"Roan was a Civilized, not a Worker," Bant said.

"Right. But he had great sympathy for the Worker cause and worked closely with Ewane to bring about justice for all the people of New Apsolon. He even took in the twins when Ewane was murdered."

"And Alani betrayed him," Bant said slowly. "She must be very corrupt."

"We stumbled onto a village of Rock Workers while we were pursuing Balog," Obi-Wan went on. "Their entire village was destroyed in a raid, except for one Rock Worker, Yanci. She's the one who helped us find the secret headquarters of the Absolutes. That's how we rescued Tahl. But it was too late. Qui-Gon brought her back here, but the damage to her internal organs was too severe…."

"Balog killed her slowly," Qui-Gon said. His voice sounded hoarse and rusty.

"He escaped in an underwater aqua skimmer," Obi-Wan added. "He was impossible to track, and we needed to get Tahl to safety."

"And now?" Mace asked. "We see on the streets that there is unrest here. If Alani is planning some sort of takeover, it will be soon.

Immediate pursuit of Balog is wise."

"That is what we think," Qui-Gon said.

"Yet attention to the mission at hand will also bring results," Mace went on. "If Balog is now in hiding, we'll need to track him by his ambitions. Ambitions reveal direction."

"The Workers contacted me," Obi-Wan said. "They investigated all the file systems in the Absolute headquarters. Everything had been wiped clean.

We don't have much to go on."