Master Apprentice
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(continued from part 17)
Nollon Cas Lon met Mekall in front of the healers' wards. When he was first briefed on Obi-Wan's case, Cas Lon had been disposed toward Keyden Zhy's theory that Obi-Wan was in question. As he had attended Obi-Wan through the night, Cas Lon's opinion had changed. He was confident that Obi-Wan had not knowingly ventured close to the dark side. He now had to determine if he thought the same of Obi-Wan's bondmate.
As they walked down the long corridors on their way to a consultation chamber, Mekall decided he would not wait until they arrived to begin his side of the interrogation. "What's Obi-Wan's condition?"
"There has been no improvement," Cas Lon answered. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"I've been better," Mekall said.
"I'd imagine so," Cas Lon responded, assessing Mekall. He was kempt if unshaven; his eyes held the look of a man fighting an all-but-conceded battle. He still bore the marks of Kenobi's fingers on his neck. "Did you experience any bond anomalies overnight?"
"Not that I noticed. Were you up with Obi-Wan all night?"
"Yes."
"Did he experience any?"
"None of significance. You noted no changes in your bond? Fluctuations? Fragmentation that was not occurring prior to Knight Zhy's placement?"
Having already answered Cas Lon's question, Mekall asked a followup to his own query. "What insignificant changes?"
"There has been no improvement," Cas Lon reiterated.
"Zhy stays there?"
"Knight Zhy is with Padawan Kenobi, yes. Their link seems to degrade if physical separation is too prolonged."
"I know who he is and what they do," Mekall said. Thinking of Zhy in such prolonged close contact with Obi-Wan made Mekall's skin crawl.
"What he is doing is supporting a very debilitated young man," Cas Lon stated. "Did you sleep?"
"Why -" do you keep asking about me? Mekall cut his words off, but that didn't stop an internal diatribe.
I know what you're doing and you will not distract me with trivia. I'm standing right next to you. Use your eyes. You can see how I am. I slept. I ate. My bond symptoms are no worse than they've been. Inane questions tend to provoke me.
But he doesn't know, does he? Mekall realized he was looking at the Jedi through younger eyes. He can't read your mind. They're not magicians, for all they are exceptionally attuned. You're an unknown. He wants to hear what you have to say, to uncover your motives. Give him what he needs and maybe you'll get what you want.
"Like the dead," Mekall answered. "It's the remaining upright with eyes opened that's tough. I did wonder if that might be due to the clutter in the bond."
Cas Lon noted Mekall's flare up and his ability to suppress it, thinking his Jedi training still served him. "If the differentiation is the reason," he offered, "I can work with you to circumvent it."
Differentiation, Mekall replayed Cas Lon's word choice in his head. Is that what we're calling it? "I'm hoping the brevity of my artificial separation from Obi-Wan will make that unnecessary," he said.
"Time is a crucial consideration," Cas Lon observed, his tone solemn.
They had reached their destination. Mekall sat down and Cas Lon brought him caff and an ashtray. Mekall was about to thank him, then negated the impulse. Cas Lon had done his homework, that was all. It was what they did. Mekall poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid and lit a cheroot. "You think he's gone dark," he asserted in an attempt to claim the high ground from the outset.
"No, I don't," the master said without hesitation as he too sat down.
Mekall thought he heard emphasis on the word I. "Zhy does?"
"Whether he does or does not isn't especially relevant to our conversation."
"It is insofar as whether the Council decides to jettison Obi-Wan, which they may well."
"Our aim is not to predict the will of the Council. While they do, of necessity, have responsibilities above and beyond the validity of your soul bond -"
Temper flaring, Mekall was out of his seat instantly. "Validity!"
"Mekall," Cas Lon put himself in Mekall's path, "if you're going to take umbrage every time I am direct, you will be spending an undue amount of time on your feet and this will be an overlong, unproductive meeting."
Cas Lon gestured toward Mekall's chair. Challenged, Mekall reoccupied it, quelling the small fire left smoldering inside him as a result of backing down.
"The fight yesterday," Cas Lon inquired as he took his seat again, "what precipitated it?"
Mekall recounted the events of the early morning, ending when Obi-Wan left for the healers.
"What happened when Padawan Kenobi got back to the rooms?" Cas Lon specified.
"He wasn't making much sense. He started packing. Told me he was going to leave," Mekall abridged extensively. "I said I wouldn't go with him."
"And he struck out at you?" Cas Lon supplied what Mekall had not.
"Yes." When Cas Lon was of a mind to, he had patience without limit. He did not have that luxury this morning. Everything they did here came with a time limit, once the Council went into session.
Mekall was correct, with a breach as severe and widely felt as Obi-Wan's, conservatives amongst the Council might push for the padawan's expulsion. If the Council ruled against him, Cas Lon would not defy them; he would hand Obi-Wan over. If the Council came to the conclusion Mekall was behind Obi-Wan's fall, he too would be taken into custody and subjected to probes, both mental and physical. Worse yet, he might be handed over to the Shalonn Vittran.
Cas Lon had to establish sufficient proof in his own mind that Mekall's actions were untainted, that he had only been trying to protect Obi-Wan, and get that proof to the Council before they finished their debate. He had to get Mekall to speak more freely.
"You are aware that the Council session is being convened as we speak?"
"Master Jinn told me."
"Then can you please explain to me why you're being so recalcitrant. This is a matter of Obi-Wan's life, and yours. We may have very little time."
Because I don't trust you, Mekall wanted to shout at him, but he breathed out his aversion to where he was and what he was doing. Resting his cheroot in the ashtray, he asked, "What could I say that would change a Council member's mind about anything?"
"It is not their minds you need to change."
Mekall nodded his understanding, appreciating Cas Lon's astringent honesty.
"Start from the beginning," Cas Lon said. "Take me through your rescue of Padawan Kenobi."
Cause and effect, Mekall reflected. Jedi analysis. Everything can be reasoned out, given enough information. He did as Cas Lon asked, recounting what had occurred from the time he arrived at Dharuje's up until the night Obi-Wan regained consciousness. When he was finished, Cas Lon did not speak. He merely continued watching him. Levelly. Steadily. Relentlessly.
"And?" Mekall demanded curtly after a long minute, failing at matching the Jedi master's impassivity.
Cas Lon made no reply.
"Have I ever done anything more corrupt than gamble with questionable types? Yes. Have I ever raped anyone? No. Dharuje had paid for Obi-Wan. He wouldn't have given him up for nothing. It was business."
"Rape is business?" Cas Lon asked.
The question made Mekall's eye begin to throb again. "Owning people is business as usual on many worlds, as you well know." He closed the offending eye and ran his finger lightly over the lid. "Control of a Jedi is a lucrative commodity. Something else I'd think you'd know. Dharuje bought and sold items of worth. Sometimes he kept things he fancied. Do you expect me to defend his practices?"
Cas Lon let Mekall continue to cross-examine himself, as he seemed so inclined.
"For the past couple of years I haven't had much more to do with him than the occasional game of chance, but there were times we did business together. Maybe not right, certainly not simple, but no more than day to day survival on Larral. Obi-Wan wasn't the first person I rescued for Hilty either," Mekall finished.
"Hilty was your partner?" Cas Lon inquired.
The question and its resultant tug on his heart brought Mekall up short.
What was that? Nostalgia for life prior to five weeks ago? Remorse? No, it was more straightforward than that. He missed Hilty: his friendship, his heart, his calm. Singular how annoying he found serenity among the Jedi. Hilty's inner peace had been his wellspring of balance, and he counted his own centeredness as one of his strongest attributes - when he chose to call upon it.
"Hilty was . . . not, as it turned out," Mekall said after a time.
"Your personal records are sketchy," Cas Lon redirected Mekall to topic.
"At best, I should hope," Mekall said distractedly, still picturing home, wondering when and if he might get a response to the message he had sent to Larral two days before.
"From whom were you hiding?" Cas Lon asked.
Mekall put out his smoke with studied precision and lit another. He was not going to answer what he considered to be an asinine question. It should have been obvious, even to a learned Jedi master, that he was hiding from the order.
"Once you'd seen he was a Jedi, you could have left Padawan Kenobi where he was. You carried on with the rescue. Why?"
"I'd told Hilty I would and I thought . . . " Why, indeed? "I don't know," Mekall said with a shake of his head.
"Did you want to make amends?" Cas Lon asked.
"No," Mekall denied vehemently.
"To take revenge then."
"No. When I discovered it was a Jedi, he was a Jedi, I did think about leaving him there, but . . . I couldn't, that's all."
"Yet you saw fit to mindwipe him."
"I didn't -" Hearing that word - a coarse reference to his work which Mekall despised - caused an unfortunate knee-jerk response.
I didn't mean to? Mekall finished the sentence in his head. Genius, he chastised himself, say something. As it is now, you're denying having done it. Which was almost amusing. The venerable bastard just kept staring at him with those unblinking two-tone eyes. "Yes, but the extent of it was unintentional," Mekall amended.
"Please explain."
Mekall had little taste for relating more details, but he told Cas Lon when and why he had decided to use the extron.
"You still thought you could send him away?" Cas Lon asked when Mekall paused.
"I planned to."
"But you were unable to."
"It was . . . impossible to," Mekall's voice had dropped to a whisper. "I think he had me . . . from the first . . ." Mekall stared off unseeing, adrift in the memories, the forgotten cheroot burning down in his hand.
Letting Mekall remain lost in his thoughts, Cas Lon used a tendril of Force to probe him. There was no stain of darkness within him. And, while Cas Lon would not say he trusted him, he felt Mekall was becoming more honest with him. "When were you able to restore his memory? Mekall?"
Hearing his name brought Mekall back to the present. He reviewed the last minute and picked up Cas Lon's question. "Bits and pieces came back pretty quickly," he answered, then lapsed into silence again as his thoughts returned to the first few nights with Obi-Wan.
Cas Lon's expression sharpened in concentration. A Council decision was not the only deadline they faced.
Master-apprentice bonds were fairly easily rerouted, especially so in this case, as that bond had been dormant. The soul bond was a different matter. Over the course of the day and night, Obi-Wan had continued to decline, causing him to increase his draw on the soul bond and thus on Zhy.
Early this morning, with his ability to sustain himself, the differentiation and Obi-Wan waning, Zhy had realigned the buffering fields to allow limited Force use back into Obi-Wan's control. Unwilling or unable to accept it, Obi-Wan had only weakened. Cas Lon had begun supplementing the intercession. Even so, Obi-Wan was failing; hour by hour, they were losing him.
Mekall was, essentially, Obi-Wan's last hope. But, if Obi-Wan had taken a turn for the worst and it was affecting his bondmate through all the controls which were in place, Mekall might not be able to save his bondmate or himself.
"Bits and pieces?" Cas Lon picked up the thread of Mekall's last response, cueing Mekall back to the present once more.
Unaware of his dissipation until Cas Lon nudged him out of it, Mekall took a deep breath and sat straighter in his chair. He could not keep this up for much longer. The part of him that sought to reveal everything seemed to have been left in the fetid dust of yesterday. He glanced at the cheroot which had turned to ash in his hand. It felt like a personal critique.
He needed out of here and away from this man; he needed contact with Obi-Wan. Mutually exclusive imperatives. He would have paid good money for advice as to what to do next, even from Qui-Gon. Fortunately, the decision made itself. There was only one way he had any chance of getting to Obi-Wan and that way was sitting across from him.
Mekall pulled himself together as best he could and told Cas Lon the whole story, from his and Obi-Wan's early, errant forays into the soul bond through extricating Hilty and the departure from Larral. Mekall was describing the initial days on the Tavin - and deciding what to omit about the rest of the journey - when Cas Lon stopped him.
"Was it Obi-Wan's idea to return to the Jedi Temple or yours?"
It was an insightful question. Mekall's gaze rose to meet the master's. Cas Lon's eyes bored into him. Mekall took his time, withdrawing and lighting another cheroot. "Mine," he said at last.
"Obi-Wan did not want to come back?"
"Yes and no. He had . . . misgivings."
"Of what sort."
"Of the sort that can happen after one's been beaten half to death, raped in a cargo hold, left in a cage to rot and then has to pass before the appraising eyes of one's beloved master and the Jedi Council. And the senior psychological practitioner."
"Had Obi-Wan met his responsibilities to himself and the order from the outset, no one here would have judged him," Cas Lon contended.
And that's not judgment? Mekall thought, not restraining an exhalation of derision. Gods, he was tired of talking. When not fighting, Mekall decided, all a Jedi wanted to do was talk you to death. When was he going to be able to make his appeal to see Obi-Wan? Whatever had or had not happened, if he could be with Obi-Wan, he could fix it. All he really wanted was to take his bondmate and go home. Except he had no home and Obi-Wan wasn't going anywhere. Mekall caught his attention wandering again. Why did that keep happening? The bond was supposed to be in stasis. He should not have been this tired. He'd slept all night, even if it was on the couch. "How do you intend to treat Obi-Wan?" he asked, giving the straightforward approach one last shot.
"We are doing all that can be done," Cas Lon replied. He was encouraged by Mekall's attempt to rally. Having long since decided he would bring Mekall and Obi-Wan together, the one remaining factor he wanted to gauge was what Mekall would do if their interview seemed to be producing the opposite result. "I think we should reconvene later," he said. "I can see you're tired. It's been a demanding time."
"I'm all right," Mekall said, feeling transparent. "When do I get to see him?" "You've been told you cannot."
"What if I refuse to take that for an answer?"
"I could have you sedated and restrained."
"I don't think you will. I think you want something from me."
It was what Cas Lon wanted to hear. There was much to gain if Mekall was willing to attempt what he had in mind and little to lose. "Come with me," he said, and he got to his feet.
Walking next to Nollon Cas Lon, Mekall could not entirely shake the notion that he was being politely led to a rancor's pit. Juvenile paranoia, he derided himself. This is why you put up with that inquisition. And we are getting closer to Obi-Wan. Or Zhy. Well, both. Would it be both?
"As an initiate or since, have you come across the Shalonn Vittran?" Cas Lon asked.
"I've never dealt with them personally, no," Mekall replied.
"What do you know of them?"
"It means the path of balance. They deal with Jedi who go dark." "That is one definition of the term," Cas Lon confirmed. "The Shalonn Vittran work to ensure the protection of the Jedi against darkness, from within and without, by any means necessary. I am one of th -"
"So you were in on this -"
"If you would let me finish. It's been some years since I served actively. I disagree with their evaluation."
"They do think he's turned," Mekall said.
"Zhy thinks you are both questionable," Cas Lon disclosed. "Their Advisory will follow his recommendations. My assessment of it is that Obi-Wan's breakdown stemmed from a combination of physical and psychological duress and soul bonding."
"So it's my fault," Mekall responded.
"Did you intend to bond with your soulmate when you went to Dharuje's?" Cas Lon inquired.
"I thought I was cohabiting with my soulmate when I went to Dharuje's."
"Yes. You've said. Tell me then how I've impugned you?"
Mekall had no answer.
"I want to be very clear with you," Cas Lon continued. "The Council could reach a verdict at any time. If they decide to censure Obi-Wan, or both you and Obi-Wan, I will not oppose them. That is why I must get to the Council chamber as quickly as possible, before they make their determination.
"However, there is an equally pressing concern. We have tried any number of methods to revive Obi-Wan. He has shown little or no response. In the last few hours, Knight Zhy has been allowing a measure of Force use to be made available to Obi-Wan. With it, Obi-Wan should be able to stabilize himself within the Force. It is the normal reaction of a Force wielder in this situation, but it has not been Obi-Wan's.
"When I was last in the room, any attempt Zhy made to engage Obi-Wan was causing him to withdraw further into himself. On the chance that Obi-Wan was perceiving Zhy as an adversarial entity -"
And who wouldn't? Mekall's mental voice piped up.
"in his mind," Cas Lon went on, "I advised Zhy to try completely removing himself from some aspects of their link. Doing so caused Obi-Wan to decompensate."
Mekall stopped walking. He could literally feel blood vessels in his skull constricting. How could Cas Lon not have foreseen that outcome?
Cas Lon stopped beside him. "Yes. We must act and we must be quick about it."
Quick? You mean we must be Jedi about it, Mekall almost said aloud. He lowered his head, unconsciously putting a hand to his temple.
"I do not sense darkness in either you or Obi-Wan," Cas Lon said.
Isn't that nice, Mekall thought, glancing up. The corridor rippled in his vision and did a little flip. His stomach performed an answering one. Everybody's a critic, he denounced his restive innards as he drew and released a deep but quiet breath.
"I am prepared to testify to that to whomever might require such attestation," Cas Lon added, disturbed by Mekall's demeanor.
Here it comes, Mekall thought. But . . .
"I need not tell you I cannot endorse bringing another outside party into the differentiation as it stands." Cas Lon paused, again waiting for a response from Mekall. "But," he went on, "I believe you can reach Obi-Wan if we bifurcate the current arrangement."
Mekall straightened up to get a good look at Cas Lon. Did he say bifurcate? A three-way? Mekall felt a giddy snicker threaten.
"There is only one remaining obstacle," Cas Lon said.
About Obi-Wan attempting to strangle you with his bare hands . . .
"I must know what happened between you and Obi-Wan immediately prior to his break."
Right the first time, Mekall congratulated himself. He had submitted to Cas Lon's interrogation because he sensed the master had as much say about the fate of his soul bond as the Jedi Council. But that was also why he had kept to the minimum when recounting Obi-Wan's actions. Obi-Wan trying to kill him was bad, but if that was all Cas Lon or any of them knew, what Obi-Wan had done might be ruled an aberration, purely a psychological break, saving him from the wrath of the Jedi order. Mekall still had half a mind to stick to that version of the story.
Half a mind to? Who are you kidding? he reminded himself. You've barely got half a mind left here.
"Mekall," Cas Lon warned, "I -- -- -- -- caution you, -- -- -- -- finds you caused -- -- -- -- -- -- -- decline, the consequences -- -- -- -- -- -- -- swift and severe."
Oh, for - Cas Lon's admonition was obscured by a pulse beat drumming away at triple-time in Mekall's head.
How can I bargain with him if I can only hear half of what he's saying? The pressure in his head was getting worse and a throbbing had settled in behind his eyes. He longed to close them, if just for a minute.
How did I get myself into this?
Never mind, a second voice in his head responded. You don't really want the answer to that.
The voice in his head was talking to itself. That was a good sign.
"Mekall?" Cas Lon's expression indicated Mekall had missed something else.
Wait, Mekall thought. All right . . . All right, just . . . wait. Okay. Okay . . .
Okay?! The second voice was a nag. Are you joking? Give it up, you're done for. Who do you think you're kidding? Save Obi-Wan? Right now you couldn't save a credit with a banking consortium. Tell him. You haven't got a chance otherwise. You might as well tell him and get it over with. Go on, tell him. What are you waiting for, exactly? You want to see Obi-Wan, don't you?
"Mekall." Cas Lon's tone was stern. Mekall found the obsession with his name exasperating, but anything which arrested the inner chant was welcome.
Okay, c'mon, the reasonable voice in Mekall's head answered back. You have to concentrate.
Center.
That's it.
Even out the breathing.
Good.
Now, let go of the pain . . .
Mekall shut his eyes and pictured blank space, willing the pulsing and ache to drain away. When he opened his eyes, Cas Lon was staring at him intently.
"It was Obi-Wan's Force implementation which precipitated the violence between you, was it not?" Cas Lon insisted.
Better, Mekall assessed. At least I can hear whole sentences again.
"There is no time for this," Cas Lon made a last ditch effort to get the whole truth from Mekall. "If you are going to continue censoring yourself in this ill-conceived attempt to protect Obi-Wan, there is nothing I can do to help you, or him.
"Your bondmate will die. I advise you to check back into the healing wards. The severing of a soul bond by death is an ugly, wrenching business." Cas Lon began to stride away.
Mekall knew Cas Lon's words were meant to provoke him, but he also had a suspicion the Jedi was quite capable of leaving him standing there.
"Master." He went after and overtook Cas Lon, unaware he had addressed him by his proper title, "you can't let Obi-Wan die."
"I would not be the one doing so," Cas Lon said.
"You'll see to it that he won't be cast out of the order," Mekall stipulated.
"Mekall, let us do what we can to see that you and he survive before -"
"Promise me. I'm not asking much. His name will be cleared, either way."
"If it is within my power."
"It's within your power," Mekall said.
Cas Lon took a short time to evaluate the request, holding Mekall's gaze as he did so. Pain and fatigue were radiating from Mekall. Cas Lon doubted he would be on his feet much longer, let alone prove to be any help to Obi-Wan.
"I will do what I can," Cas Lon said, loosening Mekall's grip on his forearm.
"I'm -" Embarrassed, Mekall backed away. His impulse was to apologize, but he'd be damned if he would. What had he been reduced to?
"If -" he began again but could not carry on. He was out of options and he knew it. Good deals were not made when one was desperate, especially when the other party knew how desperate one was. Qui-Gon's gentle reassurance at the firstmeal table flashed unbidden through his mind.
Cas Lon continued to eye Mekall in his inscrutable manner.
"I . . ." Mekall started a third time. He had to give his assent, but could not. Get a hold of yourself. Just say 'I'll do it. I will do it. I . . . will . . .
"I . . . want Qui-Gon there."
Cas Lon looked mildly flummoxed and Mekall, while he did not know where the words had come from, experienced a momentary sense of reprieve.
It took Cas Lon a few moments to incorporate the new demand into his analyses. Mekall had caught him off-guard. He should have thought of Qui-Gon himself. He had the right to be present. There was no longer a question of his adversely affecting Obi-Wan's treatment. If it also appeased Mekall, so much the better.
Cas Lon agreed and went to make the necessary com call.
Mekall moved to the side of the hallway. He took out a cheroot, leaning against the wall to light it. His hands shook as they came toward his face.
Finished with his call, Cas Lon approached. Mekall's eyes followed the Jedi who seemed to float, not walk, over to him. Mekall blinked to clear his vision.
Not quite succeeding in writing the visual anomaly off to exhaustion and the slight haze of smoke, Mekall took a deep drag from his slim cigar and put it out against the sole of his boot before Cas Lon had the chance to comment on it.
Cas Lon's call found Qui-Gon in the Archives.
Having eaten firstmeal and meditated, Qui-Gon had gone looking for something to occupy his time. It was not until he sat down to update his personal journal that it occurred to him he had forgotten all about Arcan 3.
Upon arriving at the Archives, he had been informed that responsibility for the project had passed to Henet Ga'uun. As it was early morning, Henet would undoubtedly be sleeping; Qui-Gon did not try to call him. Instead, he accessed the project file and set to work on the unfinished section of the translation. He had not made much headway. The text was sorely testing his ability to concentrate.
Now, riding in the turbolift to the healers' wards, Qui-Gon pondered what caused Nollon to change his mind about letting him see Obi-Wan. The answers he came up with were ominous.
As they resumed walking, Mekall told Cas Lon all that had passed between himself and Obi-Wan the day before and both times Obi-Wan had entered his mind uninvited.
There was no emotion in Mekall's face or voice until they drew near the door to Obi-Wan's room, where Mekall was interrupted by a hoarse shout from within. Seeing a mix of fear and longing overtake Mekall, Cas Lon took a step toward him, hoping the tacit offer of support would encourage Mekall to voice his fears. But, as the door at the end of the hallway opened, Mekall walked away from him.
"Master Jinn," Cas Lon greeted Qui-Gon formally as he approached.
"Master Cas Lon." Qui-Gon bowed to him. "Mekall."
Qui-Gon found Mekall's degeneration marked. His face looked pained; his eyes were distressingly red.
"Can I talk to you?" Mekall asked. Shoulders hunched, he went past without waiting for Qui-Gon's answer. Intrigued - the catalyst for his attendance had evidently been Mekall, not Nollon - Qui-Gon followed.
"I wanted you - " Mekall turned around to look at Cas Lon.
"Yes?" Qui-Gon asked.
"What?" Mekall replied absently as he faced Qui-Gon once more.
"You wanted me. To?"
Mekall squinted at Qui-Gon; he had no idea what he had meant to say to him.
"How did the interview go?" Qui-Gon asked.
"About as well as could be expected. Maybe a little better. Have you heard anything about the Council?"
"They're still in session. What did you and Master Cas Lon talk about, if you don't mind my asking?"
"He says they're losing Obi-Wan and that can only be reversed by . . . " Mekall looked backward, though there was no one behind them.
"You?" Qui-Gon provided.
"Hum? Yeah. More or less."
"You seem nervous."
"I'm not," Mekall lied.
"Then what is going on?"
"He wants me to go in there," Mekall told him. "To try to reach Obi-Wan. Zhy can't. Obi-Wan is actively resisting him." Mekall paused. "I don't trust Cas Lon. I don't trust you either, but I distrust you less than I distrust him, or most Jedi for that matter."
"I'm flattered," Qui-Gon deadpanned.
"Pardon?" Mekall asked as he again glanced around.
"You don't have to do this, you know. These are some of the most advanced medical facilities in the galaxy. They can find another way."
Mekall, stared at something just past Qui-Gon's back and did not respond.
"Mekall, are you even capable of focusing on me?"
"Not a problem," Mekall said, looking at Qui-Gon dead on, his eyes sharp if not clear, his attention undivided.
If Qui-Gon had not witnessed the transformation, he would not have believed it possible. "What were you going to say?" he inquired.
"I asked him to bring you in. I . . . could use an ally, if it goes wrong. Cas Lon has promised he'll see to it that Obi-Wan's cleared. If you're here, he won't go back on his word."
"I'm a means to an end?" Qui-Gon tested.
Mekall's mouth quirked up slightly as he remembered their first squabble. "I do what I have to do to get what I want."
"Good," Qui-Gon said. The determined pragmatism he had so disliked when they met might yet save Mekall - and Obi-Wan. "Hold that centered in your mind. It can sustain you."
One side of Mekall's mouth curled upward a little more. "You never stop, do you?"
Qui-Gon leaned in close to Mekall. "If you need help, try to reach me through the master-apprentice bond. It's been apportioned but it should still be accessible to you."
He stepped back. Their eyes met. Qui-Gon put his hand on Mekall's shoulder. Feeling its full weight, Mekall let it stay there until he saw Cas Lon coming toward them out of the corner of his eye.
"Ready?" Cas Lon asked.
"Yeah," Mekall said. "I'm ready."
(continued in part 19)