Lord Darth Yoda - I mean, midiclorians are what they are. I try to not make them a big deal, but they are cannon (as much as people don't like it). Yeah interesting point re: celebrity. I mean if some offworlder described 'the greatest warriors in the galaxy,' you'd probably assume they'd be big, brutish warriors. Nope, just average people with special abilities and rigorous training.

Speechbubbleme - I mean, I just didn't throw in that detail to summarily ignore it (though it goes ignored in this chapter). Several of the Ubroran characters already introduced are going to be important parts of our cast during this book.

Bodare2 - I have to admit, I've always been fascinated by Privacy and surveillance. I think anyone who reads Foucault's Discipline and Punish like I have will have an appreciation for how people act when they are being observed. I actually think of the cameras that the Ubrorans wear as something like the police body cameras that are coming into vogue here in North America.

A/N - I've got nothing.

Please enjoy the next chapter! As always your favourites and follows are appreciated!

Chapter 16: Banquet

Aurine Brynar had been on many worlds during her career as a Jedi. Yet rarely had she found a planet that agreed with her as much as Ubrora did. The mission was starting to feel like a bit of a vacation. Their mission was low-key and didn't rely heavily on her, though she would be supporting Tiplee in the upcoming negotiations, which she was sure would be interesting, but probably wouldn't take a huge effort from her. The house they were staying in was nice and tidy and she could even keep an eye on her apprentice through the holoprojector. Idly, she wondered what it would take to get Sascha to wear a camera the entire time he was on planet. He'd probably do it without a fuss, she decided, that's how compliant he was. Now, getting him to broadcast live so she could keep tabs on him was probably another matter. He'd still probably do it, but she didn't see the need, Sascha had proven himself since his recovery that he could be trusted to be on his own, and to make good, if not great decisions. He'd even handled himself well during the brief tour that he'd been on. Faith in her apprentice - she had plenty of that.

In preparation for the banquet, Aurine and Sascha had put on their more stylish robes, hers a brilliant emerald green, Sascha's a more understated gray with teal motifs subtly woven in. It heartened her to see how much Sascha liked the robe she bought…well she traded a favour for. She hadn't been sure when she got it that he would like it, as he wasn't the most fashion conscious person she had ever met, but it was easy for her to see that it was one of his most treasured possessions. It even had the added benefit of looking good on him.

The three female Jedi were getting ready for the banquet in one of the unused bedrooms, putting the final touches on their outfits. But it was not like it was some sort of fashion show or anything, it was just making sure that everyone looked reasonably presentable for such a formal occasion. "Why didn't I get a nice robe like Sascha's for my sixteenth birthday?" asked Nara, half-seriously as she adjusted her belt. "It's not fair that Sascha gets a nice robe and I don't."

"A Jedi should not want material possessions," Tiplee replied, looking into a mirror to make sure she was presentable.

Nara was obviously not satisfied with that answer, "Oh, I want a lot of things, Master. I'd like my own personal Starfighter, some nice jewellery, and a more comfortable pillow for my bed. I'll do without them because that is the Jedi way, but you can't make me not want pretty clothes."

"You're such a girl Nara," said Sascha, sneaking up on the Togruta from behind. The Togruta pivoted immediately and snapped a kick that stopped just short of Sascha's face. To Aurine's amazement, Sascha didn't even flinch. Her apprentice really did have an absurd amount of faith in his friend.

Nara slowly withdrew her leg, and then stood in front of Sascha with her arms defiantly across her chest, "Yes, I like pretty things. Does that make me a girl?"

Sascha grinned, "Pretty much." Aurine and Tiplee took a step back, amused. Sascha was obviously teasing Nara, but neither Jedi Knight thought that she would just take it lying down. It wasn't in her DNA.

"How about being able to beat you to a pulp? Does that make me a girl?" Nara asked innocently.

Sascha reddened, "Uh…"

Nara laughed loudly, "It is so easy to make you blush, its not even fun anymore." The Togruta gave him a friendly tap on his shoulder, "You've got lots of cool possessions Sascha. Some of us aren't so lucky. Not every Jedi has a state of the art ship given to them by their homeplanet. Some of us don't have your material wealth."

Sascha winced, "I never asked for any of those things…and the ship's not really mine…it's just leased to me…for my lifetime…"

Nara rolled her eyes, "So you are the owner."

"Pretty much," interrupted Aurine, "He just likes to deny it. He doesn't like being a special snowflake."

"Master! You are supposed to take my side."

"A Jedi always should speak the truth," she replied, a smile adorning her face.

Sascha sighed dramatically, "Let's just get this banquet over with."

The four Jedi made sure that they were all presentable for a formal audience, making sure that no small animal had attached themselves to the bottom of their robe as had once happened to her before an important meeting with a local dignitary on Bimmisaari. That was a moment she would soon like to forget.

As they exited their house, they found a luxury speeder already waiting for them. "I suppose that is our ride," Aurine muttered briefly. Indeed it was. The four Jedi clambered into the vehicle without complaint, with the two Padawans conspicuously choosing to sit next to each other. While both Sascha and Nara didn't flirt with each other as much as they had, their friend ship was, in Aurine's opinion, far too playful. She had broached the topic with Tiplee before, but the Rishati seemed firmly set in her belief that their friendship was fine as it was, and they'd grow out of it as they grew older.

A few minutes later, their driver stopped the speeder and the Jedi clambered out, each evaluating their surroundings like they had been trained to do since they were younglings. Their destination was an elaborately designed building, its exterior was splashed with a collage of colours. Blues and purples clashed with reds and greens, but the overall effect on the building was quite pleasant. Aurine was starting to realize that Ubrorans really liked colour, from dyeing their hair to painting their buildings. It wasn't a bad trend, she would take the colourful world of Ubrora over some of the more dour worlds she had visited.

Flanked by their apprentices, she and Tiplee entered the building, which was already abuzz with conversation. The main hall was spacious and decorated with intricate marble statues commemorating the greats of Ubrora's past and present. Along the side of the massive hall, a long table was laid out with some small refreshments already on it and the promise of more food to come. There were perhaps a little over a hundred Ubrorans in the hall, and from what she had ascertained from watching some news broadcasts was populated with the most important people on planet. Politicians, business magnates, and celebrities were amongst the attendees. Those who were not in attendance were likely watching at home.

While their arrival had been noticed by every Ubroran, the honor of greeting them was left to President Mollek. The elder statesman, who was now dressed in a different robe than when he had met with them earlier today, gracefully strode over to them and held out his hands in a welcoming gesture, "Master Jedi, you've arrived precisely on time, though I expected nothing less."

"Thank you, President Mollek," Tiplee replied, bowing politely. "We are honoured that you would go to such lengths to welcome our arrival on planet, so the least we could do is show up on time."

That produced a rough chuckle from the President of Ubrora as he made eye contact with each member of the delegation like a good politician, "Holding a banquet like this was necessary, Master Jedi. We Ubrorans delight in shared occasions like this one, we enjoy showing off our food, our music, and our culture. We may be an introverted people, but we are prideful about what makes Ubrora, Ubrora." A little twinkle appeared in Mollek's eye, "Though this banquet is more special than most. It may be the last I attend as the head of an unaligned planet."

"I hope that it is, President Mollek," responded Tiplee in a pleasant but noncommittal tone.

The President of Ubrora smiled in an amiable manner, "Ah, but enough diplomatic chatter, there are so many people here that are eager to meet a real Jedi Knight in the flesh and I don't want to take this opportunity away from them." Taking the cue from the Ubroran, the Jedi split into their usual Master-Padawan pairs, which meant having Sascha by her side. While there were about a million other things that she'd rather be doing, Aurine went around the room, shook hands with those who wanted to shake hands, and engaged in polite but frankly meaningless conversations with others. Sascha politely stood by her side with his hands folded behind his back, only speaking when spoken to, like a good Padawan should.

More than anything, the Ubrorans that she met wanted another display of Force power like Sascha and Nara had done for Lirri and Parv earlier today. The expectation seemed to be that if an apprentice could have lifted something as small as a glass with ease, the Master would have much more advanced tricks to display. She politely declined all the requests, the Force was not something you used to impress people at parties. The Ubrorans she talked to were understanding, but obviously disappointed.

She had never been on a planet like this that was so unaware of the Jedi, the cause she had dedicated her life to. On any world with access to the Holonet, you could find thousands of videos with Jedi fighting, using the Force and even dying. These videos were so ubiquitous that it was most people barely took notice of them. A Jedi performed another superhuman task? Yawn. The average citizen was more interested in the score of last night's shockball game. The Jedi simply were. They had been around for thousands of years and would be for thousands to come. They were an institution, and in general, the average person didn't pay attention to institutions.

After Aurine seemed to have shaken the hand of every Ubroran in the high ceilinged hall, President Mollek stepped to a small platform, and held up a hand. Obligingly, the conversations that had swelled around the hall died down within seconds. Truly, Ubrorans seemed to have a very organized and polite society. "Friends, colleagues, fellow Ubrorans, we stand today on the precipice of doing something truly unique in our history. For hundreds of years, we have been content to ignore the fact that we are not alone in this galaxy. Sure, we sell our crops to other worlds and from that wealth, we have bought technology that we could not have produced on our own, but our world remains closed off from the galaxy otherwise. We have talked about joining the Republic for years now, but we have talked about it leisurely, like it was not really all that big a deal."

The bright green eyes of the President blinked as he shuffled his notes, "What I have learned today, as I'm sure many of you have, is that we are ignorant about the galaxy at large. When we appealed through our contacts for a diplomat to negotiate our treaty to join the Republic, many suggested that we contact the Jedi. While we had heard of the great guardians of peace in the Republic, we had no idea what the Jedi were, what they represented, and what they could do. Yet, generously they sent four of their Order here, to negotiate with us. That generosity cannot be ignored." Aurine and Tiplee politely inclined their heads to the President, acknowledging the implicit compliment.

Mollek continued, speaking in a strong, clear voice, "But it shames me to see that we had no true understanding of what the Jedi were, and what they can do. I do not like to think of myself or my fellow Ubrorans as stupid or ignorant, but I believe that we have to accept that we are, in the grand scheme of the galaxy, the child that refused to study in school, thinking that he knew all that was necessary to succeed in life. We may have shambled along in our own way, but now, I believe it is the time to open ourselves up to the wider galaxy, and the best way to do that is to join the grand coalition of planets that calls itself the Galactic Republic."

After the polite, appreciative applause died down, the blue and black haired President continued, "But, on a slightly more pleasant note we must also accept that we are strangers to our new guests. Therefore, one of the reasons for this banquet is that so we can introduce ourselves. Ubrora is a planet that is bountiful, and beautiful, but what we love more than anything is sharing. And it is in this spirit that we will serve a great banquet later tonight so that our guests can experience all that makes Ubrora great, and we hope, a worthy addition to your Republic. In return I would like to make a request, that I'm sure is echoed by many of my fellow Ubrorans." He paused significantly to look over at the Jedi, "The Jedi Knights are called this for a reason, by reputation they are peacekeepers, but that also means that they are warriors. We Ubrorans are not a warlike people, not in the slightest, but we do appreciate displays martial prowess."

Tiplee stepped forward, and easily projected her voice throughout the hall, despite the lack of any voice amplification, "I believe I know where you are going with this, President Mollek and we can comply with your request. Padawans, if you'd like to give our hosts a display of our martial ability…"

"Of course, Masters," they replied in unison, projecting their voices easily across the room.

Striding to the middle of the hall, the two Padawans indicated that the crowd should give them some room, and obediently the Ubrorans as a collective moved to the sides of the room. As the crowd shuffled around, Aurine found herself standing beside President Mollek, with Tiplee flanking him off his other shoulder. She also found herself suppressing a smile. If the Ubrorans had been impressed by some simple telekinesis, they were going to be blown away by lightsabers and watching Jedi in mock combat. She just hoped that Nara and Sascha would give them a good show.

Standing across from each other, both Padawans withdrew their lightsabers and struck a dramatic pose, legs spread shoulder width apart, arms above their heads, holding their unlit lightsaber hilt in two hands. Together, they lit their blades, the snap-hiss echoing around the chamber. Nara's blade was a pale blue; Sascha's a rare teal hue. Gasps emanated from the crowd, maybe they had heard rumors of the Jedi's lightsaber or laser swords, and possibly had even seen pictures of one. No Ubroran had seen one in person, until this very moment.

They held that position, then, using a small amount of the Force, Sascha spoke out over the din, "The lightsaber is the weapon of the Jedi. Far more than a simple weapon, it is a tool, a symbol. Anyone can use a blaster. Not anyone can use a lightsaber."

Nara spoke next, "A lightsaber allows for both attack and defence. It can protect the innocent, as well as strike at an enemy. A lightsaber's plasma blade can cut through almost every material in the galaxy. This is symbolic as well as being useful. This means that there is no hiding from the justice of the Jedi."

Having entranced their audience with their words and their glowing blades, the Padawans shook out of their previous stance and into a more natural fighting posture, each circling the other warily. The two saluted each other with their blades before going coming together. The young Padawans moved slowly through a typical cadence, each having their turn on the attack. They continued that way for about half a minute at a glacially slow pace for them, their lightsabers sparking and glowing where they made contact. After their first cadence was finished, they entered another highly stylized cadence, again moving at a leisurely pace. The crowd, which had been enthralled earlier, was beginning to grumble. This was all that the famed warriors of the Republic could do? It hardly seemed impressive.

Finishing the second cadence, Sascha and Nara took the crowd's displeasure as their cue to up the tempo. They discarded the traditional cadences and sparred free-form, first attacking and defending in simple patterns. Quickly, they moved on to using more flair in their maneouvers, their personalities and typical styles starting to show – Nara the athletic attacker, and Sascha the dogged defender. However, their slower than usual pace allowed the audience to easily keep up with the action. Aurine suppressed a smile, she didn't know how that the Padawans had decided to start slowly without exchanging words, but they had chosen wisely. Their exhibition of lightsaber combat was drawing their viewers in and making them wonder if the Jedi could go faster, or make their attacks more skillful. Which, of course they could, neither Padawan was really exerting themselves, they probably could have sparred at this pace for hours.

The tempo upped again. The Padawans started attacking in more intricate patterns and started defending the blades far closer to their bodies. Their lightsabers were a blur of light, smacking against each other with power. Still, Sascha and Nara were still only going at about eighty percent of their normal speed, she estimated, and instead of trying to 'win' this mock duel, they were mainly concerned with showing off their skill. She approved of that, as it would have been easy to fall into the usual pattern of sparring, but instead the young Jedi were showing how graceful a Jedi could look in combat.

"I assume that because these are just apprentices, they have special weapons so that cannot harm each other in this spirited display," President Mollek spoke over the sounds of the ongoing sparring match.

"No, President Mollek, their lightsabers are at full power," replied Tiplee, unconcerned.

"But isn't there a chance that they could hurt each other?"

Tiplee shrugged, "Not really, no. Sascha and Nara are well acquainted with each other, they know what the other can do. At this point in their training they are more than capable of not harming the other."

The Ubroran returned his attention to the fray, apparently convinced by the explanation. Still, he seemed worried about the two teenagers that were moving as fast as the eye could see, each wielding a very deadly weapon. When put in those terms, Aurine Brynar thought that he might have had a point.

Even she was slightly disconcerted by her apprentice's choice to use a fully powered lightsaber. There were some Masters who believed that once a Jedi became a Padawan that they should never again set their lightsaber to its lower setting. These Jedi believed that sparring with 'live' weapons taught control. Aurine was in the other camp, which figured that a lightsaber had a low power setting so that it could be used in that way. Being able to spar at full speed without worrying about harming your partner always made more sense to her.

It was also hard not to notice the depth of the bond that existed between Nara and Sascha. While they maintained a serious expression during their impromptu sparring match, their delight pulsed through the Force, clearly they were both enjoying themselves. While on one hand, she was happy for both of them, as right now it was a beneficial friendship, Sascha being the solid friend Nara could rely on, Nara being the more impetuous and skilled Jedi that counteracted Sascha's relative lack of ability. Yet, she remembered what happened the last time Sascha had a very close female friend, and she knew that history had a way of repeating itself.

At what appeared to be Nara's insistence, the Jedi upped the tempo one last time, moving at a pace that was maybe ninety percent of their usual speed. The crowd gasped audibly as Nara cut towards Sascha's head, and he ducked out of the way of her blade at what seemed like the absolute last moment. Sascha repeated the favour a moment later with a slash that would have detached Nara's left wrist from her arm, which the Togruta avoided by the barest of margins. Clearly unconcerned, Tiplee was staring at her nails, brushing some unseen dust off her hand as her apprentice took the attention of the crowd. Aurine was more tense than her compatriot, to say the least.

The Padawans clashed again, binding their lightsabers together. Sascha who was physically stronger than Nara by the thinnest of margins, pressed his advantage, forcing the teal and blue interlocked blades, slowly towards the purple-skinned Togruta. Skilfully, Nara broke the bind, twirling her blade away from where Aurine normally assumed it would go after breaking the bind, and that deceit opened up an opening in Sascha's defences. Nara's blade moved towards the opening that she had created, and then away from it, moving back into a central defensive position.

Sascha seemed to nod almost imperceptibly, admitting that he had been beaten. Aurine admired that Nara had achieved her victory in a way that showed her superior technique but no one outside of a master swordsman would have seen. That was the mark of a Jedi, and perhaps the mark of a maturing young Padawan. Tiplee gave her a look, as if to say, 'See how this friendship is helping them,' before returning her attention back to the sparring contest.

The two Padawans completed a few more passes at each other, before they disengaged their lightsabers and bowed formally to each other. A moment of silence seemed to engulf the crowd, before it broke out into polite applause.

President Mollek once again stepped forward, "Fantastic, Master Jedi, truly an amazing display. I shall have to watch it again tonight once someone slows down the recording to a more manageable speed for these old eyes." The crowd and even Sascha and Nara laughed politely to the joke. "If you would like to make a request of anyone here, now would be the time," said President Mollek.

Nara spoke up almost immediately, "This is a banquet right? Because we just worked up a big appetite, and Jedi or not, we still need to eat."

"This is a request I can get behind," the President said behind a fatherly smile.