Chapter Four


Qui-Gon stood at the window, staring out into the sea of lights that was Coruscant, even at this late hour. He had awoken from a nightmare in which Jayla and Kyran had both been killed. Kyran while fighting the
mob, Jayla when that same mob found her unprotected on Kyran's ship.

He knew than his dreams were only his mind processing his own deepest fears. When he could let go of his fears, the dreams would stop. Simple as that. Impossible as that, so long as he couldn't make his peace with Kyran.

Remember your training, he rebuked himself. In the crèche, all children learn that when nightmares strike they should dismiss those images from their minds and focus on more positive images. Settling on his knees, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and guided his mind towards a happier memory of Kyran.


There were many gardens in the Temple, but this one was typically used by the children. Full of places to run, climb, play and learn the joys of Living Force. In one corner was a pond, deep enough for both children and small schools of fish to swim in. It was the fish that held five-year old Qui-Gon's attention today. He had discovered if he climbed out on a branch of one of the trees that arched over the pond, he had a perfect view of the silver fish that darted near the surface of the water. Leaning out just a little bit further, he could almost touch them.

Eleven-year old Kyran looked up from the literature homework he had been working on, absently pushing his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. He supposed he should have been doing it in his room or the library, but the urge to sit in the sunlight gardens was too strong. A loud splash from the near by pond had drawn
his attention.

Without thinking, Kyran dived into the pond and with strong, sure strokes headed towards the child. Flailing wildly, the brown hair initiate was quickly losing his struggle to stay afloat.

"Keep still," instructed Kyran, wrapping his arm under the boy's as he had been taught. He reinforced the direction with a burst of Force suggestion. Instantly, the boy went limp in his arms. Kyran towed him to the shore, turning him on his side to let him cough out the water he had swallowed.

It felt like he had coughed up the entire pond before Qui-Gon could sit up again. Shivering in reaction to his near drowning, he looked at the boy who had saved him. Kind green eyes were looking back at him in concern out of a slightly round face. Without knowing exactly why, Qui-Gon liked him. Before he could say
anything, larger, stronger hands had gently taken hold of him.

"Qui-Gon, are you all right?" asked Perchel, her nose and whiskers twitching slightly.

At Qui-Gon's nod, the Togorian female turned to Kyran. "What happened?"

"I was reading when I heard a splash. I saw that he was in the water over his head and starting to go under, Crèche Master. I pulled him out," answered Kyran.

Returning her attention to Qui-Gon, her voice grew stern. "Qui-Gon, were you told not to go into the water without permission."

"Yes, Master Perchel," said Qui-Gon, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"This is not the first time you have not obeyed the directions you have been given. You will be spending this afternoon in your bed, thinking about the importance of following instructions." She stood, holding out her hand for the young boy. Bowing slightly towards Kyran, she said, "Thank you,
initiate, for helping Qui-Gon."

The five-years old's chin began to quiver slightly and not all the moisture on his face came from the pond. He got to his feet, placing his hand in the Crèche Master's. With his free hand, he waved a good-bye towards his rescuer.

"My name is Kyran, Master Perchel. He didn't mean to go into the water," said Kyran, jumping up. "He was looking at the fish and lost his balance."

"Is this true, Qui-Gon?" asked Perchel.

"Yes. I couldn't see them good from the grass and the branch was near where they were." Qui-Gon explainedearnestly, pointing to tree that had served as his observation post.

Sighing, Perchel did not ask Qui-Gon why he hadn't just told her that in the first place. She knew from experience that Qui-Gon would simply inform her she hadn't asked. The child was good hearted and never seemed to mean to cause trouble, but somehow trouble always managed to find him. Still, there was
something that did puzzle her. The tree was some distance from where the older boy's datapad was. The heavy foliage of the tree would have easily prevented him from seeing Qui-Gon.

"Kyran, how did you know what he was doing?" she asked.

Kyran looked surprised at the question. "I . . . I just did. I could see the fish in my head, and feel how all Qui-Gon wanted to do was get a closer look."

Perchel laid a hand lightly on Kyran's head. After a moment, she said, "There is a newly formed bond between you. Most unusual. Come, initiate. We will seek out what this means." Crinkling her eyes, she added in an amused tone, "Although not until we get both of you much drier than you are now."

A much older Qui-Gon reflected on what happened next. There was some discussion among the grown-ups about how the bond had formed and if it should be permitted to strengthen. In the end it was decided that Kyran's
semi-trained Force suggestion had allowed a Force-blessed bond to open between the two. Therefore, the friendship between the two, despite their age difference would be permitted.

It was a friendship that would grow deeper and stronger as they grew. Had he damaged that friendship beyond repair, wondered Qui-Gon. Before such dark thoughts could once more sink their claws into him, he made himself think of another significant day with a happier outcome.


*********


Qui-Gon followed Kyran towards the observation gallery that surrounded the main gym. He brushed his hair out of his eyes. It had finally grown out from the padawan cut. Unfortunately it was now long enough to get into his eyes, but too short to tie back. Perhaps he should trim it short like Master Dooku had always worn his hair, but keeping it that short and still neat meant a bit of maintenance. Or maybe he could follow Mace's example. Depilatory cream every month or so, no fuss and no muss. "Kyran, how do you think I would look ..."


"Like a plucked avian." Kyran said to his tall and lanky friend. He had easily picked up on Qui-Gon's thoughts. It was normal for the two of them to keep their bond open enough so that each could sense the surface thoughts of the other. "I didn't bring you here to give you fashion advice."

Qui-Gon mock pouted. "Fine. What did you bring me here for then?"

"There, the initiates who are working on tumbling with Master M'ri Lu. Do you see them?" Kyran pointed towards a Bothan Jedi leading a group of about seven pre-teen initiates through a series of gymnastic exercises.

"Can't miss them since they're tumbling all over the place." He grinned. "Do you have your eye on one in particular?"

"Yes," Kyran said, now very serious. "The human female on the left, next to the Twi'lekk."

Qui-Gon peered at the girl. She was tall for her age and had shoulder length blonde wavy hair. "Are you thinking of asking her to be your apprentice soon?"

"I was thinking about it, but . . . " Kyran let his voice trail off, allowing his feeling to project to Qui-Gon. He was unsure if he had the necessary skills to train a padawan. He thought it seemed like a good match, but what if he had misjudged their personalities so that they couldn't work or learn together. "At times it seems the most natural thing in the galaxy that she should become my padawan, but
then I start thinking about everything that is involved and everything that could go wrong. I wanted to know what you think."

Qui-Gon stared at the girl for a long moment watching and observing. She appeared to be respectful to the Master who was training them and she'd volunteered to help one of the younger initiates who was having difficulty with the exercise. He tucked his arms into the sleeves of his robe and stared at Kyran for a long moment, thinking as he opened himself up to the Force. "What makes you think that she would be a good match?"

Kyran focused his gaze on the girl, watching as she patiently guided the younger girl into a handstand and back roll. "She is strong in the Force. Her grades in all of her subjects are good, not the highest, but well above average. She is very even tempered and patient. I think she could become an excellent diplomat, she seems to have a real talent for putting people around her at ease."

"I read that she tends to be late. Her instructors have reprimanded on to her several times for not being punctual. Likewise, her grades would be better if she didn't have the tendency to miss deadlines for homework and assignments."

"She does need to learn to be better organized. Her tendency is to become so engrossed in what she is doing, that she loses track of everything else. The ability to focus is admirable, but we will have to work on developing her ability to be mindful of events even while her attention is needed on something else."
Kyran raised his eyebrow slightly in surprise, registering what else Qui-Gon had said. "You know her?"

"I've run into her once or twice. It made such an impression I looked up her record." His blue eyes twinkled. He didn't think Kyran had noticed how he had used the pronoun 'we' in reference to the girl's training.

Kyran frowned slightly at the idea his friend had also been researching the girl. Granted Qui-Gon had been a knight for less than a year, but the girl was only eleven. If he was also interested in taking the girl, as a Padawan, there was time for him to gain some experience as a knight well before the girl reached
her thirteenth birthday. "Qui-Gon, were you thinking about taking a Padawan?"

"Maybe," said Qui-Gon. The flash of distress over Kyran's face surprised him. "Is something wrong?"

"I just didn't think that anyone else was considering taking Jayla as a Padawan." Kyran looked out again at the girl.

Over their bond, Qui-Gon could feel the intense emptiness that appeared in Kyran's heart as the thought that he wouldn't be the one to train the girl. He also felt the conflict of that emptiness with the reluctant willingness to step aside if Qui-Gon also had planned on asking the girl to become his padawan.
He quickly said, "I am planning on choosing an apprentice at some point, but not now. I only became a knight myself."

Qui-Gon gave his friend a mischievous look at Kyran's obvious relief. "Or have you forgotten already? You must be getting old, I suppose. You do need to train someone before you forget it all."

"Why you Sith loving bantha kisser!" grinned Kyran.

"Now is that the kind of thing a master would say?"

"I heard Master Dooku say worse to you when you came back from that little adventure on the lower levels."

"You heard that because you were there with me, adventure and tongue lashing from my master. Then from your master, then Devin's master." Qui-Gon reminded him.

"You're avoiding the issue. How did you meet her?" Kyran folded his arms across his chest, certain that
there was a good tale here.

"I ran into her into in the hallway one day and I ended up walking her to class. Something the instructor said made me a bit curious, so I pulled up her record."

Kyran arched a brow. "Ran into her did you? You know better than to try to hide things from me, Qui-Gon. What's the rest of it?"

Laughing, Qui-Gon finally admitted the whole story. "I was late, hurrying through the halls when I turned a corner. She was also late and hurrying through the halls. We ran into each other literally. I went sprawling across the floor. You may be interested to know that she faired much better. Rolled up into a ball when we impacted, tumbled and was up on her feet while I was still working out why I was staring at the ceiling.

"She apologized several times. I walked her to class to explain why she was even later. The instructor took me out of the classroom for a minute to ask if I was also researching her as a potential padawan. Guess who he named when I asked who else was interested? After that, I had to pull up the girl's record to see what you were getting into."

"I see." Kyran grinned, amused at the idea of his friend flat on his back in the middle of the corridor. "You weren't late for a Council meeting again …were you?"

"No, and I was only ever late that one time," said Qui-Gon defensively. "I was on my way to meet Devin. He thinks the girl would be a good match for you, too. Both of us were wondering exactly how long you were going to take."

Kyran rubbed his chin thoughtfully at the mention of their mutual friend, Devin. "I see. I need some more time for meditation before I decide, but I think the Force is leading me in her direction."

Draping his arm around Kyran's shoulders, Qui-Gon said, "You will be a good master, whoever you decide to take a padawan."

"How can you be so sure?" Kyran asked as they began their way back down the stairs.

"Because of how much I have learned from you, old friend."

"Thank you, my friend."

*******
Qui-Gon sighed deeply as he knelt on the meditation mat in the wee hours of the morning. Kyran had asked her later that same day. Jayla had happily accepted and the Council approved the match without hesitation. It had only been three years ago but at the moment it seemed like it had occurred in another lifetime. He glanced at the chrono mounted on the wall. Another night with only two hours of sleep. He stood, rubbing his cramped muscles. He pulled the sliding door to his balcony and went outside, to watch as the Coruscant traffic flew by overhead.