The Seduction

by Nicole D'Annais ([email protected])

***

Qui-Gon left a sleeping Xanatos with a kiss early the next morning. He wandered the streets of Thani, observing the early morning crowds as they rushed off to work. According to the information supplied by the Council, eighty percent of the population worked in some kind of professional capacity--a curiously large number for any society. Any necessary manual labor, such as serving the Governor or waiting on tables, was limited to service staff and paid considerably well--more than in many other places he'd visited. Most of the servants he'd seen so far had been off-worlders.

Why would the people of Telos need more money? The clothes they wore fit perfectly, and were made of fabrics he knew to be expensive. Most of them had flawless hair, well-kept bodies and faces, and the best material possessions available. The advertisements around the town were for shows and exhibits generally seen in places such as the more well to do areas of Coruscant. Even the street cleaners wore tailored uniforms. It was clear the citizens of Telos were benefiting from the current contract with Nardir.

He pondered that idea as he hired a small one-man craft to fly himself to Nardir. A borrowed ship flown by one of the Governor's pilots was not the best way to enter the planet opposing Telos--anything he said to the Nardirians would certainly be reported directly back to Crion. And after the little bit of Thani society he'd seen today, Qui-Gon wasn't sure he'd want his comments making their way back to Telos.

It was a relatively short trip from Thani to Sarta, the capital of Nardir. Qui-Gon docked his ship and made his way through the streets of the city, noting the differences between the midday crowds of Sarta and the citizens he'd observed that morning in Thani. The Nardirians were mostly working class people who supplied the labor, materials and factories to carry out the designs and ideas of the Telosians. A profitable relationship for both worlds, though the contract had been thought to favor the Telosians, a fact which made Crion's decision to renegotiate that much more surprising.

Now that he could see with his own eyes just how much the contract favored Telos, Qui-Gon wondered anew why Crion would think it needed to be changed. He must be making a fortune himself with the current situation. And it wasn't very likely the Governor was planning to call for a contract that was more fair to the Nardirians.

Qui-Gon looked around at the low buildings lining the main street. A variety of businesses had signs hanging over the doors or painted into windows, advertising goods, services, and more than a few eating establishments. No one was expecting him, so he had time to wander and eat before seeking out the official government representatives. He chose a busy little cafe for his midday meal.

Pleasant smells and loud conversations greeted him as he walked in. There were booths off to one side, all full, and a few tables spaced inches apart from one another. A long counter ran along the window. Qui-Gon took one of the few empty seats at the counter and listened to the conversations around him while he waited. Most of them revolved around families and work; he wondered if he would hear similar discussions in restaurants in Thani.

A server handed him a menu and hurried on her way to wait on others. He quickly made a selection and went back to eavesdropping until she arrived to take his order. While he waited for his food, the crowd began to thin out as people returned to work. By the time his food arrived, the restaurant was half-empty, and the server was moving much slower than before.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "This is fine, thank you." He looked around as another group headed for the door. "Does this place always clear out so fast?"

The server shrugged. "Midday meal is over. They all have to get back on time so they get all their hours in. Some of them barely make enough to get by as it is. Don't know what they'll do if those galactic bullies on the other planet end up taking even more money."

"Are you referring to the renegotiation of the contract between Telos and Nardir?"

"You call it renegotiation. I call it legal space pirating. But then you don't have to see these people come in here day after day and hear their problems."

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "They don't make enough at the factories?"

"All I know is what I hear," the woman said hesitantly. "Beyond that, I really couldn't say."

Apparently she had decided she'd said too much. Or maybe she'd noticed the clothes and realized he was a Jedi. Qui-Gon let her off the hook as he tasted the food and smiled encouragingly. "This is very good."

"Thanks, I'll tell the cook. Let me know if you need anything else," she replied before hurrying off again.

The food was delicious, and Qui-Gon made quick work of it. After he paid, he wandered a little further down the street, but there was so little activity he didn't think he would learn much more out there. He decided to make a quick com call back to Xanatos before heading to the government complex. There was a booth on the next corner designed to allow com calls in relative privacy from the street, so he stepped inside and pulled out his comlink.

"Yes, Master?" Xanatos answered quickly, his voice husky across the comm.

"What have you been up to, Padawan?"

"Sleeping, Master. Apparently I was very tired after last night."

Qui-Gon smiled. "I wonder why."

"You left without waking me," Xanatos pouted.

"You were sleeping so soundly I couldn't bring myself to wake you. I'll be back soon enough."

"When?"

"I'm not sure. Possibly tonight. I'll let you know after I've spoken with the local representatives."

"Fine, but if you're not back, I'm going to sleep in your bed."

At that, Qui-Gon laughed. "What's wrong with yours?"

"It doesn't smell like you."

"And mine does, even after the servants have been in to clean?"

"Yes."

He laughed again. "Very well, then. If I'm not back, you may sleep in there."

"Come back anyway."

"We'll see. I must go. Behave yourself until I return."

"Yes, Master."

Qui-Gon put the comlink away, still smiling as he pushed open the doors to the booth, welcoming the rush of air. The silence was helpful when talking on a comlink, but the glass booth was rather warm with the sun beating down on it.

He made his way to the government complex slowly, wandering through a park, enjoying the sounds of birds, the chatter of the people taking a day off, and even the occasional hum of a hovercraft as it sped toward a parking lot. He looked closely at the area around him. The trees and grass were much more natural in this park. In Thani, the parks were cultivated, carefully planned and trimmed to perfection; in Sarta grass grew seemingly at random, and the trees and bushes in the parks were round and full. Various and assorted forms of wildlife dashed around from one hiding place to another, sometimes stopping long enough to pick up a gift of food from one of the citizens having a late midday meal in the park.

The government complex was just on the other side of the park. It was the most impressive building Qui-Gon had seen in the city, yet it still managed to blend with the natural surroundings. He could see no intentional design for the area--everything seemed to be placed in some sort of haphazard manner, and yet it worked better than the designed city of Thani. And the Living Force was stronger here than it had been anywhere he'd visited on Telos.

He walked into the building, surprised at the lack of security. One lone guard sat at a desk just inside the main doors. She didn't bother to look up from her reader as Qui-Gon approached. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to meet with the Governor."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Not a specific one; however, he will see me."

At that she finally looked up, saw his clothes, and realized he was a Jedi. "Oh, the Governor's offices are down the hall and to the left," she said, straightening her uniform. "The suite at the end."

"Thank you," he replied with a brief nod. He found the offices, hesitating for the briefest of moments to focus on the task ahead before entering the door.

A petite humanoid woman sat behind the desk, staring intently at a computer terminal. When the door clicked shut, she looked up. "Hello. How can I help you?"

"I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. I'm here to see Governor Tashi."

"Oh, of course, Master Jinn. If you'd like to have a seat I'm sure the Governor will be out very soon." She pushed a button on a com unit and spoke quietly into a hand-held receiver, then turned back to Qui-Gon. "Is there anything I can get you while you wait?"

"No, thank you."

She nodded and went back to work at her terminal, the quiet click of the keys the only sound for several moments. Finally, a dark-haired man rushed into the reception from the back of the suite. "Master Jinn. I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Governor Tashi."

"I have only been here a short time, and I was not expected. It's good of you to see me on short notice."

"It is good of you to come." The Governor peered up at Qui-Gon. "If you'll follow me, we can talk in my office."

Qui-Gon followed the smaller man through a maze of hallways to a spacious office in the back of the suite. Once inside, the Governor closed the door and waved a hand at a seat in front of his desk. "Please, sit."

"Thank you." Qui-Gon took the seat and waited to see how Tashi would begin.

"So, you're here about the negotiations?" The governor leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps, then, you can tell me why Telos wishes to renegotiate the contract?"

The Jedi master shook his head. "I don't know, Governor. I am only an impartial observer, here to get the Nardirian side of the negotiation so that I have all the facts to help facilitate your negotiations."

"Which is the Jedi way of saying, 'I'm not going to tell you anything I've figured out.' Very well. My people were desperate when they signed the original contract with Telos. We had a planet rich in materials, but no way to convert those materials into goods we needed to survive. They agreed to the stipulation that only Telos could open renegotiations because they had to." He spread his hands out, palms up. "From my point of view, this could be a beneficial event."

"Some of your people seem to think differently."

The Governor sighed. "The people are convinced Telos would only open negotiations if it were to end up more profitable for Telos in the end. They are tired of working for years and having little to show for it, and now they think there will be even less when this contract is changed."

"But you don't share their views?"

"I am counting on the Jedi to ensure a fair arrangement."

Qui-Gon acknowledged the man's trust with a nod. "Thank you. But there is only so much we can do. We are merely facilitators."

"We?"

"My apprentice is back on Telos. He will also be attending the negotiations." Qui-Gon thought it best not to bring up the real reasons for Xanatos staying behind. Best not to let these people know the young man was a Telosian, much less the son of the governor. "We thought we could work more efficiently gathering information separately for a day."

"Only a day? But surely you will stay for evening meal. And you must accept the hospitality of our governor's quarters for the night. The guest rooms are quite nice, even for a place that must seem like the back end of nowhere after being on Telos."

After a moment's hesitation, Qui-Gon nodded his acquiescence. Duty before personal desires. He had to remember that. It was only one night.

***

"I'm coming over there."

Qui-Gon sighed. "Padawan. You will stay where you are--out of sight of the Nardirians until the negotiations. There's less chance for them to realize you're Telosian before the meetings start if you are not seen until then."

"Then come home." The easy way Xanatos referred to Thani as "home" only served to make Qui-Gon more anxious to get back there. His apprentice needed reminders of who he was and whose agenda he served. Perhaps they could go to Dagobah before returning to Coruscant. Nowhere was the Living Force more prevalent than his own master's home world, and it offered few distractions. Qui-Gon would have to talk to Yoda about the side visit before he and Xanatos left Telos.

"I cannot. The Nardirians would never trust me if I spent less than a day here and spent a week on Telos. It's suspicious enough that you are not here with me."

"Then I will come there."

"No. Stay where you are. It's only for one night, Xanatos. One night, and then I'll be back."

A long silence stretched across the space between them, so long Qui-Gon wondered if his comlink was malfunctioning. "All right," Xanatos answered finally. "But I don't like it."

"Nor do I," Qui-Gon agreed. "I must go--there's an official function I have to attend. I will contact you again later."

"Promise?"

"Promise." With that, he clicked off the com and stuffed it into one of the pockets of his robe before hurrying off to find the grand dining room.

***

After the rich, heavy food at the Governor's quarters, the Nardirian fare was a welcome change. Qui-Gon savored the tangy fish, concentrating on the taste to keep himself in the moment, and his thoughts from straying to his apprentice.

"So, you're the great Jedi come to save Nardir."

Qui-Gon turned to the councilman seated to his left. "Excuse me?"

The man waved a hand toward the head of the table. "Governor Tashi has told us all about how the Jedi would ensure the results of the negotiations would be in our favor."

"Oh?" Qui-Gon studied the man, wondering what kind of game he was playing. "And how am I to do that, Councilman Yo?"

"By forcing the Telosian government to adhere to the fairness that all self-respecting governments in the Republic strive for, thereby causing them to adjust the contract so that Nardir gets its fair share of the profit from our association," Yo recited. "Or so Tashi says."

"I'm afraid I am only here as a facilitator, Councilman. I cannot force anyone to do anything."

Yo snorted. "I suspected as much. Ever since Tashi cast off his bonded mate and took another into his home, he has touted this negotiation as his glory day, hoping to distract the public from his shame with thoughts of money."

"His shame?" The report given to him by the Jedi Council had mentioned the Governor of Nardir had recently dissolved a bond and then bonded with another, but no mention had been made of anything shameful. "There was a scandal?"

"Of course! One does not dissolve a bond. And to do so publicly, while leading the people...such a thing is unheard of on this planet. Nardirians mate for life, Jedi--did your preparation for this negotiation fail to mention that?"

It had, but Qui-Gon refrained from admitting it outright. "Most species mate for life, but even so a disolvement is not always such an unusual event."

"Perhaps elsewhere that is true. But here we take our bonds very seriously. I would never do such a thing to my wife, nor would any self-respecting Nardirian." Yo looked at Tashi again and laughed harshly. "The promise of a better contract now that he requested the Jedi is the only reason Tashi is still in his office." He studied his plate for a moment before casting a sidelong glance at Qui-Gon. "There are those who never believed him in the first place. His failure with these negotiations could be cause enough to remove him. By force, if necessary."

Qui-Gon acknowledged that statement with a brief nod before turning to the dessert that had just been placed in front of him. So the outcome of these negotiations could be the catalyst for a civil war on Nardir. Wonderful.

Certainly no pressure for everything to go perfectly.

***

After a fitful night's sleep and meetings with several government members the following morning, Qui-Gon found himself in his rented ship on his way back to Telos. As he walked back to the Governor's quarters, he was struck again by the perfect falseness of his surroundings. The contrast to Nardir was even more obvious after being surrounded by the natural beauty on Sarta.

A young man sitting at the bottom of the steps to the Governor's quarters reminded Qui-Gon of Xanatos and the resemblance speeded his step. As Qui-Gon drew closer, the young man looked up, saw him and stood. With a start, Qui-Gon realized it *was* Xanatos, dressed in a deep blue jacket and pants. White cuffs and a small white collar peeked out from the edges of the dark material, a color of blue that nearly matched the eyes that lit up as Qui-Gon stopped in front of him.

"Master!" Xanatos moved as if to embrace Qui-Gon, then stopped suddenly and bowed instead. "It is good to have you back."

"It is good to see you as well, Padawan." They turned as one, climbing the steps toward the main doors. "Though it has only been one day since I left."

Xanatos reached out, his fingers grazing his master's arm as he straightened his own sleeve. "A very long day."

"Yes, it was at that."

"So what was the situation on Nardir?"

"How do you mean?" Qui-Gon answered question with question, mindful of the openness of the hallway and who could be listening.

Xanatos clasped his hands behind his back. "Will the Nardirians be difficult during the negotiations?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'difficult,' Padawan. I imagine they will simply be looking out for their own interests, as will the Telosians."

"Ah, so we should plan for a nice, long stay while they argue, then?"

"We shall see." Qui-Gon responded as they reached his room. Xanatos followed him through the door and closed it behind them, waiting until the older man had put his bag down before spinning him around and trapping him against the bed. "I missed you, Master."

"And I you," Qui-Gon answered, allowing his student to lean in for one kiss before he turned toward the bed, pushing Xanatos back with his body. He felt the flash of anger and hurt shoot through his padawan.

"Is there a problem, Master?" Xanatos asked, his tone formal as he stepped back a few paces.

Qui-Gon finished unpacking the items in his travel bag and placing them on the bed beside it, each movement deliberate as he chose his words carefully. "You are out of uniform," he answered finally, turning to face his apprentice.

"My father bought these for me. We aren't on duty, so I thought--"

"We are on duty," Qui-Gon interrupted. "We're on a mission, and you are here to represent the Jedi, not the Governor of Telos. If you don't want to wear the Jedi uniform, you can always go home." Not that he really had any intention of sending Xanatos home, but the need to wear the Jedi uniform, to show their objectivity, should have been obvious to his apprentice.

Xanatos' eyes blazed with anger. "Home? This *is* my home!" The young man took a deep breath. "Or at least it was once."

Fear swelled inside Qui-Gon, the worries about Xanatos and his father returning in a rush. "You are too close to this situation," he said, voice tightly controlled. "Perhaps it would be best if you went back to Coruscant after all."

"Master, no!" Xanatos took the few steps forward that left him practically touching his master. "I wore the clothes because I thought they would please you. I'll be happy to change back into my robes." He reached out one hand, cupping Qui-Gon's cheek. "Just please don't send me away from you."

Qui-Gon searched the deep blue eyes, no longer certain when his apprentice was being completely honest--or entirely trusting of his own judgment in the matter. He found no signs of deception lurking in Xanatos' gaze.

Finally, Xanatos broke the silence. "You would send me away from you, separate us, over clothing?" The pleading in his voice was now combined with a fair amount of anger. "You would deprive us both of this?" He leaned in, licking at his master's lips for a moment before parting his mouth and delving inside, molding his lips to Qui-Gon's in a fierce kiss.

Qui-Gon shoved his travel bag and clothing out of the way, scrambling back onto the bed and dragging his padawan with him. Xanatos straddled his master's lap, his rear pressed against Qui-Gon's groin, and rocked slightly, drawing a growl from the older man, who grabbed his arms and pulled him down for another kiss.

Several moments later, Xanatos pulled back to remove his jacket and shirt. "I can stay, then?" he asked as he began removing Qui-Gon's tunics.

"You can stay," Qui-Gon agreed. "But I want you in Jedi robes from now on."

"Really, Master?" Xanatos replied with a grin. "I thought you wanted me wearing nothing right now."

The Jedi Master's eyes narrowed. "Xanatos...."

"Yes, Master," the young man answered dutifully, leaning down to tease one of Qui-Gon's nipples with his tongue. "Jedi robes. Understood." He bit down lightly, causing Qui-Gon to arch up and put more pressure on his suddenly hard shaft.

Qui-Gon rolled, turning Xanatos onto his back and pinning the young man beneath him. Maybe he should just keep him trapped like this until the negotiations. At least then he couldn't get into trouble. And no one needed to worry about what kind of clothes he was wearing.

Xanatos went to work on Qui-Gon's leggings, thoughts of clothing quickly forgotten as they stripped theirs away and put the outside world aside, lost in each other.

END PART 7  

~ proceed to Part 8 ~