6th day, 4th month, standard year 24935
I heard Vulna crying. I expect he thought nobody heard.
*****
7th day, 4th month, standrad year 24935
All of today, we were on Ragoon-6. We were tracking Ight, one of the older Jedi, though the planet...we could rely only on the Force and each other. And we got him! So easily! In just eight hours! He was very impressed!
Master's excellent at tracking. He actually did most of the work....I got us lost. Several (hundred) times. He said I did well, though. I suppose I'd better believe him. He's a honest man. If he thinks something, he will tell you, he won't tell white lies. If he thinks you've done something wrong, he'll say so. I like that about him.
Today really was a fantastic day. We sat on the hill where our ship was parked and we talked for hours.
"Do you know what you're named for?" was one of
the things he asked me, after many moments of thought.
"No." I said, hoping this would lead to a story
or something. I'm really a bit too old for stories, but he's so good at
telling them. I bet if he wasn't a Jedi he'd be a famous writer.
"You're named for a man in a legend," he began.
"He pocessed magical powers- powers to grant wishes. He was bound
by magic to grant any wishes people had. But there were things he couldn't
do....he couldn't play with people's hearts and make them hate or love.
And he couldn't make someone die, or bring them back from death.
"Because of his powers, he was loved by all....and
time passed. Time passed and the people of the planet became more corrupt
and greedy. They desired other things- if they desired the man to kill
he would have to kill -kill people who he cared about. Destroy lives and
families. Often, when people relised he could save no-one from death, or
make one they loved love them in return, they would curse him. People who
he loved would die because he couldn't save them. He would be forced to
betray others he loved. Furthermore, he was immortal- could never die
naturally. He was weary of the hatred and the destrution. So finally, his
last remaining friend made a magic potion to let him die."
"And what happened?"
"Well, he died, didn't he?"
Oh," I said, and sat in silence.
"As for your first name, Qui-Gon.," he continued.
"it means 'life after death'. And my full name-Kanak Dooku-means 'truth
potion.' Or, sometimes it is translated as 'truth poison.'"
"How do you know all this?" I asked him.
"Amiri left on a mission this morning. She gave
me my birthday present early."
"Was it a book of names?"
"Correct. Not every name in the galaxy, obviously-but
your name and mine was in it. So was Amiri's."
"Oh, so what did her's mean?"
"Her name means 'sparkle.'. I think it fits her
rather well. Pity, really-I was hoping her name would mean something awful,
so I could tease her."
I grinned. He put his arm around me.
"Hmmm...what about Tahl? What does her name mean?"
"Her name means 'butterfly.'"
"I'll tell her that. She'll be pleased."
"Mmmmm."
We stayed there until the sun set, talking. We
talked a lot. He talked about being Padawan to Yoda, 'how emotionless
that little troll is', my talent with a lightsabre and how Vulna and
Amiri were coping with Savus's death. 'Vulna will recover. Amiri cares
about him'. I talked about Tahl, about the time we played truth or
dare....and about Master Karshan. When I talked about him I really did
get the feeling I would be sick. I didn't like it.
He squeezed me arm. "Padawan, no-one will ever
betray you again. I'll make sure of it."
So that was that. And I felt glad. Before we left I hurried down to the river, and looked until I found the perfect thing- a shell. I'll just need to polish it and it'll look great. I'm giving it to my Master for a birthday present.
*****
13th day, 4th month, standard year 24935
I gave him the shell. He smiled when he saw it.
"So that's what you were doing at the river."
he said. "Now I have a river-shell, and you have a river-stone." The stone
is still in my pocket, along with the green-stone ring. I pulled it out.
"Thank you, Padawan," he said, placing the shell
in his own pocket. "That does mean a lot to me."
We had cake for his birthday! He's ordered one, from a big, expensive bakery somewhere not far from the Temple.
It was the nicest cake I'd ever eaten. I haven't eaten a lot of cakes, but even so.
I told Master 'Happy birthday.' before I went to bed.
*****