The mission had started off simple enough, Qui-Gon supposed. All they had to do was safely transport King Mu-Layu's seventeen-year-old daughter back to her school on Coruscant. But the particle exchange chamber (or at least, that's what he thought the pilot said) had malfunctioned and they were stuck on this uninhabited planet. The scenery *was* spectacular and the peace of it would have been pleasant under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, he had a Padawan Learner who had a burning desire to show off. It had been annoying up to this point. Now it became dangerous.
"Obi-Wan, get back from there!"
"I'm fine, Master," he called. The young man was perched precariously on a rock ledge, approximately four meters above a waterhole. Qui-Gon sat at the bottom, his boots off, his feet soaking in the pool. The Princess, a quiet, pretty girl with dark hair and dark eyes, was sunning herself on a rock near-by. The pilot could be heard in the distance, muttering about the state of affairs.
"No, you are not fine. You get down from there now! The water's not deep enough for diving."
"Yes it is, I can tell from up here."
"Do not contradict me, Padawan," said Qui-Gon ominously, his patience thinning. "Get back from the ledge. And don't make me tell you again."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. He knew he could make the dive. Why did Qui-Gon always have to treat him like he was made of glass? He could handle a few risks – he was a Jedi. He sat up on his ledge and scowled for a few moments. Giving that up as unproductive, he peeked over the edge. The Princess was sitting up and chatting softly with his Master. Qui-Gon had turned towards her in order to converse. Perfect.
In one fluid movement, he rose and dove off the ledge, knifing beautifully towards the water.
Qui-Gon sensed what his Padawan was planning and with a sweep of his arm he stopped the young man's descent.
"Whoa-wha… hey! Put me down!"
Qui-Gon levitated his Padawan over to the rock on which he and the Princess sat. He turned him right-side up and set his feet gently on the ground. Obi-Wan scowled. The Princess giggled.
The sudden sound seemed to remind Qui-Gon of her presence.
"Your Highness, would you be so kind as to excuse us for a moment?"
She grinned. "Of course, Master Jinn. I'll be on the star cruiser."
Don't think, feel.
How many times had Obi-Wan heard that uttered? But on this occasion, Qui-Gon asked him in exasperation: "What the hell were you thinking?"
Obi-Wan responded, abashed, "I wasn't thinking."
"That much is obvious," Qui-Gon responded dryly. "If you don't think, you'll have to feel," he continued curtly.
Obi-Wan had a split second to look at his Master in confusion before he was spun around. His Master's hand made firm, sharp contact with his backside.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, one hand rubbing his bottom as he glared at his Master.
"And don't you let me catch you doing something that stupid, ever again. Do you understand, young man?"
Speechless, Obi-Wan nodded. He considered himself far too old for physical discipline and was mortified that his Master had given him a swat.
"You could have gotten yourself killed, Padawan."
"Yes, Master," said Obi-Wan, still rubbing his backside. "I know. I… I'm sorry."
Qui-Gon's face softened. He took his Padawan's chin in his hand and looked him straight in the eye. "I can't lose you, Obi-Wan. I acknowledge the fact that I may lose you in a battle. I accept this as part of the path we have chosen. But I will not let you die in some foolish, selfish escapade. Am I understood?"
Obi-Wan felt a blush creep across his face and he tried to look away, but failed. "Yes, Master," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Good, Padawan. I want you to go back to the star cruiser. I will join you shortly. I want you to meditate on what I said and we'll speak more later."
Obi-Wan cringed. He hated the guilt-trips that Qui-Gon was famous for. "Alright," he said resignedly. "I'll go."
As he watched his Padawan's trek across the rocky landscape towards the star cruiser, Qui-Gon sighed. It was one thing for the youngster to show off in front of a pretty girl, but quite another for him to risk his life in such an attempt.
After having meditated – unwillingly - at some length on his misadventure that afternoon, Obi-Wan was still left with questions and not a little anger and frustration. He knocked upon the door to his Master's cabin.
"Come in, Padawan."
Opening the door, he said, "Master, I have something to ask you."
"Of course, Obi-Wan. What's on your mind?"
Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan blurted: "I'm too old to be spanked."
"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed, looking up momentarily from his paperwork. "But you are also too old to behave in the manner in which you did this morning."
Obi-Wan sighed in exasperation and frustration as Qui-Gon went back to his reading. This was going nowhere. He spun on his heel and would have left the room, but his Master called out, "Padawan, sit down."
Obi-Wan pulled out a chair from the table at which Qui-Gon sat and seated himself across from his Master.
"Obi-Wan, I know you are upset that I had to discipline you today. But this angry attitude is self-defeating," he said calmly.
The young Jedi felt his anger slip away with his Master's words. But not the confusion.
"Tell me Master," he began slowly. "Why?"
"I can answer that in four words," Qui-Gon said. "You are my Padawan."
Obi-Wan's anger flared again and he lashed out, speaking to his Master in rage. "Oh, so you can just smack me around whenever you feel like it?"
Qui-Gon reeled at the words as if Obi-Wan had slapped him. Then he looked sad.
"No, you misunderstand. For one, I am responsible for your welfare. For another, you are honor bound to obey me and I expressly forbade you to jump off that ledge. And for a third, I care about you and don't want you to get hurt."
Obi-Wan looked down at his feet, shame filling him. He had committed a breach of respect by speaking to his Master in such a fashion, but the knowledge that it was completely unjustified was embarrassing.
"Oh," he said, his voice very small.
"I love you, you little brat. And, believe it or not, I was acting in your best interests. You may not understand until you have a Padawan of your own, but someday you will. You scared the Sith out of me when you jumped off that ledge. You could have gotten yourself killed. I will not let you die like that." The last was said with such vehement passion that Obi-Wan blinked in dismay.
Suddenly realizing what it was that Qui-Gon had been trying to show him, he threw his arms around the older Jedi and buried his face in his tunic.
"I'm so sorry, Master."
Qui-Gon held him gently. "I know you are, Obi-Wan. It's alright. I'm not angry with you."
Obi-Wan shifted, pulling away from his Master's embrace. He looked up at him with an impish grin. "I have one last question, Master. Why physical discipline? Couldn't you have achieved the same end simply by lecturing me or assigning extra chores?"
Qui-Gon smiled serenely. "It wouldn't have been
nearly so effective."