Inheritance

25.

I think maybe Master Obi-Wan and me might be getting to be friends, like I hoped.

I mean, he just gave me a super important job. I have to make a distraction later tonight. A distraction is a good thing when it helps us with a mission, but it's a bad thing when it happens to me in the middle of when I'm s'posed to be meditating. That's kinda confusing, but when I asked Master about it he just said it was a coincidentia oppositorum, with his eyebrows just going up a little bit like he was daring me to keep asking. So I didn't. I think he says silly bantha poodoo like that on purpose to tease me, sometimes. That's how he says he cares, 'cause Jedi aren't allowed to hug and all. And when I told him I wasn't sure whether I could do a real good distraction, he said all I had to do was act natural, and that he has implicit faith in my capacity to wreak havoc.

See? He's starting to trust me, a lot. I feel like a real Jedi Padawan now.

But I'm not allowed to start the distraction until later. The holonet guys and some other important people from Gola Prime showed up again this afternoon and now the Feorians are putting on a big 'ol tribal gathering. It's sorta like when Gardulla the Hutt invited fancy guests to her palace and all the slaves had to put on entertainment for them, like a show or something. I don't really remember much about that but Mom told me stories about it. She said we should be grateful that Watto never put us on exhibit like that. I guess the Feorians still have to make a good show even though they're free now. Yonso thinks it's a whole lot of boshuda – I can tell by the way his face is all scrunched up over there in the corner during the dancing and music and ceremonies and stuff.

I guess he doesn't like his people to be on display like a museum or something. Not when he's free and he wants to go to universe-city and all. It prob'ly makes him feel twisty inside, like when Master tells me about the Code and all the stuff it says we can't do.

I mean, what's the point of being free if everything is all forbidden?

Master and me had a long talk about that the other day, but it kinda made me dizzy, cause he sure had a lot of stuff to say about it. He's sitting over there next to Master Windu now, all quiet and serious looking – but he got kinda worked up when we were discussing it. I think it's sorta funny when Master Obi-Wan forgets to be all calm and Jedi-ish. His eyes go all fiery and his voice actually kinda does this soft growly thing and if I'm trying really, really hard I can make him say blast it, or maybe even for the love of the Force. Those are like his swear words, that he only busts out mostly when we're flying. Master really hates flying.

Anyway, he says that the forbidden things are actually the ones that lead to enslavement – that means not being free really on the inside. Like attachment is supposed to do. And passion and stuff. And greed, and some other stuff, too. There's actually a whole lot of stuff that can make you enslaved on the inside. So then you have to make it all forbidden so you can really be free. It makes my head hurt, and I think maybe he didn't really listen to my question, 'cause what I wanted to know was how come Jedi had to have rules instead of just the Force? I mean, why can't it be simple like that? Mom says that people in this universe don't help each other enough, that's the biggest problem, so why can't Jedi just help people and not worry so much about their own insides so much?

Master says that when a person enslaved on the inside tries to help and fix problems, he ends up enslaving people on the outside and making more problems. It's kinda complicated. I don't want to think about it anymore.

"Hey! Hey!" Lorra's jabbing me in the side with his elbow, 'cause look! Yonso is standing up in the middle of the gathering now like he's gonna perform or something and I can see all the cam-droids and offworlders and people staring at him like they think he might be interesting or funny. I have a weird feeling in my stomach about it though, and when I look across the way to Master, I can tell he does too. Not on the outside. But sometimes I can tell things about him just because. Like we're kinda connected in the Force. Like friends.

And then Yonso starts telling the story of the jabuur-weki, the one from the song RuRu taught me, only he's kinda changing it too, making it like something that's happening now instead of what happened a long time ago in a place far, far away. And the chieftain is getting all mad and the holonet guys are just eating it up like it's honey cake and blue milk.

It's funny, but if you listen carefully it sounds like Yonso thinks the jabuur-weki might be a good guy, like it just wants the chieftain to listen to him and let him move off the Reservation and go to universe-city and stuff. Like the jabuur-weki really disagrees with the old ways and just wants to see all the stupid rules get changed and it's not an avenging spirit, just the spirit of progress. And its only terrorizing the village 'cause they're all too stupid to understand that they're really free and they don't have to do things the old way anymore. It would be rugged to have something like that on your side and all, 'cause it sure would make people listen. I mean, all the villagers and the offworlders are paying real good attention to Yonso right now. I think everybody is – except maybe Master Obi-Wan and Master Windu. They're all quiet in the corner over there and I think they just gave one another one of those not-impressed faces, the grown up kind like one of Master's not-funny jokes, the kind that hurt.

I guess Jedi aren't impressed even by the jabuur-weki. I guess nothing would ever make the Jedi re-think all their rules and stuff. Oh, well.

I think Yonso's story is pretty good, but I really prefer the old one, the one RuRu told me. In Yonso's version, the happy ending comes when the chieftain lets him do what he wants, and the jabuur-weki just kinda disappears. In RuRu's version, it's hoocha way exciting. The jabuur-weki goes on like a rampage, and the young hero has to face it down and whack its head off with his vorpal blade, sorta like Master did to that Sith guy on Naboo. He got blitzed, pretty much, 'cause Master is a wizard fighter. I've seen him. And it would be rugged if he could crisp the jabuur-weki too, right where I can see the whole battle. I guess it would be okay if Master Windu did it instead, or even better if I could, except I don't even have a lightsaber or anything yet. Maybe I could just blow it up, like I did to that big ol' Trade Federation ship over Naboo, and then I would be the hero. They might make me a Knight already, like Master got to be when he creamed that assassin guy.

Uh-oh. I think I better pay attention. I'm kinda getting distracted, the bad way I mean, and that's a problem 'cause I gotta stay focused so I can make the good one later. I've got a super important job, and I'm gonna do it like a Jedi.