Thanks to my discovery of the Clone Wars on Netflix, this story has been officially resurrected. As in, entirely rewritten and now ready to be continued. (And don't let the male/female pairing fool you, no one in this story is straight. Except maybe Anakin. Extremely demi and other kinds of aro/ace spectrum Jedi are what I'm about.)

Oh, and yeah, this fic is going to be canon compliant. Falon's existence will plausibly sit in the background of the events of the movies without changing a single scene, if all goes well.

This is set (or rather, starts) roughly nine years before Phantom Menace.

Obi-Wan Kenobi shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited for his Jedi Master to emerge from the ship into the aircraft hangar of the Royal Palace of Algnadesh.

At fifteen years old, he did not look his age and had only been a padawan for a few years. But in those years he had already gained a great amount of respect for his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, even if the older male was occasionally unconventional in some of his methods.

Finally the man in question came down the ramp of the ship.

"Time to find out why we're here, and what was so urgent that they couldn't even give us a briefing first," he said to his padawan.

"They said the other Jedi would explain. So who's already here?" Obi-Wan asked.

They had barely started walking towards the doors of the hangar when they slid open. Standing on the other side, the younger of the two with a hand on the door panel, were two figures immediately recognisable as Jedi by both their clothing and through the Force.

"Qui-Gon Jinn," the older Jedi remarked, her eyebrows shooting up, "So you're who I was sensing."

She was a human female who appeared to be nearing thirty, while the padawan next to her was a male Etti, an older teenager. His pale blue skin contrasted with his cropped black hair, and like most of his species he was lanky, though also had hints of the beginnings of Jedi muscle.

Qui-Gon seemed surprised that the woman knew him, and tilted his head slightly as he studied her features more carefully, likely using the Force to deepen his examination. Then recognition flickered through his eyes.

"You're that youngling I would duel with when I was a padawan," he said, his own eyebrows lifted, "The one who all but demanded that I fight her."

Her lips curled into a smile while her dark eyes held a hint of embarrassment. "Yes."

"What was your name again?"

"Falon Ti-Tarn," she answered, before smiling at her young companion, "And this is my padawan, Sii Lark."

Qui-Gon gestured to his own padawan. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. And if you could enlighten us as to why we're here, it would be incredibly helpful."

"Of course. If you'll follow me."

Their destination was a wing of the palace that consisted of four bedrooms and a shared living space, all decorated grandly and with food and drink already laid out on a table.

"Please, sit, and eat, and I'll explain the situation," Falon told the two new Jedi, who followed her lead when she and her padawan sat down around the table. "So, I'm to understand that the Council took my request seriously enough to dispatch you as quickly as possible? With no time wasted on a briefing?"

Qui-Gon was surprised at how softly spoken she was, given that his faint memories of their duels were filled with enthusiastic and sometimes aggressive shouting. Not that he would have expect such things to still be prevalent in her, but they seemed to be gone completely, which was strange.

"We're very much in the dark," Obi-Wan answered, looking hesitant about eating but doing so once given a single nod from his master, who also reached for some of what was nearest to them.

"All we know is that it is a matter of the protection of the royal family," Qui-Gon told Falon, who nodded.

"The king and his two children. The queen died years ago of a sickness. We were sent here six months ago as a precaution when some terrorists made vague threats to the family. Until very recently everything has been quiet, and our investigations into these possible terrorists fruitless." Falon paused to sip at her drink and glance at her padawan, who had been dutifully quiet and still. "Sii, you're allowed to eat even when I'm not doing so. I'm not particularly hungry, don't wait on my account."

Sii's cheeks flushed a darker shade of blue, and he just nodded before helping himself.

Now satisfied, Falon's gaze returned to Qui-Gon as she put down the glass. "Three weeks ago, there were whispers from the sources we had set up that spoke of a powerful extremist movement about to strike at the royal family and take control of the planet for themselves. A team of assassins broke into the palace and nearly succeeded in killing the prince. Now that you're here, we are discretely relocating the family to a mansion in the remote country and will be protecting them there. We have allies here who will be working in the meantime to deflate the threat, and give the impression that the royals are still in the capital but staying within the newly fortified palace for their own safety."

"So we're bodyguards," Qui-Gon summarised, swallowing a morsel of food.

"Essentially."

"When do we leave?" Obi-Wan asked, having been listening intently.

"Everything is in order. We only needed the two of you to arrive. So, in the morning," Falon replied, her eyes a fraction brighter and a more genuine smile stretching her lips.

"You seem pleased by this," Qui-Gon observed.

Her dark olive cheeks coloured slightly, but she just shrugged, her face still very composed. "I like a change of scenery."

Qui-Gon could sense that while her statement was true, it barely scratched the surface of whatever she was truly feeling, though that was of course hidden from him and not particularly any of his business.

"So, the two of you would practice duelling, when you were young?" Obi-Wan asked them with interest.

"I had been training under Master Dooku for six years already, while she was still waiting to be chosen. But she wanted someone to practice sparring with so desperately that I spent some of my time working with her."

"I never did know why he bothered with me," Falon told Obi-Wan, a small smile on her lips.

"Half the time, neither did I, and I still don't," Qui-Gon said wryly, "But you were one of the most headstrong twelve year olds I'd ever met. It was too amusing to resist."

Falon looked like she was fighting the instinct to blush again. "I never won, of course, not even after I became a padawan myself and gained better instruction. An age gap of six or seven years is just too great when in our lives a single year teaches us so much."

"It only went on for a couple of years before I was sent away on more serious missions with Dooku, and not too many years after that I became a Jedi Knight and had other duties to perform," Qui-Gon continued, "We never knew each other well. Just fighting techniques, and very old ones at that, now."

"I found replacements for you," Falon told him.

"The one time she mentioned you to me, Master Jinn, she claimed that at her rate of improvement, she might have one day been able to best you," Sii said, speaking up properly for the first time, "Would you say that would be true?"

"Perhaps. It was a long time ago. We shall probably never know."

After the padawans had retired to their chambers, Qui-Gon found Falon outside on the balcony which overlooked the majestic city they were in. She spoke without turning around.

"Despite everything, I will miss the view." Her voice was slightly wistful.

"You said you wanted a change of scenery," he said as he came to stand next to her, leaning on the railing in front of them.

"And did you believe me?"

"It wasn't a lie."

"That's not entirely what I asked."

Qui-Gon used the Force to inquire more deeply as to the meaning in her words. What he found surprised him, as did the fact that she had to have allowed him to sense it for him to pick up on it in the first place.

"You're not satisfied here," he remarked.

To his surprise, she turned her head to smile at him. "I'm impressed."

It took him a moment to realise what she meant. Again, it was not what he had expected. "You were testing me."

"Of course. And it seems you're very perceptive."

"And you hide your malcontent well."

"Well, it's hardly befitting of a Jedi. We're supposed to be paragons of pleasantry and patience. And I am. Patient, that is. But I like new things, and being in one place too long-"

"Eventually nothing is new."

Falon lifted an eyebrow. "With that mentality, I truly would be restless. All it takes is a shift in perspective to almost entirely do away with the feeling."

"And what perspective is that?"

"To see things in new ways, or, more often, things first overlooked. Details. There are always more details." Her fingers brushed across the buds of the flowers that grew over the stone of the balcony railing, tracing the edges of the petals.

"An interesting idea," he conceded, "Perhaps we could discuss it at length at a later date."

"You misunderstand. I'm telling you of a shortcoming and the way I work around it to inform you of the way that I think, if we are to work together," she said, her expression neutral as she looked him in the eye, "Seeing details everywhere can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help."

Qui-Gon considered this for a few moments while one of her fingers circled an imperfection in the stone between them. Someone who was tuned to detail was likely perceptive and able to make some deductions that others perhaps could not, but could also be prone to not noticing more obvious things, or an overall picture.

But it was also the job of a Jedi to keep the 'big picture' in mind at all times. If she was not able to do that, she would never have passed the trials.

"I appreciate you telling me this," he said eventually, "But I trust your ability to work as any other Jedi in your place would. I will, of course, keep the information in mind."

"Of course. But you never know what may be the difference between life and death, and I want the royal family safe. I consider them good friends now."

That was when her body relaxed, and Qui-Gon got the impression that he was seeing the professionalism of Jedi Ti-Tarn fall away to leave behind just Falon. Her dark eyes glanced sideways at him, with a quickness that suggested that she had already done her looking for details in his appearance.

"You grew a beard."

"You grew your hair." It was as dark as her eyes and in a braid that ran down the length of her back.

"So did you," she retorted, her face holding the smallest spark of the mischief he remembered seeing in her as a child. It was the first time he had seen it in her since his arrival.

"It's been, what? Fifteen years?" Qui-Gon guessed. "Is my beard really the most noticeable difference?"

"I won't lie and say no. Is my hair mine?"

"No, merely the most superficial thing worth mentioning." He considered her more carefully. "In all honesty, I barely recognise you, not that I knew you particularly well in the first place. As I said to Obi-Wan, you were one of the most headstrong younglings I had ever encountered. Now the first words that come to mind are calm and gentle."

"I've worked hard to become so."

"So that twelve year old who liked to yell is not still in there?"

Falon's face shifted into something rather unfathomable. "Well, that's for me to know, Master Jinn. But I'm wiser and my connection to the Force stronger. That's all you need to concern yourself with."

"Most people who are wise do not admit to it," Qui-Gon pointed out.

Her smile was one of amusement. "Yes, but just because one gains wisdom does not necessarily make one wise, merely wiser than they were originally. I am many things, but wise is still not one of them." She stepped back from the railing. "Goodnight, Master Jinn. I look forward to hearing what you've been up to all these years."

"Likewise. Goodnight, Jedi Ti-Tarn."

He watched her leave. It was incredibly strange for such a minor detail of his past to surface now in a way that went quite against what he remembered. It would be interesting to see if any significant part of the child he remembered remained in the woman she had become.

Smiling at a particularly amusing memory of her as a child (her refusal to give in no matter how many times he knocked her to the floor, and trying to assure a nearby Master that she was perfectly fine only to fail entirely), Qui-Gon Jinn also turned and went inside.

More than anything, I want to explore Jedi friendships and beliefs, and things like Jedi with disabilities. Close male/female friendships are amazing and I love them. (Qui-Gon and Falon's will eventually be a romance, yes, but one with a solid foundation. Obi-Wan/Falon is gonna be the real brotp.)

And lady friendships. It'll take me a little longer to get to those but I'm excited for them already. Star Wars lady friendships give me life and clear my skin.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!

-MayFairy :)