As he burst into the medical tent verde and medics alike scattered, making a clear path to his son. Two medics were straining to keep his kid pinned to the bed, even as he writhed uncontrollably in pain. Jaster sank to his knees next to his boy, a gift from the Manda itself, and tried to reach out to him. At the moment Jango's presence was as slippery as ice and as strong as beskar, there was no way he was going to reach him. Then he saw a pale hand reach out and press against Jango's chest, gently easing him down from whatever the hell this attack was. Ben's blue eyes were unfocused as he began to mutter under his breath.

"You must let them go, little one. You cannot follow them, you have loved ones waiting here." Jango gasped and writhed again, shaking his head side to side almost violently. Jaster placed a hand on his son's forehead, holding him still while Ben worked on doing… whatever it was. "You are still alive, but they are dead. You will remember them, so they are eternal." There was something almost hypnotic about that firm, quiet, voice. Jaster could feel himself being drawn in. "Follow my voice, that's it. Good." Jango's body went limp once again, his breathing slightly ragged but quickly evening out.

The medics eyed the jetii, soon to be former jetii, before looking to Jaster for an explanation. He had none to give them.

"He's quite strong in the force. I'm surprised he's been in control this long." Jaster feelt more than one spike of unease at the revelation. Fuck, he hadn't wanted that to be public knowledge.

"It's the Manda." He stated simply and felt the others begin to relax. The Manda they understood, it was in their souls, but the force was something that caused distress amongst his people.

"Ah, that makes sense. Forgive me, I'm still thinking in jetiise terms." His mouth said easily while his eyes bore holes into Jaster's head.

He was going to have to explain the Manda, wasn't he? Then again if Ben was becoming one of them he'd feel it resonating in his soul anyway. Might as well go over it sooner rather than later.

"The Manda is the power shared by all Mando'ade. Even if someone can't tap into the force they can reach for the Manda." He'd seen some new Mando'ad even unlock special abilities that way and it was always a surprise. "The Mand'alor is a conduit for the Manda, can access more of it all at once than anyone else. It's… hard to describe." When he'd first declared himself Mand'alor, in the old ruins of the ancient temple dedicated to their ancestors, he had felt as if his entire world had suddenly expanded. He could see and hear farther, was physically stronger and healthier than before, could sense the collective moods of his people, and felt their burning determination as if it were his own. Manda's flame had been lit inside him and others flocked to it.

"That sounds… like nothing I have ever heard before. The Jetiise can speak to each other mind to mind, if there is a pre-existing bond between them, and can sense others with the force. But we cannot share our abilities, cannot give someone who is not force sensitive the ability to touch the force." He sounded fascinated by it, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Do you happen to have any old texts on the subject? Old legends and myths would do, even if they aren't quite accurate. You can learn a lot about an ancient people by how they structure their stories and what themes are prevalent throughout." Hm, well that was a surprise. Turned out the Jetii who could deflect blaster bolts and take down tanks was also a bit of a scholar.

Jaster tried not to think about just how much more attractive that made him. He'd always had a thing for intelligence.

"I'll see what I have. I like to collect and preserve old manuscripts myself, so I should have something for you to read when we get back to Manda'yaim. Jan'ika likes the old legends, he could probably recite them to you word for word if you asked him." Jaster looked back down at his child, stroking his hair to assure himself that the boy was still okay. He may be fourteen now, allowed to wear armor and march into battle with them, but to Jaster he was still that scared eight year old boy who'd saved he and his people back on Concord Dawn.

A gasp caught his attention and his hand stopped when he realized Jango was looking up at him. "Jan'ika, thank the Ka'ra. Are you alright?" The teen stared at him as if unable to comprehend his words then turned to look at Ben. He frowned, then his eyes focused further and he sat up snarling.

"You! Why did you stop me? I was so close!" Jaster's eyebrows rose at the dark swirling anger he could feel coming off his son. Ben's expression became stern, though his eyes were soft.

"They were not real, Jango. They were figments, memories, things you held on to and couldn't let go. They were dead and you were at risk of following them into the afterlife." Jaster made a pained noise and finally Jango seemed to realize he was there.

"Buir…" Jango looked at him guiltily. "I-I'm sorry. I just wanted…" Jaster ran his fingers through his son's short hair, shushing him quietly. Jango didn't often need this kind of comfort, and had stopped seeking him out as he got older, but right now they both needed to know the other was safe.

"Who were you trying to follow?" He had a sneaking suspicion but he wanted to be sure.

"My- my birth buire." That's what he thought.

"Jan'ika, don't feel guilty. They were your buire and you loved them. I would never want to take that from you or replace them. You can still love them even after they're gone." He thought he'd done a good job teaching his son that it was alright to mourn his parents and that he could miss them. Jaster may be his parent now but Jango had two people in his life before him that had cared for the boy and he would never take that away from him.

"I didn't even get to see my ori'vod… she wasn't there." Ben, who he had forgotten was still sitting right karking there, perked up.

"Did she have the same connection with you that your parents did?" Jango looked up and nodded, still wary of the jetii in their midst. "I want you to close your eyes and reach for that connection inside your mind." Jango scowled at him until Jaster placed his hand on the back of his neck and gave it a gentle squeeze, reassuring him that his buir was still there. Grumpily Jango closed his eyes and his expression evened out.

Ben waited a moment before speaking again. "What does it feel like?"

"Warm, thin… brittle. Like it's going to break." He opened his eyes and glared at Ben. "Happy? So what does that have to do with anything?" Ben smiled gently.

"It means you still have a connection to her… because she's not dead." The change in his son was immediate. He went from a low simmering heat to cool glass. Hiding his emotions no doubt.

"You better not be fucking with me." Jaster let out an exasperated sigh. Jango was an adult now but that didn't mean he was allowed to be rude.

"Jan'ika." He admonished. The boy ignored him, eyes trained on Ben.

"I wouldn't lie about this, not about family." Jaster could hear the slight pain in his voice and winced. "If you cultivate that connection, shore it up and strengthen it, we can use it to find your ori'vod." Jango gave the redhead an incredulous look.

"We, aruetii?" Jaster let out a sigh at Ben's flinch.

"Jan'ika, he's been speaking Mando'a this entire time and you just called him an outsider?" For a moment Jango's eyes widened as it sank in that Ben was speaking a language that only the Mando'ade and those closely associated with them would know. "He's a Stewjoni'ad, which means he's kin." His son sat back slightly, crossing his arms and grumbling.

"Sorry." Ben let out a light laugh, a fond look on his face.

"That's alright, I understand. There's nothing to feel sorry for. Although… if you still feel particularly apologetic I could use a favor." Jango gave him a heated look and Ben just grinned. "Our Alor told me that you can recite the old legends? I'm very interested to hear them. But only if you want to." Jaster coughed into his fist to hide his grin as Jango's eyes lit up. In many ways he was still a boy, excited to talk about all of his favourite heroes.

"I'll see what's being passed around for food and grab us all some to share. We could all do with some rest." Ben nodded at him absently as Jango started in on the tale of Mot'tal the Steadfast.

The medics gave him a couple of pointed looks, his armor was pretty dinged up after all, but Jaster was very good at ignoring them. He'd be seen to after he got back with food for his son and Ben. Well, wasn't that a thought? If Ben was right and Jango really did have the force as well as the Manda then he was going to need to be trained. It was a good thing that Ben would be sticking around from then on.

That thought made him pause and suspicion gnawed at his mind for a moment before he dismissed it. The Manda sang for the man, it was already in his soul though he hadn't acknowledged it yet. If he had been a danger to the Haat'ade the Manda would have warned him. Gathering up food for three he saw curious and approving looks on many faces and was glad that he'd left his buy'ce on as his face flushed slightly. Was his interest that apparent? Or were they just happy to see him taking care of someone who seemed so lost, someone his people would eagerly snap up to try and fill the void losing a child left in someone.

Heading back into the medical tent he smiled as Jango explained how Naura Bralor the Clever tricked a corrupt government official into giving themselves away in front of all their allies and enemies both. Ben laughed and mentioned that he'd once done something similar and launched into a story that had Jaster's brows kissing his hairline. Clearing his throat he held out the plates of food and chuckled when both his son and Ben blinked up at him. Clearly they had been distracted. Ben smiled and thanked him, looking at the meal with interest. It wasn't anything special, just reheated tiingilar.

"You're not lying about using a swarm of moths to scare an official into giving you the evidence of their corruption, right?" Ben took a bite of the tiingilar and made a sound that had Jaster's mouth going dry. It was a good thing he hadn't taken off his helmet yet. He knew jetiise could sense emotions, although with all the beskar and the Manda in his soul he was fairly certain that Ben would only get vague impressions of him. But the shudder of want that went through him for that split second? He was sure Ben would have felt his attraction.

"I swear I'm not making it up. On that planet they have a venomous species of moths and the ones I set free in his office looked very similar. He was rightfully terrified." Jango blinked in mild alarm as a slightly more feral grin came to Ben's face. Jango smirked at Ben in response and started to eat his own meal, starting another legend even as he was shoveling food into his face.

"Manners, Jan'ika. You were raised on a ship, not in a cantina." Ben snorted and glanced over at Jaster just as he was pulling his helmet off. The redhead sucked in a small breath, eyes roaming Jaster's face, before he turned back to his meal. Jaster frowned slightly, wondering what that was all about, and turned to his own meal. Jango's story paused for a moment and he looked between Ben and Jaster for a moment before the kid seemed to make up his mind and keep talking.

"Make sure you finish that, Jango, you used a lot of energy in that outburst earlier and you'll need all the calories you can get for a while." Jango rolled his eyes but took another bite of the spicy stew.

"That happen often? Using that power making someone tired?" Ben glanced around to make sure that the medics were a fair bit away before speaking in a low tone.

"It's called force exhaustion, when you use the force too much and it burns you out from the inside. Jango didn't reach that point, thankfully, but he did expend a lot of energy. His body isn't used to channeling the force in that manner so it's more shock right now than anything." Ben sounded clinical about the whole thing but there was a spark of concern in his eyes.

"Can you teach him? So this doesn't happen again?" Jango's eyes snapped up and he looked between the two of them, gaze scrutinizing. Ben stared him in the eyes for a moment before turning away.

"I can teach him all of the basics but I am going to have to come to terms with how I use the force myself without the teachings of the jetiise first." There was hesitance there and when he finally figured out why Jaster wanted to smack himself in the face. Jet'ika were like adopted children to the Jetii who raised them. Ben had just lost his child and grandchild, of course he'd be reluctant to start teaching another.

"Well, we have time before we get our shit together and land back home. Think it over and get back to me later." It wasn't an order but Ben nodded as if it was, expression all too serious. Ka'ra, this man. He couldn't wait to see how he handled the rest of the Haat'ade. So far he'd been doing a great job. Even Jango, his grumpy fourteen year old son, had taken to him right away. Watching the two of them interact made his chest ache in a good way.

Deep in his soul the Manda sang its song and Jaster didn't even notice when the song changed, as if someone else was singing along too.

AN: I feel like I'm not explaining the difference between the Force and the Manda properly. If anyone is confused please ask me so I can get a better understanding of how to explain it.

Mando'a;

Ka'ra- Stars. The mythical ruling council of former kings.
Buire- Parents, plural.
Ori-vod- Older brother, older sister, older sibling.
Aruetii- Outsider, foreigner, traitor. Not a curse but definitely an insult.
Buy'ce- Helmet
Tiingilar- Blisteringly spicy Mandalorian casserole.