Star Wars_ The Approaching Storm - Alan Dean Foster [16]
“Pagh! ‘The Force.’ You all bemused and intimidated by this Force nonsense.” Green fingers stabbed at the silent visitors. “These are humanoids, like yourself. Sentients, like me. They bleed and die like any creatures of flesh and blood. Why should we continue to suffer beneath their burdensome rules? Their officials are corrupt, or ignorant of the needs of different species, or both. When a government becomes like an old sea creature, it should be treated like one.” Thick, chisel-like teeth flashed. “Taken out and buried.” Reaching across the table, he picked up in one hand the massive stack Kandah had brought forth and threw it across the room, where it slammed against a wall, disks scattering everywhere.
“Regulations! Restrictions! What can be done by peoples and what cannot. All words—words we of Ansion not write. This movement to leave the Republic we should join, say I and those who think like me. Free Ansion! And if the Alwari will not join us in this, we should deal with them as we have in the past.”
Throughout the tirade, the visitors had sat silently. Now Anakin’s hand strayed in the direction of his lightsaber. A hint of a smile from his Master was all that was necessary to still the movement. Not that Anakin cared particularly whether Ansion stayed in the Republic or not. The convoluted machinations of galactic politics were still a mystery to him. It was the insult to his Master that caused the anger to rise within him. Now he forced himself to remain calm—because his Master wished that he be so.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, he knew, was quite capable of taking care of himself.
The Jedi Knight started to rise, but somewhat to Anakin’s surprise deferred to the woman seated next to him. “The Force is nothing to be so casually disparaged, my large friend,” Luminara informed the Armalat. “Especially by one who has no understanding of it.”
Once again showing his huge, flat white teeth in a broad grin, Tolut started around the table. Barriss and Anakin both tensed, but Obi-Wan sat quietly, indifferent to the approach of the massive, powerful Armalat. A small smile played across his face. Luminara rose and stepped away from her chair.
“Think you only Jedi know the Force?” Tolut snorted at his fellow delegates. “Anyone can know it. It only takes practice.” Extending a huge hand, he gestured at the table. One of the several crystal carafes of water that had been placed there to slake the thirst of the participants trembled slightly, then rose half a meter off the surface. Sweat starting to seep from his cheeks in large, glossy beads, Tolut smiled triumphantly at his friends.
“See! With exercise and will, anyone can do what Jedi can do. Hardly reason for awe!”
“On the contrary,” Luminara told him, “knowledge is always reason for awe.” She did not raise her hand. She did not have to.
The carafe stopped trembling, steadied. As Luminara focused on it, it rose slowly until it reached the ceiling. Fascinated, the delegates could not take their eyes off it. Living as they did in a border world, none of them had previously had the opportunity to observe Jedi manipulation of the Force.
Like a bulbous crystal bird, the carafe drifted along the ceiling until it was poised directly above the Armalat. Grim-faced, he began to make ponderous, then frantic gestures in the hovering container’s direction. These had absolutely no effect on the floating object. He might as well have been gesticulating in front of a mirror.
As smoothly as if manipulated by an experienced waiter, the carafe abruptly turned upside down and dumped its ice-cold contents on the increasingly frustrated alien. Glaring, he wiped water from his eyes and took a step toward the serene Jedi. Barriss reached for her lightsaber, only to be stilled by her Master, much as Obi-Wan had earlier restrained his own Padawan.
One by one, the remaining carafes leapt off the table to dash their contents in Tolut’s face. Laughter began to rise from the remaining seated, and still dry, delegates, the humans chortling softly, the Ansionians emitting boisterous