He tried hard to sound confident. "They have to start running low on ammunition soon. It'll get better. Don't worry. "

"If you say so, " she said wearily. "Anakin... "

He knew what she was going to ask. The same question was in the eyes of every villager he came across. "Soon, Devi. I don't know exactly, but they'll be here soon. "

"I can't tell if you believe that, " she said, after a moment. "Or if you only want to believe it. Or if you're lying because you don't know what else to say. "

"I'm not lying!" he snapped. "Help is coming. We just have to hold on a little longer, that's all. "

She turned away, the servos on her antigrav harness grinding like broken bones. In silence they listened to the monotonous thud of blasterfire against the shield.

"I am holding on, Anakin, " she said at last. "As hard as I can. We all are. But... "

"I know, " he said, almost whispering. "I'm sorry. Devi, let me look at your harness. The servos have slipped. "

"Fine, " she said, listless. "If you want to. I don't care. "

125.

So he fixed her harness, knowing that by morning the servos would have slipped again, worse than ever.

"Will you be all right here on your own for a while longer?" he said, tossing the mini hydrospanner back into the plant tool kit. "I want to check on Obi-Wan, make sure he's not overdoing things. "

She shrugged. "Sure. I'll comm you if there's another crisis. "

When there was another crisis. The problem was that aside from him and Obi-Wan there wasn't anyone to relieve her. Not now, with Rikkard dropped greensick. Anakin pressed his flesh- and-blood hand to her shoulder.

"I'll come back as soon as I can. "

"No, " she said, shaking her head. "Anakin, you need to rest. Take an hour. Take two. If you go down greensick-if you go down for any reason-then it's over for us. You do understand that, don't you? Without you we die. "

Struck dumb, he stared at her. Without you we die. She was right, he knew she was right, but he'd never wanted to hear it said aloud.

"I'm sorry, " she said, and stood on unsteady tiptoe to kiss his cheek. No hint of flirting from her anymore, just a warm, sisterly affection. "I didn't mean to make things harder. I'll see you later. Don't forget to eat. "

On his way to the village center he met up with Tarnik, and they compared notes. So far so good, still. The generators were holding.

The old man promised to keep on doing rounds awhile longer.

"Get a bite and some shuteye, boy, " he said. "We need you. "

And if one more person reminded him...

He didn't need to use the Force to find Obi-Wan. When his former Master wasn't in the power plant he was in the sick house, trying to ease the load on Teeba Sufi. Thanks to the toxic smoke from the burned refinery, more than half the people of Torbel were suffering greensickness even though they'd had a lifetime of swallowing their secret pill. Thanks to the Force, he and Obi-Wan were managing to avoid the malady. He didn't know whether to feel grateful or guilty for that.

Standing unnoticed in the sick house's open doorway, he took one look at Obi-Wan's face and cursed under his breath.

You fool. What are yon doing; Teeba Sufi glanced up from straightening one patient's blanket, saw him, and frowned. Then she looked over at Obi-Wan, who was seated beside a burdened cot oblivious to everything save the suffering man he was trying to help. Lips pursed, Sufi picked her way between the other cots to the door.

"Anakin, " she said, pressing one hand to his forehead. It was her habit to test him for fever every time they met. He was used to it now. "Take your friend out of here. Get him into what pa.s.ses for fresh air in Torbel these days. I don't want to see him again till morning, but since I know that won't happen, keep him away for at least an hour. "

Nodding, Anakin looked again at the score of sickened villagers. "I'll do my best, Teeba. Is Rikkard here?"

"You heard?" With a sigh Sufi gestured to the crowded room's far corner. "I've put him with Arrad. Thanks to Obi-Wan, the boy's making progress. I think it does Rikkard good to hear his son's voice. If he can hear anything. He's gone down hard. "

"How soon before you run out of your home remedy?"

"A day or two, " she said heavily. "I stripped the herb field bare this afternoon. The last of it's brewing now, out back. I'm diluting it, and portioning it into half measures. If I have to I'll drop that to quarter doses but what good it'll do us then, who can say?" Frowning again, she nodded at Obi-Wan. "I think he's doing us more good than the potion, but he's not going to last much longer than my herbs.

Not even with Greti helping him- though I've put a stop to her for now. So you talk some sense into that man, Anakin. He'll not listen to me. "

"I can't guarantee he'll listen to me, either, " he said. "He's pretty stubborn, Sufi. "

Thin arms folded, she pulled a wry face. "I'd noticed. Must be something they look for when they're choosing Jedi. " And then she hesitated. Her smock-dress was baggy on her, draped in wrinkles and folds. She'd lost weight since the first time he saw her.

"Anakin..."

126.

And here we go again. He touched her hand, seeking to comfort. "Sufi, I've been fighting on the front lines since the war began. And if I've learned anything, it's that a battle can turn from lost to won in a heartbeat. But if you give up before the end? If you accept defeat as inevitable? You'll never live to see victory. "

She sucked in her cheeks, staring at all her sick friends and neighbors. "I hope you're right. Now go away-and take your friend with you. "

"Yes, Teeba, " he said, and left her to brood.

So exhausted was Obi-Wan, coming out of his healing trance, that he didn't even realize a Jedi was standing practically on top of him.

Anakin waited a minute, then risked taking hold of his shoulder.

"Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan. Come on. Let's go. "

Startled, Obi-Wan looked up. "Anakin. The power plant? The shield generators?"

He dropped to a crouch. "They're holding. Don't worry. Come on. Sufi wants you out of here for a while. "

"Anakin... " Obi-Wail frowned. "You look dreadful. "

"You think so? Then do yourself a favor, Obi-Wan. Don't go near a mirror. "

"Me? I'm fine, " Obi-Wan said vaguely. "But you should get some rest. And when was the last time you ate?"

Hooking a hand under Obi-Watt's elbow, Anakin got them both on their feet. "Don't remember. But if you want to nag me about it, you'll have to do it outside. "

"In a minute, " said Obi-Wan, and looked down at his greensick patient. "I just need to..."

"No, you don't, " he insisted. "You're relieved of duty. Master Ken.o.bi. And that's an order from General Sufi. "

On the other side of the sick room, as though she'd heard her name mentioned, Sufi turned, caught Obi-Wan's eye and pointed silently at the open door. Her severe expression was like a shouted command.

"Oh, " said Obi-Wan. "Right. I see. "

Outside the sick house the fast-falling night was strobed with brilliant flashes of blasterfire, and the cool air shivered from the constant concussions. Standing on the front step, Obi-Wan stared across the village to the distant shield, still holding. Still protecting them.

"How long before it fails?" he asked, very quietly, so the villagers gathered on the square nearby wouldn't hear him.

"I don't know. " Anakin shoved his hands into his pockets. "You going to say I told you so?"

"I'm too tired, " said Obi-Wan. "Come on. Let's eat. "

With the village's food and water supplies so perilously low, Jaklin and Rikkard had declared that all meals would be cooked and served from a central location. A makeshift kitchen had been set up on the square, and teams of people cooked and cleaned there from dawn till dusk each day. Tables and chairs had been hauled out of the cottages and arranged in a large outside dining area. With nearly all of Torbel's power being diverted to the shields, the food was cooked over open pits and the dining section lit with burning torches.

Under different circ.u.mstances it might have felt festive.

This early, most of the diners were children. A few adults sat with them, helping the youngest and keeping order among the rest.

Gazes lifted from plates, watching the Jedi make their way to the serving area. Anakin felt fear, bewilderment, uncertainty, hope-a tangle of raw emotion in each unblinking stare.

He could easily have staggered beneath the weight of their regard. Should I hare sided with Obi-Watt, and surrendered? Have I condemned all these younglings to death? There was no point in having second thoughts, because there was no going back. Still, he couldn't help it. Every frightened face, every caught breath and tear reproached him.

There was still no sign of the droids' bombardment easing. Blat... blat... boom... blat... boom... boom... boom...

127.

"Don't listen to it, " said Obi-Wan as they reached the serving area. "Don't think about it. We are where we are, Anakin. Best to focus on what we can do next, not what we've already done and can't change. "

"That's easy for you to say, " he muttered. "But I..."

"Teebs, " Jaklin greeted them, looking up from her meager scramble of eggs. Like everyone in the village she was dirty and tired.

"You want feeding?"

"Jaklin, " said Obi-Wan, and reached across the bench to take her wrist between his lingers. "How are you? Any sign of greensickness?"

She pulled her wrist from his grasp. "No. Any sign of the help you promised?"

So bitter, she was. Having been overruled by her fellow villagers, by Rikkard's blind faith and his sense of obligation, she resented every sacrifice Torbel was making because they hadn't given themselves up. Resented them for the nine funeral cremations the day after the droids' attack. Resented them most of all for Brandeh, her murdered friend.

"Not yet, but soon, I hope, " said Obi-Wan, refusing to be baited. "Jaklin, you must come to the sick house if you start to feel unwell. "

"I'm fine, " she snapped, slopping eggs and a miserly portion of wilted greenstuff on a plate. "How's Rikkard?"

Obi-Wan took the plate she shoved at him, and then a chipped cup with its mean ration of water. "Like Arrad, he's holding his own. "

"Not dying?" She partly filled a second plate, her chin trembling. "Word was he'd likely not make it to sunrise. "

Anakin took his plate from her. "Don't let yourself get caught up in rumor, Teeba. If Obi-Wan says Arrad's not dying, then he's not. "

She shoved her serving spoon back into the sloppy mess of scrambled eggs, poured him some water and thrust the cup in his face.

"And why should I believe one word out of your mouths? With us trapped here like beetles, waiting to be squashed. "

The other two women working service with her slowed their cleaning to listen. Anakin opened his mouth to answer hotly, tired of her hostility, but Obi-Wan nudged him silent.

"We understand your anger, Jaklin, " he said, his voice cracked with weariness and strain. "Nothing has worked out the way we wanted it to. "

Her eyes were dulled by too much fear and not enough sleep. "How much longer?" Her voice was a fierce whisper. "You said if it came to it, you'd hand yourselves over. How much longer must we suffer before you do the right thing?"

"Jaklin..."

"I'm the only leader now. With Rikkard greensick the weight bears down on me. And I give you Jedi fair warning-if the help you promised isn't here within a day then I'll see you'll make good on your word. You'll give yourselves up. "

"Teeba, " said Obi-Wan. "We hear you. "

As they retreated to eat their insufficient meal, Anakin looked at him. "How soon before you can get Rikkard back on his feet?

Because she wasn't joking, Obi-Wan. She'll throw us to those droids, and then what?"

"Rikkard's very ill, " said Obi-Wan, heading slantways across the square, away from the dining area and back to the street. "It might be days before he's well enough to think about us. "

"Obi-Wan, you heard her! We don't have days!"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Anakin, we don't have days regardless of what Jaklin decides. "

It was true. Though every mouthful was rationed, Torbel's food supplies were rapidly dwindling. The water pump had been damaged so badly not even he could repair it. The sick and wounded were barely holding their own. And they were burning through the stockpiled liquid damot.i.te so fast he almost didn't dare look at the capacity gauges.

It's a miracle the villagers have remained this calm. But I don't think it'll he long before they start to panic. And when they do...

128.

"You think we should give up?"

"Not yet, " said Obi-Wan, after a moment.

"Then what do you want to do?"

For safety's sake two battery-powered lights marked the street corner. Obi-Wan stopped, then lowered himself onto the front step of the nearest dark, empty building.

"Let's just eat, shall we? The food's marginally better when it's not stone-cold. "

Which might be true, but it wasn't saying much. Nothing short of a miracle was going to make Jaklin's dreadful eggs palatable. Anakin eyed the scrambled mess with acute dislike, then forked up a mouthful and swallowed it, gagging.

"You know, I'd almost be willing to give myself up right now if it meant never having to eat this ootlish again. "

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Trust me, Anakin. You haven't suffered until you've eaten raw gundark. "

"You never ate raw gundark!"

"Are you calling me a liar?"