"Focus"
By Jenner
SUMMARY: Another shorty! A young Qui-Gon (I think he'd be about 20-
25) teaches some even younger Jedi children a lesson. The idea's
from a Zen story.
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or the Star Wars concept.
Lucasfilm does, and I have no intent to profit.
...
The sun was setting over the small Jedi temple on Deneb. Qui-Gon
fingered the place where his braid used to be, and looked out the
window at the red globe slowly sinking into the horizon. Small
footsteps behind him, on the bench he sat on, did not disturb his
contemplation. There was no need for him to visually see the small
children in order to supervise them. He would know if they'd done
something wrong. Their guilt would flow through the Force. Besides,
children this young, while good at making trouble, were terrible at
doing it quietly.
A small, chubby hand touched his shoulder, then ran across his still-
short hair. Qui-Gon turned his head slightly away from the
nightfall, suppressing a wish that the transport would arrive quickly
so he could get the children back to Coruscant and be done with
the "field trip".
The child (named Obi-Wan, he was pretty sure) held a glass in his
other hand. Even standing on the bench, he didn't reach Qui-Gon's
shoulder. The toddler's voice was drenched in innocence as he
offered up the drink. "Thirsty?"
Qui-Gon eyed the glass' dark contents. He easily sensed the boy's
mischief, but even someone who was totally Force-blind wouldn't have
fallen for his practical joke. The pungent aroma of undiluted loigha
sauce could've been smelled through a kel dor's breathing apparatus.
"Obi-Wan, put the loigha sauce back in the kitchen, where it
belongs. A Jedi does not waste."
The boy's face crumpled with disappointment, but he silently walked
to the kitchen. Qui-Gon turned back to the window, though the sun
was now set. He couldn't let the other children see the tiny smile
that curved his lips. As he gazed at the twilight, he realized he
would almost miss supervising this troop of future Jedi.
Qui-Gon saw the lights of the transport come closer and finally
disappear over the roof of the temple, where it landed. He felt the
danger seconds before it happened, and was already deftly gathering
the children and herding them towards the kitchen. Obi-Wan appeared
in the hallway and Qui-Gon swept him along with the others.
They made it into the kitchen just as he felt the ancient building
shake and creak from the weight of the transport. The children all
jumped at the tremendous crashing sound that sounded from down the
hallway and overhead, and then all was silent.
Footsteps thumped down the hallway irregularly, jumping over fallen
pieces of building, and then the transport captain appeared in the
doorway of the kitchen. "You're all unharmed?"
They nodded, and the transport captain looked much relieved. "Who
else is here?"
Qui-Gon had already felt that the other Knights were safe. "Rodeem
and Lo-Pan are already on their way to the transport. I trust it is
still functional?"
"Yes, the shields protected it, of course."
"We shall have to speak to the Senate about better maintenance of
Jedi temples."
The pilot nodded quickly and disappeared down the hallway.
Qui-Gon turned to the little ones gathered around him, ready to turn
circumstances into a teaching opportunity. Yoda would have
approved. "Now, children, you have had the opportunity to witness
how a Jedi Knight behaves in a crisis situation. Notice that I did
not panic, and my focus remained in the present. I led you all to
the kitchen, the strongest part of the temple. It was a good
decision, because you see we have all survived without any injuries.
However, despite my self-control and composure, I did at first feel a
slight tension. You may have deduced that from the fact that I drank
a large glass of water, something I never do under ordinary
circumstances."
One of the children smiled, but didn't say anything.
"Is there something you find amusing, Obi-Wan?"
"That wasn't water," he replied seriously, "it was the Loigha
Sauce."