************
TITLE: Continuing Education
AUTHOR: ElaineMc - [email protected]
************
RATING: PG - one swear word.
ARCHIVE:
Corellia and Master_Apprentice. Anyone
else, ask, please.
DISCLAIMER: LucasFilm owns all. I'm just borrowing.
SUMMARY:
Being a Jedi is hard. Raising a child
is harder.
NOTES: Just like the others in this sort-of-series,
this story is 100%
plot-free. http://lonejack.simplenet.com/jedi/qgfic.htm
for the others.
Critiques
welcomed.
In the
darkness, Qui-Gon felt eyes watching him.
They followed his every
move,
noted his every breath. He exhaled
slowly, preparing to confront his
watcher.
"Another
nightmare?"
"Yes,
Master," Obi-Wan said, in a small voice.
"Can I sleep with you?"
Qui-Gon
shifted over, and patted the mattress beside him. "Of course. But
the
next time Negara asks if you want to come over and watch monster vids--"
"--I'll
say No, thank you."
"Good
for you. Good night."
Yawn. " 'night."
--
"Just
one, Master, *please*?"
"I
don't think it's a good idea, Obi-Wan.
Sweets tend to make you... overly
energetic."
"But
just *one*, sir...." Obi-Wan fixed
his eyes pleadingly on Qui-Gon.
"Well,
maybe just *one*."
"Thank
you! Do you want one, sir?"
Qui-Gon
shuddered. The sweet, sticky fruit pies
the children loved were a
little
too much for an adult palate. "No,
thank you. You go on, though."
As
Obi-Wan hurried off to collect the pastry from the dessert table, Qui-Gon
could
feel Adi Gallia and Yoda both watching him from the other side of the
cafeteria. He resolutely did *not* look at them.
"It's
a good thing Obi-Wan is so eager to please, and so unwilling to put
himself
forward," Adi remarked. "At
this rate, he'll have Qui-Gon wrapped
around
his finger within a month."
"Complement
one another, they will," Yoda replied, serene. "Inflexible,
Qui-Gon
becomes; soften him, the boy can."
"Perhaps. But what of the boy himself? Qui-Gon Jinn is an admirable Jedi,
but he
may well be too harsh...." Adi
trailed off. She liked the little
Kenobi,
as did many of the other Jedi. He was a
light-hearted child, quick
to
smile and offer friendship.
"Trust
in the Force," was Yoda's only reply.
Adi
nodded.
--
"Master
Mace, why don't *you* have a padawan?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I
will, Obi-Wan, some time. Just not
now." Mace and Obi-Wan walked
through
the meditation garden together. A few
yards behind them, Qui-Gon
was
deep in conversation with Master Yan-l-Yan.
"Soon?"
"I
hope so, yes."
"Master
Qui-Gon said he hopes you do, soon. He
said that it would do you a
world
of good." Obi-Wan frowned. "He laughed when he said it,
though."
"Did
he?" *Qui-Gon -laughed-? That's
something new.*
"Uh-huh. He said it 'gives one a new perspective on
life as a Jedi',"
Obi-Wan
said, obviously quoting.
"I'm
sure it does." Mace refrained from
saying anything else, as the other
Masters
caught up with them.
"Master
Qui-Gon, I'll let you go, now," Yan-l-Yan said. "I'm sure you and
Obi-Wan
were planning to attend tonight's Master and Padawan star-gaze."
"Well,
actually, I hadn't planned on it." Qui-Gon glanced at Obi-Wan. His
apprentice
had noticed a particularly interesting rock, and was kneeling on
the
ground to look at it more closely.
As if
feeling his Master's eyes on him, he looked up quickly. "I don't
really
want to go, either, sir," he said, a little wistfully.
"It
will be a good experience for both of us," Qui-Gon said firmly,
backpedalling
furiously. Spending the evening in the
company of dozens of
other
children and Jedi wasn't his idea of fun; but if Obi-Wan wanted to
go....
As
expected, Obi-Wan's eyes lit up.
"That'll be great! Will you
and Tegan
be
there, Master Yan?"
"Yes,
Obi-Wan."
"And
Master M...." Obi-Wan looked guilty, remembering that Mace hadn't
chosen
a padawan. Then he brightened. "Master Mace, you can come with me
and
Master Qui-Gon! Can't he, sir?"
"Of
course he may," Qui-Gon agreed, easily.
*He has
-you- trained, hasn't he?* Mace smirked.
*Just
wait 'til it's -your- turn,* Yan replied, ruefully. *Having a child--
even
one not of your own body-- changes your entire life.*
*Yes,
it does,* Qui-Gon confirmed, his tone slightly troubled.
---
The
lights of the Coruscant are too bright for any true stargazing. No
matter
where you go along its vast man-made surface, its rising towers and
sprawling
walkways, dark streets and shining heights, the lights of a
thousand
thousand buildings follow you. All you,
or anyone, can see in the
night
sky of Coruscant, are the dim traces of stars.
A
multitude of Masters and apprentices filled the Temple planetarium. The
walls
of the enormous room curved outwardly, very slightly, to form a dome.
Carefully
hidden projectors sprayed out points of light to shape the
constellations
of a hundred solar systems. The air was
filled with the
murmur
of voices, naming the stars. The Hunter
and the Prey. The castle
of
D'rettha. The fourth brother. The bird and the bear. The stone king.
Very
occasionally, one bright spot would flicker, blaze more brightly than
even
before, and vanish.
"Do
you see one of yours, padawan?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Not
yet," Obi-Wan replied, a little absently, as he walked along, very
slowly,
eyes fixed on the ceiling. A gentle
application of the Force from
his
Master kept him from walking into anyone else; Qui-Gon suspected he
wasn't
the only Master doing so.
"There--
up in that corner," Mace said, kneeling next to him. "Do you see?
It's
what my people call the Wirrynd. It's a
bird, a huge bird. See the
wings?"
Obi-Wan
squinted for a moment. "Looks more
like a freighter to me, sir."
"A
freighter?" Mace squinted. "No, no. Look. See, his wings are
spread
all the
way out, and that brightest star-- that's his eye."
"Yes,
sir," Obi-Wan said, obediently, obviously unconvinced.
"You
have to *look*," Mace insisted.
Qui-Gon
watched silently. He was already very
fond of his young student,
but--
for the first time in his life-- could not help but feel that he was
unequal
to this task. All around him, other
Masters and their padawans
moved
about the room, in complete harmony.
Surely he couldn't be the only
Jedi to
have these concerns, these... doubts?
Surely not.
*First
time for everything,* a dubious little voice in his head said.
Afterwards,
Mace went off on his own, leaving Obi-Wan and his Master to
return
to their quarters.
"Did
you see any stars from your planet, Master?"
"No,
Obi-Wan; but I'm glad you found yours."
"So
am I. It makes me feel... you
know."
He
looked down. "Feel what?"
"Kind
of... kind of connected. To everyone
else, I mean, the other Jedi,
and--
well, they're all the same stars, even when we don't have the same
names. They're the same stars, even when we don't
even see them."
"It's
good training. You'll find it easier to
get on in galatic
cartography."
"Yes,
Master." And Obi-Wan was quiet
after that.
---
Qui-Gon
walked along the corridor, heading for the training room where many
of the
younger students gathered after classes were done for the day. He
spotted
Obi-Wan immediately, in a group of children.
At least, he assumed
it was
Obi-Wan. He recognised the way the
Force eddied around his learner.
However,
the learner himself had a large blanket draped over his shoulders,
covering
his face. His friend Lesandre,
similarly equipped, stood a few
metres
away. As if in answer to some unspoken
signal, Obi-Wan began to flap
his
arms violently, roaring-- sort of-- and stamping. The other boy did the
same. They began to chase their playmates, looking
as terrifying as
eight-year-old
boys covered in old raggedy blankets can.
"What,
exactly, do you think think they're doing?" Mace wondered.
"I
wish you wouldn't sneak up on my like that," Qui-Gon said, reprovingly,
although
he had know the precise moment the other man had arrived. "I think
they're
playing... monsters, maybe?"
Obi-Wan
saw them, and abandoned his friends for his Master. "Hello, sir.
Hello,
Master Mace."
"Good
afternoon, Obi-Wan. What game are you
playing?" Mace asked.
"Draigons!"
Obi-Wan said, happily. "We get to
be the draigons, and everyone
else is
Jedi."
"That's
a little violent," Qui-Gon said.
"Isn't there some more educational
game
you might play? Something like--
ow!" He glared at Mace.
"Sorry,
Qui-Gon. Was that your foot?" Mace
glared back. *They're -kids-,
remember?*
Qui-Gon
blinked, then looked over. The children
were having a good time.
He
looked down. Obi-Wan wasn't. *Damn.*
"You
know, draigons can fly," he said, slowly.
"Yes,
sir." Obi-Wan flapped his 'wings',
somewhat sadly.
"Well,
then. If you're going to play, do it
properly." And, with a very
slight
nudge of the Force, Master Qui-Gon Jinn lifted his padawan learner
into
the air, and sent him, shrieking with glee, to hover over his friends.
"You
know we're going to get in trouble," Mace said.
"I
know. But at least it's fun."
"Who
are you, and what have you done with-- ow!"
"Was
that your foot? Now shut up and get the
other one."
Mace
obliged; and Lesandre went sailing into the air with his friend.
The
Masters were soon occupied with their task [Piloting small boys was, as
it
turned out, a *lot* harder than it looked.], and forgot about such issues
as
restraint, decorum, and noise level.
When the room *did* fall quiet, it
did so
with an abruptness that could only mean one thing.
"Put
them down," Master Yoda directed, sternly.
With a
whoosh, the two boys were returned to the floor.
"To
your quarters, go," Yoda said to the students.
With a
rumble of little feet moving very quickly, they did.
"Students
they are," Yoda said.
"Yes,
sir," Qui-Gon and Mace replied.
"Not
starships."
"No,
sir."
"Serenity
and tranquility they must learn."
"Yes,
sir."
"Provide
good role models, you should."
"Yes,
sir."
"See
this again, will I?"
"No,
sir." *Not if we can help it.*
"Heard
that, I did...!"
--
It was
rather a long time later when they emerged, chastened. Lesandre and
Obi-Wan
were waiting for them.
"Are
you in real trouble?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No
more than usual," was his Master's honest reply. "Come, now. Time for
meditation. We'll eat in our quarters."
"Yes,
Master. See you later, Lesandre. Bye, Master Mace."
Left
alone, the Shistavanen boy and the human man looked at each other.
They
both grinned.
And the
next moment, Lesandre, new Padawan to Mace Windu, went flying
through
the air on the wings of the Force.
--
The
eyes were on him. They watched him
closely, closely.
"No
more horror vids *ever*, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon yawned, moving over to make
room
for the boy.
"Never,"
Obi-wan agreed, fervently.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes,
sir?"
"Don't
steal the covers this time."
Snickering. "Yes, sir."
Silence.
"Master?"
"Mmmm?"
"Could
you try not to snore? Because that
*really* gives me nightmares."
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes,
sir?"
"Sleep. *Now.*"
And a
little more snickering. "Yes,
sir. See you in the morning."
"Good
night."
"G'night."
END
--
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