PadawanofDooku – We left of as Qui-Gon was confronting the Council. What happened? How does Dooku respond to his older Padawan’s idiocy? How does Naboo go? Who goes there?
Carefully keying
himself in, Mace took a deep breath while letting his emotions go
into the Force as he crossed the threshold of the assigned quarter of
the Naboo palace, making his way towards the room where misery was
rolling of a person as the wind outside made the curtains of the open
window flutter softly as Mace easily identified who was in such
misery and grief.
Obi-Wan.
Mace felt his own
anguish at the fact that Qui-Gon was lost, that he had returned to
the Force and there was no way they could…
It hurt.
Regardless what
Yoda said about not mourning those who had left them, it hurt so much
to lose an old friend that way.
Yan had gone to the
morgue, looking lost the entire way as he went to see his fallen
former padawan but only after Mace had told him to go while he went
to Obi-Wan.
Slowly stepping
into the bedroom, Mace observed the redhead laying in foster position
on the bed with all curtains drawn for to let no light come in.
“…I couldn’t
get to him in time.” Obi-Wan whispered. “The sith… kicked me in
the hip, I think he broke something and I couldn’t… run.” His
breath stuttered a bit before he curled in tighter around himself.
Crossing the floor,
Mace sat down on the bedside and rested his hand on the others back.
For a moment he just held it there as he stared at the wall before he
started to rub slowly along the others spine as Obi-Wan struggled
against his grief.
“Sometimes…”
Mace finally rumbled. “Sometimes we can try our best… and yet we
fail even those we love.” He settled on quietly. “And we are left
with the grief and the guilt.” He murmured, sighing when the other
flinched a bit. “In those moments, its important to remember what
the person who has left us would have wanted. And I know that Qui-Gon
would never have blamed you.” He finished.
That got a choked
little sob out of Obi-Wan.
Mace continued
rubbing slowly. “Have you been looked over by the medics?” The
master questioned, sighing quietly in relief to himself when Obi-Wan
nodded. “Good. Do you want me to stay?” He asked again.
Once again Obi-Wan
nodded and Mace stayed, hand on Obi-Wan’s back as he offered what
comfort he could to the younger man.
He remained by
Obi-Wan’s side at the pyre as Qui-Gon’s body was consumed by
flames, Yan flanking him on the other side with a hand on Obi-Wan’s
shoulder. Hidden by their robes, Obi-Wan clings to Mace hand too for
support as the Korun keeps his free hand on young Skywalker’s
shoulder, holding the boy to his side.
Qui-Gon had been
lost, there were no one else to train the boy but…
But the man had
believed so strongly in Anakin that Mace couldn’t just…
And then there was
Obi-Wan, he couldn’t let it all fall apart like this and so he took
Anakin Skywalker as his padawan as he remained by Obi-Wan’s side.
Mace would not let
the future anger he could sense in Anakin consume him, or let the
grief bubbling in Obi-Wan destroy him.
Call it selfish if
you wanted to, but Mace, beneath the cold exterior of his stern stoic
face, cared too much to allow Obi-Wan to be destroyed or for what
Qui-Gon believed in to be snuffed out completely. So he would do this
one last thing for Qui-Gon.