The next morning brought interesting results, courtesy of Tahl. Calista had not seen the Knight since her kidnapping, but she did seem to be recovering nicely. Her green and gold striped eyes were sightless, but could still pin you to the floor with their intensity. "I just spoke with Miro," she told them. "He's been trying to fix the air circulation system in the senior students' wing. Just as he was finishing with that, all the lights in the Temple went to half power. He's working on it." A small smile crossed her lovely features. "Now we're almost even, Qui-Gon. We both have to work in the dark."
"Not really, considering you're still wiser than I am," Qui-Gon said to her, the smile evident in his voice.
Tahl's smile grew at the admission. "That's not the development I called you in for. I found something interesting in Offworld's finances. Here, I printed you a copy."
Qui-Gon stared at the sheets filled with columns of numbers and names of companies. Calista rolled her eyes before plucking the paper from his hands, looking over the finances of the mining company. "It appears Offworld is not as secure with its money as it would like others to believe," Calista observed, flipping to the next page.
Tahl tapped her index finger on the edge of her desk. "A futile mining operation on an inhospitable planet drained the company's resources," she explained to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "Xanatos refused to accept defeat, putting more and more money into his operations. There's recently been a rumor circulating that he's secretly plundered the treasury of Telos."
That does not surprise me that he would do that to his own homeworld, Calista thought. Qui-Gon looked over her shoulder. "The vertex," he said suddenly.
"Of course," Obi-Wan said. Tahl looked confused and slightly hurt at being left out of the loop, so Cal hurried to explain what Yoda had told them two days prior.
"We've been focusing too much on Xanatos' revenge motive. With him there's always a double motive. Destroying the Temple and walking away with the vertex would be worth putting himself in danger," Qui-Gon said.
"The different wings have been shut down one after another, with everyone now in the central building. The treasury is located below the Council room. There's no way that can be a coincidence," Tahl mentioned.
"Xanatos plans to contain us, but in what fashion?" Calista questioned.
"There's another thing," Obi-Wan said. "How did Xanatos know that we were in the water system? Bant wouldn't tell anyone, and the only other person who overheard us was Miro. There's no way Xanatos could've gotten the drop on us."
Everyone mulled over this. Calista was staring blankly at the financial sheets when a key piece of information returned to the forefront of her mind. "The meditation robe," she whispered.
"Hmmm?" Tahl asked.
"The mediation robe," Calista repeated. "Bruck could be following us so Xanatos can track our movements. With the robe, Bruck can go virtually anywhere in the Temple without being detected."
"He could also be patched through security somehow," Qui-Gon added. "Now we just need to find a way to lure him out."
Just then, Qui-Gon's com beeped. When he activated it, everyone froze when they heard a rather unwanted voice ring through the room: "What a pleasure to greet you, Qui-Gon."
"What do you want?" Qui-Gon asked calmly, though Calista could feel that he was tense. She used the Force to send a wave of peace to her friend. It had the effect she was hoping for, as Qui-Gon's shoulders relaxed.
"I want my transport fully fueled and waiting for me. Also no one is to pursue me," Xanatos answered smoothly.
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at his com. "And why would I do that?"
"Hmm. You bring up a good point. You should give me what I want unless you want fish-girl to get hurt."
It took Calista a second, but when she realized who Xanatos was talking about, her blood ran colder than it ever had before. Qui-Gon's grip tightened so much that Cal was surprised that the com did not shatter under the pressure. Obi-Wan looked as if he wished he could reach through in order to strangle Xanatos. Tahl was at her computer, typing quickly. "How do I know you have her?" Qui-Gon asked.
There was some shuffling noises before Bant's voice came over the link. "Qui-Gon, I'm fine. Don't―" Her voice cut off abruptly as the comlink went dead.
