Cataan - Royal Palace - two days before Ryneas' party

Andrea looked up at the sound of a soft rapping on the old wooden door of the study she was in. She had been sitting at a fireplace in the room that had a small fire going, a book in her hands that she was using for a journal and was writing a few lines of her personal thoughts of events in. "Come in," she said as she turned her head to see who would be coming through.

Taking a deep breath, Marin pushed the door open. The hinges creaked in protest as the door moved. Andrea had summoned her following another lesson. She was still fussing slightly with her fresh tunic as she pushed the door closed behind her. The air carried the comforting scent of smoldering wood as Marin slowly made her way to the empty chair next to the fire.

"Marin," Andrea said with a smile and closed her book. "Sorry to have to call you here so soon after the day's training...especially with Ryneas's party tomorrow."

A faint frown crossed Marin's face for a moment, and she looked across at her teacher. She was really looking forward to it. He'd made sure to include everyone, and it would give the students a break from their studies. "I'm looking forward to it, Andrea. But, what's this about...?" her tone was slightly confused.

"There been a group from Telos, agricultural combine people, mostly," Andrea told her. "They were exploring some of the our worlds at Tanagis...including the forest moon your home is on."

That got her attention. "When was this...? Did they find...?"

Andrea held up a hand. "No, they didn't find the house when they passed over the moon a few days ago. I had the minister that talked with them to not give them an answer yet until I talked to you and got your thoughts."

Marin bit her lip. "I..." She sighed. "I don't know."

"That is why I thought we need to talk it out," her teacher said as she gestured to the chair again.

"Please...if we take a while, you're not going to want to stand the entire time."

With a sigh, Marin sank into the chair. "Do you have some tea...?" she asked softly, nervously smoothing her tunic again.

Andrea motioned to where she had a tray brought in, sitting on a low table now, and she poured them both a cup and handed Marin hers. "There are several areas in that system that would suit their farming needs, but they had mentioned the forest moon that you call home first."

She nodded her thanks as she took the cup and cradled it for a moment before she took a sip. "Did they say why?"

Andrea nodded softly. "Something about a soil check they did was better for the crop they usually grow. They had spoken of needing to clear an area for their homes and to plant and using the timber they fell for those homes. Wouldn't take anything away and would use as much of the natural materials instead of artificial as they possibly could. That part had really gotten my attention and surprised that they would respect the land that way."

"That is unusual." Marin frowned again. She had to admit, she was feeling... rather ... selfish about it. And that surprised her a little. That realization caused her to shift uncomfortably.

"I had a team check the locations they tested as well after they had presented their request. There's another that checked out very closely to your home. I have been considering the situation since the minister brought it to me but I feel that this is just as much your decision to make with me. Maybe some limitations on how far they would be able to go," she continued. "Things of that nature. That's why I needed you to come."

Marin was silent for a long moment as she pondered that. Another sip of her behot helped soothe her nerves some. "I hadn't even considered the possibility. How would we enforce such restrictions?" She frowned slightly and fussed with her braid for a moment.

"I do not think it will be a concern," Andrea told her. "At least, I felt no sense of ulterior motive in the ones that arrived other than that they wanted to settle and finally have something close to a permanent home. Of course, the sadness of having to leave the world they called home is shared by many right now."

"I can identify with that..." she said softly, thinking back to when Jarius had found her all those years ago. She sighed again. "I can't deny them that..." she finished after a moment. "It's just..." She sighed, at a loss for words to explain her feelings.

"They said they didn't need an immediate decision," her teacher told her as she took a drink of her tea. "They're staying onboard their ships right now at Kingston port. And we don't need to make a decision tonight...in fact, it wouldn't be a wise thought. Perhaps meditate on it during your studies and let the Force guide the choice."

"Elek... " Marin said with a nod as she sat back and sipped at her tea. "I guess I never really thought about it... and it's a big part of what I have that reminds me of buir..." she finished softly as she stared into the fire.

"I'm just thinking out loud," Andrea said as she sat there and looked at the edges of the fireplace...but never into it..."If I remember correctly, having never seen it, the house in inside part of a mountain in a foothill area. Being farmers, that kind of terrain will not suit them at all."

Marin smiled slightly at that. "Elek, mountains and heavily forested."

Andrea shrugged slightly and took another drink of her tea and decided to change the subject. "With Ethan, Xan, and Callista here...and with talk of more trouble brewing with Death Watch...I suppose that you are going to want to travel with them if they allow it."

She perked up. "More trouble?"

Andrea looked to her. "They hadn't told you of Death Watch being more direct in their movements now?"

Marin shook her head. "No, I wasn't told. Last I heard, they'd been run off Galan... They've been trying to push into the system again?"

"Not into Galan, no," Andrea said as she thought about it. "I only know bits and pieces. Perhaps Ethan, Xan, or Callista would be a better source for you to ask of." She looked at the fire beginning to die down and looked at the clock that was above the mantle. It was getting later on in the evening.

"I'll do that..." Marin replied with a nod as she drained her tea mug.

Cataan Royal Palace - Edmonton - the morning of Ryneas' party

Marin did her best to straighten her skirt better after the sudden ride from the praxeum to the castle. The message that Andrea needed her presence there came during the middle of a training exercise that she was going through and she had rushed through cleaning up from the day's workouts before riding out.

One of the stewards was leading her down the outer corridor. She looked around and knew that the area she was being led to had several chambers that were used for different diplomatic meetings and functions. Coming around a corner, Andrea was waiting outside a set of closed doors and looked up as she saw Marin approaching.

"Marin," she said as she watched her padawan come down the hall towards her, "I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning for our normal training and for having to pull you from what you were working on, but this is important."

Marin frowned briefly and tucked her padawan braid behind her ear. "What's this about, Master..?" she asked formally, conscious of her surroundings. It still felt strange having to choose the form of address. Marin could understand calling Andrea 'Master', but she was never sure when she should address her teacher as 'Your highness'. She wore a tunic and skirt in the praxeum's colors, the Beviin sigil over her left breast. Her dark hair was braided down her back, save the padawan braid, and the saber rested on her belt.

Andrea looked down the corridor. "Do you remember the conversation we had a few days ago?"

"I do..." Marin said softly after a moment.

She motioned to a set of doors down the hall. "The minister is meeting with the delegation that had talked about settling in the Tanagis system. I've talked with them this morning and we've discussed several things, but I feel that maybe it would be a good idea for you to join us."

Marin raised an eyebrow. "What exactly was discussed? Would they be given a portion of the planet?" she sighed, and leaned against the wall for a moment, rubbing the back of her neck before she fingered Jarius' tags that were ever-present around her neck. It was a habit she'd picked up years ago when she was nervous or worried about something.

Andrea turned and looked at her and was judging her reactions in her mind now. "Don't be quick to jump to assumptions and conclusions, Marin," she said to her softly.

Marin flushed. "Ni... ceta..." she said softly, looking away for a moment. She hadn't realized how deeply she'd connected with her home. Chewing her lip nervously, Marin tried to bring her emotions under control. When Andrea had brought it up a coupe days ago, she'd not been very concerned. But now... She sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment.

Andrea felt this and walked a little closer. "Have you tried to meditate on it as I suggested?"

Marin nodded silently. "I have. It's hard to let go. Home, and the praxeum are all I've known for… 8 years. I want to help. I really do. I just don't know how to let go..."

"This isn't about 'letting go' of your home," Andrea told her as she laid a hand on her student's shoulder. "You remember what I had told you about options, where your land there wouldn't be infringed upon."

Marin nodded. "I remember." She frowned slightly. "How could that be enforced though?"

"That's what has been talked over this morning," Andrea said, gesturing Marin to follow her. "I've expressed your concern to the ones that are representing the group and options have been talked about in depth. I've been impressed by their reactions and discussion and I've probed them in the Force and I believe they can be trusted."

"Alright..." Marin allowed after a moment's thought as she smoothed her skirt and tunic again, just as they stopped in front of the doors that led to the meeting chamber. She looked sideways at Andrea. "Would it be better if I referred to you as 'Your highness' or 'Master', Master?" Her question was quiet.

Andrea smiled at this and gave Marin a wink.. "They know that you are my student, so 'master' will work for this case."

There was a barely audible sigh of relief, followed by a small grin from Marin as she caught Andrea's wink. She was still smiling slightly as the doors opened. She spent the few moments it took to enter to calm herself and focus on the matter at hand. Her thoughts went briefly to Jarod before she pulled her attention back to the present.

"Minister," Andrea said as they entered the room. The others had all stood as they entered and bowed. She returned it slightly and motioned to Marin and introduced her to the group. Upon hearing it, there was one of the delegation that came forward and bowed again to Marin.

"We've been told about the circumstances with our request to settled on the moon where your home is," he told her. "I hope that you would join us and hear what we have discussed."

Marin's cheeks pinked slightly, and she took a slow breath, resisting the urge to look towards Andrea. She knew it was generally impolite to probe people without their consent, but she had to know. She laid her fingers gently on his arm, the contact sending a jolt up her arm as she got a sense of him. She could have probed him in the Force without touching him, but something told her physical contact would be better.

She breathed slowly, sensing the man's emotions. There was sadness there - the loss of his home, and of his hearing about her loss. But there was hope too. She probed a little deeper, but felt no deceit, and so she withdrew as delicately as she could from his mind. "I would like to hear your thoughts, and what has been discussed," she said finally.

He smiled as Andrea gestured for all of them to sit down. The delegate nodded to his assistant, who pulled up a small holoprojection of the moon from the survey they had made.

"Her highness, your teacher, did not tell us of your home's location since she does not know it and we respect the concern there," the delegate said as he highlighted the northern hemisphere. "She did say it was on the northern part of the moon. With all of the mountains there, it's not an area that we would want to work in. The southern half, though, has several areas that are large and flat enough where we could build there and begin our agriculture projects again." He turned to look at Marin. "We had looked at several areas, but with the crop seeds that we were growing for export, the soil content here was the closest match that would give us our best chances for a high yield."

"Your teacher mentioned to us of your concerns of needing to enforce any conditions," his assistant said as he leaned forward and shut down the hologram. "We have told her and the minister that we are perfectly willing to be a protectorate of the Cataani forces. Another colony, if you will, and we will be fully submissive to your laws here. This would be true anywhere we settle, but we wanted you to know this here to know that we are sincere in our respect for your home."

Andrea was nodding, having heard it earlier in the day, and looked to Marin and was wondering how her Padawan was taking this.

Marin sat quietly, taking it all in, as she scanned the room, again getting a sense of the delegates. They were sincere. It surprised her a little bit, but she shrugged it off. Her forehead creased slightly in a frown. "You'll be growing crops. How will you bring in the needed machinery - unless you have it with you?" she asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"The equipment we use isn't massive in size," the lead delegate answered for them. "We were able to load most of what we needed onto a Galloway freighter...our equipment for raising the crops as well as what we could need to cut and process the timber there for our homes and support buildings."

Another assistant wanted to add more to this. "When we've cleared an area for our production, we've always been taught to use what we've cleared and not waste anything if it can be done. All the timber that we could cut would be used and not just thrown away."

That got Marin to smile a little, and she nodded, sharing a look with Andrea for a moment. "That is good. The Cataani people take great care to respect their natural surroundings. I'm glad you will too." She fell silent for a moment as she thought again. This time she turned to the minister. "Minister... as Tanagis is an outlying colony of the Cataan system, would it fall under the protection of the Cataani Navy?"

"Without question," the minister told her. "Our other colonies on the inner planets of the Tanagis system...the entire system as a whole...is under the protection of the Fifth Battlegroup. The moon we're talking here would be protected."

"Thank you, Minister," Marin said politely. She thought some more, this time with a glance towards both Andrea and the Minister, before looking to the delegates. "Would it be permissible to help the colonists set up some basic security? We'd need a way to reach the Fifth battlegroup at need, as well…" She hoped she wasn't overstepping her place with that question.

"We've agreed to set some area aside should the need arise to house armed personnel," the head delegate said as he looked to the minister. "Along with this, we will have a communications relay that would allow us to contact for help at any time."

"Thank you." Marin said with a nod, and a look to the minister. That answered all the questions she had at the moment.

Andrea looked over at her. "Would you like some more time to meditate on it?"

Marin turned to look at her. "Nayc, Master. I don't feel a need to." She didn't even blink at mixing languages now, but she saw a few of the delegates look at each other.

"Do you wish us to wait outside for a moment, then?" the delegate asked her, wondering what was to happen next.

Marin shook her head. "There's no need. I've made my decision."

"And that is, mi'lady?" This came from the minister himself.

Marin blushed slightly at the honorific, but composed herself. "I accept." She said firmly, looking squarely at the head delegate as she said so.

The delegates all looked to each other with smiles and handshakes of gladness now as they got up to thank her for her decision. Andrea smiled from where she sat for a moment before she stood up. "Now that the hard part is over," she said with a soft chuckle. "I'm sure it won't be difficult to finish out the details with the minister. If you could excuse us, please." She motioned to Marin for them to exit the room now.

Marin bowed politely, and then followed Andrea from the room, breathing a sigh of relief as they got out in the hallway.

"I knew how hard that was for you to struggle with at first," she said after they were in the corridor and the doors had closed behind them. "I think it was a good decision."

"It felt... right. I didn't feel any deceit from any of them." She blushed slightly at having scanned the man without permission.

Andrea nodded at both what she said and the feeling that was inside. "Sometimes, its necessary to do something like that. Openly asking permission may be more harmful."

Marin nodded. "I had to know for myself. "

"Something my father heard one time from a friend," Andrea told her. "'Its always easier to ask forgiveness than permission'. "

Marin nodded, and turned to walk with Andrea as they made their way down the hall away from the meeting chamber. She was silent a long moment. "So, what happens now? Any new reports on Death Watch?"

"Nothing that I have heard, per se. That would probably be a question left up to Ethan to answer, if not Xan or Callista."

Marin frowned slightly. "Aren't they in Council? I heard Dilan say something about it yesterday. I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"I would probably see about giving them a message that you're wanting to know about the Death watch."

She nodded. "I'll see about getting a message to them." She thought briefly of Ethan, a faint smile touching her lips. He was a rough man, but she knew that deep down, he did care for her. "Ethan messaged me earlier. He said he should be in-system in a few hours. Something about a message he got from Xan's padawan, Sharon…"

"Who knows of his showing up?" Andrea asked her. "Because I doubt he's been told of the convocation."

Marin frowned as she tried to remember. "From what he told me, Sharon had sent him a message saying that Xan wanted to speak to him while they were on Cataan. He didn't mention the convocation at all. Xan knows he's coming. I can pass the word along." She frowned again, surprised that Ethan hadn't mentioned having told Master Karrde.

Andrea nodded and closed her eyes for a moment as they walked. "I just let father know that he'll be here. I think he was only semi-surprised at the news."

Marin couldn't resist shaking her head. "Ethan's not exactly subtle at times..." She looked to Andrea. "If Death Watch is going active again, he'll want to help... as will I."

"I'm sure they would want all the help that they can get," Andrea said in passing as they continued down the corridor. "Mandalore's location is pretty close to the Imperial's expansion."

Marin cringed. "That's... not good..." she said softly, remembering from her history how the Empire had used the Mandalorians... well, the Siit had too.

"No, it isn't. I feel that this is going to affect much...much more than what it already has."

Her answer was a silent nod as they made their way back to the courtyard. There, she hugged Andrea briefly, not caring who saw. Andrea had become almost a mother to her - but also a very close friend. "I'll be at the praxeum if you need me..." she said quietly as she swung effortlessly into the sidesaddle and arranged her skirts.

"Safe trip back and May the Force be with you," Andrea said with a smile as she watched Marin being to ride off.

With a nod and a wave, Marin guided her horse out through the gate and towards Mt. Adan.

Ni ceta - I'm sorry

Nayc – no

Buir - father