Chapter: Three: The Betrayer
Ch. Summary: Obi-Wan discovers a plot and meets some Mandalorians.
A/N: While in canon Galidraan happened in 7933 CRC when Obi-Wan is 13, I've changed it to 7934 CRC when Obi-Wan is 14.
It took a couple more days to scope out the Governor's Mansion and plan the heist. By the time Obi-Wan was following Honodo and his men into the mansion while the Governor was at a late evening meeting with some other corrupt individuals, he'd almost forgotten about the Mandalorian that had beat him at sabacc and held someone at blaster-point for threatening him.
So far the heist was going to plan. Hondo's men had subdued the guards with minimal blaster fire and Hondo himself was now ripping wires out of the security panel for the vault door hidden behind a bookshelf in the Governor's office. Obi-Wan had gotten into the habit of watching everything the pirates did when they displayed potentially useful skills like say, hot-wiring their way into a top of the line vault.
The security panel gave a few reluctant beeps before all the indication lights on the door turned green and the lock audibly clicked open.
"Hah!" Hondo clapped his hands together and grinned around at his men and Obi-Wan. "What did I tell you? Drakon security system is nothing for Pirate Captain Hondo Ohnaka."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Hondo only ever spoke in the third person when he was really pleased with himself.
The other pirates all praised their captain even as they pushed and shoved their way into the vault to get a look at the loot.
At first glance it wasn't much. The average antiquities rich beings collected when they wanted to look good to other richer beings. There were a few gems though. Some Nabooian artwork that was definitely illegal to take off planet, a few pieces of Kel Dor pottery that went for a pretty credit to certain buyers, and more than one antique that would be relatively inconsequential if not for the semi precious stones and valuable metals decorating them. Not to mention the lock boxes filled with stacks of Republic credits and Huttese gold currency.
All in all not a bad haul.
"Let's load it up and get out of here before the Governor returns." Hondo got his men back on task and soon the antiques and cash were being loaded into sacks and hover carts.
Obi-Wan was about to help with the loading when the Force gave him a rather insistent nudge. Turning his head he tried to follow where the feeling was leading him. To the Governor's desk it seemed. Moving across the office, Obi-Wan rounded the desk and tried to figure out why the Force was pushing him so hard in this direction.
Rifling through the scattered papers on the desktop, he couldn't see anything immediately of interest. It wasn't until he started pawing through the desk drawers and Obi-Wan's fingers brushed a comm unit deliberately buried under what appeared to be discarded TPS reports.
His hand was tingling with the urgency in the Force as he lifted the comm unit and examined it. It was one of those untraceable, interplanetary units that slavers, smugglers, and other various unsavory characters liked to keep on hand. Strangely enough it had a recording feature, obviously added after purchase since the whole point of having a comm unit like this was the anonymity and secrecy.
The Force was whispering in his ear as Obi-Wan pressed the replay button curiously.
The small holoprojected image of a Mandalorian appeared above the unit. The man appeared to be human, his helmet removed and held under his arm, with long dark hair, and an unsmiling heavily scarred face. His armor was painted almost entirely black giving off an ominous unfriendly look. Very different from Obi-Wan's sabacc opponent whose armor was a chipped blue color with red pauldrons and a red outlined T-visor.
"I hope you know what will happen to you if you did not complete your end of the deal, Governor." The Mandalorian's voice was gravelly and had a distinctly threatening edge.
"My contact on Coruscant said the Senate believed my request for aid," a nervous, unseen voice responded and Obi-Wan had to assume it was the Governor's. "I just received confirmation. The Jedi are on their way."
His heart gave a lurch at that but before Obi-Wan could think too hard on it the Mandalorian spoke again.
"Good. Hopefully those fool Jetiise will do what they are supposed to and take care of that hut'uun Mereel for me."
"Are you sure they will?" the Governor spoke again, sounding uneasy and doubtful. "What if they investigate when they get here and realize that the request was a lie?"
The holoprojected Mandalorian sneered. "Don't worry about that. I had my men kill some civilians while wearing their full armor in case the Jedi do ask around. They'll be more concerned with stopping the slaughter than checking if the murderers were 'True Mandalorians' or not."
"That wasn't part of the deal, Vizsla. Those are still my people," the Governor tried to protest, but was met with a scoff from the Mandalorian.
"What do you care, Governor? You just lied to Mereel and had his so called Supercommandos put down valid political opposition because they threatened your regime. You don't exactly have a leg to stand on."
There was sputtering from the Governor, but he didn't try to argue again. "So, once the Jedi kill Mereel and his people our deal will be concluded, right?"
With a condescending smirk, the Mandalorian, Vizsla apparently, nodded. "You'll get your money. Don't you worry about that."
"Where are you getting the money from anyway?" the Governor demanded sounding put out. "I was under the impression your little revolutionary organization was dwindling."
Vizsla's expression darkened and he bared his teeth angrily. "Don't you worry about that. Just play your part with the Jedi and we'll be-"
"Obi-Wan!" Jumping at the sound of his name, Obi-Wan hurriedly shut off the recording and pocketed the comm unit. "Come, the loot is all loaded. Let's go."
Hurrying away from the desk, Obi-Wan gave Hondo some kind of an agreeing response, but his mind was occupied with the comm unit currently burning a hole in his pocket. The Force was floating around the unit in darkly unhappy waves. The whole way out of the mansion and back to the ship, Obi-Wan was distracted both by the unsettling echos in the Force and the conversation he'd watched from the unit.
He had enough wherewithal to dig through the haul for his cut - unfortunately not discovering any Force texts or artifacts this time – and retreat to his tiny room in the crew's quarters before he pulled the comm unit out again.
Listening to the recording a second time didn't make the warnings sitting loudly in the Force any less urgent.
He didn't know who exactly Vizsla or Mereel were, but Obi-Wan did know that the Jedi were being lied to and used to potentially murder a group of innocent Mandalorians. He recognized the name 'True Mandalorian' from Jaster's offer of assistance back at the bar a couple of nights before. It was pretty apparent that the True Mandalorians were being framed for slaughtering civilians. It was also apparent that Vizsla was a very dangerous man.
All around, this was a horrible situation and Obi-Wan grimaced as he realized what he had to do. The Force was clamoring at him insistently, it wanted this potential tragedy averted and it wanted Obi-Wan to do it.
Sighing, Obi-Wan rolled off his cot and went to find Hondo.
"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan," Hondo said and the teen knew he was sincere. "We must be off the planet tonight. Our robbery will be discovered within hours. We need to be in hyperspace when that happens."
Blowing out a breath, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and listened to the Force whispering to him for a second. "I know, Hondo. But I have to find the True Mandalorians. I found something in the Governor's office that they need to see."
The pirate captain studied the boy they'd picked up on that mining planet a year ago. He'd grown in height as well as skills and confidence since he'd joined the crew and Hondo was fond of him. He will miss Obi-Wan.
"I can give you a hover cart and enough time to pack your take, but we'll be lifting off after that."
Nodding, Obi-Wan held out a hand. "This is goodbye, then. It was a pleasure, Hondo."
"Bah!" Hondo slapped the boy's hand away and grabbed him up in a back cracking hug. "You're always welcome on my crew, my little good luck charm."
Releasing a strangled chuckle, Obi-Wan let himself smile as he patted the flamboyant pirate captain on the back. "I'll miss you too, Hondo."
The Weequay gave a dramatic sniffle as he dropped the human teen back on his feet and grasped him by the shoulders. "You be sure to visit us on Florrum, you hear, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan just smiled at the pirate and stepped out of his hold. "Our paths will cross again, Captain Ohnaka. The Force says so," he grinned as said pirate captain laughed.
"Hah! You and your Jedi magic. Go on, then," he waved the boy away. "Go get your stuff, I'll prep you a hover cart."
It was only a matter of tossing his few scattered articles of clothing in a bag and throwing it over his shoulder, then using the Force to lift his really quite heavy trunk full of stolen loot and Force artifacts.
With a round of hugs and tearful goodbyes from the other crew members, Obi-Wan was stepping off the saucer ship's ramp and watching it lift off and disappear into the dark sky.
Blowing out a long breath, Obi-Wan sent out a question to the Force and turned in the direction it pointed him. Hondo had parked the ship a ways on the outskirts of the town so he was in for a bit of a walk considering he didn't particularly want to bring attention to himself by attempting to hire a speeder in town. When he'd contemplated that option the Force warned him against it.
If Obi-Wan had learned one thing about the Force since he'd left Bandomeer and the Order it was to always listen when the Force spoke to you. Whether it was warning you against the pea soup in a bar on Corellia or giving you convoluted directions to a group of Mandalorians it was always best to follow its lead.
So he walked. They'd pulled their heist in the late evening, when most people would be getting ready to sleep. By the time Obi-Wan had started his trek it was well into the late night and he continued on his journey until the horizon was just beginning to lighten with the start of gray dawn.
That was when he saw the first tents that made up the surprisingly large camp of the True Mandalorian Supercommando Mercenary Company. He didn't make it within fifteen yards of the perimeter when he was aggressively called to halt.
"State your business!"
Obi-Wan kept his hands raised non-threateningly as he stared the fully armored, blaster wielding Mandalorian down. "I need to speak with Jaster." When he was met with suspicion, he elaborated, "He said that if I ever needed help I could come to the True Mandalorians and ask for him."
The Mandalorian pressed a button on the vambrace of his blaster arm, but nothing appeared to happen.
Slightly confused, Obi-Wan jumped when another Mandalorian stepped out of the dark. This Mandalorian didn't have a weapon drawn, but it was obvious their attention was mostly on Obi-Wan as they asked the first Mandalorian a question in a language that had the consonants of a small rock slide and the vowels of a wet weather creek.
The first Mandalorian responded in the same language and the newcomer disappeared into the maze of tents.
There was a long moment of silence then Obi-Wan just sighed again. "I guess we'll just wait then."
The Mandalorian didn't respond, but they did lower their blaster to point to the ground instead of Obi-Wan's head. It was twenty minutes of waiting where Obi-Wan did a light standing meditation and the Mandalorian discovered that he'd been pointing a lethal weapon at a youngling as the light of gray dawn further lit the area.
Obi-Wan felt a flash of alarm and guilt from the Mandalorian, but didn't open his eyes to see what had caused it. The Force wasn't giving him any more warnings than it already had been, so he just kept breathing through his meditations, attempting to center his mind for his task.
Finally there was the sound of a group of heavily booted feet coming toward them and Obi-Wan opened his eyes just as Jaster's familiar armored figure stepped into view. There was a slightly shorter Mandalorian in mostly green armor at his side that Obi-Wan was getting suspicious wary vibes from through the muffling beskar.
"Obi-Wan?" Jaster's voice was familiar as he came to a stop much closer to Obi-Wan than the warrior on watch had. "What are you doing here? Did that crazy Weequay, Hondo lose you?"
Grinning at that, Obi-Wan shook his head. "Hello, Jaster. No, we've just gone our separate ways. Hondo couldn't stay on planet any longer and I had to come see you."
Helmet tilting in a gesture of curiosity, Jaster moved to the side and waved toward the camp. "Come along, then. We can talk inside."
The walk into the camp was relatively quiet. And informative. Jaster had told him that he was the leader of the mercenary company on planet, but for some reason for Obi-Wan that hadn't translated to him being the leader of the entire True Mandalorian society. As they moved through the camp people stopped and had serious words with Jaster, in Basic and in what Obi-Wan could now guess was the Mandalorian language. It became apparent that the short Mandalorian with Jaster was also someone of importance because they got almost as many comments, questions, and greetings.
Finally they came to what was obviously the command tent as it was bigger and sturdier than all the others. Obi-Wan was directed to leave his bag and hover cart with his trunk outside as they stepped inside.
When they were in the confines of the tent, Obi-Wan was both surprised and curious when both Jaster and his companion reached up and released the seals on their helmets, lifting them off their heads and holding them under their arms.
Beneath the helmet Jaster was an almost middle aged man with fair skin, wavy brown hair, and a crooked nose. He had kind brown eyes that gleamed with intelligence and a slight smile on his thin mouth.
"Obi-Wan, this is my son, Jango Fett." He gestured to his now visibly much younger companion. "Jango, this is the Jetii ad I told you about."
Jango looked nothing like his father. He had a darker complexion, heavy brows, curly black hair, and a much stockier stature than the tall lean look of his father. He eyed Obi-Wan dubiously but he still nodded his head in greeting.
"Pleased to meet you," Obi-Wan returned politely not letting the older boy's suspicion bother him. He was a little distracted with how much more of Jaster and Jango he could feel in the Force now that their helmets were off.
"So," Jaster began, "what brings you here? Not that I'm not glad you are here, but I get the feeling this isn't a strictly social call."
"Ah, no." Obi-Wan frowned as he stuck a hand in his pocket and lifted the comm link from it. "Through a series of, shall we say, dubious circumstances I found myself in the Governor's office. In one the drawers of his desk I discovered this comm unit. It has a recording feature on it and I was curious so I played the most recent recording."
Without anymore explanation, Obi-Wan pressed play on the recording and immediately, the moment Vizsla's figure appeared from the holoprojector, Jaster and Jango both stiffened their expressions hardening.
As the recording played, Obi-Wan watched the two men's reactions both on their faces and in the Force. Whoever this Vizsla was he was obviously a despised enemy of Jaster and Jango's.
While Jaster's presence in the Force was all hard determination and righteous resolve, Jango's emotions were a black stain of violent rage and lethal protectiveness. Obi-Wan was curious to note that Jaster's anger was a more distant thing, almost had a professional tinge to it. He didn't take the conflict personally. Jango though, took whatever offense Vizsla had committed very seriously. That combined with the protectiveness lead Obi-Wan to the conclusion that Vizsla had hurt, maybe even killed someone very close to Jango.
For all its ill tidings the recording wasn't very long and it was minutes later that Jaster stopped the recording and stared down at the unit gravely.
"Why did you bring this to me, Obi-Wan?"
Frowning in confusion, Obi-Wan said, "Because your lives are in danger," like it should have been obvious. Probably because to him it was.
Jaster raised an eyebrow at his tone. "How do you know that we are not just more violent war mongering Mandalorians? Why did you allow yourself to be left behind on an unfamiliar planet just to save the lives of complete strangers?"
Feeling a swell of anger, Obi-Wan scowled at the man. "Besides the fact that you were willing to shoot a man in front of dozens of witnesses because he threatened me?" At Jaster's unwavering expectant expression he huffed out a breath. "You were right before," he admitted begrudgingly, "I am Force-sensitive and the Force is telling me that I need to save you and your people from being slaughtered. I don't believe it would want me to save you so badly if you were bad people."
Jango looked at him doubtfully. "Why come to us, though? If the iKa'ra/i is telling you we need to be saved, why not go to your Order? Why not bring this recording to the Jetiise?"
Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan averted his eyes as he answered. "I'm sure Jaster told you I was with a group of Weequay pirates." At Jango's slow nod, he continued. "I joined up with them on a mining planet called Bandomeer. I aged out of the Order, couldn't find a Master to train me and was sent to their Agricultural Corps. Bandomeer was where the AgriCorps outpost I was assigned to was."
Surprise flashed through both Mandalorians' presences and Obi-Wan fought and failed to suppress his flush of shame. Even after a year, after choosing a new, exciting path for his life, he still felt shame at having not been good enough. At being rejected by the only people and home he'd ever known.
"You're a deserter," Jango concluded with the beginnings of a sneer on his face.
Obi-Wan pinned the older boy with a fierce scowl. "Is it desertion if you were already thrown away? Regardless, anyone is free to leave the Order whenever they want. I just did it without following the proper procedure first."
There was a snort of a chuckle from Jaster that effectively broke the growing tension between his son and the fiery little ex-Jedi before him.
"Apologies, Tracyn'ika(1)," Jaster smiled in the face of Obi-Wan's disgruntled frown. "How you left and why is not our business and we don't mean to pry. But we're allowed to wonder at your motivation."
Sighing, Obi-Wan nodded acknowledging the validity of his statement. "I understand. Truthfully, I've come to you to save the Jedi as well."
At the silent question from the Mandalorians, Obi-Wan explained, "I may not be a part of the Jedi Order any longer, but they were once my family. I don't want to see them get hurt or make such a grave mistake."
Jaster was quiet for a long moment, then a slightly mischievous, calculating look entered his eyes. "This information will save many lives, Obi-Wan," he lifted the comm unit in demonstration. "Did you know some cultures have a saying, 'If you save a life you are connected to that life forever.' Well, Obi-Wan, you've just saved two hundred and fifty lives. I'm not sorry to say you're stuck with us for a while yet."
The teen's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "What?! But that's not-! I don't-!"
"Buir!" Jango burst out just as shocked.
Jaster just laughed at the two gaping boys. He'd had a feeling the moment he'd laid eyes on the little redheaded Force-sensitive. He hadn't known it was a wholly good feeling, admittedly, not until the boy had given him his name. Now, though he was deadly sure. Obi-Wan was supposed to stay with the True Mandalorians.
At least for a little while. He still had the feel of a nomad about him, but Jaster was fairly confident the boy would be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
"Besides," he continued over his son's and his new ward's sputtering, "someone's going to have to mediate when the Jedi get here, 'cause I sure as hell am not wading into that shit-show by myself."
Jango let out another exasperated exclamation of his name while Obi-Wan just stared at him with wide alarmed eyes. Jaster had to chuckle at him even as he tightened his hand around the comm unit that started all this.
He may be minimally touched by the Ka'ra, but Jaster could still tell that the future was shaping up to be very interesting.
TBC...
1: Tracyn'ika – Little Fire (affectionate pet name)