Part 2- The Visit

"Qui, could you hand me a towel? Thank you," Tahl said gratefully, wiping the sweat from her face. She had just finished giving the twins a shower, a very strenuous job.

"I swear, those two are like balls of energy." She paused, picking up a sound outside their quarters' door with her acute hearing. "Qui, someone's at the door," Tahl announced.

"I know, I know. I have ears too." Qui-Gon opened the door and was greeted by the shining face of Bant Eerin.

"Hello, Qui-Gon," she said, hugging him. He could not help but smile. Eighteen-years-old, and she still greeted everyone with a warm embrace.

"Hello. Are you here for Tahl?"

"No. She's probably giving the twin's a bath, which I know is a pain."

"Actually, I just finished with them. How are you?" Tahl said, embracing her Padawan.

"I'm fine. I just came to deliver a message to Qui-Gon. Here you go," she handed him a datapad, said goodbye, and left.

"Who could this be from?" Qui-Gon murmured to himself, activating the pad.

"I don't believe it. It's from Jor Quos!" He exclaimed, suddenly excited.

"Jor Quos. I'm not familiar with that name," Tahl commented.

"He was one of the hostages three years ago. I interviewed him. It's a shame he was sent to AgriCorps."

"Well, what does it say?" Tahl asked eagerly.

"Master Jinn,

I trust you are well. I have sent you this message to inform you that I shall be arriving on Coruscant soon and shall be ready to share some information with you regarding the incident three years ago.

Sincerely,

Jor Quos"

"When was the message sent?" Tahl asked.

"Two days ago. He'll be here within a week!" Qui-Gon realized, ecstatic. Finally, his questions would be answered.

***

Four days later, Jor Quos arrived at the Temple. Qui-Gon noted that the three years that had passed since the two had met had changed the boy drastically. Though only thirteen-years-old, Jor looked weary from the galaxy.

"Good day, Master Jinn," Jor said automatically, bowing. Qui-Gon noted that the boy's green eyes were strangely glazed.

"Jor," Qui-Gon acknowledged, nodding. "Let us go to my quarters."

Once they reached Qui-Gon's quarters, he motioned towards a couch. Jor thanked him, and sat down shakily. Qui-Gon took his place beside the boy.

"Master Qui-Gon, please do not speak for the next minute. If you do, I might not be able to tell you." Jor took a deep breath and then began.

"After the Ramming Stone made the demands, he began to monitor the communications. He realized that false messages were being sent out. He was about to contact you when Obi-Wan attacked him." Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows.

"He tackled the Ramming Stone, and put a blaster to his neck. Somehow, the Ramming Stone freed himself. He was about to shoot Obi-Wan when Marla ran forward. She, she pushed Obi-Wan aside. The Ramming Stone lowered his blaster. And that's when Talon shot Marla. The Ramming Stone yelled at Talon and ordered him to kill Obi-Wan. Then you came." Qui-Gon frowned. Something did not add up. The fear that was built up inside the boy had not been caused by Marla's death. Something was missing.

"You said the Ramming Stone escaped. Do you remember how?" Jor shook his head.

"No."

"Try to remember!" Qui-Gon urged. Jor closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.

"All I remember is a black void." Qui-Gon started at this information. An erased memory?

"Do you remember anything? A feeling?" Jor's eyes flew open.

"Yes! I feel, fear, anger, and… betrayal?" Jor said, suddenly confused.

"Betrayal? Are you certain?" Qui-Gon asked, shocked.

"Yes, I'm positive. Why is that? Oh," Jor moaned suddenly. "Oh, Sith, I'm feeling sick again."

"Don't dwell on the incident. If you don't, you'll feel better."

"Why's that?" Jor asked.

"It's only a theory. You may be suffering from a forcibly erased memory. Thank you very much." Jor rose, smiling slightly.

"I wish I could do more. Goodbye, Master Jinn."

"Goodbye." The two exchanged bows, and Jor left the quarters. Qui-Gon sat down, thinking.

"Sight is lost, but feelings still remain. Betrayal and anger. Someone blanked out the hostages' memories. But only someone strong in the Force-" The truth hit him like a sledgehammer. It all fit together. The lost memories, strong in the Force, betrayal-

A Jedi had been working with the Ramming Stone!

***

"Are you suggesting that a Jedi, one whom we have given our complete trust, has betrayed us?" Mace asked, incredulous.

"Yes," Qui-Gon said firmly.

"Your theory, you will state," Yoda prompted.

"After interviewing several of the former victims, I noticed a pattern in their stories. In one specific moment of time, they only remember seeing a black void but do remember feeling strong emotions such as anger and betrayal. I believe someone has erased their memories, using the Force. Only someone particularly strong in the Force could do so. And there's another thing: how was the Ramming Stone able to infiltrate the Temple so easily. Someone obviously provided him with a layout of the Temple, which can also explain why he escaped without much trouble."

"Qui-Gon, you have overlooked something: the loss of our connection to the Force," Adi Gallia pointed out.

"Then, obviously he was a very powerful Jedi," Qui-Gon said, shrugging. "That would mean either Yoda or-" he cut off suddenly, looking downwards. All eyes turned to Mace Windu.

"You think that I would do such a thing?" Mace asked almost angrily.

"It's only a theory, Mace," Qui-Gon said. Mace nodded, but his eyes seemed to burn through Qui-Gon's heart. He was either incredibly angry or deeply disappointed in Qui-Gon.

"Perhaps there was more than one Jedi accomplice," Adi Gallia suggested.

"Perhaps. Refine your theory, you must."

"Then you will allow me to access sensitive Temple records?" Mace nodded.

"Thank you. I also need access to Senate archives."

"Speak with Chancellor Valorum, I will," Yoda said, blinking. Qui-Gon bowed, grateful.

"Qui-Gon, I wish to speak with you privately," Mace said.

***

Mace and Qui-Gon stood outside the Council, both unsure whether to speak first. Mace decided to take initiative.

"Qui-Gon, are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Mace asked.

"The Jedi Order has been betrayed, Mace. I have never been so certain about something before." His eyes were hard.

"And you still suspect me? Qui-Gon, if this is about that argument over Xanatos, that was a long time ago-"

"No it's not!" Qui-Gon snapped. "Look, it's only a theory. Besides, I don't blame you for that argument." Mace stared at him in disbelief.

"You don't?" Qui-Gon shook his head.

"Then what is it about, Qui? Why did you bring up the Ramming Stone again? And don't tell me it's because of a Jedi's betrayal. I know you better than that." Mace waited for his answer. Qui-Gon took a deep breath.

"I miss my Pad- Obi-Wan," he finished. "He's somewhere in the galaxy, all alone, chasing a dangerous criminal. I thought that maybe if I began an investigation, we would cross paths, and I would be able to dissuade him." Mace shook his head, disheartened by his friend's desperate plan.

"I hate to say this, Qui-Gon, but this is sounding awfully familiar."

"Obi-Wan is nothing like Xanatos!" Qui-Gon cried. "He was always kind and humble! He was willing to learn, unlike Xanatos. He was peaceful, and I must know why he changed. I must know why he blames himself for Marla's death." Before Mace could speak again, Qui-Gon left, afraid his feelings would betray him more.

***

Qui-Gon sat down on his sleep-couch, mulling over all information he had gained. Time after time, however, he found himself confused and disorganized.

"Daddy?" Ald-Yen said, grabbing the edge of his father's tunic.

"Yes, son?" Qui-Gon replied warmly.

"What's hurting you?" his son asked, his eyes full of concern. Qui-Gon smiled, and pulled his son up onto the sleep couch.

"It's not that I'm hurt; I'm just confused about something."

"Well, maybe you should write it down," Ald-Yen suggested before trudging off to his own sleep-couch. Qui-Gon stared after his son, amazed. After all of the Master's frustration and confusion, the words of a three-year-old had shown him the solution.

Qui-Gon began first with Jor's interviews, describing the infiltration step by step. After speaking with Jor, Qui-Gon had carefully recorded all information given to him

1. Ramming Stone enters through ventilation shaft, followed by Talon.

2. Sifo-Dyas shot by Talon.

3. Rest of force enters.

4. RS calls for eldest (Obi-Wan).

5. RS and Talon beat Obi-Wan

6. Contact with myself.

7. Children divided.

8. Demands made to Council.

9. Communications monitored.

10. False messages detected.

11. Obi-Wan attacks RS, obtains blaster (presumably owned by RS).

12. RS freed (aided by Jedi?).

13. Marla protects Obi-Wan.

14. Talon shoots Marla.

15. RS upset by Marla's death, but orders Talon to shoot Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon leaned back on his couch, staring at the list before him, trying to ascertain a pattern.

"Talon shoots both Marla and Sifo-Dyas. He is the only one who actually killed someone. He also beat Obi-Wan several times and most likely jumped Mace. So what does that mean? He's the Ramming Stone's most reliable man, and is the only one who escaped, save for the Ramming Stone himself- oh." Qui-Gon quickly scribbled down:

            Where is Talon Wessel?

The two had obviously been together when they escaped. However, in all the news about the Ramming Stone, there had been nothing about Talon. Had he taken another job, leaving the Ramming Stone? Had it been a simple contract?

Qui-Gon did not think so. If Talon had been solely bound to the Ramming Stone by contract, then surely he would have left the Ramming Stone when things had gone wrong. Something just did not feel right.

The Master turned back to his list, searching for another connection.

"Marla is killed by Talon, even though the Ramming Stone was about to shoot Obi-Wan. How did that happen?" Qui-Gon asked himself. He read over Jor's first interview.

"The Ramming Stone lowered his blaster when Marla got in the way. He did not want to shoot Marla. And when Talon shot her, he became upset."

Did the Ramming Stone care for Marla? Or did he not wish for the younger children to lose their lives.

"Perhaps that is why he asked for the eldest." He wrote down another question.

            Why was the Ramming Stone upset about Marla's death?

Glancing back over the list again, Qui-Gon found yet another question.

            How was the Ramming Stone able to detect the spuriousness of the messages?

Miro Daroon had looked over the terrorists' equipment. It only had the capacity to detect the sending of holo-messages. It had not been able to detect the codes that had alerted the Jedi that the messages were false.

Qui-Gon realized that the answer was linked to the Jedi traitor, as was the Ramming Stone's liberation from Obi-Wan as was the terrorist's escape from the Temple. Once again, the identity of the Jedi traitor was the key.

For the next two hours, Qui-Gon sat, meditating over the list. He knew he was missing something, he knew it!

The presence of his sleeping wife soothed him, as did the proximity of his children, but they did not aide him in his meditation. Meditation finally proved fruitless, and at about three in the morning, Qui-Gon left his quarters to roam the Temple hallways.

He found himself in the Healer's wing, where Winna Di Uni was still awake, reading over medical journals and working on her own.

"Hell, Qui-Gon," she greeted brightly, as if it were mid-afternoon. "Having a hard time sleeping?"

"You could say that." A hard time thinking was more of a problem, though.

"What brings you here? Care to read Asclepius' medical journal on plagues?" She asked, already knowing his answer.

"Not at this moment," Qui-Gon replied, smiling. A thought suddenly struck him.

"Winna, I hate to bring this up, but do you remember the incident three years ago?" The cheery smile on Winna's face disappeared.

"How could I forget?" Winna had lost her Padawan Pio Hep that day.

"Did you, by any chance, work on Master Sifo-Dyas?" Winna scrunched her eyebrows.

"I don't think so. I can't be sure wait. I remember now. I couldn't have, because I performed surgery on Obi-Wan."

"Do you remember who you assigned to perform surgery on Sifo-Dyas?"

"No- did I even assign anybody that day for surgery other than myself? I'll go check the logs." Winna turned to the medical database.

"That's funny," she murmured, scrolling down a list of dates, healer's names, and patient names.

"What?" Qui-Gon asked.

"If the logs are correct, no one performed surgery on Master Sifo-Dyas. He was shot in the chest, correct?"

"Yes, by a- oh, Sith. How could I be so blind?" Qui-Gon put his hand to his head, realizing how foolish a mistake he had made.

"What?" Winna asked, startled by his cry.

"When I interviewed Jor Quos, he told me that both Marla and Sifo-Dyas were shot by Talon Wessel. Jor told me that the blaster had made no sound when Sifo-Dyas was shot. However, when I was in the ventilation shaft, I heard a blaster when Marla was killed. Unless Talon switched blasters, he could not have shot both Sifo-Dyas and Marla. They faked Sifo-Dyas' shooting."

"Which means what?"

"Which means that Sifo-Dyas is the traitor. It makes so much sense now. Sifo-Dyas knew how to recognize a false message and most likely told the Ramming Stone how to detect one also. And when Obi-Wan attacked the Ramming Stone, Sifo-Dyas probably used the Force to free him from Obi-Wan. He most likely gave the Ramming Stone plans of the Temple, and helped them get in and out. That's probably why he retired and left Coruscant to go to Edeth."

"Sweet Force," Winna muttered.

"Get Miro Daroon down here and have him check for tampering of any kind. Contact me when he has the results. I will go to the Council and tell them of this new information" Qui-Gon declared.

"But, Qui, it's three in the morning!" Winna protested. "You don't want to talk to the Council and especially Mace at three in the morning!" Before she could finish, he had left the Healer's wing.