Peer Pressure
Scene 20
Qui-Gon Jinn strode down the neatly groomed path and stopped near an ornamental fountain cast in golden light by the late afternoon sun. He smiled down upon the sight of his Padawan, dutifully weeding the outdoor meditation gardens. By hand.
"How much more have you to finish?" he innocently inquired.
Obi-Wan glanced up at the wide arrangement of beds and tiered planters not yet treated to his painstaking attentions. His mouth tightened. "Quite a bit." He wiped one grimy forearm across his brow, where sweat beaded freely.
"Well, then, I see you will be healthily occupied for a day or two," the tall man observed.
"Yes, master."
Qui-Gon was pleased to note the air of serenity and contentment radiating off his student in the Force. It was a sign of new maturity to accept a deserved punishment with such grace and humility.
"I have just had a most unfortunate conference with Master Tholme," he informed his apprentice. "It has put some things in perspective. Apparently, Quinlan, though under censure, seems far better adjusted to the other students now. Indeed, he specifically mentioned that he enjoyed your company."
Obi-Wan nodded, grunting as he wrested an obstreperous thorn-barbed root from the unyielding earth.
"So it would seem you did in the end accomplish the end I intended, though your means were a bit… unorthodox."
"You are my guide in all things, master."
Qui-Gon raised a brow. "You missed something.. just there."
The young Jedi sighed and set about pulling up the miniscule but deeply-anchored weed.
"The bad news is that despite all my argument to the contrary, Master Tholme is quite set in his determination to severely limit Quinlan's exposure to you in the future. He deems you a bad influence, my Padawan."
Obi-Wan took the news with impressive equanimity, another sign of burgeoning maturity. "It is the will of the Force," he said. "I understand Master Thome's perspective."
The master's chest swelled with pride. He almost lifted the sentence… but the gardens could certainly use some care. "I'll leave you to it, then," he said, stepping away. "I trust this won't happen again?"
"No, master," Obi-Wan promised. "I don't think it will."
Qui-Gon nodded and continued on his way, pleased that Quinlan Vos had at least benefited from the experience, and that his own student seemed to have learned some important lessons in acceptance and humility along the way. Even Obi-Wan seemed to have been attained his openly stated wishes: he had been granted his preference regarding a more distant relationship with Vos, and with respect to weeding the gardens….
The tall man stopped in his tracks, casting one last look over his shoulder at his Padawan. It would only have taken a moment… there were public comm. booths all over the Expo fairgrounds…. the anonymous informant had known precisely what channel to use to obtain a reliable comm relay….and this had worked out to a happy conclusion suggestive of masterful strategic subtlety, far in excess of mere diplomatic skill.
He dismissed the paranoid thought. Nobody was that cunning. He continued on his way back into the Temple proper, shaking his head at his own foolish suspicions.
Behind him, deeply involved in fitting penance for his misdemeanors, the future Negotiator smiled very very softly to himself.
FINIS