Regroup (4/5)

Healer Yassina met them in the antechamber and fussed a bit over Khameir. Ostensibly he was here only because the Council wanted to make sure the Healer wasn't protecting him, as they happened to be from the same planet.

They were made to wait a while, which was, according to Obi-Wan, standard procedure. It was a good tactic, Khameir had to concede – he'd never been known for his patience. Qui-Gon might have scolded him for thinking it, but exactly his impatience had gotten him into this mess. It would not be his downfall again.

He made himself stop picking at his earring and tried to ground himself as well as he could without a connection to the Force.

Finally, after half an eternity, they were told to enter. Obi-Wan offered to lead Khameir, which was just as well. With the upcoming topic the Padawan would be a much better back-up than Qui-Gon, and he was less emotionally involved, too. On the way here the Jedi Master had made a rather jumpy guide.

After the usual amount of formal greetings, the Healer and Qui-Gon retreated to the back.

"How feel you?" Yoda's scratchy voice asked.

Khameir had expected a lot of things, but not that.

"Uncomfortable."

"Why?"

"There are currently fifteen people in this room, staring at me. And I cannot stare back."

"Honest you are."

"Lying would be extremely foolish."

"Clever you are, too. Full of witty comebacks."

"What he means is that we have reason to doubt you're mentally incapacitated," Master Windu interjected.

Khameir took a deep breath. He could do this, right? He'd told Qui-Gon so.

"Mace…" This voice was female, soft, but firm.

"What is it?"

"He's close to blind panic. I can't condone you playing mind games with someone who's so scared." Well, thank you lady, for calling the bluff. At least now he didn't have to steady his hands anymore.

Obi-Wan squeezed his arm once.

"Um, Councilors…" So the Padawan was hanging on to Khameir, if he read that correctly. What an odd pair they made. "I know who the Sith Master is."

There was a susurrus of moving fabric.

"Enlighten us you will, hm?" Who would have guessed – Yoda had a sense of humor.

"It's Supreme Chancellor Palpatine."

Silence. Only breathing could be heard, while Obi-Wan shifted from one foot to another. Khameir tried to exude some reassuring vibes, maybe the Padawan would feel them.

"And you are absolutely serious about this?"

"Yes, Master Windu."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Maul was ordered to capture Queen Amidala, so the involvement of the Sith in the blockade is obvious. As a consequence, Senator Palpatine was made Chancellor and just now introduced a bill to give him more power in times of crises. If he wants to take over the Republic and build an Empire, all he has to do is stir up enough trouble."

"Some impressive reasoning that is." No, it wasn't, but obviously the Council had concentrated on Khameir rather than looking at the bigger picture.

"Thank you, Master Yoda."

"What say you to this accusation, young Sarin?"

"I won't say anything."

"Hmm."

More rustling of fabric. They were letting it go, as expected, because they were Jedi and they owed him.

"We will have to discuss this. You are dismissed until further notice."

"If you would excuse us for a while, Khameir," Qui-Gon said and shoved the Zabrak into Obi-Wan's room. It was high time for a talk with his Padawan, and they didn't need a listener who might be manipulative enough to exploit what he heard.

Obi-Wan was looking at him and biting his lower lip, obviously afraid he was in for a scolding. Sighing, Qui-Gon refrained from telling the younger man to sit. It would very much set the wrong pace.

"I wanted to apologize, Obi-Wan."

"What for?"

"First… I should tell you how proud I am of you. You managed to solve a mystery that has eluded the Council for years. It's nothing anyone would have expected from a knight, and much less from a Padawan."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. If you hadn't been so preoccupied, you would have figured it out yourself."

"I doubt that. Things like that are a gift from the Unifying Force, and sometimes I think I am completely immune to it…"

That won him a small smile.

"And you are absolutely right. I do spend too much of my energy on Khameir. It's…" Qui-Gon made a helpless gesture, trying to convey a sentiment even he, with all his training, did not understand. Khameir was just another 'pathetic lifeform', and why did Qui-Gon always have to take them on? A ghost whispered redemption into his ear. Qui-Gon shook his head, in defiance.

"He makes it easy to worry about him," Obi-Wan supplied.

"Yes."

They were silent for a while. Obi-Wan had his shields up, deliberately, so the bond wasn't any help.

"I am sorry, Obi-Wan. I will spent more time with you again. I have been neglecting your training, and I am not sure I can forgive myself. Especially since you have proven that you are ready to take your trials."

"Apology accepted, Master. And, well, I think neither of us expected this when we headed for Hoth."

"Thank you. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you as a Padawan."

Obi-Wan grinned. "Dumb luck?"

Qui-Gon smiled in response. "Do you think we can leave him on his own for a while? We could both use some exercise."

For a moment, Obi-Wan's eyes flickered to the closed door. "Sure. But there's something I need to hash out with him first."

A raised eyebrow wasn't met with an answer. Qui-Gon shrugged and went off to let the two younger men sort out their issues without him.

Maul sat cross-legged on the sheets. He was fiddling with that earring of his, his face turned questioningly towards Obi-Wan.

"Are you going to let me out now?"

"Depends." Obi-Wan stood, arms akimbo, before he remembered that intimidating stances were useless on a blind person. Nevertheless, he kept it, because it made him feel better.

"I was wondering what you are playing at," he added.

An expression of surprise flitted over Maul's face. "It would greatly help if you specified your meaning."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "You know perfectly well what I mean. On the one hand, you're being a diva and swear up and down that you won't betray the Sith. On the other hand, you practically tell me that your master is on the news. Why? What is your gain in this?"

Maul glowered at him. "Does there have to be one?" he snapped. "This way, your precious Council got what they wanted before I could be interrogated."

"That's true. But they didn't believe me. They would have believed you." Obi-Wan frowned and started to pace. That was it. Suddenly everything made sense. "They should lock you into a cell in the basement and throw away the keys," he spat.

Maul shrank back, as if he didn't understand the eruption at all. To Obi-Wan's Force-senses he was all discomfort and vague fear of the threat uttered. It was extremely gratifying. Then Obi-Wan squished that feeling. It did not become a Jedi to gloat.

"What exactly are you accusing me of?" Maul asked in a low voice.

"You attempted to save him. To save the Sith. The Council discussing your Master has to be one big blaring sign to him. To what end? You can't return to him. So why?"

Trembling with rage, Maul shook his head. "I do not have to explain my reasons to you."

"Of course you don't, but I'm going to warn the Council."

"No," Maul said with vehemence. "Hear me out. Please." The last word was barely a whisper.

"I don't think so. You'll just try to sweet-talk me into-"

The door opened, and Qui-Gon stuck his head in. He looked worried.

"Padawan, Khameir. The Council wants to see us."

"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked.

"There was an explosion at Chancellor Palpatine's residence. They are searching the ruins, but they do not have much hope to find him alive."

So it was already too late.

Obi-Wan had offered to guide Maul again, and the Zabrak hadn't protested, probably because he didn't want to alert Qui-Gon.

They didn't have to wait, and there was no time wasted on formalities.

"Know what happened you do, young Sarin. Feeling content with it, you are. Why?" The question seemed rhetorical to Obi-Wan.

"An explosion like this was my master's back up plan. It would eradicate all evidence as well as allow him plenty of time to escape." Maul's control was amazing. He stood there like it was nothing to face an angry Council, and all that betrayed him was his death grip for assurance or revenge on Obi-Wan's arm.

"So alive he is?"

"I believe so."

"This was all an elaborate ploy of yours to allow the Sith to continue," Mace Windu accused. So they had figured that out, too.

"Yes."

Obi-Wan blinked in surprise.

"Why?"

"For several reasons, Master Windu. As strange as it might sound, I do owe my former order. Also, the continued existence of the Sith might be essential for the balance of the Force."

"Think so you do, hmm?" Yoda had a thoughtful expression. The little alien looked shrewdly at Obi-Wan and wagged his eyebrows.

"Light and Dark are like the two sides of a coin, I believe. To destroy one might have disastrous consequences."

Maybe Obi-Wan had overreacted a bit earlier. Maul seemed sincere, at least, and the Council would surely call him on a lie.

"Not a very Sithly thought, that is."

"I had plenty of time to consider this. As well as inspiration."

Now that was a twisted compliment if Obi-Wan had ever heard one. He and Qui-Gon had helped Maul come up with a notion that was rather heretic.

"This would render our objectives as wrong as the Sith's," Ki-Adi-Mundi remarked quietly.

Maul shrugged. Obi-Wan had to admire the other's confidence in the matter, but in the end it was all Master's fault, with his talk of a possible gray area. Apparently, Maul was determined to make this purely theoretical place a reality by sheer force of will.

Yoda tapped his gimer stick on the ground a few times. Still it took some time until the disquiet faded. "Discuss this in peace, we will. Address the matter at hand, we have to."

"Ah, yes. Mister Sarin, do you know any possible hideouts for your master?" Mace Windu asked.

Obi-Wan suppressed a gasp of pain; Maul was amazingly strong for someone who was disabled. There would be a wonderful hand-shaped bruise on Obi-Wan's right arm in a few hours.

"No, not really."

"And if you had to guess?"

"He did not entrust me with that kind of knowledge. He could be anywhere from here to Naboo. He would, however, be in need of a new apprentice."

"That would rule out the Republic worlds."

"Yes."

They were dismissed unceremoniously. Outside, they passed several Knights and Masters with their Padawans – the Council wasn't wasting any time to put together a search team.

A week passed without any message from the Council. Khameir supposed that was good – Sidious was well away, and as long as they didn't remove the Force inhibitor, they had no hope of knowing what the Dark Side actually felt like.

Things were also slowly improving. He still had nightmares, but they didn't wake up anyone except him anymore. Going through katas blind and without even the Force to help him was a novelty, but it was useful exercise regarding his balance.

"I want to try something," Khameir said. He was training with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon; they had even provided him with a wooden saber.

"Yes?"

"I want you to attack me, Obi-Wan."

"You mean you want me to spar with you? But…"

"I wish to see if the 'but' is justified."

"Hand to hand?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Fine. I'm coming to get your saber."

After some more objections from Qui-Gon, Khameir settled into a defensive stance and waited.

"You will have to attack me," he remarked after a while. Going after the sound of breaths was difficult.

"Fine."

Soft feet padding on the floor. One step, two, three, the fourth took a little too long.

Khameir tried a block for a roundhouse kick to his left, waist high. To his surprise, he actually caught a leg. He yanked and heard the satisfying thud of Obi-Wan landing on his backside.

"You are holding back. Try again."

Again, Obi-Wan approached, making less noise this time. Khameir got a kick to the thigh, landed a blow with his left somewhere on Obi-Wan's shoulder, blocked the counter with his right forearm – which hurt – tried another punch, found his arm yanked forward and himself flat on the ground with the said arm in a rather painful twist. Good, this was more like it. While being coddled was nice, he needed to know where he stood, performance-wise. It was bad, but he would improve. He patted the ground twice, giving up this round. Obi-Wan let him go, and he straightened up.

"Again."

After a few days of training, he was winning a third of the rounds, which was better than expected.

Yassina came to watch one day and congratulated him on his progress. She was chattering about it all the way to the gym's doorway, where he stopped and waited for either Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan to guide him.

"You could get a walking stick," she suggested.

"What for?"

"So you can get around the place without anyone else's help."

"I do not think I am allowed to venture outside alone. Also, by the time I would have learned how to operate a stick, I would not need it anymore." He refused to believe otherwise.

She sighed.

Mace Windu beckoned Qui-Gon and the Healer to take a seat.

"I wanted to hear about our patient," he said, as if Qui-Gon could not have guessed that.

"Physically, he is well, as I told you, Master," Healer Yassina answered. "So far he has responded well to therapy, thanks to Master Jinn, and he will continue to get better, up to a certain point."

"How so?"

"Mace, he still hopes that you will let the inhibitor be removed soon. If you refuse, there is no telling what he would do."

"He wouldn't be able to do as much damage as with the Force. He has proved that he is not trustworthy by letting his master escape."

Qui-Gon sighed. Mace was right, but he didn't deal with Khameir on a daily basis. "He just might decide to jump off our balcony."

"It would make a nasty stain on the ground," the Healer remarked.

A three hundred meter fall did this, yes. And it was a balcony on the street side. People would know someone jumped from the Temple. It was not good publicity.

"I see," Mace said coolly.

"We're not trying to blackmail you, Mace. If you would name your conditions, we could try and make him comply." He would not see all that intelligence and passion waste away.

"Very well. The Council will discuss this tomorrow. You can expect a call in the next four days."

"Thank you."