"He thinks we'reamateurs? "

"In certain aspects of that job, we are," Obi-Wan told him bluntly, turning back to Lorana. "So what doyou think? Is Argente in danger?"

A flicker of surprise crossed her face. C'baoth, he reflected, probably didn't ask her opinion very often. "I don't know," she said. "But feelingsare running high about the Corporate Alliance's efforts to take full possession of the mines."

"I can imagine," Obi-Wan said. "Do you know which hotel Argente is staying at?"

"The Starbright," Lorana said. "It's about a kilometer east of the city center."

"Which isn't the direction Riske was going," Obi-Wan pointed out. "But itis the direction to Patameene District."

"Patameene District?" Anakin asked.

"I heard the bartender mention it to him," Obi-Wan said. "It's one of the city's biggest subdivisions, straddling both some very rich and very poor areas. If we're going to nose around, that would probably be a good place to start."

"We're going tohelp him?" Anakin objected. "I thought the Corporate Alliance was trying to steal the mineral rights from the Brolfi."

"That's what the negotiations are supposed to determine," Obi-Wan reminded him. "At any rate, that's not our concern. Our job as Jedi is to protect and preserve life across the Republic."

"I don't know," Lorana said hesitantly. "Master C'baoth wasn't very happy to find you two here. He might not like us interfering in matters this way. Riske and his people seem to be on top of things-shouldn't we let them handle it?"

"Who's interfering with anything?" Obi-Wan asked blandly as he stood up. "We're going on a tour of the city, just as Master C'baoth suggested. If we happen to run into some trouble, that's hardly our fault."

It was a ten-minute walk to the nearest edge of Patameene District. Obi-Wan kept his eyes moving as they walked, hoping to spot Riske in the crowd. But having been caught once, the bodyguard was apparently too cagey to let it happen again.

"This should be the edge of the district," he said as they reached a low decorative stone wall and passed through a pedestrian archway. "Anakin, remember that we're just here to look around."

"Sure," Anakin said, his eyes already sweeping the area, his sense that of a hunting darokil straining at its leash. "Okay if I go ahead a little?"

"All right, but not too far," Obi-Wan said. "I don't want you getting lost."

"I won't." Slipping between a pair of Karfs, the boy ducked into the crowd.

"You sure he'll be all right?" Lorana asked.

"He'll be fine," Obi-Wan assured her. "He's a little reckless, but he's strong in the Force and generally behaves himself."

"You must have great confidence in him," Lorana murmured.

Obi-Wan gave her a sideways look. There'd been an odd wistfulness in her tone just then. "C'baoth doesn't have as much confidence in you, I take it?"

"Master C'baoth has had several Padawans in his lifetime of service to the Jedi Order," she said, her voice going carefully neutral. "He knows what he's doing."

"Yes, of course," Obi-Wan said. "He does have a rather overpowering personality, though, doesn't he?"

"His reputation is well earned," she said, again clearly picking her words carefully. "He's skilled and knowledgeable and intelligent. I've learned a great deal from him."

"Though he's also perhaps a little too demanding?"

"I wouldn't characterize him that way," she said, her voice going a little cooler.

"Of course you would," Obi-Wan said, giving her a reassuring smile. "I thought that aboutmy Master at times. And Iknow Anakin thinks that about me."

For a moment she hesitated. Then, almost reluctantly, she smiled back. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be able to please him," she admitted.

"I know the feeling," Obi-Wan said. "Just remember that this, too, will pass. And once you're a Jedi Knight, your job will no longer be a matter of pleasing a single Master or even a group of them. Your job will be to do what is right."

"That's the part that seems so hard," she confessed. "How do you ever know what is truly right?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "When you're at peace," he said. "When you're truly attuned to the Force."

"If I ever am."

Obi-Wan grimaced. On one hand was Anakin, pushing ahead so eagerly that he was forever overstepping his limits, though he had to admit the boy succeeded more often than he failed. On the other hand was Lorana, so awed by C'baoth's presence and reputation that she was afraid to even stretch herself beyond anything she already knew.

Somewhere, there had to be a middle ground.

For another few minutes they walked together in silence, weaving their way through the other pedestrians and shoppers. Obi-Wan kept his eyes moving, watching for signs of Riskc or of the trouble he apparently expected to find here and making sure to keep Anakin's bobbing head within sight.

Ahead, off to the left, was a landspeeder repair shop, with a display of shiny parts in the open-air front room and half-seen figures working in the darker repair area in back. Several Brolfi were browsing around the front room displays, most of them adults but one a teenager about Anakin's age. Obi-Wan eyed him, noting his reddish brown craftsman's vest with its multiple pockets. Most Brolfi seemed to make do without nearly that much carrying capacity; apparently, this boy was the sort who liked carrying all his little treasures with him.

He smiled to himself. Jedi, forever wandering the galaxy with most of their possessions on their backs or belts, were hardly in a position to point fingers on that one. Throwing one final look at the boy, he started to turn away.

But to his surprise, something drew his eves back again.

Something about the youngster's posture, perhaps, or the way he was looking around him.

Or perhaps it was the subtle prompting of the Force. Frowning, he kept his attention on the boy as he and Lorana continued to weave their way through the milling crowds.

And as he watched, the young Brolf stepped close to a rack of burst thrusters, a set of cutters appearing magically in his hand. With a glance at the workers in the back room, he deftly snipped the anchor lines of two of the thrusters, catching each in turn and slipping them out of sight inside his vest. The cutters followed the thrusters, and a second later the boy wandered casually out of the shop. Turning his back to the approaching Jedi, he melted into the crowd.