“No. Not at all.” There was a moment of awkward silence. “I’m Kip, by the way.”

“I know.”

“And you’re Jom.”

“I am.”

“Great … great.”

More silence. Too much silence. Kip desperately tried to think of something to say. How difficult could it be? He was the chancellor’s son, for stars’ sake.

“Moving on,” Norel Quo said, ushering the group toward the next stop on their itinerary. “Moving on.”

“Maybe I’ll see you later then,” Jom said. “I think they’re putting on some kind of spread at the Melahnese Pavilion. Hope so. I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” Kip said hopelessly as Jom started to walk away. The young Valon was heading toward a dark-skinned Jedi in Padawan robes. An extremely good-looking Jedi.

“Er, have you heard about Rhil,” Kip said, catching up with Jom and the Padawan.

Both Valon and Padawan shook their heads. “Should we have?” Jom asked.

“She’s quite a big deal, according to my mom.” Yes, because that’s exactly what Kip needed to do in this situation, talk about his mother. “She got sacked from her first job.”

“Your mom?”

“No, Rhil. There was a fight.”

“Okay, now I have to know what happened.”

“I saw it,” Kip babbled. “I mean, I wasn’t there. It’s on the holonet, if you know where to look. She was covering wildfires on some planet or another, and discovered that the local fire chief was charging people to save their homes.”

The Padawan—Bell—looked suitably appalled. “That’s … that’s awful.”

“Yeah. Rhil lost it, right on cam. Told him that he deserved to burn.”

“Harsh,” Jom said, “but probably fair.”

“That’s not the best bit.” Kip was in full flow now, talking animatedly. “The fire chief is telling her that it’s none of her business and she just grabs a hose from the nearest firefighting droid and lets rip.”

“Putting out the fire?” Bell asked.

“No. Putting down the fire chief. Liters of foam, right in his face.”

Jom laughed. “I’ve gotta see that.”

“It’s so funny. Of course, she lost her job, but the clip went galactic. Soon everyone wanted to hire her, and she ended up on GoNet. Mom watches her all the time.”

“And that’s how she got this gig?”

“I guess. I think the network wanted to send Sine Spenning. Do you know him?”

“I can’t say I do,” Bell admitted. “We don’t have much call to watch the holonet.”

“You wouldn’t forget him if you saw him,” Jom told the Padawan. “Typical news anchor—all flashy suits and crazy teeth. I mean, really, really crazy.”

“Whiter than the moons of Dutar,” Kip agreed. “Anyway, Mom wouldn’t hear of Spenning covering the fair. Said Rhil was a hero. That she’d stood up for what was right.”

“Sounds like she’s quite a fan of Ms. Dairo,” Bell said.

“She is, yeah …”