The Akk Guard whom Vastor had spoken to gave Mace a dire look, echoed by the three akk dogs nearby. Mace ignored them all, and a few seconds later the Akk Guard stomped off to find his partner and the other akks. Mace caught Nick Rostu’s eye and beckoned. Nick turned the children’s grasser over to one of the Balawai and trotted over to the Jedi Master, keeping one eye turned toward the departing Akk Guard. “Shee. Those guys give me the creeps. Looked a little tense there, Master Windu. What did the big guy say to you?”

“Here, hold him.” Mace handed the grasser’s reins to Nick. “How much did you hear?”

“Some of what you said. Got some guts, you do.” Nick stretched up to scratch the grasser on the side of its neck. “But Vastor—maybe you’ve noticed? You can only understand him when he’s talking directly to you. When he’s talking to somebody else, he always sounds like he’s growling or whistling or making some other kind of animal noises and stuff.”

“Yes, I had noticed something like that,” Mace said slowly, nodding. “But I’d thought it was just me. Back at the outpost … things were confusing.”

“That’s why it’s kind of like you’re talking to yourself, you get it? In my head, he talks like a Pelek Baw curbmonkey. So what did he say to you?”

“He was,” Mace said dryly, “trying to impress me with his sense of duty.”


- Shatterpoint, Chapter 9