Qui-Gon stopped. "We are now in the other building," he murmured to Obi-Wan. "They are very close."

Obi-Wan could feel the presence of others as well as hear them. But the sound quality was muffled and disorienting. He paused to focus. When they moved, they moved as one. They had both discovered the source of the sound. It was behind a closet. Qui-Gon eased open the door. They saw a crack of light running from the floor to the ceiling. Squeezing inside the closet, they both put their eyes to the crack.

The room next door was lit only by a glow rod set at low power. Yet they could clearly pick out Irini, who sat in a semicircle of other men and women. They were dressed similarly in dark coveralls or tunics.

Now Irini's words came to them clearly.

"I have seen them myself, and I am telling you, they were brought by Roan," she said.

"They admitted to this?" one of the group asked.

"Why should they? They are his tool. The Jedi are sent here to ensure that the government stands. If the government stands as it is, none of the remaining Absolutes will be brought to justice. Therefore they are our enemy."

"With all respect to my fellow Worker lrini, the Jedi were neutral parties six years ago," a quiet-voiced woman said. "They supported the will of the people, whatever that might turn out to be."

"Their role was as peacekeepers only," a man chimed in. "Why are they now our enemy?"

"Because peace is not what we seek," lrini said fiercely. "Justice is. We must overthrow the murderer of Ewane."

Another woman spoke up. "We have agreed that before we plot the overthrowing of Roan we must have evidence of his guilt. We do not have this yet."

"We will," someone else said. "I think lrini is right. The Absolutes have re-formed. We know this. Every day they gain power. Roan must be behind it. And if he has sent for the Jedi, they must know it."

"What do you think, Lenz?" the quiet-voiced woman asked.

The man she addressed had not spoken, but Obi-Wan had noticed him. He watched the others with grave, intent eyes. There was a kind of power to him, even though he was hunched over, his hands dangling in his lap. His face was thin, thinner than lrini's. Obi-Wan did not know how he knew this, but he sensed that Lenz had suffered greatly at one time in his life, no doubt at the hands of the Absolutes.

"I have new information," Lenz said. "A new group of leaders have risen in the new Absolute order. No one knows their identity. They are taking pains to conceal them. All we know is that these leaders are clever.

Harassment of our movement has begun. Some report an increase in surveillance. We must be careful."

"What does this have to do with Jedi?" someone asked.

"Maybe nothing. Yet both might point to Roan's desperation. First, he backs new leadership within the Absolutes to keep a lid on any opposition.

Then, in a show of good faith to the galaxy, he asks for Jedi help. His best interest is to keep things as they are while he consolidates his power."

Even lrini listened to Lenz with respect. "So what should we do?"

"First we should change our meeting place. Every week a new site.

Winati, you are in charge of finding a place. Mohn, you are in charge of notifying the others."

Lenz stopped abruptly and picked up his com-link. It must have vibrated, signaling an incoming communication. He listened for a moment, then clicked off.

"The Absolutes. It's a raid."

Lenz's voice held no urgency, but the group rose immediately and moved like a shadow. No one reacted, no one gasped or showed confusion.

Obviously, they had trained for this.

Winati quickly accessed a recessed door in the wall. A staircase led upward. She waited while the others hurried across the floor and disappeared inside, then slipped inside herself. The door slid shut.

"Probably goes to the roof," Qui-Gon murmured. "Let's wait and see who is raiding them."

Moments later, the door burst open. A squad of black-clothed men stood in the doorway, blasters held at their hips. The leader strode forward.

"Too late." He accessed a device on his utility belt.

"Trouble," Qui-Gon murmured, backing up.

The device was a heat sensor. It beamed on the wall they were hiding behind. The wall began to glow.

Obi-Wan scrambled backward, but the close quarters made it difficult for them to move quickly. A moment later a cutting tool swiftly sawed an opening in the wall and a boot followed. The wall splintered, and the leader stepped through.

Obi-Wan had his hand on his lightsaber hilt, but he looked quickly at his Master.

"Submit," Qui-Gon said quietly, and in moments, they were surrounded.

Qui-Gon allowed himself to be hustled down the stairs. Their captors said nothing, and he saw no need to volunteer any questions or comments. He was not sure if they knew that he and Obi-Wan were Jedi. He assumed that they were thought to be Workers.

In the cramped vestibule, thick strips of fabric were wound around their eyes to blindfold them. They were bound in energy manacles. Then they were pushed out the door. Qui-Gon felt himself being guided into a landspeeder. Obi-Wan was shoved next to him.

He concentrated, trying to gauge distance by calculating speed and time. He knew Obi-Wan was doing the same. The journey was short, and at the end they were roughly hauled out of the speeder and marched down a corridor. The speeder had been parked in an interior landing area.

Listening for echoes, Qui-Gon estimated its size. For a landing area of this proportion, the building would have to be fairly large.

He heard a door accessed, and he was pushed inside a smaller area. He heard Obi-Wan stumble as he followed.

"This is where you belong, Jedi," a voice hissed.

So they knew their prisoners were Jedi. "Where are we and why are we being held? Who are you?" Qui-Gon asked.

"'None of your business' is the answer to your first question, and 'because you are enemies of the state' should answer your second. As for who we are, we are the saviors of Apsolon."

"You don't say," Qui-Gon remarked dryly. "Tell me, why are we your enemy?"

"We remember what the Jedi did six years before. Because of your interference, our true government was lost. It is up to us to recapture the glory we surrendered."