A little background- this is set during the Jedi Apprentice special edition "Deceptions." Clee has a pilot program that is being sabotaged, and Tahl is sent to help… yadda yadda yadda. I thought it would be interesting to see what she thought of Qui-Gon and Tahl after so many years apart.

Sooo… I don't own Jedi Apprentice. But I do own a fanfic that had a fanfic written about it. :D

Everything in my small pilot school spread quickly. News, colds, food- you name it. We were a close knit group united over one thing; the love of flying. This program was to help Jedi students become skilled pilots, and to enable them to be free of shaky civilian transport. The latter most of the Council found unnecessary and time consuming; a delay in a Padawan's training to Knighthood. The former was just as controversial; much of the Senate would accuse the Jedi of gaining too much power.

But I believed in my students. I did my best to deliver confidence and purpose. My trainees and I knew the program was not stagnant, so we were going to make the most of it while we could.

The students were more like friends; they came to me for help on anything.

So when Qui-Gon and his apprentice, Obi-Wan, quietly arrived for a visit, word reached me in record time.

"Clee? Two Jedi have just stopped by. They said they knew you, so we cleared them," a small girl with jet black hair casually announced.

I lifted my head from where I was studying a blueprint. Had the Council sent for more Jedi to help with the investigation about the saboteurs? Tahl should value the assistance. Putting on a bright smile, I strode down the hall as fast as my petite legs could take me. Once outside, I looked to the clouds and watched a trio of fighters tearing across the sky in breathtaking formation.

Someone was already talking to the visitors; Garen Muln. And the taller human, the Master, looked familiar.

I let out a shout. It was Qui-Gon Jinn, my old friend! He looked so… old!

But nothing had changed, as far as I could tell, as I gave them a tour of our humble base. Obi-Wan goggled at our workshops and hangers, and I could tell Qui-Gon was equally impressed. When we ended our excursion by the tech center, I imagined Tahl would be glad to see- er, find the two here.

Her reaction was the exact opposite. She said Qui-Gon's name tersely, just seconds after he had entered the room. That was never a good sign; it usually meant they were in the middle of one of their squabbles. Qui-Gon glanced at me, requesting time to talk with Tahl alone. I complied and led Obi-Wan to see our starfighters, then rushed back to make sure Qui-Gon and Tahl hadn't turned their squabble into a fully fledged fight; like their legendary ones back at the Temple.

I came back to find them talking about how the Senate thought I was the one behind the sabotages- the sabotages that had been putting my Padawans in danger.

That infuriated me, even though I knew they didn't really suspect me. But it was like they had started excluding me- like it was just the two of them now.

My suspicions were confirmed when Qui-Gon said, "We're Jedi Knights now. We don't scrap."

"We argue, and then I win," Tahl added, holding back a grin. There was a definite bond between them that hadn't been there when we were younger and at the Temple.

And there was something else… I had been training adolescents for a while. Just growing up, a few reckless feelings had caused certain emotions between certain Padawans. None of these were big deals, but I was familiar with them.

Between Qui-Gon and Tahl, something had changed. Something was stronger. And something in my mind quoted one of my students, plaintively saying, "Wow. Chemistry."

Uh-huh. Odd ending. But still, did you get it? How many of your actually read the book? :P

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