Because I Said So


Chapter 3

X'Naar's blinding white sun glinted off the flooded marshlands surrounding Toora Na, the largest city on the main continent. The spires of the Capitol Tower rose like stalagmites amid a gleaming pool, while a riotous shanty-town of workers' huts and shops clustered on spindly stilts about its base, the shabby skirts and train of an impoverished matriarch. Off shore, rising like a second sun, a black dome emerged halfway from the placid sea.

"What is that, master? A mining platform?"

Qui-Gon guided the shuttle onto the designated landing pad at the Tower's summit. "That would be the Techno Union's mobile extraction unit."

Obi-Wan peered curiously at the dark bubble, its polished metallic sides and barnacle crusted girth. "So it can be unmoored and launched into orbit."

"Yes… when the storage holds are full. Remember what the briefing materials said: the process can take a standard year or more to complete."

The Padawan breathed an audible sigh of relief when they set down on repulsors and powered systems to stand-by. "It's not what I imagined," he said. "It doesn't look like a ship… It looks as though one of the moons has fallen, like in the old rhyme."

A trick of the atmosphere did make X'Naar's clustered satellites appear to be so many smoky baubles floating in the dawn sky. From this vantage point, the half-submerged Techno Union ship created the illusion that one of the celestial spheres had tumbled from its bed, as in the traditional nursery rhyme. An apt image, but…

"I thought you were not a crecheling," the Jedi master smirked.

"A good rhetorician suits his figures of speech to his audience," his young protégé instantly quipped back – and then stopped, blushing violently as he remembered just who his present audience was.

Qui-Gon raised an amused brow. The boy's tongue was more than capable of outstripping his prudence. If his saber skills could be brought up to the same speed, he would rival even his master as a swordsman. In the meantime, however – "How many push-ups would you say that piece of insolence merits?"

Face still colored by shame, Obi-Wan nonetheless rose to the challenge with a humorous defensive parry. "Half as many as you intend to require in payment?" he offered, hinting at his teacher's established habit of doubling any suggested penalty.

"Very clever," the tall man admitted. "You are learning." He glanced out the viewport at the welcoming party rapidly approaching across the hangar deck. "We will settle your outstanding debt later, by which time I will have capitalized a great deal of interest on the balance."

The Padawan's mouth twisted. "Yes, master."

They stood. "And remember, Obi-Wan: be mindful. The X'Naaro are keen on protocol."

"Yes, master. I'm ready."

They steeled their combined nerve and descended the ramp to meet the expectant premier and his retinue.


"I am glad to have this opportunity to speak with you in private, Master Jedi. Before the Techno Union's minions arrive to spew their bureaucratic filth," the X'Naar premier rumbled, his long ceremonial robes dragging behind him as he lumbered down the broad interior corridor.

"I can assure you that I will maintain an open and objective attitude to both sides of this dispute, Minister Pey," Qui-Gon Jinn assured him, catching his apprentice's eye to be sure the boy was attending. An ambassador could not adopt a partisan viewpoint, even tacitly.

Luu Pey harrumphed and led the way into a sumptuously appointed conference chamber. "Please, refresh yourselves. The other delegates are due within the quarter hour… consider the staff here at your disposal, Ambassador."

"We come to serve," the Jedi master replied, making a formal bow. Beside him, his Padawan dutifully imitated the courteous gesture.

The premier bestowed an indulgent smile upon the boy. "You are very young to assist in the resolution of such a complex affair," he observed, mildly enough. "Tell me, what do you hope to accomplish here on X'Naar?"

Obi-Wan cast an alarmed glance upward at his mentor, who merely inclined his head, granting permission to speak. The Padawan turned respectfully to the X'Naaro leader, hands folded properly into opposite sleeves. "I am here to learn from my master's example and instruction," he answered levelly. "And from the lifeways and customs of your people."

The reply was pleasing to its intended audience. The premier and his aides murmured in approval. "Well said. I hope you do indeed learn much, Padawan. Watch the Techno Union litigator carefully – he will tutor you in the ways of avarice and fraud, most surely."

Qui-Gon laid an encouraging hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

"I am confident I will leave here wiser than I came," the young Jedi smoothly replied. A flittering gust of boldness swept through the Force, laced with mischief. "I hope Master Jinn will be able to inspire both parties to find a peaceful solution."

Luu Pey made the traditional X'Naaro gesture of honor, laying one hand over his upper heart; Qui-Gon's fingers applied a slight restraining pressure; Obi-Wan favored him with an affected look of innocence, wickedly glinting eyes marring his otherwise demure expression.

Content with this first ambassadorial exchange, the premier and his staff wandered away to the laden brunch buffet tables. Obi-Wan watched them go, the Force warming with faint envy, though he maintained his deferent position by Qui-Gon's side.

The tall man shifted his weight, hooking both thumbs through his belt. "Very amusing, Padawan. You have performed exceedingly well in your first negotiation - and augmented your deserved penalty for impertinence at the same time. Astonishing."

The boy's brows beetled together for a moment, but he swiftly corrected the unbecoming display of personal emotion, smoothing his expression until it conveyed only the calm and impartial attitude openly advocated by his mentor.

"Better," Qui-Gon murmured. He nodded to the extensive feast upon the nearby serving tables. "You had better eat hearty – you'll require proper nourishment to endure the rigors of justice later."

It was doubtful whether the young Jedi even heard the second half of this pronouncement; a joyfully bouncing stride carried him directly to the enticing smorgasbord, where he wasted no time in heaping a plate with generous portions of everything humanly palatable. Qui-Gon shrugged. There was no harm- and something to be recommended – in allowing some obscure principality within the Republic to shoulder a part of the burden, where feeding a growing Padawan was concerned. He was a firm believer in the idea that the Force would provide a solution… and occasionally even a free lunch.


"The contract states terms quite clearly," the Techno Union law consultant sneered, fiercely tapping his datareader's screen with one blunt finger. The shimmering holoprojection of the controversial documents wavered in mid-air. "The conditions under which the Techno Union is entitled to retrieve cost of investment through capital seizures are stipulated in language so simple and straightforward even a child could understand the arrangement."

The X'Naaro premier surged to his feet, jowls quivering. "If that is so, then let's have a child interpret it for us, hm? The Republic has obligingly sent one along!" He thrust a jeweled hand at the Jedi Padawan sitting quietly by his master's side.

Qui-Gon Jinn stood, his mere presence sufficient to quiet both belligerent disputants. "My apprentice has had the privilege of an exceptional education; his insight would not prove the point either of you wish to debate. And I will remind you once again that we are here to clarify the terms of this agreement, whether or not it is felicitously phrased."

The premier and the Trade Union spokesman glowered at each other across the negotiating table, while their secretaries and aides entered data into recorders or shifted anxiously in their seats. Hostility remained palpable in the room; the outraged opponents were not mollified by the Jedi master's reasonable words.

The litigator sniffed."I am not afraid to put this document to such a test," he spat at Luu Pey. "Let the boy look at it and give us fair judgment on its clarity and fairness.

Qui-Gon frowned deeply. "I do not recommend this course of action."

"Why?" The X'Naaro premier growled. "Is your Padawan not as objective as you yourself? Let us have a child look at this spurious contract and speak for all fair-minded people. Come, Master Jinn, we asked for Jedi intervention. Let us have it."

The tall man studied his young student carefully, then sighed. "If you obstinately insist, you may submit it to his critique. I will not intefere."

This satisfied the eager assembly. Luu Pey sat, waving a hand at the Padawan. "Tell us what you think. Read the contract thoroughly – you will soon see what a spurious piece of trickery it is."

"How simple and direct it is," the lawyer corrected him, flopping back in his own chair.

Obi-Wan stared at Qui-Gon in dismay, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Relax, the tall Jedi sent across their bond. "Your honest input, Padawan. Do not treat the matter hastily. I am sure the honorable delegates here are willing to wait for your considered opinion."

The room was silent, expectant. The young Jedi inhaled deeply. "I will strive to honor your trust," he said, after a deliberate pause. "But I require time to peruse the documents thoroughly. I suggest we adjourn this meeting until tomorrow morning."

To the astonishment of both Republic ambassadors, the two sides of the dispute readily agreed to this arrangement. They filed out of opposite exits, chattering animatedly and leaving the Jedi alone with the wilted scraps and remains of the brunch buffet, and a double headache.

"Let us see what sort of guest accommodations they have provided," Qui-Gon decided, shepherding his Padawan out the doors in the others' boisterous wake. "We have much work to do this evening."


"You knew that was going to happen, master."

Qui-Gon denied the accusation lightly. "I did not."

His apprentice prodded curiously at his mental shields, but made no headway. The tall man lengthened his stride, following the directions given them by a courteous droid on the governor's staff.

"Does that happen…. often?" Obi-Wan wondered. "it seems like a very foolish way to settle an argument."

"Oh, I doubt they anticipate any real solution issuing from the event. It is what is called stirring the pot. Each one of them hopes to humiliate the other, or to expose some further absurdity. You, my young friend, are being used as a tool."

The Padawan was not pleased by this revelation. "Oh." His brow furrowed, and his cheeks attained a pink tinge, but he quickly released his wounded feelings into the Force. "Well, at least you will have more time to meditate on their dilemma," he replied, brushing aside the insulting situation and focusing on a positive outcome instead.

Qui-Gon felt another surge of pride. "Me?" he repeated. "But it is you who will be solving this particular conundrum. They have asked for your help, and you promised to give it."

His young charge stopped dead in his tracks. "But –"

"Obi-Wan."

They kept walking.

"I think that is a very bad idea, master," the young Jedi told him, flatly. "I should not be the one to decide."

"You are training to be a diplomat and a peacekeeper, are you not?"

"Well, yes, but –"

"And I am the person directly supervising that laudable undertaking, am I not?"

A worried sigh. "Yes, master."

"Well, then, consider it a direct order. You will be giving due and careful consideration to this matter and preparing a fitting answer for the negotiations tomorrow."

Obi-Wan scowled at the corridor ahead. "Wonderful," he griped.

"After we settle the small matter of impertinence," Qui-Gon added. "We must keep our priorities straight." They stopped before the door to a lavish guest suite. He waved open the heavy portal and leaned down to nudge his apprentice's chin with thumb and forefinger of one hand. "I have great confidence in your abilities."