Politics
Wynn Dorvan, Chief of State of the Galactic Aliiance, exited the conference hall at the Justice Centre, glad for the half-an-hour breather for lunch. The GA had been desperately trying to reach some sort of settlement with the Jedi, to bring them back into the fold, but it seemed his predecessor, Admiral Natasi Daala, had left things in rather a furious tangle. Things had descended into a literal screaming match between the two sides, with allegations and counter-allegations being hurled around like smashballs. Dorvan's head was buzzing, and he needed a break to clear things out.
He decided to get away from the Justice Centre altogether and take his lunch on the steps of the erstwhile Jedi Temple across the street, as he had once been in the habit of doing with the then recovering Jedi Knight, Raynar Thul. As he walked up, he found once again that he might just have company. Ben Skywalker was sitting quietly in the sun, looking around his old homeworld contemplatively. He rose graciously as the Chief of State approached, and sat once he had been waved down with a smile.
"I'm surprised to see you outside, young Skywalker," Dorvan remarked casually, after his offer of a sandwich had been politely declined by the young Jedi.
"I hear you've become quite the negotiator these days."
Ben gave a half-smile.
"Oh, I'm the chauffeur for this trip. I'm just waiting till everybody's finished inside."
Just then, Pocket the chitlik decided to crawl out of a corner of Wynn Dorvan's clothing and nibble hungrily at his sandwich. Seeing the cute little creature, Ben's face lit up in a grin. He extended a finger towards her.
"Do you mind?"
"Certainly not. But I must warn you, she doesn't take to-"
His words were cut off in mid-flow as Pocket did an extremely unusual thing. She sniffed at Ben's finger, and then cautiously crawled onto it, nibbling tentatively to see if he was edible. The young man chuckled softly. Pocket continued to crawl all along him, disappearing momentarily into his wide sleeves.
Wynn Dorvan looked on, astonished.
"She's never done that before with any stranger. She's generally extremely shy."
Ben continued to let the animal explore as much of him as she wished.
"Perhaps sometimes all it takes to overcome a fear is a hand extended in friendship, Chief of State", he put in, quietly.
"I guess she's decided I'm a good guy after all!"
The Chief of State glanced askance at the Jedi, hearing more beneath his words than his casual tone belied. Ben's eyes were fixed firmly on his furry new friend.
And suddenly, Wynn Dorvan saw the way out of his current political impasse. Lunch on the Temple steps had proved as fruitful as ever. He leaned back and smiled.