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Universe. Lucasfilm owned by Disney. George Lucas created the Star Wars
Universe. Movies by 20th Century Fox/Disney. I make no Republic Datari {Credits}, Peggats, Truguts, Wupiupi, etc from my
fanfic/fanart/fanfunnies. Story written purely for enjoyment and the only
profit I make is the happiness my writing brings. The Force is With
You Always :)
Summary: It's Qui-Gon's birthday. Darth Maul decides to give him one he will
never forget ... but things do not quite go as the Sith Lord planned ...
Author's
note: Set before Qui-Gon trained Obi-Wan.
Rating M ~
Drama
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INNOCENCE
Qui-Gon had
been invited out for his birthday by two young Jedi knights whom he did not
know very well. The Jedi Master was not
one for a big celebration, but he decided to take the opportunity to become
better acquainted with his colleagues.
The Jedi Master
sat down for dinner at a restaurant Universally famous for its food. He had never been here before, not being one
for fame, but he didn't want to disappoint his friends. Little did he know they
had something in store for him and it wasn't at all pleasant.
* * *
Qui-Gon felt he
could barely move after a six course meal which he had to force down. The food was delicious, it's that there was
so much of it!
"Come on, eat up, Qui-Gon, it's your
birthday after all," one of the Jedi said, indicating the Jedi Master's
half eaten desert.
Qui-Gon
smiled and forced himself to eat the rest of the chocolate crepe. Delicious as
it was he felt fuller than a tightly packed suitcase.
"Thank you," he managed to say.
"Enjoying your birthday, Master
Qui-Gon?" asked the other.
"Yes," he lied. "Very much." Secretly he'd rather
be home at the
"Let us go back to the
"That's a splendid idea," Qui-Gon
said. At last, he thought.
Though
something wasn't quite right here, though he could not quite put his finger on
it as they stood to leave.
Outside,
Qui-Gon saw a little girl, grabbing and eating scraps from the footpath. Immediately he felt guilty about all the food
he'd eaten, when a child starved. He
walked toward her.
"Come on, Qui-Gon," one of his
colleagues urged.
"I have to help her."
"She's always there," the other
said.
"She needs help," Qui-Gon insisted.
"There are thousands of homeless
children in the Universe," the other complained.
"I know," Qui-Goin said sadly,
"but I can help her and I'm going to."
The two Jedi
sighed. They knew there was no deterring
the Jedi Master now.
He bided his
time in room 66.
"You two head back to the
The young
Knights were defeated and left, hoping that their plan would still work.
Qui-Gon bent
down to the little girl.
"You're hungry aren't you?"
She nodded,
nervous at this big man.
He smiled
warmly. "Let me help you."
She stood and
he took her hand. Qui-Gon walked with
the little girl into the restaurant.
"She's not welcome here," the
manager said, frowning
"She is my guest," Qui-Gon said,
firmly, "and I wish to purchase a meal for her."
The manager's
tome brightened. "And one for yourself
too?"
"No thank you," Qui-Gon said. " I've sampled enough of your delicious
food tonight," and he smiled.
The girl ate
like a horse.
"Slow down," Qui-Gon said. "It's not going to fly away."
The little girl
did as she was told.
Meanwhile the
two young Jedi Approached Darth Maul.
"Where's our money?" one of them
demanded. "We delivered Jinn to
you. That was our part of the bargain. Why didn't you attack as planned?"
"I have my reasons," Maul glowered.
" As for your money, it's right here."
He ignited his
lightsabre, killing them both with one expert strike.
"Jedi …" he said disdainfully,
stepping over their bodies. He had a
bigger fish to fry now.
* * *
Qui-Gon hired a
room for them to spend the night. The
girl was in need of a bath and medicated shampoo to get rid of her head lice.
The girl seemed
very nervous as she went with Qui-Gon.
She hadn't said a word.
The Jedi Master
lead her into the bathroom with the shampoo he had bought her.
"Do you need me to help you bathe?"
he asked.
She shook her
head. Qui-Gon began to run the
water. When he had left the girl
undressed and began to wash herself, grateful for the warm water and anti-lice
shampoo.
Qui-Gon
couldn't believe that a little girl could be treated this way in today's
society and began to sense for a home for her.
Maul bided his
time in room 66.
The girl washed
her hair, delighted to have a full stomach and to be lice free and clean. She washed her filthy clothes in the washer
in the bathroom. She shook the water
from her long blonde hair and began to dry it, but now she became nervous
again. She thought she knew what would
come next. Better get it over with, she
thought to herself as she emerged from the bathroom.
Qui-Gon sat on
the bed, reading a book he had brought with him. He smiled when he saw the little girl, and
assumed her clothes were still drying.
She approached him timidly and Qui-Gon realised with a shock what she
thought he wanted. He dropped the book
and shook his head.
"I would never … " he started to
say in shock. "I would never harm
you. I helped you because I wanted to, I
…" He was too shocked for words
when he realised she had been violated by others who had 'helped' her.
The little girl
ran to him and hugged him. "Thank
you …" she said, barely audible.
Qui-Gon placed
his arms around the little girl.
"Let's get your clothes," he said.
To his relief
they were dry and the little girl joyously donned her clean clothes.
"You’re a nice man," he said.
"Thank you. You're a beautiful little girl and I'm going
to find a home for you."
She hugged him
again. "How can I ever thank you
enough? Are you an Angel?"
Qui-Gon
smiled. "No, I'm a Jedi."
"I thought Jedi were just stories."
Qui-Gon
smiled. "No, we're real, but if you
like I can tell you some stories."
He sat the
little girl onto the spare bed and told her a story when he'd rescued a baby
rancour and returned it to its mother.
The Jedi Master became aware of an eerie presence and realised someone else
was in the room with him, someone other than the little girl.
"How long have you been there?" he
asked, not looking up.
"About twenty minutes," Darth Maul
answered, stepping out of the shadows at the end of the room.
Qui-Gon
surmised he'd made his way in through the open window. The little girl clutched his leg. "He won't hurt you," the Jedi
master promised.
"You are aware that your two 'friends'
betrayed you?" Maul said.
'Yes," Qui-Gon said sadly, "when I
felt them die at your hand."
"They did it for money."
"I know."
"So much for Jedi values," Maul
said.
Qui-Gon sighed.
"This upsets you," Maul said.
"Yes," the Jedi Master answered.
"You are aware that Jedi all over the
Galaxy are not as altruistic as they appear?"
Qui-Gon nodded.
"I have seen this girl violated by
one."
Qui-Gon closed
his eyes.
"You do not believe me?" Maul
asked.
"You speak the truth," Qui-Gon
said. "But you must understand that
most Jedi are true to our code and beliefs."
"That may be, Maul said, but many are
not."
"I know."
"This is why they must die."
"Death is too harsh a punishment,"
Qui-Gon disagreed, “but something must be done."
"Agreed, though you are not like the
others. You actually do uphold your
values. I find this surprising."
"I guess you don't know me very
well."
"I guess not. I am well aware that today is the day of your
birth. Qui-Gon. I hope you enjoy my gift."
"Gift?"
"Not killing you when I had the chance."
"Thank you," Qui-Gon said, as the
Sith Lord left the way he had came in, in complete silence.
Qui-Gon sighed.
There were some unscrupulous Jedi in the galaxy, but the way Maul put it he
thought they were all like that when that clearly wasn't the case. Qui-Gon hoped to make peace with the Sith one
day. Perhaps this was the beginning. But
for now he had a child to take care of.
She snuggled up next to him, refusing to take the spare bed. He smiled as he fell asleep.
Maul wandered
the streets of Coruscant alone. After the death of his Master at his own hand,
he had always been alone and that's the way he liked it. He thought about what the Jedi Master had
said. Perhaps not all Jedi were
hypocrites. Qui-Gon certainly
wasn't. Maul sat down on an upturned
metal box and lost himself deep in thought.
Qui-Gon by now
was fast asleep with the little girl sleeping beside him. Come morning, he had found a home for her,
with an infertile couple, who believed Qui-Gon to be an angel from the Heavens.
"No," said the little girl. "He's a Jedi."
*
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