Gosh, I'm amazed at the response to my first chapter! Thank you so very much!

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Later that afternoon, Qui-Gon warily eyed the thick stack of durasheets he was supposed to read through. He looked up as Obi-Wan came out of his room. He was dressed in native clothing, thanks to the servant who had brought them lunch. He wore a simple black shirt and black pants. He had tucked his padawan braid into the shirt. His lightsaber was clipped inside his pocket, out of sight.

"I guess I'm ready." Obi-Wan eyed the large stack of durasheets on the table with a grin. "It looks like you have an exciting evening in store for you!"

Qui-Gon snorted. "No thanks to you!"

"I was glad to help! Now you have something to occupy your time while I'm out." Obi-Wan headed for the door.

"Padawan."

Obi-Wan turned around. "Yes, Master?"

"These people are hard to read. Be careful. Don't let your guard down. Be mindful of your surroundings."

"I will, Master."

Obi-Wan left and headed down the hallway towards the exit. As he rounded a corner, he practically smacked right into Zirta. "Oh, excuse me, Prime Minister!" He bowed to her.

Zirta looked him up and down appraisingly. "You are not in your Jedi clothing. Where are you off to?"

Obi-Wan felt like he was being sized up like a piece of merchandise, and he didn't like it. His chin rose up a notch. "I'm going into the city to look around. We like to learn more about the societies we visit."

Zirta was not used to a man looking her so unflinchingly in the eye. "Hmm. I suggest you be careful. Someone like you will be a prime target."

Obi-Wan tried to stamp down his irritation. "Someone like me?"

Zirta smiled a bit. She saw that same fire burn in his eyes. "Someone as strong and handsome as you are young man will make a prime target for a slave dealer."

"Oh." Obi-Wan felt his face turning red. "I will be careful. Thank you, Prime Minister." He bowed to her once again and quickly headed for the exit.

Zirta turned and watched him leave. She was impressed – as much as she could be by a mere man, anyway.

Obi-Wan headed down the street, aiming for what looked to be an open marketplace. All the men he'd seen thus far were shorter than he was and all kept their eyes downcast. If he were to blend in, he'd have to do the same. It galled him to have to look like all these men around him, but he'd do it. If he didn't, he'd garner too much attention.

Even as he kept his eyes down, Obi-Wan was taking in every detail. All of the merchants he'd seen so far were women. It looked like men were relegated to menial jobs, servitude and slavery. He'd noticed several women pausing to look him over. Even though he was trying to blend in, his height and his good looks were garnering attention. Obi-Wan clenched his jaw in irritation at their perusal.

Obi-Wan continued through the marketplace and into the neighborhoods beyond. He veered off and headed toward what looked to be more of the downtown section of the city. He saw theaters and restaurants mixed in with strip clubs and brothels. He tried to keep from gaping in horror. There were men standing in shop windows, just waiting for women to come along and buy some time with them.

Shivers ran down Obi-Wan's spine. I am getting out of this part of town! He quickly turned around and headed back the way he came. He noticed a rather large, circular building further down the street. Women were streaming in and out. As he got closer, he could hear cheering inside.

Obi-Wan decided not to enter through the main entrance, since there seemed to be so few men going in. He went around to the back of the building and looked for a service entrance. When he found one, he crept inside and made his way toward the noise of the crowd. He entered what looked to be a tunnel of some kind. He followed it to a set of doors. He could hear the crowd just on the other side of it. He opened the door a crack and peaked out.

A four-legged animal streaked by, a rider dragging behind it. The man was limp and bloody. To his right, two men were fighting with vibrospears. Each man had bleeding gashes on their torsos and arms. Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he noticed dead bodies scattered about the sandy floor. A great deal of the sand was turning red with blood. The very distinctly female crowd was cheering, whistling and yelling for their favorite combatants.

Obi-Wan felt ill. He let the door close and leaned against the cool wall. If he hadn't seen it for himself, he never would have believed it. The crowd was excited and happy! They were enjoying watching those men kill each other! What kind of sick place is this? And why are we trying to keep them in the Republic?

Deciding that he'd seen more than enough for one night, Obi-Wan headed back to the government sector. His sense of foreboding increased. I have a bad feeling about this mission. Obi-Wan entered back into their quarters to find Qui-Gon hunched over the stack of durasheets.

Qui-Gon looked up from his work. He immediately sensed his padawan's dismay. "Obi-Wan, what's the matter?"

Obi-Wan started pacing around the living area. "Master, these people are sick! Not only do they treat their men like objects and degrade them in every way possible, but they pay to watch them die!"

Qui-Gon nodded his head in understanding. "Ah, I take it you happened upon the gladiatorial games."

Obi-Wan paused in front of his master, eyes flashing. "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes! There was a huge crowd of women watching as men hacked each other to death! But they were doing more than just watching, they were cheering them on!"

Obi-Wan paused, hoping that his master would react with at least a small amount of the horror he was feeling. He didn't. "I can't believe you're being so impassive about this!"

Qui-Gon lifted his eyebrow. "Getting myself all worked up, as you obviously are, would do absolutely no good. You need to calm down, Padawan."

Obi-Wan sat down in the chair. He closed his eyes and tried to center himself. "You didn't see what I saw tonight, Master."

"I know I didn't, Obi-Wan. I know that your sense of justice is railing against what you see here on Aurelia. But we can't change every society. You are going to encounter societies, like this one, that do not value life or freedom. We do what we can for the cause of justice and freedom across the galaxy, but we can't force it. Some people don't care about justice or freedom or even life. And some people don't care enough or have courage enough to fight for those things for themselves." Qui-Gon leaned back on the sofa and watched his apprentice. "It's an imperfect galaxy, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan continued to keep his eyes closed. "I know that, Master. But what I saw tonight was beyond imperfection. It was brutality."

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Early the next morning, Zirta gazed out her window overlooking the courtyard. Her eyes caught a flash of blue down below. She looked down to see Obi-Wan using his lightsaber against blasts from a small, floating probe. What amazed her was that he was doing it while balancing on the narrow courtyard wall. He was barefoot and appeared to have his eyes closed. She watched in awe as he gracefully moved about, flipped and blocked every blast from the probe – all the while never losing his balance.

After the initial meeting the day before, Zirta had decided to do some research on the Jedi. She had read about their powers and their skills. It was incredible to now actually be witness to that. She was intrigued…extremely intrigued.

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Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan put the finishing touches on the report they were to give to the leaders of Aurelia. They had crunched the numbers and painted a picture of what would happen to Aurelia's economy if they were cut off from trade.

Qui Gon stood up and put on his cloak. "Are you ready, Padawan?"

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan grabbed his cloak and put it on as they walked out of their quarters.

As they entered the conference room, all eyes were on them. Disdain was still evident in eyes of the aides, but both Lahrna and Zirta seemed more curious than patronizing this time.

As everyone took their seats, Lahrna immediately started the meeting. "We are eager to hear your report, Jedi." She glanced at Qui-Gon, but directed her comment to Obi-Wan.

Zirta also focused on Obi-Wan. "Yes, we're interested to know what you made of all those statistics we gave you." Her voice was tinged with condescension.

Obi-Wan was embarrassed that the leaders kept snubbing Qui-Gon and focusing on him. He glanced over at his master who gave him a nod. He picked up the datapad.

Qui-Gon wasn't offended at the behavior of the two leaders. He was glad that at least one of them had made a favorable impression on the Aurelians. He would let Obi-Wan take the lead on this.

Obi-Wan straightened imperceptibly as he began. "Cutting off trade with other worlds will have the following effects: 1.2 billion in annual gross revenue will be lost from not exporting verasite ore. 2.4 million in annual gross revenue will be lost from not exporting marble…." He continued to finish his list of losses they would incur from not exporting. "As for importing…not importing technology from Republic worlds would create a technological crisis within three years. Your current technology would be out-of-date and requiring extensive upkeep and repair. You do not currently have any way to create that technology or repair it yourselves. You import food from seven different planets, which feeds a third of Aurelia's population every year. If you cut that off, you will have a severe food shortage within five years time." Obi-Wan looked at each leader in turn. He glanced at Qui-Gon, wanting him to have a least some part in all of this.

Qui-Gon appreciated the sentiment. He cleared his throat. "All in all, cutting off trade would have a detrimental effect of Aurelia's economy. We hope that you can see the many benefits of remaining in the Republic."

All of the women looked pretty well convinced, except Zirta. She sat staring at Obi-Wan, stony-faced. Lahrna nodded her head. "That was my fear." Lahrna turned to Zirta. "Don't you see how leaving the Republic would destroy Aurelia?"

Zirta turned to Lahrna. "Whose to say if these conclusions they came to are even correct?" Zirta turned a cocky smile towards Obi-Wan. Lahrna could only gape in disbelief.

Obi-Wan spoke calmly, eyes boring into Zirta's. "We came to these conclusions based on your own statistics. If you do not believe us, have your own people crunch the numbers."

Zirta was being challenged by Obi-Wan and she didn't like it. How dare a man challenge her! She shot him a look that would make any other male cower, but he continued to calmly hold her gaze. Zirta stood up, followed quickly by her aides. "Fine. I will do just that!" With a flourish, she and her entourage left.

Lahrna sighed. "Leaving the Republic would mean the death of Aurelia. Zirta just doesn't want to see it."

Qui-Gon steepled his fingers. "Maybe if her people do come up with the same results, she will finally see what you do."

"I certainly hope so." Lahrna stood up. "I will inform you as soon as I know when the next meeting will be."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Prime Minister."

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Obi-Wan was again dressed in Aurelian clothes and heading outside. Once again, he came across Zirta as he was about the exit the building. Why do I keep running into this woman? He worked to keep from smiling. He had enjoyed her reaction to his challenge in the meeting. "Prime Minister," he said bowing.

Zirta studied Obi-Wan. "Apprentice," she said with emphasis. "Off to view our fine city again?"

Obi-Wan kept his face neutral. "Yes, I am. I found it to be quite fascinating the first time."

"I'm surprised you didn't find it to be a bit…unpleasant."

"It was, shall I say, different." He flashed her a smile and bowed again. "Have a good evening, Prime Minister."

Zirta watched him leave. She wondered what that beautiful smile had meant. She had the feeling that he was trying to throw her off-balance. Zirta was impressed and annoyed at the same time. She turned back and headed to her quarters with a small smile. "Enjoy your evening out, Apprentice."