Chapter Fifteen: The Place in Between

There was a celebration dinner planned for all those who had helped construct the Dantoo Town Temple. Many women had worked hard to provide enough food to feed the entire town. It had taken some time to get used to their types of offerings, but over the years, I had come to appreciate the varieties of tastes, spices, and flavors.

As we sat around the beautiful wooden table Dela had constructed for us, I couldn't help but marvel at the building Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and the townspeople had constructed. It had taken a little over a year to complete, but it was a marvel, with its immaculately carved wooden support beams, its lighter wood plank flooring, and numerous floor-to-ceiling window openings with custom-designed shutters.

Initially, I had listened to their ideas about the structure and thought that Qui-Gon was being a little too ambitious. I was happy to be proven wrong. The ceiling above me soared to a balcony at the top of a stairwell that led to several good-size classrooms. Although technology had been shunned on Dantooine, it was a matter of time before the Jedi influenced them to embrace it. Meanwhile, all the teaching and learning would be done the old-fashioned way; by parchment and charcoal.

I was pleased to learn that I would be one of the instructors. Galactic Politics was to be my assignment and I was actually looking forward to having a classroom full of eager students someday, although I was told to be patient.

I wasn't sure what they were waiting for. I had imagined that by now, Qui-Gon would've ventured out to discover and invite the rogue Jedi he knew of. Instead, he and Obi-Wan seemed to be waiting for something.

One of these days, I would learn to trust their instincts and to stop questioning their motives. No sooner had we begun enjoying the main course of roasted lizard, did a stranger walk in. All conversation immediately went quiet as all eyes turned toward him. His presence was unexpected. We hadn't heard the boom of a ship entering the atmosphere, nor had anyone in town announced his arrival.

My first impression of him wasn't very impressive. He was dressed as a spice runner or gambler with leather pants and vest, a couple of blasters as well as a vibroblade at his waist, and my guess was that he hadn't bathed in a while. His hair was dark, dirty and coiled, and across the bridge of his nose was a golden stripe that reached his temples on either side of his head. His expression was thunderous as if he were about to burst with anger.

But from the utility belt around his waist hung a lightsaber. Obviously, this was our first Gray Jedi visitor and I wondered if Obi-Wan knew him.

Qui-Gon was the first to rise from the table and greet the rough-looking man, and I listened closely to see if my initial opinion of him had been accurate.

"Quinlan, you son-of-a-Sith!"

"Qui-Gon, you near-sighted old womp rat. I figured you were dead by now."

The two men shook hands and surprised me by even partaking in a manly, albeit short embrace.

"I've come close a few times, but not even the Force seems to want me. Come, let me introduce you to everyone."

Once the stranger had reached the crowd gathered at the dining table, his expression softened and I realized the previous one had most likely only shown his concern. My first question was, how did he find us?

"Obi-Wan, this is Quinlan Vos originally from Kiffu. You studied at Coruscant for how long?"

"Youngling to about fifteen," he answered.

"What made you decide to leave?" I asked. It was an honest question and everyone wanted to know, so I figured we might as well get to the point.

Quinlan cast a sideways glance at Qui-Gon before he answered while his upper lip curled into a smirk.

"I don't like living by someone else's rules," he stated frankly. "I prefer to do things my own way."

That was such a non-Jedi thing to say! Even I knew that!

"Come, join us. There's plenty."

Obi-Wan offered his own seat while he walked away to find another. That meant, the newcomer would sit down next to me. Great.

Introductions were made all around, but Quinlan's focus immediately was drawn to Leia who was sitting across the table next to her father.

"You aren't at all what I expected," he told her.

What did he mean by that? Had word traveled around the galaxy of Leia's banishment already?

"There's an advantage to being surreptitious. I like to keep my secrets well hidden," our daughter responded with such self-assurance, I alerted Obi-Wan.

/Who is this young lady sitting here speaking so confidently to this stranger? Isn't she still two years old?/

I was suddenly yearning for the past when we were younger and life seemed so much easier.

/She's coming of age. You do realize she'll be fifteen soon./

It was difficult to comprehend. Where had the time gone?

"While you," Leia continued confronting the man, "seem to keep everything out front and obvious. You're an open datapad."

Quinlan chuckled deeply and grabbed a charred piece of meat from the large wooden tray in the middle of the table. Quiet conversation had once again started back up, but most were paying close attention to the banter between the two.

"I am who I am," he argued. "I have nothing to hide."

Believing to have ended the conversation, he then turned to me and smiled. The expression was charming, but I still felt uncomfortable sitting so close to him.

"And you are Senator Padmé Amidala from Naboo. Allow me to express my deepest gratitude for the brave stand you took for the Jedi. You risked your position and popularity. This vaccine is a dangerous business and you never backed down. Thank you for your efforts."

"You're most welcome," I responded, glancing at Obi-Wan. "I've always been a strong supporter of the Jedi as well as any organization that does their best to fight for what is good in the Republic. I'm sorry to say that sometimes my efforts fail. I'm afraid I didn't accomplish what I'd intended to this time."

"Don't worry about it. Word is, the High Court of Coruscant has confiscated all traces of the serum from the Jedi Council and have even collected the newer formula discovered on Geonosis."

"That's good news," I said, wishing we would adopt some technology soon. It would be wise to be able to keep up with the news of the galaxy. I didn't like to be kept in the dark about such things.

"What about the Separatist group funding the operation? What became of them?"

Quinlan took a big bite of meat before answering Obi-Wan's question. He chewed his food while talking, which provided further evidence of my suspicions that he was rather boorish. "They've disbanded, or so I've been told. With Dooku in prison, their best source of leadership had vanished and left them hesitant to act. I heard they spent most of their time arguing and couldn't agree on anything other than destroying the Jedi."

/Sounds like a couple of other organizations we know,/ I commented to Obi-Wan, who smiled in response.

"Did you come here just to check us out or are you planning on staying?" Qui-Gon asked next.

"That all depends," Quinlan replied, leaning back in his chair until only two of its legs were balancing upon the floor. "How many rules do you have? What is it you're wanting to accomplish?"

These were good questions and some of the very ones we had been discussing late at night around the community firepit. I didn't believe much had been settled yet, although there was one thing everyone seemed to agree on.

"We will follow the will of the Force," Qui-Gon answered plainly. It was the one core value all Jedi cherished.

I wasn't sure if that was what Quinlan was wanting to hear, but before he said anything else, he leaned forward and filled his mouth with bread. We were all waiting patiently for his reply while he chewed and followed it up with a drink of wine.

"Sounds good to me. I'm in."