Star Wars: The Phantom World

Being a Jedi, even in a galaxy with a variety of cultures and styles made you stand out and Lofin was more than aware of that. Particularly today Lofin stood out in stark contrast to the other guests at the party she'd been obligated to accept an invite to.

The guests were mostly human, although there were a few Gungans present also. The people here tonight were dressed in brightly coloured clothing of various fashions and styles. Bright primary colours contrasted with darker shades on expensive finery, coupled with jewellery with gemstones and a variety of what would undoubtedly be precious metals.

In many cases the outfits were beyond something Lofin would consider… functional. There was one woman in a bulbous dress that looked like it'd taken far too long to put on.

So when compared to them, Lofin stood out in the somewhat plain Jedi regalia she wore. Her robe was brown, with tan clothing beneath it in the traditional Jedi styles and leather boots. It was perhaps ironic that in attempting to stand out the way they had that all the people here had ultimately failed to do so.

But she had known that she would stand out tonight regardless of what she wore. The Jedi had returned, but the new Order was small and quiet on the Galactic stage as they worked to rebuild what had been lost decades ago. It had left much of the movers and shakers around the galaxy eager for any information on the new Jedi Order, politicians vying for influence or favours.

And so Lofin was not surprised at the reaction her appearance tonight drew.

"Knight Lofin of the Jedi Order," declared the Greeter, drawing attention of almost everyone. Of course, they did not stop and stare. No, the guests were of a 'higher society' and would have been trained to avoid showing any overt displays of interest in those around them.

There was social power in keeping your cards close to your chest. Being able to read others and not be read in turn. It was a vital skill of those who played in the upper echelons of society. It was useless against a Jedi.

As she entered fully and took a better stock of her surroundings the uncomfortable feeling dimmed as those who had seen her decided they had taken her measure and continued with what they were doing. But the feeling of being watched remained. Eyes she couldn't see were no doubt watching her from all sides. Not that that was particularly different to how the people about her were treating everyone else. These events were as much political and business functions as they were anything for mere socialising.

As she walked past a guest in a dress that flickered between a variety of colours automatically laughed at something she'd just been told. The woman's tone was well practised but again it was apparent to Lofin's senses that the woman didn't care one whit about whatever she'd just been told.

A man off in the distance was trying to woo a woman, who was interested in him from the feelings Lofin was detecting. But he felt nothing for her, even as he smiled charmingly he didn't emit any sense of enjoyment in what he was doing. There was only clinical detachment as he tried to achieve whatever it was he had set out to do.

A third man was paying Lofin a great deal of attention, and now that most of the eyes around the room had moved on it was far easier to pinpoint. Nervousness and eagerness and even a hint of lust came from him as he tried to muster and then lost the confidence to come and introduce himself to her. Lofin mentally rolled her eyes as she kept on walking. She knew she was attractive, but she'd always had her eye set on someone else.

She approached the other side of the room through the crowd where King Preta was holding court. The first thing she needed to do upon arrival was greet her host.

King Preta was sat on another throne, this one somewhat less ornate than the one in the throne room she'd met him in before but still raised up, allowing the boy to look down on his guests despite his small stature.

A man was stood in front of the king, having presumably just arrived himself a few minutes ago. He was bowing and holding up a small chest of some sort.

"And I am grateful for the invitation, regardless that it is on such short notice, your Highness," the man said. "It is also looking to be an excellent party," the figure said. The king smiled down at the man from his elevated position.

"We thank you for your kind words," the young man said as an attendant accepted the box and placed it to one side where a handful of other gifts had been arrayed. He was dressed much like he had been before, with clothing that spoke of wealth and luxury, albeit somewhat more modest than the extravagant displays of wealth that the guests were presenting.

Even that was a subtle power play. Demonstrating that the King did not need to play the games of one upmanship that the guests were engaging in with their own clothes.

The guest straightened up and made to leave.

He was about Lofin's age and well built, with dark hair and a scar across his face that went over his eye. The eye had also been replaced with a cybernetic implant, clearly recognisable because rather than was typically done, it was undecorated. The glistening metal shone in the light and there was a red light in the centre, speaking of a lack of care to acquire a more organic replacement.

The man seemed surprised at seeing Lofin. That surprise echoed in the Force for a moment, turning to fear and then that feeling was quashed. The man felt like a plascrete wall, impenetrable.

Someone had trained him to suppress his emotions, to hide from the Force in so far as any non-Force user could. It wasn't unusual, but it was still somewhat surprising to encounter outside of some sort of specially trained military or spy operation.

"Master Jedi," the man said, nodding his head as he walked past into the party.

Lofin turned and watched the stranger as he left.

The Jedi learnt to control their emotions of course, but it was not something non-force wielders often engaged in. The clear signs of experience in battle also brought a question as to what that man's personal history was.

"Master Lofin, welcome," the king said, diverting her attention back to him. Lofin stepped forward and put a smile on her face.

"Hello your Majesty," Lofin said, bowing in greeting. "Thank you for inviting me tonight."

The young boy nodded regally but beneath his makeup he was frowning.

"Are your entourage not joining us?" He asked, looking around the room.

"Nala and So-lin are resting after a long journey, your Highness," she said, choosing not to mention her initial idea of commenting on it being past Nala's bedtime. The king, being a similar age to the girl, might have taken offence.

"Oh," the boy said, looking far more childlike in that moment than Lofin had yet seen him.

"Perhaps," one of the king's entourage, the man who Lofin had met earlier, interrupted. "You might meet them again tomorrow before they leave. I'm sure Master Lofin will bring them to say their goodbyes before they leave."

"Indeed," Lofin said, silently thankful for the man's quick save.

"O-oh that sounds good," the boy said.

There was a moment of silence as Lofin wasn't sure what to say.

"If it pleases you, your Highness I shall go mingle with the guests."

"Yes, of course," King Preta said, suddenly seeming to have been reminded about his role in tonight's events and that he too was quite tired. "I shall wait a little while longer before retiring."

The man smiled at the boy before stepping away.

"I do not know much about the Jedi ways, but would you care for a drink?" He asked.

"Thank you, that would be lovely," Lofin said, simply glad to have escaped the difficult situation.

There was a long bar on one side of the room and the man led her over to it.

"My name is Grell Lanktusyni," the man introduced himself.

"A pleasure," Lofin said, taking the opportunity to look the man over.

He had a blond beard and thinning hair that was in the early stages of going grey. He was probably past middle aged and time was starting to show in the contours of his face. Despite that there was a sense of authority to the man's bearing.

A server came immediately at his gesture.

"Nettle wine for two, please," he said before turning to Lofin. "If that's alright with you?"

"I can't say I've ever tasted it," Lofin admitted.

"It's… expensive," the man commented dryly as the beverage was provided.

Lofin let out a huff of amusement despite herself.

"Is that how you judge the value of a good drink on Naboo, it's price?" she asked.

"Only at parties like this," the man said, amusement plain in his tone.

Lofin accepted the drink. "I understand it is also illegal in certain parts of the galaxy."

The man nodded, a wry look on his face before taking a sip. Lofin did so as well.

"it's good," she said. Quite sweet, although there was a hint of bitterness to it also.

Grell leaned off the bar and gestured.

"Shall we get some air?"

"You're being quite forward, aren't you?" Lofin joked.

"I find it is best to tackle the challenges I face head on wherever possible," the older man replied.

There was a balcony and Lofin allowed the man to guide her to the railing. They both leaned over it, looking out over the city.

"I profess to say I've never met a Jedi before, except Master Skywalker when he came to visit his mother's grave," he clarified. "I know some stories of course. But your kind are something of an endangered species these days are they not?"

"We are rebuilding, but it is slow going," Lofin said neutrally. Finding young Force users was challenging before the fall of the Order and things were far more difficult these days. At least that was what she had been told.

Lofin looked out over the skyline of Naboo. The lights of the citizens in their homes were each tiny flecks of light in the distance.

"Much like my people," Grell said wanly. "It is odd to believe the Empire lasted only a few decades in the end, but it did so much damage in that time."

"Indeed," Lofin said. "But there is hope now."

"Hope doesn't fix anything though," the man, who Lofin could tell was clearly far more than a mere aide, said. "It takes work to set things right, fix what was broken."

He was clearly speaking from experience.

"I understand entirely," the Jedi replied.

The Order was small. Her Master had spoken of the times before then, before she was even born. The jedi were very few in numbers. At least compared to what it had been before she was born. New Force sensitives were being sought out, old secrets being rediscovered and the Masters were doing everything to ensure the next generation of Jedi were both powerful and committed to the new peace. But even now the death of the old Order echoed in the Force.

"You do understand, don't you?" Grell asked. He sounded almost relieved. "And to think I thought I was the only one."

"You are speaking as if you are the one who rules Naboo," Lofin asked. "Is that not King Preta?"

"It is," Grell said pointedly, although his tone was slightly off as he said it. He paused, looking around for eavesdroppers and then adjusted himself to look at Lofin directly. He took a sip of his drink.

"Do you know much about Naboo's culture, our history?"

"I can't say I do, no," Lofin admitted. Grell nodded, having been expecting such. It was impossible to know much about any individual world when there were so many of them out there.

"Naboo did not suffer much under the Empire," he said. "It is plain to see we did far better under the Empire than most other worlds. We weren't an industrial world, or anything like that, there wasn't anything to… exploit. But the Emperor was from Naboo you see. Once he came to power he invested a lot of credits into reinvigorating our landscape, building new buildings." He gestured in front of him at the city.

"Thebes used to be more modest in its beauty," he said bitterly. "Now we have splendour." He paused, lips pursed as old memories and anger resurfaced.

"Before the Emperor we had a culture surrounding the election of our leaders," he continued more sedately. "A child was pure of heart, incorruptible. We would elect a new king or queen every few years and they would guide our people to prosperity, or at least that's what I remember being taught as a child.

"But then the Empire came and tore that away. There were to be no more kings or queens of Naboo, a Governor was put in place instead. Of course that was just the start of things and the Empire sunk its claws deeper into Naboo over the next several years, chipping away at what made us us. I won't go into too much detail on the specifics, I'm sure you've seen plenty of other worlds that suffered the same. There were rebellions of course, little attacks on Empire military installations…"

"And that made things worse," Lofin said matter-of-factly. Grell raised his glass in a toast to her deduction.

"Martial law was declared. My people are passionate, but they are artists and craftsmen, not warriors or heroes. Our rebellion folded like a stack of cards without any outside support just like all the other worlds. Then a garrison was put in place. I was only a boy at the time," Grell said. Memories were clearly playing across his mind. Anger, sadness and resentment were all easily felt in the Force.

"What happened?"

"Princess Organa came, bringing your Master Skywalker with her. They were following advice she'd been given in looking for their birth mother's grave. They found us still yoked under the remains of the remnants of the Empire that were regrouping here. I'm proud to say I was able to play a small part in what followed. It's why I was made the temporary Governor of Naboo."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Lofin asked curiously. The lesson was interesting, Master Skywalker didn't often speak of his past exploits.

"I'm just trying to provide a bit of context before I apologise for my nephew," the man explained. "He is quite lonely. Seeing the girl, Nala, he was only interested in interacting with another child his own age."

"I can only imagine the pressure he is being put under," Lofin replied sympathetically, suddenly feeling quite sorry for the boy.

"I would have preferred my own daughter take the role," Grell said. At Lofin's questioning look he continued. "She was better prepared but unfortunately she was also too old at the time. Preta is doing well though, as well as any child could. But he is still a child and even now there are groups that would use his innocence to push their own agendas."

"It must be a tough responsibility, keeping him safe," Lofin said. Grell shrugged.

"He is family," he said. "Although I have been wondering if putting him up for election was the right decision, whether I should have gracefully stepped back and seceded the leadership to someone else entirely instead of returning to old traditions."

They fell into silence.

"So, you are the power behind the throne then?" Lofin asked casually, pointedly swinging the subject back to the question she'd asked earlier. The man glanced sideways at her, slightly annoyed that she'd not let him distract her with his story. Clearly giving it up as a bad job, he nodded.

"Somewhat," Gress hedged. "Preta listens to me, at least for the time being and there is more to leading a world than simply what my nephew is involved with," he finished wryly.

"Once he starts puberty I'm not sure how much my words will be able to influence him one way or another. Fortunately, he should be nearing the end of his reign by then."

Lofin chuckled at the man's exasperated tone.

"Oh tell me about it," she bemoaned. "Having to wrangle my Padawan to actually do more than practice with his lightsaber is an ongoing struggle. Soon he is going to discover the fairer sex and I'm not sure what I am going to do."

Grell chuckled.

"It's harder with girls," he advised. "I'm fairly sure my daughter is the one responsible for the majority of my grey hairs."

They shared a laugh together and then both took a sip of their drinks.

"You are a lot more… personable than I imagined most other Jedi to be," Grell observed. "Of course I met Master Skywalker briefly, but I imagined him to be somewhat of a special case."

"He is," Lofin said fondly. "I can't say he hasn't rubbed off on the rest of us."

"That's good," the power behind the throne of Naboo said. "The galaxy could use more heroes."

"Don't sell yourself short," Lofin said kindly. "There's more ways to do good in the galaxy than toppling evil regimes or freeing slaves. Heroism comes in many forms."

"Bah," the older man said, waving off the compliment. "I'm just another politician."

"One trying to do right by his people," Lofin said pointedly. "It takes a special person to hand over power, even to their own family."

"Perhaps," Grell said, sounding unconvinced but apparently not having an argument against her words.

They lapsed into a companionable silence, overlooking the city.

"I should speak with some of the other guests," Grell finally said, smiling apologetically.

"Don't let me keep you," Lofin said politely. She took another sip of her drink, eyes following some sort of speeder as it made its way across the night sky.

"You weren't entirely right before," she said as Grell turned away.

The man stopped and then he turned back to look at her questioningly.

"Hope doesn't do anything on its own," Lofin said. "But it inspires us to act, shows us the way towards a brighter future."

She smiled at the man, for what might be the last time they would meet. It was a big galaxy.

"I hope one day I will be able to return here and see Naboo as you remember it," Lofin told him. "I'm sure it will be a sight to behold."

The former king gave her a complicated look before nodding and then leaving.

Lofin took another sip of her drink.

Nettle wine didn't appeal to her palate, but she could understand why some others might enjoy it.

She had a longing for something simpler, more familiar.

It was fortunate then that they were almost home.