Master and Apprentice (Star Wars)

by Claudia Gray

The characteristics he and Dooku had in common were, almost entirely, the ones for which he and Obi-Wan were exact opposites. Qui-Gon believed in dealing with each situation on its own merits; Obi-Wan wanted procedures to follow. Qui-Gon valued flexibility, which Obi-Wan seemed to think of as sloppiness. Qui-Gon had learned to get on better with the Council over time, but had always retained his independence. Obi-Wan still thought he had to obey the Council in every particular, at all times, and was horrified every time Qui-Gon deviated from standard protocols in the slightest.

Never assume your friends are above wrongdoing. Even good people can make terrible mistakes.

“Careful, Qui-Gon.” Yoda’s holographic image blurred momentarily as the tiny Jedi Master adjusted himself in his bowl chair. “Jeopardize the hyperspace corridor, you must not.” “The hyperspace…? Master Yoda, forgive me, but are you putting the profit of corporations ahead of the people of Pijal?” Qui-Gon had long thought the Council was in danger of losing its way, but this was colder than he would’ve imagined possible.

Qui-Gon had not yet shared his vision with the Council, nor did he intend to. They would spend all their time bickering about the viability of the hyperspace corridor. They were too bound to Coruscant. Too bound to the chancellor. Too far from the living Force. They were no longer the sort of Jedi who could trust in a pure vision. It shocked him that he was that Jedi. That he could still find it in him to believe so profoundly, so unshakably, in pure mysticism. Qui-Gon had often felt out of step with the Order as a whole, but never to this degree. He had also never felt this close to the Force.