Chapter 73

"And then you would have told me, that I can't go. By the way, it was Chewbacca who took me with him. He is more sensible than you are, Cemall," She snapped, "He understands my feelings.""

"Mayan Fonaldris, you're a female ...," Cornell started, but Chati interrupted the harvesters' leader furiously, "I won't listen to you, master Cornell, if you call me Mayan. You didn't do that so far. You know I hate that name. I'm Chati, and not Mayan."

"Mayan is the name your parents choose when you were born," Cornell said sternly.

"Yes, and they choose a wrong name. My father later changed it to Chati."

Cornell sighed.

"You're an impossible female Quelan. You never listen to what we are saying."

"We!" Chati blurted out, "Then you are you talking like all the Quelan males. It's the males who never listen to what I'm saying. It's going on for years. Any plan, any idea I came up with, was always been swept away, and discarded as useless chatter. But I'm finished with any Quelan male patronizing me, I am going to do what I want to. I want to retake Ribana from that weird intruder who ruined our lives and I'll get our people back to Myr. You can help, or you can leave me to carry out my plan on my own with help of others."

Chati's voice had become furious and frustrated.

"None of you even don't seem to be interested in what Chewbacca and me have done, what the outcome was of our nightly trip. You males can only come up with reprimands and stupid assumptions. Who do you think, you are, Cemall, my choosen boyfriend. Are you still dreaming I will be your future wife, and that you my future husband, telling me to bear you sons, no daughters. No daughters of course, for those girls could inherit my independent character?"

Cemall's olive-green cheeks slightly colored.

"Enough of this, Mayan. You're talking to my son, and I forbid you to address him the way you do," Cornell said surly.

"Can't Cemall speak for himself," Chati snapped, "does he still need his father's protection. As far as I know he is an adult harvester, two years my senior. According to the Quelan tradition I'm already an adult Quelan female."

"Chati, take it easy for a while," Luke Skywalker's soft Jedi voice sounded suddenly, "Look at Cornell's words from a different point of view. Chewie and you left the safety of the camp site and went to Ribana, only to satisfy your curiosity. Remember that Cornell carries the responsibility for your safety. Your parents still don't know what you happened to, or where you have gone, and Cornell doesn't want any harm to be done to you."

Chati's expression lost the clear anger and frustration she felt.

"I apologize, master Cornell, for my last comment about Cemall," She said.

Cornell still looked at the young female with a similar frustrated look on his face.

"If you were one of my men, I would find an appropriate punishment for your disobedience, Chati, " He said roughly.

"What do you have in mind, master Cornell?" Chati said quirky, "I don't want to be treated differently because I'm a female."

Cornell looked at the obstinate girl.

"Alright, if you want to be treated as an equal, you will be punished as an equal. Tomorrow I want you to work near the high wall on your own, making a first preparation of the shallow pool for the overflow of the lake. No one will, or may give you a hand. I will tell you what I expect of you, and you have to carry out my orders all by yourself." Cornell said.

"That's fine with me, master Cornell. I will accompany you tomorrow morning to start working near the hight wall."

"Get to the community tree house, Chati, and get a meal. You too, Chewbacca," Cornell grumbled and got over to the community tree house, followed by his son.

Inside the community tree house the other harvesters looked up as Chati and the Wookiee entered. Chati looked at the broth which was steaming in the pan, but she went over to the storage room in the corner. She took out three full slabs of dried nagawa meat and walked over to Chewbacca who accepted the meat with a joyful grunt.

"If you want more just tell me, Chewie." She said provocatively

She scooped two spoons of the broth on a plate for herself and grab a piece of bread. Without saying anything to the other harvesters, she sat down next to her Wookiee friend and started to eat. Chewie looked at her while taking a bite and chewing the dried meat. All the others watched the odd pair in amazement. Suddenly Han walked over to Chati and Chewbacca and laughed.

"I like what you did, Chati," He said, "Not the way you did it, but I understand why you did it."

"Thank you, general Solo. Chewbacca has been with me all the time. He has protected me and I'm sure he would have defended me if the situation would have become dangerous. It didn't we've been very careful."

Chewbacca grunted a long sentence and nodded in agreement. Han grinned.

"I know pal. It's a pity that weirdo didn't appear. It would have saved us a lot of effort if you would have ripped him in pieces."

Luke shook his head at Han's word. Chati grinned.

"Would you really think, general Solo, that Chewbacca would have done that."

"If he gets furious, Chati, you'd better beware. An angry Wookiee is a threat to any one who dares to insult or threaten a companion."

"Thank you for telling me, general Solo, now I'm even more grateful, that he took me with him to see Ribana." Chati said and jump up.

Again she went to the storage room, looking for an extra dried piece of nagawa meat. She came back with a huge slab.

"Thank you, Chewie, for protecting me. I really appreciate what you did for me. I can't say that from the ones who I'm usually working with. To them I'm only a nuisance." she said aloud looking defiantly around to the harvesters. "It is clear to me that even aren't interested in what we have seen and done."

Luke heard the hidden anger in the girl's voice again. He intercepted her look and shook his head. This time Chati also looked at him angry and defiant.

"We certainly do, Chati," said Cemall. "Tell us, what does Ribana look like? Is there anything left of the city?"

Chati heard a kind of unfulfilled desire in the young harvester's voice. He wasn't a bad guy. In fact he had become nice and helpful, but she hated the way he treated her because she was a female. He couldn't help that behavior. He had be brought up in the traditional way of the Quelan community in which the females were the ones who did all the domestic duties and the males were doing their outside chores. Problem was that she didn't want to fit in this traditional way of life. Her anger subsided.

"After we will come back in Ribana one day, there has to be done a lot of work ," She said, "I haven't been in the town itself, for that was too dangerous. Chewbacca warned me there could be surveillance droids spying around. I've looked at Ribana from the southern hills. It's a sad view. Our gardens are a mess, weed is growing everywhere in the streets, and I've seen many houses with broken windows."

She silenced. The other Quelans were silent too.

"What about your father's vineyard, Chati, have you seen that too?" Cemall asked again.

Chati nodded.

"Chewbacca took me there. The grape plants have overgrowning everything. It's a wild and tangled mess of vines. I was lucky that Chewbacca cleared the path to the house. The house is pretty well, although all the furniture has gone, probably it has been stolen. I guess, that the furniture in most of the houses in Ribana have been stolen as well "

"You've been inside. Wasn't that dangerous to do?" One of the harvesters asked.

"The grape vines grow over the rooftop. They cover almost the whole building. The backdoor was open and we slipped in. After we had looked at the rooms on the ground floor, I went to the wine cellar. The door stood open and I wanted to see what was left. Luckily most parts of the equipment, my father and uncle use, to ferment the grapes are still there. There is still a faint smell of wine."

"At least that is good news for our governors," Cornell said.

"They have seen it what's left of it, Cornell," Leia said, "Before we've got to Cantamaga, we've made a visit to Ribana and the vineyard."

Cornell nodded.

"And after you have seen your old home you and Chewbacca went back?" Cemall asked.

"We couldn't," Chati said, "We had to hide in the storage room at the rear of the wine cellar, for there was an unexpected visitor. We heard him coming. He descended to the cellar, a young man in a uniform, but he wore his uniform jacket very untidy. I could watch him through the small slit in the wall next to the storage room door. He sat down on an small wine barrel and took a infocom from the pocket of his jacket. Next he took out some stones in the wall and took out one of these." Chati took the five datacrons from the pouch on her belt and held them out. She turned to Luke.

"Ben, I have done, what I once did when I have been watching the intruder in the mountain cave. In my mind I managed to sneak behind him, so I could see what he was doing. I don't understand what I saw. Maybe one of you can find out what's on it. After the guy had listened to several those holographic words he switched off the infocom and put the item in the hole behind the stones. He put the stones back and left. Chewbacca and I immediately made a plan to take the object with us, but before we could act, two armed droids came down the stairs and searched the cellar. We decided to wait until it was dark again, before we would leave and take the tiny object. It was a long wait, and we became very hungry. Ben, can you figure out what the guy was listening to. Maybe it's important for us too. Chewbacca said the guy probably is a spy, but then those droids were checking out if he was there. He might be in danger. I feel, that we should warn him, that he has been followed."

She handed the datacrons to Luke. Astonished the others looked at her. Cemall expressed his admiration for her what she had done.

"I apologize, Chati. I made a wrong conclusion."

Chati shrugged her shoulders.

"That was all. And although I did some sleeping in the storage room, I'm tired."

"We'd better get some sleep, all of us," Cornell said.

"Don't forget to wake me up, early tomorrow, master Cornell," Chati said and rose. She left the community tree house went over to her own tree house, wrapped herself in one of the nagawa fleeces and fell asleep almost immediately.

Liane, Yarmod and Ian sat in the control room of the Grann brother's freighter. Liane looked around with a smile on her face as she recognized all the details of the familiar space. Here she had sat daily sharing the meals with the brothers as they had been flying to their next destination. Yarnick, Conor and Brion had been as surprise as their other brothers as Liane and the two padawans had entered the freighter.

"What brings you to Mos Eisley, Eilidh," Conor asked.

Liane was momentarily speechless when she heard the old name. Conor smiled broadly. Liane thought of her real name: Shaayla-Car, the beautiful name Severini had chosen for her when she was born.

"I almost forgotten that I went by that name, Conor. I'm no longer using the ID-card you gave me, I don't have to, because I'm a citizen of the New Republic now. The Supreme Chancellor pardoned me and gave me an ID-card with my real name: Liane Solichor."

"So commodore Skywalker didn't brought you back to Wegoyy, when you left Endor?"

Liane shook her head.

"No, Luke and I went to Dalmaran, but not immediately. There's too much to tell you now. It would be a very long and incredible story. You would all doubt if I has been telling the truth, if I would tell what has happened after Luke and I had to leave Endor very unexpectedly."

"We have time plenty, Liane. The check up and necessary repairs will take some time," Yarnick said, "Do you have to leave Tatooine tonight or tomorrow?"

"No, I bought a pair of boots, but the shop owner needs a few days to have them ready. The only thing we have to do, is find ourselves a place where we can stay for night. We've asked to stay in our space ship, the Astræga, but our request was denied."

"We offer you our hospitality, Liane. It would be great to hear your story and why you are wearing a padawan's outfit. Are you commodore Skywalker's padawan?"

Liane laughed.

"Yarmod and Ian convinced me I should wear the padawan's clothes, because I've have assembled my own lightsaber. They think I'm entitled to call myself a padawan learner, but Luke hasn't accepted me yet as his padawan learner. Do you really want us to stay with you as long as I have to wait for my boots."

"Of course. We'll see to it that the three of you will have a comfortable stay on board, do you want to stay in your old cabin?"

Enthusiastically Liane nodded.

"Shall we give you a hand to make arrangements."

"No," Kieran said and jumped to his feet, "you're our guests. I will take care of those cabins, Yarnick."

"I will help you," Conor said and followed his brother.

Liane, Yarmod and Ian stayed behind in the control room and chatted with the other four Granns. Yarmod and Ian asked where they had been recently and Yarnick and Brion gave a detailed report of their recent travels.

"Oh, Liane, I nearly forgot," Yarnick suddenly said, "I met Mintob a few weeks ago. He asked me what happened to you and if you had recovered. I had to give you his regards if I would meet you again."

Liane silenced.

"If you will seen him again, tell him I still cherish the little statue his daughter Muguro gave me. He has to tell Muguro I still don't own my own house, but that I have found some one to help me to build my own home. She will understand what I mean."

Yarmod and Ian looked puzzled, Liane smiled softly and took a little statue from the pocket at her belt and put it on the round table in front of her

"While I was allowed to stay with the Draga I helped Muguro polishing the small statues the males carved during the wet season. She said this one looked a bit like me. Because I felt helpless without my past, she insisted I should take it, because it might comfort me a bit. Are you still buying their statues, Yarnick."

"Most certainly. They are very popular and give us a good profit. This one is wonderful, Liane. We could make a good price for it. Don't you want to sell it." Yarnick said with a laugh, seeing the protesting look in Liane's eyes.

"Never!" She exclaimed, while she immediately grabbed the statue, "I will put in the house Luke and I will live in, as we have dealt with Darth Golluth."

Her cheeks colored, as Yarnick and Brion looked at her with wonder.

"Are you and commodore Skywalker going to marry, Liane," Yarnick asked.

"Luke wants me as his partner, his friend and his advisor, Yarnick, but first I need to complete my training as a Jedi Knight," She said gently, feeling her friend's uncertainty, "I understand, this isn't want you expected me to do, but many things have changed after we talked on Endor, Yarnick."

"You mentioned Darth Golluth. Who is he?" Brion asked.

"I know him under a different name: Trevor Matrik. He was a member of the staff on Morantan. He is now calling himself Darth Golluth and wants to revive the Empire, using the knowledge of the Dark Side my foster father taught me. Commander Dendicott and his second-in-command Rand Phylotar wanted to take me to him on Palomintar Four. Luke has gone to Palomintar Four already and I want to go there to assist him. Yarmod and Ian will help me to get there."

"It might be dangerous for you, Liane, if that guy is a Sith lord?"

"That's still not certain. I think he can't be, because the emperor refused to train him, and so did my foster father," Liane commented.

"Is commodore Skywalker there on his own?"

"No, his sister and her husband, Han Solo, are with him, as far as I know, and maybe his friend Wedge Antilles, the commander of Gold Squadron."

"Commodore Skywalker's sister? You mean, the princess Organa of Alderaan? She is married to Han Solo? Liane, do you remember, we met him in Wuher's cantina years ago. He became furious at you, when you ask him if he knew where Leia Organa was, and now you're telling is that he married the princess Organa."

Liane beamed.

"He did, and he is the happiest man in the galaxy and so is his wife Leia. I have never seen a happier couple."

"Incredible, Liane, and you have witnessed all these changes, you even have been part of it, I guess," Ronan said.

"I was, and all that time Luke Skywalker was with me too." She said.

Yarnick heard the kind tone in her voice as she spoke the name of Luke Skywalker. He felt a twist in his stomach, for he still loved the young woman who was sitting in the control room of his ship as if she had never left it, with all his heart. She was very dear to him, although he fully understood the reason why she had rejected his proposal on Endor. He sighed and looked at her.

'Don't feel sad, Yarnick,' Liane said, using Jedi telepathy and her healing skills to console him. She reached out to the Force and surround her old friend with her care and comfort. She felt how Ian and Yarmod watched her. Yarnick looked up and smiled.

She had changed, she had changed much. She wasn't the girl he took on board. She was a Jedi Knight like her friend Luke Skywalker, at least almost. She was a follower of the Good Side of the Force.

"We're going with you, Liane, if you're going to Palomintar Four to help commodore Skywalker. We're going with you and your friends Ian and Yarmod. You need more help, than the commodore's sister and her husband."

Astounded, Liane, Yarmod and Ian, but also Ronan and Bran looked at the eldest Grann. Liane jumped to her feet and draped her arms around Yarnick's neck.

"Are you sure you can offer me such a proposal, Yarnick? Aren't you afraid you and your brothers might loose some customers? Don't you have to asked the others?" She asked gentle, intuitively knowing what he had been thinking about.

"They will agree," He answered hoarsely, "We need to give you a hand. You need help. Please, Liane, accept this time what I'm offering you."

"I accept, Yarnick. Your proposal makes me very happy."

Yarnick looked at his three other brothers. They nodded in agreement.

"That's settled then. As soon as our ship is ready we'll follow you to Palomintar Four and help you to defeat a new Sith Lord," Bran said and added, "Revival of the Empire wouldn't be an advantage for our business, so if we help you, we will profit anyhow."

They all started to laugh. Kieran and Conor joined and fully supported Yarnick's plan, when they heard what the eldest brother had decided.

Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca had left the second camp site and gone to the Millennium Falcon after all the other Quelans had left the community tree house to their particular tree houses for the night.

In the flight control room they were discussing what has happened between Cornell and the young Quelan woman Chati. Chewbacca told them his side of Chati's story. When the Wookiee had finished, Han grinned.

"The more I hear, the more I like that girl. Guys, the way she told that son of Cornell to mind his own business! I could have kissed her."

"I'm glad you didn't, darling, for her attitude against Cornell was disrespectful," Leia said.

"Disrespectful! She defended her own rights against the traditional way the Quelans have lived for decades and longer, I presume," Han commented, still grinning, "She is opposing any limitation of her position as a female. You should give her your support, sweetheart."

Leia shook her head.

"This isn't the way things can be changed, Han. Chati has to accept that the harvesters and the other Quelans males in Cantamaga aren't accepting her as their equal. Even if she will become a Jedi Knight, her new status will probably never gain her the respect of the Quelan community. They have a very traditional way of living in which the traditional role patterns between males and females are strictly defined. You've heard how Cornell reacted to Chati as she objected against him."

Chewbacca grunted sometimes nasty.

"Yes, Chewie, that's the way it will be for Chati," Leia sighed and looked at her brother.

"IIf you ever decide whose padawan she will be, chose one of us who will protect her and give her a solid self-esteem. Personally I think it would do her good if she gets a master who should not only train her to become a Jedi Knight, but but will also teach her skills in a completely different area."

Luke nodded seriously.

"I have to keep your idea in mind, Leia, but you also know that there are only three Jedi Knight at the moment. Chati's disagreement with Cornell also stems from her long lasted longing to see what has happened to Ribana. Master Kamalin told me that ever since the Quelans of Ribana arrived at Cantamaga Chati has been thinking about different plans to bring them back to Myr. Of course her plans were not well thought out, reckless and dangerous and master Kamalin has often warned her to leave the liberation of Ribana to others, but Chati has never given up those plans. I hope, that now she has seen the deterioration of the town and the devastating state of the vineyard building, she will reconsider her role. Moreover Cornell made a big mistake, when he reprimanded her, to call her Mayan again, he even insisted more or less to see her as Mayan Fonaldris, although he never used her birth name, while as I was here."

"I think we should support her," Han said.

"We will," Luke said, "She deserves our gratitude, because these datacrons may hold the clues we need if we want to approach Darth Golluth. Let's see if we can extract their content. We have to do it quick, because these cards have to be brought back to the vineyard house immediately. The guy Chati has observed will certainly come back for another visit. If they aren't in place he knows that some else has seen what he was doing. Han can you start your main computer. I hope the data analyzer can read the content, so I can bring them back tonight, if possible. Chati might be right, the guy might be in danger if he spying on Darth Golluth."

"He's probably the guy admiral Vestor wants to get back on board the Basilisæa. Wedge had several confrontations with the admiral, before the Tychorion arrived in the Palomintar System," Leia said.

Meanwhile Han had switched on the main computer of the Falcon and Luke gave him the five datacrons. Han placed them in the slots and activated the holodisplay. A whirl of binary data started to pass. Luke and Leia watched the data and sighed.

"As I feared," Leia said, "Completely encrypted. We need the Quoith computers to extract the data."

Luke said nothing and stared at the ongoing flow of binary figures.

"Han, make a straightforward copy of this data in the memory banks of the Falcon. Contact the Tychorion, transmit our copy and asked the general to transmit it further to Quoith. He has to ask them to find the encryption method and we also need to know who is using this method."

"I'll copy the data to some separate cards, Luke. I don't want to memory banks of the Falcon to store anything I don't know what to expect."

"That's fine with me, Han, but do it quickly."

"Do you really want to bring them back tonight, Luke?" Leia asked.

Luke nodded.

"Chewie, you know where these cards were hidden. I want you to accompany me. Get the speeder ready. We leave as soon as Han as copied the cards. Leia, I want you to contact the general. This is urgent."

He rose and walked to the passageway that lead to the ramp.

"Where are you going, Luke?"

"Give some secret support to Chati. I'll be back soon."

Luke left the Falcon and went straight to the camp site. He descended along the rope ladder and walked over to the high wall Chati would be set to work. Four larger boulders were laying in front of him, could be safely cleared away without causing a avalanche. Luke use the Force to lift the boulders and put them aside. He ignited his lightsaber and carved a series of deep lines in the rocky underground. The rocky underground started to crumble and he leveled the crumble rock bottum with his feet, before he rearranged the boulders on top of the crumbled rock to mask his work. Then he went to Chati's tree house. He took a small strip of paper from a pocket at his belt and scribbled a few words on it. Without making any noise he ascended the rope ladder and stepped inside. The girl was fast asleep. Luke kneeled and put the note in her hand. Quickly he went over to his own tree house and put on his Jedi coat, before he went back to the Falcon.

Han had copied the five datacrons and Leia was already talking to general Madine.

"I will pass this to Quioth with the highest priority, Your Highness," Luke heard the holographic image of the general say.

"Thank you, general. We are very eager to know their answer." Leia said and switched off.

"General Madine will contact Quoith immediately, Luke. I hope to have an answer on our request when you have come back. You'd better leave now, if you want to restore those datacrons in their secret place before sunrise."

"Chewie and I might be back tomorrow night, Leia. I want to see if that kind of guy is visiting the vineyard building regularly. Where is Chewie, Han?" Luke asked.

"Waiting outside, near the speeder. Good luck, Luke, and be careful." His brother-in-law said.

Leia walked down the ramp following her brother.

"Shall I contact you if I have an answer from the general?"

"No, that might be dangerous. I will contact you, before we come back, if there's a safe opportunity. Chewie, let's go."

Luke jumped at the passengers seat, leaving it to the Wookiee to get them to Ribana as quickly as possible.

Chati woke up, before Cornell came over. She was sitting on the edge of the stack of nagawa fleeces, as she became aware of the little slip of paper in her left hand. She smooth it, but in her tree house it was still too dark to read it. At that moment she heart Cornell calling her and quickly she put the piece of paper in the pocket at her belt.

"Wake up, Mayan Fonaldris," Cornell gruffly said, "We're leaving."

This time she neglected his use of her birth name and rose. She grabbed her equipment belt, put it on and followed the harvesters' leader.

Outside Cornell gave her a package.

"Your ration for today," He grunted and walked away from her to the wall with the rope ladders.

Chati caught up with him, looked at his face, and decided to be silent. Cornell didn't seem to be in the mood for a morning chat.

Without speaking the man and the girl descended to the plateau. Dawn was nearing, and Chati enjoyed the different colors of the rocks. She tuned in to the Force and noticed all tiny vibrations around her, as many little life forms welcomed the new day. She smiled and felt happy. It was so incredible what Ben had taught her these last weeks. More and more she became aware of the influence of the Force around her. The Force surrounds and penetrates everything, Ben had taught her, and Chati knew he had spoken the truth. She felt relaxed and experienced her participation in the Living Force.

Meanwhile they had reached the high wall to the left of the plateau and Cornell pointed at some large boulders.

"Your task will be to break these larger boulders, using our freezing method. I assume, you know by now, how it's done, right?" Cornell grunted, "The foils are in that box over there together with the power cell to activate the laser beam to start the freezing process. Take care, that before you start the freezing process the foils should be smoothly attached to the boulders, otherwise the rock won't crumble."

Chati nodded.

"I leave you to your chores, Mayan. I expect a good progress if I come back at sunset." Cornell said and started to walk back, leaving Chati on her own.

Chati watched him go, and sighed relieved. She looked around and enjoyed the great vista to the other side of the mountain ridge. This was a great spot. She could see how the mountain ridge made a steep descend to the barren lands in the distance. Again she let the Force tell what she was watching and to her surprise she felt many life forms among and even inside the fissures and chasm the lava flows had carved over the centuries. This land wasn't deprived of life as many thought.

She sat down and opened the package. It contained the normal ration of food every harvester took with him as they were working. There was more than enough to satisfy her hunger. She took her time to eat and looked at the barren land. So high up the mountain ridge Myr was a peaceful place. She folded the package, put it aside behind a stone walked over to the wooden box to get the foils. As she took out the foils, she suddenly remembered the slip of paper. She took it from her pocket and unfolded it. Only a few words were written on it. Chati read the message and on her face appeared a smile. This was definitely written by Ben.

"Feel the Force, as you remove the boulders," the message read.

"Thanks, Ben, for this help. It will make my task much easier," She whispered.

She left the foils near the box and walked back to look at the boulders which had to be removed, before she could dig out the underlaying rock. Suddenly she noticed that some one was walking up to her. Quickly she ran back to the foils and started to lift them.

"Shall I give you a hand with it, Chati," a familiar voice said.

"No one is allowed to help me, Cemall. You've heard what your father said. I have accepted this penalty for my misconduct." She said. "You'd better get back to the others, otherwise you will get into trouble."

"But I want to help you, Chati. This is no ...," Cemall stopped and Chati saw how the olive green skin at his cheeks got a different color.

"Wrong reason, Cemall. Yes, I'm a female, but that doesn't mean I have to stick to our traditional way of living."

"You won't, for if Ben is right, you will become a Jedi Knight one day," Cemall said.

"That's a long way off and absolutely not for certain, Cemall. Ben has told me, I have to learn a lot before he will decided if I can become someone's padawan," Chati said.

"Do you really want to become a Jedi Knight, Chati?" The young harvester asked, "It might be a dangerous way of living."

"Ben explained to me that if I learn to listen to what the Force is telling me, I can avoid dangerous situations. I've always done that, by the way."

Cemall had sat himself on one of the boulders."

"What is the Force, Chati? Can you tell me?" He asked.

"I have to repeat, what Ben has told me. He says, that the Force gives a Jedi Knight his power, if he learns to commit himself to her and obey her demands. In the beginning those words didn't mean anything to me, but Ben has taught me to listen to everything that surrounds me, for the Force is everywhere. It surrounds all living things, but it also ties a Jedi to any object around him. The Force helps the extreme challenges a Jedi has to cope with without it will exhaust him. I have seen how Ben ran down the hill behind of Cantamaga to welcome one of his friends. I followed him in a normal way. I thought he had to be exhausted, but he didn't even needed to caught his breath. Cemall, why did you wake up this early to offer me your help?"

Cemall didn't answer, but looked away to the barren land.

"It's saddening, that these lands are so scorched and useless," He murmured.

Chati took a seat next to the young harvester.

"I asked you something, Cemall," She said.

Cemall looked at her.

"You don't want to know, Chati. You will get angry again, and I don't want to upset you."

"Because I rebuked you yesterday, Cemall. Because I said you're not my husband, not even my boyfriend?"

Cemall looked up at her. He slowly nodded.

"I admire you, Chati, because you're so different from all the other females in our community. You do as you please and not even your mother can stop you. Many of the other Quelan girls are so docile and annoying. You discuss every word the elders are saying, and you take nothing for granted. You come up with new ideas that improve our way of live, and even if the elders reject your proposals in the beginning, your point of view always turns out to be right. But I will loose your friendship and the way you do things, because because you're a Force-sensitive female."

Amazed Chati had listened to Cemall's confession.

"Cemall, I'm sorry, but I understand that you wanted me as your girlfriend, but I never can be. Not because I don't want to, but because I feel that I would make you unhappy. You deserve a good and friendly Quelan girl who will look up at you and admire you."

"Don't you like me, Chati, do you?"

"That's not it, Cemall, but you said it yourself, I'm too different from all the other females in Cantamaga. I don't fit in in our community. Therefore it is good that master Skywalker is teaching me to become a Force-user, maybe even a padawan learner and if I'm worth it, a Jedi Knight. Now I have an opportunity to get the life I want."

"But don't you think, that it's a Quelan female's secret wish to have a husband and raise her own family."

Chati started to laugh.

"Now it's like, I hear my mother's words, Cemall. No, I don't want to marry, I don't want to be attached to some one and live a dull life as a mother. There's so much more to discover elsewhere. Together with Ben, the general and his wife and the others I've seen Palomintar Four from above as they took me with them to that huge space ship the Tychorion. It's a small planet, Cemall. The part of Palomintar Four the Quelans are using is such a tiny spot, so tiny that the space ship that is observing this planet can do that from a very high altitude and still be aware of what's going on near Ribana. The space ship is enormous. The commander of the ship, he is a general I believe, ordered one of his men to show me around. It was amazing. I want to travel on such a ship and see many other different world, and meet many other different species."

"I envy you, Chati," Cemall said as he had listened to Chati's story, "Must be wonderful to see our planet from above. I have one question to ask you, before I go. Aren't you afraid that other species, or human won't take you serious, because you're a Quelan."

Chati shook her head.

"No Ben said, that there are millions of different species in this galaxy. The Quelans still resemble their human descent. We have adapted to several different environments, that's how we developed the skill to change our skin color for instance and the Quelan males have lost the ability to grow hair. Cemall, look at the Wookiee friend of general Solo. He is one of those different species that populate other planets. Chewbacca has told me that his people also live in tree houses on a planet called Kashyyyk. He speaks Shyriiwook. In the beginning I didn't understand him, but when I use my Force skills I know what he is telling me. Did you know that he is more than two hundred years old. It's amazing."

"More than two hundred years?" Cemall exclaimed.

"Yes, and that's why I want to meet many other different species. Cemall, there's so much to learn about the galaxy we're part of. It's incomprehensible and overwhelming." Chati said elated.

"I leave you to your chores, Chati," Cemall said and jumped of the boulder, "Thank you for listening and talking to me."

Chati jumped to her feet.

"You're a fine fellow, Cemall, and you'll make a great harvester leader in the future, but I can't become your wife," She said.

Cemall laughed.

"Your honesty should be a relief, but it isn't." He said.

"I know, but I'm sure you will find some one who will be much better suited for you than me. I hope we can remain good friends, Cemall. I've learned a lot from you about the way the harvesters work and live."

She stretched out her hand in gratitude. Cemall took it and held her hand for a while.

"You will always be welcome in my future home, Chati, for I will always admire your strength and will power. I wish you good luck with your Force training."

They both laughed and Cemall walked away. He waved as he started to climbed the rope ladder. Chati waved back, then she turned to the box with the foils. She put the foils back in the box, closed the lid. With a big grin on her face she went back to the four boulders which were obstructing her digging. She had moved these boulders first.

Again Chati grinned. She took the slip of paper and read Ben's message again. Carefully she put the paper back in her pocket. Her eyes wandered from the four boulders to several different spots where she could put so they won't be in the way.

"Feel the Force," She whispered as she looked at the first boulder.

"The Force surrounds everything, me, animals, plants, trees and stones," She continued as she intensified her feelings. The boulder started to rise as the image of it filled her mind. Slowly it lifted and hovered above the ground. Chati felt that the Force guided her as she stretched out her hand to direct the boulder to the first spot she had in mind. It floated slowly to it and came down. For a moment Chati released herself from the Force.

"Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done this without this great power I felt," She said, "It's a great feeling to work with you."

Then she turned to the next boulder and lifted it as easily as the first one. Without an real effort she removed the four boulders. As all four had been removed and underneath the spot was revealed for the overflow pool, she heard a soft cracking. She turned around to look at the boulders and saw that they were crumbling into small pieces which could easily be cleared away. Amazed Chati looked at the four piles of crumbled rock.

"Fine with me," She commented, "That saves me a lot of work."

Then she turned and wanted to start crumbling the ground underneath the boulders. To her surprise the rocky underground had already been splintered into tiny fragments which could be shoveled out without much effort. Chati took a wheelbarrow and started to fill it with the fragmented rock splinters. She didn't have to take much effort in her chores and as the barrow had been filled she wheeled it away and deposited the crumbled rock further on the plateau near the foundation of the wall where it could be used later on. Steadily she worked on and after having wheeled some ten barrows away she took a break to get some food and drink. While she was eating she looked at shallow excavation she had cleared out.

"Thanks, Ben, for you help," She mumbled with her mouth full of food, "You've probably been preprocessing this spot for me and put my mind in the right direction so I could use that unseen power I posses. It's given me a great feeling. I will tell you tonight, what I have achieved thanks to you and your use of your lightsaber."

She had finished her meal and wanted to start shoveling a next part of the pool, when Cornell with the group of harvesters walked over to her.

"How are you doing?" He said gruffly, "We'd better assist ..."

His jaw dropped as he saw the dig out stretch of the overflow pool about a feet deep.

"You did this?" He asked, "Where are those four boulders that blocked this spot."

"Over there," Chati said and pointed to the four piles of rubble, "I haven't had enough time to deposit all that rubble near the foundation wall yet, but I will do that this afternoon."

The harvesters looked at the girl in front of them.

"How did you do that?" One of them asked, "Your Jedi friend couldn't have been helping you. He's gone back to Ribana we've heard, and his sister, the lady Jedi, and the general have given us a hand to take some spare materials and equipment from the base cave."

"BBen has left a message I understood, and could use," Chati said and handed the slip of paper to Cornell, "He also seems to have done some preprocessing underneath those boulders, for when I had put these boulders aside the underground was all crumbled rock which I only had to wheel away. Master Cornell, I told you that Ben is willing to make our work easier. We've only have to accept his help."

"But how did you manage to crumble those boulders so fast?" Cornell asked.

"I don't know. After I did what Ben suggested I should do, those boulders crumbled the moment they had been replaced. Maybe Ben gave them a special Force treatment. The best thing is that it saves us a lot of tiresome work"

"OK, men, we'll have an easy task this afternoon, thanks to some unexpected help to this girl and Ben. Chati, do you mind if we help you," Cornell said and laughed suddenly

"Only if I still can finish my part, master Cornell," Chati answered.