As they approached the throne room Yang veered off to return to her daily tasks and the throne room guards nodded to her as she did so. The Xiao Long clan was a respected one, both for the formidable might of its members and their noble generosity.
The head of the Clan Tai Yang Xiao Long had taken in several children orphaned by the civil war and a few simply lost and promptly collected the moment he realized they needed parents.
He had secretly offered to foster Jaune but the Duchess was wary of such an offer with Tai's reputation for generosity only being matched by the legends of what he had done in battle. The matter was taken from either of their choices when he and Yang swore a blood oath, something that would have never been allowed had their parents been consulted.
Now they were as siblings, even if Jaune never took Tai's clan name. In part Jaune was worried about how Tai would react to the arrival of Jaune's true father. Tai had been one of the biggest influences in Jaune's young life and Jaune hoped he wouldn't feel snubbed now.
The doors to the throne room swung open the same way they did every time Jaune visited his "mother". Only this time he noted that many of the guards were the older ones that had been protecting the duchess since long before Jaune was born.
They must have heard that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were returning and wanted to see the old master and former padawan again.
"Sir Jinn" The oldest guard said with a salute. It was the royal guard who insisted that Qui-Gon be made into a clan head in truth he and Obi-Wan were never told since it was meant to be purely ceremonial. But now it required a formal arrival to have them rescind from the running.
"Master Jinn and Master Kenobi" the Duchess greeted from her throne making sure to emphasize Obi-Wan's new rank. "I am glad my messenger made it to you and returned both intact and on time." she said with a mild smirk.
Jaune rolled his eyes and began to reply. "Yes because as we all know I am the one that has a hard time…" his counter was cut short when Obi-Wan reached out and cuffed him across the back of the head making Pyrrha flinch at the casual violence.
Jaune reached for his head and spun to face his father in time for Kenobi to beat him to the punch. "You will speak to your mother with more respect or you will not speak to her at all" He sternly ordered with a tone and glare made Pyrrha step back again. She had never seen this side of master Kenobi and it was scaring her to see it now.
Jaune looked away under his father's eyes and lowered his head in silence and shame.
"Well I see you two have meet" Satine said turning to the other members of her council "leave us I must speak with the Jedi in private"
The diplomats all either understood what was at play or they were aware that the Duchess was to be obeyed when she used the tone she had employed. Once they were alone it was Qui-Gon who spoke first. "It is good to see you again Satine"
"And you master Qui-Gon" Satine said, rising from her throne and seeming to glide down the steps towards Jaune and Obi-Wan.
"May I ask why you felt the need to strike our son?" She asked Obi-Wan.
"Last time I checked respect was not an option for Mandalorian children" Obi-Wan replied with the same authority he held with Jaune but at least it wasn't holding the edge threat of violence.
"Perhaps but violence is not an option for my children" Satine said, putting emphasis on the fact that Jaune was HER son.
Obi-Wan stepped closer to her replying "he is OUR son, and do not think I have missed the fact that you never told me of him"
"I was worried he would be absconded with to your temple!" Satine spat back making Pyrrha cringe at her least favorite practice of the Jedi order.
"No, no, raising him without proper training so some like Kalaran can manipulate him and turn him into" Obi-Wan's words were cut short by the duchess raising her hand as if to strike him only to stop herself and step back.
Qui-Gon took the chance to step between them saying. "Both of you must be mindful of the fact that you are not in a position or a place to be conducting yourselves like children anymore." His tone was firm but somehow soft like it always was.
Both of them clearly agreed with him and Satine turned to the rest of them. "Master Qui-Gon, your old chambers have been readied for you and your companion, if Master Kenobi would follow me. We have much to discuss" with she turned and left, moving with a speed and grace that surprised Pyrrha for a woman of her height in the dress she was wearing.
Obi-Wan went with her as Qui-Gon led Pyrrha to their new quarters. Jaune helped them get settled in and then set about asking master Qui-Gon all he could think to about the force. The depth of his present knowledge and the way he seemed to hunger for more both surprised and concerned Pyrhha.
Master Dooku had once told her (in confidence) that it was his hunger for knowledge that fed his lust for power, and in turn led him as close to the dark side as he grew. If it had not been for the combined council of master's Yoda and Qui-Gon he had told he may very well have left the order.
After several minutes of questioning Master Qui-Gon waved his hand and said. "Enough while I appreciate your will to learn this is not the way to learn of the force."
"And what is?" a voice from the door asked.
Pyrrha turned and saw a man in Mandalorian armor leaned against the door. A sight she knew she was going to need to get used to given where she was.
"Tai, it has been a long time," Qui-Gon said, walking over and shaking the man's hand.
"It has, why don't you and the kids join me for a drink" Tai offered
"Well I will but Pyrrha must abstain for the time being" Qui-Gon said not answering for Jaune but knowing he would stay with Pyrrha if only to keep her out of trouble.
The two men left to catch up and Pyrrha set about finding a place to meditate. She set down her bag and rolled out her mat when Jaune interpreted her. "You are in fact the padawan of Master Dooku are you not?"
Pyrrha would have normally been more annoyed at being interrupted but she was frankly proud enough of her master to let it pass. "Yes I am, have you heard of him?"
"Yes, I have, and for your sake you should act like YOU haven't" Jaune said in a serious tone.
"What?" Pyrrha asked unsure of what to think of the situation
"I said you should keep your connection to Master Dooku a secret, his name is not a well taken one"
"Why? What happened?" Pyrrha asked, not liking the sense of worry she was feeling.
Jaune stepped closer to her and sat down on the bed near her mat. "I am not surprised you don't know this, he is probably not proud of it. But many years ago, before you or I were born there was another war on Mandalore, during that war two factions rose and the Jedi Order was called to end the fighting. In their usual way they sent warriors and were surprised when the leader of the task force opted to try and simply destroy the side they deemed in the wrong."
Pyrrha thought about saying something but the look on Jaune's dour face convinced her otherwise. "Master Dooku led the task force, he made his choice and he and several other knights went to detain the group they deemed at fault."
"I don't understand what the problem was?" Pyrrha asked, still not sure of what the point was, the Jedi had done this on several occasions.
"Master Dooku was hasty, and he was deceived. He attacked the WRONG side. And in the end he wiped out one of the only forces that stood a chance of stopping the death watch. Who by the way have recently returned to cause further problems for my people. I was preparing to join a mercenary crew that would be hunting them down when this all started."
Pyrrha was in disbelief. " Master Dooku would never do that, he has never acted so recklessly"
"There is a graveyard of my dead kinsmen that would say otherwise" Jaune replied coldly. "I do not hold that against YOU, but there are some who might." Jaune stood up when a woman in full armor kicked open the already open door with a grenade launcher in her hands.
Pyrrha was reaching for her lightsaber when the woman aimed for Jaune and fired. The dummy round bounced off Jaune's chestplate and the woman ran off cackling. Pyrrha looked and saw that Jaune still had yet to react to the attack.
"Aren't you going to do something?" she asked, confused.
"I'm waiting" Jaune said
And so he did with Pyrrha wondering what he was waiting for until a second man arrived clearly out of breath and loading what Pyrrha would one day learn where saber darts into his gauntlet. He stopped and looked at Jaune who pointed the way the woman ran. "Nora went that way"
The man nodded and took off after her. "That was Ren, he and Nora were adopted by clan Xiao Long after the war." he explained. "Nora is in a word eccentric, she wants Ren to become the greatest bounty hunter in the Galaxy" Jaune said the last part being in the overly dramatic way Nora would say it. "So she commits minor offenses in order to have someone place a minor bounty on her head. So that Ren and practice his hunting skills"
Pyrrha was somewhat surprised by both Jaune's words and the nonchalance with which he said them. Giving her the impression this was a regular event or sorts.
"You wanna watch don't you" Jaune said with a smirk.
"What no I..."
"Yes you do, you are on Mandalore now you are allowed to enjoy a bit of violence or in this case sport" Jaune said, putting his helmet on and running out the door. Pyrrha hesitated for a moment and followed him at a run outside to the speeder he was waiting in. She jumped into the seat and made sure to secure her seat belt before they took off.
Hello Everyone, Noruas here. Very tired while writing this so sorry if I sound a little worn out. If you want to see my work a week in advance or if you want to see some of the stuff that isn't really right for Fanfiction then you can do that at my page. As always, so long, farewell, and thank you for your time.