Lord Darth Yoda - Politicians gotta play politician ya know! He is negotiating arguably the most important treaty in Ubrora's history, so he's going to pull out every trick in the book to get a good deal. As for the Force sensitives, the Ubrorans will have some more thoughts on that matter in this chapter. I mean Sascha (who has lived most of his life on the galactic capital) does see Ubrora as something of a backwater...because they are. Now he's never, ever going to vocalize such a thing, but of course he's going to be thinking about it.

thejoker122 - The mission will get hectic...just not quite yet.

Bodare2 - I love politics too (I was a poli sci major). I think you've hit on interesting points - I don't know how the Ubrorans will react to being in the Republic, and I'm not sure how they will react either. As you said, their society is so monitored, how will they react to losing that sense of control?

A/N - Another shorter chapter. Things will start to pick up a bit later, but for now you'll have to survive on the small doses I'm doling out.

Please enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 18: Roadblocks

"Did we really have to go to the market ourselves? I'm sure we could have paid someone to deliver groceries to our house."

"Yeah but where is the adventure in that, Nara?" he teased. Nara was being slightly recalcitrant as the two Padawans got ready to visit one of Bontha's largest marketplaces. Honestly, Nara's reaction surprised him. Usually Nara was basically the dictionary definition of enthusiastic. Nara Nalto was an odd person, he was finding out, the more time he spent around her.

"When I mentioned going on an adventure, I meant fighting Mandalorians, winning the affections of cute boys and entire populations, not going to the market to buy the Ubroran version of blumfruits."

"Maybe there is a cute boy waiting for you in the market, holding a blumfruit?" he teased.

"I don't know about you, but I like my men with less fur and less tails than these Ubrorans," said Nara.

"I don't know, I think you have more tails than the Ubrorans do."

"Head-tails don't count."

"Why not?"

"My head-tails are pretty," Nara said with a smile.

Sascha shrugged, "Well I'd keep those comments to yourself once we get outside."

Nara looked skyward for a moment, "Don't remind me. Now I have to watch every word I say because somebody is recording it for posterity. You know, I didn't really understand how much I valued my privacy before it got taken away from me."

"Well the faster we get this done, the faster we can get back home and back to privacy, yes?"

Nara made a quick shrugging motion and pushed past him and out the door.

"All right then," Sascha said to no one in particular.

Nara hadn't stopped walking since exiting their building, so Sascha had to hustle to catch up to her. Despite her obvious bad mood, he continued to be upbeat, "So I figured we have to buy a bunch of meat, considering two of our number are generally predators and prefer meat based meals. We have some frozen stuff still left on the ship...but it would probably be nice to leave it for the trip back. Can I assign the tasks of buying meat to you?"

Nara stayed silent for a long while as they trekked towards their destination. Finally, she broke the silence, "Why are we doing this, Sascha?"

"To get food to eat so we don't starve."

"Beyond that very simple logic."

"I...don't know what you are getting at, Nara."

Nara stopped in the middle of her stride, "We are being tested. Simple as that."

"So?"

"I don't like being tested," Nara stated simply.

Sascha peered down the street, he could see the marketplace in the distance, "Uh, okay? Can we go get food now?"

Nara stepped in his way, "Not going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say, Nara?" he said, slightly exasperated. "If we don't get tested, we'll never be given freedom to do anything. And as far as tests go, this one is pretty darn simple."

"But what's the point!?"

"I don't think there is one. The point is proving we are worthy of being trusted."

"But I have Master Tiplee's trust," Nara protested.

"Trust isn't something you have permanently. You need to keep earning it," he replied.

Nara stepped out of the way, seeming a bit puzzled. "Maybe that's true," she finally admitted. Nara brightened slightly, "Lets get this over with so we can get back home."

"That's the spirit...kinda."

The two Jedi Padawans made their way to the sprawling marketplace without further incident. Sascha was still trying to figure his friend out. The more he got to know her, the more confused he got. In the market, Sascha and Nara wandered around for about twenty minutes, taking stock of their options before getting down to purchasing food.

It was very fortunate that Sascha had learned to deal with being gawked at in public, because being a Jedi on Ubrora was something akin to being an A-list celebrity. It was hard not to notice the crowd that followed them at a distance from shop to shop and the star struck look that every vendor seemed to give them. Even when the two Padawans tried to pay full price for the goods they were buying, the shopkeepers invariably gave them 'discounts' or in a couple of cases, refused to take payment at all.

Having bought all that they needed, the two apprentices walked back in the direction of their temporary home, their new purchases trailing behind them in a small cart. As they walked away, the crowd that had been surreptitiously following them from behind seemed to dissipate, and before long, the foot traffic was down to almost nothing. Nara released a long breath, "How do you stand being watched like that? I felt like I was an animal in a zoo."

He shrugged, "They are just curious, Nara. They've never seen a Jedi before, or even a Togruta. We are pretty uncommon looking compared to the average Ubroran. I expect the initial curiosity to fade shortly."

"I suppose so, I just don't like thinking that there were not just those people watching us, but if anyone in the crowd is broadcasting, there could have been like a million people watching us."

"Does it matter if there is one being, or one thousand beings watching?" he retorted.

The Togruta sighed again, "I guess not. I just don't like these cameras. I don't like what they represent."

"How so?"

"It's just...you never get the chance to be truly alone. With these cameras you are always in public, potentially, and I think that is unhealthy."

"The Ubrorans don't seem to mind," he pointed out.

Nara nodded a couple of times in agreement, "I get that, and I guess I should see it as a 'local culture' thing. I just can't for some reason."

"You don't like being on display," he said. "You don't like standing out from a crowd just because you exist."

"I guess. But I'm not sure why."

He smiled, "I do."

Nara glanced at him incredulously, "You do?"

"I do. See you are a Togruta..."

"Brilliant observation."

"...And being a Togruta, being a pack hunter – you don't like standing out. That would make you seem like you thought you were above the pack or wanted to be different. And considering Togruta are communal...that would be a bad thing. It would make you a bad Togruta."

Nara didn't answer right away. She clearly was thinking about what he had just said. Finally she replied, "You know, I hate it when you are right."

"Get used to it, my friend."

Nara tried to swat at him playfully, but he dodged out of the way and smirked, "Too slow, Togruta. You are getting predictable."

"How am I predictable?" Nara asked in a joking tone.

"You have a simple pattern – I outsmart you, you try to hit me. I might be a slow learner, but I do learn."

"Clearly I need to vary my attacks," Nara drawled thoughtfully.

As they rounded the last corner, Nara spoke up, "You know we still haven't told our Masters about finding that Force sensitive Ubroran."

Lirri Boikana, daughter of the mayor and unfortunate soul that had the rough luck of being born on a planet that didn't test for Force sensitivity. If she had been born on, say, Coruscant, she would have been close to becoming a Jedi Knight and probably would have helped thousands of beings in her time as a Padawan. But, because she was born on Ubrora, she was just an average being with an undiscovered talent. What a waste. "We might as well bring it up, it might spare us from having to do more research for Master Tiplee."

Nara smirked, "Never thought I'd see the day where you wouldn't want to do research."

He sighed dramatically, "Even I have limits Nara." He had done so much research for Tiplee over the past few days he had felt like an overloaded computer – searching for space and processing power, but not finding any.

After putting away the groceries like the good little helpers that they were, the Padawans decided to broach the conversation with the two Jedi Knights, who were sitting in the living room, looking at their datapads. "Masters, may we ask a question?" said Nara.

Surprised by the formality of the question from the usually informal Togruta, the two Jedi Knights stirred immediately, putting down their datapads. "A Padawan should always feel free to ask his or her Master," Tiplee replied.

Nara started, "Okay, well, when Sascha and I were getting a tour from those two Ubrorans, the children of the mayor…we found that the daughter, Lirri is Force sensitive. She's too old to be trained as a Jedi, I know. But I don't know what the procedure is for dealing with someone like her."

"You didn't mention it to her, did you?" asked Aurine.

"No, as Nara said, we didn't know what to do so we kept quiet."

"Then you handled it perfectly," his Master said with finality.

"Okay, I think Nara and I understood that, but isn't there a next step? I know some Force sensitive beings get visions, and don't understand why they are happening to them."

"Did Lirri seem perturbed in any way?" his Master inquired.

"I mean she seemed normal, but I can't say anything for sure."

Aurine shrugged casually, "She's survived her life this long, there is no point in disrupting it by telling her what she could have been. It would only confuse her, make her resentful. Let her live the life she is currently living."

Sascha knew he was being a bit combative, but he didn't want to defer to his Master's argument...at least not yet, "Isn't that a bit callous? In different circumstances she could have been a fellow Jedi."

"The galaxy can be callous, my Padawan. While in a perfect situation, she could have been the first Ubroran Jedi Knight, we must take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Only then can we enact meaningful change."

He wanted to continue the argument, but he couldn't find a point to argue in his favour, so he decided on another tactic. "It just doesn't feel like what a Jedi should do. What connects us together as Jedi is that we are a privileged group that can use the Force. Well, Lirri is a part of that group, but we are ignoring her."

Aurine folded her legs underneath her, evidently settling in for a long discussion, "So, if we had it your way, what would you do?"

Sascha looked at Nara, hoping that she would help him in this conversation, but the Togruta gave him a marginal shake of her head, as if to say 'you are on your own.' He composed his thoughts on the matter, "I know that she is too old to be trained as a Jedi, and I accept why we cannot accept beings that have such obvious attachments into the Jedi Order. But we could teach her some meditation techniques or something. Something harmless, but positive."

"And you don't think there would be any harm in doing that," Aurine observed.

"I don't see how it could," he responded, with the sinking feeling that he had just stepped into a trap.

His Master leaned forward intently, "So we teach her some meditation techniques, we finish the treaty and we leave. Yet, perhaps she is not satisfied with just learning meditation, what if she wants to learn more? It wouldn't be impossible to teach herself some more advanced techniques since you've given her the basis for control of the Force. Maybe then, without the years of discipline training at the Jedi Temple she lashes out one night and hurts someone with her power with the Force. Maybe then, she falls to the dark side."

"That's quite an elaborate tale you've constructed, Master Brynar."

"But not an impossible one." "I suppose not," he allowed.

His Master continued to lecture, "Jedi are Jedi because we are taught mental discipline at a young age and despite that training some of us still fall to the dark side, as you should well know, apprentice."

Stung by her comment, he started to rise, but was stopped by the firm hand of his Master. "Sascha, I'm not rebuking you, I'm explaining myself."

He sat back down and apologized, "Sorry, Master."

"I think it's good that you wanted to help Lirri reach her full potential, but sometimes you have to realize that even as a Jedi, you cannot fix everything."

"I understand, thank you Master."

"Nara do you have any questions?" inquired Aurine.

The Togruta glanced at him quickly, "Um, not really, I think Sascha covered them."

"Good," said Tiplee, "Now, I think it would be best if you got started on dinner."

"But we just bought groceries," Nara protested.

"And did you think the meals were going to cook themselves?"

"No," the Togruta grumbled, "I just hate cooking."

Tiplee held out a hand, "Nara…perhaps it would be best if you let Sascha cook. To put it bluntly, he's much better at it than you are."

"Fine, I'll be in my room meditating then," Nara walked away somewhat petulantly.

Tiplee shook her head briefly at her apprentice, "Call us if you need any help, Padawan."

"Of course, Masters."

As Sascha headed to the kitchen, he reflected on the exceedingly glamorous life of a Jedi Padawan...

It had only been a few days ago that Sascha had been looking forward to watching a high-level negotiation like this one. Now he thought that surviving another hour while the Ubrorans haggled over some meaningless point would be among the finest accomplishments of his life. He was bored right out of his mind and was trying very, very hard not to appear that way to the Ubrorans that were across the table from him.

Mediation he liked, being able to make two sides settle on a deal that both could agree upon was one of the Jedi's oldest and most time honored traditions. This negotiation was nothing but tedious, and he wondered how Tiplee had the patience to re-state her and the Republic's position for the sixth time without even changing the tone of her voice. He knew how frustrated she was with the slow pace of the talks, their Masters had worked out some of their frustration in a sparring session last night. Tiplee already looked somewhat intimidating with her red skin and intense blue eyes, but when imbued with a faint tinge of anger, she was just about terrifying. Aurine had put up a good fight...but Tiplee was just better, which he knew annoyed his Master greatly.

Progress was slow; each point that was finally settled only became that way over hours of debating over the minutest of minutia. As the hours of negotiating went by Sascha felt less like a Jedi and more like a a very minor lawyer at the periphery of something that he was barely involved with.

He glanced over at Nara, to see how she was holding up. If you didn't understand Nara's body language, you might has assumed she was paying attention. Sascha wasn't so easily fooled. Nara's bright blue eyes, seemed to be glazed over and her head-tails appeared to be drooping, a physical manifestation of her boredom. His own Master looked composed, nodding along with the points that were being made by both sides, but in the Force he could sense her restlessness as well. The only one who seemed like their normal self was Tiplee, and for that, Sascha would have made her a Jedi Master.

Some discussions caught the attention of all four Jedi though. One particular one revolved around the Jedi Order itself. President Mollek was talking in monologues as usual, "I must say, that I find the provision that allows your Jedi Order to take any child that they deem Force sensitive is appalling and barbarous. I don't think that I or the people of Ubrora can agree to it."

Tiplee nodded as if the President of Ubrora had made a salient point worthy of consideration. "We are talking about one or two children in an entire generation, President Mollek, if that. Force sensitivity is exceedingly rare."

"Rare or not, we are talking about a child being legally abducted from their parents, and given to your order of peacekeepers. How can the Republic stand for civilization if they allow such things?"

The Rishati folded her hands together on the desk, "The Jedi Order helps preserve civilization, President Mollek, and we cannot do that if we do not get the members we need. Some of our wisest Masters have theorized that the presence of the Force in a child indicates their willingness to be Jedi, even before they have the cogent ability to form such thoughts. I'll admit that I'm not sure that I personally believe in such things, but I do believe as a Jedi that any Force sensitive child is better off with us."

President Mollek snorted derisively, "That may be the way that your religion tells you that it is, but I do not believe in this 'Force' and neither do the people of Ubrora. I can't imagine how I can sanction such callousness. How can I tell a parent that they have to give up their child, and that they have no legal recourse against it?"

Tiplee responded peacefully, "Any child that is taken to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi gets the finest education in the galaxy, along with training that will help them reach their potential from some of the best teachers in the Republic. These children are hardly being tortured, they can leave at any time, but because of their ability to use the Force, they need to be taught in a way that shows them how to not harm themselves or others."

The President of Ubrora frowned, "But if I understand the way that Force sensitivity works…and I certainly may not, there must have been several Force sensitive Ubrorans over the course of our history, how come we have not found any of these people before? Why is there no Ubroran in history that has ever levitated a rock with his mind?"

"Because being Force sensitive is not something that can easily be seen," Tiplee responded. "A fellow Force sensitive being like myself can detect one and we will provide the blood test that can test for the midi-chlorians that indicate Force sensitivity. But Force sensitive Ubrorans may appear to live normal lives, they will just appear to be 'luckier' or have good feelings that turn out to be true. The Force manifests itself, whether the host realizes it or not, and sometimes that makes them dangerous."

The President conferred with his aides for several moments before speaking again. "I must admit that this is all beyond me, Master Jedi. You say that this provision is something that all planets in the Republic have agreed to. I wish I understood their logic better. Perhaps we can agree that all training for any Force sensitive that is found could be done on Ubrora. We would open up a satellite academy if you wish."

"No," Tiplee said bluntly, "This provision will be included as written, or there can be no treaty."

The fact that Tiplee was willing to be so direct, stunned a few of the President's aides, but Mollek himself did not react. "I see. Perhaps this is a good place to end negotiations for today."

The Jedi took the hint and left, walking silently back to their accommodations.

Once inside of their home, the discussion started, "That was unpleasant," observed Aurine.

Tiplee made her way to the refrigeration unit and poured herself a glass of bright orange juice, "There isn't anything I can do. I can't allow Ubrora into the Republic without this provision, because if I do, there will be a thousand other worlds that will demand to be treated similarly."

"Has the provision never been a problem before?" he asked.

"It has," Tiplee allowed, "but most times, the negotiators realize that, like I said we are talking about an infinitesimally small number of beings. Maybe one or two over twenty or thirty years. It would be illogical to derail a treaty that will bring the Ubrorans much, for these theoretical children of the Force."

"May I make an observation, Masters?" asked Nara politely. Upon receiving approving nods, the Togruta continued, "I think one of the problems is that the Ubrorans don't know much about the Jedi. So, they see this provision as the ability for us to take any child at any time and take them away from their parents. They need to see that this is in the best interests of the child, to see that they end up as nice young men and women. They need to see that every child given to the Jedi is a gift to the galaxy."

Tiplee smiled fondly at her apprentice, "Well stated, and I agree. How do you propose to show that?"

"Well," drawled Nara, "We have two fine upstanding young Padawans here, we just need to let the Ubrorans get to know us. I have a plan that will allow us to do that."

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to embarrass myself?" he asked no one in particular.