"They said to us in the s.p.a.ceport Lanteeb's joined the Confederacy, " said Obi-Wan, his eyes wide as though he found such a notion impossible to understand. "And how the Republic's our enemy. "

"That's politics, " said Teeba Jaklin. "Not for my kitchen. Teeb Markl, you've done with those eggs? You've not eaten half. You had an appet.i.te. What happened to it?"

"Ah-yes, " Anakin said, after a moment. "Sorry. The groundcar tumble we took. Seems I'm a bit addled, Teeba Jaklin. "

"You're a lummox to be addled, " she said, and took the plate for herself. "Food's rationed here like the water. You come up hungry an hour from now you'll not he moaning to me. "

"Of course not, " he mumbled.

This time Obi-Wan trod on his foot, his message perfectly clear. Shut up, for pity's sake, before you shove us out in the street. "It's a fine breakfast, Teeba Jaklin. We're sitting here most grateful. "

"Where did you tumble your groundcar, Teeb Yavid?" said Rikkard, his own plate empty. "We've good men and better tools in Torbel.

Fixing machines is a thing we do here. "

Obi-Wan shook his head, regretful. "The groundcar's not for fixing, Teeb. Bought sloppy, we did. Young Markl here acted without thought. The engine ran wild on us in the dark, took us over bad ground and off a cliff. Broken to pieces it is, klicks and klicks from here, and nearly us with it. "

"Then lucky it is you've a seat at this table eating Jaklin's eggs, " said Rikkard. He was smiling, but his gaze was wary again. "Though if you're on to Voteb, this is a strange place to find you. "

31."Oh, we're not going back to Voteb, " Anakin said. "Our farm's dust and bones. Me and Yavid thought to wander until we found a new home. "

Smoothly taking his cue, Obi-Wan smiled. "Would there be a welcome for us here, Teeb Rikkard? Teeba Jaklin? We have money saved and want only to build a good life. "

"Yes, " Anakin said earnestly. "And truly Yavid will shave off the beard. "

Teeba Jaklin glanced at Teeb Rikkard. "It's not ours to say entirely, " she said, guarded. "We've not so many here that you Teebs wouldn't shift the ground if you stayed. So it's a village thing to talk on. " Another glance at her fellow leader. "Best you sleep under this roof another night or so before you dream more of stopping. Give us time to get a good look at you. "

"That's fair, " said Obi-Wan. "But we'd not put you to trouble. "

"You're no trouble on the storeroom floor, " said Teeba Jaklin, shrugging.

Anakin swallowed a groan. The floor? Great. "Thank you, Teeba. "

"There'll be thinking you need to do, " said Rikkard. "We're miners in Torbel. Damot.i.te. Tricky stuff. Men die. But there's no other work. "

"Work is work, " said Obi-Wan, smoothing his beard. "My cousin's young but he knows how to sweat a full day. I'm not young but I work hard, too. We could learn damot.i.te. Only..." He frowned. "When Markl and I left Lanteeb there were rumors about it. "

"Not rumors. Truth. " Rikkard rubbed his scarred nose again. "Demand for damot.i.te stalled disappearing three, four seasons ago. A lot of mines closed-but not ours. Torbel's damot.i.te is the best and what little need there is for it, we mostly supply. And now the government wants it, too, as much as we can pull out of the ground and make safe for transport. Every week they send a droid convoy from the city to take what we produce. "

"A droid convoy?" said Anakin. "No regular men?"

Rikkard shook his head. "It's not safe for men to ride the shipment so far. For the government we take out only base impurities. Good as raw our damot.i.te is, for them. "

"Raw?" said Obi-Wan, pretending surprise. "There's a use for it raw in the Confederacy?"

"They don't say why they want it and we don't ask, " said Teeb Rikkard, brows lowered. "It's the government. We send them damot.i.te, they send us food and leave us alone to mine. To live. More, more, more. That's all they say. "

Anakin felt his belly heave, protesting the implications as well as Teeba Jaklin's eggs. More, more, more meant Dooku and Durd planned to produce huge quant.i.ties of the bioweapon- and that meant the entire Republic was in danger. He imagined Padme writhing and dying like Bant'ena's lab rodent and came close a second time to losing what little breakfast he'd eaten.

"You've never asked why they suddenly want so much?" He knew he sounded critical, accusing, but he couldn't help it. Bad things happened because questions weren't asked. Because people preferred to close their eyes and turn away. "You've never wondered what they're going to do with..."

Rikkard's fist thumped the kitchen table. "I don't care about that, Teeb Markl. This village was dying. No future. No hope. All we have is damot.i.te. All we know is mining. But the Republic didn't care about that. The Republic didn't care about us. Every day Teeba Jaklin and me, we watched the children's faces growing thinner and thinner and we knew we couldn't help them. We couldn't help ourselves.

Almost n.o.body wanted our damot.i.te anymore. We were facing the end. "

"And then came word from Lantibba City, " said Teeba Jaklin. "From the government. They offered to help us. Food for damot.i.te. We said yes. "

Teeb Rikkard was still frowning. "This is how we live now, in Torbel. Almost every hour mining and cleaning damot.i.te. The government says when it has money again we'll have money. Until then we have food. I won't take food from a hungry child's mouth.

If you're the kind of man who could do that, Teeb Markl, then Torbel is not the village for you. You and your cousin can find another..."

32."No, no, " said Obi-Wan hastily. "Teeb Rikkard, you mustn't have a care for Markl. His tongue rattles. Of course you're mining the damot.i.te. Your people must eat. We have no quarrel with that. We have no quarrel with you. " He turned. "For shame, cousin, when these good people gave us shelter. "

Blinking, Anakin stared at him. "I'm sorry, Yavid, I..." Obi-Wan cuffed the back of his head. "Don't apologize to me, Markl.

Apologize to the Teeb and Teeba and then hope we are still welcome in Torbel. "

Anakin dropped his gaze to the table. "I'm very sorry. I was wrong. Please don't send us away. "

"Rikkard..." Teeba Jaklin took a light hold of the man's arm. "Let them stay. Let them earn their keep. Bohle's sick and Dahm's overgreen, remember, and Brinnie with his wrenched ankle's no use, either. We're behind in the mining and the convoy's only three days away. The government won't be pleased if the delivery is underweight. They might not send food next time, to punish us. "

"You're shorthanded?" said Obi-Wan, before Rikkard could answer. "Then please, let us help. You took us in though we are strangers and times are hard. Let us work in the mine to earn our keep while we're here. "

"Rikkard, this is a sensible plan, " said Teeba Jaklin. "You know it is. A man shows his true face while he's sweating. We'll feed and water and shelter these cousins and they'll prove themselves in the mine and then, after the convoy has come and gone, taking the right weight of mineral back to Lantibba, then we'll decide if they can remain in Torbel. "

Teeb Rikkard tapped his fingertips over the scars on his scalp, thinking. "It's a good argument, " he said at last. "If they're telling the truth. If they can learn fast and work hard. "

"We are, " said Obi-Wan. "And we can. "

"I think they're truthful, Rikkard, " said Teeba Jaklin, ignoring him. "But you're the head miner. You'll know within an hour if they've lied. And if they've lied we'll run them our. "

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan, feeling his tension, his concern.

We can't afford to get bogged down here. But at least if we stay another day or so we can catch our breath, contact Yoda, maybe even come up with a plan to stop Durd before be launches his first attack... or if we can't do that, get off this dusty ball of dirt, come back with reinforcements and end him.

The thought of seeing Lok Durd dead gave him an almost physical pleasure. Next to Grievous and Dooku and, of course, the unknown Sith Lord behind all their troubles, Durd was his most hated enemy.

I'm coming for you, General. That cold shiver you feel is my breath on the back of your stinking neck.

He felt Obi-Wan's foot nudge him again. It was a warning- and an offering of comfort, which meant he was forgiven his rash display of temper.

Teeba Jaklin and Teeb Rikkard, who'd been staring at each other in a kind of communal silence, nodded. "Yes, " said Rikkard. "I agree. You're sure you can keep them here?"

"As I said, in the storeroom, " said the Teeba. "Safest that way, I think. "

Teeb Rikkard raised a spa.r.s.e eyebrow. "If we're thinking of safest, Jaklin... " His hand covered hers. "They'll be mining. "

"They'll be mining a few days at most, " said Jaklin, frowning. "I don't see that it's needful. There's such a thing as being too trusting, Rikkard. "

"Every man is different under the ground, " said Teeb Rikkard. "No man sickens the same. You know that. It would be wrong not to.

Gone three years from Lantech, Jaklin. Gone soft, they'll be. I won't have them on my conscience. "

"But Rikkard, it's secret, " she protested. "It's ours. "

"And if they're living with us it has to be theirs, too, " he said gently. "No man or woman or child of Torbel remains in Torbel without it. This is our village rule. "

"They are not of our village!"

33.Sighing, Teeb Rikkard took hold of the Teeba's shoulder. "They are until they leave, Jaklin. I'm the head miner. It's my final word. "

And apparently Teeba Jaklin took that argument seriously, because she closed her eyes, and sighed, and nodded. "You are the head miner, " she muttered, unhappy but acquiescent. "They'll have it. "

Judging it safe to speak, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry? My cousin and I will have what?"

Casting him a dark look, Teeba Jaklin got up from the table, went to one of the kitchen cupboards and from it withdrew a stoppered clay pot.

"This is a secret, Teeb Yavid, " she said, returning. "It has been a secret for untold generations. It's not only mineral quality that brings the government to us first, and has it rewarding us with extra food and leaving us alone. "

She unstoppered the pot, carefully tipped two large yellowish brown pills onto the palm of one hand and held them out.

"It's because we work and we work and we don't hardly get greensick. No other mining village in Lanteeb can claim that. They don't know our secret. Not Chukba, not Endvo, not Dee- bin, not even Trahn. It has always been for Torbel and no one else. If ever you speak of this to anyone not from our village, you will ruin us. There are desperate miners who'd kill for our secret. Do you understand that?"

"Teeba Jaklin... "

Obi-Wan stood. Anakin, watching him, wondered how the two Lanteebans could have no idea that a Jedi, one of the greatest ever born, was standing right in front of them.

"Your trust won't be misplaced. " Obi-Wan's voice was quiet and thrumming with absolute sincerity. "Turned away from your village, Markl and I might have perished. I promise your secret is safe with us. "

Anakin pushed his own chair back. "My cousin Yavid is the most honorable man I know. Never have I seen him do wrong, or harm.

Your secret is safe. "

Teeba Jaklin turned to Teeb Rikkard. "I just hope you're right and there'll be no regretting, and no way to take it back. "

Obi-Wan rolled the pill she handed him between his thumb and forefinger. "What's in this?"

"You don't need to know, " said Rikkard. "Swallow it and mine. Don't swallow it and leave. The choice is yours, Teebs. But choose quickly. We've a quota to fill. "

Staring at his own pill, Anakin reached into the Force. He could sense no deception in either villager. It was highly unlikely this was an elaborate plot to poison them. He glanced at Obi-Wan. Raised an eyebrow. The look Obi-Wan gave him was as loud as a shout.

Me first.

He wanted to argue. One of these days you'll have to stop protecting me. But he let it go, just this once. Watched Obi-Wan swallow the pill. When nothing happened, he swallowed his own. It tasted worse than the eggs.

Teeb Rikkard stood. "Come with me then, Teebs, since you've made your choice. The morning's getting away from us. It's time to start work. "

CHAPTER FIVE.

Following Teeb Rikkard out of Teeba Jaklin's cottage and into the empty street, Obi-Wan sank himself a little more deeply into the Force and reached out to touch the man's worried, vulnerable mind. Mired in the difficulties of keeping a dying village alive, of smiling and smiling while his heart cracked with despair, Rikkard never noticed the stranger rummaging through his private emotions.

"Teeb Rikkard, you've a fine village here, " he said quietly. "You and Teeba Jaklin are to be admired for your stewardship of it. My cousin and I would like a wander through Torbel's streets before we bury ourselves underground in the mine. I think you can give us an hour or so to do that, can't you?"

Teeb Rikkard slowed, then stopped. "Well-yes. Yes, I can, " he said, uncertain. "I can show you around myself if..."

34."No, no. That's quite all right. " Keenly aware that they were standing in the middle of an open street, that at any moment they could be joined by other villagers, he pushed Rikkard harder. "It's our own way we'll be finding, Teeb. "

"No need for Teeb, " Rikkard said. "You're one of us now, Yavid. " The faintest cloud of confusion shadowed his eyes. "An hour and more to wander. I'm not sure I can..."

Stang. The man's sense of responsibility was proving a real stumbling block. With no time for finesse Obi-Wan clamped tight his hold on Rikkard's mind. "No, you're quite sure. You're more than happy for us to look around. And we have your express permission to take as long as we need and see anything we wish. "

Rikkard shook his head, feeling the compulsion, unsettled by it, but unable to resist. "Yes. Yes. Of course, Yavid. Anything. "

"We'd very much like to see your comm hub, Rikkard, " Anakin added, stepping closer. "Where would we find it?"

"The comm hub? That's in the charter house. " Turning, Rikkard pointed down the street toward the small village's center. "On the square. " Another puzzled head shake. "It's where we decide village things. Why do you..."

Obi-Wan clasped the man's arm, reinforcing his control. "Thank you, Rikkard. You're a good fellow. Now please, don't let us delay you any further. "

"I'll be on my way, " Rikkard murmured. "Come to the mine when you're ready, Yavid. You and your cousin will be expected. "

"Think that'll hold?" said Anakin, as they watched Rikkard walk away down the narrow, baked-dirt street with its patches of worn-away ferrocrete. As he pa.s.sed the other cottages, doors opened and he was joined by villagers heading out to spend the day hewing raw damot.i.te from deep underground. They stared at the two strangers, but whatever Rikkard told the men and women seemed enough to satisfy, at least for now.

"If it doesn't hold, things could get a bit awkward, " Obi-Wan said, frowning. Rikkard was a genuinely good man, undeserving of such interference. But I don't have the luxury of being squeamish. "So we must hope for the best. Now let's get to that comm hub. The sooner Yoda knows what's going on, the sooner we can stop Durd. "

They collected more curious, not entirely friendly looks as they made their way to the village square. Every instinct screamed run, but they couldn't. They couldn't even walk fast. It was vital they do nothing to arouse the villagers' suspicions. Instead they sauntered, not a care in the world, nodding and smiling at the faces staring at them from unshuttered windows and open front doors. As they caught up to, then pa.s.sed, more miners on their way to work they greeted the men and women with expansive geniality. Startled, the miners exchanged glances but returned the greeting cordially enough. Though their ages ranged from middle teens to middle life, the look in every villager's eyes was the same: a sad, bone-deep weariness.

"Stang, " Anakin muttered, once it was safe to speak. "I haven't felt a place this beaten down since Tatooine. "

Wonderful, Obi-Wan thought. The last thing he needed was Anakin brooding on his miserable, Force-forsaken childhood home. "It's true these people are faced with a bleak future, but there's nothing we can do to save them right now. Tell me, those pills Jaklin gave us. What do you think, genuine or placebo?"

Anakin pulled a face. "I think they taste worse than her eggs. "

"The eggs weren't so bad, " he said. "Trust me, I've had worse. "

"Really?" said Anakin, skeptical. "Anyway. I think placebo. This isn't the only working mine on Lanteeb, and it would be if you needed those pills to handle raw damot.i.te safely. And there wasn't anything about them in Agent Varrak's briefing notes, or Fhernan's data, either. "

"Perhaps, " Obi-Wan said, after a moment. "But even if Jaklin's claims are exaggerated, we should keep taking her pills. We can't afford to offend these people. Not while we need to shelter here. "

"Which hopefully won't be for long, " Anakin muttered. "I want back in the fight. We've been stuck on the sidelines too long. "

He couldn't argue with that, but even so... "Patience, cousin. We must proceed with caution. One misstep and Rikkard or Jaklin could report us to the authorities. "