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ladyofleithianDisclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: I think I got Qui-Gon and Anakin down okay for the most part, as well as Padme and Maul. Also, there are some Les Miserables references in this chapter. Let's say that I was at the peak of my Les Mis obsession when I wrote this. XD
“The boy’s skill in the Force, impressive it is, Master Qui-Gon...very impressive indeed.”
Even now, standing in the Council Chamber, protectively standing beside Anakin, Qui-Gon could already feel the first trickles of apprehension start to flow up his spine. Master Yoda was obviously impressed with the boy’s progress, that much was clear, and yet something about his words -- there seemed to be a quaver of a warning in the Force, as if the Council was going to make a considerable mistake.
But what mistake could they make in having him train Anakin? Was the boy not the Chosen One, destined to vanquish the Sith and bring balance to the Force? Was that not what the Council wanted?
“Very well,” Qui-Gon said, keeping his voice level -- he had become quite good at it over the years. “Shall he be trained?”
“No,” Yoda said, “Trained the boy will not be.”
“What?”
Though his voice was still level, Qui-Gon felt, almost, as if he had been slapped. No, worse than that -- pushed down, like he was still a Jedi Padawan. He had never been quite popular with the Council due to his unorthodox methods -- if anything, it was a miracle that the Council still tolerated him there, considering how they felt about seeming dissenters, or those who seemed to not follow the Code.
Still, for Qui-Gon Jinn, there was plenty of room to be made to break the Code, at least at times. If anything, his philosophy was that to be a good Jedi was to do the right thing, and to let the rules, let duty take care of itself.
Obi-Wan didn’t seem to have grasped that concept. He was a good Padawan, Obi-Wan, but he seemed so terrified of falling to the Dark Side, of failure, that sometimes, he seemed to follow the Code to the letter. Even now, what Obi-Wan had said prior to the meeting with the Council had stung him -- even if Obi-Wan had no doubt only meant it as helpful advice, and not as a condemnation.
Master, if you would just follow the Code, you would be on the Council.
Obi-Wan was a good man, that could not be denied. But the boy had much to learn.
"He is too old," Mace Windu said. "Too filled with fear to complete his training."
Yoda leaned back, almost as if deep in thought, listening to the Force, before speaking again. "Clouded this boy's future is."
"Nevertheless," Qui-Gon said, "Should he be the Chosen One...if he is not to be trained by anyone else on the Council..."
Silence. The Council seemed to be holding their breaths, as if to see what Qui-Gon would say next.
"I will train him instead."
More silence. If anything, the Jedi Council seemed – in the calmest way possible, Qui-Gon thought wryly – flabbergasted by the idea that he would take two apprentices at once. Even now, Qui-Gon could not help but look sideways at Obi-Wan – who seemed equally anxious and apprehensive – and wonder if he was doing the right thing, all but pushing Obi-Wan off to the side in such a fashion. He and Obi-Wan had been partners, Master and Padawan, for as long as he could remember, since Obi-Wan was a boy, since Obi-Wan had been nearly shipped off to the Agricultural Corps for, as the Council put it, “difficulties controlling his anger”. He could not say it was the first “rescue”, of sorts, that he made (he had been used to such things since he was a boy), but it was the beginning, at least, of doing things that defied the Council – much to Obi-Wan’s chagrin.
Master, if you just followed the Code, you’d be on the Council…
He couldn’t help but feel a stab of bitterness at Obi-Wan at first, but then again, how could he be bitter? Obi-Wan was only a boy, after all – young, naïve, afraid – how could he possibly get angry at him when the boy didn’t quite know better?
The boy had known nothing but the constraints of the Jedi Code since the time he was a babe in the crèche, since the time he was a youngling under Master Yoda’s tenure, and even now, as Qui-Gon’s young, brash, perfectionist Padawan. How could he possibly get angry at him?
Nonetheless, Obi-Wan had done much to prove his worth over the years. It was time for him to move on.
“An apprentice you have already, Master Qui-Gon,” Yoda said, his ears flattening forward in disapproval. “Impossible it is to take on a second.”
“That is not the intent. If anything…I do believe that Obi-Wan is ready to face the trials.”
The Council went utterly silent again. Obi-Wan looked as if Qui-Gon had gone mad – at the very least, he looked it briefly; as quickly as that flash of emotion came, he managed to collect himself as he said, “Master Qui-Gon is right. I am ready for the trials.”
Silence.
“There is still the matter of the boy’s age,” Master Windu said. “He will go with you to Mandalore – but he will not be trained.”
“I understand.”
Even now, leaving the chamber, Qui-Gon could not help but feel the crushing disappointment radiating from the child by his side. But it was more than that. It was also crushing vulnerability – a lost slave boy, separated from his mother, still holding out hope that his dreams would come true.
They will, Anakin. Qui-Gon’s hand gently brushed the boy’s shoulder in a reassuring touch. They will.
Anakin didn’t quite smile, but a hint of it came through the tears that threatened to fall – and even that was like morning breaking across Coruscant itself.
***
It was on Mandalore that Padme felt it – the disturbance in the Force. At first, it was quiet, but like a sound building, it grew more noticeable – too strong to ignore. And more than that, it was like a star coming into existence. A candle flickering into being.
“You felt it?” Maul’s voice was quiet and level as usual – even now, it unsettled Padme, how Maul could always be so calm. Even now, she could not help but shiver to think of what Maul must have gone through in order to become the implacable killing machine he was. But then again, it was the way of the Sith. Sacrifices had to be made. There was no room for attachment.
And even now, this tentative alliance would have to eventually end in death, for either her or Maul. Padme made a note to be prepared for that occasion. So even now, around Maul, she kept her guard – her hand on her training saber, looking at Maul with carefully disguised wariness.
“I did.” Even now, Padme could not help but feel her guard slip, if only a little. “It’s a sign, isn’t it? Of someone coming to our side.”
“It could be,” Maul said, “But I do advise you to be wary still. Even with the supposed ‘Chosen One’ on our side, I doubt it will be enough. The Jedi are dangerous foes, and while it may be easy to sit there and swat them like insects – ’’
“I didn’t say that.”
“My mistake, then,” Maul said. “But as I was saying, those like Master Yoda will be harder to…catch, so to speak.”
“I can imagine.” Master Yoda was already renowned as one of the best duelists in the Order; the fact that he was knee-high to, say, a krayt dragon was only used to his advantage, as he could become a whirlwind of destruction whenever he desired.
“And even without Master Yoda,” Maul said, “We may have to still be wary. Arrogance has no place in the Sith ranks; if anything, it is the quickest way a Sith may be brought down.”
“That’s definitely true.” If there was anything she learned under Lord Sidious’ tenure, it was never to let her guard down. It was to never get too comfortable in victory – even if they won at Mandalore, there was much more trouble to come
And for that trouble, they had to be prepared.
