Barriss spent a moment digesting this. Then her smile re turned.

"Whatever else anyone says about what we did here, I think holding off not one but two opposing armies without killing anyone on either side qualifies as something special. You were amazing, Master. Most of the time I was too busy to watch, but I had glimpses enough. I"ve never seen anyone so calm and so fearless under such pressure."

"Calm? Fearless?" Luminara laughed. "There were moments when I was scared to death, Padawan. The trick at such times is not to show it. Always know where in your mental closet you"ve hung your bravery, Barriss, so you can put it on whenever you need it."

She nodded. "I will remember that, Master."

And she always would, Luminara knew. A fine apprentice, Bar riss. Tending a bit to the pessimistic at times, but a devoted student. Not like that Anakin Skywalker. Greater potential there, but also greater uncertainty.

She had observed him during the battle. More than any other non-Jedi she had ever known, she would have wanted him defending her back. It was what he might do after such battles that concerned her. More than a bit of an enigma, that young man. That was not only her opinion. Obi-Wan had indicated as much to her on more than one occasion. But he had also insisted that the boy held within him the potential for greatness.

Well, as she had just more or less told Barriss, that was one of those outcomes only time could decide. Skywalker was not her responsibility, and she was glad of it. She was not sure she would have been as patient with him as was Obi-Wan. An unusual teacher for an unusual student, she reflected. She urged her suu-batar to lengthen its stride slightly.

Unity delegate Fargane"s stomach was not all that was growl ing. The senior delegate was tired. Tired, and angry. He missed his home in distant Hurkaset, he missed his relatives, and the family business never did as well without him around to dispense the worldly advice of which he was a master. It was all the fault of these representatives of the turgid, pompous Republic Senate. These "Jedi." Prior to their arrival on Ansion, delegate Ranjiyn had declared that their reputation preceded them. Well, haja, as far as Fargane was concerned, their reputation had receded with them. They had been accorded respect and greeted as potential saviors of the peace, only to vanish into the endless plains of Ansion.

It was time to make a decision. Though he was still not cer tain which way he intended to vote, he was certain of one thing: that vote was long overdue. He said as much to his colleagues.

"They are still out there somewhere," delegate Tolut in sisted. "We should maybe wait a little longer." Standing by the third-floor window, the bulky Armalat gazed pensively northward. Even his patience was beginning to wear thin. During their only encounter, the Jedi had impressed him mightily. But clever parlor tricks were no subst.i.tute for substance. Where were they-and more important, where was the treaty they had promised that would at last settle long-standing matters of disagreement between the city folk of the Unity and the Alwari nomads?

"I"ll tell you where they are." Everyone turned toward the speaker. As official observer for a coalition of Cuipernam merchants, Ogomoor had no power to affect the proceedings of the Unity Council. He could only offer an opinion. But as day after day continued to pa.s.s with neither sign nor word from the visiting Jedi, his views acquired greater and greater weight.

"They"ve gone."

The human delegate Dameerd frowned. "You mean they"ve left Ansion?"

Soergg"s majordomo feigned indifference. "Who knows? I mean that they are no longer with us. There are other ports be sides Cuipernam, and a good ship can touch down anywhere. Perhaps they"ve gone back to Coruscant, or perhaps they"re dead. Either way, they"ve failed to deliver on what they promised: the acceptance by the Alwari of a new social understanding on Ansion." He gestured meaningfully. "How much longer will you delay?

However you vote on this matter of secession, this eternal uncertainty is bad for business."

"I am in full agreement with you there," Fargane huffed.

Ranjiyn eyed the senior delegate respectfully. "I concede that a decision should be made. Ansion"s future waits on those of us gathered here."

A conflicted Tolut tried to stall. "Can"t we give these well-meaning visitors a little more time?"

"Who says they are well meaning?" Kandah snapped. "Shall we let them define themselves? They serve other masters. The Jedi Council, the Republic Senate, perhaps others. They do as they are told. If they have been told to leave without speaking to us, I would not be surprised. It would be characteristic of the kind of long-winded political maneuvering so typical of the Senate." Her voice rose angrily. "I don"t like being treated in this manner!"

"By the end of the week, then." Ranjiyn was insistent. "I say that if we have not heard anything from them by then, we should take the vote."

"Well!" muttered Volune aloud. "A decision at last. While I tend to agree with Fargane that too much time has been wasted on this matter already, I will accede to that timetable." He looked over at the senior delegate, human eyes meeting those of the slightly shorter Ansionian. "Fargane?"

The representative made a gurgling noise in his throat. "More time wasted. Haju, very well. But no longer," he con cluded warningly.

"Tolut?"

The Armalat turned from where he had been staring out the window. "These Jedi are good people, I believe. But who knows what they have been told to do, or what has happened to them? They presume too much." The heavy head gestured affirmatively. "The end of the week. It is agreed."

It was so decided. No more delays, no more excuses. Jedi or no Jedi, treaty or no treaty, they each of them had responsibilities to their individual const.i.tuencies, whose citizens had been clamoring for a final decision on the matter of secession. Concerned communications had come as well from offworld, from the Malarians and the Keitumites, whose own futures were so closely and formally tied to that of their Ansionian allies.

Ogomoor was delighted. The end of the week was farther away than his master would have liked, but neither was it next solstice. Soergg and whoever he was working for would be much pleased.

The majordomo was much pleased with himself.

18.

Ogomoor had just delivered a minor bit of good financial news to his bossban and was on his way out of the lounging chamber and back to his office when Soergg erupted behind him.

"It"s not possible!" the Hutt bellowed into the commdroid, whose job it was to hover close to the ma.s.sive, lumpy head during business hours.

Adroit fellow that he was, Ogomoor was able to divine sev eral things simultaneously from his master"s exclamation. First, when someone declares loudly and violently that something is not possible, it is probably an accomplished fact. Second, things that are supposed to be not possible that become reality almost always imply negative consequences.

And third, there was no point in hurrying from the room because in all probability he would immediately receive an order to return.

All this flashed through the majordomo"s mind in an instant; just long enough for him to mentally prepare himself. Soergg continued listening to whoever was on the other end of the transmission. The Hutt"s huge eyes bulged and veins throbbed on his neck region and head. He must be upset indeed, Ogo-moor knew, for those blood-carrying tubes to force themselves to the surface through so much intervening fat.

He listened patiently if uneasily. Patently, his bossban was not receiving good news. As bad news traveled rapidly down the chain of command through the Hutt"s many enterprises, it was his destiny to be among the first to share in it. Occasionally, Soergg would interject a comment or two into the largely onesided conversation. As the Hutt continued to listen, these rapidly grew both stronger and more profane in tone.

When at last the transmission ended, the enraged bossban swung furiously at the mechanical deliverer of bad news. A heavy hand smacked the guiltless hovering droid into the nearby wall. It crackled once before falling to the ground, shattered. Ogo-moor swallowed hard. If the Hutt was angry enough to sacrifice expensive equipment on the altar of his rage, it did not bode well for his organic, more easily broken, subordinates. The major-domo took care to remain well out of the Hutt"s reach.

Soergg was not in the mood to mince words, even at the sac rifice of his beloved sarcasm. "Those accursed Jedi are back!"

"Back?" Ogomoor looked blank. "Back where?"

Vast yellow eyes glared down at him, and Ogomoor was glad he had not moved any closer. "Back here, you idiot!"

Genuinely taken aback, the first a.s.sistant gaped at his master. "Here? In Cuipernam?"

"No," Soergg growled dangerously. "In my sleeping quarters." Voicing a curt command, he called forth another comm-droid from the cabinet in which they were stored in multiples. "They"re at the city inn where they stayed subsequent to their initial arrival. At least we retain one competent informant! Get over there. Take whatever you need. Hire whomever you need.

Maybe, just maybe, they"re too tired to ask questions and will retire for the rest of the day. If not-if it appears they are coming out and heading for the Cuipernam munic.i.p.al complex-stop them. Do whatever you must. But keep them from reaching the complex. They must not be allowed to interfere with the vote of the Unity delegation. Not now. Not when we are so close to achieving everything we have worked for." The Hutt made a visible effort to calm himself as he checked the newly activated commdroid"s chronometer.

"Hold the Jedi until sunset. After sunset the vote will have been taken and it won"t matter what they do. But prior to the setting of this benighted planet"s sun, none of them must be allowed to reach the munic.i.p.al hall."

"Yes, Bossban. You said I should do whatever I must." He hesitated. "If I have to take steps, they might be in full view of the populace."

""Cross-spit the populace! We will deal with any adverse public reactions later. It is not local reaction I am concerned with." Grunting, he leaned toward his majordomo. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Bossban," Ogomoor replied somberly.

"Then what are you doing standing here oozing mental fluids? Go. Now."

Ogomoor went.

The manager was a Dbarian; all tentacles, warts, and worry. That it was astonished to see them again, alive and well, was a given. Suffice to say that its flexible unsegmented extensions turned bright blue with surprise.

Were there rooms available for its honored guests? Did one eat a loomas head-first? And could the manager possibly notify the Unity delegation that the visiting Jedi had returned, with a signed treaty not only from the Alwari overclan but the Januul as well?

The Dbarian executed its kind"s equivalent of a frown. "You mean, honored guests, that you have not yet informed the delegation of this important achievement?"

Tired but happy, Luminara shook her head by way of response. "Our comlinks were lost during our sojourn on the plains, and neither the Borokii nor the Januul employ them." She smiled. "Tradition."

"But..." The Dbarian"s chromoph.o.r.es were flashing different shades of maroon, indicating bewilderment. "The Unity dele gation is voting on the matter of secession from the Republic today.""""

"Today?" Anakin pushed right up among the manager"s ser pentine limbs.

"But we haven"t made our report to them yet. Surely they wouldn"t vote on so important a matter without waiting to hear from us?"

Behind him, Obi-Wan was thinking fast and hard. "The sen timent for secession is strong among certain Ansionian factions, and we know they are being encouraged by offworld elements. Enemies of the Republic could very well have used our recent lack of communication to press for a vote." He eyed the manager intently. "You said that the voting session is to be held today. What time today?"

"That I do not know, honored guest. It is not something an innkeeper needs to keep track of. But the whole city knows about the vote. It was publicly announced, and is no secret. I believe-I believe it was scheduled for later this afternoon. Yes," he declared with growing confidence. "Just before sunset."

The Jedi relaxed. "Then we have time." He indicated the instrumentation arrayed behind the manager. "I"ll need to borrow a comlink until we can replace our own."

"Certainly, honored guest." Making sure it was fully charged, the manager pa.s.sed one over. Reciting the relevant activation code, Obi-Wan immediately requested a connection to Unity delegate Ranjiyn.

There was no response. He tried again, and a third time.

Luminara looked questioningly at her colleague. "What"s wrong, Obi-Wan?"

"I tried delegate Ranjiyn"s personal contact sequence. Then Tolut"s, and finally the venerable Fargane"s. I received an automated message that was the same for each. "United Ouruvot Communications regrets that all city transmission frequencies are temporarily off-line due to an equipment failure."" He turned sharply to examine the entrance to the inn. "I fear that those who would keep us from delivering our report to the Unity delegation know we are here. I can feel it."

His companions were instantly on alert. Kyakhta and Bulgan saw to their own weapons while Tooqui found himself watching anything that moved.

Behind them, the manager had been try ing the inn"s own facilities. Every attempt to communicate outside the building itself produced the same apologetic automated response.

"Are you saying, honored guests, that someone has ordered the shutdown of all city communications in Cuipernam just to keep you from speaking to the Unity delegation?" Its chromo ph.o.r.es flared an intense pink.

"Until the vote is taken, anyway." Obi-Wan had already started for the doorway. "Don"t concern yourself about it, innkeeper. I have a feeling that by nightfall your communications will be back on-line." His expression was grim as he glanced over at Luminara, who was matching him stride for stride. "We still have time, but we need to move quickly."

With their anxious, alert Padawans behind them and their Alwari guides bringing up the rear, the two Jedi exited the inn and turned sharply up the main boulevard.

Exactly three minutes after their departure, the communica tions problems at the inn where they had planned to stay were rendered moot by a terrific explosion that caused the st.u.r.dy structure to completely implode.

As luck would have it, there wasn"t a vehicle to be seen out on the street. Pleading vital Republic need, Luminara and Obi-Wan would have had no qualms about commandeering a pa.s.sing landspeeder or even a hover truck-had there been one to be had. But all they encountered were simple, traditional means of local transport, designed for carrying small quant.i.ties of goods through Cuipernam"s maze of winding, narrow streets.

Given the hectic mix of bulky commercial transports, Ansionians, visiting and resident aliens, and domesticated animals that crowded the city streets, a low-flying landspeeder might have been slower than walking, anyway. Cuipernam was an old city, with a commercial center that had never been designed with modern vehicular traffic in mind. That was one of its attractions to visitors, but it also meant that its transportation facilities were a throwback to a much earlier era.

At least, Luminara reflected gratefully, it was not far to the munic.i.p.al complex, the weather was good, and it was something of a relief to be walking again instead of fighting for balance on the back of a lofty, galloping suubatar. She glanced sunward. They still had plenty of time to reach the munic.i.p.al hall before the Unity delegates a.s.sembled to cast their critically important votes.

They were halfway there when Luminara felt the disturbance. Peering in its direction, it took her only a moment to detect the suggestive movement out of the corner of one eye. Extending a casual hand to her companion, she touched Obi-Wan"s arm in a certain way, then Barriss"s, while her fellow Jedi alerted Anakin. Kyakhta and Bulgan had moved out in front while the endlessly curious Tooqui darted inquisitively from stall to shop. None of the nomads noticed the subtle change that had come over their human companions.

Edging closer to Luminara, giving no sign that anything was amiss, Obi-Wan whispered a single world. "Where?"

She told him with her eyes, glancing upward and to their left.

Responding with a barely perceptible nod, he pa.s.sed the in formation along to Anakin and their Alwari guides while she informed Barriss. It was decided not to tell Tooqui. He was unlikely to be a primary target, he would find out soon enough what was going on, and the last thing they needed was a hissing, panicky Gwurran running amok on the crowded streets.

When the snipers on the roofs that paralleled the avenue be low opened fire, it was only to see their shots deflected by waiting, activated lightsabers. Not one of the shots that rained down from the surrounding rooftops came close to striking its mark. Emitting a collective cry of alarm in no less than two dozen distinct languages, shoppers and travelers, merchants and pedestrians proceeded to scatter in all directions. Jedi and companions ducked into the large trading establishment that dominated the far side of the street.

Mouth agape, Ogomoor stared down at the panic that had infected the street below. A moment earlier, the Jedi and their a.s.sociates had been strolling along, to all outward appearances content and unconcerned, wholly innocent of the fate that was about to befall them. The next, they had not only repelled his carefully ch.o.r.eographed ambush but had taken refuge in the building opposite, out of sight of his chartered a.s.sa.s.sins.

They were the best he had been able to find and hire subsequent to his bossban"s incensed orders, but good as some of them were, they couldn"t hit what they couldn"t see.

Fear fighting frustration inside him, he pulled out his special closed-frequency comlink and ordered his ground troops to rush the trading compound where the quarry had sought shelter. If the Jedi could be driven back out onto the street, then his rooftop executioners could pick them off. Even Jedi would be hard-pressed to deal simultaneously with more than one axis of battle.

"This way!" Luminara led her friends toward the back of the establishment as customers and sales personnel alike dove for cover. It was good that they did. While the Jedi were concerned for the safety of innocent bystanders, the several dozen professional killers who came barreling in through the rear entrance labored under no such ethical compunctions.

Fire erupted within the compound as rifles and blasters blazed away.

Inside the establishment"s armored office, two managers and one of the owners bemoaned the destruction of store and stock as the two sets of combatants flailed away at one another. The authorities had already been alerted, but by the time they decided to put in an appearance the interior of the neatly laid-out commercial complex might well lie in ruins.

These were not the same garden-variety a.s.sa.s.sins and mur derers she and Barriss had been forced to confront soon after their arrival on Ansion, Luminara decided. They advanced with much more a.s.surance, took aim with far greater accuracy. Only Jedi skills enabled her and her companions to hold them off.

Someone, she mused, had gone to considerable trouble and ex pense to engage this bunch.

Dealing with two a.s.sailants at once, she did not see the small shape of the diminutive but well-armed Vrot rising slowly on her left from behind a pair of terrified customers. Knowing he would probably get only one shot at the elusive and difficult-to-target Jedi, the Vrot took careful aim. As he was about to pull the trigger of his weapon, something that was all bulging eyes, flailing arms, and kicking feet landed on his head and shoulders. Star-tied, the murderous Vrot went down beneath a volley of uniquely inventive invective.

"Tooqui kill! Bad bad foreigner! Tooqui choke with own en trails! Tooqui-whup!"

Throwing the lightweight obstruction off his shoulders, the infuriated Vrot whirled and brought his weapon to bear on the meddlesome Gwurran. As he did, he was struck again, this time by two much bigger and stronger bodies. Luminara saw that she was once more free to deal with her original a.s.sailants. Between the three of them, Kyakhta, Bulgan, and the effervescent Tooqui were cheerfully beating the living daylights out of the unfortunate Vrot.

But there were too many skilled attackers. To ensure the safety of innocent bystanders, of shoppers and sales personnel, Luminara and Obi-Wan decided that a retreat was in order. It would be more dangerous to continue the fight out in the street, where they would again likely come under close-in fire from surrounding rooftops, but that was better than seeing dozens of inoffensive citizens cut down by the callous gang of professional killers.

Ogomoor got the word from one of his hirelings inside the compound and hurried to alert his frustrated snipers. "Be ready!" he instructed them via voice and comlink. "The Jedi are retreating! Let them all back out onto the street before you resume fire." Returning his attention to the boulevard below, he added more softly but no less emphatically, "We don"t want even one of them to get away."

Kneeling behind his sniper"s rifle on the parapet of the building on which they waited, one of the a.s.sa.s.sins inquired casually, "What about the Alwari who are with them? The two big ones and the little one?"

"Don"t worry about them. Our people on the ground will take care of them.

Get the Jedi first, then their Padawans." Ea gerly, Ogomoor leaned forward to enjoy the forthcoming slaughter while exposing as little of his own precious self as possible.

Below, a recognizable garment appeared, vanished back under cover, appeared again. Come out, n.o.ble Jedi. Show yourselves. Step out in the street, into the dear, bright sunshine of Ansion. Step out where I can see you. I, and my very high-priced servants.

There, he shouted silently. He could see both Jedi, fighting side by side, emerging with obvious reluctance but emerging nonetheless from within the cover of the trading compound. He could see the two kneeling a.s.sa.s.sins on his left tensing as they prepared to fire. With luck and good fortune, it would all finally be over in less than a minute or two.

Unfortunately, the blessings of Jiaguin, the G.o.d of guile, were not with him that morning. The Alwari who descended upon the pair of snipers might as well have dropped out of the sky for all the intimation they gave of their presence. Knives and other traditional weapons flashed repeatedly in that same clear, bright sunshine of Ansion that Ogomoor had been counting on to facilitate the work of his hired a.s.sa.s.sins. As he whirled and raced for the exit that led down and away from the rooftop, he caught a pa.s.sing glimpse of the bold motifs on the intruders" garments. His eyes grew even wider than usual.

Sitting Borokii-and Hovsgol Januul. Warriors of the two most important overclans. Ferocious fighters with reputations that extended the length and breadth of both hemispheres.

What were they doing here, in Cuipernam, interfering in a city brawl? He did not know and could not imagine. He knew only that the sunny rooftop was no longer a safe place to linger.

As he fled, he saw that similar scuffles were taking place on the roofs opposite, where other outriding Alwari were overpowering his remaining snipers. Without shooters on the rooftops to worry about, he feared the Jedi and their Padawans would make short work of his surviving workforce.