Summary: Newly knighted Qui-Gon Jinn teaches/learns a lesson
while in the Temple Gardens after hours.
Spoilers: Not really. Assumes Yoda was Qui-Gon's master, and
also assumes, as Jude Watson does, that Qui-Gon had only two
apprentices, rather than three.
Archive: Qui-Gon Jinn Discussion List, Master_Apprentice, TBC
and XaniEB. Others please ask. I'll probably say yes!
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Kerby, who very helpfully beta'd my
story for me at a moment's notice!
Warnings: There's a frog in the story. Beware! giggles
insanely And NO SMUT OR SLASH whatsoever! (I know my
readers will be surprised.)
Disclaimer: All characters in this piece belong to George Lucas
and Jude Watson/Dave Wolverton. I promise I will be good and
not sell them on the open market, or in fact, receive any funds
whatsoever from this endeavor. I just wanna have fun, and I can
do that without money, but I MUST write! :=)
Mid-evening in the Temple. The artificial illumination far
above the still waters of the spacious pool flowed darkly
across the shadowy corners of the empty Temple Gardens. No
echoes sounded through the high ceilings; no stirrings at all.
The hidden floor to the vast lake pool was still and bare, save
for a small motionless figure sitting in the deepest blue bed
beneath the water's surface. Its feet curled serenely around
the well-disguised drain grate, and its small coarse robe
floated quietly outward from its tiny form.
The Force flowed upwards in a contrasting, incessant torrent
through the water, through the tingling, humid air surrounding
the Jedi Master. His long green ears waved, free of gravity,
hearing only water sounds, yet supersensitive to the fantastic
energy pulsing through him. Yoda's eyes were closed. No
aquabreather broke the relaxed features of his wizened face. He
was a perfect conduit for great power, quiet power. There was
no greater concentration of Force in the Temple at this moment.
And yet Yoda managed to keep the water around him perfectly
calm, never betraying his presence in a physical way.
On the shore, a large-framed shadow rose to its full height and
stretched itself limb by limb. Qui-Gon Jinn's hair still bore
the awkward, almost spiking angles of a growing out padawan
style. A shaggy ponytail extended from the back of his head.
His eyes were midnight, glints of blue caught by an occasional
flicker of stray light. The Temple was in full evening dark.
The great banks of illumination far above him were powered down
to minimum intensity for the evening, providing just enough
light so that the entire Garden stood in deep silhouette.
For a long moment, Qui-Gon paused by the deep pool near the
bridge and looked down. He felt the pinpricks of dangerous
energy, held delicately by his small master as threads in a
rare and perfect weaving. Yoda was truly amazing. Never
ostentatious with displays of mastery in the Force and in its
ways, he made it perfectly clear how much power he wielded in
little ways, to those who knew him and to those who knew what
to look for.
Qui-Gon was a new Knight. He did not feel much different. His
trials had taken all his learning and all his insight to pass.
He felt as though he had just thrown a big rock. But he could
still see the rock, and he knew that those obstacles which he
had faced in his trials would come back in his Knighthood,
demanding the same impeccability of action and thought. They
were not empty tests. Every mission he and his master undertook
made that clear as Alderaanian crystal.
Qui-Gon sighed deeply and allowed his master's Force to wash
over him. The power there was immense, yet calm and without a
hint of instability. As he drank it in, he realized that sleep
would come easily this night; a perfect peace settled over
Qui-Gon's body and soul, coming to rest in his center. The
young man smiled suddenly, a big, unselfconscious grin. He
would miss training every day with Yoda. He didn't realize just
how closely he was bound to him, until he experienced moments
like this one. He felt a stirring within him, something he had
not felt as a padawan. New avenues were opened to him now. He
was in charge. He would never forsake his master's advice and
guidance, but now it was up to him to make the hard decisions.
Tears had risen unbidden in Qui-Gon's eyes, and he shook his
head suddenly and turned around, facing the shadows behind him,
the rest of the Temple, now shrouded in darkness, awaiting the
new knight. Qui-Gon blinked to clear his eyes; a new mission
began in only a week. He would be accompanying another Knight
and his padawan. What would it be like to have a padawan? Would
he experience the peace he now felt, only from the other side?
Would he sit on the bottom of the lake, powerful and centered,
while his padawan drank the energy he channeled, growing closer
to the Force, raising to greater heights this tower of strength
that now stood fully formed in Qui-Gon's breast?
In a second, Qui-Gon realized that he had been carried away. He
was on a cusp, a new knight, stepping into the shadow realms,
facing the unknown. His great frame heaved in a sigh which
carried him into the dark tree-lined paths near the pools and
fountains. He let go of his master's support, the strong Force
that came from without.
When Qui-Gon did that, he found himself feeling Force from
everywhere. His own familiar green-hued energy which walked
with him and shone just enough so that he could tell he walked
within his own skin, the low but powerful violet of the living
plants in the Garden, strong white lines of Force rising from
the pools behind him, small, grayish signatures of small
animals nearby. The room teemed with the Force, all kinds, and
he could see it all. As he drank in the Force around him, he
began to notice something new.
Behind the trees, a small reddish-gold signature lurked. It was
trying to be still, to blend in, but Qui-Gon could tell the
young humanoid was too young to hide the power which flowed
around him always as a Jedi. Judging from the stature, he was
probably about 7-8 years old, an initiate, a thin silhouette
against the greater blackness spreading slowly through the
Temple grounds.
Qui-Gon breathed slowly and concentrated on the radiance of the
Force emanating from the small form. It was directed, unusually
strongly and narrowly for the skill level of a young human.
Qui-Gon watched as the small shadowy figure knelt; then he saw
the object of its scrutiny. A small gray frog floated just off
the ground in front of the figure. As Qui-Gon's eyes became
accustomed to the dark around him, he was able to make out the
features of the human in dull panoramic shades of gray. It was
a young boy; his face stood out in its paleness even in the
engulfing darkness of the powered down Gardens. A long mane of
stringy dark hair fell around the boy's shoulders. He had
obviously been swimming recently.
Qui-Gon allowed the boy to continue his Force-manipulations on
the floating frog. He wanted to see what the boy hoped to gain
from his unselfconscious game. A small tendril of glowing red,
directed Force had engulfed the little creature; it became as a
glowing bubble, floating alone, tied to the boy by his thread
of control.
A faint bubbling rose from behind Qui-Gon. He recognized it as
Yoda, rising from the pool; the meditation was ended. Qui-Gon
was accustomed to the routine that Yoda had set years ago. The
pool meditation was a tradition for this, the last hour of the
last day of the month. It was difficult, and Qui-Gon had not
always joined with his master in the full underwater session,
as tonight. Qui-Gon had remained on the shore, providing a land
counterpart to Yoda, but he had felt a rising sensation within
him; he could no longer remain still. So he had wandered in the
night garden and found the young boy, who was up far beyond his
prescribed bedtime.
The bubbling distracted the boy somewhat. The frog began to
fall, and a small white arm shot out to catch it. However, the
frog never, in fact, fell from its dais of air. Qui-Gon reached
out with the Force and held it, lowering it safely and slowly
to the ground. The sudden addition of the new Force signature
cause the boy to jerk his head around unerringly to the spot
where Qui-Gon stood in shadow. A small surprised gasp escaped
the boy's throat, and he froze where he was. Qui-Gon stepped
forward into the boy's sight.
Qui-Gon could not suppress a smile and light chuckle as he
watched the small sparkling eyes slowly work their way up his
tall frame. The boy had not only been found out; he had come
face to face with a giant. It took a full thirty seconds for
the boy's eyes to reach Qui-Gon's. His little neck was craned
so severely that it looked as if he would fall over backwards
if he maintained the position he now held. Qui-Gon took pity
and sank to his haunches, facing the boy, whose eyes were wide
with the understandable surprise of having been caught, but
also with a hint of defiance; a strong soul indeed.
What happened next was not typical of an initiate's reaction to
having been caught at something. The boy stepped back, placed
one hand in front of him and one at his side and completed a
formal bow, his eyes lowering deferentially for an instant,
then raising back to snap into place with Qui-Gon's. "Well met,
sir. I apologize for my presence beyond operating hours. I will
return to my proper place, sir Knight. "
Qui-Gon would have laughed out loud at such erudition from an
eight year old, but he now recognized who he was looking at.
The little aristocratic boy he had picked up from Telos only
about four years ago. Xanatos. Still aristocratic, he could
see. "Hello, Xanatos. Do you remember me?" A small shake of the
head. "I'm Qui-Gon, the Jedi who found you on Telos. "
"I remember now. You were a padawan, weren't you? I remember
the funny haircut. And your master was Yoda, the little green
guy." Xanatos stopped speaking and his eyes swerved around
Qui-Gon's bulk suddenly when he realized the little green guy
of whom he had just spoken was approaching him at that very
moment.
Qui-Gon felt his master's approach, but he did not turn. "Found
someone you have, Qui-Gon. Unusual at this hour. Past a young
one's bedtime it is, I should think. Yeeessss. Hmmm." Qui-Gon
sighed lightly. Yoda only spoke that way when he was amused or
annoyed. Amused was probably closer to the truth, for Yoda had
ambled over to the hapless frog who had escaped Xanatos'
clutches only moments before. He bent as only a small creature
can and retrieved the slow-moving frog from the grassy soil it
wallowed in. The frog wiggled in Yoda's firm three-fingered
grasp, but it did not seem to be nervous or jumpy. The small
Jedi Master rose and ambled to his former padawan's side. His
huge deep eyes fixed Xanatos in an appraising stare. He looked
down at the frog, then up at Xanatos, repeating this sequence
two or three times.
Qui-Gon noticed that Xanatos had started to fidget a little.
Yoda always knew how to make an initiate nervous if he wanted
to do so. "Binaroo frog, this is. Interesting species, can feel
and manipulate the Force, it can. Can float on its own if it
wishes, young Xanatos. But it never floats its prey to its
grasp, nor does it use the Force in any way, save to move
around. Why, you ask? Natural it is for the frog to do so.
Developed for hunting, its body is. Senses prey using the
Force, but hunts it using its body. Interesting frog, yes?"
Yoda's impromptu lesson was making Xanatos fidget even more,
but the boy suddenly stopped when he saw Qui-Gon's hard gaze
upon him.
"Young Binaroo use the Force for gathering food they do.
Yeeesssss. Just as you use the Force to gather the frog, know
you do that this frog can float on its own. A pleasure it has
been, young Xanatos. To bed you must go. " Yoda swept past
Qui-Gon and began his way down the light graveled path which
led back to the main atrium. He stooped at the foot of a large
tree and allowed the frog to leap from his grasp, which it did
without hesitation. The frog quickly disappeared from view in
the thick undergrowth. As Yoda faded away down the path, he
called back, "For young Knights, their own bedtime can they now
decree. Unless on mission they be."
Qui-Gon laughed despite himself. He enjoyed his master when he
was in a good humor, but he thought the lesson was a bit sudden
and off-putting for his young friend, who stood motionless, his
eyes following, large and staring, down the path Yoda had
walked. Tears began to form around the corners of Xanatos'
eyes; they began to shine in the light which filtered from
beyond the Garden. Qui-Gon recognized the lesson Yoda gave, but
he feared that Xanatos did not. It was not something an eight
year old initiate would grasp in its fullness. Qui-Gon found
himself wrapping his arm gently around Xanatos, hugging him
firmly, then facing him seriously.
Xanatos did not flinch. He met Qui-Gon's eyes steadily, even
though his face was darkening and he breathed a little
raggedly. He wants to understand Qui-Gon found himself
thinking. He did show a high level of Force proficiency,
even if he directed it against a hapless frog. No harm was
done. Qui-Gon sighed and realized he too was learning from
this experience.
"My master speaks in riddles, but he is wise. You understand
the frog is a living creature, and you must not influence other
living creatures using the Force unless it is absolutely
necessary. That's what he was saying. " Qui-Gon found a layer
opening within him as he watched Xanatos' face light up.
"I understand, Qui-Gon Sir, and I won't do it again. " Xanatos'
eyes set in a serious gaze. He stood perfectly still, his arms
by his side, the picture of perfect obedience.
Qui-Gon suddenly smiled when he realized the second part of the
lesson in a flash. He held Xanatos' shoulders loosely and
smiled unrestrainedly into the boy's set face. Yoda had also
made it quite clear that this was in the nature of a young
being, in the realm of exploration. Xanatos was learning to use
the Force. He had not harmed the frog, and now he would think
twice before he used the Force in that way again.
Xanatos' brow creased as he stared into Qui-Gon's amused face.
He didn't see the humor, but now he understood the lesson.
Slowly, the young Knight stood to his full height, grasping
Xanatos' small white hand as he did. A deliberate but unhurried
motion began. Xanatos felt himself being pulled down the path
Yoda had just taken. He allowed Qui-Gon to guide him in
silence.
Several moments later, as they emerged into the softly lit
corridors of the initiates' housing wing, Qui-Gon broke the
silence, his voice oddly pitched. "To bed you must go, young
Xanatos. Talk more of this we will, when feel the need you do.
Sleep you must. Growing you are." Qui-Gon had Yodaspeak down
pat. He had practiced for years. It broke the monotony of long
mission voyages, and he could see that Xanatos was highly
amused, even though the boy did not smile. His eyes sparkled,
but, Qui-Gon thought, he wouldn't allow himself to laugh in
front of a Jedi Knight. The boy merely nodded and bowed, his
pale face reddening slightly.
"Thank you, Qui-Gon sir. I will. I must go to bed now. "
Xanatos turned and nearly ran down the dim hall which led to
his quarters with the other initiates. Qui-Gon heard a small,
high-pitched peal echo back up the corridor. Xanatos was
laughing uncontrollably. Qui-Gon sighed and a small grin spread
across his face, brightening his deep blue eyes. Well, it's
good to know that my sense of humor still works.
Qui-Gon found himself staring down the empty corridor after
Xanatos. A long moment of unreality washed over him. He saw
himself slipping into his master's role. Xanatos had reacted
well to his "lesson". Shivers of satisfaction rose within
Qui-Gon at the thought of his having actually conveyed a
difficult concept successfully to an eight year old initiate.
The bright student had taken his lesson as it was offered--such
clear exchange! He would enjoy the role of master when the time
came. No wonder Yoda still took padawans at his age.
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