She seemed a little restless, less inclined to listen wholeheartedly to the Council. Obi-Wan didn't mind the change. Siri had always seemed just a bit too inflexible.

Now she even looked like a rebel. Her blond hair was cropped short, unlike the other Jedi Masters. Instead of a tunic and cloak, she wore a close-fitting unisuit made of leather. She nodded at him and took her place next to her Padawan, Ferus Olin.

Mace Windu's stern gaze swept over them all. "Thank you all for your punctuality," he said, giving Siri a pointed look that only caused her chin to lift and her lips to quirk in a small, apologetic smile. "We have an emergency mission that requires the service of four Jedi teams. You are to travel to Radnor, a planet overcome by a toxic disaster. Radnor is a small plan known for its research and development of high- tech weapons systems. A toxic cloud has been accidentally released by one of their weapons laboratories and is quickly spreading. Many have died; many more have become ill. So far the damage has been confined to one area."

"Two main city-states there are on Radnor," Yoda said.

"Twin cities, they are called. Tacto and Aubendo. Small cities they are, each with their own governing ministers.

Prevailing winds they have on Radnor. The winds sent the toxic cloud directly to Aubendo. Confined there the toxin has been. Yet no one knows exactly how it has spread."

"Since it is a new agent, there are many unknowns. It could be ingested into the lungs or through the skin," Mace Windu continued. "The agent is not a gas, but an organic substance carried by the air. It could possibly be spread from one being to another — we don't know this, either. The second city of Tacto has been spared as of yet."

"Change the prevailing wind will," Yoda said. "Then bring it will the toxin to the second city."

"At first Radnor dealt admirably with the disaster," Mace went on. "The officials mobilized quickly to meet the catastrophe. The afflicted city of Aubendo and the surrounding area was cordoned off and is now called the Isolation Sector. Tacto is known as the Clear Sector and there have been no cases so far. But as Tacto saw how severely afflicted Aubendo became, as they saw the numbers of deaths increase so that not one being was spared, they began to panic. The governing ministers of Tacto fled the planet. Anyone who could afford to joined them. There are now no more transports left on the planet to take those who could go. Anarchy and panic have taken over. So the Senate is stepping in. Evacuation vessels capable of transporting the remaining Tacto population are headed to Radnor and will arrive in three days."

"Surprised you look, Obi-Wan," Yoda observed.

"Merely that the Senate has acted so quickly," Obi-Wan said. Mired in bureaucracy, the Senate sometimes took months to debate a simple issue.

"Dire, the situation is," Yoda said, nodding. "Bail Organa was responsible for this quick action."

"There will be room for the sick as well as for those who haven't been exposed," Mace Windu went on. "But on the planet's surface there is panic among the healthy population, for they are afraid that there will not be enough room. Corrupt lower officials are taking bribes, so it is also feared that the sick will never make it off the planet at all."

"Chaos begun cannot be ordered so easily," Yoda said.

"You must go in and ensure that the evacuations take place in a peaceful and orderly manner," Mace said. "There are still those who survive in Aubendo, and their places on the evacuation ships must be assured. There is looting and unrest in Tacto, so the Jedi must keep the peace as well.

It is a volatile situation that means life or death for many, so we have decided that four teams are needed."

"Transport you must medications to the sick on the planet," Yoda added. "And leave you must this morning."

"A Senate transport is waiting," Mace Windu concluded.

"May the Force be with you."

Chapter Four

The Senate transport slid into orbit around Radnor. No transports were allowed to land on the planet. They would take a small cruiser to the surface.

Anakin stared down at the planet. From space, it looked blue-green, and he knew that vast seas covered much of the surface. The main landmass was small, and appeared as thought the seas around it would swallow it up.

He had visited other worlds since he'd become a Padawan.

It no longer surprised him when he saw planets whose surfaces were dominated by oceans and seas. As a boy, he could not imagine seas that could stretch as far as the eye could see. On Tattooine, he had lived in an ocean of sand.

"Hard to imagine, isn't it," Tru said, breaking into thoughts. "When you look down at a planet, I mean."

"What?" Anakin asked.

"Suffering," Tru said. "Everything seems peaceful from orbit. Then you get down there, in the middle of things, and everything changes."

"How many missions have you been on?" Anakin asked.

"Enough," Tru said softly. "Enough to have seen what I've seen. Enough to know I will see more."

It sounded like a riddle. Yet, strangely, Anakin knew what he meant. Each mission made him feel so much older. Each mission had exposed him to sadness and anger and grief.

Nevertheless he looked forward to the next, and the next.

That was what Tru meant.

"This is my first mission." Darra Thel-Tanis spoke behind them. She had not said much on the journey, instead studying the research materials the Council had provided. She had lively, rust-colored eyes and a piece of bright fabric woven through her long Padawan braid. Her energy crackled. Anakin could almost feel it in the air when she was near. "So I'm depending on you two to make me look good." Darra gave Tru and Anakin a cheerful grin.

Obi-Wan came by and put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It's time to board the cruiser."

The four Jedi teams — Anakin and Obi-Wan, Tru and Ry-Gaul Darra and Soara, and Ferus and Siri — made their way to the cargo bay. They settled into the cruiser and Siri took the controls.

Ferus Olin sat up front next to her, the light glinting off the streaks of gold in his thick dark hair. Anakin watched his profile. It was strictly emphasized in the Jedi Temple that no student was better than another. Different students had different gifts. Yet Ferus had them all. He was steady and brilliant, a physically gifted athlete, and popular with all the students. He was a few years older than Anakin, and the Masters were still talking about him long after he had gone on to become a Padawan.

He had excelled at everything he tried. Yet no student was jealous of him. They admired him and wanted to be like him.