When Qui-Gon got to the courtroom he was more than surprised by the changes done without him. First he was nearly accosted by his attorney with a demand to know what deal was cut with the Lars to have him drop his quest for the custody of Obi-Wan.
"They said they would drop their charges of abuse and neglect if you since you have agreed to conceded and give Mrs. Lars custody of her nephew Master Jinn. We had them. No court on Coruscant was going to find you guilty, not a Jedi. After you were found innocent we could have raked in a great deal of credits."
"That is all you truly concerned about isn't it, the credits, a large sum to settle out of court. You are more despicable than…. than…"
He wanted to say Selena for her actions done to Obi-Wan but he wouldn't give the man before him the satisfaction of knowing what passed between them yesterday.
Qui-Gon really hadn't waited to face all this today. No, he knew it wasn't right to continue the hearing if he was not willing to battle to have Obi-Wan brought back to the temple..but this..this was so final. It meant that Obi-Wan would immediately or at least within a couple of days be shipped back to the Lars' home world to serve his sentence.
//It will be a sentence for someone like Obi-Wan. It will be like a prison and then his force abilities….. I can't imagine having something so powerful and potentially beautiful being denied anyone for the rest of their lives. Even if they could do it. What if Obi-Wan stops the medication after he is eighteen? It could lead to his demise; gaining possession of something powerful but yet so misunderstood he could easily turn to the dark side.//
By the time Qui-Gon got away from his thoughts it was over. His attorney stood before the court and agreed that a deal of sorts had been struck. The Lars family had dropped all charges on Master Jinn, the prosecutor agreed to it, and the only condition carried with the plea bargain was that Qui-Gon give up any custody rights given him previously by the Lars family. Obi-Wan would be free to go back with them and put in an orphanage of their choice on their own home world..
The child Obi, the one everyone seemed to have agreed upon what should be his future, sat in silence and took it all in. Not once had Qui-Gon dared to look over at Obi as he had not braved a look at the master.
//He really isn't going to let me stay. I will have to go to an orphanage much like the one I have been in, only on my aunt's home world.//
Normally there was a sense of comfort for both guardian and ward when both were in the same room. But that comfort faded with the knowledge no one wanted him. He sunk further in his chair and wished he wasn't forced to listen to the court's decision of his fate. All the people that were willing to fight for him, were unwilling to actually keep and provide him a home. Evidently they were all also unwilling to *love* him as Owen had been loved by all three, Mr. Qui-Gon, Aunt Selena and his uncle.
How strange, he thought. Obi-Wan reached in his pocket and with his thumb rubbed the smooth stone as he rolled it over and over.
//Owen always said this lucky rock brought him comfort and protection. How I wish he had it that day. Leaving it with me has brought me nothing. I can't feel anything special about it and it has certainly not brought me luck, just the opposite. Maybe it was only meant to have been lucky and force enabled with Owen. After all don't I have a midichlorian in my body not one. //
Before anyone knew what to say or do, the orphanage-appointed guardian chaperone to Obi-Wan tried to rush the boy out the door. Her efforts were thwarted by the boy as he fought to break away from her grasp.
Qui-Gon stood up suddenly and wanted to do or say something, but what? The decision was made. Wasn't it what he wanted, to see Obi-Wan out of his life? He had refused to take him as apprentice and he could not live with the child and the knowledge something so powerfully good was being suppressed within him.
//Relinquishing custody of Obi-Wan is my only recourse for this situation. //
He stood there as if to say something, but opted instead to let things remain as they were even if it was not what either the guardian or the ward wanted; at least not truly what they wanted. This solution only took care of the immediate concerns for Obi-Wan, a place to live. Jinn knew even as he listened to the judge remand custody of Obi-Wan back to his aunt that this was no kind of solution for Obi's future and for his most unconquerable problem, his force abilities..
Eyes made contact, the deep blue eyes of Qui-Gon's met the hazel tear-dimmed ones of his ward. His chaperone gently took the boy by the arm and tried to forcible lead him out of the courtroom. It was then the boy broke away from her. However, it wasn't like the last time he had done it. Before he had run to Jinn for comfort and to be consoled. This time it was to confront him.
He refused to leave before he had a chance to say something, anything evil cruel and mean as it was to let the master know what he thought of him, although everything he said would be made up lies. He only wanted to find a way to hurt Qui-Gon, the way he had so easily hurt him.
Jinn stood in the middle of the courtroom and expected Obi-Wan to run to him to receive a goodbye hug and a promise to visit him. Jinn was ready for that. He would be more than willing to occasionally, when time permitted, visit the child in his new home, another orphanage.
What he got was a much different angrier Obi-Wan Kenobi. A Obi-Wan who had nothing to lose if he said the most awful things to Master Jinn. He wasn't going to take him and Obi at that moment hated the man who just last night thought he had come to love. There in the courtroom he watched his future dissolve and the only person he thought loved him back, renounce him so quickly and without emotion. Now he knew the truth or thought he did. It was a ruse to keep him calm until he could be shipped away.
"I hate you Mr. Qui-Gon. You don't care about me. You lonely led me to believe that to keep me in order until you and my aunt could conspire together to get me back where she lives, only in another orphanage. Is that what all of you adults call a home, an orphanage with no kind of love juts a roof, some food, and promise that I will be released when I am old enough?"
I am glad my cousin is dead. He can't see the one person he cared for and respected so much other than his family, be so cruel. You are not the Jedi master Owen described to me, the one that gave him this rock he cherished so much. Here, take it."
Tears streamed down the boy's face. His body shook with low mournful sobs. He didn't care anymore what anyone thought of his outburst.. He could not longer contain it nor cared if he could.
Everyone in the courtroom stood silent and listened while little Obi literally tore the master apart with his words. The bailiff started to grab the child but was quickly halted by the judge himself. Obi-Wan threw the rock toward Jinn. It struck his upper right cheek hard enough to draw blood from the soft skin just under his eye.
He hadn't meant to hit the master, but after Obi-Wan saw that *Mr.Qui-Gon* was alright he didn't care if it did. He watched the Jedi master stand and stare at him in disbelief, shock, or just plain amazement.
"Maybe you need this, I certainly don't. Owen's rock could never hold as much meaning for me as it did for him. Maybe he had reason to cherish it more than anything he owned, but I certainly don't; not because of Owen but because of *YOU*."…
The courtroom emptied out around him and still the giant of a master stood like a large stone statue in the middle of the courtroom. His attorney left abruptly with only a promise to send his bill to be paid in full. He thought the Jedi crazy for passing up such a great chance to make credits.
Mace left with the other court attendees, after Master Yoda shooed him out. He instructed Master Windu to wait outside. Yoda would collect his former padawan and meet him in a few minutes.
Silence was the only thing to prevail in the courtroom with only Yoda and Qui-Gon there. Yoda seem to sense Qui's need for solitude for a few moments to collect himself and his cognitive reasoning. Yoda knew Jinn was just as perplexed as he was so he waited and let the silence and Jinn's solitude control their time.
Finally when Master Jinn seemed to have recovered, at least from his dream-like state, he looked up to see one lone being in the room, Master Yoda.
"Master could you explain to me what just happened here?"
"Know you the only one besides the Lars who do. Tell Selena you did, could not keep Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, but let me explain. I couldn't keep him, though I did think I wanted too.. No let me rephrase that. I could keep him but not with the stipulations she laid out, no way."
"Confused I am. Keep him you cannot then done here today what had to be done. Correct am I not? The boy given back to the family he is. To a orphanage he will also go. Problem there is with that? Take it I do you did not want the child, though you say you did. Speak in mysterious code you do. Never belittle me again for the phrasing of my words, you should. Equally confusing you are.. Said so to me just then you did, wanted the boy, then not want Obi-Wan??"
"It is not a question of wanting or not wanting Obi-Wan. I have found I care deeply for the boy, more than I thought I ever could."
"Confused I am more now than ever. Sad way to show concern and caring for a young ine. Ship him away to never see you again."
With that Yoda shook his head as he, the wise of wise did not understand Qui-Gon's actions either.
"Master let me explain. If I kept Obi-Wan I would have to become his..ma..."
Master Yoda interrupted the last word because he knew exactly what Qui-Gon would say.
"Master……. you planned to say. Know that before you did. The force I listen more closely too than you do, my favored one."
"You knew!?! The why in the name of a sith didn't you tell me. I was in the dark."
"If in the dark you were, put yourself there you did. Follow the force in all things. Tell you did it not when healed the boy. Think it did. Said this child meant to be by your side but chose to ignore it you did".
"I won't hear of it Master. If I ignored it, I did for a good reason. I can not go through thirteen years of training someone so close to my heart. Look at what happened to Owen. While he pierced my heart with his love, I think I care more for Obi-Wan or could, if we formed a training bond. I knew I would lose Owen for his loyalties laid with his father too strongly. With Obi-Wan, I will never know will I, how close we could have grown?"
"Fear of what might happen to this one stifles your reasoning Qui-Gon Jinn. Twisted your thinking is. Come, go home with me. Search through these emotions we will over my special blend of tea."
A good cup of tea was always a partial cure for everything in Yoda's eyes. He walked over and tapped very gently Master Jinn's leg to draw his attention. Jinn relented. Nothing could be done to change things, now. It was best to go home to the temple.
//I am not sure I want to change anything. It is such a shock to know he is forever gone.//
#####################
Master Jinn walked back to the temple with Mace and Yoda on either side of him. The mention of home brought thoughts of security. Jinn realized as he walked, Obi-Wan did not have thoughts of a safe place to call home when he left the courtroom that day..
The Jedi master couldn't imagine anyone's life being spent in a cold white-walled structured facility of an orphanage. It could not provide any security, especially for a child. A child like Obi who only wanted someone to care for him as others had cared so much for his cousin, Owen.
########################## Qui-Gon stood in the middle of the saber practice gym. His heart was not in, but it was his responsibility to continue to train his former apprentice, actually Master Dalia present apprentice, in the ways of JedI battle.
"No… no… no, Tia. How many times have I told you to advance on your left leg. It frees up your saber more with your right leg out of your way. Once the blow is landed then precede with the right and continued forward. How hard is it to take that in?"
"Sorry Master Jinn I keep forgetting. Gee, you are sure in a sore mood."
Qui-Gon had grown accustomed to Ti's remarks. It seemed that since he was returned to his master, he had grown a spine and dared to speak sometimes with an attitude to Jinn. Something the master hadn't bother to correct.
Padawan Da'Neel was not his apprentice and he felt inclined to let Master Dalia correct the young man's shortcomings. Today, however, was different. The padawan would learn that it might be best to keep his *big* mouth shut.
"Sore mood? What a unique choice of words Padawan. Unless you would like to find yourself before the council for insolence and insubordination, I suggest your curb your attitude and hold your tongue."
"Master Jinn I meant no disrespect. I know about the court hearing and that your gave up that Kenobi boy. My Master said it was for your sake and well as the Jedi that the child not blessed in the force be sent away from the temple. She agreed with you .She thinks you have done the right thing.
//Done the right thing? Oh padawan you wear my patience too thin this day.//
"Your practice is over for the day."
Tia Da'Neel could tell by Jinn's words that he was not happy with the conversation they were in and he quickly tried to redeem himself in Jinn's eyes.
"I am sorry Master Jinn if I have hit a some discord in you. I meant only the best for you. I am sure that is what my master thought of as well, your well being."
Jinn's brow furrowed as he put his saber away and only glanced at the apprentice before him.
' "Well I appreciate both you and your master's concern. Now all I have to do is believe in the sincerity of it."
Was it rude to say, was it said it jest a mockery of the apprentice and his master's words. Tia Da'Neel could not help but think he and his master had just been put in their place, by a few choice words backed with the venom of an enraged Jedi master.
"He backed down with his previous brazen onslaught of the master. He bowed in respect as he watched Master Jinn take leave of their practice session early and in a worse mood than he was in when he came to practice. //All due to me I'm afraid.//
Master Jinn showered and headed toward the council chamber offices. He hoped Master Yoda was free. Once there, he found Master Yoda in an important meeting with a young knight who had been derelict in his duty and disrespectful of the dignitary he had been dispatched to guard.
Qui-Gon settled on making a path in the hall as he paced back and forth. Master Windu almost ran into him when he came out of his own office, on his way fetch mid-meal.
"Ah…Waiting to seek some wisdom from your former Master, Qui-Gon?"
"DON'T test me Mace. You know I am not past being in a *sore* mood as Tia puts it. Nor am I past letting my anger lay and fester inside me. It serves a purpose. It makes me think clearly."
"Oh Qui-you know, I only meant to be sociable."
"I don't feel sociable."
"I am sure you don't if you want your anger lay and multiply. You know what Master Yoda would say. about anger".
" I know it well. I have heard it all my life and I DON'T need to hear it from you especially now."
Mace grew more serious as he watched his friend tormented with so much on his mind.
"I know Qui . It's the boy, Obi-Wan. Wasn't as easy to let go as you thought it was."
"Did Master tell you about Obi-Wan?"
"No you know Yoda. He can be very hush hush when he wants to be. Care to explain?"
"Too unbelievably complex to get into now, but I you are right. I am having a hard time dealing with the fact that I let him go. Go, but not back to a loving home for I truly think I could have handled that. I have allowed him to be taken without a fight back to the Lars' home world to be placed in another sterile environment, an orphanage with intimate contact and caring is null and void."
"The workers at the orphanage can't let others come into their life and their hearts which might just pop back out on a moment's notice. You can't except the orphanage to be able to give the emotional support the children need. No, they can only provide so much."
"Thank You Mace?"
Now Mace did exhibit a look of surprise. His friend just thanked him and they hadn't really gone into Qui's problem, not in any depth that is.
"Well sure Qui-Gon , but what did I do? I haven't even heard your pros and cons concerning Obi-Wan. Heck I don't even know how you feel about him."
"You have just solidified my theory of the kind of life Obi-Wan would be supplied by the orphanage's inept ability to care for him on a one on one basis. You have helped me to realize and accept how I feel about him. I care for the child almost as if he was my own son. And if it takes what Selena wants to keep him, I will have to cast aside my fears and do it."
//WOW! I did all that for Qui, HOW? ??
Master Windu was still in "the dark" where the child was concerned and the words only added to the mystery.
"Could you at least let me know what Selena wanted from you? What exactly were her stipulations in order for you to keep Obi-Wan with you?"
The next two sentences took Mace off guard, left him confused, in doubt he heard right, and thought Jinn had lost his mind. He was yet unaware of Obi-Wan's force abilities.
"She wants Obi-Wan to become my next apprentice and I see that now I want the very same thing; Obi-Wan Kenobi as my next apprentice…"
Still as confused as when he started the conversation, Master Windu decided to continue on his jaunt to find something palatable in the commissary for mid-meal. He would satisfy his hunger faster than Jinn could satisfy his curiosity.
Qui-Gon didn't even seem notice when his friend walked away as he was in deep thought of how to once again regain his little ward.
//Not an easy thing to do since the court has already given him leave to return with his aunt and uncle. Of course I had to stand in the courtroom and made a fool of myself by renouncing him in what seemed like the easier thing I had ever done. In truth it was just the opposite.//
Master Yoda almost ran over his former padawan when he walked out of his off also in search of something for mid-meal. It's not that he didn't see Qui-Gon . It would be very hard indeed to miss a Jedi master of that size. In his haste and hunger he didn't expect his former padawan to be lingering right in front of his office door.
"Clumsy you have made me padawan mine. Loom over my door you do. Injury to my self I could have caused by your of thoughtlessness."
"Master I have been waiting for your meeting to conclude. I want to get Obi-Wan back. I thought you would know best how to go about it. I mean if I want the boy as my apprentice and I do, and if I am willing to help him through his time of readjustment with no medication and I am, then the Lars' should be more than pleased to give him back would they not?"
Slowly and I mean *slowly* Yoda turned his head and stared lazily up at his padawan's face and gave him the most terrifying look of confusion ever to come from the troll of a master.
"Lunatic you have turned into. Bowl of jelly for brains you have. Why take the boy back if second thoughts you had of keeping him anyway. No, unwise then it is. Thought through enough it is not."
That was the last thing Qui-Gon expected or wanted to here from his former mentor. Always before when he made a mistake and corrected it, Yoda would agree and make every effort to help Qui-Gon correct the mistake he finally realized he made. This time though proved very different than times before.
"Master always when I have been mistaken about a situation, you guide me through a more rational thought process, and I make the necessary changes for the best, you have commended and backed me. This time is so very different."
"Right you are my apprentice. Different it is because a child involved with all this. Allow more harm to Obi-Wan I can not."
"You don't understand Master Yoda. I don't want to harm Obi-Wan I want to help him. I want him as my apprentice. I see that now."
"See it with both eyes open you do? Take the boy under a cloud of pity you should not. Pity Obi-Wan needs not. Needs strength of a master to direct him through what will be most the horrendously challenging thing of his life I fear. Life altering it will be to gain suddenly powers that should have grown with one since birth . Gradual pace it would have been. Now high midichlorian count he will have immediately. Much too tolerate for one so young, as he. Reincorporate force abilities back into an adult Jedi master hard it is, if lost it he has through a force collar or in battle. However to incorporate the force and its powers into a mere child never to experience it before, most difficult to impossible I say it will be. Ready for that challenge you are Qui-Gon Jinn? For without certainty handle it you can, possible failure you face. Only bring harm to the child. Harm and mayhem he needs no more of. Trust, understanding, and unwavering commitment, needs most he does. Ready to supply all of that, yet keep him if all else fails and Jedi he can not be? Answer to my many questions unequivocally yes, then seek custody of the child you may by your side I will be."
Jinn thought through Yoda's words. There was a chance he would fail. Maybe Obi-Wan could not stand the pressure of such a powerful living force being thrust on him at an age where things are already confusing, puberty. Maybe he couldn't handle. If he couldn't make the transition from normalcy to Jedi, could Jinn handle the possible ramifications of it. Obi-Wan would not be the normal child anymore. He would be force-blessed with no way to vent his power. He would have to be taught to curtail his urge to use it for bad as well as for the good of someone. It would compromise his life considerably for others to know of his powers yet not to be affiliated with the Jedi. Others in the world would not hesitate to take advantage of his friendship and attempt to lead Obi down a path of the dark.
"Alright Master Yoda you have never led me astray. I will sleep on my decision tonight and possibly I will be more certain in the morning.."
Yoda reached out and tapped Jinn's hand that lay to his side.
"Do better for you than that padawan. A mission I have for you. Transport leaves the morning it does. Be on it. Time to think you will have. Upon return from mission if decided you still are that Obi-Wan is your destiny, as you are his, contact the Lars the council and I will. Help you regain your child we will. Plenty of time now to think between activity of the mission."
" Master don't do this too me. Maybe Selena will be too vindictive toward me if I make her drag him all the way home only to have him return."
"Selena level headed she is. If away from her husband she can be. Now eat you should and rest later. Tomorrow go to the city."
Qui-Gon hadn't even asked where he was going or what kind of mission it would be. He didn't care. His thoughts still lay with the child and the possibility of not being able to get him back."
"Why must I trek all the way to the city? Never mind. Let me guess. The temple has no available transportation right now and I must suffer through a crowded public transport. Am I correct?"
"Correct you are. Insight excellent padawan. Now your mission I send you later. Nothing hard. Quite simple it is. Settle dispute between brothers. Each wants control of their father's throne they do. Problem it is father not dead nor ands to be anytime soon. By way of Galin, home planet of the Lars' you will go, but land there you will for only loading and unloading then on to Dagobah. You will go. Now be gone. Question not what I do. Trust me when I was your master, trust in this now you should. Lead you the right direction I do my apprentice."
Qui-Gon had to admit he trusted Yoda with his life and knew he would never lie to him He had to have faith that this was the right thing to do.
############The next morning############
Master Jinn maneuvered his way through the narrow isle of the civilian transport. He dodged elbows or what appeared to be an elbow from a species of gentlemen he was not even familiar with.
A little baby wookie plastered a piece of candy on the side of his new leggings. With a sigh and a grunt he heaved his back pack up over his head to put it in the upper luggage carrier and finally found a seat by the window. Of course that meant he had to step over the heavy Hutt that he would sit next too. His legs tangled in the massive obese leg of the Hutt and the master actually blushed as the Hutt's knee jabbed a part of him that was the most delicate spot on this body.
Finally in his seat, the Jedi closed his eyes and wished vehemently that he could open the window to let some air in and some stench out. He would not go so far as to assume where the order came from, but rancidity would be the best way to describe it.
The master with his overly long legs had to keep them bent up. He rested his elbow on his knee and put his head in his hand. There... he closed his eyes and tried to focus in a light meditative state, but something drew him out of that and right into a haze of confusion. He seemed to feel a tingling throughout his body. Something touched his mind. Brushed softly against it really . Nothing that could be pinpointed just something, but so elusive even Qui-Gon could not fathom what to make of it. The a feminine voice with a stately accent rang through the ship's isle.
"Here Obi-Wan your uncle said we would find our seating in the front of this transport. I plan never to ride on something like this again as long as I live."
There was no doubt about it. That was his Obi-Wan and Selena with him. Jinn imagined Mr. Lars was not far behind them. They walked to the front of the ship where the door was to the private seating. As soon as Mr. Lars joined them, they entered the private section and the door quickly closed behind them.
I//f I am lucky I can put a magazine up and avoid being noticed when they get off on Galin. They will be up front. There is no need for the child to know I am even here.//
It was impossible for a man of Master Jinn's grandiose size, to crunch down any further in his seat, but he tried anyway. The Hutt beside him cast him a glance that insinuated he might think the Jedi had gone bonkers. He tried to scoot over further to the isle to get away from Qui-Gon but his size prevented him from moving.
The little boy ushered up front by his aunt also felt a nudge to his mind. The only thing that nudge did for him was to render him a horrible headache unwillingly instigated by bond that flowed to both the master and the force's choice of apprentices for that master, but went unreciprocated by each. Obi didn't know of it and Qui-Gon suspected the possibility of it, but was hesitant to reach out connect with the fledgling bond..
//No use tempting fate and destiny when it might not be mine to tempt!!!! "//
Between the knowledge that Obi-Wan as just beyond the front door of the transport, and the loud obnoxious snoring of his seating companion, the Hutt, Qui-Gon gave up on all thoughts of getting any rest.
//Maybe once Obi and his family get off I will be able to sleep. I might even ask if I could find a seat away from *my* friend here.//
Jinn looked around and thought the possibility of securing a seat was not all that plausible since the ship was so over crowded.
Needless to say he would not have to worry about the seating arrangements for he would find himself with almost the entire ship to find which ever seat he wanted, but sleep would be most difficult to come by then.
Qui-Gon eyes refused to move from the front door to the elite seating of the transport ship. He did not think for a second he would see the Lars family until the ships reached their home world. However he did not want to take any chances. Obi being young might find the need of the fresher before they land.
//Then I might be discovered. //
Qui-Gon started to scoot down in his chair and grabbed a magazine when he did see the door open, but he was more than surprised as who entered through that door.
Master Dooku, a former very prominent Jedi turned to the dark side, came from the private seating section of the ship, along with him Selena. One of Dooku's cohorts or least Jinn assumed that was who he was had Obi-Wan by his arm and looked by the grimace-pained face on the boy the grip on him was strong and agony-rendering.
He actually had been a master to Qui-Gon before things turned nasty for him and he was caught doing things no Jedi would go. Master Yoda became his master and Master Dooku or Count Dooku as he was called now was banished to the outer rims to some obscure planet not visited by anyone with any common sense.
//What does he want I wonder? //
It made sense that he would have Selena in his grasp. He knew her. Knew she was the mother to Jinn's former apprentice and knew of her force abilities. He could see from where he sat the light ricocheting off and creating reflective glinting beams that bounced off the metal force collar placed on her.
//He certainly isn't taking any chances. //
"Now if all of you would remain calm, no harm will come to you, at least today and certainly not by me."
A loud boisterous laugh rolled through the ship.
"I am here for the transport ship and nothing more. My reasons, you need not concern yourselves with. The only way you would need to worry is if you are force sensitive. Isn't that right Master Jinn?"
Dooku directed his glare on Jinn and locked it there as if he dared the Jedi master to try something. Qui-Gon noticed the surprised look he got from Selena and Obi-Wan but quickly turned his attention back to the Dark Jedi.
He stood up to face his very formidable adversary, one of the most powerful Jedi masters ever indoctrinated in the Jedi until his title was humiliatingly removed. Now he was a rogue , close to being equal to his dark counterpart Darth Sidious, himself.
"Did I not make myself clear Jinn? I want the force sensitives. Now that would include you, Selena here and of course the boy. Oh I know he doesn't have a midichlorian in his body right now. I already had his blood checked for a level reading, but I feel a connection to him. The reason not clear until my eyes found you. It is not a connection with me I feel from him. It is going to you, from him, to me? I think I have stumbled onto to something here. Strange indeed!!!! He has some connection to you yourself Master Jinn and I intend to find out why and how if he is not force sensitive. Are you trying to deceive me or possibly someone else with this child? We will certainly see. He is going with me along with you, Selena, and that diplomatic husband of hers. Like I said my plan was to only take the ship. I have no need for these poverty stricken bunch on it. But force sensitive Jedi, now that's another story. I might well find a use for you. Now I would suggest we all get comfortable until we can reach the nearest planet to let this bunch off and we will be on our way. Dagabah, that is where I call home. Little swamp rat I am now. "
The trip to the nearest planet was not over an hour away. It was inhabitable, just barely. Enough that it would sustain life for the passengers of the now commandeered ship. Dooku kept only the Jedi, Obi-Wan out of some morbid curiosity of how he connected to Jinn, and for added bargaining power Delon Lars, Selena's husband.
Once being a Jedi himself, he knew how *expendable* Jedi could be, man, woman or child, if the Senate republic did not want to adhere to a demand of some kind. They would think twice before they allowed a Senator and ruler of a planet as Mr. Lars was.
No matter how small the planet was if it was part of the galactic senate govern by the republic, then Dooku had a partial chance of his demands being listened too. The ship took off. Right for the planet Jinn was destined to go but now for a different reason. He was a captive. A force collar put on him just as it had been put on Selena. Obi-Wan without medication, would soon start feeling increased agitation from multiplying of his midichlorians.
Something that could be speeded up by his adolescent stage of development, puberty, according to Selena's own words. Jinn was sure it would only complicate matters if Obi-Wan started exhibiting signs of increased powers. Selena was without medication for the child because she assumed she would be home that evening to give him some from her supply of it. Neither her or Qui-Gon knew what with complete certainty what would happen.
The midichlorian count would rise from lack of medicine but the child's perception of things would become more disruptive because the boy would be able to feel the power within him but would not know from where it came. Confusing? Jinn thought so, but he did not know what to do.
He did not want let Dooku know of Obi's powers but he knew what Dooku was doing could harm the boy and harm him badly. Selena herself knew better than Qui that to allow the midichlorian to rise without someone to help guide him through the transition could produce a negative affect on the child. So much so, that insanity was one of the prevalent concerns that both Qui and Selena had.
The sudden release of those force energies Obi-Wan was not even aware of could render him insane or worse ..... Worse than irreversible insanity was the possibility that Obi's cognitive understanding could be regressed to that of a small child and all things remembered and taught could be forgotten.
Indeed a manifestation heard of and documented through the hundred of years of the Jedi order's records. The thought chilling to Master Jinn even more than Selena. She no plans to keep the child anyway. Jinn's decision to keep Obi-Wan could be altered by the fact that he might not be trainable in the jumbled mess he could possibly be left in.
//The boy's powers which could have provided a destiny as a Jedi might cause his insanity and the end to his future before it can begin.//
[b]#############[/b]
Thanks for the feedback and the help with honing my writing skills. I appreciate writing pointers when done nicely!!
PEACE ewen
"They said they would drop their charges of abuse and neglect if you since you have agreed to conceded and give Mrs. Lars custody of her nephew Master Jinn. We had them. No court on Coruscant was going to find you guilty, not a Jedi. After you were found innocent we could have raked in a great deal of credits."
"That is all you truly concerned about isn't it, the credits, a large sum to settle out of court. You are more despicable than…. than…"
He wanted to say Selena for her actions done to Obi-Wan but he wouldn't give the man before him the satisfaction of knowing what passed between them yesterday.
Qui-Gon really hadn't waited to face all this today. No, he knew it wasn't right to continue the hearing if he was not willing to battle to have Obi-Wan brought back to the temple..but this..this was so final. It meant that Obi-Wan would immediately or at least within a couple of days be shipped back to the Lars' home world to serve his sentence.
//It will be a sentence for someone like Obi-Wan. It will be like a prison and then his force abilities….. I can't imagine having something so powerful and potentially beautiful being denied anyone for the rest of their lives. Even if they could do it. What if Obi-Wan stops the medication after he is eighteen? It could lead to his demise; gaining possession of something powerful but yet so misunderstood he could easily turn to the dark side.//
By the time Qui-Gon got away from his thoughts it was over. His attorney stood before the court and agreed that a deal of sorts had been struck. The Lars family had dropped all charges on Master Jinn, the prosecutor agreed to it, and the only condition carried with the plea bargain was that Qui-Gon give up any custody rights given him previously by the Lars family. Obi-Wan would be free to go back with them and put in an orphanage of their choice on their own home world..
The child Obi, the one everyone seemed to have agreed upon what should be his future, sat in silence and took it all in. Not once had Qui-Gon dared to look over at Obi as he had not braved a look at the master.
//He really isn't going to let me stay. I will have to go to an orphanage much like the one I have been in, only on my aunt's home world.//
Normally there was a sense of comfort for both guardian and ward when both were in the same room. But that comfort faded with the knowledge no one wanted him. He sunk further in his chair and wished he wasn't forced to listen to the court's decision of his fate. All the people that were willing to fight for him, were unwilling to actually keep and provide him a home. Evidently they were all also unwilling to *love* him as Owen had been loved by all three, Mr. Qui-Gon, Aunt Selena and his uncle.
How strange, he thought. Obi-Wan reached in his pocket and with his thumb rubbed the smooth stone as he rolled it over and over.
//Owen always said this lucky rock brought him comfort and protection. How I wish he had it that day. Leaving it with me has brought me nothing. I can't feel anything special about it and it has certainly not brought me luck, just the opposite. Maybe it was only meant to have been lucky and force enabled with Owen. After all don't I have a midichlorian in my body not one. //
Before anyone knew what to say or do, the orphanage-appointed guardian chaperone to Obi-Wan tried to rush the boy out the door. Her efforts were thwarted by the boy as he fought to break away from her grasp.
Qui-Gon stood up suddenly and wanted to do or say something, but what? The decision was made. Wasn't it what he wanted, to see Obi-Wan out of his life? He had refused to take him as apprentice and he could not live with the child and the knowledge something so powerfully good was being suppressed within him.
//Relinquishing custody of Obi-Wan is my only recourse for this situation. //
He stood there as if to say something, but opted instead to let things remain as they were even if it was not what either the guardian or the ward wanted; at least not truly what they wanted. This solution only took care of the immediate concerns for Obi-Wan, a place to live. Jinn knew even as he listened to the judge remand custody of Obi-Wan back to his aunt that this was no kind of solution for Obi's future and for his most unconquerable problem, his force abilities..
Eyes made contact, the deep blue eyes of Qui-Gon's met the hazel tear-dimmed ones of his ward. His chaperone gently took the boy by the arm and tried to forcible lead him out of the courtroom. It was then the boy broke away from her. However, it wasn't like the last time he had done it. Before he had run to Jinn for comfort and to be consoled. This time it was to confront him.
He refused to leave before he had a chance to say something, anything evil cruel and mean as it was to let the master know what he thought of him, although everything he said would be made up lies. He only wanted to find a way to hurt Qui-Gon, the way he had so easily hurt him.
Jinn stood in the middle of the courtroom and expected Obi-Wan to run to him to receive a goodbye hug and a promise to visit him. Jinn was ready for that. He would be more than willing to occasionally, when time permitted, visit the child in his new home, another orphanage.
What he got was a much different angrier Obi-Wan Kenobi. A Obi-Wan who had nothing to lose if he said the most awful things to Master Jinn. He wasn't going to take him and Obi at that moment hated the man who just last night thought he had come to love. There in the courtroom he watched his future dissolve and the only person he thought loved him back, renounce him so quickly and without emotion. Now he knew the truth or thought he did. It was a ruse to keep him calm until he could be shipped away.
"I hate you Mr. Qui-Gon. You don't care about me. You lonely led me to believe that to keep me in order until you and my aunt could conspire together to get me back where she lives, only in another orphanage. Is that what all of you adults call a home, an orphanage with no kind of love juts a roof, some food, and promise that I will be released when I am old enough?"
I am glad my cousin is dead. He can't see the one person he cared for and respected so much other than his family, be so cruel. You are not the Jedi master Owen described to me, the one that gave him this rock he cherished so much. Here, take it."
Tears streamed down the boy's face. His body shook with low mournful sobs. He didn't care anymore what anyone thought of his outburst.. He could not longer contain it nor cared if he could.
Everyone in the courtroom stood silent and listened while little Obi literally tore the master apart with his words. The bailiff started to grab the child but was quickly halted by the judge himself. Obi-Wan threw the rock toward Jinn. It struck his upper right cheek hard enough to draw blood from the soft skin just under his eye.
He hadn't meant to hit the master, but after Obi-Wan saw that *Mr.Qui-Gon* was alright he didn't care if it did. He watched the Jedi master stand and stare at him in disbelief, shock, or just plain amazement.
"Maybe you need this, I certainly don't. Owen's rock could never hold as much meaning for me as it did for him. Maybe he had reason to cherish it more than anything he owned, but I certainly don't; not because of Owen but because of *YOU*."…
The courtroom emptied out around him and still the giant of a master stood like a large stone statue in the middle of the courtroom. His attorney left abruptly with only a promise to send his bill to be paid in full. He thought the Jedi crazy for passing up such a great chance to make credits.
Mace left with the other court attendees, after Master Yoda shooed him out. He instructed Master Windu to wait outside. Yoda would collect his former padawan and meet him in a few minutes.
Silence was the only thing to prevail in the courtroom with only Yoda and Qui-Gon there. Yoda seem to sense Qui's need for solitude for a few moments to collect himself and his cognitive reasoning. Yoda knew Jinn was just as perplexed as he was so he waited and let the silence and Jinn's solitude control their time.
Finally when Master Jinn seemed to have recovered, at least from his dream-like state, he looked up to see one lone being in the room, Master Yoda.
"Master could you explain to me what just happened here?"
"Know you the only one besides the Lars who do. Tell Selena you did, could not keep Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, but let me explain. I couldn't keep him, though I did think I wanted too.. No let me rephrase that. I could keep him but not with the stipulations she laid out, no way."
"Confused I am. Keep him you cannot then done here today what had to be done. Correct am I not? The boy given back to the family he is. To a orphanage he will also go. Problem there is with that? Take it I do you did not want the child, though you say you did. Speak in mysterious code you do. Never belittle me again for the phrasing of my words, you should. Equally confusing you are.. Said so to me just then you did, wanted the boy, then not want Obi-Wan??"
"It is not a question of wanting or not wanting Obi-Wan. I have found I care deeply for the boy, more than I thought I ever could."
"Confused I am more now than ever. Sad way to show concern and caring for a young ine. Ship him away to never see you again."
With that Yoda shook his head as he, the wise of wise did not understand Qui-Gon's actions either.
"Master let me explain. If I kept Obi-Wan I would have to become his..ma..."
Master Yoda interrupted the last word because he knew exactly what Qui-Gon would say.
"Master……. you planned to say. Know that before you did. The force I listen more closely too than you do, my favored one."
"You knew!?! The why in the name of a sith didn't you tell me. I was in the dark."
"If in the dark you were, put yourself there you did. Follow the force in all things. Tell you did it not when healed the boy. Think it did. Said this child meant to be by your side but chose to ignore it you did".
"I won't hear of it Master. If I ignored it, I did for a good reason. I can not go through thirteen years of training someone so close to my heart. Look at what happened to Owen. While he pierced my heart with his love, I think I care more for Obi-Wan or could, if we formed a training bond. I knew I would lose Owen for his loyalties laid with his father too strongly. With Obi-Wan, I will never know will I, how close we could have grown?"
"Fear of what might happen to this one stifles your reasoning Qui-Gon Jinn. Twisted your thinking is. Come, go home with me. Search through these emotions we will over my special blend of tea."
A good cup of tea was always a partial cure for everything in Yoda's eyes. He walked over and tapped very gently Master Jinn's leg to draw his attention. Jinn relented. Nothing could be done to change things, now. It was best to go home to the temple.
//I am not sure I want to change anything. It is such a shock to know he is forever gone.//
#####################
Master Jinn walked back to the temple with Mace and Yoda on either side of him. The mention of home brought thoughts of security. Jinn realized as he walked, Obi-Wan did not have thoughts of a safe place to call home when he left the courtroom that day..
The Jedi master couldn't imagine anyone's life being spent in a cold white-walled structured facility of an orphanage. It could not provide any security, especially for a child. A child like Obi who only wanted someone to care for him as others had cared so much for his cousin, Owen.
########################## Qui-Gon stood in the middle of the saber practice gym. His heart was not in, but it was his responsibility to continue to train his former apprentice, actually Master Dalia present apprentice, in the ways of JedI battle.
"No… no… no, Tia. How many times have I told you to advance on your left leg. It frees up your saber more with your right leg out of your way. Once the blow is landed then precede with the right and continued forward. How hard is it to take that in?"
"Sorry Master Jinn I keep forgetting. Gee, you are sure in a sore mood."
Qui-Gon had grown accustomed to Ti's remarks. It seemed that since he was returned to his master, he had grown a spine and dared to speak sometimes with an attitude to Jinn. Something the master hadn't bother to correct.
Padawan Da'Neel was not his apprentice and he felt inclined to let Master Dalia correct the young man's shortcomings. Today, however, was different. The padawan would learn that it might be best to keep his *big* mouth shut.
"Sore mood? What a unique choice of words Padawan. Unless you would like to find yourself before the council for insolence and insubordination, I suggest your curb your attitude and hold your tongue."
"Master Jinn I meant no disrespect. I know about the court hearing and that your gave up that Kenobi boy. My Master said it was for your sake and well as the Jedi that the child not blessed in the force be sent away from the temple. She agreed with you .She thinks you have done the right thing.
//Done the right thing? Oh padawan you wear my patience too thin this day.//
"Your practice is over for the day."
Tia Da'Neel could tell by Jinn's words that he was not happy with the conversation they were in and he quickly tried to redeem himself in Jinn's eyes.
"I am sorry Master Jinn if I have hit a some discord in you. I meant only the best for you. I am sure that is what my master thought of as well, your well being."
Jinn's brow furrowed as he put his saber away and only glanced at the apprentice before him.
' "Well I appreciate both you and your master's concern. Now all I have to do is believe in the sincerity of it."
Was it rude to say, was it said it jest a mockery of the apprentice and his master's words. Tia Da'Neel could not help but think he and his master had just been put in their place, by a few choice words backed with the venom of an enraged Jedi master.
"He backed down with his previous brazen onslaught of the master. He bowed in respect as he watched Master Jinn take leave of their practice session early and in a worse mood than he was in when he came to practice. //All due to me I'm afraid.//
Master Jinn showered and headed toward the council chamber offices. He hoped Master Yoda was free. Once there, he found Master Yoda in an important meeting with a young knight who had been derelict in his duty and disrespectful of the dignitary he had been dispatched to guard.
Qui-Gon settled on making a path in the hall as he paced back and forth. Master Windu almost ran into him when he came out of his own office, on his way fetch mid-meal.
"Ah…Waiting to seek some wisdom from your former Master, Qui-Gon?"
"DON'T test me Mace. You know I am not past being in a *sore* mood as Tia puts it. Nor am I past letting my anger lay and fester inside me. It serves a purpose. It makes me think clearly."
"Oh Qui-you know, I only meant to be sociable."
"I don't feel sociable."
"I am sure you don't if you want your anger lay and multiply. You know what Master Yoda would say. about anger".
" I know it well. I have heard it all my life and I DON'T need to hear it from you especially now."
Mace grew more serious as he watched his friend tormented with so much on his mind.
"I know Qui . It's the boy, Obi-Wan. Wasn't as easy to let go as you thought it was."
"Did Master tell you about Obi-Wan?"
"No you know Yoda. He can be very hush hush when he wants to be. Care to explain?"
"Too unbelievably complex to get into now, but I you are right. I am having a hard time dealing with the fact that I let him go. Go, but not back to a loving home for I truly think I could have handled that. I have allowed him to be taken without a fight back to the Lars' home world to be placed in another sterile environment, an orphanage with intimate contact and caring is null and void."
"The workers at the orphanage can't let others come into their life and their hearts which might just pop back out on a moment's notice. You can't except the orphanage to be able to give the emotional support the children need. No, they can only provide so much."
"Thank You Mace?"
Now Mace did exhibit a look of surprise. His friend just thanked him and they hadn't really gone into Qui's problem, not in any depth that is.
"Well sure Qui-Gon , but what did I do? I haven't even heard your pros and cons concerning Obi-Wan. Heck I don't even know how you feel about him."
"You have just solidified my theory of the kind of life Obi-Wan would be supplied by the orphanage's inept ability to care for him on a one on one basis. You have helped me to realize and accept how I feel about him. I care for the child almost as if he was my own son. And if it takes what Selena wants to keep him, I will have to cast aside my fears and do it."
//WOW! I did all that for Qui, HOW? ??
Master Windu was still in "the dark" where the child was concerned and the words only added to the mystery.
"Could you at least let me know what Selena wanted from you? What exactly were her stipulations in order for you to keep Obi-Wan with you?"
The next two sentences took Mace off guard, left him confused, in doubt he heard right, and thought Jinn had lost his mind. He was yet unaware of Obi-Wan's force abilities.
"She wants Obi-Wan to become my next apprentice and I see that now I want the very same thing; Obi-Wan Kenobi as my next apprentice…"
Still as confused as when he started the conversation, Master Windu decided to continue on his jaunt to find something palatable in the commissary for mid-meal. He would satisfy his hunger faster than Jinn could satisfy his curiosity.
Qui-Gon didn't even seem notice when his friend walked away as he was in deep thought of how to once again regain his little ward.
//Not an easy thing to do since the court has already given him leave to return with his aunt and uncle. Of course I had to stand in the courtroom and made a fool of myself by renouncing him in what seemed like the easier thing I had ever done. In truth it was just the opposite.//
Master Yoda almost ran over his former padawan when he walked out of his off also in search of something for mid-meal. It's not that he didn't see Qui-Gon . It would be very hard indeed to miss a Jedi master of that size. In his haste and hunger he didn't expect his former padawan to be lingering right in front of his office door.
"Clumsy you have made me padawan mine. Loom over my door you do. Injury to my self I could have caused by your of thoughtlessness."
"Master I have been waiting for your meeting to conclude. I want to get Obi-Wan back. I thought you would know best how to go about it. I mean if I want the boy as my apprentice and I do, and if I am willing to help him through his time of readjustment with no medication and I am, then the Lars' should be more than pleased to give him back would they not?"
Slowly and I mean *slowly* Yoda turned his head and stared lazily up at his padawan's face and gave him the most terrifying look of confusion ever to come from the troll of a master.
"Lunatic you have turned into. Bowl of jelly for brains you have. Why take the boy back if second thoughts you had of keeping him anyway. No, unwise then it is. Thought through enough it is not."
That was the last thing Qui-Gon expected or wanted to here from his former mentor. Always before when he made a mistake and corrected it, Yoda would agree and make every effort to help Qui-Gon correct the mistake he finally realized he made. This time though proved very different than times before.
"Master always when I have been mistaken about a situation, you guide me through a more rational thought process, and I make the necessary changes for the best, you have commended and backed me. This time is so very different."
"Right you are my apprentice. Different it is because a child involved with all this. Allow more harm to Obi-Wan I can not."
"You don't understand Master Yoda. I don't want to harm Obi-Wan I want to help him. I want him as my apprentice. I see that now."
"See it with both eyes open you do? Take the boy under a cloud of pity you should not. Pity Obi-Wan needs not. Needs strength of a master to direct him through what will be most the horrendously challenging thing of his life I fear. Life altering it will be to gain suddenly powers that should have grown with one since birth . Gradual pace it would have been. Now high midichlorian count he will have immediately. Much too tolerate for one so young, as he. Reincorporate force abilities back into an adult Jedi master hard it is, if lost it he has through a force collar or in battle. However to incorporate the force and its powers into a mere child never to experience it before, most difficult to impossible I say it will be. Ready for that challenge you are Qui-Gon Jinn? For without certainty handle it you can, possible failure you face. Only bring harm to the child. Harm and mayhem he needs no more of. Trust, understanding, and unwavering commitment, needs most he does. Ready to supply all of that, yet keep him if all else fails and Jedi he can not be? Answer to my many questions unequivocally yes, then seek custody of the child you may by your side I will be."
Jinn thought through Yoda's words. There was a chance he would fail. Maybe Obi-Wan could not stand the pressure of such a powerful living force being thrust on him at an age where things are already confusing, puberty. Maybe he couldn't handle. If he couldn't make the transition from normalcy to Jedi, could Jinn handle the possible ramifications of it. Obi-Wan would not be the normal child anymore. He would be force-blessed with no way to vent his power. He would have to be taught to curtail his urge to use it for bad as well as for the good of someone. It would compromise his life considerably for others to know of his powers yet not to be affiliated with the Jedi. Others in the world would not hesitate to take advantage of his friendship and attempt to lead Obi down a path of the dark.
"Alright Master Yoda you have never led me astray. I will sleep on my decision tonight and possibly I will be more certain in the morning.."
Yoda reached out and tapped Jinn's hand that lay to his side.
"Do better for you than that padawan. A mission I have for you. Transport leaves the morning it does. Be on it. Time to think you will have. Upon return from mission if decided you still are that Obi-Wan is your destiny, as you are his, contact the Lars the council and I will. Help you regain your child we will. Plenty of time now to think between activity of the mission."
" Master don't do this too me. Maybe Selena will be too vindictive toward me if I make her drag him all the way home only to have him return."
"Selena level headed she is. If away from her husband she can be. Now eat you should and rest later. Tomorrow go to the city."
Qui-Gon hadn't even asked where he was going or what kind of mission it would be. He didn't care. His thoughts still lay with the child and the possibility of not being able to get him back."
"Why must I trek all the way to the city? Never mind. Let me guess. The temple has no available transportation right now and I must suffer through a crowded public transport. Am I correct?"
"Correct you are. Insight excellent padawan. Now your mission I send you later. Nothing hard. Quite simple it is. Settle dispute between brothers. Each wants control of their father's throne they do. Problem it is father not dead nor ands to be anytime soon. By way of Galin, home planet of the Lars' you will go, but land there you will for only loading and unloading then on to Dagobah. You will go. Now be gone. Question not what I do. Trust me when I was your master, trust in this now you should. Lead you the right direction I do my apprentice."
Qui-Gon had to admit he trusted Yoda with his life and knew he would never lie to him He had to have faith that this was the right thing to do.
############The next morning############
Master Jinn maneuvered his way through the narrow isle of the civilian transport. He dodged elbows or what appeared to be an elbow from a species of gentlemen he was not even familiar with.
A little baby wookie plastered a piece of candy on the side of his new leggings. With a sigh and a grunt he heaved his back pack up over his head to put it in the upper luggage carrier and finally found a seat by the window. Of course that meant he had to step over the heavy Hutt that he would sit next too. His legs tangled in the massive obese leg of the Hutt and the master actually blushed as the Hutt's knee jabbed a part of him that was the most delicate spot on this body.
Finally in his seat, the Jedi closed his eyes and wished vehemently that he could open the window to let some air in and some stench out. He would not go so far as to assume where the order came from, but rancidity would be the best way to describe it.
The master with his overly long legs had to keep them bent up. He rested his elbow on his knee and put his head in his hand. There... he closed his eyes and tried to focus in a light meditative state, but something drew him out of that and right into a haze of confusion. He seemed to feel a tingling throughout his body. Something touched his mind. Brushed softly against it really . Nothing that could be pinpointed just something, but so elusive even Qui-Gon could not fathom what to make of it. The a feminine voice with a stately accent rang through the ship's isle.
"Here Obi-Wan your uncle said we would find our seating in the front of this transport. I plan never to ride on something like this again as long as I live."
There was no doubt about it. That was his Obi-Wan and Selena with him. Jinn imagined Mr. Lars was not far behind them. They walked to the front of the ship where the door was to the private seating. As soon as Mr. Lars joined them, they entered the private section and the door quickly closed behind them.
I//f I am lucky I can put a magazine up and avoid being noticed when they get off on Galin. They will be up front. There is no need for the child to know I am even here.//
It was impossible for a man of Master Jinn's grandiose size, to crunch down any further in his seat, but he tried anyway. The Hutt beside him cast him a glance that insinuated he might think the Jedi had gone bonkers. He tried to scoot over further to the isle to get away from Qui-Gon but his size prevented him from moving.
The little boy ushered up front by his aunt also felt a nudge to his mind. The only thing that nudge did for him was to render him a horrible headache unwillingly instigated by bond that flowed to both the master and the force's choice of apprentices for that master, but went unreciprocated by each. Obi didn't know of it and Qui-Gon suspected the possibility of it, but was hesitant to reach out connect with the fledgling bond..
//No use tempting fate and destiny when it might not be mine to tempt!!!! "//
Between the knowledge that Obi-Wan as just beyond the front door of the transport, and the loud obnoxious snoring of his seating companion, the Hutt, Qui-Gon gave up on all thoughts of getting any rest.
//Maybe once Obi and his family get off I will be able to sleep. I might even ask if I could find a seat away from *my* friend here.//
Jinn looked around and thought the possibility of securing a seat was not all that plausible since the ship was so over crowded.
Needless to say he would not have to worry about the seating arrangements for he would find himself with almost the entire ship to find which ever seat he wanted, but sleep would be most difficult to come by then.
Qui-Gon eyes refused to move from the front door to the elite seating of the transport ship. He did not think for a second he would see the Lars family until the ships reached their home world. However he did not want to take any chances. Obi being young might find the need of the fresher before they land.
//Then I might be discovered. //
Qui-Gon started to scoot down in his chair and grabbed a magazine when he did see the door open, but he was more than surprised as who entered through that door.
Master Dooku, a former very prominent Jedi turned to the dark side, came from the private seating section of the ship, along with him Selena. One of Dooku's cohorts or least Jinn assumed that was who he was had Obi-Wan by his arm and looked by the grimace-pained face on the boy the grip on him was strong and agony-rendering.
He actually had been a master to Qui-Gon before things turned nasty for him and he was caught doing things no Jedi would go. Master Yoda became his master and Master Dooku or Count Dooku as he was called now was banished to the outer rims to some obscure planet not visited by anyone with any common sense.
//What does he want I wonder? //
It made sense that he would have Selena in his grasp. He knew her. Knew she was the mother to Jinn's former apprentice and knew of her force abilities. He could see from where he sat the light ricocheting off and creating reflective glinting beams that bounced off the metal force collar placed on her.
//He certainly isn't taking any chances. //
"Now if all of you would remain calm, no harm will come to you, at least today and certainly not by me."
A loud boisterous laugh rolled through the ship.
"I am here for the transport ship and nothing more. My reasons, you need not concern yourselves with. The only way you would need to worry is if you are force sensitive. Isn't that right Master Jinn?"
Dooku directed his glare on Jinn and locked it there as if he dared the Jedi master to try something. Qui-Gon noticed the surprised look he got from Selena and Obi-Wan but quickly turned his attention back to the Dark Jedi.
He stood up to face his very formidable adversary, one of the most powerful Jedi masters ever indoctrinated in the Jedi until his title was humiliatingly removed. Now he was a rogue , close to being equal to his dark counterpart Darth Sidious, himself.
"Did I not make myself clear Jinn? I want the force sensitives. Now that would include you, Selena here and of course the boy. Oh I know he doesn't have a midichlorian in his body right now. I already had his blood checked for a level reading, but I feel a connection to him. The reason not clear until my eyes found you. It is not a connection with me I feel from him. It is going to you, from him, to me? I think I have stumbled onto to something here. Strange indeed!!!! He has some connection to you yourself Master Jinn and I intend to find out why and how if he is not force sensitive. Are you trying to deceive me or possibly someone else with this child? We will certainly see. He is going with me along with you, Selena, and that diplomatic husband of hers. Like I said my plan was to only take the ship. I have no need for these poverty stricken bunch on it. But force sensitive Jedi, now that's another story. I might well find a use for you. Now I would suggest we all get comfortable until we can reach the nearest planet to let this bunch off and we will be on our way. Dagabah, that is where I call home. Little swamp rat I am now. "
The trip to the nearest planet was not over an hour away. It was inhabitable, just barely. Enough that it would sustain life for the passengers of the now commandeered ship. Dooku kept only the Jedi, Obi-Wan out of some morbid curiosity of how he connected to Jinn, and for added bargaining power Delon Lars, Selena's husband.
Once being a Jedi himself, he knew how *expendable* Jedi could be, man, woman or child, if the Senate republic did not want to adhere to a demand of some kind. They would think twice before they allowed a Senator and ruler of a planet as Mr. Lars was.
No matter how small the planet was if it was part of the galactic senate govern by the republic, then Dooku had a partial chance of his demands being listened too. The ship took off. Right for the planet Jinn was destined to go but now for a different reason. He was a captive. A force collar put on him just as it had been put on Selena. Obi-Wan without medication, would soon start feeling increased agitation from multiplying of his midichlorians.
Something that could be speeded up by his adolescent stage of development, puberty, according to Selena's own words. Jinn was sure it would only complicate matters if Obi-Wan started exhibiting signs of increased powers. Selena was without medication for the child because she assumed she would be home that evening to give him some from her supply of it. Neither her or Qui-Gon knew what with complete certainty what would happen.
The midichlorian count would rise from lack of medicine but the child's perception of things would become more disruptive because the boy would be able to feel the power within him but would not know from where it came. Confusing? Jinn thought so, but he did not know what to do.
He did not want let Dooku know of Obi's powers but he knew what Dooku was doing could harm the boy and harm him badly. Selena herself knew better than Qui that to allow the midichlorian to rise without someone to help guide him through the transition could produce a negative affect on the child. So much so, that insanity was one of the prevalent concerns that both Qui and Selena had.
The sudden release of those force energies Obi-Wan was not even aware of could render him insane or worse ..... Worse than irreversible insanity was the possibility that Obi's cognitive understanding could be regressed to that of a small child and all things remembered and taught could be forgotten.
Indeed a manifestation heard of and documented through the hundred of years of the Jedi order's records. The thought chilling to Master Jinn even more than Selena. She no plans to keep the child anyway. Jinn's decision to keep Obi-Wan could be altered by the fact that he might not be trainable in the jumbled mess he could possibly be left in.
//The boy's powers which could have provided a destiny as a Jedi might cause his insanity and the end to his future before it can begin.//
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Thanks for the feedback and the help with honing my writing skills. I appreciate writing pointers when done nicely!!
PEACE ewen