"The bond is forged. We march tomorrow." One by one they filed out of the meetinghouse. When the last had departed, the visitors followed.

They were barely out of the building when Luminara and the Padawans crowded close around Obi-Wan.

"What are you thinking?" a disbelieving Luminara asked him. "How could you promise that? You know we can't take sides in this kind of dispute."

Her voice was tight with frustration and confusion. "We don't have time for this!"

The Jedi did not appear in the least upset by her accusatory tone. "We had no choice, Luminara. Either we agreed to help them, or they were going to refuse to sign the treaty we've brought with us. They said as much."

"But Master," Anakin put in, "the first Januul we kill will prove to this other overclan that the Jedi Knights side with the Borokii. When that happens, the Januul will become our enemies as well. If we help the Borokii defeat them, the Januul survivors will not honor any agreement we put before them."

"And like the Borokii," an anxious Barriss added, "these Januul must have many allies among the Alwari. They'll also refuse to go along with the treaty."

"The Padawans are right." Luminara was uncharacteristically mystified.

Obi-Wan's ready agreement to the demands of the Borokii elders had left her angry as well as confused. "It doesn't matter which side we favor in this: Borokii or Januul. Once we've demonstrated partisanship, we've lost a significant number of the Alwari. For the concordance with the Unity of the city and townsfolk to work, all the Alwari clans need to be on board."

"If you'll give me a chance, I'll try to explain," Obi-Wan murmured when the flurry of accusations finally died down. As they turned a corner, the visitors' house loomed just ahead, with its promise of privacy, rest, and refreshment.

"I hope you can, Obi-Wan," she muttered, "or none of us is going to get much sleep this night."

Though he felt that he knew his teacher better than any of his companions, Anakin still had no idea what his Master could have been thinking when he had consented to the elders' request.

"What's to explain, Master Obi-Wan? Either we help these Borokii, as you say we are forced to do in order to gain their cooperation, or else we do not. There are only the two choices."

Looking over at his bewildered Padawan, Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi ventured that knowing, thin smile of his and replied softly, "No-there is another."

It was a march of several days to the Januul camp. It would have taken much longer had the entire Borokii clan made the move, but only warriors undertook the trek. When at last they ascended a long, low hill overlooking their destination, Lumi-nara saw that the Januul encampment was laid out much the same as that of the Borokii. With its herds and neatly aligned temporary structures, it appeared to be of similar extent.

As the designated official contact between the offworlders and the clan, Bayaar rode alongside the visitors. "The Januul and the Borokii have been at odds for as long as anyone can remember," he told his new friends.

"Who should have preeminence among the Alwari has been cause for fighting for hundreds of years." He looked up at her from the back of his sadain.

"While as a warrior of the Situung Borokii I look forward to victory today, I am personally sorry the elders saw fit to involve you in this."

"Not as sorry as we are," she told him as she directed her suubatar to kneel. Dismounting, she moved to join her compan ions in the forefront of the Borokii line.

Below, the Januul had a.s.sembled on the near side of the small river that formed the western border of their camp. Despite the best attempts of the Borokii to achieve surprise, skilled Januul outriders had detected the approach of the column of warriors a day earlier. Drawn up in three lines opposite the hill, the soldiers of the other overclan stood ready to meet their traditional enemy.

Beyond, within the camp, controlled chaos was the order of the day.

Businesses were being shut tight, children herded into homes, and groups of reserves positioned among the many mobile buildings. Farther out on the prairie, the great herds of surepp were being watched over by armed adolescents too young to partic.i.p.ate directly in the antic.i.p.ated forthcoming battle.

Many were going to die this day, Bayaar knew as he surveyed the Borokii's opponent. But with the help of the powerful offworlders, his clan would prevail. Today's battle, he felt instinctively, would decide which clan among the Alwari was going to predominate for a long time to come.

Studying the Januul mult.i.tude drawn up before them, Lumi-nara made a hasty estimate of their numbers. Less than a thousand, she guessed, but all of them well armed and clad in striking, hand-worked armor. Standing alongside her, Obi-Wan concurred with her a.s.sessment.

"No heavy weapons." He leaned slightly forward as he care fully scrutinized the tightly packed lines of warriors. "No laser cannons, no launchers of any size." He remarked on this to Bayaar.

Their friend looked horrified. "Haja, no! If either the Borokii or the Januul were to employ such deadly offworld de vices, one clan or the other might well win this and all other similar confrontations, but they would be shunned by every other clan on the planet. Besides, such an escalation would mean that the opposing side would have to acquire similar weapons to defend itself. And then where would the proud Alwari be?"

"Staring down the barrel of self-extermination," Anakin ven tured from nearby. Though he would never have admitted to it, he personally found the barbaric display, with armored Ansionians riding equally flamboyantly garbed sadains and a few magnificently invested suubatars, oddly beguiling. From a purely academic point of view, of course, he hastened to a.s.sure himself. While today's confrontation might mean a great deal to its Ansionian partic.i.p.ants, to him it was only another episode in his education.

Barring, of course, the possibility that he and his friends might die.

"So these are the Januul." Luminara indicated the ma.s.sed warriors. "They are pretty impressive."

"Along with the Situng Borokii, the Hovsgol Januul have al ways been one of the overclans, yes," Bayaar admitted. "But with your help, the matter of who reigns truly supreme among the Al-wari will finally be settled."

"I hope so," Obi-Wan told him quietly. "That's what we're here today to decide. By setting an example for both the Borokii and the Januul."

Now, that seemed a strange thing to say, Bayaar thought. But then, the flat-eyed offworlders often seemed to speak in riddles.

Having been ordered to stay out of the fight and remain back with the noncombatants, Kyakhta and Bulgan were in an agony of frustration. They had promised their lives to the offworlders who had helped them, and yet now they would be forced to stand and watch as their new friends risked their lives on behalf of fellow Alwari. It was almost too much to bear.

Tooqui, on the other hand, had no difficulty whatsoever in agreeing to stay out of the forthcoming fight.

"There are only four of them." From their vantage point slightly higher up on the hill overlooking the river and the Januul encampment, Kyakhta strained to see. "Strong and skilled as they are, how can our friends possibly make a difference in the midst of a battle among so many?"

"I don't know." Bulgan rubbed nervously at his eye patch. "But you know as well as I that these offworlders are full of surprises."

"Tooqui know what going happen." The two much bigger Alwari turned to look down at him. "Jedi going do something stupid stupid." He moved to the edge of the slight overlook, trying to keep Barriss in view.

Frowning, Kyakhta was sorely tempted to smack the little Gwurran. "You're lucky Master Luminara ordered me not to hit you. You should show some respect. Whatever happens, I'm sure they're not going to allow themselves to be killed. Their mission here is too important to them."

Tooqui looked back up at him. "Who say somethings about them get killed?

Tooqui not say that." The Gwurran returned his attention to the unfolding spectacle below. "Tooqui say they do stupid stupid. Maybe they think of something stupid stupid to do all over stupid stupid heads of Alwari."

The guides exchanged a confused glance with the equally puzzled Bayaar.

Then, realizing that it was a waste of time to try to make sense of something as patently nonsensical as Gwurran gibberish, they all moved to the edge of the slight overlook the better to follow the proceedings unfolding below.

Up close, the savage spectacle was even more impressive than it was from the top of the hill. Having arrayed themselves in their triple defensive line opposite the Borokii force, the a.s.sembled Januul presented a panoply of pugnacious attire and att.i.tude. War paint adorned their faces, bare heads, and rippling manes. Leather and composite armor was festooned with individual, family, and clan ornamentation. In addition to traditional bows and arrows, throwing spears, and swords, they carried imported blasters and rifles. Their grim expressions were those of people bent on defeating any attackers, no matter the possible cost.

Forming a solid line opposite the arrivals, the soldiers of the Borokii offered a no-less-striking display. Flaunting att.i.tude as well as weapons, individual warriors jostled for position, each heavily armed male striving to gain a place near the front. Clan leaders mounted on rearing sadains took up forward positions, shouting instructions to their troops. The air was thick with antic.i.p.ation and the Ansionian equivalent of adrenaline. Gazing down from the crest of the hill, the apprehensive Kyakhta and Bulgan saw that full, unrestrained combat could break out at any moment. Standing between them, Tooqui was unnaturally silent.

Unexpectedly, the screeches and cries and shouted impreca tions arising from both ma.s.sed forces died down. Heads were craned and weapons lowered.

The center of the Borokii line parted. Advancing in single file, the two Jedi Knights and their Padawans marched out into the center of the budding battlefield. Up on the hill Kyakhta, Bulgan, and Tooqui held their collective breath.

A number of the Borokii murmured expectantly among themselves. Although only a few of them had seen what the offworlders had accomplished among their surepp several nights before, by now most had heard about it. As for the Januul, they were sufficiently puzzled by the offworlders'

unexpected appearance to wonder aloud at their presence in this place.

Given the flat-eyed, maneless aliens' precarious position directly in front of the Borokii line, their intentions were clear enough to every soldier of the Januul. No matter. The offworlders would die as readily as any snigvold Borokii.

Having halted halfway between the two opposing hosts, Lu-minara and Barriss turned around to face the ma.s.sed Borokii. While a grim-faced Anakin confronted the Januul, Obi-Wan raised his voice. The Borokii waited expectantly for their off-world ally to throw down the formal challenge. Turning a slow circle as he spoke, the Jedi addressed not just the Januul, but both of the a.s.sembled armies.

"Listen to me! I am Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi, a Knight of the Jedi Or der. Standing here with me are the Jedi Knight Luminara Unduli and her Padawan Barriss Offee. Beside me also is my Padawan Anakin Skywalker. We have come to your world to make a lasting concord between the Alwari and the city folk of the Unity of Communities, so that the people of Ansion may remain within the galactic Republic confident that its laws and regulations will be applied equally and fairly to all." Raising an arm, he encompa.s.sed the sky with a single wave. "Out there, beyond Ansion, greater forces than you can imagine are at work. Enormous issues of vital importance to every sentient in the galaxy are moving toward resolution. Ansion is a vital part and parcel of what is happening." Still turning slowly as he spoke, he lowered his arm.

"We have come here because we know that wherever the Borokii and the Januul lead, the rest of the Alwari will follow. We ask that your elders, the elders of both sides, sit down with us and discuss these matters anew. Matters that are of greater import than those you propose to kill yourselves over today." Among the ma.s.sed Borokii, an uncomfortable stirring had begun. What kind of challenge was this for an ally to put to an enemy?

"You must learn to work together," Obi-Wan continued. " With each other, as well as with those who dwell in the towns and cities. If you do not,"

he concluded, "then you risk losing that which you fight for to greedy meddlers from outside like the Commerce Guild-and others, who see Ansion and its people as nothing more than a p.a.w.n in a greater game."

Save for some confused murmuring in the ranks of the Borokii, silence greeted his speech. Then a Januul officer advanced on his ornamented mount. Pointing a ceremonial sword at the calm, composed human, he replied angrily.

"We know nothing of which you speak, offworlder!"

Obi-Wan responded serenely. "Of course you don't. That's because you have yet to hear us. Give us that chance."

Behind him, a Borokii leader moved forward. "What kind of a.s.sistance is this? What happens here today doesn't involve other worlds, offworlder.

Attend to the business at hand, as you promised the elders!"

"Ansion is part of the Republic," Luminara replied. "Within the Republic, all quarrels are the business of the Senate. And the Jedi Council."

The Borokii reacted with a smirk. "So instead of helping us, you've decided to save us from ourselves? So be it, then. We don't need your help. The Borokii have always taken care of themselves." A defiant cry rose from the ma.s.sed fighters a.s.sembled behind him.

It was matched by a challenging shout from the Januul, whose officer was not finished with the visitors. "Get out of the way, offworlders! We will settle this as we always have, in the traditional manner. Whatever your intentions, it is too late now to interfere. The Borokii have come, and we are ready for them." Raising his sword, he let out a wild, high-pitched whooping no human could have replicated, and urged his sadain forward.

Concentrating hard, raising a hand to aid in mental focus, Obi-Wan thrust his open palm sharply in the direction of the charging officer. It was as if the sadain had run into a wall. Despite its six legs it went down in a heap, more baffled than hurt. Sent flying over the blunt, stunned head, its rider landed hard on the gra.s.sy ground. The impact sent his sword flying from his three fingers. With a cry, the line of eager Januul immediately behind him raised their weapons and surged forward. Bellowing and hissing defiance, the Borokii responded in kind.

Arrows came flying, spears were flung, and most dangerous of all, blasters were brought into play. Anything that came near the Jedi was deflected by lightsabers that seemed to spin and whirl as rapidly as the lightning itself. Missiles sent flying overhead were deflected by judicious and skilled application of the Force.

Three Januul tried to jump Luminara. Three strokes of her lightsaber disarmed the first, melted the blade of the second, and knocked down the heavy club wielded by the third. She was too busy to acknowledge their stunned stares. Weaponless, they backed slowly away from the olive-skinned dervish, retreating toward their own line. In this they were accompanied by more and more of their companions as Luminara and her comrades methodically neutralized one group of bewildered warriors after another.

Firing blasters, a pair of furious Borokii rushed Anakin. In stead of fleeing, he advanced toward his attackers, the blade of his lightsaber deflecting one shot after another. Two quick strokes swept the weapons from their hands. It would have been a simple matter to bring the lightsaber around, cutting off both their arms with a single swift stroke. But Obi-Wan's instructions as they had marched from the Borokii line out onto the field of battle had been explicit.

"No maiming and no killing," the Jedi had instructed him. "It's hard to win hearts and minds when you're cutting off heads and hands."

Further forcefulness wasn't necessary anyway, he saw. Cer tainly not to convince the two who had so boldly charged him. Without a glance at their expensive and now useless pistols, they fled back to the safety of the Borokii line.

Another ten minutes or so of ferocious futility finally impressed upon Januul and Borokii alike that the fight was over. Or rather, that it was useless to try to engage in one. In all their mutual history, in all their experience of combat, neither side had ever heard of a three-way battle. It was outside their experience, and they had no way of coping with it. Especially since the third party battled either side with equal zeal.

No, that wasn't quite right. The offworlders had not actually attacked anyone. It was they who had been a.s.saulted, for presuming they could dictate the rules of battle to the proud warriors of the overclans. Since that was precisely what they had done, both sides had no choice but to fall back and rethink the unprecedented situation. Especially since a good many of their finest weapons had already been destroyed by the offworlders. And there were only four of the maneless interlopers. Only four!

Nor was it lost on either side that the strangers had harmed not a single combatant. They had liquidated only weapons. Where was the guarantee that if the fight was resumed this would continue to be the case? Disarmed warriors looked askance at one another and gave voice to their unease. If they couldn't put down even one of the offworlders with blasters it was unlikely they would be able to do better with a traditional weapon like a sword or a spear.

Perhaps, a few among them began to suggest tentatively, it might be better to listen to what the visitors had to say. Listen to the offworlders, let the surepp of both sides grow fat, and wait. They could always resume the ancient argument between them at a later date.

The Januul ranks parted to allow the emergence of a digni fied, senior figure. Breathing hard, lightsaber held firmly in both hands, Barriss reflected that he was certainly old enough to be an elder. In response, an individual more withered than any warrior but still straight of back and proud of posture stepped out from among the ma.s.sed Borokii. The two elders regarded each other across the field of battle with an equal measure of distaste and respect. When they spoke, it was to accede to reality.

With the visitors having stated their case most admirably for an urgent meeting with not just one but both Councils of Elders, the Borokii senior invited the four offworlders back to the meetinghouse. This invitation was promptly countered by the elder Januul. It was unthinkable that such an important gathering should take place in a Borokii dwelling. Stepping his mount neatly sideways, the Januul indicated that the visitors should follow him down to the main camp below.

The result of these seemingly benign invitations was contra dictory: both sides threatened to resume fighting over the new issue of who should host the forthcoming peaceful get-together. Visibly annoyed, Luminara decreed that the summit would be held in neither camp. A new building, using components provided by both sides, should be erected right where they were currently standing. That way neither overclan could claim para-mountcy over the proceedings.

The Borokii agreed, grudgingly. The Januul concurred, reluc tantly. Well aware of the hundreds of convex eyes upon them, the four offworlders turned and strode off the field of battle. They did their best to give the impression that nothing exceptional had occurred, and that the sensation they had caused was all in a day's work for representatives of the Jedi Council.

But in reality, they were each and every one of them dead tired. There is nothing more challenging or exhausting for a skilled fighter than engaging in combat while striving not to kill, but to preserve the life of, your opponent.

Especially when those opponents are frantically doing their best to annihilate one another.

17.

Though the Borokii elders felt betrayed by their erstwhile offworld allies, they had no recourse now but to partic.i.p.ate in the new meeting.

For their part, the Januul were intensely suspicious of the entire business.

"You lied to us!" the senior Borokii male thundered accus ingly, indifferent to what the attendant Januul might think. "You broke your solemn bond!"

"Not at all," Obi-Wan replied quietly. "You asked us to help you deal with your traditional enemies, the Januul. That is exactly what we did."

His slight smile widened. "Nothing was ever said about helping you defeat them."

Mouth open, angry retort at the ready, the elder found himself hesitating. Eventually, he resumed his seat on the carpeted dais. On his right, a senior female t.i.ttered and cracked her knuckles-but softly. The Januul elders simply looked confused.

In the end, it was the realization that both sides felt equally put upon by the Jedi that led to their eventual reconciliation, at least within the terms of the preferred treaty. Only later, Luminara reflected, would they come to see that both sides had gained something: from making peace with each other as well as with the Unity of city and town folk. And most important of all, by agreeing to a plan that would see Ansion remaining, once and for all, within the Republic and under its laws.

Personally, Bayaar was delighted with the outcome. He had expected to lose many friends that day, among both his clan and the offworlders. Who could have foreseen such an outcome?

"I am told that the two councils have agreed to everything you have asked. The accord will be finalized tonight in the traditional manner, during a feast in which both Borokii and Januul will partic.i.p.ate." If he'd had lips, he would have smacked them. "Those who are fortunate enough to be invited will have something exceptional to remember! Both clans also have a gift for you, though I was not told what it was."

There was no cheering, no shouting within the visitors' house. Only weary, satisfied smiles, and the knowledge of a job well done. Had their training not been adequate, had the three-way battle lasted much longer, any of them could have been seriously injured, or even killed. Now, quiet congratulations were exchanged, and relieved Master complimented joyful Padawan.

No one was more delighted than Anakin. He had enjoyed the opportunity to do battle with something besides words, though he would never have admitted as much. Especially not to Master Obi-Wan. They would be going back to Cuipernam now, not a moment too soon, and from there to Coruscant to present their report in person to the Jedi Council. After that, unless another crisis somewhere in the galaxy required their immediate attention, they would be granted a period of rest. If he could just manage the matter of transportation, and if Master Obi-Wan concurred, he knew exactly how and where he was going to spend his.

The feast was everything Bayaar had promised, a consuming spectacle of sight, sound, food, and drink. They next morning they bid farewell to their new friends among the Januul and the Borokii. Racing toward distant Cuipernam they should have been able to relax, but could not. In the absence of their corn-links, destroyed by the Qulun chieftain Baiuntu, they could not inform anyone, most importantly the delegates of the Unity, of their success. They had, as the ancient aphorism went, no time to lose.

Kyakhta and Bulgan rode proudly out front, full of pride at having partic.i.p.ated in so momentous a moment in the history of the Alwari. As had become his habit, Tooqui traveled with Bar-riss, scrambling all over her towering suubatar from head to hindquarters. The patient steed tolerated the Gwurran's antics without complaint.

"A great accomplishment, Master." Her suubatar loping along effortlessly alongside Luminara's, Barriss spoke from her saddle. Experience had made her comfortable with the rocking motion, and she rode with the ease of a prosperous merchant.

"An accomplishment." Luminara was willing to concede that much. "A job well done. 'Greatness' is a description best re served for the ages.

Everyone thinks their own achievements worthy of memorializing, but time tends to treat such things unkindly. After a hundred years, most such 'accomplishments' have been marginalized. In a thousand, they are generally forgotten." Seeing the look on the Padawan's face, she made an effort to sound more upbeat.

"That doesn't mean what we did here was unimportant. Our history is only yesterday, and yesterdays matter. Besides, we are none of us historians.

Who is to say what is crucial to the history of civilization and what isn't? Not ordinary Jedi. That's for the Council and professional historians to decide. What is important is that we accomplished what we came all this way to do, and that as few sentients as possible died in the realizing of it."