Jedi Warrior Bond #1 Every Saga Has A Beginning -- part 3

Long legs marching the halls of the Temple with a quick, strident pace, Qui-Gon coursed remote corridors, trying to lose himself in the vastness of the complex. No matter how fast he walked, where he tread, there was no escaping his thoughts. He could not run from the memory of the Force as it whipped through his system with a strength and surety he had not felt in -- that he had never felt before.
Derisively he dismissed young Kenobi's adoration, but privately admitted to well knowing the ways of the Force. He had felt the comfort of the Force in times of pain and stress. The might of the Force in battle. The mercy of the force when he needed compassion and understanding. It had never failed him. Except for that one incredibly rash period in his life when his apprentice fell to the Dark Side and Qui-Gon had been too blind, or prideful, or arrogant to stop the descent.
Years after that agonizing ordeal Jinn could not think of taking an apprentice again. The pain had been too great. He had invested too much in his pupil, given too much of himself. When his Padawan turned it was as if part of Jinn died. Now the Force was telling him there was a Padawan for him. Not just as a usual Master, but one with an already formidable connection to him. A Warrior Bond? Qui-Gon sneered at the thought even as chills rippled his skin.
How could he deny what he was feeling? What the Force was telling him? How could he take another youth into his life, let alone his heart? Shattered and cold from the last betrayal, Qui-Gon had nothing left to offer a Padawan. To succeed, a partnership between Master and Padawan needed common respect, trust and faith backing the necessary undercurrent of the Force. Ideally, the partnership should grow to be as meaningful and close as a father and son, a father and daughter, a mother and son -- whatever the appropriate relationship -- the love and commitment had to be there as the foundation of the relationship or it would never work.
His first student he had cared for, taught and trained, his affection and regard for her profound and complete, but something less than he would expect to find for a daughter. Perhaps because Qui-Gon was by nature a loner, an individualist, he had not comfortably fit into the familial role. Doing his duty as a Master, however, the girl grew into an honorable Knight.
With his second student Jinn had tried to be the father, the mentor that other Masters were to their Padawans. Soon his hopes and efforts were crushed quickly. No one in the Council blamed him. How could they, he was the great Qui-Gon Jinn? The servant of the Force. The blind fool.
Qui-Gon could not give that trust and hope another time. This time the Force was wrong. He did not have a heart left to devote to another Padawan. In the quiet hours of the night he stopped, weary and troubled, curling up at a fountain at the back of the massive gardens in the high levels of the Temple. Too tired to meditate properly, he hoped he would find a sense of peace in this tranquil setting. Enough serenity to cling to and return to his quarters and sleep. In the morning he would leave and go somewhere far from the Council to receive a remote assignment. No meddling Masters, no engaging students, no threats to his sovereignty and isolation.
"Disturbed the Force is around you Qui-Gon."
Remaining still, Jinn didn't know what to say in response.
"Discover why you are here have you." Not a question.
Undoubtedly Yoda knew his inner secrets, too. Should he deny the truth or characteristically meet it head-on and bluntly, accepting the worst. What would the worst be in this case? Unable to find the words he nodded.
"Old lessons could I speak. Know them well enough. Forget them you do sometimes when your pain is too great."
Jinn winced, hating his old anguish to be so obvious.
"Be mindful of the now, Qui-Gon. Release the past. Do not dread the future. Trust in the Force."
It was ridiculous that such trite quotes could fit his confusion and doubt so perfectly. Shouldn't a 'great' Jedi master be above these petty fears

 

These stories are good. Keep writing them please

 

I like this version much better than the published JA one.

Excellent!

 

Here is the link to #1, part 4:

http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=811494&replies=3

 

This is a good story.

 

I don't understand why each part has it's own thread, but this is nice, and I'll send all four up!!!

(Yes, it's the same message as part one, I'm a little lazy today )