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Chapter Seven

Even though they now had a direction to aim for, their progress was slow. Since they had decided to travel inside buildings as much as possible, they were subject to wrong turns, blocked corridors and disorientation. By the time they decided to camp for the night, they still had no idea how much ground they had actually covered.

They made camp in an interior room where they could not be detected by anyone prowling the streets. The Jedi's speeder had come equipped with two small lamps, so they had light, two bottles with decontamination tablets so they could collect and purify water, and an emergency cache of food rations. The rations would not last long among the five of them, and they did not have a fuel source for cooking the food they hunted down, but at least they were better supplied than before.

Jar Jar, accompanied by Anakin, went to hunt for food while the others scouted for water and secured the room. By the time Jar Jar and Anakin returned with an armload of rats and other small mammals, Anakin had come up with an idea for cooking them. "I'll use my lightsaber," he suggested eagerly. "Barbecue, Jedi style!"

"Now wesa get to try your cooken, Ani!" Jar Jar thrilled, not noticing Obi-Wan's skepticism.

Jar Jar deftly skinned several rats and handed them to Anakin, who lay them in a row on the ground and crouched over them, igniting his lightsaber. As he cautiously lowered the super-heated blade over the meal, he quipped, "Master Mace would freak if he saw this. `A Jedi must always treat his or her lightsaber with respect and honor,'" he imitated the Jedi Master in a stuffy voice.

"On the other hand, I think even Master Mace would appreciate our current circumstances," Obi-Wan observed, despite a twinge of guilt.

Bail watched as the rats began to sizzle under the blade's heat. "I'll take mine medium rare, if you please." One of the rats began to smoke heavily, and spontaneously combusted. "On the other hand, well done will do just fine."

"You could just stick to really rare," Padme offered.

Bail made a face. "No, thank you, I've had quite enough of that for a lifetime."

Anakin raised his blade and surveyed his handiwork. The rats were either scorched or not cooked at all. He turned over the cooked ones and tried again. After a few moments of broiling, Anakin announced, "Dinner is served!"

The rats didn't look or smell at all appetizing, but they would surely be an improvement over eating them raw. As the others hesitantly bit into their servings, Anakin lined up another batch. With practice he actually got to be quite good at roasting them, despite the occasional exploding frog.

When the meal had been reduced to a pile of small bones, Padme noisily licked her fingers and pronounced, "I can honestly say that was the best rat I've ever eaten. Thank you, Ani. You really are a good cook."

Anakin beamed, even when Obi-Wan quipped, "By the time we get out of here you'll be a gourmet of the gutter."

Bail had picked up the rifle they had appropriated from the bounty hunters and was examining it nervously, as if he expected it to turn into a snake and bite him. "I don't know why you're having me carry this thing. It's not as if I know how to use it."

"I could show you," Obi-Wan offered.

Bail's skepticism only deepened. "I don't know. My people tend toward pacifism, you know."

"Of course," Anakin sneered. "You don't want to do any killing yourself, so you let others do it for you."

Everyone tensed. Obi-Wan mildly observed, "It has a stun setting."

Shrugging off Anakin's rancor, Bail agreed, "Well, I suppose I should learn how to use it, although I have a feeling I'll prove to be more of a danger to myself and all of you rather than to anyone who might attack us."

He and Obi-Wan moved out into the hall to practice, followed by Padme and Jar Jar, who also wanted to learn how to use the powerful gun. Anakin leaned in the doorway, skeptical that the Prince could manage the weapon.

Obi-Wan familiarized them with the various parts of the rifle, including the safety latch and the power setting, then showed Bail how to hold it. As he positioned the Prince's arms, Bail archly observed, "Actually, this is kind of sexy in a phallic sort of way."

Padme chuckled, but Anakin and Jar Jar only looked confused.

"But then I shouldn't use such language in front of impressionable young minds."

"It's all right," Obi-Wan said with a wry grin. "He doesn't know what it means."

Indignant, Anakin protested, "I do, too!" Padme laughed even harder, and Anakin swore Bail gave him a patronizing look. As Obi-Wan continued with Bail's lesson, Anakin leaned close to Padme. "What does it mean?"

"Um," Padme blushed furiously. "It...well, it means....manly," she flustered.

Anakin pretended like he understood, but he still didn't get it.

A blinding light flashed in the hall as Bail fired the rifle. The blast ricocheted down the corridor as the Prince dropped the weapon, startled. He held a hand to his cheek. "That hurt!" he exclaimed. "It hit me."

"It has a powerful kickback," Obi-Wan observed, picking the rifle up off the ground.

"Forget this," Bail said, "I don't want to have anything to do with that thing."

"If you want, you can have my blaster," Padme offered, handing the Prince her tiny gun.

He took it and held it up dubiously. "Now I'm really glad Anakin doesn't know what `phallic' means, because if he did, he'd be laughing himself silly."

Obi-Wan and Padme laughed, leaving Jar Jar confused and Anakin fuming. He shot Obi-Wan a glance, half reproachful and half pleading. If they were going to be laughing at him, he wanted to know why.

"I can tell you," Obi-Wan offered, "but believe me, you'll regret it." When he saw Anakin would not be put off, he leaned close and whispered in his ear.

Anakin's face immediately flamed bright red. With a mortified glance at Padme, he fled back into the room.

"I want to try firing it," Padme asked, stepping forward. "It won't be too phallic for me."

Bail gave her a withering look, but Obi-Wan said, "Be that as it may, I don't think we should practice any more. We don't want to attract any more attention."

"Yes, next thing you know all the rats will be wanting to come out and play," Bail quipped, but Padme noticed Obi-Wan's concerned expression.

"What is it?"

He lightly shook his head. "I don't know. I just don't like being in the hall." Trying not to be alarming, he ushered them back into the room and shut the door as securely as he could.

Anakin sat cross-legged on the floor, still smarting from what he perceived had been a joke at his expense. Bail chirped up, "So, what's for dessert?"

"Sewage surprise," Anakin shot back. "I made it especially for you."

"Ah. Too bad I'm still full from that delicious meal. I'll have to pass on it."

As Anakin and the Prince continued their verbal sparring, Jar Jar edged closer to Padme. "Why theresa no peoples down here? Theresa so many peoples up above, but no one lives down here."

Padme shook her head. She had wondered the same thing. "It is strange, isn't it? A trillion people live on this planet, but none of them are at ground level."

"Maybe theysa knowen something we don't," Jar Jar offered, and Padme shuddered. That didn't sound at all promising. In a small voice, Jar Jar sighed, "My missen home."

Fighting back a sudden wave of homesickness, Padme whispered, "Me, too."

"If my gettin back, my never leaven again."

Padme wanted to agree, but something held her back. Her earlier realization of the needs on Coruscant was only further confirmed the more she spent slogging through the bowels of the planet. Her sense of duty and civic responsibility called to her in a way she could not deny. But it was more than that. She watched Bail and Anakin, now concocting fanciful recipes involving bugs, mold, and gravel "to give it texture," and even the stoic Obi-Wan piped up with suggestions for a sauce of toxic runoff. Despite the tension between Anakin and Bail, the three of them shared a camaraderie that Padme envied. On Naboo, Padme had colleagues, even friends, but nothing like this. Partly this was due to her responsibility as Queen, but a large part of it was the Naboo reserve. Her people lived in a very closed society. They did not welcome outsiders, and it took them years to develop intimate friends. Interpersonal relations were governed by elaborate rules of etiquette and formality, but now Padme realized how those very rules could be used to keep people at arms' length. Prince Bail's casual familiarity had annoyed her at first because it violated her sense of propriety, but now she realized that the Prince was not rude or insincere. Far from it. He used humor and good will to get around even Anakin's dislike of him. Despite the tension they were friends, and they had all invited Padme and Jar Jar into their intimate circle. She liked all of them. She enjoyed taking part in their banter, and she was even beginning to understand the intricate rhythms of their relationship to each other. Now she and Jar Jar were adding their own rhythm to the symphony, and she did not want to have to sever those ties. On Coruscant, with these three people, she was learning more about herself than she ever could on Naboo.

"Ugh!" the Prince exclaimed. "Here's something new to add to the menu." He brushed something off his pants leg. It was a hairy worm, about the size of Padme's little finger.

"Plump and juicy," Anakin commented, swiping at another worm crawling on Bail's sleeve.

Abruptly Bail shifted the conversation, asking Obi-Wan, "You said it was an old friend of mine who helped you find us. Who was it?"

Obi-Wan busied himself with inventorying their ration bar supply. "She said her name was Cait Nandreeson."

"Cait Nandreeson?" Bail echoed, pleased. "Bless me, I haven't seen her in years. How is she?"

"She seemed to be in perfectly good health," Obi-Wan muttered.

Anakin enjoyed seeing his master so out of sorts. "She wanted you to give a message to the Prince, remember?" he prompted, but Obi-Wan ignored him.

"A message?" Bail asked.

Forging recklessly ahead, Anakin supplied, "She said you should call her sometime."

"Ah," Bail smiled, then caught himself. Clearing his throat, he continued, "It's been years since I've seen her."

But Anakin wasn't ready to let up yet. "She didn't like Obi-Wan," he observed.

Affecting innocence, Bail remarked, "Didn't she? Why ever not?"

"Obi-Wan didn't like her, either."

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan snapped, angry for letting himself be needled so effectively by his padawan.

"Well, you didn't," Anakin pointed out.

Padme didn't know whether to laugh or groan at this display of jealously. Here they all were in danger for their lives, and all Bail, Anakin, and even the lofty Obi-Wan could do was degenerate into cattiness. She rolled her eyes and muttered a disgusted, "Men!"

Bail turned to her, amused. "I beg your pardon? Women are not immune to jealousy, you know."

"Maybe not," she returned, "but we don't behave so childishly about it."

"You don't think so? Well, it so happens that I have a lot of experience in that area, and believe me, women are more than capable of turning into infantile brats."

"I've never behaved like that," Padme huffed.

"I daresay you haven't really been in love yet."

The Prince was right, but Padme didn't particularly care to admit that in front of everyone. "Yes, I have," she protested.

"Then it wasn't a very deep love. There's nothing like a good dose of jealousy to inflame true passion," Bail expounded. "The threat of a rival turns love from a treacly sentiment into a most delicious torture. Love that isn't in agony isn't --"

"Oh, shut up!" Obi-Wan exploded. "No one wants to hear your stupid philosophies!"

The others stared at him in shock, Bail most of all. He had only been teasing Padme, and maybe Obi-Wan, too, a little. Usually Obi-Wan didn't seem to mind the Prince's jibes, but he had never yelled at Bail before. The Prince tried to cover up how deeply Obi-Wan had wounded him. "You really are jealous, aren't you?" he observed with a false note of levity. "I didn't know you cared that much."

Unable to endure the conversation any more, and ashamed of his outburst, Obi-Wan stood and crossed the room to leave. But when he opened the door, hundreds of worms spilled into the room, and he sprang back in alarm. They filled the hall in a relentless march, millions and millions of them. Now that the door was open, they surged into the room. Obi-Wan tried to shut the door, but there were too many of them. They jammed in the doorframe, preventing the door from closing all the way.

The others backed up against the far wall, watching the invaders nervously. "Are they dangerous?" Padme asked, trying to stay calm.

"I don't know," Obi-Wan admitted, picking up the edge of his robe to keep the worms from climbing up.

"You know, I don't really care if they're dangerous or not," the Prince confessed, his voice rising in distress. "I don't fancy myself being overrun by them."

"My neither!" Jar Jar agreed.

"Right. Let's gather our things and get out of here," Obi-Wan ordered.

They hastened to reclaim the lamps and rifles before the worms swamped them. Padme tried to avoid stepping on the worms, but it was impossible. She pranced from foot to foot, trying to keep them from climbing up her legs.

"Which way do we go?" Anakin asked.

"Let's follow their path," Obi-Wan suggested. "We'll outrun them eventually. Let's go!" Taking a deep breath, he plunged out into the river of worms, Anakin close behind. The others hesitated a moment, but realized they had no choice but to follow.

The hall undulated with the flow of worms in a living stream an ankle deep. They flowed up the walls to a meter in height. It was impossible not to step on them. With each stride, Padme set her foot on a squishy, squirming mass, and the soles of her shoes soon became coated with their crushed bodies. They crawled up her legs, and she tried to shake them as she ran, but this only made the already slippery footing more precarious. Ahead of her, Bail slipped and almost went down. He managed to right himself, but he picked up a number of passengers during his moment of hesitation. Jar Jar whined in a high pitched squeal, his eyestalks bulging in fright.

The hall dead-ended into another corridor where the river of worms divided and flowed in each direction. The Jedi hesitated only a fraction of a second before turning and heading down the right branch. Bail and Jar Jar pivoted and followed, but as she made the turn Padme slipped and fell. Her hands and knees crushed the small, squirming bodies, and a ripple of tiny feet flowed up her legs and arms. In a moment she would be swamped. She suppressed a scream, trying desperately to shake them off.

A pair of hands reached under her arms and hauled her to her feet. It was Anakin. He took her hand and pulled her along after him, steadying her.

The river seemed like it would never end. There were more slips and falls, and they had to slow down in order to maintain their footing. Padme could feel the worms crawling into her hair, and she pressed her lips tightly together so they wouldn't get into her mouth. She constantly had to suppress the urge to stop and wipe them off her. At this point, their only hope was to keep running.

Eventually the river dried up to a trickle, and they outstripped the worms, but they didn't stop running. The deluge was right behind them. They ran on and on, eventually spilling out onto the dark street. They stopped, shaking their arms and stamping their feet to rid themselves of the creatures. Padme brushed them all off, but she could still feel their horrible little feet crawling all over her skin. Was she just imagining it?

"They're in my clothes!" she screeched and began tearing off her clothing. The others did the same, ripping off shirts and pants, shaking out the worms. It was too dark in the street to see much of anything, but Padme could hear the frantic grunts and gasps of the others as they shook out their clothes and fought to rid themselves of the hangers-on.

Padme could still feel them crawling all over her, but she found no more of them on her body or her clothes. It was only her imagination. She stood still for a moment, gasping for breath, struggling to regain a sense of control. As her panic slowly faded, her Naboo propriety gained hold of her. Reluctantly, for fear of any worms she had missed, Padme dressed herself again.

For a long time no one said anything. She could hear the others' breathing slowly even out, but their breath was still shaky. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the near total dark, she could just discern the Prince, his face buried in his hands. Jar Jar swayed slightly, his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

"We shouldn't stay out here," Obi-Wan cautioned, his voice low. "We should get back into shelter."

"You call that shelter?" Bail protested. The near panic in his voice echoed in Padme's chest. "I don't want to go back inside that building or any other."

"They were just worms," Anakin observed, but he didn't sound as confident as he wanted to appear.

"I don't care! I can't take this any more. This may all be in a day's work for you, Anakin, but I've been kidnapped, beaten, chased by bounty hunters, forced to eat rats, and now swamped by worms. I'm not exactly used to it."

"Why not? You deal with slime in the Senate all the time," Anakin shot back.

"Stop it, both of you!" Obi-Wan rebuked. He could hear Jar Jar whimpering, and he knew Padme was on the verge of tears. They were all frazzled. Projecting a sense of calm, he said, "Come on, let's all gather together. We'll be all right."

At Obi-Wan's bidding, they settled onto the ground in a tight circle. Bail leaned against Obi-Wan, pressing his face into Obi-Wan's neck. To the Jedi's surprise, Padme took his other arm, laying her head against his shoulder. She took Anakin's hand in hers as he huddled next to her, and Jar Jar managed to embrace both of them in his lanky arms. All four of them leaned close to Obi-Wan, and through the Force he sensed their need for assurance -- even his normally intrepid padawan. Obi-Wan smiled to himself. If the rest of them weren't on the verge of emotional collapse, he knew he would be having to fight back his own panic. As it was, he felt like a mother cat huddling with her brood of kittens. It was a nice feeling, to have the others turn to him for comfort. He wasn't accustomed to playing such a paternal role, but he had to admit he liked it. He found himself wanting to sing them all a lullaby or tell them a bedtime story.

Obi-Wan let a sense of calm flow out from him to embrace the others, and slowly their tension and fear melted away. Before any of them realized it, they were all sound asleep.

Chapter Eight

Padme woke, her face pressed against something warm and solid. She felt safe, secure, swaddled in a peaceful cocoon. She opened her eyes. It was still dark, but the sky was just beginning to lighten. She lay on the ground, pressed up against Obi-Wan's back. She was sandwiched between the two Jedi, Anakin's head resting on her shoulder, his robe wrapped around them both. Jar Jar's hand reached across Anakin to rest comfortably on her hip. She wanted to remain like that, to rest in the sensual warmth of this embrace, an intimacy that was not frightening but calm and soothing. Typical of their reserve, the Naboo seldom touched one another, yet now Padme found herself sleeping wrapped up with four people, another unprecedented first for her. With a wry smile she cozied up to Obi-Wan's back, amazed to be close enough to another person to hear his heart beat, to feel the rise and fall of his breath. Still asleep, Anakin tightened his arm around her, sending a thrill through her body. An almost-forgotten memory rose within her, of when she was a little girl, small enough to fit on her mother's lap. She remembered the weight of her mother's chin on the top of her head, the way her mother's voice rumbled deeply in her chest, tickling Padme's ear. In her whole life she had never felt as secure as when she could fit inside the cradle of her mother's arms. She had never been so physically close to another being until now. She wanted to remain like this forever.

But she was not a little girl any more, and as the sky grew brighter, she realized it was not safe for them to remain in the open street like this. Reluctantly she shifted, extricating herself from Anakin's embrace. Her movement rippled out to the others, and they slowly came awake, yawning and rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

The Prince stared at her, half-awake, then said, "Your Highness, I do believe your tunic is on inside out."

She looked down and realized he was right. So much for dressing in the dark. He gave her a sly smile. Abruptly, she reached out and tweaked one of his curls. "Hold on. You've got a worm in your hair." He jumped, and she winked at him.

"Very funny," he smiled.

"Anyone up for breakfast?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Aren't we due to run into an abandoned pastry factory?" Bail asked. "Drowning in a vat of sweet cream sounds just about right."

"We should be so lucky," Anakin countered.

"In the mean time, how do ration bars sound?" Obi-Wan offered.

"Terrible," Padme replied. "But they beat rats."

Obi-Wan doled out one bar each, which they quickly devoured.

Bail stood and stretched. "Another day, another unspeakable terror to face. Shall we get to it?"

"There's no time like the present," Padme agreed.

They set off, heading back into one of the buildings, their spirits once more renewed. It amazed Padme how they could keep bouncing back after so many trials. Their friendship sustained them through the hard times, and each challenge only made their bond stronger. She had never felt so alive, so intimately connected to other people. She'd never even felt this way about her own family.

They walked along at an easy pace, sometimes talking, sometimes in silence. In the darkness it was hard to see anyone's face, but by now Padme had learned the subtle nuances of each of her friends' voices, the meaning of their tones, the way their emotions echoed off each other.

After several hours of walking, they came out into a large open area. The ceiling rose several stories high above them, with balconies opening out onto a central plaza. It must have once been a shopping area. A bank of large transparisteel windows on an upper story admitted light from outside, illuminating the interior with a faint gloom.

"I wonder if the food court is open," Bail speculated. "I've had my fill of scorched rat."

Padme returned, "Forget that. I want to find a bar and have a nice, stiff drink."

"My just wanten a bath!" Jar Jar added.

As the three of them indulged their fantasies, Anakin noticed Obi- Wan's concerned expression as he surveyed the open plaza. "I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan warned softly. "Something's not right."

Anakin turned his attention outward into the gloom. Abruptly, danger flared into his consciousness. "Back!" he screamed. "Back into the hallway!" Obi-Wan ignited his saber, but the others were too startled to react immediately.

Speeder bike engines roared to life, flooding the plaza with a sinister growl. From the balcony's second level, three bikes leaped over the railing and raced toward them. One of them fired a volley overhead, too high for Obi-Wan to block with his saber, but the bounty hunter had not been aiming for them. The lasers touched off an explosion behind them, collapsing the balcony over the way they had come in, cutting off their escape.

"Head toward one of the shops," Obi-Wan ordered, shoving at Jar Jar. "It will provide shelter." The three broke into a run while Anakin and Obi-Wan covered for them. They ducked into an open doorway, and Padme crouched inside to watch and assess the situation.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stood back to back as the three bikes buzzed and spun around them. The bounty hunters bombarded them with laser fire from their turboblasters. Fortunately, the weapons were too large for the hunters to fire accurately and pilot the bikes at the same time. The Jedi could defend themselves easily enough, catching the blaster bolts on their lightsabers, but they couldn't move or gain the upper hand.

"They need our help!" Padme shouted, unshouldering her rifle.

"You saw what happened when I tried to shoot that thing," Bail protested. "I'll end up shooting them by mistake."

Padme didn't answer, lining up a shot in her sights. She squeezed the trigger, and the powerful weapon discharged, kicking her back hard enough to knock her to the floor. Her shot missed the bounty hunters completely. Dismayed at her inability to effectively handle the rifle, she suggested, "All right, then. We'll aim high and just hope to make it harder for the bounty hunters to concentrate."

The three of them opened fire, as chaotic as they were ineffective. But their attack did seem to disorient the hunters. One of them, an enormous, muscled female of a humanoid species Padme did not recognize, nudged her bike around and sped straight toward them.

"Disa muy bombad!" Jar Jar cried out.

Spying their peril, Anakin leaped up just as the bike rushed passed him. He slashed out, slicing through the bike's steering vanes. The vehicle sped out of control, but its rider leaped off the bike with astonishing agility, landing safely on the balcony overhead while her bike ploughed into the ground in a mass of screaming metal. Unfazed, she raised her blaster and opened fire on the three in the doorway.

Furious, Anakin jumped up onto the balcony after her, determined to take her out. He heard Obi-Wan cry out to him, but he ignored him, turning on the hunter. She only sneered, firing at him. At point- blank range, the bolts met his blade with the force of a cannon, and he had to backpedal in order to keep from being knocked off his feet. He concentrated on trying to redirect the bolts back at her, blocking out all other thought.

Down on the ground, Padme watched him anxiously, but Bail understood better what Anakin had done. "That stupid boy!" he cried. "He's left Obi-Wan exposed!"

Padme redirected her gaze and saw that the other two hunters realized they could now trap Obi-Wan between them. They swooped around him, then simultaneously rushed him from opposite directions, blasters blazing.

In a haze of blue energy, Obi-Wan's blade caught all the bolts, but the firing only intensified as the bikes sped toward him. He couldn't defend himself against both at once.

Up on the balcony, the bounty hunter glanced quickly down at Obi-Wan, and Anakin followed her gaze. Obi-Wan vaulted high, twisting out of the way and slashing his lightsaber through one of the bike's steering vanes, sending bike and rider smashing into a wall, but the other bike was too fast. It slammed into Obi-Wan's chest, throwing him across the plaza.

"Master!" Anakin screamed. The bounty hunter turned and sneered at him in triumph. With an influx of rage, Anakin gathered the Force around him and lashed out at her, tumbling her off the balcony. She hit the ground with a liquid thud, her skull splitting open. Anakin leaped down to the ground, wanting to rush to his master's aid, but he was too far away to get there in time.

>From the doorway, Bail whispered brokenly, "Obi-Wan."

"Look!" Padme shouted. "He's getting up. He's not hurt."

Sure enough, Obi-Wan had come to his feet and stood facing the last bounty hunter as he brought his speeder bike around and raced once more for Obi-Wan. The hunter didn't even fire, instead opening the throttle all the way in order to mow the Jedi down. Obi-Wan held his ground as the bike sped toward him. At the last instant, he leaped up, somersaulting over the bounty hunter's head, and thrust his saber into the bike's engine. The power cell exploded, destroying both bike and rider.

Obi-Wan landed on his feet, but his legs crumpled beneath him, and he fell heavily to his knees.

"Ben!" Bail called out, sprinting toward the Jedi, Padme and Jar Jar close on his heels. He bit back a cry when he saw the blood soaking the front of Obi-Wan's tunic. The sight snapped the Prince into a practical mode. "Get his robe off," he instructed. Padme and Jar Jar rushed to comply, while Anakin stood nearby in disbelieving shock.

They pulled off his robe while Bail carefully removed Obi-Wan's belt and opened his tunic. He lay Obi-Wan down on the ground as gently as possible, then inspected the wound. A large gash sliced across the Jedi's chest.

"I think I broke some ribs," Obi-Wan said, his breath coming in short, painful gasps.

Glancing at Padme, Bail instructed, "Tear his robe into strips. We'll need them for bandages." He used Obi-Wan's outer tunic to wipe up the blood. "I don't like the way you're breathing," he observed. "Do you think you punctured a lung?" Obi-Wan shook his head, and Bail asked further, "Can you tell how badly you're injured? Do you think you ruptured any internal organs?"

Padme paled, and Obi-Wan said, "I don't know."

As carefully as possible, they eased him back up to a sitting position in order to tie the bandages around his chest. His face contorted in pain, but he did not cry out. Bail wrapped the strips of robe around him, using a piece of his tunic as a compress, and tied the bandage snugly. They laid him back down, and Bail at last looked up at Anakin. "Cover him with your robe. We need to keep him warm lest he go into shock."

Numbly, Anakin removed his robe and knelt next to Obi-Wan, gently settling his robe around him.

For several minutes no one said anything, lost in a daze of fear and worry. At last, Padme spoke up, her brow furrowed in concentration. "There was something wrong about all this. It's as if they were waiting here for us, as if they set up a trap."

Bail shook his head. "But how could they be tracking us? Scanners don't work well down here."

Anakin stretched out with the Force, connecting to something that had been nagging at him during the battle, and even earlier throughout their flight, something that had only tickled the edge of his consciousness. He had ignored it before, but now he opened himself to it fully. His stomach churned at what he discovered. "They're tracking us through the Force."

"What?" Padme and Bail chorused in disbelief.

Obi-Wan studied his padawan, wanting to believe the boy was mistaken, but knowing that Anakin's instincts invariably proved true. "You're certain?" he asked softly. Anakin only nodded.

"But what does that mean?" Bail fretted. "Tracking us through the Force? Who could do that? You don't mean that Sith Lord you told me about. That couldn't possibly be...." He moaned, burying his face in his hands. "Oh, I don't like this at all."

Panicked, Jar Jar stood up, wringing his hands and pacing nervously. "Oh, why mesa here? Every time my meeten Obi Kenobi, something bombad is happening."

Enraged, Anakin launched himself at the Gungan, shoving him in the chest. "How dare you!" he fumed. "Obi-Wan saved your life! He's the one who's injured, not you!"

Bail seized Anakin's arm, trying to restrain him from pummeling Jar Jar. "Calm down," he began.

"Get your hands off me!" Anakin screamed. He lashed out at the Prince, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him against the wall. "It's your fault we're here!" He unleashed all his grief and horror on Bail, trying to hide from himself his own guilt at having been the cause of Obi-Wan's injury. It had to be Bail's fault, not his. It couldn't be his. He slammed the Prince repeatedly against the wall. "It's always you!" he raged. "You think you can boss him around, but he's not your bodyguard!" He felt Padme and Jar Jar trying to pull him off, but he was stronger than them. He could kill Bail, and the Prince knew it. He bashed him against the wall. "He's not your slave! He's not your slave!" All of his most horrible memories flooded over him: the image of Qui-Gon's lifeless body, the first time he'd realized what it meant that he was a slave, all the humiliation he had known on Tatooine, and worst of all, the expression on his mother's face when he'd left her behind. Bail Organa would never have to see that look on his mother's face. He had every privilege the universe could give him. He could throw people's lives away because they were worth nothing to him. He could always buy new friends. But Anakin would not be bought, and he would not let his only friend be destroyed by the Prince's selfishness.

Dimly, something called to him. A voice penetrated through his grief, its warm light sending the shadows fleeing. It was Obi-Wan. His master was calling him. Anakin's grip loosened, and he felt Padme and Jar Jar pulling him backward. He turned and saw Obi-Wan, propped up on one elbow. Despite the pain he must be in, Obi-Wan's eyes were calm and steady. "Anakin," he called softly. "Come here."

Anakin didn't even realize his feet had carried him to his master until he was kneeling by Obi-Wan's side. "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan," he whispered, silently begging, /Please don't die./ "It's my fault you got hurt, mine alone."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan soothed, taking the boy's hand. "I've lost track of how many times I put Qui-Gon in jeopardy." /Including the last time,/ the familiar thought rose to taunt him yet again. He knew perfectly well the guilt Anakin felt. "The point isn't that we make mistakes, even foolish ones. The point is that we learn from them." He could almost hear Qui-Gon echoing those same words to him.

"I'm sorry," Anakin repeated, fighting back his despair.

"I know," Obi-Wan assured him. "But you have another chance to prove yourself. You know the way out of here. You have to be calm and strong in order to protect the others. Anakin," he squeezed the boy's hand, his voice low but intense. "You have to get me to a hospital." He searched his padawan's face. "Will you do that?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Good. Now, you have to apologize to Jar Jar and to Bail. Do you understand?"

Normally the thought of apologizing to anyone, especially to the Prince, would be completely unbearable, but right now Anakin would do anything for Obi-Wan. "Yes, Master," he said. "And I will get you out, Obi-Wan. You'll be all right. I swear it."

Obi-Wan smiled at him. "I know you will, Anakin."

Chapter Nine

Mace Windu deactivated the holovid and turned his dark eyes on Adi Gallia. "So what do you think?" he queried, his tone even and neutral.

He sat in a conference room with Master Adi and her padawan. Adi did not answer at once, reviewing the holovid in her mind. The Twi'lek, identifying herself as the Hammer's leader, had made the demands herself. There was no sign of the captives, and her threats had changed. None of the body parts promised in the first holovid had been sent, and now the threat was dropped altogether. The conclusion, therefore, was obvious. "She's bluffing. They don't have them any more."

Mace nodded slowly. "So Obi-Wan and Anakin were successful."

But that conclusion was not so obvious. "I don't think so," Adi said. "If they had been, why would the Hammer pretend like they still had them? And why wouldn't we have heard from Obi-Wan by now? No, I don't think they ever succeeded in locating the terrorists."

Mace considered her words carefully. "Which leads us back to the question of what happened to Senator Organa and the others." He leaned back in his chair and ticked the options off on his long fingers. "They may have died in custody, whether accidentally or on purpose. They may have been rescued by someone other than Obi-Wan and Anakin. Or they may have escaped."

Bo-Neda, Adi Gallia's 16-year-old padawan cleared her throat self- consciously. "Or someone else may have abducted them from the Hammer."

Mace raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Adi silenced any objection he might have raised. Adi's perceptiveness was legendary, and her padawan shared this trait. "It is definitely a possibility. We have certainly learned that there are a number of powerful, secret interests at work here. It was one thing when clones could only be developed at a normal rate of growth, but now that the Gungan technology makes it possible to grow human clones in less than five years, it changes everything. The technology will prove far too profitable for anyone who wants to grow their own laborers or soldiers, and they will not want their access to it to be limited by any laws proposed by the conference. The Hammer is probably just a front, a distraction to divert our attention from the real plot to subvert the conference."

Mace considered what she had said. The past few years had seen an alarming rise in criminal and other extra-governmental organizations, both in numbers and in power. Every month more and more Jedi were dispersed on missions to deal with the increased activity, and they returned with disturbing reports: of governments held hostage by crimelords, of trade lanes terrorized by pirates, of distrust in the forces of law and order who seemed increasingly unable to curtail the power of brigands and rogue autocrats. Sometimes isolated incidents proved on closer examination to be connected, while other seemingly related events proved to have no traceable link. The galaxy seemed to be enmeshed in plots, but was there only one force behind it all or a coalition of forces? Nothing could be taken for granted any more, but neither could the Jedi discern any pattern to explain the chaos.

Mace sighed in frustration. "It is hard to know what to do when we don't know what we're up against. If they escaped, has Obi-Wan found them yet? If they were abducted, who took them and why? And what happened to Obi-Wan and Anakin that they have not contacted us?"

"Well, we know that it is next to impossible to send communications transmissions from the lower levels. If they were all right and their speeder were functional, they would have come up and contacted us. We must conclude at the very least that they have no means of transportation." Adi Gallia set her jaw, and Mace recognized it meant she had made a decision. He also knew that once she had made up her mind, no one could ever dissuade her. "Bo-Neda and I will go looking for them," she announced.

Mace had to at least try. "I don't like to send anyone into a situation we know so little about."

"But the alternative is to do nothing, and that is completely unacceptable. At the very least we need to find out what happened to Obi-Wan and Anakin."

Mace acquiesced. "Very well. But the two of you shouldn't go alone."

Adi smiled. She knew Mace wanted to go himself. With all the unrest in the galaxy, he had increasingly taken on an administrative role with the Council, coordinating the numerous missions that everyone else was sent on. He hadn't been in the field in years, and she knew he longed for action. But this mission was not worth sending two members of the Council on. "I agree. That's why I'm planning on asking Bant to accompany us."

"Bant?" Mace echoed in surprise. "But her skills are in negotiation. I doubt that particular talent will be needed here."

"Yes, but she is also a discerning investigator, and she is good friends with Obi-Wan. Her connection to him may help us track him down." She could tell he was disappointed but he put it aside. She continued, "We will contact the Temple every hour, so you will know if something happens to us."

"And one other thing," Mace requested, his eyes betraying his concern. "Wear locators. If you vanish, too, I want us to have at least a chance of tracking you down." It was his way of saying, Be careful.

Adi nodded grimly. "We will take no foolish chances." She looked at her Padawan. "Come, Bo-neda. Let's get ready."

At first Obi-Wan had tried to walk on his own, leaning on Bail's arm for support, but it soon became apparent that his injuries were too severe. Before long both Bail and Jar Jar had to support him, their arms hooked under his, and they had to carry more and more of his weight. They rested frequently, and while the rests helped Obi-Wan, he also began to tire more quickly. Anakin wanted to help Obi-Wan himself, but the others argued that he needed to keep his hands free in case they encountered any danger. Padme occasionally took the place of Bail or Jar Jar in order to give them a break, but she was not strong enough to carry Obi-Wan for long. They did not make much progress during the rest of the day. They made camp early, falling asleep as soon as they had finished eating.

The next morning found Obi-Wan greatly weakened. His bandage was soaked through with blood, and he burned with fever, indicating that infection had set in. He could no longer walk on his own. No one wanted to give voice to their fears, so they set off in silence, Bail and Jar Jar again supporting Obi-Wan, and Padme and Anakin keeping a tense look-out for any danger. As they trudged on at a mercilessly slow pace, Obi-Wan made no sound, though the corners of his mouth grew caked with dried blood from where he had bitten his lip. Each time they clambered over mounds of broken rock or slogged through a puddle of dank sludge, Bail heard Obi-Wan's low groans. His muscles protested at having to carry Obi-Wan a second day, and Bail had no idea how he could keep this up for as long as it would take them to finally get out of the underworld's morass. He knew the Gungan was exhausted as well, although Jar Jar never complained. Bail had seen the raw skin on Jar Jar's shoulders and arms. Both the constant grime and heat, as well as Obi-Wan's weight, were ravaging the Gungan's amphibious skin.

Bail stumbled, his foot twisting on a loose rock, and Obi-Wan bit back a cry as he fell sharply against Bail's side. His eyes were screwed shut, and sweat flowed down his face and dripped off his chin, soaking his stained tunic. They were all covered with filth, and Bail worried about the fact that they could not keep Obi-Wan's wound clean.

He regained his footing, but when he put his weight on his ankle it twinged in protest. Wearily, he called out to Padme and Anakin, "Stop. We can't go on any more."

Padme turned back, glancing at her chronometer. "It's only mid-day. We haven't gone very far."

"I know," Bail gasped for breath, "but I'm exhausted, and Obi-Wan is in too much pain." He and Jar Jar lowered themselves to their knees, easing Obi-Wan to the ground, as Anakin stood over them, deep lines of worry etched into his face. Carefully Bail began to change Obi- Wan's makeshift bandage. Anakin gave his master some water, tenderly cradling his head as he held the bottle to his lips. When Obi-Wan finished, Anakin handed the water to Jar Jar, who needed it more than the rest of them. Padme drank only after everyone else had their turn, eagerly swallowing the half cup that remained.

She glanced at the weary threesome gathered around Obi-Wan, wincing when she saw the blood oozing from Jar Jar's flayed skin. She hated forcing him to such an arduous task, but she had no choice. None of them did. "How long do you need to rest?"

Bail didn't answer, merely kneaded his aching shoulder while staring at Obi-Wan. Padme sighed in resignation. They were never going to make it out of there at this pace. "All right. We'll camp here. Let's scout out, same detail as before. Bail and me on water, Anakin and Jar Jar hunting for our dinner."

As tired as Jar Jar and Bail were, they were grateful for the opportunity to get up and move around without having to carry Obi- Wan. They dispersed along with Anakin. Padme found that she didn't have to go far for water. There was a leaking pipe nearby with relatively clean water, and she even found another salvageable bottle. She returned before the others did and approached Obi-Wan for the sterilization tablets in his belt pouch. She thought he was sleeping, but when she unsnapped the pouch, his eyes opened. The look in them troubled her. She knew he only revealed a fraction of the pain he must actually be feeling.

He watched her as she dropped the tablets into the bottles. "Padme," he said, his voice almost a whisper.

"The water will be ready in a couple of minutes," she told him. "Are you hungry?"

He shook his head slightly. "Listen. You're going to have to leave me behind."

Padme suppressed a shudder. She had just been thinking the same thing, but it sounded even worse coming from him than from her own mind.

"I can't possibly keep up," Obi-Wan continued. "And Bail and Jar Jar can't keep carrying me."

"If we build a litter --"

"No. It will still slow you down. Anyway, the move is killing me."

The resignation in his voice chilled her. She didn't want to believe he could die, but she had not wanted to believe it of Qui-Gon, either, and this was no time for wishful thinking. She searched his face in silence, then asked, "Tell me truthfully. How bad are your injuries?"

"Not so bad. If I can get to medical care, I'll be fine. I might last as long as a week before that, but...." He trailed off, not certain how bad the internal bleeding was. Obi-Wan had never been a good healer. He couldn't put himself into a healing trance, and Anakin wasn't skilled enough to do it for him. A week was probably stretching it.

Padme's mind worked furiously, playing out various scenarios. "We can leave someone with you," she suggested, but who?

"No, there's no need."

"But if the bounty hunters are tracing us through the Force...." Or was he intending to sacrifice himself as a decoy so they could get away?

"I can keep the Force drawn close around me. They won't find me."

Padme hated to leave him alone, but the only one who would be much of a defense would be Anakin, and they needed him in order to get out. At last she nodded her head in concession.

When he saw that she wasn't going to argue with him, Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly in relief. She was a true leader, capable of making difficult decisions and moving on. He knew she could get the others out of the underworld. Reassured, he opened his eyes again. "It will be hard for Bail and Anakin, but they'll follow you. They both respect your judgment. I know you'll get them out of here, and you'll make it back to me."

Padme wished she shared his confidence. Had the Force given him a vision, or was he merely expressing his hopes? "We'll leave you with plenty of food and water so you'll be fine until we get back." An image rushed upon her of Obi-Wan, alone and slowly bleeding to death. She hadn't realized how much she had warmed up to him, but now, faced with the prospect of losing him forever, Padme realized how much she had come to rely on his quiet strength, his unwavering loyalty to duty. She couldn't bear the thought that they might not make it back to him in time. What would happen to Anakin then? A wave of tender worry overcame her, and she relieved it by tending to Obi-Wan now, gently washing the blood off his lips and wiping his brow with the cuff of her sleeve.

Obi-Wan suppressed a smile as she ministered to him. Even Padme was fussing over him now! He watched her as she did what she could to make him more comfortable. At last he said, "I have a confession to make." Padme stopped in surprise, not sure she wanted to be his confessor. Obi-Wan smiled. "I woefully underestimated you when we first met. I thought you were young and naive."

Padme's mouth twisted into an ironic grin at this unwitting confirmation of what she had once thought of him. "Well, I was young and naive."

"Maybe. But you were also wise. You have a clarity of vision, a purity of heart that some of us who tend to be more prejudiced could learn from. It's good that Anakin admires you so. He could learn lessons from you that I can never teach him."

Now that she actually had his praise, she grew embarrassed by her criticism of him. "You're a good teacher," she assured him.

"In some things." His brow furrowed as he looked away from her, and Padme realized his confidence was not as overweening as she had thought. He looked back to her. "I hope you will always be a friend to Anakin. He needs friends."

Padme hesitated. "You sound like you're bequeathing him to me."

Obi-Wan grinned broadly at that. "Don't worry," he assured her. "This is no dying request. I fully intend to go on being his master and to teach him all I can. I only meant...." He hesitated awkwardly. "Well, I know he's not your responsibility."

"Of course he's my responsibility," she protested, "as are you. Anakin has a special place in my heart. He is a special boy."

"He is." Again, that dark look of doubt shadowed his features. Then he smiled again and the darkness passed.

The others eventually returned, but Padme said nothing about their decision. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and rested while Anakin cooked their food. After they'd eaten, Padme encouraged the others to rest as well, while she excused herself to look for a suit-able hiding place for Obi-Wan. Not too far away she found a small room with only one narrow entrance. The room contained an old counter which Obi-Wan could lie behind and still be able to see the doorway. Anyone who might try to enter the room would have to come in single file, making it easier for Obi-Wan to pick them off with a blaster.

Satisfied, she rejoined the others. Jar Jar lay on the floor dozing. Anakin was inspecting one of the rifles, not for any purpose, but just to have something to do. Bail lay stretched out next to Obi-Wan, quietly telling him a story about some Senate intrigue. Every time they stopped, Obi-Wan would ask Bail to talk to him. It didn't matter what the Prince said. Obi-Wan seemed to draw comfort from the sound of his voice, and Padme had found herself growing used to it as well.

Reluctantly, she interrupted Bail. "I found a good hiding place," she announced, looking at Obi-Wan.

"Hiding place?" Bail echoed, as Jar Jar roused himself from sleep.

Clearing her throat, Padme unconsciously assumed her royal voice. "Obi-Wan can't travel any more. He's going to stay here."

"What?" Anakin sat up, stricken.

Padme kept her gaze on Bail, seeking to convince him first. "He'll die if we keep moving him." She could see the struggle in the Prince's heart. He wanted to protest, but he also knew how bad Obi- Wan's injuries were.

But Anakin would be another matter. He got to his feet and towered over her, trembling with barely contained fury. "I will not abandon him!" he whispered.

Padme did not flinch or look away. Her voice steady, she said, "We're not abandoning him. He'll be able to conserve his strength, and we will travel that much faster, which means we can get back sooner with help."

"Then I'm staying with him."

Padme shook her head. "We need you to guide us out of here. He needs it."

"I can stay," Bail offered, and Anakin flushed in anger to hear the Prince take on a role he considered his by right. Bail continued, "I'm hardly an asset on this journey, anyway."

"No," Padme stated firmly. "He will be able to conceal himself better if he is alone. He and I have already discussed this and it's been decided. We'll leave him with the ration supplies, all our water, and a blaster. That's all he'll need until we get back." She didn't want to talk about it any more or prolong the farewell. They needed to get underway. She needed it, needed action to stave off her mounting despair. "Come on, let's move him into the room."

The others responded automatically to her command, although Anakin dragged his feet, a scowl on his face. They gathered around Obi-Wan, two on each side of him, wedging their hands beneath him and hoisting him up as gently as they could. Padme guided them into the appointed room where they settled him behind the counter. Bail folded up the remains of Obi-Wan's robe and placed it under his head, then without looking up, asked, "Anakin, would you fetch the supplies and bring them in here, please?"

Anakin stiffened, and Padme put a comforting hand on his shoulder to draw him away, Jar Jar looking on in sympathy. The three of them left the room. Anakin fumed, "Who does he think he is, bossing me around?"

"Give him a chance to say good-bye," Padme counseled gently.

And what about me? Anakin silently cried. He was just the padawan. He was sent to fetch things, to take care of the others before his own master, to follow orders, never to follow his own heart. Sullen, he gathered together the supplies, a glorified errand boy. He nursed his resentment. It was easier to deal with than grief.

Bail reappeared almost immediately and nodded to Anakin. The boy got to his feet and passed down the long hall to Obi-Wan's room. He knelt by his master's side and arranged the food and water within Obi-Wan's easy grasp. He just had to stay with Obi-wan. He couldn't leave him. He had turned his back on his mother, and she had vanished from his life. He had remained behind when Qui-Gon told him to, and Qui-Gon had been killed. If he could just stay within sight of Obi-Wan, nothing could happen to his master, could it?

Obi-Wan watched his padawan, his heart aching for the boy. "I know you want to stay with me, but they are relying on you to get them safely out of here."

But I need you, Anakin despaired. Why didn't his master understand? Anakin was lost without Obi-Wan to guide him, to keep him on track. Alone, how could he keep that dark beast inside him secure? Anakin feared what would be unleashed in him without his master's calming presence. Obi-Wan was the last thing he had left to lose.

Obi-Wan opened a pouch on his belt and removed a small knife which he used to cut off a long lock of his hair. Wordlessly, he reached up to Anakin and began to undo the boy's padawan braid. He wove his own hair in, then refastened the braid and lay back, wearied by the physical effort. "We are bound together, Anakin. I am never apart from you. You can and will lead the others to safety and come back to me. I do not doubt you, any more than I doubt myself."

Anakin ran the braid through his fingers. Even in the near total darkness of the room he could see Obi-Wan's hair entwined with his. Obi-Wan would be this close to him. Maybe he could make it. "I will come back for you." The words echoed in his heart. He had made the same promise to his mother, and he had yet to fulfill it. But he would someday, and he would not fail Obi-Wan, either. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed Obi-Wan on the forehead, then got to his feet and left the room before his courage could fail him.

Obi-Wan lay in the darkness, listening to the sound of Anakin's footsteps fade down the hall. When he could no longer hear him, he raised his hand to his forehead where Anakin had kissed him. The boy could be such a trial sometimes. Correction: most of the time. And then on rare occasions he would open his heart to Obi-Wan, engulfing his master with a love almost violent in its intensity. It awed Obi- Wan to know he inspired such devotion in Anakin, but at the same time it frightened him. Somehow this wasn't the quite the way a master- padawan relationship should be. The basis of the relationship should be mutual respect, cooperation, and a desire to learn. Not love, and certainly not the need that underlay so much of Obi-Wan's relationship with Anakin. Of course love inevitably grew between master and apprentice, but it usually took time. It had been years before Obi-Wan had finally felt he had earned his own master's love. Maybe that was why he had resented Anakin so much when they'd first met. It had wounded him to see how quickly Qui-Gon was willing to take the boy on as his Padawan, whereas he had had to work so hard for Qui-Gon's approval. Obi-Wan had assumed responsibility for Anakin not because it was his own wish, but because his beloved master had requested it of him, and his loyalty to Qui-Gon was so deep that he could not refuse.

Obi-Wan had inherited a very wounded, deeply grieving boy, and he quickly learned that if he was ever going to teach Anakin anything, he would have to love him first. Surprisingly, this had not proven to be difficult. In the wake of Qui-Gon's death, Obi-Wan himself had been completely bereft. He had needed comfort in his loss as much as Anakin did. It had been easy to channel his love and devotion for Qui- Gon to Anakin instead, and he in turn had become a substitute for the mother Anakin had left behind. So the normal course of the master- padawan relationship had been reversed. It was not the boy's fault. The error was entirely Obi-Wan's.

But they did not exist in a vacuum. From the beginning, the Jedi Council closely monitored Obi-Wan's progress with his remarkable pupil, and they sensed that Obi-Wan's style was unconventional. Of course the situation had started out unusually when they even agreed to let Anakin be trained at all. Obi-Wan had rapidly become as convinced as Qui-Gon that Anakin needed training, if only because his power was so great. The depths of Anakin's ability in the Force amazed and even frightened Obi-Wan. Without training, Anakin in time would have discovered how to use the Force on his own, a course that would have led inevitably to disaster. Anakin needed training, but Obi-Wan secretly wondered if he would ever become a Jedi. He lacked the discipline and grounding that were instilled in students from infancy. Obi-Wan always had to improvise with Anakin, who took nothing in the Temple for granted and constantly challenged why the Jedi did things the way they did. Jedi Masters far wiser than Obi-Wan often found themselves unable to answer Anakin's questions. How, then, was Obi-Wan supposed to teach him? More often than not he was left with having to trust his instincts, to compromise on rules, the way he looked the other way when Anakin ventured on his own from the Temple. The irony was that Obi-Wan, who had always been so orthodox, so troubled when Qui-Gon disagreed with the Council and bent the rules, found himself even farther from Jedi tradition than Qui-Gon had ever ventured. He now consulted with the Council as seldom as possible because he feared that if they knew how much he had compromised, they would expel Anakin from the Order. And as he and his padawan grew more isolated from the rest of the Jedi, their need for each other increased. Obi-Wan could not bear the thought of losing Anakin, but he feared that his attachment to the boy would ultimately do him more harm than good. And if he were to die, he didn't even want to think about what would happen to his remarkable but troubled young padawan.

Chapter Ten

It took several hours of searching before the three Jedi found Obi- Wan and Anakin's speeder. They flew above the layer of fog to report back their location to the Temple, then settled their skyhopper down on the ground and fanned out to inspect the carnage.

Adi Gallia indicated that her apprentice should investigate the Jedi speeder. Bo-Neda would have preferred to check out the other speeder, which would surely be more interesting, but she did not complain. A quick inspection told her all she needed to know. "It was shot up from the underside," she reported to her master. "It's pretty thoroughly destroyed, but the survival packs are missing, indicating that someone took them."

Adi nodded, then swept her gaze around the street. "What else can you tell me?"

Eagerly, Bo-Neda crouched over the one body evident in the carnage. "Lightsaber wound to the chest. I think we know who gave him that," she pronounced with a hint of glee that wasn't quite proper for a Jedi. She leaned closer, inspecting his weapons holsters and armor. "This guy was really equipped. He looks like a professional."

Bant joined the two of them, studying the man with her large, silver eyes. "But was he a professional terrorist, or something else?"

Adi looked questioningly at the Mon Calamari, but Bant was not forthcoming with any theories. She looked back at her padawan. "What else?"

Bo-Neda moved on to the other speeder, which was now nothing but burnt and twisted scrap metal. "Totaled," she remarked. "Not much here."

"You conclude your investigation rather quickly," Bant remarked with disapproval.

Chastened, Bo-Neda looked again at the speeder, not sure what she was supposed to be looking for. She couldn't find anything in the speeder, nor any sign of blood to indicate anyone had been injured when the speeder blew up.

"What can you tell about the speeder itself?" Adi prompted.

Bo-Neda circled the vehicle. "It's a two-passenger speeder, recent model, probably an ST-29. Front mounted turbocannon." She knelt and picked at a flake of paint. "It was tan at one time." She stopped and looked up at Adi, wondering what she had missed.

"Think about it," Adi said. "Do ST-29s come equipped with turbocannons?"

Bo-Neda's face lit up. "No. The turbocannon is pretty heavy artillery for such a small vehicle."

"And if it only seats two people...?" Bant continued.

Bo-Neda's brows knit in concentration. "If he'd found Organa, Binks, and the Queen, he couldn't have transported them back to the Hammer." She considered this for a moment. "Maybe there was another vehicle?"

"Possibly," Adi admitted, "but not likely. Obi-Wan and Anakin clearly won this battle, but we never heard back from them. If there had been another vehicle, they would have been able to fly up and contact us."

"Unless the other person got away," Bo-Neda suggested.

"Possibly," Adi repeated, but she did not sound convinced. She looked at Bant. "What did you find?"

She held out an ascension gun. "One of ours. It looks like it was damaged in a fall, and the thread's been cut by a saber. They tried to go up the building, but evidently did not succeed."

Puzzled, Bo-Neda asked, "Where's the other gun?"

Bant shook her head. "I couldn't find one."

"So what does that mean?"

"Any number of things," Adi said. "We can't possibly know what at this point."

"But there's more," Bant said, moving out into the center of the street. "Notice the blast marks on the buildings on both sides of the street. These blast marks were made dead on, not at an angle. There were at least two people who were trying to flank Obi-Wan and Anakin's speeder. But we have only one body here."

Bo-Neda perked up. "So there was another vehicle, and the other person got away!"

"No," Bant corrected. "Look at this." She moved to the side of street and knelt down, picking up a small piece of plastisteel, burnt and curled along one edge. "This is high impact plastisteel, like the kind used for blaster armor, but this piece is damaged by a lightsaber. There are pieces all around here, but no body."

Frowning, Bo-Neda guessed, "Someone survived and walked away?" But she knew how unlikely that was.

"Or someone came and took the body away."

"Then why didn't they take the other one?"

Adi considered. "If these two were with the Hammer, or with any other organization, then I'd think both bodies would be removed. But the fact that only one was indicates that these were independent operatives, and whoever came here only cared about the one person and not the other."

"The blaster shots over here indicate there was some some kind of scuffle," Bant continued. "But there is no sign of injury. My best hypothesis is that at least two mercenaries found Senator Organa and the others, but apparently didn't kill or capture them be-fore Obi- Wan and Anakin arrived. Obi-Wan and Anakin killed the mercenaries, all the vehicles were destroyed, anything useful was salvaged, and after trying unsuccessfully to go up the building with the ascension guns, they all headed off on foot."

"But where did they go? Can you sense anything from Obi-Wan?"

Bant shook her head. "No. I sense him, but it's very faint, too faint for me tell what direction he might have gone."

"All right. Let's report back to the Temple. They mentioned something about the Plaza in their last contact. Let's head in that direction."

Anakin set the pace, feverish in his desire to move as quickly as he was capable. Despite their exhaustion, the others managed to keep up. If they could have run without stopping, they would have.

"The plaza was only about fifty kilometers away from where we started," Anakin told them. "If we've gone twenty kilometers, or even only ten, we can still get there tomorrow." They didn't even want to stop to eat, so eager were they to get out of the nightmare. But Padme, Jar Jar, and Bail were exhausted from their ordeal, and Bail and Jar Jar, weary from having carried Obi-Wan so long, kept lagging behind. Meanwhile, Anakin pressed on ahead, frustrated with the inability of the others to keep up.

During one of their brief breaks, Anakin suggested, "Maybe you all should wait here, and I should go on alone. I can go a lot faster, and I can probably get there by nightfall."

Jar Jar and Bail looked grateful, but Padme disagreed, "No. We stick together."

"You didn't feel that way when it came to leaving Obi-Wan behind," Anakin protested.

Tired of his hostility, Padme shot back, "He was injured. He couldn't move. We are all capable of walking."

"But it would be faster--"

"And what if more bounty hunters show up?" Padme challenged. "Could you take them on alone? Do you think we could?"

As much as Bail would have liked to rest while Anakin went on ahead, he conceded, "Padme's right. As long as we can all walk on our own, we need to stay together."

Anakin's eyes flashed darkly at the Prince. "Then you need to stop slowing us down and keep up."

Padme felt she ought to say something to stop Anakin from taking out his frustration on Bail, but she was afraid that anything she might say would only further antagonize him. He might be a Jedi apprentice, and he certainly had skills they needed, but he was not mature enough to lead the group. Petty remarks directed at Bail were not an appropriate way for Anakin to relieve his stress, but Bail was an adult. Padme figured he could handle it. So far he had not responded at all to Anakin's taunts, so she followed his example and remained silent as well.

They resumed their journey, sooner than Padme felt they should, but later than they all wanted to. Any fascination she may have once felt for the lower levels, imagining who had once lived there and what it had been like, had long ago vanished along with her fear. She had a feeling things would only get worse before they got better, but she couldn't deal with anything other than the present moment, with the act of will it took to keep placing one foot in front of the other.

As they progressed, the buildings began to show signs of alteration and more recent habitation. Walls had been knocked down, makeshift barricades erected, and even the trash looked like it had been thrown away in Padme's lifetime, rather than generations before. They passed through a corridor and entered a large chamber that had been created by knocking down walls and ceilings. The algae on which they had been relying for light was scarce in the chamber, as if it had only recently begun to grow back after having been disturbed. Anakin turned on their lamp and directed the beam over their heads into the darkness. Two floors had been knocked out, and the rubble had been piled up around the room's periphery, though whether to clear the main chamber or to serve as a barricade, it was impossible to tell.

"This didn't just fall apart," Anakin murmured to Padme. "Somebody altered this room on purpose."

"What do you think they used it for?"

Anakin shook his head. In his excursions, he had sometimes come across altered and abandoned parts of the lower levels like this, where he often found fascinating treasures of cobbled-together machinery. He would have liked to explore the room and try to unravel its mysteries, but now was not the time. He moved forward into the darkened room. Reluctantly, Padme followed him.

"Do you think they piled up those walls to keep something out?" she asked. "Maybe we should go a different way."

"We can't keep second-guessing everything. Going another way would take time. I don't sense any danger, so let's just maintain our course."

They crossed the chamber and began to climb the wall of debris, Anakin holding the light in front of them while he nimbly scrambled over the barrier. Padme kept up without assistance, Jar Jar not far behind, his padded feet tough enough to endure the sharp edges of the chunks of concrete. But Bail fell behind. His smooth-soled shoes were not made for this kind of rough activity, and he was not in as good physical shape as the others. The others reached the top and climbed over, taking the light with them and plunging Bail into total darkness. He muttered to himself in irritation, feeling his way cautiously up the pile. He stepped onto a loose rock and slipped, painfully bouncing back down toward the ground. Every hand hold he reached for to slow his descent came loose in his grasp, and he tumbled down amid a shower of debris. He hit the ground hard, shaken, but still in one piece.

>From the other side of the pile, he heard Padme calling to him. "Are you all right?"

"Perfectly fine," he retorted hotly. "Climbing mountains in pitch- black darkness is my favorite pastime."

He heard someone climbing up the other side, and Padme appeared at the top, shining the lamp down at him. "Do you need any help?"

He didn't bother to answer, too disgusted with her for asking such a silly question, with Anakin for berating him, with Jar Jar for having such long legs, and most of all with himself for being so completely out of his element. He climbed to his feet, wincing when he put his weight on his right leg. Padme shined the lamp on him, and he saw that his pants leg was torn, his knee gashed and bleeding. He found other cuts and scrapes on his hands and arms, but they were superficial. Shakily he resumed the ascent, this time aided by the light. By the time he reached the top, his knee was throbbing painfully.

Padme inspected his injury. "It looks bad."

"Don't worry, it feels worse than it looks," he grumbled. "I know I'm just a helpless old man, and you youngsters are eager to rush on ahead, but did it ever occur to you that I might be able to move faster if I could actually see where I'm going?"

Chagrined, Padme offered, "Why don't you take the lamp, and we'll use Anakin's lightsaber to see by. We'll go slower, too."

Sure you will, Bail thought, but he bit back any reply. He and Padme scrambled down to where Jar Jar and Anakin waited, Anakin pacing impatiently. Padme said, "We'd better bind up that knee or it will start swelling. Anakin, give me your outer tunic."

The boy stopped pacing. "Why me?"

"Because you're the only one with clothes to spare."

Indignant, Anakin protested, "He got himself injured, let him use his own shirt. At this rate I'll end up going naked to make bandages for him."

"Fine," Padme spat. "Jar Jar, give me your vibroblade." The Gungan handed it to her, and she started to untuck her tunic. When Anakin realized she was going to use her own shirt, he hastily pulled off his outer tunic and flung it at the Prince. Without a word, Padme cut it into strips and bound Bail's knee.

As she knotted the bandage, Anakin huffed, "Can we go now? We're wasting time."

In a tense silence they set off again, only now Padme hung back with Bail while Jar Jar went ahead with Anakin. The Prince said nothing, but Padme knew his knee was hurting him. He favored his right leg, and as they walked on, she and Bail fell farther and farther behind the others. They could see Anakin's pale blade shimmering ahead of them in the dark corridor, occasionally disappearing as Anakin and Jar Jar turned a corner. Padme and Bail would eventually catch up, but one time they turned a corner and Anakin's blade was nowhere in sight. "Anakin!" Padme called out. "Where are you?"

There was no answer, and for several long moments they waited with mounting apprehension. At last a faint light appeared ahead of them, and finally Anakin and Jar Jar returned.

"We really do need to try to stick together," Padme cautioned.

"Then he shouldn't dawdle," Anakin returned, gesturing at Bail. "You said as long as all of us can walk we should stay together. Well, now he can't walk. I think we should leave him behind."

"We're not leaving him behind."

"I can walk," Bail observed. "My knee is a little sore, but I've made it this far, and I can keep going. I just need us to slow down a little."

"We can't slow down!" Anakin protested. "Why don't you just admit you can't keep up, and stay behind? Do you want Obi-Wan to suffer more while we wait for you?"

"Anakin, that's enough," Bail snapped. He knew Anakin would not appreciate a rebuke from him, but the boy was losing focus, and Bail had to do what he could to help him regain control of himself. "You are behaving childishly, not like a Jedi. Is this what Obi-Wan taught you?"

Anakin seethed, "How dare you! You don't know anything about the Jedi!"

"I've known the Jedi longer than you have," Bail pointed out. "And I know Obi-Wan. He would have told you to watch out for all of us. Is this the way you keep your pledge to him?"

The Prince might as well have spat in his face. Black fire coursed through Anakin's veins as the dark beast inside him stirred, uncoiling itself from his spine where it had lain dormant, hungry to issue its venom on Bail. "You don't know Obi-Wan," he whispered, his face cold with hatred. "You are not a Jedi. You will never understand him."

Bail faltered beneath the force of Anakin's hatred. Some people are skilled at reading our weaknesses, Padme had told him. He knew what Bail's weakness was, the crack in his self-assurance. He had always known it, and he used it now. "You are nothing to Obi-Wan. He keeps you around like an old habit because you amuse him, but he doesn't love you." His words plunged into Bail's soul as sharp as a vibroblade. Anakin could see it. This was a new power, the ability to destroy someone with their own doubt. And like all power, it came easily to Anakin. He pressed the attack. "How could he love you? You're a silly, shallow, ridiculous playboy. He only stays with you out of pity." The beast pulsed through Anakin. He could read Bail's hidden doubts as plainly as if they were written on a page in front of him. The hardest part is not to let your own doubts rule you. But Bail wouldn't stand a chance. With a wicked thrill, Anakin hammered away at him, exposing the Prince's deepest fear. "You're just a substitute for Qui-Gon. But you can never replace him because you're not a Jedi. You need Obi-Wan to give your life depth, but he could leave you tomorrow, and he would never miss you."

A hand flew out of nowhere and slapped him hard across his face. The beast snarled, and he turned in anger at his attacker. It was Padme, her expression stern. Her gaze never wavered, and she stood before him, self-possessed, determined. This was true power. "This will stop right now," she pronounced, and she would not be contradicted. "Never speak that way again, to Bail or anyone else." The beast shrank at her disapproval, and Anakin felt its power drain from him, leaving him shaken, horrified at what he had done. Is this what Obi-Wan taught you? Is this how you keep your pledge to him? No, this wasn't what he'd been taught. How could he betray his master so deeply?

Taking a step backward, he faltered, "I-I'm sorry." He spoke to Padme, not Bail. He couldn't face Bail.

Padme's expression softened. "Why don't we take a break? We all need to calm down." He nodded, gulping for air. "Anakin, why don't you look for water? Jar Jar can scout for food."

Anakin turned and fled down the hall to escape his shame. Jar Jar, still distressed by what had happened, headed in the opposite direction. Now alone, Padme helped Bail settle onto the ground. When she took his arm, she could feel him trembling. "He didn't mean what he said," she offered.

"I think I know Anakin better than you do," he bitterly contradicted, "and I assure you, he meant every word."

Padme absorbed this in silence, chewing her lip. Bail and Anakin would have to mend this rift or they would never make it home. She tried again. "He's frightened for Obi-Wan. He didn't know what he was saying."

Bail sighed heavily. "I'll grant you he is frightened. Obi-Wan is all that boy has. And he is right. He shares a bond with Obi-Wan that I can never have."

"But you don't have to be a Jedi for Obi-Wan to love you."

Bail only turned his face away from her, and she could feel the doubt gnawing inside of him. For a long time he was silent, and Padme was at a loss as to how to comfort him. She didn't understand how he could believe what Anakin had spoken in anger, words that were so obviously meant to hurt him.

At last Bail turned back to her. "When I said good-bye to Obi-Wan back there, I found myself wanting to give him my ring to keep until we came back. Isn't that silly? As if it was a talisman or token that would mean anything to him."

"I don't think it sounds silly," Padme said.

Bail shrugged. "I'm always giving gifts to people. I like to give people something they will take pleasure in, something they will cherish because it came from me. But I've never been able to give Obi- Wan anything. Everything I ever thought of seemed useless and trite. It was years before I finally came up with something. Can you guess what it is?" Padme shook her head. With a rueful laugh, Bail supplied, "Every year on his birthday I give him a belt for his tunic. It's something completely practical, and yet I spend all year looking for the right one. It's always simple for his tastes, and elegant for mine. I give it to him be-cause I know he will use it. But what does it really mean to him? When he puts it on, does he think, 'What a lovely belt Bail gave me,' or does he just think, 'Ah, here's the hook for my lightsaber.' I always have to have those added, but does he even know? If I stopped giving them to him, would he notice, or would he just wait until the last one wore out and go buy himself a new one?"

Padme shook her head. "Of course he cares. Remember how he got jealous when you talked about that woman?"

"But was it really jealousy, or was he just annoyed by the antics of a 'silly playboy?' Anakin was right: I am just an old habit."

"That's ridiculous--"

Angry, Bail interrupted, "Stop trying to protect me! You know nothing about it. I was hand-picked by Qui-Gon for Obi-Wan. He met me and said, 'Here's a lively fellow Obi-Wan's bound to like.' He wanted Obi- Wan to have friends his own age, but the only reason why Obi-Wan ever gave me a chance is because Qui-Gon asked him to. I could never compete with Qui-Gon. The bond between a master and padawan is deeper than any love, any tie of friendship or family. Even after all these years, Obi-Wan mourns Qui-Gon as if he died yesterday. He could never mourn me like that." He paused and shook his head, his fists clenching tightly. "The truth is, I hate Qui-Gon Jinn! I hate him for introducing me to Obi-Wan, to someone who will never love me as much as he loves his master."

Bail turned away from Padme, drawing in a ragged breath. Slowly his hands unclenched, and he sagged, resting his head on his arms folded across his knees. At last he said, "It doesn't matter. I love him. I can't help it. As long as he will keep me, it's enough. But one day he will grow weary of me and leave, and then what shall I do?"

He had to be mistaken, but after all, how could Padme know? She certainly could not convince Bail, so she stopped trying. Instead, she lay her arm across his shoulders and pulled him into her embrace.

Anakin did not return for a long time, and Padme began to fear that he may have abandoned them after all. If he had, maybe it was for the best. It was true he could travel faster, but she didn't like the idea that he might have gone off in such a disturbed state. Then again, he may have simply run into trouble while looking for water, whether bounty hunters or blood-sucking cockroaches. How would they know? Where would they look for him? What could they possibly do to help?

She didn't know if these same thoughts troubled Bail, or if he was still smarting from Anakin's attack. He remained silent until Jar Jar showed up with the usual menu. The Gungan crouched next to Padme, his eyes darting around for any sign of Anakin. "Where's Ani?" he asked.

"He's still gone."

Jar Jar absorbed this news with apprehension. "Hesa comen back, eh?"

"Yes," Padme answered, but she had hesitated, and Jar Jar noticed. He pursed his lips mournfully.

Bail spoke up. "He has to come back. He's the only one who can cook our food, and I swear I will not eat another raw rat."

Padme supposed he was trying to make light of their predicament, but he didn't sound very humorous, and it certainly didn't make her and Jar Jar feel better. On the contrary, the comment that Anakin was the only one who could cook their food reminded her that he also had the decontamination tablets. Without him, they had no water, and they had left all their ration bars with Obi-Wan. If Anakin had abandoned them, and Bail indeed refused to eat the rats, he was effectively committing suicide. Surely that's not what he meant, but Padme could not shake the thought from her mind. Bail had given up. Obi-Wan lay wounded alone. Anakin had abandoned them. And the bounty hunters were still out there. Each thought lay upon her heart like a heavy stone.

Padme had thought herself very brave during all their trials, but now she realized how much she had relied on the others. As long as they were all together, she had believed nothing could happen to them. But she had been wrong, and the knowledge quietly disintegrated her will power. Tears rose effortlessly in her eyes. It felt somehow good to give in to despair. It was so hard to hold onto hope, and now it slipped through her fingers like water. She leaned back against the wall and rested her head on Bail's shoulder, tears flowing freely, deliciously down the bridge of her nose. He put his arm around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head, and she was once more reminded of the way her mother used to hold her. Would her mother ever learn what had happened to her in Coruscant's belly?

They sat together in darkness, in silence, waiting for nothing at all. Then Jar Jar sat up, his long ears cocked. For several heartbeats he listened intently, then he smiled. "Ani's comen."

Bail squeezed her shoulder, and she choked back her grief, straining in the darkness, until at last she, too, could hear his footsteps. A dark shadow appeared against the darker walls, and Padme leaped to her feet, running to meet him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him as tightly as to the return of hope itself.

Anakin passively received her embrace, wrapping his arms around her. He had not expected such a reception. For an hour he had struggled with his guilt and been unable to master it, but now Padme's welcome lifted some of it at last. In his mind she had no reason to be glad to see him, but here she was, and if she accepted him, maybe he could accept himself.

An eternity of grace went by. Then Padme's arms loosened and she stepped back. "We were waiting for you," she whispered.

"I'm sorry I took so long."

"It's all right." She took his hand and led him back to the others. He settled cross-legged onto the ground and handed the water bottle to Bail. The Prince recognized that in offering him the bottle first, Anakin was making a gesture of reconciliation. Bail took several long sips, then passed the bottle back to Anakin. As the boy drank, Bail remarked, "You're just the man we've been waiting for. No one can broil a rat like you can."

Normally Anakin would have suspected Bail of putting him down with such a remark, but he knew that was not the case. Bail's kindness made him feel even more guilty for what he'd said before. Anakin heartily wished Padme and Jar Jar weren't there to witness his apology (twice in two days!), but he could feel Padme radiating love and support, and it gave him strength. Anakin stared down at his hands folded in his lap. "I'm sorry for what I said."

Bail remained silent, pain rolling off him, and Anakin realized how completely effective he'd been in his attack. It amazed him that he could disturb Bail so deeply, and his shame increased. He forced himself to look up at Bail. A mere apology was not enough. "You need to know that none of it was true." He could tell that Bail still didn't believe him. "Everything I said, I got from you. It was just like Senator Kleyvits and what she did at the nightclub: I read your own doubts and fed them straight back to you. Obi-Wan does care about you, you know." Bail looked away, struggling to overcome his own misgivings. Anakin continued, "I'm really sorry for what I did. You're right, I have been acting like a child, not like the way Obi- Wan taught me. I'm sorry for all the times I got on your case and yelled at you and said we should leave you behind." He paused. "I'm sorry, and I ask your forgiveness." Then he waited, the way he never waited for anything in his life, humbly, contritely, like a true Jedi.

His total submission surprised Bail. He had never heard the boy apologize so sincerely to him before. He wouldn't have believed he was even capable of it. Whatever his own doubts about Obi-Wan, Bail knew this was a rare moment for him and Anakin. "I do forgive you," he said at last.

I forgive you. What magical, powerful words! Anakin swore he could hear his master's voice echo in Bail's. The beast within him loosened its grip on his heart, and he breathed freely, feeling light-headed. He would get them all out safely, and he would keep his pledge to Obi- Wan. "Everything will be all right," he predicted with new-found confidence. "You'll see. Tomorrow night you will all be sleeping in your own beds! So to celebrate, why don't we have one more round of rat parfait?"

"If it's our last rat meal, that is indeed cause for celebration," Bail smiled.

"But, Ani, mesa love your cooken. Disa food muy tasty!" Jar Jar enthused, happy that the conflict had been ironed out and Anakin seemed to be his old self again.

As Anakin ignited his blade, he felt compelled to clear up that particular misunderstanding. Now that he'd made one confession, he might as well keep them coming. "Actually, when Obi-Wan said that about me, he was just being nice. I'm really a terrible cook. The only reason why you all like these rats is because we have nothing else to eat."

"That's not entirely true," Padme offered. "Okay, granted that rats aren't exactly high on the list for any of us, but you have gotten good at not scorching them. They are edible, thanks to you, and that's no mean feat."

Anakin smiled broadly at her praise and wondered if it was possible to die of happiness. How ridiculous he'd been when he had tried so hard to impress Padme. His master was right: all he had to do was be himself. How he had tried Obi-Wan's patience that night! From now on he would be a model padawan. That is, if he still had a master. A dark ache momentarily overcame him as he thought of Obi-Wan, but he banished his doubts. Obi-Wan would be fine. He smiled to think of how pleased his master would be with Anakin's new-found obedience. As proof, he started to brag about his incomparable master. "Obi-Wan is a great cook," he offered to Padme and Jar Jar. "You'll have to try his cooking some time. He's like a gourmet chef. He can make anything."

"Really?" Padme asked, as pleased as Jar Jar to have the old Anakin back with his surplus of enthusiasm.

Bail, who had more than a passing familiarity with Obi-Wan's cooking, drawled, "I didn't realize he was that good."

"Of course, don't you remember? That time we came to Alderaan on vacation, and Obi-Wan made that steak with the berries and stuff in it, and I thought it sounded gross, but it was really good, and I ate four servings?"

"Ah, yes, I remember now." He remembered that he had done most of the cooking himself. Obi-Wan could read a recipe, but that was about it.

Anakin was feeling so generous, he decided he could even kiss up further to Bail. "There's something else you ought to know," he offered. "The Council almost didn't let us come look for you. They said we were too personally involved. But Obi-Wan would have come anyway. There was no way he wasn't going to come rescue you."

A lump rose in Bail's throat, and Anakin could feel how deeply his words moved the Prince. He hesitated, hoping to move Padme as well. Thoughtfully, he said, "I think the Council would have been wrong not to send us. I think that if you care for someone, you will do everything you can to help them. Nothing would have kept me from coming, either." He studiously avoided looking at Padme.

Bail caught the boy's hidden meaning and decided that since Anakin was making so many concessions to him, he ought to return the favor by goading the boy into being more explicit. "Why, Anakin, I didn't know you felt that way about me."

"Not you!" Anakin protested, then flamed red when he realized he had fallen into the Prince's trap. Trying to salvage the situation, he finished, "I mean, you're not always so bad."

Bail smiled, "I'm deeply moved. Truly."

Padme had also understood what Anakin was trying to say, and she wanted to send a message back to him. "I would also do anything to help people I care about, and I care about all of you."

"Me, too," Jar Jar offered. He still didn't understand all the romantic nuances of what had been taking place among the humans, but friendship was something he did understand. Anakin and the others might not be Gungans, but Jar Jar couldn't love them more if they were.

Bail laughed in delight. Not long ago they had all been on the verge of despair, and yet somehow not only had they mended the rift, but they had found hope again. He did not doubt it when Anakin said they would be home by tomorrow. He sent a loving wish to Obi-Wan, knowing that while he was not a Jedi, somehow Obi-Wan would hear his thoughts. Returning his attention to his present companions, he confessed, "I must say that if I have to slog through Coruscant's bowels with bounty hunters on my tail, I couldn't do it in finer company."

"Hear, hear!" Padme cheered. She held aloft one of the discarded rat tails. "I propose a toast. To the Rat Diners Society!"

The others chorused the toast in return, waving rat tails, and collapsing into relieved laughter.