AN: I often get asked, why the animals? Why the random fruit? Because it's better to get an inside joke and hopefully a shared smile at something silly than a 'good chapter' or 'kudos'. Animals are superior beings, so are plants.
Thank you, Muffin!
Chapter 4 - A Tipping Point
Tahl sighed, understanding now Mace's harshness about her condition.
It hadn't been about her blindness. If anything, convincing her to take a Padawan was a way of getting her help. She was, after all, not living alone, nor would she be for the next several years.
No, he had pinned her right.
She had been avoiding her lover.
Her lover who she had made vows to.
Vows that she would break because her duty to the Order, the Force, would always come first.
Obi-Wan now came before all.
The door swooshed open, startling her.
"Tahl."
Just her name.
She shivered and despite herself, she stepped forward, into him, allowing herself to be crushed against his chest.
The door shut behind her and he led her back into the single room filled with plants and life and sorrow.
Her heart broke for him, for what he had been through and for what she was about to do.
He pulled back and she retreated from the kiss that she should have welcomed.
She truly believed that there was nothing wrong with romance within the Order. Philosophers could debate all they liked, but they were not monks, they were Knights.
They participated in violence and skirted politics, love was neither as destructive nor any more of a risk. She wished that the Jedi would teach healthy relationships over detachment.
Their sexual education at the Temple was excellent, save for the shame some of her brethren felt for loving too deeply or wanting something they could not have while also fulfilling their duties.
Those things were natural.
Qui-Gon gentled, hands not dropping below her waist as he leaned in more slowly for a kiss.
She raised a hand between them, his bread tickling her fingertips.
"Tahl?" he breathed, lips brushing her skin.
She sighed, stepping back and hitting his bed. She sank back onto it.
"Tahl?" he asked again, sounding worried.
"I took a Padawan."
"You what?" he exclaimed.
"I have a Jedi Apprentice, the Council has approved it and I will be moving into the Padawan's room."
"A Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked. "As in, not an Iniate but—"
"Someone who lost their Master to war," she finished for him.
Her first Padawan would be like Qui-Gon's first student. Feemor had lost his Master, a Shadow, as Obi-Wan had lost Master Vizsla.
"Who?" Qui-Gon asked, his voice turning dark.
"You already know."
"Kenobi," he growled.
"He is a child, Qui, he—"
"He woke the day Feemor was slaughtered!" Qui-Gon roared, his seemingly ever-present anger bursting to the surface.
"Perhaps the Force knew that we would need an ambassador."
"You cannot go near those people, Tahl. I could not bear losing you to those monsters as I lost Feemor."
"They are not all monsters," she said.
"They cut up a baby. An infant—"
"Serial killers exist in all societies," she reasoned.
Something shattered.
She flinched.
It was likely a teapot, she thought as Qui-Gon yelled, "Feemor was murdered by a Mandolarian of the Haat Mando'ade. Not Death Watch but the True Mandalorians, the so-called 'Reformers'. Even the best of them are evil."
Her mind spun, "You've been investigating Feemor's death?"
He let out a bitter laugh, "He was my Padawan, how could I not?"
"You shouldn't, Qui, because you are not a civilian. You are too close to this case."
"Dooku has been helping me."
"And is Dooku who you wish to become?" she asked.
The effect on him was instantaneous, his wild emotions shoved viciously back behind a wall, a fortress of shields.
Dooku and Qui-Gon had a complicated history. Qui-Gon had been exposed to war young, too young. The boy she had grown up with, the one who could coax a flower to bloom and charm the breeze to the song on his lips, had been tried by hellfire.
Tahl had loved the boy, had even loved the man who had survived Dooku and who still longed for the council of plants above the respect of his peers.
Although Dooku had made Qui-Gon a great warrior, he had doomed his ability to love with restraint and perspective.
Where Dooku had been cold, Qui-Gon had been giving.
Feemor had flourished under that care and warmth.
But Xanatos had been spoiled by it, taking advantage of the trust Qui-Gon gave him so freely. Loving without condition.
Losing them both to violence and madness had broken away Qui-Gon's sense of self.
Still, Tahl loved him. Sadly, her love was not enough to save Qui-Gon from himself.
"I am not my Master," he said.
"Obi-Wan is afraid of you, Qui."
Qui-Gon had been afraid of Dooku.
"I can't lose you too," he said, correctly identifying his inability to control his emotions around others, especially Mandalorian, whether they were a child or not.
"You saved my life," she said softly. "But you lost yourself."
"They were torturing you."
"And because of that," she said. "You enjoyed their deaths."
"I did what I had to do to get you out."
"Intent matters, vengeance is not our way."
"You would have done the same."
Her own frustration rose, "How long did you leave me in that box in order to execute the people in that building?"
Qui-Gon did not answer.
"Obi-Wan needs me, Qui. And I am a Jedi before I am anything else. The Mandalorians are not all bad, and I will not judge their entire people on the extreme actions of individuals. I cannot do so, lest you believe it is correct that the Jedi be judged by the fallen and the Sith?"
"Tahl—" his voice broke off. "You have already come to great harm. Yet you're choosing a Padawan now?"
"He needs me, and maybe I need him too. We are already friends, and if not for his history, you would love him too."
"I trusted Xanatos—"
"And you trusted Feemor."
"And Feemor was murdered by a Mandalorian!"
"Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan isn't even from the same culture as the Mandalorians of today."
"The Mandalorians sided with the Sith."
"The Mandalorians had an empire, and though the Jedi may claim democracy, the expansion of the Republic was imperialist in nature."
"He isn't like the Jedi of our era either."
She bared her teeth, "One would think that was a good thing."
"If he hurts you—"
"Obi-Wan will never harm me. He's learning Soresu."
"You didn't come here to talk about the boy."
"No," she agreed, hating that she couldn't see his face. "I am not the same person I was a season ago, and neither of you."
"Tahl, please…"
"I would stay if I thought I could help. But you aren't ready to accept help and I don't want you around Obi-Wan."
"Excuse me?"
"He runs away from you. Your emotions are out of control. And your feelings toward Mandalorians are irrational."
"Irrational?"
She stood, "You're out of control."
"I am not."
"You've raised your voice at me. You broke your teapot. No one is incapable of falling, not even you."
"Get out," he snapped.
She inclined her head and left without another word.
He didn't follow her and she did not let the tears fall until she was back to her new apartment and alone.
oOo
Obi-Wan watched as the creche Master tried to wrangle in his clan from swimming in the fountains.
Half his clan was so tired they were slumped in the grass, the others were getting over silly, growing louder and louder as they played.
The creche Master was ultimately successful in getting his clan out and wrapped in towels.
Yet, there was one calamari girl, maybe six years old, still in the pool.
The creche Master looked exhausted as he called out, "Bant Eerin, you will lose movie privileges if you do not come out, now."
Movie privileges were holovideo nights where different movies were chosen for different age groups. Several clans of similar age would congregate in a single room, in what Obi-Wan had observed to be giant puppy piles of giggling children.
Obi-Wan stood from his meditation spot, approaching the group within the Master's sight line.
"I can escort her back when she's ready, Master," Obi-Wan said.
The large man turned to him with a relieved smile, "The Wolf Clan would be very appreciative of your help, Padawan Kenobi. If you get lost, just ask for Master Ali-Alann."
Obi-Wan bowed to the man as he got his charges to hold hands, leading them out, leaving a wake of quiet behind, save the rumbling fall of a thousand fountains.
Obi-Wan smiled at the girl, youngling Bant Eerin, who swam beneath the surface of one of the deeper fountains.
She didn't need to breathe air so in an attempt to ignore her crechemaster, refused to peek her head up.
Obi-Wan didn't mind, hugging the towel the Master had left as he waited. It wasn't that late and it felt good to be useful.
He was watching her swim laps when he felt a warning in the Force.
Obi-Wan stood, dropping the towel as he turned his back to the girl who would, hopefully, remain submerged.
A young man emerged from the shadows, his Force presence almost completely subdued.
He was older, likely reaching twenty if he was human, and his face still had some baby-fat, marred by a burn circlet beneath his left eye.
His eyes were startling green in contrast with his long black hair. He didn't need the Force to know this boy was trouble.
His sneer was as much a warning as his address, "Well, if it is the little Mando. I've been looking for you."
Obi-Wan tutted at him, "Why is it that all Sith Apprentices wear black? It's a bit embarrassing, honestly."
The boy blinked, hesitating on the ball of his foot. "What?"
"Your clothes," Obi-Wan reiterated. "Black brocade, really? I don't know how you got past the Temple Guard but if you wanted to blend in, maybe don't wear black fabric that's worth enough credits to clothe all the Padawans stationed here."
"You think you're so clever?" he sneered.
Obi-Wan scoffed, "If that's your idea of clever, then it's no wonder you couldn't cut it as a Jedi."
The boy snarled, his shields slipping with his anger.
This would be easy.
"I was the best in my class," the boy snarled.
"I am the best in our generation," Obi-Wan retorted, looking for weaknesses.
How the hells did he get in here?
"I am Xanatos du Crion."
"Congratulations," Obi-Wan said, mentally checking that the youngling was still doing laps.
She was.
Thank the Force.
Hopefully, she would run if she realised something was wrong.
Xanatos bared his teeth, "My Master killed my father."
Obi-Wan knew this. He knew the tragic tale of Qui-Gon's apprentice who chose greed over Light, blood over family.
Obi-Wan reached out to Tahl in the Force, asking her to come to him.
Not for his own safety but for the youngling's.
Xanatos pulled out his saber and it let out an angry hiss, the kyber having been tortured to bleed red.
Obi-Wan ignited his own saber in a blaze of blue as the fallen Padawan lunged at him.
He was fast.
Very fast.
But not nearly as skilled as he believed.
His Ataru was sloppy, his footwork was putting his every motion off balance even as he used the Force and acrobatics to offset that flaw.
Soresu proved itself as useful against other saber wielders as it had with blaster fire. Not a single strike, no matter from which direction, got even close to grazing Obi-Wan.
Five minutes later, Xanatos was panting and Obi-Wan had yet to break a sweat.
"Join me," Xanatos growled.
"No thanks."
"You know not the power of the Dark side."
"The Dark side seduces the fearful. I am not afraid. I am myself, I listen to the Force, she is my ally. Only a fool believes the Force can be conquered. Only Dark Siders are arrogant enough to try."
Xanatos laughed, "You know nothing of true freedom."
Obi-Wan arched a brow, "Freedom? From what? Self control, decency? If you believe you are anything less than a slave to your own desires and impulses, then you deserve whatever pain you draw into yourself."
Xanatos snarled and lunged again.
"You could be great, little Mando. Your people's Empire always knew that the Dark side was stronger. More worthy."
"There is darkness in war," Obi-Wan agreed, breath even. "But it is a consequence, not the thing worth fighting for."
Xanatos growled and almost slipped in a puddle the younglings had left by the fountain.
He stumbled back, putting distance between them.
Obi-Wan stayed his ground, he would only give chase if the fool turned his back, he was dangerous enough to pose a problem to someone unsuspecting.
The Temple was supposed to be safe.
There was a splash of water behind him.
"Why is your lightsaber red?" A high voice asked.
The Calamari girl wasn't directly behind him, so Obi-Wan was able to see her in his periphery.
Xanatos charged him in a moment of Obi-Wan's focus being split.
It didn't matter, Xanatos was tired and Obi-Wan was the superior dueller.
But because all Dark Siders were dirty cheats, he turned away from Obi-Wan, sweeping his crimson blade out toward the child.
Obi-Wan took his arm.
The older boy screamed as Obi-Wan caught the second lightsaber before it could hit the water.
The boy was screaming and the girl was screaming.
But the Dark sider reached behind him with his other hand as he fell.
It could have been a bomb.
Obi-Wan decapitated him and the body fell to the ground with a heavy thud, his attached hand empty at his side.
Obi-Wan deactivated the lightsabers and scooped the girl who was thankfully turned away out of the water.
He pulled her wet trembling body against himself, wrapping his cloak around her as he kept her face pressed to his chest. He didn't want her to see.
Xanatos shouldn't have been able to get into the Temple.
Obi-Wan ran with the girl back to the creche.
Master Ali-Alann must have felt Bant's distress because he met them in the hall.
"What happened?" The man growled, his peaceable demeanour turning frightening.
"We were attacked," Bant sobbed.
"Xanatos," Obi-Wan said. "His saber was red. He couldn't beat me so he tried for her, he's no longer among us to ever try again."
Ali-Alann reached out to Obi-Wan with a startling yet welcome gesture. The large man bent to bring their foreheads together in a Mandalorian kiss.
"Thank you, Padawan Kenobi."
"N'entye," Obi-Wan responded closing his eyes to feel the gratitude and love pouring from the man to Obi-Wan and his charge who had quieted in the safety of Ali-Alann's arms.
He would learn later that Bant Eerie would grow to idolize him, having not seen exactly how Obi-Wan had saved her.
As he would learn later what his peers would begin to call him as his ancestors before and after him had been so named:
Mandalorian: Jedi Killer.
Xanatos had been one of the best duellers in his years at the Temple before he left at the age of twenty. At twenty-three, more than ten years older than Obi-Wan, the Mandalorian Padawan had slain the fallen apprentice before any Master was aware of the threat.
It was a sign of the times that the Force was so opaque that the Order could be attacked in its inner sanctum.
This day would mark a change in their society.
The Force was indifferent to the Jedi.
And the Sith…
The Sith were not as forgotten as they would have liked to be.
oOo
AN: Thoughts, ribbon snakes, or feedback, pretty please?