After a time, the speeder came to a gradual stop before a fortification dominating the road, a sudden outpost of civilization that had reared up out of the otherwise deserted wilderness. Mowchie told the Revin guards that he was just passing through, "as usual," and they waved him through without even checking. The speeder hummed the ten or twenty yards separating the gates and guard-posts of the two countries, and then we were sitting at the edge of Thara. Before us lay a tall, solid gate that completely blocked the road. For some reason I thought the air above it shimmered in a weird way, unless it was just the glare of sun on snow. Just beside our position sat a long, low bunker topped with razor-wire and shut fast against cold and intrusion, with only tiny slits in the walls where the business end of blaster rifles could be poked through. A Tharin man with a gun slung over his back stepped toward us, his face solemn and even a bit scared, at least until he bent over the speeder's opened hatch and squinted at us. Upon catching sight of Mowchie, he smiled in relief. "Well, it's you. Cargo and destination?"

"No cargo, merely myself," Mowchie replied with one of his fang-bearing grins. "The border has been shut down for so long, I wished to take a chance and see my comrades in Este. Perhaps check up on the job prospects while I'm at it, you know?"

The man squinted some more, but didn't acknowledge the Wookiee's playful comment. Instead, he looked at me. "Who's this?"

I slumped lower in my seat and hid my face in my scarf. "Tragic thing," Mowchie answered breezily. "Got stranded in Reva when the fighting started up after the last lull. Couldn't get back in. Oh, did she have a time of it - better not bring it up," he added in a stage whisper. "She is pretty sore about it. Things do not go well for a Tharin child caught in Reva for such a long time."

The guard stared at me some more, but I could see the suspicion in his face change to sympathy. "I'm sorry, miss," he said sincerely. "Welcome home, at last."

"Thanks," I growled, burying my face further into my scarf.

"Well?" Mowchie pressed. "Don't make me drop her off just inches from her home country."

The guard backed away and waved to someone in the bunker. The gate slid open, revealing more white, snow-covered road and dark forests beyond it. The Wookiee waved his thanks and sped through, gunning the accelerator once we were securely within the boundaries of Thara. "That went much more smoothly than I expected," he murmured, glancing back over his shoulder at the border-crossing. "I don't suppose you can do the Jedi mind trick, hmmm?"

"No," I said with a weak chuckle. "It's a good thing we didn't need one, there."

"No indeed," Mowchie agreed with a growly, rumbly chuckle of his own. We sped on in silence, though slower now, and the Wookiee pilot kept a lookout for signage or road markers that might help determine where to go. He knew this region almost as well as the other, but the nature of the visit made him cautious and alert. We had gone fairly far into Thara and had nearly reached our first settlement when Mowchie spoke up again. "I have all the information I need, I believe," he mused, "but for one thing. I'm not entirely sure I will know what to look for."

I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Say, we get to Este. Say, Jedi Master Jinn is there, and we are also there, but we do not meet." He flashed me a concerned look. "That would not be well."

With heart sinking I slumped into my seat again, frowning to myself. Then, the answer came to me, and I nearly kicked myself for forgetting. "That's why Adi sent me..."

"I too know what Master Jinn looks like, vaguely..."

"No no, you don't get it. I'm...connected to him," I tried to explain, gesturing. "With the Force. I can sense him, and Obi-Wan."

"Oho?" Mowchie turned to me in surprise. "Can you now?"

I sat back and concentrated, but only the feeblest spark of the Force shimmered in my mind. "Not right now, not really. I mean, I sense that they're alive and okay, but I can't reach out and sense where they are. We have to be really close in proximity to do that, I might even be able to call out to them...I think." I gave my Wookiee guide a sheepish grin. "We haven't really tried to do that yet."

"But, if they were near, you would sense them at least," Mowchie repeated.

"Uh huh."

"Good. Be ready to do that, then. We are almost there."

I sat completely straight up in my seat and looked out the windows. They were tinted against the sun's glare, but I still had to squint a little to see details as we rushed by at high speed. We had passed a few solitary buildings along the road, but all of them were deserted and bombed-out. If this area, like its counterpart on the other side of the border, had been inhabited at one time, it was no longer. I found the whole thing kind of sad. As we glided into a small settlement, my heart sank even more at the sights which met us. The little town was ragged, crumbling, with few walls left standing and few people to make it look alive. Just on the other side of the buildings a hasty camp had been set up for militia-men who had been fighting at the border until just last night, who were now resting, eating, and taking care of wounds and supplies before the lull ended and more fighting would be required of them. I gazed at them as we passed, at their insulated tents, at the very real blaster rifles slung from their shoulders and the dirt and burns staining their ivory coats. It became clear to me that in Droste, a blithe sort of ignorance about the war existed. Since fighting was not going on immediately near the Revin capital, no one really understood the reality that there was a battle going on, and people were dying somewhere. Here, this was that "somewhere," and these were the people whose lives were on the line for the sake of this war.

We didn't stop in that settlement, nor the one after that, but the third one we passed through captured Mowchie's attention. "Here, this is where Jedi Master Gallia's contact hails from," he noted as he eased the speeder to a stop. "I know him, I know how to find him. I will seek him out and ask if he has come across any news since we left. And, there are others."

"Okay," I said warily, tugging on my mittens before climbing out of the speeder. I didn't know what time it was, locally, but the sun was getting low in the sky and clouds were moving back in. "What should I do?"

"Stay close behind me," the Wookiee instructed. "There is no telling what people are up to 'round here." He led the way up the street a short distance, to a large, squat building that seemed to be an oft-visited place. People were coming and going briskly from it, all bundled-up for the weather but looking fairly unhurried and untroubled. I followed Mowchie into the building, realizing that it was a tavern. Lots of humans, Whiphids, and a few other species mingled in the warm, close space, talking and drinking freely as if a war weren't just a few miles down the road. Several of them shouted greetings to Mowchie, and though I was more uncomfortable than I had ever been in my life, it didn't seem too bad to me, if Mowchie was indeed well-known in these parts.

A scruffy man called the big Wookiee over to his table, laughing. "Haven't seen your shaggy hide in these parts in a while," he greeted. "You sneak over, or is this legitimate?"

"You know Mowchie doesn't sneak," Mowchie replied, showing his teeth. The man ordered a drink, eyeing me in the process. "Oh, don't mind her," the Wookiee quickly assured. "Just a friend."

"None for me, thanks," I said tersely, concentrating on hiding behind Mowchie.

The man shrugged in agreement and launched into an enthusiastic chatter trying to catch up on what the Wookiee had been up to lately, with all the fighting going on. Mowchie just sat and talked away, seeming free and flippant but closely guarding the real reason we were here. I stood behind him, my arms hugged tight around me, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else in the bar. The air was thick and stuffy, and smelled like lots of things I didn't recognize and didn't like. For a while I vaguely listened to Mowchie attempting to find out what his comrade knew about "that Jedi that went crazy" or anything else of value, but the man knew practically nothing except rumors he heard somewhere else and once upon a time, so I decided to excuse myself and get some fresh air. It may have been cold outside, but I didn't want to stay in the bar any longer. Assuring Mowchie that I would only be right outside the door, I made my way quickly across the room and out.

The day was definitely turning into night, I noticed, as the sky was already darker than it had been when we went inside, and the sun had dropped just behind the trees. I had no idea where we would be sleeping tonight, nor what else Mowchie had planned for this expedition, but I tried to just forget about it and leave the details in his capable paws. There wasn't much to do outside except watch people go by, people who looked a lot like the ones I had seen in Reva. The two sides of the conflict were actually quite similar, and though I had spent all my time so far among the Revin, these Tharin hardly seemed like enemies. The streets were no more dangerous here than over there, the people weren't shadier, the skies weren't darker and the business wasn't more sinister. I couldn't even discern the genetic traits that Colin insisted made Tharin different from Revin. It convinced me all the more of the senselessness of war. Hugging my arms tight around me and hiding the lower half of my face in my scarf, I looked around at the humans and other creatures passing on the street, seeing most of them heading indoors as the day drew to an end. Then, I caught a flash of brown out of the corner of my eye, and turned my head swiftly to see what looked distinctly like a brown robe disappear into a run-down building at the end of the block, in the opposite direction from where Mowchie's speeder was parked. My heart thrilled at the sight; maybe our search was over! Without thinking, I left the safety of the tavern's wall and started after the brown robe, dashing across the street and only pausing once, at the gaping doorway of the old structure, before heading inside.

There was nothing particularly alarming about the place, but once inside, my mind decided to recall movies where the hapless victim walks blithely into the crumbling building and is promptly dispatched by an axe from behind or something. Shaking my head at my own silliness, I managed to convince myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. The place was actually a sort of apartment or dormitory, with multiple residences on either side of a long, wide, dingy hallway that echoed with my footsteps. Someone still lived there, the interior was well-kept and vaguely domestic noises could be heard behind closed doors. I looked everywhere for the brown-robed figure that had seemingly disappeared, but I had lost him. Turning a few corners and peering down intersecting corridors, it wasn't long before I decided to give up. I guess it wasn't Qui-Gon after all, I admitted to myself as I turned around and started walking back towards the main door. Gosh, but it looked like him. You'd think I'd be able to recognize that tall Jedi Master when I see him. Where did that guy go, anyway? I glanced over my shoulder, uncertain. Surely I would have at least seen which residence he ducked into? But the hallways were deserted. Shrugging and feeling rather stupid for chasing some poor stranger into an unfamiliar building just because he was wearing brown, I left the hallway and started across a wide, empty lobby looking for the door. Halfway there, I had to pause and think. Funny, I don't think this is the way I came in...

A large hand suddenly covered my mouth and nose, and I felt myself yanked back against a body, pinned by a powerful arm. In that moment, everything I had ever heard or read or been advised about rape and assault ran through my mind in the space of a heartbeat. I struggled violently and yelled into the firm hand on my mouth, but it was no use. Unable to see my attacker, I panicked and strained my chest against the strong arm and tossed my head from one side to the other until both arms pressed even harder and forced me to stop. A low, throaty voice hissed, "Be still."

All desire to fight drained out of me, leaving a cold fear that paralyzed me from head to toe. I stiffened and quieted, wondering how to get myself out of this, what this person had in mind for me, why couldn't Qui-Gon be nearby, and several other much darker, fearsome things all at once. The male voice came again, in a moderate, even tone. "You are in a dangerous place. You should not be here."

The hand slowly eased from my mouth, allowing me to breathe more normally. As it dropped I noticed that the skin was tinted a pale shade of blue, and the nails which had been digging into my cheek were pointed and clawlike. Too scared to speak, I caught my breath and tried to calm my racing heart, while my mind kept reminding me of all the horrid things that could possibly be done to me now, though my captor did nothing at all. I almost wished he would do something, anything, except stand there in silence pinning me to his chest with his huge arm. No one had heard us, it seemed, for we remained alone while the sound of me gasping for breath echoed in the drab space. "Who are you?" the stranger finally asked.

"Nobody," I insisted desperately, trying not to whimper. "I'm...I'm just a girl, I wandered in here by mistake! I'm sorry. Please let me go!"

The arm eased away, but then his hands suddenly gripped my arms with crushing force, making me suck in my breath in a scared gasp. "Who are you?" he demanded again, more urgently, shaking me a little. "You are not nobody."

"I don't...I don't know what you mean," I managed to stammer, less scared of being raped and more scared of being killed now. "I'm nobody special, really!"

He whipped me about, and I found myself staring up - way up - at Niall Oberanu. At least, I assumed it was he, for I had seen no other Chagrians in brown Jedi robes anywhere on Salji. He was huge, taller and broader than Qui-Gon, with a cold, sloping face, striking eyes the same shade as his pale blue skin, long horns protruding from his high forehead and a pair of lobes or tentacles draped on his chest. I felt like a rag doll clutched in his strong hands, unable to move or even breathe as I stared up at his disturbed frown. Cold eyes bored into mine. "What are you?" he hissed, sounding angry and unsettled. "Are you indeed human?"

I nodded furiously, swallowing hard even though my throat had gone dry. When I found my voice, it was only strong enough to whisper. "Yes. Please, don't hurt me."

Niall stared even harder, even colder, his eyes piercing. It occurred to me what he was doing just as he exclaimed, "You are lying. About something. I do not sense you. What are you?"

Oh god... "I-I don't know what you mean," I said in a desperate attempt to deflect his suspicion.

He shook me again, and I squeezed my eyes shut, scared of his wrath. "I do not sense you!" He sighed - or growled, it was a little of both. "You cannot be. This is impossible. I do not understand this." I merely cowered in his grasp, refusing to look up. At last, Niall's grip on my arms slackened, and I shot him a glance to see why. He still stared down at me, but with more confusion and thought than anger. "You don't belong here," he said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trespass," I quickly said. "I'm lost. I just want to get out...g-get home. Please, I didn't mean it..."

My voice trailed off as his eyes hardened. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I hoped it didn't involve his lightsaber and my head. For a long time Niall held me still, staring down in uncomfortable scrutiny. At last, his hands withdrew. "You should not be here. You do not know what you have intruded upon, it is best if you leave. Now."

I gazed fearfully at him, hoping it wasn't a trick. "What?"

"Go, before I change my mind!" Niall warned, dropping his hands to his sides and glaring. The movement exposed the end of a silvery handle hanging from his belt: his lightsaber. I backed away, keeping my eyes on him so he couldn't grab me from behind again, until I bumped into the wall. Inching along it to the doorway, I ducked out of it and ran for my life down the hallway.

I didn't dare look back as I ran through the intersecting hallways of the residence building, in case I found the huge Chagrian chasing me down with deadly intent. It looked like I was lost, and I started to panic even more, until I finally stumbled on the door that led outside. Dashing through it, I didn't stop until I was all the way down the block at the door to the tavern. In an incredible feat of timing, Mowchie stepped outside and caught me as I barreled straight into his brawny chest. "Ho, there!" he yelped. "Is something the matter?"

"We gotta get out of here," I begged, feeling the heat of tears in my eyes. "Now!"

"I was just about to say the same," the Wookiee calmly said, taking my arm and guiding me gently across the street to the speeder. "I have what I need. The Jedi are not here, they have gone further north yet. Bad news, they have been seen. The people here now know who to look for." I threw myself into the front seat of the speeder and hurriedly buckled in, impatiently hoping the pilot would hurry up and get in so we could go. He gave me a concerned frown as he slid into his seat and fired up the repulsorlift engines. "Is there a problem?"

"Just go," I whimpered. I quickly wiped away the wet trails beginning down my cheeks.

"Is it the Jedi?" Mowchie asked heavily.

I shook my head violently. "No, no, it's...I don't...please, just let's get out of here!"

Though he clearly didn't understand what was going on, Mowchie quietly steered his speeder along the street and out of the settlement, pointing the craft northward and flicking on the exterior lights as dusk began to fall around us. I sat there without speaking for a long time, sniffling to bring my frightened tears under control and fidgeting with the soft, wooly mittens I clutched in my lap. Mowchie made it known to me that it might be a long ride, but apart from that, he lapsed into silence and concentrated on piloting. We were deep in Tharin territory now, probably deeper than we should have been, and there was a little more vehicle traffic on the roads connecting settlements. I watched repulsorlift craft overtake treaded ground vehicles, and the sky deepen to violet while the black of night crept along the eastern horizon. A handful of stars gleamed against the twilight, bright and sharp like polished silver. I finally calmed down enough to make a half-hearted attempt at reaching inward for the Force, and as I did, I felt a recognizable flicker. Qui-Gon. He was near.

I sat up in my seat. "Mowchie, where are we?"

Mowchie glanced at me, and then his instruments. "Twenty kilometers from Este, heading north and east. I have it on good word that the Jedi were supposed to be asking about for transport to Pros, which is where we are headed."

"No no," I said, waving a hand at him. "We have to stop."

The Wookiee frowned. "What?"

"They're not there. They're somewhere near here," I insisted. "Stop, Mowchie!"

Shaking his head, he did so, bringing the speeder to a graceful pause on the cliffside road. I closed my eyes and grabbed hastily for the whisper of the Force I could feel, concentrating on it and holding to it until it told me what I needed to know. "We have to go back, we passed them," I stated flatly, keeping my eyes closed as if to prevent the spell from being broken. "I can feel them. Both of them, now. They have to be real close."

Mowchie grumbled something about "Force tricks" but did as I asked, banking the speeder in a swift turn and heading back the way we had come at half speed. I kept reaching out with the Force, tapping mentally at the bond with my Jedi friends and hoping to summon a response. Qui-Gon was suddenly there, in my senses, his warmth flooding the bond with peace and comfort, and I let out an audible gasp at the potency of the sensations running through my mind. "Stop, stop, stop!" I cried, and Mowchie braked immediately. I hardly waited for him to turn off the engines before slapping the hatch release and leaping out, running through ankle-deep drifts of snow like a hound hunting a scent. I could feel Qui-Gon, vividly, and knew he was close enough to track with just our bond to guide me. A questioning tingle lit my mind from Obi-Wan, but the only thing I sent back was relief, almost begging them to call to me so I could find them. There was barely any light left but cold, gray twilight, and a bitter wind was blowing, but I dragged one foot in front of the other through the snow up the road, hardly noticing that I had left Mowchie far behind or that I had dropped my mittens. Before long I was too tired to run, the cold air rasping in my throat, but I pressed on blindly, leaving the road and starting uphill through the woods. There were a couple of squat, useless buildings back in the trees, though I didn't know it until I had almost made it to them. The trees parted and the wood-sided huts loomed up in the darkness, looking rather bleak and sullen with no windows and their doors closed fast. I was out of breath and in pain from running and climbing, and close to tears in my exhaustion, so I stopped just at the edge of the clearing in knee-deep snow, panting great clouds of vapor into the chill air. That was when I saw the footprints in the snow, and let out a weak cry of triumph. In that instant the door to one of the huts opened and the vibrant green glow of a lightsaber bathed the clearing in luminescence. I stumbled towards it, my emotions bursting out of me in a torrent of relief and exhaustion and an anguished, "Qui-Gon!"

"Stacey?" he wondered in utter disbelief. The saber snapped off, and I found myself buried deep in warm, dry Jedi robes and strong arms. I grabbed onto him and clutched him to me, crying like a baby because I was so glad to have found him, even though I knew he was baffled by the sight of me there in Thara. Mowchie slogged up the hill to us and murmured a polite greeting, but the Master only replied, "Inside. Hurry..." and ushered us into the little hut.

I sobered up quickly after the initial loss of control, wiping my face with numbed fingers before the tears could freeze. Qui-Gon shut the door and locked it, while Obi-Wan rushed forward and gathered me into his arms when he saw how upset I was. I hugged tightly to him, taking a moment to look around. Their hiding place was nothing more than a hunter's shack or something, with bare walls, a tattered rug on the floor, and hardly any furniture or amenities. A fire on the hearth was the only light inside. Qui-Gon stepped up behind me as Obi-Wan released me. "What are you doing here?" he asked urgently.

"We came to get you, Master," I hurriedly explained, indicating Mowchie and myself. "There was a break, and one of Adi's people contacted her, they know you're here. She sent me and Mowchie to come get you, before the Tharin find you and arrest you or something."

"Adi sent you?" Qui-Gon stared for a moment, his brow furrowing in anger, but he took a deep breath and it passed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," I fibbed. It was then I noticed I was shaking. Qui-Gon also noticed, and gently led me to a small bunk where I could sit down. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"We're fine," he stated, a little puzzled. He took my coat and laid it aside. "We left Este this afternoon, but got no further than here before sunset. I had the feeling we should find shelter and consider returning to Este in the morning, I was no longer sure we should have left."

Este was the settlement we had just left, then, I realized. The settlement where...

"Here, something for you to drink," Obi-Wan interrupted my train of thought, pressing a warm cup into my hands. I sipped gratefully at it, though it was pretty weak for tea. The Padawan knelt down before me, rubbing my free hand between his to warm it and peering anxiously at me, while his Master held me until I stopped shaking. "This explains why were able to sense her, Master," Obi-Wan said with a little smirk.

"Yes," Qui-Gon nodded. "It's not so strange after all, she was indeed in close proximity when we felt her." He then glanced up to the Wookiee. "I'm sorry. Mowchie, was it?"

"Mochiwyya, at your service Master Jedi," Mowchie said with a reverent bow. "I was sent to look for you."

"Is it true? Master Adi Gallia sent Stacey with you to find us?"

"Oh, indeed, Master Jinn." Mowchie went on to quickly explain what had happened in the past day, including Adi's directions to him and the logic behind the decision to send me - as much as he understood of it, anyway. "And it was the right idea, you see," he concluded. "She sensed that you were near, that I had in fact passed your position. We backtracked, and here we are - as are you."

Qui-Gon nodded slowly, grasping everything and turning it over in his mind. His eyes drifted to my face, and I looked helplessly up at him, through with being brave for now and wanting just to hide in his arms for the rest of the trip back. "I see," the Master murmured. "Perhaps we should take the offer and return with you to Reva, then. Our search has not been entirely fruitless. It would be best if we went back and got a fresh start, knowing what we know now."

Mowchie bowed his head in acceptance. "Do you wish to start now?"

"No," Qui-Gon answered kindly. "We will spend the night here. It's not safe to be traveling after dark in the war zone, cease-fire or no."

The Wookiee pilot agreed, and went out to find a place to park and hide the speeder until we were ready to leave. Master Qui-Gon explained that he and Obi-Wan had chanced upon the abandoned shack at the right time, it was getting dark and the old structure looked warm enough for a single night's stay - ' warmer than tenting in the snow. "Though, hardly comfortable," Obi-Wan added.

"Looks okay to me," I said wearily, handing him my empty cup.

"Stacey," Qui-Gon interjected, and I knew by the tone of his voice, he wanted to ask me something important. I looked up at him, anticipating. "Something happened to you a short time ago, I know it," he began. "I felt, distantly, your fear. I knew you were afraid of something. What was it?"

I clenched my jaw, but I knew I had to tell him. I wanted to tell him. It was half the reason I was so desperate to find him. "I saw Niall."

His eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Seven foot tall Chagrian, horns, blue skin? Yes, I'm sure," I said irritably. "I ran into him in Este, about a half an hour ago I think. He...he came up behind me and grabbed me," I explained, unable to stop my emotions from telling in my voice, though I swallowed the tears this time. Both Jedi stared in obvious alarm. "...and I didn't know what to do. I was scared to death of him. He...he couldn't sense me. He said so, he couldn't sense me and he didn't know if I was even human. But...he let me go." Instinctively, I began rubbing my arms as though cold, and felt a twinge of pain. I slid the sleeves of my sweater up and froze at the sight of huge, purple bruises from the Chagrian's fingers on my upper arms.

The Master brushed his hands lightly over the bruises, taking in the size and spread of them, and then gazed anxiously at me. "He didn't hurt you apart from this, did he?"

"No," I quickly assured. "Just this. I was just more scared than anything, I didn't know what he would do to me."

Qui-Gon's arms came around me and hugged me protectively to his chest, and I willingly sank into it. "It's all right, you're safe now," he whispered. "We will be safe here tonight, and in the morning we will go back to Reva, and make our plans from there. You can tell me exactly what happened then, you don't need to tell me now," he offered, using one hand to gently smooth down my wind-ruffled hair. "It's too late to try and go back to Este, and Niall is likely long gone by now."

I nodded against his chest and sighed in relief, thankful to be back with my Jedi once again. I could see Obi-Wan's blue eyes peering at me from over Qui-Gon's arms and tried to smile at him, to let him know everything was all right, but I felt like crying instead. The Padawan got up and started rummaging around. "There's got to be a med kit of some kind in here," I heard him mutter. "We need to treat those bruises."

"It will be all right, Obi-Wan," his Master reassured. "They will heal by themselves in time. I would think a little food would do a better job of healing." He pulled me away from him and smiled down at me. "Yes?"

I nodded. In truth, I was pretty hungry. Mowchie came back, then, and announced that the speeder was safe and no one passing on the road would notice it or the old shacks. The Jedi set about preparing some sort of meal out of the supplies they had left from what they had carried with them, a meager meal which we ate sitting on the floor near the fire in relative silence. Qui-Gon asked how I had kept myself busy in their absence, and I told him in as few words as possible, because I didn't really feel like talking. He seemed to sense that, because he left me alone after a while and talked strategy with Mowchie instead. Now that I had calmed down and warmed up, my cheeks felt unnaturally hot and my fingers stung with a chill I couldn't quite ease. While Obi-Wan cleaned up from dinner and tried to make it look like we hadn't been there, Qui-Gon turned his attention back to me and touched my cheek. "You're frostbitten," he noted.

"I am?" I rested a hand on the cheek where his fingertips had brushed it. "I didn't realize it."

"It doesn't look bad," the Master assured, resting the back of his hand against my skin to gauge the damage. "No more running around in the cold, though. All right?"

"Not a problem," I said with a tired chuckle. I was beginning to feel safe again, and my usual cheerfulness was starting to come back out. "I'm ready to just hide out in Colin's house from now on, I seem to get in trouble any time I leave it."

"You're not in trouble," Qui-Gon soothed, getting to his feet and helping me up after him. "In fact, what happened to you may be a big break for us. I find it very interesting that Niall let you go."

"What's this about Jedi Niall?" Mowchie wondered.

I sighed, realizing I hadn't told him a thing. "I ran into him in Este."

Mowchie groaned in a very plaintive Wookiee manner. "Ai, no! That is why you were upset! Forgive me, I should not have left your side. I have failed you!"

"It's all right, no one has failed anybody," Qui-Gon cautioned, holding up a hand. "It could have turned out much worse than it did. I will need to think about this, and consider it while we are planning our next step. But for now," he said with a concluding tone, "we will get some sleep. You've had quite an adventure," he added with a smile at me that made his eyes sparkle. "You must be tired."

"Yeah," I admitted, slumping onto the single bunk that the cabin had to offer and kicking off my boots.

"I think, under the circumstances, we ought to keep watch through the night," Qui-Gon went on. "I doubt anything will happen, but it's better to be on guard just in case someone else decides to seek shelter in what looks like an abandoned hut. I will take the first watch."

"I will take the second," Mowchie immediately volunteered.

"Padawan, you have the third," the Master nodded toward Obi-Wan. "That will keep the shifts short. Get some sleep," he said to me as he drifted toward the door, which I noticed had a small hatch in it like a covered peephole or something.

The Wookiee stretched out on the floor with his big, furry feet toward the fire, making it clear that he would not be asked if he wanted the bed at all. I looked up at Obi-Wan as he stepped near, folding his robe into a small bundle. "What are we going to do?" I asked him.

"Do you mind sharing, or do you want me to sleep on the floor?" he politely wondered.

I looked at the bed. There were a couple folded blankets on the end of it, looking rather dusty, but I reached over and dragged one to me anyway. "Well...we shared at Colin's. I don't see why we can't now."

Obi-Wan smiled softly, and then moved to place his robe where there should be a pillow. He slipped his boots off, then his belt, and climbed onto the bed behind me, placing himself between me and the wall. I took the hint and laid down, letting him draw the musty blanket up to cover us as he curled up beside me. "Ugh," I had to comment. "This blanket stinks."

"There's no telling how long it's been in here - or what used it last," Obi-Wan chuckled in my ear.

"Oh, don't tell me that." I rested my head on his robe, finding that it smelled much nicer than the blanket, and deliberately snuggled into it. I rolled over to look at him, and found his stormy-sea eyes gazing at me with sad concern. "What?" I mumbled.

"Are you going to be all right?" he wondered. "You had a bad scare."

"It was more than just a bad scare." Reminded of it, my heart sank under the weight of a vague remnant of my fear.

As if in response to it, Obi-Wan's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me to him, until he could nestle his head against mine and cradle me within the curve of his body. It felt very good, and very safe. "Put it out of your mind," he advised in a whisper. "We are here to protect you, and I will keep you warm. Everything will be fine, you can go to sleep without a single worry."

"Thank you," I whispered back, closing my eyes. I doubted I would be able to get to sleep as long as I could feel the Padawan's arms curled protectively around me and his breath on my cheek, but my exhaustion proved stronger than my delight and I drifted off almost right away. In fact, I slept soundly through the night for the most part, waking only a couple of times from the cold or from the intrusion of unwanted characters in my dreams. At one point I woke up shivering, realizing that Obi-Wan was no longer protecting me from the poorly-insulated wall, but before I could sit up and wonder where he was, a body slid into bed with me and resumed the job of holding me close. It was Qui-Gon this time. It was early in the morning, still dark, and Obi-Wan was on watch now. I didn't know if he realized I was awake, so I remained still and let him pull me into the shelter of his huge chest. After that, I didn't wake up again until dawn, until it was time for us to leave.

*****

The speeder hovered just around a bend in the road from the border-gates, which we could barely see through the trees. They were shut fast. "I had not thought of this," Mowchie admitted humbly. "We crossed over easily yesterday. They will not be so easy on us if we approach with two Jedi on board."

"They didn't even check for ID or anything," I added. "Sheesh, I've had to go through more scrutiny crossing the border into a friendly country on my world."

The Jedi sat in the back of the speeder, and Qui-Gon was hunched forward in the space between my seat and the pilot's, peering at the view out the hatch and thinking. We had skimmed quickly through Thara, passing on the outside of Este rather than risking a trip through town, and were now trying to figure out what to do about getting back into Reva. "How strong is the repulsorlift on your engine, Mowchie?" Obi-Wan wondered. "Could we fly over the gates?"

"Even if I could, we would never make it," the Wookiee grumbled. "There is a shield."

"A shield?" I repeated, incredulous.

"How do you know?" Qui-Gon asked him.

"Tharin use shielding on their border crossings," Mowchie shrugged. "It is common knowledge. At least, they are known to use shielding when it is functional, and when defense at the border can be maintained."

"We will have to go through the gate," Qui-Gon mused, still staring at the bend in the road ahead of us. No one spoke to challenge him, so we sat quietly until he finished thinking and sat back in his seat. "Was there a point behind us from which you can see the area on the other side of the gate?"

"Perhaps." Mowchie swiveled in his seat to look at the Jedi Master. "What are you thinking?"

"Your speeder is fast," Qui-Gon noted. "If we could back off and watch the gates, we could see if a ship or even a person is coming to the crossing. The moment they opened the gates to let them through, we could head for the border and slip through before they had a chance to close them again."

I glanced back at him, and noticed he was dead serious about the idea. Mowchie gave a snuffling Wookiee laugh. "You put much faith in my flying, Master Jinn."

"I have to, or we will be trapped in this country just like Niall Oberanu," the Master said smartly. "Can you do it?"

"I think you will not be stuck here," Mowchie replied, turning the speeder and heading back up the road a short distance.

At another bend not far from the last one, the road was elevated enough that a decent, though obstructed, view of the no-man's land between the border guards' stations could be had. I settled down to wait, pondering what Qui-Gon had said about Niall. It was something of a mystery to me why the rogue Jedi hadn't caught the first ship off-planet and disappeared into the vast uncharted depths of the Outer Rim or something. Instead of escaping, he was still on the planet where he committed his crime, as if waiting to be caught. I was just about to turn and ask Qui-Gon about it when he announced, in a low voice, "There is a ship approaching."

Craning my neck to see through the trees, I could almost make out the shape of a vehicle coasting up to the Revin guard post. I could better tell from the stirred-up clouds of powdery snow that something was there, a fair-sized something that inched its way forward to meet the Tharin side of the crossing. "Now, Mowchie," Qui-Gon demanded.

"Time for fancy flying," the Wookiee warned, punching the accelerator. "Hold on."

I felt my insides sink all the way into the pit of my abdomen as the craft leaped forward and sped crazily toward the bend in the road and the gate beyond it. I hoped Mowchie was a better pilot than he admitted to being. My hands clenched on the edge of the seat in terror, and I silently thanked God that the speeder was equipped with very thick, taut safety harnesses. The road screamed by beneath us, the trees whipping past in a blur, but the worst part lay just ahead where the road bent in about a sixty-degree angle, practically doubling back on itself. I winced and held my breath as the speeder banked sharply and took the turn at full speed, throwing me hard to the right, into the harness. My feet, which I tried bracing against the floor, flew out from underneath me. The speeder righted itself, throwing me back the other way, and I looked up just in time to see the astonished faces of the drivers of the transport that had just come through from the other side. We flashed past them in an instant and then blasted through the open gate, drawing fire from the Tharin guards as soon as we drew abreast of their station. The blaster shots zinged harmlessly around us as we raced past the border, beyond the adjacent Revin guard-post, and sped recklessly into Reva. I twisted around and looked behind us, amazed that we had squeaked through the gate and been able to avoid hitting the transport, now that I could see just how narrow a passage it really was. Mowchie flew with a vengeance, determined not to slacken speed until we were well within Revin territory. I gasped, "Oh my gosh!" several times under my breath, unable to say much more than that.

"We made it," Obi-Wan said from behind me, rather blandly.

"Made it, yes, but now we are in trouble," Mowchie growled. "The guards will call a patrol. We will be intercepted very quickly, you can be sure."

"We are within Reva now," Qui-Gon said. "A patrol here will let us pass."

"Though Mowchie will be fined for not stopping at the border," Mowchie kept growling.

"I will pay your fine, my friend," the Master assured him. "It is the least I can do. Thank you for helping us."

Mowchie was correct. Within a few miles of the border we were stopped by a large and well-armed convoy of militia, who quickly let us pass when they found out the runaway speeder carried two Jedi about whom Master Adi had already spread word, so the militia could be on the lookout for us. Adi and Colin received a transmission from one of the convoy while we were en route, and were standing in the yard waiting for us when we finally arrived in Droste. "Qui-Gon!" Adi called out brightly as we emerged from the speeder and stretched our legs after the long ride. "You made it back all right. Good, it's good to see you safe."

Qui-Gon looked at her, holding her gaze in silence, and then trudged sullenly past her. "We must talk," he muttered, heading straight for the house without waiting. I glanced at Obi-Wan, whose brow furrowed in curiosity, and both of us followed the Master inside.

It looked like Qui-Gon wanted to go straight up to our room, but Master Adi halted him at the bottom of the stairs, in the kitchen. "What is wrong, Qui-Gon? Did something happen in Thara?"

"Yes, something happened," Qui-Gon said evenly, facing her and folding his arms over his chest. "Not to me, but to Stacey. You shouldn't have sent her."

"I had to, there was no one else we could send to get you," Adi countered, setting her hands on her slim hips. "My contacts told me you were in danger of being captured, someone had to bring you back."

"And you sent Stacey?" Qui-Gon's eyes flashed with irritation. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you placed her in by sending her after me? She has no training, no weapons, and no idea how to behave in a war zone. It is to our fortune that she is intelligent, or I would have likely found myself bringing a body back from Thara."

"I thought you gave her instruction, and said she was not to be underestimated," Adi challenged, not at all intimidated by the bristling Jedi Master facing her. "She looks fine to me. I don't understand why you have a problem with my decision, since it turned out to be the right one."

"And how do you know it was the right one?" Qui-Gon turned and paced a little, mustering his calm in the short silence. Both Masters were speaking in careful, controlled tones, but I had the distinct impression that they were arguing. The Jedi equivalent of a shouting argument, I guessed, as I sank to a seat at the dining table. "We did return safely, and they did find us relatively quickly. I will admit that. But in the process, Stacey could have been kidnapped or killed."

"That is a rather broad assumption to make."

Qui-Gon's glance drifted to me, and I knew he wanted me to tell my story. I looked up at Adi and sighed, saying, "I ran into Niall Oberanu."

Adi started in surprise. "You did?"

"He grabbed me from behind. I thought he was going to kill me." I told her the full story, beginning with spotting a shadowy figure on the street in Este and detailing as much as I could remember, though it reawakened the stabbing pain of fear in my chest. Qui-Gon was hearing some of these details for the first time, but kept his reaction shrouded behind his steely glare. I tried to make it clear that it was my own fault for wandering into a strange building alone that contributed to my dangerous situation, but I had a feeling Qui-Gon didn't see it that way. "He let me go, I don't think he really wanted to hurt me," I added anxiously. "I'm okay now. Except for the bruises."

"He grabbed her so hard he left bruises on her arms," Qui-Gon explained, his voice quiet and cold.

Adi stared at me, disturbed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." She then shifted her gaze to Qui-Gon. "But there was no way of knowing something like that would happen. We had to send someone, I didn't know if you realized your secrecy had been compromised and you were in danger. There was no time to debate, I made my plan based on the few options available to us. You know me to make the best use of my resources."

"She is nothing but a resource to you?"

"Everything is a resource to me," Adi said darkly. "I didn't demand anything of her or give orders. I considered the logic of this plan and gave her a choice. She chose to go."

"I can't believe you even considered sending her to be one of your options," Qui-Gon persisted.

"She did well."

"Niall could have killed her!"

"But he didn't." Adi remained calm, and after taking a breath, Qui-Gon's control returned to him as well. "Master Qui-Gon, your concern for your friend is admirable. But I think you are overreacting. I did not make any mistakes in deciding to send Stacey into Thara, she came out of it fine and accomplished what needed to be done."

Qui-Gon held her gaze firmly. "You put her in danger by sending her after me."

"No, you put her in danger by bringing her with you to Salji."

A tense silence fell between them. I looked up at Qui-Gon, noticing that the anger had drained from his face and his eyes had dropped away, to the floor. After a long while, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and when he spoke his voice was thick and quiet. "At least I know where Niall is - or was, as of last night. Obi-Wan and I uncovered a few things of interest. We will go over them later, when I have pieced everything together." He finally looked up again. "Nothing has changed here, has it?"

"No. Things are still as they were when you left. And there has been no contact about a cease-fire," Master Adi informed him. "I believe this was a temporary lull. Fighting may resume at any moment."

"Then we are fortunate we got out of Thara when we did." Master Qui-Gon turned and immediately started up the stairs without even concluding the discussion, nor asking his apprentice or myself to join him. I looked helplessly up at Obi-Wan, who had been standing just behind Adi in the doorway, watching. He looked rather serious himself, but he crossed the room and came to sit beside me.

"I apologize, again, for what happened to you with Niall," Adi said blandly to me. "Times like these are unpredictable. You are safe in Reva again, you can put it behind you." With that, she also turned and departed, heading for the door to leave.

I gave Obi-Wan another helpless look and grumbled, "I'm always getting in the way."

"No, you're not," he gently assured, laying a hand on top of mine. "Master Qui-Gon is right, Master Adi shouldn't have let you go, it was dangerous."

"No more dangerous than I made it myself," I grumbled. "Why does everyone think I have to be coddled? Okay, so I don't know much about wars on Salji and stuff. That doesn't mean I can't handle myself in a situation. Niall did scare me," I admitted, "but I'm alive. We're all alive, and safe. Mowchie took good care of me, and we found you without too much trouble."

Obi-Wan's eyes lowered. "Well...yes. That's true."

I looked up the stairwell, wondering what had become of Qui-Gon. His reaction startled me, I didn't know he was so upset about me taking part in the mission. I had to know why. I slid my feet out from under the table and got up. "I'm going to go see if he's all right."

"I'll come with you."

"Maybe you shouldn't." Obi-Wan stared at me, puzzled. I sighed and relented. "Okay, but...I want to talk to him."

The Padawan nodded in agreement and let me lead the way. I went upstairs and palmed the switch to open our door, which slid open with a hiss. I don't know what I would have done had it been locked. Qui-Gon was sitting in a chair staring at the wall, lost in thought, though he glanced at my intrusion out of the corner of his eye. "Hey," I began. "Everything okay?"

His head drooped. "I'm sorry."

I eased my way into the room, Obi-Wan shadowing me silently. "It's okay..."

"No, it isn't," Qui-Gon said morosely. "Adi was right. I am the one who put you in danger."

"Aw, Qui-Gon." I crossed to him and stood at his side, waiting until he looked up at me with regret in his eyes. "Don't think that," I implored. "You're not to blame for what happened to me, no one is. Except maybe me," I nervously chuckled. "It was kind of stupid of me to go in there alone."

The Master sighed and looked away, closing his eyes for a moment. "I don't hold that against you. Don't think yourself brainless for what you did. I didn't mean to imply that you were in any way lacking intelligence, because you are not."

"What's the matter, then?" I asked him.

He didn't answer for a while. When he did, his voice was low and heavy. "I was very surprised and even frightened when you showed up at the cabin," he said, recalling the incident from last night. "On the one hand, I couldn't understand how in the world you could have made it into Thara and actually tracked me down, or why. On the other, I saw and felt that you were afraid, and didn't know if you had been hurt. That...affected me. I immediately blamed Adi for sending you into an uncertain situation, but in truth I am the one to blame for dragging you here."

"No, you're not," I insisted. "There's no telling what might have happened if I didn't go to bring you back - and I'm not one for speculating on 'what ifs.' It couldn't have been any other way, and you know it. And don't go thinking Adi was right, and Mace was right for saying you shouldn't drag me into this," I scolded. "No regrets, remember? I'm here, so deal with it."

Qui-Gon pulled himself out of the chair and started pacing, though he only got a couple of steps away before pausing and bowing his head in thought. "The one thing I never wish to do," he said heavily, "is put another in danger, whether they are a friend or someone I just met."

"You didn't put me in danger," I cajoled, going over to him and touching him lightly on the arm so he would turn and look at me. "I agreed to it. You gave me the choice to come to Salji, and I came. Adi gave me the choice to go after you, and I said I would. It's not your fault. Please, Qui-Gon." He kept his back to me, so I rested my head on his arm and my hand on his back in a half-hug. I had wanted to argue with him, but I felt bad seeing him so torn, so I chose my next words carefully. "You keep telling everyone - and telling me - that I'm important, useful. But now you're upset that I actually got some use. I don't get it."

"It doesn't seem right, does it?" the Master murmured. "Perhaps I did overreact. It was difficult to maintain my objectivity when it was you who might have been hurt, or killed." He glanced down at me with an anxious frown. "I do think you are important. But I also don't wish to see you hurt. Your reaction when you found me was...hard to ignore."

I looked down, embarrassed that I had lost control like some terrified little girl. "Well, I was scared. I admit it. When I found you, I was so happy because I was so scared of Niall and the only thing I wanted was to find you. But that was just my reaction, just one moment," I insisted. "I'm not scared of being here. I'm glad I'm here, and I'm very glad I was able to help you out. See? You were right. I am useful for something."

Qui-Gon moved, then, turning to me and gazing down. I gave him the most earnest look I could in return. A brief chuckle escaped him as he tipped my face up to look at him with one fingertip. "Why do you have to be so headstrong?" he wondered.

I grinned. "Because you are. How else am I going to put up with you?"

Another chuckle, and a heavy hand laid on my shoulder. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this. You are much kinder to me than I deserve."

"Oh, stop that," I said playfully, stepping back as Obi-Wan finally drifted over to us, no longer afraid of intruding. I looked back and forth between the Jedi. "Thanks, both of you, for taking care of me last night. I don't think I've ever been that scared, I didn't know what to do. I feel kind of dumb for freaking out on you like that."

"It's all right, under the circumstances I think you did just fine," Obi-Wan smiled. "Not everyone comes face-to-face with a rogue Jedi and walks away unharmed. Master Qui-Gon does have a point - if not for your encounter, we would have no idea where Niall Oberanu is. Or was. We found nothing in Este."

"I will sit down with Adi later and go over what we did find in Thara," Qui-Gon assured, his natural calm returning to him. It was good to see. "That includes Stacey running into Niall. Some questions I have may be answered."

"Master, how come Niall hasn't left Salji?" I asked him. It was still nagging me, and had been ever since he had brought it up that morning. "Wouldn't he be smart to catch a transport and disappear?"

"It would be smart," Qui-Gon agreed, facing me with a curious frown and tucking his hands into his robe sleeves. "You're right. He hasn't left Salji. Though I said earlier he was stranded in Thara, that's not quite the case - he is deliberately choosing to stay. There's no reason that I can see why he should, his best option would be to make his way to the nearest functional spaceport and leave Salji. Instead..." He trailed off, leaving me to state the obvious.

"He's hiding out," I said. "In Thara. Does he have allies there?"

"A few, I think. I will have to ask Adi what her take on it is." A smirk suddenly lit his eyes. "Was she upset with you because I gave the chip to you?"

I thought about it and shook my head. "No, not that I could see. I gave it to her before I left yesterday, I thought she should know what was on it."

"That was a wise thing to do." Qui-Gon patted me on the shoulder and then started for the door, waving for us to follow. "I knew I could trust it in your hands, you acted correctly. Come. I need to apologize to her for accusing her of endangering your life," he said humbly.

"Master, Adi left just after you did," Obi-Wan said. "She went outside."

"Oh? Then we will wait for her to return," Qui-Gon decided, still heading for the door and the stairs. "In the meantime, I will find out from Colin what this 'break' in the fighting entails and what he knows. We heard some things in Thara that give me cause for concern..."

*****

The close darkness of the small alcove pressed in around me, though I found it a comfort as I settled down to sleep, recalling the last few hours and thinking about what had gone on. The rest of the day had been somewhat less tense, but Adi did not quickly warm back up to Qui-Gon even after he apologized for his outburst. She did confirm that she was not at all upset that he chose me to hold onto his plans, and even smiled a little at him. "Had you given that chip to me, the first thing I would have done was slide it into my comlink and listen to it," she admitted, "and then your plans would have been no safer than if someone transmitted them directly to Tharin military intelligence. I think you made the right choice in this matter." Nevertheless, no more was said about the decision to send me into Thara, as discussion focused instead on what was learned and what to do next. Qui-Gon had already decided that after a day's rest and reconnaissance, he would consider returning to Thara, this time with direct intent to bring Niall in now that they had some idea of where he had been lurking lately and who his allies were. I excused myself from the table as soon as I had shared all the information I could, and laid in bed trying to capture the hectic events of the past day in my journal until the Jedi finally came up to retire for the night.

It seemed all was well as I listened to the sound of my companions breathing in the darkness on either side of me. I guessed that neither of them was asleep yet, and I could only imagine what might be racing through their minds after what had happened to us. To be honest, my own mind was working overtime to assimilate war, Niall, spies, and strategy, but I was able to quiet it by focusing instead on the distinct presences surrounding me. Obi-Wan, I could tell, was lying on his side facing me, because I could feel the draft of his breath tickling my ear. He slept on the outside edge because he was in fact restless, and had kicked me a couple of times over the past few nights. Qui-Gon lay between me and Adi like a great wall, stretched almost the full length of the alcove-bed on his stomach, unmoving. The room wasn't completely dark, there was a faint light that came from somewhere, but all I could see in the blackness was vague shapes and outlines. As I lay there, drinking in the peace and safety of the community bed, Obi-Wan stirred and rolled over to face the other way, then rustled some more, repositioning his pillow and trying to nestle into it. A light sigh of exasperation came from Qui-Gon, and I tried not to laugh out loud at it. I could almost hear him telling Obi-Wan to settle down, but he didn't say anything, not wanting anyone's sleep to be disturbed. Adi, though, was the only one asleep at the moment. I quietly maneuvered onto my side, facing the Master, and nearly jumped when he reached a hand over and brushed his fingers lightly down my arm. I turned my hand over and caught his when it came back up, letting him know that I was awake. His fingers squeezed mine in recognition and then let go, and he seemed to settle down more peacefully and drift toward sleep. I smiled to myself, and wished I could curl up close to him like that last night on Chad.

As I lay there dreaming, I heard something. Not in the room, or even in the house, but distant and muffled. It sounded like thunder, only short in duration. No sound could be heard inside, except the light breathing of the Jedi bunking with me, making it very easy to hear something that was happening outside. I held my breath, waiting, and was rewarded when I heard it again: a low, muffled rumble. They didn't have thunder on Salji, even in the worst snowstorms. I hoped they didn't have quakes either, because I'd just been through one recently and didn't care to repeat the incident. Wide awake now, I propped myself up on my elbows and held still, listening attentively. There was another thud, and this time some object in the room rattled from nearly imperceptible vibrations. I ventured a whisper, knowing at least one Jedi was still awake beside me. "Qui-Gon?"

"Hmm?" came the acknowledgement.

"What is that?"

"What is what?" he whispered back.

I waited. In moments the rumble came again, and loose objects rattled. "That."

Qui-Gon sat up suddenly. "You heard that too."

"Uh huh," I continued to whisper, rolling onto my back and sitting up beside him. "What is it?"

He remained silent, and I felt a pulse of the Force sweep around me. "I think..." the Master started to say, but was interrupted by the concussion of something exploding very nearby. "Everyone, get up!" Qui-Gon immediately barked, fully awake. Obi-Wan sat bolt-upright in bed, astonished when his Master climbed over both of us and reached for a light. He tapped it a couple times, but it wouldn't turn on.

"What's going on?" I wondered, starting to feel the cold fingers of fear strangling my heart again.

"Get up, now," Qui-Gon said urgently, groping in the dark for his robe. "Droste is under attack!"

On to part 22

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