"I'm sorry he took a dislike to us," Car'das said, trying to be diplomatic. "I enjoyed the welcoming ceremony, and was looking forward to seeing more of how the Chiss do things."

"It was nothing personal," Thrawn assured him. "Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano considers your presence here a threat to the Ascendancy."

"May I ask why?"

Thrawn shrugged fractionally. "To some people, the unknown always represents a threat."

"Sometimes they're right," Car'das conceded. "On the other hand, you Chiss seem quite capable of taking care of yourselves in a fight."

"Perhaps," Thrawn said. "There are times when I wonder.

Tell me, do you understand the concept of neutralizing a potential enemy before that enemy can launch an attack against you?"

"You mean like a preemptive strike?" Car'das asked. "Certainly."

"It's widespread among your people, then?"

"I'm not surewidespread is the right word," Car'das hedged. "I know there are people who consider it immoral."

"Do you?"

Car'das grimaced. He was twenty-three years old, and he worked for a smuggler who liked to tweak Hutts. What did he know about the universe? "I think that if you're going to do something like that, you need to make very sure they're a genuine threat," he said slowly. "I mean, you need to have evidence that they were actually planning to attack you."

"What about someone who may not plan to attack you personally, but is constantly attacking others?"

It was pretty obvious where this was going. "You mean like the Vagaari?" Car'das asked.

"Exactly," Thrawn confirmed. "As I told you, they have not yet attacked Chiss territory, and military doctrine dictates they must therefore be ignored. Do the beings they prey on have any claim on our military strength, or must we simply stand aside and watch as they are slaughtered or enslaved?"

Car'das shook his head. "You're asking questions that have been argued since civilization began." He stole a look at the commander's profile. "I take it you and Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano disagree on this point?"

"I and the entire Chiss species disagree on this point," Thrawn said, a note of sadness in his voice. "Or so it often seems. I'm relieved to hear that the question isn't as clear-cut for others as it is for our Ruling Families."

"Did you tell the Aristocra about the Vagaari ship?" Car'das asked. "There seemed to be plunder in there from alot of different species."

"I did, and he wasn't particularly impressed," Thrawn said. "For him, the defensive-only doctrine admits to no exceptions."

"What if some of those victims were species you know?" Car'das suggested. "Friends, or even just trading partners? Would that make a difference?"

"I doubt it," Thrawn said thoughtfully. "We do little trading outside our borders. Still, it might be useful to examine the treasure in detail." He cocked his head. "Would you be interested in assisting?"

"Of course," Car'das said. "Though I don't know what help I would be."

"You might recognize some of the artifacts," Thrawn said, standing up. "If they also prey on worlds of your Republic, you may have additional data that would be useful."

"In that case, you should also invite Maris and Qennto along," Car'das said, standing up as well. "They've traveled a lot more than I have."

"A good suggestion," Thrawn said as he led the way toward the exit. "That will also give Captain Qennto a chance to choose which of the items he'll wish to keep for himself" He smiled slightly. "Which will in turn help establish the relative values of the items."

"You're not cynical at all, are you, Commander?" Car'das said.

"I merely understand how others think and react," Thrawn said, his smile fading. "Perhaps that's why I have so much difficulty with a philosophy of waiting instead of acting."

"Perhaps," Car'das said. "For whatever it's worth, I doubt the people you'd be taking action to help would see any moral problems with it."

"True," Thrawn agreed. "Though their gratitude might be short-lived."

"Sometimes," Car'das conceded. "Not always."

With a sigh, Obi-Wan shut off his comlink and slipped it back into his belt. "Still nothing?" Anakin asked.

"No," Obi-Wan said, throwing a look at the darkening sky. The stars were starting to appear, and all around them house lights were coming on as families settled in for the evening.

Anakin muttered something under his breath. "We should have tried calling her earlier."

"Wedid try calling her earlier," Obi-Wan told him. "You were just too busy playing with Duefgrin's swoop to notice."

"Excuse me, Master, but I wasworking, not playing," Anakin said stiffly. "The Brolf we're looking for is named Jhompfi, he lives in the Covered Brush house ring, and he's supposedly using the burst thrusters on a speeder bike he uses to smuggle rissle sticks out to the Karts."

Obi-Wan stared at his Padawan. "When did you get all that?"

"When you were wandering around the neighborhood looking for clues," Anakin said. It was hard to sound hurt and smug at the same time, but the boy managed to pull it off "Those were the only times he'd talk to me." He wrinkled his rose. "I don't think he trusts grown-ups very much."

"You should have said something the minute you had that information," Obi-Wan said tartly, slipping the guide card into his datapad and keying for a house ring search. "Or hadn't it occurred to you that Lorana might be in trouble?"

"No, but it occurred to me that if we left too suddenly, Duefgrin might have called Jhompfi and warned him," Anakin retorted.

"Mind your place, Padawan," Obi-Wan warned the boy. It was a warning he seemed to be delivering more and more often these days.

Anakin gave a theatrical sigh. "My apologies, Master."

A map appeared on the datapad's display, showing the way to the Covered Brush house ring. "There it is," Obi-Wan said, angling the datapad so that Anakin could see.

"That's not the direction he was going when he left Duefgrin," Anakin pointed out uneasily.

"I know," Obi-Wan said grimly. "But right now, it's all we've got. Let's go take a look."

The neighborhood where the Covered Brush house ring was located was similar to many Obi-Wan had seen in his journeys around the Republic. It was poor but clean, a place where the people worked hard for what little they had but nevertheless worked equally hard to maintain their pride and dignity.