Jedi Apprentice

No, I am your spoiler warning!
Obi-Wan never told you what happened in the Jedi Apprentice series, but this article does. Before you read it, search your feelings: you know you'll be spoiled if you do.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Do you have a plan?

Qui-Gon Jinn (kicking open the door)

We don't have time for a plan.

— Yes, this is a real exchange. There are twenty books in this series and they're basically all like this.

The Jedi Apprentice series was published between 1999 and 2002 and written by Jude Watson except for The Rising Force, which was written by Dave Wolverton. Its 20 installments add up to almost 508,000 words. Yes, that's half a million. It's infamous for how much it whumps Obi-Wan, and how awful Qui-Gon is to him in certain parts. (In other parts, he loves Obi-Wan! The series is terrible at consistently characterising him, unfortunately.) Naturally, fic writers love to wallow in this Legends-canon whump, especially the Bandomeer and Melida/Daan sections. Most of this page is an exhaustive timeline of all the books, which is detailed enough that it's designed to give you all the information you need without reading the books themselves. The summaries are long, but they're generally only a fifth of the length of the actual book, so you're still saving time. (The Melida/Daan arc's summary is 35% the length of the actual books. It's why people are here, so it deserved more detail.)

Before the timeline, there is a section that has information on the setting of each book (if there's enough information) and a cast list for each story arc. Some of the information about the planet is not necessarily present in the timeline. If you want to go straight to the timeline, click here.

There's also Jedi Apprentice for people in a hurry, which contains extremely simplified timelines of each book.

Content Warning/Trigger Warning: The book series (and this summary) contains murder, violence towards children by adults, depression-related suicidal ideation (The Uncertain Path) and suicide of the "fuck you, you'll never take me alive, coppers!" kind (The Day of Reckoning). I would say it's slightly less traumatising than Animorphs (as an example of a series with a similar intended audience) but only because that series has a depression-related suicide attempt in book three, as well as infinitely more murder and body horror. Children's books! ZeenMrala (she/her)

Note: this page is not yet complete, and only contains summaries through the end of the Melida/Daan arc.

Series overview

All dates in this section come from The Essential Reader's Companion. Click the book name to be taken to the part of the timeline where the main action of the book begins. The brackets after each title identify which planet/story arc it is, and links to the planet profile, cast and FAQ section where applicable.

44 BBY (Obi-Wan age 12)

The Rising Force (En route to Bandomeer)

The Dark Rival (Bandomeer • Planet profile • Cast • FAQ)

44 BBY (Obi-Wan age 13)

The Hidden Past (Phindar • Cast)

The Mark of the Crown (Gala • Planet profile • Cast)

The Defenders of the Dead (Melida/Daan • Planet profile • Cast • FAQ)

The Uncertain Path (Melida/Daan, Coruscant Temple Crisis • Cast)

The Captive Temple (Coruscant Temple Crisis)

The Day of Reckoning (Telos)

The Fight For Truth (Kegan)

The Shattered Peace (Rutan and Senali)

43 BBY (Obi-Wan age 14)

The Deadly Hunter (Jenna Zan Arbor)

The Evil Experiment (Jenna Zan Arbor)

The Dangerous Rescue (Jenna Zan Arbor)

41 BBY (Obi-Wan age 16)

The Ties That Bind (New Apsolon)

The Death of Hope (New Apsolon)

The Call to Vengeance (New Apsolon)

The Only Witness (Frego)

The Threat Within (Vorzyd IV)

Settings and cast lists

This just includes what Jedi Apprentice has to say about the planets in question. Other sources, of course, will have more information. The cast lists will be organised by location or story arc, whatever makes the most sense.

Coruscant Temple

This is a list of the named characters in the Coruscant Temple across all the books.

Initiates and Padawans

• Obi-Wan Kenobi (he/him) — our hero. Human. He's an initiate until the end of The Dark Rival at which point he becomes a Padawan. He leaves the Order in The Defenders of the Dead and returns in The Captive Temple.
• Bruck Chun (he/him) — Human. Approximately two months younger than Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's nemesis. He bullies Obi-Wan but tricks adults into thinking that it's Obi-Wan bullying him. He dies after falling off the edge of a water fall in The Captive Temple.
• Bant Eerin (she/her) — Mon Calamari. Approximately three years younger than Obi-Wan. Salmon-coloured skin and silver eyes, small for her age.
• Reeft (he/him) — Dresselian. Friend of Obi-Wan. Best friends with Garen Muln. Always hungry.
• Garen Muln (he/him) — Friend of Obi-Wan. Best friends with Reeft.
• Aalto (he/him) — Friend of Bruck.

Knights and Masters

• Qui-Gon Jinn (he/him) — Obi-Wan's master.
• Jedi High Council
  • Mace Windu (he/him) — Senior Councilor on the Jedi High Council.
  • Yoda (he/him) — Head of the Jedi High Council.
  • Saesee Tiin — on the Jedi High Council.
• Docent Vant (she/her) — "A tall blue-skinned woman with an elegant headtail." Technically we don't know if she's a knight or master, but she's definitely an adult. She gives Obi-Wan his assignment to go to Bandomeer.
• Tahl (she/her) — Jedi Knight. Captured and tortured on Melida/Daan, and when she returns, she is blind.
  • TooJay (she/her) — Also known as 2JTJ, she is Tahl's personal navigation droid that Yoda gives her after she become blind, which she hates.

Bandomeer

Bandomeer is the setting of the second Jedi Apprentice book, The Dark Rival. The only city is Bandor, and the locals are called Meerians. Unlike many Star Wars planets, it has multiple biomes, which Obi-Wan sees as they fly over, including jungle and plains. It doesn't stray too far from classic Star Wars, though: it's all one huge landmass and one huge sea (called, fittingly, the Great Sea of Bandomeer). The whole planet is owned by mining companies, of which the vast majority are based off-planet, which means that none of the profits actually go to the native population. The planet is so intensively mined that even Bandor has mining operations inside it, and the air pollution is so strong you can see it: the air is dull grey broken up by little black specks. Not even the governor of Bandor is wealthy, and it's a miserable place.

Most people on Bandomeer are foreigners who have come to work in the mines, either as a temporary method of making money so they can leave, or as enslaved people. Even the natives want to leave Bandomeer as soon as they can, which means that no one cares what happens on Bandomeer. By 44 BBY, though, that's changing — the immigrant population of Arconans has allied with the Meerians to form a mining cooperative called the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, and all profits are shared. The primary mine of the AMHC is the Home Planet Mine. Unfortunately, Offworld Mining Corporation is the main mining company on the planet, and it hates competition.

The AgriCorps works with the local government to reclaim land that has been entirely stripped of its nutrients by mining, creating "Enrichment Zones" where they work to replant and rejuvenate the soil. No one profits from the work, and no outside interests are allowed to control the work done. Enrichment zones consist of a giant dome surrounds by laboratories, admin centres and worker housing. The laboratories and admin centres lead into the dome itself. The dome is lit by a bank of lights at the top of the dome that acts as an artificial sun.

This cooperation with the AgriCorps is in partnership with the Home Planet Party, a political party dedicated to revitalise Bandomeer's fields and wrest back control of Bandomeer's interests from foreign companies. They have a partnership with the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation.

Meerians are generally very short, which is an advantage while mining, and often wear their hair in cropped tufts. To greet people, they hold their hands palm up instead of bowing or shaking hands, and to say goodbye, they repeat the palms up gesture and then flip their palms over so they're facing down. Their naming scheme is one word of two syllables, where the beginning of the second syllable is also capitalised. Clat'Ha, who has a very similar name, is inexplicably human.

Cast

• Clat'Ha (she/her) — human, aged 25. Chief operations manager of the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation.
• VeerTa (she/her) — Meerian. Leader of the Home Planet Party.
• SonTag (she/her) — governor of Bandomeer.
• RonTha (he/him) — member of the AgriCorps. Meerian.
• Xanatos (he/him) — former Padawan of Qui-Gon. Left the Jedi Order before being knighted and turned evil.
• Guerra Derida (he/him) — Phindian. Slave in the mines with Obi-Wan.

Phindar

Cast

• Guerra Derida (he/him) — Phindian. Brother of Paxxi.
• Paxxi Derida (he/him) — Phindian. Brother of Guerra.
• Kaadi — Phindian. Friend of Guerra and Paxxi.
• Duenna Derida (she/her) — Mother of Paxxi, Guerra and Terra.
• Syndicat
  • Baftu — Phindian. Leader of the Syndicat.
  • Terra Derida — Phindian. Assistant to Baftu. Mindwiped sister of Paxxi and Guerra.
• Beju Tallah (he/him) — Prince of Gala, in league with the Syndicat.

Gala

Gala is the setting of the fourth Jedi Apprentice book, The Mark of the Crown. As soon as they arrive, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon can tell the vibes here are rancid. There are beggars on the streets, crumbling buildings that used to look grand but haven't been maintained, and the streets are lined with dead trees. (It's unclear why the trees are dead. Surely it is not that difficult to keep trees alive? It makes for good atmosphere though.)

The inhabitants are called Galacians and the capital city is called Galu. Gala has three moons, all visible in the sky when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are there. At that time of year, the sun sets early and the evenings are long. Since the sun is out for such a short time, Galacians take any opportunity to sunbathe. Galacians have pale blue skin but look humanoid in all other ways. They're often called "moon people" because of their pale skin, and because there's very little sunlight on Gala.

Galu is built on three hills, and on the tallest hill is the palace. The book describes the palace as "an impressive, sprawling white building with two tall towers. Surrounding the windows and inlaid in the tower spires were sparkling blue azurite crystals and gems in mosaic patterns. The roof was gilded. Together the gold roof and glittering mosaics made the palace shimmer, as if it weren’t quite real." The palace has famously enormous gardens, which contain every plant, tree and flower native to Gala.

There are three tribes on Gala: the city people, the sea people, and the hill people. Gala is racist as well as corrupt, and the hill people began their community in the hills a hundred years ago to take in those who were "different": who had dark eyes, dark skin, or no families. City people really, really hate hill people, to the point that when Obi-Wan was stranded on Gala by the Syndicat, his first interaction with a Galacian was a city person who almost killed him because he had resolved to murder the first hill person he saw. Sea people are basically Sir Not Appearing In This Book, except perhaps for Jono.

Cast

• The Galacian royal family
  • Veda Tallah (she/her) — the reigning Queen
  • Cana Tallah (he/him) — the recently-deceased King
  • Beju Tallah (he/him) — the Prince, monarchist election candidate
• Works at the palace
  • Jono Dunn (he/him) — servant at the palace; friend of Obi-Wan
  • Lonnag Giba (he/him) — head of the Council of Ministers; super close to Beju
  • Viso (he/him) — a Minister with blind blue-white eyes, loyal to the Queen
• The hill people
  • Elan (she/her) — leader of the hill people; King Cana's illegitimate daughter
  • Dana (he/him) — member of the hill people
  • Domi (he/him) — member of the hill people, elder
  • Rowi (he/him) — Elan's father who raised her
  • Tema (she/her) — Elan's mother
• Deca Braun (he/him) — populist election candidate, struck a deal with Offworld to mine Gala
• Wila Prami (she/her) — election candidate who formerly worked at the palace as an underminister
• Mali Errat (he/him) — Rude scientist who has a substance analyser

Melida/Daan

The two factions, the Melida and the Daan, have been at war for centuries. They can't even agree on the planet's name: the Melida call it Melida, and the Daan call it Daan. It's a member of the Republic, so the Galactic Senate splits the difference and calls it "Melida/Daan". Individuals are identified as "a Melida" or "a Daan". Melida and Daan can both take an s for a plural or be uncountable: "Melidas" or "the Melida".

The terrain around Zehava, the capital city, is rugged, and large black stone structures can be seen from the air. They're perfectly square, have no windows, and seem from the air to have no doors. They're called Halls of Evidence, and contain the holograms of dead Melida and Daan fighters. Zehava is under siege a lot of the time, as it is highly desirable contested territory and the boundaries of both sides are constantly shifting. Zehava has been rebuilt seven times. In Nield's lifetime, before the Twenty-Fifth Battle of Zehava, there were no barricades for five years and Melidas and Daans lived together in peace. There were gardens and a museum that didn't have to do with the war. The current Melida territory (as of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's arrival) is called the Inner Hub, and the Daan territory is called the Outer Circle. There are deflection towers ringing the city and also around the Inner Hub. They control particle shields, which prevent entry.

At the end of a wide boulevade in Daan territory, there is a large lake called Lake Weir, which was the last remaining body of water within a thousand kilometres of the city. Within Nield's lifetime, a Daan Hall of Evidence was built which made swimming in the lake impossible. There's a Melida Hall of Evidence on Glory Street near the plaza.

One of the other landmarks in Zehava is the Melida/Daan Unified Congress Building. It had been built during a three-year period where the Melida and Daan tried to rule together, but been mostly destroyed by bombs when war broke out again. After the Young force a peace, the new council they form meets there as a symbolic gesture, though it remains almost uninhabitable.

There are rocky canyons and thick, leafy underbrush outside the city. At the bottom of one of the ravines is a swampy area. Variation in the landscape! You love to see it. In late autumn and winter, it snows in Zehava.

The Sewers

The water and sewer tunnels were built during the Eighteenth Battle of Zehava; they were used by the Daan to secretly enter the Melida sector. The underground burial vaults now within the expanded tunnel system date from the Tenth War.

Part of the sewer system used by the Young goes under the courtyard of the Melida compound. Another exit in Melida territory is into the grain storage area of a military barracks. Sometimes the water gets all the way up to Obi-Wan's knees. It smells terrible, and the walls are shored up with splintered beams of wood. The opposite direction from the main chamber goes into Daan territory. The tunnel into Daan territory has an entrance in a storeroom in a service building at the back of an abandoned estate. There's also an exit under the space port, and an exit under the plaza on Glory Street.

The chamber where the Young congregate is a large vaulted space which has glow rods mounted on the walls for light. The floor is dry and the air is fresher than it is in the rest of the sewers. There are tombstones, rectangular stone boxes, all around the room and lining the walls, one of which the Young use as a table. Nield, Cerasi and the youngest children sleep in a small anteroom off the vault. This anteroom has at least two entrances: one off the main vault and one that opens into the tunnel that goes towards Daan territory.

One of the Young's punishments for wrongdoing is sleeping in Drain Two; Towan receives three days of sleeping in Drain Two for making a partisan joke.

The Young

The Young are a recently-created third faction in the war, made up entirely of children from both sides. Their leader, Nield, formed the Young by collecting children from the orphanages (which are called "care centres") in Zehava. Cerasi was the first one to live underground in the tunnels. They escaped their communities because the Elders force children to work in munitions factories, and everyone over fourteen to join the army. Sometimes, they play off the other factions against each other instead of attacking either side themselves, using war toys to imitate the sounds of weaponry. As well as slingshots that fire laserballs that imitate the sound of blasterfire when they strike hard surfaces, they also use missile tubes stuffed with paint and pebbles and "beam tubes" containing toys that make the sound of projectile missiles when fired.

There are also tribes of children outside the walls of Zehava who survive by scavenging and living off the land, known as the Scavenger Young. Nield has worked to organise them and they are in contact with the Zehava Young via stolen comlinks.

Once the Young win the war, they form a governing council. Nield is elected temporary governor and is advised by a council of ten Young, headed by Cerasi. There are also squads that report to the council, including:

• Security Squad (in charge of disarming the population), headed by Obi-Wan. It has six members.
• New History Squad (in charge of demolishing symbols of hatred and division such as war monuments and Halls of Evidence), headed by Nield
• Utilities Squad (in charge of giving ruined buildings power and heat), headed by Taun
• Housing Squad (in charge of finding housing for everyone), headed by Nena

Cast

This list does not include the names of the holograms in the Halls of the Dead.

• Jedi
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi (he/him) — Padawan of Qui-Gon Jinn, head of the Security Squad once the Young win the war
  • Qui-Gon Jinn (he/him) — Master of Obi-Wan Kenobi and lover of Tahl(?), went through training with Tahl
  • Tahl (she/her) — Knight, lover of Qui-Gon(?), went through training with Qui-Gon
• TooJay (she/her) — Tahl's navigation droid, which she hates.
• Melida
  • Wehutti (he/him) — sniper, father of Cerasi, similar age to Qui-Gon. One of his arms has been amputated and he has green eyes similar to Cerasi. On the Melida Council. Probably the leader of the Melida, though this is never stated explicitly.
  • Moahdi (unknown) — sniper, older than Qui-Gon
  • Herut (he/him) — sniper, older than Qui-Gon
• Daan
  • Gueni (he/him) — leader of the Daan, grandfather of Rica, wears a breath mask.
• The Young (note: "member of the Young in Zehava" means that they lived in the sewers before the end of the war; "member of the Scavenger Young" means they lived outside Zehava before the end of the war; and if it's just "member of the Young", then it's unknown where they lived during the war)
  • Cerasi (she/her) — member of the Young in Zehava, formerly Melida, daughter of Wehutti. Copper hair cut short, small face, pointed chin, green eyes, thirteen years old. Head of the advisory council after the Young win the war.
  • Nield (he/him) — leader of the Young in Zehava, formerly Daan. Close-cropped dark hair, tall, golden eyes. Similar age to Obi-Wan. Father's name was Micae, and mother's name was Leidra. He had three older brothers. His entire immediate family died when he was five, and then his only remaining relative died when he was eight and he was left to live on the streets. Temporary governor and head of the New History Squad once the Young win the war.
  • Mawat — leader of the Scavenger Young
  • Deila (she/her) — member of the Young in Zehava. Tall, slender. Formerly Melida, has a surviving female relative on the Melida Council. Second in command on the Security Squad, explosives expert.
  • Dor (he/him) — member of the Young, quiet.
  • Joli (he/him) — member of the Scavenger Young.
  • Nena (unknown) — member of the Young, head of the Housing Squad once the Young win the war.
  • Rica (he/him) — member of the Young in Zehava, formerly Daan, grandson of Gueni.
  • Roenni (she/her) — member of the Young in Zehava. Quiet, small and slender, brown eyes. Significantly younger than Obi-Wan. Her father was a starfighter mechanic so she has knowledge of mechanics.
  • Taun (he/him) — Member of the Young, head of the Utilities Squad once the Young win the war.
  • Towan (he/him) — member of the Young in Zehava, formerly Daan. Slender.

Frequently asked questions

There's plenty of stuff in Jedi Apprentice that is entirely fanon, or has been tweaked from the book version. Often, this fanon serves to make the story sadder. This FAQ isn't meant to be something used to berate someone for these changes! Often, the story works better with these changes. But sometimes just for your own curiosity you want to know if some detail is really true, and we're here to provide.

What's up with Qui-Gon?

The short version: wildly inconsistent characterisation and Xanatos-related trauma. The long version: it's a grand tradition of children's books that in order to have adventures, adults need to be negligent. Sometimes, the Jedi Order ends up being so negligent that it's difficult to reconcile that with the idea that they should be trusted with the care of children. Unfortunately, you just need to accept this as one of the conceits of the genre. When it comes to Qui-Gon, his characterisation remains relatively consistent within each book but veers wildly between them, so let's go by book:

The Rising Force

Qui-Gon is at best apathetic and at worst actively neglectful towards Obi-Wan here. Obi-Wan desperately wants to impress him, but Qui-Gon refuses to entertain any thoughts of apprenticing Obi-Wan, despite the Force giving him a lot of hints. He is even actively disappointed when Obi-Wan gives the correct answer to a question he asks about why Obi-Wan killed the pirates. He does feel a tiny bit bad when he crushes Obi-Wan's dreams, though, so that's something. It is explicitly stated that he doesn't want to take on Obi-Wan because of what happened with Xanatos.

The Dark Rival

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are separated for much of this book. He does become anxious about Obi-Wan's disappearance, but seemingly only four days after receiving word that he's missing. (See here for more on the timeline weirdness of this.) He's anguished as he sees Obi-Wan fall to his death from the mining platform: "Qui-Gon’s heart contracted with pain. To lose him this way! He would never forgive himself." He's then troubled by the fact that Obi-Wan has said that he hoped Qui-Gon had come, instead of knowing. Given Qui-Gon spent the last book refusing to help Obi-Wan when he was in distress, this feels like a fair assumption from Obi-Wan, but Qui-Gon doesn't recognise that. He finally decides to take Obi-Wan as his Padawan after Obi-Wan offers to kill himself to save everyone else, specifically citing that as the reason. (To be fair, he is very firmly against Obi-Wan sacrificing himself.)

The Hidden Past

Obi-Wan is convinced in the first chapter of the book that Qui-Gon is disappointed in him and doesn't trust him. (We know from The Defenders of the Dead that he's right about Qui-Gon not trusting him.) However, Qui-Gon does in fact think several nice things about Obi-Wan in this book, though he doesn't say any of them out loud. He's impressed by Obi-Wan's instincts and courage, and when he thinks Obi-Wan has been mindwiped, he's catatonic with grief. He describes Obi-Wan as diligent, a quick study, curious and good.

The Mark of the Crown

Throughout this book Obi-Wan struggles with his negative feelings towards Qui-Gon, feeling like they will never achieve a proper Master-Padawan bond, which involves being able to understand each other's thoughts and motivations. Obi-Wan refers to it as "mind communion". Qui-Gon is constantly disregarding his concerns and not trusting his judgement throughout the mission. Obi-Wan's point of view gives us this tragic quote: "And besides, he had abandoned Obi-Wan in order to chase a ghost." We do get this in Qui-Gon's point of view: "With every mission, he was more convinced that his Padawan would become extraordinary, even among the Jedi." This opinion of his is never reflected in his actions in the book.

The Defenders of the Dead

Qui-Gon is disquieted by Obi-Wan's immediate devotion to the Young until he remembers that he's a young boy and must miss being with people his own age. He's pretty sympathetic to Obi-Wan's actions for much of the book, excusing Obi-Wan going out without asking multiple times, and admiring his ability to work under pressure. He even sees how heartbroken Obi-Wan is when he tells him that they have to leave instead of helping the Young and decides to try to convince the Elders to make peace with the Young even though there's a good chance they would try to kidnap him again, and explicitly does this for Obi-Wan. Then Obi-Wan steals the starfighter to go blow up the deflection towers and Qui-Gon realises that he's been waiting for this betrayal the whole time, and had "hardened his heart" to prepare for it, which really puts in context all those times that Obi-Wan feels like Qui-Gon doesn't trust him! Qui-Gon is visibly anguished at Obi-Wan leaving the Order, but walks away from him without looking back.

The Uncertain Path

In the first chapter from Qui-Gon's POV, he literally says he would be totally fine with Obi-Wan dying on Melida/Daan, implying that he deserves it for betraying Qui-Gon. (What's worse, Yoda doesn't challenge him on it when he says this!) He refuses to acknowledge to Yoda or Tahl that Obi-Wan is just a young boy who made an impulsive decision — Tahl says that no one else blames Obi-Wan for what he did, even Tahl, whose life was the one in danger. When Obi-Wan calls for help after Cerasi dies, the sight of Obi-Wan so miserable does make him forgive Obi-Wan, but he's cold towards Obi-Wan the entire time he's helping Obi-Wan fix things on Melida/Daan, actively choosing to withhold the knowledge that he's forgiven Obi-Wan because he deserves the consequence of uncertainty.

Bandomeer

Does Obi-Wan have a Force-suppressing collar on in the deepsea mines on Bandomeer?

No. He uses the Force several times while down there, but he's too weak to short out his electro-collar.

How long is Obi-Wan enslaved in the mines?

Approximately three days and three nights. It gets a little fuzzy because the timeline doesn't really add up on Qui-Gon's side but Obi-Wan's POV explicitly says he spends two days and two nights trying to get the collar off, and then there's a weird bit where it's not entirely clear how much time has passed but it's probably a third day (it can't be any less, but it might be a third and fourth day if we assume Guerra did inventory after telling Obi-Wan about the ionite), and then he gets rescued in the early morning of the fourth (or fifth if we're assuming Guerra did inventory the day before). Qui-Gon's timeline doesn't account for the three days that Obi-Wan's POV definitely states happened; it makes more sense from his timeline that Obi-Wan would be there for only one day and one night, because he decides Obi-Wan is more important than Xanatos at dusk, which would be less than twenty-four hours after Obi-Wan was taken, and then interrogates Si Treemba and RonTha before dawn of what Obi-Wan's timeline indicates is the fourth day. But because Obi-Wan's has several explicit statements about the passage of time, we have to assume that one is more correct. I suppose it doesn't contradict anything if Qui-Gon spends two days fucking around before he goes to battle Xanatos at dusk on the third day? That's really the only thing that can make them line up.

Melida/Daan

Does Obi-Wan go back to the Temple between Bandomeer and Melida/Daan?

He does not. He goes straight from Bandomeer to an unintentional stop on Phindar to Gala to Melida/Daan. Absolutely no downtime at all, unless you count the time they're in transit.

How long is Obi-Wan on Melida/Daan?

Qui-Gon is only there for three days before he leaves. We know from Bruck's age that the time period between Obi-Wan being sent to Bandomeer and Qui-Gon discovering the Young have won the war is three months. We also know he spends four weeks on Bandomeer. Obi-Wan fights in the war for at least fourteen days without Qui-Gon, and then the war ends. A useful piece of information for this question would be how long Jude Watson's week is, but we don't know whether she subscribes to the five-day week established by West End Games or not. It is entirely unclear how much time he spends there after the war ends, but it has to be weeks at the minimum.

Does Obi-Wan go by Ben when he's with the Young?

Nope. This is a bafflingly widespread fanon. It's a fun touch to highlight just how divorced Obi-Wan's experience on Melida/Daan is from his Temple life, though. A lot of the fanon around the Melida/Daan arc is basically fic writers taking Jude Watson's skeleton and properly committing to the bit. Obi-Wan gets the name "Ben" from Satine during their year on the run on Mandalore, and chooses it after Order 66 in memory of that.

Does Obi-Wan have a military title on Melida/Daan?

Not that we know of. After peace is declared and he becomes head of the Security Squad, Cerasi calls him captain at one point, but she's teasing him at the time, so we don't know if that's an actual title or not. Deila calls him "chief" when she acknowledges an order he gives her as squad leader.

Does Obi-Wan have his lightsaber on Melida/Daan?

No. When Qui-Gon gives him the ultimatum about leaving the Order, Obi-Wan surrenders it to Qui-Gon without being asked. It was established in an earlier book that when someone leaves the Order, they must surrender their lightsaber.

What excuse does Qui-Gon give for leaving his 13-year-old Padawan in an active warzone?

He doesn't, because no one asks him! He never faces any questioning from the Council about this decision. He even recognises that he should:

Qui-Gon stood in the center of the room, bowed respectfully, and waited. How would they begin? Would Mace Windu, whose dark eyes could burn through you like hot coals, demand his reason for leaving a thirteen-year-old boy in the middle of a war? Would Saesee Tiin murmur that Qui-Gon's actions had always come from an impulsive but giving heart? He had been called before the Council more than most Knights. He could guess at what each would say.

— Qui-Gon Jinn's internal narrative

When he is called in front of the council a minimum of twelve days (!) after he returns, it's about something else entirely. He does speak privately to Yoda (again, a minimum of twelve days after he returns), and claims that he did it because Tahl's life was in danger.

Does Mawat kill Cerasi?

We don't know if Mawat personally does it, or if another member of the Scavenger Young does it on his orders, but he's definitely responsible for her death.

Why is the planet's AO3 tag "Melida | Daan" instead of Melida/Daan?

This is entirely due to conventions of tag formatting. In the books, it's always written with a slash.

Does it get renamed to Melidaan after the war?

Not that we know of, but we also don't get any indication that it doesn't.

Other questions

What are Xanatos and Tahl's surnames?

• Xanatos doesn't have a surname. The use of "du Crion" as his surname is widespread, but entirely fanon. His father is named Crion, but we have no evidence that Telosians use patronymics. "du Crion" goes back to at least 2009, in the original version of Two Paths, Two Lives by PeaceGuardian. This seems to be the first use, but let us know if you find an earlier one, either by editing this page or commenting below! The 2002 fic Worthy of Another Chance by ewen uses just "Crion" as Xanatos's surname, so there was something in the air about Xanatos's father's name being part of his for years before that use.
• Tahl also doesn't have a surname. There's a little more variation in surnames for her than for Xanatos, but Uvain is the most popular. It appears in ruth baulding's Lineage saga, which means it goes back to at least 2012. This seems to be the first use, but let us know if you find an earlier one, either by editing this page or commenting below!

Timeline of Jedi Apprentice

66 BBY

• Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn finds a small boy, Xanatos, on the planet Telos IV. He tests his midi-chlorian count and realises he's strong enough in the Force to become a Jedi, and convinces Xanatos's father, Crion, to give Xanatos over to Qui-Gon to be trained at the Jedi Temple. Crion is heartbroken, but ultimately accepts that the Jedi can offer Xanatos more than he ever could.

53 BBY

Note: there are two sources for the Telosian Civil War and Xanatos's betrayal (The Dark Rival and Star Wars: Jedi—The Dark Side), and they sometimes conflict. Contradictions will be noted and attempts will be made to marry the two sources where possible. Star Wars: Jedi—The Dark Side has a complicated plot of co-conspirators which is not detailed here.

• Qui-Gon is convinced that Xanatos, now his Padawan, is ready to become a Jedi Knight. He is the best lightsaber combatant in his class, excellent at focusing the Force, and has passed the preliminary tests for Knighthood with near-perfect scores. When Qui-Gon suggests this to Yoda, however, Yoda says there has to be one more test. Qui-Gon resents Yoda's repeated doubts about Xanatos, and is excited for an opportunity to prove him wrong.
• A civil war brews on the planet Telos IV, and Qui-Gon Jinn, Xanatos, Jedi Knight Tahl, and a masterless Padawan Orykan are sent to investigate a political assassination that has heightened unrest among Telosians and oversee a treaty negotiation. Yoda mentions that this mission might serve as Xanatos's trials for Knighthood.
• On the flight over, the pilot, Stieg Wa, teases Xanatos about being sheltered and not knowing anything about real life. Xanatos seems to take this teasing with grace. When they cross the Landos system, notorious for being full of pirates, they are attacked, despite Stieg Wa's assurances that he could make the journey safely. Stieg Wa skilfully evades the pirates, and once they have escaped, announces that the cloaking device had been sabotaged and blames Xanatos. Qui-Gon believes Xanatos's insistence that he had nothing to do with it, because why would he want pirates to attack a ship he was on? Stieg Wa is outside the ship doing repairs when the pirates return, and he's captured. Xanatos leads Qui-Gon to the escape pod, whose coordinates just happen to already be set to Telos. "I always make sure I have a back door," Xanatos says when Qui-Gon asks him about it.
• In the years since he gave up Xanatos to the Jedi, Xanatos's father, Crion, has become wealthy and powerful by using the discoveries of Telos's renowned scientists. Xanatos sees this and decides that the Jedi have deprived him of this wealthy and power he so admires, especially Qui-Gon, and hates them for it. Crion encourages this, playing on Xanatos's emotions to turn him against Qui-Gon.
• When Crion asks Xanatos to join him in his plans for even more power and wealth, Qui-Gon sees that this is the test Yoda foresaw, and doesn't try to guide Xanatos. If he's truly ready for knighthood, Xanatos must make his own choice. And Xanatos makes the wrong one.
• Crion's plan is to wage war against a neighbouring planet, Toprawa, so he can gain its resources to make himself even more rich and powerful. Every ten years, a treaty between Telos and Toprawa is automatically renewed, and this year, Crion asks for a renegotiation. Xanatos sabotages the first meeting at Crion's direction, hoping to make Telosians angry.
• Qui-Gon discovers that the rising tensions (including the political assassination) have all been orchestrated by Crion (though we don't know how he finds out), and tells the Telosian people. The Telosian people rise up to overthrow Crion, but Xanatos encourages Crion to fight back instead of stepping down. Crion sets an army, led by Xanatos himself, on the people, causing a civil war to break out.
• The final battle of the war is at the governor's residence. Qui-Gon Jinn, in defence of Orykan, kills Crion. In the stroke that kills him, Qui-Gon cuts through the ring on Crion's finger.
• Xanatos, in his grief, picks up the ring from the fire it had fallen in and put it to his cheek, burning a broken circle onto his face. He says that the scar will remind him of Qui-Gon's betrayal, and everything Qui-Gon had taken from him.
• Xanatos turns his saber on Qui-Gon in anger about the death of his father and paranoia that Qui-Gon was going to abandon him. They battle and Qui-Gon finally knocks the lightsaber out of his hand, but can't strike the killing blow. Xanatos laughs and runs away. Qui-Gon searches, but can't find him, as he has left Telos.
• Qui-Gon falsely reports Xanatos dead to the Jedi Council.

45 BBY (Obi-Wan age 11)

• Obi-Wan accidentally trips Bruck Chun. Bruck gives him a new nickname: "Oafy-Wan".

44 BBY (Obi-Wan age 12)

Four weeks before Obi-Wan's birthday

• Obi-Wan and Bruck Chun (who is three months away from turning thirteen) spar blindfolded. Obi-Wan beats Bruck and earns the praise of Yoda, who implies he will be chosen as a Padawan at the initiate competition the next day.
• After Yoda leaves, Bruck goads him into a fight by hitting him on the back of the head. After a fight that ends up a draw due to exhaustion, bruised and covered in burns, both boys retreat. Bruck goes to the Healers and accuses Obi-Wan of hurting him without provocation. Obi-Wan bandages his wounds alone in his room.
• Obi-Wan receives news from Docent Vant that he will ship out in the morning to go join the Agricorps on Bandomeer. Vant tells him he's being shipped off early because of Bruck's accusation that Obi-Wan hurt him. Bant, a ten-year-old Mon Calamari who is Obi-Wan's friend, arrives and says goodbye.

One day later

• Obi-Wan says goodbye to his fellow initiates and friends Garen Muln and Reeft at breakfast.
• Yoda argues with the council that Obi-Wan should be allowed to show Qui-Gon his fighting ability in the hopes of being chosen as his Padawan. The rest of the council says Obi-Wan has shown he is too angry, and Qui-Gon is not ready to have a new Padawan. Yoda shows the council the testimony of Advanced Jedi Training Droid 6, which witnessed the fight and testifies that Bruck started it. The council allows Obi-Wan to compete, but if he fails to be chosen by a master at the exhibition, he will still be sent to Bandomeer early.
• Qui-Gon Jinn arrives at the Temple. Every year, on the Council's request, Qui-Gon comes to the Temple to observe prospective Padawans but leaves without one. He has seen Obi-Wan fight on one of these visits before, and not chosen him.
• Obi-Wan and Bruck fight at the exhibition in the arena. Obi-Wan has been taught as an initiate to fight defensively instead of using flashy moves, but uses overwhelming strength to beat Bruck soundly.
• In the changing room after the fight, Qui-Gon reprimands Obi-Wan for fighting "like a very dangerous man" and declares him too angry to become a Jedi Knight.
• Yoda tries to convince Qui-Gon to take Obi-Wan on. Qui-Gon refuses.
• Obi-Wan arrives at his transport, The Monument. No one is at the entry port to guide him, and he's forgotten his datapad with his room number.
• Obi-Wan immediately gets choked by a Hutt and loses consciousness, as the Hutt declares anyone not working for Offworld is an enemy.
• Obi-Wan wakes, concussed and with an injured shoulder. He's being tended by a med droid after being found by Clat'Ha, the head of the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, which is the rival of Offworld Mining Corporation.
• Obi-Wan's injuries are even worse than initially thought, and he loses consciousness again and wakes up with tubes in his arms and an oxygen mask over his face. He has had a raging fever. Qui-Gon greets him, and Obi-Wan thinks perhaps Qui-Gon has come looking for him, but Qui-Gon says that he's going to Bandomeer for unrelated reasons.
• Clat'Ha and an Arconan called Si Treemba arrive and tell the Jedi that their tunnelling machines have been sabotaged. They accuse Offworld.
• The leader of Bandomeer's Offworld operation, Jemba the Hutt, arrives and declares that they didn't sabotage the machines, that the AMHC did it to frame them, and if the AMHC continues to accuse them, they would declare open war. (Note: the acronym AMHC isn't used at all in the text, and every time there is an opportunity to actually shorten the name of the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, it just gets called "our mining company". In contrast, Offworld Mining Corporation is consistently shortened to Offworld.)
• Obi-Wan wants to help find out who sabotaged the machines, but Qui-Gon tells him not to, because it's none of their business. Obi-Wan thinks that's ridiculous, and immediately starts planning how to do it with the help of his new best friend Si Treemba.
• Obi-Wan and Si Treemba search the Arconan half of the ship and find nothing.

Evening, same day

He was happy to treat Obi-Wan's injuries, but he refused to be responsible for his welfare. If the boy had gotten himself into some sort of mess, he would just have to find his own way out of it.

— Qui-Gon Jinn being bafflingly unaware that the Jedi Order should have a duty of care for Obi-Wan, a twelve-year-old boy who is still within the Jedi Order's wider organisation.

• Si Treemba and Obi-Wan have dinner. Si Treemba reveals that Arconans require a yellow crystalline substance called dactyl to survive. He also tells Obi-Wan that Offworld's workers are mostly slaves, and Clat'Ha has been buying them and setting them free so they can work at AMHC.
• Obi-Wan and Si Treemba attempt to search the Offworld half of the ship, but Si Treemba is caught. Obi-Wan escapes, but he knows he has to try to save his friend.
• Qui-Gon wakes up to discover that there's a bond between him and Obi-Wan strong enough that he feels Obi-Wan's fear. He decides that's Obi-Wan's problem, not his, and goes back to bed.
• Obi-Wan goes to rescue Si Treemba and discovers he's been put in the brig and injected with a saline solution deadly to Arconans. Despite imminent death, Si Treemba refuses to betray Obi-Wan.
• In one of his classically not-thought-out plans, Obi-Wan jumps into the room from the vents and faces off the Hutt who choked him (named Grelb) with a lightsaber. He also frees Si Treemba, who is able to eat a small amount of dactyl, which will counteract the saline.

Late at night, same day

• Obi-Wan and Si Treemba go to face Clat'Ha and Qui-Gon, who are unhappy. Qui-Gon reprimands Obi-Wan for disobeying him, to which Obi-Wan points out that he isn't under Qui-Gon's authority, as Qui-Gon has reminded him several times.
• Clat'Ha announces the thermocoms (the parts missing from the sabotaged machinery) were found an hour ago. We have no idea where they found them or what it proves about the sabotage, because the author forgot to tell us, I guess.
• They're interrupted by pirates attacking the ship. Of course they are.
• Qui-Gon orders Obi-Wan to go to the bridge to find out if the crew are alive, and if not, to fly the ship. Obi-Wan has never flown a ship before except in simulations.
• The pirates are Togorians, flying multiple Togorian warships. Obi-Wan fires proton torpedoes at them, which destroys one ship, which then crashes into another. Unfortunately, another warship decides to fire back. It hits, but doesn't destroy the bridge.
• A Togorian stabs Qui-Gon in the shoulder. He is only fighting alongside Clat'Ha, as Offworld is fighting off the pirates on their side of the ship and the Arconans have hidden in their rooms.
• The docking mechanism that the Togorians used to board them breaks as Obi-Wan tries to steer the ship away from the pirates, leading to Qui-Gon, Clat'Ha and the pirates to be sucked towards empty space. At the last moment, Clat'Ha kills the pirate bearing down on Qui-Gon and Qui-Gon is able to hit the door control to close it, sealing the ship once more. He's bleeding heavily and very weak.
• The Togorians flee, recognising too much of their fleet has been destroyed to continue the attack. Si Treemba launches distress beacons.
• The Monument is falling apart, and Si Treemba points out that they have to land or they'll all die. They see a planet in the distance, but they don't know anything about it because the navigation and other systems are down. Whether the air is safe to breathe or not, it has to be better than the vacuum of space.
• Obi-Wan successfully lands the ship on a small island on the planet, which is covered in water and has five moons. He sees enormous silvery creatures with equally enormous wings who fly in flocks. Most of them seem to be asleep on the wing. The narration refers to them as draigons.
• Dozens of miners have been injured or killed in the pirate attack, mostly the crew and Offworld miners. The med droid treats the injured ones, and Qui-Gon asks the droid to bandage him in his cabin. Clat'Ha insists on following, as she wants to make sure Qui-Gon is alright.
• The air on the planet is safe to breathe, and the ship's crews begin repairs. The captain decrees that no one can work in the daytime, when the beasts would be awake. The ship engineer estimates that it will take two nights to repair the ship.
• Obi-Wan joins Qui-Gon in his cabin, horrified by the severity of his wounds, which extend from the back of his shoulders to his ribs. Satisfied that Qui-Gon is alright once she sees the droid bandage him, Clat'Ha goes to sleep in her own cabin.
• Qui-Gon debriefs Obi-Wan, asking if he thought about the fact that breaking the docking bays would kill hundreds of pirates. Obi-Wan, who is exhausted and also a twelve-year-old boy, admits he didn't think about anything. When Qui-Gon asks, he confirms that he was angry and frightened, but that he didn't kill in anger, only to save lives. Qui-Gon is satisfied with this answer, but feels disappointed that Obi-Wan passed the test. He admits to himself that he doesn't want to trust Obi-Wan because he had trusted his previous Padawan, Xanatos, and been betrayed by him.
• Obi-Wan is so tired that he's swaying on his feet, but Si Treemba comes to the cabin and announces that Jemba the Hutt has stolen all of the dactyl. He just can't catch a break.
• Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Si Treemba and Clat'Ha go to the Arconans' lounge, which has been taken over by Offworld. Offworld has also stolen the majority of the ship's weapons. Qui-Gon knows that he's too weak to fight, both from his injury and his Force use. He has been using the Force for "hours" to help heal his wound, which doesn't make much sense timeline-wise, but sure, Dave Wolverton. Jemba also knows Qui-Gon is too weak to fight, and refuses to back down.
• Obi-Wan impulsively yells that he can stop Jemba (which both Jemba and Qui-Gon know is not true) and takes out his lightsaber. Qui-Gon convinces Obi-Wan to put away his saber, because if Jemba's thugs open fire, many people will die.
• Jemba tells the Arconans that if they defect from the AMHC, he will pay them in dactyl. Despite the fact that it means they'll basically be enslaved to Offworld, with their only pay being their own stolen dactyl, the Arconans accept. Their culture does not value freedom in the same way that humans do, and consider that being alive and with other Arconans is enough.
• Obi-Wan pleads with Si Treemba not to defect, saying that he's asking as Si Treemba's friend. Si Treemba returns to Obi-Wan, and all the Arconans reluctantly follow.
• Obi-Wan helps Qui-Gon back to his room as Qui-Gon’s injuries catch up with him. Obi-Wan suggests he could sneak through the vents and assassinate Jemba, but Qui-Gon says that it wouldn't solve anything, since there are so many Hutts and a worse one might take his place. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon discuss when Qui-Gon chooses to kill (only as a last resort) and Obi-Wan recognises that earlier in their journey, Qui-Gon would have just dismissed him curtly instead of explaining things. In light of this, he asks Qui-Gon if he's reconsidering Obi-Wan and might take him as a Padawan.
• Qui-Gon shuts him down, and sees the hope die in Obi-Wan's eyes. He feels unexpectedly bad about crushing a twelve-year-old's dreams.

A few hours before dawn

• Obi-Wan wanders the ship, unable to get to sleep despite his exhaustion, and finally ends up near the engine room, where Si Treemba finds him. Obi-Wan tells him that he had no idea such evil could exist before he left the Temple, and is concerned that his own desperate desire to do well enough to become a Jedi Knight is the seeds of the same greed he sees in Jemba. Si Treemba assures him that that's not the case.
• Qui-Gon sleeps restlessly, unsure why his thoughts keep returning to Obi-Wan. At one point, he sees a yellow haze and hears scuttling of small animals, but falls asleep before he can make sense of it.

Just before dawn, the morning after Obi-Wan boarded the transport to Bandomeer

• When Qui-Gon gets up for breakfast, his shoulder feeling much better, he sees Arconans hurrying about with crates of their belongings. One of them informs him that the tide is rising and might swamp the ship. They've all been given the order to evacuate to the hills, where the crew has found some caves. They need to get there before the sun fully rises and wakes up the draigons.
• Clat'Ha tells Qui-Gon that some Arconans are already fading from lack of dactyl. If they don't get any by tonight, they will begin to die. Qui-Gon suddenly realises he knows where the dactyl is, and tells Clat'Ha that he can solve the problem, but she has to wait instead of helping him.
• Qui-Gon, having realised that Jemba has hidden the dactyl in the highest caves, starts to climb. The Hutt guarding the dactyl (Grelb) spots him, and is ordered to kill him.

Several hours later

• The passengers and crew all make it to the caves. Si Treemba becomes sick, and Obi-Wan makes him promise that he won't die before Qui-Gon returns. He promises, even though he knows he has no actual control over when he'll die and it will happen regardless if Qui-Gon is too slow.
• A storm has broken out, making Qui-Gon's journey even more treacherous. He has to go slowly so he won't be seen, and everything is slippery from the rain.
• Grelb and several Whipids begin shooting at Qui-Gon, missing him deliberately every time in an attempt to make him squirm, since drawing out his death is their idea of fun. They're interrupted by the draigons attacking them, eating many of the Whipids.
• Qui-Gon uses the distraction to get to the cave and load the dactyl into his sack, but eventually he's also spotted by the draigons. As he hides in the cave, he feels a pull towards Obi-Wan, who has called out to him because the Arconans are dying and Obi-Wan is overcome with despair. Obi-Wan shouldn't be able to call for his help through the Force, since they don't have a Master and Padawan bond, but it's the will of the Force. He has to get to Obi-Wan.
• Qui-Gon decides the best way to get back to the main caves is to ride a draigon. The draigon he lands on disagrees, but he manages to coax it just long enough to do what he wants.
• Qui-Gon warns Obi-Wan in the Force that danger is coming. He finally gets close enough to the caves to jump off his draigon, but it has brought scores of other draigons with it. Obi-Wan guards the entrance while Qui-Gon delivers the dactyl to the Arconans. Jemba tries to stop him but is distracted by the roar of the draigons.
• Obi-Wan finds that he's finally connecting with the Force in a way he never has before, seeing strikes before they happen and knowing exactly where to shoot the draigons. He's doing a great job.
• Jemba goes to kill Obi-Wan at the entrance, but instead Grelb tries to kill Obi-Wan from outside the cave, and when Obi-Wan dodges, the shot kills Jemba instead. Grelb is then killed by a draigon.
• Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Clat'Ha work together to defend their cave entrance long enough that draigon bodies block further draigons from entering. They then move on to the other entrances, convincing the Hutts and Whipids to follow their strategy instead of Jemba's strategy of fighting outside the cave, which had already killed hundreds of miners. Sometimes, the draigons dig extra entrances and come at the fighting force from above or behind, but the Arconans, now recovered, are in their natural habitat, and turn out to be fierce fighters in caves. They're so vicious that the Hutts and Whipids leave them to it.

Near nightfall, same day

• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan doggedly fight at the last entrance to the caves, and at last the draigons retreat. The Hutts and Whipids start cheering, not in relief, but for the Jedi. When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go get the rest of the dactyl, no one stops them.
• The final death toll of the battle is over 300 Offworld miners and 87 Arconans.
• Clat'Ha offers to buy out all the contracts of the surviving Offworld miners, including the next-ranked Hutt (named Aggaba). Aggaba accepts.

Morning, two days after Obi-Wan left the Temple

• Qui-Gon feels uneasy, because he's got much closer to Obi-Wan than he intended. Touching another Jedi's mind like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had is (according to Qui-Gon) only done between the closest friends or between a Knight and their Padawan. Even though he can tell that the Force is urging him to take Obi-Wan as a Padawan, he decides to wait and test Obi-Wan further, because he really doesn't want to make the same mistake as when he took Xanatos.

Three days after Obi-Wan left the Temple

• The Monument arrives on Bandomeer, and Obi-Wan marvels at the jungle, plains and sea — the kind of wilderness he's never seen on Coruscant.
• A police officer is waiting for them when they land in the city of Bandor (which only has a tiny port, barely big enough to fit the Monument), and hands Qui-Gon an ominous note which Obi-Wan reads over his shoulder: "I have been looking forward to this day. - Xanatos". As he reads, Qui-Gon’s face goes pale.
• The curtain closes. We've done it, we've got to the end of The Rising Force.

Morning, six days after Obi-Wan left the Temple

• Qui-Gon wakes from the nightmare he's had over and over for the last three nights. He and Obi-Wan are sleeping in the same guest chamber of the Bandomeer governor's residence. He dreams of the words "K-7, Core 8. Core 7. Core 6. Core 5", a symbol of a broken circle, being trapped somewhere, and someone saying "I will do it". He has no idea how to interpret the nightmare, and decides not to read anything into it.
• Qui-Gon reflects on the separate missions he and Obi-Wan would now embark on: Obi-Wan would be sent to help in the largest of the Enrichment Zones (areas that the AgriCorps are replanting after they've been exhausted of minerals). Qui-Gon has instead been asked to be a Guardian of the Peace™, requested by name by the governor, but he doesn't yet know what that entails. He suspects it has to do with the relatively recent changes to the mining companies on the planet — the immigrant population of Arconans has allied with the Meerians to form a mining cooperative called the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, and all profits are shared. Unfortunately, Offworld Mining Corporation is the main mining company on the planet, and it hates competition. Whatever's happening, he really hopes he doesn't have to meet Xanatos again.
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan meet with the governor of Bandomeer, SonTag, and the leader of the Home Planet Mine, VeerTa. They reveal that the summons the Jedi Council received asking for a Guardian of the Peace was forged, and did not come from the governor as the Council thought. SonTag asks for Jedi presence at Home Planet's first meeeting with Offworld anyway, as they don't trust Offworld at all.
• Despite Obi-Wan's hopes of attending such an important meeting, Qui-Gon instead organises for him to be transported to the Eastern Enrichment Zone. Obi-Wan is absolutely fuming, but has to follow Qui-Gon's orders.
• Some time later, Qui-Gon attends the meeting, held in the governor's palace. SonTag, VeerTa and Clat'Ha are present. Fashionably late, Xanatos walks in, wearing the most drama queen outfit: a shiny black cape with a dark blue lining matching his eyes. He has a scar in the shape of a broken circle on his cheek and flowing black hair. I'm not saying this villain is queer-coded, but he's pretty flamboyant. He greets Qui-Gon with a huge grin, calling him "old friend", which Qui-Gon knows is definitely fake. He claims that he was held up in an ion storm and was definitely not late on purpose. He's the new representative for Offworld, what with Jemba dying in the last book, and he totally supports what Home Planet is trying to do. He charms SonTag and VeerTa, even offering to donate 10% of Offworld's profits to the reclamation efforts. Qui-Gon is still deeply suspicious, because Offworld has never made a charitable contribution ever, so it's pretty weird to start now. Clat'Ha is more difficult to win over because of the viciousness of Offworld on the Monument, and Xanatos is in the middle of trying to bring her around when there's an explosion outside.
• They all turn to the window to see that there's a huge plume of smoke that clears to reveal a building at the Home Planet Mine's site has been destroyed, one of the mining towers has collapsed, and as they watch, the other mining tower wobbles and then also collapses onto another building.
• VeerTa immediately tries to punch Xanatos into a pulp because obviously he must have done this, and Clat'Ha agrees. Qui-Gon stops VeerTa from actually injuring him, but it's a close thing. Xanatos claims he had nothing to do with it, which reassures absolutely no one, but SonTag defuses things by pointing out that they should go to the mine to help the survivors. Forty miners are trapped underground, and Qui-Gon, Clat'Ha, SonTag and VeerTa work tirelessly to rescue the wounded and pull out the bodies.

Evening, same day

• Qui-Gon, Clat'Ha, SonTag and VeerTa retire to one of the other buildings to sadly pick at their food and contemplate resting. VeerTa is convinced that the Home Planet Mine's dreams are dead, but Clat'Ha believes they can rebuild, and surrender is what Offworld wants. SonTag reveals that they've found the cause: it was a faulty sensor that allowed a dangerous mixture of gases in one of the tunnels. VeerTa says they have the mine under 24-hour guard, so it can't have been tampered with. Qui-Gon is still suspicious.
• SonTag also announces that Xanatos has offered to help rebuild the mine with Offworld resources and house displaced workers, which makes Qui-Gon even more suspicious. He still thinks this is some sort of trap, but he can't see what Xanatos gains from it.

A few days later(?)

The only indication of time is that in chapter 7, immediately after Obi-Wan talks to Qui-Gon about finding Offworld supplies in the dome, it says: "It was amazing how much work had been done since the explosion. The mine was scheduled to go back into operation in only a week. Offworld had followed through on its promise, and had given money and droids. They had already cleared away debris from the tunnels, and were working on shoring them up again." which sounds like it must take a few days at minimum.

• Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is super bored on his tours around the AgriCorps facilities. His guide is the dullest Meerian ever, RonTha. The good news is that Si Treemba is also here, helping the AgriCorps with their research into integrating dactyl into the food supply.
• When RonTha is called away mid-tour, Obi-Wan and Si Treemba get into mischief, stealing some delicious fruit and then running from some gardeners and ending up in a pile of fertiliser. Next to the pile of fertiliser, Obi-Wan notices a strange wall that goes transparent briefly when he touches it. When he uses the Force on it, it goes entirely transparent and finds a door that opens for him. It looks like a storeroom, but Obi-Wan has no idea why a storeroom would be concealed like this, so he goes inside while Si Treemba stands guard.
• He finds cargo boxes with Offworld's logo on them: a black triangle that shows a red planet with an orbiting holographic spaceship. The boxes contain mining equipment like explosives, turbo-drills, detonators, tunnel borers and biotic grenades. The problem is that the AgriCorps is forbidden from having anything to do with profit-making, and the only point of mining is profit. He also sees a small box that doesn't have an Offworld label, but does have a symbol of a broken circle.
• He immediately calls Qui-Gon, who tells him to do nothing. Obi-Wan is frustrated, but Qui-Gon acts like it's not important, and tells him to concentrate on the work of the AgriCorps. If he finds actual evidence of wrongdoing, he should contact Qui-Gon immediately and do nothing by himself. Obi-Wan reluctantly agrees.
• Qui-Gon goes to the Home Planet Mine, marvelling at how much work has been done already to repair it. Offworld actually kept its promise and lent them money and supplies, and they're scheduled to go back into operation in only a week.
• VeerTa has excellent news for him. The explosion had actually blasted deeper into the ground than they've ever gone, and they've found a vein of one of the most valuable minerals in the galaxy: ionite. This is especially exciting news because she says no one has found ionite on Bandomeer before — the Home Planet Mine mines azurite. With this discovery, the Home Planet Mine will have a monopoly on ionite, and that could bring in enough profit to fund the rejuvenation of the entire planet.
• Unfortunately, Offworld exists, and would certainly drive them out of business and grab the ionite for themselves if they knew. The explosion destroyed all their existing azurite, too, so they're technically bankrupt. VeerTa is confident that they only need a few weeks to get everything up and running and then Offworld can't do anything about their monopoly. She takes Qui-Gon into the mine to show him what they've found, and Qui-Gon is alarmed when they go into the K-7 region, Core 6. He asks if they have a Core 5, but she says they don't have the technology to dig that far down.
• She asks Qui-Gon to join the board of directors of Home Planet Mine, but Qui-Gon refuses, as Jedi can't make any profit from their missions.
• Qui-Gon decides to investigate Xanatos's position in Offworld, because he is actually concerned about that box Obi-Wan found, and lied to Obi-Wan. He discovers that the head of the company is anonymous, and the board of directors consists of rulers of worlds that are basically Offworld vassals. He decides that to get answers, he has to go right to Offworld HQ. Once he arrives, he mind-tricks the Hutt at the front desk to let him into Xanatos's office and turn all the security measures off. Xanatos's office walls are the same opaque material that turns transparent when touched as Obi-Wan had described, and he finds the hidden door with the Force and goes in.
• Qui-Gon gets into Xanatos's restricted files by using the password "Crion", the name of his father. All the files are written in code, so Qui-Gon can't read anything, but he becomes convinced that Xanatos's symbol, the two broken circles overlapping, also look like the initials "OC" for Offworld Corporation. He believes that Offworld was founded by Xanatos so he could do something undercover, but has no idea what.

Night, same day

• Obi-Wan and Si Treemba decide to stake out the weird storage unit. Obi-Wan literally says, "What can go wrong?"
• That night, Obi-Wan volunteers to take first shift but starts getting sleepy, so he decides to go into the storage area to have a quick look around to wake himself up, but gets caught by Xanatos, who identifies himself as a "friend" and claims he was once Qui-Gon’s Padawan. Obi-Wan is sceptical, because the story goes that Qui-Gon’s old Padawan is dead, and that he disgraced the Jedi. But Xanatos wins him over by talking about how Qui-Gon is cold and witholds his trust, no matter how much you try to prove yourself to him. Xanatos says that Qui-Gon will betray Obi-Wan just as he betrayed Xanatos.
• Suddenly, Offworld guards arrive and proclaim they've found the thieves and start attacking both Xanatos and Obi-Wan. Neither of them kill any of the guards, attempting to take them down non-lethally, and Xanatos allows himself to be trapped into a corner. As Obi-Wan goes to save him, he gets taken out by an electro-jabber and a hit from behind, and loses consciousness.
• Qui-Gon calls Yoda and tells him that he thinks Xanatos plans to take over Bandomeer. Yoda tells him he has to find out more before he acts on this suspicion, even though Qui-Gon says that Bandomeer doesn't have the resources to fight Offworld, and it has to be prevented instead. When Yoda points out that he couldn't even read the restricted files so this is a bit of a reach, Qui-Gon insists that he knows Xanatos, and that's why he's confident he's planning something evil. Yoda points out that Qui-Gon had been so sure that he knew Xanatos when he was his Padawan, too, and look how that turned out. Yoda tells him to play along for now and wait for Xanatos to make a mistake, which Qui-Gon reluctantly agrees to. Yoda also asks why Qui-Gon hasn't told Obi-Wan about any of this, because they're both looking into the same thing. Qui-Gon insists that he's not telling Obi-Wan for Obi-Wan's safety. Yoda says, "The apprentice accepts the danger when the Master accepts the apprentice," to which Qui-Gon protests that he hasn't taken Obi-Wan as his apprentice; they are merely on the same planet. Yoda says Qui-Gon should trust Obi-Wan and then hangs up.
• Qui-Gon reflects on this and concludes that he might have actually put Obi-Wan in more danger by keeping him in the dark. He calls Obi-Wan but gets no reply, which is weird because Obi-Wan is always prompt at answering his comm. He gets a feeling that Obi-Wan is in danger, and then Clat'Ha arrives at his door and announces that Si Treemba had told her that Obi-Wan has disappeared.

The next day

• Obi-Wan wakes up with a cracking headache and bandages on his ribs and shoulder. He's got some kind of smooth collar on his neck and he's in a long, narrow room full of sleeping platforms. He's missing his lightsaber and his comlink. When he tries to stand, his head hurts too much, so he concentrates on trying to heal it through the Force, and the pain lessens enough for him to stand. When he looks out a window, all he can see is the sea, and realises he must be on a deepsea mining platform. He knows deepsea mining is a pretty deadly posting, which doesn't bode well for him.
• He meets another deepsea miner called Guerra, who is a Phindian and has a habit of making false statements, followed by "Not so, I lie!" and then the truth, while laughing. He calls Obi-Wan "Obawan" the entire time they know each other. He outfits Obi-Wan for mining and pushes him through a doorway to the outside. When Obi-Wan protests that he's not a miner, he's been kidnapped, Guerra laughs at him and says that they're all slaves. After five years, they give you enough money to get transport off-planet and start over, but only if you survive that long — which most don't. He gives Obi-Wan a thermo-suit and a helmet. When Obi-Wan asks about the smooth collar he woke up wearing, Guerra tells him it's an electro-collar, and if he tries to leave the mining platform, it will explode. The collars are controlled from the mainland, which means that even if there's a rebellion and they overpower the guards, they can't escape. The guards can't blow them up, either, but they can kill them by throwing them off the platform, so that doesn't help them much. "Don't look so sad, Obawan. Tomorrow, you'll probably be dead!" Guerra says, then laughs some more.
• Obi-Wan tries to use the Force to turn off his collar, but it doesn't work, and he concludes he must be too weak. He has to bide his time until there's some kind of opportunity to escape, and resolves to play along for now.

Dusk, same day

Is it the same day, or somehow several days later? It doesn't make sense with Si Treemba's character to withold his knowledge for any length of time, so I have to assume it's the same day. See here for more speculation on this.

• Qui-Gon knows he should contact the Council and wait for instructions, but he doesn't want to. Si Treemba told him that he had woken up to see Offworld guards hauling away an unconscious Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon decided that the playing field had changed with Obi-Wan's kidnapping and he doesn't have to wait anymore. He waits until dusk, when he goes to the administrative building he knows Xanatos is in, and confronts him in the yard. He tells Xanatos that he's here to stop him taking over Bandomeer. When Xanatos shows Qui-Gon that he still has his lightsaber, Xanatos complains that friendship means nothing to Qui-Gon, and that Qui-Gon enjoyed his suffering back on Telos. Xanatos claims to be more powerful than Yoda, and that Bandomeer and its wealth are his to own. When Qui-Gon challenges him, Xanatos lights his saber (a thing he should not have, because he should have surrendered it upon leaving the Order) and they duel. Qui-Gon confirms that Xanatos is now using the Dark side. After some fighting, Xanatos pulls out Obi-Wan's saber and starts using that, too, and Qui-Gon realises that Obi-Wan is more important than his past with Xanatos. He takes Obi-Wan's saber and flees from the battle.

Two days later

Obi-Wan watched the indicator lights tick down their descent. He felt like a void himself. He had absolutely disappeared. He was deep under the sea floor, in a place where Qui-Gon would never think to look. And even if Qui-Gon could trace him… would he actually save him? Xanatos' mocking words sang in Obi-Wan's mind. Would Qui-Gon betray Obi-Wan as Xanatos claimed he had betrayed his former apprentice? Would Qui-Gon leave him to die?

— Obi-Wan having very real concerns about a man who left him to the mercy of Hutts.

• Obi-Wan is still too weak to override his collar with the force, as he's half starved, still injured and exhausted from working in the mines. At night, after the grueling work of the day, the miners had fighting competitions that frequently ended in significant maiming. Obi-Wan avoids them.
• Guerra tells him that today they are going to the deepest level of the mines, which contains traces of ionite. Ionite causes machines to malfunction and go dead, meaning that miners may get no warning of bad air getting into the tunnels or other warning systems. Obi-Wan is depressed about it.

An amount of time later? Is it evening of the same day? Is it evening of another day? Who knows!

It goes from Guerra talking about the fact that instruments go dead, to Obi-Wan despairing about never being found, to Obi-Wan avoiding the miners' fighting competitions (which I put in the dot point above it because I thought it made more sense there), to him talking to Guerra in the evening. Guerra asking for the keys implies he's done inventory very recently, so does that mean he's spent at least one day doing that between him telling Obi-Wan about the ionite? I wish I knew more clearly. ZeenMrala (she/her)

• Obi-Wan asks Guerra whether he's ever seen a small box with a broken circle on it. Guerra says there is one in the explosives room, which he had recently done inventory on. It hadn't been on the inventory, but the guards had told him not to talk about it. When Obi-Wan asks if Guerra can get him into the explosives room, Guerra refuses, because not sticking out his neck for anyone is how he's survived three years in the mines.
• Obi-Wan claims he can override his collar, and he and Guerra can steal a boat and make it back to the mainland. When Guerra points out that his collar is still live, Obi-Wan lies and says he's waiting for the right moment. He's sure that once he's fully recovered, he'll be able to do it with the Force.
• Obi-Wan finally convinces Guerra to at least ask the guard for the keys. When the guard initially refuses, Obi-Wan uses a mind trick on the guard to get them the keys, convincing him that it's a good idea to check the supplies again. They open the door and Obi-Wan asks Guerra to show him where the box was, but Guerra notices that there are guards running towards them, likely because of a silent alarm. He betrays Obi-Wan by shouting to the guards that he's found him. The guards tell Obi-Wan that he'll be thrown overboard tomorrow morning, because their shift is over now and they're not going to work extra just to kill someone when they could do it on company time.

44 BBY (Obi-Wan age 13)

Just before dawn the next day, which is also Obi-Wan's birthday

• Qui-Gon questions Si Treemba and RonTha at the Enrichment Dome, and they reveal that a group of men were seen carrying Obi-Wan through the dome, led by someone in a black cloak. RonTha followed them all the way to the sea landing, where two men carried Obi-Wan onto a boat. One of them said they would see Obi-Wan in five years if he was lucky, but Obi-Wan was still unconscious. This comment makes Si Treemba realise that they must have taken him to the deepsea mining platform.
• Qui-Gon rushes to the mining platform. Through electrobinoculars, he sees Obi-Wan being pushed towards the edge by guards, and despairs that he's too far away to help him, and just has to hope Obi-Wan survives the fall and he can pick him up. But then he sees that Guerra, on a lower level, has fashioned a kind of sling out of a spun carbon tarp, which he then holds out approximately where Obi-Wan will fall.
• Obi-Wan falls. His face is grim, accepting death rather than being terrified of it. When he sees the sling, he uses the Force to change his trajectory so he lands on it and Guerra grabs him and pulls him to safety. Unfortunately, the guards see it happen and start rushing to the lower level.
• Qui-Gon arrives, and pulls himself onto the lower level where Obi-Wan was saved. Obi-Wan and Guerra are running away, but when Qui-Gon arrives, Obi-Wan stops and turns, despite Qui-Gon making no sound. "I hoped you would come," Obi-Wan says. He introduces Guerra, and Qui-Gon says to bring him, but they have to hurry because the guards saw what happened. Guerra points out that he and Obi-Wan can't go because of their collars. Qui-Gon disables Obi-Wan's with the Force, but before he can disable Guerra's, the guards turn up.
• Qui-Gon gives Obi-Wan his lightsaber, and they fight in a coordinated duet against the guards. Guerra is hit, but he's only injured, not killed. Obi-Wan gives him a blaster and tells him to hide in the stairwell, promising that Guerra's collar will be deactivated within the hour. Guerra admits that he trusts Obi-Wan at last, and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon race towards the mainland in the boat.
• Qui-Gon says, "You said you hoped I would come. Not knew, but hoped." and in response, Obi-Wan says Qui-Gon has to tell him about Xanatos, because Xanatos had told him that he had been Qui-Gon's apprentice and Qui-Gon betrayed him. When Qui-Gon asks whether Obi-Wan believes him, Obi-Wan says that he doesn't believe Qui-Gon would betray a Padawan, but is confused about why Xanatos hates Qui-Gon so much. Obi-Wan is convinced that Xanatos threw him in the deepsea mines to get back at Qui-Gon, which Qui-Gon agrees with.
• Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan about Xanatos. He tells him about how despite Qui-Gon thinking Xanatos was basically perfect, Yoda had reservations, and Qui-Gon resented that. Qui-Gon thought he could prove Yoda right when Yoda gave them one last mission between Xanatos's knighting, and admits that he let his pride and need to be right overwhelm him rather than listen to Yoda's concerns. The last mission was a test for Qui-Gon, too, and he failed it. "It's important that you know this, Obi-Wan. Even a Jedi Knight is still a living being, with the same failings," Qui-Gon says, and Obi-Wan responds with the famous line, "We are not saints, but seekers," which is a Jedi saying. For the details of what else he tells Obi-Wan, see the events of the Telosian Civil War here. (Though he does not tell Obi-Wan that he reported Xanatos dead, only that he escaped. Since Orykan doesn't exist in the book version of these events, he doesn't give a specific reason for killing Crion.)
• When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrive in Bandor Harbour, they go to the Offworld security office and Qui-Gon demands the transmitters for the collars by cutting off the guards' hands. He's a man of few words and fewer plans, in a very literal sense: when Obi-Wan asked if Qui-Gon has a plan, he replies, "We don't have time for a plan." Qui-Gon deactivates the collars, and tries to remove Obi-Wan's. He can't get it off, even trying to cut it with his lightsaber at low power. He concludes that he would need his lightsaber on a higher power, which is too dangerous, so they'll have to find a way to get it off at some later point. He gives Obi-Wan the transmitter, just in case.
• Qui-Gon commandeers an Offworld security landspeeder and they head off towards the city, in search of Xanatos. Xanatos himself intercepts them, and his speeder bike has laser cannons. The commandeered speeder has no weapons, so Qui-Gon has to do some very fancy driving to stop them from getting killed. They drive to Home Planet Mine, knowing that they have allies who will have weapons there, but no one is above ground, because they're all working on the repairs to the mine. They try to fight Xanatos, but they can't fight him while he's on his speeder bike. They have to retreat into the mine — which Qui-Gon has the ominous feeling is exactly what Xanatos wants them to do.
• They go down to Core 6, the deepest level, in the hope that they can get to the other lift tube and escape or come at Xanatos from behind. When they emerge into the tunnel, though, Xanatos has arrived before them. "Which one of you shall I kill first? You, or your clumsy boy?" Xanatos says, and Obi-Wan manages to jump onto a mine cart and launch himself at Xanatos, burning Xanatos's hand.
• Xanatos escapes into a cross-tunnel, and just before they follow him, Obi-Wan asks if they should. When Qui-Gon asks why they wouldn't, Obi-Wan points out that it's what Xanatos wants them to do. Qui-Gon says they can still defeat Xanatos, even if he has chosen the field of battle. They hurry down the tunnel, which slopes sharply downwards. Qui-Gon sees the sign "Core 5", which means VeerTa was either lying to him or didn't know there's an even deeper level.
• Once they get into the Core 5 tunnel, a panel slides shut behind them, trapping them. Then the lights turn off, making it pitch black. Xanatos taunts them, asking if they're ready for a Temple exercise, and boasts that he was always the best at the blindfold test.
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan battle him in the dark. Neither of them get hurt, but they also can't defeat Xanatos. Obi-Wan realises that anger is clouding his mind and lets it go, thinking more clearly, and he and Qui-Gon's energy in the Force meld together and they're able to back Xanatos into a corner — only for the wall Xanatos is up against to suddenly open: it's the door to the lift. Xanatos leaves, telling them that he's set the mine to blow by filling it with bad air, and only Xanatos has enough time to escape.
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan rush to the tunnel entrance, only to find that the barrier trapping them is still there. They can't move it with the Force, even with their combined efforts, and lightsabers do nothing. Obi-Wan comes to the conclusion that there's only one way to save Home Planet Mine and through that, all of Bandomeer: Obi-Wan still has his collar on, so if he uses his transmitter to reactivate it, it will go off and hopefully blast through the barrier, allowing Qui-Gon to escape.
• Qui-Gon sees the flaw in this plan immediately, namely that Obi-Wan will explode and die. He insists that there has to be another way, and addresses Obi-Wan as "Padawan" in his desperation. Obi-Wan says he must do it, and when Qui-Gon says he won't allow it, Obi-Wan insists that Obi-Wan will win if they fight, because Obi-Wan is right and Qui-Gon is wrong.
• Qui-Gon suddenly realises that the broken circle logo is on the panel sealing them in. He tries to make the circle whole using the Force, and as the circle completes, the panel opens. They both race back up the tunnel and hit the evacuation alarm. Just before they enter the south lift to evacuate themselves, Qui-Gon looks around and spots a box just like the one Obi-Wan had seen. It's sitting on top of a stack of explosives.
• Obi-Wan insists that they don't have time to investigate it, but Qui-Gon cuts the lock on the box with a very precise lightsaber stroke and discovers that there's an ion bomb inside. When Obi-Wan says once more that they have to go because Xanatos said there were bad gases, Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan that Xanatos lied — the ion bomb is on a timer, and ion is the most destructive explosive in the galaxy. He guesses that all the boxes across the planet will blow at the same time when the timer goes off. The one they're looking at is the master control, so if they can disarm it, that will render the others inert, but the mechanism is so delicate that Qui-Gon needs time to disarm it. The bomb is going to go off in three minutes, and he needs fifteen.
• Qui-Gon muses that Xanatos's hatred of Qui-Gon has led Xanatos not only to destroy an entire planet, but an entire fortune, too: VeerTa had said that the ionite vein was worth unimaginable amounts of money. Obi-Wan is confused, because he thought this was an azurite mine, and Qui-Gon clarifies that they had found a vein of ionite underneath. Obi-Wan collects rocks that contain ionite from the pile of debris at the end of the tunnel and stacks them around the timer. When Qui-Gon is confused, he says that ionite disrupts timers because it has a neutral charge. The very quality that makes miners fear it will save them all.
• Having disarmed the bomb and escaped the mine, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go to the governor's palace, where SonTag, VeerTa and Clat'Ha are talking. They tell the Jedi that they just had an emergency evacuation of the mine even though their sensors haven't picked up anything wrong, and that the Offworld mining platform had also had a malfunction of the electro-collars and the enslaved miners had revolted and escaped. VeerTa passes on a message from Guerra that he's alright.
• Qui-Gon reveals that Xanatos was behind the initial explosion of the Home Planet Mine, and everyone is horrified that they had trusted Xanatos when he had denied it. Qui-Gon also reveals that someone had betrayed Home Planet and told Xanatos about the ionite vein, and under pressure, VeerTa admits it was her. She says she did it for the good of Bandomeer, because she had been promised that with Offworld behind it, the Home Planet Mine would be sure to be profitable. Qui-Gon then points out that there were the little ion bombs all over the planet, including the Enrichment Zones, and someone must have helped him put them there, too. VeerTa says that he told her they were equipment for future mining operations. She protests that there was no way she could have known what Xanatos was planning, because it made no sense for Xanatos to destroy all the potential wealth he could gain.
• Qui-Gon knows that revenge is even more powerful than greed, and that all of this was to give Qui-Gon the most painful death he could imagine: to die knowing that Qui-Gon had failed to save an untold number of lives. He doesn't bother to explain this though.
• Xanatos has escaped the planet. Clat'Ha is furious that he won't pay the price for what he's done, but she will ensure VeerTa does. Qui-Gon promises Xanatos will pay.
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan return to their room, bound for a transport that leaves in "a few hours". Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan that Yoda has another mission for them, and Obi-Wan feels a thrill at the two of them being referred to as a unit.
• The last exchange of the book is... well, it sure is an exchange that happens. Qui-Gon discovers that Xanatos has left him a note, which he stuck to his pillow with a vibro-shiv: "If you are reading this, I suppose I underestimated you. I won't next time. I enjoyed our adventure together, Master. I am certain you will have the pleasure of meeting me again." Obi-Wan wonders if Qui-Gon is angry at this, and they then have this conversation:

Qui-Gon Jinn

I'm not angry, Obi-Wan. Xanatos is gone from me. He is just another enemy now. The hate is all on his side. I am prepared to fight the evil he does. He may kill me one day, but he will never wound me again. You showed me this. In the mine, when you reached out with the Force and showed me how light can always battle dark. My anger left me. In the end, you taught me something about myself. And when the Padawan teaches a Master in turn, the partnership is right.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (hopefully)

You called me Padawan in the mine.

Qui-Gon Jinn

You would have died for me. Your courage is extraordinary, even for a Jedi. I would be honored to accept you as my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (feeling warmth fill him)

I accept, Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

Qui-Gon Jinn

Of course, you would not have succeeded with your plan. I would have stopped you from dying on me.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (serenely)

You would not have been able to, Master.

— A conversation that definitely doesn't give Obi-Wan a martyr complex.

• And then they are both amused about, because a twelve-year-old offering to literally kill himself is a funny thing to have happen. "They knew they would debate this over those years, even as the memory of a planet called Bandomeer had faded. It would be a friendly disagreement between them, a bond of history and trust." You know, a friendly disagreement.
• And that's a wrap! It's the end of The Dark Rival, and the beginning of Obi-Wan's apprenticeship for real. From the beginning of The Rising Force to the end of The Dark Rival, it's been approximately four weeks (since it said at the beginning of The Rising Force that his birthday was in four weeks).

A few hours later

Obi-Wan trailed after Qui-Gon, fighting off a feeling of hopelessness. Would he ever please his new Master? Just when he felt Qui-Gon had given him the strong base of his trust, he found himself hanging free. Now he realized that the only thing Qui-Gon had ever truly given him was a rock.

— Someone help this poor sad boy.

• It's Obi-Wan's birthday, and despite the fact that Jedi birthdays are generally very low-key, spent in reflection and meditation, the thirteenth one is supposed to be special, because one receives a gift from their Jedi Master. They're special gifts, too: "Masters usually thought for weeks or months about their gifts, often traveling to far reaches for a healing crystal, or a blanket or cloak from the weavers of the planet Pasmin, who wove garment of great warmth out of material so fine it was almost weightless."
• Unfortunately, Obi-Wan isn't sure Qui-Gon even knows it's his birthday, because he hasn't mentioned it all day. It seems odd for Obi-Wan to assume Qui-Gon would have mentioned it when they spent so much of the day running and/or fighting for their lives, but Obi-Wan is a bit fixated on the idea of Qui-Gon getting him a present, even though he has had zero opportunity to do so, what with taking him as a Padawan the day of his birthday.
• Qui-Gon gives him a rock. It's smooth, round and small enough that it fits into Obi-Wan's palm, and it's a shiny black with red veins running through it. Qui-Gon says that he found it in the River of Light on his home planet when he was Obi-Wan's age. Obi-Wan proclaims that he'll treasure the gift, though he's not actually that jazzed about it.
• Qui-Gon asks Obi-Wan if he's done his birthday meditation, Obi-Wan says he hasn't had time, because his day started with being thrown to his death and only got worse from there. Qui-Gon knows that he hasn't had time, so Obi-Wan feels like by drawing attention to it as if Obi-Wan should have had time, Qui-Gon is just emphasising how disappointing he finds Obi-Wan. He feels like Qui-Gon hasn't even given him his trust.
• They embark on their ship to Gala, which is piloted by a very rude Phindian.
• On the way, Qui-Gon explains their mission: the planet Gala is moving from an absolute monarchy to a democracy. The Beju-Tallah dynasty united the three tribes of the planet, who traditionally hate each other: the city people, the hill people and the sea people. But over the years, the monarchy became corrupt and the people are unhappy. Instead of suffering a violent revolt, the current queen has agreed to elections instead of installing her son on the throne. Her son, Prince Beju, is unhappy about this, because he really wants to rule. They're to oversee the election.
• They have a fuel leak mid-way through the journey and have to come out of hyperspace and land on the nearest planet, which is immediately hostile towards them. Before they can land, starfighters start shooting at them. The transport can't out-manoeuvre starfighters, so they're forced to land on the planet, where the fighters are escorting them. When they set down, they discover that assassin droids are surrounding the ship. Qui-Gon is convinced they won't shoot at them and are only guarding them, but is immediately disproven when they try to leave the ship and announce that they're Jedi, upon which the assassin droids open fire.
• Once they finish dealing with all the droids, they discover that the ship's controls have been shot out so they can't take off again, and the pilot is gone.
• Qui-Gon deduces that they must be on Phindar, likely the capital city, Laressa. Everyone around them is a Phindian, and Phindar is close to Gala. He's also convinced that the emergency was faked and they landed on Phindar deliberately, because something here is wrong.
• They're surrounded by shuttered shops with signs like "NOTHING TODAY" and "CLOSED UNTIL SHIPMENT". Assassin droids are everywhere, watching the Phindians. The people are wearing simple clothes that have been mended many times over, but there are gleaming silver landspeeders that race down the streets with no regard for pedestrians. Obi-Wan can feel through the Force that all the Phindians are afraid.
• Three Phindians with full length metallic silver coats stride down the footpaths and the other Phindians step into the muddy road to let them past, not even looking up. When Obi-Wan looks at people's faces, many of them are drawn in resignation or despair but some of them are just completely blank, and there's something empty in their eyes. A gold landspeeder appears and races down the road, making the Phindians scurry onto the walkway or shrink back against the buildings. There are three Phindians inside: a silver-coated driver, and a man and a woman who both wear gold coats. The dark side of the Force oozes from the speeder.
• As the gold speeder disappears, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan head to the market. Everything here is closed, too, with people milling about forlornly, until one shop puts up a sign reading "BREAD" and there's immediately a line around the block.
• Their pilot suddenly appears and leads them to a café, and guess who's in the back room! It's Guerra! The pilot is revealed to be his brother, Paxxi Derida. Paxxi had dumped fuel to force them to make a landing on Phindar because they knew the Jedi wouldn't come voluntarily, and they hoped that the Syndicat, the criminal organisation that controls Phindar, would allow two Jedi to land for a ship malfunction. Guerra had been hiding in the cargo hold of the ship the whole time, and he and his brother were supposed to sneak off the ship while everyone was distracted with the Jedi. Guerra and Paxxi couldn't come back to Phindar openly because they're wanted criminals designated shoot on sight, and because the Syndicat has enacted a blockade, causing the shortages they're seeing.
• The brothers explain that they're wanted criminals because they stole things to sell on the black market, and refuse to work with the Syndicat to steal for them instead.
• The Syndicat is run by two people: the leader Baftu, and his assistant Terra. They were the ones they saw in the speeder.
• When Obi-Wan asks about the Phindians with the strange blank faces, the brothers tell them that the Syndicat has invented a way to mindwipe Phindians, making them forget their own identity, their loved ones, and all their skills. The Syndicat then places bets on how long they'll survive, and has droids follow them to send back holo-pictures of what they're doing. Sometimes, they're placed on an entirely different planet, but sometimes they remain on Phindar, and those are the ones Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon saw. They're called "the renewed".
• Guerra and Paxxi want them to help them steal from the big Syndicat warehouse to relieve the manufactured shortages of food and medical supplies, and to get to the Syndicat treasury, which contains untold wealth. Qui-Gon responds, "You want two Jedi to help two common thieves steal a treasure from a bunch of gangsters?" which is an accurate summation of the conversation. The brothers start trying to justify it, but they're interrupted by assassin droids, who have discovered they're there.
• As they run away across the roofing, Qui-Gon is impressed by Obi-Wan's instincts and courage. It's a shame he doesn't say this kind of thing out loud.
• They're being pursued across the rooftops, but they discover it's one of Guerra and Paxxi's friends: Kaadi, whose father owns the café they were in before. She's also a rebel working against the Syndicat. Her father is one of the renewed, and has been sent to Alba, a planet in the middle of a chaotic and violent civil war.
• She's come to tell the Derida brothers that they've been spotted, and now the Syndicat is the hunt for them and the Jedi. Prince Beju of Gala is arriving soon to make an alliance with the Syndicat, who have agreed to fund his campaign for the leadership in return for an alliance that will basically have the Syndicat take over Gala as they have taken over Phindar, ruling with an iron fist of droids and mindwipes. Beju has manufactured a bacta shortage back on Gala, and is going to deliver the bacta he gets from the Syndicat on Phindar as a little bit of theatre to give the people a good impression of the Syndicat. The Syndicat will then take over the whole star system, one planet at a time.
• Qui-Gon agrees to help them, partly because their subsequent mission on Gala will go much smoother if they can prevent the corrupt alliance here on Phindar. They agree to break into Syndicat HQ tonight.

Night, the same day

• Qui-Gon mindtricks two guards to let them into the HQ, but from then on, he expects the Phindians to do the work. They have a contact inside, their mother Duenna, who leads them down a corridor and tells them there's no security there at the moment. She wears a silver coat like the other guards, and Guerra reveals that the coats have tracking devices in them, so if she does anything suspicious, the assassin droids will kill her.
• The storage areas they expected are empty, and they're caught by guards and assassin droids on speeders (yes, indoors). Not only that, but now disruptor beams have activated from the walls — beams that are capable of splitting people in half. Some of them are triggered by movement and some are always on. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan work together to try to defeat the guards and droids but they keep getting pushed into subsequent rooms, unable to defeat them when the guards are much mnore agile on speeders and the Jedi have to keep dodging the disruptor beams. Eventually, they lose track of the Phindians.
• They're finally backed into a room that has disruptor beams so thick that they're impossible to dodge, so instead Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan do a synchronised kick at the guard and assassin droid on one of the speeders to dislodge them. It works, sending the two remaining speeders into a disruptor beam and making them crash into a wall, which revealed a hidden room, which is a saferoom for the Syndicat, full of luxuries. Obi-Wan is exhausted, and his controls slips and he gets sloppy, though Qui-Gon covers him.
• Once they deal with the remaining guards and assassination droids, the Derida brothers turn up and thank them for finding the hidden vault. They steal silver coats and visors so they can disguise themselves as guards.
• Obi-Wan is irritated at himself for fighting poorly, but Qui-Gon praises him and says that although next time he will do better, he should focus on the fact that they achieved their aims here, and he did well.
• The treasury is in the hidden vault, but the Phindians admit that they can't get inside until they find an anti-register device that the Syndicat stole from them, that can override any print-dependent security system. They hide the bodies of the guards and return upstairs to Duenna just in time for Duenna to tell them that the stores have been moved to a warehouse near the spaceport. They then have to dive for cover as Terra, one of the Syndicat leaders, arrives and berates Duenna.
• The brothers reveal that Duenna works for the Syndicat because Terra is their sister. She was renewed by the Syndicat when she was 11 and raised by them, with no memory of her family. Duenna had hoped that she could still give Terra love if she worked for the Syndicat, and perhaps remind Terra who she once was, but it hasn't worked.
• They sleep at Kaadi's house, aand Guerra tells Obi-Wan about how he doesn't think they will ever get Terra back. He says that some people are able to resist the mindwipe by focusing a single memory or feeling, but that he thinks it has been too long for Terra.

Night, the next day

• Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and the Derida brothers go to the warehouse disguised as guards and pretend to be delivering supplies. They split up into pairs, with Qui-Gon and Paxxi going to search one area and Obi-Wan and Guerra to search another. Guerra finds the device, but someone tries contacting the guard whose coat he's wearing, and he has no explanation for why he's doing an unscheduled supply run. Obi-Wan convinces him to swap coats and take the device out of the warehouse while Obi-Wan takes the fall, which Guerra reluctantly does.
• Obi-Wan is taken to the HQ, where they discover he's not a Phindian, and they take him to Baftu for judgement. Obi-Wan overhears Terra and Baftu disagreeing about the alliance with Beju — Terra doesn't trust Beju as they've only ever done things through intermediaries, and she's concerned that they should shore up their power on Phindar before looking to expand, as there's increasing rebel activity and she thinks Baftu has manufactured too many shortages.
• Baftu leaves Terra to deal with Obi-Wan. She informs Obi-Wan that the punishment is renewal and being sent off-world, which Obi-Wan is terrified by. He was willing to be tortured, but losing his entire sense of self is something else entirely. Terra tells him he's not as bad as it seems, and when he asks whether she misses her family, she replies, "How can you miss what you do not remember?"
• Meanwhile, Qui-Gon is furious that Guerra allowed Obi-Wan to be taken away, and is surprised at how irrationally angry he feels about Obi-Wan doing the same thing Qui-Gon would have done: sacrificing himself to achieve their goal. Guerra and Paxxi suggest that they meet with Duenna tomorrow and she can tell them how Obi-Wan is and work out a plan to rescue him, but Qui-Gon demands that they go rescue him tonight. The brothers tell him that's impossible, because the HQ is locked down for the night.

Later that night

• Obi-Wan sits in his cell and discovers what it is to lose all hope. He'll lose all his knowledge, his skill with wielding the Force, his friendships, his memories. As he sits there in despair, he feels something warm in his pocket — it's his river stone! When he takes it out of his pocket, he cal feel it hum, and deduces that it must be Force-sensitive.
• He thinks back to what Guerra had said, that some people could resist a mindwipe by focusing on something. He decides that he must focus on the Force itself, and wraps it around himself like a shield, creating a fortress around his mind.

The next morning

Time and again he had tried to formulate a plan, only to be filled with anguish at the thought of Obi-Wan's plight. He was rocked to the core. The thought of Obi-Wan without his memory, without his training, was unbearable. He had failed his Padawan. He should have known the Syndicat would move fast. He should have tried to rescue him last night. Now Obi-Wan was doomed to a life so empty it made Qui-Gon shudder every time he tried to conceive of it. What of Obi-Wan's Jedi training? All of that, lost. What would the boy become? He would still be Force-sensitive, for the Force was not dependent on memory. But how could Obi-Wan use it without the lessons of the Temple to guide him? If he discovered its power, he would have it without allegiance. Would he become a lost, neutral warrior for hire? Would he use the Force for darkness, like Qui-Gon's old apprentice, Xanatos? He did not believe that could happen. He would not believe it. If Obi-Wan had lost his memory, surely he would still retain his goodness. Yes, Qui-Gon was full of worry. But he was also heartbroken. The boy he knew was gone. The diligent boy, so curious and intent on knowledge. The quick study. The boy who wanted to learn.

— Imagine if Qui-Gon actually expressed the affection he feels for Obi-Wan to Obi-Wan himself. This man is a disaster.

• Duenna meets Qui-Gon and the Derida brothers at the market only to tell them that Obi-Wan was mindwiped last night and taken off planet at dawn this morning. Qui-Gon is devastated, and sits in the spare room of Kaadi's house for an hour, seemingly catatonic.
• Qui-Gon comes up with a plan: they strike tomorrow. When the Syndicat are distracted with Prince Beju, they'll open the warehouse and the people will rush in, causing chaos on the streets. Qui-Gon and the brothers will go to the treasury with the anti-registry device and steal the treasury while the chaos goes down. It's dangerous to do in the middle of the day, but Qui-Gon believes they'll succeed, so the brothers decide to trust him.
• Meanwhile, Obi-Wan successfully kept all his memories, and by a stroke of luck, they decide to strand him on Gala. When he arrives on Gala, he's followed by a probe droid who will report his movements back to the Syndicat so they can laugh at how long he survives. He wanders around, trying to seem renewed, but all the time slowly making his way towards the gleaming building in the distance that looks like the palace.
• Galacians have pale blue skin but look humanoid in all other ways. They're often called "moon people" because of their pale skin, and because there's very little sunlight on Gala.
• His first interaction on Gala is promising: a random man comes up to him and threatens to stab him because he looks like a hill person. He manages to escape by joking about how he's not ugly enough to be a hill person.
• Obi-Wan manages to lose the probe droid by pushing over a cart and then running through some shops. He reaches the palace, but now he has no idea what to do. It's not like he can just demand an audience with the Queen. He then realises that he's right next to a spaceport, and that Prince Beju's transport is about to leave in a few minutes.
• Prince Beju looks awfully like Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan has the bright idea of pretending to be him and then getting back to Gala that way so he can reunite with Qui-Gon. The prince boards the transport and goes off to his room while the pilots and the guards are still making preparations outside the ship. Obi-Wan slips onboard and puts on a headdress like the prince and then takes off, correctly assuming that the headdress will confuse the guards just long enough for him to get out of atmo.
• He then pulls a knife on the prince and threatens to kill him if he won't cooperate, and locks him in the cargo hold.

However long it takes to fly between Gala and Phindar later

• Qui-Gon and the brothers are in position. Kaadi has organised her rebels. The ship lands, and Prince Beju comes out alone — but no, that's Obi-Wan in disguise! Qui-Gon recognises him, but isn't sure what to do now. Has he been memory-wiped and then somehow caught up in events on Gala? How do they find out?
• Qui-Gon gets the idea to reach out to him with the Force and Obi-Wan reaches back, confirming that he withstood the memory wipe. They can't enact their plan until they know what Obi-Wan is doing, however, so they watch as Obi-Wan/"Beju" greets Baftu and demands that they load the bacta immediately. When Baftu says that the people seeing the amount of bacta they have would be dangerous to both of them, so they should load it under cover of night, "Beju" asks if Baftu is capable of controlling his people. Baftu folds under his scrutiny and agrees to load the bacta.
• As "Beju" goes off with Baftu, Qui-Gon and the brothers go to the treasury first, pretending to be guards and successfully unloading all the treasure. They don't have the ability to transport it out though, so they store it in a closet temporarily. They exit HQ in time to see "Beju" and Baftu about to enter, only for Terra to turn up and recognise Obi-Wan. He's been rumbled. He thinks quickly, and decides that he has to play this as if he's insulted by Terra's claim. At his indignation, Baftu soothes him and takes him to the vault to prove the Syndicat has the wealth they're claiming to have.
• Qui-Gon and the brothers know Obi-Wan is still in danger, but it'll be more helpful to create a diversion. Paxxi goes off to open the warehouse.
• Terra knows she's not wrong about Obi-Wan, and tells him that she knows he's up to something. She follows him and Baftu down to the treasury, but when Baftu opens it, it's empty! Baftu accuses Terra of stealing it. Terra insists she didn't, and that something is going on: the prince is an imposter, and someone is trying to discredit Baftu and Terra. Instead of listening to her, Baftu shoots her and then leaves the treasury.
• Guerra runs towards the fallen Terra once Baftu has left. And then we get the heartbreaking scene:

Guerra knelt next to her. Tenderly, he reached one long arm underneath her body and raised her to cradle her against him.

Terra looked up at him. The light in her bright orange eyes was fading. "You don't remember me," Guerra said brokenly.

Terra's eyes cleared. For a moment, they blazed bright as memory rushed back. "Not so, brother," she said softly. She reached up a trembling hand and touched Guerra's cheek. "Not so."

Her eyelids fluttered closed. She curled one arm around Guerra's neck, rested her head against him, and died.

— *sniffle*

• Qui-Gon knows that they need to get to the warehouse, because Obi-Wan will be in danger if the people think he's taking all the bacta, and Guerra reluctantly follows him. Qui-Gon manages to grab Obi-Wan's lightsaber from the weapons rack as they leave.
• The warehouse is chaos, as they intended: there are Phindians acting as runners to get stolen supplies to hospitals and others in need, and armed rebels holding a line against Syndicat guards. Obi-Wan, as "Beju", is in the midst of the guards with Baftu. Obi-Wan steals a blaster from a guard and then notices Qui-Gon, who communicates silently with him through the Force and throws Obi-Wan's lightsaber to him over the crowd. Obi-Wan catches it and starts to attack the guards, even as Baftu gives the order to kill him. Qui-Gon joins him and with the help of the Force, they battle the guards. The rebels, buoyed by the Jedi, break the line of guards, and Guerra heads straight for Baftu. He shoots at Baftu, but Baftu uses a guard as a shield and the shot kills the guard instead. Baftu runs, and Guerra and Obi-Wan give pursuit.
• Qui-Gon sees Paxxi and Kaadi surrounded by guards, and races towards him, but he's unable to prevent Kaadi getting shot by a guard. In desperation, Paxxi throws his anti-registry device at the guard, distracting him long enough for Qui-Gon to kill him. Once he and Paxxi finish off the rest of the guards, Paxxi kneels by Kaadi and discovers she's still alive! Qui-Gon calls over a medic but doesn't stay to find out how badly Kaadi is hurt, instead going off after Guerra and Obi-Wan.
• Qui-Gon arrives to find Baftu surrounded by guards and assassin droids next to Beju's ship. Rebels are unloading the bacta already half-loaded onto the ship, with Obi-Wan and Guerra helping protect them from blaster fire. Baftu dashes for the ship, attempting to escape, and Qui-Gon says to the guards, "Look where your leader's loyalty lies? With himself only!"
• When Baftu stumbles on the ramp, a Syndicat guard tackles him. Guerra puts a blaster to Baftu's temple and announces, "I arrest you in the name of the Phindian people." Despite Baftu ordering the guards to kill Guerra, no one moves to do so, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan destroy the assassin droids before they have the opportunity to obey.
• As they're focused on Baftu, the ship takes off, the real Beju in the cockpit. Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan to let him go.

The next week

• Yoda has asked Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to remain on Phindar until the provisional government is set up, which takes a few days, and a coalition of former council members and the last governor are running things until the elections next month. The market that was so barren before is now teeming with life and goods for sale.
• Kaadi is recovering from her wounds, and should be well enough to return home next week. Baftu and his top lieutenants are in prison awaiting trial. Most Syndicat guards had been mindwiped, so they've been returned to their families in the hope of some memories returning.
• The Derida brothers wonder what they will do now, and Qui-Gon suggests one of them run for governor, as they are both heroes now in the eyes of the people. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan leave them as they're bickering over which one of them should run.
• Qui-Gon expresses his gladness that Obi-Wan didn't lose his memories, and when Obi-Wan says Qui-Gon's river rock helped because it's Force-sensitive, Qui-Gon says he thought it was just a pretty rock, and had no idea it was Force-sensitive. Obi-Wan has no idea if he's joking or not.
• And with that, the curtain closes on The Hidden Past. Our heroes are off to Gala to oversee the election!

An amount of time later

The book says it's been several days since they foiled the plot of the Syndicat, but nothing more specific.

• A fancy cloud car sent by Queen Veda, the queen of Gala, meets Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan at the spaceport of Gala's capital city of Galu. Qui-Gon declines it, saying they would prefer to walk. It's easier to observe the vibes of a place if you're walking rather than in a transport.
• The vibes are bad. The once-grand buildings are decaying, and they can see evidence of the wealth disparity on the streets, fancy speeders flying past beggars.
• To recap: they're here to oversee the transition from an absolute monarchy to democracy, because there's rank corruption in the palace and the people are unhappy. In order to stave off a full on revolt, the queen is stepping down and holding elections.
• The royal family roll call: Queen Veda (called the election), King Cana (corrupt, recently deceased, and his death is the catalyst for Veda calling the election), Prince Beju (unhappy about the election, very corrupt, caused a bacta shortage on Gala).
• Election candidates: Prince Beju (he/him), Deca Braun (he/him), Wila Prami (she/her)
• Obi-Wan points out that dealing with Beju will be difficult, because Obi-Wan did kidnap him in the last book. Qui-Gon suggests they stay silent about the happenings on Phindar, because he doesn't think Veda approved of Beju's actions, and if Beju is hostile towards Obi-Wan, he'll have to implicate himself in his explanation.
• They encounter a brawl between a mob of Deca Braun supporters and Wila Prami supporters, but manage to escape without getting hurt. They don't bother to try to stop the brawl because you've gotta pick your battles and it's difficult to stop people smashing each other over the head with campaign signs.
• They get to the palace only to discover that the queen is dying! She explains that she believes that a demoocracy is the best way to root out the corruption that has taken hold within the royal administration. Unfortunately, Beju hates that plan and if he wins the election, she believes he will retain the monarchy. While she won't openly go against her son by endorsing another candidate, she hopes he'll lose. She thinks he might squeak by in the election, but might not.
• Of the other two candidates, Deca Braun is the favourite. He's considered a hero by the people, and promises that reform and prosperity will be easy. He's a populist, basically. Willa Prami is more experienced: she was an underminister at the palace and is more of a realist in her goals. She's pretty blunt and some people count her palace experience against her, however, and it's projected that she'll lose.
• The good news is that although tensions are running high at the moment, the queen believes that as long as the election is fair, the people won't revolt.
• The bad news is that there's a wildcard that could upset everything: Elan of the hill people. Before King Cana married Veda, he fell in love with another woman, a hill person, and secretly married her. When the Council of Ministers found out, they forced him to leave her and go through with his arranged marriage to Veda instead. He did so, but he didn't realise that she was already pregnant when she returned to the hill people.
• The hill people are exiles who do not recognise the authority of the monarchy or the laws of Gala. They're a nomadic people who live in the mountains outside the city, and have an entirely separate and self-sufficient society. They are rumoured to be violent towards outsiders, and other Galacians hate them. Elan is their leader, and no one outside the hill people has actually even met her because the hill people are so rarely seen.
• Elan is, of course, King Cana's first child. This means she bears the Mark of the Crown, a mysterious mark that only the Council can identify, and is the true heir to the throne of Gala. This could be a complication, especially if Beju wins and retains the monarchy, as he is technically not the heir to the crown. The Ministers don't want to test him for the Mark, because it's in their best interest for him to win the election — whoever wins the election will have the power to call an election for the Council, as well.
• Veda wants the Jedi to contact Elan. Obviously, Elan won't meet with Veda, but everyone loves to meet a Jedi, right? There's just one problem: the Council has forbidden the Jedi from leaving the city limits. Veda had to compromise with them on even allowing the Jedi to observe the election, and this is the compromise they ended up with. So they've got to be sneaky about it.
• It is just as Veda is telling them this that Beju arrives, dramatically throws the door open, and says that the Jedi must leave at once.
• Beju has the approximately same height and weight as Obi-Wan (he's described as "solidly built"), but his hair is shoulder-length and so blond it's almost white. His eyes are icy blue.
• Beju spins a tale of the events on Phindar that make the Jedi look like the baddies, although it's not really successful because it's hard to claim the people who overthrew a violent evil regime are bad. Veda isn't swayed, but the Minister that accompanies Beju is like "What do you have to say to that, huh?" at the Jedi. Qui-Gon responds by saying, "We differ with the Prince about what happened on Phindar. But it would be pointless to argue. We were invited here. Why should we defend ourselves? If you wish us to leave your world, we shall."
• Beju says they should leave. Veda says they should stay. Veda pulls rank, because she is the reigning monarch, and Beju tries to guilt-trip her by saying that she's denying him the crown, so she may as well deny him everything else as well. The Minister, whose name is Lonnag Giba, suggests that they compromise by forbidding the Jedi to leave the palace unescorted, and assigns them a "guide" (spy) for their protection, since the city is dangerous right now. Which everyone knows is bullshit, because they're Jedi and need no help protecting themselves. Veda picks the "guide": a slight, small boy about the same age as Obi-Wan, named Jono Dunn. Jono standing next to Qui-Gon is a comical picture when it comes to the guide supposedly protecting them against the city's unrest, but Qui-Gon agrees to all these terms.
• Qui-Gon disappears off to the garden, which contains every plant native to Gala. When Obi-Wan finally finds him, he asks Qui-Gon about why Qui-Gon agreed to the restrictions. Qui-Gon replies that it is better for the Ministers to think they can control them. He's not sure if the Queen is telling the truth, but says that it's better to assume she is for now.
• Qui-Gon says he will go to the hill country to meet with Elan, to which Obi-Wan protests that Qui-Gon literally just agreed to being unable to leave the palace without an escort — and besides, their job is to oversee the election, not to chase after long-lost relatives. Qui-Gon smiles and says Obi-Wan is a bit too fond of rules, and sometimes a deviation from the mission mandate is necessary.
• Obi-Wan asks Qui-Gon what he's supposed to do when people notice Qui-Gon is gone, and Qui-Gon says Obi-Wan should simply tell people that Qui-Gon is still here. He also warns Obi-Wan that he shouldn't trust anyone, and that something further is afoot in the palace, but he hasn't worked out what yet.

Two days after arriving on Gala, morning

Jono Dunn

The Dunns are great landowners far from Galu. I was chosen at the age of five to come to the palace. It was a great honor. All children in the Dunn family line are watched from an early age. Only the smartest and quickest are chosen.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

I, too, was chosen at an early age. I left my family and went to the Jedi Temple. It was a great honor. But I missed my family very much, even though I couldn’t really remember them.

Jono Dunn

The beginning was the hardest.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Jedi Temple is calm and beautiful. It is my home, and yet it is not a home, like everyone else has.

Jono Dunn

That’s just the way I feel! The palace was too grand at first. And I missed the smell of the sea. But now I feel at home. I know my duty, and I am proud to do it. There is honor in serving my Queen.

— Obi-Wan and Jono bonding over their respective histories.

• Obi-Wan has been covering for Qui-Gon for the past two days. He rumples Qui-Gon's sheets in the morning, claims Qui-Gon is in the gardens early to meditate when Jono brings breakfast, and eats Qui-Gon's breakfast as well as his own. That part, at least, isn't a hardship — he's always hungry. But he struggles with Qui-Gon's decision, having to constantly remind himself that the Master-Padawan bond is built on respect because he disagrees so strongly.
• Prince Beju and Giba often ask to speak to Qui-Gon, but Obi-Wan successfully delays them by claiming Qui-Gon has just gone off somewhere else, and Beju and Giba are too impatient to wait for him. Obi-Wan can tell that Jono suspects Qui-Gon has left, but doesn't say anything.
• Jono confronts Obi-Wan and accuses Obi-Wan of thinking Jono is a spy for the Prince, which he insists he is not. He says he is loyal to the Queen, and he comes from a long line of royal servants, having been specially chosen to serve in the palace, which is an honour. He's been serving in the palace for eight years.
• Obi-Wan and Jono become fast friends, and Jono talks a lot about both his family and Deca Brun, the electoral candidate who is his hero. "Deca Brun will help Gala to rise again. He is for all the people, not just rich people," he says.
• Obi-Wan envies Jono's connections to his family. He knows that he gave up family when he came to the Jedi, but he wonders if following the Jedi Code instead of having a family is the right choice for him. He feels like he can't possibly discuss this with Qui-Gon, convinced that Qui-Gon wouldn't understand.
• While out and about in Galu with Jono, Obi-Wan attempts to do what he can to make sure the election is fair. He tours polling places, tests the datapads that would record people's votes, and talks to polling place staff. He feels useless, though, because he doesn't know enough about the voting process. He's a thirteen-year-old boy! But when he calls Qui-Gon about it, Qui-Gon has no sympathy for him.

Three days after arriving on Gala

• Qui-Gon has been travelling hard to reach the hill people. At first, he could hitch hike, but the roads became increasingly bad and rarely travelled. On his third day of travel, he has finally reached the hills. His comlink no longer worked, as it is out of range. He hopes Obi-Wan won't get in trouble back at the palace, and is anxious to find Elan and return to Galu.
• The first set of hills have snow on the peaks, and it is chilly enough that Qui-Gon puts on his thermal cape from his survival pack. There are occasional clearings with large, eerie groups of standing stones.

Several days later

The timing here is pretty unclear, but since Qui-Gon ends up contacting Obi-Wan quite a few days after that third day, I don't think the attack occurs three days after landing on Gala. That said, perhaps the storm doesn't lift for several days? Who knows. The exact timeline of these books is really unclear, which I suppose is to be expected because novels rarely give you extremely exact timelines. I wish they did, though.

• As Qui-Gon hikes through a narrow gorge, he's attacked by twelve bandits on landspeeders equipped with ion cannons.
• He uses his lightsaber and the Force to deflect fire and cause several speeders to crash, using the narrow space against them, but he gets injured in the chest and leg by shrapnel. Someone in a swoop bike arrives, expertly riding between the spaces between standing stones. They attack the speeder that's bearing down on Qui-Gon and distracts the driver enough that Qui-Gon is able to shoot them, causing the speeder it to crash.
• At least twenty more swoops emerge from the trees, and Qui-Gon knows he can't fight that many. He guesses they're also bandits, though not in league with the ones on speeders who've already attacked him. Some of the swoops drive the remaining speeders off.
• The lead swoop rider approaches Qui-Gon with their bow-caster pointed at him, and Qui-Gon deactivates his lightsaber, knowing that he has no choice but to surrender. The leader asks he who is, and he replies that he's Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi Knight sent to contact Elan, the leader of the hill people.
• It turns out the lead swoop rider is Elan, and she removes her helmet to reveal dark eyes and long, silvery hair. She's angry that he almost destroyed the standing stones, and they're sacred to the hill people. She says the attackers are bandits from the outer city who make raids in the hills sometimes because they think hill people hoard gold.
• When Qui-Gon says Queen Veda sent him, Elan tells him to leave, as she does not recognise her authority and doesn't want to know why he was sent. As she tells him the way back, one of the swoop riders, Dana, says a bad storm is coming. Qui-Gon bends down to pick up his pack, but it aggravates his injuries and he hisses in pain. Elan reluctantly acknowledges that if they left him alone to make his way back in this storm while injured, he would surely die, so he can stay with them for one (1) night only.
• The hill people live in a series of white domes bolted to struts, and the dome they give to Qui-Gon to stay in has every comfort: lush carpets, heavy quilts, a heater, a small kitchen, a bath, and even a datapad for him to use.
• He attempts to dress his wounds, but he can't reach the one on his back, and has to wait for the healer to arrive. It turns out Elan is also the healer, and she expertly bandages his wounds after applying ointments and salves.
• When Qui-Gon expresses his surprise at his comfortable quarters, Elan says that no matter what the city people say, the hill people do not live like barbarians. Qui-Gon says that he did not believe anything the city people said about hill people, as the city people are ignorant of the hill people and that ignorance has bred fear.
• When Qui-Gon asks why Elan and the hill people will not participate in the election, as endorsement of the right candidate could help swing the election, Elan asks who the right candidate is: "Deca Brun, who shouts slogans and murmurs promises? Wila Prammi, who has been a slave to the royal system and now talks of democracy? That young fool, Prince Beju?"
• Qui-Gon presses her and suggests that the hill people should be part of this big change their planet is undergoing. He asks whether she feels any loyalty towards Gala, and Elan replies that she has loyalty to the hill people, who she can trust.
• Qui-Gon informs her that Elan, not Beju, is the true heir, and Elan doesn't believe him. She's convinced that this is a ruse by the Queen to lure her back to Galu so she can be imprisoned and the hill people scattered. Qui-Gon asks about her parents, and she replies that her mother never left the hills and her father was a great healer who was renowned by the hill people, so Qui-Gon's/the Queen's claims are bullshit. (She does not say the word bullshit. None of these books contain swears. Let Elan say fuck!) Qui-Gon presses her, saying that the Queen wants to bequeath her legacy to Elan, but Elan wants no part of it. She considers the hill people her legacy, and says, "And what is this to you, Qui-Gon Jinn? You have come a long way, almost lost your life, just to tell me this. But Gala is not your world. Its people are not your people. I have ties to something. Do you? Why should I listen to talk of legacies from someone who has no ties?"
• When Qui-Gon asks whether he can contact his apprentice back in Galu, Elan tells him that they jam comms in the hills for their own protection. When the storm lifts, he can talk to Dana and get the jam temporarily lifted to talk to his apprentice, after which he has to leave.

Several days after Obi-Wan makes friends with Jono, evening

• Obi-Wan meets the Queen in the gardens by coincidence. She talks about her illness: she had got better temporarily when she retired for a time to her country estate, without Ministers or palace servants, but felt like she needed to do her duty to the government, so she had the Ministers come to her. She fell ill again within days. She feels better during the day but has terrible pains at night. Obi-Wan listens and then realises that it's possible she's being poisoned.
• He takes samples of the Queen's nightly meal secretly under the guise of taking her unfinished meal back to the kitchens. He has to find a substance analyser tomorrow, but he has to somehow give Jono the slip while he does it.

The next day

• When he goes to visit another polling place, Obi-Wan convinces Jono to stay outside because it will look better if Obi-Wan doesn't come with a palace servant and appears truly neutral. Jono agrees, and when Obi-Wan gets out of his sight, Obi-Wan leaves the building through another exit and consults a public data terminal for a place that offers substance analysis. He finds one, though the scientist (named Mali Errat) is very rude.
• There's nothing wrong with the cake, but there is a mysterious substance in the tea. The scientist can't immediately identify it, and can't definitively say it's poison, but it definitely doesn't belong in tea. Obi-Wan pays him some more money to keep searching to identify the compound, but he has to get back to Jono before Jono gets suspicious.
• Before finding Jono, Obi-Wan attempts to contact Qui-Gon, but Qui-Gon doesn't pick up. When he returns to Jono, Jono doesn't seems suspicious of him. When Obi-Wan apologises for making him wait, Jono says, "I knew you would return. It’s all right. I am used to waiting. I have waited for a friend for a long time, Obi-Wan."

The day after that, morning, which is also election day

• Obi-Wan receives a call from Qui-Gon at last, and takes it in the garden because he doesn't trust that the palace is secure. Qui-Gon says that he has found Elan but failed to convince her to return to Galu. When Obi-Wan shares his suspicions about the poison, including his trip to the substance analyser, Qui-Gon tells him to consider who would benefit most from the Queen's death. Obi-Wan instantly answers Beju, but Qui-Gon disagrees, saying that he thinks underneath the anger is genuine affection. (This hasn't been shown in what we've read at all.)
• Qui-Gon instead suggests Giba the Minister, or someone else with less obvious motives. He tells Obi-Wan to be careful, and that maybe the results from the substance analyser will shed more light on the situation. He points out that it could be Jono, since he brings the nightly tea.
• Obi-Wan is certain that it's not Jono, to which Qui-Gon replies, "You sound very sure of your new friend, but sometimes the obvious is the answer." Given how often Jono has spoken of his concern for the queen and how much it does seem that he genuinely loves serving her, Jono does not in fact seem like the obvious culprit, but go off, I guess.
• Obi-Wan is annoyed. Qui-Gon left him in charge at the palace, but he doesn't trust his judgement.
• Obi-Wan asks Qui-Gon when he's coming back, and Qui-Gon says he'll return in a few days. He's going to pretend that he's healing slower than he is, and mentions that Elan is the healer who treated him.
• Obi-Wan suggests that Elan, as a healer, would know about poisons, and could be the one poisoning the Queen. She has a motive, after all, because she hates the monarchy.
• Qui-Gon admonishes him, claiming that's an unreasonable leap in logic, and points out that Elan has never gone to Galu and didn't know she was the heir.
• Obi-Wan points out that Elan could be lying, but Qui-Gon doesn't listen, and is visibly annoyed with him. Obi-Wan thinks that if Qui-Gon could accuse Jono, Obi-Wan should be able to accuse Elan right back.
• As he goes to return to the palace, Jono emerges around a corner. Obi-Wan wonders if Jono had heard his conversation with Qui-Gon, and whether he's a spy after all. Jono makes no reference to overhearing anything, however.
• Obi-Wan makes it to the Queen's room just as she's picking up the tea on her breakfast tray to drink it. He lunges and knocks the cup away, which smashes on the floor. When he tells the Queen that he thinks she's being poisoned, she says that's impossible.
• Just then, Prince Beju arrives with Giba, agreeing that it is impossible, and that he doesn't trust the Jedi. Giba says that Obi-Wan seems to be lying about Qui-Gon being here, because no one has seen him in ages. If he's lying about that, why wouldn't he be lying about this?
• Obi-Wan says that it's suspicious that Beju doesn't even care, because the Queen is very clearly dying, and Beju wavers for a moment, looking genuinely concerned. But then he rallies and stops caring about his ailing mother, because caring about your own mother is for losers. Instead, he accuses Qui-Gon of being involved, which would be impressive because she was already dying for ages before the Jedi even turned up.
• Obi-Wan says that Qui-Gon has gone to the hill people to ask them to get involved in the election, which isn't strictly true but he doesn't want to get into the whole heir business. The Queen backs him up when Beju says that's bullshit, and says that Elan is Beju's half-sister.
• Beju, naturally, says that is also bullshit, because his father would never act so dishonourably. When the Queen asks Giba to confirm it, because he was there, Giba says that the Queen is lying.
• Beju accuses the Queen of being in league with the Jedi, and goes to call the guards. The Queen gives Obi-Wan a look that clearly says "run" and then staggers forward and collapses onto Beju, distracting him long enough for Obi-Wan to escape.
• Obi-Wan makes it out to the gardens, and Jono calls out to him just as he's running towards the outer wall. He wants to trust Jono, but Qui-Gon did say not to trust anyone, and it felt suspicious that Beju arrived just as Obi-Wan was talking to the Queen. The conversation in the Queen's quarters has convinced him that Giba is the one poisoning the Queen, though he's not sure that Beju knows about it.
• He thinks back to the conversation they'd had the other day, when Obi-Wan apologised for taking so long and Jono said that he had been waiting for a friend for a long time. Jono had trusted him, so Obi-Wan should return that trust now.
• Jono tells him that Beju has already called the guards to search for Obi-Wan, and that if Obi-Wan hides in the city like he says he will, he'll be caught. There are spies everywhere, and Jono has to go with him to keep him safe. He knows where they should go: to Deca Brun.
• They arrive at Deca Brun's HQ in a bustling area of Galu, which is plastered with red banners and posters bearing his face and the slogan "I AM YOU! WE ARE ONE!" Jono asks to see Deca Brun, but no one is quite sure where he is. Jono goes out the back, to see if Brun is there, but Obi-Wan hesitates. Suddenly, everyone leaves the building to go to a rally, and Obi-Wan sees a holofile that was left open on a desk nearby — one that has the familiar name of Offworld.
• Offworld had made large donations to Deca Brun's campaign, and there are plans on the desk for a "Galacian Mining Corp" which will mine half of Gala, including the Galacian Sea, which was the largest source of fresh water on the planet. It's a front for Offworld.
• Obi-Wan realises he has to get Jono out of there and warn Qui-Gon but when he tries to enter the room Jono disappeared into, he's greeted instead by four guards pointing blasters at him. They accuse him of being a spy and tell him to hand over his weapons.
• When he protests that he's not a spy, the guards fire their blasters right near him causing part of the wall to cut his cheek. A guard confiscates his saber and commlink.
• The guards then shove Obi-Wan into an industrial freezer and lock the door.

At the same time, but in the mountains

In chapter 12, the storm lifts and the hill people are attacked by the royal guard. We start with Qui-Gon waking up, but there's no mention of him calling Obi-Wan. Nevertheless, I'm going to assume that he calls him before he speaks to Elan, because otherwise the timing doesn't make sense: soon after the attack on the hill people, he feels distress in the Force which must have come from Obi-Wan. We know Obi-Wan sends that message in the Force "hours" after being trapped in the freezer, but surely it's not twenty-four hours later. (Sure, Elan talks about Qui-Gon going to see Dana to get the jam lifted to contact Obi-Wan, but the call has to happen before his conversation with Elan because the narrative mentions Obi-Wan's suspicions, so. Let's just go with it.)

This is only separated from Obi-Wan's call with Qui-Gon and subsequent drama with the guards for ease of reading. They presumably occur simultaneously.

• When Qui-Gon wakes up, he discovers the storm has lifted. He calls Obi-Wan, and then goes to visit Elan, and considers Obi-Wan's warnings, but deems them wrong. Elan simply doesn't give him the vibes of a poisoner. Elan tells him not to get too comfortable, because he has to leave today. Qui-Gon's protests that the snow is too deep and his injuries still hurt him don't work.
• They hear a rumbling, and Qui-Gon suggests it's another storm before they both realise it's not a storm at all. It's proton tanks and a massive royal guard transport, and they're here to flatten the camp.
• The hill people and Qui-Gon use the swoops to bother the tanks, using their agility against the clumsy tanks to get them angry and destroy some of them before retreating to Moonstruck Pass.
• The hill people lead the tanks down the mountain and the path gets narrower and narrower as they approach the pass. Qui-Gon is concerned that the swoops will lose the advantage and in the narrow pass be unable to manoeuvre freely, and is expecting to die when the first tank rolls into the pass — and instantly sinks, buried in snow and ice. It's too late for the rest of the tanks to retreat, and they all fall into the ravine below.
• Elan, to Qui-Gon's surprise, organises a rescue mission, and they dig all the soldiers out of the snow. They house them in the camp and give them blankets and medical supplies, and none of them even try to escape because they're just all grateful to be rescued.
• Qui-Gon tries to call Obi-Wan, but he doesn't answer. He knows the situation in the capital is probably volatile if the capital is sending tanks up here, but decides not to worry about Obi-Wan yet.
• Qui-Gon learns from one of the elders that Elan's mother, Tema, had left the hills and worked in the palace for a time before Elan was born. Either Elan was lying, or she didn't know. He suspects that Elan is afraid because he's shattered everything she thought she knew about her family.
• Qui-Gon speaks to one of the guards, who says Giba had ordered the attack, and told the guards that the hill people were barbarians who would kill for sport and attack the city. That they had no mercy, and annihilating them was necessary to save Galu. Instead, the hill people saved them from certain death and gave them blankets. The officer is staring into the void and re-evaluating his entire life.
• Qui-Gon calls Obi-Wan again but gets no answer. This time he's genuinely worried about it. Suddenly, he feels distress in the Force which must be coming from Obi-Wan. He's got to go back to Galu to deal with whatever the hell is happening down there.
• Qui-Gon tells Elan that Giba was the one who ordered the attack, and that she won't be safe until Giba is dealt with. Even if the elections actually happen, the governor will still probably be under Giba's thumb. He tells Elan that he thinks Giba is the one poisoning the Queen, too.
• He tells Elan that he knows she lied about her mother, and that she has to come to Galu with him. Isn't it possible that the Queen has been telling the truth? Elan insists that no matter what, she will not be a princess, to which Qui-Gon says, "Nor should you be. Elan is enough."

Back in the city, a few hours after Obi-Wan is locked in the freezer

• Obi-Wan has been walking around the freezer constantly to stay warm, but he's exhausted and he can no longer feel his extremities. He sends a desperate plea to Qui-Gon in the Force. Obi-Wan is terrified that Deca Brun will tell Xanatos that he has a Jedi locked in his freezer, and that Xanatos will realise that Qui-Gon is involved here.
• Suddenly, he hears voices outside the door. A boy is saying that he has to put the meat in the freezer, because there will be no meals for a week if he doesn't. The guard doesn't want to let him in, but Obi-Wan uses a Force suggestion to make him agree.
• When the door opens and the heavy cart starts to roll in, Obi-Wan uses the Force to help him push the cart backwards and pin the guard. The delivery boy takes off his cap to reveal it's Jono!
• Jono says they have no time to search for Obi-Wan's commlink or lightsaber. Beju has imprisoned the Queen and she's refusing food. Jono's concerned she's dying. He says that he's spoken with other Council members and that they want to meet with Obi-Wan to discuss what to do about Giba. They've formed an alliance against him, because this time he's gone too far.
• Obi-Wan insists that they have to stop by the substance analyser first, and Jono reluctantly lets him. The substance analyser reveals that the poison is a herb called dimilatis, which grows naturally in the sea plains of Gala. A small amount is harmless, but at certain concentrations it mimics a fatal wasting disease.
• Obi-Wan realises that if it's native to Gala, then it's probably in the palace gardens. The scientist has prepared an antidote, and gives it to Obi-Wan in exchange for all the credits Obi-Wan has on him.
• Jono leads Obi-Wan to a part of the palace he's never visited before. When Obi-Wan says he needs to get to the Queen, Jono nervously says that he was told to bring Obi-Wan here, because the guards are on the lookout for him and he would never make it to the Queen by himself.
• Obi-Wan wonders who would have access to both the garden and the Queen. The council members would have access to both, but it would be weird if they brought her food.
• Obi-Wan suddenly realises: fuck. It's been Jono the whole time. He has access to the gardens and brings the Queen's food. He had lived near the sea. All the pieces fit together.
• Jono tries to protest, but eventually, the mask drops. He's poisoning the Queen because it is an honour for the Dunns to have had royal servants in their family for generations:

Jono Dunn

This is all I have! The Dunns have been part of the royal family for generations. It is what I was trained for, bred for. The honor of my family depends on me.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Queen depends on you. Your job is to protect her!

Jono Dunn

She would have turned me out into the streets. Once Deca Brun is elected, he will hire his people as servants. And where will I go? What will I do? Should I have to become like everyone else? Yes, I am a servant. But I live in a palace!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Jono, I trusted you.

Jono Dunn

Then you made a mistake. You are my friend. I like you, Obi-Wan. But I guess I like living in a palace more.

— The mask comes off.

• Obi-Wan hears footsteps and realises that someone is probably coming to kill him. Luckily, they're near a window that opens far enough that he can get onto the ledge. Then he jumps.
• He uses the Force to reach the ground unharmed and gets inside the kitchen, desperate to get to the Council Chamber without being seen. He runs until he gets to a royal reception room, but just as he reaches the door at the other end, it opens to reveal Beju.
• Beju says Obi-Wan is a coward for hiding in here, and Obi-Wan distracts him by calling him a coward, saying that he always relies on the guards, and Beju takes a sword off the wall and displays that its edges are sharp. He challenges Obi-Wan to a duel, and they fight. Beju is quite good at it, and Obi-Wan uses the Force to supplement his existing skills, which don't carry over to a metal sword as well as he hoped until he remembers that he also had the Force. Finally, he corners Beju and disarms him.
• As Obi-Wan's standing over Beju and preventing him from picking his sword back up, a Minister called Viso that Obi-Wan has seen before in the gardens arrives. He says that the Queen didn't lie to Beju, but Giba and his father did. What's more, he can prove it. He takes Beju and Obi-Wan to a small antechamber where there's an intricate design of interlocking squares on the floor. He tells Beju to stand in the small square in the centre of the room. Beju says, "The square within the square. My father spoke of this. He never explained it. He said... he said when I was strong enough to face what it meant, I would be ready."
• As soon as he steps into the middle square, shifting beams of light washed over Beju and the rest of the room out of nowhere. They cast shadows on the floor and walls, but none on Beju. Viso says that this proves that he does not have the Mark of the Crown, and is thus not the true heir.
• Instead of protesting, Beju sinks to the floor and weeps. Viso says to Obi-Wan, "Everything he knew has been taken from him. You must help him, Obi-Wan." And then he leaves.
• Obi-Wan, even though he doesn't like Beju and knows that five minutes ago Beju was ready and willing to kill him, gives him a great pep talk. He says that his father acted honourably at the end, and that the Queen had forgiven him because he sincerely regretted what he had done. Elan doesn't want to rule, so until the election is called, he's still the rightful heir to the Queen. And he still has the chance to do the right thing.
• Obi-Wan tells him that he needs to save his mother and arrest Giba, but Beju says that even if he does, Giba is too smart to only depend on Beju; he must have a backup plan to take control of the government. Obi-Wan despairs until they hear shouting outside the palace.
• The hill people have arrived in the city with the battalion of royal guards who attacked them, with Elan and Qui-Gon triumphantly leading the group.
• Obi-Wan meets Qui-Gon at the gates and tells him that Beju has put out an arrest order for Giba, and that he's sent the antidote to the queen. He also tells him that Qui-Gon was right about Jono.
• They go to the Queen's reception area and Beju asks if Elan is with them. Qui-Gon says she's gone to see Wila Prami. Beju says that Giba is being arrested as they speak — but then Giba strides into the room, waving around his arrest order. He claims it's invalid because it's signed by the Prince, and he is not the ruler of Gala. The Queen arrives and tells the guards to arrest him.
• Giba pulls out Obi-Wan's lightsaber and lunges at Qui-Gon, who immediately pulls out his own and disarms Giba embarrassingly quickly. That's what happens when you try to fight a Jedi with their own weapon.
• Then Giba tries to appeal to the guards. He says that the appearance of Elan and the hill people means civil war is at hand, and there's only one way to hold it off: support Deca Brun. Beju asks Giba why Deca Brun would support him and he spouts bullshit about being a respected Council Minister.
• Obi-Wan asks Giba where he got the lightsaber, to which Giba claims that Obi-Wan dropped it when he fled from the guards. Obi-Wan says it was confiscated by Deca Brun's men, so he must be in league with them.
• Jono arrives and backs Obi-Wan's accusations up. He says Giba went to Deca Brun and struck a deal with him: he would find Deca Brun money and support from sources outside Gala, and in return, he would get a position in Deca's new government.
• Obi-Wan says he saw the records of a deal with Offworld in Deca's campaign office. Qui-Gon is impressed with just how busy Obi-Wan has been in his absence.
• The Queen gives the orders to arrest Giba again, and this time the guards agree. All that's left now is for everyone to vote.

After all the voting and counting is finished

And he had Obi-Wan. With every mission, he was more convinced that his Padawan would become extraordinary, even among the Jedi. What he taught would live on. That was legacy enough.

— Would love for this opinion of Qui-Gon's to be reflected in his actions

• With the support of the hill people and Beju, who drops out of the race, Wila Prammi wins the election by a landslide. There's cheering and singing in the streets, because they've achieved a peaceful transition of power with no lives lost.
• Qui-Gon speaks to the Queen one last time. She says that she now has the gift of seeing her legacy, that of free democracy and peace on Gala, play out. Qui-Gon says he's spoken to Elan, who plans to return to the mountains, but has forged a bond with Wila, so the hill people will probably not be quite as isolated in the future. Obi-Wan has been concerned about Jono, and Qui-Gon asks after him. The Queen has decided that Jono will be punished by being sent back to his family to be a farmer.
• Prompted by the Queen's musings on legacy, Qui-Gon asks what his legacy will be. He travels from world to world on Jedi business, so nothing really feels like his legacy.
• The Queen gestures outside to the people of Galu. His legacy will be this, she says. Even if no one remembers that two Jedi were involved in this peaceful transition in the years to come, they would remember the peace the Jedi brought, and that's enough. Obi-Wan, too, will be his legacy: his teachings will live on.
• Meanwhile, Elan, Beju, Viso and Obi-Wan are in the Council Chamber. Viso leads them into the antechamber with all the squares on the floor, and when Elan stands in the middle of the room, beams of light shoot out again, but this time, there's a shadow of a crown on her chest, unlike with Beju. It's the Mark of the Crown, proving Elan is the true heir.
• Viso offers to escort Beju back to his chambers, addressing him as Prince, but Beju shakes his head. "My name is Beju," he says. Elan responds, "Come, brother. Let us walk together."
• Obi-Wan, seeing this, finds a renewed sense of purpose in his life as a Jedi. The Jedi Code is his heritage as much as Gala is for Beju and Elan. Just because his ties aren't by blood doesn't mean they're not important. He feels like he can't tell Qui-Gon that, though, because Qui-Gon is so stern and seems like he's never questioned anything. Qui-Gon is already impatient to get to the next mission, and when Qui-Gon says that it's time to go, Obi-Wan replies that he is ready.
• And that's the end of The Mark of the Crown! Next up: the infamous Melida/Daan Civil War.

At least four days before Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon land on Melida/Daan

Tahl going to Melida/Daan probably happens before Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon even go to Gala, but we don't know precisely when, so I haven't put it into the timeline proper. Yoda's conversation with Wehutti must happen at the latest the day of the Galacian election, because Qui-Gon knows what their next mission is before they leave Gala. He's been trying to find them for three days by the time they meet him outside the city, so it's probably at least four days since he spoke to Yoda. However, that would be confusing in terms of reading this timeline, so I've put it here. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan definitely go straight from Gala to Melida/Daan, because they're using a Galacian ship they've borrowed and intend to return.

• Several weeks ago, Jedi Knight Tahl was sent to Melida/Daan, a planet embroiled in a civil war that's been going for centuries, to broker peace. The two factions in the war are the Melida and the Daan. She was requested by Wehutti, a member of the Melida. She's now gone missing, captured by the Melida and badly wounded.
• Yoda has got back into contact with Wehutti, who has said he can smuggle Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan into the capital city of Zehava and help them rescue Tahl. He contacts Yoda at least four days before Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrive. It seems like a bad idea to trust a member of the faction who has already captured and wounded a Jedi with the lives of two more Jedi, but Yoda apparently thinks it's fine. How did Yoda even find out that she was captured and injured? Did Wehutti tell him when Yoda tried to get into contact with her and failed? The book doesn't say, but it was definitely Yoda contacting Wehutti, not the other way around.

However long it takes to fly from Gala to Melida/Daan later

We must be very careful here, Padawan. When so much volatile emotion is packed into a place, it is hard to keep your distance. Remember you are a Jedi. You are here to observe and to help where you can. Our mission is to return Tahl to the Temple.

— Qui-Gon doing some foreshadowing.

• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrive on Melida/Daan in a starfighter that they have borrowed from Queen Veda of Gala. Obi-Wan is piloting, and is enjoying flying very fast and very low until Qui-Gon tells him to pull up, because a stray boulder would make them crash at this altitude. They see these odd square buildings made of black stone with no doors or windows, but have no idea what they could be.
• Qui-Gon asks him to land in a canyon so they can hide the ship from the locals. Obi-Wan is confident he can make the landing, but Qui-Gon tells him to slow down. Unfortunately, he notices an outcropping too late and scrapes the side of the ship. Though Obi-Wan is afraid of Qui-Gon's reaction, it turns out that Qui-Gon is amused, and quips that at least they hadn't promised to return the ship in pristine condition. They cover the fighter with leafy underbrush so it's not visible from the air.
• The vibes, as they so often are, are rancid on this planet. Melida/Daan is so soaked in hatred that it's a full-on disturbance in the Force. Qui-Gon warns Obi-Wan that this will make it difficult to keep their heads and not get too invested in things that are not their mission: saving Tahl.
• They hike to a cliff above the outskirts of the city. Obi-Wan can't see anyone in the streets within the walls. They can only see one entrance to the city: there's a guardhouse with laser cannons and deflection towers. The deflection towers are providing a particle shield, which they won't be able to get past. When they look closer, they see that the guardhouse is flying a Daan flag: the entrance is under the control of the Daan faction, and possibly the entire city. Obi-Wan despairs, because surely that means they have no way in, but Qui-Gon suggests they go further west and hope that there's some break in the wall that Wehutti is waiting by.
• They find a break in the shield and Qui-Gon suggests they scale the wall. He asks Obi-Wan to get his carbon rope from his pack, but as Obi-Wan steps closer, his boots hit a metal plate that had been hidden by dirt. He's triggered a trap. Energy bars rise from the ground, trapping Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and the metal plate slides open to deposit them in a metal tube.
• They both slide down the metal tube and get spat out onto a dirt floor. They're surrounded by smooth durasteel walls, and Obi-Wan can't see any indication that there's an opening. Obi-Wan thinks that means they're trapped, but Qui-Gon points out that the tube they fell down is battered, and they can see other footprints in the dirt. There are no bones or dead bodies, so that must mean that someone collects the people they capture.
• Unfortunately, both of them have lost their survival packs, which are on the surface.
• They find a tiny seam in the wall indicating where the door is and cut a hole in the wall using their lightsabers. When they get out, they're in a dark, large space. Even the Force is dark and angry, but they can't feel anything living that could be emanating that — the place itself is dark and angry in the Force.
• Obi-Wan hits a ledge he hadn't been able to see in the dark and as he steadies himself, he sees a warrior appear and point their blaster directly at Qui-Gon.
• Obi-Wan immediately attacks the warrior before they could shoot, but his lightsaber goes straight through — it's a hologram.
• The hologram gives a speech about who he is (Quintama of the Melida) and how much he hates the Daan. He says that tomorrow he will participate in the Twenty-First Battle of Zehava, which Qui-Gon points out must have been long ago because the blaster he's holding is a model at least fifty years old. The man tells his children, Renei and Wunana, to avenge him if he falls, as he is avenging his own father who was killed by the Daan.
• They move onto the marker next to him, where a woman who identifies herself as Pinani, Quintama's widow, says she will likely die in the next battle, which she is fighting to avenge the Twenty-First Battle of Zehava. She, too, tells her children to avenge her.
• They activate more of the holograms, discovering that Renei and Wunana died only three years later in the Twenty-Second Battle of Zehava.
• They're in a mausoleum, where the dead stay alive through holograms recorded before their deaths. They're not forgotten, either — there are offerings on pedestals with fresh flowers, trays of seeds and cups of water.
• It becomes clear, as they listen to the holograms, that nobody cites some initial dispute as the reason for fighting. They're all avenging the battle that came before, without a wider cause. Qui-Gon suggests the original reason for the war has been forgotten, and the hatred between the two peoples is bred into their bones.
• They finally reach the exit and find themselves on a ridge: ahead of them rises a steep hill that ends in a cliff, to the right is a wall, and to the left are gardens with a path winding through them.
• They're about to follow the path when snipers shoot at them, and Qui-Gon yells to take cover.
• They both leap over the wall to their right, and land in an area full of banks of machinery. Walls surround them on three sides, with the mausoleum building on the fourth. They're out of the line of fire for now, but Qui-Gon discovers that the machinery is the heating and cooling units for the mausoleum, and full of highly explosive proton fuel. They can't stay here and risk being blown up.
• They have a look over the wall opposite to the one they've just jumped over, and discover there's a ravine on the other side. The ground looks soft, which might help with the long drop, but if it's swampy, they might be swallowed by a bog. If they risk it, they will maintain the element of surprise, unlike if they made for the gardens. Ravine it is.

While he considered the odds, he thought about the way he and Obi-Wan had come to function together as a unit. Though at times their relations could be bumpy, under pressure their rhythm matched, their thoughts clicked. He admired his Padawan's ability to operate on all levels. Even under great pressure, Obi-Wan could strategize, calculate odds and opportunities, and make a joke.

— Qui-Gon thinking nice things about Obi-Wan and once again not saying them.

• They make it down to the ravine and land softly, courtesy of the Force. It's muddy, but at least it's not going to swallow them like a bog. From above, they hear a proton grenade exploding, though it doesn't hit the fuel tank.
• They go around and scale the cliff, slowing near the top and squirming up on their stomachs to remain out of sight. They discover four snipers at the top of the hill, their blasters trained on the mausoleum.
• Our heroes draw their lightsabers and attack. Qui-Gon goes for the strongest-looking sniper, and Obi-Wan goes for the one about to fire. They both succeed in disarming their chosen opponents, as well as disarming the other two of their main weapons. One of them pulls out a proton grenade, throwing it at Qui-Gon. When Qui-Gon successfully dodges it, it goes over the cliff and scores a direct hit on the fuel tank.
• That seems to create a break in the fight long enough for the snipers to re-evaluate their opponents. One of them, who has only one arm, asks if their weapons are lightsabers. When Qui-Gon nods, the sniper, who has only one arm, tosses his blaster aside and announces himself as Wehutti, their contact. He claims that they thought Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were Daan, hence the attack.
• Wehutti introduces his comrades as Moahdi, Kejas, and Herut, and claims that the message he received from the Jedi Temple was garbled, which is why he hadn't been there to meet them.
• Wehutti says that the Daan and Melida technically have a ceasefire at the moment, but Wehutti and his comrades are protecting their Hall of Evidence: the mausoleum Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were in earlier.
• He explains the current state of the city: the Daan have forced the Melida who used to live in the Outer Circle into the Inner Hub and surrounded them. He remains faithful that they will one day retake the Outer Circle, however.
• The Melida and the Daan are not very good at ceasefires. When Qui-Gon points out that they're still shooting at each other, Wehutti replies, "The day I put down my weapon is the day that the Melida are free."
• Wehutti reports that he's spoken with the Melida leaders and convinced them to release Tahl, and then says they can't stay here because it's not safe. He orders his comrades to collect the weapons, even the damaged ones, and retreat to the Hub. On the way, he explains to Qui-Gon that they're low on weapons and medical supplies, as they ran through everything in the last Battle of Zehava and don't have enough money for more. The Daan are also bankrupt.
• Wehutti gives them yellow discs, which he tells them are forged Daan identity cards. They make it to the Hub without needing to use them, however, and Wehutti waves to the guards as they let them through the checkpoint. The guards salute him, and Obi-Wan notices that the guards are probably in their sixties, which seems old to be guards.
• When Qui-Gon mentions the Halls of Evidence, Wehutti explains that the Melida visit their ancestors every week to listen to their holograms, and take their children so they won't forget the history of injustices. The Daan also have Halls of Evidence.
• Obi-Wan realises that apart from the generally awful vibes of the planet, something else is wrong: he hasn't seen anyone older than twenty or younger than fifty. When he asks Wehutti where all the middle-aged people are, Wehutti responds that the Daan have killed them all. Obi-Wan notes to himself that they had seen the same lack of middle generation in the Daan areas.
• As they walk, Obi-Wan notices graffiti painted in red on one of the walls: "THE YOUNG WILL RISE! WE ARE EVERYONE!" When he asks Wehutti who the Young are, he says they're just kids fooling around.
• They reach the Melida headquarters, which was once a luxurious mansion but is now a fortress with a durasteel wall around it topped with coils of electro-wire. The windows are barred. The gate has an iris-reader, which Wehutti presses his eye against and the gate opens.
• Wehutti informs them that they need to leave their lightsabers at the weapons rack at the gate, as there are no weapons allowed inside. Our heroes hesitate, and Wehutti says that if they refuse, the negotiations will go badly: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are asking for the Melida's trust, so they need to show they trust the Melida in turn. They reluctantly obey.
• Wehutti leads them into a room where a group of people (including at least one woman and two people using breath-masks; others have synth-flesh covering their face or plastoid limbs) are sitting at a long table against the wall. He says they're the Melida Council, and then closes the door behind them, locking it.
• "I have returned, comrades," Wehutti says to the Council. "And I have brought two more Jedi hostages for our grand cause!"
• Luckily, Qui-Gon had only pretended to surrender his weapon, and had yoinked his and Obi-Wan's sabers before they entered the Inner Hub. Qui-Gon lights his and strikes Wehutti on the shoulder. Obi-Wan melts the lock on the door and they escape.
• Someone has triggered a silent alarm, which causes bars to slam over the exit. They turn around to find a back exit and discover that as they move down the corridor, there are little electronic beeps — location sensors are tracking exactly where they are.
• The exit at the end of the corridor is heavily fortified, so they'll have to go out a window. Qui-Gon opens the first door he sees and cuts through the electro-bars on the window with his saber, and they both leap out of the window. They end up in a walled courtyard. The wall looks suspiciously scaleable, and before Obi-Wan can try to get over it, Qui-Gon discovers it's mined with thermal detonators. Even jumping over it would detonate the explosives, so that's a dead end.
• Their only option is to go back inside the fortress and fight their way out, which is not at all ideal. Just as they're beginning to think they're done for, a sewer grate scrapes open and a small hand beckons them over. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon hesitate, but there's shouting and running in the fortress, and they know they've run out of time. They go into the sewer. It can't be worse, right?
• Their rescuer leads them through tunnels that smell terrible and don't look very stable — they're shored up with splintered beams. Sometimes the water is up to their ankles, and sometimes up to their knees.
• They finally make it to a vaulted space full of white rectangular tombs made of stone. The air here is fresher and there are glow rods for light mounted on the walls. When they enter, some children are using one of the tombs as a table to eat off.
• Their rescuer announces that she's found them, to which a tall boy responds, "Welcome, Jedi." Clearly, they knew exactly who they were retrieving. The tall boy is Nield, who identifies himself as a leader of the Young, and their rescuer is Cerasi. When Obi-Wan asks whether the Young are Melida or Daan, Cerasi says, "We are everyone."
• They learn the Young were formed because the Elders are forcing children to work in munitions factories, and everyone over the age of 14 to join the army.

And who do our glorious leaders defend? Only the dead. The dead are everywhere on Melida/Daan. We have no spaces left to put them. This is an old burial ground, and there are many others above us. The Young are for the living. It is up to us to take back the planet. The middle generation is gone - our parents are dead. Any who are left have joined with the elders to keep on fighting.

— The war according to Nield.

• Nield explains that the Melida War Council wanted to use Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Tahl as hostages to force the Jedi Council to speak on behalf of the Melida in the Senate and endorse a Melida government. Qui-Gon replies that Wehutti clearly doesn't know the Jedi if he thinks that would work. In response, a slender boy called Towan jokes, "He doesn't know anything. He's a Melida."
• Instantly, Nield starts choking him, lifting him completely off the floor in the process. The boy struggles, but just as Qui-Gon steps forward to intervene, Nield drops him. He reprimands him for making the partisan joke and gives him the punishment of sleeping for three days in Drain Two.
• Nield says that the Young will help retrieve Tahl, on the condition that the Jedi help them in return. Obi-Wan opens his mouth to agree immediately because this is the most just cause he's ever seen, but remembers at the last moment that it's up to Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon hesitates and says that he needs to learn about the Daan before he can commit to anything, since they don't currently have the whole picture.
• In response, Nield proclaims that he is a Daan, and will show them that the Daan are just as bad as the Melida.
• Cerasi leads them through tunnels on the other side towards Daan territory. After several tunnels, they reach an area where there's a crack in the stone ceiling where light filters through. There's a hook near the crack which Cerasi wraps a tension cord around and climbs up to look through the crack. Once she sees there's no one around, she swings up and kicks part of the stone out of the way, then climbs through.
• When they emerge into Daan territory, Nield tells them that the city was beautiful once; it had beautiful flora and even a museum that didn't have anything to do with the war when he was small. Before the Twenty-fifth Battle of Zehava began, there were five years of peace, where Melidas and Daans lived alongside each other.
• When Obi-Wan asks about Cerasi's family, she says her mother died in a sniper raid and her brother was sent to the county to work in a munitions factory. When Obi-Wan prompts her about her father, she replies, "He's dead," but there's a strange expression on her face.
• They walk down a wide boulevard to a large lake, which Nield says is called Lake Weir. It's the last body of water within a thousand kilometres. He swam here when he was younger, but since then, the Daan have built a Hall of Evidence in it and made it impossible to swim in.
• Nield leads them into the Hall of Evidence, mocking one of the holograms by giving context to the events he mentions. Nield quickly becomes angry and leads everyone back outside.
• Nield begs for the Jedi's help, saying that the Young are the planet's only hope, and their cause is just. Obi-Wan is clearly moved, but Qui-Gon is uneasy, and decides it's better not to take sides.
• Nield then says he knows where Tahl is, and that she's alive, though severely wounded. To get around the fact that the place she's being held is heavily guarded, the Young will stage attacks in both sectors, pretending to be the other side, and there will be chaos. Obi-Wan points out they have no weapons, but Nield dismisses that with a mysterious allusion to a plan that he doesn't elaborate on. The only condition is that the Jedi can't contact the Melida and they have to stay in the tunnels until the Young are ready.

Annoyed, Qui-Gon gazed out at the water to buy time. He knew Nield was blackmailing him, forcing him to bend to his wishes so that Qui-Gon could fulfill his mission. He had been out-maneuvered by a child. And Obi-Wan, he saw, was enjoying it. Another curl of apprehension registered along his spine.

— Qui-Gon being a definitely unbiased and reliable narrator.

• Qui-Gon begrudgingly agrees, but states that once they've rescued Tahl, the Young are on their own.
• Back in the tunnels, the Young begin planning for the battle. Qui-Gon offers his help multiple times, but Cerasi makes it clear that they don't want his help — which Cerasi explains later to Obi-Wan is because Elders always think they know best.
• Qui-Gon goes to explore the tunnels by himself, and Obi-Wan helps Cerasi make more of the Young's primary weapon: a slingshot that threw laserballs that sounded like blasterfire if they impacted anything hard, but only mildly stung if they hit a person. Other members of the Young make missile tubes stuffed with paint and pebbles.
• Cerasi asks Obi-Wan for the Jedi's help with their cause. He can't promise Jedi help, but he promises his own. He knows this is disobeying Qui-Gon, as he should get his permission first (and Qui-Gon is unlikely to give it), but he feels a common cause with the Young and wants to band together with people his age instead of just doing what Yoda and Qui-Gon tell him to do.
• That night, he shares quarters with Nield, Cerasi and the youngest children instead of sleeping with Qui-Gon.

The next morning

• Just before dawn, Nield, Cerasi and Obi-Wan exit the tunnels into the empty streets of the Daan-controlled Outer Circle. They use the laserballs and toy missiles to make the sounds of explosions and blasterfire echo throughout the streets, tricking Daan into think there's fighting. Other groups of Young go to other areas of the city, both Melida and Daan, to do the same thing.
• Qui-Gon sees them leave the tunnels but even though he is angry about it, because he would have forbidden it had Obi-Wan asked, he decides not to confront Obi-Wan about it. It's the first time Obi-Wan has deliberately concealed something from him.
• Nield, Cerasi and Obi-Wan then attack the Daan's military headquarters. They trick those soldiers, too, and try to blend in as Daan teenagers going on a morning walk once they've run a few streets away. They're interrogated, but their fake IDs hold up and they're let go.
• Once Nield, Cerasi and Obi-Wan return to the vault, it's time for phase two: going after the weapons storage of both sides. While the other Young do that, Cerasi leads Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to the military barracks where the Melida are holding Tahl. Although the agreement had been that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would rescue Tahl on their own, Cerasi decides to join them. She knows the exact layout and where Tahl is being held, and leads them from the grain storage area where they emerged. She distracts the guards in front of Tahl's cell by pretending that she's searching for her father, Wehutti, and is afraid of the attack going on outside.
• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan manage to distract and disarm the guards (don't worry, they don't kill any! This is a children's book!), and Qui-Gon gets Tahl's cell open while Obi-Wan holds the guards off by deflecting their fire with his lightsaber. Tahl looks awful, thin and wasted and scarred. One eye has a scar through it and the other is covered by a patch. Qui-Gon realises she's now blind. She admits she can no longer walk, so Qui-Gon carries her.
• There are now eight soldiers firing at Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon knows they can't escape without Qui-Gon putting Tahl down — but then they would have to leave Tahl down as they retreated. Things are looking pretty dire until they hear blasterfire coming from behind them! They initially fear they're surrounded, but it turns out it's Cerasi coming in clutch, and the soldiers are more cautious now that they think they're under fire. They manage to retreat back into the sewers.
• As Obi-Wan and Cerasi exchange grins, Qui-Gon realises that Obi-Wan must be lonely, no longer having contact with kids his age, and he should be fine with it... but it makes him uneasy, and he doesn't know why.
• Now that they have rescued Tahl, Qui-Gon concludes that their mission is over. They must leave these children fighting in a world gripped by chaos. He's sad about it, but his first duty is to Tahl. He's going to ask for permission to return to help the children, but he knows Yoda probably won't grant it, because they haven't been requested to return. Jedi don't interfere unasked.
• Nield, Cerasi and Obi-Wan burst into the main room, where Qui-Gon is tending to Tahl, and Nield has triumphant news: the Young have won! They've taken the Daan weapons depot and the Melida blew their own one up to stop the Daan from taking it. They've sent a message to both sides that the Young were behind the battles and that they've stolen their arms. Nield says that without arms, the Elders cannot fight. This is the first step towards peace.

Exhilaration raced through the room like a current. Qui-Gon watched as Nield leaned down and grabbed Cerasi's hand. He pulled her up to stand next to him. Then he reached down for Obi-Wan. Smiling, Obi-Wan leaped up on the tomb to take his place beside the two leaders. The Young reached up to touch his tunic. Obi-Wan reached down to touch their hands and accept their congratulations. He linked arms with Cerasi and Nield. Never once did he glance at Qui-Gon. It was as though the Jedi Knight wasn't in the room. It was as though Obi-Wan was not a Jedi. It was as though he was part of them. As though he had become one of the Young.

— Qui-Gon loves to jump to conclusions.

• Qui-Gon calls Yoda and asks if they can return once they've brought Tahl home. Yoda says no, but says Qui-Gon can go before the Council to plead his case when he comes home. Yoda says that they can't takes sides, as it would jeopardise peace; neither the Melida nor the Daan have asked for their help. (Bold of Yoda to assume it would jeopardise the peace that the Young have achieved, but sure.)
• When he hears this, Obi-Wan argues that they can't leave — if they wait too long, the Elders will rearm. There's no time for the Council to review it, because the time to act is now.
• When Qui-Gon points out that Tahl needs medical care, Obi-Wan insists they can find medical care here, somehow — they can capture a medic or find some place Tahl would be safe. Qui-Gon says she has to be brought back to the Temple, and says they'll leave tomorrow.
• Then we get this exchange:

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Part of our mission was to try to stabilize the planet, if we could. We haven't done that. But we can if we stay!

Qui-Gon Jinn

We have not been asked—

Obi-Wan Kenobi

We have been asked, by the Young!

Qui-Gon Jinn (testily)

That is not an official request.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

You have broken the rules before, Qui-Gon. Back on Gala, you left me to travel to the hill country when you were instructed to stay at the palace. You break the rules when it suits you to do so.

Qui-Gon Jinn

I break the rules not because it suits me, but because sometimes during a mission the rules get in the way. That is not the case here. I believe Yoda is right.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

But—

Qui-Gon Jinn (firmly)

Tomorrow we will leave, Padawan.

— Yoda is going to call out Qui-Gon for this conversation later.

• Cerasi announces that since the Elders have not responded to their request for peace, the Young are now declaring war against them. They'll attack the Elders with their own weapons, forcing them to take them seriously. She tells Obi-Wan that they need his help more than ever.
• Qui-Gon tells her that they have to leave, and Obi-Wan can't bear to look at her face.

As soon as Tahl was settled, Obi-Wan sat against the wall and tried to calm his raging heart. Something was happening to him that he didn't understand. He felt as though there were two parts of him: a Jedi, and a person called Obi-Wan. Always before, he could not separate being a Jedi from being himself. He had not been a Jedi with Nield and Cerasi. He had been one of them. He had not needed the Force to feel connected to something larger than himself. Now Qui-Gon was asking him to leave his friends just as they needed him. He had pledged to help them, had battled alongside them, and now he had to go, just because an elder told him so. Loyalty had seemed such an easy concept back at the Temple. He had thought that he would be the best Padawan it was possible to be. He would meld his mind and body with his Master, and serve. But he did not want to serve like this.

— This is the first time Obi-Wan thinks of Qui-Gon as an elder.

• Obi-Wan feels afraid of what's happening to him and the emotions he's having, but he can't go to Qui-Gon for counsel as he usually would, because he no longer believes in his Master's counsel.

That night

• Neither Melida nor Daan respond to their declaration. Nield says they must strike hard enough to make them take notice, and Cerasi agrees, but says it should wait until tomorrow. Qui-Gon goes to sleep next to Tahl, and Obi-Wan watches Cerasi and Nield plan quietly in the corner. Neither of them have looked at Obi-Wan once since Qui-Gon said they had to leave.
• Obi-Wan goes over to say his goodbyes, since they'll be leaving early the next morning. He says he wants to help him, but he has to do what Qui-Gon says. When Nield says Obi-Wan has to obey his elder, Obi-Wan argues that it's respect, rather than obedience, but Cerasi derides the idea of respecting elders even when they're wrong.
• Obi-Wan once again says he would help if he could, and Nield and Cerasi tell him there's something he could do. They explain that if the Young inside the city can take down the particle shields around the perimeter of the city and around the Inner Hub, then the hundreds or thousands of children that live outside the city will march on Zehava. The Elders would be outnumbered, and if they surrender, they could win the war without a single death.
• The problem, of course, is taking out the deflection towers. They can't use floaters, because they're not agile enough and would be destroyed by the towers' defences. The only thing that would work is air transport. And what's the only air transport that the Young have any hope of controlling? It's the Jedi ship.
• As much as Obi-Wan desperately wants to help them, stealing the ship would be an enormous act of disobedience. Not only would he be going against the wishes of Qui-Gon, but he would be disobeying Yoda himself. Qui-Gon would have the grounds to dismiss him as his Padawan, and he would probably have to face the Council.
• Nield and Cerasi say that destroying the particle shield will only take an hour, and they can go at dawn. Destroying the shields will make it easier to sneak Tahl out of the city, too. Unfortunately, if the ship is damaged while taking out the shields, then Tahl might not be able to leave at all and Obi-Wan may well have Tahl's death on his hands.
• Obi-Wan struggles with his decision for a bit. If he says yes to this, he's fundamentally betraying his life as a Jedi. And yet... it's the right thing to do. So he agrees to do it.
• Meanwhile, Qui-Gon sends a message to Wehutti via one of the Young messengers, asking for a meeting between the Councils of the Melida and Daan, claiming he has news of the Young they have to hear.

Before dawn the next day

• Cerasi, Nield and Obi-Wan leave the city via the tunnels and then through the Hall of Evidence trap, this time with rope so they can scale the slide. All three of them are carrying proton grenades.
• Obi-Wan flies the ship. They don't have any coordinates, so they're doing this purely by sight, but that won't be a problem. There are two laser cannons, and Cerasi and Nield each take one.
• As a floater fires at them, Cerasi says that they have to achieve this without blasting any of the Elders out of the sky — they have to believe that their ultimate goal is peace.
• They hit all of the towers successfully without killing a single person. Nield wants to go blow up the Halls of Evidence with their remaining firepower, but Cerasi convinces him they have to go back — there might be people inside the halls, and they can't make peace if they kill anyone.
• Before they go back, they circle over the countryside and see children clogging the roads towards Zehava in landspeeders and souped-up turbo-tractors, as well as plenty marching on foot. They waved and shouted as they saw the three of them fly over.
• Cerasi thanks him with tears in her eyes, saying she'll never forget what he's done for them. Obi-Wan doesn't care how angry Qui-Gon will be or if he gets sent back to the Temple, because this moment is worth it.

At the same time

• Qui-Gon also wakes before dawn, though after Obi-Wan has disappeared with Nield and Cerasi. Qui-Gon assumes it's one last outing with his friends, and thinks nothing of it. He has his own plan: he goes to the tunnels he had mapped out last night and emerges in an abandoned neighbourhood on the border of Melida and Daan territory.
• He's hoping that the Melida and Daan will meet with him, as he'd asked them to through the message last night. He knows this is risky — they might try to capture him again, or even try to kill him, but he could see that his refusal to stay broke Obi-Wan's heart, and he's making this last-ditch attempt at peace for Obi-Wan.
• Both councils do turn up, and Qui-Gon tells them that if they form a coalition government, they could take control and end the war. If they don't, the Young will win, and while Qui-Gon believes their aims are pure, he thinks the cost will be too much.
• Both sides refuse, even though Qui-Gon has pointed out that the Young have stolen all their weapons. Before there can be more negotiation, they begin hearing explosions and both sides believe the other has attacked. Qui-Gon suddenly remembers that he has no idea where Obi-Wan is. When he tries to establish a connection through the Force with Obi-Wan, he can't feel anything — no emotion at all, only a void.
• The Councils get word through their comms that the Young have taken out the shields and that there are more Young marching on the city from the countryside. Both sides remain convinced that they can defeat the Young — by themselves, not allying with the other side.
• Qui-Gon gives them another talking-to — now that they all know there are thousands of Young marching on the city, it's even more obvious neither side can defeat them alone. Both sides then decide that the only way they will cooperate with each other is if Qui-Gon leads them. Qui-Gon, of course, doesn't want that. He points out that the other side are children, and he absolutely refuses to kill children. He asks Wehutti if he's willing to do battle against Cerasi, and other Elders mention their own children who are underground. Finally, both sides agree: they will open talks with the Young if Qui-Gon will be their emissary.

A little later

• Cerasi and Nield both refuse to meet with the Elders. They tell Qui-Gon that it must be a trick, and surrendering so soon would be a sign of weakness on the Young's part. Qui-Gon tries to argue with them, but doesn't succeed.
• Obi-Wan has been silently watching them the whole time. Qui-Gon is confused about it, and tries to connect with him in the Force again, but there's still only a void.
• Qui-Gon asks Cerasi and Nield how they blew the deflection towers, because he knows they would have to hit them from the air and that floaters wouldn't do it. As he's talking, he realises the answer: it was Obi-Wan.
• Qui-Gon says, "So it was you. You took the starfighter. You took it knowing it was our only way off the planet. You took it knowing it was the only hope for Tahl." and Obi-Wan nods, not trying to deny it at all.
• They go into an adjacent tunnel for a modicum of privacy. Qui-Gon has trouble composing himself — his emotions are overwhelming. But there's a template to this, and he clings to it: first, the Master describes the Padawan's offence without judgement. Obi-Wan was instructed not to take sides, to be available to leave at any time, that Tahl's health was to be his first concern. He endangered Tahl's health by risking their only transport. Obi-Wan agrees. When Qui-Gon says that Obi-Wan risked the peace process, Obi-Wan protests that he was aiding the peace process, but Qui-Gon points out that that's just his interpretation. Qui-Gon and Yoda had decided that Jedi intervention was more likely to hinder than help. And Obi-Wan had disobeyed them.

Qui-Gon paused. He gathered himself to deliver the Jedi wisdom of the Master and Padawan relationship. How the rules had evolved over thousands of years. How the Padawan's pledge of obedience had nothing to do with power, but everything to do with the gaining of wisdom and the humility of service. How he was not here to punish Obi-Wan, or even to teach him, but to aid Obi-Wan's own journey and enlightenment until the day he grew to become a Jedi Knight.

— This is a really interesting conception of the Master-Padawan bond, but I'm not sure Jude Watson achieves her goal.

• Before Qui-Gon can decide what to say next, Obi-Wan says he doesn't care. He doesn't care that he broke the rules, and he believes he was right to break them. He even says it was right to break Qui-Gon's trust. Qui-Gon realises as Obi-Wan speaks that from the moment he took Obi-Wan as his apprentice, he had been waiting for this betrayal. He had tried to harden his heart, but found that he wasn't prepared at all.
• Obi-Wan tries to explain: "Qui-Gon, you must understand, I've found something here. All my life, I have been told what is right, what is best. The path has been pointed out to me. That was a great gift, and I'm grateful for all I've learned. But here on this world all those abstractions I've learned suddenly fit into something concrete. Something I can see. Something real. These people feel like my people. This cause feels like my cause. It calls to me like nothing I've ever felt before."
• Qui-Gon realises that he shouldn't have been angry at Obi-Wan at all — Obi-Wan is a child, and he's been swept away by a cause championed by children his own age. It's understandable. He tries to explain: "Everything you think you found here you already have. You are a Jedi. What you need is distance and a little time for reflection."
• Obi-Wan says he doesn't need time to reflect, and Qui-Gon stands firm that whatever his decision is about reflecting, they still need to leave the planet. Obi-Wan feels closed-off to him, and he's worried about it and hopes that being back in the Temple will help him find his centre again. But Obi-Wan reluctantly agrees to leave with him, and that's a relief.
• Just then, there's great shouting and movement from the main tunnel, and Nield announces that the offer of negotiation was a trick after all, and the Elders have attacked.
• Wounded children are pouring into the tunnels. There are hundreds of Young trapped above ground in open parks and squares with no cover. Starfighters are strafing children, blasterfire ripping into children and killing them. Cerasi suggests that they must have had the starfighters in another base or hidden them somewhere the Young don't know about.
• Meanwhile, Qui-Gon has collected Tahl, who is now able to walk with help, and he decides they have to get out now before it gets even worse. He can't find Obi-Wan, but surely Obi-Wan would meet him at their ship. It's going to be fine.
• The Elders only have three starfighters, but that's enough when the other side only has shoulder-mounted torpedo launchers that the starfighters are easily able to dodge. Children are screaming in pain as they get shot. Nield says that the Elders will force half of them out of the city if they don't do something — and the only thing they can do is use the Jedi's starfighter again to shoot them down.
• Obi-Wan really doesn't want to disobey Qui-Gon again. They'd said they wouldn't ask him to after he destroyed the towers, but Cerasi points out that everything has changed. Obi-Wan has to choose. And when he thinks about it, he's already chosen: he can't turn his back on his friends.

Obi-Wan's ears rang with the cries of the terrified children. Even though he was safe behind the wall, he felt as though blaster fire had ripped through his body. He had been torn in two. Everything he'd known, everything he'd thought was important had been shattered. His Jedi training lay in pieces at his feet. It meant nothing compared to what was going on around him now.

— I'm quoting passages a disproportionate amount compared to the other summaries but I think they're really important insights into what's going on with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan internally.

• Obi-Wan races off towards their starfighter, hoping to get there before Qui-Gon, but when he gets there, Qui-Gon has already loaded Tahl on board. He refuses to let Obi-Wan take the starfighter temporarily: "No, Padawan. I will not make your betrayal easy for you. If you try to take this step, know what a hard one it is."
• Obi-Wan tries to tap into the Force to guide him, and finds he can't. It swirls around him, and it's not light or dark, just disturbed and out of reach.
• Obi-Wan goes for his lightsaber. Qui-Gon goes for his, and they ignite at the same time.

Here was the moment. He had only to step forward and challenge his Master. He had only to move one muscle for it to be taken as an offensive move. Then the battle would begin. Obi-Wan met Qui-Gon's gaze and saw the same anguish he felt. He felt something within him crack, and his resolve slowly drained away. He could not do this. Simultaneously, they both lowered their weapons. The lightsabers deactivated with a faint buzzing sound. For a moment, all Obi-Wan heard was the lonesome wind, howling through the canyon.

— I tried to summarise this but the original passage is just too good.

• Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan that he has to choose: if he stays here, he's no longer a Jedi. Obi-Wan feels heartbroken, but he tells Qui-Gon that he has to stay. "I have found something here more important than the Jedi code. Something not only worth fighting for, but worth dying for."
• Obi-Wan hands his lightsaber to Qui-Gon (Qui-Gon doesn't ask for it; Obi-Wan gives it to him unprompted), and Qui-Gon goes into the starfighter and lifts off without even looking at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan watches until it flies out of sight and then hurries back to Zehava. His new life is waiting.
• And that's The Defenders of the Dead! Everyone's having a bad time!

At least 14 days later

A note: if you read one Jedi Apprentice book, make it The Uncertain Path. It's absolutely heartbreaking. ZeenMrala (she/her)

Anyway, on with the summary:

We know that the Young have been fighting aboveground for fourteen days by the opening scene of the novel. It doesn't say that it's been fourteen days since Qui-Gon left, though. Honestly, I think it makes more sense if it's more than fourteen days, since Obi-Wan, Cerasi and Nield have developed full on rituals!

• The Elders now have five starfighters and are continuing to bomb the Young. However, they're bad at it, and they refuel and do maintenance on all of their starfighters at the same time, which means every time they do that, they're vulnerable.
• The Young plan to use a small team made up of Obi-Wan, Cerasi, Nield and Roenni to attack the spaceport to disable the starfighters.
• If they succeed in destroying the starfighters, the Middle Generation (what's left of it) have agreed to ally with the Young but only if victory over the Elders is in sight.
• Obi-Wan, Cerasi and Nield have this ritual exchange and gesture:

Cerasi

All we need is timing and luck.

Obi-Wan (grinning)

Who, us? We don't need luck.

Nield

Everybody needs luck.

Obi-Wan

Not us.

— "They held out their palms toward each other, their hands as close as they could without touching."

• The small team creeps through the tunnels to arrive directly below the spaceport. The star of the operation is Roenni, who is the daughter of a starfighter mechanic so she's far more experienced with transports and knows how to disable them. Three of the starfighters are right where they'll emerge out of the tunnels but two of them are across the port near the guards, which means they'll be exposed for a time. Obi-Wan feels bad about exposing Roenni to risk like this because she's so young, but she's the only one with the relevant expertise.
• Obi-Wan tries to reach out to the Force, but it slips through his fingers, unreachable. He feels like the Force has deserted him.
• Roenni successfully disables the first three starfighters, but as she runs across the port with Obi-Wan following, a utility droid knocks into an empty fuel barrell and causes the guards to turn around, who spot them immediately.
• There are six guards. Obi-Wan knocks two of them down, disarming them, and the other four scatter. It becomes a gunfight, with Cerasi, Obi-Wan and Nield ducking behind boxes for cover, but Roenni is trapped near the starfighters.
• They cover Roenni as she ducks between starfighters well enough until two guards dash to the sides of the spaceport to try to get behind them. One of them shoots at Roenni, and Obi-Wan desperately calls on the Force. And this time it answers. He makes the blaster fly out of the guard's hand and the shot pings into the wall instead of into flesh.
• He tries to use the Force to help them get back to Cerasi and Nield, but it doesn't respond to him, so they have to crawl behind a barrel. They finally make it to the safety of the fuel tanks, from which they all jump into the tunnel. Just before he goes down, Obi-Wan throws a timed explosive device, and as they all sprint down the tunnel, the fuel tanks explode and take half the spaceport with them.
• Nield tells Mawat to contact the Middle Generation: they've just won the war.

Meanwhile, at the Coruscant Temple

We can date this in relation to the opening scene of The Rising Force: there, Bruck is three months away from turning thirteen. Here, he's only days away.

• Qui-Gon is helping with lightsaber training. He's fighting Bruck Chun, but keeps getting distracted thinking about the first time he saw Bruck Chun, at that exhibition with Obi-Wan. Bruck's fighting skills have improved enormously since then, and when Qui-Gon squeaks out the win, he can tell that Bruck is hoping Qui-Gon will take him on as his Padawan. Qui-Gon, however, is resolved to never take a Padawan again.
• He knows everyone is curious, but out of respect for his privacy, no one has asked Qui-Gon what went wrong between him and Obi-Wan. He goes to the Room of a Thousand Fountains to seek peace and instead he found the opposite: Master Yoda. Yoda says that Qui-Gon has been avoiding him, to which Qui-Gon only has weak excuses. And then Yoda tells Qui-Gon it's time to unburden his heart, and they have the following conversation:

Qui-Gon Jinn

He stayed. He told me he had found something on Melida/Daan that was more important than his Jedi training. On the morning we were leaving, the Elders attacked the Young. They had starfighters and weapons. The Young were disorganized. They needed help.

Yoda

And yet stay you did not.

Qui-Gon Jinn

My orders were to return to the Temple with Tahl.

Yoda (surprised)

Orders, they were? Counsel, it was. And always willing to ignore my counsel you are, if suits you it does.

Qui-Gon Jinn (irritably)

Are you saying I should have stayed? What if Tahl had died?

Yoda

A hard choice it was, Qui-Gon. Yet willing are you to blame your Padawan. Place the choice before him you did: forsake Jedi training, or children die, friends are betrayed. Thought you understood a boy's heart, I did.

Qui-Gon Jinn (stony silence)

...

Yoda

Impulsive you were yourself as a student. Led by the heart, many times you were. And wrong, many times you were as well. This I remember.

Qui-Gon Jinn (angrily)

I never would have left the Jedi.

Yoda

True that is. Commitment you had. Absolute it was. Does this mean that to question, others must not? Like you always, they must be?

Qui-Gon Jinn (shrugging)

So I should let him make his foolish decision. Let him fight a war he can't win. Let him stand and watch the massacre that will result. He'll be lucky if he escapes with his life.

Yoda

Ah, see I do. Unbiased by your feeling, your prediction is?

Qui-Gon Jinn

I see disaster there. The Young cannot win.

Yoda

Interesting, for win they did, Qui-Gon. Word we have received. Won the war, the Young have. Forming a government, they are. Understand now do you, Obi-Wan's decision? Fighting for a lost cause, he was not. A planet ruler, he has become.

Qui-Gon Jinn (coolly)

Then he is more foolish than I thought.

— Qui-Gon shrugging as he is utterly nonchalant about the death of a thirteen-year-old child.

An unknown amount of time later

At absolute minimum, it has to have been days, but more likely weeks since the Young ended the war.

• The Young now have to work out how to govern. They've formed a ten-person council headed by Cerasi which advises the elected temporary governor, Nield. Obi-Wan, Mawat and other members of the Young make up the council; there are no Elders. Nield is required to enact any motion that passed the council with a majority of votes, and he has one vote as well. The council meets in the Melida/Daan Unified Congress Building, which stood for only three years during an ill-fated attempt by the Melida and Daan to govern together, and has since been bombed out. It's cold and wet because most of the roof is gone and the windows have been blown out, but the council meets there for symbolic reasons.
• Cracks are forming in the unity of the Young. It was easy to be unified before, because they all wanted peace, but now they can't agree on their priorities regarding the rebuilding of the city. Supplies are scarce: there's very little power for heating, food, medical supplies and fuel. The worst problem is the amount of arms still circulating in the population — with tensions high, any small disagreement could become a gunfight.
• Obi-Wan is the head of the Security Squad, whose duty is to do a sweep of the entire city to confiscate all the weapons. For now, only the Security Squad itself is allowed to carry weapons, which is a hard sell even for some of the Young. All other weapons must be surrendered and are stored in a warehouse until tensions ease. This policy had been established at the first general meeting, which was attended by so many Young that the Congress Building was packed. It wasn't popular until Cerasi made a speech convincing them all: "Peace isn't just a concept to me. It is life and breath. I will never pick up a weapon again. I have seen what they can do. If a weapon of destruction is in my hands, sooner or later that weapon will be used. I will not contribute to one more death on Melida/Daan!"
• At the current meeting, Cerasi asks for reports from each squad head. Nield, the head of the New History Squad (in charge of demolishing symbols of hatred and division such as war monuments and Halls of Evidence), proclaims that destroying the Halls of Evidence should be their first priority, as they cannot begin to build a new society until the places where the Melida and Daan go to fuel their hatred are destroyed.
• Taun, the head of the Utilities Squad (in charge of giving ruined buildings power and heat), disagrees — he thinks that it's more important to help the people who are cold and hungry. Nield argues that it's when people are suffering that they turn to their symbols of hatred to cope. A boy called Dor suggests that medicine, instead, should be their first priority — the sick can't line up at the Halls to cope. Someone else says that the care centres can't handle the overflow of orphans. Nena, head of the Housing Squad, says that rebuilding houses should be their first priority.
• Nield argues that all of those problems stem from the endless war, and the only way to prevent more endless war is to end the hatred fueled by the Halls of Evidence. He says that the destruction of the Halls will give people hope that they can remove the power of division as easily as they destroy the symbols themselves.
• He acknowledges that destroying the resting places and words of their ancestors is a sacrifice, which is why he's chosen the place of his ancestors to be demolished first: the Hall of Evidence on Lake Weir. "I want to remember my parents as people," he says, "not warriors! I want to remember them with love. Not hate! Come with me now. Let me show you what a great mark of unity this will be. Are you with me?"
• The Young cheer and stream out of the Halls, following Nield to Lake Weir, where members of the New History squad, overseen by Mawat, have been working to remove the stone markers from the Hall. Mawat tells Nield that he has saved the markers of Nield's parents if he wanted to keep them. Nield says he's glad that Mawat saved them, which confuses Cerasi and Obi-Wan until Nield activates the holograms and then takes a beamdrill, destroying them until they're nothing but small chunks of stone.
• Nield shouts, "The remnants of these stones will be used to build new housing for Melida and Daan to live together in peace. Today, a new history is born!" and everyone cheers, rushing in to help with the dismantling.
• Obi-Wan watches the historic moment with no regrets about leaving the Jedi. This planet is his home.

Meanwhile in the Coruscant Temple

We have no idea when this is in relation to either the previous Qui-Gon scene or the Obi-Wan scenes.

• Qui-Gon gets a summons from the Jedi Council, and fears that it's about him leaving Obi-Wan on Melida/Daan. After casually shrugging off the murder of a thirteen-year-old boy in the last scene, here he seems to have some recognition of what he's done:

Qui-Gon stood in the center of the room, bowed respectfully, and waited. How would they begin? Would Mace Windu, whose dark eyes could burn through you like hot coals, demand his reason for leaving a thirteen-year-old boy in the middle of a war? Would Saesee Tiin murmur that Qui-Gon's actions had always come from an impulsive but giving heart? He had been called before the Council more than most Knights. He could guess at what each would say.

— Maybe you should listen to your internal Mace Windu, Qui-Gon!

• It turns out that's not what this meeting is about at all. Instead, the Council is making Qui-Gon the investigator of a series of thefts. Things have been stolen inside the Temple — not valuable things, but theft is theft, and it's against the Jedi Code. If it's not a student, then it's some outside actor that has invaded their home. They don't want to alarm anyone, though, so they need Qui-Gon to be discreet. He's to work with Tahl, who is now blind as a result of her injuries on Melida/Daan.
• Qui-Gon goes to tell Tahl, who was visited by Yoda this morning to tell her about their assignment. Yoda also gave her a personal navigation droid called 2JTJ, also known as TooJay (she/her). She hates it.

Tahl

It's thoughtful of Yoda, but I'm not used to having a constant companion. I never did take a Padawan. I'm sorry, Qui-Gon, that was a careless remark. I know you miss Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon

If I am not to help you pour the tea, then can I request that you not tell me how I am feeling?

Tahl

Well, perhaps you don't know that you miss him, but you do.

Qui-Gon (annoyed)

Do you forget what he did? He stole the starfighter to destroy those deflection towers. If he had been shot down, you would have died on Melida/Daan!

Tahl

Ah, so you have a new talent. You can see things that might have been. Must come in handy.

Qui-Gon

He would have stolen it again, if I hadn't stopped him. He would have left us on that planet with no way to get off.

Tahl

Sit down, Qui-Gon. I can't see you, but you're making me nervous. If I don't blame Obi-Wan, why should you? It's my life you're talking about. It was a tough call. You went one way, Obi-Wan another. It seems to me that you're the only one who continues to blame the boy. And he is a boy, Qui-Gon. Remember that.

— Qui-Gon coming to conclusions way too informed by his previous trauma.

• Qui-Gon's narration claims "No one knew how much of himself he had invested in the boy in such a short time. No one knew how Obi-Wan's decision had grieved him." and then he very obviously changes the topic to their investigation. Tahl comes up with a place to start: one of the thefts was of some student records, so whoever stole them must have had access to the Temple registry.

Meanwhile, on Melida/Daan

Once again, we have no indication of when this takes place.

• Obi-Wan, Cerasi and Nield are still living in the Young's underground vault even now that the war is over because of the severe housing shortage.
• Obi-Wan, in his capacity as head of the Security Squad, and Deila, his second, are going to investigate reports of holdouts in the Melida sector who refuse to hand over their weapons. Obi-Wan carries a blaster and a vibroblade on his belt holster where his lightsaber used to be. Cerasi catches them before they go to say she's coming with them. Obi-Wan tells her that it's too dangerous, to which she points out that they just fought a war together.

Cerasi

They expect us to put up monuments to ourselves, I hear. I can't wait to surprise them. No more war memorials on Melida/Daan.

Obi-Wan (with a straight face)

Are you sure? I can see you up on a pedestal holding up your slingshot—

Cerasi (grinning)

Watch it, friend. I didn't know Jedi were allowed to joke.

Obi-Wan

Of course we are. I mean, they are.

Cerasi (sadly)

You gave up so much for us.

Obi-Wan (gesturing at surroundings)

And look what I received—

Cerasi (laughing)

Sure. A destroyed city, bad food, no heat, a home in a tunnel, a job disarming fanatics, and—

Obi-Wan

Friends.

Cerasi

Friends.

— Cerasi and Obi-Wan discuss what the Elders think will happen now that the New History Squad is dismantling war monuments.

• When they reach the house of the holdouts, Obi-Wan designates Cerasi as the lookout on the street. They do their "everybody needs luck" "not us" and holding their hands close together ritual, and then Obi-Wan and his six-person Security Squad approach the door of the holdout.
• He orders the people inside to open the door, but they refuse. In response, Deila sets explosive charges near the lock of the door, tells the Elders to stand back, and blows the lock.
• There are six Elders inside, all in armour and holding weapons. One of them is Wehutti. He declares that they don't recognise the Young's authority, to which Obi-Wan replies that it doesn't matter if they recognise it or not, because the Young have it. Obi-Wan orders them to disarm once again, and Wehutti decries the Young as hypocrites and fools who wage war even as they talk of peace. Obi-Wan hopes that Cerasi has called for reinforcements by now, since the last squad member in the house should have signalled for her to do so, but before anything else can happen, they hear shooting coming from upstairs.
• The Elders are also alarmed by the shooting, so it can't be them, and Obi-Wan realises Cerasi has climbed onto the roof and used her slingshot again. Taking advantage of the Elders' distraction, the squad rushes them and disarms them. Cerasi helps, but Wehutti doesn't recognise her because she has her hood up.
• Wehutti says, "A curse on the foul Youth who destroy our civilization!" and Cerasi is transfixed by him before Obi-Wan tugs her outside. He orders Deila to take the weapons back to the warehouse and go on break, before hanging back to walk with Cerasi.
• Obi-Wan asks if Cerasi knew that Wehutti was one of the holdouts; Cerasi replies that she hadn't known, but she'd suspected it.

Cerasi

I was stupid enough to think this war would change him. I thought if we survived the last war we'd ever fight on Melida/Daan, we'd find each other again. Stupid.

Obi-Wan

Not stupid. Maybe it just hasn't happened yet.

Cerasi

It's funny, Obi-Wan. I had no empty places inside me during the war. I was filled up with my desire for peace, my friendships with the Young. Now we have victory, and my heart feels empty. I didn't think I would miss my family ever again. But now I want something to connect to that goes as deep as blood.

Obi-Wan

You connect to me, Cerasi. You've changed me. We support each other and protect each other. That's family, right?

Cerasi

I guess.

Obi-Wan

We'll be each other's family.

[He held up his hand. This time, she pressed her palm against it. The wind picked up, cutting through their cloaks and making them shiver. Still, they kept their palms together. Obi-Wan felt the warmth of Cerasi's skin. He could almost feel the beating of her blood against his.]

Obi-Wan

You see, I have lost everything, too.

— This book is full of absolute banger conversations.

An amount of time later, Coruscant Temple

• Qui-Gon and Tahl are not having great luck with their investigation. Four things have been stolen so far, and there's absolutely no pattern to it:
  • A tool box from the servo-utility unit
  • Holographic files and computer records for students with names A through H
  • A teacher's meditation robe
  • A fourth-year student's sports activity kit
• The student files had been a dead end — the only people who had access to them were Jedi Master Tun, who is in charge of them, and the Council.
• The latest incident is the senior training rooms getting vandalised and all the lightsabers there being stolen. Qui-Gon is dismayed about it because he had stored Obi-Wan's lightsaber there and part of him had hoped Obi-Wan would one day return to reclaim it. Vandalising a training room and stealing lightsabers has escalated it way beyond petty theft, as they thought it was.
• Qui-Gon and Tahl hurry to the area and emerge into the training rooms. They're completely trashed, with tunics ripped to shreds and the contents of lockers strewn on the floor. Tahl can feel the anger and destruction. There's also a message scrawled on the wall in red:

COME, YOUR TIME WILL

BEWARE YOU MUST, TROUBLE I AM

• It's clear that the message is mocking Yoda, and that this has now become a lot more serious and can't be kept secret from the students. The Temple goes into lockdown: "The Temple went on high-security alert. It was a decision the Council was reluctant to make. It made prisoners out of the students. They needed passes to leave the Temple, passes to use the gardens and to swim in the lake. They needed to account for their time at every minute of the day. It was for everyone's protection, but it violated the spirit of the Temple. The Temple's philosophy was that discipline needed to come from within. Security checks contradicted that concept. But Qui-Gon and Tahl had insisted on the measure, and Yoda had agreed. The safety of the students was their primary concern."
• Mistrust breeds between those stuck in the Temple. People called to interviews by Qui-Gon and Tahl are looked at with suspicion for signs of guilt. The vibes of the place become bad.
• When Bruck Chun is interviewed, he says that it can't be one of the senior students, because they've grown up together and he can't imagine any of them wanting to damage the Temple. He says that he was the last one in the training rooms last night, which he acknowledges looks bad because he knows he used to have a problem with anger. Training rooms never get locked, so he just turned off the lights and went to have dinner. After that, he says he was with his friends all evening until they all went to sleep.
• Tahl feels a serious disturbance in the Force around this whole thing. "I fear it is not a student who is doing this. I think it's an invader. Someone who hates us. Someone who wants to see us fractured and distracted..." she says, and Qui-Gon agrees.

At least three days after the last Melida/Daan scene

• Obi-Wan has just finished three solid days of Security Squad duty and now there are only isolated pockets of still-armed people left. It's started to snow, and winter is almost upon them. There's been no progress in actually getting the city liveable again; instead, Nield has just recruited an ever-increasing number of Young to his mission of destroying every Hall of Evidence in the city. Obi-Wan can see they're losing the Middle Generation, which they can't afford to do because the Middle Generation are quite influential with the Elders.
• As he is walking home, he sees a group of Scavenger Young, who tell him that the Hall of Evidence on Glory Street near the plaza is going to be destroyed. That was the one that held the holograms of Cerasi's family, and he rushes to tell her. He asks her how long it's been since she visited it.

Before I came down into the tunnels.... Long enough so that I can't really remember my mother's face. Her memory is fading. I believe that Nield is right. I hate the Halls of Evidence as much as he does. Or at least I did. But I don't hate my family, Obi-Wan. My mother, my aunts, my uncles, the cousins I've lost... they're all there. Their faces, their voices... I don't have any other way to remember them. And I'm not alone. So many on Melida/Daan have nothing to remember their loved ones by except the Halls of Evidence. We've bombed our homes and libraries and civic buildings... we have no records of births and marriages and deaths. If we destroy all the holograms, our history will be lost forever. Will we end up missing part of what we destroy?

— Cerasi

• Obi-Wan suggests that the holograms be preserved, perhaps in a vault that can only be accessed with permission, so it won't be used to stoke historical grievances but can be used by scholars. Cerasi excitedly agrees, but when Obi-Wan says they should make Nield stop temporarily so they can work out the specifics, Cerasi deflates. While the council does have the power to make him stop, Cerasi refuses to do it, because publicly opposing Nield would split the Young, and splitting the Young means the end of peace.
• Obi-Wan insists that the only way they can maintain peace is by stopping Nield, because continuing as he is will just make them revolt. Cerasi confesses that she has no idea what to do, and they're then interrupted by Mawat.
• Mawat tells them that Wehutti has organised a protest against the destruction of the Hall on Glory Street, and Mawat wants Obi-Wan to authorise the release of weapons to the Young. Obi-Wan refuses, because that way lies a massacre, but says he'll help in another way.

An amount of time later, Coruscant Temple

Remember when we had literally any indication of the passage of time? I miss it.

• There's a new rumour: an intruder has been spotted on the Temple grounds. The young students are afraid, and even the Knights are worried. Qui-Gon's theory is that the reason that an intruder could get in despite the high security is that they must have someone on the inside that wants them to get in, which their security measures have no mechanism to guard against. Tahl points out that they have no proof that the rumour is true — they can't pinout the source of the rumour.
• As they discuss this, a voice comes over the address system, saying, "Code fourteen, code fourteen." It's Yoda's signal that something has happened with the investigation, and they hurry to meet him in a small conference room. It's the most secure room at the Temple, as it has a scanner that monitors for surveillance devices.
• Yoda has bad news: there's been another theft, and this time it's of the healing crystals of fire, which were under the highest security. No one but the Council knows for now, but Yoda fears word will spread.
• The healing crystals of fire are a Jedi treasure that's thousands of years old. They were held in a meditation chamber that was accessible to everyone (which makes the claim that it's under the highest security quite odd), and embedded in the heart of each rock is an eternal flame. This is going to be a huge blow to morale when the theft is discovered.
• Yoda tells them it's incredibly important to find not only the culprit but also why they did this. "Fear I do that in why the seed for our destruction lies," he says.
• Qui-Gon has notes about the investigation on his datapad, and he's suddenly worried that those might be stolen too; he says that from now on, they need to keep their notes on them at all times. When they reach his quarters, his notes are where he left them, but Tahl says she can smell that someone's been in his quarters. Nothing had been disturbed, though. The display of Tahl's incredible oflactory prowess excites Qui-Gon, because he thinks they've found a way to catch the thief.

Only minutes after we last left them, Melida/Daan

• Obi-Wan, Cerasi and Mawat meet the members of the Security Squad near the Hall of Evidence on Glory Street. Obi-Wan has no intention of using violence, but he's still willing to lend the appearance of weapons to this whole scene. They hoped to avoid a showdown, but they're too late: Wehutti and the other Elders have formed a human chain around the Hall, facing Nield and his crew.
• They can see that Nield had started the demolition before the Elders interrupted: some of the markers have been partially demolished, though the Elders have now encircled the demolition equipment. Even Nield knows that they can't use force to defeat them without invalidating their new government and potentially destroying any public goodwill they have.
• Cerasi challenges Nield about his obsessed with destroying the Halls. She points out that it's their only history. Obi-Wan chimes in and says that the people need to see signs of rebuilding, not destruction. Nield asks whether they're going to compromise on their ideals so soon, and Cerasi says perhaps they should, and that they should let Wehutti have this small victory.
• Obi-Wan pleads with him that they need to discuss it and put it to a vote — he points out that Nield didn't want total authority and is the one who insisted on the council in the first place. Nield acquiesces, telling his team to stand down, and the Elders let out cheers. "We have our victory!" Wehutti cries.
• As Wehutti leaves the scene, Cerasi tells Obi-Wan that she remembers that her father wasn't always entirely consumed by hate; there was love in him once, too. The memory of her father's love is sacred to her, and perhaps, she says, that means that the memories in the Halls might be sacred too.
• She asks Obi-Wan whether anything is sacred to him, and he's consumed by memories of the Temple, and of the certainty he had felt in being a Jedi. And he misses Qui-Gon most of all. He feels sure that if he returned to the Temple, then Yoda would welcome him; other people have left the Order and come back before. But he knows that Qui-Gon will never take him back.
• When Obi-Wan admits he misses being a Jedi, Cerasi says that his destiny might be somewhere other than Melida/Daan, and that's okay. He can love Melida/Daan and still feel called elsewhere. She suggests he contact Qui-Gon, but he doesn't give her an answer either way. She says that no one will blame him for leaving, but he knows Qui-Gon will.

An amount of time later, Coruscant Temple

In the first scene, Tahl complains "at the end of a long day" of interviews, so who knows how long it's been!

• Even with cross-referencing the names of everyone who could have access to the stolen items and had no abili against their various lists, Tahl and Qui-Gon come up with 267 people they need to interview. The interviews only have to be short, though, because they're really hunting for the smell that was in Qui-Gon's quarters.
• At the end of a long day of interviews, the last one they have is our favourite Mon Calamari Bant Eerin, who has turned eleven between Obi-Wan leaving for Bandomeer and now. When she comes in, Tahl silently alerts Qui-Gon that this is the smell that had been in his room, but Qui-Gon can't imagine that Bant is the intruder. Bant does seem exceptionally nervous, though. Perhaps... too nervous?

Qui-Gon

You seem uncomfortable. This is not an inquisition.

[Bant nods.]

Qui-Gon

But you can see that with the thefts, we need to speak with all students.

[Bant nods.]

Qui-Gon

Would you consent to have your room searched?

Bant

Of-of course.

Qui-Gon

Have you ever violated Temple security?

Bant (her voice wobbling a bit)

No.

Tahl (murmuring in Qui-Gon's ear)

She is afraid of you.

Qui-Gon (sternly)

"Why are you afraid?

Bant

B-because you are Qui-Gon Jinn. You took Obi-Wan away. All he wanted was to be your Padawan, but a short while later he left the Jedi. And I wonder...

Qui-Gon

What?

Bant (whispering)

W-what you did to him.

— Having a tiny eleven-year-old terrified of you because they don't know what you did to so radically change their friend would be devastating.

• After Bant leaves, Tahl tries to reassure Qui-Gon, saying that Obi-Wan leaving wasn't his fault. Without speaking, they then go to the lake. Qui-Gon begins to suggest that their next step be to attempt to flush out the thief, but Tahl interrupts him. She smells the intruder! By which she means she smells the lake. That's why Bant smelt like the intruder — not because she is the culprit, but because she is aquatic.
• Qui-Gon realises they have to check the bottom of the lake, because the thief might be hiding the good down there. Qui-Gon's swimming would be up to par, but they recruit Bant to do it instead, because they're convinced of her innocence. It's established that Bant can hold her breath for a very long time but does need to surface to breathe. This will be relevant in the next book.
• Bant finds a crate underwater that's clear of plant life and algae, so it must have been placed recently. She and Qui-Gon pull it out. Qui-Gon has never seen a container like this before, but Bant has — they have them back on Mon Calamari. She shows them how it has multiple compartments and a vacuum pump so you can put things inside the crate without taking it out of the water while keeping the contents dry.
• She opens the crate and most of the stolen items are here, including the lightsabers. The healing crystals, however, are missing.
• Qui-Gon tells Bant to keep all of this secret, and then they return the crate to the lake so they can set a trap for the thief.

Soon after the last scene we saw them in, Melida/Daan

• In a council meeting, Cerasi calls for a vote to stop the demolition of the Halls of Evidence. Everyone is shocked that Cerasi is disagreeing with Nield, because they all see Cerasi, Obi-Wan and Nield as basically the same person. When Deila seconds the motion, the room erupts with shouting until Cerasi shouts for order.
• Cerasi begins the vote. By the time the vote gets to Obi-Wan, the council is split four-four. Notably, Mawat has voted against. Only three votes remain: Obi-Wan, Cerasi and Nield. Cerasi votes yes and Nield votes no. Obi-Wan breaks the tie by voting yes. The motion carries, and Cerasi declares the stop action.
• Nield then calls for another vote: to oust Obi-Wan from the council, because Obi-Wan is neither Melida nor Daan, so he shouldn't get a vote in what happens. Multiple people, including Mawat, support Nield's call. Cerasi says that council members have been elected for a one-year term, and Obi-Wan is a war hero and was elected with an overwhelming majority, so he can't be voted off the council just because he voted against Nield.
• Cerasi ends the meeting, but instead of the council dispersing, a fight breaks out. "We must decide on our own destiny! Melida and Daan together!" Nield shouts.
• In the days after the meeting, Nield refuses to speak to Obi-Wan or Cerasi. He moves to sleep above ground with the Scavenger Young, and tries to convince the Scavenger Young to support him in overthrowing the council and call for a new one. The Young are collapsing, and Cerasi and Obi-Wan can't do anything about it.
• Obi-Wan tells Cerasi that he needs to resign from the council as the only way to end this. Cerasi says that goes against the whole spirit of the Young — if they single him out for not being born here, how is that any different from tribal rivalries? When Obi-Wan says it would heal things at least temporarily, Cerasi disagrees. It's already too late.
• After Cerasi goes to bed, Obi-Wan reflects that what he really needs is the wisdom of an adult. None of the Elders can provide it, of course, and he longs for Qui-Gon. Everything is spiralling out of his control. If he contacts the Temple, will anyone come? Will they send Qui-Gon? Obi-Wan doesn't know.

Night, an unknown amount of time since Qui-Gon found the underwater crate, Coruscant Temple

• Qui-Gon and Tahl are hiding in the trees on the shoreline of the lake. They believe that there will be another theft tonight, and this way, Qui-Gon will see who it is and Tahl can run off to tell Yoda.
• After five hours of waiting, Qui-Gon sees the culprit: Bruck. After Bruck swims down to deposit his latest item in the crate, he goes doown an overgrown path that heaps to the utility buildings that house floaters and hydrocrafts. Qui-Gon follows him silently.
• Unfortunately, before Bruck has gone very far down the path, TooJay's voice splits the air, informing Tahl very loudly that there's a tree root ahead of her. This spooks Bruck and he runs away. Qui-Gon knows there's no point in following him, because he's not going to do anything incriminating tonight after that.
• It turns out Tahl didn't realise that TooJay was following her. Qui-Gon asks Tahl why Tahl is following him, and she tells him it's because someone suspicious was following him — probably the person Bruck was going to meet. They wore heavier boots than anyone typically wears in the Temple, and they brushed the icus leaves, which means he must be similar in height to Qui-Gon. What's more, he knew the way, and wasn't afraid — this isn't his first time being here.

The next morning after Obi-Wan considers contacting the Jedi, Melida/Daan

• Obi-Wan didn't go to bed until nearly dawn, so Cerasi didn't wake him the next morning; he wakes up alone, next to a plate of fruit and muffin that Cerasi left for him.
• Suddenly, Roenni bursts in and tells Obi-Wan that things have escalated. Nield has convinced Mawat that they should overthrow the council and demolish the Glory Street's Hall of Evidence, and he's gathered a bunch of Young there. Wehutti and other Elders are there too, and worst of all, both sides have weapons. Roenni has no idea where they got them.
• Obi-Wan considers calling Cerasi, but decides that it would be best if she doesn't know until it's over, because she was torn about Wehutti and Nield being at odds last time they faced off. Instead, he sends a message to his squad to gather in Glory Street.
• The Elders are wearing armour and Nield's squad have transparent shields, and both sides are armed. The two groups are currently at opposite ends of the plaza, with the Elders in front of the Hall and Nield's group at the other end. Obi-Wan orders them in the name of the government to step down, to which Nield response that Obi-Wan doesn't represent the government. When Obi-Wan looks at his squad, he sees even they look uncertain, clearly at least a little swayed by Nield's argument that Obi-Wan is an outsider.
• Nield tells Wehutti to stand aside, and Wehutti responds, "We will not allow the desecration of our ancestors by a band of brats!" Nield yells back, "We will not allow murderers to be treated as the honored dead!" and raises his blaster rifle.
• Suddenly, Cerasi emerges from a grate in the (currently dry) fountain in the middle of the plaza. She starts running towards the middle of the two groups shouting, "No! This cannot happen!"
• Obi-Wan starts running towards her, and just as he starts, shots ring out. Obi-Wan can't work out where they're coming from — it's not either of the groups in the plaza. They hit Cerasi directly in the chest and she sinks to the ground, falling into Obi-Wan's arms as he reaches her.
• "You'll be okay. Can you hear me? You don't need luck. Cerasi!" he says, holding his palm up and crying. She starts to raise her hand to meet his but she dies before she can place her palm to his. Obi-Wan has never felt pain like this in his life, and he feels like his body can't even contain it. And he knows that the situation will only get worse.

Days after Cerasi got shot

• Each side has used Cerasi's death as a symbol to encourage more violence. Wehutti and Nield's factions patrol the streets while openly armed, though Wehutti and Nield don't appear in public. War feels inevitable.
• Nield doesn't attend Cerasi's funeral. The Glory Street Hall of Evidence still stands, and Cerasi's ashes are now kept there with her family's. Obi-Wan is completely undone by his grief, unable to do anything but wander the streets and, when he's finally so exhausted he can barely see, sleep. He tortures himself about having been unable to stop it, and keeps getting hit with the knowledge that he'll never talk to her again over and over.
• One day, he ends up at the plaza where she died, and he sees a banner that says: AVENGE CERASI CHOOSE WAR
• He rips it up into tiny pieces and then decides that he has to talk to Nield about this, because there's no way Cerasi would want her death used as a motivation for more violence.
• He finds him in the sewers, and tries to talk to him but Nield doesn't respond. He says that he misses Cerasi, but they need to protect her legacy by preventing the war that people are trying to start in her name.
• When Nield finally does respond, Obi-Wan is surprised to find rage on his face, not grief.

Obi-Wan

Our hearts are broken. I know that. I miss her. But if she could see what is happening, she would be furious. Do you know what I mean? They're mobilizing for war and using Cerasi as a reason. We can't let that happen. It would violate everything she stood for. We couldn't protect Cerasi when she was alive. But we can protect her memory.

Nield (voice throbbing with fury)

How dare you come here. How dare you say you couldn't protect her? Why not, Obi-Wan?

Obi-Wan

I tried to get to her. I—

Nield

She shouldn't have been there at all! You should have been watching her, protecting her, not rushing into situations trying to save strangers like a... Jedi! Jedi, always with their minds on higher things. Always better than those they protect, unable to connect with living beings, with flesh and blood and hearts...

Obi-Wan

No! That's not what Jedi are about! That's exactly opposite of who we are!

Nield

We! You see? You are a Jedi! You have no loyalty to us. You're a stranger. You influenced Cerasi, you made her oppose me—

Obi-Wan

No, Nield. You know that's not true. No one could ever influence Cerasi or tell her what to do. She only wanted peace. That's why I'm here.

Nield

Peace? What is that? What is peace next to loss? Cerasi was killed by the Elders and they must suffer. I won't rest until every filthy Elder is dead. I will avenge her or die!

[Obi-Wan is taken aback by how he sounds like the holograms in the Halls that he hates so much]

Nield

What are you doing here, Obi-Wan Kenobi? You aren't part of the Young. You never were. You're not Melida. You're not Daan. You're nobody, you're nowhere, and you are nothing to me. Now get out of my sight... and get off my planet.

— Nield crushing Obi-Wan's very being.

• Obi-Wan wanders the streets some more. Nield's right: without the Jedi or the Young, he's nobody. He feels so much despair that he wants to fall down and never get up again. But just as he considers it, he hears a voice in his head: Always here, you may come, when lost you are...

Just before dawn after the last scene on Coruscant

• Qui-Gon alerts security and then retrieves the crate from the water again, intending to return all the stolen property. The first thing he does is take out Obi-Wan's lightsaber and check that it hasn't been damaged, which it hasn't. He clips it onto his belt next to his own.
• They go to Bruck's room, but of course he's not there. Qui-Gon feels like he let the Temple down — he hadn't seen Bruck's anger. He hasn't seen Obi-Wan's betrayal coming, either. Yoda had said that Qui-Gon could see into the boy's heart, but why did he think that, when Qui-Gon so clearly has no idea?
• Qui-Gon gets a message from Yoda, and when he gets to the conference room where Yoda is waiting for them, Yoda says he's already heard the news about Bruck. Instead, this news is from Obi-Wan. When Yoda turns on the hologram and Qui-Gon sees it's Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon turns away angrily and goes to leave, but Obi-Wan says, "Cerasi is dead," and Qui-Gon turns around. Obi-Wan looks devastated. As Obi-Wan continues, explaining that he has been stripped of any power to prevent the coming war, Qui-Gon realises that it's not just grief on Obi-Wan's face, but the incomprehension of someone faced with an awful fate.
• Obi-Wan continues: "I don't know what to do. I am no longer a Jedi. Yet I know what a Jedi can do. And I know that only a Jedi can help. Qui-Gon, I realize I have done harm to us. But will you help me now?"

Qui-Gon's hand drifted to Obi-Wan's lightsaber, still tucked into his belt. He closed his fingers around the hilt. It seemed to hold some sort of charge, even though it was deactivated. Or was it the Force he felt, pulsing around him? Obi-Wan's pale face shimmered before him, then disappeared. At that moment, he saw what Yoda and Tahl had been trying, in their different ways, to tell him. He had not been betrayed by a Jedi. He had been betrayed by a boy. A boy overtaken by passion and circumstance. The boy deserved his understanding. No, he had no secret way to see into a boy's heart. Perhaps all he needed to do was listen.

— Qui-Gon finally understands.

• Qui-Gon tells Yoda to send Obi-Wan a message. He's on his way.

In the three days it takes for Qui-Gon to get to Melida/Daan

• Obi-Wan is initially relieved and happy at Yoda's message that Qui-Gon is coming, but it's almost immediately replaced by concern. Qui-Gon surely still hates him for his betrayal, so will working with a Qui-Gon who refuses to talk to him and disapproves of him be worse than being alone? It's a sacrifice he's going to have to make, though, for Cerasi's sake.
• Obi-Wan has been exiled from the Young, so he can't sleep in the tunnels anymore. Instead, he sleeps wherever he finds himself at night — abandoned buildings, public squares, parks. He feels like a ghost. The only Young who speaks to him is Roenni, who brings him food and a survival pack containing a glow rod, medpac and a blanket for the cold nights.
• When he points out that Nield will be angry if he sees Roenni interacting with him, Roenni says, "I don't care. What he's doing is wrong. Nield is a good person. He'll realize it eventually. Until then, I'll protect you. The way you protected me."

Three days after Qui-Gon leaves Coruscant

• Obi-Wan meets Qui-Gon outside the gates of the city, and when he sees Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan smiles in relief. There's no answering smile, though — only anguish on Qui-Gon's face. Instead of a greeting, Qui-Gon merely nods at him. As much as it hurts, Obi-Wan knows he called for help, not comfort. This is fine. He can endure it.
• He realises the instant that he sees Qui-Gon that all he wants is to be a Jedi again. He desperately wants everything he threw away by staying on Melida/Daan. What's more, he wants to be Qui-Gon's Padawan specifically, even though he knows that Qui-Gon will never take him back.
• Meanwhile, Qui-Gon didn't initially speak to Obi-Wan because the sight of him flared Qui-Gon's anger again, and he didn't want the first words he spoke to be angry. He needs to be calm. Finally, he says that he's sorry for Obi-Wan's loss, and was grieved to hear that Cerasi had been killed. He acknowledges that they have "problems" with each other, but they would be a distraction right now, with the planet ready to erupt into war at any moment. Obi-Wan agrees, though his voice sounds constricted.
• Obi-Wan reports that Nield is massing his forces, and now has the support of Mawat and the Scavenger Young. Nield is trying to get the Middle Generation to ally with him again, though he hasn't succeeded yet. There's a rumour that a battle will start soon at the site of Cerasi's murder. Both sides are armed. Wehutti is in seclusion, as he has been since Cerasi's death, and will see no one. He doesn't seem to be giving his followers orders, if he's aware of their actions at all.
• Qui-Gon decides they don't need an invitation to see him, and when their knocks on Wehutti's door go unanswered, he cuts through the lock with his lightsaber. They find Wehutti in a small back bedroom, sitting in the dark with fabric covering all the windows and blocking out the light.

Qui-Gon

Wehutti, we need to speak with you.

Wehutti

There was so much confusion. I was prepared to shoot, of course. But I don't think I did. There were more of the Young than we'd thought. We didn't think we'd actually have to use our weapons. We didn't think they'd be armed. And I didn't think that my daughter, my Cerasi, would be there. She didn't carry a weapon, did you know that?

Qui-Gon

Yes.

Wehutti

I had seen her a short time before. She'd come to see me. You didn't know that.

Qui-Gon (gently)

No, I didn't.

Wehutti

We talked. She wanted me to stop fighting the Young. I argued. It wasn't a good visit. But then... she suggested that we not talk about things as they are, but things as they were. Her childhood. We had a few good years, before the war began again. And I remembered it all suddenly. I hadn't thought about it in so long.

[Wehutti begins to cry]

Wehutti

I remembered her mother. I remembered my son. Cerasi was our youngest. She was afraid of the dark. I used to stay in the room until she fell asleep. I sat by her sleep-couch and kept one hand on it so she would know I was there. She would touch my hand from time to time as she fell asleep. I'd watch her. She was so beautiful.

[Wehutti leans over and begins sobbing]

Wehutti

There was so much confusion. I didn't see her at first. I was looking at Nield. My wife is buried in that Hall. Her ashes lie there. I couldn't let them do it.

Qui-Gon

Wehutti, it's all right. You did what you had to. So did Cerasi.

Wehutti (tonelessly)

So you say. So you all say.

Qui-Gon

And now your supporters are mobilizing to fight another war. Only you can stop them. Can you do that, for Cerasi's sake?

Wehutti

And how will that help Cerasi? I don't care about war or battles. I can't stop anything from happening, that's clear. I have no hatred anymore. I have nothing.

Obi-Wan

But Cerasi would want you to help.

Wehutti (numbly)

I was ready to shoot. Perhaps I did. Perhaps I killed her. Perhaps I did not. I will never know.

— Wehutti has finally been broken by the war.

• Once they've left Wehutti, Qui-Gon asks Obi-Wan about why Nield forced him out. When he says that Nield blames him for Cerasi's death, Qui-Gon says, "Nield has accused you of what he fears he himself did. If he hadn't been so adamant about the Halls, Cerasi would still be alive. He's also afraid that he killed Cerasi, just as Wehutti is. They are both afraid they fired the fatal shot."
• When Qui-Gon asks if Obi-Wan thinks he himself is to blame for Cerasi's death, Obi-Wan admits he doesn't know. In response, Qui-Gon says, "Cerasi's death was not your fault, Obi-Wan. You cannot prevent what you cannot see coming. You can only do what you think is right at each moment as you live it. We can plan, hope, and dread the future. What we cannot do is know it."
• For a moment, Obi-Wan wonders if Qui-Gon is also talking about Obi-Wan's actions when Qui-Gon left — whether Qui-Gon had forgiven him. But as Qui-Gon keeps talking about Cerasi's death, he knows that's not the case. He was only treating him with distant compassion in the face of Obi-Wan's loss, and nothing more.
• They go to the plaza where Cerasi was killed and Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan to go through what he saw. Obi-Wan starts explaining, starting with how the day was cold and grey, but Qui-Gon interrupts him and tells him to tell it like a Jedi, instead of letting his emotions colour the telling.
• Obi-Wan tries again, closing his eyes to remember it better, and realises that when Wehutti saw Cerasi, he lowered his gun. He didn't shoot her. He continues, "I ran, and I lost sight of Nield. I was facing Cerasi, trying to get to her. I saw the sunlight glint on the roof of the building across the square. I remember hoping the reflection wouldn't get in my eyes. I needed to see everything. I heard blaster fire. That's when she fell."
• Qui-Gon points out that Obi-Wan had said the day was overcast — so how could he have seen sun glint off the roof? Could it instead have been a sniper shot that he saw? Obi-Wan agrees it could have been.
• Qui-Gon then asks another question: where did the Elders get their weapons? The Young had locked them in the warehouse, and this was before the Elders imported more from the countryside. Obi-Wan says he assumed they had smuggled them in from the country. Qui-Gon replies that assuming doesn't sound like a Jedi, and Obi-Wan sinks back into misery. Qui-Gon is right: he's lost the discipline that is the hallmark of the Jedi, and now Qui-Gon knows and has even less confidence in him.
• As they walk to the warehouse, which is the first logical step in finding out how the Elders rearmed, Qui-Gon reflects that Obi-Wan was trying to hide his emotions but struggling. He clearly hopes that Qui-Gon has forgiven him. Qui-Gon can admit to himself that he has forgiven him, though he's not sure if he decided that when he heard Obi-Wan report Cerasi's death, or when Obi-Wan came to meet him with such naked hope on his face. But Qui-Gon doesn't think he could take Obi-Wan back as his Padawan, and he doesn't want to say anything until he's certain about that. Obi-Wan must deal with the consequences of his impulsive, immature decision, and one of those consequences was to sit in the uncertainty.
• When they reach the warehouse, it's secured by a big lock on the outside, which Qui-Gon once again cuts through with his lightsaber. Inside, it's empty except for two Young: Deila and Joli. When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan try to ask questions, Deila refuses to answer them, and when Obi-Wan asks Joli, she tells Joli not to answer, because they have nothing to say to an outsider.
• For all her hostility, Qui-Gon can tell that she respected Obi-Wan, and was uneasy with how she was supposed to treat him now. When Qui-Gon presses her on it, she admits that she doesn't believe everything Nield has been saying is true. When Obi-Wan asks where the weapons are, she answers: Mawat took most of them, claiming that he was moving them to a safer location. He told Nield that he had heard the Elders had weapons, and Nield gave him permission to rearm the Young.
• Joli is nervous and flushed throughout this explanation, and says, "I think we should tell them," to Deila. Deila clearly doesn't want to, but Joli points out that neither of them want to fight in another war — that's why they're hiding in here.
• Joli explains that Mawat armed the Elders himself. He wanted a confrontation on Glory Street, because he knew that Nield would be held responsible. He thinks Nield is weak, and that he can seize power if war starts again. Joli reveals that Mawat even had sharpshooters on the roof to start conflict if Nield or Wehutti didn't do it first.
• Deila and Joli are hiding because Mawat tried to recruit them for the battle Mawat has planned for today, though Deila doesn't know the details. No one can find Nield, and Deila doesn't think he authorised Mawat to start a war with the Elders.
• Once they leave, Qui-Gon says that they need to find Nield to tell him that neither Nield nor Wehutti killed Cerasi, and that it was one of Mawat's snipers. The problem is that they have no idea where Nield is. They split up in the hope that they can find him faster, and Qui-Gon gives Obi-Wan back his lightsaber. As Obi-Wan puts it on his belt, he realises that it doesn't matter what Qui-Gon thinks of him: he's still a Jedi, and no one can take that away.
• After looking in several other places, Obi-Wan realises where Nield is: with Cerasi. He finds him in the Hall on Glory Street, curled around her memorial marker. Nield is so hostile when he sees Obi-Wan that he physically attacks him, but Obi-Wan is larger, stronger and better trained, so he restrains him. He forces Nield to listen to what he had to say: that Mawat armed the Elders, is likely in league with them, and wants to take over as ruler. That Mawat put a sniper on the roof and killed Cerasi.
• Nield says that Mawat has been pressuring him to mobilise, and he went along because he couldn't even think after Cerasi's death. Sitting here next to Cerasi has changed his mind, though — how could he possibly want another war?
• They hear noises from outside and peer through the holes in the door to see Mawat and some Scavenger Young placing explosives around the Hall. Obi-Wan points out that everyone will blame Nield, since he's the one who's been so militant about destroying the Halls in the first place. Nield responds that they need to stop them — referring to Obi-Wan and himself as 'we'. Obi-Wan says, "Good luck," and Nield does their "we don't need luck"/"everybody needs luck" ritual. Truly the power of friendship reignited by the imminent threat of explosives.
• Meanwhile, Qui-Gon ends up in the tunnels, visiting Cerasi's sleeping place to see that nothing had been moved, though someone has left flowers. He goes to smooth the blanket on her mattress only to discover a holographic message disc there. Was it a message?
• Back on Glory Street, Nield and Obi-Wan throw themselves into battle, Nield with a vibroblade and Obi-Wan with his lightsaber. They're outnumbered, but they have the advantage of surprise. They destroy the equipment the Scavenger Young are using to rig the explosives and drive them back, but Mawat has organised the rest of his forces on the other end of the plaza. The only cover Obi-Wan and Nield have is the fountain, and they don't have any blasters. They have no idea how to get out of this, but just as they're thinking, there's blaster fire from behind them.
• It's Deila, Joli and Roenni! They're shooting at Mawat's forces, and more of them come around behind Mawat and finally the odds are even. The battle breaks out in earnest, and Obi-Wan struggles to move towards Mawat, hoping to catch him and end the battle.
• Suddenly, Cerasi's voice rings out. Qui-Gon appears and projects a hologram of Cerasi on the wall of the fountain. "I made my decision after the war ended. I will no longer carry a weapon. I will fight no more in the name of peace. But today I might die for it. Do me a favor, friends. Don't build any monuments for me. Don't destroy any, either. History isn't in our favor, but that doesn't mean we should annihilate it. Don't let our dream of peace die. Work for it. Don't kill for it. We fought one war for peace. We always said that one war had to be enough. Don't mourn too long for me. After all, I wanted peace. Look at it this way. Now I have it forever."
• One by one, the Young drop their weapons. Even Mawat. The last battle of Zehava is over.

Some time later (several days at minimum)

• Qui-Gon, Wehutti and Nield form a strong peace agreement, sharing power between the Young, the Melida and the Daan. Mawat returns to the countryside with some of the Scavenger Young. He admits that he was wrong in what he was doing. "Perhaps he can find his own forgiveness in the countryside," Nield says to Obi-Wan about it.
• On the day Obi-Wan leaves, Nield thanks him for finding it in his heart to forgive Nield for how he'd treated Obi-Wan. He confesses that he was afraid because his responsibilities were too heavy and no one seemed to be able to help. But now he can see there are other voices who want peace. The only regret is that Cerasi isn't here to see it.
• As they walk back to their ship, Obi-Wan finally finds the courage to ask Qui-Gon if he will ever take him back. Qui-Gon responds that he knows that Obi-Wan is meant to be a Jedi, but he doesn't know if Obi-Wan is meant to be his Padawan again. Obi-Wan is devastated, but before he can truly sink into his pit of self-loathing, Qui-Gon gets a message from the Temple. The Coruscant Temple is under siege! Someone has just tried to kill Yoda!
• And the curtains close on The Uncertain Path, leaving behind a tantalising cliffhanger. Will Yoda survive this attempt on his life? Will Obi-Wan get therapy? Will Qui-Gon ever take him back? We just don't know! Your faithful summariser (ZeenMrala) is taking a break to work on other wiki pages, so you'll just have to guess which two of those three things do happen in the next book! (If someone else wants to summarise the next books, go ahead!)

Notes

Less useful notes

References

Jedi Apprentice books

The Rising Force (TRF)

The Dark Rival (TDR)

The Hidden Past (THP)

The Mark of the Crown (MOTC)

The Defenders of the Dead (DOTD)

The Uncertain Path (TUP)