The Lost Ones

6

At the appointed hour that evening, Zekk arrived at the enormous palace and was ushered inside. New Republic guards checked his name against the approved-visitor list and let him proceed into the elegant corridors, with their high vaulted ceilings. Although he knew his way to Jacen and Jaina’s quarters, the uniformed soldiers insisted on “escorting” him, which Zekk found somewhat intimidating.

His new formal clothes were stiff and exceedingly uncomfortable, but he knew that this dinner was an important occasion. He silently vowed not to embarrass anyone. He especially didn’t want to disappoint the twins.

Before old Peckhum had departed for his lonely mirror-station duties, he’d helped Zekk select a few items of formal clothing, and the young man had also gone out trading, bartering some of his best trinkets and artifacts for a particularly slick jacket. Now he felt like a dandy as he rode the turbolift up to the higher levels and wound his way through the maze of corridors to the Chief of States quarters.

The protocol droid See-Threepio met Zekk at the doorway and hustled him inside, dismissing the soldier escort. “Ah, there you are, young Master Zekk. We must hurry—you’re late! We have preparations to make.”

Zekk tugged at his uncomfortable formal suit. “What do you mean ‘preparations’? I’m all ready, I’m dressed … what more could you want?”

Threepio tsked through his mouth speaker and brushed the front of Zekk’s shirt. “Dear me. These clothes are indeed fine and they are most … interesting. According to my files they were quite fashionable some decades ago. Quite an historical find, I should say.”

Zekk felt a stab of disappointment. He had worked so hard, doing his absolute best to prepare for this special event—and in the space of a few seconds the prissy droid had dismissed all of his efforts.

Leia Organa Solo hurried out of the back room, her dark eyes widening as she saw him. “Oh … uh, hello Zekk. Glad you could make it.” Her gaze seemed to dissect Zekk; he clenched his teeth and tried not to show any embarrassment, though he was sure his cheeks were flushed crimson. His fine suit now seemed as ridiculous to him as a clown’s costume.

“I hope I’m not being too much of bother,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean for Jaina and Jacen to invite me—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Leia said quickly and smiled. “The ambassador from Karnak Alpha has brought her own brood of children. So please relax. Just do the best you can.”

Threepio returned with a kit of grooming implements. “First, we’ll comb your hair, young Master Zekk. Everything must be presentable. This is a matter of diplomatic pride for the New Republic, though I do wish I could have located those old files about the customs on Karnak Alpha. The place seems to have been forgotten by my protocol programmers.” He fussed over Zekk’s hair. “Dear me, you could certainly use a trim! Hmmmm, I wonder if we have time …”

Jaina and Jacen came out to greet their friend as he stood soundlessly enduring the golden droid’s overattentive ministrations. Jacen’s hair seemed awkwardly straight, his face scrubbed so clean that Zekk barely recognized the boy. “Hello, Zekk!” Jaina cried with sincere delight, but when she noticed his outfit she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. He felt his cheeks burning with fresh shame.

When Zekk struggled against the buzzing device, Threepio said sternly, “I am a protocol droid, you know, fully trained in grooming techniques.” Zekk didn’t argue, but winced as Threepio cleared a snag in his dark hair.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” Zekk said. “I don’t know anything about diplomacy. I don’t know any manners or etiquette.”

Jaina laughed. “That’s not important. Just use your common sense and watch what the rest of us do. It’s a big diplomatic banquet, and you have to follow all sorts of boring ceremonies—but the food’s good. You’ll enjoy it.”

Zekk didn’t point out that it was easy for Jaina to say such things, since she had been brought up in this high political society and trained in the proper responses for so many years that such actions were second nature to her. Zekk, though, had no such instruction. This whole dinner was going to be a disaster, he just knew it.

See-Threepio finally gave up on his attempts to comb out Zekk’s hair and shook his gleaming head in exasperation. “Oh, dear. I have a bad feeling about this,” he sighed. Zekk couldn’t argue with him.

Tenel Ka followed the group as they filed toward the formal dining chamber, conscious of her every movement. This was an important diplomatic function, and she had been well tutored by her harsh grandmother in the plush courts of the Hapes Cluster. Tenel Ka was a royal princess, after all, the heir apparent to an entire cluster; but she avoided such nonsense and spent as much as time as possible training instead on her mother’s austere world of Dathomir. Tenel Ka’s Hapan grandmother strongly disapproved of the path that the princess had chosen to follow, but Tenel Ka had a mind of her own—as she frequently demonstrated.

Now she strode behind Jacen, Jaina, and Zekk, walking next to Lowbacca and the silent younger boy Anakin, as they hurried to the dining chamber. She wore a short, tight-fitting sheath of colorful reptilian hides, freshly oiled and polished so that they gleamed with her every movement. Her muscular arms and legs were bare, but she wore a flowing cape of deep forest green over her shoulders.

Tenel Ka had spent many months at the Jedi academy in the primitive jungles of Yavin 4, and before that she had lived in the cliff cities of the Singing Mountain Clan. It had been a long time since she’d been spoiled with luxuries, but she viewed the formal evening meal with the Karnak ambassador as another challenge to face.

Lowbacca had been shampooed and dried, his fur neatly combed so that he seemed much thinner than usual without his swirling hair sticking out in all directions. The black streak that swept back above his eyebrow had been slicked down, giving him a dashing appearance … for a Wookiee.

See-Threepio strutted ahead of Leia and Han as if he were an escort. New Republic guards stood beside the entrance to the great dining hall and swung the doors wide as they approached. Clasping Han Solo’s arm, Leia walked in, regal in her fine white robes. Though small of stature, the Chief of State seemed full of energy and confidence, like a battery overcharged with power. Tenel Ka admired her.

Their timing was exactly right. As they passed into the dining hall from one end, the opposite entrance opened, and the ambassador from Karnak Alpha entered, followed by her train of eight children.

The ambassador was a haystack of tan hair, a mound of fur that grew so long that it obscured every other feature of her body. Not even the ambassador’s eyes were visible peeping out from between the strands, as she scuttled forward on feet also hidden by her flowing tresses. The ambassador took her place at the head of the table beside the seat reserved for the Chief of State. Leia sat down, with her husband next to her.

The ambassador’s children, all eight of them, were miniature versions of her, heaps of hair that bustled to their seats. The girls’ fur was knotted into colorful ribbons, while the boys jingled with bells tied to strands of hair. All of them seemed well-groomed and impeccably behaved as they took their seats along one side of the table.

Tenel Ka was glad she had thought to braid colorful ribbons into her own red-gold hair. She had seen natives of Karnak Alpha during her time at the royal court of Hapes. The hairy creatures were shy and had some unusual customs, but they were relatively easygoing.

Tenel Ka sat beside Lowbacca, while Jacen and Jaina took their dark-haired friend Zekk to the front end of the long polished table. Their little brother Anakin, with his eerie ice-blue eyes, seemed content to sit anywhere they directed him, quietly waiting for his place between Lowbacca and Jacen.

See-Threepio moved up and down the line, fussing over items and reveling in his position. This type of duty was, after all, what a protocol droid was programmed for—not for bravery or adventure, but for intricate diplomatic functions.

In front of each gleaming plate sat a crystalline vase containing a cluster of fresh, rich-smelling greens, exotic plants taken from some of Coruscant’s botanical gardens—interesting specimens that formed a lovely bouquet for each honored visitor.

Before the start of the meal, Leia gave a carefully rehearsed speech, welcoming the ambassador and expressing her wish for a long and fruitful relationship based on commerce, mutual respect, and support. She whispered to Threepio, and the droid disappeared into an alcove, only to reemerge a moment later carrying a small package. Tenel Ka immediately recognized an incubator sheath wrapped around a smooth ovoid object.

“Hey, that’s the hawk-bat egg we rescued!” Jacen said, unable to stop himself.

Leia smiled and nodded. “Yes, and I suppose the ambassador may appreciate the gift even more, now that she knows it was found by the very children she is dining with.”

The Karnak ambassador trembled with excitement, her long hair jiggling, as Leia explained. “Madam Ambassador, we know very little about your culture—but we do know that you have a great love for unusual zoological specimens. We have heard reports of your magnificent holographic dioramas and huge alternate-environment zoos where the animals don’t even realize they are in a cage. As a diplomatic gift to you and your people, we present to you this rare and precious hawk-bat egg, one of the most difficult-to-catch creatures native to Imperial City. Very few of them are in captivity.”

Delighted, the Karnak Alpha ambassador cooed. “This will surely be a wonderful addition to our rarities.”

“But you have to take special care of it,” Jacen chided. “I promised its mother personally!”

The hairy ambassador didn’t seem to find the comment at all strange. “I give you my solemn promise.” Then the ambassador responded with her own rehearsed speech, her mouth moving somewhere between the strands of fur as she echoed the sentiments Leia had expressed.

Meanwhile, her children, little wriggling piles of hair, sat impatient and hungry for the meal, while Jacen, Jaina, and the other young Jedi Knights similarly felt their stomachs growling. Han Solo squirmed restlessly beside Leia in his formal clothes, as if chafing under his stiff collar and his medals of military service. Tenel Ka felt sympathy for him.

See-Threepio came into the room, strutting beside a trundle droid that carried a beaten silver tray of ornate plates piled high with scrumptious-looking cuisine, beautifully garnished and displayed. Out of normal political courtesy, the golden droid marched toward the head of the table while Leia and the Karnak ambassador made the appropriate appreciative sounds, showing how impressed they were with the exquisite food.

Tenel Ka watched See-Threepio move directly toward the ambassador, picking up one of the larger plates from the trundle droid’s tray. She knew instantly that Threepio meant to offer the first meal to the ambassador—which was a terribly rude thing to do, according to Karnak custom.

In one quick, fluid motion she sprang to her feet and called across the table. “Excuse me, See-Threepio,” she said. “If you would allow me?” She hurried to one end of the table as the droid stopped, completely at a loss as to what to do. One by one, Tenel Ka removed the plates from the tray and reverently set them in front of each of the ambassador’s children, starting with the smallest—and presumably the youngest—furball.

Princess Leia looked at Tenel Ka, surprised but reserving judgment. The Karnak ambassador made a motion that must have been a bow of her head. “Why, thank you, young lady. You do us a great honor. This is an unexpected observance of our customs.”

Tenel Ka nudged See-Threepio and moved him around to the other side of the table, where she tapped Anakin on the shoulder. She handed the boy a plate, then whispered into his ear. Anakin—without argument or question—stood up, dutifully moved down the table, and presented the next plate of food to the Karnak ambassador.

The ambassador chirped with surprise. “I am most honored, Chief of State,” she said to Leia, “that you would choose your youngest to serve me.

“I—thank you,” Leia said, uncertain of what else to say.

Tenel Ka stood behind Leia, nodding. Her braided red-gold hair fell forward. “Yes, Ambassador,” she said. “We wished to show you honor by respecting the customs of Karnak Alpha—that a young member of the household provides for the guests children, before a child of the host family serves the most honored adult guest.”

“I am most pleased,” the ambassador said. “We shall have a simple time making diplomatic treaties, if all members of the New Republic are so considerate of our customs.”

Trembling with relief that she had averted what could have been a social gaffe for the Chief of State, Tenel Ka sat back down, while Jacen bent toward her, his brandy-brown eyes wide with astonishment. “How did you know that?” he said in a low whisper.

Tenel Ka shrugged beneath her reptilian armor. “It is … just something I learned,” she said, and then fell silent, reluctant to reveal her royal upbringing, even to a good friend.

Even though Zekk sat back and remained quiet, he still felt uncomfortable. The meal tasted delicious, but each time he moved he was afraid that one of his gestures might offend someone or cause a diplomatic incident.

Threepio served the rest of the meals, and Zekk fell to eating with quiet attention, savoring the delicious food … though it was far richer than what he was accustomed to.

The salad in the crystal bowl in front of him was crunchy and strange—some of the leaves bitter, others stringy—but he had eaten far worse in his days of scavenging the streets. He had roasted rock slugs and eaten sliced duracrete fungus. These greens at least were fresh, and he relished them.

The conversation around the table seemed to be empty polite chitchat, and Zekk, feeling like an irrelevant guest, did his best to participate. He pushed aside the empty crystal bowl. “Delicious salad,” he said. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had greens like that.” That sounded good, a complimentary but neutral statement—enough to show willingness to take part in the dinner conversation, yet nothing anyone could fault him for.

Suddenly he felt all eyes turned toward him. He looked down to see if he had spilled something down the front of his out-of-style jacket.

Jacen seemed full of disbelief. Tenel Ka made no sign that she had even heard Zekk’s comment. Jaina nudged Zekk with her elbow in a teasing way. “That wasn’t a salad,” she whispered. “That’s the bouquet. You weren’t supposed to eat it.”

Zekk listened in horror, but kept his face a careful mask.

See-Threepio spoke up from behind them. “Now then, Mistress Jaina, many plants are edible, including all of those within the bouquet. I’m certain there’s been no harm—”

From the far end of the table Princess Leia cleared her throat. “I’m glad you liked the salad, Zekk,” she said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, and pulled her crystal dish toward her. She selected a frilly purple-green leaf and stuffed it in her mouth, munching contentedly. Han Solo looked at his wife as if she had gone crazy, then jerked as if he had been kicked under the table. He too began to eat his bouquet. Jaina followed suit, and soon everyone at the table had devoured their “salads.”

Zekk was mortified, though he tried not to show it. His manners were laughable, his clothing was outdated, and he had embarrassed everyone by eating something he should have known was a decoration. He wished he had never been invited to this banquet.

He endured the rest of the evening in simmering silence until the Karnak ambassador and her entourage of furball children finally departed, accompanied by the Chief of State and her husband.

When New Republic escorts came to return them to their rooms, Zekk decided to take the first opportunity to escape.

“Don’t worry about tonight, Zekk,” Jaina said in an understanding voice. “You’re our friend. That’s all that matters.”

Zekk felt stung by her comment, by the fact that she had even needed to say such a thing. He didn’t belong here. That truth was etched in burning letters in his brain. He should have known better, but he had pretended that he could fit in with such high-class friends.

When he slipped out the back door of the main dining hall, fully intending to walk too fast for even the rigid escorts to keep up with him, Jaina tried to stop him. “Wait!” she called. “We’re still going to meet tomorrow, right? We promised to help you get that central multitasking unit for Peckhum.”

Zekk didn’t particularly want to go home, but he certainly couldn’t stay. He hurried out into the corridors without answering Jaina.