Sneezefic by tarotgal > To Be A Master

Qui-Gon straightened his robes in the mirror impatiently for the fifth time. With a sigh, he stormed over to his com panel. "Rizza, at what time did the Aesculapius dock?"

There was a pause, then a buzzed reply from the docking station, "Two standard hours now."

Thick fingers swept over the panel as he muttered, "Thank you." His fingers then ran over the top of his head, the hair inches in length all around and flowing back in a stream out of his face. Everything had felt out of place all day, and this was simply making it worse. It was the first docking of the Jedi's medical ship on home world, which meant a triumphant celebration banquet that Qui-Gon had somehow been put in charge of by Yoda who had not ceased to deliver orders to the Jedi as if the two were still Master and Padawan. But Qui-Gon had been most excited at the ship's arrival because of the friend the ship carried, Tala D'Marke, his old roommate at the academy and perhaps dearest of his friends from that time. He'd planned for weeks to meet the ship on the docking pad but a prerecorded transmission from Tala that morning had instructed him not to; it also inferred that Tala would make contact as soon as they'd arrived and settled.

It had been two hours already, and still no call of any sort. Qui-Gon sensed something wrong indeed, but the specifics were being hidden well from him. Where was Tala? Why hadn't there been contact yet? `If something is wrong,' Qui-Gon reasoned to himself. `Tala and the others would probably be at the healing dome, seeing as they are healers.' In a single flowing movement, he grabbed his robe, pulled it over himself and closed the door behind him on his way out.

The snow coming down was wet and cold, the sort of snow that is useless for building snowmen but not thick enough to impede any ships from going about their business. It chilled Qui-Gon as he hurried out of the halls and across the straightaway to the soft white glow of the healing dome.

Only seconds after he had stepped out, his arm was pulled by a man passing by, who stopped him in his tracks with a frown. "Jedi Jinn… you didn't reply. It's been nearly five days."

Qui-Gon sighed, snow falling upon his face as he looked up at the green-faced, orange-haired man. "I have been busy with the reception, Master Gou-Rine" he fibbed, trying to block that fact from the man who could undoubtedly tell. His nose was running from the cold, and he rubbed it, putting effort and concentration into that feeling alone.

The man only smiled back knowingly, cocking his head to the side. "We want your decision in two days time, no later or we'll not be able to give you an assignment if you wanted one." He paused, reaching over and patting Qui-Gon on the head through the robe's hood. "We do want you to take on a Padawan learner, Qui-Gon. If you wish it…"

It was getting colder by the minute, and he was not a step closer to locating Tala. "What I wish is to be indoors where it is warm, Gou-Rine." Better not to give an answer in haste, especially one he'd been avoiding for seasons now. Before, they had hinted, they had prodded… but now they were asking, almost begging. He sighed, "But I will give you my decision in time."

Satisfied, the man gave a bit of a bow. "That is all I ask, Jedi Jinn. Oh, and if you see Yulip, tell him he owes me money for the races. He should knew better than to make a bet with a Jedi Master."

All that Qui-Gon was focusing on was getting to the dome. He'd be warm and able to dry off, and he'd hug Tala and begin to hear all about the travels. "Yes Master. May the force be with you."

"And with you, Qui-Gon."

Qui-Gon hurried along, leaving the man behind, staring up at the traffic in the city skies. "Force!" he grumbled when he was well out of hearing distance. "All week I've avoided him." As excited he was at the prospect of taking on a Padawan learner, and as pleased he was that the council had so much visible faith in his abilities, something in the force was holding him back. It was not immediate, it simply lingered in the future, just out of reach, just out of sight. Something, he knew, would go terribly wrong no matter which way he decided. And the force seemed hesitant to show him the correct path. Or perhaps he was having trouble blocking out his fixation with this terrible thing in order to listen closely to what the force was telling him. Either way, he was hesitant to make the decision and he certainly didn't want to deal with it now, in the cold and the snow.

It was truly a short walk, but Qui-Gon was soaked by the time he stepped inside the dome. He pulled off his robe and rubbed his hand furiously up and down one arm, then cupped his hand over his nose and mouth. Eyes slowly closed, body pulled back with a deep breath, then swayed forward, "ah-Ehshoo!" He pulled a handkerchief out from his back pocket. Sniffling, he gave his nose a bit of a wipe, then tucked it away again. He ran his hand through his hair again, and folded his soggy robe over one arm.

A medical droid greeted him at the entrance, "Please state your name and malady."

Qui-Gon smirked. This was the first time he'd ever been there not to be examined. "I'm looking for Healer Tala D'Marke who—"

"The requested healer is not stationed here. He currently serves upon the Jedi medical ship Aesculapius." The droid's lights seemed to blink impatiently at him.

Well, that was certainly no help. What to do now? A healer passing from one room to the next caught Qui-Gon's eye, and he raised his hand to gain attention, exclaiming, "Master Arnoch!"

The Jedi master raised his head from his datapad, putting on a smile. "Why, Qui-Gon! You look so much older than last we spoke. How are you, lad?"

"Very well," Qui-Gon replied. Master Arnoch happened to look a bit older than Qui-Gon remembered, too. Well aged, like a fine wine. Thick white hair circling his head, bushy white brows, kind violet eyes. "And yourself?" He wanted to ask about Tala immediately, but knew he couldn't be so impolite as that.

The master, fortunately, knew better. "Fine, lad. I had Tala move the bags and supplies of our crew to their quarters. I thought it best he stay out of the way—"

Grinning, "Thank you! May the force be with you!" he bounced excitedly.

The aged master nodded. "And with you, young Jedi."

Qui-Gon dashed off toward the visitor quarters, shivering once as he pulled the wet robe over himself, and again when he was back in the wet snow. It was coming down now more like a cold rain mixed with hail. Nothing hurt falling, but it soaked into the robe, into his tunic, into his skin, freezing. He was shivering constantly by the time he reached the visitors' quarters. They were nothing so lovely as the sparse normal quarters devoted to the Jedi. A few rooms were reserved for dignified ambassadors, royalty, senate leaders. But the rest were run down stone rooms with wooden pallets and running water, all molded together so that as a unit they wouldn't look so bad.

Inside the hallway, out of the snow, Qui-Gon stripped off his robe again, wringing it out and folding it over his arm. Then he found a heat vent on the wall and squatted down in front of it. His nose was running again and he gave it a good blow and wipe. He was beginning to grow a moustache and certainly did not want to appear unkempt in front of Tala. Of course the man had seen him at his worst, but that was hardly the point. It had been years since they had seen each other, and longer yet since the ex-Jedi student had been forced to leave Coruscant. Qui-Gon rubbed his hands together and flapped the folds of his tunic in the warm air to dry it. Meanwhile, he scanned the area for the familiar sense of Tala, and found it just a few doors down. Things were certainly starting to go right. Feeling sufficiently warmed, he sniffed his nose clear and straightened, heading straight over to room V56 and buzzing hello.

He waited a while. Then a while longer. He buzzed again. And waited. He hesitated to call out Tala's name, in case he'd made a mistake in whose room it was. But it was minutes before the door finally opened.

Just as Qui-Gon had sensed, it was Tala. But he looked awful. Normally, he had an awkward, gangly, geeky sort of look about him. Tall, lanky, features too big for his face. But he had strong eyes, a sweet smile, and a sense of devoted caring which got him through any wall a patient might put up. Normally, he was not the most handsome or the most charming. But today… today he looked awful. His face was pale, his eyes looked tired. He was dressed in an over-sized green Jedi healer robe which fell over his form loosely. He held a balled up tissue in one hand, and his other hand was inside the sleeve, the cuff hanging over. Qui-Gon blinked away a look of surprise, "You look awful, Tala."

He smiled, looking down at the ground as he bid the man come in. "Have't seed sniff, sniff, each other id five years add that's the best you could do sniff for a hello?"

Qui-Gon smiled back, a bit embarrassed, then reached out and patted him on the back shoulder blade. "It's so good to see you again, Tala."

"Thadks, sniff, sniff, Qui. Sniff! Good to see you, too." He rubbed a finger beneath his sniffley nose and then pulled back. "Please excuse…" his breathing ran quick. "Thidk I've got to…to… hehh—" he turned, moving both hands up, palms pressed together, with his nose, mouth, and the tissue in between. His hands and face were hidden almost entirely by the long, cumbersome sleeves as his breath caught and he bent forward. "—Ehshoo! heehh-Ehktchoo!" He gathered his breath but lingered in place a moment. "Excuse be."

Qui-Gon quietly shut the door behind, leaving the room dank and dark but private. "Arnup'tchow," he whispered softly, with concern. "Sick, Tala? You?"

Tala nodded, presently blowing his nose. "Sick, ideed," he answered, lowering his hands with a sigh. "I ab sorry for not codtactidg you sooder. I was hobidg by health would ibrove buch bore—"

With a laugh, and a pat on the shoulder "Tala, I can't understand half of what you're saying!"

The man dabbed the tissue at his nose, then rubbed his forehead. "I'b sorry."

Shrugging, "Don't be. Come, sit down a little and we'll talk. You look like you're going to fall over from fatigue."

"Heh," he chuckled, allowing the Jedi to pull him to a crate to sit. "You ared't far off there."

They sat down on a crate, the whole room was filled with them. Crates of medical supplies, of standard issue blankets and pillows, bedpans and pills, bioreaders and pads, books and papers. Tala sat on one side, leaning against the wall for support, his arm, shoulder, waist and side of head all up against it. He sat cross-legged, his other hand with tissue in it resting in the space between his body and his bent legs. He sighed, closing his eyes.

//Better, yes?// Qui-Gon's tone was comforting, warming, soothing.

Nodding, Tala agreed. "Yes."

"Good." He reached out and took Tala's hand, holding it gently. "Now, blow your nose, cough, and speak slowly."

The healer, blushing, did just that. "I was sayig that I hobed—"

"Hoped?"

A nod yes. "I hobed that I would be rid of this head cold before seeig you agaid."

Qui-Gon brought his legs up in front of him, knees bent, legs crossed, his arms wrapping around them. "As I recall on our last visit with each other, I was the one with a cold. We seem to have bad luck at this."

"Bad luck," Tala repeated in agreement. "But I am glad to see you. It's beed so lodg!"

"Yes, so long," Qui-Gon said. "Many changes."

At this, Tala grinned. "Yes! You, a Jedi!" He squeezed the man's hand. "So broud of you whed I heard the dews! Little Qui, a real, full Jedi!"

There were few people in this world who could have gotten away with calling him anything remotely similar to 'Little Qui' but Tala was indeed one. "Thank you."

"Of course I dew you would do it," he continued, looking so happy. "You have such rebarkable…" he stopped short, cupping his tissue hand over his nose and mouth. He pulled his other away just in time. "ehhhKetchah! hehhhEhshooo! Ektchah!!"

"Arnup'tchow," Qui returned, watching the man struggle. "Do you not have a hanky?"

Tala shrugged, sniffling. "It's backed id a box subwhere." Then he blew his nose again, softly, as the tissue was dying.

"Packed somewhere?" Qui-Gon attempted to decipher.

The healer nodded, looking miserable.

Qui-Gon offered his own, of course with the warning, "It's just slightly used, I'm afraid."

But Tala grabbed hold immediately, rubbing his nose dry quite thankfully. "There's dothig," he said in between blows, "sniff, sniff! There's sniff, sniff, nothing so bad sniff, as a Healer with a head cold and no hanky."

Qui-Gon smiled. "Keep it. So…" he stretched his legs out, over the edge of the crate, and sat back against the wall. "These are your quarters here?"

He nodded, rubbing his nose. He stood and walked over to the other corner where a few boxes sat around a make-shift nest, a few standard issue blankets and pillows tangled on the floor. "I was takig a dap… sniff, sniff. Oh, excuse be agaid…" he cupped his hands over the lower portion of his face. "ehhh-Ehshhh! hheh-Hetch-uhh! ehhhEhtchhh! Sniff, sniff!" And blew his nose a half dozen times while Qui-Gon patiently looked on. "I was napping when you came. Not very comfortable, but at least it's dry and warm. The environmental controls seem to keep things nicely regulated here. The ship was freezing coming in, so Master Arnoch lent me his robe." He held his arms up, the large sleeves flopping against the thin, bony arms. "I don't think it suits me… but it keeps me warm enough."

Qui-Gon smiled. Years ago, it was still a sensitive subject, but now Tala treated it as if banishment from the academy were simply commonplace. "No, Tala. That shade of green was never your color." He stood was well, making a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Come, I'll show you around. There have been many changes in the last few years. And we'll get a bite to eat for lunch. There's a reception for you all tonight, I'm sure you know." He paused, stuffing his hands into the front pouch pockets of the robe. "Uh, as long as you feel up to it?" How sick was the man feeling? How much was he hiding?

Tala forced a cough to clear his throat. "I'd be delighted, Qui-Gon. As lodg as by sdeezig doesd't bother… bother you?" he quickly backed away a step or two, raising the handkerchief. "ehh- Ekeshh! Heh-Heshooo! Sniff sniff! Speakig of theb… Sniff, sniff, sniff! Excuse be!" He gave his nose a few short blows.

"Tala, it's been five years since we've talked face to face. If you feel well enough, a few sneezes don't bother me in the least."

"Good," Tala said with a meek smile, rubbing his nose. "Because I defiditely have the sdeezes today… ehh… heh- Ihhhhshh! hehh-Ehshh!"

"Arnup'tchow," Qui-Gon blessed him again as the two headed to the door.

After dabbing his nose and clearing his throat, "I believe that's my line?"

Qui-Gon gave a light, innocent shrug. "I've always thought it was cute. Besides, bet you've never had anyone bless you the way you bless everyone else?"

Smiling, "Hardly anyone." He clapped his friend on the back in thank you and closed the door behind them.

The afternoon went better than Qui-Gon had expected it to, considering his friend's poor health. They'd seen quite a few key spots of the city, including taking a small shuttle past most of the taller skyscrapers and just past the council's tower which had been a somewhat healing experience for Tala after all the negativity that had occurred there for him. He had grown up as a prospective Jedi, and had known no other life than the Jedi ways and the ways of healing. It was only fitting that even after banishment he still have the Jedi as coworkers and friends. They had ended their talks early so that Qui-Gon would have time to finish preparations for the banquet. Tala took the opportunity to take a warm bath and unclog his sinuses a bit.

The banquet itself was going remarkably well. Just the right mix of music and food. Everyone was mingling well, with small talk in a few places and deeper conversations in most others. Qui-Gon had a chance to apologize to Master Arnoch for their briefly-ended conversation earlier, and he also got another suggestive lecture from Yoda about becoming a Master. It had not been long since he and Yoda had become peers rather than Master and Padawan, and it was still an odd feeling to hear Yoda speaking so casually without direct orders or instructions. "Fear change you do not. Fear responsibility you do not. You fear the idea of fearing these, I think. Live with such an unprecedented fear you should not."

Qui-Gon knew Yoda was right, that the only reason he was reluctant at all was the odd feeling he had whenever he considered opening himself up to a student as a master. Odd because it was new… but odd because there was some sort of problem that would arise. But he had no idea what would go wrong, and it was pointless to fear something he did not know. It was pointless to fear at all when the force was with him. The force would always show him what to do. But it had not yet told him to take on a Padawan now.

Shaking the thoughts from the front of his mind, Qui-Gon decided to find Tala. He hadn't seen the man at all that evening, and was eager to continue to catch up. The banquet hall was large to accommodate all the Jedi from initiates to council members, as well as the crew of The Aesculapius though there were only nine of those, not counting droids. Everyone wore formal attire, robes in most cases which were large and bulky, and the crowds were busiest around the buffet tables. So Qui-Gon began in the front, scanning outward and moving slowly. He sensed the man was there somewhere, but things were cloudy and there were so many Jedi's speaking telepathically that he was certain Tala with limited abilities would not be able to hear him from afar.

It was nearly half an hour later when Tala finally located his healer friend. Tala was sitting in a corner chair, half hidden by a plant. His elbow was propped up on the arm, his head on his hand there. His legs were pulled up on the chair, bent and curled, and he looked cold in a mere dress shirt, tight slacks, and boots. Qui-Gon bent down beside the chair, a hand on Tala's shoulder to steady him. //Tala. Wake up. I'm going to take you to bed, Tala.//

Tala stirred, snapping awake in a panicked moment.

//It's all right, it's Qui-Gon.// He made eye contact with his friend. //You fell asleep here at the banquet.//

Tala nodded, a sneezey expression passing over his face. He quickly raised a dark handkerchief which matched his outfit to his mouth and nose. "heh-ehhhhshhhh! Ehhh.. Iheshhoo!"

"Arnup'tchow." Qui-Gon reached over with the back of his hand and felt Tala's cheeks and then forehead. //You've got a fever. You need to be in bed.//

Tala nodded, rubbing the side of his hand beneath his nose and shivering slightly. He reached out a hand and Qui-Gon gripped his arm, and pulled him up with a hand on his back. Tala leaned against Qui-Gon as the man wrapped an arm around his waist. He took a few steps toward the exit, then stopped, turning around. "Baster Ardoch…"

Qui-Gon located the man across the room. "He's fine. Talking with Yoda."

Tala cupped a hand over his nose and mouth quickly. "ehh- Ihshoo! hetchuh!"

Qui-Gon tried again to guide the man out, but Tala protested, shaking his head, sniffling madly. "Baster Ardoch… I deed to… he deeds to rest… I'll talk to Baster Yo… Yoda… ehhh…" He rubbed and wiggled his nose, trying to get rid of the tickle. "ehhhh…" he looked confused, desperate, weak. And people were starting to notice.

Qui-Gon pulled Tala against him, his friend's face against the shoulder and front of his robes. Then he wrapped his arm around, to hide the thin man's form as much as he could in the extra folds of cloth. "Go ahead and sneeze. I've got you."

Giving in, Tala shook his head, but sneezed. "ehh-Effshhh! Heh-Ahshhh!" The sneezes took quite a lot out of him, and he fell weakly into Qui-Gon's ready arms.

Qui-Gon closed his eyes and did a rudimentary, brief but effective sweep of the man. //You must get to bed right now. You're running a terribly high temperature and you're going to be sneezing and coughing much more in a minute. You know very well Master Arnoch can handle himself. Whatever it is, I am certain he would rather wish you recovering in bed rather than fighting a cold in the middle of a banquet hall.//

Tala pulled back, looking up at Qui-Gon, who was just a little taller than he was. "Take be back to by quarters?"

Qui-Gon nodded, leading the man out and down the halls, with his friend leaning on him and sniffling constantly. They made it down and over to the visitor's section in no time, and Qui-Gon made sure Tala was safely in his quarters before he relaxed again.

I love Star Wars, but I did not create it, nor do I receive money for playing with the fandom like this. I did create Healer Tala, but again, it's not my universe and I don't get a cent for this.