Disclaimer: not mine

Glad everyone loves this!

Been trying to work out where Melida/Daan is compared to other planets like Mandalore, Naboo, etc and can't find it. It says it's in the Cadavine sector in the outer rim? But not what sectors are close by. Other fics though say that Mandalore is about a week's travel away so I'll go with that.

Fixed an oops

Chapter 6

Feeling the ground shake and the sound of bombs dropping in the distance had gotten his adrenaline going, everyone immediately ready to fight even as he scrambled to call his vod'ika. Hearing his voice was a relief, hearing they were being bombed had made him angry. He grabbed three verd'e and they activated their sen'trase, taking to the air to find that bomber. It meant alerting the locals to their presence when buir was almost a week out but there was no choice. They couldn't let these demagolka bomb ade!

They quickly found their target and opened fire. Rigged as a bomber, it was very slow and the 'soldiers' within were not prepared to face verd'e who were well armed with effective weapons.

They did grab a captive to question, they needed more intel then the ade could give. He knew Tim didn't like interrogations so it was good that he was with the Young for the night. Tim might have the strategic brilliance to be Mand'alor but he lacked the ability to do some of the things necessary for the role. He might grow into the longer he was with them, but for now it was for the best that he wasn't the heir. But when Jango became Mand'alor, Tim would likely be his heir. But despite that, he still thought Tim had mandokar, he just came from a society that was different to their own.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim had thought he'd seen poverty and despair when he'd started running supplies to the children in Crime Alley. But this… this was heartbreaking. He had three tiny children cuddled up against him, wrapped in the new blankets and Tim's own red lined black cloak. Without his buy'ce there was nothing to filter the smell of unwashed bodies but he ignored it. He kept his senses as spread out as possible, on watch, letting Obi-Wan sleep since he usually kept watch in the same way.

Tim wondered how much they could learn from each other, it seemed Jetii training was different to the Mando methods, because they weren't usually as strong as the Jetii? Tim knew he was on the high end of the sensitivity range for a Mando, currently he had the highest midichlorian count among the Haat Mando'ade or even in the current records they had access to of the Evaar Mando'ade. But Tim knew, Obi-Wan was stronger than him, not that raw power was everything. He'd seen that with the various alien invasion on Earth and even Rogues and Justice League members. So, sharing training between two different methods could be good, if Obi-Wan agreed. he knew the Goran wanted him to get broader training than what they could give but would they agree to him teaching Obi-Wan what he had learnt from them?

At least the bombing had stopped, he'd sensed Jango's team taking out the bomber, so had Obi-Wan. The kids hadn't dared to cheer, too scared of being heard, ade so young shouldn't have learnt to be so quiet. They had to stop this war because even if they evacuated the Young, in a few years there'd just be more unless they killed or sterilised every adult left.

Tim doubted he'd be able to leave the planet without blood on his hands and it made him feel sick. But he'd known it was coming, he was Mando'ade now, not Robin. And war was different to vigilantism. And it was war in defence of children. Dick would understand, so would Alfred since he'd served but B? yep, he was definitely going to need to see Katra when they got home.

And then he felt a brush, looking up to find Obi-Wan looking at him in concern.

Okay? He mouthed and Tim nodded. Obi-Wan frowned but carefully got up and moved to sit with him and his bundle of ade. "What is it?" he whispered. "Did you sense something?"

Tim shook his head and then leant back against the wall better. "I, uh…" he swallowed. "I've never killed before," he admitted very softly. "Back home, it's not something you do. We worked with law enforcement and if we killed, they would have turned against us. I've known since Jas'buir adopted me that one day…"

"It's not easy," Obi-Wan murmured. "As a Jedi, we are to only raise our weapons in defence of ourselves and others, we are not to escalate a situation. Feeling their lives end in the Force…it never gets easier and it shouldn't, getting used to killing is not something we should do."

Tim nodded, glad he understood. "You should go back to sleep."

That got a grimace. "That's not easy."

"Yeah," Tim agreed. He shifted so their shoulders pressed together, carefully trying to help Obi-Wan relax, wrapping his own shields around him too. It worked and the younger teen was soon asleep.

When Silas woke to take watch, Tim let himself fall into a light doze rather than full sleep since Silas couldn't monitor things like he could. One night of little rest wouldn't do much to him, Obi-Wan obviously needed the sleep a lot more.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Cerasi walked with Obi-Wan and Neild, not sure about all three of them going but Obi-Wan seemed sure that the Mandalorians wouldn't hurt them. If they could help them… but what would they want in return? Surely, they wouldn't help them for nothing. But they had nothing to give in payment. It was interesting to find that one of the young men who had come to them was one of the leaders of the group. Wasn't he young for such a position on other worlds?

"Ori'vod," Tim called and someone around the same age turned, looking relieved to see him. This was his brother? They looked nothing alike.

"Adopted," Obi-Wan murmured to her.

Oh, that made sense.

Tim was yanked into a hug, their armour clashing together. And then the brother turned to them, pressing a fist to his chest.

"Olarom," he said.

Tim repeated the salute but spoke in basic. "Welcome."

"I am Jango Fett and you've met my vod'ika, Tim Drake. Our buir, father, is Mand'alor Jaster Mereel. We came here at the calling of the Ka'ra, what others call the Force. Now that we are here, we wish to help you."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim was proud of how diplomatic Jango was being, no one had been shot or even threatened! Then again, it helped that the faction leaders were younger than them which meant harming them in any way was off the table. And honestly, they were a lot more forthright than any politician. He'd read about how some planets preferred younger leaders, like Naboo, and he could see why.

"Melida/Daan is too far from Manda'yaim for us to defend you without placing an outpost or colony. While this is the Outer Rim, the Republic would eventually find out and would not be happy," Jango explained. "We've also got our own civil war against a terrorist group so we can't afford to anger the Republic."

That got wary nods. "Then what can you do?" Neild asked warily.

"Well, buir is also the head of the True Mandalorian Supercommando mercenary company. We can sign a back dated contract to say that the leaders of the Young hired us to end the war or evacuate them."

"But we can't afford to pay you."

"Payment doesn't need to be credits, we can work something else out," Tim explained. "All that's needed is some kind of exchange to make it valid."

Obi-Wan nodded, jetii were negotiators sometimes, so it made sense the other two would look to him for advice. They moved onboard their ship for security, settling around a table, Silas staying with them.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jaster looked at the contract that Jango had sent, reading it through. It was very basic, but it would excuse their presence on the planet for the moment. He wondered what they would arrange as payment, especially if they ended up evacuating the ade. He sent his approval back and then the ship went back into hyperspace.

He'd had too many volunteers for the journey but the information on the situation had come in handy. He had reached out to Adonai because while his people refused to touch weapons, they would be needed once the fighting finished. The ade would need a lot of help and if the planet was to recover from decades or centuries of war then they would need help. The Evaar Mando'ade could help and it would get some of them off planet and away from annoying him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Neild watched as Cerasi and Obi-Wan worked to hash out the full contract. He wanted…he wanted the Elders dead, the Halls of Evidence destroyed but none of them seemed to agree. Was he wrong? He just wanted the fighting to be done. Then they could rebuild their home.

"We can't leave, this is our home," he stated when it was brought up.

"Without extensive testing, we can't be sure, but what scans we ran on the way down showed the land and water are all very damaged," Tim pointed out, and Neild glared.

This was their home! So, what if it would take time and work, they could fix it.

"There is the AgriCorps," Obi-Wan offered slowly.

"What is that?" Jango asked.

"It is one of the four branches of the Service Corps of the Jedi Order and works in conjunction with the Republic Agricultural Administration to provide healthy crops to those under-privileged star systems suffering from natural disasters or blight," Obi-Wan explained. "They can help with restoring the soil if it's salvageable. But Neild…it might not be. After so long at war, all of the chemicals and damage may be too much."

"But…" Neild shook his head.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Obi-Wan understood, he'd been forced to leave his home when he was sent to the AgriCorps and now again to help the Young. They wouldn't take him back this time, not when he'd drawn his weapon on his Master. But even he could sense the death in the soil and he was much more connected to the Unifying Force than the Living. He didn't think there was a lot the AgriCorps would be able to do, but it was worth a try if they really wanted to stay.

Personally, Obi-Wan thought they should leave, give the children a chance to grow up somewhere safe. But leaving would also be dangerous, a lot of worlds would happily take them…and the Young would end up regretting it. Slavery may be illegal in the Republic but Obi-Wan was very aware it happened; he still had the scars.

Alderaan would probably be the best bet for somewhere safe, he'd met the current Senator and his aide, both named Bail which could be confusing. But just because some of the government was good, didn't mean they'd be safe.

"If the Young remain on the planet, would giving free passage to any Mandalorians who chose to land here be acceptable payment?" he asked, honestly not sure what else they could offer.

Tim and Jango exchanged looks, leaning in to talk to each other in Mandalorian, and Obi-Wan picked up on when Tim occasionally seemed to hesitate on a word. But that made sense if he was more recently adopted. He seemed a lot more comfortable with Basic than any of the others, with Jango the next most fluent. Silas tried but it was very obvious he was learning.

Tim's shields were locked down, covering Jango and Silas as well, as were Obi-Wan's since it wouldn't be fair if they could read each other while negotiating. It showed how well Tim knew them since it was easier to shield those you were close to, these days he barely had to try to shield Cerasi and Neild, despite them never being around someone who they needed mental shielding from. Till now anyway, but he didn't think Tim would try reading them.

"We can work with that," Jango answered.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Plo hesitated, he was meant to return to Coruscant but…he was only a day from the Cadavine sector, more specifically, Melida/Daan. He had been there when Qui-Gon reported on Obi-Wan's leaving the Order for a girl. It just did not sit right at all. All Obi-Wan had ever wanted was to be a Knight. Something about his report just didn't make sense beyond that and they could not ask Master Tahl as she was still in a coma.

Mace also seemed to believe there was more than they knew, as did Yan and he would know his old Padawan best. But the Council would not agree to dig deeper. But if he was already basically there…well, why not? He changed the co-ordinates and then entered hyperspace.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Silas sat with Jango, going over the second draft of the contract. He understood them not wanting to abandon their home, he couldn't believe ever leaving Manda'yaim despite the fact they had to live in domes. They had to import their food from some other local planets and even the Republic. Melida/Daan might be even worse off and they didn't even have an outside source to blame. They had done this to their own planet and he couldn't even imagine doing something like that.

This mission…they'd expected trouble, been warned that Tim sensed something like war, but none of them had expected what they'd found. He was scared, not for them but for the Young. Their ship couldn't hold them all which meant no evacuation was possible until reinforcements arrived. Protecting them all could be difficult.

One traat'aliit was not enough to take on an entire planet, even one with a dwindling population. They either had to split the Young up and send them of with one, maybe two verd'e as protection or find somewhere large enough and easily defended to protect them all in one group. It was not an easy decision. So yeah, things would be a lot easier once there were more of them on planet.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Plo cautiously approached the planet, seeing the remains of anti-aircraft weapons, it seemed they had been taken out at various times…some very recently, more recently than the Jedi mission. Cautiously, he reached for young Obi-Wan's presence, hoping to narrow down where to land and was shocked to sense two strong Force presences, though the second seemed only just above Temple admission levels. There were no missing Padawans or Initiates but…a child they missed? There had been no children brought from this world in centuries.

Growing up on a war-torn world…and yet the presence felt no darker than Obi-Wan's. And Obi-Wan's presence…unconscious? Was he wounded?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim jerked as he felt something…someone brush his shields, powerful, more than Obi-Wan. The presence was very controlled, trained…a jetii Ba'jurir? Why now? Obi-Wan had been left on the planet for a year…almost the exact time since Tim had been found on Korda Six…coincidence? He watched Obi-Wan float limply within the bacta tank, not reacting due to the sedation. So, he activated his comm to warn his ori'vod, best not to let either side surprise the other.

And then he started coughing and Mij moved to his side immediately.

"You've been stressing your vocal cords," the man chided, and Tim shrugged slightly.

His throat had healed but he'd been left with a rasp to his voice and if he talked too much, he'd end up coughing. Thankfully, his breathing wasn't compromised or else he wouldn't have been allowed to train for combat. And it wasn't a constant thing but he'd been talking a lot since they'd left home, to his brother, to the other verd'e, to the Young and especially Obi-Wan. So, it wasn't surprising at all that his throat was throwing a fit…it was just very bad timing.

Tim tapped out a message in dadita, letting Mij know they had company incoming since he hadn't gotten the message out before coughing.

Mij pressed some meds on him as well as some cool water before shooing him from the medbay. "I'll warn the others."

Tim nodded and then glanced back at the tank.

"No one will get past me Ad'alor," Mij promised.

So, Tim grabbed his buy'ce, slipping it on as he headed out to where he could feel the jetii was landing. He hoped the jetii wasn't looking for a fight and would be patient with him trying to communicate without setting his throat off again. The meds helped but it could take hours to settle.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He spotted the ship, taking in the id codes, frowning in concern. Mandalorians… what were they doing there? And then he felt a slight nudge from the second presence, scanning to find a single armoured form a distance from the ship, in an area where his ship could easily land. There was no warning in the Force and so he landed, taking his time to shut down the ship before opening the cockpit and leaping down easily.

The armoured form saluted with a fist to their chest and Plo responded by bowing slightly. The armour did not muddy their presence very much, not as much as other Mandalorian's he had seen. They were shortish so young or a shorter species?

"Greetings Mandalorian."

"Su'cuy," they returned, the voice modulator doing nothing to hide the youth or raspiness of their voice.

In concern, Plo reached out carefully, feeling the sense of physical discomfort, cantered on their throat. "Please, do not cause yourself pain," he told them. "I am Jedi Master Plo Koon, I came searching for one of our Padawans, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

They stared at him and he felt a cautious brush against his shields, carefully lowering them enough for them to sense his intentions. Then they lifted their hands, removing their helmet to reveal a young man around Obi-Wan's age. He hooked the helmet to his waist and then motioned for Plo to follow him.

He began fiddling with his wrist unit and then the translation program kicked in. "After a year?" the mechanical voice of the translator asked.

"Ad'alor!" a voice called and then three Mandalorians were jogging towards them, hands near their weapons.

He might not know much about Mandalorians but the word alor had something to do with leadership. And…wasn't ad something like child?

They spoke in their own language, his guide using some kind of hand signals to speak, the newcomers relaxing a bit as he did.

"Ad'alor be Mandalore Tim Drake, clan and house Mereel," one of the Mandalorians indicated his guide.

"I confess, I am not familiar with that title," Plo admitted.

"He is the youngest son of the Mand'alor, I think it translates to something like prince?"

Ah. Well, that was interesting. And meant he needed to tread carefully so that he would not risk a diplomatic incident. They led him onto the ship and then into the medical bay, the three remaining outside, Ad'Alor Tim signally the medic but Plo's eyes moved to the bacta tank, seeing the boy floating within.

"He isn't in danger," the medic said, seeing where he was looking. "He had some older injuries that needed some treatment." The medic was obviously not happy.

"It appears events are not what we were told by his Master," Plo murmured. And he would be having word with Qui-Gon and Yoda over this when he returned. He knew he was not the only one who did not think the two a good match but Yoda had insisted. Plo himself had been interested in perhaps taking Obi-Wan on as his Padawan. Perhaps…

TBC…

sen'tra/ sen'trase – jetpack/s

demagolka - someone who commits atrocities, a real-life monster, a war criminal

mandokar - the "right stuff", the epitome of Mando virtue - a blend of aggression, tenacity, loyalty and a lust for life

Evaar Mando'ade — New Mandalorians

Olarom – welcome (greeting)

Dadita - code used by Mandalorians, like Morse

Su'cuy - hi