Qui-Gon nodded. He agreed with Yoda. Tahl's intuition and intelligence were renowned.

"The thefts may seem small for now," Mace Windu warned. "But a small threat can be a hint of a greater threat to come. Either from within or without, this threat is real. Take care, Qui-Gon."

"Yes, I heard," Tahl told Qui-Gon when he came to see her in her quarters. "Yoda came to see me this morning. Woke me up with bad news. Not my favorite way to start the day."

Tahl gave an ironic half smile, one that Qui-Gon knew well. They had gone through Temple training together. Tahl had always attracted notice.

Strong and beautiful, with skin the color of dark honey and striped green and gold eyes, Tahl and her sharp tongue had deflated pride and exposed bullies, even as a six-year-old.

Now when he saw her sightless eyes and the white scar that ran from her left eyebrow to her chin, Qui-Gon's heart contracted in pain. Tahl was still gloriously beautiful, but it hurt to see the visible signs of how she had suffered.

"I heard the healers were with you yesterday," Qui-Gon remarked.

"Yes, that was another reason that Yoda came to me. He wanted to make sure I was all right," Tahl said. The half smile quirked a corner of her mouth. "Yesterday I was told that I would never have sight again."

The bad news made Qui-Gon slowly sink down into a chair next to her. He was glad she could not see the pain on his face. "I'm sorry." He had been hoping, along with Tahl, that the healers on Coruscant would be able to restore her sight.

She shrugged. "Yoda came to tell me I was needed on this investigation.

I think that our friend gave me this assignment so that I can turn my mind to other things."