Obdurate Hear – XIX
Another chapter. Thanks a bunch, guys, thanks for reading and commenting. If fewer were reading it, I probably wouldn't even bother, since writer's block has been on my ass lately. But I think (I hope) this story is starting to come back to me. Much love to all.
"Our own heart--and not other men's opinions--forms our true honor."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"You will very much have to forgive me, ambassador." Qui Gon implored sincerely as he bowed a bit. "I had not received word of your coming."
"And did my arrival necessitate a warning, Master Jin?" queried the man as he stepped swiftly along, the Jedi Master keeping an easy pace.
"A warning, no. It is nevertheless…unexpected." Qui Gon stopped outside the chamber and pressed his hands together, smiling politely.
Ambassador Rig Tallo Dulan was clearly not in such an obliging mood as his greeter, a pensive and tired crook fixed about his wiry eyebrows. "Do you have the body in custody?"
"Yes of course." Qui Gon nodded quickly, gesturing a hand to the door, upon which it slid open.
Dulan stepped in purposefully and strode to the slab upon which an encased corpse lay, resting his long fingers atop the shoulder of the figure. After a moment, the hand fell back to the side of his rust-colored and slightly tattered tunic, his head bowing to spill strands of grayish hair over his weathered face. Qui Gon stood respectively behind at the doorway, watching this solemn procession with contained inquisitiveness. The ambassador turned back to Qui Gon in a silent sigh and folded his hands. "I see."
"And this…Omad, he was a member of your organization I take it?" Qui Gon stepped into the chamber.
"Yes, yes he was." Dulan confirmed. "But I ask you not to think of his actions as being representative of our fellowship. We are not assassins, nor would we condone such a base profession to meet our objectives."
"I understand wholly." Qui Gon assured.
"I apologize for his interference with your duties before we could convey a more peaceful message to your council." He continued. "But was his death so unpreventable?"
"I'm afraid his demise was quite out of our hands, ambassador. The struggle between himself and Maul ended poorly. It is unfortunate that we were unable to intervene in time to resolve the issue, and I personally accept responsibility." There was no reason to drag young Obi wan into this, after all.
Dulan's eyes widened grimly for a brief moment, the whiskers of his face twitching waywardly. "So it was the enemy who killed him?"
"One of ours would not have dealt a method so brutal." Qui Gon looked upon the corpse, rearranged under its encasement so as not to reveal its sectioned state.
Dulan's chest expanded and he looked to the side, seeming to repress something. "How unsettling…"
"Shall I arrange some form of transport for the body?" Qui Gon offered.
"No. Such arrangements have been made. I will be on my way shortly, but I wonder…if I might discuss the matter before I take my leave." Dulan motioned for Qui Gon to walk with him as he exited the room, keeping his walk leisurely.
Qui Gon followed, listening intently. He was not entirely certain what further issue there was to discuss.
"Am I correct in the impression that Lord Maul is yet living and in your guardianship?" he began, and Qui Gon nodded. "…I see. And might I ask the circumstances of his trial?"
"I'm sorry to say that the trial is rather a complicated issue. The prisoner assumedly has valuable information, which we are hoping he will part with for his own sake. It is, however, unlikely."
"Information." Dulan repeated, furrowing his brow and appearing to be thinking to himself. "Surely you know that a Sith lord would never reveal his master…"
"Commonly, no." Qui Gon agreed. "Though…I am beginning to wonder if it is really such an impossibility." He momentarily thought of his Padawan, and the odd happenings surrounding his rescue.
"And what is he to gain provided that he does cooperate?" Dulan demanded tonelessly.
"That is not for me to decide, nor am I privileged to know just yet what Master Yoda has planned. Honestly, I am not certain that he has decided himself."
"Master Jin, surely you know the plight of my people." Dulan held a hand slightly as though asking something.
"With all due respect, ambassador, I can't say that I truly do." Qui Gon contested.
"Maul has committed crimes throughout the galaxy, he has murdered and pillaged hundreds."
"The Jedi Council is far from having forgotten this."
"Are they so far?" Dulan placed his hands behind his back, something of a glower in his features. "Do they remember the women and children he has slaughtered as they offer him a lenient sentence?"
"I assure you, sir, no sentence of his will be light." Qui Gon said, shaking his head.
"Any sentence barring death is light. With the life he has taken, it is already a grave injustice that he has but one life to offer in return, but this execution must take place." Dulan insisted adamantly. "He can be offered no solace from his punishment. It is an atrocity simply that he is now sitting safely in captivity, let alone that he should be kept that way for the remainder of his days."
"Surely your larger quarrel is with the Sith as a whole, not with one mere lord. There is yet a master who hides his identity, and it is he that we pursue first and foremost. Maul is only a puppet, and if sparing his life is the cost of revealing his overlord, so be it."
"Maul is no mere lord." Dulan took a step forward. "You are not a constant witness to the orphans and widows made under his hand because you do not live among them as I do. You do not see how he has left so many in utter shambles, nor the homes he has destroyed, nor the scars and cripplings. The Sith are not villains to be punished, they are a scourge to be eradicated. Does the Jedi Council not agree?"
"Indeed it does agree. Though we are not willing to jeopardize the possibility of bringing down a more powerful foe for the sake of it."
"Can he not be executed after having given you the name you so desire?"
"There would be no honor in such an action. We do not speak our words only to betray them." Qui Gon pointed out simply.
"There can be no honor when dealing with the Sith."
Qui Gon drew in a breath, eyes scanning his surroundings. "That is where we disagree."
Dulan held out his hands as if in plea. As he spoke, two men approached from behind, who were quickly waved past and shuffled into the chamber for Omad's body. "Evil cannot be pushed away. It cannot be held down, it cannot be stowed in a cage. It must be killed, can you not see this?"
Qui Gon raised a hand as though to calm him. "Either way, ambassador, this is not a discussion that has any pertinence outside of the Council's dealings. I have no authority over this."
"Yes but surely you have some influence." Dulan stepped forward, ignoring his men as they shifted back out of the room, corpse in tow.
"I must advise you to send your diplomat, as I can be of no service to your cause."
Dulan gave a lengthy sigh and bowed his head. "I only ask that you speak for those that have suffered so greatly under Lord Maul's tyrannous onslaughts." He gazed on as the remains of the former Omad Vavesto drew past him, hidden under a blackening shroud. "There are fewer and fewer these days who would do so…"
Qui Gon bowed once more as Ambassador Dulan turned away and went back to his ship.