Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Star Wars. They are the rightful property of one George Lucas, who fortunately decided to share them with the world through his films. I'm merely borrowing them in the most respectful way to have some more fun. That is all.

Moments – series

Last but not least

Qui-gon silently watched as a long line of younglings was being placed in the middle of the training area. A few benches had been placed on one side of the area for the masters who would attend this ceremony. The time had come again for the masters without a padawan to choose a youngling to take under their wing. The Padawan ceremony.

Qui-gon had attended the ceremony twice before. He had been a knight for several years, considering himself far from ready to take an apprentice. Finally, after some urging from master Yoda, he had attended the Padawan ceremony and had taken one of the younglings as his charge. Bu'rek, a Twi'lek boy, quickly grew under his tutelage and without much trouble passed the trials. But they never really bonded. Qui-gon guessed it had to do with his new status as a master. Master Yoda told him all new masters had troubles growing in their new role, and with time he would be an excellent teacher. Bolstered by his praise Qui-gon had attended the Padawan ceremony again, and had taken Xanatos as his apprentice, the boy he had brought to the Temple himself a few years prior.

Internally Qui-gon sighed. Xanatos had been a promising padawan. He could still remember the day he had chosen him. Walking down the line of padawans Qui-gon had sensed a great deal of enthusiasm and power in Xanatos. With a quick glance over his shoulder to master Yoda Qui-gon had decided the boy showed potential. How wrong he had been. The boy became more and more unruly as he aged, and eventually betrayed him by siding with his biological father, who was bent on dominating their home planet of Telos. Qui-gon had been forced to kill Xanatos' father in the heat of battle. Xanatos, enraged by the death of his father, had attacked Qui-gon viciously. But Qui-gon proved to be the better jedi. After a gruelling fight Qui-gon managed to disarm his old apprentice. But he had not the heart to kill him and release his soul into the Force. Xanatos took advantage of his mercy and escaped.

After this Qui-gon had sworn never to take a padawan ever again. It was clear he was not suited to guide a youngling successfully, and he had yearly refused to attend the Padawan ceremony. This year however things had changed. Not that he had changed his mind about taken a padawan. But master Yoda had made him attend this year's Padawan ceremony. Qui-gon could still remember the diminutive master's words.

'Attend the ceremony, you will, Qui-gon.'

Didn't leave him with much choice, now did it? He grimly laughed. Not even Yoda's unusual sentence construction had left him with room for a different interpretation. The master wanted him to attend, and that was final. And so here he was, sitting as far in the back as he could, looking at the line of youngling, all ready to begin their time as a padawan.

After the younglings had been arranged into a neat line the masters were allowed to peruse the line one by one. Some master had already chosen their 'favorite' beforehand, others would tour the entire line before selecting a padawan. Qui-gon saw the masters pick their new padawans and felt his heart grow a little cold. The memory of Xanatos was still fresh on his mind, and the pain still as deep. Qui-gon closed his eyes for a moment, trying to quell his feelings. He almost grunted out loud when he felt the chair next to him being taken. 'The Force must truly have it in for me…'

"Master Qui-gon! Good to see you here, it is."

Suddenly Qui-gon could remember a time when Mace Windu had called Yoda a little green troll during their saberclasses. He and Qui-gon had laughed heartily about that, both being close to the powerful master.

"Hmm, I hope that was the last time you did."

He knew he hadn't been shielding his mind, so Yoda's remark was no surprise. The partial disgruntled and amused tone of his voice however was.

"Admit it, you were a strict teacher to us."

"Ah, but rebellious padawan strict guidance need."

Qui-gon had to smile at that one. "True"

Yoda nodded and turned his head to watch the ceremony. Just a handful of masters were left to choose their new apprentice.

"How goes the ceremony? Chosen already, you have?"

Qui-gon briefly wondered if he could tell Yoda the Force had commanded him not to take a padawan this year, but deep down he knew the master wouldn't fall for it. Instead of answering Qui-gon remained silent.

"Fine padawans, they will be. Perhaps a closer look will help you make a choice, mmm?"

Qui-gon was about to answer when the master in charge of the ceremony spoke.

"Have all the masters present made their choice?"

A quick glance around the room told Qui-gon all the masters had chosen their padawan. Discretely he folded his hands in his lap and slightly turned his head to the wall.

"No, one master left, there is."

The moment Yoda's voice echoed through the training area Qui-gon closed his eyes in frustration. Darn that little green troll, he thought. A prod in his side brought him back to reality. Yoda was looking at him with a small knowing and somewhat smug smile on his face. Qui-gon sighed. He knew the master jedi would not let him leave the room without a padawan, and he knew Yoda knew that he knew.

'A smug smile like that will cause more wrinkles, master troll,' he mentally said to Yoda.

Ignoring the little green master's chuckle Qui-gon stood up and walked to the few younglings still left in the line. Quietly he surveyed each of them. Some were still quite young, and would be chosen as a padawan in the coming years. Some were older, but still young enough to stay at the Temple for a while longer. One boy however looked old enough for this to be his last ceremony. If he would not be chosen this time he would be send to the Agricultural Corps. Qui-gon could vividly remember his fear at that age to be rejected by the masters. He, like all the younglings before him, wanted to become a jedi, not some farmer!

But I can't let sympathy color my decision, Qui-gon thought. Starting at the beginning of the line he carefully scrutinized each youngling. But most of them seemed too young, or simply not mature yet to begin their padawan training. Without realizing it Qui-gon found himself face to face with the oldest boy in the line. He could clearly read the boy's fear of rejection in his eyes, and sympathy swelled in him again. Qui-gon reached out with the Force to judge the boy's character and abilities. The Force was calm in him, not noticeably powerful but strong enough. The boy's blue eyes were a bit dull, and mostly showed anxiety.

He was about to step away when the boy quietly raised his voice.

"Master?"

Qui-gon froze and looked at him. Without conscious thought Qui-gon raised himself to his imposing height and gave the boy a mild glare. Immediately he could see him flinch, but the boy kept looking straight at him. Mildly impressed Qui-gon gave in to the request.

"Yes?"

The boy rummaged through his sleeve a little. Then he pulled out an object and presented it to Qui-gon.

"Master Yoda asked me to give you this, sir."

Automatically Qui-gon extended his hand and accepted the object the boy was offering. Slowly turning it round in his hand Qui-gon found himself speechless. He just stood frozen to the ground, blinking occasionally to bring his surfacing memories into order. A few times he opened his mouth to speak, but his vocal chords seemed just as frozen as the rest of him. After a full two minutes he finally managed to shake his head and come out of his startled state. He held up the object in front of the boy's face.

"Where did you get this?" His voice sounded a bit hoarse, betraying his otherwise calm appearance.

"Master Yoda gave it to me. He told me to give it to you when you would come by the line. He said it you would know what it is, even though I cannot remember."

Qui-gon whipped his head around and gave his master an incredulous look. Yoda merely smiles, this time serenely and encouraging. Slowly Qui-gon turned back and faced the boy. Could he truly be the toddler that had charmed him so many years ago? Doubt gave way to determination as Qui-gon decided to test the boy. He placed the block on the palm of his opened hand, and held it in front of him.

"Levitate it."

The child looked a little unsure. Granted, the other masters hadn't asked their new padawans to immediately show their abilities in the Force, but Qui-gon had to make sure. The little boy with the blue-grey eyes was the only one he would take as an apprentice, and no other.

"A good padawan would obey his master at all times," Qui-gon softly scolded him, giving him the push he thought the boy needed.

A little hesitant the boy lifted his arm and pointed his fingers at the block. Qui-gon could feel small tendrils of the Force gathering around them, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Then the Force coiled itself around the block and lifted it up in the air. Steadily it hovered a few inched above his palm.

But this did not interest Qui-gon. He shifted his gaze to look the boy in the eyes. And for the second time his breathe was caught in his throat. Eddies of grey moved through the now sapphire blue, and small pinpricks of light shone in the irises like tiny stars. This time the Force gave Qui-gon a nudge he did not ignore. He felt the Living Force swirl around them, and the Unifying Force was whispering of greatness to him, of loyalty and love.

In an instant the Force quieted again, and the block settled down on his palm again. The boy looked at Qui-gon, expectant and more then a little anxious. Anxious to know if he did well, to know he passed the test Qui-gon had given him. Anxious to know if he had done what Qui-gon had wanted him to do, to see if he had pleased Qui-gon. This thought made Qui-gon's heart warm, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Come, padawan. We have work to do."

The expression of utter amazement, surprise, joy and relief was clearly visible on the boy's face, letting Qui-gon know he was eternally grateful. 'I am going to be a jedi!' loudly echoed through Qui-gon's mind. Lifting his eyebrow Qui-gon looked hard at the boy. Was that his voice I heard, he thought. Narrowing his eyes Qui-gon decided to try something.

'You must know the life of a jedi is a difficult one. Are you sure you are ready to face a life of hardship, injustice, intolerability and prejudices? To do what is right in a galaxy rich with evil and wrong?' he mentally said, directly facing the boy.

With amazement he saw the boy straighten his back and square his shoulders. 'Yes, master,' was clearly audible in his mind. Without conscious thought Qui-gon laid his hand on the boy's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"What is your name?"

"Obi-wan, master, Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Well, Obi-wan, it seems we'll be stuck with each other for quite some time."

Obi-wan smiled. "Yes, master."

Immensely relieved his sense of humour was not lost on his new padawan Qui-gon grinned. The master in charge of the ceremony brought it to an end, and started gathering the younglings who were not chosen. Qui-gon started walking to the exit, feeling his padawan fall into step behind him. Stopping next to the stop he had been sitting on he made a short bow to Yoda.

"Thank you, my master."

Yoda smiled, his ears lifting into the air a little. "A fine padawan you have, master Qui-gon."

Qui-gon nodded.

"Good it is you came today, or else you would have missed padawan Kenobi, mmm?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes Qui-gon settles for one last mental remark. 'Alright, smug little troll, you may have been right, for once.'

Yoda let out another warm chuckle. Qui-gon also chuckled, glad to have one of the rare opportunities to jest with the old master. Then he continued to the door. On his way to his quarters—no, their quarters now—Qui-gon heard Obi-wan through their newly developed but already surprisingly strong padawan-master bond.

'Master?'

'Yes, Obi-wan?'

'Why did you call master Yoda a little troll?'

Internally and mentally Qui-gon snorted. Obi-wan question had been a mix of bewilderment, curiosity and amusement. Very glad to see a sense of humor is present, he thought. Qui-gon stopped walking and allowed Obi-wan to catch up with him. Laying his arm around his shoulder Qui-gon decided this was the perfect time to begin his training.

"It's like this, padawan mine…"

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