On the trip back to Iroqa-Tira, everyone was quiet. Takhya dozed off soon after their departure, resting her head on Kat's shoulder. Eeth could tell that Lok's silence had nothing to do with fatigue, but the boy was clearly not willing to talk about whatever had happened between him and Zur Kaath while the others were listening, and thus Eeth did not ask him to. He simply put his arm around him and the boy readily leaned into it. Eeth could feel him trembling slightly, which caused him some concern. He hoped that they would have an opportunity to find some privacy soon after their return. Whatever he had learned from Zur, Lok was in no state to endure more meetings or, Force forbid, a dinner reception.
A9 was waiting for them at the entrance of the council building.
"I have been asked to inform you that the meeting could not come to an agreement," he said. "The delegates have withdrawn to their respective assemblies to put the issue to a clan vote."
Zur and Lok Takar looked at each other in consternation.
"We'd better go," said Zur.
"Definitely," said Lok Takar. "We'll see you tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed the outing."
Before any of the Jedi even had the slightest chance to reply to this, let alone ask questions, they had left.
"Uh," said Kat. "Does anyone have any idea what just happened?"
"I do not," said Eeth. "A9, could you explain?"
"Certainly," said A9 helpfully. "You arrived here, and I told you that the delegates have withdrawn to their assemblies to put the issue to a clan vote. Thereupon, the delegates Zur Kaath and Lok Takar announced their decision to leave, whereupon they left."
Takhya giggled. Eeth was sure that under normal circumstances, Lok would have laughed as well, but right now, the boy looked as if he had seen a ghost and Eeth was not certain he had even heard what A9 had said. He urgently needed to get Lok to their quarters so he could find out what Zur had told him. But first, as impatient as he was to do so, he had to find out what today's events meant for the proceedings.
"A9, my question was related to the procedural implications of the information you gave us," he said. "Specifically, what does it mean to put the issue to a clan vote, why did this incite Lok Takar and Zur Kaath to leave in such a hurry, and what can we expect to happen tomorrow?"
"Ah," said A9. "I apologise for having misunderstood your question. I will certainly do my very best to give you a more satisfactory answer to your queries. A clan vote happens when the assembly is unable to come to a consensus that has the majority of both clans behind it. It means that the clans discuss the matter internally. Since there is no formal system of representation, only clan members who are physically present in the discussion have a say in it, which, I assume, is the reason for which Lok Takar and Zur Kaath had a desire to join their respective clans as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, the delegates will reconvene and announce the results of the clan vote."
"And what happens if there is a tie?" asked Kat. "For example, if the Takar clan voted against and the Kaaths voted in favour?"
"In that case, the delegates will either have another discussion in the assembly or withdraw for another clan vote," said A9.
"That sounds as if it could take a long time," said Kat. "Is there any formal limit to how long the discussions can go on before a decision is made?"
"Regrettably, no," said A9. "The decision-making procedure in cases of conflict may take months or even years, and it may even be postponed indefinitely. Which, I believe, is the main reason for the initiative to reform the political system. The number of crucial issues that had to be put on hold because of a standoff between the Kaath and Takar clans has become too high in recent years due to increasing rivalry between the clans. They were never fond of each other but there were times when pragmatism took precedence over clan pride. This is currently not always the case, however."
"Thank you," said Eeth. "We will reconvene with the clan delegates tomorrow, then, and see what happens. A9, could you have dinner for Master Omir and her padawan sent to their quarters and for my padawan and me to mine? Kat, I am sorry, but I need to talk to Lok in private."
"Of course," said Kat. Lok did not say anything but he conveyed a sense of gratitude to Eeth through their bond. A9 bowed to Eeth in acknowledgment of his request and bustled off.
Once A9 was out of earshot and they had entered the garden on their way to their quarters, Lok said, "Zur said Triz will win this one. He said she always gets her way in the end. I mean… I don't know if he told the truth but how hard can it be for her? Even if the clans are tied, it means that no decision is made and we are kept on hold indefinitely, which is what she wants. She doesn't even need to formally win the vote to get her wish."
"That is true," said Eeth. "It is quite possible that this will be the outcome. We will know tomorrow morning, and then we will decide what to do about it."
"Was that what you were really talking about with Zur?" asked Takhya, pushing open the door to the guest house. "It was obvious that it wasn't geology."
"You," said Kat, "should learn when to keep your mouth shut, padawan. I have no doubt that you will hear about all the important things in due time."
Takhya looked from her master to Eeth, who was giving her a stony look, to Lok, who was pale and absent-minded. "I'm just curious, is all," she mumbled.
"Save your curiosity for later," said Kat and pointed her to their room.
Eeth nodded at them and continued down the corridor to his own suite, with Lok trailing behind him. Eeth opened the door and beckoned for Lok to go inside. He closed the door carefully, rested a hand on Lok's shoulder and guided the boy towards the couch, for once dispensing with the usual ritual of making sure that both of them had hung up their cloaks, pulled off their boots and washed their hands.
"Tell me what happened, padawan," he said softly. Lok looked at him and opened his mouth to speak. His lips started to tremble. And suddenly Eeth found himself wrapping his arms around a padawan who was sobbing his heart out.
"When did I become this type of master?" he wondered fleetingly as he stroked the boy's back. He could not remember ever having comforted a crying Lakhri. This was what Fenya had been there for. Eeth knew that his ability to provide emotional support had improved since then. He had worked hard for it, and he had provided Raven with hugs on numerous occasions that he could remember. But he was still surprised when people actively turned to him for comfort.
It took Lok a while to get his crying under control and Eeth did not push him. Finally, the sobs died down and Eeth produced a handkerchief.
"Sorry," said Lok, wiping tears off his face and blowing his nose. "I didn't mean to–"
"No apology needed," said Eeth. "But I have to admit I would be glad for an explanation."
"Well, Zur says he's my father," said Lok bluntly. "And I think he was telling the truth. At least about that bit. I mean, about the bit where he believes he's my father."
"That… is surprising," said Eeth, and he truly was surprised. "Do you not believe he really is?"
Lok considered the question. "I don't know," he said slowly. "He told me a long story and it seemed convincing. It's just that I'm, I dunno, way too light-skinned for him to be my father. I mean, what are the odds? He said so himself. But then, I suppose it would not be that hard to verify, we'd just have to get a hair of his or something. And he'd know it. All in all, I don't really believe he made this up. He probably is my father."
"You had best tell me the whole story," said Eeth. Lok obliged him. He talked and talked, and Eeth did not interrupt him once. Only when dinner was delivered did he help A9 put the dishes on the table. Then he returned to the couch and let Lok finish his account.
When the boy had run out of things to say, there was a moment's silence.
"You said he might have been lying when he talked about your adoptive parents?" Eeth finally asked.
Lok nodded. "I'm not sure, though," he said. "Kat said he's Force-sensitive. I agree with that, and I think it might be the one thing I inherited from him. Anyway, he's unusually good at concealing his intent and emotions. He might have been lying, or simply withholding relevant information. For all I know, he might have been lying about other stuff as well but this was the only time where I could sense it."
"Then finding out where your adoptive parents are and why they never responded to the Temple's messages will be our first priority," said Eeth. He pulled out his comlink and wrote a short message.
"I have asked Kat to search for planets that fit the description," he told Lok. "Borada or Bodara or a similar name, oceans, and possibly an offer of subsidies to algae farmers in their recent history. We will see if that yields any results. And we will also sit down with Kat, use the maps we have obtained since our arrival and try to identify the place where you grew up, based on her memory and on what Zur told you."
"Thank you, master," said Lok. "I knew you'd know what to do."
Eeth wondered if that was true. He did not, in fact, know what to do. He had simply taken charge, as he was prone to doing.
"Just to make sure," he said. "After having received all this information, and a second warning to boot, you would still not prefer for us to leave?"
"No," said Lok immediately. "First of all, as I told Zur, we do have a mission mandate. With you by my side, I really can't say I'm sufficiently afraid of Triz Takar to suggest aborting the mission. Secondly, I want to find my adoptive family. And thirdly…"
He bit his lip. Eeth rested a hand on his shoulder in silent encouragement.
"From what Zur told me, my mother is evil," Lok finally said, staring at his lap. "I… I guess I'm not quite ready to acknowledge that this is true. I have this kind of perverse urge to find out for myself."
Eeth nodded. "I can understand how you would come to feel this way," he said. "But be careful not to draw rash conclusions. You have one person's version of events. The situation might be a lot more complicated than he told you. Above all, do not undertake any kind of action without consulting me."
Lok gave a curt laugh. "As if I could," he said. "I'm with you 24/7."
"Depending on what happens tomorrow, that might or might not change," said Eeth. "Whatever the case, do I have your word that you will do nothing rash?"
"Of course you do," said Lok, looking Eeth in the eyes. "I haven't done anything stupid so far, have I? And I'm not intending to start now."
Half an hour later, Eeth had coaxed Lok into finishing his dinner and called Kat and Takhya over. He summarized the basics of Lok's account to them as matter-of-factly and succinctly as possible.
"That explains your request for information on Borada-Bodara-whatever," said Kat. "Well, Takhya and I did our best but I'm afraid our results are inconclusive. There are some colonies with vaguely fitting names, such as Bundar and Bodla'ak and Dobarma, but all of them are either very old and densely settled colonies with no recent campaigns to attract new inhabitants, or they have no oceans to speak of."
"You said Zur might not have been entirely truthful when he gave you that bit of information?" Eeth asked Lok.
Lok nodded. "Could it be that they're still on Iroqa and he just didn't want me to go looking for them?" he asked. "I did try to kind of get him to give me the name of the place where they lived but either my effort wasn't very good or he didn't fall for it."
"Sounds like a likely explanation," said Kat. "Maybe he even knows where they are. Force, maybe he even intercepted the Temple's messages to them and that's why they never replied?"
"Do not get carried away," said Eeth. "We have no evidence pointing to any of this. But we will explore all options." He pulled out his comlink and projected an image of Ikto onto the table. "This is the rainbow canyon," he said, pointing to a spot that turned blue. "Zur said you were born somewhere in the vicinity. And where did he say he took you?"
"The most remote place at the coast that was still inhabited," said Lok.
"That's a good piece of information, because thanks to the meetings of the past days, we now have maps that show even the tiny settlements, which we didn't have before," said Kat. "Plus, being on this planet, some memories came back that I didn't even know I had retained. Let's see." She fiddled with her comlink and a moment later, yellow dots appeared all over the continent, marking the settlements.
"If he wanted to get away as far from my birthplace as possible, it would have been either to the Southwest or Northeast, wouldn't it?" asked Takhya. "Because everywhere else is either much closer or isn't inhabited."
"Yes," said Kat. "But I definitely didn't cross the mountain range when I went to find Lok back then, so it can't have been the Southwest."
"There's only a handful of places at the north-western coast of Ikto," said Lok, bending forward to peer at the map. "Can we tell which of them have a hospital?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," said Eeth. "The files they gave us access to contained information on medical facilities." He searched in his database for a moment and then projected a list on the wall. A minute later, the computer started matching the names with the places on the map and some of the yellow dots turned orange.
"There," said Kat, pointing at the one that was furthest to the North-West. "Kanyola. Doesn't tell me anything. But then, it's ten kilometres from the coast. Your adoptive parents lived right at the seaside. Give me a second."
She enlarged the area until the names of all the settlements near Kanyola were clearly visible.
"Yes!" she exclaimed pointing at one of them. "Tavuyla-Istat'thwa. No wonder I didn't remember the name. But that's the place, there's no doubt about it."
"Cool," said Lok, jumping up from his chair to peer at it more closely. "How do we get there?"
"We will talk about that when we have heard about the outcome of the clan vote tomorrow morning," said Eeth.
"Oh, that," said Lok, pulling a face and sitting down again. "Like I told you, Zur said Triz always wins."
Eeth raised his eyebrows. "That might be what he said, but we have no way of knowing if it is true, and even if it has been true in the past, it might not be true tomorrow," he said. "Either way, we will find out whether your adoptive family still lives in Tavuyla-Istat'thwa, and if they do, we will go. But certainly not tonight."
Eeth meditated with Lok for a good hour that night, and then they turned in early. Despite the excitement of the day, or maybe because of it, Lok fell asleep almost instantly. Eeth lay awake a little longer. He was just dozing off when he was jolted awake by the buzzing of his comlink. The motion sensor in Lok's room had been set off.
He instantly decided against waking Lok. The boy had been through more than enough for one day. Instead, Eeth silently slid out of bed and tiptoed to the living room. Reaching out with his senses and his Force awareness, he found nothing – no sound and no indication of a living being in Lok's room next door. Frowning, he moved towards the balcony, and while he did so, he pulled out his comlink and alerted Kat.
"The motion sensor has been triggered," he told her when she answered the call. "But I can sense no one in Lok's room. Is Takhya asleep?"
"Yes," said Kat.
"Alright," said Eeth. "Open your door and watch the corridor. But do not leave your quarters, just in case someone is using this as a diversion to get at Takhya. I will go in through the garden window. If there are droids or something, prevent their escape. But I do not think there is anyone there. I cannot even sense movement. This is really strange."
He put the comlink away, silently opened the balcony door, climbed onto the railing and jumped over to Lok's windowsill. The window was closed from the inside. Clinging to the railing with his left, Eeth pulled out his saber and sliced the window glass clean out of the frame. And then he had to hold his breath because the air coming out of the room smelled foul. Stilling his breathing completely, Eeth glided into the room, pulled out his scanner and had it analyse the air. While it did, he used his torch to search for clues, but there were none – no containers or other traces of how the gas might have entered the room. The only thing that he noticed was that the air in the bathroom was noticeably thicker than in the bedroom. Once the analysis was complete, he glanced at the results, flung open the remaining windows and the door to the corridor and stepped outside to take a breath. And then he went to talk to Kat.
"My analysis shows that the gas would have rendered him unconscious for a day or so, and probably quite queasy afterwards, but it would not have killed him," he told her. "I could not find any hint of how it entered the room but it was thickest in the bathroom, so I assume somebody pumped it in through the air ducts."
"Probably," said Kat. "But what for? Were they going to go in and abduct him?"
"They would have had a hard time accomplishing that without us noticing," said Eeth. "I could sense no one in the vicinity. But it is possible, of course, that they had some way of watching our windows and saw my torch, in which case they would have aborted their plan. Or Zyle was asked to keep watch in some way, even though there is no sign of her around. It is also possible that this was merely another clumsy attempt at scaring us off."
"Or at keeping Lok bed-ridden for a few days?" Kat suggested.
"Equally possible," said Eeth. "Either way, we are certainly not leaving. They are just giving us all the more reason to try and get to the bottom of this."
"So you don't think what Lok has found out today is the whole truth?" Kat asked.
"Strictly speaking, Lok has not found out anything," said Eeth. "Zur chose to tell him things. Whether he told him the whole truth, or part of it, or his own version of events remains to be seen. Lok's history aside, the political future of Iroqa is at stake, and I am less than confident that it would be a good idea to leave it to the Kaaths and Takars to sort it out amongst themselves."
"True that," said Kat, yawning. "Alright. If that's all, I'm going back to bed in the hopes of getting some sleep before the next botched assassination attempt happens, or whatever they decide to throw at us."
The edges of Eeth's mouth twitched slightly. "I suppose," he said, "that is all we can do, for now."
When Eeth told Lok about all of this during breakfast, the boy was not pleased.
"You should have woken me up," he said hotly, glaring at Eeth. "I'm not a baby!"
"I did not say you were," said Eeth sternly. "But there was absolutely nothing to be gained by making you or anyone else miss out on their sleep."
"Oh, but it was okay for you to miss out on your sleep?" Lok asked sarcastically.
Eeth raised his eyebrows. "I did not," he said. "There was no point in staying awake the whole night on account of a scheme that was either ill-planned or completely staged but in either case posed no acute danger to any of us."
"No, my biological mother was just trying to poison me, but hey, no harm done!" said Lok angrily, jamming a fork into his sandwich a lot harder than necessary.
"Padawan, calm down," said Eeth sharply. "And do not jump to conclusions."
"Well, who else would it have been?" Lok demanded to know. "And can you really blame me for being upset about it?"
Eeth was silent for a moment. Then he said, "No. But you need to get a handle on your emotions. Whoever set this up, and I am once again warning you not to jump to conclusions, was not out to kill you. But they might very well have been out to upset you and make you do something rash."
From the look on Lok's face, Eeth knew that he had gotten through to the boy. "After breakfast, we will meditate together, padawan," he said gently. "And then we will go downstairs and see about the outcome of the clan vote."
"Triz will win," said Lok dully. "She always does."
"The fact that you seem to share some DNA with her does not suddenly make you the ultimate expert on the workings of this planet," said Eeth, who was starting to feel fed up with the boy's unconstructive attitude. "We will see what happens and then we will decide where to go from there. Now stop complaining and eat your porridge."
Lok heaved a deep and somewhat aggravated sigh. But he obeyed. Since Eeth felt he could hardly ask for a positive reaction to all the revelations Lok had had about his origins, he let the matter rest. For now.
The atmosphere was tense in the meeting room, and Eeth got the feeling that this was not just because of the conflict between the Takars and the Kaaths but also due to disagreements within the clans. Lok and Kartha Takar were arguing, and so were Kol and Triz Kaath. Triz Takar looked wooden and Zur Kaath inscrutable, as he always did.
"So. The result of the clan vote," said Kol Kaath, once everyone was seated. "The Kaath clan is in favour of giving the Jedi time and the necessary resources to investigate the situation of the colony, in the hopes that this will enable them to make solid proposals for a sorely-needed reform."
Most of the Kaaths present nodded in agreement although Eeth could not help but notice that a few of them looked rather reserved. Including Triz and Zur Kaath. But with Zur, it was hard to tell.
There was a moment's silence. Kol looked at Triz Takar, who now looked as if she had bitten on a lemon.
"The Takar clan's vote?" he asked politely.
"The Takar clan," said Triz slowly and with obvious reluctance, "is tied. After careful deliberation, we decided to… abstain."
Eeth could tell that he was not the only one who was surprised. The Kaaths were too stunned to speak for a moment, and Zyle's scales changed to an ominous green.
"Thank you," he said, rising from his seat. "In this case, I propose that we take today and tomorrow to gain a first impression and reconvene here the day after tomorrow."
"Of course," Kol said, rising from his chair as well and bowing to him. "Our clan will be happy to put a speeder at your disposal."
"So will ours," said Triz quickly and decisively, rising as well.
"Thank you," said Eeth. "That will be practical, in case we decide to split up." He was under no illusion that this would guarantee them much privacy. They were going to be watched, probably even by both clans. Still, this outcome was much better than anything they could have hoped for, and he could tell by the looks on the other Jedis' faces that they agreed.
While the speeders were being fetched, the four of them went upstairs to prepare for their outing and discuss their plans for the day.
"I don't suppose we can go to Tavuyla-Istat'thwa," said Lok.
"No," said Eeth. "Not today. That would be way too suspicious. We might have an opportunity to explore the continent at a later stage."
"But what we can do, theoretically, is to find people who could make inquiries for us," said Kat.
Eeth considered this proposal. "We could," he finally said. "But we will have to be extremely cautious about it. We do not want to endanger anyone with our investigation."
"But this is not the kind of planet where the Secret Service is everywhere, is it?" asked Lok.
"No," said Eeth. "If anything, it is too disorganised for that to happen. And that will be our advantage. Still, we will be watched and we have to be mindful of that. Besides, we do have a mission mandate. Our first goal should be to gather information and make allies. Ideally outside the Kaath and Takar clans."
"Agreed," said Kat.
Lok scowled and opened his mouth to speak, but Eeth beat him to it.
"Lok, we will find a way to combine your quest for your adoptive parents with our mission mandate," he said. "I propose we stick together for today to gain a first impression. Tomorrow, Lok and I will do what everyone will expect me to do, which is to seek out some high-profile representatives of social groups, trade unions and so on. While Lok and I do that, Kat and Takhya visit markets, parks, cafes and other public venues and talk to people."
"We can do that," said Kat. "And these people might just include fish sellers, algae merchants or other people with connections to the coast."
"As long as I don't have to eat algae," Takhya said, pulling a face.
"If there is nothing worse in your future than a meal of algae, you may count yourself lucky, padawan," Lok said sternly in a voice that was so remarkably like Eeth's that Takhya burst out laughing and even Kat's face twitched. Eeth never quite knew how to react to these things since he had no idea why they were considered so funny. He merely pointed a stern look at Lok and said, "Let us all put on sunblock and go out into the city."
The Jedi decided to forgo the speeders for now and walk, since their quarters were located in the city centre and the most obviously interesting places for them to visit were within walking distance. Zyle seemed to have given up on tailing them, or maybe she had been told to leave them alone. Either way, she was nowhere to be seen, and nobody missed her company. Eeth had to admit that their confinement had been grating on him, and this seemed to be even more the case with the padawans. Takhya had to visibly restrain herself from running to and fro, and even Lok's spirits were lifting. They headed for the central market first, which was a large, flat building with hundreds of stalls. It was very crowded and noisy. People were giving them curious looks but Eeth could sense no hostility; on the contrary, they were welcoming, and possibly even excited. The Jedi explored for half an hour or so, examining everything from the fruit stalls to the aquariums with live fish and crustaceans, to the spacious inner courtyard where livestock was sold. Eeth was just considering buying them a type of iced fruit drink that seemed to be popular with locals when someone tapped on his shoulder.
"Yes?" he asked, turning around to face a dark-skinned, middle-aged human woman.
"Are you the Jedi delegation?" she asked without preliminaries.
"We are," said Eeth.
"Good," she said in a businesslike manner. "I had been wondering whether we would get to see you at all. It started to seem as if the Kaaths and Takars were keeping you from the rest of the population. But we have grievances, too, and we were looking forward to your mediation."
"And you are?" asked Kat politely.
"Oh, my apologies," said the woman. "Rassma Balila, spokeswoman of the market merchants. May I invite you to have a drink with me?"
A few minutes later, they were seated in a rooftop pavilion overlooking the market and being served the exact same iced fruit drinks that Eeth had considered buying. They were brought by Rassma's assistant, a young, untattooed Zabrak man. Eeth noticed Lok looking at him with some curiosity.
"In case you are wondering, this is watered-down elera juice," said Rassma. "A local specialty."
"Eleras are the fruit of a desert plant from Iridonia, as far as I know" said Eeth. "Do you import them or do they grow locally?"
"They grow locally," said Rassma. "The original Zabrak settlers made a great effort at replicating Iridonia as best they could. It worked better with some things than with others. Our elera fruit taste much, much better than they do on Iridonia. The local climate and soil suit them."
Eeth took a sip of his drink and tended to agree. "This is very good," he said.
"It's delicious," Takhya affirmed, emptying her entire glass in one go. "Can I have more?"
"Takhya!" scolded Kat, giving her leg a light swat. "Mind your manners."
"It's quite alright," said Rassma. "Ouras? Can you bring us more?"
"Sure," said Ouras and headed for the stairs to the market hall. Lok looked after him for a moment.
"So," said Rassma. "Given that all of you are Zabrak and you spent the past days conversing with our non-elected leaders… How open are you to discussing the situation of this colony with the non-Zabrak parts of the population?"
"Very open," said Eeth. "Our mission mandate asks us to help the colony develop a working mode of political representation that involves all citizens of Iroqa. We have received ample information about the Kaath and Takar points of view and interests but this is the first time we have a chance to learn what others think."
"Including Zabrak who are not members of the Kaath and Takar clans," said Lok, "such as your assistant."
Rassma laughed. "He doesn't count as Zabrak," she said. "He's been adopted by a human family as a baby. My cousin's, in fact. Much like you, he decided against undergoing the rites. That being said, you're right. There are many Zabrak on this colony who are neither Kaath nor Takar and would love to have a say in how things are run."
"Our aim is to give them that opportunity," said Eeth.
Soon, they were engrossed in a discussion with Rassma about infrastructural problems, production shortages, the insufficient management of imports and exports, and the lack of protection for local producers.
"Ever since the Takars started their love affair with the Falleen, for example, we are being swamped with imported textiles because apparently a Falleen textile producer is part of their clientele network," said Rassma.
"Yeah, and the stuff they offer is cheap," said Ouras. "Worse quality than what we produce locally, but cheaper."
He noticed Lok's curious look and gave him a friendly grin, which Lok returned.
Later, when they were having lunch in a back chamber with Rassma, the head of the biggest regional farming cooperative and a few merchants, Lok ended up sitting between Eeth and Ouras. Eeth suspected that this was no coincidence; Ouras seemed just as interested in Lok as Lok was in Ouras.
"You're not Zabrak-Zabrak either, are you?" Ouras asked Lok.
Lok hesitated. "Well, first and foremost, I'm a Jedi padawan," he said. "But even before I came to the Temple, I was not raised by Zabrak. In fact–" He broke off and gave Eeth a questioning look. Eeth got his meaning immediately. Normally, he would have advised caution. But his instincts told him that these people were to be trusted. And thus, he nodded at Lok to go ahead.
"I learned a short while ago that I was born on Iroqa and adopted by an Iktotchi family on the coast," Lok told Ouras in a low voice. "But we've been unable to find them. And please keep this to yourself!"
Ouras gave him a surprised look. "Wow," he said. "From Iroqa? That's a coincidence. Well. Unless it isn't a coincidence, of course. Did you really come here to find your adoptive family, then?"
"Partly," said Lok. "But the main reason was what my master said. We're serious about helping the colony negotiate a better political system. Still… I'd be more than glad to find my adoptive parents while we're here. I can't remember them but apparently, they were quite loving."
Ouras nodded. "Where did they live?" he asked.
"A small place called Tavuyla-Istat'thwa," said Lok, who had obviously memorised the name. "Near Kanyola."
"Kanyola!" said Ouras. "That's where Rassma is from. Wait a second."
He rose, squeezed past Kat and Takhya, bent down to Rassma and whispered in her ear for a moment. Then he gave Lok the thumbs up.
"Tell me all you know," he said as he sat back down. "I'll note it down and Rassma will make inquiries."
"Thank you," said Lok. "I'm truly grateful. I don't know how to make it up to you!"
"You don't have to," said Ouras. "You're already making up for it through your presence. A lot of things have been boiling under the surface for a long time, and your arrival brought them up. If we can help with such a little thing, we're happy to. And if there's anything else we can do – people you'd like to meet, places you'd like to see – let me know."
By the end of lunch, they had the comm numbers of everyone at the table, as well as a list of people it would be worth consulting.
"We might want to start with Kayen Kognan, the owner of the city's largest building company," said Eeth. "Or the head of cargo at the local spaceport? Or should we split up?"
"Whatever," said Lok, yawning. Eeth frowned, starting to utter a reprimand, but then he realised that Lok was genuinely tired. And so was Takhya. It was three in the afternoon, the peak of the noon heat, and they had been talking to people non-stop since breakfast. Eeth assumed it must be draining for the padawans.
"We could also… take a break," he said, "and in the meantime, I could make calls and arrange meetings for tonight and tomorrow."
"Could we?" asked Takhya. "That would be great."
"Ouras said something about a pool," said Lok.
"Did he?" asked Kat, perking up. "Is it far?"
"I think it's on the outskirts of the city," admitted Lok. "Not exactly around the corner."
Eeth hesitated. But he could tell that, while none of his team was ready to say so, they would all love to go. And they had not had a proper workout in days, after all, he reasoned.
"Let us get back to our quarters, take a speeder and go to the pool, then," he said – and was rather surprised to be pulled into a heartfelt hug by a padawan who, he suddenly realised, had grown to be just as tall as he was. But then, he now knew, Lok's biological parents were tall people.