"Keep your chin up. Straightened that right arm of yours Bruck. I tell you Master Jinn I have never seen the boy do so poorly on the double ribbon kata."
"Everyone has their bad or good days. I am sure Padawan Chun borders on a bad day today. Remember when I first met him he was doing an excellent job on a kata with you, Dorrie."
The two masters had managed to get their apprentices in the gymnasium at the same time for exercises. It had been Master Dorrie's idea to have them perform the kata together. Obi-Wan had remained silent. Bruck had put up opposition, but it failed.
Obi-Wan did the kata through memory. During it, most of the time he kept his eyes closed, most of time preferring to imagine he was doing it along side his now dead Master, Tahl. It came so easily for Obi-Wan when deep in his imagination there on the floor with Tahl executing step by step with him.. The force flowed fluidly through his arms as he stretched them up and up. Each placement of his foot, one over the other hit precisely the target it was too. Beautiful that what it was. Dorrie voiced just that.
"That boy of yours, blessed with more grace that a troupe of ballerinas. No thanks to you."
She punched Jinn's ribs hard enough to bring a "humph" out of him.
"Yes, well Tahl was an excellent teacher. Of that I have no doubt."
"Don't think the boy himself has anything to do with it do you? Blessed with the
living force he is. You can be taught how to do the Ribbon Kata but you can't be taught to be as perfect as he is at it. Natural Jedi qualities in him, I tell ya; born with not taught, gifted not practiced."
Dorrie, thus far had seen little enthusiasm in Jinn for his newly acquired apprentice and that worried her. She doubted Qui-Gon had even attempted to bond with Kenobi but she said nothing. She felt it wasn't her place. Only if their disconnection interfered with the mission would she step between a master and apprentice.
"Halt!" The shout nearly caused both young men to jump out of their skins. It even startled Master "Dorrie" and she knew it was coming.
"Time to shower and dress. We will be landing on Genoisis in less than an hour."
Dorrie immediately went to her apprentice and generously praised Bruck for his work well done, though compared to Obi-Wan it was miniscule. After the young men left she walked back over to Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan seemed to hesitate a moment as if to wait on his master to say something about his kata exercise. Jinn did not even look at him. Obi hung his head dejectedly and headed for the shower stall.
"Would it have hurt you to say you acknowledged the work well done by your apprentice? Your know being coupled with you in such an early stage the boy might need a little encouragement."
"I am not here to encourage him. I am his teacher nothing more. His reward for a job well done in anything he does as my apprentice will be his knighthood."
"Come one Jinni old boy you can't be that thick skinned. Have a heart, a little compassion. Don't you think the boy, Obi-Wan went through a lot when he suffered the loss of his master?"
Jinn swung around, anger clearly in his stony emerald eyes.
"I have suffered as well. However, I was not the apprentice that let his master go out on a mission alone. That master did not return."
Dorrie's jaw dropped and stayed that way.
"Qui-Gon you can't blame the boy. If you do, why did you take him as your apprentice? That does not make sense, none at all."
"Blame the boy? Of course, I don't blame the boy."
Qui-Gon realized Dorrie was getting to close to the truth.
"I know it was the will of the force that Tahl did not return to the temple with me. I just made mention that Padawan Kenobi surely is not under too much duress from his master's death if he didn't even bother to attend her on her mission. As for making him my apprentice, it was Tahl's last request of me as I held her in my arms, as she lay dying, as she drew her last breath. I swore I would take him to train, just as I have done."
Dorrie showed her disdain in that moment.
"I can't believe you. Master Tahl would want you to treat him as she did."
The color drained from the tall Jedi master's face. He did not give Dorrie time to say more, before he jumped her.
"Coddle him? No I don't plan to do that. I will be just. I will be fair. That is what makes a good master and I have never been called anything but… Now if you will excuse me."
Qui-Gon reached the door and was glad to be away from the other master when her last words echoed through to him as the door shut.
"Might want to look at yourself in the mirror Master Jinn and tell yourself you are being fair. See if you believe yourself any more than I believe you..."
xoxoxoxo
Qui-Gon knew exactly where to go as soon as they stepped off the ship. Yoda had told him of the archduke of Geonosis. Jinn was to make contact with the cloning magnet at the main office of the clone industrial unit.
There had been no time to store their things, but Jedi carried very little.
xoxoxoxoxox
"So you have no information to give us or even any glues as to who the battle droids on Geonosis that attacked me and my companion belonged too?"
"Honorable Jedi, I avow they did not come from my plant. I would know. I know every clone, droid, or plain robot that is manufactured or replicated here. No Jedi Jinn, they did not come from anywhere on this planet."
"Then you would have no objections if we have a look at your files? Maybe you have overlooked something."
"Ah… Jedi friend that would not be possible. I have told you the truth. However, there are clients that do not like their information pandered off to others. I must keep client privileges and requests private. Bad for the business if I didn't. It is enough to know the droids that attacked you and your friend on Niemoidia did not come from me. I suppose you will have to search elsewhere."
"Yes, I suppose we will. Thank you for your time. "
The archduke had been evasive in his answers, hadn't satisfied Master Jinn's curiosity concerning the battle droids but that did not deter the Jedi master. He left Poggle the lesser's office with nothing that would help him.
"Qui, why are we leaving? You could tell that man was lying. He knows a lot more. I just can't……"
"Master Starworth, if the archduke suspects we know something, we will not find out anything else. I suggest we find a room, have last meal, and with the cover of the night we will attain for ourselves what we need to know without the archduke's help."
As they walked to find shelter Obi-Wan could not help but admire his new master. Qui-Gon did not let his emotions where Tahl was concerned enter into his questioning of the archduke. He remained the calm, demurred Jedi in all things. That was the reluctant impression he drew from watching Qui-Gon interact with the archduke of Geonosis.
All things, except when it comes to his apprentice. I should feel more animosity toward him than he me. He must blame my master's death solely on me.
That was a dangerous thought for Obi-Wan to rehash. He'd already laid more than enough blame on himself. Master Yoda was the one who helped instruct him in releasing his inner turmoil and blame and look for the future.
Make my master proud, Master Yoda said. Did he mean Tahl or this one? I don't think Master Jinn intends to allow me to do anything that would prove my worthiness as a Jedi or Master Tahl's apprentice, or even worse his.
Obi-Wan had no thoughts of the mission. Right now he wallowed in self-pity which could be dangerous for a Jedi to do. Their life usually depended on their focus.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
A run down shabby room with one bed was what the four Jedi ended up with.
Qui-Gon explained once there it would be sufficient for what he planned to use it for; a stop over, a place to make plans, nothing more.
Bruck groaned audibly and spoke his complaint before his master had a chance to jab him in his ribs, something she was profoundly skilled in.
"You mean we won't get to sleep?"
Qui-Gon looked up and gave the boy a wide smile. Obi-Wan couldn't imagine the hell he would have taken for such whining.
But Bruck gets a smile for it.
"Don't worry Padawan Bruck, once we are back in space, sleep will be yours until we arrive back on Neimoidia. That is unless your master has other plans for you. Now let's get to the business at hand."
Dorrie knew instantly what Qui-Gon planned to do.
"You intend to have us illegally enter the Archduke's private office, find the files we need, and leave? That sounds like there are some criminal elements to all this. I don't think the council will approve."
Jinn looked around, over his shoulder, and from side to side over accenting his movements and with a sly feisty grin on his face as he did.
"Sorry Master Dorrie. I don't see any council masters here at the moment, do you?"
He then removed his comm and slammed it on the small table. Dorrie and Bruck watched the plastic outer casing and its filament innards spray across the room from the impact trapped between Jinn's hand and the table. Kenobi had escaped so deep in his own private thoughts he hadn't noticed what Jinn implied or had done. A piece of the plastic nicked his cheek and he was still unaware of what was going on.
"And since I am unable to contact them, I don't see how we can do anything but what I suggest. This is my mission and thus my decision on what to do, IF THE COUNCIL CAN NOT BE CONTACTED."
A wicked smile on Dorrie's face reciprocated Jinn's sly one. She wasn't any more afraid of upsetting the council than "Jinni old boy" was.
"I like your style Jinni. Go ahead; tell us what we need to do. Listen and learn Bruck, from the best…"
Four Jedi stood around that small table and studied the layout of the cloning plant. However, only three paid any attention to what was being said.
Obi-Wan allowed his mind to smolder with thoughts he was the reason for his master's death. Then of course there was his irrational jealously of the other apprentice. Bruck had always been trouble for him and now was no different. Jinn's seemingly unconditional acceptance of Bruck over Obi-Wan hurt the boy, although he couldn't even figure out why.
I expected exactly what I am getting from Master Jinn.
xoxoxoxoxox
As they made the trek back to the cloning plant, Qui-Gon noticed his apprentice lag further behind the rest of the Jedi than he should. He didn't have time to reprimand him for it. He would have only done so to irritate the teen. And since he wasn't worried about Obi-Wan's training at the moment and with other more pressing things on is mind, he could have cared less what the apprentice was doing, right or wrong.
Jinn stayed focused on wanting to link a name with certainty to the battle droids that had attacked he and Master Tahl.
xoxoxoxoxox
They had no problem getting in the office. Once there, Dorrie went to work and found a hidden vault. She was down on her hands and knees looking through the small safe which held several unmarked folders. Out from under the desk Qui saw her left hand rise in the air and in her hand she waved the folders.
"Here Qui, have a look, see any names that ring a bell?"
"Here, I'll check them out if you'd quit moving them."
Jinn snatched the papers from Dorrie's moving hand as she was still waving them wildly in the air.
He took the files and hurriedly fanned through them. He knew time was not on their side and raced through the folders searching for any name connected with who attacked him and Tahl.
Qui-Gon noticed several transactions that looked suspicious, but he stopped at one that had suddenly drawn immense attention from him.
"Look here Dorrie! You may have just found exactly what we are looking for."
The excitement couldn't be contained in the usually calm Jedi master's exclamation.
Dorrie popped up from the floor and studied the one folder he held out to her.
"Syfo Dyas… Yes, I read your report. That is the name you brought up to the council, right?"
Qui-Gon slapped the folders across the palm of his free hand.
"Yes, yes it is. I see you did your homework for this mission. Were these all the files stashed down there?"
Jinn was too large of a man to get under the desk and look for himself.
"Yes, and they evidently weren't meant for others' eyes."
"No they were hidden under this desk and locked in a vault. The archduke didn't want any curiosity seekers like us to find them. I commend your work, Master Starworth."
"Yeah well let's copy them and get out of here Qui."
While the Jedi masters made their search of the office, Bruck and Kenobi had been stationed on each end of the hall that led to the office as sentry posts.
Chun did his job effectively. Jango Fett did not enter from his end of the hall. He came through the door closest to Padawan Kenobi. The padawan was not concentrating on his job. His thoughts lingered on his dead master and the miserable connection he had with his new master. That was his first mistake.
The seconds it took forObi to realize what was going on was enough for the attack on the Jedi to begin without the others being warned. Kenobi pulled his saber before he alerted the others. That was his second mistake.
Fett had three battle droids with him, the same make that attacked Jinn on Neimoidia. The only warning for Dorrie and Qui-Gon had been a slight ripple of warning through the force at about the same time they heard Obi's glowing azure saber sizzling through the air. The Jedi masters met their apprentices in the hall just as the assault began.
Blaster shots zoomed over their heads, whizzed between them, and several were deflected by their sabers. Qui-Gon downed one battle droid right off. Dorrie showed her prowess and fighting expertise when she felled the second droid. She lunged forward and with one swipe cut the droid in half. When she got close enough, she raised her right foot and booted it to the ground leaving only a pile of metal and wiring rubble on the hall floor. Bruck was able to impressively disable the last droid.
Fett was content on getting away through the door that Bruck had been guarding. He shoved Chun out of his way with a sharp elbow to his chin and turned his blaster on Kenobi, the Jedi nearest him.
Obi-Wan stood as if dazed and looked around him to see if there were other battle droids he might have missed. His mind was still reeling from the fact he had failed to watch the door and had allowed the hunter and his droids to advance so far before he alerted his other Jedi companions. He lost focus and let Fett get out of his eyesight. THAT was his third and would prove to be his deadliest mistake of the day.
Obi-Wan heard the blast that struck him. The sound was followed by blinding pain that nearly brought him his knees. He closed his eyes as he attempted his channel the searing pain in his lower left side of his stomach out of his body and into the force. The violent impact of the exploding bullet perforated Obi-Wan's delicate skin and ripped a jagged hole in his gut. It also knocked the air out of Jinn's apprentice. Only with the help of the force was he able to remain standing on his feet.
Out the door like that, Jango was gone, aided and concealed by the darkness of night. Just as soon as he was gone, a warning was signaled, sirens blasted, ear piercingly and flood lights lit the entire outer circumference of the building.
Jinn swung around as Jango Fett leveled his blaster at Obi-Wan before he made his get away. When he saw his apprentice still standing he assumed Fett missed his target. With the alarms going off he had no time to ask anyone anything. His visual assessment told him all were standing and alive and they had to get away and quickly.
"Come on everyone, let's get out of here."
Qui-Gon led the way.
"Is everyone all right?"
Qui-Gon stopped as soon as he felt they were far enough away that he could check on the condition of his fellow Jedi.
He asked that question to all of the other three Jedi but his eyes remained directed at his apprentice. He felt an unease through the force but was not sure why. He feared that one of them might have been injured but had not mentioned it yet.
Dorrie voiced her condition.
"I am fine."
She immediately looked over at her apprentice.
Bruck was out of breath and still rubbing the black and blue mark on his lower jaw and chin and only nodded that he was fine. Kenobi nodded he was as well.
Now that he was sure no one was injured, Master Jinn's attention turned to why they were attacked so quickly without prior warning.
"It is lucky we all made it out alive and uninjured. Just which door did Jango come through?"
Both apprentices knew what the master implied, one of them was not paying attention to the door they were ordered to watch. He wanted to know which apprentice had not done his duty.
Jinn's eyes darted accusatorily, first to his apprentice and back to Chun as he waited for an answer.
Bruck Chun was more than happy to tell Master Jinn that it was his apprentice that let the bounty hunter, Jango Fett get so far in the building before he alerted anyone.
"I have no idea what Padawan Kenobi was doing. I did as I was told. I kept watch on my door. Jango was in and on us through Kenobi's door before he noticed and alerted anyone."
"It figures. We will discuss this later, Kenobi. Your lack of focus could very well have cost one of us being injured or killed. Your lack of ability to do as was instructed will not be taken lightly by the council, when I report it."
It was not the evil master that spoke. It was the honest concerned Jedi master that questioned Obi-Wan's lack of ability to do the job charged to him. Qui-Gon felt obligated to make sure all of the Jedi with him were safe. His concern for those under him was honest ones and his anger over Obi-Wan's neglect was real.
As they made their way back to the landing port to find a ship to take them off world, Obi-Wan looked inside his robe to where his tunic was now sticky, wet, and stuck to his side. He eased his hand up under his robe and tunic. When he pulled his trembling hand out from under his clothing, it was covered in blood. He hurriedly shoved his bloody hand back inside his robe, wiped it clean of the warm scarlet liquid, and adjusted his robe to make sure it covered the giant red stain that was now very evident.
Although Obi-Wan knew the proper thing would have been to have his master aid him in his healing, there was no way he would make things worse or slow their get-a-way by insisting someone care for him. He feared Jinn would be angry because he failed to deflect the blaster shot that hit him. Padawan Kenobi did not need Qui-Gon to chastise him again. His own quilt for his neglect ached in his heart almost as much as the gaping wound did.
Not now, at least not until we get safely on board a ship and away. I won't endanger the others by causing our escape to be delayed. I don't need Master Jinn to tell me twice how I have screwed up today.………...
ewen