Chapter Title: Carath Barsh

Series Title: Unlikely Brothers

POV: Tanner (for present day portions of the story) and

Master Ayden Yen (for past day portions of the story)

Ages in this chapter: Tanner (15) Dashen (21)

Chapter Summary: Tanner stumbles onto a another surviving Jedi, the master of his former master.


...Present Day...(Tanner POV)

"It's him, Dash. I know it is. He's grayer now and older, well, not by much, but he's the only Catharian I've ever met. It's hard to forget a feline face and huge clawed hands. I don't know how he survived the purge. Maybe he wasn't at the Temple at the time, but..."

"Hey. Not sure it matters. What matters was the look he gave you. Not all that friendly, huh?"

I shrugged at my brother. Truth be told, I'd only met Master Ayden's own master a few times. Carath Barsh from Cathar. A man of pride and determination. A man true to the Jedi Code. A man who I don't think liked me very much. He'd never said it - to me at least - but there had never been any warmth in our meetings or in the two times that the three of us shared dinner. Ayden had commented that Carath wasn't a 'warm' individual so that I shouldn't think badly of his aloofness, but I was pretty confident then that he just didn't like me.

Now... I didn't know what to think. He was here. It was him, I knew it. In the cantina where we had landed to avoid being seen by wandering eyes after Dash lifted some ugly creepy old figurine for his latest job. We'd not been followed, but figured to lay low before returning to our transport home. I didn't often ride along with my brother on his jobs, but I'd had a weird feeling about this one - along with a nudge from the Force - and so I voluntarily tagged myself in.

Here was the reason for that feeling. A figure from my Jedi past.

What it all meant, I didn't know. But he'd recognized me as I'd recognized him.

Me and Dashen sat at a corner booth, food and drinks at hand. I tried hard not to look in Carath's direction, but the temptation kept nagging. I'd first met the man seven or eight years ago in the halls of the Jedi Temple...

—-

...Years ago... (Ayden POV)

"You coddle that child, Ayden. He is a Jedi, not an infant. Much too young to be an apprentice and too easily attached to you and his own emotions. All of which will play against him in his future. You've seen the losses and the damage of the Clone Wars. Jedi must be warriors and soldiers, no longer just peacekeepers. He presents as neither of those things, but you must train him as such."

Carath Barsh. My former Master. From the planet Cathar. Large and fiercely feline in appearance, the Cathar were true warriors in every sense of the word. They held others to their impossible standards. As a Jedi, Cathar was a dedicated follower of the Jedi Code. Many Jedi were, regardless of species, but there were also those who allowed flexibility within that code. I was the latter. Carath and I, though a formidable team as master and apprentice, we'd had our fair share of struggle. He was a good teacher. Well respected, strong in the Force, mighty with the saber and dedicated to the Order. I was much the same, only without the firm strictness of the Code. For those of us on the human side of the spectrum, one could suppress emotion only so far.

Emotion for Carath Barsh fell differently, as did his feelings about me taking a seven year old as an apprentice. Far younger than the average child would be taken, but a rare exception made by the Council due to the extreme pull of the Force between myself and that same child, Tannerlin Vai.

I would defend my decision against anyone who chose to oppose it.

"Carath, if he is not meant to be a warrior, I cannot change who and what Tannerlin is at his core. I also cannot deny the will of the Force calling us together. The boy is young, but under that small frame, there is something special. I do not know exactly what it is, but he is meant to be at my side and I am meant to train him. With all that I am, I know this."

"I do not question it is you to train him, Ayden. I question his age. I question his maturity. I question his emotional stability. His attachment. To you. To his crèche master. To his friends."

"A human child with human emotions."

"Human emotions will get him killed. Or others with him. You must teach him how to suppress them."

I shook my head. A Tannerlin Vai with suppressed emotions was a boy I would not know or recognize. It was a boy who would not survive whatever his future was to be.

"I will not suppress him, Carath. You did no such thing with me as an apprentice."

"You had greater control."

"I was older."

"To my point. The child is just that. A child."

"Every Jedi begins their journey at a different stage. You seek me to deny the Force our bond?"

"No, I seek to keep you and the child alive. He will not survive in the field as he is. You know that as well as I do."

I sighed, frustration creeping upwards. This conversation would go no where good. Carath was as strong willed as any creature in the galaxy, but over the years I'd learned how to pick my battles with him and how long to feed that fire. This battle was finished.

"Carath," I bowed respectfully, "I do appreciate your honesty and guidance. I always have. But Tannerlin is my apprentice and I must do what is right by him. He is a kind and good soul and I refuse to take that from him for the sake of a code or a war. Perhaps it's best if we call an end to our discussion."

Carath's furred face was about to speak out again when a young voice interrupted. Tannerlin was back from his day classes and hurried toward me.

"Master Ayden!" His arms wrapped around my waist. A typical Tannerlin greeting. A hug, always, for those he considered friends or family. I returned the gesture as the disapproving growl came from behind me. Certainly there would be no hug heading Carath's way, but I did need to introduce them.

"Tannerlin, how was class?"

"Excellent! I knew every answer, but Master Voris told me I had to give other students a chance to answer, so I had to not raise my hand every time. But I still knew the answers."

"You're like a human sponge."

"That's what Master Voris said!"

As I grinned at the boy's elation I also refused to meet Carath's assumed glare - those intense black eyes with the center sliver of orange - until the official introduction. Reaching out to begin the meeting, Tannerlin beat me to it.

"I'm Tannerlin. You must be Master Barsh. I am glad to meet you. Master Ayden told me about you and how great a teacher you were to him. How much he learned from you."

Reluctant but usually cordial, Carath would not refuse a greeting. He held out a hand, claws retracted to greet my apprentice.

"It is good to meet you as well, Padawan Vai."

Formal. Always so formal was Carath. But I'd not change him as I would not change Tannerlin. Each was their own person with reasons for such and as much as I wanted them to have a relationship, it simply was not a wise decision. So I hurried Tannerlin on his way.

"Padawan, go change into your sparring tunic and meet me at the dojo. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, Master. I do need more practice. I'm not always so good with my lightsaber yet."

"You'll get better, don't worry. Run along now."

"I will. Goodbye Master Barsh. I hope I get to see you again and learn from you like my Master did."

"Good day to you, Padawan Vai."

The boy rushed off, a skip in his step. The norm for him when feeling his best. I turned back to Carath to see those keen eyes following Tannerlin away.

"He is certainly not shy." A compliment of sorts. I'd take it. "He is very small, Ayden. Very young. I do not debate that he is a good child or a learned student, but he is still a child. And his quick attachment to you is dangerous."

Here we went again. I'd not argue with him. Respect for Carath's skill and abilities I would always have, but he was wrong about Tannerlin. I knew it in my heart.

"I respect your opinions and guidance, Carath. I always will. But Tannerlin will manage. We both will. I am pleased you were able to meet him. He holds you in high regard."

"Why would that be? There is little he knows of me."

"I've shared a few stories and he's learned of some of your past missions from the Archives. Where he lacks in the physical aspect of apprenticeship, he makes up for in other ways. Researching, learning, reading. Those are his strengths and he's read about you and understands the importance of your most accomplished missions. Judge him if you must for being small and young, but as you know there is more to being a Jedi than flipping around with a lightsaber in your hands. I don't ask that you approve of my pairing with him, I only ask that you respect Tannerlin as an apprentice and offer him the time and chance to prove himself. As all padawans must."

I offered a half bow to my old master. Peace between us. The same was returned.

"That I can do, Ayden. I trust you as a teacher and I regardless of my concerns, he is in the best hands possible. I have my doubts about the child, but not about your abilities. Perhaps the three of us can meet for dinner sometime soon."

"I'd like that." My smile was genuine and we parted ways. I hurried off to meet my apprentice at the dojo and to take the next step in our journey together.

—-

...Present Day... (Tanner POV)

"You live, young one."

I shook out of my past to see the large, furry creature standing in front of our table. Claws out but no sign of his past was visible. If he still held his lightsaber - which I was sure he did, no Jedi ever gave that up - it was no where to be seen.

Any doubts left that this was Carath, those were out the window. My brain stuttered for words. Past training and respect told me to refer to him as Master, but that would be the wrong thing to do in front of a group of potentially would be assassins. Was he even going by his actual name? I couldn't know that either, but I had to respond in some way. So, there it went.

"Mr. Carath." I nodded, holding in a deep breath, trying to be calm, but feeling anything but under the surface.

Surprisingly, he calmed some of those fears almost immediately.

"You have nothing to fear. Tannerlin." Yup, he knew me alright. "I wondered about Ayden. You. When... our kind were eliminated. I was saddened to feel Ayden's passing."

So he knew. Of course he did. He'd felt it in the Force when Ayden died. They may not have been the closest Jedi team, but they were linked and bonded in respect. And that meant a great deal. At least I knew now that Carath was capable of emotion. I hadn't been so sure after our meetings those years back. I relaxed some as visible tension released from my shoulders.

Carath sat down across from me. Next to Dashen.

"You are a friend to Tannerlin." Not a question. He knew we were more than simply companions on a job. "A thief." Okay, that was unexpected. To his credit though Dashen stayed quiet and let me do the talking.

"Mr. Carath, this is my... brother." A raised furry eyebrow. "He saved me when Ayden died and took me in. He is extremely important to me." A nod then.

"I see. I am grateful you survived, young one. You've shown great strength and courage to move past the tragedy. You were but a child at the time. My doubts were many that you had fallen as well."

He'd always called me 'child' or 'young one'. Determined to make sure I knew that he always thought me much too small and young to have been taken as an apprentice at the age of seven. It was less an insult than it was he maintain authority over me. His way was set and at the time, I had made no efforts to attach myself to him. Attachment was not encouraged according to the Jedi Code and Carath held true to that. As a Jedi he was an excellent teacher and looked after Ayden when he was an apprentice, but there was never more there than a solid teacher-student relationship. Carath had cared about Ayden, but it was more professional than true friendship.

"I was fortunate," I told him. "Mas... Ayden, when we were ambushed, he pushed me into a hidden spot inside a wall and ordered me to stay there and not move, no matter what. That someone would come for me. I watched him die. I felt him die. It was his last wish that I live if he could not. Our entire team was killed. They spared none."

"You followed his final order even though he would die and you would possibly follow, your future unclear. If they had found you..."

"He was very important to me, Master Carath." The 'master' slipped out, but we were secluded enough and my voice quiet enough I sensed no danger. But old habits died hard and a Master Jedi was to be respected. "He was the person who shaped my life and gave me the strength to survive until someone did come for me. I think about him every single day. He was a good person, he was a great teacher and he was my family. I will never not miss him."

To my surprise, Carath didn't blow off my words and dig back into his standard rigid responses. It was the most emotion he'd ever displayed in my presence.

"I too miss him. He and I had not the attachment that you shared. That was not how I was built as a person or a warrior. But I held the highest respect for him as a student and as he matured. A good man was Ayden Yen."

"He was the best man."

Carath's intense black eyes locked mine with the words. He couldn't argue with them. Despite their lack of close friendship, he had known Ayden inside and out. A man so much more deserving than the horrible ending he received.

A Twi'lek woman wandered toward our booth and whispered something in Carath's ear. Saying nothing in return, there was a nod and she moved quickly away. Carath's eyes floated toward the door.

"Bounty hunters. Bring no attention to yourself. I will leave you. They will not follow. The hunters do not know who you are, nor will they. Ayden's final wish was for you to live. I will continue that wish for him. Your secret is safe with me, young Tannerlin. As I believe my secret is with you." I pursed my lips and affirmed the statement with a short nod. "You keep his legacy alive. He would be proud. Be safe, young one. Here, we part ways."

The motion with which he stood, turned and bounced away was smooth and calculated. Bounty hunter eyes followed his steps, but made no attempt to follow; and with the Twi'lek woman at his side, Carath glided from the bar with little fanfare. The hunters didn't follow, instead making short work of several hard drinks before venturing back out into the street.

Dash turned to me. "Damn. That guy was intense. Those eyes, hell, I hope I never run into him in a dark alley."

"This was weird, Dash. I understand him less now than I did before. And I didn't understand him at all before."

"You trust that he won't rat you out?"

"I do." Of that I was absolutely certain. "I felt the truth in his words. Felt it around him. He has as much to gain as I do from keeping quiet. If I'm ever found out, it won't be his doing."

"Sorry, Mouse. You find another of your kind, I always hope for a connection like you have with Ben. This was different."

"It was, but in a way... it's comforting. Nothing that happened changed who Carath is. He remains true to himself. If anything, I know that he appreciated Ayden more than I ever thought he did. Is it strange that that is actually a comfort?"

Waving the server-bot away when it clanked by for refills, Dashen shuffled a short laugh. "Not really all that strange. You probably had something to do with that."

"Me?" I asked, eyebrows in raise.

"Yeah, you. You have this weird ability to make people feel things they either refuse to feel or have buried so deeply they maybe didn't even realize they could feel it. I mean, Carath is seeing Ayden through you and you... are light, kid. He had his relationship with Ayden which was drastically different than what you shared with him. It may not change his ways, but Carath is open to better understanding the man that Ayden actually was. Basically, you manage to change every damn life you touch. Not by any of your magic - and spare me the 'it's not magic, Dash' lecture - you change those lives by just being yourself. If this wasn't proof of that, nothing ever will be."

I certainly didn't think I had that type of power. I was just a kid. Fifteen now with more under my belt than most of my age, but still a kid. If I changed people, it wasn't through any purposeful effort of my own. Dash stuck with that line of thinking though.

"Seriously, Mouse. Me. Colton. His people. Ben. Your teachers. The list goes on. Now this scary cat-guy."

I snorted out a laugh. This is why I loved my brother so much. He was hysterically honest. My laugh was contagious too, as Dashen came seconds away from spewing ale out his nose.

My hope for Carath was that he'd been as lucky in his post-purge life as I had been. Finding friends. Family. Comfort.

...in whatever way a scary cat-guy could do those things.

Dash and I finished our drinks, raising the mugs to toast Ayden's memory and wishing for only good things for Carath Barsh.


END