Here is another one!
Last time: Maul attempted to take down Obi-Wan and Sasha.
Now: The Council grounds them to the temple.
Chapter 10- Grounded
The gunship landed on the extended landing platform of the Jedi Temple. Once the doors slid open, Anakin helped Obi-Wan, who was leaning heavily against his friend, from the landing bay to the Halls of Healing. Sasha followed close behind them as the Clones looked over the damages to the gunship. Their trek through the Temple did gather many wandering eyes, but they ignored them as they rushed into the Halls of Healing. When they entered, a padawan was sitting behind a receptionist desk sorting through data pads. The Rodian padawan looked up from the data pads with a gasp. He immediately pressed a button on the desk.
"Take him to room five," the padawan said gesturing to the hall of doors that led to varying rooms.
Anakin nodded and adjusted Obi-Wan a little better before moving down the hall. When they reached room five, Anakin helped Obi-Wan over to the examination table. Obi-Wan sat down on it with an uncomfortable grunt as he wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Thanks, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as he looked at his former Padawan, who had moved over and was now leaning against the wall.
"You don't need to thank me," Anakin said with a smirk. "I'll always be there to save your skin."
Obi-Wan huffed as Master Healer Bant entered the room. She came to a halt part way and placed her hands on her hips.
"What happened this time?" She asked Obi-Wan with a sassy tone.
However, everyone's rather serious expressions, including Anakin's now gone smirk, caused her to drop her guard. She frowned as she approached Obi-Wan to look him over.
"Are you all okay? What happened?" Bant asked more concerned.
"Maul attacked us when we were on our way back from the Senate," Anakin explained. "He nearly sent Sasha flying out of the gunship. And the old man here decided to deal with Maul personally."
Bant looked at Anakin as he said that then at Obi-Wan with a raised eyebrow. "What does he mean by that, Kenobi?"
"I may have jumped from a moving gunship onto a speeder, fought Maul, and managed to crash the speeder on a roof top," Obi-Wan said then gestured to himself. "That's how all this happened."
Bant looked between the three of them. She then turned her attention back to Obi-Wan and let out a half sigh/half groan.
"I'm thankful you are all still alive," Bant said in a relived tone. "But let me look over your injuries first, Obi. Then I'd like to make sure you are okay, Sasha." She said turning to Sasha, who had taken a seat in a chair against the wall, and then turned to Anakin. "And I'm assuming you are in one piece?"
"Not a scratch," Anakin said with a shrug.
"Alright," Bant said with a nod before looking back to Obi-Wan. "You know the drill. Lay down and let me look over your injuries."
Obi-Wan nodded and moved to lay down on the examination table. As he laid there, Bant pulled out a scanner and started getting to work.
"I'm going to go let the Council know we are back," Anakin said after a moment. "They are probably wondering where we are at right now."
"Thank you, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "I was just going to ask you to do that."
"I know," Anakin replied smugly.
Obi-Wan made a face as Anakin left the room. The entire time Anakin was gone, Bant had finished her examination and had started patching up the injured Jedi Master. By the time Anakin returned with Master's Yoda and Windu in tow, Bant had already set his leg into a cast with his boots removed and discarded to the floor. And now she was currently wrapping his rib cage. That meant that his tunic, belt, and under shirt were removed revealing his toned torso. Obi-Wan, Bant, and Sasha looked up as Anakin entered with the Jedi Masters.
"Are you two alright?" Mace asked as he came to Obi-Wan's beside, but his question was pointed at both him and Sasha.
"I'm fine, Master," Sasha answered first.
"Yes, we are both fine," Obi-Wan agreed then winced as Bant purposely tightened the bandages around his midsection as she continued wrapping them. He glared down at her.
"Anakin explained to us what happened," Mace said as he folded his arms across his chest. "We were concerned when you didn't show to the meeting. But we are grateful to know you are alright."
"But troubling this is," Yoda spoke up. "Coming for you directly, Maul is."
"What I don't understand is why he makes such demands as to my surrender, does nothing to follow through with it, and then does this?" Obi-Wan pondered out loud. "What does he have planned?"
"You know I have been thinking about that," Anakin responded. "I'm thinking he said what he said to Sasha to get under your skin. To make you paranoid. So when your guard was down, he would strike." Every eye in the room looked at Anakin. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just that was very impressive deduction, Skywalker," Mace praised. Anakin was taken back by the Master's sudden praise.
"He is right, Anakin," Obi-Wan agreed. "That deduction makes the most sense. And it worked, if I am being honest."
"So what do we do Master?" Sasha asked. "This means Maul is unpredictable and that he could strike again like that at any moment."
"The Padawan is right," Yoda agreed. "Not safe are you, Obi-Wan." Yoda then looked to Sasha. "Or you, Padawan. Best it would be if remain at the Temple you did."
"You mean like we are grounded to the Temple?" Sasha asked carefully. Yoda nodded. "For how long Master Yoda?"
"Until this threat from Maul is dealt with, you both will be ordered to stay here until further notice," Mace finished.
Obi-Wan watched as his padawan deflated in her seat. He felt bad for his apprentice. She had been doing so many relief missions as of late that he knew she wanted to return to action with him. Normally, he would have loved to have a break from this war and enjoy a relief mission or two like she had been doing. But with the recent death of Satine and now this fiasco with Maul, Obi-Wan hadn't really left the temple all that much. So now with this stay at home order they just received, he was feeling himself become antsy to go rejoin the action instead.
"Then what should we do about Maul?" Anakin asked. "He is still somewhere on the planet. I had the troops put an APB out on him, but we would need more than clones to take him down."
"For now, leave it to the clones to track him down," Mace advised. "Once they have pinpointed his location, then we will dispatch a Jedi to handle his arrest."
Anakin made an annoyed face, but nodded. It was apparent that Anakin wanted to go after Maul himself, but Obi-Wan was silently grateful that Anakin wasn't going to be facing Maul anytime soon. The fact that both Sasha and he had survived their encounters with him was a miracle. And the last thing he needed at this moment was to lose another friend to Maul.
"In the meantime, Skywalker, join us you will in the war meeting," Yoda said. "And Master Kenobi, rest you should."
"Yes Master," the two said in unison.
With that, Mace and Yoda left the room. Anakin came over and placed a hand on Obi-Wan's bare shoulder. Bant had finished with his rib cage and had been merely watching the exchange between them all occur before she was going to go return to her work.
"Take it easy," Anakin said. "I'll come by later to check in on ya."
"Thanks, Anakin. Now get going before it's too late," Obi-Wan warned.
Anakin nodded and took off out the door, leaving Obi-Wan alone with Sasha and Bant again.
"Alright, time for you to rest," Bant advised. "I'm going to put you into a healing trance so your injuries can heal."
"Fine," Obi-Wan groaned as he laid back onto the bed. He then looked over to Sasha. "Will you be alright padawan without me for a bit?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay," Sasha said giving him a small smile. "You go ahead and rest."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Alright, Bant, go ahead."
Bant nodded. Obi-Wan then closed his eyes as he rested against the bed. Slowly he could feel the force flow through him as he pulled from away from consciousness and into a deep healing sleep.
Sasha sat there watching as Bant helped her Master into his healing sleep. Once he was out, Bant pulled a blanket over him before turning to Sasha.
"Alright, your turn," Bant said sweetly. "Let me take a look at you."
"I'm okay, Bant," Sasha urged as she stayed seated.
"Amuse me then," Bant said as she went over to the other bed in the room.
Patting the mattress of the bed, Bant gave Sasha an imploring look. Sasha sighed and pushed herself up from her seat. She then walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge of it. She then sat there in silence as Bant ran the scanner over Sasha's form, checking for any and all injuries. Thankfully, Sasha wasn't in any pain. She did feel some discomfort in her wrist from it being pulled as well as some discomfort in her side from when she smacked into the gunship. But other than that, she felt fine. After a few moments, Bant lowered the scanner and smiled at her.
"Looks like you are 100%," Bant said. "I have to say that's pretty impressive for someone who nearly flew out of a gunship. But how are you doing mentally? That could be a pretty scarring event for anybody."
"Honestly, I'm still a little shaken," Sasha admitted. "But I'm actually okay. I was more worried about him." She gestured over to Obi-Wan's sleeping form. "The second he saw Maul, he jumped into action to stop him. I mean he still saved my life, but after that he didn't even stop to think. He just… did."
"With everything that has happened to him recently, it's understandable that he would do that," Bant said as she set the scanner down on the bed. "Plus, seeing your near death like that probably shook him to his core that when he realized it was Maul… He had to protect you as he failed to do so with others."
Sasha looked Bant in the eyes. A frown spread on her face. "Is he really been that worried about me regarding all of this? I mean I know he has worried for me in the past when my life has been in peril, but…"
"I have known Obi-Wan since we were kids," Bant said with a frown. "And from what I have seen recently, yeah. He is really worried about your wellbeing. I advise that you listen to him when it comes to Maul. I don't think he can handle losing another person he cares for to that monster."
Sasha nodded slowly before looking over to Obi-Wan. "I should probably leave him to rest. Is it okay if I come back by later to check on him?"
"Of course," Bant said with a smile.
Returning the smile, Sasha climbed off the bed and left the Halls of Healing. As she journeyed through the temple, back towards her quarters, she kept seeing the recent events playing through her head. It was interesting to think that Maul had gone to such lengths to try and stop them today. He had stalked them all morning as Sasha was sure that he was the presence she sensed. Then when the moment was right, he attacked with an assassin droid that nearly caused her to fall to the streets below. Of course his plan failed in killing her Master, but the thought crossed her mind. What if that was the point? So far everything Maul had done was to pretty much get under Obi-Wan's skin, which it was working. But if his main goal and intention was to kill Obi-Wan, why was he drawing it out like this? What was his endgame?
"Sasha!" Her thoughts were cut off by someone calling her name.
Coming to a halt in the middle of the hall, Sasha turned to see Cayden running up to her. He was smiling at her as he approached. She returned the smile as his was just so infectious to her.
"Hey, how did the Senate session go?" He asked once he was at her side.
"Boring, as usual," Sasha stated plainly. "How was studying?"
"Ugh, if I have to look at another data pad today, I'm going to tear my eyes out of their sockets," Cayden complained as he ran a hand over his face.
"That bad, huh?" Sasha chuckled. "Would you rather be at the Senate listening to politicians argue for hours?"
"At this moment, anything is better than studying," Cayden admitted. "But normally, I'd rather study then do that." They chuckled. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that today. Was it at least beneficial?"
"Oh yes," Sasha said with a nod. "The bill failed and our presence there helped Senator Amidala defeat it."
"Awesome," Cayden said, smiling. "So what are you up to now?"
"I was going back to my room to rest," Sasha said as she started to walk once again towards her quarters.
"Did the Senate bore you that much?" Cayden joked as he walked with her-.
"No," she said with a giggle in her voice. Her smile then faded. "It's something else."
Cayden grabbed her arm and tried to get a good look at her face as they continued walking.
"Hey, what is it? Did something happen?" He asked, worriedly.
"You can say that," Sasha replied. "Let's just say our ride back to the temple was a little… bumpy."
Cayden looked at her confused. "Okay, you've lost me. What happened?"
"I'll explain it all once we reach my quarters," She answered.
He didn't respond. He just simply nodded and kept walking with her the remainder of the way in silence. Once they reached the door to the apartment, Sasha opened it and they entered inside. Flicking on the lights, Sasha headed over to the couch in the center of the living area. Cayden followed after her once the door was sealed shut behind them. Sinking down onto the couch, Sasha released a sigh as the comfortable couch was relieving in this moment. Cayden sat down next to her and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.
"Okay, care to tell me about your bumpy ride now?" He asked.
Turning her head to the ceiling, Sasha told Cayden everything that happened today. She told him about the strange feeling and presence she felt the whole day to the events with the gunship. Once she was finished, Cayden reached up and caressed her cheek.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking her over.
"I'm fine," Sasha said. "My Master is one in the Halls of Healing. Not me."
"How is he doing?" Cayden asked. "Were his injuries bad?"
Sasha shook her head. "He's had worse, admittedly. This is nothing to him."
Somehow, that made Cayden smirk. "I hate that you say that, but he does have quite a track record with the healers."
That made Sasha smirk. "Yeah he does. And I've caught his bad habit from time to time."
Cayden nodded as he moved his hand from her cheek and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm just glad you're okay now."
Sasha cuddled against him as he pulled her closer. Sasha didn't know how long they sat like this, but she was grateful for Cayden and his comfort. As his comforting hugs, smiles, and jokes were what was helping her recover from Satine's passing, but also just bare each day of this horrible war. She was truly lucky to have him in her life. But she knew one thing was for sure, she wasn't going to take a single moment for granted any more. Especially after recent events. As in war time, you never know when may be your last day.
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