22 BBY, Month 8
Shaak Ti
Shaak Ti waited for the door to close behind Rylann before making her case. An unfamiliar feeling rose within her.
"Are you mad?" Shaak Ti asked, pursing her lips as she clasped her hands together.
"No, but are you?" Mace Windu replied, brows furrowed at her outburst.
"You made a Council decision without me," Shaak Ti stated, shaking her head. "One regarding my future and the future of my padawan."
"We thought you were too close and your judgment could be clouded," Mace said.
"I've had my share of padawans," Shaak Ti retorted, venom rising in her voice. "Has my judgment ever been faulty?"
Plo Koon and Kenobi looked amongst themselves guiltily. "No," Kenobi finally said.
"But now I can feel a difference," Windu said, leaning forward. "You are acting differently. Pulled back. Defensive. Almost like you are hiding something."
Shaak Ti pushed down the fear and anxiety that rose in her gut. She had to protect Rylann. "Like you said, I've been busier than usual, but that has not hindered me from my duties. Only my ceremonial duties to you and your social standards."
Windu narrowed his eyes. "And it's this, too." He gestured to her. "Kenobi had the same problem with his padawan. The snapping, the rebellion—it doesn't suit you."
Shaak Ti felt anger rise to her head, heating it like a flame. "You talk about my judgment being clouded, but it might be yours." Gasps echoed throughout the call and Shaak Ti almost felt like smirking. "If there is anyone remotely as rebellious as your previous padawan, you judge them all the same. Not every strong-headed, thrill seeker will abandon the Jedi ways, Mace."
Shaak Ti could feel Kenobi wince at the mention of the padawan. She felt bad for bringing her up, but she had to get Mace and the Council to see his pattern of hatred.
Mace sneered at her. "We are done here." He waved her off. "Leave before you are removed from the Council."
Shaak Ti straightened, nodding to him. "Don't tempt me. It seems that the Council is no longer an advisory body of voices for the Jedi and their ways. It's now a mouthpiece for the words of Mace Windu and the whims of his fancy." Shaak Ti bowed. "See you on Coruscant in the tenth month."
And she exited the room.
【 ⌖ 】
The next day, Shaak Ti sat in her room at the desk, watching the clock. Rylann would be leaving for Coruscant in less than an hour and she hadn't been able to say goodbye yet.
She heard a door open in the hall which she guessed was Rylann's door. Shaak Ti stood up about to open her own door when she paused. She heard voices.
"I'm glad you're okay," Rylann's voice said, though it was muffled through the thick metal of the door.
"Why do you have your bags packed?" It was Crosshair. Straight to the point.
Rylann was silent. "The Council is sending me to Coruscant to 'finish my training,' whatever that means."
"What about us?"
Rylann heaved a loud sigh. "The Batch will have to wait until after I graduate—"
"No, what about us?" Crosshair clarified.
"We will need to talk through it at some point, but I don't know when." There was a long pause. "I want to say goodbye to the boys."
Shaak Ti stepped away from the door as the footsteps receded down the hall. She had once had a similar situation and conversation which only made her more sad. She knew her padawan had to forge her own journey, no matter what the Jedi said. The visions made it clear of that. If only the Force had been clearer about her own life.
A knock on the door startled her. Making her way over, the door slid open revealing Kenobi. Shaak Ti blinked back in shock. "Obi-Wan, what brings you to Kamino?"
"I decided to escort Rylann myself," Kenobi said, eyes saddening. "It was the least I could do."
"What was the most you could do?" Shaak Ti asked, the door closing behind him. "You could've put your foot down. If you don't start standing up to Mace, you'll just enable him."
Obi-Wan's lips twitched down for a moment. "You know he doesn't fully trust me after Marssa."
"He doesn't trust anybody after Marssa," Shaak Ti muttered, pushing back the painful recollection as she made her way to the couch, sitting down on it, datapad of the new clone training exercises in hand.
"He is right in some aspects, you know," Kenobi said, playing with his beard in thought as he leaned against the desk.
Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "What do you mean?"
"She's not ready." Kenobi crossed his arms, maintaining her harsh gaze.
"I beg to differ," Shaak Ti stated, scrolling through the datapad to distract herself. "Plenty of others have made mistakes even before graduation. Need I remind you of the Torlek Negotiation?"
Obi-Wan frowned looking away. "Yes, but the situation was volitable."
Shaak Ti sat the tablet down. "I told you that Mandalore was too tricky for their first mission," Shaak Ti said, standing up to make her way to the desk. "Since I am her master and know my padawan, you should have trusted me." Shaak Ti placed a hand on his shoulder. He relaxed beneath her touch.
Kenobi's eyes drifted up to Shaak Ti. "I do trust you, but I've seen signs that you've grown attached to your padawan."
Shaak Ti removed her hand as if his shoulder had been ice. "And you've not? I know it's been awhile since you've had one, but we are teaching people, Obi. People with feelings and strengths and weaknesses. It's about time we stop treating them as droids and as people instead."
Kenobi nodded, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "I know you're right, but trying to convince the whole Council—or Mace—would be a different story."
"Yes," Shaak Ti said with a sigh. "I hope they get distracted by the Correllian Military Initiative instead, forgetting about all of this. It'd be better for Rylann and the Bad Batch that way."
"You've grown attached to them, too," Kenobi said softly, hand grazing over hers on the desk.
"They are good for Rylann and she is good for them," Shaak Ti admitted, letting out a breath as she slipped her fingers from his. "Rylann is with them now, so you could meet them before you leave."
After removing herself from the desk, she gestured to the door. Kenobi's eyes read hurt, but Shaak Ti didn't care at that moment. If he wanted someone to comfort him or someone to comfort, he chose Satine long ago. No need to pull her back into it. Not again.
Kenobi left, the door sliding closed with a finality that made Shaak Ti want to weep. But there was no time for that. There were meetings upon meetings for her to face. And she needed to bid her padawan goodbye. She didn't want Kenobi to see her tears. Then he'd know he'd won.