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Saesee had tried to talk to the clones, but he had finally admitted defeat. He just could not be natural with them, and they had noticed it even without the Force. He had never been very good at social interaction, but at least with Jedi or persons who required his services people were obliged to put up with him and talk to him long enough to exchange information, but apart from that he was a bit of a lone wolf and getting out of that lifetime state of mind was no easy task. Sad but obvious, he did not really want to get married, so meeting people who came to get married was... tricky. He was not young, he was not charming, he was not even human. He did not belong.
If his Master had lived to see him take part in this event, he would have beaten him to a pulp before disowning him ruthlessly.
It was the kind of moment that made him regret being a member of the Jedi High Council.
The Iktotchi let his head rest against the wall behind the isolated bench he had found in an alcove. He probably should not have come, he would be useless and of no help to anyone, which was all the sadder because it was the desire to be useful that had pushed him to step out of his comfort zone to come to this unprecedented gathering.
Many of the High Councillors were very old by normal human standards of people who were not blessed with Force-extended longevity; members in their seventies and eighties were for the most part still of a suitable age for marriage due to their varied species and their differentiated ageing in accordance with said specific biologies, as was the case with him, but nothing would change the particularly advanced and visible age of people like Master Piel, Rancisis, Master Yaddle or Master Yoda. It was four out of twelve who just were not eligible because that would make things go from weird to twisted, and nobody wanted that.
On top of that, Master Poof had already announced that he was refusing a marriage that he felt was profoundly incompatible with his convictions, a choice that they had all understood and respected, Master Koon felt that cultural differences made even an attempt impossible as it was doomed to fail and Master Mundi had to discuss the matter with his wives and daughters and nobody had high hopes on the subject, which was understandable. The wives of the Cerean Jedi made a lot of compromises for their husband, especially as civilians kept in the shadow of what he did most of the time, and the man himself had neither a normal Jedi life nor a normal Cerean life… poor man. He had to balance two contradictory lives and suffered greatly from not being able to give them all what they deserved from a husband or a father, just the idea of adding a male clone who had the very special Kaminoan-Mandalorian upbringing they had discovered in this already explosive mix of open jealousy seemed like a bad idea to everyone.
There were already seven of them, and when you added Master Koth, who was very hesitant, and Saesee, whose concerns were the same but to the power of a thousand, it came to nine, three-quarters of their members.
In other words, to cut a long story short, out of the twelve High Councillors, only three were willing to come and return with a view to finding someone they would get on with, Master Billaba, Master Gallia and Master Windu, and while Master Windu and Master Gallia in themselves would be excellent examples as the Master of the Order and the most influential Jedi in the Senate, that was far from enough.
If nothing was done, they would give the impression that they did not really approve of what was happening, which... well, that was it, Saesee disapproved completely, but he also understood where it was coming from and why it was necessary, which was why he was here today. A major split-up in the Order was the worst thing that could happen to them these days. They had to show a united front, none of them understood why Master Sifo-Dyas had done such a thing, but things being what they were, there was no war to be fought and the Republic was not going to spend a single credit on these individuals, so they had to be offered somewhere to go now that the clone cities of Kamino were almost overpopulated. The easiest way was to make them members of the Order, but as they could not all be civilian employees and would not, for obvious reasons, be Jedi – except for those few profiles they had very quickly spotted in the Force when a few people visited Kamino to prepare for this meeting – they had fallen back on their archives. A week, intensive searches by anyone who wanted to help and more coffee consumed in that time than the Temple normally consumed in three months later, Master Nu had given them a report of perhaps much-needed simplicity:
"So... you do remember that Jedi don't get married, right? It turns out that even if we do forbid it, it's not officially written anywhere, which is why Jedi Knight K'Sheek of Tatooine was able to return as a Jedi to fight in the Stark Hyperspace War despite the fact that she had married former Jedi Sharad Hett and given birth to Knight A'Sharad Hett. If you want another example of a much older Jedi marriage that proves that even the marriage of a Jedi generally disapproved of by the Order is not grounds for exclusion, there's Revan who had a wife who was herself a Jedi. Yes, Revan as in the Jedi-Sith Revan. Long story. Anyway, believe me, I know it's not ideal, but there's more than enough precedent for no court to stand up to us and there's no rule against it, Master Mundi is proof that we can work things out. A marriage is only a tacit and explicit contract, so go and make friends, have perfunctory weddings with a good hundred of them and welcome the others as members of the family, and everything will go as well as can be expected. Good night to you all."
It was barely midday, but as her dark circles had dark circles, no one had dared stop her from retiring. They had debated at great length, but even considering that neither of them had any particular desire to marry – in the name of the Force, they had not been brought up to even contemplate it! – the discussion and those that followed were tense. Master Gallia, who had more political fibre in her little toe than any of them, defended the proposal very well and was ready to get married herself. Finally, as she was generally the one they looked to whenever they were worried about the legitimacy – and legality – of doing something without being blocked by the Senate, they finally agreed... well, that they simply did not have anything better to propose.
The process was underway, Saesee had volunteered to come because he felt it was the right thing to do, Master Koth had been persuaded to try by Master Windu and Master Mundi had finally come too, his wives apparently approving of him marrying yet another person since the marriage would not involve anyone to compete with for his affections. He really did not envy his position, being the husband of several civilian wives and the father of so many daughters... brrr, he got shivers down his spine just thinking about it.
There were six of them taking part, which was acceptable, and he could see with his telepathy that everything was going rather well for the people around him until... until...
... what the...?
... well, there were seven of them apparently, Master Yoda seemed to have decided to skirt the issue by adopting. It was going to be a real logistical headache to turn this risky adoption into a legal reality... But at least the clone seemed to be on the same wavelength as the venerable, elderly and mischievous Jedi. At least that was something?
Comfortable in his isolated hiding place, he heard the sound of footsteps from a few people and did not move, it was a comrade from the High Council and an Initiate accompanied by a clone, the two Jedi projected calm and satisfaction into the Force, with a strong dose of amusement, and it was a real balm for his senses torn by so many minds unable to protect themselves.
The clones' emotions, on the other hand, were violent, wild and changeable, none of them naturally composed or serene, and Saesee's telepathy had almost knocked him out when Master Kolar and a large clone had fought. It would not have been a very good first impression, and certainly not one worthy of a High Council Jedi, to lose control of himself. He was supposed to be able to endure pain.
His Master really would not be proud of him if he was still here.
The Jedi closed his eyes and tried to meditate for a moment, taking advantage of the fact that the tiny balcony where he had taken refuge, similar to a secret alcove, overlooked nature. Forests and other natural places were always a help to a Jedi bound to the Living Force like him. It was full of life.
Focusing on the presence of life in front of him helped a little to blur his perception of the crowd further to his left, he-
Crack!
He was not alone any more.
In the space of a second, Saesee had all the answers to the important questions. Clone. Alone. Visiting the building. As surprised to see Saesee there as Saesee was to be discovered.
Only one thing remained constant: his presence in the Force. Oh sure, he was vibrating with everyone, and he had nothing to reproach him for... on the contrary. He was so measured and contained in his emotions that the comparison seemed almost crude to the Iktotchi, who forced himself to remove his hands from his lightsabre, satisfied that his gesture had been followed by the clone who had also spontaneously put his hand on his weapon when he spotted an unexpected person. He had a strong survival instinct, good for him.
Finally, the human sighed quietly and straightened up. Saesee saw his instinct to salute clear as day, but extracted from his immediate memory an encounter with Plo that made him doubt the appropriate manoeuvre. He stepped back again, it was so embarrassing to be telepathic, he just could not turn it off at will. His mind could never truly be his own.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, sir," the clone finally chose.
"This place isn't mine, you can go wherever you like. Are you looking to go anywhere in particular?"
With a blank face, the clone looked at him like a jigsaw puzzle before a flash of mischief shone through, immediately repressed.
"Is there any place where there are no Jedi?"
Saesee smiled minimally in understanding, extending his perception and pointing to the ceiling.
"At the moment there's nobody up there, but there are a few Jedi on the roof."
"Why are they on the roof? Sir."
"Some children really wanted to come and see the meeting, but they also tend to wander off when they're not under direct supervision, they're children after all. Some Jedi make sure they don't inadvertently put themselves in danger, hence the overhanging view. And no need for the "sir", I'm Saesee Tiin, call me Saesee or Tiin."
He expected the human to shake his hand but he surprisingly grabbed his forearm so he imitated him.
"Clone number 1010, I guess I can go by Ten until I find a name."
"Good luck for the future, Ten, the advantage is that if you remain isolated the Jedi will understand that you're looking for solitude, no one will come to disturb you."
"It won't further the debate," the man said with a slight hesitation. "I'm not even sure I understand what a marriage is in practice, we have no reference for this sort of thing".
"Didn't anyone explain it to you?" Saesee inquired with growing alarm, signalling that the seat next to him was available if the other wished to sit down.
When he was left standing, he understood the message and did not insist.
"Oh they did, for a long time in fact, and everyone was either understanding or enthusiastic, which I can understand, the prospect of having someone reliable and loyal at one's side is interesting, it's everything else that confuses me. I imagine you understand that."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Your necklace is orange, I remember them telling us that meant a strong hesitation about all this."
"Yes... by the way, why don't you have one too?"
The clone rolled up one sleeve slightly, revealing a green cloth on his wrist.
"The sensation on the neck is unpleasant, and our clothes cover them anyway."
"I see... and yes, by the way. I think I understand, my mastery of romance and the codes of romantic relationships is an absolute zero."
"Just as your mastery of the art of small talk then", Ten pointed out with a tiny smirk. "I think I saw you talking to other clones earlier".
"I'm always happy to leave that task to others, I prefer piloting."
"I don't like piloting, but I do like shooting things, and you?"
"Shooting can be fun, when it's done while piloting."
Awkwardly – that is, as expected when he was involved – the conversation moved on to other topics, although most of them were quickly brushed aside, Ten just did not have enough life experience to have even a slightly critical and informed opinion on almost everything, but the Jedi got the impression that they still had a pretty good overview of each other's state of mind and way of thinking. As Ten always kept the conversation going, it was easy to keep talking, and in the end he even forgot why he was there until a call was heard in the distance.
Just before they parted to rejoin their respective groups, Ten grabbed his arm to stop him while they were still out of sight.
"If this wedding thing is supposed to start from a good collaboration, I think you've got potential. You've got a good head on your shoulders, you're not ridiculous or fancy and you don't have unrealistic expectations. If it's all right with you, I'd like us to meet tomorrow at the same place to talk about it."
"Uh? Me?"
"Who else?" The clone asked, rolling his eyes in a surprisingly natural gesture. "This whole thing is a transaction, a bluff to keep us safe, as long as we find someone we get on with that's the main thing. I wouldn't dream of a mawkish, stupid romance. Love is for the weak.
Saesee immediately thought of Master Billaba, who had reassured him earlier that a marriage was what they made of it. If it was for the right reasons and with someone like Ten with whom he was on the same wavelength... it could work.
Love is for the weak. Saesee knew he could deal with someone thinking that, he already did.
"See you tomorrow then," he said with a smile as he bowed before striding away.
Force, his life really did not have any meaning any more.