AN: Well, this chapter ended up being mostly one scene that was longer than I expected, but the action is soon to come in the next chapter.
Please enjoy Jango and Jaster's suffering :D
Chapter 17 - Conversations in the Dark
Obi-Wan waited for Maul to make his demands.
"How would you like a job?"
Obi-Wan blinked fast at Maul, who now that he looked at him…
He was different, Maul was either his age, or younger. His eyes were a gold colour not wholly uncommon from Dathomir, his skin was smoother, and there was fear pinching at the corner of eyes, a posturing in his stance.
Someone who was used to violence, yet not altogether adapted to other people.
Maul growled, "You are a bounty hunter?"
"Yes…" Obi-Wan said, although he wasn't really. But if it was his buir's profession, he supposed it belonged to him as well.
Maul lowered his saber —single bladed saber— "I'm hunting someone, he stole something from my employer."
"Who?" Obi-Wan asked.
Force forsaken stars, was he really going to help Darth Maul help Darth Sidious?
"Cad Bane," Maul answered.
Obi-Wan almost laughed, "Easy pickings then."
Yeah, he was going to help, curse it all.
"I'll give you half the cut."
"Seventy," Obi-Wan said.
Maul's lips curled and he said through his teeth, "Sixty."
"Deal," Obi-Wan said, his heart pounding.
He wasn't ready to face Sidious, but whatever Cad Bane had, Obi-Wan needed. Over the years he had found nothing on Palpatine save the odd disappearance of his entire family and a particularly close connection to the Banking Clans.
But a politician being in bed with the money makers was not the condemnation it should have been.
Maul nodded, then spun, deflecting blaster back at his once crew, inadvertently showing how much his bargains were worth.
However, when Obi-Wan did his part to ransack the ship, and got his hands on a comm messenger as well as his first good look at where they were…
Obi-Wan was somewhat glad to have the Sith apprentice with him, because of the places in the galaxy worse than Zygerria, Nal Hutta, City Planet of the Hutts, was certainly one of them.
Jango was irritated when he hit the accept transmission button that it was neither a voice message nor a live one. Therefore, he had no way of returning communication or ascertaining how his ad'ika was.
The message was rather brief but somewhat dire in its shortness. Accompanying the coordinates of his last connection on Nal Kriffing Hutta.
Being followed by dar'jetiiese, bring HELP.
Also, I'm hunting Cad Bane on a bounty.
It took Jango a moment to breathe, and when he did, he was almost certain he would breathe fire.
"Jan'ika," Jaster said carefully.
Jango shook his head, "I need you with me on this one, Buir. We also need Agni, Maas, and Hallas."
Chakraborty had already gone with Micah, Bo-Katan and Adonai.
Jaster raised a brow, "What the hell did he do? Get arrested by the Corriellan mafia?"
"Worse actually, he's on Nal Hutta."
Jaster cursed, "Of course he is, this couldn't be simple, could it?"
They were talking in Basic so they wouldn't have to repeat themselves for the Jetiiese.
"It gets better," Jango said with false cheer.
Jaster glared at him.
"Apparently, there are dar'jetiiese stalking him."
"Dar'jetiiese?" Windu asked, expression unreadable.
"Sith," Jango and Jaster said in unison.
"His claim would be the first sighting of Sith in a thousand years," he answered.
"You don't sound surprised," Jango growled.
"The Order has found… indication that there are unseen powers bending the Senate toward their devices. It is no accident that we arrived on Zygerria when we did," Windu explained.
Jango sighed, "There's more."
"More?" Myles exclaimed. "What more could there possibly be?"
"Obi'ika is attempting to fulfil a bounty on Cad Bane," Jango said mildly.
Myles' expression was comical.
But even the two Jetiiese understood who and what Cad Bane was.
"He never starts small, does he?" Jaster grumbled as he looked over the calculations Jango had begun.
"Why would he take a bounty on someone that infamous?" Depa asked.
Jango sighed, "At a guess, he fell in with a group. He probably doesn't mean to complete the bounty, but he's in more danger if stays on his own."
"Even if he is betrayed?" Windu asked.
"Beskar is worth much, he won't manage any sleep on his own. If he is stranded for weeks that either means he will be forced to sleep at some point or he will weaken himself beyond even his limits. Both are likely," Jango explained.
Depa and Windu exchanged looks.
"What?" Jango growled as Jaster sent Salvation I into hyperspace.
Windu shrugged, "It has come to our attention that the True Mandalorian Codex isn't so dissimilar to the ethics of the Jedi."
Jaster turned to glare at the Jetii, "Our cultures are the antithesis of each other's. Whoever told you otherwise is greatly misinformed."
The man didn't smile, but an amused glint shone in his eyes, "On the contrary, I think your grandson is uniquely qualified to make such a comparison."
"When did he talk to you?" Jaster growled before Jango could.
Stars, it was hard not to be angry, not to punch something. Only now was Jango realizing the dance Obi-Wan had to do to hide his past. It was especially irritating because his current anger was in a way proof that his ad had just reasons to have reservations in sharing.
Yeah, that didn't help, not at all.
"When he saved Master Tahl on Melida/Daan. He spoke with her, pleaded on your behalf-"
"He asked you to help us?" Jango asked, outraged and shocked.
Until now, his ad's secrets had been a detriment to Obi-Wan's health but to ask the Jetii Order for help? No, that was a betrayal.
Windu shook his head, "Quite the opposite. He urged us not to help you, in any way. His advice came at the same time Adonai Kyrze and the Senate wished us to step in on the Republic's behalf to stabilize Mandalore."
Jango couldn't keep the disgust off his face, "We didn't need your help, you would have only gotten in the way. If anything, you would have disqualified the legitimacy of whoever you helped."
Depa smiled, "And that is the message Obi-Wan gave to Tahl. The High Council sided with that wisdom, especially in the light of learning that the Senate had misinformed us on who the terrorist group was. The Senate was quite adamant that the True Mandalorians were the issue, not Death Watch."
Jango wasn't even sure what to say to that.
The karking Senate continued to rise in stupidity.
Depa continued, "Tahl is much beloved by the Order, she was mortally wounded and would have either died or been rendered completely blind if not for your representative."
Jango exchanged Jaster as they realized exactly how disastrous that might have been. As much as they disliked the Jetiiese, their interference could have decimated their forces, they had the numbers and skill to do so. Severe chaos could have doomed them, had anyone in their clan been killed.
Yes, they had lost people over the years, of course they had, but leaders in the Mereel Clan had mostly survived. As the Codex had only been introduced less than twenty years ago, those who were subscribing to its philosophies and way of life was, or had been, small.
The Republic and the Jetiiese could have easily ruined everything they fought so hard to build.
"It's possible Obi-Wan had visions of the consequences of our people fighting each other. As Quinlan said, he saw Mandalore's destruction," the Senator said.
"If you think Obi-Wan stayed with us only because of his Jetii principles, you will be sorely mistaken," Jango said.
Nearly four years, living together, fighting together, bleeding together… and they hadn't known.
Windu crossed his arms, "Obi-Wan Kenobi was top of all his classes."
Jango snorted, "That doesn't surprise me."
"No?" Windu asked, again Jango could sense his amusement, "By four years old he could recite the entirety of the Jedi Code in its three major versions."
"Reciting is not the same thing as understanding," Jaster said, turning in his seat, because this was going to be a long discussion.
Myles took the opportunity to excuse himself.
"He understood," Windu said. "He was considered exceptional in his theoretical understanding of the Cosmic Force."
Jango didn't know what that meant, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about how Obi-Wan had grown up.
Though he wasn't surprised by his ad'ika who enjoyed reading, studying, and was quite skilled in filling out reports and forms, had had high grades, Jango was still proud of him.
"What did he enjoy?" Jango asked.
"Lightsaber practice. Our younglings and Initiates don't focus on any one style. However, he showed an interest in Soresu, a style known for its defensive tactics, especially against blaster shots, and endurance."
"Endurance makes sense," Jaster said. "However, he is not a defensive fighter."
Not at all.
"What kind of fighter is he?" Depa asked.
"Deadly," Jaster answered, with palpable pride. "He's a born leader. He has an instinct for war that is rare even among seasoned veterans."
Windu frowned at that but asked, "Did he make friends within your clan?"
"Micah and Obi-Wan are very close," Jango said. "When the Reeves girls are home, he does well with them. Unfortunately, given the war, there hasn't been much time for making friends in his age group, but he isn't unsocial."
"War is not without trauma," Windu said. "How has he reacted to the peacetime?"
He was right to worry, Jango thought. Obi-Wan had undoubtedly been struggling and suppressing much. Jango didn't understand the ramifications of suppressing his supernatural gifts, and he knew that he needed to.
"What peacetime?" Jaster huffed. "He was kidnapped on the day of the elections."
"How do you think he will handle it?" Depa asked.
Jango sighed, "What does it mean that Obi-Wan has been suppressing his gifts? Like Koska Reeves, he has nightmares. But Koska had issues with touch, Obi'ika sometimes acts like he's touch starved."
Often, in fact. He wasn't exactly clingy, but he was tactile.
Windu sighed, "It's complicated and dependent on the individual. Obi-Wan is extremely talented in shielding, and he has always rooted himself in the Cosmic Force."
"What does that mean?" Jango asked. "I thought there was only one Force-thing."
"The Force is in all things, what it is is not wholly quantifiable," Windu explained. "Some say it is sustained by all living things and others say that it is all things. For most Force sensitives, they are affected by the Force present immediately around them, most notably, sientients around them. They pick up the emotions of others, often amplifying whatever emotions those happen to be."
"Touch can make it worse," Depa added. "Often the problem becomes feeling too much from too many or simply not being able to separate yourself from another's emotions. Force sensitives habitually experience their own emotions being amplified or echoed by the Force. We consider that to be a part of the Living Force. We often use plants as focusing objects during meditation to help ground them. Most plants don't emote."
"Most?" Jango asked.
Depa smiled, "All plants have feelings, but less so than other lifeforms."
"But that's not my bu'ad's issue," Jaster said.
"No," Windu agreed. "Like I said, he has good shields. However, if he hasn't been meditating and given he's been fighting in a war, surrounded by people at their most extreme —grief, rage, pain, dying, and killing— that may no longer be true. It may be that he has managed to cut the Force out entirely, in which case his senses will be dulled and his immune system will be weakened. At his age, exposed to such violence over so long during his development years, that may be the best case scenario."
Jango scowled, "That's the best case scenario?"
"You've lived with him, on this ship, have you not?"
Jango honestly didn't want to know how he knew that, still, he asked, "How do you know that and why is it important?"
"How much time does he spend alone?" Windu answered with a question.
Jango's lips thinned, "Not much, we share a room, but he's never expressed any desire to be alone."
"Quite the opposite," Jaster backed him up. "In fact, Melida/Daan is the longest time he's ever willingly been on his own."
Windu nodded, "And in all these years, you've never guessed at what he is or seen him use the Force?"
"No," Jango said. "We're not stupid, we knew he was hiding things about his past. But he isn't like Koska."
"No," Windu agreed. "Obi-Wan is gifted in the Cosmic Force, he is able to see the galaxy as it exists together. It is the difference between micro-studies and macro-studies. We often emphasise the Cosmic Force in our teachings, though that is changing, because in general, it is easier to commune with the Cosmic Force. The Cosmic Force is a more steady current than the Living Force oscillates between light and dark with higher frequency, it is more fluid."
Jango —who had to comfort his son nearly every night— disagreed, "How are visions easier? Obi-Wan's night terrors are vivid and relentless."
Windu sighed, closing his eyes, "Obi-Wan is gifted, powerful. Force visions are common, but for someone like Obi-Wan they become an issue. Had he stayed with us we would have helped him understand the Living Force, find grounding in so he could let the visions pass. Visions can be traumatizing and disorienting. I am not surprised he has been trying to supplement grounding through touch."
"What do you mean grounding?" Jaster asked. "And his visions… we assumed they were terrors from the war or something from his past, but are you saying he's what, prophetic?"
"Prophecy is something specific," Windu said. "But visions can be things from possibilities of the future or impressions from the past. They can be glimpses of true events of the future or they can be manifestations of our dreams and nightmares masquerading as visions. It is why meditation is so important for Force sensitives. Knowing yourself, your limits, your fears… you need objectivity to work with the Force or you become a servant to your emotions. We consider it a gift that we can communicate with the Force, to be able to direct and borrow its strength, but the more powerful you are, the more power the Force has to influence you."
"So," Jango said drily, "he's been having supernatural nightmares?"
Windu raised a brow, "Only his nightmares? He's been able to stop the visions in waking hours?"
Jango let out a harsh breath. He didn't want to admit this, he didn't like airing his ad'ika's weaknesses with others, with karking Jetiiese of all people who should have been their enemies, however…
However, these were people uniquely able to help Obi-Wan in a way Jango might never understand.
What he did understand was that he had failed Obi-Wan in making him feel safe enough to share his past with them. So despite his own pride, Jango admitted, "Obi-Wan's health has been getting progressively worse. He eats less than he used to, sleeps less than he used to, he pushes himself past sense. If we let him, he would work himself to death. His mind is unfocused, he's distracted, quieter, angrier. I would have said that he is doing well enough because he has fought in our wars as an officer, but Death Watch should not have been able to catch him off guard. He is more skilled than most of the adults in our clan, but he loses focus as if pieces of him are being chipped away."
Mace Windu put a hand to his lip in thought, a gesture that hid his expression.
Depa stared down at her hands.
"I take it those are bad signs," Jaster sighed, leaning back in his seat.
Their continued silence was confirmation.
Finally, Depa said with sadness in her voice,"He's in danger of falling."
"Falling to what?" Jango asked, hoping like hell the answer wasn't dying.
"To the Dark Side," Mace said.
Jango threw up his hands, "What? He just doesn't use his powers then he becomes a dar'jetii?"
Mace frowned, "A Darksider, or a fallen Jedi, but not Sith, the Sith are something specific. That would require training under a set of philosophies that are hard to access and even harder to follow. Falling to the Dark Side is easy, being a Sith requires overcoming a threshold of pain and morality that is difficult to maintain."
Jango's near everpresent migraine that appeared since Obi-Wan's disappearance, was expanding throughout his skull as he asked, "Considering what I know of the Sith Empires, I will take that as a positive. But how does the Dark Side fit into the Cosmic and the Living Force?"
"Broadly speaking, negative and positive emotions, actions, and events correlate with the dark and the light. Our own emotions are magnified, the good and the bad. If you hold onto those emotions, if you are unable to let the excess off, it will build until eventually, you lose control. At which point, Obi-Wan is likely to reach for the Force. And if he does so with negative emotions he will have no control over what he does or who hurts."
Jango covered his face with his hands and fought the urge to do something violent.
"In otherwords," Jaster drawled, "he's a ticking time bomb."
"Yes," Mace agreed. "If he does not have control over himself then he will have no control over the Force, or how it acts through him."
"And I'm guessing the Force isn't wholly benevolent," Jango said, dropping his hands in defeat.
"The Force tends to give what it receives. It mostly acts like a living thing, but it doesn't think the way we do. There are many debates between the Jedi and Force sensitives sects, therefore I will say only this; if you are hurting, and you use the Force while you are hurting, you will hurt the Force. The Force will escalate that, as it will escalate your lack of control. Darksiders are at the mercy of the tides of the Force."
"So, he'll become what? A rampaging monster?" Jango asked.
Depa shook her head, "It will be hard for him to identify friend from foe."
"Long term, what are the long term side effects?" Jaster asked.
Mace sighed, "Given what he's been doing for the last four years, he will continue on."
"What the karking hells does that mean?" Jango snapped.
"The Force amplifies. Qui-Gon's old Padawan slipped toward the Dark Side, his ambition, pettiness, and pride were all increased, it is what drove him. His worst instincts were encouraged."
"Obi-Wan is still Obi-Wan, he is a good person," Jango defended. His ad'ika wasn't going to become some mindless beast because of karking metaphysics.
Obi-Wan wasn't so weak as to fall prey to that.
But the Senator's next words chilled Jango to the bone; "If he's been killing, he will kill more, if he has been waging war, then he will continue to do so, even if it means instigating conflict. It won't make him stupid or mad, it will sharpen him, drive him to crave chaos and power, no matter the costs."
"No," Jango stated. "It can't be like a switch, one moment himself and the next-"
Mace was already shaking his head, "No, outside of short bursts, no, it is not instantaneous, but what you just described of Obi-Wan's mental and physical state is extreme. Obi-Wan could meditate a day away, he had a well of inner peace. A deeper peace than most Master Jedi ever achieve. He walked with the Force, and the Force loved him. For him to turn away from the Force, is extreme. For him to hold on to anger, is extreme. He needs help, Jango Fett, beyond what I can explain, he needs help."
Jango shut his eyes, "If he does not wish to leave with you, I will not let you take him."
"I won't force that choice upon him," Mace said.
Jango looked up and narrowed his gaze, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I am approaching re-election, for Obi-Wan Kenobi, I would step down."
"So you can take him to Kashyyyk?" Jango pressed.
"If you allowed it, I would join your cause for the duration of his training."
Jango stared at him, "He's not just a youngling to you, is he?"
"I had intended to take him as my next Padawan when he returned from Stewjon," Mace said.
From what he learned from Chakraborty, Padawans were more than students, they were considered the lineage of their Masters.
It was a different bond than parent and child, a bond that was both more formal and sometimes it seemed more dear. Not all parents and ade relied on each other through the same trade.
It was, as it appeared Obi'ika had noticed, not so dissimilar to how Mandalorians raised their warriors. Although Jango didn't pretend to understand the apprenticeships of Jetii Knights fully, he recognized that this Jetii, Senator Mace Kriffing Windu, was essentially Obi-Wan's aliit.
Which made him Jango's aliit.
Ugh.
"Obi-Wan is my son and will always be my son, but I will not hold him back if he wishes to learn. And if you follow our laws, you will not be unwelcome among us," Jango said with zero enthusiasm.
Mace bowed his head, "Thank you."
There was an awkward pause and Jango sighed. "His military experience is tied to his visions, isn't it?"
"It would be safe to assume so, though I'll be honest, I don't actually know how visions could help one learn tactics. Unless he is seeing what is going to happen hours or days ahead of time in vivid detail, which even considering my own unique gifts, would be extraordinary, and, quite frankly, absurd."
Jaster shook his head, "We would have noticed that. That level of foreknowledge would have screamed spy. No, it isn't foreknowledge to that degree, but he is very good at creating battle plans, adapting, and understanding the enemy as well as the limits of those working around him. He's good at figuring out how to best utilize skills and delegating."
"In the heat of battle?" Mace asked.
"Especially, in the heat of battle," Jango affirmed.
Mace frowned, "I don't know, that sounds like lived experience. If he's cutting himself off from the Force in waking hours, that becomes even more singular. Developing battle meditation is difficult, it can allow a Jedi the wisdom of our ancestors, the wisdom of the Force itself. But cutting himself off from the Force then trying to use it intermittently, would be catastrophic. Someone like Obi-Wan who is prone to visions would likely be inundated with them which would not only break his concentration but it would cause physical stress and injury."
"What the hell happens to people with no training?" Jango asked.
"Insanity," Depa offered.
Jango made a face.
She offered him a small smile, "It truly depends, some are very lucky, some find themselves very unlucky. Thankfully for most who are untrained, either never develop their metaphysical strength, like a healthy muscle that's never been conditioned, or they use the Force almost consistently without ever realizing. A constant burn off."
"But Obi-Wan has been trained."
She shrugged, "Master Sifo-Dyas, who has a greater gift for visions than Obi-Wan ever did, was prone to having seizures in his youth. He too was trained, and as he grew, he learned to manage."
"For humans, the time that Obi-Wan left us was a crucial point of his development," Mace said bluntly. "I cannot say what the extent of the damage he has done to himself until I see him in person. I can tell you that he is not well."
Jango's heart hurt as he said, "Then we need to find."
Mace nodded, "I cannot thank you enough to keep him alive until now."
"I didn't do it for you," Jango spat.
Mace smiled, "I am grateful, all the same."
AN: This is what Obi-Wan gets for keeping so many secrets, Mandalorians and Jetiiese having to talk civilly with each other about their parenting and metaphysics, much to Jango's joy ;)
Thoughts, sea-turtles, or feedback, pretty please?