Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 7

Tim observed the Jetii Ba'jurir as the Kel Dor meditated beside the bacta tank, apparently helping Obi-Wan's healing. That was a neat ability. He wasn't sure what to think of him coming now, why wait so long? Though he had mentioned being told possible lies by the one who had abandoned Obi-Wan. He'd like to meet that person for five minutes, please. Leaving your student alone on a war-torn planet with no weapon… maybe five minutes in a room with Kon would be better. His friend had abandonment issues for very good reasons. Kon, Bart…he forced his mind back to the present.

And the Mij was approaching the tank and Koon was standing, it was time then.

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He was lying on something soft but also firm, the air cool but not cold and…he didn't hurt.

"Koh-to-yah Obi-Wan," a familiar voice murmured, and his eyes snapped open to see Master Koon.

He blinked, was he hallucinating? Had it all been a dream? But then he felt a worried brush against his own presence, Tim. So, not a dream then. "Master Koon?" he asked in confusion, voice rough. Then Tim was pressing a water glass to his lips and he drank gratefully. Tim helped him sit up, staying close, and he was grateful. In a few short days, his presence had become a comfort.

"Rest easy young one, it seems you have been through a lot," Master Koon told him, and Obi-Wan nodded. "And you have made some interesting friends."

"Tim," he murmured, looking over at the Mandalorian who smiled at him but stayed quiet, confusing him.

Tim touched his throat and then grimaced, Mij appearing to give him something, Tim sighing.

"Forgive the Ad'Alor but he has been straining his vocal cords too much with how much he has been speaking," the medic explained.

"He's hurt?" Obi-Wan leant forward in alarm.

Mij glanced at Tim who nodded. "When we found him, one of his injuries was a slit throat, he was close to bleeding out and while the wound healed, his vocal cords never fully recovered. It is why his voice is raspy."

"Oh," Obi-Wan whispered, then he felt Tim withdrawing slightly as if… and he lunged half off the bed to grab his hand, squeezing it. "You shouldn't push your voice, what if you made it worse?"

"It's unlikely since everything's healed, but he likes to push. Among our own it isn't as bad since we all know hand signs but with aruetiise…outsiders," the medic shrugged. "Now, how do you feel? I want to check that your rib is stable."

"It doesn't hurt anymore, I feel better than I have in a long time," he admitted.

"We'll need to set up a schedule to begin running the rest of the Young who need it through, once the rest of the Mandose show up it will go quicker."

"Pardon me, but who are the Young?" Master Koon asked, and Obi-Wan frowned.

"Didn't Master Jinn tell the Council?" he asked in confusion.

"He informed us that you had left the Order to remain with a young woman. However, not all of the Council accepted his words as you had not gone through standard channels to resign your place."

Obi-Wan was frozen. Master Jinn had…he'd….

A hand gripped his tightly and then he was pulled against hard yet somehow warm armour, another mind reaching for his. "Obi-Wan," a voice rasped in his ear.

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Plo watched as Obi-Wan's eyes went blank, something…shattering within him. And then the Ad'Alor was there, pulling Obi-Wan into a hug that he didn't fight, the soft rasp of his voice calling Obi-Wan's name. Obi-Wan shuddered, clinging to the armour which surely wasn't comfortable.

For such a reaction…what had Qui-Gon done? Young Drake was stroking Obi-Wan's messy, too long hair with a now ungloved hand, their Force signatures…incredible. A natural Force bond, was that how the Mandalorian's had come to the planet? Had he sensed Obi-Wan's trouble in the Force?

The young Mandalorian was being so gentle with Obi-Wan, tugging his other glove off as well and then just kept holding Obi-Wan.

"S'okay," he rasped. "Here, safe."

Plo moved closer, kneeling beside them. "May I?" he asked, hands out towards them, meeting wary blue eyes but then the Ad'Alor nodded. "Relax Obi-Wan, you are safe," he told the Padawan. He could see the very faint burn scar on the top of his ear…right where his braid should have been. "You will be alright Padawan," he assured him.

Obi-Wan slowly looked at him, appearing confused. "Padawan?"

"I do not have your lightsabre to return to you as Qui-Gon never handed it in, but you never resigned and so you are still a Padawan."

"Take him back?" the question was quiet and Plo wondered if one of their Healers could do more for his throat.

"If that is his wish, I know of at least two Masters who would gladly take him on as their Padawan," he explained without mentioning that he was one of them, he did not think Obi-Wan was ready to hear that.

Obi-Wan was just blinking up at him in confused shock. And then the child began to speak of what exactly had happened and Plo had to work very hard to release his anger into the Force.

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Tim held Obi-Wan, feeling that shattering sensation…he'd panicked and reacted instinctively to protect and shield him. Was it just because Obi-Wan was the first person he'd met that seemed so much like him? He had made the same choice that or any vigilante/hero would have, to stay and fight for the ade. He'd love to have Kon and Bart with him, he'd even take Clark! They could end the war in seconds and then do the heavy lifting in starting repairs.

He knew his armour couldn't be comfortable but he wasn't going to make Obi-Wan let go before he was ready to. Hearing that Obi-Wan could go back to the jetii was good, right? It was a bit sad, since Tim had begun looking forward to working on training together once the war was dealt with. At least if he went back, it would be with a new Ba'jurir and not the shabuir who had abandoned him.

The man had lied to the Council…the Jetii Alor? How had he gotten away with that? Surely, they would have sensed it?

"Why did it…take a year?" Tim asked, still petting messy red hair to help keep Obi-Wan calm, feeling Koon's presence gently covering him, brushing his own but not intruding.

"After Jinn's report, the Senate forbade further interference with the planet. It is basically considered a lost cause."

"Won't you get in trouble?" Mij asked.

"Engine trouble can be very frustrating," Koon answered, and Tim snorted. Sneaky. "Sadly, this was the first chance I had to come. If the Council had known what was happening, we would have come, Senate orders or not."

Tim sensed no deception but would he from a fully trained jetii? But from Obi-Wan's reaction, he thought the Kel Dor was being honest.

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Jango was wary to wake and find out there was a jetii aboard, brought by his vod'ika. Tim's studies were far enough to know about the bad blood between their people… then again, there was Obi-Wan. Had this jetii come for him after a year?

When he reached the med bay, he found Tim sitting with Obi-Wan curled against him, the stranger kneeling in front of them, speaking quietly with the two.

"Mij?" he murmured.

"Jetii Ba'jurir Plo Koon, part of their Council. It seems Obi'ika was abandoned here and his cabur lied to the Council about him leaving the Jetii for a girl," Mij answered quietly. "Turns out, he's still a Padawan because he didn't go through the proper procedure. And apparently there are at least two Ba'jurir willing to take him on if he returns. The Senate blocked any further missions here but he had engine trouble."

Jango blinked…engine trouble? Oh. Huh, who knew jetii could be so sneaky. His brother met his eyes, anger and grief clear for what the younger boy had gone through and all because of a liar. It was interesting how quickly the two seemed to have bonded, the Ka'ra or something? He'd kind of hoped Obi-Wan would accept adoption but if he went back to the jetii…would they be allowed to keep in contact? His vod needed more friends, Silas was the only one he had outside of Jango himself.

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Plo watched the children as they cautiously came out of hiding to take turns in the med bay, horrified by their condition. How had Qui-Gon turned his back on them? He knelt down, pushing away all negative emotions, handing out food to the children. They were curious about him, having never seen a Kel Dor before and likely a non-human adult was less threatening since the population was human. Soon, he had a gaggle of children hanging around him, he had always enjoyed in the creche, he loved children, most Jedi did.

He would have a lot to report to the Council when he returned. Would it be with Obi-Wan though? He honestly wasn't sure since he appeared to be bonding close to the Ad'Alor and his friend. Would Obi-Wan go with the Mandalorians? Would they accept him if he wanted to? To lose such wonderful potential…unless…would that be possible?

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Jaster was relieved when the received landing co-ordinates, seeing the ship his ade had left in. the small fleet landed and he spotted an unfamiliar fighter, then he saw the emblem on its side. A Jetii? So perhaps this Obi-Wan really was a Jetii hibir? Their ships settled, the ramp lowering, and there were his ade waiting for him. He walked towards them and drew them into a hug, relieved to see for himself that they were well. He assumed to the too skinny redhead was Obi-Wan and the Kel Dor in robes had to be the jetii.

"Buir," Tim whispered shakily, and he tightened his grip.

Had Tim ever seen war before? Neither of his ade should ever have to see such things, but he knew it was inevitable as Mando'ade since they were embroiled in civil war. Tim just hadn't been exposed to their actual battles yet.

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Kon lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was strange to hear others in the base. He was used to it being Robin and Bart, then just Bart, but now there was Cassie, Cissie, and Secret. He wasn't sure what he thought of the expanded team but to be a team they needed to be more than a duo. He was de facto leader on account of being an original member but it wasn't a role he was good at and he could see that now, he wished he hadn't argued so much with Rob over it. He'd been missing for months with no signs, nothing. Batman had apparently already recorded Robin as dead to keep him from being linked to his civilian id. But how could one not be missed? Robin said Batman wasn't his dad so surely his family were missing him? Had Batman covered it up with a trip or kidnapping or something?

He looked up in surprise at the knock on his door, Nightwing? "Come in."

"I found this in Robin's things, he wanted you to have it. Batman might have given up, but I haven't," he promised, handing over the package.

"Thanks," he whispered. "Secret…she offered to see if she can sense if Robin's dead or not but she said it's been a while."

Nightwing nodded. "I can take her to the warehouse, B's on the Watchtower so he can't say no."

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Standing around the table, Silas kept quiet, what was he even doing there? He wasn't any kind of alor or anything. Tim was the Manda'lore son so his presence would make sense even if he wasn't in co-command with Jango for the mission…at least until they found out exactly what was going on. But all the others were at least ruus'alor. He was barely past his verd'goten! Maybe he was there for the learning opportunity?

Tim glanced at him, sensing his confusion? Then Jango's knee knocked into the back of his and he forced himself to relax and focus on the discussion. It was surprising how many good ideas the Jetii Ba'jurir had. He didn't think jetii still fought battles? But maybe they still learnt about them? The tactics were different to theirs so it made it even more interesting.

Obi-Wan seemed to be kind of shifting into the background but he was one of the three Alor of the Young. He'd been right at the front before…was it because of the other jetii? He'd figured someone on the crew would adopt Obi-Wan along with others of the Young but now, would he go back to the jetii even after they abandoned him?

Now, they were arguing over exactly how to end the war, the Young didn't want to be left out of it but…the majority were younger than Sila. Sure, the three Generals were fourteen but they were the oldest. Most of the ade were eleven or younger…there were even ik'aad! What kind of monsters were their buir? He didn't remember much about his parents, he'd mostly grown up in the Foundling home, but he knew they'd loved him.

He was kind of fond of the sterilisation and leaving plan, not that he minded fighting, but he kind of wanted to see the looks on their faces when they realised there'd be no more ade and the current ones were gone. He bet the medics could even find a way to make it hurt. But if they chose to fight then that was fine with him too, except for the risk to the ade.

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Secret wandered through the warehouse, stopping at one spot, the spot where they had found the Joker and Tim's blood. He didn't really know anything about the meta girl, he hadn't really kept up with Young Justice, it hurt to see Kon and Bart without Tim.

She studied the area and then shook her head. "No one died here."

That was…good, it was. Tim was alive when he left the warehouse. But then where was he? He glanced at Kon and wondered if he could see the blood stains, they had scrubbed the warehouse to remove his DNA but how good was his vision? he didn't know what was in the package for Kon and it wasn't any of his business, even if it revealed Tim's id. That should have been Tim's choice but Bruce hadn't allowed him to tell his team. And that was a decision the man was stubbornly clinging to.

Tim Drake had been declared missing, vanishing one day on his way home from school. They'd had to arrange it in a way that wouldn't bring too many eyes down on them. With Drake Industries going under, it was discovered that they had made some rather shady deals so it wasn't impossible that Tim had been taken by someone to get the money they were owed with Janet dead and Jack in a coma. There was nothing to link Tim to Robin, keeping all of their identities safe.

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Obi-Wan gasped as an armoured body slammed into him, the two of the tumbling through the mud, the Mandalorian covering him from the explosion. He looked up into the visor of Tim's helmet even as the older teen moved to his feet, offering Obi-Wan a hand up.

"Alright?'

"Thanks to you," he admitted. He felt foolish for missing the warning in the Force.

Tim took his arm, guiding him through the ruins to meet up with the rest of the team.

"Me'vaar ti gar?" Myles looked them both over.

"Naas," Tim responded. "Watch out for landmines," he warned, and the others nodded.

Obi-Wan shifted, feeling the armour move. They only way they'd let them fight too was if they wore at least some armour. Honestly, Obi-Wan couldn't disagree if it kept any of them alive. Even Master Koon was wearing some! It was durasteel like Tim's since none of them were Mandalorian, unpainted, but it at least offered more protection than just cloth. He was glad it wasn't beskar though since that muffled the Force, it made it hard to sense the Mandalorians except for Tim. It was a good thing that paint work was individual since it was the only way to identify who was who.

The other scouts returned and they moved on, towards the Melida Halls of Evidence.

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Jaster led his squad towards where Neild had said the Daan main base was, Cerasi with his team while Neild was with Jango's going after the Melida. Myles was leading one of the teams going for the Halls of Evidence and with Tim and Obi-Wan while Kal had the team with the Jetii going after the other Hall. If they could take all four targets at once then the war would be basically over.

But could they force a lasting peace? Even with Ba'jurir Koon there to negotiate, there was no way to ensure it. What if the fighting began again after they left? The ade would be in danger. He could see several of his people who would be looking to say the gai bal manda before they left but would the ade accept?

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Plo moved silently with the squad of Mandalorians, not something he had ever imagined that he would be doing. Most of his concentration was on the team and their goal but he also kept a distant eye on the two boys. Decisions would need to be made there. He didn't want to stress Obi-Wan over his choices. It was obvious that Tim had taken Obi-Wan under his wing and that Obi-Wan trusted the older boy.

He wondered how he had come to be adopted, where had he been born that the Order had missed him? Or had his parents chosen not to give him to the Jedi? Since he was lower range for admission it was possible he hadn't had many issues as a child with controlling his gifts and so they had seen no need. But he obviously had some mental training, some religious orders who did not have any Force sensitivity gave mental training, as did some traditional martial arts.

They moved silently towards the Halls of Evidence until they reached a place that they could observe the guards from, waiting for the signal.

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Neild watched, grasping his blaster tightly. He wished he was going after the Daan base but he had grudgingly accepted Mereel's explanation for not sending them after the sides they had come from. It wasn't like he wanted Cerasi anywhere near Wehutti anyway. No…better he be the one to pull the trigger there if the monster wouldn't surrender.

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Kon stared at the photos that Tim had left for him. Tim Drake, Robin. There was no way Batman knew about Tim's contingency plan for if anything happened to him. Secret said he hadn't died in the warehouse, which was good, but then where was he?

Hal Jordan had reported that there was no sign of Tim with the Green Lanterns, so he hadn't been saved by one of their rings. He'd been really badly hurt and Kon knew…the odds were that he was dead. There was talk of a memorial for Robin but Bart agreed with him, Robin wasn't dead. It was just a feeling they both had, like he was far away but alive, but Tim was human, not a meta, and neither of them was psychic in the way that would let them know that.

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Tim fired, feeling the brief flare in the Ka'ra, feeling sick as he realised…he'd killed the man but…he had been about to kill one of the Young who had come with their team, Cora. He'd had no choice. He felt Obi-Wan's concern and forced himself to focus back on the fight. He could throw up or break down later. He wasn't going to put anyone else at risk because he freaked out.

TBC…

Shabuir - extreme insult - *jerk*, but much stronger

Cabur - guardian, protector

ruus'alor – sergeant

ik'aad - baby, child under 3

Me'vaar ti gar? - How are you? (lit. what's new with you?) Can also be used to ask a soldier for a sitrep. If a Mando asks you this, they expect an answer; it's literal. The response for *I'm fine thanks,* is *Naas.* (lit. nothing.)