Before - Legends Xanatos: Detached - JA, AU - COMPLETE - - - Thanks for the Nom!

Beautiful post this, so filled with emotions, those of Qui-Gon but especially those of Xanatos. The glimpses you give us beneath his shell of sarcasm are very touching, he struggles so much with what has happened and how he sees himself

And I love the relationship you show us between them. The way Qui-Gon wished he could have stopped Telos for happening. And also this:

"Make him a Jedi?"

"Why do you care?"

Xanatos's jaw clinched before he answered.

"Because you do."


As for Xanatos and Bruck:

Craglar puckered his mouth, his long whiskers rising and falling, and shook his head. "I don't know what you see in him."

Xanatos took one last look at him.

"Me."

Wow, he truly means to safe Bruck, doesn't he? I think Xanatos is right in what he said to Bruck, that he's what Bruck needs. And he sure manages to make the life of a Jedi sound very nobel and interesting for a young and especially proud boy

And now poor Tahl is blind....


Luckily there's also your great humor all through. I love sentences like these:

Xanatos supposed that the dramatically selfless Qui-Gon and Tahl deserved each other

More grim steps followed, two Jedi walking alone, tiny figures dwarfed by the immense columned hall.

They both stopped, facing a very solid wall. They had run out of gloomy hall and had to choose to walk right or left.

 

omg this is so flippin good!!!

*grovels humbly for missing a post* Please put me on PM list!!!

I have a wonderful visual and olefactory image of Xanatos and his floral scents "They're more masculine than you think." Of that I have no doubt!!! At least on Xan they would be.

Hauling imagination out of gutter, and moving right along ...

I love the complex character you are weaving here.

Real bitterness:

"You killed Crion," Bruck blurted out.

"Yes." Xanatos admitted, unconcerned. "And you know what the Jedi Council did for killing my own father?" He learned close, nose-to-nose with Bruck. "They knighted me. The perverts."

... ... ...

"You don't have to work down there. The Council - - "

"Yes. I do," Xanatos interrupted. "It is the only service here that I can properly detach myself from."

"And how long will you continue this way? Merely existing? Detached?"

"Until I feel that my Masters are capable to telling the difference between a properly detached Jedi and a sociopath."


Bitter, yet healing penance:

He went about his usual routines. Rising early, lightly exercising and meditating before first meal of the day. Then he would go down into the lower levels of the Temple to manage the day-to-day wastes that the whole Jedi Order produced and flushed down to him. He would take meals or exercise breaks down there with the Custodians, not emerging until past day's end to climb up to take a random walk somewhere in the Temple to appreciate the results of efficient waste management. Then he would retire to dream of harmless things until he woke and did it all over again.

Only a few years ago, Xanatos would have thought that such drudgery would have been far beneath his exalted talents, but now each bland day felt like a relief. Cool water on the scars on his soul. Someday, when he had piled up enough of those days those scars might be healed enough to touch.

(That passage is stunning, btw.)

Sardonic and truer than many might want to admit perception of his old master:

Xanatos supposed that the dramatically selfless Qui-Gon and Tahl deserved each other, but at the moment there was a bigger mess to deal with.

He did not touch the door chime. He just walked in to find Qui-Gon sitting on a floor cushion in the gloom, his back to the door.

"So, I hear you really lost one this time."

Silence.

"Taught him too much detachment? So, he detached himself?"

Silence.

Xanatos could feel Qui-Gon Jinn's mind churning through the Force. His old Master was trying to meditate his way through his turmoil. Xanatos knew that if he were sensible, he should just leave him to it.

If he were sensible.

He kept firing acidic remarks at Qui-Gon who kept ignoring him. Until. . . .

"Miscalculated on how much cruelty he could stand perhaps?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon answered, unmoving. "I should have consulted you first, since you are far more expert at it."

And Xanatos realized that his old Master had not been ignoring him at all. He had just been waiting for a good opening.

"How goes your own project?" Qui-Gon asked, still facing the bare wall of his room.

Xanatos lowered his head. "I've been going too easy on him. I haven't been nearly cruel enough. He thinks I'm conspiring with Kenobi and you to keep him from being chosen. Presumably as revenge for his bullying ways, though he wouldn't call it that."

Qui-Gon turned his head, one shadowed eye catching Xanatos's.

"Does he really think he's that important?"

"His attitude comes as much from the immaturity of his age as it does from his vanity."

The older man looked away again.

"It is past time for him to grow up."

"I'm glad you think so. This time."

Qui-Gon did not answer that.

"Are you going to leave Kenobi? On that planet? In the middle of a war?"

"I must," Qui-Gon answered, the emotion leaking out on the second word.

"And if he calls for help?"

He turned to peer at him again.

"Then I'll go."

"Make him a Jedi?"

"Why do you care?"

Xanatos's jaw clinched before he answered.

"Beca

 

This is such a beautifully crafted tale!

"So, I hear you really lost one this time."

Silence.

"Taught him too much detachment? So, he detached himself?"

Silence.

Xanatos could feel Qui-Gon Jinn's mind churning through the Force. His old Master was trying to meditate his way through his turmoil. Xanatos knew that if he were sensible, he should just leave him to it.

If he were sensible.

He kept firing acidic remarks at Qui-Gon who kept ignoring him. Until. . . .

"Miscalculated on how much cruelty he could stand perhaps?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon answered, unmoving. "I should have consulted you first, since you are far more expert at it."

And Xanatos realized that his old Master had not been ignoring him at all. He had just been waiting for a good opening.

Bravo!

 

"I don't know what you see in him."

Xanatos took one last look at him.

"Me."


Brucks rage, anger and darkness is there but he lacks Xanatos's intellegence, grace and humor.

I still think that Jinn would do better with Chun and Xani would be the
balm that Obi Wan needs to rid his insecurity.

 

whoa, interesting idea. are you going to write it? if you do, i'll read! would make a great companion piece to this ...

 

Valairy_Scot: Thanks! I admit that there will be a bit more Bruck than Obi-Wan in this story, though Obi-Wan does show up in some important places.

nada_smith: Yes, Xanatos helps keep the Temple clean. . . . .which makes him sound like a lemon-scent kitchen product. And since Qui-Gon is such a big, hulking guy, Den of Jinn seemed appropriate. Thanks for reading!

Gkilkenny: Qui-Gon is a tough case and I think that Bruck will learn some lessons. Thanks for the reply!

p_stotts: Thank-you! Bruck is in a tough spot and Xanatos knows that he'll only have one place to run eventually. I think that's what he's concentrating on teaching hm first.

Seremela: Thanks! Xanatos is really out to save Bruck. Or maybe he'd call it salvage. For Bruck and himself.

ratna: Thank-you! Added to list. Xanatos is applying the sarcasm of his old days to himself which he'd never done before, so he has a lot of his past to work through. He's applying it to the Jedi and Qui-Gon, but less than himself. And Qui-Gon learned how to do it as well.

VaderLVR64: Thanks! It's just a little bit of a twist on the books where Qui-Gon tries and fails to stop Crion on Telos and extrapolated from there.

XANl: Aaah, I think Jinn has his heart set on Kenobi and Son-of-Crion has Chun targeted. Thanks for reading!

 

- ooOo%oOOo%oOOOOo%oOOo%oOoo - - - - Part 4



After his painful stroll with his old Master, Xanatos returned to his room. He longed to sleep to wake up again to his bland life in the morning, but their talk had poked a hot stick into his old wounds and he now had to drain the mental pus that had come out.

He settled on a cushion in his dark bare, empty room. And cleared his mind. Opening his vein of memories.

After the debacle on Telos, after he was celebrated as a hero for stopping a coup by killing his own father, after he had been knighted . . . . Xanatos had spent many painful hours in the dark desolate parts of his mind and wondered how Qui-Gon Jinn could have missed what his own Padawan really was for so long? How could he have missed the casual cruelties, the disdain for others, the uncompromising ambition? How could he have mistaken those for dedication to duty and Jedi detachment? For years?

Then, in the depths of his agony of post-patricide self-contemplation, Xanatos had met Qui-Gon Jinn's old Master. Dooku.

After that, everything became clear.

Throughout his apprenticeship with Qui-Gon, Xanatos had heard of his mentor's illustrious Master, the great diplomat and negotiator, Dooku, whose assignments rarely brought him to the Jedi Temple. He had asked Qui-Gon if they might meet someday, respectfully saying that he could learn so much from such a great Jedi. Qui-Gon would always shrug and say that if the Force willed their paths to cross then they would.

They didn't.

Xanatos had finally concluded that his Master was motivated to avoid Dooku because of some old friction between them. But he had been wrong, as he had been about so many things.

When he finally saw them together there was no animosity at all. They had simply become two people who no longer had anything in common.

Dooku had come to the Temple on his own business and only stopped by to view the wreckage of Xanatos, newly knighted apprentice of his first Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. Xanatos's spirit ebbed at such a low then that he did not care about being dispassionately analyzed by the older man.

Dooku was blunt and ruthless and heartless as he reviewed both Qui-Gon and Xanatos' faults. And he had been brutally correct in all his assessments. In the end, he congratulated Qui-Gon on achieving the rank of Master through his Padawan's elevation to Jedi Knight though he had clearly made the process more difficult than it needed to be. Then he left. Cold, impersonal, detached.

After an apprenticeship with this man, Qui-Gon's ability to discriminate between Jedi detachment and a complete lack of empathy for others would have been thoroughly deadened. Leaving a severe blind spot for the Jedi around him in a Knight who was otherwise superbly empathetic to any other beings through the Living Force.

Dooku had dispassionately pointed out this deficiency in Qui-Gon, emotionlessly noting that it resulted from his own teachings. Xanatos was not quite sure that Dooku wasn't a sociopath, but if he was the older man clearly had the discipline to manage it.

In his earlier life Xanatos had considered Dooku to be a model for what he wanted to be when he joined his father to overthrow the Telosian government. A great Jedi leader, manipulating events and people with his superior powers and intellect. For the greater good. He had imagined that Qui-Gon and Dooku would be proud of his accomplishment of so thoroughly sweeping away the old corrupt politicians on Telos.

Somehow, Xanatos had missed the fact that his own father was the oldest and most corrupted politician of them all.

Xanatos fell out of his meditation, losing his focus, feeling sick. His head ached and he slid down sideways to lay his cheek on the smooth cool floor.

Even after all these years he still had the same physical, visceral reaction to what he had done. What he had been. His life was bisected by what had happened on Telos.

Before Telos, he had been a confident, ambitious, intelligent, handsome, intuitive Jedi Learner. Superior in every way. Ready to become

 

Yeah, Kenobi is back!

As far as Dooku goes:

Dooku was blunt and ruthless and heartless as he reviewed both Qui-Gon and Xanatos' faults. And he had been brutally correct in all his assessments. In the end, he congratulated Qui-Gon on achieving the rank of Master through his Padawan's elevation to Jedi Knight though he had clearly made the process more difficult than it needed to be. Then he left. Cold, impersonal, detached.

After an apprenticeship with this man, Qui-Gon's ability to discriminate between Jedi detachment and a complete lack of empathy for others would have been thoroughly deadened. Leaving a severe blind spot for the Jedi around him in a Knight who was otherwise superbly empathetic to any other beings through the Living Force.

Dooku had dispassionately pointed out this deficiency in Qui-Gon, emotionlessly noting that it resulted from his own teachings. Xanatos was not quite sure that Dooku wasn't a sociopath, but if he was the older man clearly had the discipline to manage it.

That's one of the best descriptions I've read and somewhat how I see Dooku, and Dooku and Qui-Gon's "relationship."

 

Throughout his apprenticeship with Qui-Gon, Xanatos had heard of his mentor's illustrious Master, the great diplomat and negotiator, Dooku, whose assignments rarely brought him to the Jedi Temple. He had asked Qui-Gon if they might meet someday, respectfully saying that he could learn so much from such a great Jedi. Qui-Gon would always shrug and say that if the Force willed their paths to cross then they would.

They didn't.

Xanatos had finally concluded that his Master was motivated to avoid Dooku because of some old friction between them. But he had been wrong, as he had been about so many things.

When he finally saw them together there was no animosity at all. They had simply become two people who no longer had anything in common.

Dooku had come to the Temple on his own business and only stopped by to view the wreckage of Xanatos, newly knighted apprentice of his first Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. Xanatos's spirit ebbed at such a low then that he did not care about being dispassionately analyzed by the older man.

Dooku was blunt and ruthless and heartless as he reviewed both Qui-Gon and Xanatos' faults. And he had been brutally correct in all his assessments. In the end, he congratulated Qui-Gon on achieving the rank of Master through his Padawan's elevation to Jedi Knight though he had clearly made the process more difficult than it needed to be. Then he left. Cold, impersonal, detached.

Yes. This is Dooku. This is perfect.

 

This is SO good!! I sure hope you won't be ending this any time soon!

Dooku was blunt and ruthless and heartless as he reviewed both Qui-Gon and Xanatos' faults. And he had been brutally correct in all his assessments. In the end, he congratulated Qui-Gon on achieving the rank of Master through his Padawan's elevation to Jedi Knight though he had clearly made the process more difficult than it needed to be. Then he left. Cold, impersonal, detached.

After an apprenticeship with this man, Qui-Gon's ability to discriminate between Jedi detachment and a complete lack of empathy for others would have been thoroughly deadened. Leaving a severe blind spot for the Jedi around him in a Knight who was otherwise superbly empathetic to any other beings through the Living Force.

What a fascinating and elegant solution to the conundrum of how Qui-Gon could have missed Xanatos' flaws! So much better than the vague canon of 'overindulgent / inexperienced / snowed by Xan's manipulative blandishments'. Dead on! ( ) Not to mention the wonderful 'can of worms' you have opened about the whole question of detachment -- is it spiritual practice? is it sociopath? where is the line? Awesome, awesome, awesome!

I imagine you may do for this question (and Xan's character - how sympathetically you have drawn him, yet never OOC!) what you did for Qui, Obi, Jedi and Lightsabers in "The Heart of the Jedi."

May your Muse live long and prosper!!!

 

I love this story. I love all of your work, but this time you have outdone yourself, and I don?t even like stories about Xanatos. Maybe it is the brilliant job you have done with his character. I hope he finds something to care about soon.

The dialogue is really entertaining. It is almost like Qui-Gon is the straight man for Xanatos? sarcastic humor and then he lets out some zingers. And I absolutely loved the scene in the ?Den of Jinn?.

Can't wait for the next post.

 

It makes sense that Qui-Gon was the way he was because of Dooku.
Thank the Force Obi-Wan is back.
Bruck is such a pain in the butt, but I'd love to see Xanatos straigthen him out. Or maybe they will destroy the Temple in trying.

 

A nice and slightly twisted fic, LOVE IT!

I am enjoying the Xanatos and Qui-Gon interaction and hopefully we will see some Qui/Obi interaction soon

Looking forward to more~!

 

Great introspective thoughts from Xanatos and Bruck. They really are cut from the same cloth, or in Xanatos' case, torn from the same cloth. One Jedi knight trying to overcome and make up for his past mistakes and a Jedi initiate who can't seem to see past his. Of course, Bruck is just a kid. He doesn't realize just how much he needs a master like Xanatos. Great job! Very true to life. I can't wait for your next post.

 

That was masterful, the way you tied Qui-Gon's relationship with/training of Xanatos and missing his flaws, back to his own time with Dooku! I can totally see what you describe here

And Xanatos' memories of what happened on Telos are so sad, how he didn't mean to kill his father and how his believes over his own actions on Telos sort of punched him in the face when he saw how happy everyone else was because Crion was dead. You gave a great description not only of what happened there, but you showed it as if a veil was drawn away from Xanatos' mind and he saw how he truly had been, instead of what he believed he was. But now he should stop to judge himself so harshly!!!!

Hopefully helping Bruck will give him a better perspective on how you can be wrong when you're young, because, well, you're *young*! And make him give himself the credit he deserves for doing the right thing in the end.

Bruck's thoughts about having to work with Xanatos if he accepted the apprenticeship were great, he's really being taken down a peg or two, isn't he?

And seeing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, together again, through his eyes, sure made a nice, peaceful and pretty picture

More, more, more!!!

 

Valairy_Scot: The Dooku we see in the movies is so strict and formal.... I'm sure he would be the same as a Jedi as we see him as a Sith. A good teacher, but not a warm one. I don't think Dooku because a Sith because he was evil in nature, but he was detached, and he liked power. That's how he was vulnerable. Thanks for reading!

VaderLVR64: Thank-you!

ratna: Thanks! The story is a little past half way. And with a stern, formal and detached master like Dooku, Qui-Gon might have a blind spot for how much is too much detachment. It's always most difficult to see the flaws right at home than when you come across them for the first time.

azizah: Thank-you! Xanatos is working on caring about things. Xanatos is technically the 'villain' and they always have the best lines.

Gkilkenny: Thanks for the reply! Bruck and Xanatos deserve each other in their own way, but if they try to destroy the Temple I'm sure Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan will stop them.

Ganki: Thanks! But there's not too much Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan interaction; it mostly stays with Xanatos and Bruck.

p_stotts: Oh, Xanatos knows who Bruck really is, and he's smarter and more experienced than Bruck. But it will take him some effort to get through to him. Thanks for reading!

Seremela: Thank-you! I made one change to the original JA story and extrapolated on it. Instead of Qui-Gon turning Crion in and betraying Xanatos, he tries to stop the plot himself, fails and gets captured, leaving it to Xanatos (and the Force) to decide which way he'll go. Now he just has to move on from that.

 

- ooOo%oOOo%oOOOOo%oOOo%oOoo - - - - Part 5



Xanatos and Craglar volunteered to assist the lightsaber instructors with the senior Initiates again. Craglar had enjoyed the exercise and change of routine. Xanatos wanted another look at Bruck. And Kenobi.

Kenobi was only provisionally Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan again. He kept his own room, trained and meditated with Jinn, but he lived in the gray area of probation. Jinn might have taken him back but the Council had not. He was grounded to the Jedi Temple, half of his time spent with the Initiates, who disdained him as some kind of traitor to the Order. Qui-Gon could still be sent out on missions, but his apprentice would stay behind until the Council approved his worthiness.

So, Bruck's usual hostility toward Kenobi did not stand out. All the other Initiates were doing it, standing apart from Kenobi who stoically accepted it. Xanatos thought that martyrdom suited him.

The instructor, Master Anoon Bondara, started out by having Xanatos spar with a line of younger students. But instead of using him as a silent actor to his instruction, he invited the young Knight to critique each Initiate. Bondara knew that he had offered Bruck apprenticeship (the only reason why he accepted Xanatos as a participant in the class) but had no comment about why Bruck had not accepted yet. Xanatos suspected that Bondara was testing him as much as his young students. Had the Council requested a report from the Twi-lek Master about his suitability as a teacher? Probably. If the Council was sensible. And they were mercilessly sensible.

The first Initiates were practically younglings, not even mature enough to be selected as Padawans. Xanatos let them start out with their practiced moves before he challenged them with a sudden slash or slice. How well they responded to the unexpected showed how well they let the Force guide their counter-moves. All of the them did well, though their smaller, growing bodies still made them clumsy.

Then Xanatos got Kenobi in the rotation. Kenobi marched forward, past the critical looks of all the older Initiates, as if he drew strength from getting the punishment he thought he deserved. But Xanatos was also glad to sense defiance remained in the boy; he had just transmuted it into a determination to succeed that no insult, no petty slight could penetrate. He had willfully detached himself from all that. It was pathetically over-dramatic, but it was honest.

Cringing, Xanatos wondered if he, himself, looked so willfully self-abusing.

They bowed and began sparring.

Kenobi was quick, strong and talented, much better than the younger ones, but he still had to concentrate too hard to use the Force. Like the others his age, he lacked the experience for it to be truly natural.

And Kenobi had no idea who Xanatos was. He was just another Jedi Knight assisting the instructors. Xanatos found that so refreshing that he enjoyed the match. He pointed out weaknesses in stance, openings in his defense. Kenobi earnestly accepted the advice and tried to improve. It was just a training session, simple, pure, uncomplicated.

They locked sabers, a foolish move for Kenobi since he was so much weaker.

Xanatos's hand shot out, catching Kenobi by the throat. Kenobi's blue lightsaber went out, falling to the mat. Xanatos held him for a moment, forcing him up on his toes before letting go.

"Don't get within striking distance of a stronger opponent," he instructed. "Your best tactic is to evade, attack and retreat quickly."

Kenobi nodded, still clutching his neck. Then he picked up his saber, bowed and went back to where the other students watched and did not move away quite so far from him as they had before.

The instructor singled out Bruck to go next. Xanatos grinned.

This fight would be complicated. But it was past time for it to happen.

Waves of fear and anger radiated from Chun so badly that Xanatos thought that Bondara might stop the fight even before it began.

They bowed and activated their sabers. Bruck attacked first. He struck

 

Great post! I loved the interaction between Xan and Obi. Quite different than between Xan and Bruck. Obi listens to instruction and then tries to apply what he's learned. Bruck takes criticism personally, and thus, doesn't grow a lick. He needs Xanatos as his master, but he doesn't want to give into him. His head is still too filled with his own self-perceived greatness. However, time is backing him into a corner. Soon he won't have any place else to turn except to Xanatos.

I look forward to more!

 

Xanatos thought that martyrdom suited him. *chokes* Xanatos!

But I love how he teaches. Nothing held back and still fair. He sure did get through to Bruck, even if it took some doing and some nice dramatics

This part shows very well how badly Bruck handles insecurity, by lashing out to others. He has so much to learn, I do hope Xanatos will be able to help him with his issues!

And I love the interactions between Qui-Gon and Xanatos. There's a level of sarcasm between them that shows how well they know each other, in a good way.

Another really great part!

 

I just had a horrible thought If Xanatos and Obi-Wan now become brothers because of Qui-Gon being their master. What does that make Bruck to Obi if Bruck becomes Xanatos padawan.
Heaven forbid they will have to call each other uncle
or something.

I can see some interesting problems occuring with Bruck around.

nice post.

 

I am enjoying both masters teaching methods, very amusing. I hope "soon" really does come soon because adding Bruck into the mix will make that family even more dysfunctional.

Great update!

 

p_stotts: Thanks! Yep, Bruck really needs Xanatos, and at some point he's going to have to admit it.

Seremela: Yeah, Obi-Wan is too selflessly dramatic for Xanatos. He'll let Qui-Gon handle him. Xanatos and Qui-Gon have gotten comfortable with each other after Xanatos's revelation. They're got good teachers, in their own way. Thanks for reading!

Gkilkenny: Thank-you! Hmmmm, I don't know how Jedi handle familial relations. Technically, Obi-Wan is Bruck's 'uncle', but I'm sure that neither of them would accept the title.

Ganki: Oh, 'soon' is coming right up. Thanks for reading!

 

Bruck Chun had planned to get in some extra lightsaber training at the end of the day. He had not seen Kenobi for several days now, so there was no chance of tripping him up so his Master would be free to choose a new apprentice. But the instructors had hinted that a couple of other Knights would be viewing their practice bouts.

He dropped off a galactic history reading assignment in his room when Docent Vant brought him a data pad and showed him his orders.

Suddenly, all of his plans were gone.

"It isn't that bad," the tall blue-skinned woman said, her long head tail twitching.

Bruck stared at the orders in shock. The data pad told him that he would ship out of the Temple the next day. He needed to pack his things.

He was to report to an agrarian world that he had never heard of in the outer Core. To join the Agricultural Corps.

"They can't do this. My birthday isn't for four weeks yet!"

"I know," Docent Vant said. "But the ship leaves with its cargo of seed grain. It can't wait just because you have a birthday."

Bruck wanted to hit her in her patronizing face. He balled up his fist, but knew he couldn't strike a docent. He looked back toward his room. And supposed that he wouldn't have to read that history assignment now.

"This isn't right," he hissed, turning back to her.

Vant smiled, revealing her pointed teeth, her hands folded before her. She shook her head. "Not everyone is meant to be a warrior. The Republic needs healers and farmers, too. With your Force skills, you will be able to treat sick crops. Your talent will help feed whole worlds."

Bruck thought that Vant would need a healer very soon if she didn't go away. He clutched the data pad tightly as if he could crush it and it's orders of . . . . failure. He nodded silently and Vant left him.

Lightsaber practice was out of the question now. Pointless. He inhaled deeply, as he had been trained, trying to keep the panic down. Who could he go to? His instructors? None of them would even think of challenging this order; it would have been approved by the Jedi Council. There was no one who would do that.

He began walking. Out of the Initiates area. But immediately he became aware of a change in attitude in the people in the corridors and the common areas.

They were looking away from him.

They knew. Bruck's heart beat faster. He wanted to shout at them all. Give them a good reason to be afraid of looking at him.

And in a doorway, Bruck saw Kenobi. Talking to the little Calamari girl. Her large, silvery eyes saw him and filled with sadness.

Pity? From fish-girl? he thought angrily.

And when Kenobi turned his head to see him, Bruck saw. . . .

. . . . . the same expression.

Bruck fled.



- ooOo%oOOo%oOOOOo%oOOo%oOoo -



Xanatos looked up from a worktable full of enormous green and purple feathers from somebody's careless molting to find a pale haired boy standing there looking at him with desperate watery blue eyes.

He straightened and raised his brows, waiting for Bruck to speak. The boy swallowed and held up a data pad. Xanatos took it and read the glowing yellow text.

"You're to be assigned to Agri-Corps," he commented out loud. Bruck stood silently, his jaw clinched, his eyes reddened.

"Do you want me to fix this?" Xanatos asked loudly, casually.

Bruck Chun forced out one word past his sorely stressed and damaged pride.

"Yes."

"Pledge it," Xanatos hissed.

Bruck twitched, lowering his eyes. Shoulders hunched, he marched around the large table with its mounds of fluffy debris, but a few bits of down caught on the sleeve of his tunic, bright purple on the off-white fabric. He fell stiffly to his knees, eyes upward. A perfect posture of obedience.

"I pledge myself to your teachings. My Master." Bruck lowered his head.

Xanatos sighed, his chest tightening, his simple, uncomplicated life slipping away.

"I accept your pledge. And your service," he whispered. He could feel the old sickness creeping into him, spurred on by the turmoil in the boy before him. Xanatos shook it off.

"Master Cr

 

Ha ha, Kenobi pitied him. That was hard for Bruck. Personally, I enjoyed it.

Yoda nodded, sighing again. "Know best you do, of these things." Tilting his head, he looked up at the dark-haired Knight before him. "Take him. The Force be with you both," he finished, invoking the usual curse of the Jedi.

Then, for contrast:

Craglar's scowl changed to a smirk. He winked.

"The Force be with you then." It felt so much less like a curse when Craglar said it that Xanatos felt as if he had been thrown a lifeline. He bowed deeply and the old Knight returned it.

Then, such an ominous ending:

"You will live in it as my Padawan. And then as a Jedi Knight. Until the day you die."

 

Finally the day arrives and Bruck is stunned. I can see that Bruck has much anger, unlike Xanatos who
internationalized his anger, Bruck displayed the anger. Xanatos has a large job ahead.

Seems like the old troll did not like Xanatos choice...mmmm

I wonder what will happen in the waste recycling area when Bruck arrives to help his master.

Do I remember that Xanatos had an evil sense of humor?

Great update.
The part with Bruck receiving his walking papers was perfect.

Along with Xanatos tone of voice when Bruick whats him to have
the orders canceled.