came from the ocean world of Maires, one of the planets in the Hapes
Cluster.
Their ambassadors had set up a consulate on the ocean floor of the Hapes
central world. It seemed that, even from their undersea consulate, the
Mairan ambassadors had managed to raise a political dispute with their
traditional rivals from the planet Vergill.
The Mairans could leave the sea for short periods, but only if the
tentacled creatures were pefiodically showered with a fine spray from
bubbling tanks of filtered water they carried on their backs.
By keeping their rubbery skin moist, the Ma' irans were able to spend
hours on dry land, and the ambassadors had insisted on coming personally
to the island fortress. They would allow the matter to be resolved by no
one but the matriarch herself-or a member of the Royal House who was her
designee.
The matriarch had designated Tenel Ka.
The princess sat waiting, watching the waves.
She had not brought her chronometer along and wondered if the ambassador
was late . . . or if she was just impatient for this ordeal to be over
with.
Lowbacca stood watch at her side, tall and shaggy; Em Teedee gleamed
silver in the sunlight.
Jacen and Jaina, who hadn't been briefed, hung back.
"Uh, what are we doing here, exactly?" Jacen asked.
Tenel Ka turned to answer him, but Em Teedee chimed in first. "If I
might be permitted to explain, Mistress Tenel Ka? I believe I can
provide an appropriate summary." The little droid made a LIGHTSABERS
^ sound as if it were clearing its voice speaker. "Now, then. The Mairan
underwater consulates domed structure built on their own planet and
transported here to the Hapes homeworld-is perilously close to a
subsurface mining project opened by the Vergills just after the Mairan
consulate was established.
"Although the Vergill mining business is terribly productive, the
Mairans have filed a formal complaint because of the noise and the silt
stirred up by the drilling and excavation operations. They contend that,
since the Mairans were there first, the Vergills should be required to
clean up the muddied waters, cease their disruptive mining, and relocate
to a place at least fifty kilometers from their consulate."
Tenel Ka nodded. "Yes, these are some of the facts. But not all."
Before she could elaborate, Tenel Ka saw a hulking shape rise out of the
water and shamble in her direction, sloshing through the surf. Forty or
so black tentacles-which Tenel Ka knew the Mairans let drift free
underwater, to grasp any fish that might flit within reach-dangled from
its slumped shoulders, and it weaved from side to side on two legs as it
walked. The spherical discolored lumps on its sloping head must have
been eye membranes. The entire creature looked dark and oily.
Tenel Ka's initial reaction upon seeing the alien ambassador was one of
fear-a giant primeval monster nearly one and a half times her own height
rising out of the surf and lumbering toward herbut she pushed the
reaction away. Fear could only weaken her judgment right now.
Waves rippled around the Mairan's legs, which were like tree trunks
clinging to the beach. Stopping in the low surf, the ambassador held a
heavy convoluted shell, into which a pattern of holes had been drilled.
The Mairan ambassador spoke from a vibrating membrane beneath its
tentacles in a resonant and burbling voice that was very difficult to
understand.
"I am capable of speaking Basic if this is how we must proceed."
Tenel Ka shook her head. "That will not be necessary. Use your native
language." She cast a glance sideways at the silvery ovoid of Em Teedee
at Lowie's side. "I have brought my own translating droid."
"Oh, my," said Em Teedee, who just an hour earlier had downloaded the
Mairan language from the fortress databanks. "This is quite exciting!"
The tentacled hulk bowed once, then straightened. Placing the drilled
side of the shell against its blowhole, it played a skirting,
complicated series of flutelike notes.
"Ah, yes," Em Teedee said. "This musical language was indeed properly
loaded into my memory LIGHTSABERS
^ banks. Thank the Maker! The Mairan ambassador formally greets you,
Princess Tenel Ka."
The tentacled creature blew another series of notes.
Em Teedee translated. "And he commends you on your capture of such a
magnificent and well-trained pet, with its coat of silky brown
seaweed-oh, dear!"
the droid chirped. "I do believe he's referring to Master Lowbacca!"
Lowbacca growled and flashed his fangs. Tenel Ka stood, indignant,
letting the robe fall away to reveal her reptile-hide armor and her arm
stump.
Behind them on the rocks, the matriarch frowned in disapproval at her
granddaughter's performance.
"Wookiees are an intelligent species. They are no one's pets," Tenel Ka
said. "This is my friend."
The Mairan appeared flustered, flailed his tentacies in agitation, and
played another series of notes. "The ambassador offers his apologies for
having misunderstood, Princess Tenel Ka. He grieves for your loss of one
. . . tentacle-I believe he means your artn-and hopes that you exacted
tenfold retribution on the fool responsible for your loss."
"How I have dealt with the loss of my 'tentacle' is not his concern."
Tenel Ka's voice was crisp and hard. "If he has a diplomatic matter to
raise, he had better do so immediately. If he tries my patience, I will
leave. I have other things to do."
The Mairan ambassador hesitated, its tentacles stiffing uncertainly,
then raised the shell flute again, drawing forth a long and tangled
melody.
"The Mairan ambassador apologizes again and says that he understands the
matriarch gave you this decision to make as part of your diplomatic
training.
Since it is to be your first ruling of major import, you will most
assuredly want to give it the utmost time and consideration to choose
the best course of action."
Tenel Ka did not back down. Her voice remained stem. "The ambassador is
sorely misinformed. I have made many important decisions in my life.
Although this may be the first one that affects him and his kind, he may
rest assured that I am no stranger to making tough choices."
Some of those other choices flashed through her mind-particularly her
decision to join Master Skywalker's Jedi academy, and her insistence on
embracing the Dathomir side of her heritage as well as that of the Hapan
Royal House.
"Please present your case without further digression," she said. Her one
hand gripped the chair, but she remained standing to minimize the height
differential between herself and the towering tentacled ambassador.
"Very well, Princess Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo.
The Mairan ambassadorial delegation begs the intervention of the Royal
House in a matter that has distressed us greatly." Em Teedee had a
difficult time keeping up as he translated the fluting notes of the
tentacled ambassador's speech.
&
nbsp; LIGHTSABERS
^
"Our peaceful undersea settlement is our home on this world, set up by
our first delegation no more than six months ago. We have been delighted
with the beautiful and tranquil setting of our consulate under the sea.
If only you air-breathers could come to see it, I'm certain you would
agree that-"
"I'm not a tourist," Tenel Ka said. "What is your grievance?" She
already knew, but she wanted him to spell it out.
"Only a month after we established our consulate," the ambassador
whistled, "a mining crew of oafish, inconsiderate Vergills set up a
floating platform and began drilling less than a kilometer from our
settlement structures. The currents are now perpetually stiffed up and
dirty. The noise vibrates through the water, disturbing our
concentration and frightening away fish. They have ruined our home."
The Mairan raised its tentacles beseechingly.
"We had established our dwelling there first, most knowledgeable
Princess. We beg you to order the despised Vergills to move their
pollution away from our home. After all, they have the entire ocean.
They need not disturb our peace."
"I understand," Tenel Ka said.
The tentacled ambassador bowed deeply in respect, but then Tenel Ka
continued sharply, "I also understand that the Vergills conducted a
mining survey of the oceans by satellite, well before you established
your consulate city. When I consulted the access records, I learned that
you Mairans received a copy of this mining report several months before
you chose a location for your domed consulate. Finally, I have
discovered that you identified the richest vein of ditanium picked up on
the survey and chose to place your structure exactly there, knowing full
well that the Vergills would eventually commence mining operations in
the vicinity.
"Yes, Ambassador, the entire ocean is available," she said as the wind
whipped her hair about like red-gold flames, "but it is you who chose to
bring about this dispute. You erected your consulate after you knew for
certain that the Vergills would desire to mine that very same spot."
She waited, but the Mairan said nothing. She continued. "The Vergills
have also petitioned for our intervention. And so you may either change
the location of your consulate-which is quite easily done, as I
understand from the modular construction of your domes-or you may simply
choose to tolerate the noise and disturbance."
After a moment of stung silence, the Mairan ambassador fluted
stridently, waving his tentacles.
"Don't even bother translating that," Tenel Ka said sharply to Em
Teedee, then turned to face the hulking black creature. "You came to me
asking for a decision, and I have made it. In the future perhaps
LIGHTSABERS
^ you will attempt to work out your own problems instead of wasting our
time with your petty squabbles.
I have spoken."
She sat back down and shrugged into her robe again. After another moment
the Mairan ambassador shuffled backward into the surf and disappeared
beneath the waves.
"All right, Tenel Ka!" Jacen cried, running toward her. Lowbacca chuffed
with laughter.
Tenel Ka felt her head spinning, exhilarated at what she had done. It
surprised her that the speech had come easily after all. She adjusted
the rainbowgem tiara on her head.
She was actually startled, though, when she looked behind her to see her
grandmother, the iron-hard and impossible-to-please matriarch, smiling.
"Perhaps your methods are a bit rough yet, child," her grandmother said,
"but your judgment was sound."
^ 6 -----------------REST AND SAFEKEEPING were all well and good, Jacen
thought-but after several days staying at the Reef Fortress with no
place to go but to the tiny cove to swim, he began to get restless.
Terribly restless.
Tenel Ka, too, was a person of action-Jacen knew that better than
anybody. She wanted to be out and around, having adventures, not coddled
and sheltered like a pet. The injured warrior girl certainly didn't want
to sit like an old woman, merely watching waves pound against the rocks.
Ta'a Chume had returned to the Fountain Palace to supervise the
investigation of the bomb blast, leaving Tenel Ka and the young Jedi
Knights under the questionable care of thin-lipped Ambassador Yfra. The
ambassador was a hard woman, as if all the muscles in her body were made
of durasteel rather than flesh . . . but then, everyone within the Hapan
government lived a harsh life, trusting no one, always struggling for
personal gain. Jacen supposed Ambassador Yfra was no worse than
^ LIGHTSABERS
^ anyone else in this society. On the other hand, he could see why Tenel
Ka preferred the honest ruggedness of her mother's world of Dathomir to
the hypocritical and often poisonous dealings of Hapan politicians.
He found Tenel Ka outside the towering Reef Fortress standing on an
outcropping of black rock.
She was throwing stones with her good arm into the swirling pools of
water that hissed around the outer reef. Deep in concentration, she took
careful aim and was clearly pleased whenever she struck her imagined
target. Reluctant to disrupt her reverie, Jacen stood behind her,
content just to watch.
Jaina and Lowie, who had followed Jacen out of the fortress, also looked
on as Tenel Ka threw stones. All of them seemed to feel the same
restlessness-stuck on a minuscule island with no place to go.
After a few minutes, the balcony doors above them opened, and a flash of
sunlight from polished transparisteel dazzled Jacen. Ambassador Yfra
stepped out onto the high balcony, whip-thin, looking like a bird of
prey as she scanned the rocks to find them. She waved, catching their
attention.
"Children, come here please."
Lowbacca sniffed the salty air and groaned a comment. Em Teedee made an
electronic sound of disagreement. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean,
Master Lowbacca! Whatever makes you think the air has changed for the
worse? It still smells every bit as salty and refreshing to me as it
has for the past hour."
Tenel Ka glanced behind her when Em Teedee spoke and looked momentarily
startled to find the others watching her. She clambered off the rock
outcropping and joined her three friends. "Let us see what the
ambassador wants," she said in a gruff voice, leading the way.
"Maybe it'll be something fun," Jacen suggested.
Tenel Ka looked at him with her granite-gray gaze, raising her eyebrows.
"Somehow the ideas of Ambassador Yfra and 'fun' do not go together in my
mind."
Jacen snickered at that, wondering if Tenel Ka had purposely made a
joke. By all outward appearances she had merely stated a fact.
Inside the fortress, the ambassador met them in the warmly lit balcony
room with a surprise for them all. "My dears, I think it's time for you
to have a little enjoyment!" she said, smiling with her face, but not
with her mind. Jacen could sense it. Although she went through all
the
correct motions of being friendly and understanding, Jacen could tell
that Yfra had no great love for children-or for anyone else who took up
so much of her time anci interfered with governmental business.
Tenel Ka placed her hand on her hip. "What would you suggest,
Ambassador?"
LIGHTSABERS
^
"You children seem so bored," Yfra said. "I can understand that.
Sometimes having no cares or worries is bothersome." She gave the
briefest disapproving frown, then covered it with another false smile.
"I've taken the liberty of reprogramming one of our wavespeeders so that
you can get away for a while, cruise the ocean, and have a good time out
in the sun."
"Are you planning to come along, Ambassador?"
Jaina asked.
Yfra made a sour frown, then covered her expression with a cough. "I'm
afraid not, young lady.
I've terribly important work to attend to. My, you can't imagine the
responsibilities I deal with. The Hapes Cluster has sixty-three worlds,
with hundreds upon hundreds of different governments and thousands of
cultures. Ta'a Chume is a very powerful woman, and we all have so much
to do in the absence of Tenel Ka's parents." Yfra clasped her clawlike
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