Age: 12 standard years
Ben glanced down at his chrono. Kriff. It was still only fourteen twenty. That meant the meeting would not be over for at least another forty minutes, and if having two Jedi Masters for parents had taught him anything, it was that official meetings never ended on time. He leaned back in his chair, ready to accept death by boredom. It might be better than waiting for this meeting to be over.
One of the representatives raised their voice, bringing Ben's attention back to the proceedings. Ben inwardly groaned when he realized who was speaking. Chulman Argant had no legitimate reason to be upset, after all, this entire fiasco was his fault to begin with. The Bandomeerian ionite baron had not been content with his massive holdings on the western part of the continent, and had begun to mine on the native Meerian's land. The resulting pollution had been catastrophic, poisoning water sources and causing widespread crop failure. The Meerians had complained to the government, but most of the officials on Bandomeer were on Argant's payroll, so no action was taken. Disappointed by their local government's failure to act, the Meerians had contacted the Galactic Alliance, who had sent Jacen and Ben to arrange a settlement between Argant and the Meerian farmers.
So far, they had made little progress. Argant was entirely unwilling to accept any blame. The man had even had the gall to suggest that the Meerians were polluting their own croplands by using outdated, dangerous farming methods. When Jacen had brought up that the chemicals found in the water supply would be useless as fertilizers and that their only use was in industrial ionite mining, Argant had turned bright red and sputtered. Ben had done his best to cover his snicker with his hand, but he was pretty sure that Jacen had noticed.
Finally, his cousin cut off Argant. "I am sure that we can find a mutually acceptable solution to this problem," said Jacen. "Argant, would you be willing to pay each individual farmer one and a half times the pre-pollution value of their land and reimburse any medical bills the affected families might have incurred due to the mining activities of your company?" Ben was surprised. Jacen was offering almost exactly what the Meerians had requested in the first place. Before Argant could speak, Jacen continued, "In return, Argant Mining Incorporated would not be required to accept official responsibility for the pollution. Would this arrangement be acceptable to your people?" he asked Councilwoman Slarvez, the head of the Meerian delegation.
The woman nodded. "It would be best if Argant were required to accept guilt for his actions against my people, but I do accept your offer."
"Well, Argant? It's all up to you." Ben looked to see how the industrialist would respond. Jacen's deal was generous. The public image of Argant's company would not be tarnished, and the settlement to the farmers would hardly be a financial burden to the wealthy man.
Argant nodded. "We at Argant Mining Incorporated will be happy to help our Meerian neighbors in their time of trouble. I accept your offer."
The paperwork was quickly filed and everyone at the table shook hands before leaving. Ben checked his chrono again. Just as he had expected, the meeting had run late. Ben stretched and took the stairs down to street level with Jacen. "I'm starving," he said.
"That makes two of us," replied Jacen. "Let's cook something on the way back to Coruscant, okay? I'd like to get back as quickly as possible to file this report and ensure that Argant actually follows through on his promises."
"As long as we eat, I'm okay with about anything." Ben checked to make sure that nobody from the conferences earlier was within earshot. "I think the farmers were dumping chemical pollutants on their own land just for fun. They really ought to be more responsible. It's a wonder nothing like this has happened before," he said in his best impression of Chulman Argant.
Jacen snorted. "You're forgetting how he took a giant breath after every phrase. Add that, and I think you could pass as him."
"Thanks Jacen. It's always great to know that at age twelve I could already pass for an out of shape fifty-year old man."
"I meant it in the most complimentary way possible," said Jacen. They had now reached the hangar and boarded Jacen's yacht. Ben sat in the copilot's seat and helped with the pre-flight checklist.
"Why did Argant keep arguing that his company didn't cause the pollution? It's obvious that it was his fault, and the money wasn't enough to matter to him anyway."
Jacen thought for a moment before he answered Ben's question. "I think it was pride. Most beings do not want to accept that they were wrong, especially in front of others. Argant wanted to save face, even if everybody knew that the pollution was his fault."
"That makes sense." Ben was quiet for a few minutes as they took off. "Hey Jacen, I think I like the missions where we do more than talk better than these diplomatic missions."
"Diplomacy is an important skill for a Jedi to learn," answered Jacen.
"Don't deny that you wanted to stick a lightsaber in Argent's face a few times during those meetings," said Ben.
Jacen tried to give Ben a disapproving look, but instead he ended up laughing. "I'm not sure whether murder or lying is more against the Jedi Code, so I'll choose not to answer that one," he said. Ben rested back in his seat, glad to be going home. Hopefully their next mission would be a little more exciting.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Also, a special shout out to NoImagination for the kind review – I love knowing what people think of my writing. It would be fantastic if you could leave a review, as I am trying to improve my writing, and constructive criticism lets me know what to work on. Thanks again!