Chariot's of 'Ire'…
PART 1: Humiliation.
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Qui-Gon couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it!
If anyone had given odds prior to the race that he and his apprentice would win the most prestigious event in the Master/Padawan sports day he would have said that they were a crystal shot of a lightsabre. But for whatever reason, the force had deigned that the day would be theirs. A triumphant collaboration: a perfect matching of master and trainee, together in complete unison and harmony. Strong in the force.
All the events were designed to be both challenging and fun. The Jedi had always had such a bad press for being stuffy and rigid, and for the past ten years Yoda had been trying to find ways of making the image of the Jedi a little less severe.
These events had been the result.
Most of them had been created specifically with the idea of working with the force. Puzzles, lightsabre matches, tasks of agility and skill… it was meant to be highly competitive, yet fairly fought.
No cheating.
Qui-Gon thought that if Yoda had been aware of just how competitive it really was, he would probably have abolished the whole thing. A Jedi should take pride in his achievements and always strive to do his best, but not at the cost of inducing bad feelings and un-sportsman like behavior. And Qui-Gon wanted to win!
Badly.
He and his apprentice were just ten points clear of their nearest rivals, Master Sal-Fina and her padawan Ambianca. The points tally showed that if Sal-Fina and her stuck-up apprentice won the final event, they would be declared over-all champions. And Qui-Gon was not about to let that happen.
The last event was the silliest of the lot: the sack race. Why Yoda had decided to include this in the schedule was quite beyond Qui-Gon's imagination, yet strangely it had become the one that everyone wanted to do well in, for no other reason than it had little to do with skill, or the force. Luck, and teamwork perhaps. It was rendered all the more ludicrous because Yoda had invited, as always, a member of the press to witness the events and Qui-Gon couldn't help feeling that there was something undignified in Jedi being seen two to a sack, hopping along the ground. Or falling on their rears.
This year, it would be fine, Jinn told himself as he and his thirteen-year-old padawan lengthened their jumps, covering the ground in an amazing display of co-ordination. He thanked the force that he had a padawan who was tall for his age, and as determined to win as his master. They would not lose, they would not!
Just yards to go!
Without warning, Qui-Gon found his force sense alerting him to the presence of another set of rivals on his far left. He made the mistake of looking across and nearly stumbled.
Sal-Fina and Ambianca.
Ambianca was a mere child. She had been claimed by her master at an extremely early age, more to do with looking like a little clone of Sal-Fina rather than any particular force skill she may have possessed. The long blond locks of the master and the short, spiky gold hair of the padawan could just be seen at the edge of Qui-Gon's vision, although he'd already known who was making that determined charge towards the line long before his sight had confirmed the fact. To see it all taken away from them now…
It was going to be close. The line was coming up fast.
Qui-Gon called on his padawan to make the supreme effort, but infact got a response of a very different kind. From in front of him, he felt his apprentice reach out with the force…
And the next thing Qui-Gon knew, Sal-Fina and Ambianca were on the ground in a large, sprawling heap.
As Master Jinn and his padawan went crashing over the line, he knew that every force sensitive being in the gardens had felt what had been done. This was not going to be good. He looked up, and found himself staring into Yoda's markedly displeased face.
Oh, Sith.
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"Disqualified." Qui-Gon said in disgust. "After all we did? We were by far the best Master/Padawan combination out there today. And now we've been thrown out?"
His padawan hung his head, at least with pretence of shame, although Qui-Gon doubted the sincerity of the gesture.
"I'm really sorry, Master." He gulped. "I didn't mean it. It just sort of happened…I got carried away in the heat of the moment."
Qui-Gon glared defiantly at Yoda. "There, you see? He's apologized. He didn't mean it."
Yoda shook his head. "Blind you are, Qui-Gon. "Just happen" things do not." He waved his stick at the downcast apprentice. "Meditate he should, on importance of sportsmanship. Selfish, he is."
"That's not fair." Qui-Gon crossed his arms. "It was a spur of the moment mistake."
"If believe that you do, meditate also you should." Yoda chided. "The decision is final. Disqualified you will remain."
Qui-Gon put his arm on his padawan's shoulder. "I think you've made your point quite clearly." The humiliation burned brightly on Qui-Gon's face. He turned away from his former master, spinning his apprentice round to face the door.
"Come on Xanatos. We are going home."
