(Alrich Wren POV)
"Your badge Sir. Temple Policy for guests requires you to wear that badge at all times as well as staying within eyesight of your host at all times."
I give the blank visage of the Jedi Temple Guard a curt nod before he retreats to his colleagues, who are in the process of body searching Lady Bo-Katan.
"—apologies for the enhanced security. For what it's worth, the Council waved the current blindfold protocol." Master Tano says to Duchess Satine Kryze, who has Master Kenobi on her arm.
Who apparently is only the Duchess' personal attaché today.
"I'm disappointed, Master Jedi. The rest of the Temple will think you've gone soft." Satine states before a hint of a smile appears.
Tano's apprentice, the one Ezra is close friends with chuckles before he spots me looking at him. "—attack on the Temple."
"We're currently using every avenue available to—" Tano says to the Duchess as her apprentice detours his way to me.
"Mr. Wren sir." He extends his hand to me.
Roundish face, styles/spiked hair. Strong physique, good height as well.
Impressive.
"Son." I shake the muscular young man's hand. "What's your name? I know you are friends with Ezra but that's about all I know."
Other than that Sabine can't stand you.
"Cayle sir. Welcome to the Los Angeles Jedi Temple."
"Thank you, you don't have to call me sir every time Cayle."
Cayle opens his mouth to reply but doesn't actually say anything before closing it and smiles while looking slightly embarrassed. "I apologize for getting into an argument with your daughter. She…I allowed my emotions of the moment to get the best of me."
"I would imagine it was a most stressful moment. And I imagine that I'll hear all about it here in a moment." I comment as Bo-Katan is finally cleared by the Temple security.
"—afraid all your weaponry must be confiscated until you depart from the Temple. And your helmet must remain off for the duration of your time here."
"I'm Mandalorian," Bo replies resolutely. "Weapons are a part of my religion."
The Temple Guard she's speaking to doesn't back down before another one approaches. "Your religion of weapons is not recognized in this Temple."
"And we are attempting to distance ourselves from our bloody and violent past." Duchess Satine pronounces while moving to mediate the disagreement. Gently she redirects her sister towards where our contingent seems to be gathering.
Cayle turns to his Master before Bo-Katan approaches him, helmet on her hip. "Well look at you. Even more grown-up than last time."
"That's what time does, milady. Welcome."
Bo affectionately punches his arm, causing Cayle to smirk before Bo turns her sights to Ahsoka. "Master Jedi."
"Lady Bo-Katan. House and Clan Kryze." Tano says with a grin, before the two embrace.
Ursa has relayed their history together. They fought with her during the Mandalorian crisis' of the '90s.
"We're supposed to have one more, aren't we?" Bo asks Tano.
"Kanan's on his way. He was held up for a brief discussion with Master Dooku."
"Kanan?" Duchess Satine parrots the name.
"Master Jarrus, milady. Ezra's Jedi Master." Tano explains patiently.
"If his skills are as advertised, he hardly needs a Master." Bo comments.
Tano doesn't seem visibly stressed. "It is as advertised but could always use improvement. And besides, everyone needs good mentorship at his age."
"What is his age exactly?"
At Bo-Katan's question, Cayle produces three datapads and passes them to Bo, Duchess Satine, and myself.
Ezra Osiris Bridger
Age: 19 and 9 days old
Height: 6'2 and 3/11"
Weight: 205 LBS
Birthplace: Lothal, Texas
Below Ezra's basic information are sections for his biography, powers, and abilities, personality and traits as well as detailed boxes.
Childhood. Sith Training. Relationship with Lord Sidious.
…
Poor boy.
"I was unaware that he just celebrated a birthday." Satine says to the group before we all begin slowly proceeding into the Temple.
"He didn't really celebrate, Duchess." Cayle is bold enough to answer her. "He spent it in a bacta tank."
"After the attack on this Temple?"
"Indeed." Tano nods while Ezra's Jedi Master appears in the corridor before quickly making his way towards us.
"Sorry I'm late…Master Dooku loves to talk and takes his time getting to the point. An honor and a privilege to see you again, Duchess Satine." He announces himself.
Kanan's his name. Kanan Jarrus.
"The pleasure's all mine, Master Jedi. Your name?" Satine asks.
"Kanan Jarrus, milady."
"Kanan Jarrus, may I introduce Bo-Katan Kryze, of House and Clan Kryze." Satine motions to her sister, who approaches and grasps Kanan's forearm.
"Pleasure." Is the entirety of Bo's statement before taking a step back.
Leaving me.
"And I believe you've met Alrich Wren, Sabine's father."
Kanan, to his credit smiles while moving to greet me. "I have. Good to see you again."
"Likewise. I'm glad this attack has left both of you relatively uninjured." I shake Kanan's hand.
"A little too uninjured. I thought this was a bad attack." Bo points out.
All three Jedi give her a cross look before Tano speaks. "The attack was contained mostly to a small area. They made off with multiple artifacts and valuables, but were thwarted and redirected before it could spread to the Temple at large."
"Thwarted by who?"
Tano answers Satine's question. "By Ezra."
"The consensus hypothesis is that the Sith Lord who infiltrated the Temple intended on singling him out directly." Kanan informs our group.
"It is unlikely he accounted for his power though." Tano adds for context.
Bo-Katan quickly replies. "The Sith Lord who infiltrated this Temple, Maul, he was active as this young man, Vader, Ezra—"
"Ezra." Cayle quickly emphasizes.
He is Lord Vader no longer. Yet that's all the public can know him as.
Bo turns to give Cayle a brief yet icy look from which the boy does not back down before she continues her point. "Wouldn't he know of the boy's power? And if he is so powerful, why do you lie about his age?"
"We're not lying about his age." Kanan quickly clarifies.
"Why would you say that?" I ask, causing all of the Jedi, plus the Duchess to eye me.
Bo-Katan responds "From all available footage the world writ large has, it is largely assumed he is in his mid-twenties. Twenty-Six I believe."
All of the Jedi look to confer with each other. "And why would they presume that?"
"His height, his abilities, his violent temperament—" Bo counters.
"He no longer has a violent temperament, as far as I can tell." Her sister cuts her off.
Tano is the next to speak as we slowly begin making our way down the corridor. "The public's, and your assumption about his age is misguided. Ezra just turned nineteen last week."
"Ben, are his abilities considered advanced for his age?" Satine turns to Master Kenobi.
"Ben?" Cayle blurts out.
The Duchess puts Tano's Padawan in her gaze for an instant before she turns back to her attaché. "Quite. By and large, the boy is among the most talented Padawans in the Order."
"So he's a prodigy."
Kenobi blinks before letting out a breath. "You could call him that. However, the vast majority of his, shall we say prodigal-ness comes not from the Jedi but his father's training, teachings, and cruelty. We are simply refining, honing his considerable talents and trying to focus them."
"And that's your job." Bo-Katan looks to Kanan.
Kanan makes a noncommittal noise. "Not entirely."
"While Kanan is Ezra's Jedi Master, his focus isn't primarily his skills as a Jedi. We're allowing Master Dooku to primarily hone his combat skills." Master Tano enlightens the group.
"Then what is Master Jarrus' purpose?" Duchess Kryze asks the Jedi.
"If I may—" Master Kenobi interjects.
"Of course, Master." Tano cedes the floor to him.
"When young Bridger arrived in this Temple after surrendering to us there were multiple things that were apparent the moment we saw him. He was in extreme emotional turmoil following the death of his mother—"
"His mother's dead?" Bo-Katan buts in.
"I cannot properly explain this if you continuously interrupt me…Lady Kryze." Master Kenobi civilly puts Bo-Katan in her place.
…
"As I was saying, he was in emotional distress. He was in a bad place. In addition to that, his mind and viewpoints on almost all things had been warped and corrupted by his father. And he suffered great physical abuse at the hand of Lord Sidious."
I raise my hand to add something, catching Kenobi's eye. "Yes, Mr. Wren."
"Call me Alrich please," I ask the group before giving my point. "My daughter has mentioned an accident involving him. Apparently, many hours of surgery?"
"That's his cover story," Cayle informs us all. "His scars that resulted from his father's mistreatment are…"
"Difficult to stomach, even now." Tano finishes somberly.
Kenobi nods once. "I cannot agree more. Duchess, Lady Kryze, Alrich…you need to have some sort of understanding of what Ezra endured under his father's command. I can only imagine how unbearable it must have been."
"I would imagine he doesn't like to talk about it." Satine replies to him.
"No, he doesn't," Kenobi says, sadness in his voice. "And the Order gives him the privacy not to talk about it. I doubt I would want to recount it if I were him."
"Perhaps you should allow a portion of this to become public knowledge. Allow people to understand what he went thru and why he did what he did. Because right now they only think of him as a monster. This country's entire election cycle has been turned upside down singlehandedly due to that vitriol."
Silence falls as all of the Jedi seem to mull the idea over. "Yes, but that could be perceived by Ezra as a kind of betrayal." Tano counters.
"He doesn't talk about it to any of us. Even me." Cayle adds.
"And you are, again? Other than Master Tano's Padawan Learner." Satine asks him directly.
Cayle doesn't flinch. "I am his best friend here in the Order."
"Oh." The Duchess replies. "My apologies. So you would be in the position to understand him the best. What is your conclusion on the boy?"
"I wouldn't presume to understand him, Milady. He…he's very difficult to read unless he opens up. Which is rare." Cayle enlightens us all.
"Go on." Master Kenobi encourages him.
Cayle nods, then speaks further. "I don't totally get him, what makes him tick. In some ways he lives inside of his own head. He is always thinking. As an Order, I never know exactly what a request or stimuli will cause him to react or how he will respond to something. Since his most formative years were spent forged in a Sith cauldron, he thinks very differently than we all do."
That makes a lot of sense.
"And you would agree Alrich?" Master Kenobi asks me.
Quickly I reply with a nod. "In my interactions with Ezra, he has been different every time. Initially very uptight and nervous. This last time much more relaxed and comfortable in his own skin."
"And what would cause such a change in him?" Bo-Katan questions.
"Being given a small amount of personal freedom. Allowing him to operate in the real world, on a college campus with young people his own age."
Bo-Katan's face flashes with horror. "He's…out in public? With people? Are you crazy?!"
"Far from it. I daresay that his time spent out in the real world has done him more good than the entirety of the rest of his time under the Jedi Order's supervision. He has grown and flourished in ways the Order could not have foreseen nor imagined when he surrendered." Master Kenobi says, pride evident in his voice.
"You sound very proud of him." Satine states the obvious.
Kenobi allows himself a smile. "His growth is beyond remarkable. At first he was afraid to trust himself enough to leave the cell we put him in. Now he has a car, his own personal space, his own schedule, and most importantly friends he made all on his own that care and trust him."
"And that has allowed him to truly become comfortable…at least before this attack happened." Kanan's expression falls into a frown.
Hang on…
"Master Jedi, not to backtrack but you said something that contradicts what everyone knows of Ezra. He surrendered?" I ask.
I thought he was captured. Everyone thinks he was captured.
"No. He surrendered himself to us. That is how we were able to capture his father and so many other Sith associates." Tano reveals to me.
Duchess Satine turns and gives Kenobi a long look. "You really should consider making more of this public knowledge. There is a gulf between reality and what people perceive as the truth."
"I'm afraid that decision is not up to me, Duchess."
Bo-Katan interjects. "I'm sorry. I can see how being allowed out in the world can change the boy, but not to this drastic of a degree. Can you explain that more?"
"He was never allowed any meaningful freedom when he lived with his parents in Texas. His movement and actions were very tightly monitored by Lord Sidious. Few friends or allies and I would imagine constantly mistreated and controlled by him." Kanan begins to explain. "In the face of that reality, now being given an amount of freedom must be incredible to him."
"Is that true, or just what you believe?" Bo questions him.
"A bit of both, milady. I notice it in the small things…He spends a lot of time at my home with my children, eating meals with us, spending time, et cetera. When my wife or I need something from the store, he happily volunteers and has no problem taking my kids along with him."
The Duchess smiles. "Autonomy. Independence. He craves it, likely due to being starved of it as a child. Your decision to allow him the freedom to attend school was a wise one." She comments to Master Kenobi.
"Don't give me too much credit, Duchess."
"I do hope that despite this attack that he'll be able to continue attending."
Tano smirks. "That is, exactly the plan. All four years until he graduates."
"His grades were exceptional. If I'm not mistaken, straight A's this past semester." I reveal.
Satine takes this information in stride. "So he's very intelligent as well. And likely eager to be educated."
"That's correct. Never misses a class unless it's canceled. His biggest problem isn't in the work, but in the fact that we all only have twenty-four hours in a day." Kanan enlightens the group.
"He said something similar last time I saw him. Sabine commented that he was working himself too hard."
Uh oh.
All of the Jedi, save Master Kenobi avert their eyes at the mention of my daughter's name. "What's the issue?" Bo-Katan asks them.
"My daughter."
Sabine.
"I got into a shouting match with her I'm afraid milady," Cayle explains humbly. "Although it was in the heat of the moment, I do apologize. Not only to you sir—" he nods in my direction before turning to Duchess Satine. "—but to you, Duchess."
"Master Kenobi provided me with the transcript of the argument as well as some of the context. It was only a few hours after the attack and you'd only just gotten word that he was going to make it out of surgery?" The Duchess seems to accept his apology.
"Yes." Cayle nods curtly.
"I'd like a transcript of this call as well." Bo-Katan request in her normal, brisk tone.
Tano's Padawan motions for her datapad and begins navigating it before Satine turns to me. "I assume you heard it Alrich?"
"No, Sabine had just completed her day being a counselor at the soccer camp she's helping run at her old high school. I caught her fury once she'd driven home."
It's a miracle she didn't get into an accident. I've rarely seen her so angry.
Cayle passes back the datapad to Bo-Katan. "I can get it to you as well sir if you'd like."
"Not necessary." I wave him away. "From all indications though you'd informed her that he was hurt, but not enough to warrant so much medical attention before the argument began."
"I…" The boy sighs. "I did a very poor job explaining myself sir. I was going to work my way back to it but knew that the uhm, beskar, I believe is how you say it, was very important to her and your people. So I mentioned that it was lost, thinking that getting the word out quick would be helpful. And that's not what happened. I take full responsibility in regards to the ambiguity of his injuries and situation."
Satine motions to see my datapad. Eagerly, I pass it to the boy who begins navigating it. Satine accepts the datapad that has been passed to her. "I recall after the fight in the fall that she was caught on tape giving the boy an earful. But she's gotten heated with him since? It's a miracle they're still friends then, she likely reminds him of his father."
No…
I sincerely doubt that.
"She seems to be very good for him Milady," Kanan reveals. "The two do like each other and disagreements in and of themselves are not a bad thing. But…and I apologize—" Kanan looks to me. "Miss Wren seems to have a penchant for going a step over the line."
"Like each other. Romantically or just as friends?" Bo-Katan asks.
"Before this, I would have answered both," Cayle replies to her. "But after this event, along with more statements afterward I don't believe this to be the case."
"Sounds to me like she needs to apologize to the boy. Or risk coming back to college with one less friend." Satine observes.
"What statements are you referring to?" I turn and as Tano's apprentice.
The boy bites his lower lip before answering. "We, uhm, Ezra finally met with some of he and Sabine's mutual friends at the beginning of the week. The first time he'd seen anyone since the attack. Over the course of the conversation, Sabine and her actions and words came up. One of her friends, a boy named Matt texted her on the topic. And her response seemed to very clearly indicate that she's found somebody to join her at a music festival Ezra had been invited to."
Lollapalooza.
"I was going to ask later on if there was a way we could get the boy there." I sigh.
Sabine…
"Masters—" Kenobi raises his hand to interject. Tano nods before he continues. "I'm afraid that is a very bad idea Alrich. Beyond the fact that all Jedi and Jedi associates have been recalled to their Temples, Ezra doesn't seem to grasp this idea but is very much in danger. Maul nearly killed him."
Kanan pointedly turns away from the conversation before Satine observes. "You found him."
"I did." Cayle gently revises her statement. "It was…"
"Bad." Tano sums it up shortly.
"Stabbed up to the hilt of an old dagger Ezra carried on him as well as sliced with a lightsaber." Kanan gives us full details.
"To the hilt?" Bo-Katan blurts out. Kanan nods once.
"Sights like that are rarely ones you make it out of. He must have been in bad shape."
I turn to Tano's apprentice. "Are the details of his surgery on the tablets?"
"Yes sir, I'll navigate there for you." He nods once before Satine volunteers my datapad back to me.
"If his injuries were as severe as you say, then I would amend his report." Bo turns to her sister. "The beskar was not ceded or given up. It was robbed, looted off his body."
They left him for dead.
"I'll speak with Mand'alor about restoring a portion of House Wren's honor." Satine declares before my datapad is handed back to me.
"Bridger was rushed into emergency surgery at the Los Angeles Jedi Temple, where Master Tiplar was recalled to the Halls of Healing as well as Dr. Bridget Winderhalter."
Okay…
My eyes scan the document, most of which is written in medical language I'm not completely familiar with.
…
He was in surgery for four hours and was in the ICU for another six before he was stable enough to be put into bacta. From there a recovery that would have taken months only took a week.
…
"Is it possible for me to get a copy of this?" I turn to the Jedi and ask.
"Can you not understand it?" Bo-Katan looks to me.
"I'm not a doctor, milady." I remind her. "I only can pick up the terms I know as well as what else I can understand. But from the little I just skimmed through it sounds like the situation was a lot more touch and go than we were aware of."
Eight units over the course of the first twenty-four hours is a lot of blood. A LOT of blood.
No wonder it was Cayle who called Sabine. He didn't leave the bacta for…
Three days.
Sabine ranted and raved the entire time about how he was dodging her calls and texts. When in reality he wasn't doing that at all, instead fighting for his life.
"I'll speak to my daughter about the truth of—"
Simultaneously, all four Jedi seem to register something before Tano's Padawan moves to silence me. "Sorry sir, but he's coming."
He's—
"Please do keep a civil tone with him. He's still recovering from his injuries. Whether he'd like to admit it or not." Master Kenobi requests of our group while it sounds like a cart is being wheeled our way.
Why would there be a cart…
Turning around, I spot the cart, which is indeed being pushed by Ezra down the corridor we've been traversing before Ezra spots me and visibly reacts.
He didn't know we were coming.
Hastily, he parks the cart beside a pillar, out of the way, and jogs over to us. "Easy, easy!" Cayle quickly admonishes him.
"Did I miss something? A comm, email, text?" Ezra blows right past the request, instead looking to his Jedi Masters.
His hair's longer than I've ever seen it.
He's also visibly thinner, even under his Jedi robes.
The light stubble looks good on him though. Makes him look older.
"—process of making our way to your location. You've met Duchess Satine and Sabine's father, Alrich Wren." Tano informs Ezra. "In addition, this is Bo-Katan Kryze, of House and Clan Kryze."
Ezra gives us all a deep, respectful bow. "An honor to have you all in the Temple. Welcome." Ezra's posture is rail-straight before he tucks his hands behind his back.
He's tightened back up.
" —Lord Vader." Is all I catch of Bo-Katan's initial statement to him.
He's not Vader anymore!
Ezra's eyes immediately drop to the ground. "I'm glad to see you up and about Ezra. We were just discussing your injuries from the attack. It sounds like they were much more severe than we were made aware of." I say, making a point to use the boy's name.
He's Ezra. Not Vader.
"Not due to the Jedi's advances in medical technology sir. I am very fortunate to have been in their care." Ezra responds to me before turning to his Masters. "May I?"
Tano gestures to the group at large. "Of course."
"Duchess, Milady, Mr. Wren sir." Ezra steps forward. "I'd like to personally apologize for the incident last week. The security breakdown and failure to capture Maul as well as his theft of House Wren's beskar lies exclusively and totally with me. I assure you that not only will I not fail in such a manner again, but am currently doing everything possible to track down Maul and return the beskar promptly back to you, its rightful owners."
He's thought about that.
Bo-Katan takes a slight step back beside me before Duchess Satine is the next to speak. "Thank you for that apology, Ezra. It means a lot that you're taking this matter seriously and urgently working to return Mandalorian property to us."
"Yes, milady." Ezra acknowledges this before bowing to Satine once again.
"Are you off to your class?" Master Kenobi diverts our conversation.
Ezra nods. "Yes Master."
It's like he's been placed all the way back at square one.
We might as well be back at the Four Seasons getting breakfast with Sabine.
"One final thing Masters." Ezra motions to the group. "Master, did Master Dooku speak to you about my desire to push things back a week?"
Kanan nods at his student. "Yes, he did."
"Excellent. I knew he came and spoke with me, but I wanted to double-check. Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me…my class begins in a few minutes." Ezra says to the group before bowing respectfully once more.
"Good to see you son." I step forward and extend my hand to shake his. "I'm glad you've seemed to improve in the last few days."
Oh that's…not right. I messed that up.
"Thank you, sir." Ezra shakes my hand firmly before ducking back to his cart, grabbing it and very quickly overtaking all of us before continuing down the corridor until taking a turn which removes him from view leaving a collective silence in his wake.
…
"I see now why his age is misleading." Bo-Katan is the first to speak. "His physique and frame are extraordinary for his age."
"He's thin." I turn to Kanan and Cayle.
Cayle nods solemnly. "He lost seventeen pounds over the course of…everything. He was just medically approved to return to full training and activity."
"That was thin?" Bo-Katan turns to him. "Where are his measurables again?"
Cayle takes the datapad while I turn to Kanan. "Forgive me for asking Masters…has he been like that since he got out?"
He looked much less confident and sure of himself.
"Yes." Master Tano confirms.
"To our knowledge, that was the first time in his life that he's been tasked with a mission and failed at it. Even though in reality he did not fail." Master Kenobi expands on the point.
"Not to correct you, but the beskar was indeed lost Master Jedi. He failed in his duty to protect it." Bo-Katan reminds him.
Kenobi's expression tightens into a stern frown. "Lady Bo-Katan if there is anyone you should be angry with for the break-in occurring it is the Jedi Order. We failed to see Maul's attack coming. If we do that basic duty, none of this happens and young Bridger is going to that concert we alluded to earlier. It is our failure that led to his loss at Maul's hands."
"If this is the first time that he's failed to complete a mission, then why would his father have abused and beaten him so severely?" Duchess Satine asks Master Kenobi.
"That, I cannot say. He doesn't talk about it all that often, and we deliberately do not press on the matter. And as you can see he has internalized the loss, blaming himself."
Unable to hold my words back, I blurt out. "You just said that it was not his fault."
"That's not how he's seeing it." Cayle turns to look at me. "In his mind, he lost. He failed. Failed to stop Maul, failed to stop the break-in, failed to prevent Maul from stealing your Mandalorian property."
"We've tried pushing him off this stance, but as you can see our efforts have so far been unsuccessful." Master Tano adds.
"If I may it's rather annoying," Cayle confesses. "He foiled Maul's plot singlehandedly, only to be taken by surprise and defeated. He didn't fail. Yet that's all he's really allowing himself to focus on."
"His mental shields have been weakened the last few days and he has been fixated on that idea. He lost, he failed." Kanan informs us all.
"I'm sure my daughter's fury at him has done nothing to dissuade the boy from this idea." I acknowledge.
"I've interacted with him only briefly before this." Duchess Satine begins. "This was not the same young man I met then. It sounds to me like he's more taking from the lessons of his father, Lord Sidious than his Jedi teachings."
Master Kenobi nods. "Only the Sith deal in absolutes. And Young Bridger is only seeing things in black and white terms right now."
"We've attempted, among many other things, to teach him that the world is not that way. That there are many shades of gray." Kanan elaborates.
"Master Jedi that is a very naïve way to look at the world." Bo-Katan directly confronts him.
Immediately Tano and her apprentice wheel around to face Bo-Katan. "Beg your pardon?" Cayle says, heat in his voice.
"Master Kenobi's statement about absolutes is in itself an absolute. It is a flaw in the Jedi's teachings. I don't mean to offend, but you must see the contradiction in that statement and your view of the world." She expounds on her point.
Kenobi peers down and strokes his beard. "Yes…I do see the validity of that statement. However, I stand behind it. The Jedi see the world in a much more heterogeneous way than the Sith do."
"That is very arrogant of you Master Kenobi. Senator Organa's criticism of your Order in that manner is correct." Bo-Katan needles Master Kenobi.
Master Tano firmly steps forward. "That's enough. Lady Bo-Katan, whether it is correct or not now is not the place for politics."
Agreed.
We need to stay focused on Ezra.
Kanan's face is stone-like before Tano turns to her apprentice. "Please escort Lady Bo-Katan back to LAX and their plane. Her audience here is no longer required."
"I disagree as more of a dissenting voice than anything," Bo-Katan argues as Tano's apprentice makes a motion with his right hand. Footsteps sound out on all sides behind us, causing me to turn back and see multiple Temple Guards suddenly standing behind us. "They were following us?"
"A precaution likely due to your own actions and our people's history and crimes against the Jedi." Duchess Satine silkily turns to her sister. "Go, in peace. Do not report or speak to anyone about this until I have returned to Mandalore. And specifically do not contact Ursa about anything that has transpired here today. Have I made myself clear?"
…
…
…
"Yes. My Duchess." Bo-Katan says before slapping her helmet onto her head. The move immediately garners the ire of the Temple Guards.
"Lady Kryze, we quite clearly told you your helmet was to remain off while you were inside of this Temple."
"Apparently I'm leaving the Temple. So it's back on." She retorts before turning to Cayle. "Well? Lead the way."
"Right this way milady."
Tano's apprentice leads Bo-Katan down the corridor before I turn back to the remainder of our party. We take a left-hand turn deeper into the Temple, where a large bronze statue looms large over an open, sunlit atrium.
"I do apologize for her outburst." Duchess Satine says.
"Thank you, milady. It's not necessary though. We are certainly allowed to differ in opinion, but now is hardly the time for that." Master Tano replies.
Satine next turns to me. "You've seen the boy the most between the two of us. He's backslid, hasn't he."
"He has." I nod. "I could tell just by his posture and how he carried himself that his confidence has been shaken."
"Can you elaborate?"
I nod at the Duchess. "I flew down to help Sabine move out of her dorm room. There I learned multiple things. For one, she really wasn't there much, instead I believe she was at the boy's apartment. He invited us over to allow me to see all of Sabine's belongings and offered to keep some of her possessions there."
"Really?" She replies, surprised before turning to Tano and Kanan.
"Yes," Kanan confirms. "She spoke about it vaguely with us. Her roommates were…rather poor ones."
"Are her possessions still with him at this apartment?"
"I can't say. I would believe so." I turn to the Jedi.
Tano nods simply. "Outside of multiple security sweeps to ensure that the location is still secure for him, we have moved nothing."
"Pardon me Masters Jedi, but he must be able to stay there. His comfort and ability to fall at ease will do nothing but help him."
Master Kenobi smiles genteelly beside Duchess Satine. "That is, exactly the plan."
"Excellent." She smiles. "Please continue Alrich."
Alright.
I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
"I've really only interacted with the boy three times. Each time he has appeared more and more relaxed and presumably himself. Or whatever he is in the process of becoming. What we saw today was far closer to my first meeting than our meeting last month to help Sabine move out."
Satine lets out a quiet sigh. "A shame. Nobody is who they are at such a young age, let alone the age that his father induced him into committing all those atrocities. And now his confidence has clearly been shaken."
Indeed.
"Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help him." Satine requests of Master Tano. "Through all my interactions with him, he doesn't seem to be a bad person. And after what I've learned today, it seems like he was warped and twisted when he first arrived here."
"I am glad you can see that, Duchess." Master Kenobi responds to her.
"I would, however, like to spend more time with the boy. Is it possible he join us for dinner?"
Tano opens her mouth, then seems to hesitate. "I don't see why he would object. But if it's alright with you I'll ask for his permission rather than make it an order."
"Yes, yes." Satine agrees readily. "If he doesn't want to join us, then he shouldn't be forced to."
It would be nice to spend more time with the boy. We may even be able to convince him that all this was not completely his fault.
"Now, to change topics slightly. He said he had a lesson to teach?" Satine turns to Master Tano.
"Yes." She nods. "For the last five months, Ezra has been entrusted with teaching a new class of younglings."
"Sabine mentioned in passing that he's been teaching kids." I reveal, causing all to turn to me. "And she said that they all love and follow his every word fervently."
Duchess Satine chuckles at the revelation. "Why am I not surprised. Is this arrangement temporary or a permanent one?"
"Temporary for now. The Jedi Council was thinking of making it permanent before his next semester starts, allowing him to plan and schedule around it." Kanan answers the Duchess' question.
"We believe that teaching has been good, both for him and the younglings." Master Kenobi volunteers.
"Once we complete your tour, is it possible for us to catch some of this lesson? I am quite intrigued with what he is teaching them." Satine turns to Master Tano.
"Certainly, Duchess. I'm not sure what he's been teaching them though. He was supposed to begin teaching them the basics of the base Jedi combat form but requested for more time to both Kanan and Master Dooku. A request we acquiesced to."
Satine frowns. "Hmm. I wonder why he would do that?"
"A good question. Maybe you can ask him at dinner." Kanan throws out.
"You're certainly welcome to join us, Master Jedi. You and…your wife I do believe." Satine says before turning. "Help me here Ben. He has a wife, correct?"
"Yes, yes he does. Hera's wonderful, and a true pleasure to be around."
Kanan looks profoundly uncomfortable before turning to Master Tano. "I'll have to find something to do with my kids. I doubt we want them running and screaming around us at dinner."
"Oh, they don't scream and run around…" Master Tano comments before a smile appears on her face. "That much."