met you, Anakin,' she said, turning after them.

'I'm glad I met you, too,' he called after, a reluctance evident in his voice.

Watto flew in from the salvage yard, shaking his head in disgust. 'Oudanders! They think because we live so far from everything, we know nothing!'

Anakin was still staring longingly after Padme, his gaze fixed on the empty doorway. 'They seemed nice enough to me.'

Watto snorted and flew into his face. 'Clean up this mess, then you can go home!'

Anakin brightened, gave a small cheer, and went quickly to work.

Qui-Gon led his companions back through the lime plaza of salvage shops toward the main avenue. At a place where two buildings divided to form a shadowed niche, the Jedi Master moved everyone from view and brought out his comlink from beneath his poncho. Padme and the R2 unit stood waiting patiendy, but Jar Jar prowled the space as if trapped, eyes fixed ner-. vously on the busy street.

When Obi-Wan responded to the comlink's pulse, Qui-Gon quickly filled him in on the situation. 'Are you sure there isn't anything of value left on board?' he concluded.

There was a pause at the other end. 'A few containers of supplies, the Queen's wardrobe, some jewelry maybe. Not enough for you to barter with. Not in the amounts you're talking about.'

'All right,' Qui-Gon responded with a frown. 'Another solution will present itself. I'll check back.'

He tucked the comlink beneath his poncho and signaled to the others. He was moving toward the street again when Jar Jar grabbed his arm.

'Noah gain, sire,' the Gungan pleaded. 'Da beings hereabouts crazy nuts. We goen be robbed and crunched!'

'Not likely,' Qui-Gon replied with a sigh, freeing himself. 'We have nothing of value. That's our problem.'

They started back down the street, Qui-Gon trying to think what to do next. Padme and R2-D2 stayed close as they made their way through the crowds, but Jar Jar began to lag behind, listracted by all the strange sights and smells. They were passing an outdoor cafe, its tables occupied by a rough-looking bunch of aliens, among them a Dug who was holding forth on the merits of Podracing. Jar Jar hurried to catch up to his companions, but then caught sight of a string of frogs hanging from a wire in front of a nearby stall. The Gungan slowed, his mouth watering. He had not eaten in some time. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking, then unfurled his long tongue and snapped up one of the frogs. The frog disappeared into Jar Jar's mouth in the blink of an eye..

Unfortunately, the frog was still securely tied to the wire. Jar Jar stood there, the wire hanging out of his mouth, unable to move.

The vendor in charge of the stall rushed out. 'Hey, that will be seven truguts!'

Jar Jar glanced frantically down the street for his companions, but they were already out of sight. In desperation, he let go of the frog. The frog popped out of his mouth as if catapulted, winging away at the end of the taut wire. It ricocheted this way and that, breaking free at last to land directly in the Dug's soup, splashing gooey liquid all over him.

The gangly Dug leapt to his feet in fury, catching sight of the hapless Jar Jar as he tried to move away from the frog vendor. Springing across the table on all fours, he was on top of the Gungan in an instant, grabbing him by the throat.

'Chubba! You!' the Dug snarled through its corded snout. Feelers and mandibles writhed. 'Is this yours?'

The Dug shoved the frog in the Gungan's face threateningly. Jar Jar could not get any words out, gasping for breath, fighting to break free. His eyes rolled wildly as he looked for help that wasn't there. Other creatures pushed forward to surround him, Rodians among them. The Dug threw Jar Jar to the ground, shouting at him, hovering over him in a crouch. Desperately, the Gungan tried to scramble to safety.

'No, no,' he moaned plaintively as he sought an avenue of escape. 'Why me always da one?'

'Because you're afraid,' a voice answered calmly.

Anakin Skywalker pushed his way through the crowd, coming up to stand next to the Dug. The boy seemed unafraid of the creature, undeterred by the hard-eyed crowd, his bearing selfassured. He gave the Dug an appraising look. 'Chess ko, Sebulba,' he said. 'Careful. This one's very well connected.'

Sebulba turned to face the boy, cruel face twisting with disdain as he caught sight of the newcomer. 'Tooney rana dunko, shag?' he snapped, demanding to know what the boy meant.

Anakin shrugged. 'Connected-as in Hutt.' The blue eyes fixed the Dug and saw a hint of fear in the other's face. 'Big-time connected, this one, Sebulba. I'd hate to see you diced before we had a chance to race again.'

The Dug spit in fury. 'Neek me chawa! Next time we race, wermo, it will be the end of you!' He gestured violently. 'Uto notu wo shag! If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you here and now!'

With a final glare at the cringing Jar Jar, Sebulba wheeled away, taking his companions with him, back to their tables and their food and drink. Anakin stared after the Dug. 'Yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay for me,' he said softly.

He was helping Jar Jar back to his feet when Qui-Gon, Padme, and R2-D2, having finally missed the Gungan, reappeared hurriedly through the crowd.

'Hi!' he greeted cheerfully, happy to see Padme again so soon. 'Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug.'

'Nossir, nossir!' the chagrined Gungan insisted, brushing off dust and sand. 'Me hate crunchen. Tis da last thing me want!'

Qui-Gon gave Jar Jar a careful once-over, glanced around at the crowd, and took the Gungan by the arm. 'Nevertheless, the boy saved you from a beating. You have a penchant for finding trouble, Jar Jar.' He gave Anakin a short nod. 'Thank you, my young friend.'

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