"Have you lost your mind?" Mace Windu asked fiercely. Grabbing Qui-Gon's elbow, the man steered them even further away from the gathered group of Jedi who were preparing to leave for the Outer Rim. "You want me to believe that the boy has communicated with another youngling? That he knows better than fully grown Jedi Knights who have managed to infiltrate the Eniminata?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon said.

"It is not possible, Qui-Gon. You know that. Younglings do not have bonds with each other."

"I saw what he saw, Mace. The images had Amber's Force-signature attached to them. Clearly, they are not memories from Obi-Wan. And besides, you and I both know neither youngling should have knowledge of The Works, especially what it looks like at night. They hardly leave the Temple during daytime hours, let alone after dark."

He watched as his friend shook his head, sadly. Mace's voice and features both softened, "Qui-Gon, I know this is hard for you, but you must not allow your feel-"

"I am perfectly capable of keeping my emotions in check, Mace. I am telling you the truth," Qui-Gon answered calmly. He had known before starting this conversation that it would be an uphill battle. Mace had not disappointed him.

His friend shook his head, "I saw you yesterday, and you were not even close to being in control. You were broken when I left you last night. And now, you are grasping at even the tiniest of possibilities. Have you even thought about the fact that you both care a lot about the girl. That it is clouding your judgement. The other missing youngling was not in any of the visions, yet they were taken together. Do you not find that odd?"

Qui-Gon had in fact found that strange, but it did not change anything. "I do not know where the other initiate is, but this is not wishful thinking on my or Obi-Wan's part. I know she is here, Mace." The Councilor just stared at him with pity. Qui-Gon gave a world-weary sigh. He would have had much better luck talking at one of the numerous starfighters parked in the Temple's hangar bay.

"I am sorry, Qui-Gon. We are still going," Mace paused and squeezed Qui-Gon's shoulder in an attempt at comfort, "and I believe we will find your daughter there. The only question is are you coming with us?"

"No," he answered flatly.

With that, Mace walked towards the loaded transport. The group boarded the ship as the engines warmed. Obi-Wan, who had been sitting on a storage container off to the side, hurried over to Qui-Gon's side. The two stood silently, watching the transport begin to take off.

"They didn't believe you."

Qui-Gon glanced at him, "Do you feel anything?"

"No, Master Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan paused for a second, looking up at the big Jedi, "It just feels cold."

He only nodded. They were running out of time. Thrusters fired, blowing hot exhaust at the Knight and his young companion. The older model ship lifted off the platform, banged up silver plating flashing the the warm sunlight. They felt as much as heard the engines, then the transport was gone.


He left Obi-Wan back at the creche, much to the boy's disgruntlement. He was reluctant to leave the boy, but for the youngling's safety, Obi-Wan would not be able to accompany the Jedi further. They would still need the ability to get in touch however, so he supplied the boy with a comlink to use in case he sensed something new. It also gave the initiate a sense of duty, which was good. He had the boy hide the comlink in his belt, knowing the creche masters would confiscate it if it was discovered.

Qui-Gon then made his way to the Jedi Archives, finding a quiet, removed space among the towering stacks of holobooks. If he was to find Amber, he would need to know more about the garden's layout. The Archives held a seemingly endless collection of knowledge and, as he had hoped, blueprints for the many important structures scattered around Coruscant.

Some searching awarded him with the map he was looking for. Of all the images Obi-Wan had shown him, Qui-Gon felt that the last, short glimpses he had seen would be most helpful. The tree with yellow leaves he knew. It was an Indyup tree native to the Mid-Rim planet, Ithor. As a padawan, he had been sent on a diplomatic mission to the planet. The trees were everywhere and something the Ithor was known for. The only Indyup trees Qui-Gon had ever seen on Coruscant was a small grove located in the northwest quadrant of the city garden. The designs that were used to plot the arrangement of the various plants and trees showed that they were indeed the only representatives.

All that was left to find was the metal corridor and Qui-Gon had no idea where to begin. A durasteel hall with pipes running along the ceiling was not something he had run across in his many visits. He had already exhausted three different sources, when he became aware of another person coming toward him.

"If you have come to show me how irrational I am being, you can turn right around and go back the way you came," he announced to the newcomer.

"You have always been irrational, Qui-Gon. But, if you continue with that attitude, I will be loath to help you find what you seek," Tahl shot back, grabbing one of his discarded holobooks as she sat opposite him. She accessed the information and began to shift through it.

Qui-Gon blinked at her, "What?"

"I spoke to Knight Windu and he informed me of your conversation," she replied without looking up, "I told him that I would come help you."

"I do not think this is what he had in mind."

"No, it's not," she answered quietly, finally making eye contact, "But, I trust your judgement. If you say Amber is here, then she is here."

Qui-Gon smiled. He reached across the table and touched Tahl's hand, "Thank you."

They were still for a moment, then Tahl removed her hand from under his."We are wasting time," Tahl said, brusquely, "What do you know and what do you need to know?"

He described what Obi-Wan had showed him and told her what else he was trying to find. Tahl only nodded at the end and the two Jedi began their search for the unidentified passageway. Because they still did not know what exactly they were hunting for, another hour of scouring holobooks and data files turned up nothing.

Qui-Gon sat back, rubbing his eyes, "We need to know more about that hallway."

Tahl sat quietly for a moment. She tapped her chin with a long index finger, thinking. "Perhaps you missed something the first time. Look again at the vision, now that you have time to really consider what you are seeing."

It was worth a try. Qui-Gon closed his eyes, visualizing the corridor. He saw the same darkened, durasteel stretch of hall, but this time he noticed more detail. There were thin lines of rust that ran down the walls. The rust appeared to be caused by water, which he now saw pooled on the stone floor, trapt in numerous indentations. Qui-Gon turned his attention to the ceiling. At first all he saw were the pipes, but then he became aware of something else. Gnarled and tangled, the roots of the many plants and trees were interspersed between the many pipelines, some even wrapping around the endless, metal tubes.

"The irrigation system," he said suddenly, eyes flying open. Tahl immediately began looking for any blueprints regarding that particular framework.

"Found it," she announced, putting the information between them, "It looks like the whole system is underground."

"Access points?"

Tahl put in their search and the map highlighted the entryways with little, blue dots, "A few dozen."

"In the northwest quadrant?"

"Three."

He nodded, "At least that narrows it down. What about the passageways?"

"Complex in the extreme. There's a multitude of halls and rooms, most seem to crisscross each other. It would be almost impossible to navigate without getting lost."

"Well, that's why I will have the map."

"And what? Are you going to stop at every corner and address your map? Perhaps you can ask an Eniminata follower for directions as they happen by. I am sure they would be happy to tell you which path you need to take," she muttered dryly.

Qui-Gon folded his arms and sighed. He had to admit she was right. He would need to concentrate on what was coming at him, not trying to find his way like some tourist lost in a new city. He glanced back at Tahl, who was messing with the blueprint, "What are you doing?"

"Downloading the map to my datapad. I am going to be your eyes."

Qui-Gon just smiled at her. Tahl finished the transfer while he gathered the other materials and placed them in the allocated receptacle. Together they exited the Archives, striding towards the Temple Tech Center to get what equipment would be required for their undertaking. Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's alarm moments before his comlink signaled. He stopped abruptly, digging for the device.

"Obi-Wan?"

"Master Qui-Gon," the boy cried, "something's wrong!"


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