She spoke lightly, but he knew she meant it.
What could he say? She presented a good front to others. Her extraordinary compensations for her blindness had convinced everyone that she had come to terms with it. He knew the truth. He'd known her since she was a girl. Tahl was such an independent spirit. Now she disliked having to ask for help or guidance. Yet there were times she needed it.
"I'm only trying to look out for you," he said carefully. "Then when I do, you push me away."
"Why shouldn't I push you away when you crowd me? You should be used to me by now You know I have to find my way. We all do. You've had more experience as a Master, it's true. But you also know that each Master finds a separate path with his or her Padawan."
"I do know that."
"Then why can't you let me find my own?"
The question hung between them. Qui-Gon realized he didn't know the answer. He was not one to interfere in other lives. A solitary man, he respected privacy. But with Tahl, it was different. He had a deep feeling that she needed protection, and he had been relieved when she had chosen Bant as her Padawan. But Tahl would not depend on Bant to help her, either.
Her friendship was the most important thing. He needed to back off.
"You're right," he said. "I was wrong."
"Stars and galaxies," she murmured. "I wasn't expecting an apology. I was expecting another argument."
"Well, there are things I could say — "
She smacked his knee. "I know that. How about we just be quiet, for once? We can't get into trouble that way."
So Qui-Gon sat with her, watching the hologram planets whirl. For the first time in weeks, he felt at peace. Strange how her quiet presence could soothe as well as irritate him.
It had been their last quiet time together. The next morning, he found out she was going on a quick mission to the rough satellite planet Vandor 3. She was leaving Bant behind. By the morning meal, they were arguing again.
The delay caused by the damage to the swoop made them push themselves even harder. The new coordinates the probe droid brought back spurred them on. By the next morning they had reached the vast rock quarries of New Apsolon, where the gray stone that had been used to build the majority of the buildings in the capital city was harvested.
It was rough country, with vast boulders, cliffs, and deep pits, some filled with water. A good place to hide, Qui-Gon thought. Perhaps they were approaching Balog's destination.
Obi-Wan had been silent for hours, his face drawn. Qui-Gon knew his Padawan still felt badly about the delay. He had no more words of reassurance for him. Obi-Wan would have to look forward, like a Jedi. His Padawan knew that Qui-Gon was frantic to find Tahl, but most likely thought his zeal to find her had to do with their long friendship. He did not know how much of Qui-Gon's spirit was bound up in Tahl's safety. He could not know how full Qui-Gon's heart was, and how difficult that made it for him to speak.
All will be well, Qui-Gon told himself, when I find her. When I see her. When I know she is safe…
Qui-Gon wrenched his mind away from the future. It had been worrying him, how often his thoughts went to his reunion with Tahl. It sprang from his need to see her safe. Yet it was dangerous for him to dwell on the future, he knew. Balog was still ahead of them. That was all he needed to know. His attention must be on each present moment. His focus was distracted, and he could be missing things as he traveled. He was not thinking like a Jedi. How could he teach his Padawan when he himself had trouble reaching his calm center?
Qui-Gon drew his focus around him. His hands remained steady on the controls of the land-speeder. His progress continued. Yet he directed his concentration away from his piloting to take in the landscape around him, the Force vibrating, present as it was always present, teaching him as it always taught him.
Then he felt it. A flicker of something… danger, perhaps. He might have noticed it before. It might have been lurking underneath the surface of his worry for some time. It was a separate worry from his distress over Tahl. Now he examined it fully, turning it over in his mind. A ripple in the Force, an undercurrent, a warning. A different energy was behind them.
Someone was tailing them.
He did not say anything to Obi-Wan. He cast his focus back, alert for any clue. They drove on.
By dusk, he was certain. They were gaining on Balog now. The last report from the droid told them that their ability to go long periods without sleep had helped them. Balog had stopped, and stopped again. The distance was closing. This time, Qui-Gon believed it because he could feel it.
Yet the fact that someone was behind them could impede their progress. He sensed that this being was gaining on them. He or she was close now. If they were overtaken and attacked, they could lose precious time.
It was time to tell Obi-Wan.
"There is someone behind us, following us," Qui-Gon said the next time they stopped to check their position. "I think it might be better to circle back and surprise them before they surprise us. I don't like the delay, but it would be better in the long run to deal with this."
"I didn't sense anything," Obi-Wan said unhappily.
"It was a suggestion, nothing more. Very faint, but it grew. Don't dwell on your lapse, Obi-Wan. Look forward. This is a good lesson. Even in pursuit, your focus should be a wide circle, taking in everything around you."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Do you have any ideas about who it could be?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "I wouldn't guess." "It could be Irini," Obi- Wan said. "She seemed very anxious about that list."
"It could also be a comrade of Balog's," Qui-Gon said. "If Balog knows we're gaining on him, he might call for help. I don't want to use the probe droid to track our pursuer. We're going to have to do it ourselves."
"I'm ready," Obi-Wan agreed.
They turned back, making a wide circle to avoid being seen. Qui-Gon pointed ahead to a cluster of hill formations formed from solid rock. He gestured that they should go around them. He remembered that they had gone through the formation in the center, where a rough passage was cut through the rock. He had a feeling their pursuer was inside that narrow passage. It was a good place for them to ambush whoever it was.
They zoomed around the formation, then headed into the passage, moving at top speed now. Ahead, Qui-Gon saw the reverberations of a fast- moving landspeeder. He motioned to Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan guided his repaired swoop high in the air. Qui-Gon pushed the engines faster as Obi-Wan zoomed above. Within seconds, they were on top of the other transport.