Obi-Wan quietly moved down the corridor, his well worn in boots combined with his years of training making little noise on the wooden floor. He knew it was late and he felt a little tightening of nervousness in the pit of his stomach as he knew he was likely to face questions from his master that he did not particularly want to answer. He was hoping that he would be able to slip in unnoticed.
He quietly opened the door, turning the old fashioned handle with as much control as he could on the unfamiliar piece of hardware. He felt the bolt retract with a quiet snick and opened the door just enough for his small body to fit through.
"Have a nice evening, Padawan?" Qui-Gon's deep voice suddenly filled the room.
Obi-Wan visibly startled, shock clearly evident in his expression. Qui-Gon must have been heavily shielding himself as he had not sensed the man prior to entering his quarters. He quickly tamped down on the feeling and schooled his features into as close a semblance of Jedi serenity as he could. He inserted his hands into opposite sleeves of his cloak and nervously fidgeted with a hem as he observed the tall man relaxed in a comfortable chair in the corner of the room, trying to figure out just how much he knew or suspected. But as expected, the Jedi master was unreadable, and wasn't giving anything away.
"Yes, Master. I have learned much about the history of Namore and Riverhaven Castelle." Obi-Wan replied as smoothly as possible.
"I'm glad to hear it." Qui-Gon replied, still unreadable. He rose from the chair. "You should prepare for bed, we are going to have a full day tomorrow. And I anticipate that you may have some things to meditate upon."
Obi-Wan felt his cheeks colouring as Qui-Gon disappeared through the passageway between their adjoining rooms. Qui-Gon had one thing completely correct - there was much to meditate on indeed.
-X-X-X-X-
The next morning, Obi-Wan awoke to a loud knock at the door. He was still deeply asleep, as he had struggled to fall asleep the night before and it took him a few long seconds to fully rouse himself. He rolled out of bed just before the door swung open and a young attendant dressed in a plain white tunic entered with a tray of food. She greeted him with a respectful bow of her head, placing the tray on a table across the room.
"Thank you." Obi-Wan said.
The attendant quickly exited the room and Obi-Wan, prompted by the growling of his stomach, headed over to investigate the tray. He picked up a slice of muja fruit and was about to eat it when he was interrupted.
"Good morning, Padawan."
Obi-Wan startled. Again. Either he was really on edge at the moment or his master was deliberately shielding from him again. Either option was equally likely at this point in time.
"Good morning, Master." Obi-Wan said as calmly as he could, turning to greet the taller man.
"We shall start the day with a shared meditation." Qui-Gon instructed.
Obi-Wan, still holding the slice of much desired muja fruit, opened his mouth to protest, but was swiftly silenced by the firm look on Qui-Gon's face.
"Yes, master." He said dolefully, placing the muja slice back on the plate before joining Qui-Gon on the floor, sitting in his customary lotus meditation position.
Obi-Wan's meditation session was short and unsatisfying, and his frustration was quite evident to the Jedi master sitting opposite him. He emerged from the meditation with a sigh, dropping his hands in his lap, eyes downcast.
"Anything you would like to talk about, Padawan mine?" Qui-Gon asked gently.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, Master." He said. "I can handle it. I'm just a little...distracted. I'll do better next time."
Qui-Gon observed his young padawan for a long moment. "I'm sure you will." He said before placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "Eat now and then dress, we will be fetched shortly for the official treaty renewal negotiations."
"Yes, master." Obi-Wan said, wasting no time in returning to the platter of food as Qui-Gon disappeared back through the passageway.
Shortly proved to be very short indeed as Obi-Wan barely had time to dress and polish off the food before there was another knock at the door. He licked the sweet muja juice off his fingers and wiped his hand on a cleansing wipe before opening the door to reveal the same attendant that had brought him his breakfast. Waiting in the hallway was Qui-Gon, accompanied by another attendant.
The two attendants led the way through the castelle and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan obediently followed to a wooden door set into the stonework. They approached from one direction, and as they arrived at the door, King Jondar and another man as elegantly dressed as the king approached, followed by two more attendants dressed in white tunics. The two men were laughing loudly about something, their laughter echoing off the stone walls.
"Good morning!" King Jondar said enthusiastically, eyes still sparkling with mirth from what he had just been laughing at with the other man. "This is King Rolan of Lagandelle Castelle."
Obi-Wan observed the two kings. King Jondar was short and dark-haired, while King Rolan was the opposite in appearance, being tall and fair-haired. They both, however, seemed to be of amicable disposition and appeared to be well acquainted with each other.
"Let's get the proceedings underway." King Jondar said, turning to push open the wooden door they stood beside.
The two kings entered, followed by Qui-Gon then Obi-Wan, with the two attendants trailing behind. Obi-Wan looked around the room in confusion. He was expecting a meeting room with a table and chairs, as he was accustomed to in these types of situations, but this room was devoid of any furniture aside from four wooden stools, two on each side of the room. The two kings and Qui-Gon all sat on a stool each and the attendants began to remove their boots. Obi-Wan, bewildered by this unexpected turn of events, had to be gently guided to sit down on his stool by his attendant, who began to remove his boots.
Obi-Wan shot Qui-Gon a look of utter confusion yet all he got back from his master was a pulse down their bond which clearly said relax.
Boots were removed and the other three men stood and turned to face the wall. Attempting to relax as instructed, Obi-Wan followed along until he felt slender hands pulling at his cloak, slipping it from his shoulders. His first instinct was to prevent this, however a sideways glance at his master showed that the man was allowing this unprecedented action to occur, so he also acquiesced.
The clock was quickly and neatly folded and placed on the wooden stool and Obi-Wan felt his belt loosening and being removed, followed by his tunic, which was also neatly folded and added to the pile. He surreptitiously glanced again at his master, who was in a similar state of undress. He felt his face flush with uncontrolled embarrassment as his attendant loosened the tie of his pants and removed them, leaving him clad only in his undergarments. She began to remove them, but he grasped the waistband, preventing them from lowering.
"I'll do it." He whispered to her.
The attendant stopped as requested and quickly pressed a towel into the padawan's hands, seemingly understanding of the teenager's embarrassment.
Obi-Wan wrapped his towel around his waist, sliding his undergarments down beneath the thick material.
The attendants disappeared into the next room and the three men followed, Obi-Wan trailling after, clutching protectively at his towel lest it decide to loosen itself and fall to the floor of its own accord, wondering what sort of mortifying experience awaited him in the next room.
The next room was a little larger and instead of four wooden stools, there were four large wooden benches, an attendant standing at one end of each bench The two kings and Qui-Gon immediately went and lay down on their stomachs on three of the four benches, leaving a still thoroughly confused Obi-Wan to follow suit, feeling rather vulnerable with his lack of clothing and back unprotected. He did not feel any danger in the Force, but that did not prevent him from startling as he felt warm, oily hands touch his back and the smell of a relaxing fragrant concoction fill the air. The hands slid up and down his back, over muscles tensed ready to jump. He belatedly realised that this was supposed to be a massage, a relaxation technique he had heard of, but never experienced.
Relax. A soothing baritone laced with amusement spoke in Obi-Wan's mind, accompanied by a soft burst of Force-induced relaxation.
So his master was obviously enjoying himself. Both the massage as well as the mortification of his young padawan. Surely there was something against this in the code.
Letting out a long calming breath and allowing his master's pulse of Force relaxation wash over him, Obi-Wan gradually felt himself relaxing as his attendant's hands kneaded muscle tightly knotted from years of daily training, and eventually actually began to feel a small modicum of enjoyment from the attendant's expert ministrations.
But there was still the matter of the treaty renewal which they were supposedly there for.
After a while, the deft hands disappointingly disappeared from Obi-Wan's back and for a moment, he was reluctant to move. He felt more relaxed than he had ever felt in his life. And more than he would probably ever feel again.
"You can get up now." A soft feminine voice spoke in his ear.
The wooden benches creaked as they all rose from their prone positions, King Jondar letting out a satisfied sound as he stretched. Obi-Wan clutched his towel tightly to him again and manoeuvred himself off the bench as modestly as possible.
King Jondar and King Rolan disappeared through yet another door.
Qui-Gon looked at his apprentice, patting him on the back with a firm hand. "Enjoying yourself yet?" He asked, a mirthful glint in his eyes.
Obi-Wan ignored the question lest he accidentally unleash the unbecomingly sarcastic answer that was on the tip of his tongue and instead answered the question with another question. "What about the treaty?"
"Patience, my young padawan." Qui-Gon asked, using the hand on Obi-Wan's back to steer his reluctant apprentice towards the doorway where the kings had just disappeared through.
The next room contained a large in-ground pool, steam rising lazily off the heated water. Obi-Wan stepped into the room just in time to see two very pale, very naked kingly rear ends disappearing into the steaming water.
Obi-Wan stopped so quickly that Qui-Gon would have walked right into him had he not had Force-enhanced reactions, and a hunch that his mortified padawan would do just that.
Now seated in the hot pool, King Jondar turned around and spotted the two Jedi in the doorway. "Come on in." He invited, motioning them over. "The water is divine."
Obi-Wan felt the hand at his back apply pressure, attempting to nudge him forwards, but he held his ground.
"Master." He said quietly in protest, trying so very hard not to sound like a whiny child.
"Padawan." Came the firm reply, along with a slightly harder nudge to his back, forcing him to take a step forwards towards the pool.
They reached the edge of the pool perpendicular to King Jondar and opposite King Rolan and Obi-Wan stopped, looking in at the clear water. It did look somewhat inviting, if he were to ignore the fact that there were two naked kings currently sitting in the water. Qui-Gon stepped up next to him and out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan noticed him beginning to loosen his towel in preparation to enter the water. Ever modest, Obi-Wan averted his gaze as quickly as he could. He did not need to see that side of his master right now. Or ever.
"Padawan." Qui-Gon said, now seated comfortably in the water. "Please join us." To an outside observer, Qui-Gon's tone was level and measured, but to Obi-Wan, it was clear that he really meant Get your rear end in this water now.
With a small amount of Force manipulation to position his towel and a large dose of teenage modesty, Obi-Wan was able to manoeuvre himself successfully into the pool a good distance away from the other occupants.
"Ah, now we can get down to business." King Jondar said, casually leaning against the side of the pool, his arms spread out, resting along the ledge. "Master Qui-Gon, if you would please begin."
"Certainly." Qui-Gon said. "Do you, King Jondar, swear to uphold the Treaty of Namore, to maintain the peace of the world, and to provide assistance to those of Lagandelle in times of need?"
"I do." King Jondar answered.
"And do you, King Rolan swear to uphold the Treaty of Namore, to maintain the peace of the world, and to provide assistance to those of Riverhaven in times of need?"
"I do." King Rolan answered.
An attendant stepped forward with an old parchment document and an old fashioned quill pen in an inkwell on a tray. She knelt down next to King Jondar who removed the pen from the inkwell, taking care to wipe off the excess ink from the pen so that he would not drip ink on the paper as he signed his name.
The attendant then moved over to King Rolan, who performed the same actions.
"Congratulations, the Treaty of Namore has been recognised by the Republic as being renewed for another ten years, as according to the stipulations set out within." Qui-Gon said, completing his legal requirements.
"Good." King Jondar said. "The boring part is over. Time for the relaxing." He let himself slip down further, allowing the hot water to come up to the tip of his chin as he lay his head back against a curved head rest in the stonework. He closed his eyes and let out a long relaxing breath. "Ahh, this is the life." He proclaimed.
Despite his misgivings and his complete discomfort with the situation that was so far outside of his norm, Obi-Wan did find himself relaxing. He just had to keep his eyes firmly fixed to eye level or preferably elsewhere. And sit as far away from everyone else as possible. As he soaked in the relaxing hot water, he felt his mind wander. He wasn't usually so undisciplined, and it had been a long time since he was so unfocused, however the combination of an unrestful sleep, the remnants of Qui-Gon's pulse of Force-induced relaxation, the massage and the hot water, not to mention the events that transpired the previous night definitely were not conducive to his usual sharp focus.
His mind wandered to a certain dark haired princess, thinking about the time they had spent together the previous night. And the kiss. He had always assumed that as a Jedi that he would never experience anything like that, given the commitment that he had made to the Order, but here he was, having been kissed for the first time, and by a princess no less.
He was conflicted, to put it lightly.
And, he noticed slightly belatedly, these were not thoughts he should be thinking about at the moment, as he felt his body begin to respond in a manner that was definitely not appropriate at the present moment with the present company.
The here and now, Padawan. Qui-Gon's lightly warning tone echoed through their bond, obviously noticing his apprentice's preoccupation.
Obi-Wan quickly tuned back into the conversation, blushing fiercely, desperately hoping that he had shielded effectively enough for his master to not guess at the contents of his thoughts.
"How are you enjoying your stay here on Namore?" King Rolan asked, directing the question at Obi-Wan.
"It is an amazing place." Obi-Wan answered. "I have seen a great number of interesting things."
"Ah yes, I am told that we are a very unique place." King Rolan replied. "But we have no desire to change our way of life with space travel and technology. We are content with the simplicity of our existence."
"There is a different ambience here. It feels...restful. At peace. It is quite unlike anywhere else I have been." Obi-Wan commented. He had not been to many places yet in his short time as a padawan, but this place did have a distinctive feel to it. Something which he actually hadn't really thought about until this moment.
"It wasn't always this way. Just a mere hundred and twenty years ago the two kingdoms were at constant war." King Rolan explained. "Then during one war, both kings ended up facing each other in battle. They each landed a simultaneous killing blow. The heir to each kingdom did not like the way that they were living so they met in secret and attempted forge a way forward so the kingdoms could live in peace. But it was difficult as there was a long history of hatred between the two kingdoms. The next day, as if sent from the gods themselves, a spacecraft crash landed not far from Riverhaven. It was the first time that this world had ever seen people from faraway worlds. In the craft were two Jedi, a master and an apprentice. The people were in awe of the Jedi and they were able to successfully negotiate a lasting peace between the kingdoms. This is why we renew the Treaty every ten years, to honour the sacrifice made by our ancestors and the gift the Jedi have given us of a peaceful existence."
"Your master has informed us that this type of mission is well outside what you would be used to." King Jondar said.
"Well this is the first time I have attended negotiations partially submerged in a hot pool." Obi-Wan said, attempting to joke to cover his lingering embarrassment.
The kings both laughed loudly. "Yes well, we do like to live in comfort." King Jondar said. "And what better place to have a treaty renewal, in a place where we literally have nothing to hide!"
-X-X-X-X-
Back at his quarters later that morning, Obi-Wan sat in the middle of the floor, lotus style, trying to meditate but was not any more successful than he had been earlier. There was too much flurrying around his mind to focus.
With a sigh, he rose from the floor and decided to exercise instead. He sank into the beginning stance of a basic kata, one designed to be used in a small space that focused on slow stretching and strengthening. He flowed through the movements, bringing his attention completely to his body and acutely feeling and analysing every tiny movement each muscle, tendon, ligament and joint made. He finished the kata and flowed straight into a second repetition, this time at half pace, deliberately not using the Force to enhance his strength or stabilise himself so that he had to rely only on his own innate strength and balance to move through the positions.
"Padawan."
Obi-Wan was concentrating on holding a particularly difficult inverted pose, and as a result was taken completely unaware by his master. For the third time in one day. He startled, wobbled wildly but regained his balance somewhat ungracefully. He returned both feet to the ground and crossed his arms across his chest, eyebrows furrowed together in a scowl.
"Are you intending to trigger a cardiac arrest or otherwise injure me?" Obi-Wan snapped, frustrated.
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at his padawan's outburst but chose to save it for a later time. "I was not shielding this time."
"Ah so you were shielding before!"
Qui-Gon again did not respond to Obi-Wan's remark. "Walk with me, Padawan." He instructed, voice calm but leaving no room for discussion.
They walked towards the gardens, the taller, calmer Jedi forging the way for the shorter, more frustrated Jedi to follow in his wake. They exited the far end of the gardens underneath the archway, strode across the field and onto the trail alongside the river when Qui-Gon suddenly stopped, turning to look at his young apprentice. Obi-Wan's cheeks began to subtly flush as he recognised the spot as being the same place where he had stopped the previous night.
"Obi-Wan, I think you have something you need to talk to me about." Qui-Gon said softly in his soothing baritone.
Obi-Wan suddenly found the small scuff on the toe of his boot very interesting, but his inspection of the imperfection was interrupted by a hand on his chin gently lifting his head so he was staring into the strong blue eyes of Qui-Gon.
"Yes, Master. I, uh..." Obi-Wan paused and let out a long breath, not knowing how to proceed. "I think I may have failed you and the Jedi Order."
Qui-Gon stifled a chuckle. "That's a big assumption, Padawan mine."
"My conduct was ill becoming of a Jedi." Obi-Wan said. "I behaved inappropriately with Princess Zaya." He paused. "I kissed her." He added quietly.
Qui-Gon paused for a moment to observe his subdued apprentice. "Obi-Wan, this is a trial most Jedi have to go through." He spoke gently. "It is a natural thing to feel attraction towards others and it is difficult to set aside those feelings. Do you understand why it is not wise for a Jedi to form romantic relationships?"
"Attachment leads to fear of loss." Obi-Wan recited words that had been ingrained in him since he was a youngling but had not yet had occasion to ponder them in more depth. "But how can something that is wrong feel so right? And I have not formed an attachment, and I will likely not see Princess Zaya again once we leave here."
"Attachment does not just encompass a relationship, it can also encompass feelings. Attraction to another can be a powerful and addictive feeling and it can be easy to form an attachment to it because it often does feel right because it is such a natural thing. But we as Jedi must guard our hearts against this as it can compromise us in ways that cannot be predicted."
Obi-Wan nodded mutely while he considered what his master had said. He remembered how good it felt to be with Zaya and the feeling of her lips on his. It disheartened him to know that he would not be able to feel that again. "I understand." He admitted. "But it is difficult."
Qui-Gon placed his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders. "It is not meant to be easy, young one." He said gently. "Knowledge may rectify ignorance, but it doesn't make the burden any easier to bear. You have a compassionate heart. It will test you multiple times and you will grow stronger each time."
"Yes, master." Came the melancholy reply.
"My first experience was when I was not much older than you." Qui-Gon said after a pause, deciding that his mournful apprentice needed some solidarity. "I became besotted with a girl that my master and I had liberated from slavery and were transporting to a refugee development on another planet. She was beautiful and feisty and passionate. We spent a lot of time together and I could not think about anything else for days, even after we had parted ways. It was only when I had my behind kicked all across the dojo by Master Dooku because I was so distracted, followed by some firm words around the folly of attachment that I snapped out of it. But it is not easy, Padawan mine. I will freely admit to you that at times I indulge a little too deeply in the realm of attachment and this is a failing I recognise in myself, but I would be remiss if I did not warn you of the consequences as these can be steep."
Obi-Wan bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you, Master. I appreciate your insight."
Qui-Gon nodded, reaching his arm around Obi-Wan's shoulders and giving him a slight squeeze before guiding him to resume their walk. "Now that that issue is discussed, I have one more matter to discuss...the consequences of your sharp tongue."
Obi-Wan groaned inwardly. He knew that his thoughtless comments would catch up with him. "Yes, master."
"Do you see that tall tree in the distance?"
Obi-Wan squinted. There was a tiny splodge that could have been a small tree. "I think so."
"Good. Run there and back five times."
-X-X-X-X-
The evening brought with it a large celebration to mark the renewal of the Treaty. The banquet hall was packed full of people and there was enough food on the table to feed them all twice over at least.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were seated together today, as guests of honour in between the King and Queen of Riverhaven and the King and Queen of Lagandelle. Obi-Wan spotted Zaya sitting in the same place as she had been the previous night. She looked over to him and smiled shyly.
After enjoying yet another hearty meal, Obi-Wan devoured his third muja tart with satisfaction. He knew that Qui-Gon would not be happy with his indulgence, but when it was Queen Catrine that kept on placing them on his plate, having noticed how much he had enjoyed his first one, he could not refuse.
King Jondar stood and clapped his hands twice for attention. "And now for the fun part!" He announced, and large double side doors were opened and lively upbeat music began playing from inside the room.
There was a sudden kerfuffle of excited chatter and chairs scraping on the floor as people pushed away from the table and made their way to the dancing hall. Obi-Wan trailed after Qui-Gon and the two kings and queens into the large, extravagantly decorated room filled with people dancing energetically.
Obi-Wan took up a post standing next to his master at the edge of the room, watching the dancing. He had never really observed dancing like this before, it was not really something that Jedi did. It looked rather chaotic to him. He saw Zaya in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with a boy he did not recognise.
"You should join in." Qui-Gon commented to his apprentice.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened in surprise at the suggestion. "I don't know how."
"Nonsense." Qui-Gon scoffed. "It's just like a kata." He strode onto the dance floor and approached Queen Catrine, who was dancing with King Jondar, extending out a hand as a request for a dance. King Jondar laughed and thumped the older Jedi on the back, leaving Qui-Gon to dance with the queen. Obi-Wan watched for a while and had to admit that Qui-Gon did dance rather well.
Obi-Wan looked over to Zaya again as the song finished and saw that she and her dance partner had finished dancing and they were bowing and curtsying to each other. Taking his chance, he walked purposefully across the dance floor to where the dark haired princess was standing. She smiled shyly when she saw him approaching.
"May I have this dance." Obi-Wan asked, offering a hand towards the princess in the same manner as he had just seen Qui-Gon do.
Zaya placed her hand in Obi-Wan's and smiled up at him. "I would love to."
Obi-Wan mimicked the arm position of the other dancers, interconnecting his arms with Zaya's. "I have to confess that I have not ever danced like this before."
Zaya giggled. "You'll do fine. I can show you."
Zaya began the steps of the dance and Obi-Wan followed her lead, finding it not so dissimilar to learning a new kata, just as Qui-Gon had said. It wasn't long before he had the basic steps memorised and he felt himself relaxing more into the flowing movements.
"You're a natural." Zaya commented.
Obi-Wan smiled at the compliment. "In a way, I've trained many years for this. It's not too different from basic lightsaber footwork."
They danced in silence for a long moment.
"I need to apologise to you." They both said simultaneously before laughing and breaking the tension.
Zaya continued first. "I'm sorry for the position I put you in last night. I was enjoying your company, I guess I just got caught up in the moment. I didn't think about how it might impact you."
"And I apologise for letting it go so far. We are sheltered from such interactions growing up at the Jedi Temple and I did not know how to appropriately respond. I was also enjoying your company." His lips quirked up into a smile. "And I still am enjoying your company."
"Me too." Zaya replied, returning his smile.
-X-X-X-X-
The next morning, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stood next to the same carriage that had transported them to the castelle just two days ago. King Jondar would accompany them back to the landing pad and Queen Catrine, Princess Zaya and the other royal children were lined up outside the castelle gates in the same way they had upon their arrival, only this time to bid farewell to their interplanetary visitors.
Qui-Gon bade farewell to Queen Catrine and Obi-Wan took the opportunity to talk with Princess Zaya.
"It was very nice to meet you." He said with a polite bow of his head.
"And I you." Zaya replied. "I will remember you fondly."
Obi-Wan smiled. "And I you."
"Padawan." Qui-Gon called.
Obi-Wan looked over to where Qui-Gon was standing next to a tall brown equus, his hand resting on the creature's muscular back. The equus snorted and shook its head.
"You were rather interested in the equi when we arrived, so I took the liberty of arranging for you to ride one on the way back to the landing pad." Qui-Gon explained.
Obi-Wan grinned and made his way over to the equus, who seemed interested in the newcomer. He ran a hand down its long neck and shoulder and talked softly to the creature before climbing up into the riding seat strapped atop its back and grasping the reins.
Qui-Gon and King Jondar stepped into the carriage and the driver directed the equi to pull out onto the grassy field in the direction of the landing pad. Obi-Wan followed, quickly getting accustomed to the unusual movement of the equus. He enjoyed the experience and the ride back to the landing pad seemed altogether far too short.
"Thank you very much for your assistance." King Jondar said to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
"It is our pleasure to serve." Qui-Gon replied dutifully and both Jedi bowed respectfully to the king before turning and boarding their spacecraft.
Obi-Wan took up the pilot's seat again upon Qui-Gon's instruction and neatly flew the craft out of the planet's atmosphere and into space. He selected the pre-programmed coordinates for Coruscant and they made the jump into hyperspace.
"Tell me, Padawan, what is something you have learned from this mission." Qui-Gon turned to question his apprentice once the craft was on autopilot.
"Not to listen to my master when he tries to distract me by making out that hyperspace calculus is more important than researching the mission." Obi-Wan quipped.
Qui-Gon chuckled. "Very wise, my Padawan, I will have to be more cunning next time I intend to distract you."
"The planet had such a different feel to it from anywhere I've ever been before. The Force felt like it flowed more freely there. Is it because of their large expanse of natural environment? Or maybe their lack of technology?"
"That is a good observation of the Living Force, Padawan." Qui-Gon commented. "You are correct on both counts, but there is more to it as well. While they do have a expansive untarnished natural environment and a lack of technology, they also live in peace. It is not often that we are called to visit a truely peaceful world, so it is not something you would get to experience often."
"It was nice to be in a place where the Force flowed so easily." Obi-Wan commented. "Although I don't think I took advantage of it as I should have. I allowed myself to become too distracted."
"There are other worlds that are even more abundant in the Force. I will take you to some of these places one day." Qui-Gon said. "What is one other thing you learned?"
"That missions that appear to be simple will have their own set of challenges." Obi-Wan said, blushing slightly.
Qui-Gon nodded. "I am aware of how uncomfortable you felt during the treaty renewal process and you are correct, I did deliberately distract you so that you were unaware of what to expect. A Jedi must always be flexible and prepared to meet the unexpected with strength and grace, not just in battle, but also when it comes to local customs."
"Yes, master." Obi-Wan replied, acknowledging the feedback. "I have a lot to learn and a lot of meditate on."
"Yes, you do, young one. But do not rush to learn it all otherwise I will have nothing left to teach." Qui-Gon joked, reaching over to place his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and give it a slight squeeze. "Anyway, I believe you still have some unfinished hyperspace calculus work to complete."