"Senator Pi T'Egal is the head of the committee," Qui-Gon said softly, indicating the Senator who sat at the center of the table. "That is good. He is a friend of the Jedi."

The transparisteel doors slid open. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Bant gave short bows to the Senators. Then they took their places at the empty table.

"If we are all here, we can begin," Pi T'Egal said. He pressed a button and the transparisteel walls turned opaque. Obi-Wan had expected the shift, but it made him feel suddenly trapped.

Find your calm center. He struggled to breathe as Pi T'Egal consulted his data pad and pressed a few buttons. Bant's fingers gently squeezed Obi-Wan's forearm in support.

At last Pi T'Egal looked up. "This is not a criminal trial," he said. "It is an inquiry only. Vox and Kad Chun have asked for a full accounting of the death of Bruck Chun in the Jedi Temple. We Senators have agreed to rule whether the death was by mischance or if Obi-Wan Kenobi bears some measure of responsibility for this. If our ruling is deliberate intent or responsibility, Vox and Kad Chun can then pursue the matter in the criminal courts of Coruscant. Does everyone understand this?"

Everyone nodded.

Pi T'Egal turned to Vox Chun. "Do you understand that if we find there is no responsibility by others for your son's death you cannot pursue this further?"

"I do," Vox Chun said.

"Then let us begin. The first witness will be the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn."

Qui-Gon rose and went to a chair set up on the platform, angled so that all the Senators could see him clearly.