Qui-Gon swallowed painfully. "By doing all this, you not only put Tahl at risk, but the peace process on Melida/Daan as well."
Obi-Wan hesitated for the first time. "I aided the peace process-"
"That is your interpretation," Qui-Gon interrupted. "It was not your instruction. Your Master and Jedi Master Yoda had decided that Jedi intervention at this stage could only prejudice either the Melida or Daan, thereby sabotaging the peace process. You were told this. Is that true, Obi-Wan?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "It is true."
Qui-Gon paused. He gathered himself to deliver the Jedi wisdom of the Master and Padawan relationship. How the rules had evolved over thousands of years. How the Padawan's pledge of obedience had nothing to do with power, but everything to do with the gaining of wisdom and the humility of service. How he was not here to punish Obi-Wan, or even to teach him, but to aid Obi-Wan's own journey and enlightenment until the day he grew to become a Jedi Knight.
"I don't care," Obi-Wan said, breaking into his thoughts.
"You don't care about what?" Qui-Gon asked, startled. Usually, a Padawan was silent after his admission, waiting for the Master to decide on their next step.
"I don't care that I broke the rules," Obi-Wan said. "It was right to break them."
Qui-Gon took a breath. "And was it right to break my trust?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm sorry I had to. But yes."
Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's words enter him like a blade. He saw in a flash that since he had taken Obi-Wan as his apprentice, he had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for the betrayal. The strike. He had hardened his heart, preparing himself for it.
And yet he was not prepared at all.
"Qui-Gon, you must understand," Obi-Wan said quietly. "I've found something here. All my life, I have been told what is right, what is best. The path has been pointed out to me. That was a great gift, and I'm grateful for all I've learned. But here on this world all those abstractions I've learned suddenly fit into something concrete. Something I can see. Something real." Obi-Wan gestured back toward the headquarters of the Young. "These people feel like my people. This cause feels like my cause. It calls to me like nothing I've ever felt before."
Qui-Gon's astonishment turned to grief and anger athimself. Obi-Wan had been swept away. He should have stepped in earlier. He should have remembered that Obi-Wanwas just a boy.
He chose his words with care. "The situation here is heartbreaking, yes. It is a hard one to walk away from. That's why I tried to resolve it before we left. But walk away we must, Padawan."
Obi-Wan's face turned stony.
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said gently. "Everything you think you found here you already have. You are a Jedi. What you need is distance and a little time for reflection."
"I don't need to reflect," Obi-Wan said stiffly.
"That is your choice," Qui-Gon said. "But still, you must accompany me back to the Temple. I need to gather some things for Tahl in the city. When I return, I expect to find you packed and ready to go."
He started back to the main tunnel. Obi-Wan did not move.
"Come, Padawan," he said.
Reluctantly, Obi-Wan trailed behind him. Qui-Gon felt worry fill him. There was something closed in Obi-Wan, something unmoveable, that he had never sensed in his apprentice before. It would be good to return to the Temple, where the wisdom of Yoda and the calm surroundings could help Obi-Wan find his center again.
Qui-Gon heard a roar from the main tunnel, voices shouting, pounding feet on stone. He quickened his pace and burst into the space, Obi-Wan at his heels.
Nield spun around to face them. "The offer for negotiation was a trick. The Elders have attacked!"
Chaos reigned in the tunnels. The passageways were choked with bodies, children desperately trying to escape the battle raging above. Some were wounded. Others hurriedly tried to arm themselves for the counterattack. Hundreds of the Young were trapped above in open parks and squares. They needed reinforcements.
"We need medics and a supply line for weapons," Cerasi said.
"We need to strike back hard!" Nield cried.
Obi-Wan rushed to huddle with Cerasi and Nield. Qui-Gon saw anguish on all three faces. It was right that his Padawan help while he could.
But they had to get Tahl off-planet immediately. Now it was imperative.
Qui-Gon hurried to her side. She was sitting up, listening intently to what was going on around her. He crouched by her side. "I had hoped to go back to the city to find more med supplies and borrow a floater, but I'm afraid that's impossible now. War has broken out, and we must leave immediately."
She nodded. "It's all right. I can walk, Qui-Gon. Your medicine has already helped me. I can make it, if you guide me."
Qui-Gon bent to gather up their things. They had lost their survival packs, but he had gathered supplies over the past few days. He stashed them in a pack Cerasi had given him.
When he turned to search for Obi-Wan, the boy was gone.
Cerasi and Nield were gone as well. Qui-Gon dropped the pack and searched the adjoining tunnels. He went as far as he could, but he was wasting time. Obi-Wan had probably gone to the surface with Cerasi and Nield.
Perhaps he thought that Qui-Gon still needed to gather more supplies, as he had told Obi-Wan. In that case, Obi-Wan might be planning to meet him at the starfighter. The boy had disobeyed him again, but Qui-Gon felt sure Obi-Wan would appear at the starfighter.
In any case, he couldn't waste any more time. He gathered his pack, helped Tahl to rise, and started through the tunnels to the edge of Zehava.
The smell of smoke and the sound of cries were in the air as Obi-Wan, Cerasi, and Nield climbed above ground. They crouched behind a wall for shelter. Starfighters circled overhead, strafing the park where the Young had gathered. Children ran for cover, or tried to shoot down the ships with shoulder-mounted torpedo launchers. The Starfighters were able to stay out of range.
"They're wasting ammunition!" Nield cried.
"They must have flown in the starfighters from another base," Cerasi said. "Or maybe they'd hidden them somewhere we didn't know about. We can't fight them from the ground!"
Obi-Wan gripped the wall. A starfighter came in low. He saw rapid flashes from the forward gun pod. Blaster fire ripped into the grass. A young girl sprang for cover. Another boy wasn't so lucky. The fire hit him in the leg, and he fell. Before Obi-Wan could move, the boy's companion dragged him to safety. Anguish ripped through Obi-Wan. The children were helpless!