'As to the fence, I'll examine it tomorrow morning,' he continued. 'I want to see how badly it was damaged before I make my decision. The two men bowed and backed away. 'I therefore declare this session to be closed,' C'baoth called. His voice echoed grandly, despite the relatively small size of the room. An interesting effect, and Luke found himself wondering if it was a trick of the room's acoustics or yet another Jedi technique that Master Yoda had never taught him. Though why he would ever need such a technique he couldn't imagine.
The last of the villagers filed out of the room. C'baoth cleared his throat; reflexively, Luke braced himself. 'I sometimes wonder, Jedi Skywalker,' the old man said gravely, 'whether or not you have really been listening to me these past few days.
'I'm sorry, Master C'baoth,' Luke said, an all too familiar lump sticking in his throat. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed, he was never quite able to measure up to C'baoth's expectations.
'Sorry?' C'baoth's eyebrows rose sardonically. 'Sorry? Jedi Skywalker, you had it all right there in your hands. You should have cut off their prattle far sooner than you did-your time is too valuable to waste with petty recriminations. You should have made the decision yourself on the amount of compensation, but instead gave it over to that absurd excuse of a village council. And as to the fence-' He shook his head in mild disgust. 'There was absolutely no reason for you to postpone judgment on that. Everything you needed to know about the damage was right there in their minds. It should have been no trouble, even for you, to have pulled that from them.' Luke swallowed. 'Yes, Master C'baoth,' he said. 'But reading another person's thoughts that way seems wrong-'
'When you are using that knowledge to help him?' C'baoth countered.
'How can that be wrong?'
Luke waved a hand helplessly. 'I'm trying to understand, Master C'baoth. But this is all so new to me.'
C'baoth's bushy eyebrows lifted. 'Is it, Jedi Skywalker? Is it really? You mean you ve never violated someone's personal preference in order to help him? Or ignored some minor bureaucratic rule that stood between you and what needed to be done?'
Luke felt his cheeks flush, thinking back to Lando's use of that illegal slicer code to get his X-wing repaired at the Sluis Van shipyards.
'Yes, I've done that on occasion,' he admitted. 'But this is different, somehow. It feels ... I don't know. Like I'm taking more responsibility for these people's lives than I should.'
'I understand your concerns,' C'baoth said, less severely this time.
'But that is indeed the crux of the matter. It is precisely the acceptance and wielding of responsibility that sets a Jedi apart from all others in the galaxy.' He sighed deeply. 'You must never forget, Luke, that in the final analysis these people are primitives. Only with our guidance can they ever hope to achieve any real maturity.'
'I wouldn't call them primitive, Master C'baoth,' Luke suggested hesitantly. 'They have modern technology, a reasonably efficient system of government-'
'The trappings of civilization without the substance,' C'baoth said with a contemptuous snort. Machines and societal constructs do not define a culture's maturity, Jedi Skywalker. Maturity is defined solely by the understanding and use of the Force.'
His eyes drifted away, as if peering into the past. 'There was such a society once, Luke,' he said softly. 'A vast and shining example of the heights all could aspire to. For a thousand generations we stood tall among the lesser beings of the galaxy, guardians of justice and order. The creators of true civilization. The Senate could debate and pass laws; but it was the Jedi who turned those laws into reality.'
His mouth twisted. 'And in return, the galaxy destroyed us.' Luke frowned. 'I thought it was just the Emperor and a few Dark Jedi who exterminated the Jedi.'
C'baoth smiled bitterly. 'Do you truly believe that even the Emperor could have succeeded in such a task without the consent of the entire galaxy?' He shook his head. 'No, Luke. They hated us-all the lesser beings did. Hated us for our power, and or knowledge, and our wisdom. Hated us for our maturity.' His smile vanished. 'And that hatred still exists. Waiting only for the Jedi to reemerge to blaze up again.'
Luke shook his head slowly. It didn't really seem to fit with what little he knew about the destruction of the Jedi. But on the other hand, he hadn't lived through that era. C'baoth had. 'Hard to believe,' he murmured.
'Believe it, Jedi Skywalker,' C'baoth rumbled. His eyes caught Luke's, burning suddenly with a cold fire. 'That's why we must stand together, you and I. Why we must never let down our guard before a universe that would destroy us. Do you understand?'
'I think so,' Luke said, rubbing at the corner of his eye. His mind felt so sluggish in the fatigue dragging at him. And yet, even as he tried to think about C'baoth's words, images flowed unbidden from his memory. Images of Master Yoda, gruff but unafraid, with no trace of bitterness or anger toward anyone at the destruction of his fellow Jedi. Images of Ben Kenobi in the Mos Eisley cantina, treated with a sort of aloof respect, but respect nonetheless, after he'd been forced to cut down those two troublemakers. And clearest of all, images of his encounter at the New Cov tapcafe. Of the Barabel, asking for the mediation of a stranger, and accepting without question even those parts of Luke's judgment that had gone against him. Of the rest of the crowd, watching with hope and expectation and relief that a Jedi was there to keep things from getting out of hand. 'I haven't experienced any such hatred.'
