The drone of the gunship filled the Padawan's ears as they glided over Geonosis's red sands. His master had finally decided to take him along on a routine mission, something that 15-year old Quan, had never done before. At first, Quan had been excited about finally leaving the temple. Then, he had found out exactly what the mission was. They were to search for any survivors from the great battle that had occurred on Geonosis earlier. Other troops were already scanning the arena where the battle had taken place and so their assignment was to scan the surrounding desert for any gunships that might've been shot down before they could deploy their troops. So far, they had seen nothing but endless stretches of red soil and the occasional rocky outcropping or cliff. Quan knew that Jedi weren't supposed to complain, but this was very, very boring.
Quan squinted in the bright Geonosian sun. The light may have been playing tricks with his eyes, but he could have sworn he saw a spot of blue against the crimson earth. He blinked, but the blue didn't disappear. Quan sighed. Even if it ended up being nothing, at least it would give him a chance to get out of the gunship to investigate. "Master," He said hesitantly, "I think I see something out there." He pointed to the speck of blue in the distance. His master squinted for a moment and then closed his eyes. Quan knew this meant he was trying to sense whatever it was through the Force. When he opened his eyes, Quan saw a look of worry flash across his features. "What is it, master?" He asked. His master didn't respond, only turned to the clone pilot and murmured something to him. The gunship turned sharply and began to approach the blue speck on the horizon.
Quan looked closely as they approached, eyes squinted against the stinging sands. He gasped as they drew closer, now able to identify the figure. A small boy dressed all in blue sat next to a mound of freshly churned soil, his arms hugging his legs close to his body. As far as Quan knew, there was no reason for any child at all to be on Geonosis. It was a manufacturing planet and the inhabitants consisted of almost exclusively Geonosians and droids. There was no explanation as to why a little human boy should be in the middle of the desert. The drone of the gunship faded to a whine as they landed. Unless the boy was deaf, there was no way he could have not heard them coming, but he didn't seem to notice them. Perhaps he was ignoring them for some reason.
Quan looked to his master for instructions, but all he got was a nod and a gesture to approach the boy. Quan hesitated, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Taking a deep breath of the dry air, he stepped tentatively out of the gunship. 'At least I'm not bored anymore.' He thought wryly. "H-hello? Are you alright?" He called out to the boy in blue. He must've sounded foolish, but he didn't know what else to say. The boy turned to look at him, his eyes darting from his face, to the gunship behind him and it's passengers. "Get away from me." The boy whispered. Quan hadn't been expecting that. He tried to start again. "We don't mean any harm. If you're hurt, we can take you to a medcenter or something." The boy in blue was suddenly on his feet and facing him. Quan could now see his dark eyes and tear-stained face. He noticed how his hands and clothes were caked with the red sand. He looked closer and realized that sand wasn't the only thing lending his fingers a red hue. Blood stained his fingertips. "I don't need your help." The boy said, his voice venomous. Quan's eyes widened in alarm as he felt waves of anger and sadness ripple through the boy's aura. What had he done to anger him?
"You have to come with us." Quan insisted urgently, "You can't stay out here in the desert." He looked back at the gunship for guidance, but didn't receive instruction from his master, who simply watched quietly. He looked back to the boy, "Look, I don't know what happened to you or what you're doing here and you don't have to tell me. You don't have to be afraid of us. We're Jedi. We help people." Suddenly, the sadness he had felt from the boy disappeared. It was replaced by pure, untainted hate. Quan had heard that if an emotion was strong enough, you could almost see it in front of you and he had no doubt now. Hate swirled around the boy like storm clouds, blotting out any other emotion and paralyzing Quan where he stood. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the terrible vision. He felt something sharp and hard hit the side of his face and opened his eyes in shock. The storm cloud of emotion had disappeared. He touched where he had been struck and felt hot, coppery blood ooze from a large cut near his eye. A sharp black stone lay at his feet and the boy in blue had gone back to sitting up beside the mound of earth, his back to him. The hate had dissipated to be replaced by the familiar sadness. "I told you to get away from me." He said, quietly this time. Quan felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see his master. "Let's go." His master said, his eyes distant. He must've seen the cloud as well. Quan looked back desolately at the boy, "If you stay here, you'll die!" He said, hoping that maybe, he could change the boy's mind. The boy didn't even acknowledge him this time. Quan let himself be guided back into the gunship by his master.
"W-we're just going to leave him there?" Quan asked, as the engine began to drone once again. His master sighed, "We have no choice." Quan looked away, distressed, "But he's just a boy! He'll die out there!" His master only shook his head, "Even if it is in our code to revere all life, you must learn that death can be the kindest thing." He closed his eyes, "If he were to live, that child's life would be full of suffering and loss. I have no doubt that perishing in the desert would be many times gentler than what he would face otherwise." Quan shuddered as the gunship rose into the air and sped away from the boy, until he was once again no more than a blue spot against an endlessly red horizon.