AN: Huge thank you to the reviewers! I love you all! Moving forward you should know that the sequels are not my fav, but Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are two of my all time favourite characters.
KEYNote: I highly recommend the book Master & Apprentice written by Claudia Gray. I will be drawing inspiration from that as well as from other mix-matched sources in the Extended Universe.
Chapter 2 - Expectations
Rey slept most of the way back to Coruscant.
Obi-Wan could feel both his Master's contemplation and satisfaction. Rey's display of power was astounding, that she had almost passed out afterwards had made Obi-Wan feel oddly better about the whole thing.
One, because it proved that Rey, despite being extraordinary, still had to abide by the same rules as the rest of them, even if the Force seemed to have awoken around her.
Two, because in Obi-Wan's experience, almost no one chose to pass out, and the deep sleep she was currently in was incredibly hard to fake. This spoke to her power not being matched by her training. She was, in other words, an amazingly powerful Force sensitive who had been overlooked and been untaught in anything related to the Force.
Including, somehow, anything about the Jedi Order, but perhaps that wasn't impossible if she was as much of a loner as she seemed to be.
At this point, Obi-Wan was much more willing to trust her than he had been.
"She could have stayed in the ship," he noted softly.
Qui-Gon looked up, his hand falling from his chin. "She was an asset today, before her show of Telekinesis."
"She trusted me to guard her back."
"She did," his Master said, he was very pleased.
"If I hadn't reached her in time she would have been shot."
"If you hadn't been there, I doubt she would have let down her guard. As I said, she was impressive in battle before she called on the Force."
"Why do you think she helped us?" Obi-Wan asked despite having his own answer. He would have helped if their places were reversed, but then he had been raised a Jedi, it was sort of his business to help.
"I think she has wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself for a long time. When I offered for her to join us on Coruscant, her fate was bound to ours."
"Despite her not knowing you want her to be trained."
Qui-Gon nodded his head, "The Jedi weren't always initiated as younglings."
"Yes, but over the course of thousands of years, there is a reason Jedi train only younglings."
"There is, but I'm starting to think Rey is not the Chosen One."
This surprised Obi-Wan, "Truly?"
"The Chosen One is supposed to be a boy with no father."
Rey hadn't spoken of her parents, but she most certainly was not a boy. "Is that all?"
"No, the prophecy speaks of time colliding and a time the Force is clouded."
"And false Kyber that shines forth, which with those orange crystals, false kyber has shown," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"But the Force is clearing around her. She's like the eye in the centre of a storm."
"So you're just going to give up on the prophecies, just like that?"
"No, but I don't want to be distracted by them either. If I am wrong then I don't want her to suffer for it. I don't want the possibility of a prophecy to challenge her place among us nor do I want her to come to believe that is the only reason she was able to train at the Temple. I believe she has the right aptitude to become a Jedi."
Obi-Wan couldn't disagree, Rey felt like one of them already, rough around the edges, sure, but there was an undeniable rightness to her joining them.
"How are you going to convince the Council to make an exception?"
Qui-Gon sighed, "So far, all I've got is likely to infuriate them more."
"What else is new?" Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile. Sometimes, he believed his Master had been born to challenge the Jedi Council.
"There is so much I would change about the Jedi," Qui-Gon said, "So many things we could do better or improve on if the Order weren't so wedded to our traditions."
Obi-Wan crossed his arms, and chided as he had done for years, "There are reasons for our traditions."
"Yes," his Master said unexpectedly, "There are, and sometimes I think we have forgotten them, or at least haven't challenged all the motives behind them."
Obi-Wan frowned, "Do you mean to use her as a study to prove or disprove why we do things the way we do? Master, isn't she too powerful to use in such an experiment?" Not to mention cruel to Rey.
"Of course not, I will do all in my power to see Rey succeed. She will succeed. But though our methods were designed for younglings, if they have true merit then with adaptation, they should work for others."
"You mean to reverse engineer the Jedi way."
"I have told you that each person must interpret the Jedi Code on their own or it ceases to be a living pact. Every individual must come to understand why a thing is true or untrue. Belief, especially blind belief means little in the end. Because it isn't the doctrine that will help you when your world is turned upside down, it is the substance, the spirit of the code that will serve you."
Obi-Wan played with his braid, to say that having such a maverick Jedi as a Master was challenging would be a massive and laughable understatement. But Obi-Wan had come around, even if he didn't challenge the Council in turn. Because Qui-Gon didn't challenge things to be contrary, though it often came across that way. No, Qui-Gon challenged everything because he always believed there was more to the truth than a simple answer. More to the galaxy than could be easily understood.
"So if the Jedi Code is correct, then if you train Rey correctly, despite her age, she will come to see the truth as well," he stated, looking at the slumbering girl.
It wasn't something that could work on everyone. Being a Jedi was not an easy life, but then her life didn't appear easy either, and there was a goodness in her, an untarnished light. A palpable wonder that she had for the world around her.
And it was that, he knew, that wonder which had won his Master over.
Becoming a Jedi, Obi-Wan knew, had disillusioned many, and he thought that his Master's true challenge in training Rey would be not letting that light, her kindness be crushed by their world, by the aforementioned Jedi Code.
Qui-Gon went on, his voice soft, "Harmony and peace are all well and good but complacency will be the fall of the Jedi, and it is arrogance for us to believe we are too great, too correct in our ways not to fall."
Obi-Wan's heart clenched at that. He knew of his Master's visions, the history he saw that might repeat itself, why he looked to the prophets to understand the Jedi's own failings. Qui-Gon saw in the past in the future, and not in the literal sense of the prophecies, though their finding correlations in the old metaphors had thrown them both a time or two, it was the unfolding thread of history that revealed their doom. Old patterns reweaving themselves, and his Master's belief that the future was not so certain it couldn't be altered.
"I think," Obi-Wan ventured, "you shouldn't say any of that to the Council."
His Master looked at him with shadowed eyes but with the hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips, "Oh, and what is it you think I should say, Padawan mine?"
"I think Rey is powerful enough that she could be too large a catalyst for change in the Order. And if you imply that, the Council would sooner cast you from the Order than take her in."
Something like determination flared in his Master's eyes, and Obi-Wan thought he might be serious about what he said yesterday in doing just that, in taking Rey with him to Count Dooku. But as Obi-Wan believed Qui-Gon was an essential part of the Order, he thought it would be a loss that would hurt the Jedi Order irrevocably. Not to mention the selfish reason of not wanting to be known as the Padawan whose Master had left him to leave the Order so he could train an unorthodox Padawan, whether or not Obi-Wan was soon to take his trials.
So he went on, "I think you emphasize how well, despite her age, Rey is likely to conform to the Jedi Order, and that the Force has taken an extremely positive liking to her."
"Assuming they will forget that her Master is well known as one of the most maverick Jedi in the Order?"
Obi-Wan put on an affronted look, "I'm your Padawan and I'm no maverick."
His master smirked, mirth shining in his sapphire eyes as Obi-Wan went on, "Besides, she'll need an unconventional Master seeing as she doesn't have years of training as a Jedi to fall back on. Regular teachings aren't going to be enough."
His Master grew contemplative, "It has crossed my mind that you might take her as your Padawan."
"Me?" he asked, his voice high with surprise, "why would- I mean-"
"You two worked very well together on the field, and she clearly trusts you, and what's more, you trusted her. That bond should not be dismissed lightly, Obi-Wan."
"I am honoured, truly, Master, I am, but I don't think I'm ready. I'm not even as certain as you are that I'm ready to be knighted."
Qui-Gon paused considering his next words when Rey began to stir from her sleep.
His Master smiled at her, blurry eyed expression, "Ah, she wakes at long last."
Rey sat up, the blanket held to her lap as she rubbed her eyes, "How long was I out?"
"A few hours, likely you should strive for a few more. That was no small feat you accomplished, and Telekinesis requires quite a bit of energy."
Neither of them told her that short of Master Yoda, very few could have accomplished taking a ship down in the middle of a battle. Perhaps, come to think of it, Master Dooku, but then she had yet to meet the Count.
Rey stretched her arms above her head, "It's a good tired though, like crossing the desert safely at night. Hard but not-" she paused, looking for a word, "damaging, if you know what I mean. I don't feel hurt or as if I couldn't continue tomorrow."
"That's good," Qui-Gon said, "it means you surpassed your stamina but not your limits."
Which was a frightening thought, what would she be able to accomplish after she was trained?
"But let's eat. We are on our way to Coruscant and I would imagine you would enjoy a clear head when dealing with the mania of cities."
Her face lit up at the mention of the new planet and Obi-Wan went to get meals for them without being asked.
The meals weren't much but Rey thanked him and approached the food with a reverence that showed the simple meal meant more to her than a trunk of jewels. He had missed meals before, been on short supplies during missions, but he had never known a life where he feared he might never eat again. He realized that no, he couldn't have been her Master. Qui-Gon had a way of understanding people, whereas Obi-Wan still had much to learn.
Coruscant was almost nauseatingly busy.
It was fascinating, but she thought that Naboo was a more comfortable environment, even disregarding her flashes of memories.
"Not what you were expecting?" Obi-Wan asked as they walked along the platforms.
"Of Coruscant?" she asked, thinking of the political hub she had heard of in her time despite the Republic's fall. She had the nagging suspicion there was more crime here than on Tatooine if one were to scratch beneath the surface, but she had expected that, "I expected Coruscant to be something like this. I hadn't expected this is where the Jedi Temple would be. I thought, I'm sorry, it's just I thought the Jedi were more a religion than a political organization."
A passing Twi'lek gave her a disdainful look but Master Jinn turned a warm gaze to her, "We are both, but I would agree that Coruscant isn't ideal, at least for those outside the Council."
Obi-Wan disagreed with this, "Coruscant is the home of the Jedi, it's our centre and has been for a millennium."
Rey looked at the ships, all of them outdated in her eyes despite their sleek shapes and apparent wealth. She wondered how it would have looked in her time. Had the Empire stifled it's growth, or had it tripled in size?
Inside the Jedi Temple was a different story, though still unbelievably grand, there was something beautiful in the symmetry of the halls. And the longer they walked, the sooner she forgot about the outside traffic.
Everyone they passed was a Jedi, some greeting Master Jinn, fewer acknowledging Obi-Wan, but no unfriendly gaze fell upon them. Rey herself only received a few curious glances though no one stopped to question her presence here.
"This is one of the masters' wings," Obi-Wan explained, "Most of the rooms are comfortable but unremarkable."
Master Jinn stopped at one of those doors, opening it, he held it open for them. Rey followed Obi-Wan into a room that was far from unremarkable.
Pieces of driftwood, a bowl of smooth stones, an ornate tea set, and a door that opened to a balcony.
She found herself drawn to a delicate wind charm, reaching her hand up, the blue glass tingled together softly. Gazing around the space, she could feel the pull of a hundred adventures, of stories and moments that found themselves in these beautiful little momentos. She knew this was Master Jinn's room and she felt honoured to be shown this private bit of him.
She looked back at the two Jedi, remarking, "Far from unremarkable."
Again, that sense that Master Jinn was smiling at her with a stoic expression. Obi-Wan was gazing at his Master too, and Rey asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Master Jinn said at once.
"If my being here is going to cause problems then-"
Obi-Wan snorted and she glared at him, "What is it? Just tell me."
"I would like to train you as a Jedi," Master Jinn stated.
She was too astonished to be pleased, "Really? But I thought-"
"The Jedi Council will not approve, but there is a chance I can convince them otherwise."
"And if you don't convince them?" she asked, unable to process her own feelings. This, this, was more surprising to her than time travel. After all, changing decades hadn't altered her life all that much, meeting Jedi? Meeting these two had blown open a world of opportunity she had never imagined.
Once, she had dreamed about being a fighter pilot for the Rebellion, or for the Resistance. A child's fantasies to fight alongside Luke Skywalker.
But never in her wildest dreams had she dreamed of actually being Luke Skywalker.
And she hadn't had enough time with the reviewing her own abilities with telekinesis for it to sink in that she was capable of being a Jedi. But then, this offer had to come with a caveat. The Jedi Council wouldn't approve, and as much as Rey would have liked to join Obi-Wan and Master Jinn she-
"If they say no entirely, then I will train you anyway, outside of the Jedi Temple," Master Jinn said, interrupting her thoughts.
"What?" she squeaked, "No, I mean, no, you can't leave your Order because of me, I'm not worth it."
"I believe that you are. But this is your choice. The life of a Jedi is not without sacrifice or hardship. You would not be allowed a family outside of the Order itself. You would not be permitted to marry and if you had any children you would be asked to give them up. There are those at the Temple with relatives, even lovers, but they are distant and always secondary to those in the Order. And though being a Jedi might permit you to travel across the galaxy, you would be sent into situations of disputes. Sometimes, that means violence or tragedy.
"I could teach you much about your abilities, about the Force. But the Force itself is not wholly benevolent, the more you train, the more power you would be exposed to. Power has a way of changing people, for you to remain who you are will require fortitude, a testing not just of your mind but your very soul. And that struggle is one that never ends, never truly becomes easier, either for Padawan or Master.
"Rey, I'm offering you a difficult path, but one I have every faith you would excel at with guidance and your own dedication."
She stared into those wise blue eyes and could not hold his gaze. She looked up at the glass windchimes, the slips of glass swaying slightly in the unseen air currents of the room.
Did she want this? Did she want to be a Jedi?
Yes.
Even with the warnings, with the promise of hardship, Rey wanted this, she wanted a life with purpose.
Family? Had she really had any hopes of creating a family of her own? Not truly, she had always just been a girl waiting for parents who were never coming back for her, who didn't even exist anymore. If she somehow found who they were decades from now, she would have no real tie to them. So no, giving up family wasn't a sacrifice, and she had never envisioned herself as a wife or mother. In fact, she baulked at the idea of either. She liked children alright, but she had never wanted her own.
A Jedi.
She could be a Jedi, she had powers didn't she? She looked at the swaying wind charm catching both unseen breeze and the glittering in the afternoon sunlight, then she looked at the two actual Jedi watching her. Master Jinn seemed to have a passive expression of infinite patience whereas Obi-Wan looked at her will ill-concealed trepidation.
Hadn't he said that a Master Jedi had only one Padawan? Would she be replacing him?
No, she thought, she couldn't replace him. She glanced back at Master Jinn who had said that Obi-Wan would be taking the trials to be a Knight soon. But what would it mean if Master Jinn left the Order to train her? What did leaving the Order even entail? Would Master Jinn be unwelcome here? Would he have to move out from this sanctuary he had made for himself? Would Obi-Wan and he become estranged? Would she be able to see Obi-Wan again?
Perhaps she should have asked those questions aloud, but though she hadn't known Master Jinn long, she knew stubborn when she saw it.
It was one of her own defining qualities.
And his stubbornness combined with those wise eyes and steady speech could probably talk just about anyone into just about anything.
"I would like the opportunity to become a Jedi, on the condition that the Jedi Council approves it," she stated finally.
Obi-Wan looked relieved and Master Jinn looked- well she couldn't read his face, but if the subtle stiffening of his shoulders was anything to go off of, she had marked him right.
Stubborn is as stubborn does.
"The Jedi Council can be rather set in their ways, Rey," Master Jinn cautioned her, "If you wish to be a Jedi then-"
She interrupted him, "I'm presuming that the members of the Jedi Council are your top people? People likely wise with a great deal of experience?"
"Yes, but they are not all knowing."
"Are you?" she shot back.
Obi-Wan put a sleeve to his mouth to try and muffle a snicker.
Master Jinn shot a sharp glance at his Padawan. Turning back to her with imploring eyes, he said, "Rey, I believe you can be a great Jedi, if you are willing, then I am willing to train you."
"I am willing to sacrifice all I have to pursue this future you offer me, and I am grateful. However, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this, I cannot let you sacrifice your Order for me. Either I can join the Jedi Order, or it wasn't meant to be."
Obi-Wan lowered his arm, looking at her with a strange expression, but he said nothing as they both waited for Master Jinn to respond.
She wondered how far he would push, she wondered if he was more stubborn than she was.
Finally, Master Jinn let out an audible breath, "Very well, I shall endeavour to do my best in convincing the Council then."
He sounded like this was a task that he would have liked to face by smashing heads together instead of diplomacy.
Going on he said, "But for now, you are my guest. We shall eat together when Obi-Wan and I have returned. Until then please feel free to use this suit as you like, use the refresher, and get some more sleep if you can."
She wondered if they had a shower, a place as wealthy as this likely did, and it sounded wonderful. "Do you have anything I might wear so I can wash my clothes?"
Obi-Wan stood, going to a closest she hadn't noticed as if it were his own rooms. He didn't refer back to Master Jinn and she wondered if it was because Padawans were subject to their Masters or if their bond was so familiar to him that what each owned was shared between them.
He gave her a white simple robe, "It will be too large for you, but it should do while your clothes are in the drying unit. It's in the refresher closest to the left of the sink."
"Thank you," she said to both, again blown away by their welcoming of her.
Overwhelmed by these two strangers who had deemed her worth something, trustworthy enough to bring along into danger, and likeable enough to welcome into their homes. No matter what their Council decided, she would never be able to repay them.
Obi-Wan must have seen some of her feelings on her face because he smiled, "Don't be too thankful, I'll help Qui-Gon get through to the Council, but by this time next month you might cursing ever having met us."
She grinned at him, "Oh I'm sure I won't be the only one cursing."
Obi-Wan could practically see the annoyance coming off his Master as they walked to Jedi Council. Rey's ultimatum hadn't been well received.
That's what you get for trying to induct someone who isn't a child.
Qui-Gon's gaze snapped to him, "Watch yourself, Padawan."
Obi-Wan felt his cheeks heat, but he held his ground, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to share that, but honestly, Master, how did you think that was going to go? She hardly knows us."
"She didn't say no, she is just putting her hands in the fate of the Council."
"A lot of people put their fate in the hands of the Council."
"But she doesn't even know who the Council are, she didn't even know they existed."
"Nor that the Jedi existed, nor that she was a Force sensitive. Can you blame her for wanting structure? For not wanting to up root you from your home?"
Our home, he thought, still grateful that Rey had seen more than herself in this equation.
His Master let out a huff, "Forgive me, Obi-Wan, but since my own Master left, I've come to…" He sighed, "It is more than clashing with the Council, the problems I see with our Order run deeper than them."
Obi-Wan kept his thoughts to himself, now wasn't the time for this confrontation, but he couldn't help but ask, "Regardless of what the Council decides, I would like to meet your Master."
Qui-Gon looked at him, an odd expression on his face, "If you think I clash with the Council, Padawan mine, Master Dooku will not put you at ease."
"Maybe not, but you worry about him. I know you've spoken with him over the years, but-"
"But you've picked up on my concern of what he struggles with as a count. Yes, perhaps I've been putting off that meeting, perhaps I haven't wanted to see how time has changed him." A smile curled his lips, some of the lines around his eyes softening, "Perhaps he'll honour us both with sparring. It would be a gift before your trials."
For a moment, all other worries left Obi-Wan, the idea of learning something from the Order's duelling champion, even if it was just to see Master Dooku spar with Qui-Gon would be something he would love to see.
Noting his expression, Qui-Gon said, "I warn you, however, Master Dooku tends to be harsh in duelling. He uses cruel words to unbalance his opponents, ascertain their weaknesses. It is an excellent training mechanism, but he has a talent for hitting where it hurts."
Obi-Wan wondered what Dooku would taunt him with, how far he would go. Obi-Wan would like to think of himself with enough humility to want to embrace his faults so he might overcome them, but he didn't like the thought of being so transparent before his Master and his Master's Master. "That," he noted, "doesn't seem like a very Jedi thing to do."
They were fast approaching the Jedi Council chambers, "I was nearly as by the book as you were, my dear Padawan, I assure you, no matter how it may seem, I was not born a maverick."
That Obi-Wan could not believe, even if he had heard whispers of the sort before.
They stopped before the doors, and exchanged a look.
Here went everything.
oOo
Obi-Wan felt the tension rise in his Master, in himself as Qui-Gon recounted their short venture from meeting the Gungans to escaping with the Queen, to being stranded on Tatooine.
"Fortunate this girl accepted such poor payment, it is," Master Yoda noted.
Obi-Wan wondered if the little green Master had discerned that there was more to the 'mechanic' Qui-Gon mentioned in passing.
"The droids may become a problem in the future," Master Windu said, "In large numbers, they pose a greater danger than their singularity."
"Agreed," Qui-Gon said, "If there was some way to keep the droids from being manufactured in mass, perhaps through policies? I know that would be difficult in actualizing but it is worth addressing if nothing else to the Senate and larger Republic."
"Do this we will," Master Yoda said.
There was an awkward pause as the Masters waited for Qui-Gon to conclude.
"Was there more, Master Jinn?" Master Adi-Mundi asked.
"I must say, Padawan Kenobi," Master Bilaba interrupted, "the reports of you pulling down a carrier ship are quite impressive. A feat Master Dooku, or even Master Yoda, might be able to accomplish under fire."
Here we go, Obi-Wan thought as he replied, "It was not I, Master Bilaba." He couldn't help but glance at Qui-Gon who stood stiffer than usual, braced for a fight.
Master Windu leaned back in his seat, "Ah, Master Jinn, you've been holding out on us all these years."
"It was not I who pulled that ship from the sky," Qui-Gon stated without elaborating.
The Council waited, and Obi-Wan's Master waited on them to ask.
Master Windu broke first, "Well, who was it then, if not you or your Padawan? As far as I am aware, no other Jedi were on Naboo."
Obi-Wan could see the suspicion rising among the Council, Qui-Gon had trained them well. And their faces grew ever more reserved as Qui-Gon went on, "Our mechanic is not a Jedi, not yet, but the Force is with her."
A cold silence met his words.
Master Yoda jumped to the right conclusion, "A Padawan, Master Jinn, already you have."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi is ready to face his trials."
"How old is this child?" Master Bilaba asked.
"Rey is a nineteen year old human."
The Council was already shaking their heads, all except Master Yoda who was frowning deeply at Qui-Gon as if trying to read some hidden message in the air between them.
"No," Master Windu said, "Absolutely not. An older child might be considered, exceptions have been made in the past. But not for an adult, not for a woman who could hardly be considered a teenager."
"Yet untrained," Qui-Gon insisted, "she pulled a carrier from the sky. She fought with us, putting herself in great danger without any benefit for her person. She is good. She deserves the oppurt-"
Master Windu cut him off, "How do you know she is untrained? The Sith have been extinct for a millennium, that does not mean there aren't others trained in the Force."
"She wasn't certain the Jedi were real a week ago," Qui-Gon defended, "But her connection to the Force… I have never seen her like. And-"
"Deceived you, she has," Master Yoda declared. "Control without training, she could not have."
"She almost passed out," Obi-Wan spoke up.
The entirety of the Council swivelled its focus on him and he fought not to gulp, reminding himself that these were not their adversaries, just stubborn leaders he needed to help convince to take a gamble.
Continuing, he said, "We had to carry her back to the ship, and she fell into a deep sleep like one who has over-exerted themselves. If she was acting then she's the first person I've met to be able to fool all senses, including her presence in the Force."
At this Master Koon leaned forward, "Just how powerful are we talking?"
This was exactly where they needed the Council not to go, and Obi-Wan answered, "You just have to meet her. She deserves a chance to come before you. I agree with my Master, she has the makings of a true Jedi."
The Council frowned at them, and Master Windu asked, "And what did she say, Master Jinn, this mechanic when you offered to train her?"
Qui-Gon sighed and answered, "She said she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. But she resolved to only accept becoming my Padawan if the Jedi Council agreed."
"As opposed to what?" Master Windu asked, his gaze narrowing.
"As opposed to me leaving the Order to train her."
Another shocked silence.
Master Yoda made a noise of disapproval, "Follow your Master, you would. And what say Rey, to you, Master Jinn?"
"As I said, she resolved that she would only be willing if the Jedi Council welcomed her."
"A nineteen year old," Master Windu repeated uncharitably, "What do you possibly believe could change our mind?"
"Test her," Qui-Gon urged, "she will surpass your expectations."
"Know little of this girl, do you," Master Yoda remarked, "Known her long, you have not."
"Meet with her," Obi-Wan urged, speaking out against his better judgement, "is not our conviction in such a short time more reason to consider this?"
"Become you like your Master, Padawan Kenobi," Master Yoda returned, "And become like his Master, Master Dooku, does our Master Jinn. Dangerous this is."
To this Qui-Gon asked, "What harm is there in meeting with her? She will respect whatever decision the Council makes."
"But you will not," Master Windu said, voice too dark to be joking.
"I will respect Rey's decision, I will not coerce her down this path."
Master Yoda sighed, "Cause no harm to meet her, it will not. But fail to see what could change our minds, do I."
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon commanded softly.
Not needing a bigger hint, Obi-Wan all but ran to the door. Wondering how much time had passed, as he made his way back to his Master's rooms.
He knocked thrice before entering. Rey was at the balcony in freshly cleaned clothes that were almost shockingly white. She was pulling her hair into its final bun as she turned to greet him.
"How did it go?" she asked.
"The Council wants to see you," he said, wincing at the almost lie. 'Want' was too strong a word.
"Can I take my staff?" she asked.
"Of course," he said, a staff wasn't going to phase the Council. Short of showing up in Mandalorian armour, not much would phase them.
She came to his side smiling.
"Nervous?" he asked.
Her smile grew, "Excited, more like."
Obi-Wan shook his head, he liked Rey, he really did, but he was beginning to believe it would be years before he understood her.
Qui-Gon regretted telling the Council he had thought to leave the Order like Master Dooku because he thought it did Rey no favours.
He did, however, sort of enjoy the irked expression on Mace Windu's face as they waited for his Padawans to return.
"What convinced you," Mace finally asked, "that this girl was worth training, worth turning your back on the Order for?"
"The Force."
"The Force?" Master Bilaba repeated in confusion, "You mean the girl's powers."
"I mean the Force sings around her."
"Sings?" this time Mace echoed him.
A knock came at the door and Mace called out, "Enter, Padawan Kenobi."
Qui-Gon's Padawan entered, Rey behind him.
She looked around the room with a tangible curiosity and Qui-Gon heard some of the Council catch their breaths.
Because the Force was with Rey, and her presence filled the room like sunlight. In a room full of Grand Masters, Yoda was her only equal pound for pound. But there was no menace to Rey's aura.
Even Mace was left wide eyed.
The Force singing around her wasn't a mere metaphor, it was about the only explanation Qui-Gon had for the feel at which her energy resonated.
Plo Koon asked too softly to be a true question, "How did we miss her?"
That was a question Qui-Gon wondered as well, it wasn't as if the Jedi didn't take initiates from the Outer Rim. But to be fair, Rey's glow had only recently reached so large, expanding since she connected with the Force to pull down a ship.
"Hello," Mace greeted her, "Master Jinn tells us you wish to become a Jedi."
Her gaze fell on him, searching his face as if she would memorize it, "Master Jinn is a generous man."
"I am Master Mace Windu," he said, "Your name is Rey?"
She nodded, "Just Rey, yes."
"You have no family."
"None."
"Are you afraid?" he asked, and even Qui-Gon couldn't decern her emotions, though fear didn't seem to be among them.
"No, a bit awed, to be honest."
"Awed?" Plo Koon asked, "Why?"
"You're the Jedi Council," she replied simply as if that answered everything.
"Most in your position would be cowed," Mace said with a deliberate lack of tack.
She grinned, "I wanted to see the world. Stories of the Jedi were fantastical, and I never knew if I would leave the Outer Rim. Now I'm standing before some of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, on Coruscant of all places."
"You didn't know we were on Coruscant?" Master Adi-Mundi asked in confusion.
"I didn't know you existed actually, and if I had, I wouldn't have guessed Coruscant."
"If you did not believe in the Jedi," Mace asked, "why do you want to be one?"
Rey didn't hesitate, and even Qui-Gon was impressed with her self-assurity. Even Obi-Wan wasn't this confidante in front of the Council now. But perhaps she didn't understand what the Jedi Council was capable of.
Or maybe she believed them more capable than they were.
Qui-Gon wasn't sure which would serve her better.
"I want to be a part of something bigger than myself," she stated.
"Anything?" Mace pressed.
She shook her head, "No, of course not, but I believe in what the Jedi stand for."
"Even though you didn't believe we existed?"
"On Tatooine, the Republic doesn't exist either. But I didn't have to live in the Republic to understand they were better, even if marginally so, to living under the rule of the Hutts."
"So you want to be a Jedi to have employment?" Mace questioned.
She tilted her head, "No. I mean, I assume there is more to being a Jedi than working for the Jedi Order."
"Indeed there is," Plo Koon said, picking up Mace's thread, "and we would like to know what you will do when we deny you entrance to our Order. You must understand that you are too old to be trained among us."
Rey bowed her head, "Then it will have been an honour to meet you all."
Qui-Gon stifled a smile, the Council hadn't expected that answer, none of them had likely expected her in any capacity. She wasn't some power hungry Force user overlooked and resentful for not being accepted on principle.
Rey was a woman who had been given the experience of a lifetime, and that meant more to her than the finer points of bureaucracy.
Master Yoda had remained oddly silent, his gaze sharply focused on the girl before them.
"Master Jinn has asked that you be tested despite the variable of your age. If you agree, I would like to start with a few questions," Master Windu said, the dismissal he had approached this with leaving his tone.
She nodded, shifting from foot to foot, a nervous gesture at last.
"Where do you live?"
"I used to live in a cave on Tatooine."
"A cave?" Mace asked, and Qui-Gon smirked knowing Mace was no stranger to the way some lived in the galaxy but still, the Jedi still sometimes saw themselves above such things.
Rey elaborated, "Big enough to stretch out in and pretty well hidden. I was never robbed at least."
"Your parents?"
"I lost them when I was five."
"Will you go back to Tatooine?"
She made a face, "No, I'd sooner return to Naboo, or find some employment that keeps me travelling."
"As a mechanic?"
"Or a pilot, I haven't travelled far in my life, but I haven't found a ship I couldn't decipher, eventually."
Not humble, Qui-Gon noted, but he wasn't displeased, skills hard earned shouldn't be down played. Especially if she would have to make it on her own from here on.
"Will you not miss your friends?" Mace asked.
Her lips curled, but not in her usual bright smile, "Obi-Wan is the closest person I have to a friend."
Qui-Gon caught his Padawan's startled reaction.
"You've known Padawan Kenobi for less than three days, surely you had peers on Tatooine," Mace remarked, his disbelief clear.
"I'm a scavenger, I didn't really have time to-" she cut herself off, catching her own temper before it rose, "Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi have been kinder to me than anyone I can remember."
Finally, Yoda spoke, "Trust them, you do."
She looked at the little master, and Qui-Gon thought she was deceived by his diminutive form, because her tone was wholly respectful when she replied, "They are trustworthy."
"Prove this to you, have they?"
She frowned, as if not having thought it through completely, "I don- that is… They feel trustworthy and they have done nothing to disprove that. Master Jinn got me off Tatooine, Obi-Wan saved my life."
"When?" Mace asked.
"When I pulled down that carrier ship, he covered me. If he hadn't deflected those blaster shots I would be dead now."
Qui-Gon exchanged a fond look with his Padawan who looked a bit caught off guard by Rey's perspective on the day's events.
Yoda hummed but said nothing more.
"Very well," Mace said, "we will continue with your test."
He pulled out a screen, "I want you to tell me what's on this screen."
She raised her brows, "Without looking at the screen?"
"I will be able to see the images, and I will do nothing to shield my mind from you. You should be able to glean the images from my thoughts."
Her eyes widened, "Jedi can read minds?"
Mace didn't answer that, just asked, "Ready?"
"Yes," she said, shifting again from foot to foot like some racing animal before the bell.
"A boat!"
"Correct."
"A tree, a racer, the Nubian ship, a-" with each answer her voice grew more excited as if amazed this was possible, seeming to completely forget the seriousness of how these tests might dictate her future.
On the last one, she faltered, "A thing with horns?"
Mace raised one brow in masked amusement.
"Sorry, I- it's hairy, too hairy for the desert, hmm…"
Qui-Gon was about to call foul when Rey pulled the name from Mace's or someone else's mind.
"Tauntaun! That's a fun name."
Mace lowered the screen, exchanging a look with Yoda. Rey wasn't just a power, she was gifted power.
Mace stood, leaving the screen on his seat.
"Mace," Qui-Gon warned, unsure of what the Master had planned.
Mace ignored him, "How do you feel, Rey?"
She shook her head, "Does the Force even have limits? Is anything impossible?"
"Everything has limits, scavenger."
Something in the Master's tone had Rey tensing, but not in fear or anger, just the instinctual motion of reaching for her staff when someone offered her ill-will.
Mace took a step forward, and she a step back.
Obi-Wan caught Qui-Gon's wrist as his own fingers flexed.
It's a test, Master. She isn't a child, did you expect them to test her like one?
His Padawan's question centred Qui-Gon. Of course the Council would treat her differently. She was different.
"The Force is strong with you," Mace told her.
She didn't respond to him, watching not his face but the centre of his body.
When he drew his lightsaber, Rey's speed in pulling her staff was nearly as fluid. Mace held his amethyst saber at the ready and Rey held her staff before her. Her legs were bent lowering her centre of gravity.
Her smile was gone now.
"I won't hurt you," Mace remarked lightly.
"I didn't think you would," she said, her voice trying to be as light.
"You're afraid."
"Not really. I don't believe you're going to slice me up in front of all these people."
Qui-Gon saw Mace fighting back a smile as he asked, "Then why draw your weapon?"
"Because," she answered, "I could be wrong."
Mace lunged at her, and Rey lept back as capable now as she had been on Naboo.
She didn't bother to parry with the Jedi Master, though she kept the tip of her staff always between them as she dodged every exaggerated swipe of Mace's purple lightsaber. She didn't fight, staying on the defensive as she backed up. Aware both of her opponent and the others in the room, Qui-Gon noted she didn't let herself be forced into a corner. In a minute she had positioned herself so that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were at her back, Mace and where Yoda sat in her line of vision.
Qui-Gon was pleased and Mace intrigued.
Changing tack, Master Windu leapt into the air, twirling his saber before him with what was more flashy movement than a real attack. The effect still must have been intimidating for someone who was unfamiliar with lightsabers and having no defence against them.
Rey dropped to the floor, her connection to Force blowing open like the floodgates on a dam. She stood tense and wide eyed near the exit of the room where none of them stood or sat, the Force having leant her speed.
Mace pulled back then, standing tall and deactivating his saber. He bowed to her, "Well done, Rey. I concur with Master Jinn, you should be given the opportunity to be trained as his Padawan. You acted defensively, never losing your focus to fear or anger. And when you were afraid, you turned to the Force, that is to be commended."
All the Council members save for Yoda stirred at this, voicing their protests in exclamations of 'You can't be serious, Master Windu,' 'She is still too old,' and 'She's too dangerous.'
But all Qui-Gon's attention was focused on Rey who hadn't moved from her stance, her eyes seemed to be unseeing.
He approached her cautiously, "Rey? Rey, can you hear me?"
She didn't move, though he felt her sense him. He laid a hand on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. He had a flash of what she was feeling, sensing. In a room full of Council members, she was feeling their powers press at her like standing on a plain of white under the desert suns.
He squeezed her shoulder, "Rey, breathe."
She took in a gasping breath, as if breaching the surface after swimming too deep. She staggered, and Qui-Gon caught her at the wrist and elbow.
Obi-Wan was before her, "Rey, are you alright?"
She looked up at him blinking fast, and then she shook her head. She looked passed him to Yoda and the rest.
Again, Qui-Gon felt that wash of sorrow that she had experienced when he told her there were thousands of Jedi.
Fear, anger, frustration, confusion, almost anything Qui-Gon expected, but not sorrow. What hurt did she carry to feel this way?
The Jedi Council observed her as she observed them. The could all feel her emotions, but she shook her head once more and the emotion left her as a wave of the Force brushed them all.
It hadn't come from Rey but it seemed to be meant for her, consoling her.
Strange.
Ki Adi-Mundi spoke, "I see what you mean, Padawan Kenobi. I agree with Master Windu, she should be trained."
Depa Bilaba bowed her head to Qui-Gon, "The Force is strong with her, and already it seems, a bond has formed between you. I also agree that Master Jinn should take the girl has his next Padawan."
The rest of the council said versions of the same, until it came Plo Koon shook his head, "This is most odd. But there is no fear in her, and there is no warning in the Force. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would say the Force is at work around her."
With only Yoda left to speak, Qui-Gon felt his pulse rise, he released that bit of anxiety to the Force. Just because the others had said, yes, didn't mean Yoda couldn't sway them to reconsider.
But Yoda's attention was not on Rey who had straightened, waiting patiently for the Council's decision. Her over exposure to Force contained in each of the Masters seemed to have taken a toll on her energy and mood.
No, Yoda's attention was on Obi-Wan who hovered at Rey's side.
"Padawan Kenobi," Yoda called.
Obi-Wan startled, looking up to meet the little master's green gaze, "Yes, Master Yoda?"
"Taken the trials you have not."
Qui-Gon stiffened, if Yoda was about to undermine his Padawan's confidence he was going to raise Hell.
"No, Master Yoda, I have not."
"Ready you are."
Qui-Gon let out a breath, but tensed again as Yoda continued.
"But, more ready might you be in a year or two. No shame, but benefit could you still from Master Jinn's guidance."
Obi-Wan didn't respond, clearly not disagreeing with Yoda and Qui-Gon mentally cursed.
"And Master Jinn," Yoda said, "ready you shall never be to teach a Padawan who was never an initiate, though able to learn, she is."
Mace asked, "You want to train her yourself?"
Yoda laughed, the sound grated on Qui-Gon. What did he mean 'ready you shall never be'? What flaw was there in him that Yoda perceived to be unsuitable to this match?
"No, but perceive more than a bond between Master and Padawan here, I do. Padawan Kenobi, free you are to take the trials when you feel best, but a favour ask would I?"
Curiosity peeked, Obi-Wan asked, "What favour, Master Yoda?"
"Stay on with Master Jinn, you should. Need your help, will he. Unusual predicament to take in an apprentice at nineteen. No more unusual to have two Padawans to one Master, nor two Masters to one Padawan."
Qui-Gon blinked, hope filling him. Yes. Yes, if Obi-Wan stayed than training Rey would be a thousand times easier. His Padawan's help he would indeed need, the generations between Rey and himself would likely prove as difficult as finding a balance between their responsibilities. But if Obi-Wan could teach her how to be a Padawan than Qui-Gon could teach her how to become a Jedi.
And besides all that, it meant he would not have to say goodbye so soon to Obi-Wan. It was not a sorrow because he deserved to be Knighted, but what Master would wish away such a Padawan as Obi-Wan?
Obi-Wan looked back at him, then at Rey, then back to Yoda, "Yes. I'll stay on with Master Jinn."
Yoda laughed, "Good, good. Welcome Padawan Rey, a Jedi will you be."
Rey seemed at a loss for words but her smile was answer enough.
"Clouded has the future been," Yoda went on, "but clear around you three, the Force is. See much -peace- forming between you, do I."
"Why do I perceive that peace isn't the word you meant to use?" Qui-Gon asked.
Yoda chortled, tapping his cane before him as if Qui-Gon had just said something outrageously funny.
Why was it even when Qui-Gon got the Council to agree with him on an issue, he still felt infuriated?
AN: Thank you again to the reviewers, I'm truly trying to develop this story and your feedback means the world to me. May the Force be with you.