Obi watched the gray-brown city rise to meet them. All kinds of lifeforms hung around the dusty port, smoking or talking. There was some sort of fight in the far corner, he noticed, and suddenly he felt uneasy about the planet.

Qui-gon shut off the engine. "Now, Master Skywalker should be here any minute. This is a dangerous city, Obi, and I don't want you to getting hurt. That would only prove the Council right and possibly jeopardize the assignment. Do you understand that?"

Obi sighed. 'Why can't he trust me not to screw up for once?' he thought. "Yes Master" he said.

"Good." Qui-gon settled back into his seat, tapping his fingers together in front of him. Bursts of light glinted through the cockpit and off the windows as one of the fighters pulled out a blaster and began firing wildly. "I hope he doesn't hit the ship." Qui-gon commented idly. "I would hate to have to ask Skywalker to fix this one too."

"Master," Obi began, warily eying the bouncing bolts, "isn't there a. . . . . uh, any safer place on this planet than here?"

Qui-gon raised his eyebrows as he regarded his Padawan. "I thought you were eager to go on assignment?"

"Well, ya. But, no. Not like this." Obi stammered.

"Do not worry Padawan," Qui-gon chuckled. "You'll get used to the city. It's really not that bad. Besides," he leaned forward as if divulging a great secret, "this is the closest port to Aris, where Master Skywalker lives, and you don't want to be out there for too long, especially if you're not used to it."

Obi frowned. "Is that why we're working with this Master Skywalker? For protection?"

"Mostly," Qui-gon nodded. "And a complex knowledge of the planet and its ways is crucial."

"Damn. And I thought it was 'cuz ya'll actually liked me," said a sarcastic voice behind them.

Obi spun around in surprise. A tall woman was leaning on the wide door frame, watching them. A thin silver ribbon, woven into in the sleeves of her white tunic and tied in small bows, tapered off towards her hands and caught the shine of the metal cockpit. Honey-blond hair fell to her waist, and she held a sleek black helmet under one arm. A hint of a smile danced on her lips as she waited for a reply.

"Master Skywalker," Qui-gon said evenly, "how nice to see you."

Master Skywalker rolled her eyes. "Come on, Qui-gon, quit the formalities. You know how I feel about that." She nodded towards Obi. "Who's the kid?"

Obi bit his lip in resentment. Just because she was a Jedi and he wasn't yet didn't mean that she had to treat him like a small child. But why hadn't he felt her enter the ship? For that matter, how had she gotten in? Their security system was state-of-the-art, and he was sure that the Council hadn't granted her access.

Qui-gon chuckled. "I don't think that's quite a fair statement, Jadia. He's older than you are."

"And your point would be?" Jadia waved a hand through the air as if trying to find a reason. As she dropped her hand, she looked directly at Obi. It took all of his self-control to hold her piercing gaze; she seemed to be staring into his soul. Abruptly, she turned back to Qui-gon. "So, was up?"

Obi realized with shame that he had been pressing back into his chair, and quickly sat up. Glancing at Jadia, he caught the end of a quick smile, and knew that she had noticed. Cheeks flaming, he blurted out, "We were sent here to find a bounty hunter named Tajet. You know him?" He caught the warning glance from Qui-gon and quickly feel silent again.

Jadia glanced at him, then stood up straight. Walking to the controls, she leaned against the computers and stared out into the port. Drunken voices could be heard plainly from outside, but she ignored them. Obi felt squeamish - had he done something wrong again? He fidgeted in his chair, pretending not to see Qui-gon's 'stop that' looks.

Suddenly, she turned around with such force that her long hair nearly whipped Qui-gon. "We have to get." she said urgently. "The port ain't so safe. Especially," she looked at Qui-gon, "for the inexperienced."

Obi caught the meaning behind her words and flushed with anger. He could handle himself! Before he could say anything, she continued. "Now, I can really only take one of ya at a time. I can call Hormati, get a speeder up here, but it'll cost ya in time and credits. We can try a double ride. But the kid's got to go, now."

Qui-gon nodded. "I've never known you to be wrong when it comes to these things. Take him with you. I'll take care of myself." Jadia nodded and began to walk to the door, holding her helmet in front of her. "But, Jadia?"

She stopped and turned. "Ya? What be it?"

"Don't hurt him too badly, okay?"

Jadia laughed. "You got it, Jinn." She nodded to Obi again. "Come on kid, it's time to hit the road." She slid the helmet over her head and left.
Obi stared at Qui-gon. "What?" Qui-gon said innocently.

"I can't believe that. . . .that you'd sit there and . . . . .like I'm a burden . . . .you know perfectly well . . . ." Obi sputtered angrily.

Qui-gon placed a reassuring hand on his Padawan's shoulders. "Yes, I know. But she's very knowledgeable about this planet, and it's true that you don't know what to except. . ." he held up his other hand to cut off the arguments. "Just go with it, okay Obi? Remember what I've taught you and you'll be fine." A loud motor outside roared angrily. Qui-gon sighed. "Here's something else to remember - don't keep her waiting for long. Go on." he said, motioning towards the door.

Obi stood up and started to walk out. "But Master," he whined, stopping in his tracks.

"Go." Qui-gon said, and there was no mistaking the tone of his voice. Obi sighed and walked out of the ship, dejected.

At the bottom of the ramp there was a strange machine Obi had never seen before. He eyed it warily as he descended. "Um?"

Jadia looked up from the tire she was inspecting. "You ever seen one of these babies?" Obi shook his head no. She smiled. "This is my bike. Used to be real popular a long time ago, like before speeders and all that. Don't worry, it's safe. Just sit behind me and hold on tight. Oh, ya, and you'll want one of these just in case, ya know?"

She handed him a dark blue helmet and helped him put it on correctly. She turned towards the bike to get on when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Ya?" she sighed. "What is it?"

He grabbed her shoulder harder and forced her to face him. Jadia looked at him, surprised. No one ever forced her to do anything, even if it was as simple as turning around. Just as quickly, her guard was back up and the hard look came back into her eyes. "This had better be good, or I just may break my promise to Jinn."

Obi smiled to himself. Internally cheering for his small "victory" over her, he extended his hand. "My name's Obi-Wan Kenobi, but most everyone calls me Obi."

She stared at him, unsure of what just happened. "Hey," she said finally. "Name's Jadia." She shook his hand once and turned back to her bike, biting back a smile. "Ready to go then Obi?"

"Sure," he said, his confidence restored. He slid onto the back to the bike and swung his feet up to the first spot he could find, wrapping his arms around her waist. He felt the motor race powerfully before catching hold and rip towards the exit. The smell of smoke was in the air, and he couldn't help shutting his eyes as they raced towards the busy street. Somehow, Jadia managed to merge in without killing both of them, and they were off for the open road.