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Qui-Gon helped her up the stairs and onto one of the worn couches by carrying her, much to her chagrin. Raven felt a little humiliated to be wounded in front of him, to need his assistance in any capacity. Still, there was little else for her to do but bear it. Either way, she needed the help. The wound hurt almost unbearably now, and Raven had the distinct feeling he knew it, even though she was trying her best to shield the overwhelming thought.

Quietly humming to himself, Qui-Gon instructed her to lay on her stomach. She pulled off her over tunic then watched out the window as he gently pulled her other garments up. The cut wasn't too hard to find, since there were singe marks on her other clothing, and soon he was inspecting it with cool hands on her back. "It's not really that bad," he commented, tracing the edge with his finger for her reference, "and I think your friend only hit a glancing blow. Still, it will need some bacta and rest."

The injury was on Raven's left side, and it was almost on her side, a full hand's length beneath her shoulder blade. Qui-Gon pulled her to sit up and asked for a med kit and a clean sheet. Raven told him where the two things were and sat patiently, as well as a little red faced, as he bound the wound, wrapping long strips of the sheet around her middle over a bacta-soaked piece of gauze. In the Temple, a certain level of comfort was maintained about the subject of nudity, making things such as binding inconveniently located wounds or personal hygiene in the field easier than it would otherwise be. Still, she hadn't been in the Temple recently and was a little unnerved about the process.

Raven began to stand, and Qui-Gon kindly told her to stay put. A little annoyed, she requested a clean tunic and undertunic, as well as another pair of leggings. A playful grin spread across the Jedi's face as he fetched the items, but he politely busied himself with something superficial as she changed in the middle of the living room, having been rebuked again for trying to move somewhere more private. She handed him the bloodied garments, and he put them in a water bath to soak in the refresher.

Qui-Gon moved her to lie comfortably on the larger couch and then sat on the other. "So was the information you found worth it?" he asked. He sat a little stiffly although with an amused look on his face, as though also unsure how to think about what had just occurred.

Raven shook her head and gave a weak laugh. "I hope. I'm sure that with other information it will be. Why don't you go first, since you weren't gone as long."

Qui-Gon shrugged and abruptly sat back, settling himself into the couch. "I overheard the CorSec talking. Apparently there were a few Twi'leks hanging around that morning. Their chief thought they looked familiar and might have been part of a local gang. That was all I found."

"That makes sense," she replied, "and helps to justify my story. I was talking with a few of my associates, and they said the same thing, only that the Ch'ean gang had been hired to 'make a disturbance' in the area by someone. That group has a number of Twi'leks, actually. One of them was concerned that his friends would be perpetrated for the blast, even though they were only distracting. I wish I knew who hired them to front!"

"Calm down," Qui-Gon said soothingly, watching with concern as she made frustrated gestures, "you'll ruin my handiwork. So what was the problem with your associate with the blaster?"

Raven laughed. "They all have blasters. Anyway, he and I aren't on good terms to begin with. I began asking questions about the gang, and he wanted to know if I was working for a CorSec. I replied no, but I doubt he believed me. Some of my questions must have danced a little too close to some of his runs, and I guess he just decided it would be easier to silence me."

"What did you ask?"

"I asked were the Twi'leks were from, which told me about the gang's involvement. I also asked if he'd had any good lifts recently. The answer to that was yes, but then he got uncomfortable and ended the discussion. He must suspect I'm either gathering information for myself or someone else. I also asked about if there were other people hanging around, but no one knew the answer. I think it was an inside job with the Twi'leks as a diversion. If someone owned a Twi'lek, it would be easy enough to get her in to lay the detonator, leaving the Ch'ean to pick up the backlash, especially if no one was close enough to the Twi'lek to say whether she was or was not in the gang."

Qui-Gon nodded in agreement. "But who hired the Ch'ean?"

Raven shrugged. "Answer that, and you may have the key to your mission," she replied.

"We haven't connected the two yet," he chided gently.

"Yet," she echoed, "but I'm guessing someone didn't just arbitrarily hit that building." The Jedi had to agree with that reasoning, albeit a little unwillingly. Everything still was a little too disjointed for his tastes.

"You're probably right," he conceded, kicking off his boots to lie on the couch. He heaved a sigh, seeing a lot of thought ahead of him. Qui-Gon needed to find the connection between Valorum and the Obrid System. Then, it might make sense.

***

The apartment echoed with silence when Qui-Gon got up from the couch. Raven lay on the couch. Initially, she had put herself in a healing trance, although he now suspected that she was simply asleep, having come out of the trance. He had located a blanket and draped it over her. From the few mental probes he had done, she was in a deep sleep, probably one brought on from the exertions of the morning and the strain of remaining in a healing trance for a long period of time.

He still couldn't make any realistic connections between the events of the morning and the information he already had. A little frustrated, he had finally come up with a plan of attack. Raven and her street smarts were a blessing, but sometimes information that is a little more concrete was needed. He produced his comm link and keyed the number for the Temple.

"Hello, how may I help you?" a sugary voice asked from his comm. Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. Initiates were customarily the dispatches on the Temple link, but they still were a little wet behind the ears for his tastes. He could be in the middle of a battle right now for all the voice on the other end knew!

"Archives, please," he replied evenly.

"Just a moment." Qui-Gon moved to the bunk and climbed the latter to sit on the bed and lean against one of the walls. Then, a new voice appeared, one that was much more sedate.

"Knight Emor here. What can I do for you?" Qui-Gon smiled to himself. It was a friend of his, one that usually spent most of his time in the Archives. He would be as helpful as possible, understanding that he needed obscure information as well as the obvious.

"Hey, Bielat, this is Qui-Gon. I need you to do a little research for me, if you have a moment."

A smile was evident in the other's voice. "You out in the field?" he laughed. "Well, it just so happens that I can because there are three other people here to answer incoming calls. What can I find for you?"

"I need information on Alderaan and anyone who might have a grudge against them. I think that embassy is being framed. I also need information on the Obrid system and how it might connect to either Senator Valorum or his son, the political speaker Finis. One last thing. There was a student at the Temple. Her last name was either Darkfeather or Suul. Her first name was either Raven or Ash. She defected from the Temple a few years ago. I need all the information on her you have."

"A defected Jedi? Will do. I'll have the files to you as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Bielat. Out of curiosity, when can I expect this?"

"Give me three hours at the earliest. I can give you some preliminary stuff at the least and then add to it later if you like."

"Sounds good. Until then. Thanks again for the favor."

"You owe me one," Bielat Emor laughed, and then the comm clicked, indicating he'd closed the channel.

Qui-Gon put away his commlink and lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. From what the Jedi could tell, Raven was in a very deep sleep, one she was not likely to come out of before Knight Emor returned his call. Beyond that, Qui-Gon could feel the Living Force moving into what seemed like an ebb, almost regressing from the flurry of activity and emotions from the morning. Qui-Gon worked to exchange his own emotions and perceptions for the insight of the Force. He continued his meditation for sometime, and when he had finished it, he too succumbed to a deep sleep, swept away by the lethargy of the early afternoon.