Jedi Artisan 018

After taking the testimony of the pirate captain, Zane contacted the ship in the Mimban system, and through some mystical persuasion, had their representative board the Shield of Coruscant or whatever the practically derelict ship's name was. 

All jokes aside, the private conference room aboard the ancient Hammerhead-class cruiser was surprisingly well maintained. Polished wooden panels lined the walls alongside several art pieces. Soft golden lights glowed overhead, and a viewport stretched across one side of the chamber, revealing the swirling blue-white clouds of Mimban far below.

At the center of the room was a table. On one side were the Jedi, on the other was the representative of Damask Holdings for this operation: Norka Hill. 

Shaak Ti maintained her usual posture of calm dignity, hands folded neatly before her, not a smile in sight. The Togruta Jedi Master's expression was composed, though there was a subtle firmness behind her eyes. The pirate captain, and mercenaries testimonies had strongly biased her against this future Confederate. 

Beside her Zane was loafing about, eager to get this shit show on the road, and get back to his cozy Order sanctioned glorified laundromat. It wasn't until everyday mundane life was interrupted that he realized he appreciated the boring safety of Temple life. Swamps full of disease, and killer aliens? It was fun on occasion, but people like Obi-Wan who went on adventures every weekend could keep that lifestyle to themselves. 

Slouching in his chair with one boot resting on a nearby chair, a steaming cup of caf sat nearby whilst he worked with his needle and thread to craft some miscellaneous objects. He looked entirely too relaxed for a man participating in a multimillion-credit dispute.

Across from them sat Norka Hill. The Muun banker looked exhausted. As if she had stayed up all night fretting over a job interview. Zane could tell she had practice in shielding her thoughts, and that exhaustion of hers would be unnoticeable to any but the most skilled psychoanalysts…or a Jedi, because the Force was just a cheat code like that. On the surface the big foreheaded skinny long fingered alien girl was composed like Shaak Ti. But he knew better. 

Norka's expensive charcoal business robes were immaculate. Her silver datapad rested upon the table flickering with messages, all sorts of mathematical figures, charts and diagrams. Every strand of her pale hair was perfectly arranged.

Yet none of that generic business professionalism concealed the frustration simmering beneath the surface.

"You realize." Norka said through clenched teeth. “That no one has ever made me attend fourteen separate hearings over a mining contract."

Zane took a sip of caf. He may or may not have abused [Mind Trick] on the poor Muun. In her mind, she had attended many, many, many laborious negotiations that went nowhere. She could take that as payback for taking a hit out on him. If he didn't want to draw too much heat from the Hill family-one of the top ten richest in the galaxy-or worse from Mr. Hego Damask aka Darth fucking Plagueis-then he'd just have to play it cool. A [Mind Trick] like this was playing it leniently. She'd be lucky if she didn't go home and suddenly marry a Wookiee! 

"Fourteen?" Zane slowly drawled, and squinted his eyes as if that couldn't possibly be correct. 

Norka stared.

"Fourteen." She said between grit teeth. 

"Huh." He scratched his chin. "Felt like more."

The Muun's eye twitched.

Shaak Ti shot Zane a warning glance, as she began to suspect him for foulplay, but wasn't about to call him out on it when she was already beefing with the Muun. 

Heh. Women. 

Humming to himself, and ignoring the pair of them, he continued to work the thread & needle. 

Norka inhaled slowly, then sharply exhaled. She glanced at Shaak Ti, hoping to make a breakthrough point in these seemingly gridlocked negotiations. 

"Damask Holdings possesses thousands of active resource claims throughout the galaxy."

"Mmhm." Zane hummed disinterestingly. 

"Entire sectors rely upon our investments." Norka said, attempting to paint a picture that could relate to the Jedi, as if they were the good guys. 

"Sounds stressful."

"It is stressful. Hundreds of billions of lives rely upon fuel, Knight Zane. For the small suffering of a few, we can bring civilization to these stone age barbarians, and move goods across the galaxy. All for the greater good.” Norka said in a slow, impassioned tone. 

"You sure sound like you know what you're saying. Any other buzz words you'd care to add?” Zane nonchalantly muttered, reaching for his drink to take a sip. 

Norka's fingers tightened around her datapad.

For a moment Shaak Ti genuinely feared the woman might throw it at him. 

"Miss Hill, we appreciate your willingness to continue these discussions. It shows that Damask Holdings is sincere in resolving this matter peacefully. " Shaak Ti said in a serene manner, but given that everyone in the room knew who had hired those pirates, her serenity came off as a threat. 

"No, I don't think you do, Knight Ti. Damask Holdings is willing to rewrite the contracts, to-” 

Zane snorted into his caf, a small psychic  burst from him made the Muun shut her mouth. A bone snapping thrum spread throughout the room as Norka's teeth loudly collided. 

Shaak Ti pinched the bridge of her nose and Norka pointed a long finger across the table, but was speechless. The Muun's small beedy eyes had gone wide in surprise at the naked abuse of power. 

"Do you know how many witness statements my companion has acquired?" Zane rhetorically questioned, pointing to the side. 

Norka stared at him hatefully, alongside a pinch of calculation. 

"Eighty-three." Shaak Ti said after a moment of silence. 

Zane looked pleased with himself. To be thoroughly complete with their investigation, Shaak Ti had to interrogate every last member of that pirate crew. After confirming without a shadow of a doubt that they were indeed space buccaneers, she had all but resigned herself to completing the bet. 

The Muun looked as though she might spontaneously combust. Her pale alien potato-shaped head turned red with both anger, and embarrassment. 

"Eighty-three sworn testimonies. Four independent investigations. Three Republic legal reviews. One Jedi archaeological survey. Two medical reports. A cultural preservation assessment. Why, a Republic Senate inquiry is even being processed as we speak." Zane lazily said one damning thing after the other, treasuring the rapid shift in Norka's emotional state. 

Although the young alien girl maintained a strong face, it was nothing more than a brittle facade. Intelligent, and accustomed to using her family name to great effect, the Jedi, particularly Zane, was a glitch in her otherwise perfect system. 

Norka closed her eyes. For several seconds she simply sat there in silence. When she spoke again, her voice carried the tone of a woman who had finally accepted defeat.

"The Coway claim the land is sacred, and the Republic judiciary appears inclined to agree. Meanwhile, the testimony regarding coercion by local Damask contractors is...compelling." She said with a grimace, and frowned as she read a report on her dataslate. 

The word ‘compelling’ sounded painful for her to say.

Zane smiled, and twirled a finger in the air. "Ah. That's lawyer-speak for 'catastrophically bad.'"

"It is banker-speak for 'I would rather not discuss this issue further.” Norka sighed, slumping her shoulders in apparent defeat. 

“So how do you want this to play out? We both know that arresting someone of your caliber would not be easy. However, should you proceed with a legal defense, it would cost millions in fees. In the event that you won…I assure you, the Jedi would continue to look at Damask Holdings awfully closely.” Zane said in a lazy tone, yet the sharp glint in his eye, and actual words he said carried a sharp intent. 

Norka subconsciously shivered, and looked toward the viewport. Far below, Mimban rotated silently through space. Countless billions of credits had once seemed buried beneath those muddy continents. Now all she saw was a world that had become more trouble than it was worth. Finally she turned back toward the Jedi.

"The Hill family did not build its reputation by clinging to losing investments." Norka said with a strong amount of firmness, then pressed some buttons on her datapad.

Several documents appeared above the table seconds later. 

"I am prepared to sign a full withdrawal of Damask Holdings' claim upon the disputed mining zones."

Zane raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised at this quick withdrawal. 

"The land will revert to local stewardship under Republic oversight. Damask Holdings will not contest future ownership. Nor will we attempt to reopen negotiations." Norka said in her best professional business voice. 

Zane turned to Shaak Ti, to which the Togruta subtly inclined her head. 

"Really?"

"Really."

"You're just giving up?"

The Muun's smile was sharp enough to cut durasteel.

"No, Knight Zane."

Her finger moved across the datapad, where her signature appeared, and she then flicked it across a holoprojector on the table for the Jedi to leave their mark. 

"I am choosing to stop setting money on fire."

Zane stared at her for a good ten seconds, then shrugged his shoulders, and flipped a credit. Whilst Shaak Ti was reading all the legalize, he had already received feedback from the cred. 

“Seems legit.” He said aloud, seemingly to her, but in reality, it was directed at his companion. 

Seconds later, they signed their names, a notification chimed, and the matter was settled. Months of legal battles ended in a single moment. Mimban was free. 

"On behalf of the Republic, thank you." Shaak Ti said with a smile, and rose from her seat. 

"I am not doing this for the Republic. And "

I am certainly not doing it for him." Norka snorted, jutting her chin at Zane. 

Collecting her dataslate, she stepped towards the door. 

"I am doing this because every projection I possess indicates that remaining on Mimban will cost more than leaving."

Zane put away his thread and needle, then lazily leaned back in his chair, not bothering to stand and see his guest out. 

"So what you're saying is we won."

Norka stared at him, then began to leave without another word. 

The grin that spread across Zane's face was bright in all its glory. "Excellent."

"I hope you understand that I will be celebrating the moment my shuttle leaves this vessel." She said over her shoulder. “I hope we should never cross paths again, Jedi.” 

"Will there be cake?"

"I think she's had enough. What matters are the safety of the people.” Shaak Ti said. 

Zane scoffed. No one attempts to kill me or my girl and gets away for free. Fourteen meetings? Pfft. Her beautiful love life has just begun.

Norka was bitter as she approached the door. She turned back, and looked toward Shaak Ti.

"Your companion is insufferable."

"I am aware."

"He has the negotiating style of a thermal detonator."

"I am also aware."

"...how does he do it?” Norka said in a repressed, frustrated tone. 

Shaak Ti's lips twitched.

"There is a matter of ongoing debate amongst the Order, but we've all agreed he is rather…special.” Shaak Ti said, poking Zane in the side. 

“Oi!” 

Norka let out a weary sigh. Then, for the first time during the meeting, she laughed. It was a brief, dry thing, but held a smidgen of amusement.  "May the Force help whatever corporation he decides to investigate next."

With that, the Muun banker turned and departed the conference room. As the door shut, Zane walked up behind Shaak Ti, and took her in a hug. 

Although she was still a little jumpy, she accepted his affection, and reluctantly leaned back into his warmth. 

"Another easy win.” Zane murmured into the top of her lekku. 

Shaak Ti sighed, then eyed the fancy underwear that was on the table, the very thing Zane had been sewing during the high stakes meeting.  

“...do I really have to wear it?” She asked in a tiny voice. 

Zane didn't say a word, but his shit eating grin said it all.