It takes several hours for everything to settle down after that.

They returned to the main refinery base first, finding that Master Tauht and his smaller group of troopers had joined Kit and the rest of the 104th. Jocasta had shooed Boost off to go keep an eye on the five they'd pulled out of Ventress' little hole, going with Plo to sort out reports with the rest of the group.

Then, while Plo reported back to the Jedi Council and the Senate with Kit and Master Tauht, she'd gathered up her own group- which included bodily lifting Kiili away from his group of trooper slicers and their prize- to meditate.

Finally, more hours of talking that Jocasta is particularly happy dealing with, things are sorted out and they all make their way back to the Denik-Ben, Imik piloting the Seeker and borrowing a space in the hanger.

Jocasta makes a beeline straight towards the Medbay.

"Agisti, ahran!" Boost calls, waving from where he's sitting next to one of the beds. Sinker, on his other side, shoots him a look, then smiles.

"Agisti, Madame Jocasta." He greets, a few moments before Wolffe does. The rest of the troopers in the room just look startled, aside from the other four they'd pulled out of the facility. She returns the smile, bowing to all of them.

"Managed to escape Kiili, Sinker?" She chuckles, pulling over a chair for herself. Plo would likely be joining them fairly shortly, once he escaped all of the politics he was still having to deal with, but for now it was just her.

"Yeah, he was fine with me leaving. I'm more on the mechanics than a slicer anyway, so not much help there." He shrugs, before giving her a look. "Speaking of, what's this I'm hearing about me being sent away?"

Jocasta winces, partly for dramatic effect and partly because Wolffe apparently hadn't heard this and is now giving her a terrified-wary-afraid glare. "Kiili wants to steal you away because you're good with technology and listen to him, even when he's being… strange. I'm half-tempted to let him if only because you're pre-corrupted and so he won't try to get a Padawan to infect with his… him." She gestures. "Of course he'd need to win against Plo first, and then also the Head of the technology department, and possibly also pitch it to the Council in a way that means he's allowed to do it, so you're likely safe."

"That's good." Sinker says, as Wolffe slowly relaxes in a manner more like a deflating balloon. "I mean, it'd probably be really cool staying around the Archives, but at the same time…" He gestures a little, seeming unsure, and Jocasta nods understandingly.

"Yes, I can tell. But, speaking of the Archives…" She looks around, suddenly feeling a bit nervous, and smiles at the three of them. "Now that I have you all in one place…"

"Ahran?" Boost looks afraid, reaching out to her again. "Is something wrong?"

"Not… exactly." She smiles again, patting his hand. "Merely… well. Su cuy'gar, ad'ike."

As soon as it leaves her mouth, she winces. Even with her limited experience she can tell her accent is awful, she's not had anywhere near as much practise time as she would've liked with this, and it doesn't help that she's had very limited audio samples to work from- most of their records from this era are written documents, and the few holorecordings they did have usually didn't speak Mando'a since no other Jedi would know it…

But from the way her boys light up, one would think she'd just given them access to the Old Vault.

"Su cuy'gar, buir!" They chorus, much more smoothly. Boost immediately leans forward, continuing, "I didn't realise you were learning Mando'a, ahran! That's really cool, when did that start? Where'd you get it from?"

Jocasta laughs, squeezing his hand. "I am, yes, though not particularly well, since I don't have as much time as I would like to dedicate to it. It started not long after that first comm call from the lot of you, you called Plo buir and I had ideas. Unfortunately, while the Archives does have records of back when Tarre Vizsla was part of our Order, we don't have many actual holorecordings, and there's very little Mando'a in general… I've done what I could, but I'm quite tempted to track down young Master Kenobi and ask him for a primer."

"General Kenobi?" Sinker asks, tilting his head. "Why him?"

"He's the Order's current designated expert on Mandalorians, thanks to a mission to Mandalore that went horribly wrong in his Padawanship and left him running about the planet for a year." She explains. "And then he proceeded to continue being very curious. I think the culture agreed with him somehow. Anyway, he's designated as the Order's expert, so I might see if he can at least point me in the direction of some language primers."

"We could always try and make you one, ahran!" Boost says, over the top of Wolffe's quiet, "I wonder if Cody knows this…" and apparent wish for a comm. "I mean, we have the Dai Bendu one you gave us for a reference, so we could probably manage it!"

"Yes, perhaps, but would it be conversational or would it just be a good primer on how to talk to you troopers?" She points out. "Not that the latter would be useless or anything of the sort, but the former would likely be more useful. Honestly it's probably a skill I should've picked up long ago, there's a Mandalorian settlement on the other side of Coruscant from the Temple that would probably have been useful for… various things in the past."

Jocasta spends a moment contemplating that, because it probably would have been handy for at least one interesting mission in her early days as a Shadow, then shakes it off. "But either way, if you're able to give me something to build from, that would be wonderful. Even just a start would be nice, especially with a pronunciation guide…"

All three of them wince. "Yeah, uh, yours is…" Sinker grimaces, and Jocasta laughs.

"I'm mostly working on written records, so I didn't expect it to be anywhere near decent." She agrees. "It's rather hard to get pronunciations right when you can't actually hear the words."

"That's fair." Sinker agrees. "We could start now, if you want?"

Jocasta looks around the medbay, registering properly the number of troopers in the room that are looking at them. Mostly with various expressions of shock, some of them talking quietly but intently to the other troopers that had come in to visit them.

"Perhaps later." She allows. "Your siblings are here resting too, and they shouldn't have to put up with my unfortunate mangling of your language while they do so."

Wolffe blinks, coming back from whatever deep thoughts he'd been contemplating, and looks around as though only just noticing their audience for the first time. "Yeah, that's fair I guess."

"Anyway." Jocasta settles herself a little better in her seat, and reaches out to Plo. She gets frustration-irritation-disgust back, telling her that he's still stuck in some form of political meeting, and sends back comfort-assurance-strength and the warmth of their three boys, before focusing on them again. "Had anything interesting happened in between our last comm and now that you want to tell me about?"

They all trade glances, then sit forward in the posture of one about to tell all of the horribly embarrassing gossip about various other siblings. Jocasta grins and shifts forward to meet them.

It takes another several hour cycles for Plo to escape his meeting, relief-joy-irritation-exhaustion splashing over their bond. Jocasta raises a hand- halting Wolffe in the middle of a story about a couple of their newer shinies messing about on one of the fighters- and tilts her head, reaching out.

'Are you well, ankai'a?'

'Politics.' He hisses back, sounding just as exhausted as he seems to feel. 'I do not like politicians.'

'There are very few who do.' She hums back, sending the feeling of her hand on his arm. 'If your shields are still well enough, come to the medbay? Dear Wolffe was just telling me a fascinating story about two of your shinies…'

'Ah, Five-One and Eight-Two?' Plo perks up a little, sending a tusk-twist-smile back. 'Yes, I believe I am still well enough for such things. While the medbay is often cold, it will be good to settle among nevi paqor on the ship.'

'Then do come along, my dear. I'll find you a seat.'

'Right now I will happily take the ground.' He grumbles, making her laugh slightly even as she winces.

'That much fun, hm?'

'Politicians are fools and ignorant idiots who are completely incapable of thinking any further than the insides of their pockets, and truly I'm impressed that some of them are able to do that and breathe at the same time.'

She laughs softly again. 'Poor you, having to deal with the Senate. What were you even arguing about, anyway?'

'What makes you think I was arguing?'

'You do not take nearly three hour cycles to give a mission report, Plo Koon.'

'...Point.' She gets the impression of an embarrassed shrug. 'But yes, I was arguing, you are correct.'

'About...?'

'Prosthetics.'

Jocasta sharpens. 'Oh?'

'For Wolffe and Gritt.' He elaborates slightly, sounding exhausted once again. 'I was trying to convince them to arrange for prosthetics for them, and of course to continue this for any other trooper that might need them…'

Jocasta stands and heads for the door, following her instincts to get through the unfamiliar corridors towards Plo, even as she mentally wraps him in adoration-affection-reassurance. 'I assume they were difficult.'

'They wanted to have them decommissioned and replaced with new ones, like our children are simply droids. Because Gritt is only a trooper, easily replaced, and while the loss of a Commander would be more troublesome it could still be replaced as well.'

'Ben, Plo.' She murmurs, taking another turn considerably faster. 'Listen to me, breathe, and endure. And don't you go letting loose any lightning around here, that will be hell to get out of the plating and might also damage the ship itself.'

She takes another turn and steps right into Plo's arms, wrapping hers around his waist and pushing him to a stop- something she wouldn't've managed if he hadn't already been slowing, giving his height.

"Ben, ankai'a, biru foh keelak ben." She murmurs against his chest, reaching for her own calm to offer to him.

"I will." He promises, breathing out slowly. "Just…"

"Nev Baukal is awful, yes, I understand. Breathe and centre yourself, please. We will get nowhere by doing foolish things in anger."

"When would I ever do such a thing."

"Oh, so that time on Marrik III was a hallucination, was it?"

Plo laughs, softly, and she feels the faint crackle of lightning fade away.

"Now, come on, let's go and listen to kodaih paqor telling more stories about their siblings, hm?" She suggests lightly. "And also apologise to them, because I ran out on them in the middle of one such tale."

Plo laughs again, guiding her to lean against his side instead of being wrapped around his front, and starts walking with her to the medbay. "You ran out on them without a word? How unlike you, Jo." He teases.

She shoves him, becoming consciously aware for the first time of the number of troopers that are staring at them. They all seem rather confused, she notes, though it pleases her to see that none of them seem at all afraid, even though they've just had an extremely angry Jedi Master and Baran Do Sage in their midst. It shows how much they trust him, and that helps calm the flow of anger just as much as it stokes it- how could anyone look at these troopers and see anything but people?

Jocasta breathes. "I have apologised for every single one of those events that have ever taken place in my life, I'll thank you very much to remember!"

"Oh, I remember very well. I also remember the time I had to physically remove you from the Archives in order to make you do so…"

"Initiate stories do not count, Plo Koon, so help me-"

"I wasn't talking about that time, I was talking about the incident with Senator whatever their name was from Uro."

"...I apologised."

"You spent a good three day cycles in the Archives first."

"Yes but I apologised, and also given the topic of that particular conversation I think that I was very restrained with merely leaving."

Jocasta waves the doors open as they approach the medbay again, and smiles a little sheepishly at the group. "My apologies, I had to go and collect a wayward ankai'a. I hope you don't mind him joining us?"

"'Course not." Wolffe says gruffly, seeming to settle down. Jocasta again gets the idea that he might well have been ready to charge out of the medbay in search of her, which while heartwarming would probably also get them both shouted at by the medics.

Besides, Boost and Sinker are already halfway out of the room, though they also look rather embarrassed and start making their way back to Wolffe's bedside as though they hadn't been preparing to charge blindly across half the ship in order to find them.

"You ok, ahran?" Sinker asks. "General Buir?"

"Incredibly irate and likely in need of meditation." Plo tells them, seeing Jocasta to her previous seat and then promptly flopping to the floor with the sort of dignity more appropriate for the Crèche than anywhere else. "But I will be well, in time."

"And I have about a dozen or so comms to make, some rather angrily." Jocasta adds, just to assure them further. "But I will also be well with some time, meditation, and possibly a few more tales of what exactly I'm getting into with this battalion."

Plo chuckles, resting his head on her leg and letting her place her hand above his hearing organ. "I doubt there's enough stories to prepare you for such a thing, Jo, but you may certainly try."

"Oh, speaking of comms and trying things!" Jocasta abruptly recalls, straightening. "Do you still remember Teräs Käsi?"

Plo blinks, tusks tilting- the lower one catching for a moment in her robe, though fortunately not tearing. "The martial art?"

"No, the cookie- yes, the martial art, Plo."

He shoves her. "Why are you asking?"

"You should teach the troopers."

"I'm not that good with it."

"Then call Bul."

"I have no idea at all where Bul is. The last I checked she had a battalion and was working with Knight Kenobi, Jo, I haven't heard a damn thing about her location since. She sends me strange holonet videos sometimes and that's the only reason I know she hasn't managed to get herself killed somewhere."

"Why are all of our kids so bad at keeping in contact…" Jocasta sighs. "Thank the Force for Liss."

"Indeed."

"But anyway you know Teräs Käsi, so you could teach them at least a little of it."

"I know it primarily because I needed to figure out exactly what Micah had taught this girl so I could continue teaching her, not because I was using it."

"And yet…"

"Um, General? Ahran?"

Both blink, looking at Boost.

"Context, please? Who're Liss and Bul? Or Micah? And what's Teräs Käsi?"

"Oh, sorry." Jocasta flushes. "Liss and Bul are Lissarkh and Bultar Swan, your siblings by Padawanship. Micah was a friend of ours who originally taught Bultar before he died."

"We have Jedi siblings?"

"Four, yes." Jocasta nods to Wolffe. "Plo had Lissarkh and Bultar, and I have trained two myself; Jerec, a Miraluka who is also an Archivist, and Olee Starstone, who I only recently Knighted." The other reason why she will be waiting to take on another Padawan if she does so at all. "Bul is… somewhere… she's more of a political Jedi than a combatant so I'd have thought that she'd be more visible, Liss is also somewhere, but she at least keeps in contact more often even if she doesn't tell us anything about what she's doing," Jocasta has suspicions but she won't be airing them, "Jerec is on the Outer Rim, and I believe Olee has a battalion of her own now."

"She's with the 208th working more in search and rescue." Plo fills in. "It's a recent assignment, so I'm not surprised that she hasn't told you yet."

"Ah, wonderful. I'm sure she'll be well."

It also likely means that Jocasta needs to be prepared for either more children via her adopting her group of troopers as siblings, or grandchildren.

"Why's Jerec on the Outer Rim?"

"He's an archaeologist, much like myself, so likely digging around for old Temples." Jocasta hums. "I haven't checked his current project recently… I suppose I ought to."

"And Teräs Käsi?" Boost cuts back in, before she can get too distracted by that train of thought.

"A type of martial art that was developed specifically for fighting Jedi." Plo explains. All three of them immediately perk up, and she can sense the rest of the troopers in the room paying more attention. They'd already been subtly eavesdropping, but now they stopped with the subtlety and just started listening instead. "It works rather well against any type of lightsaber fighter, though. It's also very rare, but Micah was very much the sort of person who liked to learn such things, learned it himself, and then promptly taught his Padawan. After he died, I took up Bultar's training, and had to learn it myself in order to make sure I was able to integrate it into her lightsaber work."

"Micah had taught Plo it, he wasn't learning it from Bul, but he wasn't particularly practised in it." Jocasta tags on. "Bul knowing it helped him refine it, and then once they did that, he worked on integrating it into Bul's lightsaber style." She looks down, poking him. "Which does actually raise the question of why you didn't keep that up…"

"I wasn't exactly fighting Jedi, was I?" He argues. "And Bul didn't like combat with her lightsaber unless there was no choice, so it made sense to let her."

"And then you ended up in a war with Sith." She looks back up at the trio. "Anyway, Plo is at least capable with the style, but when it comes down to it Bultar is probably the one to ask if you want actual tutoring. But Plo could teach you the basics, and that'd probably be enough to catch most people off guard since it's such a rare style."

"I'm down." Sinker says immediately. "Sign me up. I don't need free time, this sounds like a great use of my life."

Plo laughs. "I'll arrange a schedule for it once I'm sure that I recall what I'm doing correctly." He promises.

"I'll speak to Cin. He doesn't know Teräs Käsi, but he would be happy to spar with you for it. And probably also figure out all sorts of ways to break your guard." Jocasta adds, digging her comm out of her pocket. "Really should start making a note of who I need to speak to…" Cin, Bultar if she can get a hold of her, Yva, Zazz, and Tara, because it's far past the time she spoke to her crèchemates about this... and then there would be the calls she can't make from her normal comm and would need to wait to get back to the Temple to have those conversations in person.

Though she might be able to get the ball rolling ahead of time by calling a few of her Archivists, and possibly a few other friends, who would know to pass things along to certain other people to sort things out.

Also Vokara, because Vokara is incredible and would be a great help in this situation.

Until then, though, she has stories to listen to and an ankai'a to comfort while they do so.

The 'Jo speaks Mando'a' scene is actually one of the three main scenes that made me write this fic, so yay, getting that out there!

Also yeah fuck the Senate, it's full of trash.

All of the Padawans mentioned in this chapter are canon, as is Teräs Käsi. Yva, Zazz, and Tara are all OCs, you'll meet a bit more of them next chapter but the important thing to know is that they're Jo's crèchemates and various members of the Jedi Service Corps.

Obi-Wan as the Order's Mandalorian Expert just amused me, it seems like the sort of thing that'd happen to him.

Only one more chapter left now, folks, and it's a good one! Seeya then!

Dai Bendu

Denik-Ben- Eternal Endurance

Agisti, ahran- hello, parent

Ankai'a- darling, heartsong, soulmate

Nevi paqor- the children

Ben, ankai'a, biru foh keelak ben- Endure, darling, I ask you to endure

Nev Baukal- the Senate ('Baukal' is government, but when it's capitalised and used with a definite article, it implies the Senate)

Mando'a

Su cuy'gar, ad'ike- hello, children ('ad' means child, 'ika' is a diminutive suffix, and 'ike' is that same suffix but in plural, meaning that 'ad' becomes children instead)

Su cuy'gar, buir- hello, parent