*****

3 Years Later

Qui-Gon Jinn steepled his fingers together while he watched Xanatos partake in a dazzling display of lightsaber combat. The youth was a natural at this art, using his body as well as his mind to expertly back his opponent off of him. His deep green blade clashed and sparked against his opponents amber one.

The dance was deadly, and Xanatos executed an unbelievable flip over his opponent's head, landing on his feet and twirling his lightsaber around to finally knock the other one out of his rival's hand. The amber blade immediately extinguished as the boy fell to the floor. For a single moment, Xanatos smiled proudly, his expression one of happy triumph.

Then it was gone, just as fleetingly as it had appeared. He reached over and held a hand out to help the fallen boy up. The momentary lapse did not go unnoticed by his Master. Qui-Gon was studying the boy intently. Xanatos should have known better than to gloat. He rubbed one hand thoughtfully over his chin.

It wasn't often that they had time to be at the Temple, the Council had been giving them mission after mission as of late. It was only after Qui-Gon had insisted on a brief rest period that the Council had finally relented. They had three weeks here to recover and rest.

He had started Xanatos back in the classes as soon as he got the word. His Padawan was in desperate need of some classes in humility if this was the kind of reaction the boy was going to project. Qui-Gon blamed most of it on the frequent need to be proven worthy, and the lack of peers to bond with.

Xanatos was now exiting the ring, his lightsaber hanging on his belt. He bowed before his master.

"Good job, Padawan." Qui-Gon spoke the words that were expected of him. Xanatos had started to smile but the next words caused that smile to slide off his face. "Next time, you might not want to openly gloat about your victory. Such a thing could end up costing you in the long run."

The boy was now sullen, he had been so sure that his master would praise him for all his hard work. After all the student he had just beaten was a full three levels above him! That had been no easy feat! He bit back an angry reply. "Yes, Master."

Qui-Gon picked up the negative feelings washing over his student. "I think two hours in meditations is in order. Report back to our quarters and begin with the Sonta Set, then follow with the Baran'til ones." The meditations he had just assigned were designed to teach patience and humility. One had to sit and concentrate deeply, letting go of any pride in order to achieve the calmness required.

Xanatos gaped at his master. He was being punished? He snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. He had planned on meeting some of his agemates to go and celebrate his victory. Now he had to spend the rest of the night in his quarters, on his knees no less, breathing.

"If you would like I can add a set of Ruagata ones as well." Qui-Gon spoke up, naming the ones he knew his apprentice hated the most. Those ones required one to hang upside-down in the exercise, thereby forcing the mind to divide its attention between two things, keeping peace and keeping oneself from falling hard.

"That will not be necessary, Master." Xanatos muttered. He then took his leave and headed for his quarters.

What had gotten into that boy? Qui-Gon could not understand. He had been such a promising student at first, now he seemed to be moving off more on his own too quickly. He could no longer seem to control his student at will, the boy frequently merited punishment, and Qui-Gon was running out of patience. At 17, the boy should definitely have been more in control.

Qui-Gon sighed and left the training room. No sense brooding over it. He would end up doing meditation time himself if he could not figure out what to do soon. Xanatos, Xanatos, Xanatos. Where did I fail you? The big Jedi wondered as he walked down the hall.

*****

Six year old Obi-Wan Kenobi was alone in the initiate's training room. This one was designed to help a user master the frequent flips needed. Large bars jutted out from the walls from which a student could jump or hop to before flipping and landing. Safety fields protected the falls from being too hard.

Obi-Wan loved this room. He liked the feeling of being in control of his body. Of using the Force to help him twist and flip. It all filled him with a sense of accomplishment. If he worked hard enough he could imagine a voice telling him that he was a great student, an excellent Padawan. He fingered his braid lightly for a moment. It was now just barely touching his shoulder. Padawan.

He remembered someone telling him once that he would make an excellent Padawan, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't place a face with the voice. He knew just about all the Masters here at the Temple, with the exception of the ones who were frequently offworld. If they spent any amount of time at the Temple, Obi-Wan knew them. This voice that haunted him, however was nowhere to be found.

He frowned at his lack of concentration. "Way to go, Kenobi." He muttered to himself. "Daydreaming isn't going to help you." He focused his attention and began his routine again. He had earned this time to himself, by studying hard, and helping all the Masters in the crèche. They rewarded his hard efforts with two whole hours by himself in the training room. As long as he kept the safety field on, he was allowed to practice alone.

He had designed a series of flips and twirls into the katas the Masters had taught him. Ones better suited to his growing body. Each time he executed them he could feel the Force flowing through his hands and legs, making his body move higher, twist harder, jump farther. It was the greatest reward one could ask for.

He was so busy concentrating on his routine, that he didn't notice that he was being watched. Two sets of eyes followed the child through the air. The first set was angry, vengeful and full of mischief. This pair belonged to Bruck Chun, Obi-Wan's agemate and fellow clan member. Bruck was not very happy with the other boy, for he didn't get rewards such as Obi-Wan got. The Masters were never telling him how good he was doing. Always telling him how he needed to work more on this or that.

He would show them. If the safety field was off, Obi-Wan could possibly fall and maybe get in trouble for exercising without it. They wouldn't reward him with this freedom then. His small hand rested by the controls, set in the far end of the room by the other door. He carefully shielded his mind, making himself invisible to Obi-Wan or anyone that should stop in to check the boy. He had one chance to do this, and he had to time it right. Working the controls would be easy. Making it seem like an accident would be fun.

The other set of eyes watching Obi-Wan perform was Qui-Gon's. He had happened by the initiate training room on his way out of the corridor. Curious as to why the room would be activated this late in the afternoon when all the other students should be in classes, he peeked inside.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. A very young child, about 5 or 6 was using the high beams to run, flip and jump. These were moves that usually the older children with much more control had to master. Here was this boy, literally flying through the air, and bouncing off the walls. A first set of modified katas was completed and a second set was begun.

Sweat dripped off this child's head, darkening his hair to a deep russet color. The boy seemed familiar to Qui-Gon, yet he couldn't place him in his mind. He had seen many children over his years at the Temple. How had he missed out on knowing about this one? He couldn't see the child's face, as he was moving too fast and his eyes were closed, relying on the Force to guide him.

Qui-Gon smiled. Yes, this one was talented. He would definitely be chosen as Padawan someday. Satisfied that the boy would not hurt himself, Qui-Gon decided to leave him alone to finish. If he knew he was being observed, it might break his concentration or make him self-conscious. It was enough that Qui-Gon had a chance to witness this remarkable sight. Why break the spell?

He was just leaving the room when disaster struck. In the middle of a high leap to near the ceiling, the safety field failed. The audible hum disappeared from the room as the blue glow winked out. Feeling the change almost instantly, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and shrieked. He lost his balance and grabbed for the nearest handhold. His mastery of the Force was not quite as refined as he would have liked, and he missed.

This all happened in a split second. Qui-Gon noticed the lack of field and the boy grasping for anything to break his fall. He reached out with the Force to catch the child but it was a moment to late. The boy hit the mats hard, twisting his right ankle and screaming in pain.

Bruck watched as Obi-Wan fell. He then quietly slipped out the door, unobserved and back to his class. He was on a refresher break and had a pass to show anyone that asked. No one would suspect him and now Obi-Wan wouldn't be such a show off. He smiled to himself glad that his plan had succeeded. Oafy-One was what he would call the boy now.

Qui-Gon was at the boy's side in a second. The child was howling in pain. No doubt it had hurt. The ankle was already turning a nice shade of purple.

"Owwwwwww! Owwwwww!" The boy howled, unable to stand or do anything but let the tears roll down his face.

Qui-Gon reached over and placed his hands on the child's ankle, calling on the Force to block the pain receptors. The boy quieted a bit and looked up to see who was helping him. He saw someone he didn't know, although something in the Force told him he *should* know this mysterious Jedi that was helping him now.

The large man smiled at him. "It will be alright. I'll take you to the Healers. They can help you there, okay?"

Obi-Wan nodded and sniffed. This Jedi seemed to be the nicest one he had ever met. Something about those blue eyes seemed to both calm and reassure him.

"Can you stand?" Qui-Gon asked the child, pretty sure he was going to be carrying the boy all the way to the Healers.

The young Jedi tried to, using Qui-Gon's arm as support, but the amount of pain on his face spoke volumes. The youngster had not mastered the ability to be able to shield, so Qui-Gon got a full dose of the boy's pain. He picked the boy up and settled him on one broad shoulder. "Never mind, young one. You tried very hard. That was very brave of you." He pulled his robe around the boy and rubbed the child's back.

Obi-Wan was now exhausted. Using the Force as he had been had drained him. The fall had nearly wiped him out. Now the combination of pain, and oddly enough comfort from the big Jedi, caused his weary body to fall asleep. Somehow he knew this Jedi would take care of him, take him to the Healers and make sure he was okay. In just a few short minutes, he was fast asleep in Qui-Gon's arms.

Hearing the boy's soft snores, and knowing it would be better for him to rest than to face the coming treatment, Qui-Gon let the boy sleep while he carried him to the Healers. He fully intended to find out why that safety field failed. Such a talented youngster should not be frightened away from practicing again.

The warm breath from the young Jedi warmed his neck and shoulder. He had seen the boy's face and the blue-green eyes, and the child seemed to recognize him from somewhere. He had instantly trusted Qui-Gon. Yet Qui-Gon still couldn't place the child as one he had ever seen before, no matter how he tried to focus on that face. He dismissed it as a by-product of his recent exhaustion himself with too many missions, and the training of his own Padawan. Maybe when he concentrated on it less, it would come to him.

He dropped the still sleeping boy off at the Healers and explained briefly what had happened, ordering a complete investigation of that training room. Before he could do anything else for the child, his comlink buzzed. Leaving the matter in more capable hands, he left the room and headed for his quarters.

Xanatos was not to be found in the Temple. He had up and disappeared. It wasn't until much later that he realized he didn't know the name of the child he had just helped.

*****