Part Five

The captain was a average in every way, including average height, weight, boring brown hair, brown eyes, and the pale skin of one who never sees the sun except as starlight. Even his voice was monotone. Ashanti and Qui-Gon both had to concentrate to stay awake for any amount of time during the captain's diatribes, which seemed to be plentiful.

"And furthermore, allowing these outlying planets like Naboo membership into the Republic is a mistake, you mark my words," declared Captain Zan Tarin in his monotone voice.

Ashanti tried to formulate an answer and fought down a yawn instead. He would make a perfect hypnotist, she idly thought. She didn't dare relax, however, for also among the captain's dinner guest were Bova the Hutt and her two "bodyguards" who looked more like slaves than bodyguards. Bova, a female Hutt, something that Ashanti saw rarely, seemed to be very interested in what the Jedi were doing traveling to The Planet of Thoughts. Ashanti adeptly avoided answering the questions, easily maneuvering the topic to places that the other guests had traveled too, using the excuse that her padawan had never traveled anywhere before and might benefit from their experiences. The trick worked, and when the captain wasn't boring his guests to death, the Hutt talked their ears off.

"So tell me, Jedi Master Ashanti," a merchant named Dewik Lalan, "what say you about these outlying planets gaining membership?"

Ashanti shrugged noncommittally. "It affects me very little and once, all our home planets were considered outlying planets, so what difference does it make? All have something to gain and give of the Republic, so all should be allowed the opportunity."

The merchant leaned forward, his lips pursed as much as his race allowed their lips to purse and his red eyes glowing brightly. "So you say these poor planets, with no monies, have value to the Republic?" he asked incredulously.

"They are rich in resources that could be valuable to other members of the Republic," Qui-Gon pointed out reasonably, startling all at the table. He had beforehand been quiet, eating his food with gracious manners and keeping an eye on the guests, observing their movements and mannerisms.

"True," conceded Bova the Hutt, tearing off the head of some hideous creature, who's smell was worse than its looks. Qui-Gon fought the urge gag, but Lalan had no such qualms. His retching caused Ashanti to frown, as did the Hutt's "bodyguards", at the rude sound.

"That," groused the captain irritably, "means nothing. We have plenty of planets with many resources. The Senate is already overflowing with membership and they do nothing but squabble and bicker, accomplishing nothing!"

"Uniformity is always preferable to war. At least they are attempting to work together as one instead attempting to rip each other apart in useless, bloody feuds and quarrels," Ashanti noted, causing nods of agreement around the table.

"So what does the Jedi intend to accomplish visiting The Planet of Thoughts? No wars are being fought there." exclaimed the Bova, emitting a grotesque sound that Qui-Gon thought passed as a burp.

"Whatever the Council intends us to accomplish, Bova," reproved Ashanti, making it pointedly clear that the subject was now closed to discussion. Bova, no idiot, grunted her discontent at the answer but let the matter drop.

The meal was soon finished and the after dinner drinks ended as well, leaving the guests to depart on their own by-your-leave. Qui-Gon fought off his fatigue, it had been a long day, full of excitement. Ashanti must have picked up on the boy's weariness for she made their farewells and the two Jedi departed.

"What were your observations concerning the guests, Qui-Gon?" asked Ashanti casually, yet Qui-Gon felt there was more than she showed to the question. The bond between padawan and master that he had heard praised so often had not occurred yet between himself and Ashanti. At least he didn't think it had. Could the bond form within a day or even a month? How did it happen?

"Ashanti," he asked as they stepped into the transport elevator that would carry them to their floor, "how is the bond between master and apprentice formed?"

Ashanti looked at him in surprise. "You didn't answer my question and yet you expect me to answer yours?"

Qui-Gon looked shamed-faced for a moment and then squared his shoulders, a motion that caused Ashanti to look startled. It was a motion so much like his father's that she wondered where he saw the action to imitate it. "I saw the Hutt, a greedy female willing to defy the law to prove that a female Hutt can rise to the heights that a male could. That makes her even more dangerous, for she'd be willing to be more ruthless and eager for control. The two merchants are mercenary at heart, not as cold-blooded as the Hutt but greedy just the same. That is all three's weakness, which can be used against them. The captain is boring, mundane but cunning. His eyes never stopped evaluating everyone. The Hutt's bodyguards really are her slaves, though for what purpose besides her comforts, I'm not sure. They could be her bodyguards as well, but I doubt it. She seemed too secure in herself, overconfident enough to not think she needs them. They may be spies for her enemies as well. They are the wild cards."

Ashanti stopped in the corridor they entered from the elevator. Qui-Gon noted it wasn't their quarters' corridor. "Very good, but let me give you alternate view, though I have no doubt you are correct in some way of the captain's guests. The merchants are not just common merchants. They are empire magnates, and their power is great. Money will buy things that honor cannot, despite the wrongness of it and money has bought them much. They think it will buy them more. The Hutt you have nailed pretty much head on, but add this to your evaluation. She is not just a female rising to power over a male dominated society, but an enemy of that society. She works for no one, including herself. Right now she is in the employ of those merchants, though why I have no idea. That type of alliance, I will tell you, never bodes well for anyone." Qui-Gon's mouth dropped. "Those bodyguards are not bodyguards, true, but more like pleasure slaves. Their dress and subservient manner suggests this. Also, a small probe with the Force tells me this. They are basically harmless, but I would not turn my back on them all the same."

"You use the Force to ascertain the nature of innocents!" exclaimed Qui-Gon in shock. That broke the Code!

"No, these are potential enemies. No matter how safe your environment, Qui-Gon, there are always potential enemies. Never forget that." Ashanti tapped him on the nose with the tip of her tail, one barb gently brushing his skin without breaking it.

"What about the captain?"

Ashanti grinned. "The captain, my dear Qui-Gon, is a former Jedi knight. He left the Order of his own accord, deciding he would rather pilot a transport than battle evil-doers. He is very shrewd and he loves to deal with the scoundrels of the universe, which is why he captains certain Jedi around, like me. Trouble is magnetic, and I'm the positive to the positive. You observed the ultimate trouble deterrent. He may be boring to listen to, but he's one person you want at your back in battle."

Qui-Gon was stunned. The underlying lives of the people he had met were not obvious to him, and he was curious how Ashanti knew this. She had seen nothing different that he had, but she viewed them in a way that gave her more pertinent information.

"As for your question," Ashanti continued, watching her padawan closely as his brain tried to assimilate everything she had told him, "I have to answer with a question. What did you expect the bond between master and apprentice to be?"

"Well," floundered Qui-Gon, a frown creasing his brow in confusion, "I understood it to be this internal link between the two, some unknown tie that allows each other to know of danger, give warning or even communicate without words."

Ashanti nodded and began walking again. Qui-Gon followed her, feeling ridiculous to be following a woman smaller than he. Her stride was confident and she exuded self-assurance. That his master was an enigma, Qui-Gon had no doubts, and he was rapidly becoming confused about the relation between them. Did she not bring him to the Temple? Did she not claim the right to accept him as her padawan without even viewing the other students?

She stopped at a viewport that gave a breathtaking view of the stars the ship vaulted past them at high speeds. "What do you see, Padawan?"

Qui-Gon looked out, seeing the stars in all their universal glory. "The universe, waiting to be explored and protected, thousands of worlds of peace and war. People surrounding each star on planets, living their lives as all people live, with love, joy, tears, anger, hate and fear."

Ashanti considered his words carefully. "Do you know what I see?"

"No, Master Ashanti," Qui-Gon answered respectfully.

"The same thing," she sighed. "Even with my vast experience of what the universe is really like in all it's brutality I still hold an optimistic, yet realistic, view of what the universe could be like with the right influences. I have seen horrors that twists the soul and makes one believe in nothing divine, and I come out scathed but still whole, still idealistic. I bond with you through your innocence and unworldliness. You bond with me through my experience and jaded attitude. We exchange each with the other, learning from each other. We have only been together one day, the bond won't be obvious, you know," explained Ashanti, still staring at the stars.

"What was your bond with Master Yoda like?" the padawan asked, also staring at the view before him.

"Annoying." Ashanti smiled when Qui-Gon looked at her startled. "He is so strong in the Force that he knew everything I was going to do before I even did it. I couldn't get away with anything!" Qui-Gon tried to imagination a small Ashanti, a young padawan, trying to pull pranks with the even smaller and wise Yoda keeping a close eye on her. He burst out laughing. "You think it's funny, do you, Padawan? Just wait until you try something. I'm going to catch you at it and do the same thing Yoda used to do with me."

"What's that?" he sputtered, still laughing. She pulled her lightsaber, it's blade a low hum with a purple hue and swished it at him. It was obvious she was challenging him to a duel. Obligingly, he pulled his own lightsaber, pale blue in color and bland in design.

They fought up and down the empty corridor, scarring the walls here and there and heedless of the window ports. Ashanti tried every trick in the book and found that Qui-Gon had a counter or a move to get himself out of whatever trap she put him in. Slowly, dawning understanding became clear in Qui-Gon's dark blue eyes. The bond strengthened with every exchanged blow and concentrated effort to determine what the opponent was going to do next.

When they finished, Qui-Gon collapsed in exhaustion on the floor, eyes wide with the power he had felt flow from his master to him. Ashanti grinned down at him from her perched position on the ceiling. "Do you understand now?"

"The bond takes it time?" Qui-Gon huffed disbelievingly, still catching his wayward breath.

She nodded. "Sometimes, I understand, it takes time. Sometimes it's immediate or it may never happen at all, but I think we don't have to worry about it. Some of those countermoves you didn't learn at the Temple, did you?" He shook his head. "I didn't think so, because I thought of them as I moved and then you countered with what I thought of. Our bond is quite strong, it seems, whelp." Ashanti flipped from the ceiling, landing softly next to him. "Shall we get some sleep?"

"What is The Planet of Thoughts, Ashanti?" asked Qui-Gon, pulling himself from the floor and heading back to the elevator lift.

Ashanti easily kept stride with him. She is remarkable, Qui-Gon proudly thought, and she chose me as her apprentice! "From what I understand and read, it's a planet of pure atmosphere. No solid ground, at least none worth mentioning, just a livable gaseous atmosphere. The people native to the planet have discovered that off-worlders' minds can manipulate the gases into solid forms, creating whatever fantasy worlds they choose. So The Planet of Thoughts has become a travel resort, a place of relaxation and leisure. For a price, a small bit of the atmosphere is reserved for you to manipulate as you desire."

"Bizarre," Qui-Gon commented around a yawn.

Ashanti smiled tiredly herself. "I agree, and though I think it seems too good to be true, I've seen enough strange things in this universe to accept it until I can prove otherwise." They arrived at their quarters and she followed her padawan in. "You take the bed for now, and I'll bunk on the floor."

"Yes, master," yawned Qui-Gon and was asleep before he even got laid fully down.

Ashanti shook her head in disbelief, pulled off his boots and ruffled his hair slightly with affection. "You look too much like your father, Qui-Gon Jinn, do you know that?" she whispered sadly. "I told you, Ron-Seng, Ravia, that he'll make a great Jedi. I'll make it so."