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As the screech died away to a gurgle, Qui-Gon launched himself off the chair and toward the doors he knew would be there, hammering the metal lock with the Force. There was a groan of strain from within the doors, and they slowly creaked open. He slipped into the dark hall, muscles tensed, hearing only a strangled gasping and the patter of Obi-Wan behind him...
There was a pulse of darkness in the Force... and it slipped away, as if someone had flipped a switch somewhere...
A thin, hard edge struck his throat. Qui-Gon froze automatically, realizing that the knife blade was a threat rather than a danger. Seeing the older man stop too late, Obi-Wan ran into his back with a grunt, then took a step back.
"You will not move," the deep voice of Captain Sahimar spoke.
"Master?" Obi-Wan asked uncertainly.
"No one move!" shouted Risoin's voice from somewhere in the dark room.
The lights cycled back on with a faint buzz somewhere in the palace, but only back to half their former brilliance. Qui-Gon frowned into the outraged dark eyes of Sahimar amidst the red facial armor, then over his shoulder at the source of the scream.
Loried was kneeling on the floor, gasping and pale, her hands clutching her throat protectively. Her wide brown eyes were filled with pain and terror. The Sovereign rose and quickly walked to the girl's side.
"What happened?" Qui-Gon asked as elderly Sabyian yielded his seat to Loried.
"Someone—tried—strangle me," Loried coughed. "Tried—kill me..." She pointed wildly at Altorias. "Was—him—I recognized his hands—"
"Let me see," Qui-Gon said, kneeling down beside the distraught woman and starting to look over her neck.
"STOP!" It was Risoin, angry-eyed, his lightsaber suddenly up and flaming bright gold. "He's the killer!"
The proclaimation hit the gathering with the effect of a thunderclap. Obi-Wan and the Sovereign stared at Risoin in dumbstruck silence, Altorias uttered an Aladell expletive, Sabyian, Kasiral and the weakened Loried simply listened...
"You were conspicuously on the dining hall balcony right before the bombing," Risoin said, circling around the older man, "after an entire evening inside the hall. You knew it would not be in the brunt of the blast. Also... you had made it clear that you did not want to be disturbed much during the evening, thereby giving yourself an opportunity to plant the bomb."
"One thing missing," Qui-Gon replied dryly, his blue eyes flashing. "I have no motive."
"I'm sure we'll find it," Risoin sneered derisively.
The Sovereign rose from her seat and held a hand up, a signal to end the debate. "There is insufficient evidence to convict anyone at the moment." Her flinty gaze fell on Risoin, who reluctantly extinguished his lightsaber.
"My lady," Qui-Gon said, bowing slightly. "I think that I might have found the connection between the killing patterns of thirty years ago and of today. Only after checking the records from years ago was I able to be certain."
"Who is it?" Sabyian asked quietly.
Qui-Gon whirled on the old man, strong arms crossing over his broad chest. "Councillor Sabyian... you served with two Sovereigns before Saleil. Both were traditional in their policies, correct?"
"Yes," Sabyian admitted, rubbing his white-bearded chin.
"However," Qui-Gon continued coolly. "She was the one to bring Aladell into the Republic, changing its outlook and culture forever. You might have resented this..." He frowned, as if considering it further. "The Sovereign's only heir is her seven-year-old niece—a child, who could easily be influenced to pull Aladell from the Republic... but only if Saleil were dead."
"I did not attempt to kill her," Sabyian replied softly. "Would I have waited so long?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. Then he looked at Loried, curled up in a chair, her dark face suddenly paler than before. "Loried. Arrested and fined twice for possession of illegal tapes and holos. You yearn for order and structure in government—but a type of order that Talinos offered and Saleil rejected years ago."
"I wouldn't kill for it!" Loried gasped as passionately as she could.
"Wouldn't you?"
"No, I wouldn't!" Loried retorted. "I don't want anyone to get hurt..."
Qui-Gon turned to Kasiral, who asked rhetorically, "And now you'll list the reasons I might be guilty, right?"
"Right," Qui-Gon replied unemotionally. "Your mother was a member of the rebellion thirty years ago, and was killed during the counter rebellion. That might be-"
"Tashah!" Kasiral shouted with sudden fury. "I never even knew my mother! I was raised by a nanny—I wouldn't have cared if I could remember her!"
Qui-Gon smiled a little, looking around the circle of people. Sahimar was fingering his blaster furiously, looking around at all of them. Altorias crossed his arms and smiled happily. "Sorry, Master Jinn, you have nothing on me. My parents were loyal... I have no publically subversive ideas... and I support the Republic."
Qui-Gon sighed and bowed his head. "Lord Altorias," he asked quietly. "Do you know about the Cash-maren Project?"
Altorias frowned, rubbing his forehead in confusion. "Of course I do... it was a Republic project designed to temporarily project a second personality onto an existing personality, making the person an ideal undercover operative..."
Qui-Gon nodded. "Which the traitor Talinos worked on before he rebelled. However... there was a small problem. Rather than a temporary personality, the person developed more than one personality—permanently. The project was abandoned because of that..."
Altorias chuckled uneasily. "What are you implying?"
Qui-Gon sighed. "Altorias, I ran a DNA scan of you and your parents. Half of your genetic code did not match up—your father's half. It did match with Talinos." He paused, allowing it to sink in, then spoke in a gentler voice. "I imagine that when Talinos attacked the Sovereign, your mother was too ashamed to ever reveal your true father."
Altorias had gone deadly pale, his hands clenching and unclenching themselves as the information reached him. Behind Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan held out a computer readout. For a moment, the young noble looked like a lost child. Then he whirled on Qui-Gon and shouted, "I didn't know that! I might be his son, but that doesn't mean I'd kill him."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "No... but it does mean something else. I think that Talinos had a backup plan, just in case he was killed. He imprinted his own personality onto the mind of his young son... so that someday he could take his revenge..."
Altorias shook his head and pressed his hands to his face, as if trying to shut out the truth... and lunged at Saleil, a dagger appearing in his hand as if by magic. Qui-Gon threw himself at the killer as his knife slashed down at the queen—and was deflected by a dagger in her own hand. The weapon clattered to the floor, and Altorias/Talinos stared at the Sovereign, holding a small silvery blaster that she had somehow drawn from her long silvery robes.
Sahimar and his guards stepped forward, surrounding the coldly-smiling young man with a half-dozen blasters.
"Are you all right?" Qui-Gon asked, quickly going to the Sovereign's throne. She was sitting in it, head bowed in the shadows, as if weighted down by the past day. She raised her eyes to him and smiled slightly. "Just thinking," she murmured.
Qui-Gon walked to her side and sat down on the wide stone arm of the throne, saying softly, "Because of what happened here, Risoin will probably not be allowed to train a padawan until he's shown more steadiness of character. Obi-Wan will be reassigned."
The Sovereign frowned sympathetically, slipping her arm around his shoulders and gently hugging him to her. "I know how much he means to you," she whispered. "Believe me, I know."
Qui-Gon chuckled a little, without humor. "This time, I'm certain the Council will find someone steadier for him," he said quietly. "But for a while there... it was almost as if he were my padawan again..."
Saleil hugged him again, pressed her lips to the top of his head, rocking him back and forth. Then he slowly shifted out of the hug, saying quietly, "Well, after all this excitement, I need sleep. You probably should too..."
"I will," the Sovereign said, straightening on her throne. "But there's something I have to do first..."