If any of them lost heart, Obi-Wan knew, if either Padawan panicked or lost concentration, he and whoever remained fo cused might not be able to sustain the intensity necessary to hold the surging, increasingly restless herd back. He tried to will his own mastery into the two learners, to lend some of his own strength to each of them. Yet as they marched deliberately forward, ever deeper into the herd, a strange thing happened.

While Barriss held her own, Anakin seemed to grow stronger. It was as if, faced by the challenge and the very real proximity of death, the Force grew within him. Obi-Wan did not entirely understand what was happening, but at the moment he was far too preoccupied to examine the phenomenon. Right then, one thing and only one mattered.

They found Luminara lying unconscious on the ground, a trickle of blood trailing from her forehead. A quick glance showed Obi-Wan that the injury was not deep. Still, he could not see what she might have suffered internally when she fell. A muscular trill ran through his fingers where he held Barriss's. He could see the concern in her face, could feel the distress. But Barriss Offee was her Master's student. As a healer, she might have been expected to drop immediately to the ground to begin ministering to her Master. As an incipient Jedi, she knew that what mattered now was not individual healing, but sustaining the Force against the powerful animals that were hissing and pawing at the ground all around them.

Displaying his physical as well as mental strength, Anakin hoisted the unconscious Jedi onto his shoulders. Together, they turned and began to retrace their steps. A growing section of the herd had been alerted to the presence of intruders in their midst. Even though no danger had manifested itself, and none among the herd had been attacked, the surepp were increasingly edgy.

It became harder and harder to hold them back. Perspiration streamed down Obi-Wan's face. Though he had the help of Bar riss and Anakin, the Force was centered on him, and it was up to him to maintain the energy that continued to hold the surepp back. He could see the barrier now, not far in front of them. The good-natured Bayaar was staring at him anxiously, wanting to encourage the visitor but not daring to shout his support. Standing well behind him, the rest of the Borokii who had come out to watch whispered fearfully among themselves.

Something bumped up against Obi-Wan, nearly knocking him off his feet. For an instant, his concentration faltered under the impact of the heavy surepp flank. Barriss shot him a look of alarm while confusion replaced confidence on Anakin's face. Atop his shoulders, Luminara stirred uneasily. If she cried out. .

Then an exhausted Obi-Wan was through the quiescent barrier, and Anakin was handing his burden across. The waiting Kyakhta and Bulgan took her, Tooqui helping as much as he could. Together, they placed her gently on the ground, laying

her on her back. Barriss was at her side in an instant, running sensitive, trained fingers over her Master's forehead, using part of her robe to wipe the blood from Luminara's face. Beneath the Padawan's gentle ministrations, the unconscious Jedi moaned softly.

Behind them, something bawled loudly. There was the sound of bone striking flesh. Anakin Skywalker half tumbled, half flew through the tangling barrier under the impact of the surepp's head-butt. He hit the ground hard, nearly knocking a startled Tooqui over in the process, rolled, and ended up on his belly. Obi-Wan eyed him anxiously as a crackling sound filled the night air. A surepp yelped, then another, as they made contact with the reactivated barrier and hastily retreated.

"Anything broken?" Obi-Wan inquired solicitously.

Wincing, Anakin struggled to his feet. "Only my dignity, Master." He nodded in the direction of the prone Luminara. "How is she?"

Barriss looked up at him. "I sense no internal damage, but I can't be certain."

Luminara's eyes opened. She blinked a couple of times and did not smile. "Help me to my feet."

"Master Luminara," Barriss began, "I'm not sure it's wise for you to-"

"It probably wasn't wise for me to go into that herd, either," Luminara declared painfully as she straightened. With Obi-Wan assisting on one side and Anakin on the other, she was soon standing among them. "But it had to be done." She gestured apologetically to Bayaar. "I'm afraid I lost your knife."

"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked her.

"It's not exactly like running a training course at the Temple. Every surepp back was different, yet I didn't have time to study where I was going to place my feet. I just had to run, and not linger, and hope. Everything was going well until I landed on an animal that was unexpectedly wet. It must have been grooming itself, or spent a lot of time being groomed by others. I slipped, and before I could catch myself, my head hit the ground." She smiled at each of them in turn. "Thank you for coming after me."

"You had no choice but to do what you did," Obi-Wan told her. "When you went down, we had no choice but to come after you."

"And I thought the Jedi were the masters of choice," Anakin murmured. "So much for that maxim."

Barriss's eyes widened slightly, then she slumped. "And we still have to find a way to get the fur, if we're going to get the Borokii elders to talk to us."

As she brought her hand down from her forehead, Luminara's lower, tattooed lip curled slightly upward. "You forget, Padawan: I was on my way back to you." Her expression fell. "Unless it slipped out when I went down." Reaching into her lower undergarment, she felt around anxiously for a moment. Then, slowly, her smile returned.

In her fingers she held the requisite tuft of fur from the albino surepp. It was the color of dirty snow.

Turning to Bayaar, she displayed the small, seemingly in significant prize that had nearly been bought at so high a price. "You saw how it happened," she told the sentinel. Behind him, other Borokii were crowding around, each eager for a glimpse of proof of the extraordinary accomplishment. "It was done as demanded. Will the Council of Elders confer with us now?"

The sentinel gestured approvingly. "I fail to see why they would not. This is a moment I will remember for my grand children, as you may do the same for yours."

"Jedi do not have children." Surrounded by her friends, she started back through the Borokii encampment toward the dis tant visitors' house.

Bayaar watched them go. They were very powerful indeed, these offworlders. Masters of a great many talents, not to mention the Force itself. Therefore it seemed strange that one should feel sorry for them.

But he did.

Her posture straightened and her stride lengthened as they walked through the encampment. Curious Borokii, busy with nocturnal tasks, turned to follow their progress. Anakin and Bar-riss, Obi-Wan and Kyakhta, Bulgan and Tooqui, all crowded around her, offering tender congratulatory pats and touches or, in the manner of the two Alwari, caresses that were exotic and lingering but in no way invasive. Meanwhile Tooqui did his best to express his own relief by clinging occasionally to one of the Jedi's bare legs-a position that incidentally kept him from being pushed aside by the others. Restrained by his status and outside the group, Bayaar nonetheless made a point of offering traditional Borokii congratulations.