"I was speaking mainly of the artwork," Thrawn said. "We can learn more from that than we can from currency or gems."

Qennto snorted. "You expecting there to be sales receipts?"

"I was thinking more of the art's origins." Thrawn gestured toward a set of nested tressles. "Those, for instance, were probably created by beings with an extra joint between wrist and elbow, who see largely in the blue-ultraviolet part of the spectrum."

Qennto and Maris exchanged looks. "The Frunchies, you think?" Maris suggested.

"Yeah, right," Qennto said with a grunt. He eyed Thrawn suspiciously, then unhooked Maris's arm from his and strode over to the tressles.

"What are Frunchies?" Car'das asked.

"The Frunchettan-sai," Maris explained. "They have a couple of colony worlds in the Outer Rim. Rak calls them Frunchies because-"

"I'll be broggled," Qennto said, cutting her off as he leaned over the tressles with his head cocked to the side.

"What?" Maris said.

"He's right," Qennto said, sounding stunned. "It's signed with formal Frunchv script." He turned back to Thrawn, a strange expression on his face. "I thought you said you hadn't made it to Republic space."

"To the best of my knowledge, we haven't," Thrawn said. "But the artist's physical characteristics are obvious simply from looking at his work."

"Maybe toyou it's obvious," Qennto growled, looking back at the tressles. "It sure isn't to me."

"Or me," Maris seconded.

Thrawn raised his eyebrows at Car'das. "Car'das?"

Car'das peered at the artwork, trying to spot whatever these subtle cues were that Thrawn had seen. But he couldn't.

"Sorry."

"Maybe it was just luck," Qennto said, abandoning the tressles and kneeling down beside an elaborate blue-and-white sculpt. "Let me see here… yeah, I thought so." He looked over his shoulder at Thrawn. "How aboutthis one?"

For a moment Thrawn studied the sculpt in silence, his eyes occasionally flicking around the rest of the room as if seeking inspiration. "The artist is humanoid," he said at last. "Proportioned differently from humans and Chiss, with either a wider torso or longer arms." His eyes narrowed slightly. "There's something of a distance to his emotional state, too. I would say his people are both drawn to and yet repulsed by or fearful of the physical objects they live among."

Qennto's breath went out in a huff. "I don't believe this," he said. "That's the Pashvi, all right."

"I don't think I know them," Maris said.

"They've got a system on the edge of Wild Space," Qennto said. "I've been there a few times-there's a small but stable market for their art, mostly in the Corporate Sector."

"What did Commander Thrawn mean about fear of physical objects?" Car'das asked.

"Their world is sprinkled with thousands of rock pillars," Qennto said. "Most of the best food plants grow on the tops. Unfortunately, so does a nasty predator avian. It makes for-well, for pretty much just what he said."

"And you got all that from a single sculpt?" Maris asked, gazing at Thrawn with a strange look on her face.

"Actually, no," the Chiss assured her. "There are-let me see-twelve more examples of their artwork." He pointed to two other areas of the room.

"You sure?" Car'das asked, frowning at the indicated sculpts and flats. "They don't look at all alike to me."

"They were created by different artists," Thrawn said. "But the species is the same."

"This is really weird," Qennto said, shaking his head. "Like some crazy Jedi thing."

"Jedi?" Thrawn asked.

"They're the guardians of the peace in the Republic," Maris told him. "Probably the only reason we've held together as long as we have. They're very powerful, very noble people."

Qennto caught Car'das's eye, his nose wrinkling slightly. His opinion of Jedi, Car'das knew, was considerably lower than his girlfriend's.

"They sound intriguing." Thrawn nodded toward the sculpt. "I presume these Pashvi won't have put up much resistance to Vagaari raids?"

"Hardly," Qennto confirmed grimly. "They're a pretty agreeable people. Lousy at fighting."

"And your Republic and these Jedi don't protect them?"

"The Jedi are spread way too thin," Car'das said. "Anyway, Wild Space isn't actually part of the Republic."

"Even if it were, the government is too busy with its own intrigues to bother with little things like life-and-death situations," Marls said, a bitter edge to her voice.

"I see," Thrawn said. "Well. Let us continue our survey, and please inform me if you find anything else from your region of space."

He looked at Marls. "And as we search, perhaps you'll tell me more about these Jedi."

Guildmaster Gilfrome's here," Anakin's voice said softly from Obi-Wan's comlink. "just coming up the steps to the east door."

"Magistrate Argente's here, too," Obi-Wan told him, gazing down from the administration building's west door as Argente climbed up the stairs on that side, his people pressed protectively around him. "And I see Master C'baoth and Lorana approaching through the marketplace."

"So that's it?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan scratched his check thoughtfully. The expected attack on Magistrate Argente hadn't come during the night, nor had it been launched on the trip here to the conference room.

Now, with the miners' representative on the scene, the conspirators' last chance was gone, at least until the negotiators broke for lunch. "It is for now, anyway," he told Anakin. "But stay alert."

Argente and his people reached the top of the stairs, and Obi-Wan bowed in greeting. The group brushed past without a single acknowledging glance and disappeared inside. Suppressing a flicker of annoyance, Obi-Wan turned his attention to C'baoth and Lorana as they started up the stairs. Lorana, he noted, was a bit pale, her steps a little tentative. But her expression was determined, and as they reached the top of the steps she smiled a bit awkwardly at him. "Master Kenobi," she said, nodding. "I never had a chance to properly thank you for what you and Anakin did for me yesterday."

"And this is also not the time," C'baoth put in. Nevertheless, there was a flicker of approval in his eyes as the two Jedi exchanged nods. "There is still danger, both to the negotiators and the negotiations themselves. Stay here with Master Kenobi and watch the crowd for familiar faces."