Catching the pad before it could
hit the floor, Mace absently scrolled through it while pretending his
ears weren’t burning as the commander continued gaping at him.

Looking
back on the past, there was a lot they could have done better for
Obi-Wan when it came to his apprenticeship to Qui-Gon, stricter
controls, more questions. Qui-Gon had been a good teacher but… he
wasn’t always the best caregiver.

Mace
wasn’t one to speak ill of the dead but he could willingly admit
that but back then…

Oh
he wasn’t sure.

He
just thought it was Qui-Gon’s unique method of raising a padwan
just like Shaak. ‘And look what happened to them, dead and
Obi-Wan a reckless wraith.’
He thought bitterly to himself.

“So
its true?” Commander Cody finally rasped out, prompting Mace to
look up from the troop movements of the pad. “His former teacher
actually traded him away for a bag of turnips?” He swallowed
heavily, redness starting to appear on his cheeks.

Anger.

But
considering the subject…

Mace
nodded before sighing deeply. “Qui-Gon Jinn was a deeply flawed and
hurt man and while we questioned him, we didn’t always ask the
right questions,” He set the pad down on the table. “Or at least
not the right questions in regards to his padawan.”

It
hurt to realize he couldn’t defend Qui-Gon when it came to Obi-Wan
and his… lack of self care?

His
recklessness for his life?

His
constant manner of putting himself down while projecting a mask of
everything being fine and confidence?

No,
Mace was not about to defend Qui-Gon in regards to Obi-Wan for there
the man had failed. He had made a Jedi out of a teenager and broken
the man that teenager had become at the same time with a lack of
enough affection and care, with thoughtless actions or words.

Humans
thrived on contact and positive attention.

Something
Obi-Wan in his youth had not gotten enough of clearly and
now it was biting him in the ass.

Biting
all of them in the ass who cared about Obi-Wan really.

Like
Commander Cody who was staring at the wall with narrowed eyes, hand
curling and uncurling from a fist as if he wanted to punch something.
‘Bet Qui-Gon’s nose would be even more crooked if he was still
alive.’ Mace mused to himself.

Finally
Cody saluted him and marched away, a snarl on his face as he grabbed
another from his group and asked to spar. Honestly most of the 212^th
was making their way out, all of them leaking a mix of confusion,
anger and raw protectiveness that came from caring about their
General.

All
of them going to deal in their own way that Jedi could be even more
flawed than they had realized and troopers, who worked so closely
with Jedi, knew better than anyone how flawed they were.

‘…I
wonder how many stories they are going to find.’ Mace watched them
go, sighing a bit to himself before sitting down to continue working
with Ponds joining him. The worst part was that only a few of the
stories about Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were exaggerated.

Most
of them were true.

And
at least half of them would put Qui-Gon in a bad light in raising the
boy who had become the man they knew. They would show a rebelling
Jedi master who was trying to do his best for the people around and
follow the will of the Force as he said… but also one who could be
oblivious to the pain or discomfort of his padawan.

‘Oh
Qui-Gon, what have we all done?’ Mace shook his head and focused on
work, pressing his shoulder to Ponds for some minor comfort.