Saga Anakin's Life Day Lesson - December GWG Challenge - Anakin/Qui-Gon AU

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc.

This is a response to the December Gentlemen's Writing Guild Challenge. My thanks to lazykbys_left for the unintentional inspiration.

The theme is "Christmas on Coruscant", with a word limit that I horrendously overshot, and a desire to incorporate the "warm and fuzzy" into the "short, sweet, and inspirational" challenge. Instead, I'm offering this.


I hope you enjoy it.

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[b][color=limegreen]Anakin's Life Day Lesson[/color][/b]

Obi-Wan sat quietly in his personal study, reflecting on Life Day, as it arrived the next day.

?Obi-Wan.?

Obi-Wan dropped his cup and slowly turned towards the voice. His jaw dropped as he saw a translucent, ghostly image of his old Master standing in the middle of the room. "I thought you were nothing more than a disembodied voice that only Yoda could hear?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, the Maker released the Ultimate Super-duper Collector's Special Edition version of Revenge of the Sith, and since I've finally made an appearance, I'm officially back. Back...from the, from the...well I never really left I suppose, since I immediately became one with the Force while retaining my identity," Qui-Gon replied.

"Well, that?s a nice bit of an explanation, although it doesn?t exactly cover why you?re here now.?

?Quite right, but I?m getting to that. I?m on my way to pay Anakin a late night visit for Life Day. My mission is to ensure that he understands the true meaning of Life Day. To accomplish this I have three ghosts of Tuskens that he killed some time ago to help. They will each appear to him during the night in regularly spaced intervals...?

?Wait. The deceased Tuskens are also one with the Force??

?No, of course not, but we can?t have a Christmas Carol parallel without three other ghosts, can we? That?s all beside the point in any case,? Qui-Gon added with a dismissive wave of his non-corporeal hand. ?The reason I?m here talking to you is to apologize.?

?What ever for, Master??

?Frankly, for essentially forcing that promise from you to train Anakin. I was on the brink of death, so how could you refuse? Although renowned at sensing the Living Force (if I do say so myself), my abilities to see into the future were never very keen. You were quite right as it turns out ? he shouldn?t have been trained. He has a pretty bad case of separation anxiety when it comes to the women in his life, you may have noticed,? the ghost of Qui-Gon lamented, shaking his head. ?And now, I must go. Wish me well, for the future of the galaxy is at stake.?

*******

Anakin was angry. Separatist sympathy in the Senate was increasing, Padmé continued to view politics differently than Palpatine, and the Jedi Council resolutely disregards his abilities in consideration for the title of Master; all of these bore on Anakin as he wrestled with the shop keep.

?I?m a hero of the Republic. Jedi don?t make much money. I need this for a Life Day gift,? Anakin persisted. The holo-globe had a stunning depiction of Naboo, and Anakin knew that Padmé would gush over it.

?I?m sorry,? the merchant replied, placing the novelty back into the display case. ?It?s worth twice that.?

Anakin began to turn, paused, and then turned back, locking eyes with the startled man. ?You will sell it to me for 200.?

Later, in his apartment, Anakin gazed into the globe, pondering what he had done. Soon, he drifted to sleep.

?Anakin,? a voice intoned, startling Anakin from his slumber. He turned to see the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn. Agape, he dropped the holo-globe. ?Anakin Skywalker, you have strayed from the Jedi teachings, and have forgotten the meaning of Life Day. Thus, I am here to put you back on the path.?

?Qui-Gon??

?You will be visited by three spirits,? Qui-Gon continued, ?the first of which will arrive when the chrono strikes one.? The vision dissolved into the shadows.

Anakin thought, this is just a dream, and fell quickly back to sleep. The chronometer struck one, rousing him. He looked into the

 

That was wonderful. Thanks for adopting my plot bunny!

- lazy

 

Great job! Nice work, like lazy said, with his plot bunny.

If only things turned out for the better? *sigh*

KT

 

lazykbys_left - thank you, and you're most welcome.

(edit: you slipped yours in whilst I was typing)
Killik_Twilight - I thank you also. I don't know what I would have done without lazy's plot bunny.

 

Fantastic job BigE Thank you for the PM

 

ahhhh! So nice! I love this!

 

Healer_Leona ? Yes, if only. That?s the fun of AU, isn?t it? Wonderful?

Dark_Lady_Jada ? Thank you as always. I?ll always PM you, because you keep complimenting me.

michaellover ? Why thank you very much!

 

Well done, great job!

"Well, the Maker released the Ultimate Super-duper Collector's Special Edition version of Revenge of the Sith, and since I've finally made an appearance, I'm officially back. Back...from the, from the...well I never really left I suppose, since I immediately became one with the Force while retaining my identity," Qui-Gon replied.

Loved this!

 

A wonderful job on a brilliant idea!!
I loved the introduction!
And the way everything worked out...great job!

 

Very nice story and I love the spirt of the Tusken Raider just growling away not a word in Basic. That was funny.

And you get extra points as promised for using Baron Papanoida in your story. Good job, bud. Love the Life Day/Christmas Carol angle.

 

Oh how cool! I like how you incorporated some rather funny bits into this like the Tuskans still not speaking basic in the afterlife.

But I loved this quote:
?Anakin,? Qui-Gon sighed, ?greatness isn?t measured in things, but by your heart.

That is one of those perfect Master to Padawan lines but also just supremely Qui-Gon.

 

Not bad...

 

Kestrel_Kenobi - thank you very much. That just popped out of my head. It?s probably better than anything I could have pondered over.

Stella_Ripple - I was rather fond of the introduction as well, and it is mostly what pushed me over the word limit.

SkalenFehl - thank you, sir. If the Tuskens did speak Basic they would have even further ruined my word count, and it?s funnier this way in any case.

Shadowolf - I?m glad you liked it. That line ? I could picture Qui-Gon saying it. It?s one of my favorite bits in the story.

Alley_Skywalker - thanks for reading and enjoying.

 

Anakin thought, this is just a dream, and fell quickly back to sleep. The chronometer struck one, rousing him. He looked into the face of a Tusken Raider. The spirit raised its arms and said, ?Arrrrrrgh! Hrrghh, rrrraaaag gurrrfff!?

Quite an entertaining spin on the old classic. Great job w/ Lazy's bunny.

 

Well done on this.

I love how the Tuskin Raider was unable to communicate with Anakin



If only Qui-Gon or anybody else could have gotten through to Anakin...

 

That's a wonderful little holiday tale, BigE. The Tusken's inability to speak was hilarious and almost ruined Qui-Gon's plans, but I'm glad he was able to win Anakin over. The moment with the Rodian was really nice too.


The real villain here?

The Jedi Treasury Board, who seriously need to consider paying their members some wages.