Chapter Text

Some head's up about this fic!

• The Haat’ade didn’t get slaughtered! Woohoo! They have an active role in this fic.
• Jaster Mereel is alive - Jango Fett is a teen around Obi-Wan’s age.
• There are three factions in the Clan Wars, New Mandalorians (Evaar’ade or Evaar’Mando’ade), True Mandalorians (Haat’ade) and Deathwatch (Kyr’tsad)
• Melida/Daan’s aftermath was moved up in the timeline by a tiny bit to allow the trauma to be fresher for Obi-Wan. Time line is not canon compliant for this fic :D
• !This is not a Satine/Obi-Wan fic! I don’t like the ship. I will write their banter to the best of my abilities but don’t confuse it for romantic tension because it’s not. They are reluctant friends at best.

----------------------------

Chapter 1; ‘Master, I have a bad feeling about this’

The familiar sound of the hyperdrive dropping out of Hyperspace woke Obi-Wan from his uncomfortable slumber.

It had been four months since he returned from Melida/Daan. Four months after he was taken back to the Temple by Master Qui-Gon filled with shame and the knowledge of failure. He had been put in the medical wing to be treated for his bones that had healed wrong, to heal some of the scarring he ended up suffering.

He knew they talked about him, about that he left and just came back without consequence. But there were consequences, just not ones anyone besides Obi-Wan realised. The Council had scolded him for leaving, Obi-Wan didn’t defend his actions. He knew he did the right thing, he knew he had to stay to help the Young.

Even if he failed to save Cerasi in the end, even if Nield blamed him for everything, even then, Obi-Wan would do it all over. He knew he saved some lives, he knew they would grow up and heal Melida/Daan– the Force promised him.

Obi-Wan wasn’t supposed to be out of the Temple yet. When Master Qui-Gon dropped by the medical bay for the first time in months, he knew he couldn’t refuse his master. He didn’t want to end up like Knight Feemor– he didn’t want to be ripped out of his Padawan career because Master Qui-Gon dismissed him like he did with Feemor after the Xanatos incident.

So despite the fact that he was barely healed enough to be considered for minor missions, Obi-Wan sat in the co-pilot chair of a Jedi Star Ship that had been commandeered by his Master.

He felt absolutely miserable.

“Where were we going again?”

Qui-Gon tsked, “Do pay attention when I inform you of something, Padawan.”

“You haven’t informed me of the mission yet, Master.” Obi-Wan tried to keep the sass out of his tone, from the look on his Master’s face, he failed his attempt.

“We are heading to Mandalore to assist the New Mandalorians in negotiations.”

Obi-Wan froze for a moment, “Isn’t Mandalore a war zone?”

“There is no official civil war, Padawan, do keep up.”

No. Not officially, no but from what Obi-Wan had heard in the news it might as well be. The ‘New Mandalorians’– not pacifists as they claimed, you need the ability to harm to choose to be peaceful. No, the New Mandalorians were harmless, idealistic to a fault– didn’t want to admit to the fact that the Mandalorians were in the midst of a civil war for control over the Space Sector.

It was hard not to know the plea of the New Mandalorians, they had been begging the Republic to step in to support their rule but the Republic had made no move to do so.

“Did the Council approve of this?”

“Yes, Padawan, I am in fact approved to provide advice and oversee the negotiations with the terrorists.”

Why did there always need to be two extremes? Couldn’t they just meet in the middle?

Obi-Wan learned the hard way that there was no such thing as pacifism in war. You simply didn’t have that luxury. The picture the New Mandalorians painted was of warmongering Mandalorians calling for a return to their old ways. 

It was impossible to get a neutral read on the situation because the only information available was from the New Mandalorians themselves.

Something dawned on Obi-Wan, “Master… You are approved for this mission, was I approved as well?”

Before Qui-Gon could answer, the radio crackled to life. “ –identify please. I repeat, we, the New Mandalorians, require you to identify yourself. ”

“Ah, this is Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, I am here with my Padawan. We are to meet with Duke Kryze about the current negotiations.”

The radio quieted for a moment, “ I see, please follow the directions given to you and land in the hangar appointed to you. Welcome to Sundari. ”

There was no way the Council approved a mission in a civil-war torn Planet again– not so soon after Melida-Daan. The only reason they were on Melida/Daan was because Qui-Gon Jinn went against the Council to find Master Tahl. Obi-Wan was experiencing a serious amount of dèjá-vu and he did not appreciate it.

“Master, I have a bad feeling about this.” Obi-Wan muttered.

“Follow my lead this time and nothing will go wrong.”

That felt like a lie at best.

—----------------------------------------------

“Duke Kryze, my name is Master Qui-Gon Jinn and my Padwan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Jinn introduced. “We are here on behalf of the Republic to oversee these negotiations.”

“I am glad that the Republic has decided to send Jedi.” Duke Kryze smiled as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed to the man in greeting. “Call me Adonai. These are my daughters– my youngest, Bo-Katan and my oldest, Satine Kryze.”

Observing the two young girls, Obi-Wan smiled as the smallest of the two pulled a face at him. A little red haired girl wearing what looked to be fake armour and held onto a fake blaster while sucking on her tumb. She was adorable. 

Next to her was a teenager that looked a little younger than Obi-Wan himself. She was a blonde, had sharp features and looked much too serious for her age. She looked pretty and Obi-Wan felt his eyes linger for a moment.

“Well met.” Qui-Gon nodded his head at the two. 

“I don’t see why we need bodyguards, father.” The blonde whined, glaring at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. “I heard Jedi are quick to pull their sabers, that is not the image we want.”

Pretty did not mean Obi-Wan would allow that snide comment. “Our duty is to protect, we can not protect you if we are not allowed to protect you, Miss.”

“It is ‘Duchess’ to you.” The girl puffed her chest, “I don’t see the point of violence when we can solve our issues with words.”

“Words won’t protect you from a blaster bolt.”

“A blaster bolt wouldn’t be a problem when we finally banish them all from our planet.”

“And how are you planning on doing that without–”

“Padawan!” Obi-Wan broke eye contact with the whiney Duchess and jerked to look at his Master. His Master glared down at him. “Apologies, Duke, it has been a while since my Padawan was out in the field properly.”

Backing up, Obi-Wan ignored the glares of both the duchess and his Master as the Duke laughed, “No harm done, it is good to have a devil’s advocate amongst our people to help us look at a different point of view.”

That was much more reasonable than his daughter, perhaps these negotiations weren’t as doomed as they already seemed. 

Obi-Wan walked behind his Master and the Duke as they spoke about the current situation but Obi-Wan couldn’t help but zone out as he took note of all the armoured beings around. Those weren’t New Mandalorians– so perhaps they were from the terrorist’s side, maybe now with them but supportive of them?

Something was going to happen and Obi-Wan wasn’t looking forward to it.

—-----------------------------------

Word travelled rather quickly concerning the Jedi on Mandalore. It did not do anything to put Obi-Wan at ease, in fact, it did nothing other than making Obi-Wan more on edge than usual.

The Force seemed restless but no amount of meditation could help Obi-Wan figure out why. 

Uncomfortable and feeling watched no matter where he went, Obi-Wan started his exploration of Sundari. Qui-Gon didn’t really care what Obi-Wan was up to while he was in negotiation meetings with the representatives of the New Mandalorians and the other faction. 

Obi-Wan quickly learned that there was much tension between Mandalorians wearing armour and those who chose not to. Sundari had ‘outlawed’ armour within the dome but many ignored the rule. After all, what were they going to do about it? He was also quick to learn that the Mandalorians were nervous around him in his robes, they didn’t like Jedi.

‘Borrowing’ some alternative clothes was not too difficult and in the second week of their stay, Obi-Wan could freely traverse the lower sections of the dome. Now dressed in a blue tunic and leggings Obi-Wan explored and started gathering intel on what was really going on in the political spectrum of this planet.

He had found some older structures that seemed to be connected to some kind of mine– he later learned that mine was the foundation of Sundari. There was not much authentic food in the ‘high sector’ but in the lower region there was plenty to find.

Food places were a great way to gather intel, if only the armoured Mandalorians didn’t make it a point to speak in Mando’a in defiance of the New Mandalorians’ rule. He sat next to one of those places regardless and patently sat white listening in on the odd conversation. 

“–the Mand’alor and–”

“He is not Mand’alor yet. Mandalore has no Mand’alor yet.”

“He has the Dha’kad’au .”

A third voice spoke up, “The Dha’kad’au does not guarantee the right to rule.”

Obi-Wan frowned at the words in Mando’a, how was he supposed to understand if he didn’t know the language? He could only gather so much from context but it was not enough to decypher everything.

There was a piece Obi-Wan was missing. They spoke as if there were three factions fighting for control rather than two factions.That was a major difference from the intel provided by the New Mandalorians.

While pondering on the potential wrong intel, Obi-Wan failed to notice a Mando in golden armour walking up to him carrying two bowls of food from the vendor until they sat down beside him. “ Epar, ad’ika. ”

“What?” Obi-Wan blinked as a steaming bowl of sharp smelling spices was pushed into his hands.

“Ah, Evaar’Mando’ad , that explains it then.” The man gruffed as he raised his helmet just enough to take a swig from his own bowl.  “Eat. It will warm you up.”

Obi-Wan hadn’t even noticed that he was cold. He picked up the spoon and stirred the broth in the bowl. “What is it?”

“ Pirpaak .”

Having eaten plenty of different kinds of food over his Padawan career, Obi-Wan dug in after confirming that the Force found no harm in it. His eyes narrowed a little as the spices hit his tongue but Obi-Wan had no other reaction to the spiciness and took another bite. 

The Mando was right, it did warm him up as well as satisfy the hunger that had settled. Funny how the Mando noticed Obi-Wan’s needs before he did.

“Not bad for a Evaar’Mando’ad .” The Mando laughed, having observed Obi-Wan for his reaction to the food. A little mean since Obi-Wan suspected he was hoping to see Obi-Wan tear up from the spiciness.

Sensing the opportunity of speaking with a non-New Mandalorian, Obi-Wan gathered some courage before asking, “Did you arrive with the guests of the Duke?” He asked.

“I am with the entourage, elek .” The Mando agreed, “You are a long way from the palace.”

“How would you know I am from the palace?”

“ Ad , you stand out like a sore thumb.” It was true, most Mando’s here wore armour unlike the New Mandalorians in the upper levels. “Where’s your buir, ad ?”

“ Buir? ”

“Oh Manda , do they teach you nothing these days?” The Mando shook his head disappointed, “ Buir means parent. Where is your parent?”

“He’s– He’s in the upper levels.” Obi-Wan froze as a Force Presence brushed past his shielding. His eyes widened realising the Mando he was speaking with was a Force Sensitive.

Were there Force Sensitives amongst the Mandalorians? Obi-Wan read that they hated all Force users but this Mando was just that. Nudging the Mando away from his shields, Obi-Wan cleared his throat and set the half-full bowl of food next to him.

“ Ad –”

“Oi, Goran ! Copaani gaan ?”

With the Mando distracted, Obi-Wan stood up and rounded the corner into an alleyway and away from the Mando. That was enough excitement for one day. At least Obi-Wan had gotten to eat enough for today, he could save up the ration pack he had planned on eating today.

—-------------------------------

Stumbling out of his room while adjusting his robes, Obi-Wan all but stumbled into the duchess.

“I know what you are doing.”

Already tired, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, “Which is what exactly?”

Satine glared at Obi-Wan, “Fraternising with the enemy!”

“Enemy? Oh no duchess, you can’t have enemies when you refuse to concern yourself with conflict.” Obi-Wan hid his hands in his sleeved as he peered through his eyelashes, “Besides, aren’t these peace negotiations? You of all should be more wary of calling anyone an enemy.”

Frustrated, Satine stomped her feet childishly and crossed her arms, “You shouldn’t speak with them. They are barbaric.”

“Somehow they seem like more appreciative conversationalists.” Obi-Wan mused. “Excuse me, I am supposed to meet my Master–”

“He left with my father, you are supposed to keep an eye on us.”

It would have been lovely if Qui-Gon actually informed Obi-Wan of that. It was not like he didn’t have a comm.

Us? Obi-Wan leaned to the side to see little Bo-Katan waddle behind her older sister. “Hi!” She waved her toy blaster. 

Obi-Wan smiled back at her and waved, “Hello there.”

After some back and forth, Bo-Katan insisted on wanting to go outside to play on the roof terras. Obi-Wan had already resigned to his babysitting duty and indulged the young girl by playing with her while doing his best not to argue with Satine. She made it so damned easy. 

Somehow she started an argument again despite his best effort but to his surprise Bo-Katan butted in when Satine started to slander the other faction.

“No! We are talking with Haat’ade ! Not the bad people!” The young girl exclaimed.

Obi-Wan frowned, “ Haat’ade ?”

Bo-Katan nodded, “They don’t want war but want to keep the Beskar’gam and the Resol’nare ! We are talking with them!”

“So not the Deathwatch?” Obi-Wan clarified.

“No!”

A third group? That was never specified anywhere. It was always about the New Mandalorians trying to reason with terrorists. Who were the Haat’ade exactly? This verged more research. 

“It is not like it matters,” Satine loomed over Bo-Katan with a disgusted expression on her face, “They are all the same.”

“No they aren’t!”

Obi-Wan tuned out the conversation before asking, “Bo-Katan, can you explain the difference between the Haat’ade and Deathwatch?”

“Well, the Haat’ade are the good ones! They want to keep beskar’gam and speak Mando’a and follow the Resol’nare while Kyr’tsad just want to hurt beings.” Bo-Katan waved her hands excitedly.

Blinking at the amount of unknown words Obi-Wan vowed that he would find some Mando’a courses so he could at least understand what was being said around him. 

Obi-Wan wondered if that Mandalorian from before could aid in that. The only reason Obi-Wan had run off was because he was caught off guard but that Mando was the only one willingly speaking with him and coming to him which was usually a good sign.

The next time Obi-Wan would traverse down into lower Sundari he would see if he could find the Mando. Bo-Katan was too young to tell Obi-Wan the information he was looking for. It was a risk but Obi-Wan was willing to take it. It was not like he was doing much else since he was banished from the negotiations. 

Something else was going on here and the information Obi-Wan was getting was highly biassed, he needed to hear from all available sides. The Force was pushing him to figure out the truth. 

Wearily, Obi-Wan groaned a little before taking a decision. The next time he could slip away he would go out and find that golden Mando again.

—------------------------- 

Sundari was more on edge today. The negotiations had been ongoing for five weeks, three of which the Jedi were present for. No progress of any value. Like Obi-Wan had expected, the New Mandalorians were too stubborn and though they had enough influence to take the position they were currently in. They were overreaching and the other side of the Clan Wars was starting to lose their patience.

It made Obi-Wan even more aware of his surroundings. Surrounded by angry and annoyed Mando’s was not great and they didn’t exactly like Obi-Wan’s cover as New Mandalorian. Thankfully they seemed to leave him alone for the most part.

Obi-Wan made it back to the food court where he had run into the golden Mando and looked around before sighing and settling in the spot he had been in a week and a half ago.

More conversations were overheard and taken note of and the more Obi-Wan tried to listen, the more he longed to learn the language. Unlike upper Sundari, lower Sundari was lively, filled with colours and the smell of food. Beings seemed happier, more at ease. They didn’t seem to be like the warmongering Mando’s the New Mandalorians pretended they were.

This time around, the golden Mando did not sneak up on Obi-Wan. He felt the Force Presence before he saw the being in question. Obi-Wan looked at an alleyway linking to the food court and straightened as he watched the golden Mando wander in with a few others.

Even if Obi-Wan couldn’t see through the being’s visors, he knew he caught the man’s attention. His blue eyes followed the Mando closely as the Mando waved off his companions and walked over to Obi-Wan who stood to not feel as tiny compared to the Mando.

“Well look who the tooka dragged in.” The Mando hummed before his tone turned a bit more sour. “You look too thin. We are getting you food.”

The fact that Obi-Wan had already had his fill of food for that particular day died in his throat as the Mando grabbed his shoulders and steered him towards a building. Their grip wasn’t tight or painful but it was stern and felt unbreakable. Obi-Wan almost reached for his saber out of habit but stopped himself.

The Mando clearly noticed the aborded attack and tilted their head, “No one will hurt you, ad . Ade are the future.”

“What does that mean?” Obi-Wan asked as he was bullied inside what looked to be a cantina and sat in a booth. 

“It is one of the tenants of the Resol’nare .”

Obi-Wan heard that term before.

“The Resol’nare ?” Obi-Wan repeated.

“The code of the Mandalorians. The Resol’nare is our creed, our culture. It is what the Evaar’ade wishes to destroy.”

Thoughtfully, Obi-Wan hummed and asked, “What are the tenants?”

The Mando leaned back before signing something to the cantina’s staff, then he turned his attention back to Obi-Wan. “There are six. Wearing beskar’gam – armour, speaking Mando’a, defending oneself and family, raising your ade as Mandalorians, aiding one's Clan when necessary, and following the Mand’alor to whatever cause they choose.”

“That doesn’t seem unreasonable.” Obi-Wan wondered out loud, “Then why won’t you follow the leader?”

“ Mand’alor .” The Mando corrected. “Because at this time, there is no one Mand’alor . Some have sworn to Vizsla– traditionalists that believe he is meant to inherit the title like he inherited the Dha’kad’au . Others follow the ‘Duke’, tired of the fighting– they gave up on our culture and still dare to call themselves ‘Mandalorians’. Laughable.”

Obi-Wan hummed before looking confused as food was placed in front of him by staff. “I didn’t order–”

“ Epar – eat. No ad will go hungry under my watch.”

“I am not hungry.”

“ Epar .”

Frowning down at the food, Obi-Wan took a hesitant bite before asking, “What about the third faction?”

“The Haat’ade follows the true Mand’alor . The one chosen by the beings rather than heritage or political games.”

So there was a third faction. From the looks of it, this Mando aligned with the Haat’ade . Biassed opinion aside, this Mando was giving Obi-Wan more information than he could have hoped for. “Which is causing the Clan Wars– because there is no one Mand’alor ?”

“There is a reason Mand’alor means soul-ruler, ad .” The Mando gruffed.

Ah. Made sense. Obi-Wan really needed a Mando’a course. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get a Mando’a learning course?”

The Mando laughed, “I do. We take the Resol’nare serious– unlike those dar’manda Kyr’tsad’e .”

To Obi-Wan’s surprise, a datapad was handed to him without hesitation. 

“I figured our paths would cross again.” The Mando waved Obi-Wan’s expression off before poking at his shields once more to emphasise his point. 

“I see…” Obi-Wan muttered, looking at the course to see the basic information on culture and the base of Mando’a as a language.

“Yeah, ad’ika , the Manda –”

An explosion rattled the entire Sundari dome and Obi-Wan would have fallen had it not been for the Mando stabilising him. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened as he turned to look at the palace and started running towards it before he could think twice. Datapad in hand and a Mando yelling behind him, Obi-Wan took off and sprinted as fast as he could. 

The domed city was under attack and shaking on its foundation. The source of the chaos? The Sundari Palace. Obi-Wan winced as he felt Qui-Gon pull on their bond, his frustration growing with the minute. Obi-Wan tugged back at it and ran faster. 

Running back into the palace, Obi-Wan ducked just in time to avoid a piece of rubble threatening to crash down on his head. He rolled across the rubble covered floor and winced as an old injury reopened. 

It was like a war zone inside. Mando’s were shooting the place up and killing whoever they stumbled upon. Black and blue armour with a strange symbol Obi-Wan had not seen in Sundari before. 

They shot at Obi-Wan before even looking who he was– thoughtless killing– these were the Deathwatch, they had to be. Ducking into another hallway, Obi-wan searched for familiar faces– hopefully his Master was nearby.

Pulling out his lightsaber, Obi-Wan started to fight through the masses, deflecting bolts as they came and helping Mandalorians to cover where possible. His Master was nowhere to be found but Obi-Wan seemed to draw more and more attention– they were targeting him.

They focussed on the Jedi– nothing new but this seemed more on purpose than normal. He fought his way into the courtyard and cringed as he noticed himself getting surrounded.

When they started to move in on him more and more, Obi-Wan made a crucial decision. Qui-Gon kept getting further and further away from him, Obi-Wan could feel their bond fading. Pushing the approaching enemies away, Obi-Wan leaped up a random balcony and ducked inside.

If the lightsaber was drawing them towards him, he needed to fight differently to escape. His Master had likely left him behind because they couldn’t find him in the chaos so Obi-Wan needed to make his own way out.

There was no armoury in the Palace– kriffing harmless New Mandalorian– so Obi-Wan needed to find a different way to gain a weapon and flee the Palace to regroup with his Master.

Pocketing his lightsaber, Obi-Wan ran to his room and took his bag. After Meldia/Daan, Obi-Wan had a bad habit of hoarding packaged food items. They called him strange for it. Who was laughing now?

Before he left, Obi-Wan picked up his outer robe and shoved it into his pack before peeking out of the room. He needed to find a lone enemy and steal their weapon. Sounded easy enough.

For a moment, Obi-Wan sucked in a deep breath and shook his nerves off. This was no different from Melida/Daan. Another war zone, another attempt at survival. Obi-Wan should have stayed in the Temple.

The Palace never stood a chance once the Deathwatch overran it.

Sneaking down the halls, Obi-Wan hid whenever he felt anyone approach. That was the case until he felt a certain duchess.

No. Please, no.

“Padawan Kenobi?”

“Duchess? Where is your Father?”

“Your Master took him and my sister. We– The roof fell– I– we got separated. I can’t find– I am so scared, Obi-Wan.”

Cursing underneath his breath, Obi-Wan grabbed onto Satine, “Focus, I know you’re scared, I understand but you need to stick with me. I am getting us out of here, alright? Stay with me, stay behind me and do exactly as I say.”

Satine desperately nodded, “Yes. Okay, yes.”

Obi-Wan let Satine cling onto his arm as he started to guide the two of them through the Palace. Pulling her along and hiding her whenever they were in danger of being spotted, Obi-Wan found exactly what he was looking for.

“Stay here for a moment.” He whispered as he freed his arm from Satine’s death clutch and snuck up to an unsuspecting sniper overlooking the courtyard Obi-Wan had been fighting in before.

Someone was speaking to a crowd. It wouldn’t surprise Obi-Wan if the Deathwatch managed to overtake the entire palace already, the amount of enemies surely suggested as much. The courtyard was lined with snipers keeping an eye on the place in case of a retaliation– Obi-Wan doubted it would ever come.

Obi-Wan got close to the Mando and took a deep breath before kicking the Mando in the back of the knee, stealing their dagger and plunging it into the gap between their helmet and chestplate.

The brutal kill gained him a gasp from Satine and a squeal of a choked up cry. Obi-Wan ignored it in favour of stripping the Mando holding onto his neck from his weapons and silently mourned the loss of life as he did so. 

Obi-Wan moved to pick up the sniper rifle and quickly checked it before loading it up. 

“What are you doing?” Satine whispered, clearly in distress.

“I am gathering alternative options, it would do you well to do the same.”

Satine crossed her arms as she glared, “I refuse to lower myself to that level.”

Obi-Wan nudged Satine to walk with him again and steered into an alternate room to store his newly gained weapons properly.

“Your words won’t protect you when you can’t even speak loud enough to be heard over blaster fire.” Obi-Wan growled in annoyance.

“Even extremists can be reasoned with!”

No they couldn’t, not when you didn’t have the upper hand in some way. “You are not really someone to reason with.”

The duchess scoffed, “The sarcasm of a soldier.”

“The delusion of a dreamer.” Obi-Wan snarled back. “Admit it, you are an extremist too! Don’t pretend to be the balance when you are the weight pulling it off course!”

Satine glared at Obi-Wan, “At least I am dignified.”

“Are you?” 

Knowing this argument would continue on indefinitely, Obi-Wan gave up arguing and pulled Satine along as he whipped the blood spatters off his face with the sleeve of his tunic.

They had food and weapons, the last thing they might need was a disguise for Satine– she stood out more than Obi-Wan did– and perhaps protection like armour as well. Those were not priorities at this time, getting out of Sundari and finding his Master was.

Somehow, by pure luck and the will of the Force, Obi-Wan and Satine made it out of the Palace without running into anyone.

The city was not much better than the Palace was. It was overrun by those Mandalorians– Deathwatch– and they were taking over the city. There was less killing here but it was not much better. 

They were spotted halfway there and Obi-Wan was forced to shoot and kill three Deathwatch members before a straggling group of Haat’ade finished them off. He and Satine fled before they could speak to them.

How to get out of the city? That was the real question.

With the domes the city was protected from the outside but it also locked the beings inside up when the exits were closed. Deathwatch must have taken control of those by now.

Think Obi-Wan, think. What would you have done on Melida/Daan? How would the Young have handled this?

Then it dawned on Obi-Wan.

Underground. The Young would have slipped out underground. Sewers usually reach every part of a city and eventually lead outside of it.

“How is your sewer system planned?” Obi-Wan asked as he and Satine caught their breath in a dark and empty alleyway. 

“What?” Satine breathed heavily and looked disturbed and annoyed at the question, “Now is not the time to research the city!”

“Humour me.” Obi-Wan pressed, equally annoyed as Satine. 

“Pipes mostly.” Satine replied, “It was difficult to get a new system with the mines in the way and–”

Not ideal. “How big?”

“Big enough for a small droid, why– Oh, oh no! You can’t! It’s too cramped and dirty and–”

“I heard you the first time, be quiet already.” Obi-Wan was not happy with that news. Unlike older cities, Sundari’s sewer system wasn’t built to allow beings in there to fix it when necessary, they were droid dependent. 

Wait…

The Mines.

Of course! The Mines were the foundation of the city. They would lead out of the city as well, Obi-Wan had seen it on old maps in the library himself. That might just be their best bet. He knew just where to find a small entrance as well, this was perfect.

“Come on.” Obi-Wan pulled a whining Satine along again as he changed course and started heading to the food court he had been visiting semi-regularly. 

“Where are we going?!”

“The Mines.”

“Those are dangerous!”

“Those Mines are our way out of Sundari and away from certain death.” Obi-Wan snarled back as he guided Satine to the lower levels.

Satine sputtered but Obi-Wan was done listening and carefully made their way to the mine entrance.

To Obi-Wan’s dismay, the entrance looked to be guarded. Not heavily but enough to make him doubt this entire idea. No, it was the only exit that was within their capabilities. Once they were inside they could cover their tracks in case they would try to follow.

From what Obi-Wan could see there were only two Mando’s– Deathwatch from the looks of it. Quietly, Obi-Wan took the rifle off his shoulder and loaded it. He was on the same level as the Mando’s and without easy access to high ground and with them in the open, Obi-Wan knew he had one free shot before they would know their presence and likely call for back-up.

He needed to make the kill with that one shot and take down the second without getting him or Satine injured.

“Stay behind this wall, don’t look until I call for you to run over, understood?” Obi-Wan whispered.

Satine swallowed thickly as she nodded. Her eyes weren’t on Obi-Wan but on the rifle in his hands. Obi-Wan took a deep breath before taking a moment to balance himself. Then he shuffled to the edge of their cover and carefully peeked around the corner. 

Just two of them. One shot should take down one of them if Obi-Wan was careful about it, the other might just be the true issue. That would be the Mando making the call and that would be the Mando actually fighting back.

Leaving Satine behind their cover, Obi-Wan moved closer to his targets and got into a better position to take aim. One shot between the armour plates should be sufficient. One carefully aimed shot.

Breathing out, Obi-Wan took aim and waited. He wrapped himself in the Force, letting its waves calm him and steady his aim. For a moment, nothing happened, everything went absolutely quiet. 

Then Obi-Wan took the shot and rushed in right after.

Before his shot hit his target, Obi-Wan was out of hiding and lining up a second meant for the other Mando, but he failed to get a clean shot.

The first Mando was hit in the neck, their hand raised up as they fell back and landed roughly. The second Mando reacted immediately and shot in Obi-Wan’s direction blindly.

Obi-Wan dashed to the side, aided by the force to move incredibly fast. 

He moved closer before the Mando could take a moment to recover from the shock and lunged up at them. Obi-Wan kicked the Mando back, but the Mando caught him and kept balance. Sadly for them, the Mando didn’t expect the knife to the throat and fell back as well, gurgling on his own blood.

Obi-Wan moved off the Mando and called out to Satine, “Now! Come on!”

Thankfully, Satine listened to Obi-Wan’s order and ran out of their former hiding spot and stuttered in her step as she saw the carnage Obi-Wan had inflicted on the two Mando’s. A hand covered her mouth as she almost gagged.

Taking some of the ammunition of the Mando’s and another two daggers, Obi-Wan got close to Satine and pulled her along. He ignored the blood from the second Mando on his hands as he grabbed Satine’s hand to pull her into the mines.

“Come on! There is no saying if they managed to call for backup or not.” He ushered Satine into the Mines. 

“Oh my– there is so much blood–”

“Satine! Focus! Now is not the time.” Obi-Wan could feel the Force screaming danger. Danger was approaching and they needed to get deep into that Mine right now.

He followed the strings of the Force pulling him along and dragged Satine along with him. Why wouldn’t she run properly? Didn’t she understand how much danger they were in? How much danger was she in?

They ran for what felt like hours until the Force finally settled enough for Obi-Wan to feel comfortable taking a break.

Satine sobbed as she dropped to the dusty ground and shivered violently. Obi-Wan let her be for the moment and looked around the corner they just passed. He tried to listen for signs of pursuers but happily noted he didn’t hear them.

“Let’s go, we–”

“No!” Satine exclaimed, “No, I can’t– Kenobi– I can’t.”

Obi-Wan sighed, trying to keep his calm, “Satine, it’s not safe here–”

“You may be used to this, but I am not!” Satine sniffed, “I can’t– I need to– we were fine this afternoon, I don’t– Why are you so cold?!”

Was he being cold? Perhaps he was, Satine was right, she wasn’t used to it. Obi-Wan sighed again, “Fine. Try to get some rest but when I wake you, we need to move, alright?”

Satine shivered and sniffed as she laid down on the cold duty floor and hid her head as she sniffled. Slowly but surely, Satine sacked and slipped into a restless slumber.

Knowing sleeping was not ideal without a proper watch and in a location as exposed as this one. Obi-Wan settled in to attempt and organise his supplies.

He had a bag, his Jedi robe– which he shouldn’t be wearing but would act as an excellent blanket, ration bars to last them for around two weeks if they were careful, his lightsaber, a sniper rifle, two daggers, a hand held blaster, a water bottle and the datapad he accidentally stole from the golden Mando.

They needed to find medical supplies in case of emergency– Obi-Wan wasn’t naive enough to believe they wouldn’t need them.

Picking up his lightsaber, Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t use it right now, not even in an emergency. It would be a dead giveaway that Satine was the heir of Kryze if Obi-Wan was protecting her with his lightsaber. Having it with him alone was risky at best.

Still, Obi-Wan remembered the hardship he suffered through on Melida/Daan without his kyber. He knew he could fight and protect Satine without it– perhaps even better than if he carried it with him– but he couldn’t part with it again.

Only in the most dire of times could he even consider using it now. Reaching into the Force, Obi-Wan meditated on his decision before levitating the hilt into the air and opening the case. His bright blue kyber buzzed in greeting as Obi-Wan pulled it out of the saber and let it drop into his left hand.

He pushed the empty hilt at the very bottom of his bag and tied his kyber on a string around his neck, hiding it beneath his clothing. The stone rested over Obi-Wan’s heart and warmed against his skin, it sang a calming song, comforting Obi-Wan as his mind spiraled for a moment.

Obi-Wan repacked his bag but halted as he picked up the datapad. It was undamaged by some miracle and had no encryption. Instead of closing his eyes and pretending to sleep, Obi-Wan settled against the stone wall of the mine and opened the datapad. 

He might as well learn some Mando’a until it was time to move on.

—-----------------------------------

Chapter Text

Chapter 2; Risks

Mando’a was not as hard as Obi-Wan expected it to be, at least not at the moment. The grammar was not far off from basic as was the way sentences were built up. It were the terms where Obi-Wan needed more practice in and of course pronunciation. 

In that single night, Obi-Wan learned quite a few things. He was able to read the Resol’nare– a version written in Basic which helped him decipher some Mando’a as well– and found it relatively close to the code the Jedi followed. It was very interesting to learn that their ancient enemy held the same standards as they themselves did.

Furthermore, Obi-Wan learned that come things had meaning like the colours of armour, or beskar’gam, and some of the popular sigils painted on them. He learned how important beskar’gam was to the Mandalorians, that they believed their soul was connected to it. He also realised that it meant he couldn’t just steal a set to blend it, beskar’gam was earned, taking it would be one of the most disrespectful things he could do.

He learned why it was so important to speak the language, how much history was tied to it and he also started to understand just what the New Mandalorians were demanding.

It could only be described as cultural genocide.

Take away the beskar’gam, the language and the right of protecting oneself and the beings they loved, what would be left? A shell of the rich culture Obi-Wan barely got a taste of over the past few weeks. A watered down version of a once great culture. The Resol’nare didn’t call for violence, it called to remember and learn from history and to keep traditions important to their creed.

The words of the Mando made sense now– their jab against the New Mandalorians about how they shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves Mandalorians– they were anything but Mandalorians.

It also confirmed the suspicion Obi-Wan had– how the New Mandalorians presented their opposing sides as warmongering Mando’s when in actuality most fought to keep their culture alive.

The more Obi-Wan read, the more he disagreed with the New Mandalorians. He found himself intrigued by the third and somehow often forgotten faction of Mandalorians, the Haat’ade seemed like the balance Obi-Wan had searched for in this never ending debate.

Satine and Obi-Wan set off in the morning and walked deeper into the Mines. The deeper they went, the darker and thinner the way got.

Between the narrow passages and musky air, Obi-Wan felt awfully claustrophobic and a painful reminder of how hard it was to breathe so deep in a mine. The unhealed scar around his neck ached uncomfortably at the reminder and the lack of proper care. That electrical scar never quite healed– Melida/Daan did not help with that either.

Massaging the painful skin, Obi-Wan led the way through the dark, using the slight glow of his kyber to have a dim light.

“What is that stone?”

“It’s what powers my lightsaber.” Obi-Wan replied.

Satine frowned, “Why is it not in your lightsaber?”

“So that I can’t use it now.”

“Why not?”

“They don’t know we are still here. They likely assume we are with the Duke and my Master. If I were to use a lightsaber again I would not only give away my identity but also call a lot of attention to us. Beings attack the most visible opponent. Lightsabers are great for calling attention to oneself but when it comes to undercover work I can’t use it.”

“That’s why you took those other weapons.” Realisation dawned on Satine, “But why take the stone out.”

“I took my kyber out so I don’t accidentally use it out of habit.” Obi-Wan replied. He picked the saber up too easily, now he simply couldn’t. He would keep the casing of his hilt but in the event of their capture, his lightsaber wouldn’t be able to be used against them– he wasn’t prideful enough to think they wouldn’t be captured or run into enemies while trying to get out.

“I see.” Satine quieted after that.

They walked in the dark for hours but Obi-Wan was confident the Force was not sending them off to a dead end. Despite the narrow passages he knew they would find an exit at some point– hopefully before their water ran out. 

They continued on until Obi-Wan felt a shiver trailing down his spine. 

He straightened and motioned for Satine to stop walking. 

“Shh.” He raised a finger to his lips as Satine was about to ask what was going on.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and focussed on his hearing. He could hear Satine’s uneven and nervous breathing from beside him and his own heart beating up in his throat. 

Danger, his senses screamed but not from where they were walking to.

Echoes travelled down the Mines, the faint sound of scuffling, snarling and footsteps. They sounded far but they made Obi-Wan nervous. 

Satine’s eyes widened as she heard it too. “What is that?”

As she spoke, the sounds went completely quiet before it started up again but louder. 

It was drawing closer and closer.

“Run,” Obi-Wan pushed Satine in front of her.

Obi-Wan himself took his rifle and prepared it before running after Satine. Their noise was echoing through the mines but so was whatever was chasing them down. It didn’t sound humanoid but Obi-Wan had never heard anything like it. He did know that the Force did not like it and screamed at Obi-Wan to move.

They ran through the narrow hallways and Obi-Wan couldn’t help but feel more and more nervous as he heard whatever was chasing them catch up to them.

When it sounded like it was right behind them, Obi-Wan turned to shoot but failed to realise how close it actually had gotten.

The Force screamed. Obi-Wan gasped as the beast leaped at him and knocked him to the ground. He barely blocked the sharp teeth gunning for his neck with his forearm, getting bit brutally in the process.

Yelping out a choked up scream, Obi-Wan struggled to keep the beast away from his vulnerable neck. The six-legged beast was heavy, pinning Obi-Wan with its weight.

Blood poured from Obi-Wan’s arm and onto his face as he pushed the feral beast back with all his might but the teeth refused to dislodge. They dug deeper as Obi-Wan fought to get the beast off of him. Its aggressive golden eyes narrowed at Obi-Wan as it used his arm as a chew toy for a bit longer before making a second attempt to rip his throat out. 

The small amount of time he was free, Obi-Wan struggled to get the dagger and when the beast went in for the second bite, Obi-Wan lodged his dagger into the beast’s throat. It whined and squealed but bit down on Obi-Wan’s arm more as if to take revenge before it slacked and dropped fully on top of him.

Obi-Wan winced as the full weight of the beast laid on top of him and groaned as he pried the jaws of the beast off his arm. That thing had gotten his left arm good. 

“Kenobi?”

“Kriff.” Obi-Wan shivered as pain settled in more. He flexed his fists, assessing the damage. He could still move and feel his muscles aching. It was the bleeding that worried Obi-Wan more than potential nerve damage.

“Here–” Satine helped Obi-Wan push the beast off him and unwrapped her scarf. “–thank you.”

With the help of Satine, Obi-Wan applied a pressure bandage to his arm. The fabric soaked through almost immediately but it was better than nothing. They needed medical supplies and quickly, Force only knew if the bite of that beast was venomous. 

“What are those things?” Obi-Wan looked at the beast as he stood up, he was completely covered in its blood as well as his own.

“ Striile .” Satine muttered, “A strill. They– we don’t allow them in Sundari.”

“Because they are wild beasts?” Obi-Wan huffed.

“Some Mandalorians keep them as pets. They are hunters.” Satine replied as they started to walk again. 

Obi-Wan’s head shot to Satine, “They are pets?!”

“Common outside of Sundari.” Satine nodded.

What the kriff were Mandalorians on to keep those– things– as pets. Mandalorians were unhinged.

—-----------------------------

After half a day walking, they finally reached an exit.

Obi-Wan felt nothing but relief when they stepped out into the ashy dunes of Mandalore around thirty miles away from the dome of Sundari. It was near the evening when they stumbled out and with the least amount of daylight, Obi-Wan was able to see his horrible state.

His once blue tunic had turned dark and almost black due to dried up blood. His arm was mangled and the scarf keeping it from bleeding too heavily was soaked through entirely. There was no saving his clothing at this point. 

They were out of water which was less than ideal and they had no current plan other than getting to another New Mandalorian city to see if they could make it off the planet from there. There had still not been any contact between them and Obi-Wan’s Master.

What a damned mess.

Weary from lack of sleep, injured and highly annoyed, Obi-Wan sighed as he sat down next to Satine overlooking the dunes.

“You do that a lot.” Satine muttered.

“Do what?”

“ Betenor .” Satine replied, “Sighing. They should call you Ben with how much you do it.”

“I think I am allowed to do so considering the situation.” Obi-Wan replied.

Satine hummed, “I’m going to call you Ben from now on. After all, Obi-Wan is not exactly a common name.”

Tilting his head, Obi-Wan agreed, “I would hope not.”

“Why?”

‘Because my name means River-Child Gifted-to-the-River and is apparently the equivalent of being named Naasade.’ 

“Doesn’t matter.” Obi-Wan replied, “I suppose Ben is not too bad. What do you want me to call you? Atin ? ‘Stubborn’ would surely fit you.”

Satine shot Obi-Wan a look, “Where did you learn that?”

Reaching for his bag, Obi-Wan showed Satine the datapad before storing it back into his bag again. “A Mando gave it to me the other day. I took some time to read through it last night.”

Scowling, Satine looked away, “It’s pronounced Aa-tin .”

“I think that is just your accent because the course specifies that it isn’t.” Obi-Wan laughed at the look of defiance. “The course says it’s Ah-teen .”

“No way, I don’t believe you.”

“Take a look for yourself.” Obi-Wan watched in amusement as Satine’s jaw dropped once she read the note.

“I can’t believe this!” Satine cried, “How dare they.”

“ Atin it is.” Obi-Wan laughed before getting up and holding his hand out. “Let’s find some place to get some rest. I could do with a good night's sleep.”

Satine looked at the hand for a moment before grabbing onto it and allowing Obi-Wan to pull her up to her feet.

They stumbled upon a small hut three hours away from the Mine entrance. Abandoned and old but it would protect them from the icy cold of Mandalore and keep them out of sight well enough for Obi-Wan to be comfortable enough to nap lightly.

Inside were some old supplies but there was a well out at the back of the hut which Obi-Wan gladly used to refill their supply and wash up a bit. He liked not looking like a walking corpse. Thankfully, he got a lot of the blood off and the remaining stains could be confused for ash or dirt.

Satine did the same and even managed to find a blanket and an old and barely functioning bag of herself. Obi-Wan settled to use his relatively clean outer robe as a blanket and laid down. He had allowed Satine to take the cot which was off the ground, leaving him on the cold rough floor.

Still, Obi-Wan slept for some hours before a nightmare awoke him. He was thankful that he had not gotten used to beds yet because he doubted he would have gotten any rest if he had.

“Do you know of any cities nearby?”

“Other than Sundari? Bralsin, I suppose, but that is pretty far away still. It does have a decent amount of New Mandalorian support.” Satine replied, “We might have better luck in a village.”

“We shouldn’t go to a small village where everyone knows each other, the chances of being recognised are simply too great.”

Satine quietly admitted, “I don’t know villages around Sundari.”

Ah, of course. Satine didn’t mingle with citizens of Mandalore– she had been studying in the Republic for the past years. There was a lot to say about that since she wanted to rule over the system but Obi-Wan didn’t feel like starting another argument. They were in enough trouble as it was.

“What direction is Bralsin?” He asked instead. 

—---------------------------------

Bralsin ends up being pretty far away. Not the walkable type of far at all. They needed a ship or a speeder if they wanted to get there.

Despite knowing this, Obi-Wan still insisted they started walking in the right direction hoping to stumble upon a relatively large village. He didn’t like that the only thing he got to clean his injured arm with was water from the well, he needed medical supplies before it got infected.

His wish was answered as the Force pulled his attention to a nearby village. With no better option, Obi-Wan and Satine headed in the direction of the place as they gathered whatever amount of currency they had. 

Obi-Wan had a standard amount of 150 credits stashed in his bag– Qui-Gon had left him on random planets enough times for Obi-Wan to prepare for the inevitable. 

Satine had some spare change on her, also credits since Sundari had switched the traditional Mandalorian Waada’s to Galaxy Standard Credits to appease the Republic. The only Waada’s they had between the two of them was some coins Obi-Wan had found and had planned on adding to his currency collection back in the Temple. 

“Let’s just hope they accept credits.” Obi-Wan muttered, already planning on an alternative way of getting what they needed. Stealing may not be the Jedi way but– oh who was he kidding– he has, and would likely, steal again in the future if that meant survival.

“We are close to Sundari, they will.” Satine seemed determined of that.

Speaking of being close to Sundari. “Satine, I need you to stay out of the village. If they recognise either of us, it would be you.”

“But–”

“Satine.” Obi-Wan deadpanned, “You have bright blonde hair and are wearing quality clothing that look over the top to any Mandalorian. It won’t be hard for them to notice you are a New Mandalorian.”

“It’s not like you’re wearing beskar’gam .” Satine muttered, “What makes you think you can slip by?”

Experience mostly. 

“When we left Sundari I told you you needed to listen to me if you want to get off this planet, just don’t argue with me for once.”

Pouting and stomping her feet, Satine dropped down to the ashy dunes and crossed her arms in defyance. “You can’t keep using that argument.”

‘ So long as it works…’ Obi-Wan through with a sigh. “Keep hidden, I will be back in an hour or so.”

Leaving Satine was a risk, but bringing her into an unknown village without a disguise was reckless. Deathwatch could be around that corner in the first store they enter for all that they knew.

While Obi-Wan was aware that his appearance wasn’t ideal, he also knew he was more incognito than Satine was. His hair had a healthy layer of ash on top of its copper glow and his clothes were a bit ripped up but most adults would likely write that off as a hard working young man. He carried a weapon which implied he was not a New Mandalorian and despite his lack of armour his posture might just convince them of that.

Thanks to the Mando’a course, Obi-Wan was able to recognise the word for store and stepped inside.

“ Su cuy, ad .” A Mando greeted, a woman with complicated braids in her hair sat behind the check out desk. Her grey eyes peered at Obi-Wan for a moment before turning back to the datapad she had been reading from. Her helmet sat within her reach, easy for her to grab in case of trouble.

“ Su cuy’gar .” Obi-Wan greeted, ignoring the fact that he was called a child in favour of gathering what he needed to buy.

He quietly walked through the aisle to find what he needed. Two sets of new clothes– both his size so the woman wouldn’t get more suspicious than she already was– a med-kit with bacta, another flask for water and two poncho’s that looked warm. 

He browsed the store some more, trying to see if there was anything else he needed. He only added ammunition for his sniper to the stuff he was getting.

Obi-Wan was looking through some scrap fabric in hopes of making some more bandages along the way before he spotted several missing kid posters. He couldn’t read much of it but he was familiar with the layout of those types of posters. There were a lot of them. Some even from cities as far as Keldabe.

Lingering for what was perhaps too long, Obi-Wan snapped out of it and headed to the woman to pay. He remained quiet as the Mando took note of everything and added it all up. 63 Waada’s was not too expensive. Obi-Wan set down 70 credits and kept eye contact as the woman scrutinised him.

“Credits? Are you a New Mandalorian?” The woman shifted her posture to look taller.

Staying in character, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at the woman, glanced down at his rugged clothing and weapon before peering back up at her as if to say, ‘ Do I look like a New Mandalorian? ’. 

Obi-Wan switched to basic too, trying to hide his posh accent as he replied, “Work for the lot of them. They don’t do the heavy lifting.”

A technical truth– a half truth if you will. The Jedi did work for the New Mandalorians for the time being and the New Mandalorians didn’t do heavy lifting.

For a moment tension built up before it snapped when the Mando barked a laugh, “ Gar serim, ad. ” She said as she picked up the credits and stored them away, “ Oya! ”

Nodding his head Obi-Wan replied, “ Ret'urcye mhi. ”

That wasn’t fun.

Reeling from how close he got to being discovered, Obi-Wan made a speedy exit and headed back to Satine. He was relieved she had listened for once and stayed put where he had left her. 

They took a moment to dawn their disguises and Obi-Wan properly cleaned and wrapped his mangled arm. 

For once in his life he was glad bacta existed– it was even the kind that actually worked with his biology. Now that his arm had stopped aching as much, Obi-Wan could move it more freely again. It would be a while before it fully healed, he could at least lift his bag without aching again.

The clothes he had gotten for Satine were too large for her and she was not pleased by how rough the material felt against her skin but Obi-Wan didn’t care enough to pity her whines.

With Satine properly dressed for travel and her features hidden by a good old poncho, Obi-Wan dawned his own new clothes but kept his old ones. At the next river he would wash them again and use them for pressure bandages later.

Obi-Wan made the decision not to stay in the town for the night and they went around it. That Mando had already been suspicious but seemed to believe what Obi-Wan implied, the last thing they needed was getting caught off guard.

Near nightfall the two managed to find a shallow cavern and set up their camp. Obi-Wan didn’t risk a fire, which meant they had to suffer the cold again. 

Luckily, their clothes were a lot warmer and a lot less dirty now. Still, with no proper door or way to truly be out of harm's way, Obi-Wan barely slept if he slept at all.

The night seemed to go on forever. Obi-Wan felt like no time passed as he stared up at the stars. He was cold, even with Satine pressed against his back, and he felt as tired as he did on Melida/Daan. 

At least protecting one bratty naive child was easier than an army of child veterans. Then again, the Young could and would fight where Satine absolutely wouldn’t.

How did Obi-Wan keep finding himself in these types of situations?

—-------------------------------------------------

For the next week or so, Obi-Wan and Satine traversed the ash dunes of Mandalore and managed to cross a decent amount of distance before they had to stop for supplies again. Their seemingly unending supply of ration bars Obi-Wan had hoarded up had finally run out leaving them without sustenance.

Luckily for them, they managed to find a small homestead that was bound to have food. Whether it was for sale was another matter. Obi-Wan didn’t tell Satine but he had already planned on ‘liberating’ whatever food they might have. Just enough to get them moving again. Maybe even ‘liberating’ a speeder if the opportunity was there.

They had moved past it initially but Obi-Wan had a feeling that they might not get another chance of food anytime soon.

Risky? Yes. But Obi-Wan was past the point of caring. Satine had been nothing but whiny, complaining about how much they were walking and about how grimy she felt. It was like she just couldn’t wrap her head around the situation no matter how much it punched her in the face. It was more than annoying.

It was nice to be away from her, even if it was for a little while. Obi-Wan carefully approached the homestead with the cover of night. A quick in and out. Get in, find food and medical supplies and get out again.

Easy.

Wrong.

Obi-Wan reached the building and peeked into the window. There was a dim light coming from inside. This was not just a homestead.

Sucking in a hitched breath, Obi-Wan let his eyes glide across the room. Inside where five children chained up to each other. They had red eyes, some were bruised and they looked tired to the bone.

One of them looked right at Obi-Wan.

His eyes pleaded for help as he sat up a little. Kriff. That was one of the kids Obi-Wan saw on a missing poster in that store days ago. Kidnapped by Kyr’tsad the poster had said. If they were kept here, there must be guards. 

Opening himself to the Force, Obi-Wan tried to sense how many there might be. Invisible spots in the Force that moved around– beskar had that effect on the Force. One was right around the corner moving towards Obi-Wan’s position.

Cringing, Obi-Wan stood up, catching the attention of the other kids who he motioned to stay quiet. He pried the window over, climbed in and shut it behind him before dropping below the windowsill. 

“ Me’ven –?” 

“Shh.” Obi-Wan ordered as he felt the Force-blindspot move to the window. It remained there for a moment.

The kids were smart enough to avert their gazes from Obi-Wan and looked down in different directions.

When the blindspot moved on, Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief and moved to the children, “ Su cuy, ” He muttered out of breath.

The kids looked a mixture between confused, hopeful and scared. “Who are you?” One asked, clearly hearing the accent in Obi-Wan’s tone.

“Are you here to get us?”

“ Udesii .” Obi-Wan kept his hands up and away from his weapons. “I am going to help.”

They all looked confused but one sighed in relief. “ Mar’e !”

“Keep your voice down.” Obi-Wan warned. “There are too many to fight. If they catch me here it’s over.”

“Their rotation is every ten minutes.”

Oh. Useful. Obi-Wan had not expected them to have kept count. “Alright then. Ehm.”

Obi-Wan gently reached out to the chained wrists of the kid and looked at the lock and the metal of the cuffs. Obi-Wan didn’t know much about beskar, but he recognised it on sight. Cutting it was not an option, he needed to pick the locks one by one or find the key.

“Is there a key you know of?”

“They have it in the other room.” The kid closest to the door replied. “It’s empty now but they will walk in whenever. No real schedule there.”

Nodding, Obi-Wan went to the door and closed his eyes to focus on the Force before pulling the door open. No need to lock it when the kids are chained up and surrounded. It seemed to be their break room, plenty of dishes laying around, some food here and there and the keys in question laid on the table.

These Mando’s were confident that they couldn’t escape even if they were free, then again they did manage to keep these kids for weeks now. 

Obi-Wan needed a better lay of the land if he wanted to succeed here and come out alive.

Taking the risk, Obi-Wan started to wander the homestead, picking up ration bars and some medical supplies as he did. He had come here for that reason. After half an hour he started to get an idea of the patrol pattern the Mando’s were walking and even observed a few of them for a while.

He found speeders too, three of which he sabotaged leaving only one of them in working condition. He headed back to the kids after that and picked up the keys on his way back.

“There you are! We thought you were dead!”

“Shh.” Obi-Wan replied, “I needed to see the facility. Now come here.”

Obi-Wan started to unchain the kids one by one and quietly explained how they would need to be very quiet and follow his lead if they wanted to do this correctly and without injuries.

He was halfway through unlocking their bounds when a sudden blindspot nearby caught his attention. 

“Kriff.” He muttered, “Hide your free hands.” He ordered before looking around the room for a hiding spot. He found it when he looked up. 

Before anyone could ask, Obi-Wan leaped straight up and stretched his arms and legs to keep himself elevated between two roof beams.

Just in time too because the door opened and a tall Mando barged in. They observed the room, laughed as the kids shied away from them and scared them some more. What an asshole. Obi-Wan had to resist dropping down on top of the Mando and plunge a dagger in their neck. They needed to be stealthy.

After a few minutes the Mando seemed satisfied enough and left laughing and cussing the kids out. Obi-Wan had to be satisfied murdering him in his mind rather than actually doing so.

Once the Mando was gone, Obi-Wan dropped back down and landed quietly like a tooka. He continued to free the kids before getting them towards the window. “We have less than 8 minutes.” He warned. “We are going to the left, around the building and across to the other barn. There are four speeders in there, hop into the one closest to the door, the others are out of working order.”

“ Oya .” The kids cheered quietly, clearly happy to be moving.

One by one, the kids silently moved out of the window and towards the left. Turns out, being Mandalorian did not mean not following orders. Satine must be the odd one out.

Luckily, none of the Mando’s had decided to make a surprise visit to the kids because that would blow their cover very quickly.

Starting up the speeder did catch their attention though but there was little they could do without a ship or speeders to pursue. The only thing that was a little worrying were the blaster bolts flying past their ears on their way out.

With five young kids in the speeder, Obi-Wan raced to where he left Satine and pulled her into the speeder without explaining.

“What the hell happened?” Satine demanded as they sped off again, “Ke– Ben, who are they?”

“They are kids that were in trouble.” Obi-Wan replied. “Strap in, we’re not stopping until we are out of fuel or reach Bralsin.”

—---------------------------------

A conundrum came up when the kids claimed to be from Keldabe. They needed to be brought home but their stop was Bralsin, not Keldabe.

‘Going to Bralsin would put us in the hands of the New Mandalorians, we would have a chance to find out where my Master is, but it’s unlikely he’s still even on Mandalore.’ Obi-Wan summarised for himself. ‘We could try to get to Keldabe but that is still a long way away and there was no way the Deathwatch had not informed their people about their escape.’

“The Haat’ade would help us.” One of the kids piped up seemingly knowing what Obi-Wan was thinking, “ Buir would kill those demagolka Kyr’tsad for taking us.”

“True Mandalorians.” Obi-Wan translated, pondering on the idea.

Obi-Wan turned away from the kids and muttered to himself, “For us it wouldn’t make much of a difference other than that we might run into my Master if we head to Bralsin. But the kids have a better chance with the True Mandalorians. The New Mandalorians can’t defend them, the True just might.”

“I can’t go there.” Satine insisted.

“I am dropping you off with allies in Bralsin first, I will take the kids to Keldabe after. We will meet up again in Bralsin.” Obi-Wan announced, “Have any of you been there before? We might need accurate directions once we’re there.”

“We have!” The one from before exclaims, raising his hand before mentioning to his siblings, “Our ba’vod’u lives there!”

“Alright.” Obi-Wan nodded, “Now get ready, Keldabe is a while away and this might be a bumpy ride.”

—------------------------------------------------

‘Why do we always end up in these types of situations?!’

After dropping Satine with allies– who were very relieved to learn that the eldest Kryze daughter was alive and decently well– they moved on to Keldabe after fueling up.

The problem came when they left Bralsin. They soon gained a tail which started to catch up and attack them.

One of the ade were controlling the hovercraft as Obi-Wan batted blaster bolts away with the Force as they came. 

The group of Mandalorian kids listened well and had hidden their heads to avoid getting shot. It also made it easier for Obi-Wan to move when needed. 

It was only the Force that kept Obi-Wan as steady as he stood, with the speed they were going at it should have been impossible for a non-Force user to jump around like he did.

Currently there were about four jetpacks on their tail and two speeders, all Deathwatch. Master Qui-Gon would not be pleased when he found out what Obi-Wan was currently doing. 

‘It’s my crippling bad kriffing luck’ Obi-Wan lamented.

Obi-Wan returned some blaster bolts by pushing them back, hitting two of the jetpacks before flipping on top of a building to their left. He ran alongside the speeder, using the Force to keep up. Obi-Wan managed to distract the Mandalorians, using his sniper and the Force to get them to fall off the ledge of the roofs they stood on.

Melida/Daan had been a rough time for Obi-Wan, but it did teach him how to adapt to situations out of his control. He fought a war alongside the Young, he had to learn how to shoot the hard way. It did mean that he was more profound with a blaster, or in this case, a sniper rifle. 

It was easy to take a quick shot at the Mandalorian, who was hit and went down. 

Instead of standing on top of the speeder again, Obi-Wan decided to stand in it, closer to the kids so he could take cover with them. One of the kids immediately clung onto his leg, the poor kids were scared.

“ Udesii, ad’ike , you'll all be okay.” 

With the rifle, Obi-Wan managed to shoot their assailants as they came. “How long until the stronghold?”

“Five minutes.” The kid controlling the speeder replied with what sounded more like a question than anything else. 

“Good! Company is getting too much for me.” Obi-Wan admitted, trying to keep the following Kyr’tsad as far away from them as he could. “I’m running low on ammunition.”

“Almost there!”

Before they could reach the homestead, their hovercraft was suddenly hit from the side. The impact caused whiplash for most of them as their vehicle capsized to the side. Obi-Wan managed to slow them down enough to limit the damage, but it was not enough to stop them from being cornered between the hovercraft and the sturdy wall of a building. 

With Kyr’tsad getting closer every minute and Obi-Wan was stuck with five kids from different ages made the situation seem dire at best.

“Now what do we do?!” One of the kids exclaimed.

“ OYA !”  

A counter attack began from the Keldabe Stronghold. 

The Haat’ade marched out as they attacked the Kyr’tsad intruders with their full force. Their Mand’alor in the front, leading the counter attack.

“Alright ade , let’s get you inside.” Obi-Wan said, turning to the children. “Hold on tight.” 

The Mandalorians quickly adapted to the Jedi rushing across and started laying cover fire for them. Two of them in particular stayed on them, covering them while flying around their route. They followed them inside while the rest of the group rounded up the remaining members of Kyr’tsad.

They halted once they were at a large set of doors, but Obi-Wan didn’t want to enter the stronghold and thus stopped on the top of the steps. Obi-Wan took the one that had guided them assides and kneeled in front of him, “ Can you bring them to a safe place inside? ”

“ Elek .” He nodded eagerly.

“ Then take them inside, hide, find your ba’vod’u.”

“ Elek, Ben.” 

“Then go!” Obi-Wan ordered in basic, stepping forwards to bat away a stray blaster bolt. 

“ What about you?!” The kid hesitated as he ushered the other kids inside. 

“Go, ad’ika , nar etyed umyc. ” Obi-Wan replied, ignoring the question. 

He couldn’t answer it, because he didn’t know what would happen. For all he knew they would be shot down in a few minutes. Or executed for leading Deathwatch inside the city. He wasn’t going to outright lie to the kid, but he couldn’t say what he thought would happen.

The kid looked reluctant, but Obi-Wan pushed him inside and closed the large doors behind them. 

Now to get back to Satine. That might be less complicated now that Kyr’tsad and the Haat’ade were fighting it out. It would be easier to slip away in the chaos.

Checking his ammunition, Obi-Wan mourned the loss of the speeder for a moment before deciding running would do. He had run far before and the road between Keldabe and Bralsin was not far at all. 

Cracking his joints loose, Obi-Wan sucked in a deep breath before starting in a jog. The jog gradually sped up to a full sprint as Obi-Wan ran through the battlefield of a city. He ran past plenty of Mandalorians who were in combat– even past the Mando that he had met in Sundari– it was truly a small galaxy.

Climbing up a roof, Obi-Wan ran across them, leaping between buildings and dodging fights left and right. It went well for the most part until the Mando he met in Sundari caught him by his collar, literally.

“ Di’kut’la ad’ika !” They scolded as they grabbed Obi-Wan by the scruff of his poncho.

Out of reflex, Obi-Wan swung his sniper around in an attempt to hit them while reading a shot but the Mando was having none of it and pushed the sniper down.

“Oi!” Obi-Wan cursed as his momentum was interrupted in the middle of a jump and dangled in the Mando’s arm as they lowered them to a nearby roof.

“What are you thinking, ad ? First running off in Sundari, now flying into Keldabe like a utreekov .”

Obi-Wan scowled, “Do you mind?”

“Where is your buir , ad ?”

“None of your business!” Obi-Wan twisted out of the Mando’s grip and adjusted his grip on his weapon. “Leave me be, I am busy.”

“You are going nowhere alone, you hear? The city is in the middle of an attack.” The Mando scrutinised Obi-Wan for a moment, “Not an Evaar’Mando’ad then.” They gruffed, “Who are you?”

Once again, the Mando was distracted by someone off to the side and Obi-Wan used the opportunity to dash away and leaped off the roof. To the Mando it seemed as if Obi-Wan disappeared into thin air, exactly as Obi-Wan liked it.

Taking a moment to help out some Haat’ade where he could get a shot in, Obi-Wan managed to get to the edge of the city and prepared for his run in the open ash dune between Keldabe and Bralsin.

Now to get back to Satine.

—-----------

Jaster was having a bad week.

First they were in endless negotiations with the Evaar’ade who were unreasonable on a good day and outright outrageous on a bad one. 

Then Sundari was attacked by kyr’tsad, sending the Evaar’ade on the run and the Haat’ade pinned. They barely got out before they closed the dome down to shut them inside the city.

Not to mention the reports of kidnapped ade from all over Mandalore. They were fighting two sides in this Clan War and it was not getting any easier.

Now Kyr’tsad dared to attack Keldabe– the city Jaster had been residing in since the Goran named him Mand’alor. Why? Well, according to reports they were chasing behind a single speeder taking shots at them and seemed to have forgotten the fact that Keldabe was not their playground unlike Bralsin down South.

“ Mand’alor, we have a situation. ” One of his verd’e at the Palace called, “ The ade you provided cover fire for? The ones from that speeder– all five of them are Haat’ade who were taken by Kyr’tsad three weeks ago. ”

“Five? There were six.” Jaster muttered, focussing on his fight while trying to recall the event of an hour ago. “Where is the sixth?”

“ There is no sixth. The ade claim to have been rescued by an Evaar’ad but they also claim he carried weapons and was the one shooting Kyr’tsad while they sped into Keldabe. They say his name is Ben– pale, copper hair and he speaks Mando’a with a Republican accent. ”

What the kriff? “Find out where the sixth ad went, I want him in the medbay before the end of the day.” Jaster ordered, finding himself curious about this ‘Ben’.

The Goran was the next to call him up. “ Mand’alor, I saw  the ad again. ” 

“ Ge’tal’ika? The ad from Sundari that you wanted to bring back?” Jaster halted for a moment, connecting some dots.

“ The Manda is very clear, Mand’alor. ” The Goran replied, “ He is in the city but vanished on me again. Di’kut was messing with Kyr’tsad. ”

“Any chance he is the ad that helped our ade reach Keldabe?” Jaster asked.

“ The one and the same. ”

“ Mandokarla ad’ika. ” Jaster shook his head, “ Just who is this ad? ”

“ Didn’t get to ask him, but he claims he has a buir. I think they’re not a good buir though. ” The Goran replied with a grunt. “ He looked worse for wear– injured. ”

“I have already ordered our verd’e to find him.”

“ Jate. ”

The attack lasted a few more hours before the Haat’ade ended up pushing Kyr’tsad out again. When he returned to the Palace, he was met by a bunch of excited Mando’s.

That couldn’t be a good sign.

They were with the five rescued ade, talking and making sure they were alright. Mij was already conducting his check ups while Jango and Walon talked together off to the side. Something had excited the verd’e and they looked glad to see Jaster return with his squad.

Aranar– Jaster’s strill for as long as he could remember– left Jango’s side in favour of his owner and sat against Jaster’s legs. Petting his strill, Jaster turned his attention to Jango as he called out to him.

“ Buir, you have to see this!” Jango called as he ran up to Jaster.

Jaster was handed a datapad with some shaky footage. He watched as a verd was pinned down under blaster fire as a teen leaped into view, over their cover and straight into the line of Kyr’tsad’e and stabbed one before shooting the other. Then he leaped out of view and ran off. 

“Don’t tell me that’s the ad flying the speeder into Keldabe.” Jaster bit back a smile as the verd’e confirmed his suspicions. “ Mandokarla ad .”

“I told you he was worthy of being Haat’ade .” The Goran stepped forwards.

“I was thinking that two redheads in one day was too much of a coincidence.” Jaster mused. “What was his name again?”

“Well, the other one said it was Ben, so we have been calling him that but I am pretty sure that’s not his name.” The oldest of the rescued ad’s spoke up. 

Jaster crouched down to face the ade, “How did you escape?”

“He was so cool Mand’alor ! He crawled through the window and then told us to wait. We thought he was caught but then he returned and said we had to take the speeder! We picked up his friend, she wasn’t very nice, and then went to Bralsin to refuel, we dropped her off there. Then we almost got ambushed but then ori’vod took over the speeder while he shot those dar’manda Kyr’tsad’e. ” The ad exclaimed excitedly, “Where is he anyways, ori’vod ?”

The other ad sighed as he admitted, “He told me to get the younger ad’ike inside and then promptly vanished from sight.”

The Goran huffed, “A pattern, it seems.”

“I think he was injured. He was favouring his left arm.”

“If he was in Keldabe our verd’e would have found him by now.” Jaster sighed even deeper, “Go to your buir , we’ll find him.”

“ Lek, Mand’alor !”

After the ade disappeared from sight, Walon walked up to him, “That ad was the same one from before, the one the Goran spoke to, right?”

“ Lek .” Jaster agreed, “We owe them a great debt. Who knows what else Kyr’tsad would have done with our ad’ike ?”

“Could he be the Jetii ?”

Jaster paused. Spoke Basic but was not an Evaar'ad, fights like a feral tooka– not afraid of violence at all.“The New Mandalorians did call upon the Jetiise .” Jaster sighed, “Isn’t there an active bounty on them?”

“I checked.” Walon replied, “The description is vague at best. Even Kyr’tsad doesn’t know for sure but I have seen footage of that ad. He killed two of their guards to get into the Sundari mines. He’s dangerous.”

“Let’s find him regardless.” Jaster nodded, “Before Kyr’tsad finds him.”

Whether he was a Jedi or not, this ad would need protection now that he has earned the wrath of Kyr’tsad. On top of that, he was an ad. An ad that rescued several Haat’ade. An ally was an ally, no matter what his culture is.

—----------------------------

Ben: *Gets attacked by the strill of one of the guards he murdered*

Satine: Those are smart pets to some–

Ben: *Looking at his mangled arm* They are kriffing pets?!

Satine: I ought to call you ‘Ben’ for how much you sigh.

Ben: *Having studied Mando’a for a total of two nights* How about Atin for you? Stubborn dit’s you perfectly.

Satine: ‘o’

Satine: It’s Aa-tin, not Ah-teen

Ben: *Likely already more fluent in Mando’a than Satine* No it isn’t.

Ben: *Just wants some supplies*

Ben: *Finds chained up kids*

Ben: Well kriff.

Ben: Well, we need to get these kids somewhere safe.

Satine: I am not setting foot in Keldabe.

Ben: Sure, but I am still going. Let me drop you off.

Ben: *Flies into Keldabe causing a massive battle to break out*

Ben: *Is spotted by many and now has a fanbase*

Ben: *Causes an uproar in the New Mandalorian ranks*

Satine: For kriffs sake!

Chapter Text

Chapter 3; Counter attack

When Adonai called, Jaster had the urge to ignore the call but ended up being the bigger man and agreeing to the requested meeting. 

If they could stop squabbling, Jaster could fully focus on taking care of Kyr’tsad instead of losing sleep over the disagreement with the Evaar’ade. He had been amusing this ‘alliance’ for too long already.

He was the bigger Mando, he could indulge them one more time.

“ Jaster, I am glad to have been able to finally reach you. ”

“I am sure,” Jaster gruffed. “What are you calling for? I figured that leaving us behind in Sundari meant you didn’t want to continue the negotiations.”

“ I do agree the situation in Sundari left us little room for aiding one another. ”

What a joke. They had left the Haat’ade behind. If it was because they were panicked or if they had evil intentions Jaster couldn’t tell but it hardly mattered. A cowardly move like that was not easily forgiven.

“What do you want, Adonai?” Jaster sighed.

“ Word is you are to enter Sundari? ”

There were still Haat’ade trapped within that trice kriffed dome, Jaster had vowed to free them. “Perhaps in the future. What of it?”

“ Our people are still there, trapped by those terrorists. My daughter and the Padawan are still missing. I know Kyr’tsad doesn’t have them– they would have never stopped boasting about it if Tor had her– they might still be in the city. We want our people back on Kalevala and it would be terrible for our campaign if my eldest were to perish. ”

The di’kut didn’t even realise how bad that sounded. Jaster knew Adonai loved his ade, but that comment poked him in the wrong way. “The Jet’ika ?” Jaster asked instead.

A Jetii stepped in view and bowed, “ My Padawan was unable to join us in our evacuation. We are yet to make contact. ”

Translation: they left two ade behind to save their own shebs. 

Cowards.

Jaster’s opinion of the Jetiise plummeted, leaving an ad in a warzone– how absolutely careless. “So you’re telling me that you haven’t been in contact after leaving them when the city was under attack?” He asked, his tone deadpanned. “Say what, we’ll keep an eye out for them.”

“ Listen, Jaster, I– ”

“Save it for the negotiations.” Jaster shook his head disappointed in his former friend. “We will try to help your people stuck in Sundari but my good grace ends there, Adonai.”

With that the conversation was over and Jaster was left with his own thoughts.

The Haat’ade had been planning a counter attack on Kyr’tsad. Not to take the city back from their enemy– they could have the useless excuse of a city built on empty mines– but to help their own out. They would help the New Mandalorians because they were going anyway.

It was also more likely that Ge’tal’ika or ‘Ben’ was the Jet’ika they were referring to which meant that ‘Atin’ was none other than Satine Kryze. How they got out of Sundari and survived as long as they had Jaster did not know but he knew it was because of Ge’tal’ika.

“Prepare to travel to Sundari– we are going to get our verd’e back.”

Walon Vau, Jaster’s third in command nodded. “I will go to Bralsin, see if those ade are there or not.”

“Try not to scare them, Vau.” Jaster warned.

—---------------------------------

Unlike Melida/Daan, Mandalore’s cameras were in full function. Obi-Wan figured that out when he returned to a furious Satine.

“–they are calling you evaar’haat’ad ! The ideal example of what happens when a New Mandalorian decides to fight for themselves! I have never heard of such an evil attempt at propaganda! Do you have any idea what this will mean for our right to rule–”

“Oh for Force’s sake, shut up Satine!” Obi-Wan snapped back, “I did my duty as a Jedi while protecting those kids, are you truly this selfish? Would you rather have me leave those kids undefended?”

“If that meant you hadn’t made such a joke of us, yes.” Satine snarled back.

Both flabbergasted and extremely angry, Obi-Wan picked up his bag and stormed out.

“Where are you going?!”

“Away from you.” Obi-Wan growled. “I will be back later tonight. I need to find a commlink.”

“Ben! Ben! Come back here!”

Obi-Wan shook his head, ignoring Satine entirely as he left her in the New Mandalorian base. The only reason they hadn’t fallen to kyr’tsad was because they had a lot of connections with the Haat’ade and they actually fought to protect them.

Satine and her morals were truly frustrating and Obi-Wan needed to walk away before he lived up to his ‘aggressive’ Temple reputation more than he already had the past weeks.

Protecting Satine may just be the last political mission he would ever agree to. His Padwan career be damned, it was not like they liked Obi-Wan anyways– not after Meldia/Daan. Maybe he should leave the Order and become a pirate or something, that seemed less stressful than this kark.

Luckily, Bralsin had a huge New Mandalorian district which allowed Obi-Wan to wander around with little trouble. He did make a point of hiding his hair, they identified him as a red head even with the ash on his hair which meant Obi-Wan needed to find a better way to change the colour.

First get his hands on a comm to call his Master, then he could worry about changing his hair colour to something that wasn’t so eye-catching.

Had he been able to freshen up or clean his injuries? No, because Satine hadn’t allowed him to move away long enough to do so in her rant. Obi-Wan was way past the point of caring. 

He knew he looked anything but well when he marched into a nearby store and started looking at comm units. He got the cheapest kind that could call off the planet– he knew his Master, there was no way they stayed on Mandalore. 

Ignoring the look of concern from the older man behind the cash out desk, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and laid down the credits to his purchase.

“ Copaani gaan? ”

“ Nyac. ” Obi-Wan replied. “ Vor’e. ”

Before the older man could ask something else, Obi-Wan marched out of the store and ripped the packaging around his new comm open. He knew his Master’s commlink number from the top of his head by now.

Looking for a more quiet area, Obi-Wan ended up scaling to the top of yet another roof and settled down. He really needed to put some fresh bandages on his arm because it was starting to sting badly again.

The commlink started to make the sound of it transferring the call. It took a while before his Master picked up, “ Jinn here. ”

“Master?”

“ Ah! Padawan. We were wondering when you would call. ”

No ‘how are you?’ or ‘I am so glad you are still alive’, of course not. 

“Well, it was a bit hard to find the time.” Obi-Wan scowled, “I have ensured that Satine is safe and–”

“ We can discuss things later, I am busy. We have word that the ‘Haat’ade’ are planning to free Sundari. Head there and get onto one of the evacuation ships. We’re on Kalevala. Make a hasty trip. ”

“But Master–”

The commlink clicked which announced that his Master had hung up on him. For kriffs sake. He ought to just call the Temple to report but what was the point? They didn’t do anything last time.

Sundari.

It was a kriffing bad idea to travel to Sundari– it truly was, but for kriffs sake, they needed to catch that evacuation ship.

“Great.” Obi-Wan shook his head as he stood up. It was getting colder and Obi-Wan already had a chill down his spine. A nice warm shower and a night in bed would do him some good at least.

—-----------------------------

A riot was going to start if they didn’t find this ad quick, Jaster knew that much. 

After Ge’tal’ika vanished, he was spotted in Bralsin walking into a store. He looked close to dead in the holo, tired and clearly worn out from the day he had. Poor thing looked barely well enough to walk.

The verd’e were demanding that they find the ad they had all collectively named Ge’tal’ika, since they all knew Ben was not his real name. They praised the ad that fought like a feral tooka and were way too excited when someone demanded they claim him. Even telling them that Walon was already on his way to find him was not enough for them.

“Tell me you found them.” Jaster demanded as Walon called him.

“ Looking at him. He just called someone and he doesn’t look too happy about it. ”

“Follow him.”

“ Do you want me to take him to Keldabe? ”

“Don’t scare him off, Walon.” Jaster warned, “He is skittish as it is.”

“ I’ll make contact with him and– ” 

“And what? Walon?”

“– he’s gone. ”

“For Manda’s sake!”

—--------------------------------

After Obi-Wan returned he was pleased to find that Satine had gone off to bed early. He would tell her about the evacuation in the morning. For now he could finally take that shower and clean himself up.

His arm did not look great, slightly infected even, but Obi-Wan had dealt with that issue before and knew how to treat it. He had some other additional injuries here and there but mostly treated them with bacta.

They had prepared a new set of clothing for him, but Obi-Wan refused to even entertain them. They looked highly impractical and cold, he would rather get back into his grimy clothes than wear those.

When he slipped into bed, he fell asleep quickly and slept until the early hours of the morning.

In the morning he got up relatively early and decided to take a walk and buy some supplies while Satine was still asleep. They would need to leave sooner rather than later.

He noticed the blindspot in the Force about two blocks away from their temporary sleeping place. It was following him.

When Obi-Wan noticed, he hid in a nearby alley and waited patiently. Sooner rather than later, a Mando walked into it and peered around. 

“Come out, ad .” He ordered.

If he wanted to see Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan would oblige. Leaping out of his hiding spot, Obi-Wan jumped on the Mando’s shoulders and twisted a dagger between his helmet and chestplate. Had the man not called out so obviously, Obi-Wan would have gone for the kill, but something in the Force wouldn’t allow him.

“Move and I will kill you.” Obi-Wan warned. “Who are you and why are you following me?”

“My name is Walon Vau, I am the third in command of the Haat’ade .” The Mando kept his hands raised. “You are Ben, right? You helped our ade .”

Was that what this was about? “I don’t know what you want from me, but I have no time for this.”

“You are going to Sundari, aren’t you? That’s why you are gathering supplies.” Walon gruffed, “We want to help you.”

The Force told Obi-Wan he was telling the truth. “Why?”

“Because you look like you can use it.”

“I’ve got it handled.”

“We can give you a lift.” Walon offered. “Just to Sundari, from there you can go do as you please.”

Interesting offer but a risky one. They suspected Obi-Wan to be a Padawan, it was not a stretch to suspect they were out to get Satine. Then again, the Haat’ade had not been enemies so far and Sundari was a long journey away.

“Swear?”

“ Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it .” Walon swore.

“Then we will meet you right here in three hours.” Obi-Wan replied before taking the dagger off Walon’s jugular and used the man to leap up to the roof. 

—-------------------------

While Satine was clearly not pleased to once again leave the comforts of a proper New Mandalorian base, Obi-Wan managed to convince her with the promise of home. Kalevala was the planet Satine had grown up on and the place her family was meaning Satine wanted to go there too.

She was more angry when she discovered that Obi-Wan made a deal with the third in command of the Haat’ade. She too insisted on wearing a disguise even if Obi-Wan was pretty sure they knew exactly who they were. He indulged Satine’s blanket of safety and kept up the ruse. So long as he wasn’t officially identified as a Padawan, he would pretend to be a New Mandalorian.

“Ben.” Walon greeted as he and three other Haat’ade in full armour showed up.

“Vau.” Obi-Wan nodded, “This is Atin.”

“Well met.”

Satine just nodded, keeping her gaze down.

“She’s a little shy.” Obi-Wan grunted as an elbow hit his ribs.

Walon nodded and motioned Obi-Wan and Satine to follow him. They had a ship prepared for the journey to Sundari. 

The Mando kept near Obi-Wan, blocking potential escape routes as they presented themselves. It set Obi-Wan on edge but he ignored it when the Force coaxed him to let it go. Hard as it was, Obi-Wan shrugged it off but there remained a certain awareness in the back of his mind.

Sundari was a decent distance away but in a ship they could be there within a day. It would be a long trip but they would reach Sundari tomorrow morning.

Since they hadn’t had breakfast yet, Obi-Wan handed Satine a ration bar and opened one himself. He broke off half of it and pocketed the other half.

Obi-Wan and Satine kept to themselves as the ship started to fill up with verd’e, these were the beings helping in the evacuation. Listening to some conversations off to the side, Obi-Wan blinked as the term ‘ge’tal’ika’ came up several times. 

‘Little red’? Shifting a little, Obi-Wan got the odd feeling that they were talking about a person rather than a thing.

His pondering was interrupted when a golden Mando entered the ship. “Well, well, well, look who the tooka dragged in.”

In the middle of a bite of an old slightly stale ration bar, Obi-Wan continued chewing. He tilted his head up at the Mando. Obi-Wan held out a finger as he dug in his bag and retrieved the datapad he had commandeered in Sundari weeks ago and handed it back.

Once he was done chewing he said, “Vor’e, ni jorhaa Mando’a jii.”

The Mando let out a startled laugh as they took the beat up datapad. The screen was cracked, there was dried blood between some of the cracks that Obi-Wan couldn’t quite clean up and the thing was covered in ash dust but it still worked.

“ Wajii !” The Mando nodded his approval. “You learn quickly.”

Survival requires being quick to study. Obi-Wan just nodded. 

“Ben, join us up front.” Walon called, motioning for Ben to walk over.

When he did, Obi-Wan looked at a 3D holomap of Sundari. Walon was explaining the plan for the counter attack to them in Mando’a. While Obi-Wan could follow along for the most part, there were plenty of things he failed to translate. One course of Mando’a was enough to have a basic conversation, not a battle strategy.

He gathered that they planned to use the mines to slip underneath the dome and open it up from the inside. Then the Haat’ade outside the dome would start the counter attack and meet up with the Haat’ade stuck on the inside.

Walon made a point of explaining there would be evacuation ships for the New Mandalorians which got Satine’s attention but she didn’t speak up.

The plan sounded good and all but it missed an important part. “Once inside, how will we reach the evacuation point without getting in the heat of battle? The Evaar’ade don’t fight, they don’t wear armour, how will they get there alive?”

Silence washed over the ship for a moment.

“You’ve got an idea?”

“Sure but I am not certain you will be the Mando that can approve of it.”

A bunch of Mando’s snickered by one look from Walon got them to shut up. “We will be meeting up with the Mand’alor once inside the dome.”

“Then I will explain once we do.”

—----------------------------------------------

The plan worked well, Jaster mused as he and his personal squad gathered to push Kyr’tsad back. They had not expected the Haat’ade to go for Sundari since the city was not in a great position. Then again, Kyr’tsad likely couldn’t imagine going back for verd’e left behind or helping and opponent.

This was likely the most amount of blaster fire Sundari had seen since the Evaar’ade took over but that aside it was a pretty tame battle.

Jaster didn’t like that at all. He didn’t like the idea of it being easy. Something felt off. But with no proof and no reason to believe something was wrong other than his gut feeling, Jaster shrugged it off to focus on the fight ahead.

He was relieved when Walon and his troops arrived from Bralsin. He was surprised when he spotted a copper haired ad taking shots at Kyr’tsad.

The way the ad moved was with precision only seen in a seasoned warriors. 

This one had seen battle before and came out victoriously.

Blue burned as the ad’s eyes lit up. He raised the rifle in his hands and aimed up. The jetpacks were far, it was a hard shot. That didn’t stop the ad from firing with great precision. 

He hit the first, their jetpack exploded. 

The second shot only scrammed the dar’manda Kyr’tsad, but it caused the terrorist to lose control and clatter to the ground. 

The third took two shots to be taken down, but they too fell as the ad hit their jetpack.

Kriff.

That ad’ika was deadly.

“Ben!” Another ad called, getting the attention from the copper haired boy. A hooded girl clinging to the ad like glue. Someone got too close to her and paid for it with their life.

Ge’tal’ika dropped in a roll and fired the minute he landed on his knees. The treat was taken care of quicker than most spotted him. That reaction time was impressive for a child his age, and didn’t fit quite right.

“Ben, share your plan with us.” Walon encouraged as he joined Jaster.

Plan? What plan?

He looked natural when Ge’tal’ika stepped in the middle of the circle and started to draw in the sand on the floor. Automatically, verd’e leaned in to look at what he was drawing. It was surprising to see how easily the ad recollected the map of Sundari which he drew with accurate details.

Once both the Haat’ade and the Evaar’ade paid attention, the ad spoke up.

“We’re currently here. We need to meet with the advancing forces of the Haat’ade to the North. Ships are waiting there to escort the Counsellors and advisors to safety. I suggest we split into two main groups, the Haat’ade and the New Mandalorians separated.”

“Why? Don’t trust us together?”

Ge’tal’ika looked fierce as he turned to the ad who had crossed her arms defensively, “No. I suggest splitting you two because one group is competent fighters and the other refuses to pick up a kriffin blaster.”

There was a lot of fire behind those words, Jaster wondered why.

“I am splitting you in two groups, one will be fighting, the other will take the underground mines and use the distraction of the fight to get to the ships. I expect the Mine group to defend themselves if necessary, but putting you out in the city would not only be a danger to you as untrained Mandalorians but also to the ones that end up saving your shebs . Please refrain from asking questions or giving suggestions until I have finished explaining.”

Once he had looked around the inner circle to see if anyone wanted to interrupt again, Ge’tal’ika continued his plan, 

“Two groups, group one is anyone who is prepared to fight, it will mostly consist of the Haat’ade . While the reinforcements from the North are fighting their way to us, we can help them by launching our own attacks from their rear. Mand’alor , how many people do you have here that are battle ready?”

“Three squads, twelve able warriors each.” Jaster replied.

“Group one splits into six more subgroups, I will leave making those attack squads up to you as you know your people better than I do. These groups will attack Kyr’tsad at their rear from these points, they are well covered and hard to get into from our enemies side.” Obi-Wan explained as he drew the spots he wanted their people to attack from. “Group two will be guided down the Mines. Any injured beings will join that group as well. We will meet back up at the North dock just outside of the Sundari dome for the evacuation. Questions?”

“Who the kriff taught you Guerrilla warfare?” Jango asked as he crouched down to examine the map with the attack points and Kyr’tsad locations. 

Jaster understood the question, Jango was only starting to learn the practice of Guerilla warfare, how did a teen his age learn it?

“Experience. Any on topic questions or suggestions?” Ge’tal’ika shrugged the looks of horror off as easily as he spoke about his attack plan. “None? Good, gather your people and head for the Mines, Mand’alor , I want to ask you for some able men to accompany them, as some of the wounded can’t walk or are still not conscious.”

Having listened and agreed with the plan, verd’e started to take off and get into position for the counter attack. Ge’tal’ika vanished with the other ad, now Jaster understood what the Goran meant when he said that the ad up and vanished on him twice.

—---------------------------------

Obi-Wan ended up joining one of the New Mandalorian groups as their fighting member in order to ensure Satine’s safety. The Mine entrance was just less of a risk and the last thing they needed was the chaos about to occur. 

They made it to the ships in record time, their distraction worked wonders. Still, they needed to move quickly. The New Mandalorians needed to be shipped off quickly before Kyr’tsad reinforcements came along to ruin their evacuation.

Satine would be on the first ship to leave, the one going to Kalevala.

Obi-Wan helps Satine on board and hesitates as he turned to look at the chaos unfolding. He could hear it and feel it in the Force. Not everyone was out of trouble yet. There were plenty that needed help to be evacuated.

“What are you doing, Ben? Come on!” She insists as Obi-Wan took a step away from the hatch.

There were still Mandalorians needing help. Could Obi-Wan really leave when he could help?

The Force echoed discontent at the thought. No, Obi-Wan was not done on Mandalore yet. Even if this might be the only chance of getting off Mandalore before a true war broke out on the surface, he couldn’t take it in good conscience.

“Go, find your father. They will keep you safe.” Obi-Wan pried Satine’s hand off his sleeve and nudged her on board in time to jump off the rising hatch.

“Ben! Ben, wait, what are you–!” Satine’s screeches were cut off as the hatch closed fully. Obi-Wan dashed away from the ship and out of range of it.

Kriff it. He made the decision, too late to go back now.

With huge strides, Obi-Wan reached the thick of the battle and threw himself into the fight.

—-----------------------------

When the dust settled, Jaster felt relieved as they finished the fight with Kyr’tsad. They were fleeing Sundari and that alone was a victory in itself. The Haat’ade would be keeping this city under their control simply because of its position. Kyr’tsad had not enough verd’e to keep it but Jaster knew they would try to destroy the city if they got the chance. If they couldn’t keep it, no one would.

Tor was cowardly enough to do that.

Jaster was conversing with his husband Kal as a certain semi-familiar face showed up. 

“ Ben’ika .” Walon called as Ge’tal’ika greeted him with a traditional arm-grasp. The ad returned it without trouble. “ Su cuy’gar .”

“Yeah, right back at you.” Ge’tal’ika nodded as he picked up his rifle and put it on his back. “Casualties?”

“Minimum, no losses, some wounded. Your plan worked well.” Vau complimented. “How about you and your charge?”

“No losses, mostly minor injuries. She’s evacuated.” Ge’tal’ika replied as he tore a piece of fabric off his robe and moved to sit down.

Both Jaster and Walon shared a look of confusion but soon turned into realisation as Ge’tal’ika moved his outer cloak. A large part of his thigh was covered in sticky red liquid. Jaster hadn’t seen Ge’tal’ika get hit at all, nor did he show it when walking. 

Ge’tal’ika ignored them as he quickly wrapped the piece of torn fabric around the wound and made sure it was tight enough to stop the bleeding.

“What have you got there, Ben?” Vau raised an eyebrow as he frowned down at the kid.

“What?”

“The wound, ad , why aren’t you with the Baar’ure ?” Vau pressed.

Ben, Jaster finally got a name for the boy, frowned a little, clearly confused as he looked at his torn leg, “Would be a waste of bacta.”

Walon looked ready to pick the kid up and drag him to Mij when the man in question marched over. 

“What is that?!” He all but pinned Ben to expose the injury. 

Walon moved quickly to catch Ben’s instinct to attack and made Ben sit.

Ben glared at the ground as Walon kept him seated between his legs. “It’s fine, let go!”

“Unless you are an experienced Baar’ur I think I will be the judge of that.” 

Mij was gentle and explained everything he did before doing it without making Ben feel like a child, something the ad slightly appreciated.

Ben was still young, he was still developing and Jaster almost forgot just how young Ge’tal’ika was with how he behaved, it was worrying. Mij had not been allowed to come close to him before according to Walon, Ben always took care of his wounds himself.

There was no way Walon would have let him go without seeing Mij first if he had known. And ofcourse, Mij decided he needed to do a full check up on Obi-Wan, since he hadn’t allowed it when they first teamed up. 

“No concussion from your fall– yes, I saw that– you are a lucky ad . You need to eat and drink more.” Mij scolded, “There are clear signs of malnourishment and if it wasn’t for that bit of muscle you have, you would be skin and bones. The leg injury is not as bad as it looks but I am going to wrap it into bacta bandages.”

Ben sighed annoyed but Jaster’s mind flashed back to when he saw the ad get thrown off a rooftop and land in the street below. That had to have left some kind of injury. How had Jaster forgotten that, the kid walked as if he had no injury at all.

“I need to check the state of your ribs.” Mij sounded very stiff when he asked, “Could you look up for me?”

Ben did as he was asked, exposing his neck in doing so. There was an angry red electrocution scar winding around his neck. One that slaves all over the galaxy shared. Ben had worn an electric collar not too long ago. It was still raw, clearly untreated, and angrily red. 

“Who did that to you?” Jaster asked, doing his best to keep his voice even but from the stiffening in Ben’s shoulder he failed.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s in the past.” Ben replied.

“How long?” Mij asked, prodding the skin gently.

“For a few months, four years ago now.”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve.”

Walon behind Ben froze, squeezing his shoulders a little tighter. “You’re sixteen.” 

Sixteen was barely old enough to be considered an adult in Mandalorian culture with their verd'goten being around the age of thirteen. And then they were still under the watchful eyes of their buir, making sure that they were ready to go out in the world.

“Seventeen.” Ben corrected.

“ Nay’evaar’la .” 

“ Elek .” Mij agreed.

Mij was silent as he pressed bacta soaked bandages against the wounds on his leg before moving to the badly healed scars. Those needed some extra attention since they seemed not healed at all despite the time passed. 

“Have you treated this at all?” Mij questioned, gently brushing over the abused skin. 

Ben shrugged. “We tried, it’s hard to treat burns when there are little supplies available. It was okay for a while but the scar tissue was completely disrupted since Sundari fell to Kyr’tsad . It keeps opening up and we need to be careful with the medical supplies we have.” 

There used to be a bandage around it, but they couldn’t waste more on the wound that kept opening and irritating. It was a miracle it wasn’t infected.

Walon pulled Ben back to rest against him as Mij worked. The bit of comfort seemed to be enough to put Ben’s mind at ease. His breathing slowed down as he slumped back against Walon, who easily adjusted his grip and let the kid rest against his chest. 

“It’s okay ad’ika , nuhoy , we’ll make sure you all are safe.” 

“Can’t.” Ben replied, leaning back for just a moment longer before getting up and walking off.

He still walked as if there wasn’t a huge gash on his leg.

Once he was out of earshot, the Walon shook his head and talked with low voices, “He’s strong, too stubborn for his own good.”

Jaster reached for his commlink, “Jango, keep an eye on Ben.”

Jango sounded a bit too excited with his task. “ On it buir. ”

“How does one ad attract so much danger?” Mij deadpanned. “If it were up to me he wouldn’t even be going to do this.”

Walon agreed with a gruff. “I just need the name of the person who sold him to a slaver or better yet, whatever force of nature decided that should be his fate.”

“He is Ka’ra’tigaanur .” Jaster realised. He was slightly star touched but not as much as Ben seemed to be.

“Nah, osik , not good enough. I can’t punch the Manda so the slavers will have to do.” Walon replied.

“You wish to train Ben.” Jaster realised, watching the man as he looked down at the young warrior. 

“He is a warrior but he is also young, he needs guidance.” Walon replied, “I wish to provide that if he lets me.”

“He’s got you hooked already.” Myles teased, “Can’t say I blame you, if you don’t take him, I would have made him the offer of taking him in. He really grows on you, doesn’t he?”

“ Elek , except the Mand’alor want to ask him first.” Walon huffed a laugh, “Either way, I have a feeling that being around Ben will never be boring.”

—---------------------------------

Obi-Wan was well aware of his shadow– a Mando around his age that was very obvious in trailing behind him. He was not hiding it at all. How shameless.

Thoroughly annoyed, Obi-Wan decided to head to the Palace to see if the belongings he left in his haste were still there. Getting clean was also not something too bad. A nice shower and a set of clean clothes later, Obi-Wan felt more alive than he had in days.

Dressing up warmer than before, Obi-Wan went out for a walk to call his Master to inform him about Satine being on her way.

“ Jinn. ”

“Satine is enroute to Kalevala. I couldn’t make it on board but I am with the allies of the New Mandalorians and–”

“ Get away from them. The Haat’ade have stopped being open to negotiations, they are no longer allies. ”

Oh for kriffs sake. “What would you have me do? Kyr’tsad is shooting down any ship leaving the atmosphere of Mandalore after the evacuation ships went into hyperspace.”

“ Kyr’tsad ?”

Obi-Wan sighed before translating, “Deathwatch.”

“ You are approaching your senior Padawan-ship, I entrust you with getting off planet unharmed. ” Qui-Gon hummed, “ Call me once you have achieved that and not before. ”

Click.

The kriffing bastard hung up!

If it was true that the New Mandalorian and Haat’ade negotiations were off, that meant they might attack Obi-Wan once they confirmed he was the Padawan left on Mandalore. It was unlikely the New Mandalorians would help him out– they were reluctant at best when he showed up with Satine– the daughter of their kriffing leader.

Better be safe than sorry, Obi-Wan supposed. He had missed his chance to escape the planet and was paying the price now.

Gloomily, Obi-Wan thought about a good way to slip away from Sundari and go undercover. He may need to find a set of armour to wear– though that felt a little wrong considering how a set of ‘beskar’gam’ could be compared to the Kyber hanging around his neck.

His scheming was interrupted when a Mando walked up to him.

“ Su cuy !” He greeted.

“ Su cuy .” Obi-Wan replied.

“I’m Jango.”

He was there when Obi-Wan explained his plan to the Haat’ade before they agreed to follow it. “Call me Ben.” 

Obi-wan nodded his head to Jango. Jango looked delighted as he smiled brightly. His smile was more cheery than Obi-Wan had seen in a long time. He wore silver armour that was lined with blue.

“Where were you going?”

“Just getting some fresh air before going to find some food.” Obi-Wan replied.

Jango nodded, “Oh! Jas’buir said you might be hungry. Come on, I am pretty sure the kitchens are open already.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t hide the flinch as Jango grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He bit back a yelp but the flinch was noticed by Jango.

“Are you alright?”

“Just aching limbs.” Obi-Wan waved Jango off. The last thing he needed was that medic back on his case. “Lead the way.”

Letting Jango walk ahead, Obi-Wan replied to some of his questions - Do you have a buir? I have a guardian. Where are they? We got separated. You speak Mando’a, right? Some. Ever had pirpaak? Twice. – short answers only.

However, just before they went inside, Obi-Wan steered away and vanished.

—---------------------------

Ben was a slippery ad.

Jaster had a look of disbelief on his face as he listened to Jango explain how Ben vanished on him. This was what? The third– no fifth time Ben slipped away under direct supervision of a Haat’ad.

They weren’t slacking, Ben was just really good at making a quiet exit.

He was good at learning– the Goran mentioned that he picked up Mando’a within three weeks and with a better accent than most New Mandalorians. Walon had said Ben had jumped him and could have likely stabbed him in the jugular before he could throw him off his back– that was not an easy thing.

From what Jaster had seen so far, the ad had issues with physical touch– he stiffened when anyone got close, he shied away when Mij tried to treat him and he flinched when Jango grabbed his arm.

Post traumatic stress disorder was hard to spot in ade– Jaster knew that– but it did explain how Ben carried himself.

As much as Jaster hated to think what may have caused it, he knew that Ben was a veteran. All of it pointed to Ben being the Jet’ika that the Jetii had left behind which would mean that ‘Atin’ was Satine Kryze. Walon never got a good look at her but it was too much coincidence to not be her.

“He can’t have left the dome, we closed it once the evacuation was out.” Jaster mused.

“We are keeping an eye on the mines as well,” Walon added, “He did use them to flee the city last time around.”

Kal frowned, “Do you think he will go for killing blows if we find him?”

The Goran shook their head, “The Manda wouldn’t allow it.” They sounded sure of that.

Jaster had to agree with that bolt claim. Ben hadn’t killed Walon when he had the opportunity and he had not taken a single shot at a Haat’ade going as far to aid them in the attack on Keldabe. 

“We will get the strille here, they are enroute since we are staying in Sundari for the time being. We did find the clothes he was wearing before.” Jaster hummed. “Let them get a scent, they can track him.”

“Oya,” Walon bowed his head and headed off followed by the Goran mumbling about looking at places he had come across Ben.

Kal turned to his husband and observed him for a moment. “You want to say the gai bal manda to him, don’t you?”

“We barely met.” Jaster waved Kal off. “If anyone gets to adopt him it would be Walon or the Goran.”

“Neither want to be a buir .” Kal pointed out, “They take apprentices– students– you know that as well as I do.”

Caught on the technicality, Jaster peered down at Kal. “There are others that want to offer him adoption.”

“All of them would give you the honour if you mentioned the desire.” Kal shot the deflection down again. “I am just saying, you need to think about this before you lose your chance.”

Jaster’s eyes widened, “You want to adopt him too!” He accused.

Kal coughed in his fist as he looked away, “He is mandokarla for an Evaar’ad .”

“What if he is the Jet’ika ?” Jaster pursed his lips.

“ Ad abandonment is a serious crime on Mandalore.” Kal mused. “If he is the Jet’ika , his Jetii’bajir broke the law and will have to face the consequences.”

“If he is a Jetii , it would be likely that he chooses to go back to his Temple.” Jaster waved Kal off again.

“How about we leave that up to him when you ask him?” Kal hummed.

—---------------------------

Obi-Wan had to hand it to them– Mandalorians were damned determined.

He had miscalculated when he snuck away thinking he could get out of the city without trouble. 

His luck had clearly run out. 

Looking at the mine entrance he and Satine had escaped and he grimaced when spotting three guards camping out in front of it. It seemed they had learned from Kyr’tsad’s mistakes and plugged the leak.

The Force pulled Obi-Wan away from them– this was not the way to go.

Reevaluating his plan, Obi-Wan moved back into the shadows and started pondering on what to do now. Mines were no option, the Haat’ade were keeping a close eye on that, sewers were not accessible either as established before. Sundari was a pretty well lit city, few shadows to hide in and even less corners to take a quick nap in.

Force Sensitives were pretty good at avoiding living beings but Obi-Wan was tired and started feeling the cold of Mandalore again. Unbalanced and sick of wandering, Obi-Wan found an empty house and settled in for the night. It was not warm with the power shutdown in that part of the city but that same shut down did allow Obi-Wan to hide better.

The night passed as slow as ever, leaving Obi-Wan colder than the evening before. It made him worry about getting sick– his immune system was still not back on track since Melida/Daan.

At least the house had food. The New Mandalorians living here likely wouldn’t mind Obi-Wan clearing it out since it would spoil before they returned.

He ate slowly, unused to fresh food after ration bars for so long. He knew he was malnourished, Baar’ur Gilamar didn’t need to tell him that. It meant that if he ate quickly or food with too much going on he could easily get nauseous and throw it all back up.

Once he was full– which was after only five bites– he stored the food away and calculated for how long he could safely consume it before heading out.

There had to be another way out of this city.

Yeah, no.

Each idea Obi-Wan came up with didn’t work out or got him spotted by eager Mando’s. 

It set him on edge– had they put a bounty on his head? 

Obi-Wan would rather deal with Kyr’tsad– at least they shot at him which meant he could fight to defend himself. They were acting strange, trying to coax him out whenever they spotted him but unable to keep up with Obi-Wan in the end.

For former allies, they were pretty insistent in getting Obi-Wan to their Mand’alor.

After another one of those encounters, Obi-Wan walked through an alley to find another place to hide out when dread filled every fibre of his being.

Taking a step back, Obi-Wan’s eyes widened as he spotted one of those beasts walking towards him. A strill, his mind supplied. They were much more menacing in daylight.

They were tall– reaching up to Obi-Wan’s waist– and their eyes seemed to glow golden.

While the Force didn’t shout danger at Obi-Wan this time, Obi-Wan’s own mind did. It crept closer to him, its eyes on Obi-Wan’s being. Tensing up, Obi-Wan reached for his rifle. It didn’t stop its approach in the slightest.

Drawing his rifle, Obi-Wan was about to aim it when one of the strills jumped up against his chest and pushed him off balance. Another had taken place behind his legs, making him fall over it and pinning his legs once he landed. 

Where had that second one even come from? Damned clever beasts.

Breathing heavily, Obi-Wan tried to find his rifle again but froze as the strill landed on top of his chest, putting its weight on him to keep him down. Its snout was against Obi-Wan’s neck, the sharp teeth too close for comfort.

An uneven breath left Obi-Wan as he reached for his dagger when a sharp sting made him drop the weapon.

Above him loomed Jango– a truly worried expression on his face.

—--------------------------------

When Jango called Jaster to say that Ben had almost killed his strill, Jaster was more than confused.

Ben didn’t seem aggressive without reason. The strille were kept out of the counterattack– they were more appropriate on hunts, not in a battle like that. Walon had ensured they had safely arrived before letting them scent Ben and track him down. They were all over the city trying to find Ben but the slippery ad managed to keep away from them.

That was until Jango and Aranar stumbled upon him when he was off balance and pinned him with the help of Mij’s strill. Jango managed to sedate Ben before he could stab Aranar to death.

It was the footage that had truly shed light on the situation.

“Poor thing is terrified of Aranar.” Jaster muttered, petting his strill in hope he would calm down enough to not leap at the young ad laying in bed the second he was let go of.

Smart as Strille are, they didn’t notice that they were the cause of Ben’s terrified state. They seem to become nervous and very protective when they are near a pup that reeks of fear.

“And for good reason as it appears.” Mij replied. “Now I know why Jaha has been pawing at me.”

Jaster frowned, glancing at where Mij was inspecting older wounds. There had been a bandage around the ad’s left arm, not bled through but definitely in need of change. The injury covering the entirety of Ben’s lower left arm was gruesome. 

“What is it?”

“ Striil bites, nasty ones.” Mij replied, “Not healed too well either, it needs antibiotics. I can’t believe I missed this before.”

“You wouldn’t say that he was injured by how he moved around. Don’t beat yourself up over it, Mij.” Jaster hummed, “What striil would attack an ad ?”

“Better yet, who ordered them to hunt him down?” Mij snarled, “We need to try to keep the striile away until we know the ad isn’t going to lash out at them. He was acting feral, someone will get hurt in a confrontation.”

“We will inform the verd’e of that.” Walon said as he and his own strill Mird walked in. “How is he?”

Jaster sighed, of course word of an ad attacking a strill would travel fast. “Aranar likely smelled his fear and decided he needed to calm the ad down, not realising he was the source of that fear. Aranar would have been stabbed had it not been for Jango.”

Walon nodded in approval, “Keeping an extra dagger up his sleeve. Smart ad , would make a good Haat’ad .”

Noting the underlying question, Jaster shot a warning look at Walon, “Don’t get any ideas.”

“So no buir in sight.” Walon nodded in approval again. “Very adoptable.”

“Don’t. Even. Try.” Jaster gritted, “The last thing we need now is to cause havoc with the Evaar’ade ”

“Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.” Walon gruffed, “The ad is Mandokarla .”

—-------------------------------------------

“Vor’e, ni jorhaa Mando’a jii.” – Thank you, I speak Mando’a now.

Haat’ade: We found Ge’tal’ika!

Obi-Wan: *Vanishes while they blink like Batman*

Haat’ade: Not this again.

Obi-Wan: *Beaten up, bleeding but walking as if nothing’s wrong*

Obi-Wan: Hi Walon *sits down and rips his clothing up to make a bandage*

Walon: What have you got there, Ben?

Obi-Wan: *Actively bandaging his bleeding leg* A piece of fabric, why?

Walon: Ad’ika, no. Get some bacta.

Obi-Wan: T’is but a scratch, using bacta on it would be a waste.

Mij: *Watching from a distance but feeling his medic instincts tingling* 

Che: *On the other side of the galaxy* Why are my senses telling me the disaster lineage is living up to their name?

Obi-Wan: *Gets told to stay away from Haat’ade*

Obi-Wan:  Fine, guess I’ll try to get out of town.

Haat’ade: *Close the dome*

Haat’ade: *Start combing through the city*

Haat’ade: *Call their pet strills to sniff Obi-Wan out*

Obi-Wan: Oh for kriffs sake.

Obi-Wan: *Sees strill approaching causing a flashback to when his arm was mangled*

Obi-Wan:  Ah hell no!

Strill: Pup! Pup! Must help pup!

Obi-Wan: I will stab, don’t even try me–

Strill: *Tries anyways*

Chapter Text

Chapter 4; The calm before the storm

Some things in the galaxy were a galaxy-wide phenomenon. 

Waking up in a medbay was never a good sign. 

Waking up to an angry medic because you didn’t show him all your injuries was worse.

It didn’t matter what planet Obi-Wan was on, medics all seemed to share the need to get all up in his medical history. Why? He couldn’t tell you. 

Medic Gilamar was fuming while he woke up and scolded him. Both for having ‘forgotten’ to mention an older injury hidden below his sleeve and for running off like that. That set off alarm bells because the last Obi-Wan heard was that Walon swore that he would leave Obi-Wan once in Sundari. Half truths and lies all around he supposed. 

His scheming was sadly interrupted when the Mand’alor showed up. Well, Obi-Wan had deemed him Mand’alor in his own head since the man seemed the most fit to rule Mandalore. 

Biassed? Absolutely. 

Was Obi-Wan past the point of caring? Far beyond it in fact.

The Duke wouldn’t be a good leader for Mandalore, he couldn’t even protect his own people. Whomever lead Kyr’tsad was not even in the running of becoming leader if it were up to Obi-Wan, that being was a full on terrorist with no care for life.

The Temple taught them about balance, in Obi-Wan’s humble opinion, Jaster Mereel was that balance. Even if he didn’t like him at the moment.

“Why did you run off by yourself?” The man asked once he had settled down, two mugs in his hand– one of which was given to Obi-Wan.

Not answering, Obi-Wan glanced down at the drink and smelled strong. It wasn’t tea, or at least not a blend Obi-Wan was familiar with. “What is that?”

“ Shig .” Mereel replied, “A blend of herbs and spices, usually whatever we have on hand but this happens to be the Mereel Aliit signature blend.”

Taking a hesitant sip, Obi-Wan was surprised at the rich flavour. It was not overwhelming in taste like the scent suggested. It did a good job in warming Obi-Wan up, these thin medbay sheets left a lot to be desired.

“Why did you run off?”

Knowing the Mand’alor was not going to drop it Obi-Wan muttered, “My ‘guardian’ informed me we are no longer allies.”

“Oh?” Jaster raised his eyebrows, “I was unaware talks of alliance were off the table.”

Cringing, Obi-Wan immediately regretted his straightforwardness. “My guardian does not speak for the Evaar’ade . What is in his beliefs may not be the actual case.”

Jaster hummed thoughtfully, observing Obi-Wan. “Worry not, you haven’t said anything that could sway my opinion of the Evaar’ade more than their own actions.”

Clearing his throat, Obi-Wan said, “I see.”

“Speaking of your guardian, where are they?”

“He is on Kalevala.” Obi-Wan replied, “I am meant to join him there at the earliest convenience.”

“We can help you. Once things calm down we can get you safe passage but for now you must promise me to remain with the Haat’ade .” Jaster insisted, “We Haat’ade follow the Resol’nare , we can not just leave an ad without guardian– no matter how well they take care of themselves.”

Jaster cut Obi-Wan’s protest off before it could even begin before he waited for a reply.

“You promise you will let me leave at the first presented opportunity?”

“Well, I do hope you can take the time to inform us of your departure this time around.” Jaster joked with a smile. “I promise we will meet with your ‘guardian’.”

Obi-Wan didn’t miss the slight ominous tone the man had when he said the word ‘guardian’.

—------------------------------------

“His ‘guardian’ is absent– we have enough evidence that points to neglect– I say we keep him.” Kal shrugged.

Jaster shook his head, “He is a legal adult. He is legally allowed to make his own decisions.”

“Culturally he may be but Mandalorian law states that ade are under the care of either their buir or guardian until their twenties or the species’ equivalence.” Walon butted in, “Ben is seventeen– he confirmed that himself.”

“A law you have criticised time and time again.”Jaster shot the man a look,“ Ade are allowed to go without a guardian when proven able to take care of themselves.”

“Malnourishment, hiding injuries, refusing to sleep, unable to seek out social interaction, Jaster, if there wasn’t an active and well known ban for him to join sparring he likely would despite his injuries. He tends to run off, he is showing clear signs of ptsd and I fear that he doesn’t even realise it.” Mij crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t say that is able to take care of himself.”

“He needs a buir .” Walon looked at Jaster pointedly.

Groaning, Jaster pinched his nose, “Kal, help me out here.”

“Do you want me to offer the Gai Bal Manda ? Because I will if you won’t. You will be a buir either way.”

“ Aruetyc .” Jaster accused. “We still don’t know if he’s a Jetii .”

“I will eat my kom’rk’e if he isn’t.” Walon muttered. “He moves too kriffing fast. Speaking of which, when is he allowed to spar?”

Mij scowled, “I am both glad and annoyed to announce that he is healing fast. I would say a few days before I will allow light sparring.”

Walon nodded before throwing one last jab at Jaster, “Stop hesitating– just because Jango would rather be your ward than your ad – he still calls you buir . You are a good buir and Ben needs a good buir . Not a ‘guardian’, a buir .”

Mij left with Walon and soon Jaster and Kal were left alone again.

“He’s right, you know?” Kal laid his hands on Jaster’s shoulders in comfort, “Jango just lost his got’buir’e , the timing wasn’t right with him. He is happy in our Aliit even if he never accepted our Gai Bal Manda . Don’t let Ben’ika slip away, you will regret it. Jango needed a guardian, Ben needs a Buir .”

—------------------------------------

Obi-Wan had spent a week with the Haat’ade in Sundari so far. They had decided it was better to keep the city under Haat’ade protection for fear of Kyr’tsad bombing it to the ground. 

Obi-Wan went about his day as normal as much as he could. Stretch and work through kata’s in his room. Head for breakfast– carefully observed by someone to ensure he ate according to Gilamar’s nurture plan. His day would vary from there, sometimes hiding away where no one could find him, other times the Goran– who Obi-Wan had met and ditched several occasions– would find him and teach him about Mandalorian culture.

There were a few issues Obi-Wan had not realised were going to be an issue until it punched him in the face.

First of all, Mando’s were incredibly tactile– more than Obi-Wan ever expected them to be. A touch on the shoulder as they passed him, a pat on the back or ruffling his hair. They were quick to reach out and touch which left goosebumps whenever it happened. 

Nothing out of line but the casual touches were more than Obi-Wan was used to.

Second, Obi-Wan was no stranger to being irrationally scared of something. He had been terrified from his nightmares about the Temple halls lines with bodies– something that would never happen in real life. He was scared of narrow dark spaces– likely from his time on Bandomeer. He was wary of loud noises, on Melida/Daan, loud noises meant an approaching enemy since the Young were silent like the grave.

He had never been afraid of animals. His Master was a huge fan of animals and was known to smuggle them into the Temple to heal them up. Obi-Wan had taken care of plenty of small animals before and never really feared them.

However, when it came to strills, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but be terrified of them.

In the first week, he hadn’t seen too many. He had no clue why but he just hadn’t. When he spotted the first one since one of those beasts pinned him to the ground Obi-Wan almost attacked upon instinct before reeling his reaction back.

Then more and more started to show themselves, always accompanied but that didn’t matter much.

Obi-Wan scolded himself for having an irrational fear for these strills. 

The Force didn’t warn him, there was no danger. 

His mind knew that, rationally, but his body remembered being mauled all too well. 

Everytime one of those beasts showed up, he tensed, everytime they got too close, Obi-Wan started to look for ways out. He couldn’t attack them– they were pets to these Mando’s– but he itched for his sniper everytime.

He was a Jedi for Force’s sake. He should know better, he does know better. 

The Mand’alor had kept Obi-Wan close too, his strill kept trying to creep up on Obi-Wan. 

It was tiring the keep switching on what side Obi-Wan walked as the strill kept sneaking up on him. One time it got close when Obi-Wan couldn’t easily move and plopped down on his feet, almost pushing him over.

Mereel had saved him from the strill by dragging it off him and scolding it a bit. He apologised for his animal and kept it close after that but it wasn’t the only one trying to sit on Obi-Wan. 

All strills seemed to be drawn to Obi-Wan, and he really really didn’t like it. 

It seemed to put the Mando’s on edge too, they kept looking over. Their helmets followed them as they passed and Obi-Wan could feel the eyes on him. It urged him, going as far as to avoid them all whenever possible.

Between his meetings with the Goran and staying near Jaster, Obi-Wan started to feel restless. Whether it was the Force or the fact that he was basically benched once again, Obi-Wan couldn’t wait to get back in action. Walon had invited him to join sparring once Gilamar cleared him– that couldn’t be soon enough.

Another issue– less immediate but still worrisome– Obi-Wan felt the bond between him and his Kyber fade more.

Obi-Wan hadn’t had his Kyber with him on Melida/Daan and Melida/Daan had shaped him more than he cared to admit. It’s song was spry and cheery while Obi-Wan felt pained and anything but cheery.

Trauma from his time in those kriffing sewers had estranged him from his Kyber more than he thought and as time went on Obi-Wan started to realise how they weren’t a good pairing anymore.

He mourned in silence as he cradled his first ever Kyber, silently promising it that Obi-Wan wouldn’t abandon it like he was abandoned time and time again. It was not unheard of to be estranged from one's Kyber and it was a relatively known tradition to pair the old Kyber with a new one.

Obi-Wan would need permission to do so– both to go to Ilum as well as to build a lightsaber able to contain the energy of not one but two Kybers. Maybe he could duel wield, he liked the idea of that, or perhaps just creating a long-saber. He would decide on that when it was time.

One of the things he did do was disassemble his hilt altogether. 

If the Mandalorians stumbled upon it his cover would be blown, it was simply not worth the risk. 

—---------------------------------

“Come on, ad .”

Obi-Wan looked up from picking at his food– it was way too much but Mij insisted on it– as Walon loomed over him. Standing up, Obi-Wan took the excuse of leaving his food behind and kept up with the large strides Walon took.

“Where are we going?”

“Sparring.” Walon gruffed, “Mij cleared you for light sparring.”

Relieve washed over Obi-Wan. “What type?”

“I need to see what you can do. Basic training course, melee, hand-to-hand and long ranged.”

“I see.” Obi-Wan nodded. “Where do we start?”

They started with the course. It was an obstacle course. Plenty of parkour, plenty of crawling and running. It looked like a lovely warm-up.

Walon had said Obi-Wan should take his time, to not go too fast if he couldn’t. It wasn’t about how quickly he could do it but about how smoothly he could clear it. Walon said that timing his run could come later, for now he needed to see where Obi-Wan might struggle.

Leaping and flipping through the course with ease, Obi-Wan grinned as he ran up a wall and climbed over it. Jump, crouch, slide, walk up the wall and land on the other side. Run, slide, flip, balance and run again.

When he landed in front of Walon again, he was more than delighted. That felt nice, his limbs were finally stretched in a way Katas couldn’t quite manage. “I think I’m warmed up now.” Obi-Wan said as he tested his flexibility.

Walon just stared at him.

“Vau?”

Walon shook his head before muttering, “Barely out of breath. Manda nonsense.”

“Should I prepare for sparring?”

“Go sit and drink a bottle of water.” Jaster approached the pair, handing Obi-Wan a bottle of water. “Good work on the course, ad .”

Walon motioned to some nearby stairs and told him to sit down there while he and Jaster got into a serious looking conversation. Obi-Wan made a point not to try and listen in. 

Obi-Wan sat on the steps, sipping from the bottle he had gotten from Mereel as he was forced to sit for a moment. Some other warriors were starting their training, putting up a nice show for the ones that had been watching Obi-Wan’s run through their course. 

A soft whine came from his left, making Obi-Wan glance over to the strill that was carefully keeping its distance. It had a smaller strill by its scruff carefully picked up by its sharp teeth.

“What?” Obi-Wan asked, frowning at the animal. It whines again, making its body appear small as it lowered to the ground to crawl forwards. “What do you want?”

Obi-Wan was pretty sure that it was Aranar– Mereel’s strill that usually stayed by his side. 

It was now offering Obi-Wan the equivalent of a baby. The adult strill got closer once it noticed Obi-Wan held his ground even if he was uncomfortable.

It slowly lowered the small strill pup on Obi-Wan’s lap. 

The thing squirmed, pushing its head against Obi-Wan, begging for pets. Aranar backed off, staying near and low to the ground, but didn’t go away.

Pursing his lips, Obi-Wan carefully touched the strill pup, seeing if it would lash out or not. It did not, softly jipping as it leaned into Obi-Wan’s touch. It was warm and slightly fluffy, golden fur.

While hesitantly, Obi-Wan started scratching the animal behind its ears. Aranar seemed proud of his achievement, sitting left of Obi-Wan with his chest puffed about a metre away. Side eyeing the creature, Obi-Wan continued to amuse the baby strill. He would admit, it did seem more playful than aggressive.

Aranar’s tail was whipping back and forth as it watched Obi-Wan carefully pet the small pup. The adult strill called attention back to him when he jipped softly.

“Oh!” Jaster sounded surprised, “Well look at that.”

“He dropped a baby on my lap.” Obi-Wan deadpanned. “I don’t know what it wants.”

“That’s one of his pups. He had them a few months ago.” Jaster dropped down between Aranar and Obi-Wan, petting his strill. “ Striile are very protective of them, no ones allowed to touch their pups without permission.”

The ‘or they will maul you’ went unsaid but not unheard. “Great.” Obi-Wan muttered, refraining from petting the pup with his new knowledge in the back of his mind.

“He gave his permission, you know? Aranar likes you.”

Obi-Wan refused to reply as Jaster settled on his right, rubbing his knee for a moment. Glancing over, Obi-Wan frowned, “Are you hurt?”

“What?” Jaster asked, a little surprised before following Obi-Wan’s gaze, “Ah, it’s an old injury. An unfortunate trap set by Kyr’tsad .”

“I see.” Obi-Wan hummed, “Does it still hurt?”

“Only after excessive use.” Jaster relented. 

For a while, Obi-Wan sat next to the Mand’alor and spoke when Walon walked up again, “Let’s see if we can find you a sparring partner.” He said as he helped Obi-Wan up after Jaster carefully took the pup off his lap.

They walked towards a group of teens that looked in Obi-Wan’s age range and watched the current sparring for a moment. Neither were in beskar’gam and they looked to be grappling. Obi-Wan didn’t like grappling– it meant an opponent had gotten too close and managed to bypass his defences.

He recognised the teen with the upperhand– his name was Jango if his memory was correct. Jango ended up winning the grapple and pinned his opponent until they tapped out. He proceeded to let go immediately and helped the other up.

“Anyone up for a spar?” Walon called out, “Ben is looking for a melee sparring partner.”

Jango looked over and nodded, “I am.”

“Alright, Ben, let’s find you a training weapon while Jango takes a moment to drink his water.” Walon shot Jango a warning look as he proceeded to whine about having to take a break but did follow as he ordered.

Walking Obi-Wan over to a rack, Walon pointed at the blunt training weapons, “Pick one.”

Looking through the weapons Obi-Wan felt a little confused to learn that they weren’t sharpened. Then again, it was impossible to train with a saber without risking light burns– even if they were in its training setting. Still, Obi-Wan had thought Mandalorians would be fighting with actual weapons, even in training.

Obi-Wan ended up picking up a slightly curved blade.

“That’s called a beskad .” Walon hummed, “Good choice.”

Testing the weight and balance of the blade, Obi-Wan did an alternate version of the open handed katas he does in the morning. Yeah, this one would do just fine.

While Obi-Wan got to know his training weapon, Mandalorians started to stop their own spar and sit to look at Obi-Wan’s first spar of the day. Some came onto the makeshift training grounds for that reason alone. The Goran was one of those and settled next to the Mand’alor, speaking with the man softly.

Obi-Wan hardly paid attention to that as he watched as Jango stepped forwards. Observing his sparring opponent, Obi-Wan tested the weight of the blade he was borrowing once again. 

The blade was heavier unlike his saber– his balance needed to shift if he wanted to perform well. From what Obi-Wan saw, Jango was strong– he wouldn’t be able to overpower him unless he used the Force. That was something Obi-Wan didn’t want at all.

It would be unwise to cross blades and put himself in a position where he needed to be stronger. Deflecting blows would be better, Obi-Wan decided. Jango didn’t look faster than he was but only time could tell.

Let him make the first moves, watch and learn, then strike back. A luxury Obi-Wan rarely had in combat since he never duelled only one opponent. 

Jango didn’t seem as competitive, standing confidently as he smiled at Obi-Wan– not menacingly but a kind smile.

“No injuries that need a baar’ur , if one of you taps out you stop immediately, if I step in you stop immediately. First hit will be the end of the match. Your blades will be covered in ge’tal so we can see where you hit.”

Obi-Wan let Walon apply the red dust on the edges of his blade before moving to do the same for Jango’s.

Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan moved into the first position of Ataru before changing his mind and moving to the first position of Soresu instead.

Ignoring the curious looks of his audience, Obi-Wan shifted his weight as he patiently waited. 

It was unlikely that they would recognise his movements as that of a Jedi– they weren’t known to share their secrets after all.

Perhaps it was only Jango or perhaps it was the Mandalorians at large– but Obi-Wan didn’t have to wait long for Jango to charge him.

He was quicker than expected but not quicker than Obi-Wan was. He moved like he knew what he was doing, meaning that he was likely trained with the beskad specifically but seemed rusty with his skills. Trained but not his favoured weapon.

Jango made aggressive attacks, beating down on Obi-Wan’s defence with great strength. In turn, Obi-Wan let the attacks hit and glide off his defence rather than locking blades and testing his own strength against Jango. 

This went on for a while until Obi-Wan started to see the pattern of Jango’s attacks. Once comfortable enough, Obi-Wan quit his defensive strategy and started to make parries to create an opening for attacks.

As Obi-Wan started to set the pace, Jango visibly started to fumble– both feeling tired from his attacks earlier and from the clever movements Obi-Wan made.

In quick succession Obi-Wan dropped, managed to slice Jango at his knee, slicing across his chest and finally rested his blade at Jango’s neck, keeping it there.

The match was over, Obi-Wan had won.

Jango’s eyes were wide, his pupils dilating as he looked at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan stood composed– a deadly expression on his face as he pulled the blunt blade back from Jango’s neck.

The deep red lines across the Mandalorians person snapped Obi-Wan out of his concentration as he realised how easily he had decided to go for the kill rather than for the simple hit Walon mentioned.

He could have stopped at the cut on Jango’s knee but he had chosen to slice his chest and even Jango’s neck.

His conversation with Satine echoed in his mind, 

‘You may be used to this, but I am not!’ Satine sniffed, ‘I can’t– I need to– we were fine this afternoon, I don’t– Why are you so cold?!’

When did he stop paying attention while fighting? When did he stop making the active decision to spare a life rather than taking one? Would he have killed Jango right here if he was holding a sharp blade instead of this blunt one?

Clearing his throat, Obi-Wan easily handed the blade back to Walon when he came to fetch them.

Jango grinned as he walked up to Obi-Wan, holding his hand out to him. Obi-Wan looked down on it as Jango said, “Good spar! You’re really good with a beskad .”

Accepting the greeting, Obi-Wan grabbed onto Jango’s wrist and replied, “You were trained well.”

“I would sure hope so.” Jaster walked up to them as they stepped out of the circle. The man handed both of them their respective water bottles before explaining, “I taught Jango myself. You are very skilled with a beskad , Ben, where did you learn?”

Ah. Obi-Wan had not thought to come up with an excuse for that question. “My guardian is a skilled fighter even if he limits his time practising it.” Would they buy that? Obi-Wan didn’t know but that was his excuse now. It was waterproof, it’s fine.

Jaster definitely did not buy the answer but hummed nonetheless, narrowing his eyes at Obi-Wan for a moment before shaking it off.

“Does he fight a lot?”

“When there is a need to defend.” Obi-Wan replied, looking away as he cleared his throat. “What’s next?”

“Take a minute, then we will look at your hand-to-hand combat.” Walon replied, “We’ll need to find someone who can keep your existing injuries in mind so they won’t hit them on accident.”

“Oh I can do that!” Jango offered readily as he brushed the red dust off his being. “Would you mind sparring with me, Ben?”

“No.” Obi-Wan shook his head, “I am sure that’s fine.”

They took a small break, drank some water– that seemed to be mandatory for them while training– before they got ready for hand-to-hand combat.

This fight was not as long as Obi-Wan had hoped. Jedi were notorious for their lack of hand-to-hand combat skills and for good reason. Most training was with a lightsaber, Obi-Wan picked up a rifle on Melida/Daan and became very good with that out of necessity but hand-to-hand combat was never really on the table. He had a few classes back in the Temple but he mistook the majority of it because of surprise missions with his Master.

Sure, his open handed katas was a decent defence but it was nothing to Jango’s training and  experience. If only he could use the Force.

Jango pinned him with ease– insultingly easily in fact.

Obi-Wan took solace in knowing that he could likely get out of this pin with the Force but for now this spar was lost. Even Jango looked surprised when he managed to grab onto Obi-Wan’s wrists and pinned them besides his head.

He loomed over Obi-Wan for an uncomfortable amount of time before seemingly snapping out of it and helping Obi-Wan up.

“Sorry, I thought–”

“Yeah, not the best at that.” Obi-Wan grunted as he was pulled up by Jango.

Walon raised a single eyebrow before nodding, “We will work on that.” He vowed. “Long ranged.”

“I won’t do handheld blasters.” Obi-Wan immediately said. He had tried and failed with those time and time again. For some reason, they just wouldn’t do it for him. It was a rifle like the one he carried or nothing.

Another raised eyebrow later, Walon relented and agreed. “Fine, target practice then, let’s see how far you can shoot.”

The Mandalorians had some fun with this one once they figured out Obi-Wan was a very good sniper.

They started on shorter distances which Obi-Wan hit with ease. After that it was mostly fun to figure out the limits of Obi-Wan’s skills. With the help of the Force, Obi-Wan managed to thoroughly impress the Mando’s with his accurate hits time and time again. The limit seemed to be the limit of the rifle he had stolen in the attack on Sundari.

“Where did you get that rifle anyway?”

Obi-Wan cringed, remembering plunging his knife in the Mando’s neck in order to snatch his weapon. “For some questions it’s better to keep the answer vague.”

The Goran, who had been an attentive watcher of Obi-Wan’s fighting abilities, snorted, “That bodes well, you menace.”

“No one will miss it.” Obi-Wan offered instead.

“I am sure.” The Goran replied, “Walk with me, Ben.”

—-------------------------------------

The Goran guided Obi-Wan to an old and worn down building in the lower parts of Sundari. Obi-Wan had passed it several times but never stopped to look at it properly.

“What is this?” Obi-Wan asked as the Goran held the door for him.

“The Forge of Ruug’la Sundari .” The Goran replied.

“ Ruug’la ?”

“‘Old’.” The Goran translated, “ Maan would work too, it means ‘original’, though Ruug’la Sundari is the better known term.”

Obi-Wan nodded, “I see.”

The Goran lead Obi-Wan into the old building that was apparently part of ‘old Sundari’ as they explained, “ Evaar’Sundari was built on a miners town. Its inhabitants wished for a peaceful life and had strong alliances with the Mando’ade of Kalevala– they would eventually become what we now recognise as the Evaar’Mando’ade . It lost its Goran, its culture and its Way. The Forge was left empty and forgotten.”

It was dark inside and Obi-Wan was certain that Goran relied on his HUD’s darkvision to see inside.

There was a strange energy inside the building. It was dusty inside but the energy seemed alive and moved. The Force was strong inside despite the amount of the beskar metal inside. Obi-Wan couldn’t feel outside of the building which made the place unbelievably quiet.

Light washed over the room as the fire of the Forge lit up.

A chant filled Obi-Wan’s ears as the fire shifted from orange to blue, indicating the intense heat of the fire. The chant together with the beats of marching overwhelmed Obi-Wan for a moment before he regained his senses.

“You feel it too.” The Goran hummed, interested. “The Manda is interested in you.”

“The Manda ?”

“What binds us Mandalorians together. The gift of the Ka’ra . You are not a Mandalorian– not yet.”

He likely never would be. “I thought to be a Mandalorian was to agree to a creed?”

“The Resol’nare does bind even those without the gift of the Ka’ra , but even those not sensitive to it can feel the Manda’s presence.”

Was the ‘Manda’ the Force? Did the Mandalorians have Force traditions? Force Nulls rarely connected to the Force, how could the Manda connect with those unable to feel it? 

As more questions bubbled up, the Goran shattered the line of thought as he said, “You may not have sworn the Resol’nare as most Haat’ade your age, but you have proven to be an ally. I have seen your skills with the beskad , the Manda has granted you the right of beskar .”

Eyes widened, Obi-Wan muttered, “I am– I am not Mandalorian.”

“Not yet.” The Goran agreed easily. “Still, while rare, a gift of beskar to an aruetii is not unheard of.”

Shocked and thoroughly enchanted as the Goran started the forging process, Obi-Wan watched as metal was placed in a container and warmed up in the heat of the Forge. 

Settling down on the ground, Obi-Wan felt himself slip into the Force as his eyes followed the moves of the Goran. Sparks flew as the Goran hit the beskar metal into shape. The melodic ringing of the metal ringed through the chant and march which pulled Obi-Wan further into the arms of the unknown side of the Force.

It felt like a blink before the Goran stood in front of Obi-Wan, the blade resting in his hands. 

Scrambling up, Obi-Wan stood straight as the Goran held the blade out to him. Out of habit, Obi-Wan bowed slightly, lowering his gaze in respect as he held his hands out. The Goran set the still slightly warm metal into his hands and let go of the blade.

“Carry this blade with pride. Use it with honour. Never turn it to those undeserving of its wrath.”

“ Elek, Goran. Vor entye .”

“ N’entye. ” The Goran reached for Obi-Wan’s shoulders and pulled him to stand straight. “What is your true name?”

Swallowing thickly, Obi-Wan blurred out, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The Goran flinched back as if burned, “Who would dare to– That is a cruel name.”

“It is a sign of my resilience.” Obi-Wan shook his head. “I have faced the River, I have overcome its wrath, I have survived.”

Obi-Wan has survived much. 

He survived the River’s of Stewjoni– he was Obi-Wan Kenobi– River-child Gifted-to-the-River. 

He survived the Mines of Bandomeer. 

He survived the Dark of Xanatos. 

He survived the horrors of Melida/Daan.

What was important was that he survived. His name combined with the fact that he was alive and breathing meant that he was a survivor. It was rare for an Obi-Wan to survive and continue to survive.

“Did you choose Ben?”

“It was given to me.” Obi-Wan sniffed a little, “It is the first name given to me. Even if I don’t always agree with the being who gave it, I find myself fond of it.”

The Goran hummed, “You wear your status of ‘ naasade ’ with pride. Not many have the courage to do so and not many can understand why.”

“I don’t ask them to.”

“Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi.” The Goran mused, “I suppose that does fit you indeed.”

Glad that Obi-Wan’s name was not mentioned anywhere with the title of Jedi, he beat himself up over the fact that he had blurred his true name to the Goran. 

He hadn’t expected the Goran to know its true meaning either. It was almost nice though, that they seemed to understand why Obi-Wan never distanced himself from the name.

The forging of his new weapon had taken all day. A late last meal and an unrestful night of sleep later, Obi-Wan found himself on the training aisle before anyone else.

Instead of his morning katas in the privacy of his room, Obi-Wan decided he needed to give his new weapon a proper test. His room didn’t have enough space for the flips that came with the proper way to do Lightsaber Form katas.

Starting with Shii-Cho and moving from the first Form all the way to the fifth Form. Obi-Wan went all out and did not hold back to hide his use of the Force in his flips. The Padawan moved with his newly abstained blade. 

It was lighter than the training blade and impossibly sharp. The balance was a little strange and hard to get used to but by the end of his set of katas he felt pretty adjusted to it. He could work with this.

—---------------------------------------

Ben found himself sitting with the Mand’alor once again. It was quiet at the moment and Mereel had given him a book to read. It was some old Mandalorian folk tale about the Mythosaurs and its master– it seemed a bit fantastical to Ben.

He had mentioned liking to read so Jaster suggested this book to him. 

“Don’t like it?” Jaster asked as Ben glared at the text.

“Why am I reading this?” Ben Questioned as he raised an eyebrow at the tale.

“It’s a classic.” Jaster replied, peering at Ben, “Is there a genre you would rather read?”

Shrugging, Ben replied. “Something useful.”

Mereel frowned, “When was the last time you read for fun?”

Flattering a little, Obi-Wan frowned too trying to think about the question. “I– I don’t recall.” Must have been before Bandomeer at the very least. 

“What don’t you like about the story?”

“Riding a Mythosaur with the way they're described?” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, “It seems unrealistic.”

Mereel grinned, “Ahh, but that is based on history.”

Thoroughly interested, Obi-Wan set the datapad down and turned his attention to Mereel. He used to like learning about history and Mereel claiming the fantastical book he had been reading peaked his attention.

Ever the history nerd, Jaster set his own paperwork down and leaned on his desk. “Long ago when Mandalore was still green, Mythosaurs lived on the surface of Mandalore. When the travelling beings known as the Taung landed on the planet they proved to be dangerous creatures. They tried themselves by fighting these creatures. They drove the creatures to extinction but their memory lives on in our sigil– it’s the form of the Mythosaurs’ skull.”

“They actually existed?” Obi-Wan looked at the image again.

“Long ago.” Jaster nodded. “Our ancestors whipped them off the face of the planet but there are always rumours of Mythosaurs that sought refuge in the debts of pockets of beskar.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, “You are saying that if you dig deep enough you might find one?”

“That is the legend.” Jaster laughed, relieved as he watched a bit of childish wonder appear on Obi-Wan’s face. A slightly curious smile– an actual smile that couldn’t be faked– as the kid picked the datapad back up and dove back in the book.

Mereel watched Obi-Wan for a moment before turning back to his work.

—--------------------------------

As said before, some things in the galaxy were a galaxy-wide phenomenon. 

Waking up to the report of a missing Padawan who was supposed to be in the medbay was never a good sign. 

Waking up to an angry Healer because of the ‘kidnapping’ of said Padawan was worse.

When an emergency meeting was called at 4 am in the morning by none other than Jedi Master and Head Healer Vokara Che on the topic of Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master Mace Windu knew he would be suffering a migraine for the entire day if not the entire week.

“–not only a heavy offence, it is also child endangerment according to Republican law!” Vokara Che had been going off on the Council for over two hours now.

It was widely known that Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn tended to push boundaries. Master Che had always taken offence by this when it came in the way of her duties and responsibilities as a Healer and would make reports on each minor or major discrepancy.

In Mace’s humble opinion, Master Che was right, Jinn had gone too far this time. 

Padawan Kenobi had barely been in his healing process when Jinn decided it was a good idea to bring him along to a tricky situation on Mandalore. While the Jedi had initially refused to entertain the mission, the Republican Senate pushed them to oversee local negotiations despite the long history between their people.

It was a mission meant for a Jedi Master, not a Knight, not a Master-Padawan duo, a Jedi Master.

Of course, Jinn decided he needed to bring his Padawan along. The Padawan who was not cleared for light duty and was supposed to remain in the medbay for another two months at the very least. The Padawan who was freshly removed from a war torn and rejoined the Order after having made a poor decision. The Padawan was not cleared by mind healers for over three years.

Yeah, that was not one of Jinn’s smartest moments.

“Insisted to come along, Padawan Kenobi must have.” Yoda hummed. “Lacking responsibility, I think not.”

Mace cringed as the Grand Master continuously defended his favourite lineage descendant and flinched when Che snapped.

“How dare you imply the Padawan went along willingly! You have seen his expression– his wince when he stood from his cot and his pained expression when Jinn pulled him along!” Che was furious, “I have heard the rumours already circling the Temple! They are saying Obi-Wan insisted– is that because of you? The poor boy had been slandered for months! We all know Melida/Daan is not all it seems! We know Jinn has lied before and until Padawan Kenobi opens up we won’t know the truth! Listen to the Force, Masters, because if you won’t there will be consequences.”

All Councillors winced. They had been indulging Yoda too much. He might be the most experienced but he was not all knowing.

Unbeknownst to all present, a certain Padawan named Quinlan Vos sat in the vents above the council room.

He didn’t listen often– most meetings were long and boring– this one was interesting.

When Obi-Wan returned to the Temple he had initially been angry. A Padawan leaving before crawling and accepted back was unheard of. He instantly let go of that belief when he heard what Obi-Wan had to say.

It had been strange to him to hear that Obi-Wan had left for a girl. Now he understood. Quinlan had been planting the truth in the gossip but it was a hard battle and the sway of opinion of the Temple at large.

Their Creche Clan knew– their Clan knew what Obi-Wan went through and how his Master was unfit for him. They had expressed that opinion to anyone who could listen.

Quinlan had tried to sneak into the medbay before visiting hours to spend some time with Obi-Wan before he and his Master would need to leave for their mission only to find an empty bed. He informed Che immediately despite not being allowed in the medbay. The Head Healer had been too busy figuring out what to do with Quinlan to notice him following her to listen in on the meeting.

He hadn’t seen the footage Che was referring to but he had heard enough to make his own conclusion.

Jinn had taken Obi-Wan into another warzone.

But this time, the Bear Clan would not sit and take the beating.

—-------------------------------

The calm before the storm, Jaster supposed.

It had been two weeks since they took Sundari. Everyday, the Haat’ade expected an attack, either on Sundari or Keldabe but it never came.

Tor was scheming, Jaster knew he was. He felt in his core that the climax of these pointless Clan Wars were approaching fast. Their scouts were searching for the location of the Kyr’tsad forces. 

Jaster had been looking at the map of Mandalore, staring it down as if his gaze might magically reveal what he was looking for.

“They will go for Keldabe.”

Startling, Jaster turned to see Ben to his left, looking at the map as well. “What?”

“They will attack Keldabe and Sundari. They will aim to destroy Sundari and take over Keldabe.” Obi-Wan’s eyes looked a little dull– entranced even. “I’ve seen it.”

“Ben?” Jaster reached for Ben.

“They have taken Bralsin quietly– your forces there were not enough and the Evaar’ade could not help. They killed them all.” Ben whispered, unblinking as he wavered, “They will try to bring the dome down and crush you beneath it. They will take Keldabe and claim it for themselves if you don’t go there now.”

Before Jaster could reach Ben, the ad collapsed as if his strings were cut. Jaster managed to catch him before his head hit the ground. “Ben!”

Ben started to convulse, making Jaster lay him down but he continued to cradle his head to avoid it hitting anything. “Mij!”

“ Mand’alor? ”

“Ben has collapsed and is convulsing.”

“ Oh kriff– ” Jaster listened as Mij moved quickly. “ Where are you? ”

“War room.” Jaster replied, “Hurry.”

Cringing, Jaster felt helpless as he was forced to watch Ben in this condition. All he could do was time how long Ben was convulsing for Mij and pray to the Manda that the man was here soon.

After a few minutes, Ben started to slack and his breath started to even. Jaster let out a sigh and kept his fingers on Ben’s pulse to ensure it was steady. Moments later, Mij barged in with one of his assistants.

“Sitrep!”

“Ben seemed a little hazy when he walked in, continued to suggest he saw the fall of Keldabe and Sundari before dropping into convulsions. He was unresponsive. I managed to catch him before he hit his head. He convulsed for about four and a half minutes. His pulse is steady.”

“Let’s get him to the medbay.” Mij insisted.

Jaster breathed, waiting for permission before gathering Ben in his arms and carrying him towards the medbay.“What just happened?”

“I won’t know until I have had a look and spoken with him.” Mij muttered. 

“He said he saw the fall of Keldabe.” Jaster repeated. “Is he Ven’haa’taylir ?”

“Speak with the Goran, I wouldn’t know about that.”

—-----------------------------

Obi-Wan hadn’t had a Force related vision in years. He used to have them when he was young but they had faded just like Master Yoda said they would. Visions were rarely taken seriously, the Jedi had learned that trying to avoid or make the Visions happen would do nothing but do the opposite of what was intended. It was better to let time run its course.

The Future is always in motion.

Yeah, that didn’t stop the nightmares. Mij had said he suffered a seizure and asked his medical history, Obi-Wan told the truth– he hadn’t suffered one since his early childhood.

He didn’t expect a visit from the Mand’alor and the Goran soon after. They were in full beskar’gam, worried expressions on their faces.

“What do you remember?” Mereel asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.

“Not much, why?”

“You said something to me. Something about Kyr’tsad’s next attack.”

Obi-Wan frowned and looked away, “It wouldn’t matter much I suppose, I was not aware.”

Jaster shook his head, “But it does. Visions are not to be ignored, ad .”

“The future is always in motion.” Obi-Wan cleared his throat.

“I sent word to Bralsin– We have a negative when it comes to Kyr’tsad.” The Goran gruffed, “What else did you see, Ben?”

War. What else? All Obi-Wan seemed to see was war. “They took Bralsin in the night. Instead of capturing beings like they did in Sundari, they killed them all. It was a massacre.”

The adults were all quiet for a moment. “Get some rest, Ben.”

Obi-Wan watched them walk out of the medical room and slumped in on himself. Sleep sounded nice.

—--------------------------------------

Obi-Wan: *Looking at the obstacle course grown Mandalorians seemed ‘intense’*

Obi-Wan: A fun warm up!

Walon: *Watching Obi-Wan easily demolish the course* Well… I did not expect that.

Obi-Wan: *Dominates at Long-range and melee combat*

Also Obi-Wan: *Is one of the worst hand-to-hand combatants the Mando’s have ever seen*

Haat’ade: *Visible confusion*

Obi-Wan: *Exists*

Jango: Yeah I like Ben.

Obi-Wan: *Outwits Jango and vanishes on him*

Jango: I think I’m in love.

Obi-Wan: *Beat’s Jango’s ass in melee combat without breaking a sweat*

Jango: I am in love.

Walon: Where did you get that rifle?

Obi-Wan: *Flashback to killing someone without hesitation* Don’t worry about it.

The Goran: *Snorts*

Jinn: *Forces Obi-Wan to join his reckless mission*

Che: Oh kriff no!

The Bear Clan: *Dusting off their travel gear and polishing their saber* Don’t worry, we’ll get him back.

Jaster: *Feels the storm brewing in the Force even if he doesn’t realise it*

Ben: *In the middle of a Vision* You might want to go to Keldabe if you want to win this war.

Jaster: What?

Ben: *Collapses and proceeds to have a seizure*

Jaster: Kriff!

Chapter Text

Chapter 5; Trouble on the horizon

The decision to abandon Sundari didn’t sit right with Obi-Wan when it was announced but there was little he could do about it. 

When the Haat’ade were forced to pick between the oldest remaining city of Mandalore and the modern mess built on top of a miners town, they chose the former. 

Obi-Wan’s vision had been made a huge ordeal even if he tried to dissuade Mereel from letting it sway his decision.

He didn’t understand why.

Even when the Goran took him aside to explain the concept of Ven’haa’taylir’e he still didn’t understand the big deal. He had a Force vision, so what? Heading to Keldabe or Bralsin wouldn’t change what he saw. It never changed when you tried to avoid it from happening.

They wouldn’t believe Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan couldn’t exactly explain that he had tried countless times. He had tried to avoid Bandomeer by doing his best– he was still sent there, he had tried to stop Xanatos from attacking the Temple– he was still forced to fight him.

Everyone seemed to think it was some big deal that Obi-Wan collapsed because of a vision but it wasn’t. 

He got overwhelmed by the Force, that is all that happened. Force visions strain the body and Obi-Wan had never been particularly strong in the Force, his body couldn’t deal with visions most of the time. It was like how Mace Windu got his migraines when a shatterpoint snapped or when Syfo-Dyas collapsed due to a Force vision of his own.

Obi-Wan was frustrated but he couldn’t exactly explain it without giving the Mandalorians confirmation of his status as Jedi. In his belief they had an unwritten rule. Obi-Wan wouldn’t do too much Force related shenanigans and in turn the Mandalorians wouldn’t question whether he was the Padawan or not.

Now Obi-Wan wasn’t prideful enough to believe he was actually hiding the fact that he was a Jedi well– on the contrary– he was all too aware that they likely already knew but were keeping him around as potential leverage. His plan was to somehow get near his Master and sneak off somewhere in the future without breaking the unspoken truce in the meantime. 

Perhaps he should have never left the Temple when Qui-Gon pulled him away and suffered whatever consequences that had. That would have been much easier than this whole mess.

Too little too late, Obi-Wan supposed.

—--------------------------------------------

The Temple knew better than to allow all members of the infamous Bear Clan to be on Coruscant at the same time– or at least they should have. Usually there were only a maximum of three Bears in the Temple at a time but this time around things were different.

Quinlan had called an emergency meeting, telling his Master he felt too sick after he got stuck in a vision when he had touched a Jedi’s lightsaber– too many memories attached to those things. 

He got to stay in the Temple when Siri and Garen returned from their respective missions. Garen was supposed to be in the Temple but Siri pulled the same move on her own Master and told him she was too sick to join him. Bant was a Temple resident– she was to become a healer and rarely left the Temple to begin with.

For the first time in over five years, four of the five Bear’s were in Temple at the same time and for the first time in over five years they were in a Clan meeting.

“–and that’s when I decided we needed to do something so I crawled my way back to my room and touched Master Tholme’s lightsaber so I would get lost.” Quinlan looked proud as he explained his scheme but all it earned him was a hit on the back of his head, courtesy of Bant. “Oi!” He protested, rubbing his head.

“Idiot, you know how dangerous that can be!” She scolded with a scowl on her face. “I appreciate the update on the Obi-Wan situation though– most of us thought he snuck out by himself again.”

It was a widely known fact that Obi-Wan despised the medbay, it wouldn’t have been a stretch.

“The mission his Master was supposed to go on was to Mandalore, right?” Garen frowned, “That’s going to be a problem– I read they hate Jedi.”

“Then why was he going there?”

“The Republic demanded it.” Quinlan frowned as well, “If Obes is there we need to get him back.”

Siri pursed her lips, “How? It’s not like we can steal a ship and get him ourselves.”

A grin appeared on Quinlan’s face– one that scared all those present for the meeting. 

“Quinlan, no.”

“QUINLAN, YES!” Quinlan grinned, “We’re going to Mandalore to get our dumbass back!”

—----------------------------

Mereel kept Obi-Wan close, adding him to his squad as they left Sundari and travelled back to Bralsin to reunite the Haat’ade’s forces. They paired him up with Jango who didn’t seem too bothered by the decision. He was a nice Mando and Obi-Wan appreciated the attempts of helping him learn hand to hand combat.  

Jango did keep pestering him to get armour– despite Obi-Wan not being a Mando himself. 

“Training sets are a thing, you know?” 

“Oh for Force’s– I am not wearing armour, alright?!” Obi-Wan snapped as he nudged Jango playfully. “That’s your thing, not mine.”

“I’m just saying, it’s not illegal to ask the Goran to give you a training set– until someone finally says the Gai Bal Manda to you.”

The last part of the sentence went unheard by Obi-Wan leading him to ask, “What was that?”

“Nothing.” Jango smiled as if he were a saint. Obi-Wan knew better and narrowed his eyes at him for a moment.

“Sure…” He replied. “Where are we going? I thought Bralsin was to the East.”

Jango straightened a little as his playful expression turned a little sour. “We were heading to Bralsin– then we got an emergency call from Haat’ade in trouble. We’re going to help them out.”

Now it was Obi-Wan’s turn to frown, “What kind of call?”

“Bunch of Haat’ade stumbled upon one of the groups of ade taken by Kyr’tsad some years ago. They called for help before contact was lost. We’re heading to the last known location while Walon heads to Bralsin to keep an eye on the situation there with the majority of the Haat’ade .”

“I see.” Obi-Wan hummed. “Any clue on the situation?”

“They were with three when the communication cut off. Mentioned multiple captured Haat’ade . Jaster thinks they were overpowered which is why we’re sending an entire squad rather than scouts.”

They spent another hour in the speeder before it slowed and stopped in the middle of the ash dunes. 

“Keep near one another, we are using the buddy system, stay in contact.” Jaster allowed his squad to go look around for any clues.

Obi-Wan managed to find the location of a scuffle, Jango spotted a broken comlink belonging to one of the Haat’ade. Whoever was here was long gone, that much was clear.

It was easy to keep an eye on the squad at large since the dunes left little cover but that also was confusing. There were no signs of a speeder passing through and besides the scuffle there was no sign of any living being.

Where did they go?

With a deep frown, Obi-Wan looked at Jango who looked as confused as he was. “Is there any hiding place nearby?” Obi-Wan offered, remembering the unassuming homestead he had found a group of ade in. “Abandoned house or something?”

Jango pondered for a moment before his eyes widened, “Come on,”

They headed back to the speeder where Jaster was speaking with Kal. “Did you two find anything?”

“Aren’t there old beskar mines in the surrounding area?” Jango asked as he looked up at his guardians. 

“Those are further East.” Kal dismissed.

Jaster perked up though, “But there could be an old mine shaft nearby.” He mused, “We are not that far away– there might be tunnels leading there. Did we ever clear the Mines here?”

Kal nodded, “We did, months ago, we blew up the entrance to keep it from being used.”

“There are always multiple exits in mines.” Obi-Wan muttered, “It would explain the lack of tracks outside of this area– there has to be an entrance near here.”

Jango agreed with Obi-Wan, “We’ll keep looking for it.”

“Be careful.” Jaster warned. “I don’t like it.”

Yeah, Obi-Wan didn’t like it either.

Jango and Obi-Wan continued to look around, silently conversing as they combed through the area.

It took an hour before they finally found what they were looking for. 

Obi-Wan heard the creaking of wood but reacted a moment too late. The ground below Obi-Wan and Jango shook as they balanced themselves but it did not help as the poorly repaired cover of a set of stairs fell apart beneath them.

Both yelped as they fell down a shallow mineshaft and landed on a middle level. Grunting as his back hit the ground, Obi-Wan wheezed for a moment before turning and kneeling to catch his breath.

Jango kept lying on his back for a while longer, raising his hand to his comm and said, “Kal, we found something.” He gruffed before coughing as he too sat up. 

“Are you alright?” Jango asked as he looked over to where Obi-Wan was wheezing his lungs out.

“Ca–n–t breathe–” Obi-Wan couldn’t seem to get any air in his lungs at all. Panicking, Obi-Wan dug his nails into the weak, wooden structure below him.

Hands reached for his shoulders and pulled him back, bending him into an arch. Laying his head back, Obi-Wan stuttered his breath as Jango helped him find a way to breathe steadily. After a good ten minutes, Obi-Wan started to get his breathing under control and slacked in Jango’s grip. 

“Are you alright?” Jango asked again, helping him sit up but keeping an arm against Obi-Wan’s back to keep supporting him.

Clearing his throat, Obi-Wan took a few deep breaths before replying, “I think so.”

Jango peered off into the darkness of the mine shaft to see it go down much further. They had been lucky that a wooden in-between-level had caught their fall because they would have broken something if they had fallen all the way down.

“I don’t think this thing is very stable.” Jango muttered. “They tried to fix the top planks and hid them again. No wonder we couldn’t find any sign of where our allies had gone.”

“We should get back up.” Obi-Wan pursed his lips as he looked further down the stairs, “There is no way that whoever is down there didn’t hear us fall through.”

“Good luck with that.” Jango gruffed, looking up.

They had taken whatever was left of the frail stairs down with them. “Kriff.”

“Kal says that he and Jaster are on their way over, should be a few minutes.” Jango petted Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

How Obi-Wan hated mines. He may have used them before but it was always a bad reminder to Bandomeer. He didn’t like being stuck either. For a moment, he pondered the consequences of leaping up the mineshaft with the Force and leaving Jango but Jango’s soothing comforting tone calmed him enough to remain in place.

As promised, the rest of the squad found them ten minutes later and lowered ropes down so they could climb out.

Thank the Force for that.

Jango let him climb up first and Obi-Wan climbed that metal rope in record speed.

Much to his dismay, it was decided that the squad would decent and deal with whomever may be down there. 

In the end Jango and Obi-Wan were to join as well but not join the actual fight– mines were not ideal for that sort of thing after all. They had to promise to turn back and go to the surface at the first sign of trouble.

Jango did not actually follow up on that promise though because as soon as the fighting at the front began, Jango pulled Obi-Wan along with him down a different tunnel. He had seen something Obi-Wan hadn’t because he was determined there were beings down the tunnel.

They found a metal door that was heavily reinforced and they needed to work together in order to open it.

Before they could even step inside, Jango was attacked by a feral and ash covered young adult. 

“ OYAAA !” She cried as she launched at Jango, hitting his blaster out of his hands and grappling him to the ground.

Obi-Wan reacted on instinct and used the Force to throw her off him before reaching for his sniper. He was distracted when he spotted a bunch of terrified ade in the cell huddling in a corner.

“Wait, Jango–!” Obi-Wan started but was forced to duck below a shiv made of glass as the girl focussed on Obi-Wan. “We’re here to help!”

The girl flattered after attacking Jango again and ripping his buy’ce off to go for the kill. “ Jan’ika ?”

“Arla?!”

Obi-Wan blinked, “Are we done fighting?” He couldn’t help but ask, this whole situation was confusing. 

For a split second Obi-Wan thought they were continuing their brawl but he decided the answer was no when the two Mando’s flung themselves at each other and hugged tightly. 

Instead of keeping his attention to those two, Obi-Wan turned to the kids present. “ Su cuy’gar. Nir gar gai Ben, Copaani gaan? ”

—-----------------------

“What do you think you’re doing, Padawan?”

Quinlan didn’t squeal– you have no proof!– as his Master materialised behind him as he hotwired the ship. “Master! I thought you were on a mission–”

Jedi Master Tholme’s tall form loomed over the Bear Clan Padawans as they huddled in some dark corner of the hangar. Quinlan, confident that he could easily take one of the Jedi ships, had convinced his Clan mates to go and get Obi-Wan. Their Masters should have been on their respective missions but for some reason Quinlan’s Master was right there.

The Bear Clan shared a look as Quinlan stuttered in surprise.

Tholme levelled Quinlan with The Look™ and raised an eyebrow. “I know you, Padawan mine. Despite all of your dumb decisions, you know better than to pick up my lightsaber.”

Damn.

“Well–”

“I will ask again.” Tholme peered through his lashes, “What do you think you’re doing, Padawan?” 

For a moment, everyone tried to come up with some sort of plausible excuse. There were four Padawans fully geared for a mission breaking into a Jedi ship, what excuse would be believable while not getting them in trouble at the same time.

Then Quinlan puffed up, his lips pursed as fire lit up in his eyes. “We are getting our Clan brother back.” He held his ground as Tholme observed his expression. “We know Obi-Wan didn’t just leave the Temple– I keep telling you that kriffing Jinn is not a good Master– he stole Obi-Wan out of the medbay while he was still injured and no one is doing kriff about it! If you all can’t take care of him, we will!”

The other Bear Clan members sucked in a breath as their eyes jumped from Quinlan to his Master, awaiting the inevitable scolding.

Then Tholme sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well then, since you are all already prepared to go, follow.”

Master Tholme turned on his heel and strided away fully expecting the Padawan’s to follow. A silent conversation went on between the Padawans before they started to hesitantly follow. 

They followed the Jedi Master as he walked up to a different ship and walked into the hatch. “Keep up.” He scolded, noticing the Padawan’s lagging behind.

Quinlan, fully trusting his Master and somehow confident he wouldn’t be scolded, followed him up the hatch and inside. The other three bears followed along soon after and were met by some of their own Masters.

“Siri?” Master Koon tilted his head as his Padawan marched into the ship with her Creche Clan.

“Master?” Siri looked just as confused.

The other two Masters inside the ship was Bant’s Master, Healer Vokara Che and Jedi Master Mace Windu.

Master Windu audibly groaned as the Padawan’s stepped into the ship and rubbed his head. “For kriffs sake– I should have known.” He muttered as he turned to the Padawan’s “Now what is this?”

“They were stealing a ship to find Padawan Kenobi and Master Jinn.” Tholme deadpanned, standing behind his Padawan and squeezing his shoulders gently, “Either we bring them along or they will find a way to go themselves.”

Plo– thoroughly amused by the protectiveness of the Bears– send a wave of amusement and the equivalent of a smile through the Force. “Perhaps it would aid Padawan Kenobi in keeping calm– the last time he was in the same room with multiple Masters he seemed awfully tense.” Plo mused. 

“Bant?” Che frowned down at the Healer Apprentice.

Normally Bant would lower her head and avoid conflict but was inspired by Quinlan’s action before she too squared up and held her ground. “Padawan Kenobi was my patient. I have a duty to ensure the safety of my patients.”

Master Windu still shook his head before saying, “This mission is highly classified for several reasons. The main reason I am allowing this is because I agree with Healer Che– Jinn has gone too far when he took Kenobi out of her care without being cleared by the Council or by the MediCorp. 

“As I have mentioned before, I fear Obi-Wan is not currently in the care of Jinn– he refused to let me speak to the Padawan when he called in his latest report. They should be on Kalevala as guests of Duke Kryze. Leave Jinn to complete his task and bring Padawan Kenobi home in one piece if possible.”

“They split up again?” Quinlan groaned, “Kriffing Jinn, he keeps leaving Obi-Wan on random planets.”

The Masters present froze in place, “Could you repeat that, Padawan Vos?” Che asked slowly.

“You mean to tell me they have split up on missions before?” Mace clarified.

“Yeah, like all the time!” Quinlan huffed.

“Worse than that!” Siri exclaimed, “Obi had told us it’s a regular thing! He gets left behind all the time. Last I heard he had set up a credit account to keep his Padawan funds in so he could use them for transportation back to Coruscant. Jinn keeps stealing his pocket money too– Obi has been hoarding it as much as possible.”

Anger bubbled up in the Force as the Master’s lost their composure for a few minutes– even Plo was mad and he rarely got mad. 

Mace cursed quietly, “If only he wrote his side of the reports.” He lamented.

Now it was the Padawan’s turn to freeze. “He does.” Garen claimed. “He spends hours on them.” He recalled.

“And so the plot thickens.” Tholme pursed his lips in distaste, “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy, do you?”

“Obi keeps his datapad in the Bear Clan Padawan Dorms.” Garen nodded, “It has to be on there. I know he’s written them! I had to spell check one of them for him– it was bad.”

Rubbing his poor head, Master Windu sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “I will go find the reports and read them. You all go to Kalevala and get the Padawan, I will ensure no one questions your absence as well as informing Padawan Muhl’s Master of his ‘Senior Padawan Solo mission’. May the Force be with you.”

“And with you.”

—-----------------------

Alra, as it turned out, was Jango’s long lost sister. She had been captured three years ago and had been held captive by Kyr’tsad since. They tried to integrate her in their ranks but Alra was too stubborn to let them manipulate her.

Obi-Wan appreciated the amount of mental and physical strength that took– Arla was one hell of a Mando.

Jaster found them not long after that and informed them that Kyr’tsad was taken care of. He was happy for Jango to hear his sister was alive and glad to have found another group of missing ade.

They continued their way to Keldabe rather than Bralsin– Keldabe was better protected and currently housed Mij Gilamar– the House Mereel main medic.

Once again, Obi-Wan sat in a medbay but this time in a larger hall joined by Jango, Arla and the ade. Jango was mostly unharmed and got away with a few bacta bandages. Obi-Wan was not so lucky and had a concussion from falling through the mineshaft, bruised ribs and some strained muscles. Nothing some bacta couldn’t fix but Mij insisted on keeping him overnight to observe him.

Arla was in the bed next to his and had to go through a full check up. Jango sat on a chair between their beds, unable to allow his sister out of his sight and wanting to keep Obi-Wan near in case he stumbled upon trouble again despite them being deep in Keldabe.

Already resigned to a night in the medbay, Obi-Wan sat back against a pillow and made conversation with Arla and Jango.

“So he is an Evaar’ad but not?” Arla raised an eyebrow.

Jango frowned for a moment, “I guess? His guardian works with them, right Ben?”

“Currently, yes.” Obi-Wan was highly uncomfortable with these questions but Arla seemed to be in need of distraction. “I need to head to Kalevala as soon as possible.”

Alra pursed her lips, “What about the glowing stone, what’s up with that?”

“Heirloom.” Obi-Wan blurred, cringing as he ensured that his Kyber was hidden before the loose medbay tunic. 

Jango leaned over and whispered something to Arla which made her frown, “But is he though? Did none of you ask?”

Obi-Wan tensed as Jango whispered to her again.

“I wouldn’t describe Ben as ‘skittish’.”

As if to prove Jango’s point, Obi-Wan tensed up more and moved to the side now near the door as Jaster walked in followed by his Strill. Aranar was carrying a pup again, marched over to Obi-Wan’s bed and set the pup down on the bed next to Obi-Wan before running off.

Obi-Wan cringed as he looked at the pup, not knowing what to do with it as Jaster moved to Jango and Arla. He only listened to part of the conversation as he was distracted once again when Aranar ran back in, slowed down and set a second pup down on Obi-Wan’s bed. Then he ran off again.

Only when Aranar came in a third time with a third pup and ran off again, did Obi-Wan interrupt the conversation Jaster and Arla were having about future plans.

“Just think about it, I don’t need an answer now.” Jaster ensured, “The invitation to join Aliit Mereel as my ward is an open one– just like it was for Jango.”

“I will.” Arla vowed, “I just need– need some time I suppose.”

“That’s completely alright.” Jaster nodded. “Now Jango, what did Mij say about–”

Obi-Wan cringed but did not know what to do with the three pups using his legs as a climbing rack, “I’m terribly sorry– Mand’alor ?”

“Jaster’s fine Ben’ika .”

“Jaster, can you tell your strill to stop?”

Obi-Wan could maybe– maybe– deal with two pups, this was getting out of hand fast.

None of the Mando’s had seen Aranar when he started dropping pups off but looked to Obi-Wan just in time to see the strill in question run in with a fourth pup. That one was deposited right on Obi-Wan’s lap.

Panicked both at the strill so close to him as well as the four pups playing on his bed, Obi-Wan looked at the Mando’s. Jango laughed at Obi-Wan’s misery, Jaster looked concerned and Arla looked confused.

“Aranar!” Jaster scolded as the strill climbed up Obi-Wan’s bed himself and sat on Obi-Wan’s feet.

Obi-Wan froze up, not knowing how to react and doing everything in his power not to lash out in a panic. He barely noticed Jaster taking a seat on Obi-Wan’s bed and helping him calm down until he zoned back in to Aranar’s pained whining. 

Jaster did not remove Aranar but did sit next to Obi-Wan and let him lean against him. “It’s alright, breath, Ben.” He coached, “In and out. Deep breaths. Aranar means no harm, he is trying to help.”

“It’s alright, Ben. See? Aranar is not like that other strill, he likes you.” Jango promised, gently petting one of the pups on Obi-Wan’s lap. “Want to pet them?”

“Why does he keep trying to get near me?” Obi-Wan couldn’t take his eyes off Aranar as the beast whined while giving him puppy eyes. 

“They want to comfort you.” Jaster explained, “ Strille are smart creatures, they can feel your discomfort and distress and want to fix it. It’s why they keep trying to get near you and why they keep signalling to us that something's wrong. Since you didn’t seem to mind the pup before, I guess Aranar expected you to be happy with more.”

Emotional distress detectors– just what Obi-Wan needed. Hesitantly, Obi-Wan accepted the pup Jango held out to him and scratched the animal behind its ears. It was just a baby. Aranar whined quietly as he crawled further up the bed and slowly lowered his head onto Obi-Wan’s lap, pinning his legs beneath his weight. 

“That’s it.” Jaster rubbed Obi-Wan’s back– it still tingled, “You’re alright, Ben.” He promised.

“If Aranar is done distressing my patient.” Mij didn’t look amused at the situation, “What is this? A pup daycare?”

“Just Aranar doing what every strill in a five click radius has wanted to do.” Jango snorted. “It’s getting crowded in here, I’m going to look for Kal.”

With that Jango headed out, avoiding the wrath of the annoyed healer as he fled the room. Arla shook her head at her brother's antics and turned to Mij as he spoke with her. Jaster remained at Obi-Wan’s side for a while until Mij kicked him out so Arla and Obi-Wan could actually sleep.

Aranar was still on Obi-Wan’s lap when he slipped into a deep slumber.

—--------------------------

Against his better judgement, Jaster had once again spoken with the Evaar’ade. 

They were not pleased to learn Sundari was empty and unprotected. So far, Kyr’tsad had not made a move but Jaster suspected they would soon.

Walon had reached Bralsin and managed to stop a surprise attack on the city, barely. They lost plenty of verd’e but not as much as they would have had Ben not warned them with his vision.

If Walon and the verd’e hadn’t been there, the city would have fallen and Keldabe would be weaker as a result. Ben’s vision had been partially true in that regard.

Jaster huffed a breath, the ad didn’t realise just how important it was to be vigilant when it came to visions and even the Goran couldn’t convince him otherwise.

It had been a long day. They found Arla– who Jaster offered a place in Aliit Mereel without question– and reached Keldabe. They had managed to take down and capture a few high ranking Kyr’tsad officers. Walon was a mean interrogator so they were sent to Bralsin for that. Kal was making progress in tracking down Kyr’tsads main forces. 

If only Tor would show his cowardly face, that would be a lot easier all things considered. These ‘tactical retreats’ he kept pulling were starting to grow old. Since negotiations with the Evaar’ade weren’t going great, Jaster knew that he needed to take Kyr’tsad apart if he wanted to end the Clan Wars once and for all. He didn’t care which fell first, the Evaar’ade or Kyr’tsad, either way it would cut down half the work Jaster was doing.

With Bralsin taken care of and under Walon’s eye, Jaster knew the next target would be Keldabe.

Then there was the issue of Ben and his absent bastard of a ‘guardian’. Ben was touch starved, Jaster noticed it, Aranar noticed it– hell all of Mando’yaim noticed it. More and more signs of abuse showed up and Jaster just couldn’t wait to meet Ben’s ‘guardian’.

Aruetii or not– they would be facing the consequences any Mandalorian would face for such crimes.

For now, Jaster would need to be satisfied with helping Ben heal but they would find his ‘guardian’ eventually.

—----------------------------------------

Obi-Wan: *Never taken seriously when recounting his vision*

Haat’ade: Vision? Tell us every single detail, Ben’ika.

Obi-Wan: 0.0

Quinlan: We’re going to Mandalore!

The Bears: Quinlan, no.

Quilan: Quinlan, yes!

Tholme: *In the middle of a briefing for a secret mission to get a Padawan back to the Temple.*

Tholme: *Narrowed eyes* My Padawan is scheming

Tholme, Che and Koon: Sure Mace, we can go get Padawan Kenobi from Jinn without Yoda’s knowledge or permission.

Mace: Good, if he hears it will be on you.

Tholme: Also, our Padawan’s are coming with you before they cause more trouble here.

The Bears: *Tried to steal a ship but got caught by Tholme*  We can explain 0.0

Mace: *Exhausted sigh*

Jango: Wear armour.

Obi-Wan: That would be culturally wrong.

Jango: Ever heard of training armour?

Obi-Wan: That’s your vibe, not mine.

Obi-Wan & Jango: *Crash down a mineshaft*

Obi-Wan: *Is concussed* *Can’t breath properly* *Is not having a good time*

Jango: *Shaking his head* 

Jango: Told you you should wear armour.

Jango & Obi-Wan: *Find Arla and kids*

Arla: *Feral and in ‘protect the ade’ mode* OYA BITCHES!

Obi-Wan: Jango, I have a bad feeling–

Alra: *Lost feral instinct due to hearing Jango’s name* Jan’ika?

Jango: Arla?

Alra & Jango: (>‘o’)>     <(‘o’<)

Obi-Wan: Alright then, hiya ade!

Obi-Wan: *In the medbay– again*

Aranar: Pup hurt, have pup friends!

Obi-Wan: *Panicking* Jaster!

Aranar: It’s okay, me no harm.

Obi-Wan: *Malnourished, traumatised, touch starved and a overall sad boi*

Jaster: I have only had Ben in my care for one day but if his guardian shows up I will punch him so hard he’s going to see our verd’e who have already marched on.

Qui-Gon: *On the other side of the Space Sector feeling a shiver travelling down his spine* Hmm weird, I have a bad feeling about this.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6; Revelations

Kalevala was a smaller and less interesting version of Coruscant, Quinlan decided as he observed the capital city they were currently in. It had all the elements of the planet without the actual heart of it.

Where Coruscant bustled with life and interesting events around every corner, Kalevala was cold and a facade alone.

Now don’t get him wrong, Quinlan despised Coruscant, but at least the planet was fun if you knew where to look for it. Kalevala was filled with holier-than-thou beings that seemed to be too busy ensuring they were ‘perfect’ rather than actually living. It was like the Senate with their rich members but then an entire city full of them.

When a Jedi ship enters the atmosphere, the New Mandalorians were quick to allow them to land. They were greeted by the Duke himself, confused but welcoming regardless. He mentioned never having seen so many Jedi in one place– which was true, Jedi rarely travelled in such large groups.

Quinlan was bored the moment the man started speaking and kept an eye out for Obi-Wan as the Masters dealt with diplomacy kark. 

“–to speak with Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi.” Quinlan zoned back in when Plo mentioned Obi-Wan, “If you could be so kind as to excuse us and inform them of our presence?”

The Duke looked confused, “I was under the impression that the Padawan had returned to Coruscant– I must have heard wrong, but he is not here.” The Duke replied apologetically, “Master Jinn is in his room as far as I am aware, my servant will guide you. We will ensure there are rooms ready for your company and food will be delivered in the evening.”

To Plo’s credit, the news did not catch him off guard and bowed, “You are too kind, thank you, Duke Kryze.”

To all of their credit, none of them exploded from anger on their way over to Jinn’s room. Quinlan got very close to showing his anger but the steadying hand of Tholme rested on his shoulder which kept him calm enough not to show the true emotion he felt.

They let the servant guide them and waited until he left before they knocked on the door. Quinlan had chosen the strategic spot right behind Garen as he rapped his fist against the door.

A mumble of acknowledgement came from inside.

Tholme was not quick enough to stop Quinlan as he used the Force to dash forward and used Garen’s shoulders as leverage to jump over him.

The second the door opened, Quinlan’s fist hit Qui-Gon’s nose with a punishing crush.

Quinlan felt nothing but satisfaction as Qui-Gon fell back into the room followed by Quinlan who held the collar of the Masters’ robes. 

“What the kriff did you do to Obi-Wan?!” He demanded, fuming with anger.

A hand at the scruff of Quinlan’s neck made him yelp as Tholme stepped into the room and dragged Quinlan off of Jinn. 

“Padawan.” He warned but didn’t scold Quinlan besides that.

The rest of the Jedi filled into the room before Jinn had a chance to collect himself. His nose was bleeding heavily and Quinlan was sure he broke it with his punch. A wave of pride washed over him but it was gone the second Tholme shot him a warning look.

“What in the Force–? Master Tholme, I must insist you control your Padawan.” Jinn groaned as he got up and closed the door before turning to the Jedi, “What is the meaning of this?”

“Where the kriff did you leave Obi-Wan now?!” Siri accused. “We know you left him behind somewhere, where is he?!”

Now it was Plo’s turn to catch his Padawan before she jumped Qui-Gon. “How about the three of you go to look at our rooms and explore a bit, hmm? We will have this conversation with Jinn in private.”

While unhappy, the Padawan’s agreed to the suggestion and headed out of the room but not before glaring Jinn into an early grave.

—---------------------------------

Obi-Wan couldn’t quite seem to shake Aranar after his overnight stay in the medbay. The strill kept following Obi-Wan around wherever he went, strutting slightly behind him all day.

While slightly annoyed, Obi-Wan did start to see how those beasts were little more than overgrown puppies. Aranar kept the other strills at bay while invading Obi-Wan’s space. He would never admit it out loud but he preferred Aranar over any other strill– he knew Aranar now and the strill wouldn’t hurt him.

There was a storm brewing in the Force and it was a big one.

To distract himself, Obi-Wan decided to explore Keldabe. He had only gotten a glance at the city when he rushed in and out before. It looked like a city filled with history and stories. The oldest Mandalorian city still standing, that had to mean something.

Aranar had joined him when Obi-Wan left the palace and walked at his side just behind him. Together they strolled through the old, narrow, cobbled streets. It was interesting to see how the truly old buildings in the most inner parts of Keldabe started to become more recently built or repaired.

Keldabe's outer ring was almost completely rebuilt in the original style but with more durable materials. That alone was a sign of how much this city had seen. It was rare for a city to make the active decision to preserve the original style of the original buildings, nothing looked anything like Sundari for example.

On top of that, the city was bustling with life. Something was happening around every corner. Some Mando’s walking around with shopping bags on their daily errands, a group of kids playing some game with daggers, a Mando yelling at a strill that had stolen their food.

The city was colourful too. Not Sundari’s blues, greys and whites but bright colours. If it was not the beskar’gam painted in some type of bright colour, then it was the fabric tarps being used as cover for the food court. Yellows, oranges, red, greens, bright blues, magenta– they had every colour one could think of. As a Jedi, Obi-Wan wore neutrals most of the time– brown, beige and whites, sometimes black if the mood hit him– they rarely used bright colours like the ones in Keldabe.

There was little nature in the city, most likely due to the glassing of Mandalore decades ago now. Keldabe made up for that with small gardens in the middle of some squares, Obi-Wan wondered if it was local fauna that had survived or if it was imported.

Another thing Obi-Wan noticed was the fact that there was the scent of herbs and spices around every corner he turned. Rich and overwhelming but not in a nauseating way.

Speaking of overwhelming– Mandalorians were loud– both vocally as well as in the Force. Mando’s expressed themself without facial features, communicating in body language when it came to non-verbal clues. For Jedi there was a third form of non-verbal communication– the Force. Mando’s screamed their feelings into the Force when beskar wasn’t blocking it, whether they knew it or not. 

If Obi-Wan’s shields weren’t still up from blocking out the pain and suffering from the Young, Obi-Wan would have gotten overwhelmed by this city alone. He was raised on Coruscant for Force’s sake! He should be used to many people with loud feelings but somehow it was still much for him.

Around the afternoon, Obi-Wan ended up ordering food in one of the many food courts and sat down nearby. Aranar settled next to Obi-Wan, sitting slightly against him. Obi-Wan shot the beast a warning glance but did not move away.

He needed to go back to Keldabe Palace soon. 

—-----------------------------------

Speaking with Qui-Gon Jinn should be a Knighting Trial of Patience.

Perhaps they could manage to add it to the current Trials because even experienced Masters– Master Koon, Master Tholme and Healer Che in this case– were losing their carefully constructed patience. 

“So– to be clear–” Tholme rubbed his temple, “You left not one but two teenagers in the middle of an attack, one of which being your Padawan, the other the oldest daughter and heir of the Duke. You have made no attempt to make contact with the Padawan and when the Padawan contacted you, you told him to take the girl to Kalevala but offered no advice to do so. You have for, some reason, not informed the Order of these events, why exactly?”

“My Padawan should be prepared for his duties. This is an excellent example of how missions may go despite our best effort.” Jinn excused.

Sucking in a deep and calming breath, Tholme pursed his lips, “The Master-Padawan missions are there to take the Padawan along to important missions in a controlled and relatively safe environment. The Master is supposed to guide their Padawan, not throw them to the loth-wolves! You are to inform the Order if you lose your Padawan out in the field! Have you not–”

Plo cleared his throat as Tholme started to lose his cool and took over. “Once you had Padawan Kenobi’s comlink number, did you call to check up on his well-being?”

“We had two conversations.” Jinn recalled, “The latest informed me that he had found a way to Kalevala and was on his way. The Duke’s daughter made it here safely.”

“But Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi never arrived.” Che finally spoke up. “So where is the Padawan?”

“He ‘leaped off the ship like a maniac’.” Jinn quoted.

Plo took a deep breath before asking, “And have you called him to ask about the situation?”

“Certainly not, it would be a risk.” Jinn replied, “He called me and told me that he was with True Mandalorians. I have not called him.”

“Why not?”

“He was in enemy territory last we spoke.” 

Clearly disappointed, Plo shook his head, “I must excuse myself lest I lose the fine control I have since garnered. We shall discuss steps we will take in order to find Padawan Kenobi later tonight.” He said as he got up and made a speedy exit from the room. “I will inform Master Windu of our findings.” He added before the door closed in his wake.

“Apologies, Vokara.” Tholme cleared his throat as he stood.

Confused, Che tilted her head in confusion, “Whatever for, friend?”

“Undoing all of your hard work.” He replied.

Before anyone could react, Tholme jabbed his fist against Qui-Gon’s face just like his Padawan had only a couple of hours before. Jinn yelped, hand shooting up to his nose as it dislocated again. 

Tholme didn’t wait to see himself out, ignoring the slight burning from a newly split knuckle.

“I am tempted to let you deal with that yourself.” Che admitted but her responsibility as a Healer won the wrestle of control and she pushed her own anger into the Force. “Allas, duty must prevail.”

With a sigh, Che stood and reset Jinn’s nose for the second time that day.

—------------------------

Later that day, Jango and Arla dragged Obi-Wan to something referred to as Tracyn’ika– a tradition the Haat’ade liked to do whenever they found the time. It was calm for now so they decided tonight was the perfect night for it.

Jango explained it as eating, drinking and sitting around a fire while telling each other tales. It did wonders for morale– especially since they would prepare skraan'ikase– another ancient tradition.

While hesitant, Obi-Wan let himself be dragged towards the campfire by Jango and settled down near the flames. It was cold, especially now that the sun had gone. Obi-Wan was not happy about it and was glad when Jango picked a spot so near the warmth the fire provided. Jedi ran naturally cold, Mandalore’s chill temperatures were barely bearable on a good day but the nights were something else entirely.

Curious about the tradition, Obi-Wan took some time to observe the beings around him. Almost all of them had forgotten their buy’ce for the evening with the exception of those who vowed to never remove them in company. They were merely chatting, playing a variety of games or eating to their heart's content. 

There was a pleasant buzzing in the Force– it was a warming feeling that contrasted to cold beautifully. Voices seemed to blur together, never overwhelming and instead a reminder of good company rather than anything else.

He observed the moment Jaster showed up and was merrily greeted by his verd’e. He noticed the Goran when they stood next to him with a bowl of food yet again.

“ Epar .” The Goran said as he handed the food to Jango, Arla and Obi-Wan. 

“ Vor’e .” Obi-Wan thanked with a polite nod of his head. He huffed a laugh as he saw the same food as the Goran had gotten for him in Sundari.

The Goran settled near them, leaving some space for another person to sit. Obi-Wan was a little confused by it but his unasked question was answered when Jaster joined Jango, Arla and him.

The four of them chatted a little while they ate before playing a few games of Sabacc. Obi-Wan had won two games before Arla caught on to his strategy and beat him twice herself. 

In the middle of their fifth game, the Goran stood and walked to the front. The crowd immediately silenced, which threw Obi-Wan off for a bit before he noticed the Goran. The others set their cards down so Obi-Wan followed suit and turned his full attention to the Mando in question.

The Goran spoke in Mando’a as he stated, “ Olarom be Tracyn’ika. ”

Jaster stood and joined him before speaking to the verd’e at large. “ We are all aware that this type of thing can only occur when it is calm but we also know the current situation is anything but. Due to our victory in both Sundari and Dralsin we have decided that this celebration was long overdue. ”

Tilting his head, Obi-Wan listened as the Goran finished the introduction.

“ Tonight we eat, we drink and we celebrate life. We sing the songs of our ancestors, we tell the stories of loss and victory. We live today to fight tomorrow. Oya! ”

Several echoes of ‘Oya!’ took over the crowd. Cheering, laughing and singing merrily. Obi-Wan realised what this tradition was– it was the feast before battle– the last night of joy and feasting before some of them would lose their lives in this war. Celebrating life before the inevitability of death.

After Jaster and the Goran introduced the night, the oldest Mando’s started sharing tales of grandeur. Old stories that were highly exaggerated because according to them ‘life is too short for the boring truth’ and ‘a bit of exaggeration to tell a better story is not unwarranted’.

They sang war songs– chants and songs telling the history of the Mandalorians. The Goran told stories too, taking everyone with them as they sketched the Way of the Mandalorians, the tales of the Thaung– their ancestors and of the Mythosaurs– the same tale Jaster had him reading weeks before.

Utterly enchanted by the life amongst the verd’e, Obi-Wan sat with them all night while taking pleasure in listening to stories and songs.

Songs were sung, a song called ‘Dha Werda Verda’. Then one called ‘Mando Laare’. Some were emotional, others called for war.

As the night passed, Mandalorians started to head off to their homes. The crowd started to thin out and a much smaller group remained around a smaller and dying fire. According to Jango, some stayed until the fire fully died, which was the traditional end of a Tracyn’ika.

Obi-Wan found himself not wanting the fire to die– but it would eventually.

“What about you, Ben?”

Having stared at the dying fire for a long time, Obi-Wan had completely zoned out as Jango asked him something. “Sorry, what?”

“Any songs from your Aliit that you want to share?”

Attention was on Obi-Wan as he thought about the question. He was aware of the attention on him as the group around the fire patiently waited. 

One came to mind.

A song about grieving for something that is still there. It was in Dai Bendu but Obi-Wan didn’t think anyone present would recognise the language– it was for the Jedi and the Jedi alone after all. Memories, grief and a call to change.

It seemed right.

Humming a little, Obi-Wan tried to find the right tune before singing in a low tone, “Watch that old fire as it flickers and dies. ” He started, “ That once blessed the household and lit up our lives. It shone for the friend and clinking of glasses. I’ll tend to the flame;–”

Obi-Wan’s voice cracked a little but he continued, “–you can worship the ashes.”

Around him, Mandalorians started to humm to the tune that Obi-Wan set, adding to the song. With a bit more confidence, Obi-Wan started the second verse as his full attention turned to the fire. “Capture the wild things and bring them in line, and own what was never your right to confine.”

“The lives of the loves and the songs are what matters. ” The Force washed over the campfire but did not snuff it out. Instead it added to the flames, turning the smouldering wood into wild flames. “ I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.”

It was like meditating in a way–

“Do you feel heavy? Your eyes drop with grief. Your spirit is wild and suffering is brief.”

Grief seemed intergrain in Obi-Wan’s life. His mind flashed to Cerasi for the first time since Melida/Daan– he couldn’t think about her without crying. He couldn’t think about Melida/Daan without crying. He had lost so many– the Young were killed one by one by their own parents, Cerasi was murdered by the command of her own father.

“So never you buckle and bend to the masses. I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.”

Tears welled up but they refused to spill, Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He clenched his hand around the cup of liquor he had been given,

“Get round the fire with a glass of strong ale, and tell us a story from beyond the pale. Bury some seeds and expect some strong branches. I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.” 

The Force’s waves picked up in the form of a tough rush of wind further flaring up the fire.

“Now show me a man that can meet all his needs, for what we need most now is unity’s seed: A common old song for all creeds and all classes. I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.”

“I’ll tend to the flame…”

Obi-Wan trailed off.

The Mandalorians’ humm did lower too.

Breathing for a moment, Obi-Wan whipped his tears and finished the song. “What will we do when the world it is ending, and time it is halting for friend and for foe? Try to hold on to the time as it passes. I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.

I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.

I’ll tend to the flame; you can worship the ashes.”

The fire dimmed down as Obi-Wan’s song ended and went back to being just smouldering wood. When it got quiet again, it remained quiet. Obi-Wan sniffed, whipped his tears again and cleared his throat.

A hand rested on his shoulder. Obi-Wan flinched before slacking as he realised Jaster was next to him. Jaster looked heartbroken as he pulled Obi-Wan into his side for a hug and let him hide his face against him.

“We got you, Ben’ika .” He promised. “Shh, we got you.”

Thankfully, the other Mandalorians were quick to move to the next song– a quieter one compared to the others before– as Jaster comforted Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan didn’t cry more than a few stray tears, he refused to, but he did lean into Jaster heavily. The older man’s hand brushed through his hair as they continued to listen to the songs. 

Neither spoke, they didn’t need to.

—----------------------------

“Are you here to reprimand Be– Padawan Kenobi?” A snobby girl asked seemingly uninterested but Quinlan wasn’t fooled by her appearance.

The girl had been following them since they left their Masters for their ‘adult’ talk. It was like she was waiting for them to show up. Quinlan took an immediate dislike to her– she looked down on them, peering through her lashes with that same holier-than-thou expression on her face. 

Somehow he pitied her.

“You know him.” He accused after observing her for a moment. “Where did you two meet?”

“Sundari.” The girl admitted, “Kenobi was there to– well I suppose to assist though neither he nor I were allowed to attend the negotiations.” She sounded more snobby than she looked, was she trying to replicate a Coruscant accent or was Quinlan hearing things?

Bant lit up though, “Then you must know what happened. Why did you all go to Kalevala?”

The girl looked as if Bant was stupid, “The attack of course.” She snapped. “Are you truly under the impression we would leave our city behind if we could help it?”

“What attack?” Siri frowned.

“My dear, you know less than he did.” The girl shook her head in disappointment. “Sundari was attacked by those barbarians. Kenobi and I missed the chance to flee with my father and his Master. We spent a few months wandering on the surface of Mandalore before he managed to get us to an evacuation. Now without a scratch I can tell you.”

Quinlan frowned, “If you got to the evacuation, why isn’t he here?”

The girl looked like she bit into a sour apple as she replied, “The idiot jumped off board while we were taking off. Last I heard he was amongst those barbarians trying to get off Mandalore. Not an easy task since Deathwatch has taken control of the atmosphere– they’re shooting any ship they see.”

For a moment, Quinlan saw red. Not only had Jinn left Obi-Wan behind but also this girl. Of course Obi-Wan had a chance to flee but decided at the last moment he needed to do other things. For someone complaining about ‘following the will of the Force’ Obi-Wan did it an awful lot.

Just to clarify, Garen asked, “He kept you safe for ‘months’ in a war zone.”

“There is no war on Mandalore.” The girl truly seemed to believe that.

“Did they harm Obi-Wan?” Quinlan asked, “The ones he was with I mean.”

“They were unaware of my status as duchess and his status as a Jedi– can’t imagine they haven’t figured it out by now. Mandalorians do not like Jedi that much.” The girl had a sliver of worry in her tone but her overall lack of interest bothered Quinlan immensely. This is why he was a Shadow– he really could be the image of the Jedi because he would ruin their public perception in mere minutes.

Luckily for all involved, Siri felt the frustration from a mile away, smiled at the girl and steered Quinlan away from her before things went wrong. 

—------------------------------

Tor Vizsla knew he had many monikers. Terrorist, madman, brutalist, dar’manda– countless that all referred to how bad he was. He himself preferred another word to describe himself– passionate.

If Tor Vizsla was anything, it was passionate.

He was passionate about his cause just as his verd’e were. Kyr’tsad was a force to be reckoned with and it was all because of him.

Passion however, had a major flaw. Obsession. Passion in large quantities stopped being passion and became obsession. Not that Vizsla realised he cared. He was giving Mandalore a true leader– he was the Mand’alor. It was his duty to cut down the pretenders and those unwilling to bend their knee for him.

“We identified the Ge’tal’chakaar .” One of Vizsla’s men announced as he walked into the makeshift war room in the depth of the tunnels they had occupied for weeks now.

“Speak.” Tor demanded.

“ Jetii’ad Obi-Wan Kenobi– the Jetii’ad the Evaar’dar’mande called on. He was the one to kill our verd’e in Sundari and again in Keldabe.”

A thorn in Tor’s side for months now. “A Naasade .” Tor laughed loudly, “A Naasade has been causing this much trouble?! We will show him his place.” He promised darkly.

“There is another thing.”

Tor turned back to his verd, “Speak.” He repeated.

“The Jetii’ad is in Keldabe with Mereel.”

A sinister smile rested on Tor’s face, “Good. That will make this much easier.”

When passion turns to obsession– it is easy to lose sight of the main objective. To get tunnel vision was easy. To lose the ability to let something go. Even now that Tor was losing many followers, their bite may be fierce but their numbers were dwindling. 

Keldabe was a fortress filled with Haat’ade or neutrals that just wanted to keep their culture and history safe from destruction– be that through Kyr’tsads attacks of the Evaar’ades cultural genocide. 

Attacking it wouldn’t be a good idea. Neutrals didn’t want to be involved in the Clan Wars, but attack their city and they would.

Tor Vizsla didn’t– couldn’t– see that.

Passion was good but when it turned to obsession– well, that might just tip the balance of this Clan War.

—-----------------------------------

A few days passed before the hidden threat started to poke their head out and they did so with more violence than usual.

Obi-Wan knew Jaster had seen this attack coming– even if he himself did not understand it. He said as much when Kyr’tsad attacked when he was preparing to get in the middle of the chaos with Jaster.

“Why would they attack?” Obi-Wan asked out loud, “I don’t get the strategy. They know the Haat’ade are based in Keldabe– they know the locals will fight to protect their homes which only adds to our numbers. Why?”

Jaster glanced at Obi-Wan, “You are thinking rationally.”

“As one should I would say.” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

“Tor Vizsla– Kyr’tsads leader– is not.” Jaster explained, “He is so convinced of his right to the title of Mand’alor that he believed no one could touch him. He believes his crusade of terrorism is his right. He believes he is cutting down the pretenders and the dar’manda who do not agree with him.”

Obi-Wan frowned, “I still don’t understand.” He admitted.

“As good as you are at strategic warfare, you have yet to learn about knowing your enemy.” Jaster smiled, “Vizsla believes he doesn’t need to be careful with his moves, he believes he is untouchable so he does not bother with strategy. Attacking a city like Keldabe is foolish, he believes the Ka’ra will give him what he wants.”

“So he’s delusional.”

Jaster laughed loudly, “Exactly, now let’s go, ad , you’re with Jango.”

Jango and Obi-Wan weren’t allowed to join the fight that was ongoing in the city and were put on protective duty in the Palace. Someone needed to keep an eye on the fortress while the Verd’e cut down their enemies.

Word was that Walon was on his way with half of the verd’e in Bralsin to provide backup. If they could pin Kyr’tsad in the city they might finally end this pointless Clan War.

Things went south when Kyr’tsads leader focussed on Obi-wan rather than on Jaster like they had expected.

Obi-Wan was more than surprised when the man appeared behind him and snarled “ Jetii !” Vizsla growled, slashing the saber down at Obi-Wan as he loomed over him. 

“Ben!” Jaster called, pulling Obi-Wan back and up before blocking the saber with his kom’rk’e. “Run! Go, ad !”

“Why are you protecting the Jetii ?! You know what he is, why still– ughh–”

Jaster kicked Tor away from him snarling, “He’s an ad for Manda’s sake! Ade are the future. That is the Way! Jetii or not, it doesn’t matter. I knew there was a good chance of him being a Jet’ika . Ben is under my Aliit’s protection!”

Tor just growled and attacked Jaster again. Having been thrown back and out of the way, Obi-Wan twitched at that. 

He wanted to run. 

Jaster knew he was a Jedi– he knew– but… there wasn’t any hate in the Force directed towards him from the Mando in question.

Sucking in a deep breath, Obi-Wan steeled himself– he couldn’t run, Jaster needed help.

While waiting for an opening to shoot at Vizsla, Jaster managed to kick the lightsaber in the man’s hand out of reach. Obi-Wan pulled it towards him immediately with the use of the Force. Of course, Vizsla did not appreciate that and kicked Jaster back.

Jaster landed on his back roughly, barely fast enough to stop Vizsla from taking his head with a beskad. Then Vizsla headed for Obi-Wan, clearly angry and out for blood. 

Obi-Wan went to turn the saber on but it wouldn’t.

Vizsla laughed, “You are not worthy of that blade, Jetii .”

Panicking, Obi-Wan realised the Kyber inside the saber was refusing him like it had for so many others. 

The familial connection Vizsla had to the kyber allowed him to use it but Obi-Wan lacked a bond with the Kyber. It could take months of meditation before it would coincide with Obi-Wan since he was not the one to be chosen by the Kyber. 

Still, he needed it to work if he wanted to survive, if he wanted Jaster to survive.

Using the Force to open the hilt, Obi-Wan ripped his Kyber off the string and jammed it into the chamber with the black Kyber. Obi-Wan prayed to the Force that the hilt was built strong enough to contain the energy.

Was this a bad way to force a saber to turn on? Likely but Obi-Wan didn’t have another choice since he had deconstructed his own saber months ago to keep his cover from being accidentally blown.

Ignoring the furious approach of Vizsla about to grab him by the neck when Jaster leaped back up and pulled him away from Obi-Wan.

Panicking as they brawled, Obi-Wan tried the saber again.

It stuttered for a bit, flashes of black, white and blue appearing but never shaping fully until Obi-Wan sent a push of pleas to the Kybers. ‘ Please, let me help .’

Finally, the saber reached out to Obi-Wan, allowing him to activate the saber properly. Instead of the black blade lined with white light, a dark blue blade appeared lined with the light blue of Obi-Wan’s saber.

For a moment, things slowed down as a bond between Obi-Wan and the Kyber’s inside the hilt clicked into place.

Just in time too since Vizsla seemed to have a need to target him. Leaping back, Obi-Wan caught an incoming blow from a beskar dagger with the saber and redirected it to the side. 

Jaster watched Obi-Wan as he got to his feet again. His eyes glowing with an unknown power. Instead of the white glow around the void-like lightsaber– the hue was blue.

His eyes were unfocused, like he wasn’t fully in control of his own movements. That didn’t mean that he stumbled, or seemed to fight whatever trance he was in. Obi-Wan seemed perfectly calm, serene even.

All eyes were on him as fighting around them stopped. The fighting has ceased as all attention turned to the pull they felt when Obi-Wan neared the battle again. An aura seemed to be around him, unfamiliar yet also not.

Obi-Wan’s eyes seemed to glow as the aura formed around him until a tall Mandalorian in full beskar’gam took his place.

“ You’re not real! ” Tor cried out.

Mand’alor Tarre Vizsla formed completely– there was no sign of Obi-Wan left but Jaster was well aware the ad was still there. He was fully aware that Obi-Wan was the one acting as a host to this apparition when a dar’manda kyr’tsad took a shot at him with a slug throwing– hitting him point blank. The apparition didn’t flinch but Obi-Wan sure did.

That didn’t stop Tor from attacking. He slashed down on the apparition, his saber buzzing through the air only to be stopped by the blue blade of Obi-Wan. They traded blows, Obi-Wan using a very different set of manoeuvres compared to his usual fighting style.

Instead of continuing the fight, Obi-Wan forced Vizsla back towards Jaster who used the opportunity to attack. 

A meaningful glance between them spoke more than words ever could. This was Jaster’s fight. Jaster needed to do this. Obi-Wan offered the saber towards the man but Jaster shook his head. He was untrained like Vizsla, Obi-Wan was a trained Jet’ika, he would make better use of the saber.

Instead, Obi-Wan aided Jaster in keeping the members of Kyr’tsad who were trying to cut in to attack Jaster away. Somewhere along the line, Jango joined him in his mission. Obi-Wan deflected basterbolts while Jango shot them down. They were a good team.

Sometimes, Obi-Wan seemed to take control, blocking powerful blows. It was strange to see the apparition fade in and out.

“AAHH!” 

Tor cried as Jaster managed to get a fatal hit in. 

He had made the mistake of testing Jaster’s weak knee– he paid for that mistake.

It seemed to bring the battle around them to a halt.

 Kyr’tsad looked absolutely flabbergasted as Jaster stood over Tor’s body. 

Obi-Wan shut off his saber out of habit as he felt himself waver on his feet. He zoned out after he got the saber to work– he felt himself bond with the Kyber.

Why was his shoulder hurting?

Wavering, Obi-Wan looked down and his breath stuttered as he noticed the red spots soaking through his tunic. Uneven and quick breaths choked out of his throat as he looked up as Jaster ran over.

“Ben!”

It was over. Tor Vizsla– Kyr’tsads leader– was dead.

Obi-Wan didn’t need to be strong anymore, Jaster had done it. Obi-Wan helped, he knew he did. Jaster could take over Mandalore now and guide it to unity. Obi-Wan could sleep now.

Falling back, Obi-Wan was more than surprised to be caught on his way down. Jaster helped Obi-Wan down to the ground and let him rest his head in the man’s lap as he cradled Obi-Wan, pushing against his injury on his waist.

“Shh, shh, it’s going to be alright, Ben.” Jaster’s warm, deep voice calmed Obi-Wan down. 

He gurgled on his own blood as tried to lay still for the medics to work. When did they arrive? Obi-Wan’s head pounded as his vision started to blur from blood loss.

“I don’t–” Obi-Wan stuttered.

Jaster hushed him again, “You’re going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, ad’ika . Just listen to my voice.”

Obi-Wan choked on his own blood again as he groaned from the prodding of the medic. 

It hurt too much, too much pain. Just too much pain, it was all Obi-Wan could think about. 

The pieces of the slugthrower bolt were stuck deep in his chest, they needed to come out before they could apply bacta. In the back of his mind, Obi-Wan knew this but at this moment, he couldn’t think at all.

“Hey, ad’ika , I meant to ask you something. Do you have buire ? Parents? Someone that takes care of you?”

Gasping a little, Obi-Wan shook his head. 

He didn’t have parents, they tried to drown him. The Jedi were his family, but Master Jinn sure as hell wasn’t his parent.

“No– not really. Ju– just my vod’e .” His Creche Clan was his true family. Quinlan, Siri, Bant and Garen. They cared, they were his family. He would have loved to see them again.

“Would you like to be adopted? Become part of my Aliit ?”

At this point Obi-Wan was fading in and out of consciousness. Had he heard that right? How could he have known that his next words would change everything? Obi-Wan had no idea what he said when his subconscious mused out loud, “Would be– be nice.”

“ Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Ben’ika .”

Obi-Wan was gone before Jaster could finish the sentence.

—----------------------------------

Obi-Wan felt like he was drowning in thick muck. 

Probably because he was. 

Well, not drowning, but definitely submerged in it. 

Oh how Obi-Wan hated the feeling of a bacta tank. It was truly the bane of his existence. The sour taste that would linger in his mouth for weeks, the disgusting smell of the stuff and the icky feeling it left when applied to his skin. 

To make matters worse, it barely did its job when it came to Obi-Wan’s near-human species. Stewjoni people had the difficulty of adapting quickly, useful in most cases but hard when it came to having medicine work the way it should.

Regular bacta barely did anything to help Obi-Wan, he needed an alternate version that worked with his species better. The same problem came with painkillers and antibiotics, most just didn’t stick. 

When he awoke in the bacta tank, Obi-Wan’s first instinct was to swim up and get the air tube out of his mouth. He almost threw up from the sour liquid stuck in his mouth. Obi-Wan felt disoriented and hazy, nauseated and tired to the bone.

He didn’t know what happened.

He blinked and he wasn’t anywhere near a bacta tank anymore. Instead he was in a plush bed with a warm colourful blanket that was definitely not medbay-issued thrown over him.

Obi-Wan slowly gained consciousness. Floating in and out of wakefulness every now and again. It was a typical sign of a drug induced sleep. That wasn’t what confused him, what did confuse him was the fact that he had access to the Force, unlimited. No Force suppressors or blockers, just a kriffing load of sedatives. 

As he got more aware, Obi-Wan’s anxiety punched him in the face as he recollected what had happened.

Jaster knew he was a Jedi.

The Haat’ade knew he was a Jedi. 

In disbelief, Obi-Wan checked his senses again only to confirm that he was not on Force Suppressors of any kind.

A whine snapped him out of that line of thought as Aranar’s front paws appeared on the bed. The strill titled its head at Obi-Wan before gently nosing at his arm, begging for pets. Obi-Wan relented and gave them hesitantly.

Taking it as acceptance, Aranar got up the bed and stretched out over Obi-Wan’s legs, resting his head on Obi-Wan’s stomach. Maybe Jaster was right, maybe Aranar was trying to calm him down. He would never admit it, but it worked and Obi-Wan relaxed to the point that he gave himself over to the drugs pulling him under.

The next time Obi-Wan woke up there was a hand on his, holding it gently. Feeling less exhausted and finally feeling the sting in his left shoulder, Obi-Wan peered through his lashes.

Jaster was beside him, reading a datapad while holding Obi-Wan’s hand. He noticed the waking teen and smiled over at him, “ Su cuy’gar, Ben .” He greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Did I get hit by a speeder?” Obi-Wan muttered, feeling the full brunt of whatever injury he had obtained.

“Slugthrower.” Jaster replied, “It exploded when you tried to use the Dha’kad’au to bat it away. You were lucky the shrapnel hit your shoulder.”

That made sense, but that didn’t explain why Obi-Wan didn’t remember, “When did I get hit?”

“Not long after you got the Dah’kad’au , what do you remember?”

“That Tor Vizsla exposed–” Obi-Wan trailed off.

“That you are a Jet’ika ? We suspected as much but didn’t feel the need to push you for an answer.” Jaster calmed Obi-Wan down right away. “You told me your ‘guardian’ mentioned we were not allies anymore and I figured you would slip away if I pointed out the coincidences between a brave Jet’ika and a relentless Evaar’ad that happened to be with Satine Kryze during the Sundari counter attack.”

Obi-Wan sighed, he had found the bliss of ignorance all too comforting. It had been too good to be true. “You knew the entire time?”

Jaster shrugged. “Either way, it doesn’t really matter. I do have to ask, where was your Jetii’kad ? I know you had one before.”

“Disassembled it.” Obi-Wan admitted.

“Your ‘guardian’– Jetii’bajir Jinn ?”

“ Elek. ”

Humming, Jaster leaned back, “Do you remember what happened after you picked up the saber?”

“Not everything.”

Humming, Jaster fetched a datapad and pulled up HUD footage. Confused, Obi-Wan looked at the datapad and watched as he struggled with the saber before jamming his own Kyber into it. 

Then the footage got hazy and flickered as a large figure took Obi-Wan’s place. The footage was completely cut out after that until it flicked back on just in time to see Obi-Wan fall and get caught by who was filming– Jaster.

Obi-Wan listened to the conversation they had and froze when he accepted the Gai Bal Manda. Jaster had adopted him? 

Kriff, he had gotten accidentally adopted again? 

“Say something, Ben.” Jaster prompted.

“Master Windu was going to be so disappointed.” Obi-Wan muttered. “I am a Jedi– we don’t have buir’’e .”

“How about we worry about that after you have recovered and I have ‘spoken’ with your ‘guardian’.”

Something about the tonation in that sentence made Obi-Wan highly uncomfortable. “Something tells me that might not be a good idea.” He muttered again.

Mij walked in not long after and hummed as he saw Obi-Wan up and awake. “You should still be sleeping.” He clicked his tongue. “ Manda osik .”

“You will find that I recover rather rapidly.” Obi-Wan retorted, knowing fully well that the combination of his biology and Force Sensitive-ness would ensure rapid recovery. 

“Don’t get too excited, you will not get out of here before the end of the cycle at least.” Mij warned as he did some of the post mission check-ups. “The bacta bath hasn’t done much for you, are you immune?”

“Stewjoni.”

Hitting his own head, Mij groaned, “Should have known, I’ll be right back.”

Obi-Wan turned back to Jaster, “Now what?”

“Now we’ll discuss what is next.” Jaster replied.

—---------------------------------

Quinlan: *On Kalevala* Knockoff Coruscant.

Quinlan: *Meets Satine* Knockoff Senator.

Quinlan: *Sees Jinn* Knockoff Jedi Master.

Jinn: *Opens the door expecting to greet one of the Duke’s servants*

Quinlan: *Breaks Jinn’s nose* Where the kriff is Obi-Wan you utter–

Tholme: *Picks up the angry kitten by his scruff* You have some explaining to do, Jinn.

Jinn: 0.0

Plo, Che & Tholme: *having the greatest test of patience since having to deal with Yoda*

Jinn: So then I hung up on him and–

Plo: *Sighs in disappointment* I do not think I can take more of this, let’s take a break.

Plo: *Walks out before he does something he can’t undo*

Tholme: Sorry Vokara *Proceeds to re-break Jinn’s nose*

Che: *Sighs* Sometimes I hate my job.

Mandalorians: *Have a campfire party on the eve of battle*

Obi-Wan: *Relaxing for the first time in years and actually having fun.*

Obi-Wan: *It taken over by bottled up emotions threatening to overwhelm him*

Obi-Wan: *Finally expresses grieve for the Young he lost and Cerasi through an ancient Dai Bendu song*

Jaster: Come here, ad. *Hugs Obi-Wan*

Tor Vizsla: Keldabe is my right! I am the Mand’alor! I can attack a fortress of a city with no consequences!

Jaster: *Leaning to a highly confused Obi-Wan* That is what we call irrational.

Obi-Wan: *In the same condescending tone* That is what we call delusional.

Tor Vizsla: *Attacks Obi-Wan*

Jaster: Ah kriff no!

Obi-Wan: *Gets shot*

Jaster: No! Na-ah you don’t get to die, ad. Wanna get adopted?

Obi-Wan: *Delirious from Force exhaustion and pain* Sounds nice.

Jaster: *Says Gai Bal Manda*

Obi-Wan: So you knew the whole time, huh?

Jaster: *Flashback to Obi-Wan’s fighting, flips, ability to out run a speeder and skills with the beskad* Yeah– yeah, you could say we suspected something.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7; Reunited

Quinlan was more than done with waiting around. 

It had been days since they had gotten word that Mandalore’s atmosphere was clear– why weren’t they going to get Obi-Wan?! That was the whole point of coming all this way.

“Quin, this is a bad idea.” Garen muttered as he looked at the ship Quinlan was planning to be hitching a ride from.

“You know what is a bad idea? Obes on that planet all alone.” Quinlan snarled, “I am going. You stay here. I am quiet, I can go in and out, no problem. We’ll have Obes back in no time.”

“I don’t think tagging along on a diplomatic ship is a good idea.” Garen insisted.

“Just let me do my thing.” Quinlan drew the hood of his robes and prepared to sneak onto the ship. “Just make sure Master Tholme doesn’t notice.”

Garen huffed and tried to stop Quinlan but failed, “Wait! Quin!” He hissed quietly.

It was too late to do anything about it because as soon as Quinlan was on board, the hatch closed and the ship took off for Mandalore.

—-----------------------------

Once released from the medbay, Obi-Wan felt the need to hide. Eyes kept following him, the Mando’s had been acting strange. 

They must really hate Jedi. 

Obi-Wan was not released for full duty but he was allowed to wander around. After the talk he had with Jaster, things cleared up a little. Jaster had made a few things rather clear. Obi-Wan may have been adopted, but he was free to make his own choices on the matter. Jaster was well aware of the fact that he was a Jedi before he adopted Obi-Wan and he was aware he may wish to return to the Temple.

He did set a bunch of terms for that possible return. He was to check in with Jaster regularly, he was to renounce Master Qui-Gon as his teacher and he was to visit. The alternative and admittedly more alluring offer, Obi-Wan could stay with the Haat’ade and become Mandalorian. He wasn’t too sure about the whole beskar’gam ordeal but he could try he supposed.

It was much to think about.

Leaving the Order? Well– leaving the Order again?

He had a parent now, Jaster was his father– what an unthinkable thought. He was Mandalorian through adoption, he could swear the creed and forget about the Jedi.

The Force was not too positive about the idea though. Perhaps not leaving the Order but then what? Obi-Wan didn’t want to go back. Not to the eyes staring at him, to the halls that were lined with bodies in his dreams, not to the ones that had nothing good to say about him in the slightest.

It was a difficult situation.

Perhaps he should meditate on it. 

Well, once the painkillers stopped messing with his Force senses. For now he was good with watching the sparring and asking Jango questions.

“So we are not in the same Aliit ?”

“Same house, not Aliit. ” Jango confirmed. “I am a ward of the House of Mereel which is led by Jaster which means he is my primary guardian. When an ad doesn’t want another buir and is old enough to make that choice but are under the legal age they are accepted as wards.”

Obi-Wan let out a noise of recognition, “I see, so I am Ben of Aliit and House Mereel and you are Jango of Aliit Fett, House Mereel?”

“That’s it.” Jango nodded, “Is that the Dha’kad’au ? Do you still have it?”

Looking down at his waist, Obi-Wan took the lightsaber on his belt– the one Jaster refused to take and shrugged, “Is that what it’s called?”

“That’s so wizard!” Jango laughed a bit starstruck, “How did you get it to turn on?”

Not in a good way, Obi-Wan thought grimly. “I used my Kyber to get it to turn on. I was lucky the Kyber inside the saber accepted it. It’s not exactly a safe risk to take.”

It could have blown up in his hand for example– if the Kybers didn’t work together or if the hilt was not built as strongly as it was.

“You lost me there.” Jango frowned, “Kyber?”

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, could he tell Jango about Kybers? After a moment, he decided he might as well. Letting the hilt hover just above his hand, Obi-Wan opened the hilt and observed Jango as he watched in awe.

“The Kyber is what powers a lightsaber, if the Kyber refuses you, it won’t turn on. One needs to bond with the Kyber before you can use it. Since the black one was not bonded with me I added my own Kyber to get it to turn on. I think it bonded with me but I can’t be sure at the moment.”

Jango looked confused, “That heirloom stone of yours is ‘Kyber’?”

Nodding, Obi-Wan tried to pull his Kyber out of the hilt only to be surprised when the black one followed. The two Kyber’s floated around each other and glowed as if they were breathing. “Huh, they won’t separate.” Obi-Wan muttered.

“Are they– pulsing?”

“They are semi-sentient.” Obi-Wan explained, “They have a will of their own and are bound to our souls.”

“Like Beskar’gam ?”

Thinking about it for a moment, Obi-Wan agreed, “Yes, that’s right.” 

Where Jango had reached out to touch the floating crystals he drew back. If they were comparable to beskar’gam they were highly personal. Not something one should be touching without permission.

“So your Kyber bound with the one of Mand’alor Tarre Vizsla?”

“I guess?” Obi-Wan frowned a little, he did not know enough about this. Perhaps he could ask when he got back to the Temple.

Obi-Wan lowered the Kyber’s back into the hilt and closed it again, letting it drop into his open palm. It hummed happily as Obi-Wan hooked it back to his belt. 

—------------------------------

Quinlan snuck out of the ship after everyone else had left.

Hiding in the shadows below the ship, he bided his time and waited for the Mando’s to leave. Slow and steady wins the race– Quinlan needed to find Obi-Wan and get out, getting caught upon arrival would be bad.

He could feel Obi-Wan’s dimmed Force Presence– they must have him on some kind of Force Suppressant. Tracking him would be a little tough but Quinlan was used to dealing with tough missions, he could find Obi.

The main group coming from Kalevala was being hoarded off somewhere but some of the guards stuck around. Quinlan cursed Obi-Wan’s luck– it must have rubbed off on him the second he landed on Mandalore.

Carefully, Quinlan snuck out from under the ship when he thought the coast was clear only to hear an ‘Oi!’ from behind him. 

On the other side of the ship was a Mando who peered underneath it and spotted Quinlan. Cursing under his breath, Quinlan tugged his hood further over his head and shot off into a sprint. It was too early to be caught.

Ignoring the ruckus around him, Quinlan winced as he ran into another Mando in full armour. They caught him and said, “Who the– are you a Jetii ?” They sounded wholly confused.

Quinlan just glared up at them as they clenched his robe in their hand. 

“Someone call the Mand’alor , I think we have another Jet’ika –” They made the mistake of taking off their helmet because no sooner than they did, Quinlan jumped up and headbutted the Mando.

Free once more, Quinlan picked up the helmet with the force and used it to throw another incoming Mandalorian off balance before using the opening to slip away. They were big and strong, Quinlan was fast– maybe not as fast as Obi-Wan but fast enough to lose them while he blended in with the shadows.

Mandalore was a busy planet, Quinlan soon discovered. It was downright bustling with beings and that made his job much harder than it should be. Maybe he miscalculated this little trip.

Using the roofs to his advantage Quinlan followed the trail of Obi-Wan’s Force Presence carefully. A left, then a right, it was getting closer.

He halted when a large structure with thick high walls came into view and groaned. Of course Obi-Wan would be in that building. This must be a prison where they locked his poor friend up. Well, no prison ever held a Padawan for long.

Observing the building for a moment, Quinlan spotted an open window just over the first wall. High up and in the shade of the building– perfect for his entrance. He could scale the wall from this roof and with the use of the Force, jump to the window and quietly let himself in. 

Easy.

Well, no. Kriff Obi-Wan’s bad luck because while his assent went more than alright, Quinlan climbed through the window only to stumble upon a Mandalorian looking at him with an unreadable expression.

“ Cyare , the rumour ‘s true,” They stated, not interrupting his stare off with Quinlan as he spoke into the comm unit in his ear. “We’ve got another feral one from the looks of it.”

Quinlan narrowed his eyes at the Mando, shifting his weight to ready himself to pounce. He could take one of them before the back-up showed up. 

“Hey kiddo.” The Mando set his glass of what Quinlan assumed was alcohol down and stood slowly, keeping his hands in view as he did so. “You are a Jet’ika , right? Like Ben?”

Ben? Who was Ben? Did they have another Jedi locked up in here? Quinlan needed to find them too then. No Jedi left behind! Not on his watch.

Leaning his weight back a little, Quinlan let the Mando get a little closer before jumping up to kick him in the face. 

To his utter surprise, the Mando caught his ankle and ruined Quinlan’s entire plan as he held him upside down. “ Udesii, ad’ika , Ben is on his way with Jaster.” He shushed as Quinlan struggled wildly. “Give them a few minutes– ugh– stop kicking ad .”

Whoever this Ben and Jaster were, Quinlan was not sticking around to meet them. He groaned as more Mando’s showed up as he did his best to get the Mando to let him go. When he finally managed to kick the Mando in the face, Quinlan dropped to his feet and glared at the surrounding Mando’s.

No one was shooting at him but they had him surrounded and it was unwise to use a lightsaber in a tight space like this one. 

Luckily for Quinlan, he had a set of daggers for that reason.

Every hand that dared to get into reach was slashed or deflected as Quinlan tried to find a way out of the situation. Except more showed up and none got close enough to be mauled.

“Quinlan?”

“Obes!” Quinlan spotted his target and leaped at Ben as some Mando’s parted for him to walk up, janking him along. “Let’s go!”

“Wait– Quin–!” Obi-Wan yelped as Quinlan forced him to run along with him. “Stop!”

Annoyingly, Obi-Wan managed to stop Quinlan as he was about to leap out of yet another window. “What are you doing?!”

“What am I doing?! What are you doing!” Obi-Wan retorted, “Will you listen to me?”

“Now is not the time for talking, Obi-Wan!” Quinlan retorted, going to leap out of the window again before Obi-Wan pulled him back.

“Stop that! Have you lost your mind?!”

“You love jumping out of windows!”

“Not right now!” Obi-Wan exclaimed, “What are you– how are you here?”

Quinlan shot him a look, “You were stolen out of the medical bay! You think the Temple wasn’t going to notice that?”

Slumping a little, Obi-Wan looked away and pursed his lips, “I figured they wouldn’t care.”

“Dude, you should have seen Che when she screamed at the Council! She was so angry, I thought she was going to throw the troll out of the window.” Quinlan waved his hands in disbelief, “You think the Bear’s would leave you? Kriff no! Now get your kark together and leap out of the kriffing window!”

“Ben?”

During the time the two conversed, the Mando’s had caught up to them and were looking between the Padawan’s as they went back and forth. 

“Stolen out of a medbay?” A golden mando gruffed. He didn’t wear a helmet and frowned down at Obi-Wan, “Stolen. Out. Of. A. Medbay?”

Obi-Wan winced as he mouthed ‘medic’ to Quinlan who cringed as well before deciding to reply, “Yes, his Master took him out of the medbay prematurely and without permission. We’ve been looking for him. Now if you will excuse us, we have places to be– windows to jump out of– you get the drill.”

“I think not.” The Mando from before snatched Quinlan by his scruff, “You are getting checked out, you look like a breeze could blow you over.”

—-----------------------------

Jaster was once again highly annoyed at the news that the Evaar’ade had sent a party to negotiate terms now that Kyr’tsad was scattered and leaderless.They may not have better things to do, but Jaster sure had.

He didn’t know what to think when he observed a figure leaving the ship as the others filed out and hid in the shadow of the ship. Narrowing his eyes, Jaster pursed his lips at the wannabe spy and signed to his verd’e to guide the Evaar’ade to the meeting room as he himself moved to the ship.

The last thing he expected was there to be yet another feral Jet’ika.

Ben knew the ad and introduced him as ‘Quinlan’ when Kal caught him again and dragged him to the medbay. He himself needed to get his jaw checked out because the Jet’ika got a good kick in.

Mij was relentlessly questioning Ben about his apparent ‘kidnapping’ and Jaster’s opinion of the Jetiise improved a little. From what he gathered, Quinlan had travelled to Kalevala with a bunch of Jetiise, snuck off like the feral things Jet’ike were and went on a solo mission to ‘free’ Ben from the clutches of the Haat’ade.

Brave little thing.

His story was confirmed when the Haat’ade received a slightly threatening warning that there was a ship with two Jedi Master’s on their way over to retrieve their Jet’ike.

Jaster was a little nervous about it– Ben was his ad after all. He knew it was Ben’s choice and he knew that Ben had aliit with the Jetiise. He may have custody according to Mandalorian law but Ben was old enough to choose his own way in life himself.

That did not mean Jaster would allow Ben’s Jetii’bajir to pick up Ben’s training again. They had spoken about it already– Jaster had expected this despite Ben’s doubts. Ben didn’t think any Jetii would take him, Jaster thought that was utter kark but only time would tell.

He granted the incoming Jetiise permission to land and left Ben and Quinlan in the medbay in order to greet them. 

—----------------------------

Tholme was anything but pleased when he learned that Quinlan had slipped away to head for Obi-Wan. He was more worried than angry admittedly– from the information they had the Mandalorians on Mandalore would be dangerous.

Still, it was mandatory to inform the beings in charge of a Planet when Jetiise were on their way. Tholme usually didn’t bother with such things, Shadows were not known for their diplomatic skills. Thankfully, Plo Koon knew how to make their presence and their threat clear all the while remaining coldly polite.

His presence was something else, a true marvel really. Tholme knew Plo Koon was no one to mess with, he also knew how easily it was to forget just how dangerous the Jedi Master could be.

All of Tholme’s senses were on edge as he patiently waited besides the man. Che– the angry medic who was ready to fight whomever needed to be fought in order to get to her patients– stood on Plo’s other side, shifting her weight. The three Padawan’s in their care stood behind them, also waiting until they could reunite with their Creche Clan brothers.

They were quiet, no words needed to be spoken when the Force was enough to communicate. 

Stay near, stay quiet and remain unseen. Let the Masters talk when they need to, let them make the first move. Plo knew how to lead a group of Jedi, even as strange of a group as his current one was. He understood the strengths of each Jedi in his group and he understood where their skills were best used.

Tholme was a Shadow– he moved quickly, silently and mostly unseen if he wanted to. Che was ruthless when she needed to be despite her status as a medic, many field medic missions had taught her that. Plo himself was a trained diplomat but was an avid opponent when the situation called for it.

Padawan Siri was clever and quick, strategic but sometimes tunnel visioned. Padawan Garen was a good fighter, understood strategy and was strong despite his young age. Padawan Bant was a healer, she was not as skilled with the saber but she was good at talking and a good healing apprentice– she had a fine touch few Padawan obtained.

They all felt the prickling and threatening presence Plo Koon was in the Force. When it came to younglings or Padawan’s he showed no mercy. If their younglings had been hurt, any who opposed them would pay for it.

Hoods drawn, the Jedi waited for the hatch to lower before they stepped off. There was a greeting party– all of them were tense as the Jedi stepped out.

Master Plo was the only one of them without a hood and bowed first, his gesture closely followed by his companions. “We are here for our Padawan’s.” His tone was unwavering and stern. 

“Are you now?” A Mando off to the side asked.

“We are here for our Padawan’s.” Plo repeated, his threatening presence growing. 

The Mandalorians visibly shifted at that but only moved when a Mando wearing a deep red cape lined with fur showed up. “Move along.” He ordered, “They are here to ensure the safety of ade , no one will stop them from that.”

Unseen by most but clear as day to the Jedi, Plo tilted his head a fraction before bowing his head again, “Jaster Mereel, I presume?”

“ Elek, Jetii. ” Mereel nodded, “Of the Haat’ade .”

Haat’ade? Those weren’t mentioned by the New Mandalorians. Then again, they did seem to withhold information from the very beginning. An issue for later concern.

“We are here for our Padawan’s.” Plo repeated for a third time.

“They are with us and in good health.” Mereel vowed.

“I shall be the judge of that.” Che glared at all of those that seemingly took offence by her words. A subtle gesture from Plo warned her not to continue her line of threats.

Tholme was very much the silent observer of the group and patiently waited. He could feel his Padawan in the Force and felt assured enough about his safety. In fact, Quinlan seemed to insist that he was fine by pushing comfort-safe-unharmed through the Force.

Their information had been off so far, Tholme had a feeling most of this situation could be cleared up by a long and thorough conversation. Plo seemed to share in that belief as he straightened and nodded his head to Mereel, “If you please?”

While the Masters kept their gazes straight forward and avoided looking at Mandalorians for too long, the Padawan’s curiously peeked from below their hoods and looked at everything with bright observing eyes.

Some Mando’s barely looked at the group passing, others stared at them as they walked past. They looked at the bright, eye-blinding colours and wondered about the scents of the food in the courts they walked through.

There were these strange animals that kept glancing their way, that kept trying to approach. They looked dangerous but didn’t ping in warning in the Force. Still, the Padawan’s went out of their way to avoid them.

Soon, they approached a large structure in the heart of the city and entered it. 

Then they found themselves walking through countless halls in a maze of a fortress before finally reaching the medbay. It was there that Tholme broke the line and studded forwards, his Padawan was in that room.

He pushed past a Mando trying to stop him and into the room to see Obi-Wan and Quinlan sitting on a medbay cot side by side.

Both of them looked up as Tholme entered and marched over to Quinlan, grabbing his chin to inspect his Padawan for a moment before pulling him into a hug. “One of these days your idiotic ideas will get you seriously hurt.” He warned.

“I have you to guide me.” Quinlan muttered into his Master’s robes.

Shaking his head, Tholme glanced at the Mando that seemed to be the medic before moving to pick up the medical documents. He glared at them, unable to read the language, and set them back down.

“Che?”

“In a moment.”

While the reunion of the two Shadows took place, Che and Plo had both moved to Obi-Wan. Plo stood behind the Padawan, allowing him to lean back against him while Che took note of Obi-Wan’s injuries.

“Where did you get these?” Che asked, prodding the bandages around Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

“Slugthrower. Kyr’tsad– Deathwatch– infiltrated Keldabe. I was hit.” Obi-Wan explained.

“You are hurt– more than before– I can feel it in the Force.” Che cradled Obi-Wan’s face in a caring gesture.

Che’s place was taken by Bant, Garen and Siri the moment she moved to get a look at Quinlan.

“Oh dear, the Bear Clan all in one room? I fear for whatever chaos may follow.” Plo joked, breaking part of the tension growing between the Mandalorian medics and the Jedi.

“As you should, Mast– Teacher.” Siri switched her way of addressing her Master as she watched the Mandalorians twitch at the word. “There is a reason for our mission schedules, don’t think we haven’t noticed.”

“It is for the best of the Temple after the Great Glitter Wars.” Plo looked like he was experiencing flashbacks to an actual war but the smirks that all Padawan’s got on their faces told Jaster they had caused quite some trouble back in the day.

“Who would be foolish enough to think that they could hide such a thing from you? It is widely known what trouble the infamous Bear Clan gets up to.” Tholme deadpanned, “Certainly not us.”

The light banther between the Jedi seemed to ease whatever tension was still with the Mandalorians and the medbay moved on with its usual business. A few Mando’s stuck around and moved to Ben as well. 

“Now that that’s all past–” Mereel muttered, “I assume these are your other vod’e , Ben?”

Obi-Wan nodded, “Padawan Siri Tache, Garen Muhn and Bant Eerin.” He pointed each of them out one by one. “Jedi Master Plo Koon is Siri’s Teacher, Jedi Master Tholme is Quinlan’s Teacher and Jedi Healer Che is Bant’s teacher. I– I have no idea where Garen’s Teacher is.”

“On Coruscant, for forced Temple rest.” Garen piped up. 

Mereel pulled his helmet off and shot a look at Ben, “And your ‘Teacher’?”

“Not present.” Obi-Wan winced as a flare of anger brushed past him before muttering, “Perhaps for the best really.”

As they spoke, one of the animals they had seen all over town strutted over to Plo and sat on his feet. Plo looked down at the animal in confusion but didn’t say anything as the animal pushed against him.

When a Mando in gold showed up, the animal stood and headed over to him and pawed at his leg before pushing back against Plo’s leg, then moved to Che, the other Padawan’s and finally Tholme. 

“That’s Jaha, Baar’ur Mij’s strill.” Obi-Wan frowned a little, “And he just snitched on you. Are you all injured?”

All the Jedi in the room looked at each other sheepishly for a moment.

The Mando in gold groaned and ordered, “Sit your shebs down. Now. You are all officially in medbay care.”

—--------------------------------------------------

“–injured, malnourished, dehydrated and sleep deprived.” Mij finished the lengthy report to Jaster as they discussed the current situation.

All of the Jetii– all of them– were either injured, exhausted or lacked proper nutrition. The Padawan’s were actually not that bad in comparison, a few good nights of sleep and some proper meals and they would be relatively alright.

The Masters were something else. 

Healer Che was sleep deprived and had clearly skipped some meals here and there. 

Plo Koon was suffering a recently dislocated shoulder he had seemingly reset himself and had been hiding it from the healer for fear of ‘ being left out from the current objective ’ and stated that ‘ it was not that bad ’. Both medics disagreed on that.

Tholme had a cracked rib he had not even bothered to deal with, it was a miracle his lungs weren’t pierced by them to be honest. When asked about it, the man laughed and said, ‘Padawans wait for no Master. If I had denied my Padawan, Force knows what would have happened’ .

Mij was anything but pleased with that. A single Jetii in this state was one thing, but all seven of them had one reason or another to be pulled off duty by Mandalorian standards. Mij put his foot down and insisted they remained on Mandalore until they had proven that they were able to go back to full duty.

Of course, word of the situation spread out to the ranks and soon everyone was more curious than apprehensive about their visitors.

For now they were kept in the medbay in a private room. They had taken the mattresses off the beds and created a sleeping mat– the way a ‘Creche Clan’ would sleep according to Ben. He stayed with the Jetiise for the time being in order to keep them calm, none of them liked the idea of parting with any of the Padawan’s.

“Is this the norm for Jetiise ?” Jaster mused, thinking ro Ben’s odd relationship with medical care. Were they all as stubborn when it came to medical? Even their Healers? Well they did hide their injuries from the Healer but the Healer was also weary.

“I spoke with their Baar’ur .” Mij sucked in a deep breath, “She said, ‘Our duty as Jedi never ends. We are called to places of need and we go. The Republic gives us missions, we complete those. Their demand is high but so is the need for aid. We can not rest.’. Ben later clarified some of my questions.

“He told me that the Republic has been running them dry. They are funded by donations. The Republic funds them but keeps threatening to cut their funds if they stop taking missions. He said they threatened the Temple– they keep their ikaad’e there– their Council doesn’t want to acknowledge it but it is no secret amongst the Jetiise .”

Jaster hummed, “Ben knew about our suspicions but never acted on them.” He muttered, “What if their Council is the same? Willingly ignorant because there is nothing they can do? Avoid panic amongst themselves because they know they’re trapped. They are protective of their own, secretive even, what do we know about them– what do we really know about them?”

“Nothing.” Mij agreed, “What will you do?”

What indeed?

Kyr’tsad may be disbanded but there were still rogue traditionalists out for blood. There was still the issue with the Evaar’ade. Could they really help the Jetiise beyond this? Their ade were in danger but making enemies with the Republic was unwise. 

Then again– they were Ben’s Aliit– Jaster may not truly understand the structure of the Jetiises home but he recognised vod’e when he saw them.

“If they come here, we aid them. We can not help them in Republican space.”

“I will inform the verd’e .”

Jaster choked on his sip of shig as Mij walked off, “Wa– What do you– Mij?!”

—--------------------------

“ Buir ?”

Jaster stumbled as Obi-Wan stood behind him all of the sudden. “Ben?” He swallowed thickly.

Kal, who had been beside him, laughed at his husbands reaction to being called buir, “ Su’cuy , Ben, here to eat first meal?”

“ Elek. ” Obi-Wan nodded as he sat at the table and looked at Jaster who seemed close to crying. “Are you alright?”

“ Elek, ner ad. ” Jaster sniffed a little, “Have you decided on what you want to do yet?”

Obi-Wan shrugged, “I don’t think I need to anytime soon. Mij is adamant on keeping the Masters here until they are fully recovered and proven that they can take care of themselves without being prompted to as well. They will never get off the planet with those terms in place.”

“Speaking of which–” Kal smirked at Jaster’s lack of words for a moment, “You need to head to the Goran to get fitted.”

Tilting his neck, Obi-Wan frowned, “Fitted for what?”

“ Beskar’gam of course.”

Now it was Obi-Wan’s turn to gape while stuttering. “Wa– but I–”

“You are of age and you are long overdue for beskar’gam .” Kal added. “I know for a fact that the Goran is just itching to get working on your set. Take your vod’e why don’t you?”

“The Goran did mention wanting to meet the Jedi, I will bring them along I suppose.” Obi-Wan shrugged, “But I am unsure of what beskar’gam would be able to fit me. Most of my fighting is based on Lightsaber Forms and those require flexibility.”

Jaster finally gathered himself and smiled at Ben, “The Goran will enjoy the challenge, don’t doubt their skills.”

It was hard not to when Obi-Wan was fully aware of how restricting beskar’gam could be to him. Time would tell he supposed. “Is it alright if I bring Master Koon along too? Mij mentioned he was released for light duty in case you wanted to discuss arrangements in the near future.”

“I will request a meeting with them Jetii’Bajir Koon later, the Goran would be mad at me if I was the reason for delaying meeting with a Jetii .” Jaster huffed, “It is important to rest at this stage of healing. Ask him if he wishes to meet with me sometime tomorrow.”

No point in rushing after all. The Jedi would be here for a while.

They ate breakfast together before going their separate ways. Kal and Jaster set off to have the first meetings since the fall of Kyr’tsad and Obi-Wan to ask if the Jedi wanted to see some of the city and meet the Goran.

Che and Tholme were not allowed out of the medbay yet and Bant and Quinlan seemed unwilling to part with their Masters so Plo, Garen and Siri set out with Obi-Wan instead.

“So the ‘Goran’ is the forger? Like, they make the armour, right?”

“ Beskar’gam , yes, they forged my blade as well.” Obi-Wan tapped the beskad at his waist, “A gift before I was adopted.”

Plo hummed, “You mentioned that before, Mand’alor Mereel adopted you according to Mandalorian rule, yes?”

Obi-Wan shifted his weight for a moment before puffing his chest up, “He did.” Obi-Wan looked up at Plo, “And I don’t think I want it to be dissolved, Teacher.”

Refusing to cower despite the piercing eyes on his person, Obi-Wan kept eye contact with Plo as the Jedi kneeled to Obi-Wan’s level. “We will figure this out, Padawan Kenobi.” He vowed. “We will not fail you again.”

That was a tough promise to keep but the Force echoed nothing but truth. 

Swallowing thickly, Obi-Wan looked down and away, nodding before continuing their way out of the Palace and towards the Forge.

The large circular building within the walls of the fortress of a Palace stood at the very back of the training grounds. Many Mandalorians were sparring or running the obstacle course under the supervision of Walon Vau.

Obi-Wan waved at the man as they passed him. Walon nodded stoically but smiled a little before turning back to his current class. Plenty of Mando’s greeted them on their way and observed Master Plo as he walked with his claws hidden in the sleeves of his robes– the way a typical Jedi walked. If the Jedi was uncomfortable with it he didn’t show it.

“What does Su’cuy Ge’tal’ika mean?” Garen asked after the fourth time a Mando shouted it at them.

A highly unamused look rested on Obi-Wan’s face as he translated the Mando’a for the Jedi. “It means ‘Hi, Little Red’ in Mando’a. I have no idea when they gave me that nickname but it stuck.”

Siri laughed at Obi-Wan’s misery, “What does ‘Ben’ mean then? Did Mand’alor Mereel name you?”

“Actually, Satine Kryze gave me that nickname.” Obi-Wan smiled a little, “She claimed I sighed too much. The Mando’a word for ‘to sigh’ is betanor , so my undercover name became Ben.”

“I think we met her.” Siri furrowed her eyebrows, “Posh thing, blonde, whiny and prideful. Claims that there was no war on Mandalore despite being evacuated because of that war. She knew you by name too.”

“That would be her.” Obi-Wan nodded.

“Quinlan would have probably punched her if Siri hadn’t pulled him away.” Garen mused, “He hit Teacher Qui-Gon– broke his nose too.”

Stuttering in his step, Obi-Wan gasped, “He did what?!”

“He did what we all long to do.” The Goran appeared from the Forge as if he felt the group coming up to his door and stepped out. “The Jetiise from Kalevala?”

“Goran.” Obi-Wan nodded his head to the tall Mandalorian before pointing to each of his companions, “ Jetii’ad Siri and Jetii’ad Garen– my vod’e – and Jetii’bajir Plo Koon.”

“Your buir informed me of their potential visit today.” The Goran acknowledged, “You have come for your beskar’gam – finally.”

Obi-Wan shifted his weight awkwardly, “I don’t know if there is any beskar'gam that would allow for my movements.” He admitted his doubt.

“Ah, perhaps Jedi armour could be an inspiration?” Plo stepped past the Padawan’s and bowed, “It is an honour to meet with you. I thank you for your invitation.”

“We do not bow here, Jetii .” The Goran straightened a little, uncomfortable with the idea. “You are not beneath another and bowing is not a show of respect.”

Plo straightened, “Apologies, what would be the proper way of greeting a Mandalorian?”

Amused, the Goran raised a fist and knocked it to his chest. The beskar of his knuckles clanged against the beskar covering their chest and echoed a melodic sound. “Like this.” He showed, “Or, when familiar or in a position of trust–” They then reached out their arm and grabbed Plo’s wrist, “–like this.”

The gesture’s implication did not go unnoticed and Plo nodded his head, “I see, vor’e , for teaching me something of your culture.”

“ Vor’e for being open to learning.” The understanding between the two did not go unnoticed and unbeknownst to the Jedi they had just gained more respect than most visitors had gained in decades. “Follow me, Jetiise , let me show you a glimpse of our most sacred traditions.”

Of course the Jedi were not allowed in the main hall of the Forge– that was for Mandalorians alone– but the entrance hall of the Forge was more than most saw. They all listened attentively as the Goran explained how the process of measuring a being went and how they would customise the beskar’gam to every being.

They went through some measurements and details about the metal. Most of it was in Mando’a so the Jedi couldn’t follow but Obi-Wan understood every word and listened attentive. 

“Jetii, you spoke of Jetiise beskar’gam before, what did you mean?”

Plo was seated with the Padawan’s some distance away and tilted his head slightly, “Back in the olden days of the Order, Jedi used to wear armour. After the Ruusan Reformation we set them aside and never picked them up again. There are some sets in the archives under Madame Nu’s protection as well as documentation of them. They are adjusted to allow movement needed for the Forms.”

The Goran turned to Obi-Wan, “I have seen your sparring, it is not too out of the norm.”

Obi-Wan shifted his weight a little, “I have not been going to the extent of my abilities with the beskad .” He admitted. 

“If I may?” Plo waited for a nod of approval to speak, once he gained permission he continued, “Teacher Tholme is likely due to be released from the medical wing for light duty. We were planning on continuing our training with our Padawan’s in the morning hours. Observing might aid in this endeavour.”

The Goran sounded interested, “A Jetii training?”

“ Elek .” Plo nodded his head. “We can show you the extent of Padawan Kenobi’s movements and fighting capabilities in a safe environment.”

“Oohh yes!” Garen grinned, “Those training sessions are fun!”

Obi-Wan had a smile too, the Jedi made their observation training more than fun. It was a game for the Padawan’s for the most part. They got to spar, play tag and show off while the Masters observed what they might still need to improve. “I think that would be a good idea.” He shrugged.

“Let’s hope Quinlan is allowed to join as well,” Siri mused, “He would hate to be left out again.”

“Well he didn’t have any injuries, so maybe?” Garen shrugged, “The medics here are much more stern than at home.”

“No, at home the medics don’t have the clearance to stop the Senate from forcing their patients to go on missions.” Siri corrected, “Believe me, if Healer Che had her way none of us would get off Coruscant again.”

“Padawan.” Plo cleared his throat. It was not a reprimand but it was enough for Siri to catch herself and swallow the criticism she may have for the Senate. “While we usually refrain from training in public I feel it is only fair to show you some of our culture after you have gracefully shown yours to us.”

“We shall meet tomorrow then.”

—---------------------------------

Since the Padawan’s had actually had a good amount of sleep in the few days they had been on Mandalore, Mij begrudgingly allowed them out of the medbay for full duty. The Master’s would only be allowed out for light duty but since none of them would do more than kata’s it was more than fine.

Word of the demonstration had spread amongst the ranks rather quickly and many had turned up to witness it. 

The Goran sat next to Jaster who had also decided to forgo his morning meetings in favour of watching his ad and his family warm up and train. Walon was there too, he would be training Obi-Wan in the Mandalorian ways of fighting, it was important for him to see his true capabilities.

Most of the other Mando’s in the crowd had never seen a Jedi, let alone three Masters and four Padawan’s in the same place. They usually travelled in pairs but they were never seen in groups. To see so many moving in synchrony was something else.

They had started up with stretches that seemed impossible and dared to call them warm-up stretches. It looked like a full workout already but none of them even broke a sweat.

It was when they got up and stood in a line that their so-called kata’s started. Without any prompt that they noticed the Jedi got into a fighting stance and waited for a moment. Then they started moving in graceful ways that could be confused by dancing rather than attacks.

Their movements blended together as they worked through their kata’s. After a few sets, the Padawan’s stopped and backed to their beginning position, waiting. The Master’s continued on for a few minutes before ending in their starting position. There they took on another position and moved in different ways.

They did this seven times with the Padawan’s stopping halfway through a set and returning to their first position and waited for the Masters to be done. In the third and fourth set, Obi-Wan did not return with the other Padawan’s and instead moved along with the Master’s– it seemed to surprise them quite a bit.

After half an hour of this they started from the beginning but did their movements at full speed. That was a scary sight to witness. The Jedi moved fast enough to become a blur rather than their much slower pace from before. They finished those sets much faster and seemed to be done.

“I was unaware your Teacher had started to teach you the advanced version of Form III, Padawan.” Tholme spoke to Obi-Wan as he watched the Padawan’s sip from water bottles provided by Mij who would not stop glaring until they drank.

“He didn’t.” Obi-Wan admitted, “He wants me to learn Ataru.”

“Which you have.” Plo joined the conversation, “Quite thoroughly for a Padawan your age, might I add.”

“He is a passionate Teacher.” Obi-Wan replied.

It didn’t seem to sit well with the Master’s which in turn was noticed by the Mandalorians observing the whole training. 

“I see.” Tholme muttered, “Well, it is time to move on to sparring.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan sought each other out immediately while the other three discussed who would go first.

Plo moved off the training area they had claimed and settled near the Mand’alor and the Goran.

“Why are those two not discussing sparring partners?” Jaster asked the Jedi as he sat down.

“They are paired up together whenever possible.” Plo revealed, “Both have– experiences that cause them to fight more roughly. Their bond is strong however and it ensures that they won’t get lost in their spar while in moving meditation.”

“Explain.” The Goran demanded, “Moving meditation?”

“We meditate a lot, sometimes we do so while moving. Sparring is a form of battle meditation.” Plo explained briefly while skipping over the details, “It sometimes causes a Jedi to believe them to be in real battle rather than a friendly spar. Quinlan and Obi-Wan have a natural Force Bond– they recognise each other even in battle meditation and won’t accidentally hurt one another. Since we are here to witness the extent of Obi-Wan’s capabilities, Quinlan is the one that will allow the most accurate example of that without the risk of unforeseen injuries.”

“I see.” The Goran hummed, “Has it anything to do with their experiences?”

“Partually.” Plo admitted, “Both have been on dangerous missions and tend to fight ‘dirty’ according to Temple sparring rules. We found it better to keep them paired up whenever possible.”

Jedi fighting dirty. Well, if the Mandalorians didn’t know Obi-Wan as well as they did they may not have believed Plo. 

They watched the two Padawan’s get into position and flinched as they pulled their sabers out and lit them. 

“Surely they aren’t going to spar with those?” Walon demanded.

“They are in training mode, none of them are hot enough to even burn.” Plo ensured quickly, revealing his own saber and moving it to training mode to show. He held the blade against his claw for a moment and removed it, “See? No harm done.”

“The Dha’kad’au has a training mode?” Jaster muttered, watching Obi-Wan light the black blade with its blue hue and get into position.

They witnessed a few spars between the Padawan’s which only left them to wonder how dangerous their Masters would be considering those moves were quick and deadly in any other situation.

After half an hour of that the Jedi finally moved to the last part of their training but not before they had taken another water break. It was time to see what they could do movement wise. They moved to the obstacle course and looked downright excited.

“Alright, since this is a tad different from ours we are going to mix it up a little.” Tholme muttered, looking at the training course with narrowed eyes. “Force Tag.”

The Padawan’s cheered.

“Force Tag?” Jaster asked Plo.

“You will see.” Plo had a glint of amusement that Jaster recognised from Obi-Wan as he spoke.

“The usual rules. Since we are here for Obi-Wan’s evaluation, he will be the tagger. Be creative and use the environment to your advantage. No injuries or the game will be over immediately.”

“Yes Teacher!” A chorus of voices agreed.

“Remain in the courtyard, 10 seconds headstart.” Tholme announced, “10 seconds from now.”

Immediately four out of five Padawan’s shot off and leaped through the course in impossible movements. Some headed for high ground, others hid amongst the ledges. Obi-Wan shifted his weight, his eyes following his vod’e as they moved with unseen speed.

His eyes landed on Siri and Jaster realised that she would be his target to tag. She was sitting on top of the traditionally climbed wall but now acted as her private perch to watch Obi-Wan’s movements from. She hadn’t noticed Obi-Wan’s gaze and was thus surprised when Obi-Wan got the permission to give chase and went straight for her. 

Eyes wide, Siri leaped off the wall and several Mando’s had the instinct to step in and catch her but to their surprise she landed perfectly and ran off with Obi-Wan hot on her tail. 

They laughed as the copper haired Padawan chased Siri through the course and eventually up the side of the Palace before Obi-Wan managed to catch her ankle. “Tag! You’re it!” Obi-Wan shouted to ensure the other Padawan’s could hear before leaping onto a balcony just below him from which he leaped over to the next and the next.

Siri went after another Padawan– not allowed to back-tag Obi-Wan– and managed to get Garen who decided that Obi-Wan was the ideal target.

Obi-Wan leaped through the Course as if it was nothing and did impossible leaps to avoid Garen but ended up making the mistake of trying to jump off a net. His foot got slightly caught, slowing his escape enough for Garen to tag him.

Quinlan was the next to be tagged and ended up tagging Bant who ended up tagging Garen out of revenge since he did use her as a shield to avoid being tagged himself. Siri was the next and tagged Obi-Wan as her own revenge who managed to tag Quinlan again.

The game ended with Garen as tagger but Mij had called an end to the fun since they had not taken a proper break between sparring and their tagging game.

Grinning ear to ear, the Padawan’s dropped down and drank the remaining water from their bottles as the other Jedi approached them. 

“Well done, Padawans.” Plo praised, “Goran, have you seen enough?”

“I do now understand Ben’s doubts.” The Goran nodded, “Flexibility is a large factor of your fighting style. A challenge indeed. Is that offer of seeing Jetii beskar’gam open?”

“Naturally.” Plo nodded, “However, that likely has to wait until after my meeting with the Mand’alor and Padawan Kenobi regarding his custody.”

—-----------------------------------

Quinlan: I’m not waiting any longer!

Garen: Maybe you should?

Quinlan: *Halfway into the ship going to Mandalore* Nahhh

Mandalorians: *In awe after seeing Mand’alor Vizsla fighting through Obi-Wan*

Mandalorians: *Can’t help but stare*

Obi-Wan: They keep looking at me. They must hate me.

Jaster: You’re joking right?

Obi-Wan: *Tries to separate his Kyber from the Dha’kad’au*

Dha’kad’au: Nahh I like this one. I’m keeping you two.

Obi-Wan: 0.0

Tholme: *Hearing about Quinlan’s shenanigans* 

Tholme: Should have seen this one coming by now.

Plo: *Most unassuming Jedi in the Temple*

Also Plo: *Most threatening aura if it concerns his younglings*

Mij: They need help, Jaster! Even their Masters are in bad shape!

Jaster: We can’t help them in enemy territory

Mij: *Already planning on some light kidnapping and knowing the verd’e are as well* Cool, let me inform the others.

Jaster: Wait no–

Plo: *Willing to learn Mando’a and the culture because it makes Obi-Wan feel alright about his wish to stay*

The Goran: This one we like. The other one will still be held accountable when we eventually catch him.

Jinn: *Somewhere in space* I have a bad feeling about this.

Jedi: We play tag for training.

Mandalorians: Tag…?

Jadi: *Play Force Tag*

Mandalorians: *Watching the Padawans hunt each other down for fun* 

Mandalorians: Oh… They call this Tag ? If this is Tag, what is their version of hunting?

Chapter Text

Chapter 8; Hope for the future

Mace Windu paced across the limited space in his living quarters.

It had been days since the last update from the secret mission regarding Mandalore. Plo had called with the news that Master Qui-Gon had been sent off with the Shadows to the Temple and called again that same day to inform him that Padawan Quinlan had taken the opportunity to travel to Mandalore unaccompanied.

Of course the little gremlin had decided to cause more trouble while the Jedi tried to fix their mistake. Just what they needed.

They had made the decision not to ask for permission to follow the Padawan and were already enroute– Mace would have granted them permission either way but it seems they didn’t want to risk being denied their request. Mace couldn’t blame them for it, he had denied them before and had regretted it. 

Still, they had missed their check-in and since they were in what was considered enemy territory Mace feared the worst. Not one but five Padawans on Mandalore along with three Masters who all were highly influential within the Temple structure was not good.

On top of that, some curious reports had come in. Mandalorians aid Jedi around the galaxy for some unknown reason. It set Mace on edge. There was nothing he could do now but wait.

—------------------------

This had to be the nicest kidnapping in the history of Feemor’s career.

Atleast, it seemed like a kidnapping but Feemor truly couldn’t be sure. It had been days ago since he got injured while fighting off some pirates while keeping one of the newly acquired Younglings safe from them.

As a Seeker, it was his duty to find and retrieve Force Sensitive children from dangerous locations. This Youngling was found in the outer rim and had gone through a lot before Feemor managed to find him.

They had been attempting to get back to Coruscant before pirates decided they should try to capture and sell two Jedi for a good amount of credits. Afterall, everyone knew younglings were valuable to slavers because of their rarity. 

Feemor fought them off but had gotten injured along the way. He was keeping the younglings safe while waiting for their extraction when a Mandalorian interfered as other pirates had come to find them for revenge.

Bleeding and out of breath, Feemor carried the youngling in his arms as he watched the Mandalorian slaughter the pirates. He flinched and pulled his saber as one of them turned to him but stopped as the Force suggested that they were allies.

“ Jetii? ”

“Mandalorian.” Feemor replied hesitantly, adjusting his grip on the child.

“Follow us.” They stated, turning their back in a huge show of trust before marching off.

Hesitantly, Feemor blinked as he watched the Mandalorians go. They did not look back to see if Feemor followed and he was very much planning on not doing so when the child tugged his sleeve.

Their huge tired eyes looked up at Feemor confused before looking to where the Mandalorians were disappearing off to.

Feemore tried to whip off some of the blood on their face but cringed as he made it worse. He was in no state to fight and the child could not protect themselves. The Force seemed eager about the Mandalorians– enough so that Feemor actually started to follow them despite his better judgement.

He caught up with them but remained some distance away as he ignored his limp. They guided him to a ship and entered it. They still hadn’t looked if Feemor followed along so he hesitantly walked up the latch and was greeted by a Mando guiding him to sit down.

“Let’s have a look at that injury, Jetii .” They muttered, kneeling in front of Feemor and the child while looking at his leg. “Is the ad injured too?”

From context, Feemor figured he meant the youngling in his arms and shook his head, “Not more than they were when I found them.” He admitted, “Weary and hungry, but not injured.”

“Myles, get the ad and the Jetii something easy to eat. Light, no spices.”

Reply came from another room on the ship. “On it, Alor !”

“ At Mando’yaim !” The Mando ordered, which was answered to as the ship vibrated and the hatch shut.

Feemor watched the hatch slowly closing– that was the only exit. He downright froze when the ship started to take off. “Where are we going?” He asked warily.

“ Mando’yaim .” The Mando replied, accepting the two bowls and handing them to the youngling and Feemor respectively. “This injury is beyond my skills, we are taking you to medical.”

“We are on the other side of the Galaxy?!” Feemor pointed out, adjusting the bowl in the younglings hand as they dug in. “Slowly, youngling, if you eat too fast you will get nauseous.” He warned.

Setting his own bowl down, Feemor helped the youngling eat, completely missing the Mando shaking their head in disbelief. 

“It is closer.”

“Coruscant is closer.”

“Mandalore is good.”

“But–”

“Mandalore is good.”

—-----------------------------------

“For the last time, you have no day of Mando’yaim.” Jaster sighed. “Kalevala is yours to do with as you please but I refuse to allow you to strip the culture of Mando’yaim . You lost that right when you fled the Planet.”

“ That is just unfair, Jaster. ”

“So is claiming the lead of Mandalore through rigged elections, Adonai.” Jaster sighed, “I have indulged your demands long enough. Your diplomats will be escorted back to Kalevala. Mandalore disowns the planet. You are your own people now– you have gotten what you wanted. Now leave the Mandalorian Empire alone or deal with the consequences.”

“ Empire?! Empire?! Do you hear yourself, Jaster? Have you lost your mind– ”

“Good luck in your future endeavours, Duke. May your reign of Kalevala be fruitful.”

The Duke halted at the words. Never in his life had Jaster called Adonai ‘Duke’. It had been a joke title back in the day and as his friend, Jaster never taunted him. He never called him that despite him now claiming that title pridefully.

It was Jaster telling Adonai that he no longer recognised him as a friend. Whatever friendly relationship they had was now gone. Their vision of the future of Mandalore had grown apart so much one could barely see how it had once been similar.

“ Jaster, you can’t. Mandalore is our– ”

“Goodbye, Duke.”

Shutting down the connection, Jaster sent the order that no aruetii ships were permitted in the Mandalorian Space Sector and that Kalevala was no longer considered Mandalorian. While the whole issue with the Jedi was going on, Jaster had become Mand’alor without him truly noticing.

The Goran had called him Mand’alor and now even the neutral Mandalorians started to call him that. Mandalore was uniting under Jaster and all he could do was deal with the responsibility of leading.

A knock on the door of his study snapped Jaster out of his pondering. “Enter.”

“ Mand’alor Mereel?” It was Jedi Master Plo Koon.

“Yes, do come in.” Jaster motioned to the chair across his desk, “We have some things to discuss before Ben gets here.”

—---------------------------------

“Ready for another spar?”

Obi-Wan looked to his left as Jango walked up to him. “Hand to hand?”

“I have no hope of defeating a Jetii with a Jetii’kad .” Jango shook his head, “Not without cheating at least.”

Smirking, Obi-Wan hummed, “You just want to make yourself feel better by beating me.”

“You get to use the Manda this time around.” Jango shrugged.

Now, that peeked Obi-Wan’s attention. “I get to use the Force in our spar?”

Jango hummed, “It should be interesting, no?”

Allowing the Mandalorian to help him up, Obi-Wan grabbed Jango’s arm as he offered it and stood straight. “Same sparring rules as normal?”

“ Elek. ”

They smiled at each other for a moment before moving to the training mats and got ready.

“Let’s see if you last longer this time around.” Jango taunted.

“Better keep up.” Obi-Wan warned, getting into position.

This fight was a bit more of a challenge for Jango. Obi-Wan lasted a respectable ten minutes before biting the dust and ended up pinned by Jango once again.

Both were out of breath as Jango held Obi-Wan down as the latter struggled to get up. The Force certainly made the sparring more interesting.

Obi-Wan was rather creative and had this been an actual fight, he would have been able to get away. In hand-to-hand combat, Obi-Wan fought defensively rather than his usual brutal style. Walon would be able to teach him the fine art of grappling later.

Jango helped Obi-Wan up and grinned, “That kick was dirty.”

“If a Jedi is forced to fight hand to hand, they are in a situation where it’s needed to fight dirty.” Obi-Wan shrugged. “I didn’t take the hand-to-hand combat class. If you want to see how Jedi truly fight without weapons you should ask Quinlan or Siri.”

“You refused a hand-to-hand combat class?” Jango looked at Obi-Wan like he was crazy.

“Again, if there is a situation where a Jedi is without a weapon, the situation has usually gone horribly wrong.” Obi-Wan waved Jango off. “I can handle myself against normal beings– I can’t help it that Mando’ade are expert grapplers.”

“Well, at least Walon doesn’t need to teach you to fight dirty.” Jango mused, “How about this? I’ll teach you grappling, you teach me to improve with the beskad .”

Obi-Wan thought about the offer for a moment before grinning, “Agreed.” He said, accepting Jango’s held out arm and squeezed it.

Letting go, Obi-Wan looked confused as Jango did not. Looking up at him, Obi-Wan frowned, “What is it?”

“Do you– do you want to go to the Tracyn’ika with me tomorrow?”

Jaster had decided that there was a need for a victory feast, a Tracyn’ika seemed like the best choice. Preparations were already on their way and many Mandalorians were busy with their tasks.

Obi-Wan had seen other Mando’s asking beings to go to the feast but it always seemed in a romantic way. 

Tensing a little, Obi-Wan blinked, “As in–”

“As in a date.” Jango clarified ever so bluntly.

Flustering, Obi-Wan cleared his throat and looked away, “Sure, yeah.”

“Good.” Jango smiled brightly.

“Good.” Obi-Wan nodded. “I– I have to– Jaster said–”

“I know, go.” Jango grinned at Obi-Wan's awkward reaction and let his wrist go. “Don’t make your buir wait.”

Nodding, Obi-Wan stepped back, “Okay, bye Jango.”

“See you tomorrow, Ben.”

Fleeing the scene, Obi-Wan took off and headed inside the Palace. Jaster had asked him and Master Koon to speak with him to make agreements on the matter of his custody. 

When he got to the study, Plo was already there and having a polite conversation with Jaster. Obi-Wan knocked on the open door and waited at the threshold to be allowed in. Jaster nodded to him and asked him to shut the door behind him as he came in. 

Once seated, Obi-Wan sat straight in an unnatural manner– uncomfortably so.

“Ben, are you alright?” Jaster asked, petting his shoulder in comfort. “Are you up for this today? It is okay if you are not.”

“No, I would like to discuss this.” Obi-Wan swallowed his nerves down. 

—-------------------------------

Mace Windu was only halfway through reading Obi-Wan’s reports that he had apparently been writing since the very start of his Padawan career when his former Padawan, Knight Depa, released them to the Temple.

The amount of difference in each report was staggering. From small differences like the location of where they stayed the night on a long mission to big differences like leaving a Padawan alone in the outer rim and saying he was ‘sick in bed for days’.

Yeah, that one had given him a headache.

The more Mace read, the more Obi-Wan’s strange behaviour was explained. The more he read, the more he realised that Qui-Gon Jinn was not the Master he thought to be. There was one mission report that was not there however. The one Mace was most interested in reading.

Melida/Daan. 

Tahl had reported her side of the story after hearing about the differences between Obi-Wan’s reports and Qui-Gon’s but she did not know everything.

There was no full report on Melida/Daan but there was an unnamed draft with three pages.

‘ We landed on the planet in the middle of their day cycle to find the city in ruins. The situation seemed much worse than Republican intel suggested–”

“–A group called The Young, children fighting to put an end to the war. They were between the ages of 5 and 13 when we first found them but they had seen more than most adults had. Master Jinn and I met up with their leaders, Cerasi and Nield of the Young– ”

“ –Master Jinn promised them that he would call for aid from the Jedi despite knowing that the strict war-zone rules our Order has would not allow it. In exchange for this promise, the Young shared what they knew of the disappearance of Jedi Master Tahl, our main objective– ”

“– He lied. He left them to fend for themselves. It was wrong. I tried to tell him. He took my lightsaber and left before I even realised what had happened– ”

Mace cried as he read those three pages. They were short, unedited and highly emotional but Mace could feel the panic in the way Obi-Wan wrote. That short partial report was a far cry from the claims Jinn made.

Left for a girl, he had said. Left for a crush on a girl Obi-Wan had just met. It was disgusting.

After reading everything, Mace could only calm himself down as he ensured himself that Jinn was on his way back to the Temple. He would face the consequences of his lies. 

Not even Yoda could save his skin now– even the troll had to see how deep this situation was rooted. For all his scheming and for all his love for his lineage, even Yoda saw the deep troublesome truth of the matter. In fact, it was the Grandmaster himself who updated the Temple on the situation of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and took responsibility for his part in the ignorance the Council had in the matter.

A new rule was established in which Padawan’s were now required to write their own reports on the missions they are a part of and turn them in themselves to avoid this from happening again.

—------------------------------

After hours of sleeping through the journey through Hyperspace, Feemor and Ezak were woken when they dropped out of Hyperspace.

Shooting up, Feemor cradled the youngling to his chest. Just how long had he slept?

“ Jetii? ”

Looking up at the Mandalorian that had introduced himself as Myles, Feemor blinked confused. “Did you drug me?” He muttered.

“We are nearing Mando’yaim .” Myles crouched down, smiling as Ezak blinked awake. “We got you two some food and the Baar’ur’e are ready to take you in once we land.”

“ Baar’ur’e ?”

“Medics.” Myles translated. “For your injuries.”

Feemor felt off balance as he got yet another two bowls of food and helped Ezak eat gently before eating himself. The young boy looked better rested than before but was still in rough shape.

The pressure bandage around Feemor’s thigh was bled through by now and was in need of a change but they opted to let the medics take care of it since they were about to land. Unlike before, they didn’t even allow Feemor to stand up by himself and moved him onto a hover chair. They moved rather quickly and Feemor barely registered it when Master Che appeared at his side.

“Healer Che?” Feemor asked, wondering if he was still under the influence of whatever drug they decided to use on him.

“Knight Feemor.” She greeted, moving to check up on her charge. “And who is this?”

“Initiate Ezak. His circumstances were less than ideal.” Feemor kept his hand on the child as he burrowed himself into Feemor’s robes. “Ezak, this is Jedi Healer Che.”

Che smiled down at the initiate and brushed past his hair, “It is nice to meet you, Ezak. Is it alright if I pick you up? Knight Feemor needs a bit of help and so do you. Just to the other bed, that one over there, you see?”

Ezak looked up at Che, glancing between her and the armoured beings standing around her. After a bit of encouragement from Feemor, the kid did hold his arms out to Che who gently picked him up and took him over to the bed opposite of Feemor’s.

While the Mandalorians treated a slightly delirious Feemor, Che looked over Initiate Ezak who all but collapsed in her arms. Mij was more than pleased to house two more Jedi in his medical bay.

They were the first of several.

—-----------------------------

“I am glad to see you, Mace.”

“ Plo, thank the Force. ”

“Apologies for the late call– I am happy to inform you that we are perfectly fine and actually getting along with the locals.” Plo smiled.

“ What is going on there? We keep getting reports of Mandalorians approaching Jedi. We are not even in contact with some of them anymore. Do you happen to know anything about that? ”

“Multiple?” Plo asked surprised, “Knight Feemor was brought to Mandalore along with a youngling he found on his duty as Seeker. We know of no other Jedi–”

“Teacher Plo?” Siri threw the door open, “Apologies for the interruption but two other Knights were just delivered to the medbay. We don’t know who yet but Obi-Wan is trying to sneak in to take a look after Mij informed us.”

Mace rubbed his temple, “ What is going on there, Plo? ”

“The Mando’s are collecting Jedi.” Siri shrugged like it was obvious. “Ask Obi-Wan, he can actually understand them when they speak Mando’a.”

“ Obi-Wan speaks Mando’a? ”

“Language is an important aspect of their culture.” Plo hummed, “The current and new Mand’alor– Mand’alor Mereel adopted Padawan Kenobi.”

“ Kriff, I will start to progress of undoing– ”

“Obi-Wan has asked me for an alternative option.” Plo stopped Mace, “He wants to remain in Mereel’s care and I agree that it would be best for him. However, culture is important and Jaster doesn’t want to cut Obi-Wan off from him.”

“ What would you have me do, Plo? There are rules– ”

“Rules have been adjusted before.” Plo hummed, “Think about it, Mace. I will go see who has joined us and will keep you updated on the situation here.”

“ Plo, wait. Plo–! ”

Plo turned to his Padawan, “Come on then, let’s greet our fellow Jedi.”

—-------------------------

According to Mij, the Jedi had come in separately and were in the same room as Knight Feemor and Initiate Ezak. 

“Master Tahl?” Obi-Wan tilted his head as he spotted the blind woman.

“Padawan Kenobi?” She asked, recognizing the voice. “Oh Padawan, come here.”

“I am here.” Obi-Wan walked in her range and let her hand move to his face. 

“It is you.” She sniffled a little. “My dear, I was worried for you.”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment and leaned into her hand, “I am alright, Teacher.” He ensured her. “How did you come here?”

“I got injured on a diplomatic relief mission, some Mandalorians offered aid and brought me along. I have to admit, this is not what I expected when the Force urged me to agree.” She hummed, brushing her hand through Obi-Wan’s hair.

Feemor grunted a laugh. “They did that to me too.” He hummed, “I suppose it was my own doing, I followed them.”

The other Jedi Knight in the room was Knight Kit Fisto. He had been lowered in a water tank and was asleep. According to Feemor he had laughed when Mij asked when he had last been fully underwater like his species were supposed to do. The Medic had been more than furious and moved one of their tanks into the room for Fisto to heal up in. It was not known how he ended up on Mandalore but he could tell them when he woke up.

That was four extra Jedi on Mandalore– all injured as well. 

“Did they mention why?”

“No.” Feemor shook his head, “Master Tahl, did they tell you?”

“I had a lovely conversation with one of my escorts but no one would quite offer a reason, no.” Tahl shook her head, “Is your Master with you, Obi-Wan?”

Both Obi-Wan and Feemor flinched, something Tahl noticed but didn’t point out.

“No, Teacher Jinn is enroute to the Temple last I heard.” Obi-Wan cleared his throat, sharing a long look with Feemor as the Knight searched Obi-Wan’s face for an answer to his silent questions.

“Ah, I see.” Tahl nodded, “I haven’t spoken to him since certain– details about his teaching were revealed. I testified for you, Padwan. I did not know nor do I condone what he has done.”

“Thank you.” Obi-Wan muttered. “Wait– what do you mean ‘revealed’?”

Feemor frowned, “I suppose you are unaware of the chaos you have inadvertently caused in the Temple?”

“Wait what?”

Tahl moved his hand back to cradle Obi-Wan’s face. “Your reports were leaked– the ones you have written rather than the ones Teacher Jinn wrote for the two of you. The differences were quite– extensive.”

“But I thought Master Jinn– he didn’t turn them in, did he?”

“He didn’t.” Feemore confirmed Obi-Wan's suspicions.

“Oh.” That information had some implications.

“He did the same with my reports from time to time in my short time as his Padawan.” Feemor admitted, “I reported it to Master Windu when I heard he did it to you as well.”

Nodding a little, Obi-Wan tried to process the information but ended up pushing it aside. “I see.”

“Ben.”

The appearance of the Baar’ur scared Obi-Wan more than any other thing ever could. He yelped as he jumped from his spot next to Master Tahl and turned to face the annoyed medic.

“ Baar’ur Mij.” Obi-Wan greeted sheepishly.

Mij shook his head unamused, “Visiting hours are between noon and 3 pm, Ben, even for the ad be Mand’alor .” He scolded. “Out. Jetii’bajir Koon needs to speak with the other Jetiise without a Jet’ika exhausting my patients.”

“I’m going,” Obi-Wan waved the medic off as he made his hasty escape and fled the room as Plo entered it. 

—--------------------------------

The Tracyn’ika was something Obi-Wan looked forward to.

As before, the Houses gathered together and sat with one another. The Jedi– seen as part of Obi-Wan’s family and thus part of House Mereel– sat with the Mand’alor. Even the Jedi in the medbay, with the exception of Knight Fisto who had yet to wake up, were present with special permission from Mij.

Obi-Wan had explained some of the tradition to them and mentioned the importance of it to the Jedi. He sat next to Jango and leaned on his shoulder as he quietly translated the tales the Goran was telling while they ate food.

When the music started, the Padawan’s were more than happy to join in for the dancing and excitedly let the locals teach them the steps. Jango pulled Obi-Wan up and taught him the dance. They danced for hours before finally collapsing back on their spots and shared a cup of ale between the two of them.

Hours passed and the night once again started to draw near its end. 

Master Tahl, Knight Feemor and Initiate Ezak had been called back to the medbay early due to their need for recovery. Che and Bant had gone to their room as well, deciding that they had stuck around long enough and in need of some sleep. Quinlan, Siri, Garen, Plo and Tholme had stuck around as the night slowed down.

Once more, the last Mandalorians standing gathered around the fire to share stories and songs.

Obi-Wan sat between Jango’s legs and leaned back against his chest as he listened to the songs. He was tired from the dancing but refused to go to sleep yet.

His attention was pulled to Jaster as the man asked, “Ben? Do you have a song?”

“Maybe.” Obi-Wan hummed, “If the Bear Clan is up for it?”

The Bear Clan was spread out amongst the Mando’s around the fire but perked up at the mention of their Clan, “What song?” Quinlan asked, setting his cup of ale down.

“ Wolves of The Revolution .” Obi-Wan replied.

The Padawan’s all nodded to each other. A fitting song considering the manner of which they came to the Planet. A song about struggling against those who are more powerful and those that seek to manipulate the less powerful. A fight for freedom. A call to fight against it.

Taking a few deep breaths, Obi-Wan stared into the fire again. He felt better than he had last time the fire dimmed down. 

“ There was blood in the air, I was on all fours, ” Obi-Wan started as his fellow Padawan’s started humming a tune which was quickly picked up by the mandalorians around them, “ screaming life isn’t fair. Break down these walls. As our marksmen hit their mark and the cloaks of justice are only cloaks after all. ”

The Force washed over them again as the Padawan’s joined in, “ Born young and wild. ” They sung, their Padawan braids open for all to see, “ Don’t let them cut your tail. ”

Obi-Wan’s braid had been cut on Melida/Daan. Qui-Gon never gifted him another. His former braid was still worn as a bracelet around his wrist. “ Just a pinch of salt in the wound, you’ll be fine. One last lifeline, I’m hanging high. ”

“ Stay awake, ohhh, from the wolves, you run, barefoot. With their libellou venomous words they shoot. Pulled and panicked, the door is locked. ”

“ You’re trapped inside of your own heart. ”

“ It’s a spectator’s sport, just play your part. Just play your part. ”

It was good to be with his Aliit. Obi-Wan had never felt more at home than right in this moment.

 “Born young and wild. Don’t let them cut your tail. Just a pinch of salt in the wound, you’ll be fine.” 

“ One last lifeline, I’m hanging high. ”

Mandalore felt like home now.

—-------------------------------------

While a pattern of events had already been established, Obi-Wan never expected this.

He and Plo stood side by side as they watched yet another ship that contained injured Jedi landed in the hangar of Keldabe Palace. 

Not just any Jedi either.

No, these were a group of young Padawan’s who had gotten in trouble on their way back from Illum.

Mandalorians had stumbled upon them and decided it was a good idea to take them along with them to Mandalore since the Padawan’s seemed to have caught a cold on the Ice planet and the Master that was guiding them looked tired.

The ‘religious pilgrimage’ they had gone on was highly secretive since it concerned a good amount of young Force Sensitives– something that was very alluring to slavers.

When Jaster informed them about the future arrival, they were more than concerned.

There were nine Padawan’s on this Gathering with a single Master to keep them safe. Normally they went pretty unnoticed but this time around they had gotten in trouble. It was especially concerning when knowing how little active Masters and Padawans were out in the field– it was unlikely that the group could be rescued with the dwindling numbers of the Jedi.

More and more Jedi arrived on Mandalore through one way or another and more and more stayed. 

It got to the point where Jaster had fixed up some of the Keldabe warehouses and transformed them into lodgings for the Jedi. The Mandalorians seemed to like the Jedi and were very open to them.

Mij ensured each and every one of them had been through his medbay before being integrated into Keldabe.

Months passed before Jaster and Master Mace Windu finally spoke. Obi-Wan was unsure of what was discussed but he knew Mij was involved and had somehow convinced Windu to come to Mandalore to discuss an alliance in person.

Obi-Wan felt content.

He felt hopeful for the future for the first time in years. Things were changing and Obi-Wan couldn’t wait to see just how much.

—------------------------------

That is the end for this story arc. I am planning on getting back to this Au eventually to write a continuation which will focus more on Obi-Wan and Jango’s relationship, stealing more Jedi from the Republic and the consequences of that but I felt like that would be more fitting for a new story rather than adding it to this one. Either way, for now I have lost inspiration for this one and have decided to end this arc of Obi-Wan’s story here– while he is making good progress in healing and settling on Mandalore. 

As promised, the next fic will be Fallen!Obi-Wan though I will change the premise of the story just a bit to make it more interesting for me to write. I realised how similar this fic would be to the other one if I made it the way I initially planned but I have an alternative idea which might be fun too. It will be a time travel one since there are not enough of those already.

Trattok'or teh aka

To fail the Mission

Obi-Wan Falls after killing his Padawan. Instead of leaving him to die alone, Obi-Wan stays until Anakin passes into the Force. Unable to cope with the loss of Padmé and Anakin, Obi-Wan makes the decision to keep Luke in his care rather than hiding him away on Tatooine and tries to do good despite his new found nature. 

They flee from the Empire and survive for two years until they get stuck in a temple where an unknown artefact sends the two of them back in time for a chance for retribution.

Trattok'or teh aka

It's online! Click this link :3