Darsant Avat

The Eloquent Youngling

The hyperdrive beeped three times, signaling that the ship was about to drop out of hyperspace in five minutes. Qui-Gon scowled at his lightsaber, wondering if he should chance a few extra minutes to dig out the last of the fish guts still trapped inside the cracks in the handle. It figured that there would be at least one aquatic species with teeth strong enough to split through the metal of the hilt. He could already imagine Tahl's face once she hears the whole story.

Force take it, He hooked the saber to his belt and went to strap himself in the cockpit. Much of the goop had already been wiped away, but if he did not get the remaining stuff out of the cracks, it was going to smell very bad. It was also kind of disgusting to wield a weapon with bits of fish in it, which was what he would be doing if he replaced the hilt covering without getting everything out.

Coruscant zoomed into view on the screens, the planet brownish thanks to the multitude of buildings that covered its surface. Lines of traffic streamed across its atmosphere, and he dove in smoothly, the move practiced over countless times of piloting a space vessel. Almost as soon as he did, the ships in front of him slowed, crowding into a congestion that seemed to last for miles at least.

Oh great. He hated traffic. With one hand, Qui-Gon reached out and flicked on the intercom.

"Yes?"

Qui-Gon cocked an eyebrow at this. "Is this seriously how you greet Jedi who call this frequency?"

Tahl chuckled over the comm. "I knew it was you. Sensed you arrive."

"Why are you taking transmissions at the front desk? Shouldn't you be at the archives?"

"Maharel got sick, asked me to take over for the day while she went to the healers. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just letting the Council know there is traffic congestion on West 131 skyway," Qui-Gon reported, "I would be lucky if I make it to the temple by nightfall, it looks pretty bad."

"I'll let them know."

He listened to her speak to a Council member before switching back to talk to him.

"How did the mission go?"

Qui-Gon glanced wryly at his lightsaber. The shuttles ahead of him were moving at an agonizingly slow pace. He settled for a long wait. "Well enough. I found the rogue, we fought," I had my lightsaber swallowed by a fish, "No collateral damage."

"You sound very sardonic."

"I don't like killing rogues," Qui-Gon shook his head, "I feel like the Order should send more Jedi out at once to dispatch them. I can't help but feel that some of them are just misguided, that they could be turned around. Having more of us could help intimidate them into not even trying."

"I'm not going to go over this again with you via an intercom, Qui. How far are you from the temple?"

Qui-Gon punched a few commands and looked at the data displayed on the screens. "As I thought. I'd be lucky if I make it by nightfall. I don't know what's causing this traffic." Most accidents, predictably, would not cause traffic on the skyways, since they usually result in ships plummeting down through the buildings or onto rooftops, conveniently out of the main traffic. There were, however, cases of ships breaking down, and then suspending in the air, unable to move. On occasion, ships could get snagged by power-lines and start swinging in and out of the lanes until something put a stop to them, but that did not seem to be the case here.

"Oh, have to go, answering new transmissions. We will talk later, Qui."

"Sure."

In the silence that fell, Qui-Gon found himself becoming very bored. Traffic was inconvenient in that there were long pauses, but not long enough for him to meditate. During this time, his former padawan would have moaned, and the whining would have helped ground Qui-Gon's own patience. It had been years since the child's knighting, however, and the Jedi Master was returning from a solo mission. The ship was empty save for him, and very quiet.

Traffic inched forward. He eased the ship along. Behind him stretched other vessels, some doing stationary flips and turns in order to ease the boredom. They must be young people, Qui-Gon mused, easily given to playfulness. Some of them were going so far as to fly upside down.

What a lot, Qui-Gon thought, moving his ship forward again.

OoO

Qui-Gon ended up arriving at the temple grounds far too late in the night than was healthy, but as was usually the case when a person arrived home to find many people waiting, he was not as sleepy as he should have been.

"You did a number on your lightsaber," Mace noted, rubbing his eyes. "What's that smell?"

"Do you want my report now?" He asked. The lights in the hanger actually made him more awake and alert.

"Write it up in the morning. Get some rest now." It sounded like Mace was more eager to go rest himself, rather than being considerate of Qui-Gon. There seemed to have been some incident at the temple while he was away; everyone was awake and tired. "Unless you have to go to the healers? Go to the healers."

"I'm uninjured."

Mace gave him a flat look, as if the statement did not compute in his brain.

"You're uninjured."

"Yes…" Qui-Gon said slowly, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Mace waved his hand, "By the Force," He smothered a yawn with both hands, "But are we glad you're back. Do you need to go to the healers?"

"I'm going to bed," Said Qui-Gon, concluding that he would not be having a coherent conversation with Mace, at least.

"You do that," Mace said, blinking groggily. Qui-Gon moved past him.

"What is wrong with Mace?" He asked Shaak Ti, who looked less tired than the dark-skinned Jedi, but still very subdued.

"There was a fire," She told him, "One of the younglings accidentally started one. It was rather…trying, to put it down. You are lucky to have flown in when you did; no one would have been able to meet you if you came here earlier."

"A fire?" Qui-Gon sniffed the air. "When did this happen?" Tahl never mentioned anything about a fire, so he assumed that this happened after he contacted her. "I don't smell smoke."

"You wouldn't smell it here. Wait until you go towards the residential quarters. The smell of it is everywhere. Thankfully, none of the younglings are badly hurt. Tomorrow, we may have to recruit your help in rebuilding, at any rate. Some of the younglings, though unharmed, are trapped. We're trying to get them out."

Qui-Gon was actually more and more alert. He had a feeling it was because he was having some kind of mental second wind, after nearly falling asleep in the horrendous traffic. "I can take a look now, if you want."

Shaak Ti gave him a flat look, and pointed imperiously at the door. "Tomorrow, Qui-Gon. The temple does have other Jedi around."

Force, younglings trapped under rubble? No wonder Mace and Shaak Ti looked so tired and everyone was awake. It was obvious that no one expected to free those poor children tonight.

"Qui-Gon!"

"Are you cert—"

"Get out of here, Qui," Mace shoved him toward the door, "Someone needs to be able to function in the morning."

He raised one of his hands in mock-surrender and headed out reluctantly. Sleep would be good, a shower beforehand as well, plus he needed to get the fish guts out of his lightsaber or else the weapon would not help him very much when they excavate the ruins.

Who am I kidding.

Tahl was on site, her eyes instantly drawn to his lightsaber.

"What did you do with it this time?" She asked.

"This time?" Qui-Gon exclaimed indignantly,"What do you mean 'this time'?"

She just raised an eyebrow. The skin around her eyes was swollen with sleepiness.

"Long story. What do we have?"

She gestured at the debris behind her. "The fire damaged the foundations and brought the whole thing down. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Who needs sleep?" Qui-Gon muttered as he scrutinized the wreckage. The smell of smoke lingered thickly in the air. "Sleep is for the weak. Why isn't anyone doing anything?"

"It's a delicate balance of physics," Tahl turned around to stare with him, "There is one very important wall over the younglings that is balanced precariously against the stuff above. We're too afraid to even yell at them now because the slightest vibration could bring everything down and crush all of them. It's too heavy for them to keep afloat with telekinesis, and we can't just levitate everything all at once because there are just too many heavy blocks."

The rubble was actually a floor below, having sunk through the levels.

"The children will suffocate in there," Qui-Gon said in concern. "Are there any droids excavating right now?"

"We pulled all the droids out," She replied. "They don't have the Force."

However awake he was, Qui-Gon was tired enough to find that statement funny.

"I'll go in," He offered.

"No you won't," Tahl said dryly, "You're too big."

Qui-Gon muttered an oath. Of all the times for his size to be an impediment…he stretched his senses out to locate the children and count how many there were.

It had gotten dark enough that some Jedi were lighting their way using lightsabers. One of the Jedi was holding up a hologram of the schematics scanned by the droids, highlighting various important parts of the rubble and the locations of the six children. One of the engineers was arguing about the proper way to remove the debris stacked on top.

"We can use the droids to support this section, come out, bring another support inside over here, then we can remove this patch."

"They can't navigate the pathways without bumping into the walls with the support."

"We can take autonomy from them, use remote control."

"That's not going to work. It will be even worse than if we turn the AI on…"

"Progress report," Mace's voice broke into the low din, and Qui-Gon wondered where Yoda was. Mace turned around and spotted him. He blinked, then scowled.

"You need to learn to follow orders," He hissed, but without much vehemence. "What are you doing here, Qui?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows.

"Let's go," Called one of the Jedi, "May the Force be with us, but we can't come up with anything better." Stone creaked as people started directing their energies to lift some of the blocks. The excavation droids whirred.

"There's our cue," Said Tahl, grabbing Qui-Gon's wrist, "Since you're here, might as well make yourself useful."

Using the Force to lift debris took a lot of brainpower, and after mind-numbing traffic following a rather grueling mission, Qui-Gon quickly developed a headache. The droids dove under the rubble to stick supports to the caverns, and they had a few close calls with some of the spaces sinking inwards. The Créche Master stood nearby, wringing her hands.

They retrieved the first one, a small Mon Calamari girl with large tearful eyes and a shy demeanor. The child was unharmed, and ran to the Créche Master instantly for comfort. The other Jedi took an almost synchronized breath of relief to recollect themselves. Mace looked like he was about to fall on his feet.

"One down," Tahl said solemnly, "Five to go."

Then, to everyone's horror and dismay, the debris slid right over one of the caverns. There was an intense flash of pain that resonated in the Force.

One of the Jedi swore.

"Initiate Kenobi?" Kit Fisto was swinging his head-tresses out of the way, "Kenobi, are you hurt?"

Qui-Gon quickly scanned the presence. The child's Force energy was absorbing into itself, common among those going into shock.

"Lift it!" Called another Jedi, "Slowly now!"

"He's too deep, and this board overlaps with the next cavern," Fisto reported.

Qui-Gon skimmed over the young one's Force presence in another attempt to determine the damage. All he could tell was that the child was in serious pain.

"We need to get those two out," Said a third Jedi, "Before we can get to Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"We are coming soon, child," Fisto called out, though not too loudly. Qui-Gon could not be sure if the initiate heard.

After that, excavation became more desperate, and almost more sloppy, though despite a few close calls, there were no more cave-ins. Dawn broke, before Qui-Gon managed to ply open the marble chunk that revealed the child within.

Face streaked with tears, the boy looked to be about eight or nine years old, with reddish brown hair and skin pale from pain. His legs were buried under the cave-in and his body was twisted uncomfortably against the wood and dirt. He looked up at Qui-Gon once the roof was opened…and smiled.

Qui-Gon's heart jumped to his throat. It was the sweetest, most beautiful smile he had ever seen, tinged with agony and wet with tears that still streamed from the boy's eyes, but born from courage and innocent optimism.

"There you are!" Tahl was talking in a high cooing voice. There was a reason she was not a Créche Master, and she sounded more like a malicious witch than a comforting mother-figure. "Hold on, we are going to get you out right away, alright?"

"I'll go down," Qui-Gon said as a tired Mace stuck his lightsaber into the cavern to illuminate the rubble.

"Don't step on him," Mace rubbed his face.

Qui-Gon glared. "Right. Because I wasn't knighted the same year you were."

"Don't step on him." Tahl tried to grin, but it turned into a grimace. They could all feel the young one's pain.

Avoiding trampling the boy turned out to be a very good point, because it was difficult not to dislodge anything and spill the debris onto the little form. Initiate Kenobi tried to help by grabbing at his ankles, which proved to be more of a hindrance. At last, Qui-Gon made it to his level, crouching with a leg on each side of the boy. He took a moment to take the child's face between his hands.

"You are doing well, alright?" He murmured, using the contact to form a deeper connection and assess the child's injuries. Kenobi nodded as more tears spilled, but he smiled tremulously.

"Thank you, Master."

Qui-Gon laughed a little. In agony, and still polite. "Anytime, little one," He used the Force to send soothing waves through the child, but it did not seem to help very much. The little face was cold and clammy. Below, two legs were both crushed and stuck. The boy will be in bacta for days, and then confined to a wheelchair for weeks.

"You're going to be fine," He stroked his forehead, and the child nodded, watery eyes trusting. Qui-Gon took the boy's hands. "Hold on to me. If it hurts, squeeze as hard as you can, alright?"

Kenobi nodded.

Qui-Gon turned his upper body around, one hand holding both of the boy's. "I need some light down here," He called up, "And please don't burn my hair. I didn't come back from a mission with it intact just so you can ruin it."

Childish giggles, choked with pain, bubbled from the initiate. He squeezed the little hands reassuringly.

It was Tahl who let her lightsaber down. "I'll hold it for you," She called down, "Lift them up and we'll take them from you."

Kenobi's grip was strong in his pain, and as the weight eased on his legs at one point the child outright fainted. He made a valiant enough effort to endure, and Qui-Gon could not help but be proud of him. What an amazing little one, He thought fondly, and hurried with the removal of the debris, occasionally using Tahl's lightsaber to slash through the rock.

It was two hours before the child was finally free.

"Hurry up Qui-Gon, get him up," Tahl called.

"I need a stretcher." Kenobi's legs were too damaged for Qui-Gon to feel comfortable moving him.

A stretcher was levitated down. Qui-Gon carefully shifted the boy onto it with some liberal application of the Force.

"We're getting you up, you ready?" The Jedi Master asked the little one.

Kenobi nodded. "Thank you for freeing me, Master Qui-Gon!"

Laughing would hurt the child's feelings. Qui-Gon settled for smiling widely at him. "Thank you, for being such a brave boy! You will make a wonderful Jedi someday! Now, up you go." He heaved, and used the Force to do the rest.

OoO

Obi-Wan Kenobi was the only youngling injured; everyone else suffered only mild bruises and scratches. The Jedi left the demolished area once all the children were freed, Mace yawning so widely his jaw popped out of its socket.

"Ow," The dark-skinned man groaned as he pushed his jaw back into place. "Ow."

"Where is Yoda?" Qui-Gon asked. He had been so preoccupied with the excavation that he had not wondered about the Grand Master after his initial thought.

"He's not here," Said Mace, "He's on Alderaan."

"This would have been much easier if he had been here."

"This would have been a lot easier if there were no fire to begin with, but eh, the past is the past." Mace grumbled a little. "I'm going to bed."

Bed sounded like a good idea. Qui-Gon rubbed his eyes, feeling absolutely exhausted now that the excitement was more or less over.

"You need to fix your lightsaber," Said Tahl. "It smells like dead fish."