Before - Legends Laundry Day - Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Temple business - humor, fluff - Epilogue 29-May-2008

Title: Laundry Day
Author: ardavenport
Timeframe: Before the Saga
Genre: humor, drama and maybe a little mush and fluff
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi OCs
Keywords Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, laundry, Jedi, Jedi Temple, younglings
Summary: Obi-Wan learns a few things about Jedi discipline.
And: typo is my middle name, with missing words and errors that spell checkers don?t catch being my speciality ? if you see any, just post a reply or send a PM with the what and where and I will kill them with no mercy.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to George and Lucasfilm; I?m just playing in their sandbox



"Master Qui-Gon?"

Obi-Wan looked up to see Creche-Master Zakost standing at their table in the dining hall, his broad furry head bowed respectfully.

"May we speak with you?" He gestured toward a table where Obi-Wan recognized other Creche-Masters who were looking at them.

"Of course," Qui-Gon agreed. He stood, leaving his napkin on the table.

Obi-Wan looked from his Master's half-eaten first-meal to where he stood at the Creche Masters' table. He could see Qui-Gon over the heads of the diners sitting at the tables between them, but there was no hint of what was being discussed.

After a few moments Qui-Gon bowed to his fellow Masters and came back.

Qui-Gon replaced his napkin and resumed eating without saying anything.

"Master?"

"Yes?" he asked innocently.

"May I ask what they wanted?"

"Master Zakost and the others asked me to help with a matter that they are having difficulty with. It's Laundry Day."

"I don't understand."

"You are not expected to. We will be tending to it after we finish here."

Perplexed, Obi-Wan asked no more questions. Cryptic, uninformative answers from Qui-Gon usually meant that he would have to wait for an answer to arrive somehow, or for him to find on his own. Qui-Gon (and most Jedi Masters) felt that knowledge that was discovered was more meaningful than what was told or recited. Part of its meaning was revealed in its discovery. Obi-Wan supposed that this was true, but no less annoying for the Padawan Learner who had to wait and wonder if the Master was truly striving to teach wisdom or just present it in a more dramatic form. Or both.

They had been reviewing recent Jedi missions after first meal for the past few days and then going on to saber practice until second meal. But obviously 'Laundry Day' would take precedence and he would find out about it soon enough.

Obi-Wan poured more rasheid-milk onto this grain flakes and nuts and resumed eating.



%O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O%



A short time later, Obi-Wan was no closer than he had been to understanding what 'Laundry Day' meant, but he had some educated guesses.

They stood together on a raised walkway in a large utility room far below the Temple living area levels.

Dull silver working droids whirred and hummed to and fro. They lifted heaps of soiled clothes and fabric, sorted it and put the bundles into the top hatches of huge machines. The cleaned and folded articles came out a conveyor belt at the bottom where more droids took them, scanned then and sorted them into wall cubicles to be returned later to their owners.

The laundry arrived from the ends of chutes in the ceiling. Robes, socks, underclothes, pants, tunics, tabards, obis, long tunics, shifts, leggings, hand cloths, body cloths, bed cloths, blankets and even a few pillows plopped down onto the piles to be cleaned by the droids.

The activity was all pretty dull and ordinary, but Qui-Gon seemed content to wait and watch. So, Obi-Wan was stuck waiting and watching as well.

From his stance and where he was looking, Qui-Gon was obviously waiting for something to come down from the chutes. And from the small size and type of clothes that dropped down from them, these chutes emptied from the younger Initiates' living area.

They were waiting for something other than clothes to come out of the ch

 

What a tease, here I was thinking how nice, a bit 'o fluff to read. Then you draw me in and leave me hanging.


I can't wait to see the younglings' reaction to the ginormous Jedi master who has caught them at their fun. I can't wait to see what Qui-Gon will do.

"Master, do you know what we are waiting for?" Obi-Wan finally asked.

"Yes."

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. If Qui-Gon thought it was necessary to tell him more, he would have said more. Qui-Gon always included healthy portions of patience in his lessons.

Poor Obi-Wan, healty portions of patience is right.

I love it.

 

love to see where this is leading to. Temple life and younglings mixing with Qui and Obi. You can put me on a PM list for this one.

 

Hehe, kids find the neatest places to play, and enjoy themselves so much. Ahah. I'd love to see their faces when they discover they've been found. lol

Awesome beginining, please put me on the PM list, thanks!

 

This was cute. I can't wait to read more.

 

Aww, that was cute.

I loved how enigmatic Qui-Gon was being about what they were waiting for down in the laundry room, Obi definitely needs that Jedi discipline.

And uh oh, I think some younglings are in trouble!

Can you put me on your PM list when you update please? Thanks!

 

azizah: Glad you like it; thanks for the reply! Qui-Gon is about to spoil the younglings fun.

earlybird-obi-wan: Thanks for reading!

Cole_Kenobi: Kids are ingenious in getting into things and Jedi younglings would probably be very good indeed. Thanks for the reply!

Alexis_Wingstar: Thank-you!

Bastet: Uh oh, indeed Thanks for the reply!

 

%O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% - - - Part 2



The happy play, screaming and squealing continued for another moment until the little Twi'lek girl turned and in mid-jump saw both of them. She landed flat on her bottom and slid down off the soft mound all the way to the ground in front of Qui-Gon. Her face was frozen in shock and horror, her two purple lekku scrunched up over her head.

Next, the Quermian boy spotted them, his little head and neck suddenly going rigid. The other three followed his gaze and stopped moving, their mouths open. The Duro boy and Human girl disappeared over the far size of the mound. Qui-Gon turned his head toward Obi-Wan, a silent command for him to retrieve the two. He sprinted around the droids and their work area as his Master called out, his voice calm but loud.

"You will come down from there immediately."

Obi-Wan found the two escapees on the far side of the room. The door was closed with two droids standing on either side of it. The Duro boy jumped repeatedly, slapping his hand on the control panel on the wall, trying to open the door, but the lock indicator was flashing red. Only a code would open it.

The girl clutched at the boy's tunic, her eyes open so wide that the whites were very visible around her dark brown irises. The boy stopped jumping and turned. His featureless, unblinking red eyes glared back and Obi-Wan read some defiance in him, but he put a protective arm around the girl and looked to either side of them. There was no retreat. The girl's face scrunched up with tragedy, her eyes filling with tears.

Obi-Wan folded his arms before him.

"You will come with me."

The boy hesitated. For a moment Obi-Wan through he would have to drag them back to their friends, but then he moved, his posture stiff as he walked around Obi-Wan, taking his friend with him. Obi-Wan followed, looming close over them.

They rejoined the other three, who were standing at attention before Qui-Gon, who looked down at the younglings from his considerable height with disapproval. He did not speak until Obi-Wan had herded the two others back to rejoin their creche mates.

"I believe that the creche Masters have told all of you that the laundry disposal slots are only for soiled clothes, sleep coverings, body clothes, wipes and other soft clothings." Qui-Gon circled the younglings as he spoke, forcing them all into a tighter group.

The Bothan and Human girls were teary eyed and the Quermian boy seemed not able to lower his head enough in shame. The little Twi-lek girl's eyes looked up at Qui-Gon fearfully. But the Duro boy, though clearly intimidated, still looked determined.

"They will be very disappointed that you did not heed their instructions," Qui-Gon finished, stopping, standing over the group.

"We were playing," the Duro boy spoke defensively. "They told us we could play."

Qui-Gon frowned down at him.

"This is not play. This is disobedience. You are expected to know the difference. Your companions clearly do." He indicated the other children.

The boy kept his arm around the little Human girl who was still crying. He was fearless to stubbornly confront a Jedi Master so much bigger than he was.

Obi-Wan had to admit that he had never had such confidence whenever he was caught misbehaving at that age. He kept his features neutral, blank of any sympathy he felt for the poor younglings. Discipline was harsh, but necessary. He just wished it did not have to be so cruel. Or the memories so painful.

"We were playing," the boy repeated.

Qui-Gon coldly folded his arms before him. "Master Zakost and Master Juntel will decide that. They will be here soon."

"They didn't say we couldn't go here," the boy defended. "We were exploring."

"Really?" Qui-Gon raised his brows. "Are any of you a tunic? A sleep covering? A robe?" he asked with merciless sarcasm. "Because if you are not then the rules are quite clear. You are not supposed to climb up into the laundry slot and go down the chute. Or assist y

 

poor younglings. Playing and it isn't allowed?

Nice update

 

That Duros boy is trouble.

 

Obi-Wan looked up at his Master, who sighed, his face now peaceful, his usual quiescence filling in the heartless void that had been there a moment before.

"We are finished here," he said before following after the younglings. Obi-Wan left as well, walking a few paces behind his Master.

I can imagine the questions that are on the tip of Obi-Wans tongue.
"You Master, you have slid down the shutes?"

You have betrayed the creche masters trust? I cannot believe that
my master would do such a thing!"

I love this

 

So those little younglings are repeat offenders? Naughty, naughty! Let's hope they learn their lesson this time.

So Qui-Gon has been down the laudry chute before? Why am I not surprised?

Great update, ardavenport! I'm looking forward to more of this.

 

More, More, More! This is a great story your putting together.

 

Humor and fluff that packs a punch! Great, great story, and of course, I'm hooked.

In part one I thought it was some kind of riff on Minority Report, where the deed is detected before it is committed. Then you go and let on that Qui-Gon did it as a child. Great turn of the story there! Can't wait to see where you take this next.

 

earlybird-obi-wan: Playing is allowed. But it's not allowed to slide down the laundry chute to do it. Playing is definitely allowed. Thanks for reading!

Alexis_Wingstar: Well, the Duro boy has time to learn to mend his ways. Thanks for the reply!

Gkilkenny: Thank-you! Qui-Gon probably started out getting into trouble with the Jedi Order early, so Obi-Wan might not be too surprised to find out a few of the things he did, especially after he sees Qui-Gon defy the Council a few times. Though it might be hard to imagine Qui-Gon that small.

Bastet: Thank-you! I think that Qui-Gon must have started out young being independent. .

Evil_X_13: OK, there's one more chapter. Thanks for the reply!

ratna: The younglings really would be in trouble if their masters could detect what they were going to do before they did it. I suppose they can a few times, but with a lot of younglings the masters would never catch them all. Thanks for reading!

 

%O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% - - - Part 3



"What did you do, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked, his voice suddenly intruding on the quiet of the large room.

Surprised that his Master spoke, Obi-Wan looked at him. Do?

They sat on neighboring cushioned platforms in the large meditation chamber in the Temple's center spire. The other platforms that circled the perimeter of the room were empty. It had been very late in the evening when they had returned from their latest mission, so they were alone.

"Do you mean lately?" Obi-Wan asked.

"When we caught the younglings coming down the laundry chute, you looked away when the Creche Masters confronted them. You were too upset by your own memories to watch. They must be very strong for you to cling to them for so long."

Obi-Wan just stared back at him and then looked around the room. It had been several days since that incident. They had come and gone from the Temple on a mission. Why had his Master been holding onto his question all this time?

His eyes came to rest on the curtains that covered the circular walls and the familiar curling wings-and-lightsabers pattern along the base of them. They looked the same as they always did, but he supposed they would have been cleaned and re-hung by now.

"What happened to the younglings? Did they make amends here? With these?" he countered, indicating the curtains.

"No," Qui-Gon answered. "Initiates are not allowed here. I do not think that prohibition would be changed for the younglings' discipline."

"Then what did happen to them?"

"I do not know. I did not ask. I am sure that the younglings made amends under the Creche Masters' supervision and that their tasks were appropriate to their actions." Qui-Gon gazed passively out at the room as he spoke. "But you have not answered my question, my young Padawan. I sensed your tension then. You were recalling your own discipline at that age. What did you do?"

Obi-Wan contemplated the serene meditation chamber as he spoke. And the curtains.

"I stole extras of my favorite dessert from the eating hall and hid them in my clothes to take back to the dormitory."

"Aaaaah. What desserts did you take?"

"They were nyokco cream-filled pastries and I could conceal one on each side of my tunic if I was careful of the crumbs."

Qui-Gon nodded, possibly impressed with his initiative. "And how did you atone for this misdeed?"

"When all of us washed our hands after eating, I had to present myself before the Creche Masters for inspection. In front of all the others."

"That would leave a lasting impression." They both sat silently staring into the room toward the brighter spot in the center of the circular patterned floor, illuminated by the twilight simulation lights in the ceiling.

"I assume your creche mates were amused," Qui-Gon went on.

Obi-wan smirked to himself. "They were. But the ones who were vocal about it were made to join me to be inspected, too."

They fell silent.

"What did you do, Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Me? I thought that was clear. I and some of my creche mates went down the laundry chute."

"And?"

Obi-Wan heard his Master sigh.

"We made a large pile of the clothes we found there. From the stacks of the clean ones. Made a large pile of them and jumped on it. It was quite a lot of fun," Qui-Gon added.

Obi-Wan grinned. He had trouble imagining his large Master as a crecheling small enough to slip into the laundry slot, but he could picture Qui-Gon running and jumping into a big pile of laundry. He turned to the older man.

"How did you make amends?"

"Each of us was required to deliver cleaned and folded clothes to each person whose clothing we had played on."

"How many were there?"

"Forty-seven. It was a very big pile. And it took some time since we had to wait for each person we had wronged to send dirty laundry down to the droids to be cleaned so we could take our turn."

Obi-Wan laughed.

"Do the creche Masters always ask you to discipline the youngl

 

Awww, this was such a cute, and appropriate ending. Delightful to read. Enjoyed the lessons learned, and the funny image of a little Yoda going down teh laundry shute. Ahah.

Awesome story! Brillant job!

 

What a wonderful story!

I can imagine both Qui-Gon and Yoda doing just that

And of course Obi-Wan would be stealing food...

Great story!

 

Wonderful and mushy so nice a change from all the angst stories
They seemed at peace while they spoke, and it sound like they are going to have fun playing with the crechlings.

Excellent.

 

Oh dear! Qui-Gon bouncing and Yoda getting stuck in a laudry chute! Too comical!

This was very, very well done. Kudos to you!

 

Aww, that was a great ending, ardavenport!


Shame on Obi-Wan for stealing desserts!
Aaaaah. What desserts did you take?"

"They were nyokco cream-filled pastries and I could conceal one on each side of my tunic if I was careful of the crumbs." I guess he got caught when too many crumbs got away.


I loved the glimpse into Yoda's initiate days:

"They investigated what had happened and found that Yoda had been using his small size and jumping ability, as well as being exceptionally strong in the Force, to get into quite a few other places in the Temple that he wasn't supposed to be in. Now I have this image in my head of a frog jumping all over the temple! [face_alien_1]


Thanks for sharing this story, I've really enjoyed reading it!

 

This last post was filled with many fun images... my favorite is the possibility of Obi-wan making Qui-gon bounce.

This was the funnest laundry day I've ever had privelege to experience. Thank you.

 

This was a really great story, I know you called it fluff, but it was so much more than that. The scene where Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan what he had done was great. Poor Obi-Wan! But I also like how Obi-Wan knew there was more to Qui-Gon?s story as well. Qui-Gon may not let his padawan get away with anything, but Obi-Wan turned it right back on him.

It says the end, but you left it wide open for an epilogue.

 

Very cute. I especially liked the idea of Obi and Qui bouncing on things. Getting into trouble - I guess every youngling does it.

Sweet. Great job.

 

Loved the great ending of the story.
Just something for Yoda, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to do.
Great to see Jedi having fun.