Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 04_ Lightsabers - Kevin J. Anderson [39]
"I have no interest in your important meeting, Grandmother."
Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca stood uncomfortably, not sure what to say as Tenel Ka argued with the matriarch.
"So long as you remain part of the Royal House of Hapes, Tenel Ka, you will continue to receive diplomatic instruction and learn how to become a useful member of our bloodline," her grandmother snapped.
Tenel Ka glared back, her one hand clenched into a fist. "What makes you think I wish to stay here as part of the Royal House? I am still in training as a Jedi Knight."
The matriarch laughed. "Spare me your fantasies, child, and face reality. The Mairan ambassador is on his way to us underwater right now, and we must go meet him at the shore. Put on your robe. I promised him that you would be the one to greet him."
"You didn't ask me," Tenel Ka said.
"There was no reason to," the matriarch answered. "You couldn't possibly have other plans, so I just told you."
"I have no need for diplomatic training. I am a fighter, not a politician," Tenel Ka said, indicating with a sweeping gesture the reptile-skin armor she had changed into to emphasize that her preferred heritage was from Dathomir.
"Hey,um, Tenel Ka?" Jacen said uncertainly, clearinghis throat. "Uh, I mean, you've got to make up yourown mind and everything... but remember what Master Skywalker says? Jedi ought to be open to all learning, to draw strength from knowledge - wherever they might find it? Seems to me that even though you're a good fighter, you might someday find a use for the skills your grandmother wants to teach you."
"I disagree with her politics," Tenel Ka said.
Jacen shrugged. "Nobody said you had to do everything the way she wants you to."
The matriarch scowled at the insolent young Jedi boy, and that made up Tenel Ka's mind. "Very well.
I will do it," she said, "but I will do it my way. This is a fact."
"Oh, excellent!" Em Teedee said from Lowbacca's waist. "Might I take this opportunity to remind you, Mistress Tenel Ka, that a goodly portion of my programming was adapted from protocol droid subroutines? If I can be of any assistance in your political efforts, I gladly offer my services."
The old matriarch looked horrified.
Tenel Ka smiled inwardly. "Thank you, Em Teedee. I accept your offer. Lowbacca, I would like you at my side when I meet the Mairan ambassador."
Tenel Ka picked up the robe and with her one hand attempted to fling it about her shoulders, but the left side slid off, leaving the stump of her arm bare. When the matriarch moved to help her, Tenel Ka pulled away and quickly reached over to tug the garment into place.
"It is good to be an independent thinker, my granddaughter," the matriarch said. "Just have a care you don't do it to excess."
Royal guards had set out a plush chair on the outer edge of the reef, where curling whitecaps chewed against the rock. The damp air smelled of salt and freshness. The old matriarch stood back, observing.
Tenel Ka, in her rippling robe, marched to the chair without waiting for her grandmother to issue instructions. Adjusting the rainbow-gem tiara on her thick red-gold hair, she looked directly into the brisk wind that blew off the choppy waters.
Lowbacca, the breeze ruffling his ginger fur, stood beside Tenel Ka as she seated herself and looked out across the black rocks and the endless sea. She blinked against the bright sunlight and watched the waves for any motion.
The Mairans, a race of intelligent, tentacled, u I ndersea dwellers, 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