Tea and Close Calls
Obi-Wan was not surprised to be invited for tea with the Chancellor. That was a rather regular occurrence before the war, and he didn't expect it would end any time soon.
“There you are Obi-Wan! It's good to see you! Congratulations on being appointed to the Council! Youngest member ever, I've heard.”
“Not quite. Mace was a month younger when he was appointed,” Obi-Wan responded politely, accepting the cup of tea.
“I hope you haven't had any trouble for almost breaking another record.”
“No, I haven't. I have a reputation, even before the war proved me worthy.” Obi-Wan smiled at the Chancellor. “How have you been?”
“Busy, oh so busy. So many responsibilities, so many people to try to find compromises between. And unfortunately, the war being what it is, a compromise often is not as good as the all or nothing options.”
“Understandable. There is a lot of pressure in being on the Council, even days in. I cannot imagine what your position must be like.”
“I am just doing my best to serve the Republic. How are you?”
“Not too bad. It has been... easier to settle into fighting a war than I expected. But it is still less than ideal. I miss being able to spend more time between missions, and having shorter missions over all.”
“Ah, understandable. But you are very important to the war effort. I hear that you're single handedly responsible for several clones, Jedi, and even civilians surviving.”
“Not without difficulty, and not nearly as efficiently as Quinlan would have done. Healing is just not a thing I am very good at naturally.”
“But you are good enough to be one of the few field healers we have, and you can do surgeries. You have saved lives, my boy.”
“Mm, I suppose I have. But I also know my skills in healing are not up to Quinlan's ability.”
“He is quite talented at healing and investigating, and you're quite good at combat and politics. Do you wish to have been in charge of the Guard? To be closer to home?”
“I did consider it when I first heard of the Guard, but ultimately I decided Quinlan was better suited for it than I ever could be.”
“You really are good brothers, aren't you? It's fascinating.”
Obi-Wan shrugged. “We have always had a close relationship, even before the adoption. It would not be fair or right of me as his brother to deny him the Guard when he is more suited.”
“That is true, that is the noble choice. I've met so many who would not be so noble in your shoes. Even some Jedi seem like they'd turn on their brother if it suited them.”
“I suppose, although those Jedi are not following the Jedi way if they would turn on each other so easily.”
“That does make sense. Nonetheless, I continue to be impressed by your ability to put everyone before yourself. Do you not get tired of it?”
Obi-Wan smiled. “I am a Jedi. To be a Jedi is to serve the galaxy and the Force, even if it means sacrifice. I will happily continue to do my duty. I know others struggle with the concept, but I've always found it far easier to be noble than to be selfish.”
“I do hope you remember to take time for yourself, once in a while.”
“Of course. That's why we went to karaoke last night. It was great fun.”
“Good, good.”
“Is there anything else?” Obi-Wan asked politely, already done with his tea.
“Do let me know if there is anything I can do for you, Obi-Wan. I am quite fond of you and it would be a shame to lose you to overworking or neglect of any kind.”
“I will. I cannot think of anything I need at this point in time. But thank you for the offer.”
“No problem. I am always here if you need an ear.”
.
Aayla was a bit surprised to get called up for tea with the Chancellor. He did like to do so regularly, but she was used to it including Quinlan or Anakin, at least. But Anakin and Obi-Wan had left days ago, and were currently rushing to aid Naboo, and Quinlan was caught up in some big investigation the Guard was doing to round up some crime rings on Coruscant.
So it was just her available. She took a moment outside the door to remind herself of everything Quinlan, Obi-Wan, and Anakin ever told her about what they picked up with their psychometry. The Chancellor was suspicious and probably manipulative. Thanks to discussions over the years, she was pretty good at spotting when manipulation was happening. But that didn't mean that the manipulation wasn’t convincing. She needed to be ready for that.
“Aayla! Good to see you, do come in.” The Chancellor ushered her to a seat and offered her a cup of her favorite tea. “How are you doing? It has been far too long since we talked!”
Aayla smiled at him and sat down, accepting the tea. “I've been doing well. The war... it's not ideal, but I've made it work.”
“Yes, the war is not what any of us wanted.”
They exchanged some small talk before the Chancellor got around to the real thing he wanted to talk about.
“I heard that Anakin took on a padawan. Why haven't you?”
Aayla groaned. “I wish people would stop bringing that up. I was not ready for a padawan. I am not sure I am ready, even now.”
“And yet Anakin was. That must be frustrating.” The Chancellor sounded quite sympathetic as he sipped his tea.
“It is. Anakin is... Anakin. Love him, but he's always been so good at everything, he's a fast learner, even with his worst skills. He's practically qualified to be a healer knight already, and he's always struggled with healing compared to the other areas. It wasn't something I really noticed and cared about when he was younger... but after he caught up...” Aayla felt heat rise to her face when she realized just how much she had revealed. She focused on her tea for a bit, attempting to calm her emotions so that she did not fall for that again.
“That does sound difficult to deal with. It is always difficult to be the one who lives in the shadows of others. If it is any consolation, you are doing well, and I think if you wanted to, you could handle a padawan.”
The Chancellor could sound so kind… was he really that suspicious? Aayla wondered before she responded with honesty.
“Thank you, Chancellor... but the Force just says 'not now' so I will wait. Even if it's hard to see Anakin training a padawan so soon after being Knighted. And making it seem so easy.”
“And it is just another way you're in the shadows of everyone else. Anakin and Obi-Wan are known as some of the best Jedi in this war, Obi-Wan just about tied the record for youngest master ever on the Council, and your own master is proving his own successes as a member of the Council.”
Aayla winced. “That... that is true,” she said quietly. “I do often feel inadequate compared to them, even for being Knighted at nineteen. But I am doing enough, and I am making my own name for myself in the war.”
“You are, my dear, and you're doing wonderfully. But it is not enough, is it?”
“Yeah. I wish I could make the jealousy go away, but I cannot.”
“Is there anything that would help?”
Aayla shrugged. “A greater feeling of belonging, maybe?”
“As you're not a Kiffar like those you're comparing yourself to.”
“Yeah... Quin has offered to adopt me, but I've always declined and he's never pushed.”
“I'm sorry. I think he should've. It's clearly something you want.”
Aayla was quick to defend her master. “He respected that I wanted to focus on twi'leki culture... even though I could learn both. It's my own fault.”
“Is it really?”
The way he said that... Aayla couldn't find the words to protest. She was pretty sure he was trying to manipulate her but she couldn't figure out why. Why would he want to manipulate her? What could she give him? It didn't make sense. So she was probably wrong. She decided not to mention it to anyone as they continued their conversation.
Besides, she had said far more than she had intended and she didn’t want to get into how she had let herself relax enough for that to happen.
.
Quinlan sat in the corner, pretending to drink. He was right by the door that was employee access only. Which was very important. His comm buzzed. That was the signal. He smirked and waited.
Fox burst in the front door, followed by a squad. “We're taking everyone in for questioning. We have a warrant. The employees are under arrest.”
Chaos erupted. Some of the customers pulled out blasters. Quinlan stood up, and flipped down his hood. He drew his lightsaber, lighting it.
“I would not do that if I were you. Assaulting the Coruscant Guard, or a Jedi, does get you charged. If you've done nothing wrong, I would hate to have to arrest you just because you panicked.” Quinlan smirked as they spun and saw him, many going pale.
Blasters fell to the floor all around while the employees tried to flee. It wasn't going to work. They had all entrances and exits covered, even some secret ones they weren't supposed to know about. Quinlan blocked the employees only door, so that they could be arrested.
Once they were secure, he waved to Fox, who joined him. They were going to find the boss. All the others had been ordered not to go for him. They didn't know what tricks the boss might have up his sleeve.
Fox fell into step with Quinlan. “Very dramatic, Quinlan,” he grumbled.
Quinlan laughed. “And your entrance wasn't? You've been getting better, by the way.”
“We've only busted so many of these. I had to figure it out at some point,” Fox drawled.
Quinlan patted his back before resuming his job. Trying to pinpoint where the boss was. He led the way to an office in a bit of an unexpected place, but since this was a mafia, that made sense. Crime rings tended to keep their bosses in weird places after all.
The boss was sitting behind his desk.
“Hello,” Quinlan greeted pleasantly. “We're here to arrest you.”
“You're that Jedi!” The boss glared at him. “You won't get me alive!” He hit a button and lights started flashing, an alarm started going off. “And you're not going to get out alive either.”
“Well, it doesn't matter to me if you live or die. It'd be nice to make you pay, but I'll settle for taking out your mafia in one swoop.”
Fox meanwhile was letting Thorn and the others know to evacuate quickly. Once that was taken care of he waited to see what was about to happen.
The boss launched himself at Quinlan. “You're ruining years of work! Years of it! We were successful, no one had caught us!”
“So how did I?” Quinlan stepped to the side with a smile. “Well, it's simple. I'm a Jedi who does investigations and I know exactly where to look. Once I had the pieces, it was just a matter of finding the evidence needed for a warrant.” He pulled out his lightsaber, but didn't light it quite yet. “So, are we going to fight? Or are you going to come quietly?”
The boss glared. “I won't let you leave here alive after what you've done!” He attacked again, this time with knives in hand.
Quinlan frustrated him, stepping out of the way, and dodging. Never fighting back. Fox tried to get a good shot, but could not without risking hitting Quinlan instead.
“You just want to stall, don't you?” Quinlan chuckled. “Stalling won't work. I'm a Jedi. I can ensure we live, even if you die, when this building goes.”
“You're bluffing!”
Quinlan held out his hands. “Am I? Can you be sure of what I can and cannot do? I am a good enough Jedi that you recognized me.”
Fox groaned. “You just had to taunt him, didn't you?”
As Fox expected, the boss let out a scream of rage and more seriously started attacking Quinlan. Quinlan smirked.
“That's more like I was expecting.” And then he started fighting back.
After months of working with his general, Fox could tell that Quinlan was still holding back. He was actively fighting, but he was way better than he was pretending. The boss was not that great.
Fox frowned when Quinlan signed with one hand. Trap. Well, yeah they knew it was a trap. Unless... the building might be set to do something, but the boss had other traps in mind. Fox cursed, that actually fit the profile of this boss.
He was smart, and manipulative. Good at backing people into corners and covering all escape routes. Not good at actually fighting. Which meant that there had to be traps in this very office, which was way too big for one person's space, being as big as the Council room.
Fox started searching, finding and triggering several carefully. He noticed a pattern and traced it around the office, straight to where Quinlan was fighting the boss.
“Look out!” Fox yelled, just seconds too late.
Quinlan stepped on the trigger, and several spikes popped out of the wall. Fox had warned him enough that he avoided most, but one entered his shoulder just below what little armor he wore. He gasped, but blocked the next attack of the knives with his lightsaber. He lifted his chin and smiled at the boss.
“Clever. But I am still a Jedi.”
The boss laughed at him. “Even a Jedi can be hurt!” He quickly entered what was clearly phase two of his plan. He pulled out a blaster and started shooting. Quinlan pulled free and dropped to the ground.
Fox started shooting, trusting that his general would have the sense to stay on the ground, and out of the line of fire. Especially with that injury.
Quinlan winced at the way the wound started bleeding, pressing his hand to it. He closed his eyes, breathed out, and applied a technique to slow the bleeding, by making the blood start to clot, then added just enough healing Force to start the healing process. It wasn't the best way to handle a wound like this, but they would still have to be ready to make an escape. There likely wouldn’t be time to bandage it.
Fox was pleased when the boss went down. He hurried over to his general's side. He was unsurprised to see that Quinlan had started the healing process already. This was not the first time he had done so, and Fox had to admit, it was a lot easier to handle everything when his Jedi could just heal and move on quickly.
Quinlan smiled at Fox. “Good job. Now, let's get out here. I don't think the place is going to blow... but I also don't think we're going to like what happens.”
“Right. Quinlan? When are you going to start wearing more armor?” They left the room side by side.
“You think the armor would have stopped the spike?” Quinlan shot back. “Besides, you've seen how much it affects my movement. I'd be more likely to lose or get injured with the armor than without.”
Fox huffed. “How about we put that to the test this time? Once you're cleared, anyways. I want to see proof that the armor is a hindrance rather than a help, and don't you dare get into the psychometry and how bare skin is important. For investigations, not this!”
Quinlan grinned at him. “Oh, fine. We can put it to the test.”
They were deep in the building, nowhere near an exit when they left. So they were still not close to an exit when their time was up. The lights stopped abruptly. And then... There was a bit of an explosion and the roar of fire.
“Okay, enough joking, time to get out of here.” Quinlan's face shifted from amused into serious determination.
“Of course, sir,” Fox agreed, staying right in step with him. He had been bantering because he'd learned that keeping Quinlan's mind off of injuries until they were safe was the best bet, and without a goal beyond getting out, the banter was necessary.
But now they had to escape a burning building. So there was plenty to worry about. It didn't take long to discover that the fire was everywhere. That it had to have been started at different places in the building when the button had been pressed.
Quinlan used the Force to find the safest paths, guiding Fox along, helping him over debris. They had to pause so that Quinlan could cover his face to reduce the smoke inhalation. Then they continued on. The end was in sight. And then they heard crying.
Quinlan felt the Force urging him to the source of the crying, so he didn't hesitate. He pulled Fox over, relying more on the Force than his own vision with the haze the fire had brought out. There was banging coming from a closet, locked. Quinlan broke it open with the Force, not willing to bring his lightsaber into play in a burning building.
His heart dropped. There were children. Five, total. They had known that the mafia had dealt with trafficking, but there weren't supposed to be children in the building. They were all crying.
“Shh, it's okay, we'll get you out of here.” Quinlan pulled off his cloak and split it in half. “Who's the oldest?”
Two identical twi'leks raised their hands. Couldn't be more than ten. They were terrified.
Quinlan smiled reassuringly. “Okay, I need one of you on Commander Fox's back, and one on my back, okay?”
Fox frowned, crouching down to make it easier. “Quinlan, you really think we can get them all out?”
“There isn't time to make more than one trip, so we have to try,” Quinlan responded grimly. He made a sling out of half of his cloak and tied it to Fox's front. Then he took the first baby and settled the crying baby in.
“You look like our pibling,” the five year old whispered, using the Kiffi word, holding onto the second baby.
Quinlan smiled reassuringly, running his bare hand along the youngling's neck. “I bet I do. Now can I take your sibling?”
The five year old nodded, holding up the baby awkwardly.
“Thank you.” Quinlan settled the baby in the sling. “Alright now, one of us is going to have to carry you with one arm, who do you want?”
As he expected the terrified Kiffar youngling reached for him. Quinlan accepted him and settled the youngling on his hip, ignoring his protesting shoulder. The Force went quieter, showing him another path out.
“This way.” He started walking.
Fox followed, checking on the Nautolan baby once. They had to dodge some falling beams, as the fire was starting to make the building fall apart. There was far more flammable in the construction of this building compared to most buildings on Coruscant, likely due to code violations.
Quinlan grit his teeth as the pain increased, but he had to get the younglings out. They found themselves on a balcony. Quinlan frowned.
Fox groaned. “We're going to have to jump, aren't we?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course. Doesn't mean I like this.”
“I know.” Quinlan sat down and meditated on what to do. The fire wasn't close enough to be a concern yet. He noted that all five of the younglings had bright enough Force presences to be considered for the Order, so he would need to make sure that made it into their records. The Order could take temporary custody until family could be found.
“Your comms still working?” he asked Fox abruptly, absently soothing the youngling in his arms in the Kiffar way while the twi'lek buried his head against Quinlan's neck. The baby was worryingly quiet, but not in danger of dying according to the Force.
Fox nodded. “Yes. Why?”
Quinlan grinned, pleased to have a solution. “Alright, give Thorn our coordinates, tell him to bring a speeder with baby seats.”
Fox sighed. “Right.” He glanced back at the fire. “We don't have long... but we should have long enough for that.” He commed Thorn and relayed the instructions, with a note about how long Thorn had to get there.
And then they waited, comforting the terrified children, trying not to worry about the fire creeping their way. Trying not to think about the implications of the children being locked in that closet as the building burned down. The implications of them being in the building at all.
Quinlan especially wanted to make sure that the children were taken care of. And to find out why they were there. Where had their intel fallen through. Because there weren't supposed to be children there. If they hadn't cried, and Quinlan hadn't had the Force to guide them... he would've had five deaths on his hands.
And he didn't know why. He should be better than that. He was better than that. He was on the kriffing Council. So how had he missed this?
Thorn pulled up and quickly helped Fox with the two younglings he had. Quinlan waited until the ten year old and the baby were settled, then passed the five year old over to Thorn. Fox took the baby and settled them in the other baby seat.
Quinlan spun at a warning from the Force, just in time to lift his hands and hold back the fire at the exit.
“General!” Thorn yelled, alarmed.
“Get the kid, I can't hold this forever!” Quinlan ordered. He didn't mention that the landing pad was creaking. It wasn't meant to withstand so much heat. He was more likely to fall than be injured by the fire.
Fox took the screaming ten year old and got him in the speeder, then turned back to get his general. He knew that the moment Quinlan let go of the Force, the fire would over take everything. So it was better to drag Quinlan off himself, and not disrupt the Jedi's concentration.
“Go, Fox. The landing pad can't take our weight,” Quinlan said, voice strained with the difficulty of the task he was attempting.
“I won't leave you behind, general.” Fox picked him up and started walking backwards, towards where Thorn had the speeder. “We are both getting out of here.”
Quinlan didn't answer, too busy trying to contain the growing rage of the fire in front of him. The more he held back, the more it built, so the more spectacular the final explosion into the area it would be. The landing pad wobbled as the metal warped under the heat.
Fox narrowed his eyes and looked at the distance left. He waved at Thorn, gesturing at Thorn to go lower. Thorn did so, probably questioning, but he trusted Fox to know what he was doing.
As Fox and Quinlan reached the end of the landing pad, it started tilting. Fox barely grabbed onto the edge when he slipped off, somehow holding onto Quinlan who was struggling to keep the fire under control.
“Is everyone clear?” Quinlan asked with a grunt.
“Aside from us, yes,” Fox confirmed. “But maybe try letting the fire out slowly, sending it towards the sky?”
“Good idea.” Quinlan concentrated further, letting flames escape up, and slowly relaxing his control on the situation.
Then the landing pad tilted further, and started falling faster. Fox somehow kept his grip on it the entire time. He glanced around, but didn't see Thorn anywhere. Oh well. The kids were safe, then, at least.
And then he saw a pile of speeder parts sliding their way, now that the landing pad was at enough of an angle to allow for that. By then, it was too late to do anything, and they didn't just dislodge Fox's hand, but hit both him and Quinlan hard, breaking Quinlan's concentration. The fire roared out like an explosion. The only thing totally saving them from being barbequed was the landing pad being angled down... and the fact that they were now falling.
Fox grunted when he hit something far sooner than he expected. He opened his eyes and let out a breath.
“Got ya,” Thorn exclaimed, more relieved than anything. “Get seated, we're rushing to the medbay.”
Fox straightened and found himself in the front seat. Quinlan groaned and did not move, so Fox shifted him so that he was being held.
Quinlan opened his eyes. “We're alive.”
“Yes. We have got to talk about you and foolish stunts.”
“We can talk when you have better ideas on how to get everyone to safety with as little injuries as possible. I know you would've done the same thing,” Quinlan shot back
Thorn snickered. “He's got you there Fox.”
“Whatever. What do we do with the younglings?”
Quinlan shifted and looked over Fox's shoulder to smile at the terrified younglings, looking at the two Kiffar in particular. “They're all Force sensitive. The Order will take temporary custody until their families are found.” He grimaced, eyes closing. “And since I don't think I'll be conscious much longer, be sure to request Tholme and Dooku. They're the ones in Temple I'd trust most with Kiffar younglings. Even before... the Council... Ugh... stop...” He was out.
Fox cursed under his breath.
“He's injured?” Thorn asked, alarmed.
“Wound in the shoulder, which he probably made worse with everything that happened. Likely exhausted himself holding back the fire. And then I'm certain what hit us probably caused further injury he was unable to take care of.”
“Right. To the medbay then. Contact Generals Tholme and Dooku?”
“On it.” Fox called them both. Both agreed to head out immediately. Fox relaxed a bit. At least the younglings would be taken care of. Now he just had to worry about his general. His amazingly selfless general.
Fox jumped out of the speeder to the waiting medics with Quinlan in his arms and set him down. Before he could go help Thorn with the younglings, he was ordered for a check up. If he wasn't injured, he was still exposed to smoke and probably would need some oxygen to help with that.
The medics helped Thorn instead. Humerus checked over the younglings after getting Quinlan situated to be dunked into the bacta tank, thankful that surgery didn't seem to be needed. This time. It was a good thing that a couple hours would be enough this time.
Humerus cursed when he realized the two younglings were Kiffar and picked up the baby.
“Alright, Thorn, take the kid. Kiffar have higher needs of touch compared to most, which means these two will need to be with someone at all times. Especially after what they've been through.”
“Right.” Thorn nodded. He had heard rumors about that being why Quinlan was so casually affectionate with all of them, so willing to lean or let them cuddle. It certainly helped many relax around him quickly.
Fox ended up at the bacta tank waiting for Quinlan to be pulled out. He couldn't do long bacta tank stays, like most Kiffar, because after a while healing just halted, and they needed to be cuddled for anywhere from a couple of hours to more than a day before it can be tried again for a couple of hours. And with the baby, cleared except for smoke inhalation, dozing in his arms. The five year old was still with Thorn. The other baby and the twins were with different medics.
Dooku and Tholme entered the medbay and took in the situation quickly. Dooku quickly went to help the medics with the baby and the twins, to everyone's surprise. Del followed, the padawan being very useful when it came to younglings. Del was debating between being an archivist or a crechemaster. Or maybe a researcher for healing.
Tholme swooped in and took the five year old from Thorn, already humming a Kiffar lullaby. The five year old looked up at him, surprised, then snuggled in. Tholme carried him over to join Fox and the baby.
“Hello, Commander Fox. How's Quinlan?”
“General Vos is doing alright. He might need multiple dips into bacta with his required cuddle times. He pushed himself too far after his shoulder was injured.”
Tholme nodded. “Of course he did.”
“Looks like my pibling.” The five year old mumbled into Tholme's shoulder in Kiffi.
“Ah, so you and your sibling are Clan Vos, then, are you?” Tholme asked.
The youngling nodded. “Name's Tyler. That's Toivo.”
“And how did you end up here?”
“Pama and Mapa took us to see Mapa’s family 'cause Toivo hasn't met them yet since he's still little.” Not that little; Toivo was about a year old. “And we were having fun with cousins and then there were bright lights and shouting and screams and it hurt and then...” Tyler sniffled. “I don't know what happened to our parents. But they feel like they're gone.”
“We'll figure it out. What are your parents' names? Or maybe your piblings?”
“Don't know my parents’ names. Pibling Bernard and Craig and Jasmine!”
Tholme stared down at the youngling and wondered if Quinlan knew. “Well, you're in luck. Let me tell you a secret.”
“Really?”
“Mmm-hmm. You see, Quinlan, that would be the Kiffar who rescued you, he used to be my student. But even better than that. He's your family.”
“PIBLING QUINLAN?” Tyler yelled, getting the attention of just about everyone while Fox and Tholme winced from the volume. He whipped around to stare at the bacta tank. “He's a Jedi... are you a Jedi?” Tyler whispered, looking up at Tholme.
“I am. You remember him?”
“He's great and pibling Aayla always plays with me and pibling Obi-Wan is good at telling stories.” Tyler beamed. “But... pibling Quin is hurt.”
“He is. He'll be alright though. I'm here to bring you and your sibling to the Jedi Temple.”
“Really? Why?” Tyler asked curiously.
“Because Quinlan asked me to. And you two, and the other three younglings who were with you, you're all Force sensitive. If you wanted to, and your family agrees, you can be Jedi.”
Tyler's eyes went wide. “Whoa... that's so cool! I... I kind of want to be a Jedi,” he whispered. “I really like them.”
“Well, let's get in contact with your family and find out what they think, then, shall we?”
Tyler nodded enthusiastically.
“Alright.” Tholme rubbed the back of Tyler's neck soothingly. “How about you get on my back and I'll carry Toivo. You good with that?”
“Yeah!” Tyler beamed.
Quinlan groaned when he woke up. He hated waking up from having to be in bacta. Plus. Pain. Always pain. But at least he was comfortable. Family was there. Wait, family? He opened his eyes and looked down. Curled into his side was the youngling he rescued. And now that his face was clean, he recognized Tyler. Bryce's kid. That meant the baby on his stomach was Toivo, who he hadn't had a chance to meet yet.
Fox was lying on his injured side, sleeping as well. Quinlan smiled at him, pleased that his commander was willing to help with the cuddling. This wasn't the first time, and other troopers would join in, but Quinlan loved it when Fox could join him.
“Good to see you awake, Quin.”
Quinlan turned. “Hi, Master. Were you able to get in contact with everyone?”
Tholme sighed. “Yes. And I have bad news. Bryce and his spouse didn't survive the raid.”
Quinlan winced. “Oh no... Not...” He swallowed, taking a moment to process
“I'm sorry Quin. None of them knew that Tyler is Force sensitive. They want time to think.”
“Oh, I thought Bryce would've told them. Obes and I talked to him about it more than once. He thought that since Tyler wasn't affected like I was, it would be fine.”
“Bran suspected that Toivo is Force sensitive. While it doesn't seem as bad, Toivo is affected like you were,” Tholme explained.
“So they may end up staying with the Order?”
“It might even be safest, for now. It's going to be hard to get someone to safely drop off a five year old and a baby on Kiffu right now.”
Quinlan nodded. “Okay. What did Tyler say about the Temple?”
“He's happy. And he wants to stay. He said he knew their parents were dead. Felt it in the Force.”
“Poor kid... but if he's happy here, then I'll just have to remember to visit.”
“He'll like that. He was very excited when he realized who you are. Insisted on coming to visit to help you feel better.”
“Aww, sweet kid.”
“In the meantime, I started assisting your commanders with wrapping up the investigation. It seems that while the mafia did deal in trafficking openly, they kept it secret that their specialty was in high value slaves.”
“And Force sensitives is one of them. Let me guess, they use a midochlorian count to their advantage?”
“Precisely.”
Quinlan sighed. “They must've kept that very under wraps since we missed that.”
“It was in the data that was lifted directly from the building you raided.”
“Okay, good. So there was no way to know about it ahead of time.” Quinlan let out a breath. “Writing up the report is going to be fun. Ugh, and I'm going to have so much formwork to catch up on. Again.”
Tholme chuckled. “You need to stop finding yourself in situations that require you to be injured to escape with as few casualties as possible.”
“I just listened to the Force. We got out of there. Barely.” Quinlan stopped and turned to stare at Fox. “I was holding the fire back. Fox held onto the landing pad with one hand, holding onto me with his other, and I wasn't holding on because I was too busy focusing the Force...” He was awed by the realization, staring at Fox. “I didn't realize he was so strong.”
“Oh, what's this, padawan? Do you have a crush?”
Quinlan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, feeling his cheeks burn. “Maybe... maybe a bit? Fox is amazing.” His voice took on a dreamy tone.
Tholme smiled. “Well, do let me know if anything happens.”
Quinlan huffed. “Tease Obes too, if you must tease. And Aayla. Both also have crushes on their commanders.” He paused. “I think Kit's at the start of one himself, now that I think about it, based on some of his comments. That was a fun drinking night.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Tholme messed with Quinlan's hair affectionately. “Now... It's been a while since we were able to properly catch up. Want to tell me about what you've been doing?”
.
Quinlan was happy to be out of the medbay and allowed to do a little work in his office, as long as he didn’t do more than a few hours at a time before resting. Tyler and Toivo were settling in well. He'd of course be visiting them in the future, but they didn't need to cuddle with him quite as much, which was good. Now that he was getting back to work he wouldn't have as much time for it.
His comm buzzed. He glanced at it and groaned immediately. Not now. He considered ignoring it but knew it was probably not a good idea.
I heard about the injuries. How are you doing, Quinlan?
I'm fine.
Good. You took the younglings I was going to train.
They would have died and they were all kidnapped from their families. Two of them are orphans now.
All the better for my plans. Unfortunately they are now in the hands of the Jedi.
And away from you. Why are you messaging me this time? You know I am not on your side and do not plan to ever be.
Just checking in. You seem quite grumpy.
I'm doing better. I'm not healed.
Oh, I see.
Quinlan waited for a response. But none was forthcoming. He shrugged it off and set his comm to the side again.
He wanted to get through this bit of formwork. He didn't want to get too behind. He didn't want to make the Council do his for too long. They were all already under enough pressure trying to keep from leaving any gaps.
Quinlan made it through and signed it. He was just putting it to the side when his door opened and the temperature dropped.
He stared at the hooded figure that glided in and closed the door behind him.
"...Lord Sidious?"
"Hello Quinlan. I thought since you are still recovering maybe a visit would be in order." Sidious sat down in the empty chair.
Quinlan mentally noted that the Sith had to be nearby if he had made it here so quickly. Even if he had planned to make a visit today, he had to place himself close enough.
"I see. I suppose I do not have a choice, do I?"
"No, you do not. I know how to make your life miserable, along with the lives of all those you care about."
"Yes, yes, your usual threats. I have not forgotten."
"A little reminder does not hurt when you are being disrespectful."
Quinlan huffed and crossed his arms, then winced and adjusted to take the pressure off of his still healing wounds. "So, the reason for this visit?"
"I wanted to talk to you face to face about how you rescued those children. They were to come to me, but you and your commander got to the mafia before that."
"Good." Quinlan looked away when the temperature dropped a bit more. Oops. Right. Angering the Sith was not a good idea. Especially not when the Sith held all the cards.
"I am interested in how you got to the mafia so quickly and efficiently. I had noticed you were clearing out many such groups but I had not realized you were closing in on them."
"You want me to tell you so you can keep me from doing it to your favorites and maybe use it against me."
"Ah, yes. You are an intelligent one. I keep forgetting. I do not work with the most intelligent of people most of the time."
Quinlan just raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me."
"I'm not giving you information to use against me."
Sidious stood and stepped closer to Quinlan, looming over him. "I would rethink that."
"You cannot expect me to give you all the information threats or not. It will look suspicious eventually."
"Astute. But you will tell me."
"No."
"Don't scream." Sidious hit him with lightning, eyes glinting angrily under his hood.
Quinlan gasped, almost screaming but cutting himself off just in time. He shook when the lightning lifted. His still healing body did not approve.
"Now. Tell me."
"I... No."
Lightning again, for an excruciatingly long time.
"Do I need to ask again?"
Quinlan glared at him through tears and gritted teeth as his hands shook with the aftereffects.
"I... I just used my usual investigative methods, with the support of Commander Fox and the rest of the Coruscant Guard. I used one of my usual plans in these sorts of situations that involve cutting off as many routes as possible, and things just... escalated when we found the boss. He set the place on fire and we found the kids on our way out." Quinlan let out a breath as he tried to stop shaking, but every so often a jolt would hit and reignite the lingering pain.
"I suppose that will do this time. But in the future Quinlan?" Sidious lifted his chin. "I will tolerate less disrespect, and you will give me more details. Or soon, you will not be the only one on the receiving end of my ire. Are we clear?"
Quinlan shuddered at his touch. "Yes, Lord Sidious," he forced himself to say.
"Good. Now I shall leave you to it. I have what I wanted." Sidious swept out without another word.
Quinlan stared after him for a few moments before grabbing his holopad and curling up in his chair. He shakily started writing up his unofficial report immediately. He was not going to risk forgetting a single word of what just happened.
But that was horrible and he just wanted to cry the pain out and get some sleep. Once the report was done, he would do so.