Qui-Gon was left dumbfounded and confused by what Kenobi had said.
Jinn could understand his fear at not being chosen. In reality none of the masters searching for a padawan had voiced any desire to look into Obi-Wan's history at the temple. Qui-Gon was the only master to do any research on the little initiate and it was not to make him his apprentice. The truth be known, the background research Jinn was doing on the Initiate Kenobi was to try to prove to himself that Obi-Wan "should not" be taken by him as an apprentice.
"Jinn let the child go back to his quarters and sat in the dark waiting for Master Yoda. He got the feeling his old master knew more about this child than he cared to discuss. He had not even told Qui-Gon of Obi's problem, choosing instead to let Qui-Gon find out about it for himself.
//Are there other things Master Yoda hopes I will find out about this one on my own? Is he holding out even more information?//
"Finish your interrogation I see you have Qui-Gon. Get the answers you seek I take it?"
"On the contrary Master Yoda, I got no answers. By the time the boy calmed down enough to try talk to me he was unable to speak. I had to reread his healer's assessment of him to find out about his affliction."
"Affliction he does not have. Surprised I am impediment reared itself to you it did. Cruel to the boy you were?"
" Of course I was not cruel to him master. I could not even ask him a question. Well I did but they were not the questions I wanted to ask. Why did you not warn me?"
"Read the medical report you did? Know him by now you should. Surprised I am he feared you."
"What do you mean feared me? Are you saying when he suffered the last lapse in his speech patterns he was afraid of Xani. If we are going to start blaming Xani for Initiate Kenobi's problems, then I will just leave now. The child suffered one of these episodes before he even met my former padawan."
"Stay you should. Conversation about Xanatos this is not. About the boy you try to shun from bonding with it is. Think I am blind to feelings of the force? Know I do it is you he tries so hard to bond with. Deny him you will?"
"If it is a fledgling bond forming then I do plan to see to it that the healers break it."
"What of the child, leave him where, will it? No one to take him this time. Forced to send him to the fields I will be. Survive there he will not."
"Listen to what you are saying Master Yoda. If he is so weak you do no think he can survive being a farmer, how do you expect him to take it as a padawan?"
"Padawan learn from his master he will. Stronger he will one day be. Without the strength and support of a master, his mentor, survive the boy will not. Seen much in his lifetime he has. Parents killed in front of him they were. Day of the episode with your Xani, speak for a week he could not. Stayed with me he did. Feel fear from him I also did. Dejection is a bad thing for a child to know. Abuse is even worse I think."
"There it is!! You are accusing my padawan of abusing the boy. There is a difference between punishment and abuse. Knight Xanatos has never been found guilty of abuse. Maybe because of the emotional turmoil the boy was in he could not distinguish between discipline and abuse. If that is the case then he could well be too dangerous to take as a padawan."
" Your padawan Knight Xanatos is no longer. Well you should remember that. Children of the Jedi are our future they are. Duty of all, knight or master to protect them it is. Matters not if they are your padawan, protect them you shall. Fine line between discipline and abuse it is. Crossed that line I think "your" Xani did. Know that I do, no matter what the healers or council say. The boy beaten he was that day."
"Quit calling him "my" Xani as if it were some condemnation for having raised him to knighthood. I assure you Master you can not brow beat me to convince Xanatos would be guilty of any abuse to a child."
"Hope for Obi-Wan's sake it turns out to be that way. Decision the council has made concerning your former padawan. The council met we did as you had your talk with Obi-Wan. Decided it has been against my better judgment at first it was; the four of you to journey on a mission together you should. Xanatos to prove himself to you and you alone. Full Knight he will become on your assessment of him."
"The masters here to choose padawans chose them they have. Undecided only you are. Chun and Kenobi not chosen they were. Other masters saw in Chun what you could not see, or vice versa. Matters not to me. Tentative this choosing for you and Knight Xanatos .. After the mission if then not satisfied with either or both then to be farmers they both will go."
"Evidently they saw nothing redeeming in the Kenobi child, he was not chosen either. What are you saying? You want Xanatos and I to take Bruck and Kenobi?"
Jinn could not resist taunting his old master. He knew that Obi-Wan would not be chosen. The force had deemed Qui-Gon Jinn wrongly to be his master but it was still deemed.
"Harder they need to look to see Obi-Wan's worth they must. It will be you who must look harder. Look harder at both Chun and Kenobi while on this joint mission with Knight Xanatos. For sent on a mission you and Xanatos will be. Chance it is for him to correct his wrong with the Jedi."
"Initiate Chun under your supervision he is, Kenobi under Knight Xanatos he will be."
"Both boys to be given one more chance to prove themselves. Shave their hair and spike it they will. Plait a braid for them you will, without weaving your own hair in it. Do this not until you have decided with certainty you want them as your padawan, for forced upon you, neither will be. Gage you former padawan's progress. On your word and your word alone from this mission, we give Xani leave of his probation. Fail he does, no longer a Jedi, succeed and he may take a padawan of his choice, next choosing, if want Kenobi he does not."
"This is another trial or test to try and trap Xanatos. You know very well he will not take Obi-Wan as a padawan. While on the other hand I might keep Bruck Chun."
"Trap it is not. Capable of full knighthood he is then prove it you and you alone Xanatos must. Kenobi to be his responsibility on this mission, but you my friend see to it no harm comes to the boy. Hold you responsible I do. Trust your former apprentice I do not. Council sending Kenobi into the lion's den they may be. If Knight Xanatos aggressive toward Obi-Wan he is; "See to it the lion is tamed"."
##########
I made the point a couple of times that the decision of whether Xanatos succeeds or not is going to be left up entirely to Master Jinn. Yoda truly is a cruel little troll when lessons need to be learned.
What better indignation would there be than his master, who has always thought of Xani as perfect, sees him for what he is, even if Xani doesn't even care any longer if he becomes a full knight or not!!!!
Call it an ego thing!!
PEACE ewen
Jinn could understand his fear at not being chosen. In reality none of the masters searching for a padawan had voiced any desire to look into Obi-Wan's history at the temple. Qui-Gon was the only master to do any research on the little initiate and it was not to make him his apprentice. The truth be known, the background research Jinn was doing on the Initiate Kenobi was to try to prove to himself that Obi-Wan "should not" be taken by him as an apprentice.
"Jinn let the child go back to his quarters and sat in the dark waiting for Master Yoda. He got the feeling his old master knew more about this child than he cared to discuss. He had not even told Qui-Gon of Obi's problem, choosing instead to let Qui-Gon find out about it for himself.
//Are there other things Master Yoda hopes I will find out about this one on my own? Is he holding out even more information?//
"Finish your interrogation I see you have Qui-Gon. Get the answers you seek I take it?"
"On the contrary Master Yoda, I got no answers. By the time the boy calmed down enough to try talk to me he was unable to speak. I had to reread his healer's assessment of him to find out about his affliction."
"Affliction he does not have. Surprised I am impediment reared itself to you it did. Cruel to the boy you were?"
" Of course I was not cruel to him master. I could not even ask him a question. Well I did but they were not the questions I wanted to ask. Why did you not warn me?"
"Read the medical report you did? Know him by now you should. Surprised I am he feared you."
"What do you mean feared me? Are you saying when he suffered the last lapse in his speech patterns he was afraid of Xani. If we are going to start blaming Xani for Initiate Kenobi's problems, then I will just leave now. The child suffered one of these episodes before he even met my former padawan."
"Stay you should. Conversation about Xanatos this is not. About the boy you try to shun from bonding with it is. Think I am blind to feelings of the force? Know I do it is you he tries so hard to bond with. Deny him you will?"
"If it is a fledgling bond forming then I do plan to see to it that the healers break it."
"What of the child, leave him where, will it? No one to take him this time. Forced to send him to the fields I will be. Survive there he will not."
"Listen to what you are saying Master Yoda. If he is so weak you do no think he can survive being a farmer, how do you expect him to take it as a padawan?"
"Padawan learn from his master he will. Stronger he will one day be. Without the strength and support of a master, his mentor, survive the boy will not. Seen much in his lifetime he has. Parents killed in front of him they were. Day of the episode with your Xani, speak for a week he could not. Stayed with me he did. Feel fear from him I also did. Dejection is a bad thing for a child to know. Abuse is even worse I think."
"There it is!! You are accusing my padawan of abusing the boy. There is a difference between punishment and abuse. Knight Xanatos has never been found guilty of abuse. Maybe because of the emotional turmoil the boy was in he could not distinguish between discipline and abuse. If that is the case then he could well be too dangerous to take as a padawan."
" Your padawan Knight Xanatos is no longer. Well you should remember that. Children of the Jedi are our future they are. Duty of all, knight or master to protect them it is. Matters not if they are your padawan, protect them you shall. Fine line between discipline and abuse it is. Crossed that line I think "your" Xani did. Know that I do, no matter what the healers or council say. The boy beaten he was that day."
"Quit calling him "my" Xani as if it were some condemnation for having raised him to knighthood. I assure you Master you can not brow beat me to convince Xanatos would be guilty of any abuse to a child."
"Hope for Obi-Wan's sake it turns out to be that way. Decision the council has made concerning your former padawan. The council met we did as you had your talk with Obi-Wan. Decided it has been against my better judgment at first it was; the four of you to journey on a mission together you should. Xanatos to prove himself to you and you alone. Full Knight he will become on your assessment of him."
"The masters here to choose padawans chose them they have. Undecided only you are. Chun and Kenobi not chosen they were. Other masters saw in Chun what you could not see, or vice versa. Matters not to me. Tentative this choosing for you and Knight Xanatos .. After the mission if then not satisfied with either or both then to be farmers they both will go."
"Evidently they saw nothing redeeming in the Kenobi child, he was not chosen either. What are you saying? You want Xanatos and I to take Bruck and Kenobi?"
Jinn could not resist taunting his old master. He knew that Obi-Wan would not be chosen. The force had deemed Qui-Gon Jinn wrongly to be his master but it was still deemed.
"Harder they need to look to see Obi-Wan's worth they must. It will be you who must look harder. Look harder at both Chun and Kenobi while on this joint mission with Knight Xanatos. For sent on a mission you and Xanatos will be. Chance it is for him to correct his wrong with the Jedi."
"Initiate Chun under your supervision he is, Kenobi under Knight Xanatos he will be."
"Both boys to be given one more chance to prove themselves. Shave their hair and spike it they will. Plait a braid for them you will, without weaving your own hair in it. Do this not until you have decided with certainty you want them as your padawan, for forced upon you, neither will be. Gage you former padawan's progress. On your word and your word alone from this mission, we give Xani leave of his probation. Fail he does, no longer a Jedi, succeed and he may take a padawan of his choice, next choosing, if want Kenobi he does not."
"This is another trial or test to try and trap Xanatos. You know very well he will not take Obi-Wan as a padawan. While on the other hand I might keep Bruck Chun."
"Trap it is not. Capable of full knighthood he is then prove it you and you alone Xanatos must. Kenobi to be his responsibility on this mission, but you my friend see to it no harm comes to the boy. Hold you responsible I do. Trust your former apprentice I do not. Council sending Kenobi into the lion's den they may be. If Knight Xanatos aggressive toward Obi-Wan he is; "See to it the lion is tamed"."
##########
I made the point a couple of times that the decision of whether Xanatos succeeds or not is going to be left up entirely to Master Jinn. Yoda truly is a cruel little troll when lessons need to be learned.
What better indignation would there be than his master, who has always thought of Xani as perfect, sees him for what he is, even if Xani doesn't even care any longer if he becomes a full knight or not!!!!
Call it an ego thing!!
PEACE ewen