Qui Gon knew when to admit he had been wrong. He had underestimated Obi Wan Kenobi.
The repairs were almost done. They were scheduled to leave at dawn. Obi Wan was with Leila back in their ship's quarters. Qui Gon left the ship to take a last look at the great sea. He also needed a moment to consider all that had happened.
The surf pounded the rocks around him as he gazed at the planet's five multicolored moons, already beginning to dim with the riding light. He thought about Yoda's words, spoke only three days ago: "By chance alone we do not live our lives. If take an apprentice you will not, in time, perhaps fate will chose."
Qui Gon still wasn't sure if fate had appointed Obi Wan as his Padawan or if it had just thrown them together for one odd adventure. He'd thought it was coincidence that both he, Leila and Obi Wan were all going to Bandomeer. After all, Yoda himself had sent the boy to Bandomeer, while Qui Gon's orders came from the Senate- from the Supreme Chancellor himself.
But here it was. And here they all where.
Qui Gon smiled slightly as he remembered the welcome sound of Leila's shrieks of laughter as Obi Wan had threatened to dump her in the sea. She was getting better and Obi Wan was a great cause of her health. They where all going to Bandomeer. And now, Qui Gon had an uneasy feeling about his and Leila's mission. What if Leila was right? Should he have told Yoda about what she said? Qui Gon shook his head. Whatever it was, he would take it as it came at him.
And there was a further matter. It was not a simple thing for one Jedi to touch the mind of another. It was an intimate thing, the kind of thing that was usually done between the closet of friends. Or a Knight and his Padawan.
For the first time in a long time, Qui Gon didn't know what to do.
"When the path is unsure, better to wait, it is," Yoda had told him many times. Now he would use Yoda's advice, even though he suspected Yoda would want him to take the oppsite position. He would not ask Obi Wan to his Padawan. Not yet. For now, he would wait.
And he would watch. They had seperate missions on Bandomeer, but he would keep a close eye on Obi Wan. Leila would help him do that, unknowingly of course.
Qui Gon grinned. He had to admit the boy was not made to be a farmer. He was meant for different things. But whether his path would intersect with Qui Gon's he still didn't know. and until he did, he would not choose. The boy would have to be strong to dispel the shadow of the one who had come before. And Xanatos had cast a long, deep shadow.
Qui Gon turned and headed back into the ship. Yes, he would keep an eye on Obi Wan.
And besides, he had a feeling that fate would give him no other choice.