Chapter 133

"Grandpa, I didn't expect that you would offer me such an important function," He said.

"We talk about that in a minute in private, Cemall. First we need to greet Han Solo and his crew," Manall said as he enter the control room where the three members of the Falcon's crew and Nori Thai and Yarmod Martan where enjoying a holo chess game. Nori and Chewbacca had teamed up and tried to beat Yarmod and Han. Han looked up as Manall entered.

"I can't leave this game, master Manall, but you know where to go, I guess." Han said.

"You're in the winning mood, master Solo?" Manall asked.

"Yes, I am, but the other team is a very strong couple," Han said as he nodded to Yarmod to make a move.

Cemall looked at the holo chess board.

"Chewbacca doesn't seem to share your optimism, master Solo," He said.

Han grinned.

"He never does, kid, for he always wins."

Manall grabbed Cemall's arm and took his grandson to the quarter in the aft of the Falcon. They sat down opposite of each other. Manall watched his grandson closely.

"Do you doubt my decision, Cemall?" He asked.

"A bit, grandpa, I'm not sure if I'm experienced enough to lead a group of young harvest boy all alone, especially on the two standard weeks at the campsite." Cemall said honestly.

"You have to make a start somewhere, Cemall. I agree, that leading a group isn't easy, but you should worry too much, for you may chose the ones you want as members of your group. So you can chose your friends. They already know you and you have already gained some status as their leader already. Chose wisely, son, and let me know what you've decided. We're not in a hurry, for the restoration of Ribana is still on going. Maybe it might be a good idea if you assemble your group already and tell them that you want them to help our governors with the pruning of the grapevines."

"Grandpa, I don't know if the boys will agree to do the community work I have been assigned to." Cemall protested.

Manall smiled understandingly.

"You shouldn't asked them right now, Cemall, for within a little more than a standard week we all go back to Tyr. Assemble your group on Tyr and tell them that once they are going back to Myr that you expect that they will support you carrying out the task you want them to do.

See it as a training to turn seven different characters into a team. They should learn to count on each other and you should count on them as their leader. Watch each of them and if you encounter problems, ask me how you can solve them. It will be a learning process for all of you. They have learn to accept the decisions you will make, but they surely will ask you to explain why you take certain decisions. As a leader you have to be open and honest to your men and about your decisions and listen to your men if they have objections. Together you have to find the right consensus with which all members agree."

Cemall looked at his grandfather.

"Can you tell me what kind of problems you have encountered when you became the harvest men's leader, grandpa?" He asked. "How old were you when you took over the leadership from your father?"

"My father, your great-grandfather Bornoll, made me a harvest man when I was nineteen. Together with me he took some other young harvest boys with him with whom he wanted me to gather the fallen nuts in a separate part of the nut wood. As the spot was deeper inside the nut forest the group has to make a camp to stay overnight. After three days we have to return to the group of harvest men my father was leading and show them our harvest. Next my father took me with him to inspect the place where I had stayed with the group. If he wasn't satisfied how we had left the place I had to tidy up the place on my own, until our the traces of our overnight stay were no longer detectable."

"Wow, your father Bornoll was very strict, grandpa," Cemall said.

"He surely was, Cemall. Not only for my and my group of young brats, but also for his own group of harvest men. For example he never allowed to make a camp fire of fallen branches. The harvest men always carried a kind of ion-stove on which we could prepare our meals. Waste, like foil sheets in which we kept our food supply we had to collect in bags. Other waste, like peels and pits we has to bury under the vegetation."

"When you took over the leadership, grandpa, did you make any changes you disagreed with."

"Yes, I introduce the foil jackets the harvest men wear when they stay in the forest overnight. Wearing a foil jacket saved us from taking our food supply with us. The many tine channels between the foil layer were filled with a liquid solution of nutrients which were directly absorbed by the skin of our body."

"Did you invent that jacket, grandpa?" Cemall asked amazed.

"No, one of the young harvest man in my group, Roshann, came up with the idea. I encouraged him to develop his idea further so that he and I could try it together. After some minor adjustments, the jacket worked exactly as Roshann had envisioned. Then I presented it to my father, and he was so enthusiastic that every harvest man had to wear such a jacket from then on. In the beginning, your father used them too, but because the Urams started attacking the harvest men, your father didn't want them to be left alone in the nut forest at night. As a result, the usefulness of using the jacket has been somewhat forgotten again."

"Are you going to use it again, grandpa?"

"I would love to, Cemall, but that depends on how the relationship with the Urams will develop. Those birds are still enraged about with the harvest men have done to the nut forest," Manall said. thoughtfully.

"Grandpa, you said that Roshann made the first foil jacket. Did you mean, master Roshann, who is one of the harvest men's leaders now."

"Sure, Cemall. You must know, son, that there are three harvest families that have primarily produced the leaders. That is our family, that of Wollin, and that of Roshann. Leadership within those families passed from father to son. I trained your father to be a leader; to my regret, that did not go entirely as it should have, but the decision your father made some fifteen years ago can be partially rectified. Roshann is also training his two sons to succeed him."

"That will be difficult for master Wollin's family, grandpa. He has only seven daughters."

"Yes, but three of them have asked him if they can join his group. He has talked about it with me, and as we are just gathering fallen nuts in the future, I don't have any objection if those three harvest females will join our man."

"Other harvest women, grandpa, like Chati Fonaldris?"

"Sure, son. Why not. Maybe there even will be more harvest females among the harvest families who want to gather nuts instead of doing household chores."

"Maybe, grandpa, there also will be Quelan females of Ribana who want to help the harvest families that way. That would be great, for then we're no longer a separate group among the Quelans."

"That's what I also have been thinking off, Cemall. Before we had to flee to Tyr, the harvest families lived in a separate group of house outside Ribana, but our youngster went to master Kamalin's class together with those of the Quelan families of Ribana. Those young kids became friends and friendship builds solidarity. That's a very important characteristic of a community. We are all Quelans. We all make our living in Ribana. Why then should one group live separate of the other. And there are more changes I'm thinking about."

"May I make a suggestion, grandpa?" Cemall said eagerly.

"Of course, that's why we're having a private talk, son." Manall said and looked at the delighted face of his grandson.

"Grandpa, you just said that during our youth the harvest boys and girls are making friends among the young Quelan boys and girls from Ribana, but once our harvest girls reach the age of fifteen or sixteen they are forced into marriages with harvest boys, because their parents has arranged that marriage when the harvest girl was born. That's unfair, not only to the harvest girl, but also to the boys. In some marriages, the age difference between the wife and the husband is absurdly large. My father and mother do not differ that much in age, but if I take myself as an example, the age difference between me and my future wife is probably more than twenty years, because it depends on when another girl is born into a harvest family for whom no agreement has yet been reached. I am twenty-two now, but it is quite possible that I will have to wait for the birth of a harvest girl until I am twenty-five or older. And then I will have to wait another fifteen years until my actual marriage is announced. Grandfather, by that time I will be forty, perhaps even older. Is that a good prospect for a young harvest woman?" Cemall said with emphasis.

Manall looked at his grandson.

"You and your brother are very close, right, Cemall?" The old harvest man said thoughtfully.

"Yes, grandpa, and Filann has told me how unhappy his marriage is with Sumall. He hasn't told me why, but I know he and Sumall are often arguing about many issues. Filann hates to be a married man. He told me that he was very happy that father allowed him to go to Myr with our Jedi friends to work on the water project, because then he hadn't to live with a women who he didn't love and who doesn't show any affection for him."

"I have heard about it, Cemall. I will have a talk with your brother about this, for it certainly shouldn't be a subject in this talk. I agree with you that Filann deserve better. It's my opinion that your brother's obstinate and unruly behavior finds its caused in what is happening in his marriage. You also know Sumall, don't you?"

"Of course, grandpa, and I don't like her. She screams, she yells, she never talks as a married woman should do. She doesn't seem to care for the house and furniture Filann has build for her, for I have heard and seen that she spends a lot of time outside with some girl friends. She never makes him a proper meal. He has to cook for her and than she screams that she doesn't want to eat what he has prepared."

"And you always wanted to marry Chati Fonaldris, right?"

Cemall blushed.

"Yes, grandpa, but Chati has told me very honestly that she wouldn't be a good wife to me, that she would make me unhappy. During our work on the water project we had a long chat together and I know she is right, grandpa. Certainly now that Jedi master Antilles has taken her as his Jedi apprentice. We will be friends, but I had to give up my wish to marry her. That's why I just told you what I see as a nightmare if I'm forced to wait until harvest baby girl is born. I want to get more acquiantant with Quelan girls from Ribana who are about my age. I know that Quelan boys and girls grew up together and sometimes their friendships grew. Their parents keep an eye on their friendships, but they don't make marriage arrangements. The boys and girls may chose their own partner they want to form a family with. Their parents always agree to their marriage, for they know that the couple loves each other. Grandpa, I want to marry a girl I love, not a girl, my father and some other harvest men have agreed upon. If our rules on marriage will remain as they are now, I won't marry, for I doo't want to be trapped in an unhappy marriage. Not only have I seen what kind of marriages between Ribana boys and girls have, but I also felt the love Shaayla-Car and master Skywalker have for each other and so does general Solo and master Skywalker's sister."

"I understand your opinion, Cemall, and I promise you that you will not be forced to marry a harvest girl who hasn't been born yet. I can tell you that my marriage with your grandmother has been a very happy one, but we were of the same age. I don't know when those marriage agreements originated, but it's time to end that, and as I want the harvest families to mingle and live among the Quelans in Ribana I'm sure that there will be found a solution. And you, son, will never marry against your will." Manall laughed. "I want all my grandsons to live a happy live whatever their future will be."

Cemall began to laugh.

"Now you're thinking of Lorann, don't you, grandpa. For you want him to become a Jedi Knight, like Chati."

Manall nodded.

"Lorann deserves the life he is meant for, Cemall, like you want to take your life in your own hands. My youngest grandson probably has inherited my Force skills, for I'm a Force-user, although I never got the opportunity to become a Jedi Knight. That's what also happened to master Kamalin, Cemall. We were too old to be trained as a Jedi Knight, but we feel the influence of the Force and we want our community to profit from what she let us know would be best to do."

Cemall looked at his grandfather with wide eyes.

"So your many story about the Force weren't just fantasy, grandpa?"

"Absolutely not, son. I once had the potential to become a Jedi apprentice like your friend Chati, but circumstances have prevented that I have learned all the necessary skills."

Manall stretched out his hand and a box on one of the shelves began to float and landed on the table as the old harvest man directed the box with his outstretched hand. Cemall looked at his grandfather in amazement.

"I never knew you could this, grandfather." He said.

"It's time you all understand how important the Force is on the lives of all of us. Therefore I'm very glad and honored that the Jedi Knights have come to Palomintar Four to give their support to liberate Ribana and restore our way of life which will have many necessary changes to make our community as prosperous as before, or better. And now, son, I'm going to ask the Wookiee to bring you to your sleeping quarter, for after all the thing we have been talking about you need rest and a good sleep."

Manall got up, left the quarter, but came back with Leia.

"Did you two have a good talk together, Cemall," She asked.

"Yes, ma'am, we have. I have learned a lot." Cemall said while he stood up.

"Than I will bring you to the cargo hold where you still have to stay."

Cemall looked at his grandfather. he walked over to the older man and hugged him.

"Thank you, grandpa. Have a good rest yourself." He said.

Manall answered the affectionate embrace of his grandson, after which Leia brought the young Quelan harvest man to his quarter in the Falcon for the night. Manall walked back to the control room and joined the holo chess players for a while, until Leia returned who told him that Cemall had gone to rest. He greeted, left the Falcon and went over to his resting place in a separate tent next to the main harvest men's tent.

Filann stood waiting near the speeder when Luke and Liane came out of the nut forest. They joined him and stood together for a while without exchanging thoughts. Filann, looked at Luke and reached out his hand.

"Thanks, Ben for taking me to the nut forest. It was an experience beyond words. You also, thanks, miss Kenobi, for your Jedi skills have convinced master Oltomyran that the harvest men are sincere in their promise to live in peace with the Urams again."

Liane smiled at him.

"It was you and Oltomyran who became convinced that you both had to strive for a better, more promising future for the Quelans and the Urams, Filann. My skills as a Jedi Knight made it possible to communicate with the leader of the Urams, but you both became convinced that the Quelans and the Urams can trust each other."

"I will never forget what master Oltomyran showed me at the clearing with the lake. It was so incomprehensible to see so many Urams of different ages. When I'm back on Myr and in Ribana I have to tell this to my grandfather. I want to share this experience with him, for he will believe me. I want his help to convince all the other harvest men that the Urams aren't our enemies any more, what's more it has been the fault of my fellow harvest men whereby we became enemies."

Filann looked at Luke.

"Do you have to bring me back to the campsite, or can you drop me off at the harvest tent near Ribana?" He asked.

"What ever you want, Filann," Luke said.

"I know what you're thinking, Jedi master Skywalker. If I appear in the harvest tent there will be some uproar and it will have certainly have consequences for me. I want to face them, Ben. I want to show my fellow harvest men that I'm not a troublemaker as they have thought."

"Do you realize that your fellow harvest men will not immediately change their point of view about you, Filann?" Luke asked.

"I do, Ben, but I must show them what I stand for. I am the son of one of the harvest men's leaders, but I am no longer convinced that what we did to the nut grove years ago was right. I realize that my change of view will raise questions among some, but my grandfather is now the leader of the harvest men again, and together with him, I think we can convince everyone." Filann said determinedly.

Liane nodded in agreement.

"Luke, we should let Filann do the way he feels is right. He is aware of the opposition he might encounter, but he is mature enough to defend his new point of view. If he wants we can confirm his narrative."

"It's nice of you, miss Kenobi that you want to back me up, but I want to do this myself. It's one of the many troubles I caused I have to set right. I know I can do it, despite what they have been thinking of me." Filann said.

"Then we go back to Myr now, Filann, and I will land the Astræga next to the Millennium Falcon. The harvest men's community isn't far from there." Luke said as he took the wheel.

Liane jumped at the passenger's seat, while Filann took the back seat of the speeder. In the remaining darkness they went back to the plains where Luke had landed with the Astræga. Already nearing the landing spot Luke deactivated the cloaking and lowered the ramp. Liane and Filann entered the Astræga and Liane went over to the cockpit to prepare the ship of lift off. Filann watched her while she performed the various check-ups for a safe departure.

"Who taught you to fly this ship, miss Kenobi? Ben?" He asked.

"Luke showed me the basic instructions, but as a Jedi Knight I rely on the Force to show me what I have to do. Luke wants me that I feel as comfortable here as he does. The Astræga is our ship, so I also will be her pilot sometimes. She rose and took his arm.

"I want to show you something, Filann. Something your younger brother has made. Come with me."

She took him to the control room and showed him the drawing Lorann had made of the Astræga.

Filann looked at the drawing. He stepped a bit closer to look at the many details the drawing was showing.

"Did my brother made this, miss Kenobi?"

"Yes, he gave it to Luke, when we arrived here to celebrate the liberation of Ribana" Liane said. "It's beautiful, don't you think?"

"I know that Lorann spends a lot of time making drawings. My father isn't happy he does, for he sees it as a waste of time, but when I look at this drawing I have to admit that Lorann had spent his time well." Filann said pensively.

He kept looking at the drawing of the Astræga, before he turned to Liaen and nodded with a serious face.

"I don't know Lorann, miss Kenobi. He is my brother, but there is too much difference between us in years. I was twelve when Lorann was born. I wasn't really interested in a little baby brother, as I was roaming the surroundings of Ribana with my peers. What I remember is that I found him a nuisance, for he always attracted attention, because he often was doing many foolish things; hiding himself somewhere where no one saw him, and as soon as he could walk he often escape the house and ran away for hours. He drove my mother to despair, but no matter how she punished him, it didn't seem to bother him, because the next time he did exactly the same thing. While we were fleeing Ribana from those armed men in with armor my father had ordered Cemall and me to take care of Lorann, but that was a hopeless task. We got help from Chati Fonaldris and another lovely Quelan girl. They were able to keep him more or less under control, yet sometimes he would suddenly disappear. When everyone gathered again, exhausted and without result, he would suddenly reappear, laughing at our bewildered faces. I remember him once saying that the entire time we were looking for him, he had always been close to us and had gloated because we didn't see him."

Meanwhile Luke had joined Liane and Filann and he had attentively listened to what Filann had been telling about Lorann's behavior while the harvest men were escorting the Quelans of Ribana and their harvest families to the western harbors. Luke cast a look at Liane who imperceptibly nodded.

'It seems, Luke, that Lorann has used Altus sopor spontaneously in his youth?' She said through the Force.

'If he does, that's another proof of his unimaginable Force connection.'

Liane turned to Filann who was still watching the drawing of the Astræga.

"Such a little brother is indeed a nuisance, Filann. It's lucky that his behavior has changed, so you all know where to look for him."

Filann did seem to hear her words as he pointed to the drawing.

"The more I look at it, miss Kenobi, the more I get the feeling that I can enter the drawing and walk up the cargo ramp, like we just have done for real. It's amazing."

"Have you seen the drawing he made commissioned by the Council of the Elders?" Luke asked.

Filann shook his head.

"I had heard of it, but I couldn't bring myself to look at it because I was afraid I would only see children's drawings. But now that I see this, I'm really going to take a look at my brother's drawings." Filann said while he pointed at the drawing of the Astræga "Lorann seems to have a fabulous talent for making these kind of drawing. I almost sure that he would have elated if he could have seem what I have experienced in the nut forest with master Oltomyran."

"Lorann is making drawings of what the first group of Quelans have doing after they came and saw the ruins of Ribana. Members of that first group told them what their former house looked like at arrival and how it looked after they had been doing repairs and cleaning. Your brother hasn't seen Ribana yet, Filann. He just listened to their stories which formed the inspiration for his imagination. Many of the Quelans were completely stuck when they saw the drawing of their house before and after the clean up. Maybe you should tell your brother about your experience in the nut forest and I assure you that the result will exceed your wildest expectations. Like you just said, it feels as if you can step into the drawing and experience the magic of this night again," Luke said. "And your brother will love your story. I'm sure that he will do his utmost to portray your story down to the smallest detail."

"I certainly will ask him, Ben. For it would be really lovely to see all what I have seen tonight in detail again. That drawing would be a perfect proof that there is an agreement between the Urams and the Quelan harvest men and all the other Quelans." Filann said.

"Filann, I don't disturb your reflections, but shall we go back to Myr. It would be good for you to arrive near Ribana early." Luke said.

"Great, Ben. The sooner I can speak with my grandfather the better it will be. You know what I'm talking about, don't you." Filann said.

The two Jedi went to the cockpit. Liane started the sublight engines and waited for her passengers to have themselves strapped in. She increased the power and the Astræga hovered about the plains. Another power boost brought them in the cloud layer where she maneuvered cautiously until the Astræga shot away into the sky above Tyr. Luke activated the ion-drive and the ship set course to the other continent.

Liane landed the Astræga, to let Filann to see his grandfather, outside Ribana at a safe distance where the harvest men had raised their several tents. Luke and she said goodbye to Filann with encouraging words, after which Liane lifted off again and flew to the hidden valley. Carefully she landed in the middle of the clearing, and switch off the engines. She deactivated the cloaking and together with Luke she stepped outside at the early morning shadowy vegetation around the clearing.

They both folded their cassocks, sat down on the ground and took a meditation stance.

Liane closed her eyes to become one with the Force and she sensed that Luke was doing the same. For a moment she noticed how easily she could be one the Force, since her initiation, before she concentrated on the Force's power and let the Force flow through her, as if she became weightless. She felt relaxed and used her connection with the Force to empower her energy, after which she completely surrendered to the will of her ally. The Force began to lift her and let her hover above her cassock. In her seemingly weightless state she reached out beyond the reality of the Palomintar Four and sensed her connection with the Unifying Force, a feeling she once had experienced while she had been assembling her own lightsaber.

Images of the places where she once had been, began to appear in her mind. Eremian's beautifully tended garden with all the herbs which he lovingly cultivated. She let herself notice the different plants and mumbling their names, while she was aware of Ermerian's teachings of their use. When Emerian's herb garden disappeared another image appeared in her mind and she found herself in Ben's hidden cave where she had found the recordings of his diaries. The feeling of the revelation that Ben was her father flowed through her with an incredible feeling of happiness, the same feeling she had had while she had been reading her real name for the first time: Shaayla-Car. It was an indescribable moment of happiness, because she had realized that Ian Tydon, her former guard on Wegoyy, was none other than her brother. More images and memories appeared in her mind, not forgotten and still unfolding the essence of existence. Completely without will, she surrendered fully to the Force, which now showed her her meeting with her ancestor Nomi Sunrider. Nomi's daughter by Ulic Qel-Droma had been named Shaayla, a special name which her mother Severini had also chosen for her. She was Shaayla-Car Kenobi, the daughter of two famous former Jedi Knights who had escaped the emperor's wrath. Wonders and coincidences don't occur, for the Force is influence the lives of all living beings. Her first meeting met Luke hadn't been a coincidence, for the Force had deliberately brought them together again as Luke and she are a Force dyad, a unbreakable union in the Force. They were luminous beings, servants of the Force, supporting each other to become the founders of the New Jedi Order, looking everywhere for candidates who could become Jedi Knights in this New Order. Those Jedi Knights would have to bring peace and prosperity on galactic systems in turmoil caused by injustice and insurrections.

Her thoughts wandered to what she had heard over the past days and weeks. Here on Myr in the vineyard, and on Tyr in the nut grove. Among the Quelans, some were struggling to find a more fulfilling life; others wanted to rediscover their former way of life after exile to another continent, or even another planet. As a Jedi, it was her duty to support them, but the Force forbade her from intervening directly. She was a peacemaker, a listener, but rarely an advisor. Those who sought her out were looking for a new direction to lead a fulfilling life, to experience happiness. She wanted to support them, for she felt pity for what had gone wrong. What she had done in the nut grove would likely set a chain of changes in motion, for the meeting between that young Quelan and the leader of the Urams had been guided by the will of the Force.

Liane opened her eyes and released herself from her connection with the Force.

"Feeling relieved, my love. It's been very intense for you on Tyr," Luke's voice sounded.

"It certainly was, but it has been rewarding. What Filann has done will trigger a chain reaction among the Quelans and the harvestmen. The lives of both groups will become increasingly intertwined in the future, for neither Filann nor his brother Cemall will accept the way their father arranges their lives. The same applies to Lorann, but he will benefit from what his older brothers achieve with the help and influence of Master Manall, their grandfather. From now on, he will once again leave his mark on the lives of the harvestmen, as he will pursue close cooperation with the Council of Elders. Luke, it wouldn't surprise me if Master Manall himself becomes a member of the Council."

Luke had put his arm around her and Liane leaned against his shoulder.

"With their silly action to make Lorann scared of the Urams, they have set oncoming changes in motion." Luke said.

"Changes are unavoidable, Luke. The whole galaxy is constantly changing which can't be stopped, for they are necessary to make improvements."

"That is true, honey, but changes can also be dramatic and cause problems, big problems that can affect millions of lives. The Civil War would never have taken place if Anakin had been much less emotionally attached to those he loved."

"Luke, your father's fate is still bothering you, isn't it?" Liane asked.

"Yes, that is correct, although over the years I have gained a better understanding of what happened to him after he unexpectedly left Tatooine and became separated from Shmi, my grandmother. Anakin felt too strongly attached to her, and during his Jedi training, he missed her constantly. After her death, he directed all his affection towards Padmé, my mother. His nightmares about her death during childbirth became the reason for him to rely more on the Dark Side of the Force when Palpatine seduced him to learn how to prevent the deaths of loved ones. His believe in Palpatine became his undoing and his biggest mistakes. In that respect, your parents did better. They fled Coruscant in time, got married in secret, and became the parents of your brother and you." Luke said.

Liane shook her head.

"You should read Ben's diaries, Luke, then you will understand how many mistakes he made and how much he regrets what he did. Didn't he tell you on Dagobah that what happened to the galaxy was partly his fault? You say that Anakin made a big mistake, but so did my father, and if we listen to what the Jedi of old recorded in the holocrons, we will understand that all Jedi Knights throughout the ages have made mistakes with terrible causes. The only thing we can do is learn from the mistakes of other Jedi Knight, just like Cemall and Filann must learn from the mistake Cornell made with the chopping of the nut trees."

She looked up at him, smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You're a Jedi Knight, Luke. A Jedi Knight like your father has been. The mistakes he made, aren't yours. You're are stronger in your believe in what the Force can do, otherwise you wouldn't have kept your faith in me and my destiny." She said. "You also didn't give in to Palpatine's machinations and you kept your confidence that there was good in Anakin. Your faith in him made him remember that he belonged to the Good Side of the Force, that he was a Jedi Knight. Because of that, he was able to renounce the Dark Side. I know you have your doubts, for I always sense your vulnerability, my love, but you know that your feelings are safe with me."

Luke pulled her close.

"I love you, naughty pixie." He said and smiled. "Do I have to bring you to the vineyard right now?"

Liane laughed.

"You don't want to bring me the vineyard, right now, Luke Skywalker, for do I sense that you have something else in mind?" She said teasingly.

"It is still early, my dearest. We've had a busy night on Tyr. It would be wise get some rest, before you will go to the vineyard, for I want to tell you how much you mean to me." Luke whispered.

"I have some responsibility for Cemall, master Skywalker, so I want you to bring me to the vineyard today, but first I want to hear what you so desperately want to tell me in a private chat." She said while she jumped to her feet. "Come on, Jedi master, before I change my mind."

She grab her cassock and ran up the cargo ramp of the Astræga. Luke watched her go. He slowly rose with a happy smile and followed her inside the ship. Before he entered the control room, he raised the ramp and activated the ship's cloaking.

"What are you doing here?" Cornell said when Filann entered the harvest men's tent. "You're suppose to remain at the campsite. You have nothing to do here. You're permanently assigned to stay up there."

"Where is my grandfather?" Filann asked, neglecting his father's verbal attack.

"How did you manage to get back here again?" Cornell asked and grabbed his son arm.

Filann looked at his father

"Where is my grandfather?" He asked in a calm voice.

"You're not going to see a men who you have wished dead," Cornell snapped, getting angry.

He began to push Filann to the exit of the harvest men's tent.

"You're no longer welcome among the harvest men." He said now clearly angry.

"Where is my grandfather?" Filann said again and removed his father's fingers from his arm.

"I'm here, Filann. Why are you looking for me?" A voice said and Manall entered the harvest men's tent.

"Father, you shouldn't wasting any words on this renegade who I no longer consider to be my son," Cornell said enraged to Manall.

"Those are words you are going to regret, my son. Filann, I thought you were doing work on the campsite." Manall asked his grandson.

"I will bring him back there today, father. He has no business here in Ribana, no any more, never again." Cornell answered now clearly agitated.

Filann looked at his grandfather.

"Grandfather, I need to talk to you, for I have been in the nut forest and met the leader of the Urams." Filann said as calmly as possible.

"You've done what! Father, he wants to tell you some of his idiotic ideas, like the one who nearly had cost the life of his younger brother." Cornell said in a loud voice.

Manall looked at his grandson.

"So you have met with Oltomyran, the old and wise leader of the Urams. What did he tell you, son?" Manall asked.

"We have come to an agreement, grandfather. From now on the Quelans, including the harvest men will respect the claim to the nuts hanging on the trees as the food supply for the Urams, in exchange the Urams will allow all the harvest men, also those that have chopped down the nut trees in the past, to gather as much of the fallen nuts as they need." Filann said, neglecting the outraged look in his father's eyes.

Manall nodded in agreement.

"That's a very good agreement between the two parties that are both dependent on the nuts as part of their food supply. I'm proud of you, son. You did well. Come with me, and tell me, how you get to Tyr and what happened in the nut forest between you and Oltomyran."

Manall put his hand on Filann's arm and gently pulled him with to the exit. Before they left Manall turned to Cornell.

"After I have listen to my grandson, he and I inform you, Wollin and Roshann, Cornell. I want you and the other two to meet Filann and me in the harvest community building later this day."

Stunned and bewildered, Cornell watched his father disappear with his son Filann. He gnashed his teeth with suppressed anger, but couldn't change the situation. Again he had to admit that his father was the more dominant person and better equipped to handle situations like this one. Although he still felt the irritation and frustration he walked over to the rear of the tent to continue with his chores.

Meanwhile Manall had taken Filann to his own tent. He arranged some stacks of nagawa fleeces to sit on and told Filann to sit next to him. The young adult harvest men looked at his grandfather and suddenly he felt unsure. Manall sense the change and put a reassuring hand on his grandson's arm.

"I have to apologize to you, Filann. In the heat of the talk you, me and your father had, words have been said that shouldn't have been spoke aloud. You know how obstinate and stubborn your father can be. That's partially my fault.

I have taken your father at a much too young age with me when the harvest men and I were gathering fallen nuts. Your father found the way we did the work boring and always tried to persuade me to change the way the harvest men work.

After one harvest season in which we hadn't a very meager result he challenged me and called the Harvest Council to reject my way to gather the nuts the Quelans need as food supply. Your father had spoken to other men of my group who also were discontent. They gave him their support when the Harvest Council had to decide about the leadership of the harvest men. The Council decided in your father's favor and he stipulated that I could no longer be part of the harvest men who went to Tyr for the nut harvest."

"How could he, grandfather. You were his father, you have raised him and he turned against on you, because the way you worked didn't suite him."

As I said, Filann, what happened in the nut forest is my fault because I didn't wait until your father was old enough to understandk how important the relationship between the Quelans and Urams is. Don't think too badly of your father. He is a good man, but very hot-tempered, quick-tempered, stubborn, and obstinate.

He was determined to increase the nut harvest so that we would have more left to sell, and the only way he could think of was to cut down the trees on which the nuts grow, so that he would have access to the unripe nuts that kept longer and therefore fetched a higher price when sold. Fair is fair, your father never benefited from that increased yield. He always gave the amounts generated by the sales in the hands of the Council of the Elders, so that they could decide how the proceeds would benefit the entire Quelan community.

That the Urams would defend their part of the nut as their food supply wasn't something your father has never imagined. For him and his men the Urams were a species which did not need to be taken into account. You have heard what happened. The Urams fought back and several harvest men have died while chopping down the nut trees to gather the unripe nuts. Every now and then I heard what was going on, but when I tried to reason with your father he told me I should mind my own business not his. The worst occurred and you must have witnessed what happened, when the harvest men and the Quelans from Ribna arrived on Tyr after our long struggle through the wild lands to the western harbor. A group of Quelan female from Ribana went into the nut forest to gather some fallen nuts to prepare some food for their families."

Filann nodded.

"Ben told me what Shaayla-Car Kenobi said to Oltomyran. She must have heard about what happened to the group of females."

Surprised Manall looked at his grandson and started to laugh.

"So Jedi master Luke Skywalker and Shaayla-Car Kenobi brought you to Tyr. I shouldn't have wondered who were with you. Shaayla-Car is a very gifted Jedi Knight. She can communicate using her Jedi skills with Oltomyran. What was the Uram leader's answer?"

"He sincerely regretted what the Urams had done to the innocent group of Quelan females, but he was afraid that the Quelans would seek revenge for what the Urams had done. Miss Kenobi surely is a good diplomate, for she said that the Quelans should understand why the attack had happened, for it had been Quelan harvest men who had been chopping the nut trees. What we did, grandfather, resulted in the death of a group of innocent hungry female Quelans, among them was a Quelan girl I had become friends with while we were bringing the Quelans from Ribana through the wild lands to the western harbor. She was a very nice and kind female about my own age." Filann said a remained silent for a long time after he had spoken.

Manall put his hand on his grandson's arm. Filann looked up and realized that his grandfather knew why he had spoken about the Quelan girl who had become the innocent victim, because the harvest men had chosen the wrong method to harvest the nuts.

"I want you to tell me, what bothering you, Filann, after you have finished, telling me what happened on Tyr" Manall said, keeping his hand on his grandson's arm.

Filann nodded and continued

"What happened after our arrival on Tyr has been a tragic disaster, unnecessary, but understandable, grandfather.

Oltomyran has apologized for what the Urams have done, but Quelans need to understand what the deeper cause of it was. That was the method my father had developed to earn more credits with the surplus of the yield.

Grandfather, talking to you about all this, sounds more and more how ridiculous it has been that it went this way, for it has had impact on me, Cemall and other young harvest boy who hope to become a harvest men.

I've told Ben about all this and he offered me to see the nut forest myself.

It was great, fantastic, overwhelming, grandfather, for Oltomyran has taken me deeper inside the nut forest with him. He brought me to a huge clearing with a lake where numerous Urams came down from the trees. With help of miss Kenobi I made an agreement with the Urams that neither they, nor the Quelans, including we harvest man, would attack each other again.

The Quelans and the harvest men should gather the fallen nut again and we would leave the Urams the nut in the trees. If we stick to the agreement I made with Oltomyran all hostilities between the Urams and the Quelans will end.

Oltomyran offered me both his wings and I have put my hand on them to seal the agreement, after which he put his wings tips on my shoulders.

Grandfather, I have walked through the nut forest on my own, looking around and sensing the magic, the wonder and the mystery of the forest. I want the forest survive both for the Urams and for the Quelans."

Manall embraced his grandson.

"You have done well, Filann. I'm sure that Oltomyran will stick to the agreement you have made on behalf of our community. I'm proud of you. You have shown that in the future you will be a prudent harvest men's leader. There are many more issues I want to discuss with you and Cemall for you, the two son of Roshann and three daughters of Wollin will be the harvest men and women's leaders in the future."

"Daughters of master Wollin?" Fillan asked, "Those three young adult women, whose husbands have been victims of the Urams, before we went to Tyr?"

"Yes, I want that those three females will become involved in the way our food supply of nuts is harvested as well. I have already spoken about it with your brother Cemall and he fully agrees with my ideas. Filann, many things we did in the past need to be looked upon and if no longer valid has to change, or even discarded. I will be there to support all of you who feel the need of change.

Ribana will be restored, but our old way of life won't. The Quelans have to adapt to new ideas, not only the young among us, but also the elders. One day, Filann, I will hand over my leadership to you and Cemall and Wollin's daughters, for then I will know that that leadership will be in safe hands."

Filann looked at his grandfather.

"Ben was right, grandfather. I'm sorry for what I've said last time. Your a wiser man than my father, without you our water project would have never started."

"The project could be completed thanks to the joint effort of the Quelans and the Jedi Knights and their friends. It's good that you have changed your mind about what the Force can do, Filann. You're not a Force user, but I sense that you will respect those who have given you their support when you were in the nut forest."

Filann looked pensively at his grandfather.

"Grandfather, you know what's wrong, don't you? I've told Ben about it, for I wanted to tell him how different I look at his relationship with Shaayla-Car ... compared ... to ... " Filann started to stammer.

"To what your forced marriage with Sumall has become. I have watched you, Filann, and saw how much effort you have put in building a house for you two, but from the beginning she never has appreciated what you did. I'm sorry, son."

"She ... has told ... me that she ... loves Cemall, grandfather. I don't know what to think of that."

"You should worry, Filann. Cemall doesn't love her. He has been in love with Chati Fonaldris, but Chati will be a Jedi Knight in the future. Your marriage has to be nullified, son."

"That's impossible, grandfather. Sumall was promised to become my wife on the day she was born." Filann said with a sigh.

"But you cannot live with a woman who does not want to become her husband's real wife, son. That makes you unhappy."

"Yes, and she too, Grandfather."

"I'm not talking about an immature Quelan harvest girl who has openly rejected the affection of my grandson, and has expressed her love to his brother instead. The Harvest Council will nullify your marriage, Filann, when you tell them what is going on between you and Sumall. I will support your plea." Manall said determinedly,

"Has there ever been a marriage which has been nullified, grandfather," Filann asked.

"Not that I know, but there always have to be a first time for everything, son. This is one of the changes we have been talking about. Cemall also has told me about his worries to be forced to marry a girl of fifteen, and I'm convinced that there are more young adult harvest male who struggle with similar problems. I want that forced marriage agreements will be not longer valid when one of the parties doesn't agree."

"Will that mean, grandfather, that those young adults harvest males may oppose when their fathers announce their marriage in public."

"No oppose, Filann, reject, saying 'no' to a decision that stems for an old traditional way of thinking. You and Cemall and all the others have to make your own choice, just like the young 'Ribana' Quelan males and females are choosing their partner. We're all Quelans, Filann, and rules should count for all Quelan, no exceptions, but you have to leave most of what I want, also on this matter, to me. When we're back on Tyr I will convene a Harvest Council to propose all the changes I want, and one of them is how in the past the harvest men's group have arranged marriages between young male and immature young females."

"What will you do, grandfather, if the Harvest Council will reject your proposals?" Filann asked concerned.

"Then I will bring it before the Council of the Elders and the governors. I have already spoken to governor Mugin and master Woldrin and they have promised to support me and my plans, for I want many changes to be implemented."

Filann looked relieved at his grandfather.

"Cemall and I will support you, grandfather. Maybe I should convince some of my peers they also should give you their approval."

"I will discuss the changes I have in mind with you and Cemall, before I will present them to your father, Wollin and Roshann. That reminds me, Filann. I want you to assist Roshann the oncoming days to dismantle the harvest men's community building for good."

Filann started to laugh.

"Some of the changes you have in mind, grandfather, will be possibly implemented before the Harvest Council will discuss them." He said.

"Sometimes you have to proceed very decisively, Filann, so that opponents are confronted with changes. So, and now, you and I, are going to confront your father, Wollin and Roshann about your agreement with Oltomyran on Tyr, and the peaceful co-existence between the Quelans and the Urams.