AMBUSH
by
GM
Thirteen year old apprentice Kenobi attempts to teach his Master's a
lesson
ORDER OF STORIES IN JEDI WARRIOR BOND SERIES:
. . .
every saga has a beginning . . .
Secrets
Ambush
Connecting
The
Path of Bonding
. . .
always two there are . . .
The
Centre of the Bond
Insidious
Dragons
The
Long Way Back
Sanctuary
The
Heart of Existence
Edges
of Darkness
The
Sorcerer and the Apprentice
Shadow
on the Warrior Path
Pilgrimage
Live
and Die the Warrior Creed
Bridge
Over Troubled Water
The
Jedi Blade
When
Prophecies Come True
Push
Back the Darkness
Always
The
Last Hope
The
End of the Warrior Path
Curled on the meditation pad, Obi-Wan Kenobi
sat with eyes closed, concentrating on the mental exercises promised to achieve
a perfect level of Jedi calm. Here at this inner realm of peace and composure
the great masters assured every young Jedi a plane of unparalleled
understanding with self, Master, Jedi peers and the Universe. On a good day.
Young Apprentices were not
expected to achieve this all-encompassing netherworld of harmony to a
complete degree, of course. Rumor around the
Taking a breath, Obi-Wan tried again to
concentrate, fighting to keep his mind on a blank vision of a peaceful, deep
azure; a haze of pacific blue floating in his mind's
eye as calming as the gently rippling oceans of Capernium.
As cerulean as his Master's eyes when Qui-Gon Jinn was pleased with his
progress, or when a particularly difficult lesson had been
completed and pride shone from the elder Jedi. Not, as this morning,
when the cross sapphire eyes had glared at him with undisguised irritation.
Growling under his breath, Obi-Wan struggled
to shift his mind back to that perfect blue world of peace. The heat of
embarrassment gradually dissipated from his skin as the dark memory of today's
reprimand sizzled across his conscience, then was
pushed away.
At the usual sabre training this morning,
Kenobi had seen no harm in having a little fun with one of the young initiates.
The girl had skulked into the practice session to lurk, watch and listen to the
older Apprentices who were assigned to Masters and
were full- fledged Jedi. Just over a year ago Obi-Wan
had been one of those youngsters dreaming of the day he would be chosen to be
teamed with a Jedi Master.
What harm would it do to engage the young
girl in a little swordplay while he waited for Jinn to finish consulting with
some other Masters? What was so wrong about elevating the aspirations of a
novice and allowing her a glimpse into the magical sphere of real light sabres? (Which initiates never handled until they were
eleven, close to turning twelve and leaving the
Upon discovery, an impatient sabre Master
had showered Obi-Wan with sharp reprimands. Then he had continued what Kenobi
could only consider a Jedi-tirade -- quiet, calm, but scathingly leveling to
the ego -- to Qui-Gon! The ugly incident had left the initiate upset, Kenobi
abashed and Jinn so aggravated he did not even speak as they made their way
back to their quarters.
An extended and tedious lecture had then
followed. How many ways were there to harangue and reproach about lack of
control? Jinn appeared to know them all. After what seemed an interminable
morning and afternoon the Master announced he was leaving to "clear his
mind". Obi-Wan was instructed to remain here -- contemplating his offense
and achieve a level of mental maturity heretofore absent -- until Jinn
returned.
Control! He was thirteen! Of course
he knew control! With an angry swipe of his hand he
sent a sofa pillow across the room to hit the wall. I'll
show you control, Master. He sent a floor pillow into the Master's chair. Then
a shower of floor pillows followed.
That felt better! Using the Force he sent the pillows back to his side of the room,
planning on attacking the Master's chair again. When a
wonderfully delightful idea hit him. Yes, the great Master Jinn was due
a lesson on just how much control Kenobi had. A very obvious
and tangible lesson.
***
Qui-Gon Jinn finished his perambulation
around the outside walkway of the Jedi Temple in a much better mood than he had
started. Stalking through the Temple he had come here
to the lofty reaches of the gardens to calm his distress over the incident in
the training room that morning. His initial response was to release his
irritation by a long, strident walk anywhere but those places he would run into
Jedi. The upper outdoor gardens were usually isolated and it was here he paced
and came to terms with his predicament.
In the course of Universal cataclysms,
Obi-Wan's breech of protocol was hardly important. Within the sheltered and close
world of the Temple the infraction was noted. Worse,
Sabre Master Kreel had actually deigned to lecture --
LECTURE -- him about procedures for Apprentices and Initiates! Jinn, a
Master three times over, LECTURED by a Temple instructor! How could
Obi-Wan be so careless? How could he act like such a -- a
child! He was, after all, thirteen!
After his meditative walk he was able to breath easier and settle into a reasonable mindset. How
could he really blame Obi-Wan? The youth was irrepressibly exuberant and
enthusiastic. Certainly not qualities to punish. He
was eager to share his excitement of Jedi arts with others. Also
an admirable trait. So what if he allowed a
young learner to use a light sabre. It was powered low
and Kenobi, an able swordsman, surely showed patience in his attentive
instructions. Kenobi was many things, a few not flattering, but careless was
not one of them.
And his lack of maturity? Well, thirteen was not very
old. And in the year they had been teamed together
Obi-Wan HAD matured and seasoned. Perhaps Jinn was being a bit too harsh? When had he grown into such an old curmudgeon?
Perhaps he should be a little more reasonable and try to respond with more
flexibility. Think more like a young person? Hmmm,
that was a novel concept. But if ever there was an
enthusiastic example to emulate, it was the vibrant Kenobi.
The entire incident had
been blown out of proportion, ending with his tirade out of the
apartment. His stern and rigid lecture had been an extreme over reaction, he
admitted as he waited for the lift. He would return and apologize to his
Apprentice and smooth things over.
In the last year
they had come to a very agreeable working relationship, and even levels of
affection and respect. He did not want to damage that with a show of temper
over such a trivial matter. Apprentices -- and Masters for that matter -- were hardly perfect.
By the time he reached their quarters he was ready to suggest an evening in the
entertainment center of Coruscant. Perhaps an excursion would do them both
good. The door slid open and he entered the still, quiet interior.
The object that hit him square in the face
was soft. Several objects later he identified the
articles as pillows. Big, soft, harmless throws formerly adorning furniture in
the common room. As an excuse, he told himself these were non-threatening
materials and thus his Force power had not detected a threat. Nor did he yet
detect a threat. There was no danger here. At least not to
him.
After the pummeling subsided, a smirking
Padawan poked his head out from around the corner of the kitchen. "Hello,
Master." He stepped out, a little bolder, encouraged by Jinn's surprised
inaction. "This ambush was not meant as anything but an object lesson. I
wanted to give you a demonstration of my control. I understand perfectly well
what control is, Master. And I was not out of control this morning at the
training center."
"I see." Half the pillows in the
apartment were littered at his feet. Hardly the picture of a mature and respected Jedi. His tone
was as bland as his expression. "I must correct you on one point, however,
Padawan."
"Yes, Master?"
"Your understanding of control is not
perfect. I will show you perfect."
With a sweep of his hand
the pillows at his feet flew across the room to collide with the young man.
Then the pillows from other parts of the room came, cascading down on the
Apprentice who was now laughing so hard he had trouble standing. Kenobi's Force
countered, tossing the pillows back, but his might was no match for the
vitality of the Master's experience and developed energy. Now the cushions from
the sofas and chairs -- pillows and cushions from the other rooms swirled in
and pummeled Obi-Wan, who was now laughing so hard he could hardly breath.
Finally out of ammunition, Jinn paced over to the huddled
form and smiled. "Will you need any more demonstrations on control,
Padawan?"
Gasping and giggling, Kenobi came up to his
knees. "Only one, Master," he gasped.
"And what is that?"
"Do you think you can replace them with
the Force?"
"Of course. But that is another lesson," he replied, unable
to his mirth. "Which means you will have to replace them all on your
own." He feigned indifference. "If you would like to leave here in
time to eat at the Coruscant bakery. I believe they
close just after sunset."
Agonizingly, Kenobi scrambled to his feet,
exhausted from the expenditure of Force and from laughing. With amazing speed he raced around cleaning up the apartment while Jinn
mused on the complexities of being a Master. It was a tough job sometimes,
merging adult discipline and temperance with fresh enthusiasm, praise and
teaching. Today he had experienced the highs and lows of being a mentor, and
realized that sometimes the highs came when he opened himself up to the
possibilities of acting like a kid.
THE END