Rancor Slam
Part 14
They rode down on an old shuttle called the Traveler with a crew going dirtdown on leave a few construction engineers and other healed passengers.
Cas sat by a veiwport. As she felt the clouds begin to part around the ship, she called Vo, Vua, Slee and Uun to her as she saw Light City.
On a hill in the center of the city was an exact replica of the towering Jedi Temple from Coruscant, in a bright, living pinkish/coral color. The whole city was the same bright pick/coral color. There wasn't a spot of darkness in Light City with its short wide buildings and broad parkways. The streets had to be broad. Using Speeders just never really felt right to anyone on such a living planet. So most people walked on Dagobah.
And the City was never truly dark. When landing at night the City looked like a sea of shimmering stars. Like an easy, simpler, more elegant Coruscant, from the old days.
They landed at a small landing pad not to far from Cas's lakeside Chateau. At the Port she saw a tall blonde man waiting for her with Klik beside him. Kir carried her down the ramp and she saw the blonde man was, in fact, Master Luke Skywalker.
Her surprise must have shown because a smile formed on his lips.
"Hello?" She said uncertainly. "Um, what are you, ah, doing here?"
He smiled wider, for a second she thought his face would crack. "It's amazing what your people have done. Was all this here when Yoda was training me all those years ago?"
She smiled sadly, "Yes, unfortunately we were ordered not to interfere. Yoda went to the continent we're sending the Witches that want to preserve their way of life. He sent a Force storm and ordered a black out to make sure you landed where he wanted you to."
Luke gave her an 'oh really' look. "Hmm… no one had told me that yet."
"Hey, are you guys coming?" She looked up to see Mara and Corran standing on either side of Dec. Cas raised an eyebrow at him over her shoulder as she climbed up Klik.
Her four Yuuzahn Vong climbed on her behind her. That way if any misguided young ones, or non-Jedi felt they had to act they'd have a harder target. And the four wouldn't get lost or bombarded by any loose scientists.
As if there were many in Light City.
"Mara, Corran and myself have come to check out your invitation to send the young ones here." He looked away, abashed. "The gravity here isn't as light as it is on Dathomir but, luckily, its light enough for the Rancors."
She gave Luke the look and shook her head, "If it was other wise, I wouldn't have had them evacuated. I wouldn't have taken them if I thought I was ensuring their deaths by taking them."
"Milady." Dec moved toward her. "I am so happy to see you alive and well. Bless my circuits, if I had to train another Master of Politics so soon I don't know what I would do."
"Ha, thanks Dec."
"Oh, you are most welcome madam." Said the droid, ignoring her sarcasm. "Now, if you don't mind, your schedule. The High Council wishes to see you sometime tomorrow."
"Noon." She said. "They don't like meetings at noon. It will keep them from keeping us too long. When are we cleared for Space?"
"We have to stay for meetings with basically every council on Dagobah. Even if we take, say six a day, it will be at lest a few days. Master Zinx wants to know when you're planning to marry Kir."
"Umm. Oh, wow, I totally forgot…um, sorry. Will you make arrangements, Dec?"
"You only need to say the day."
"How soon can it be ready?"
"I can have it set up in the southern courtyard at the Manor, by sunset."
"Good, that will do." She felt both Dec and Kir look at her. She kept her gaze fixedly forward.
They were moving out on to the street with Kir, Jak and Dec ahead of Klik, and Luke's group behind. She could feel every one looking at her Yuuzahn Vong.
Their emotions hit her like a searing wind. Some were curious, some were furious. Some wanted to know, some wanted them to go. But no one wanted to harm them, yet. She knew that soon they would pass the Southern Youngling Barracks. Then they would pick up a tail of wondering children. But that would only last until they reached the Gate of her House.
"How many different councils do I have to brief?"
"Well, I have contacted Stil, the Higher Council's Secretary Droid. She is scheduling your meeting with the High Council at Noon."
"Then I contacted Tiks, at your main office, to get a list of the most immediate demands on your time. It seems my estimate of every Council wanting to see you was quiet on target. She is now ranking them by most importance and I am taking the top six."
"Alright, Now, " Dec cleared his throat and shifted feet. More of his human behaviors she had had installed.
Most 3PO's realize they are defenseless and thus try to make friends with every one they meet, in the hope that said person, or persons, will protect them when the going gets rough. But more often than not they only succeed in annoying the person they want to befriend. So, for Cas's sanity she had that programming replaced with a more human-like personality.
Now the droid had many human-like and, for a droid, useless traits that made him easier to be around, with out trying to deactivate him. He carried a satchel on his waist with a datapad, a comm unit, battery pacs, datacards and, amazingly enough, a blaster. Which he would only use to protect Cas, or her Padawans, or his more secret cargo, To keep anything of value, anything not for public consummation, from being turned over to the wrong people.
"You also have request for your time from The House Representatives," His words pulled her from her thoughts.
"Great. Schedule an hour of lunch after the Higher Council meeting." She hesitated, thinking. If she goes after the Higher meeting she won't be…excitable during the Higher Council Meeting, but they could keep her long enough to make her miss her other meetings. Or, if she goes before, they'll only keep her forty-five minutes so that if she's late to the Higher Council meeting it will be clearly her fault not theirs.
If she goes before she escapes them sooner and gets to her other meetings on time, at the cost of her patience. "I'll go to the Social Senate before the Higher Council, at say eleven?" Kir
smiled at her nickname for her least favorite Council. Of course he couldn't blame her. They'd never shunned him.
"Of course," Dec said. "Will that be as Lady Cas Shik'rican or Lady Kir Die'ril?"
"Um…For now leave it as Cas Shik'rican."
"Yes, milady. The Council of Training wishes to see you."
Cas smiled. Her favorite council, the one she had been trained to be a member of. "That will be the my first meeting of the day. Say, about ten?"
"Yes milady. Now there is the Council of Life."
"Two."
"The Council of Defense."
"Three."
"The Circle of Balance."
She looked down to the 3PO droid. Some one was levitating him off the ground so that they all didn't have to walk at his short shuffling pace. "Hmmm, Move them to two and the others back an hour."
"Of Course. Let's see…"
She frowned, was it a bad sign that she was scheduling them to make it easier for her to escape them?
They turned left off of Main Street, to ward the Youngling Barracks and the Lake.