Symphonia: Ad Asterim

Chapter Eight: Mystery Achievement
(Song title by the Pretenders)

They waited at the transport stop for only a few minutes before it arrived, and boarded. There were not many other passengers, given the late hour.

"So where would you like to go?" Kayla asked as she surreptitiously scanned the other travelers for any problems, and found none.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter to me. After the food at the Temple, I can eat just about anything."

She laughed. "Wait until you get a diplomatic assignment and are expected to eat whatever's put in front of you at a state banquet…only it's still moving!"

He cringed and made a face. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all," she replied. "That happened to me back when I was a padawan. Master Windu told me if I didn't eat it, it would be considered a breach of protocol."

"What did you do?"

She snickered. "Fortunately, my clumsiness was already well-known, as I'd tripped and fallen down a flight of stairs when we were supposed to be making an impressive entrance. So when I reached for my drink and spilled it all over myself, it looked more like an accident than a deliberate attempt to get out of the banquet hall." She grinned at the recollection, sending a mental image of it to him, and he laughed. "The look on Master Windu's face was priceless. He suspected my 'accident' was nothing of the sort, of course, and I got quite a talking-to later that night. But at least I didn't have to chase my food around the plate with a fork. Which brings us back to the question; where would you like to go for supper?"

"Somewhere that serves non-living, stationary, cooked food, please," he replied, screwing up his face in distaste once again.

Kayla nodded with a chuckle, "Alright, then. I know just the place."

***

Twenty minutes later, they were seated at a small corner table in a noisy, smoke-filled pub. A small band of musicians sat in the opposite corner, playing a set of sprightly tunes that had most of the patrons tapping their feet or fingers along.

"What do you think? Will this work for you?" Kayla asked, leaning over the table so he could hear.

He grinned, nodding. "If the food is anything at all like the rest of this place, absolutely."

"It’s better. I've had most of the stuff on the menu, and it's all delicious."

"How did you find this place? It seems rather off the beaten path," he asked, taking a mug of ale from the Twi'lek server.

She took a sip from her own mug before responding. "Back when we were both learners, Tassida Judrelle and I stumbled across it one night. After that, we came back fairly often, as the food's a far cry better than that at the Temple. Not to mention they serve beer."

After they'd placed their orders, Obi-Wan leaned forward with his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his folded hands. "You promised me a story."

"So I did. Alright, then. Where would you like me to start?"

He thought for a moment. "How did you end up on Barkhesh in the first place?"

She nodded and took another drink from her mug, swallowing and taking a deep breath before continuing. "Well, there was a major political crisis brewing there at the time. The ruling government sent an envoy to Coruscant asking the Jedi for assistance, and they sent Master Trebor and I. I'd only passed my trials a year and a half earlier, and the Council felt that the diplomatic experience would be a good one for me."

"Barkhesh is known as a jungle planet. That's mostly true, but there is a mountain range on the northern continent that's far more temperate. The capitol city, Lithar, is about three thousand meters above the planet's sea level. We were there for little more than a week before Master Trebor had to leave because of altitude sickness. I had no problems, probably because I'd been born in a similar environment on my home world, and adapted quite well. It was three days after the transport left to bring him back to Coruscant that the government declared Martial Law, and stopped all transit on and off-world. So there I was, the sole Jedi, and it was my task to stop a civil war."

She paused for another drink, and then continued her tale. "The ruling government had Republic backing. The Opposition was courted by the Separatists, who promised them recognition and assistance if they should prevail. So naturally, I was sent to stop the Opposition forces. Things, however, were not as clear-cut as they'd been presented to the Council. I began hearing rumors, which were confirmed when I managed to arrange a meeting with the leader of the Opposition forces, Cheraya. The ruling government members controlled a black-market operation that involved buying or stealing children from the poor and selling them to the highest bidder. Cheraya became involved when a government agent contacted him and his wife about buying their daughter, and kidnapped her when they refused. The Opposition managed to find and rescue her, and from that moment on, he was their man."

"The government ran a child-slavery ring?" Obi-Wan's jaw dropped. "And the Republic sanctioned it?"

She shook her head. "No, it was a covert operation. Once I heard about it, and met with Cheraya and listened to his account, I was incensed. I contacted the Council and told them there had been a change in plans; there was no way I could support the government forces knowing what I did. I was told to find proof, and even though it took time and quite a bit of bribe-money, I did. I managed to convince an agent of the government, who was suffering a crisis of conscience over what he was doing, to turn spy for me. The information he got was damning." The food arrived, and she took a break from her narrative to eat some of it before taking up the tale again.

"So there I was, with hard evidence to support wide-spread corruption of the ruling party, and some pretty good reasons to back the Opposition. The only fly in the ointment was the connection with the Separatists that they'd established. Fortunately, their reasons for siding with the Separatists were more about getting financial and armaments backing and less about ideology, and once I convinced them that the Republic would back them when the truth came out, they agreed to sever ties with the Separatists. I smuggled my informant off-planet with me, and he testified before the full Senate along with several hundred datacards worth of evidence from classified government files. The Senate's decision to support the Opposition was overwhelming."

"I would hope so!" he interjected. "By the way, you were right, this food is delicious."

She smiled. "I told you that you'd like it. Well, once the Republic's support changes sides, I went back to Barkhesh; this time, to assist the Opposition. It took several months, but the majority of the government officials who'd been involved were rounded up and executed. New elections were held, and Cheraya's wife Calandris was elected as one of the new Senators. Cheraya himself stepped down as leader of the forces, and a new democratic government was installed. They insisted I stay on for another two years to help, although very little of my assistance was actually needed. I stayed with Cheraya and Calandris for those last years, and they tried to arrange a marriage between me and their son." She laughed. "They were sorely disappointed when I told them that my Order did not allow that, but decided that if I were not to be their daughter-in-law, I could surely be their daughter. They adopted me."

"Senator Calandris and her husband adopted you? What did the Council have to say about that?"

"As you can well imagine, they weren't thrilled about it. But I re-swore my oaths to Order and Council, and after meeting with Calandris, they were satisfied that the affiliation would not be used for any personal gain in either direction." She finished her beer and gestured for the server that a refill was needed. "And so, when I finally returned to Coruscant, it was as the Jedi who stopped a civil war, uncovered massive corruption, restored democracy and preserved the Republic's interest in the sector." She sighed as the server appeared with a full mug to replace the empty one. "I never could have done it without the help of many dedicated people, especially Cheraya. My spy was given a new identity to protect him and was taken into 'protective custody.' I haven't seen or heard from him since, and I can only hope that he is safe. There are still plenty of friends and relatives of the executed officials who would love nothing more than to see him dead. Within weeks of my return, I was called before the Council and told I was being elevated to the rank of Master. And there you have it, the plain unvarnished truth of the matter. Not particularly impressive, is it?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "How can you say that? Of course it's impressive! Not only did you expose the corruption, you saved countless children from a terrible fate. You deserve more recognition for what you did than you've gotten."

"No, no, please. I don't want that for myself. I was only doing my job, and was grateful for the opportunity to help. I've actually turned down several requests, some of them begging, to return to Barkhesh as a permanent Jedi ambassador. Part of the reason why I've done so is to avoid the recognition; but like I said earlier, there are a lot of surviving friends and relatives of the people I helped round up for execution who want me dead. I have no desire to be a target, and an ambassadorial post would make me just that." With that, she finished the last of her meal and drained the second mug. Obi-Wan was already done with his food and drink, so she signaled the server that they were ready to leave.

"What's your day look like tomorrow?" she asked as she counted out the credits to pay the tab.

"Actually, I have the day off from studies. I don't have any plans." They stood and walked to the exit.

"I've been at this research for the last ten days running, without a break. I think I'm entitled to a day off, don't you?"

He held the door for her as they stepped out into the night. "Certainly." //As long as you spend it with me, that is.//

Kayla grinned. "Oh, I think that can be arranged. Come on, we need to hurry if we're to catch the next transport back." She ran ahead, and he hurried to catch up with her.