OKAY. MANDALORIAN LESSON REAL FAST SIT DOWN-
Besom: ill-mannered lout, unhygienic person, someone with no manners
Jahaatira: Liar
Be'in: This is my version of the whole "Obi-Wan took the name Ben because it was Satine's nickname for him." I took that. Altered it a bit to make it seem more Mando. I haven't come up with a meaning for it. It's either something really sweet or really insulting. Haven't decided.
Nayc: No
Meg: What
Verde: Soldiers
Kote: Cody's Mandalorian name
Gar lekir: You sure? (Lekir is not an official word. I shorted it from jor'lekir which means "conform"
Ori lekir: Big sure. Or very sure.
Elek: Yes.
Okay! I think you don't need to memorize anything, I tried to make it intuitive. But if you wanted to know as you read, here it be.

The Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze, was a pacifist. Or so Healer Heath had heard. It was rather hard to believe when those icy blue eyes were boring into her better than the drills she occasionally used in surgery.

It was even harder since she knew what those eyes were looking for. And they looked like they were going to crack her skull open and find it, whether Heath wanted her to or not.

Heath had always been too curious for her own good, always wanting to know everything about everyone. She knew that. Her master had been understanding about it. "Heath is fond of secrets." He'd say. "She likes pawing them out, like little ground beasts pawing for grub in the earth. She likes holding them deep inside her, and pressing them to her heart for her and her alone to know."

"How wonderful." Teachers, Jedi Masters and even civilians would say. "How quaint. She ought to be an investigator."

But investigators dealt in a world of pain and anger that came with murder and sabatage and blackmail. Such things were not for Heath. They made her panic, spreading out her presence to try and quash the evil until she was stretched so thin she was faint and couldn't focus.

She'd managed to hide it pretty well on her first investigation scene, until they'd actually found the culprit. It had been a bad one. He'd gotten his hands on a blaster and killed thirteen and injured twenty others. The hatred that had rolled off of him had been so strong Heath had fainted in her instinct to sooth it.

In the hospitals of the Temple though, where everything was filled with the light side of the force, and calm all the healers worked together to maintain, Heath could focus. Could sooth and dissipate the blotches of darkness that came in with the injuries of their patients. Besides, Heath liked healing people. It was satisfying work.

There weren't as many healers in the temple these days. The best had been sent out to smaller hospitals across the galaxy for Jedi to be sent to. Some were even sent to the battlefield. They weren't getting many padawans either. They were sent off after the first few months to learn on the go.

Everyone had agreed Heath would do best in the Jedi Temple. So she was one of the few that stayed behind. Along with the elderly… and the unsuitable. Like Healer Fe. The git. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and rarely worked well with others.

It had been Fe who had identified the boy.

"Nephew to the Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze." He'd said, winking on the word "nephew".

"What does that mean?" Heath asked, setting her hands on her waist.

"I'm just saying, that he looks about as old as the time Master Kenobi's been gone from Mandalore." Fe had said mysteriously.

She'd rolled her eyes and shooed him out of the hospital room. That was one of the first rumors she remembered being old enough to participate in. Obi-Wan, the perfect padawan to the rogue Jedi master, falling in love.

It was ridiculous. So she went on and started analyzing her patient. Most of his burns were second degree, and would heal nicely with bacta once space in one of the tanks opened up, or when the local hospital actually got around to sending that assistance they'd asked for.

He'd said his hearing was ringing while he was awake, but she was fairly certain it would heal with time. And the concussion from his head would only mean he would have to be careful in the coming months. The shrapnel had been minimal, and removed after she put him under.

Really, he got off easy, being at the edge of the explosion. Healer Heath had found out from Jedi Knight Skywalker and Padawan Tano the bomb had been inside one unfortunate soul, though they were still investigating that.

Whatever caused the explosions, however, Korkie Kryze was fortunate enough to have escaped with minimal damages, comparatively speaking. None of it required running his dna through the system. But as Heath had worked, she'd noticed his chin was like Master Kenobi's. And it wasn't like red hair was exactly common now was it? And she'd sensed a secret, buried beneath the earth.

So she'd dug.

And now Heath felt like she was pinned to the wall like one of those butterflies scientists studied, though she would like more than anything to just run and start her work on one of the other patients. One of the ones that didn't have royal guardians that claimed they had renounced violence but just might make an exception for overly curious doctors.

"Your Highness." Heath said, surprised at how steady her voice is. "Really, there is nothing more I can do until those additional bacta tanks arrive. He has patches on everything already, and we've treated as much as we can."

The Duchess narrowed her eyes down at Heath, clicking up the intensity of her gaze, radiating the fierce protective fear of a beast defending their young.

It'd been fun to gossip about her and Master Kenobi's relationship. Because Master Kenobi was such a stickler for the rules, and he'd born the rumors with his stiff dignity, cheeks flushing every time anyone so much as mentioned her name.

It had been fun. It was supposed to be fun.

Did he know? She wondered. Does he know?

"Are you sure you didn't find anything else?" The Duchess said, her words slow and measured, her eyes pouring over every part of Heath like she was a painting in front of a thousand critics. "Anything… unusual?"

Healer Heath plastered a smile on her face. "Nothing your Highness. I really must be returning to my work."

But she still didn't dare leave until those eyes looked away.

The Duchess tilted her head to the side, measuring Heath up and down. Abruptly she stood, and she snapped the door to the room shut.

Healer Heath was a Jedi, and a Jedi did not panic. But if she could panic, then she would.

The Duchess glanced through the glass to make sure no one was paying attention to them, unfortunately no one was, and she whirled back on Healer Heath and raised a single elegant brow.

"You do know. Don't you?" She said lowly. "I ought to report you."

She wouldn't. Because then everyone would know, and one healer is bad enough. But that didn't seem safe to point out at the moment.

"He wasn't in the system." Healer Heath managed to burst out. "It's not safe for him not to be in the system. There should be a file to work off of-"

"He has a file." The Duchess spat. "And it is confidential. And it is only in the systems of Mandalore. And so it will remain. It's a safety precaution. Or have you forgotten he has the leader of Mandalore as his guardian?"

Heath most certainly had not. But that also didn't feel safe to point out right now.

"I didn't make a file." She whispered desperately. "As soon as I saw- I just turned it off and wiped the droid. No one else knows. I swear. I swear."

The Duchess stalked up to her and- Force she was tall- leered over Heath. "And no one else will ever know. He belongs with the Jedi. He belongs here and nothing is going to interfere with that. Do you understand?"

Healer Heath swallowed, and nodded.

"Good." She backed off a little, then nodded to the door. "You may go now."

Annoyance flared in Healer Heath. Because this was the healing halls and the Duchess had no authority here and Heath really ought to tell her that-

But that felt downright suicidal.

"Thank you, your highness." She whispered, and slid out the door to simpler, easier to solve problems. Like bleeding in the brain. Or hearing failure. Or third degree burns.


Six hours later, the council called for Healer Heath.

Her boots thumped against the smooth tile of the halls as she traveled to the council's room. Her heart would be going a thousand miles a minute, except a Jedi did not panic and it was just because she was jogging. It wasn't like they were calling her for anything about Korkie Kryze. They just wanted a general update on the bombing. They wanted to know if she'd noticed anything. She was good at that.

The doors opened and she saw the backs of the Duchess's smooth teal gown and Master Kenobi's robes.

The Duchess turned and glared violently at Heath. And to the left, just to the side of the door, was Fe.

Jedi don't swear. But if they did, Healer Heath would be swearing up a storm to match the worst hurricanes on Kamino right then.

Master Windu pinned his sharp gaze on her, and it was as bad as the Duchess's. She resisted the urge to reach out and smooth the agitated edges of his mind. Everyone was so sharp outside of the Healing Halls. All edges and corners and none of the calm and gentle compassion that the Healers emanated. "Healer Heath, we have come to confirm something."

She nodded to him, and glanced around the room. The council was tense, the Duchess furious, Fe smug, and Kenobi-

He just looked mildly confused.

He doesn't know.

Heath swallowed. "Confirm what?"

Master Mace nodded to Fe.

He stepped forward. "I happened to glance at the screen as you were checking over Korkie Kryze's file, and I thought I saw that it said that Kyrze's biological parents were her Highness," he looked to Kenobi, "and Master Kenobi."

To his credit, Master Kenobi didn't react much, but his confusion vanished, and Healer Heath's non human eyes let her see him pale considerably. He turned his eyes to Heath, and though they weren't sharp, they had a sort of steel and power behind them that make Heath want to throw herself on the floor and beg for forgiveness.

She wished she was back in the healing halls. Everything was so simple there. Except when you found out one of the Order's most prominent and well known Jedi and possibly one of the greatest Jedi ever had a son.

"Is this true?" Master Windu asked.

Healer Heath swallowed. She glanced at the Duchess, who looked as if she had just decided to assassinate them all and was only finalizing the details, and then back to Master Windu.

She would not try to soothe them all into contentment. She may not be suited for investigative work, but she could control herself now. She is a Jedi.

"Yes." She whispered. Because she couldn't lie directly to the council. She just couldn't. And they wouldn't believe her if she did anyways.

"Hmm." Master Yoda said, setting his chin on his stick. "Celibacy, a rule of the Jedi, it is not. But encourage this behavior, we also do not."

"He didn't know." The Duchess suddenly snapped. "He was humoring me. He was a great warrior, a passionate defender of peace, and I was lonely and awestruck. He chose to indulge me. But I chose to keep Korkie." She added fiercely. "That was my choice. There was never anything he felt for me- nothing need come of it."

Then she glared at them all, as if daring them to contradict her.

Master Yoda stared at her for a moment, then turned to Master Kenobi. "True, this is? No attachment, is there?"

Master Kenobi tightened his jaw, and he glanced to the Duchess.

She stared resolutely forward, no emotion in her regal face whatsoever.

His shoulders slumped, and he looked to the floor in shame and said nothing.

"I see." Master Windu said, and he looked almost sad, disappointed.

"I have never allowed my feelings to cloud my judgment, Mace." Master Kenobi said quietly. "I have always preformed my duty as a Jedi. I never knew that Korkie Kryze was my son. But yes, I hold… feelings… for the Duchess."

"Hmm." Master Yoda said again, and he looked sad too. "On probation, your rank as a Jedi Master will be. Removed from this council, for the time being. Remain in the Jedi temple, you will, until these feelings are dealt with."

Master- no Jedi Kenobi said nothing. Though his fists did clench momentarily.

"You are a great Jedi, Obi-Wan." Master Shaak Ti said quietly. "I have no doubt you will overcome this. All of this, is temporary."

Then suddenly an almost wild, daring look entered Jedi Kenobi's eyes, and he looked up at the council. "I don't see why this is necessary at all. Have I ever given you doubt that I would make the right choice at the right time? Have I ever failed in my duty as a Jedi? Have I ever allowed my feelings prevent me from making the correct choice? Yes, I harbor attachments to the Duchess, but it is not codependency. I think that is clear. Is that not why we have this rule? It is dependency that is the sin, not the feelings."

"True this is," Master Yoda said, his eyes narrowing, "but how clear your judgment is, we will decide. If correct, you are, then swiftly a Jedi Master and member of this council again, you will be."

Jedi Kenobi opened his mouth, checked himself, then closed it again and bowed his head. "Yes Master Yoda." He said heavily.

Master Yoda nodded to the Duchess, who's mouth had curled down just a touch.

"Return to your son, you must. The decision to inform him of his heritage, we leave to you."

Healer Heath rather wished someone would dismiss her and Fe to so she could slap him the moment they were alone. Or she would. If she wasn't a Jedi. But the council seemed to have forgotten the two of them.

"Thank you, Master Yoda." The Duchess said stiffly, and she turned to leave.

"Why was he on Coruscant anyhow?" Jedi Kenobi asked suddenly, twisting his head to face her. "Let alone in the Jedi Temple."

The Duchess paused, and turned to speak over her shoulder. "I haven't the faintest idea why he thought coming here would be wise." She said. "But I thought it would be safer for him, on Coruscant. I see I was wrong."

Jedi Kenobi nodded shortly. "There is trouble, on Mandalore, then?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." The Duchess said cooly, and she pushed the enormous doors of the council room open and left.

"Go as well, Healer Heath and Fe, you may." Master Yoda told them.

Heath quickly stalked out of the room, Fe close behind her. The moment the door clicked shut behind them she whirled around. "What were you thinking? Reporting him?"

He rolled his eyes. "He broke the rules, Heath. What else was I supposed to do?"
"You're a terrible sentient being, you know that?" She snarled. "Absolutely horrible, with no consideration for others."

"Well you," he poked her chest, "are a curious loth cat with no respect for privacy. There was no reason for you to search that up, and that also breaks the rules. You'll notice I didn't report that."

"I expect you'll hang it over my head sometime." She snarled. "Maybe I'll just report myself, so you won't be able to have that on me."

"Yeah well-"

The door to the Jedi council room suddenly opened, and Jedi Kenobi walked calmly out between them. He glanced at them with a bemused expression on his face and continued sedately forward.

The second the door to the council room thudded shut he broke into a run and started sprinting down the stairs, robes flying behind him. "Satine." He called, voice almost roaring in anger. "Satine!"

Heath and Fe looked at each other, and they both chased after him.

It was rather difficult to keep up. Neither Heath nor Fe were unfit, no Jedi was, but running long distances was obviously a daily occurance in Jedi Kenobi's life, while the most running Heath and Fe did was six meters to an emergency patient.

"Not… attached my… foot." Fe snarled in between gasps as they turned a corner, nearly knocking over an elderly Jedi in the process. "Should be… grateful… I… reported him."

"Shut it, Fe."

They turned another corner, and skidded to a halt when they found that Kenobi had caught up with the Duchess.

In a split second Heath shoved Fe back behind the corner. They both grasped the wall, peering around the edge.

"Yes? General Kenobi?" The Duchess asked rather harshly.

Jedi Kenobi ran a hand through his hair, a stricken look over coming his face. He crossed his arms. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have stayed. I would have helped raise him, all you had to do was say the word-"

The Duchess's hands flew up into the air. "Of course I didn't say anything, you besom. It was for the best. There was no need for you to know-"
Then Jedi Kenobi snarled at her. "Jahaatira."

"Jahaatira?" The Duchess gasped, and her face hardened.

And thus they descended into a very passionate argument in what Heath was pretty sure was Mandalorian, or something.

Needles and steel clashed again and again. The Duchess's mouth curled more and more downwards and she lost the refined note in her speech, fully embracing the cutting sound of the language. Jedi Kenobi's face grew redder and redder, hands twitching and feet shifting as if preparing for a fight, stumbling over his words more and more often as his anger increased.

They were really having a row about it too, enough so that approaching Jedi tended to stop and stare at the crossroads to the hallway before turning slowly to take another path rather than go near that. Heath didn't blame them either, she could hardly stand it herself. Except she wasn't going to let Fe know anything she didn't know.

"What the-"

Heath and Fe whirled on their feet to see General Skywalker.

Heath's brain promptly froze in what she was pretty sure counted as a fight or flight response. And she wasn't doing either. Oh, how she missed the comforting routine of the Healing Halls.

The Hero with No Fear. The man that could charge a thousand battles without so much as straining himself. His padawan was there too, Ahsoka something or other. Leaning over to view the scene. Heath wondered if General Skywalker remembered that he was the one who had come to her in his investigation.

"Why's Obi-Wan arguing with the Duchess?" General Skywalker said, leaning over with his padawan.

"Korkie Kryze is his son." Heath said so fast she barely realized she'd said it at all until he turned to look right at her. He was looking at her. And he was gaping at her. A silly, single healer that couldn't even manage to walk onto a murder scene without being overwhelmed.

"What?"

His padawan was gaping too. "Obi-Wan?" She hissed. "Obi-Wan has a son?"

"She didn't tell him. And she told me not to tell." Heath babbled, looping the edges of her sleeves around her finger. "But Fe told and so we were in front of the council and now they knows and he lost his position on the council and his rank of master is on probation, and his status as a knight might be too if the council finds out about this so you might not want to tell."

Fe clapped his hand over her mouth. "So now they're having a row about it." He explained, and Heath's heart ached with jealousy because he didn't sound like he was high as a cloud on the drugs they used to prevent pain. "Jedi Kenobi is mad that she didn't tell him and she's mad that he knows. I think." He glanced over again to find the Duchess turning her back to Jedi Kenobi as he screamed something particularly vitriolic at her. "They might have moved on by now. I don't know."

"Oh, that's all." The padawan rolled her eyes, though she looked worried. "Anakin thought he was in trouble."

"Who's in trouble?" A voice behind them all asked.

Heath turned to see another young padawan with yellow-green skin and black diamond pattern across her nose. "Ahsoka, what's happening?"

"Uuuuuuh." Ahsoka glanced to her master. "Master?"

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about." Jedi Skywalker said harshly. "Continue on."

The girl bowed her head. "I'm sorry. Of course, I'll be on my way."

And Heath stared carefully at her. Because something wasn't right in her presence in the force, something that was just a little off.

She'd have to see if she had any time off tomorrow, after most of the patients had been through the bacta tanks. This girl needed some healing, perhaps mind healing. If she could just catch her in a corner and ask her about it-

"Nayc!" The Duchess suddenly screeched.

Their whole party immediately, the green skinned girl included, all turned the corner to see.

Jedi Kenobi was storming down the hall away from the Duchess.

"I'm going to see my son." He bellowed, pointing his finger to his chest with the last two words. "My son. Satine. And you didn't even give me a choice."

"And the choice would have broken you." The Duchess said, her voice hoarse with tears or anger. Heath didn't know. "I couldn't do that to you, Be'in. I couldn't."

For a moment, Jedi Kenobi's face crumbled, and he turned away, grasping the lightsaber at his side. He unclipped it from his belt and stared at it, turning it in his hand. "You don't have to do anything." He said heavily, and turned on his feet and suddenly began walking in the other direction. Everyone in the party jerked back before he saw them, pressing themselves tight against the wall.

"Meg?" The Duchess cried, sounding rather aghast.

"If you're not going to say the word-" Jedi Kenobi hesitated, then plowed on. "-then I will."

Heath gasped, clapping her hand around her mouth. Leave the Jedi Order? Where would he go? Well, what would he do? How could he leave the comfort of the Jedi temple to go and be some Duchess's plaything? He'd have to endure that needle gaze every single day.

Jedi Kenobi turned the corner and froze when he saw Heath, and Fe, and Jedi Skywalker, who grinned sheepishly at his master, the padawan Ahsoka, who had the same grin, and the rather shocked looking green skinned padawan.

"I see we've had an audience." Jedi Kenobi said bitterly. "Come, Satine. See what our friends have made of themselves. Liars and eavesdroppers."

Then he continued down the hallway.

"Be'in." The Duchess cried, barely sparing them a glance as she ran passed them, her skirts hiked up to her knees. She had very nice boots. Heath observed. Flat, but pretty, and sturdy looking. "Be'in, what of your duties as a Jedi?"

"What of my duties as a father Satine?" Jedi Kenobi shot back.

The Duchess paused in her steps, grimaced, then said. "And what of your Verde? Of Kote? You are a general as well as a Jedi now, Be'in."

Jedi Kenobi froze in his steps, and Heath heard him mutter a curse under his breath.

"I thought you didn't approve of me fighting the war." He said.

"I don't approve of generals abandoning their men either."

Kenobi's grip on his lightsaber tightened. He shook his head, as if shaking off some unseen thing, and ran a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't be abandoning them. The Jedi would assign a new general, a new Jedi, in my place."

"And would they love the two twelfth legion like you do?" The Duchess questioned, her chin held high. "What if they were like Krell? Like Ki-Adi-Mundi?"

Jedi Kenobi shuddered, but he still didn't reattach his lightsaber to his belt. "Ki-Adi-Mundi is a good Jedi and a capable general." He said quietly.

"Yes. But he doesn't look after his men, not like you do, Be'in."

Slowly Jedi Kenobi turned to the Duchess and raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you want me fighting in this war or not, my dear?"

The Duchess straightened. "Do you? "

Jedi Kenobi sighed, bringing his fingers up to settle on the intent of his nose. "Satine, you know as well as I do the price war takes. I saw the ashes of Mandalore, and Master and I left you to build what you could from them. I was disgusted with it then and now- and now-" his voice broke, and Heath thought she saw him blinking back tears. "I make ashes wherever I go, and then I leave. I- the Verde deserve so much more than this life. All they know is making ashes and yet I see so much life in them, Satine. There is so much life in them. They deserve to build."

He looked down at the lightsaber in his hands, turning it over and over. "I am so tired of this war, Satine. I miss the forests of Mandalore." He murmured quietly. "I miss Qui-Gon, and I miss the days when I could count on peace in the force. But wherever I go there is war and pain and death and all I remember is you alone on Mandalore with the ashes, and I disgust myself, for I have become all that you hate."

He looked at the Duchess, his steel eyes shining.

The Duchess stared at him, a gentle expression on her sharp features.
Heath looked at General Skywalker too. Because while Fe looked delighted at all the gossip he was collecting, and the two padawans looked horrified, General Skywalker was watching Jedi Kenobi with a strange unreadable expression on his face. Almost pained, almost confusion, but not quite.

It was something Heath could understand. Jedi Kenobi. The negotiator, the general. For as long as Heath remembered, her master had always pointed to Obi-Wan and said- "Here is the example you want to follow. Here, is where the Jedi are at their finest."

He had been a below average youngling, but had been patient and been taken in as a padawan. He had worked twice as hard and twice as much as the others until he was among the best in his age group. He was obedient, patient, a perfect mixture of cunning and strength in his duels. Pip'lou, one of the few healers who was skilled in dueling, used to drag Heath with her to watch him duel.

What surprised Heath more than anything about his fighting was how solid he was. A wall of defense that you could beat at again and again, all while he grinned and shouted snippy comments with a twinkle of his eye. On and on and on, until you almost wanted to give up rather than exhaust yourself trying to outlast that steely, unerodible man.

Heath supposed she'd never considered that defense had an end. She wondered if Skywalker had. Surely. The Duchess had made it break. His padawan had to have seen it.

Slowly, the Duchess took one step forward, and then another, quicker until she was running to him. Her hand grasped the back of his neck and she pressed his forehead tight against hers. Her eyes squeezed shut, a tear going down her own cheek. "You are everything I love, Be'in." She said.

Jedi Kenobi set a hand on her waist and released a long shuddering breath. "I left you alone." He whispered. "I left you with a child. Satine, I-"

"I left myself with a child." Satine whispered. "You must not blame yourself."

"I left you." Jedi Kenobi said. "I never should have left you."

Her eyes slitted open. "Gar lekir?" She said quietly. "Ori lekir?

Jedi Kenobi opened his eyes and stared directly into hers. "Elek."

The Duchess smiled softly. "Your accent is much better." She murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I practice with my men."

She chuckled. "We'll have to practice more still. And you're going to shave your beard."

Jedi Kenobi jerked back, eyeing her skeptically. "I'm what?"

"Shave. Love. Shave." The Duchess said patiently. "Every Madalorian makes takes pride in their clean face. And so will you."

"I worked very hard for this beard, my dear." Jedi, or was he still a Jedi? Kenobi said, rubbing it. "Do you know how many times when Anakin was a teenagor they couldn't tell who was the master and who the padawan? Especially once he grew taller than me. It was horrible Satine, don't subject me to that again."

"That's because you never dress properly." The Duchess said cooly, running a hand down Kenobi's robe. "A good suit, with a li'tu cut, in a deep blue… yes. You will look as distinguished as any Duke."

"I suppose." Kenobi said unhappily.

The Duchess smiled and ducked down to scoop up Kenobi's lightsaber. "I assume we must give your Jetii'kad to your council? Or are you allowed to keep it?"

Kenobi swallowed. "A Jetii'kad is a Jetii's weapon."

She pressed it into his hands and closed his thick rough fingers around it, encasing it with her slim ones. "I know how much it means to you, Be'in."

"And I know what it means to you." Kenobi countered. "War, death, pain."

The Duchess closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath of patience. "Be'in. For once in your life do something because you want to and not because you feel you must."

"I'm leaving the order, aren't I?"

"You're not doing-" she stopped herself, "-nevermind. Let us go break the news to your council." And she glanced behind them. "I suppose all of you must come along?"

Padawan Ahsoka grinned. "Yup."

The Duchess wound her arm around Kenobi and brought the two together. "Try not to cause too much trouble."

"Wouldn't even consider it." Fe said solemnly.

Heath drew in a deep breath and tried to channel some of that patience herself. She was a Jedi. She did not act in anger. She would not stangle Fe until he promised not to mock Kenobi for the next five years.

Kenobi drew the line at having the entire group go in with them while they talked with the council, again. So they waited outside. Heath twisted and untwisted and twisted her sleeve around her finger. Fe watched the door as if he had mechanical eyes that would let him see through it. General Skywalker watched the skyline of the city outside the chamber, his arms crossed. The two padawans talked quietly amongst themselves.

"How are you and your master's investigation going?" The green skinned padawan asked.

Padawan Ahsoka scowled. "Oh, it's going just fine. But we're really confused is how it got passed security. I mean, the set up was really elaborate, they had to have known all the rules. Even the ones we don't tell the public, but the engineer himself didn't seem to have any anger against the Jedi, so who does? And who tricked him into carrying the bomb? I mean, security's been really tight. I can't believe this happened at all."

"Well, I suppose they can't be expected to scan at a nano level." The green skinned padawan said quietly. "That would just be unpractical."

"Well we might have to start doing that." Padawan Ahsoka hissed, throwing her arms up in the air. "Honestly. If we don't catch them…"

"I'm sure you will." she replied, nodding with a pleasant smile. "We must trust in the force, as we always do."

Heath frowned. Something still seemed off about that girl. She seemed to be like Kenobi, almost. Heath could almost hear herself groaning as her master pointed out the green skinned padawan as the perfect, dutiful apprentice.

But something about her force presence didn't ring right. Heath knew she was more sensitive to these things than other Jedi, even more so since she was used to the soothing calm of the healers, so perhaps she was just imagining it. General Skywalker was certainly grating enough. Loud and brash, like a star burning out of control.

Still.

Heath turned away, thinking. She couldn't let Fe know she suspected something, he'd never let it go, but she was determined to find a way to spend more time around the girl anyways. There was a secret here. She was sure of it. All she had to do was dig-

The doors to the council room swung open.

Kenobi was angry about something. He was crossing his arms again and looking darkly at the ground. Perhaps Master Shaak Ti had accidentally offended him again. Or maybe Master Windu had scolded him.

But the Duchess looked at peave. In fact, she looked almost amused.

Everyone watched them expectantly.

Kenobi groaned, rolling his eyes. He gestured to the Duchess dramatically. "Behold!" He cried, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "My attachment."

And then he grasped the Duchess's shoulders and kissed her squarely on the mouth.

Fe whistled. The green skinned padawan stared with wide eyes. Padawan Ahsoka giggled.

General Skywalker watched them over his shoulder, staring at his master with- with- why- it was bitterness.

He noticed Heath was looking at him, and quickly turned back to the window.

The Duchess finally broke them apart. "There, that's enough, I think." She said. "Shall we go break the news to our dear son?"

"I'd like to meet him first." Kenobi grumbled. He glared at them all. "In private."

Padawan Ahsoka raised her hands defensively. "Okay, okay! I get it. I just wanted to know if you were really going to leave the order or not. Come on Barriss."

"May I walk with you?" Healer Heath asked. "I've been meaning to get some time away from the Healing Halls, my senses are quite exhausted."

"Uh, sure." Padawan Ahsoka said. "I was just thinking of getting lunch. Skyguy?"

She turned to General Skywalker.

He turned around, his face all wrapped up with a smile and good cheer. "I'll sit this one out, Snips, I think I'll just order in to my apartment. Got a few things I want to work on."

"What? Like your paperwork?" Ahsoka stuck her tongue out. "I think Master Windu's going to punch you on the nose if you don't submit at least something on what we've found so far."

General Skywalker grinned, though it felt quite forced to Heath. "Well, I guess I'd better write it up if I want to keep my poster boy status."

Padawan Ahsoka giggled again.

The group split their separate ways once they reached the bottom of the stairs from the council room. Heath mostly kept quiet, comparing Padawan Barriss's presence and Ahsoka's again and again. Something, something was wrong. It was like a taste she'd had before but couldn't remember where. Or staring and staring at a familiar artifact until it was so foreign you weren't sure you'd ever seen it before at all.

Then, in a flash of horror, it came to her. It was the same burning hatred that had been inside the man that had made Heath faint when she was young, and still exploring her career opportunities. It was exactly like that, but muted until it could be mistaken for simple annoyance or maybe some discomfort. But Heath could feel it. It was the same.

This girl hated with the same strength as a man who had murdered a dozen people.

And then another revelation hit Heath like that hate against her senses.

"Padawan Barriss?" Heath said quietly.

She and Padawan Ahsoka both paused in their talking. "Yes?" Barriss asked.

"Why did you know the bomb came in at a nano-level?" Heath asked. "That information wasn't public yet, even for the Jedi. The only reason I knew was because General Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka came to me to see how it worked. And I didn't tell anyone. And I know no one on the the council did. So, how did you?"

Sure enough, Barriss paled, though probably only to Heath's eyes. And she smiled, nervously. "I… heard it. I can't remember where, everyone's been talking about it. Perhaps Ahsoka…?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "I didn't tell you. Who did?" She asked anxiously. "That's a bad security leak."

"It wasn't Healer Fe." Heath said sharply. "He was poking me about it after I visited with Skywalker, so he didn't overhear. But do you know what I think?" And she breathed in and out, wrenching the terrible secret from her chest and holding it out. "I think you've always felt a little out of place, a little snubbed, not quite good enough, perhaps never good enough. And it grew and grew and grew."

Barriss stepped backward. "What are you talking about?" She cried.

"I'm talking about our insecurities as Jedi." Heath said, talking more and more. And the more she talked the lighter her heart felt. "I have them. We all have them. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi has them. Everyone always expects us to be perfect, so imagine our shock and bitterness when we find out they arn't either. Most of us most past it. But you haven't-"

"Of course I have!" Barriss said, her voice climbing higher and higher. "Master Unduli is an excellent teacher-"

"I never mentioned your teacher." Heath said with a terrible calm she really had no idea came from. "Why? Are you angry with her about something? Just as you are angry at everything? But you can never speak out, never say anything out of line because you are a Jedi and we are not supposed to doubt. But you've doubted. You've doubted and hated a very long time, until it was too large for you, at least, to ignore."

"What do you mean?!" Barriss almost screamed, her back pressing against the wall. "Why are you saying this?"

Heath paused, then thrust out her knowledge for Barriss to feed upon. "I think you are behind the bombing. And I think you're using your friendship with Padawan Ahsoka to make sure you don't get caught."

"What?" Padawan Ahsoka cried. "That's crazy- what could you-"

But Barriss's face was quickly evolving from panic to anger, and her presence in the force darkened and twisted-

Heath almost expected the blue lightsaber swinging out towards her. She did not expect Padawan Ahsoka's green lightsaber's to come to her defense.

"How could you?" Padwan Ahsoka cried, her voice cracking. "I- you were my friend."

Barriss pressed against the wall and shoved Padawan Ahsoka back. She stepped forward, away from the wall that would restrict her movements and turned to Heath. "How could I not? The Jedi are hypocrites and liars. You saw Kenobi. You saw how long he held his attachment."

And then she swung her lightsaber towards her. Heath threw up her hands, trying to block it with the force, she had no lightsaber of her own to use, she hadn't even trained with one since she was a youngling, but it was difficult. That overwhelming hatred made her mind spin and her connection foggy, as she tried to hold herself back, tried to stay conscious-

Padawan Ahsoka's blades clashed with Barriss's again. They began dueling in earnest, jumping around each other, attacking again and again. And Barriss was winning, Heath realized. Padawan Ahsoka was too hesitant, still viewing her opponent as a friend, the shock still fresh in her mind. She was going to lose. And then Barriss would kill them both and then she would escape. She might even kill others!

Heath had to do something. But she couldn't. She was no General, not like Skywalker. She was just a stupid healer who couldn't even think right when she met true evil. All she could do was tend and sooth those who were harmed by their touch. She was good at soothing. She'd always had an instinct for it.

And so, she shoved aside her Jedi training and crushed Barriss in the strongest field of safety and peace she could conjure.

Her vision blacked, her connection with the force thinned and crumbled around her, until she felt a hand curl around hers.

Fe's presence in the force clicked in with her, creating that familiar blanket all healer's knew to work together to create. Together, they steadied themselves and pushed as hard as they were able.

Barriss gasped, and she crumbled at Padawan Ahsoka's feet, unconscious.

The three of them watched her for a moment, then they relaxed.

"I actually did hear you talking to Skywalker." Fe said, almost sheepishly. "At least, most of it. I just wanted to know the rest of the details. But I didn't tell." He added quickly. "I can keep some things secret, thank you very much."

Heath huffed. "Well, it was still incredibly rude to tell the council. And to be following us."

Fe shrugged. "I think Kenobi'll be happier with that Duchess anyways."

Heath walked up to Barriss and knelt to pick up the girl.

Padawan Ahsoka watched her, tears brimming in her eyes, her hands tight around the still active lightsabers. "She was my friend." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Heath said. "I wish I'd met her before the bombing. We could have helped her."

Ahsoka shrugged. Blinking away tears, she deactivated her blades. "Too late now." She said thickly.

"We might still be able to." Heath said, thoughtfully. "It was a Jedi matter, I think. So we could choose to treat her, not just imprison her. It'll have to be non Jedi mind healers though." She noted. "Jedi ones wouldn't help her at all."

Fe knelt down to pick up Barriss's fallen lightsaber. "Come on." He said quietly. "Let's go find someone and get her in a cell, at least for now. And no-" he said when Heath looked at him sharply. "-I'm not telling anyone. That wouldn't help anything."


Korkie Kryze was one of the first patients from the bombing cleared from healing halls.

This was unsurprising, as he had not one, but two parents doting after him as well as the healers. Kenobi even started teaching Korkie how to maintain a healing trance. Heath had done another blood test, and Korkie had just enough midichlorians to be a Jedi, though it had never reached the systems on Coruscant, naturally.

He was a sweet boy, almost painfully sweet. He'd accepted Kenobi as his father right away, without reservation or even a hint of anger.

"I've known for years." He admitted to him. "The way mother would talk about you… and it's not like your affection was a secret. Besides, she'd always suddenly send me away to some camp or other whenever you came to Mandalore. She was just trying to do what was best for all of us."

Kenobi, for all his efforts, seemed touched at the boy's forgiveness, though Heath thought some part of him would always feel guilt at being absent so long in the boy's life. He'd spent every minute during visiting hours in the room with him, trying in an adorably awkward way to learn about his son. Heath might have told him to slow down if Korkie didn't seem equally eager to know his father.

"That's why I came to the Jedi temple." He said. "I didn't mean to go inside. I was just going to look. But they were offering tours, and I was curious."

He came with his father to help him pack up his quarters, and then to shave.

It was almost alarming how much younger Kenobi looked without the beard, so much so that, in his blue suit, from the corner of her eye, Heath sometimes thought he was Korkie. She supposed the Duchess must have heaved a heavy sigh of relief when Kenobi had started growing out that beard.

Heath had once asked the Duchess rather timidly if they had gotten married.

"We already have." She'd said bluntly. "Mandalorian weddings are not large affairs. And I thought it better to get it done and over with as soon as possible." Something sharp glinted in her eyes. "My people are going to have to accept him. Though," she smiled thoughtfully, "they might appreciate his way of leadership. I do know they grow tired of my passive approaches to things."

And so they'd left the Jedi Temple together, a happy family. Kenobi even got to keep his lightsaber.

Fe, of course, spread all of this around the temple until there was no Jedi that didn't know the details of Kenobi's attachments. But Kenobi didn't seem to mind so much anymore, now that he was leaving. But even those rumors faded after a week or so. The war was really too pressing to be worrying about such things for long.

Heath thought that would be the end of it, but almost a month afterwards, General Skywalker approached her.

This time, Heath managed to keep herself together. Even without the calming influence of the other healers. Perhaps almost being cut in half made her perspective on these things soften.

"I was wondering," General Skywalker said quietly, when she asked him what he needed, "if you knew a mind healer. Preferably not a Jedi one."

"Of course." Heath hesitated, but of course she had to dig further. "May I ask why?"

He hunched down a bit. "Ah, well. You know. Obi-Wan talked to me after he left the order. Said he was sorry, because he knew he hadn't been the best of masters. He was very short with me, you know."

"Really?" She exclaimed. "But everyone talks about how patient he is."

He shrugged. "I wasn't the best student. But I've… I've got some things to sort out. And I think I could use a mind healer for that."

"Of course." Heath hesitated, then offered, "you know, you seem better already. Your presence as always been a bit… intense. Almost painfully so. It's softened a bit."

General Skywalker glanced up at her, his blue eyes flashing with guilt. "Ah. Sorry. Well," he crossed his arms and looked down at the floor, "maybe admitting you need help well… helps. Obi-Wan suggested I ask you." He said suddenly. "He said you're good at keeping secrets."

"Yes." Heath smiled brightly. "Yes, I do pride myself on that." She turned around and grasped a data pad. "And I know a very good team of healers outside the temple. One may be good fit, and if one of them isn't, they'll know someone that is. The temple will pay for your sessions too, we're supposed to provide anything you need to keep you in tip top health."

And maybe, Heath thought, she might get one for herself. Because she really couldn't spend the rest of her life in the Healing Halls, now could she? They needed people out in the war, and Heath was determined to be one of them.

After all, she'd always been good at noticing things. That would be useful out there, she was sure.

Ah ha ha ha! Man, those two arcs wound together waaay better than I thought they would. I know Ahsoka's "The Wrong Jedi" arc takes place AFTER Mandalore, but I've placed it AS the insurgency was happening on Mandalore, with the conclusion happening around the same time as Ahsoka's expulsion. We don't see Kenobi a lot during those episodes, except for when he's on the council. So I think it's plausible.
Also, I am so, so proud of Kenobi's speech. It came out and I was like- Okay. That's emotional. And so perfect. I am keeping it at all costs.
Anyhoo. All reviews and things are greatly appreciated.