Jedi Artisan 009

After coming to terms that he was going to have to do the most basic side quest (talking to faction leaders) to get these negotiations rolling, he had the pixie haired officer at telemetry scan the planet for the largest cluster of life forms. Once a small city had been identified, he-and Shaak Ti-immediately departed on a shuttlecraft. 

Operating the controls, Zane was a little out of practice, and the shuttlecraft jerked ever so slightly as it descended through the perpetual gloom of Mimban’s atmosphere. Heavy blankets of mist, and turbulence made the small ship constantly shake, and his companion was constantly giving him the stink eye. Every few seconds, she looked like she wanted to open her mouth, to tell him to give her the controls, but then her training kicked in, and she silently stewed, too polite to interrupt someone whilst they were flying. 

As they descended, Mimban became more and more detailed. Giant, moss covered trees went as far as the eye could see, and a good 95% of the land was mud or water. The searchlights at the front of the shuttlecraft were turned up to maximum, and despite it being daytime, he could barely see through the fog. Thankfully he had the Force, and any dangling vine or giant branch was easily evaded. 

“Careful!” Shaak Ti hissed as Zane suddenly jerked the shuttlecraft out of the way of a falling fruit the size of a large trash can. 

“Everything is under control.” Zane muttered as the ship wobbled its way towards the ground. 

“You spend so much time meditating on the Force, you must've forgotten your piloting lessons.” Shaak Ti said between gritted teeth. 

“Heh heh.” Zane sheepishly chuckled. 

The truth was…he kind of mostly forgot what the dozens of glowing buttons on the dash did…but his connection to the Force was pretty good, and he mostly used premonitions, and precognition to help him fly. He was a Space Wizard, damnit, not some chauffeur! 

As they drew closer to the ground, the fog somewhat cleared, and ahead of them loomed a broken temple. It was a vast, crumbling structure of blackened stone sitting atop a hill. Half swallowed by creeping vines and the slow encroachment of the swamp, pieces here and there had sunk into the grime below. Colossal statues ringed the outer courtyard, their features worn smooth by centuries of rain and neglect. Some had toppled entirely, lying broken like fallen titans in the muck. This temple sort of reminded Zane of the old Greek temples, as it had large columns holding it up, and was a largely open venue. 

Down the small hill were hundreds-perhaps thousands-of mud huts. Presumably this was where the locals were at. With a casual sweep of his senses, Zane felt several thousand lifeforms. Their sudden arrival elicited feelings of fear, curiosity, but mostly, animosity. 

‘This is sure to be fun.’ Zane sarcastically thought to himself, and let out a lazy yawn. ‘Stupid Council. Stupid Windu.’ He grumbled to himself, and then used the Force to help him guide the ship towards a relatively stable piece of land. 

Plopping down right in front of the temple, Shaak Ti's sigh of relief was legendary. 

“I'm flying back.” She said with finality. 

“Hmm, I seem to recall on that same mission during Raxus Prime, you crashed-” 

“It was a tactical maneuver to save the Queen!” Shaak Ti hotly interrupted. 

“Mhm, mhm.” Zane smirked. 

Shaak Ti turned slowly to face Zane, and huffed, moving on to the next topic, ignoring his banter. “It was a terrible idea to land next to the temple.”

Zane unstrapped himself from the pilot's seat, and stretched.

“Well, let's get this over with.” He said, ignoring her as he strutted towards the ramp. 

“The Coway consider these ruins sacred,” She continued, following from behind. “They are notorious for scalping intruders. They mount the heads on spikes outside their huts as warnings.” 

As if summoned by her words, shapes began emerging from the mud huts scattered around the clearing. The huts were little more than domed frames plastered with clay and reeds, smoke curling from crude vents in their roofs. From their low entrances stepped the natives of Mimban.

The Coway, or Mimbanese, as some called them, were unmistakable. Their skin was a deep, dark red, slick with humidity. They were bald, their slanted eyes were like sharp horizontal lines, reminding Zane of some famous anime characters. And surrounding each eye was a black, egg shaped black ‘eyepaint.’ Sort of like how Shaak Ti had a white ‘eye paint’ surrounding her eyes. 

Shirtless torsos bore scars and painted markings in ash and ochre. Clad in simple leather wrappings, or going completely naked, they wielded stone & bone axes, spears, and bows. 

Several males pointed at Shaak Ti then spoke in hushed whispers. One bigger man stood out, and played with his massive junk, lewdly shoving his hips in their direction. 

Their lust was as easy to sense as breathing. 

“Oh, I think they're excited to see you.” Zane chuckled, and slapped her on the ass to assert dominance. 

She didn't expect the sudden contact, and reacted instinctively, grabbing him by the arm, and tossing him to the ground. 

“I always knew you liked it rough, Ti Ti.” Zane laughed as he stood up, brushing himself off. 

“This is no time for jokes, Zane.” Shaak Ti said quietly in a serious voice, trying to keep a level tone whilst her cheeks blushed purple. “We should have landed at the perimeter and approached on foot. Preferably with an offering. Or at least reconnaissance.”

He shot her an easy smile, then wriggled his eyebrows. “But the offering is right here.” 

“Their culture prizes territorial dominance. Landing beside their sacred temple is not an act of diplomacy. This is a naked provocation.”

Outside, one of the Coway raised his spear and barked something guttural. Others answered, stamping their feet in the mud. They slowly began to climb the hill, and approach. 

Zane clasped his hands within the sleeves of his Jedi robe, surveying the gathering crowd with serene amusement. 

“Such a woman, you worry too much. Besides, provocation is the best kind of diplomacy! You can't trust someone who only smiles.” Zane smiled. 

Shaak Ti narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Heh, she's cute when she's mad.” Zane wrapped an arm around her shoulder. 

She tried to shake him off, but she didn't try very hard, and the hug remained. 

“You've obviously studied up on the Mimbanese, even going so far as to research this dilapidated temple. You of course, are aware of the deity they worship?” Zane playfully asked. 

Shaak Ti turned her head slowly to look at him, then glanced at the tribe. “It's Canu. Are you just going to ask questions, or are you going to help me resolve these…these lewd primitives.” 

Another shout rang out. Several bows were drawn, and spears were prepared to be thrown. 

“Patience, my dear Ti Ti, patience. We are here to negotiate, and we shall negotiate as the people of Mimban are accustomed to~” 

“You cannot be serious.” She deadpanned. 

Zane squeezed her arm, then released his hug. Channeling his presence in the Force, he then addressed the tribesmen. 

“In the name of Canu, I, Zane, demand a meeting with your leader.” Zane said straight, and to the point, a suggestive quality strummed through the Force, encouraging those who heard his voice to obey. 

As he spoke, the Force undulated, and carried his message forward, such that any lifeform-regardless of language or species-could understand it. Even aliens who had no established language would be able to understand his meaning. 

Zane smirked to himself as he saw the aliens pause in their step. Several looked at him as if he were a monster for what he just did, whilst the rest looked at this big muscular SOB covered in bone armor, wielding a giant bone club. 

“We should've just brought a protocol droid, you're really showing off now.” Shaak Ti muttered, and rolled her eyes. 

“Showing off? Nonsense! Every Jedi should know how to communicate between species! The Force is a medium that connects the very fabric of the universe, not all of us Jedi are obsessed with swinging brightly colored laser swords. As guardians of justice, violence should never be our first option.” Zane said with a perfectly straight face, and spoke with great righteousness. 

Shaak Ti glanced at him with a look that said ‘really, bitch?’ Very clearly not buying any of his bantha shit, especially after he said they'd handle matters here by using Mimbanese customs. 

“Plus, it's best not to involve the Judicial branch too much in our dealings if we can help it. We both know they can't keep any secrets.” He then whispered conspiratorially. 

Before she could reply, the big Coway-presumably the chieftain-stepped forward to speak-and Zane waved his hand, creating a small blue transparent membrane that spread across both him and Shaak Ti. This allowed them to understand the language being spoken. Ordinarily, Zane didn't actively have to cast an ability to understand, but to include Shaak Ti, he put in a little extra effort. 

“I am D'rok, speak quickly, shaman, and limit your magicks, lest an arrow catch your eye.” D'rok's voice was deep, and charismatic, his words short and to the point. 

“Greetings, D'rok. You have met the big forehead, have you made a deal with her?” Zane asked the question with the aid of the Force. 

The tribesmen all looked down at the ground in collective shame at that question. D'rok had clenched his fists, and ground his teeth. 

“Big forehead traded us medicine, saved the tribe. In return, she wanted land. I agreed. But now, the land she wants is beneath our sacred temple, we cannot give up our ancestral home!” D'rok angrily replied. 

Zane slowly nodded his head. He had a good feeling that the sickness this tribe experienced was manufactured. It was quite common for con artists to create a problem, and then conveniently sell the solution. 

“In terms of the law, this tribe shouldn't have much room to negotiate. I read the contract on the way here…I'm afraid the Senate would side with Damask Holdings over the locals.” Shaak Ti whispered in a sad tone. 

As someone who was well aware of the Sith origins of Damask Holdings, and was sickened by the corrupt, unregulated corporate culture that permeated this galaxy, Zane also found himself rooting for the locals in this matter. There was nothing wrong with doing business, but in these civilized times, shotgun diplomacy was no way to conduct trade. 

“Do you know how the disease spread amongst your people?” Zane asked, not holding out much hope. 

“A month ago, a ship crashed nearby. We treated their wounds, but who knew they were sick!” D'rok said, and gripped his bone club tightly. 

“Did any of them survive? Could you take us to the crashsight? Perhaps we could find something that might break this contract with the big foreheads.” Zane asked, stroking his chin in thought. 

D'rok nodded his head, then shook it sideways. 

“The forehead took the wreckage away, the rest sank into the swamp. As for survivors, the foreheads killed them on the spot, calling them evil plague spreading criminals. However, a pair who were not as sick, ran away into the swamp in terror. One of my men spotted them heading towards the nearby tribe.” D'rok explained, and grinned viciously when mentioning the other group of Mimbanese. 

Zane rubbed his forehead in annoyance, knowing what was to come next. Flicking a credit, he silently performed a few calculations, and slowly nodded his head at his partner. 

They were alive. 

“We will search for the survivors, thank you for answering our questions.” Shaak Ti folded her hands within her robes, and bowed. 

“The Hu'Yars are an untrustworthy people. If you want, we can come with you. You shanans, use your magick, we warriors our clubs, and smash them together. Make you Queen, pretty lady.” D'rok pointed a thumb at his chest, and proudly declared, looking at Shaak Ti with naked desire. The alien stood to his maximum height, and flexed his muscles, trying to appear as big as possible. 

Zane began to cough into his hand, trying-and failing-to keep himself from laughing. Seal-like barks escaped his lips as Shaak Ti's serene smile froze like plaster. Sharply elbowing him in the side, she gracefully gestured for D'rok to lead the way. 

“That is…most generous of you, Chief D'rok. However, that is unnecessary. Await our good news, we shall save your holy land from these ahem, big foreheads.” Shaak Ti politely replied, barely managing to keep a scowl off her face. 

Zane held his ribs, and laughed his way towards the other side of the temple, towards the Hu'Yar tribe.