"Your old Padawan is currently on Tython for a month so if need be you can report to the Council chamber in person"
*No there are others who would remember me and possibly alert Obi-Wan to my being alive*
"Skills I asked you to practice Qui-Gon. Not mastered them have you?"
*No Master Yoda and I've been trying really hard too, but something just doesn't seem to click and make the skills work*
"Master Yoda what exactly are you talking about?"
"Things young Qui-Gon needs to learn, passed that on through Senator Organa I did"
"Fine you're being all mysterious again so I guess this is something we're not going to find out about until you say so. Qui-Gon while you're mastering whatever it is Master Yoda wants you to learn we need you to check out a situation nearby"
*But the Force...*
"Sorry Qui-Gon but I wouldn't be saying this if it wasn't urgent, besides you won't be abandoning Senator Organa he was requested to the same place by Chancellor Palpatine, or if he hasn't that will happen later tonight. We think there's more going on then what we're being told but Chancellor Palpatine has decided not to request Jedi aid. Due to the fact that you say the Force wants you near Senator Organa and the fact that you're legally dead you can check on the situation without repercussions. Master Yoda was the one who suggested this for some reason"
*Understood Master Windu, I will inform the Senator about the fact that there might be times when I won't be his shadow*
Communications were cut and Qui-Gon soon realized he had a visitor in his hiding place
"I heard the last bit, the part from where Yoda asked you about your skills on, speaking of I know the Force signature aspect is kind of hard to test but some of my security has been mentioning seeing someone in the shadows lately both here and in the Senate building. I thought I was the only person who was supposed to know of you being with me"
*The Council knows about me*
"Okay besides them I am supposed to be the only person who knows about you"
*Like I told the Council I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with the skills*
"Hm, okay I know you can't be discovered until the Force says it's time however I want to devise a little test before we go on our new mission tomorrow. My guards will be at their posts like usual however I myself will be in the woods for the rest of the night. If you can get to my location without my guards finding out about you during their random patrols I will see about figuring out more ways to help you. I think part of it is that you can't seem to keep yourself totally undetected because you may need to spring into action at any point and as such you remain hidden for the most part but whenever you think you might have to move to make sure I remain protected you're discovered. Obi-Wan and Anakin would not be discovered but they have the advantage of actually living through the Clone Wars while you were dead as such they have more practical experience keeping themselves hidden"
*I would be glad for any assistance you could give me to help me keep myself hidden better. If I need to reveal myself for your protection you are allowed to mention my being mute so that they understand why I don't verbally respond to directions or questions they may ask*
"That's good to know, though one thing confuses me, you can't reveal yourself to your fellow Jedi yet however they have sightings of you"
*Ah I think I can explain it better, if at all possible they can't know of my existence though if I have to reveal myself to keep them alive then fine I will reveal myself. However I will not let them discover a means to figure out who I am. According to the Council Obi-Wan mentioned my Force signature is different but if around me long enough I think people might start to recognize it. There's also the fact that in the Temple we don't wear our hoods and as such they would try and catch me if I entered and kept my hood up*
"Thus the reason you need to sneak into the Temple"
*Exactly*
"By the way as soon as is possible I am going to demand sign language lessons and then teach them to you"
*Works for me*
That night Qui-Gon passed Bail's test and together they figured out that while he figured out how to move silently and pretty much unseen he wasn't quite perfect in the timing of movement on occasion and when he knew he was in a relatively safe area he was a little lax in taking the proper precautions to avoid being seen moving in the shadows
"Looks like we'll have to figure out how to make that more solid"
*Agreed, we need to test my skills in hiding my Force signature around fellow Jedi that's the only way we can see how far I've progressed in that area*
"Well Jedi should be there besides you so that will be the test for that"
*I was told Palpatine refused Jedi aid this time*
"That's true, however the people of the planet intervened directly to the Council about this, I only just found this out in a separate message. The Council didn't know until just now so they haven't had a chance to inform you, I informed them that I would do that myself"
*OK, if I pass that test then I'll see about sneaking into the Temple to report to the Council directly*
"Sure, and maybe Yoda will be able to teach you the sign language himself"
*No I'm not there enough, plus there's another issue in regards to my hiding skills. Not only am I a little lax when it is safe I realized I also am used to being dead and as such never make a sound if I am seeing the real world and moving. I also seem to sometimes forget I can't move through places anymore which has caused a few problems and sometimes the reason I'm discovered almost*
"Okay that's a lot to work on but we'll get there Qui-Gon, by the time the Clone Wars start you'll be as good as your Padawan and his Padawan"
*What about you?*
"I didn't need those skills as much but yeah I am also great at sneaking about when necessary. No one knows this but I test myself on a regular basis to see if my stealth skills are adequate"
*Master Yoda must also keep up the practice simply out of need*
"Yeah, now then we're going to be departing in a bit and I need to pack, get yourself onto the ship secretly. The Jedi will meet us on the planet where the trouble is"
Qui-Gon sneaks onto the ship and remains hidden the entire time they were traveling to their location, not even the guards knew about him. When they arrived the official Jedi team was there waiting for them and neither of them detected Qui-Gon even though his Force signature was skewered. Qui-Gon had gotten a message during the flight that informed him that the Council told everyone that if they met the shadow Jedi not to expect a verbal answer because for reasons they couldn't discuss he was mute. They did mention the hand signals and the name they had agreed upon if he ever had to reveal himself to his fellow Jedi before he was allowed to reveal his identity. The first two days were normal however on the third day assassins decided to try and kill Senator Organa not knowing of his three Jedi protectors, and even his Jedi protectors didn't know about the third person because he finally succeeded in hiding his connection to the Force. Plus he did a little investigating on the side whenever he knew the two Jedi were with the Senator and found information very useful to the Council, though he couldn't transmit it quite yet. When the assassin attacked at first Qui-Gon stayed nearby but hidden unfortunately he was soon forced to reveal his presence by helping protect one of the Jedi that was suddenly down
"Sir we've got the Jedi let's go"
"He can't respond verbally he's mute"
"John, Sarah's okay now we need to retreat"
Qui-Gon gave the hand signal that he understood and started retreating keeping his back to the group the whole time. Eventually they made it to a safe room
"Okay new plan, Senator Organa you and the others stay here in the meantime John and I will try and take out the assassin"
"Not without me you aren't"
"Sarah, you're too injured to move around too much, you can help best by being the rear guard"
Qui-Gon passed something to Bail right before he left the safe room. Several hours later the only other male Jedi returned without Qui-Gon