Chapter Text
Jaster had hesitated for a moment when the kid had arrived with the slaves rescued from the Hutts' Offworld Mining Corporation on Bandomeer. A Jedi? What would a Jedi child be doing in there?
He had looked at the images and looked at them again and again until he accepted that it was true, he was a Jedi child. Nothing but a Jedi could throw one of his Commandos against a wall without even touching them. The way he held his hand out as he did so was also characteristic.
Just like you, he thought, another Jedi in mind.
On this occasion, he had been the one who had suffered the brunt of it. It's a weird feeling when gravity seems to get out of hand. Being seen as a threat by a wounded and frightened Jedi was not good for anyone.
He had nothing against them though, the history of their respective peoples was one thing, they were another one. Jaster and his Mandos and Feemor and his Order were their own people. They were not the past but the present and the future.
Not that he had not been criticised at the time for taking him in and providing him with shelter, food and care among his own people as well as help to return to civilisation. He had been. A lot.
In fact, he had wondered if Montross had made sure that the Jedi knew that he did not like his presence when Feemor had told him to watch out for him when they said their goodbyes. He had been amused. He had not been amused for long.
Call him paranoid or fanatical but Jaster was a religious man, he was a believer, he believed in the soul. Some things might be ritualistic and folklore but he was convinced of the existence of the soul. The fact that the Jedi, also a very religious person with powers beyond his comprehension, had said of Montross that he gave off bad vibes... that had left its mark on him.
And then one day, just to be sure and move on, he had asked a few people he trusted who were not close to Montross to investigate him.
The result had been more than disappointing, and unfortunately, because of what his instincts told him – which unfortunately believed in the Jedi's different view of the world and people – not surprising. They dealt with the traitor and that was that. He had not thought about him in years.
Maybe he had thought vaguely about the blond man when he became Mand'alor and saw Jedi emissaries attending the revels and ceremonies with anyone interested in coming to see and socialise with the new power in place, but he had his life, Feemor had his.
He had his number but he had never called. Neither had Feemor.
That had nothing to do with his current "Jedi Problem" though.
The boy... he was such a mess. Emaciated, reserved and scared of everything. Weak and sick and distrustful. They could not just bring him back like that and turn up at the gates of the Temple of Coruscant with him in tow, that would not be wise.
Jango had nearly fought to the death against Jedi literally three weeks before, he could not risk another misunderstanding and the Jedi would be suspicious of them and their intentions. What if they thought they had something to do with his previous situation? What if they accused him of kidnapping him?
It was far too risky.
They could not keep this kid though, ever since he had been rescued and treated he had refused contact from anyone and was only calm when interacting with droids, he was going to wither away if nothing was done.
How could they ensure that they had time to talk to the Jedi long enough to explain the situation without causing a diplomatic incident? Jaster knew that if it was him and it was Jango, it did not matter that his son was twenty-two, he would shoot first and ask questions later. That is, if they were still alive enough to talk. He would need someone who was openminded and understood that they were not the enemy.
A friendly Jedi, so to speak.
OK, so it looks like that com number he had never suppressed was going to come in handy after all.
Please, may he still be alive and able to come.
Jaster - I don't know if you remember me, I'm a Mandalorian, we met about ten years ago.
He did not know if he would remember his name, he had not just spoken to him at the time, perhaps he had other Mandalorians in his contacts.
Feemor (Jedi) - I remember you, Jaster. How have you been?
Jaster - Fine, I need your help though, do you think you can come?
Feemor (Jedi) - So mysterious... where are you now?
He laughed at this, clearly the guy was not into the politics of their Sector. That said, the Outer Rim was of little interest to the Core.
Jaster - Mandalore (Planet).
Feemor (Jedi) - Let me check.
Feemor (Jedi) - I'm not really around at the moment and I'm finishing up a mission. How urgent is it?
Jaster - It's not really urgent, but it's quite important.
The answer took several minutes to come, making Jaster realise that the other man must have been seriously rethinking his schedule.
Feemor (Jedi) - Let's say in nine days?
Jaster thought about it. The kid had probably disappeared a while ago, so a few more days would not make any difference at this point. Maybe they would even get him to talk a bit by then.
Jaster - That's fine by me.
Jaster - I'll send you the coordinates where to land and an access code.
Feemor (Jedi) - Much appreciated, thank you.
There, problem solved. He was pretty proud of himself if he had to be honest. A Jedi was going to reassure the kid and be the intermediary between his traumatised little being and his mystical Order shrouded in mystery.
"Buir, why are you laughing alone in the living room, staring at the wall?"
"Someone trustworthy and neutral is coming to pick up the ad. How's Silas?"
"He's doing well!" Jango replied with a relaxed smile as he headed for his room. "The baar'ure say he's fine, we were quick enough that nothing happened to him."
Good. Jango had attacked the mine where they had found the Jedi after Silas had been kidnapped on a reconnaissance mission to uncover a criminal organisation trying to gain a foothold in the Mandalorian system. The Hutts running the Offworld Mining Corporation would not make a fuss so as not to alienate Jaster and his warlike, determined and extremely stubborn population and they must have been as tired by the whole mess as they were.
"What are you doing?" He asked when seeing him dressed more classily than usual under his armour.
"I'm going out."
"Alone? Where exactly?"
"Buir, I'm not a child anymore!"
"I have no desire to find you with an explosive collar around your neck because you're going to the wrong place or with the wrong people."
"He's an Aruetii bounty hunter I've known for a while, he's nice and since he was in the area we're going for a drink, that's all."
That's all. Which meant that was not all. He would not try to convince him that it was all there were to it if it really was all there was to it.
"And can I have the name, most recent address and full description of this person?"
His son smiled mischievously at him from the doorway.
"Hmm... let me think about it. No!"
"Jan'ika-"
"Bye Buir, good night Buir!"
He had never met anyone his son was really interested in. None. In fact, considering his reaction when he subtly tried to ask about his interest in marrying a Mando girl to have lots of Mando babies, he suspected his son might be gay or even just completely disinterested in relationships and tried to show support, but with no certainties about what he needed to support to reassure him that his love was unconditional... well, it was as complicated as one could imagine.
Let him enjoy himself, though.
A bit of recklessness before the responsibilities start piling up would do him no harm.
He checked the text exchange he had just had and could not help smiling as he noticed that even after all this time he was considered an ally who was not once questioned or even interrogated. Damn, he had not even told him why he wanted him to come. It spoke volumes about his sense of loyalty.
To be quite honest, Jaster was excited to see him again. He could not wait for him to be there. Such a shame he could not make him stay.