He added. "There may be nothing to it, but given the current developments…" "You need to check this out, yes?" Qui-Gon asked. "Yes. But carefully. If this place exists we can maybe do something about the situation later on in the day. What we have to do is make certain that the envoys are accounted for - one way or the other. " "And you want me to go?" Valorum nodded, his mind seemingly elsewhere. "You seem like the perfect choice." He muttered absently, before snapping his mind back to the present. "You have that Jedi ability to ferret out the truth. You can read people very well, size up a situation almost instantly…" "You're flattering me." Jinn chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm not superhuman." "It's your insight that I need on this." Valorum stated levelly. "I'm sending a small team into the Jantaurian system but I'd like you there, if you agree." Qui-Gon became aware once more of Yoda's presence. He'd almost forgotten he was there, truth to tell. Something about the way Yoda was keeping out of proceedings only screamed at him that there was something more going on here than was being said… Maybe it was that jedi insight that Valorum had mentioned. Or perhaps he just knew Yoda to well. "Agree you do, Master Qui-Gon?" Yoda asked, already knowing the answer. "Yes." Jinn tried to get past the sleepy look in Yoda's eyes but failed to find anything significant there. "Yes, I agree. On one condition." "Oh?" Yoda looked momentarily surprised. "What condition would this be, padawan?" Qui-Gon couldn't help but grimace inwardly at that. He hated it when Yoda addressed him as 'padawan'. "I wish to take Obi-Wan with me." "This might be a dangerous mission, my friend." Valorum warned. "Are you sure you want to take your apprentice?" "Obi-Wan has to experience the galaxy. This is an ideal opportunity to do so. Besides which we have only recently began to re-establish our bond. I don't want him to feel I am leaving him behind because I do not trust him. That would be most remiss on my part." "Take the boy with you, you will." Yoda agreed. Valorum capitulated reluctantly. "The details you need to study are all here." Valorum handed over a data pad. "Everything that we have is on this. Last reported co-ordinates, contacts, and data on the planet…" "Thank you. I'll study it in detail." Qui-Gon's eyes fell upon the name of one of the envoys and turned to stare at Valorum. "Inga Calton?" he spoke the words, watching as Valorum winced ever so slightly, the politician's mask beginning to slip just a little. "Yes." Valorum nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so." "I'm sorry." Qui-Gon said softly. "I'll see what I can find out for you." "I know you will. I have every confidence in you." Valorum smiled tightly. "Thank you, my friend. It's a great comfort to me to know that you will be helping with this. Politically, my hands are tied." "I understand." Jinn answered. Valorum stood up briskly, terminating the conversation. "Well, I must be going." He once more shook Qui-Gon's hand. "My aide will be wondering what has become of me. I have him waiting not far away from here and I have a speech to work on for yet another debate on slavery in the senate. Please be careful, Qui-Gon. I should hate to lose another friend." "You may depend on that much." Qui-Gon smiled. Valorum nodded to Yoda by way of a farewell. "As you say, may the force be with you." The man straightened his back again, and turned and walked out the room, the doors closing behind him. Qui-Gon sat back down again, feeling Yoda's eyes upon him. "Well?" he said finally. "A question that is not." Yoda frowned. "Mace said Valorum requested me personally on this mission. The council has already agreed. Why are you so keen that I should go?" Yoda stopped, frowning as the sleepy lids closed together in concentration. His ability to see those tantalizing traces of the future had always disconcerted Qui-Gon, whose own focus was very much with the living force. And just what was it that Yoda was seeing? His future? That of his padawan? The fate of the missing envoys? "Dangerous this mission will be," he said finally in a low and quiet voice, "for you and your padawan. And for others…" "What others?" Jinn wondered. Yoda snapped his eyes open. "Go to Nargotria. Find out much you will about the mission. And yourself, also." ***************** Valorum paced up and down, backwards and forwards as he waited for his aide to rejoin him. He was glad that he had persuaded Qui-Gon to join the search party. If there was anyone who could find out what had happened to Inga then it would be the tall jedi master, yet at the same time he felt ashamed that he had to call once again on Qui-Gon's friendship in this way. If the man had gone asking the same help from him for his padawan or some missing friend, he wasn't in all honesty sure he would have been able to come to his assistance in the way that he had for him. He wasn't happy that the apprentice had been included on this mission. There were things about Nargotria that he hadn't mentioned… "There you are, Edwin." Valorum smiled as his aide approached him. "I was hoping you'd come back here. I was afraid I'd be doomed to wander these corridors forever!" "One could easily get lost in here, it's true." The middle aged man answered, appraising Valorum as if to see how well the meeting had gone. "Might I be permitted to ask if the outcome was successful, sir?" "You may and it was." Valorum nodded. "So Nargotria will finally have those rumors checked out, then?" Edwin let his question hang in the air. "You think they will shut the place down?" "That's not the priority." Valorum answered. "I told them that finding the Ms Calton was our first and only task. If the two paths happen to cross, as I fear it might…" Valorum's voice went slightly dry at the thought. "Well, let's hope not, for Inga's sake." "Of course sir. But did you…" "No! You think I would admit I've known about that viper's den for as long as I have and said nothing?" Valorum shuddered. "What happened on that planet was absolutely none of my business until it applied for Republic status. Even so…" "It looks bad, sir." Edwin nodded, walking smartly alongside Valorum. "It's a secret that one or two people in the senate would like to keep secret, if you know what I mean. And the general public don't like that sort of thing, either." "You don't need to tell me this." Valorum kept his eyes rigidly to the front. "I implied the rumors had just come to my attention with the application from the planet. I don't wish it known for how long this situation has been swept under the carpet. I also don't wish to know the number of senate members that have visited that hellhole. Inga was the wrong choice for this mission! Who had the idea of sending a woman envoy amongst a bunch of cutthroat slavers and whoremongers? I just want Inga back. As far as I'm concerned everyone else can go to hell." "Or stay there, sir." Edwin said quietly. "Yes." Valorum stumbled over the words. "Or stay there." |
| As Long As There Is Hope part 2 By Jemmiah |