Chapter Three

"I left Anakin to rest," Qui-Gon informed Yoda and Mace, divesting himself of his long travel robe. He shook it out and handed it droid waiting outside the Council chambers. "He is in poor shape, and I hope to spend as much time as possible with him during my stay on Coruscant."

Though his tone is always polite and unassuming, Qui-Gon still had a manner that hinted he would get his way no matter the circumstances. Even the Jedi were not impervious to it; being something of a rebel in the Order, Qui-Gon elicited a mixture of fondness and resigned assent from the Masters. He had his own path with the Force, and insofar as it did not contradict the Code, he was permitted to follow it at will.

He proved to be the best choice in teaching Anakin Skywalker during his Padawan Learner years. Anakin found his behavior amusing and did not live in dread of being reprimanded for many of his own unpredictable flaws. He was allowed more leeway than perhaps all other Jedi in the history of the Order, and yet—as Qui-Gon taught—with such privilege came accountability and honor. The occasional bout of willfulness may have been allowed, failure tolerated and trial by error the common mode, but ignorance and superciliousness were not. Anakin was forbidden to take himself seriously. He knew his place and talent or no, prophecy or no, he would not overstep it.

Qui-Gon ultimately guided him into a soundly principled man, a veracious Jedi. His values could be seen in the way he walked, in the pace of his speech, and even in his admitted sporadic fits of temper. Without all of this, it seemed he would not be whole.

They were a remarkable pair.

Yoda felt some reservation at splitting them up when Anakin passed his trials and became a Jedi Knight, but he knew it was necessary for Anakin to further find his identity alone. Anakin and Qui-Gon were now equals, and Yoda was certain keeping the two together would only prolong their set roles as teacher and padawan. Such an unequal dynamic could only aggravate Anakin's sensibilities and possibly drive a wedge between the two. Resentment was frowned upon. Indeed, emotions were against the Code, but Yoda had lived long enough to know when some battles could not be won against stubborn humans.

It was because of this knowledge that Yoda allowed such flagrantly human conduct from Qui-Gon. His presence was requested for a meeting and yet his mind was with Skywalker. Typical.

The doors opened upon a wave of Yoda's hand. Mace and Qui-Gon followed him quietly into the Council room and waited as he took his seat in his chair. They both knew better than to offer help when he faltered momentarily.

"A proposition I have for you, Jinn." Yoda set his walking stick down on the chair and stared evenly at Qui-Gon, who stood in the middle of the circular floor. His surprise at such a statement was evident.

"Master Yoda?"

He shifted, his breathing still labored, and made a noise those close to him were quite familiar with. Usually it represented amusement, but one could not always tell. "Reports of Sith activity in the Outer Rim, there is. Of the truth, we are uncertain. The dark side clouds us; misleading it is. Go, I must."

Qui-Gon blinked. "I don't understand."

"How concerns you, this does?"

"Yes."

"There is a padawn under Yoda, Kenobi. He cannot go along," Mace said bluntly, eyes unreadable.

"The boy…" Qui-Gon looked thoughtful, distracted from the constant gaze of both Mace and Yoda. "The prophecy. Kenobi is the other potential subject of the prophecy?"

"Too dangerous, it is," Yoda acknowledged. "The boy is too young. Risk him, I cannot."

"But Anakin—"

"Skywalker is recovering, and even if he were not, the Council would not readily thrust him into battle against the Sith—especially given the ambiguous nature of the prophecy. Both Kenobi and Skywalker must stay behind."

"I understand, Master Windu."

"Do you?" Yoda laughed, a strangled little sound. "Think so, I do not. Kenobi's training is not complete. No one to take him in my absence, there is."

A long silence.

"Now I think you understand," Mace said deliberately, lacing his fingers together and bringing them to his face. He peered out from them, piercing and weighing. Qui-Gon nearly shied from such intense scrutiny.

"What can I do? I can't take a padawan at this stage." He spread his hands, a gesture of defense. "I have to track down Xanatos, and there is a possibility I could be injured, or captured—"

"Know this, I do. Dilemma, hmm?"

"I can't take the child, Master Yoda," Qui-Gon said softly. "You must understand. I'm sorry."

"Has little to do with danger and much to do with personal objection, I sense this does. No matter." Yoda sighed. "If the boy you do not wish to take, you shall not."

Qui-Gon bowed his head.

"This is most displeasing," Mace began. "There is no one to take over Kenobi's training. We can't just leave the boy to his own devices."

"I may have a suggestion," Qui-Gon said slowly, hesitation written on every part of his face.

"Hear it, we wish to."

"Anakin is a powerful Jedi Knight—"

"Absolutely not. Putting them together would be madness."

"Allow him to speak, you must. An opportunity, I see."

Mace looked at Yoda doubtfully, but let Qui-Gon continue uninterrupted.

"Anakin is a powerful Jedi-Knight. Perhaps you might consider putting Kenobi under him, even if it's temporarily. I know this is not ideal, but in a few days Anakin will be rested enough to begin."

"He has never taken on a padawan learner before."

"We all must… start somewhere," Qui-Gon said, humor quirking his lips almost imperceptibly.

"Both of these children—" Qui-Gon was ever so glad Anakin was not in the room to hear himself be called a child "—may be the subject of a prophecy. Skywalker would most likely see it as competition, and if Kenobi is the true subject, this could sabotage much needed training. I question the logic of putting the two together."

"I promise you, Anakin would never endanger anyone's life like that."

"Not knowingly. I believe Skywalker would think he was doing the right thing, but he is unruly, ill-tempered—"

"He is a good man!" Qui-Gon wasn't sure when he'd decided to shift from merely offering a solution to championing Anakin's character by exploding at the Council, but it certainly hadn't been the best of ideas.

"Saying otherwise, we are not. Valid points, Master Windu raises." Mace sat back in his chair, satisfied. "But another solution there is not." Yoda's ears quirked and his mouth thinned into a harder line. "Something within the Force, I sense. Meditate on this, I must."

"Master Yoda, I must ask why only we are here to discuss this."

"Already consulted, the rest of the Council has been."

"It was how we came to ask you; none of the others were free to take on a padawan."

"I see." He didn't. But he was not the same sort of Jedi, the same sort of medium to the Force Yoda and most of the others were. It was out of his hands. "Should I tell Anakin…?"

"When well, he is. In a week I leave."

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Thanks again to Trey and Catrina for the beta. This is the longest chapter I've written so far on this, isn't it? That's not saying much given my usual chapter lengths in other fandoms, but still, I can't help but feel accomplished.