Chapter 13

As Yoda and Mace sat contemplating the young Jedi Knights request for leave Thann was thinking about how he could be a better Jedi and came to a few personal conclusions one of those being to make sure that next time he did things more so according to the code and not just respond to any situation in any manor even if the outcome wasn't something he'd like living up to the example his Master had set before he died. Finally Yoda broke the silence knowing that the young man before him needed an answer to his request and given the circumstances would not be denied if it were any other but still what Quinlan had told the Council about Thanns actions on Kashyyyk greatly concerned the Jedi Grandmaster and wondered if he'd been to quick to promote this boy to Knighthood still it was a decision he would he live with along with allowing him to learn one of the Orders most dangerous lightsaber styles which in the past had driven many to the darkside, yet he could see that Thann had not fallen to the darkside but still he needed guidance and so he did the next what he thought would be the best thing for the young knight, " your request for personal leave has been granted", Thann heaved an internal sigh of relief until he sensed a 'but' coming with that request and soon he heard it from the Grandmasters voice " but you will take Master Vos with you wherever you decide to go an eye he will keep on you." The Grandmaster said in his funny little way of speaking.

Thann wanted to laugh at how the Jedi Grandmaster spoke and he was glad that his request was granted and even more so that he'd been paired with Quinlan since that was his plan since their last conversation on Kashyyyk and everything was working out according to plan but he knew that something could derail it if he didn't plan just like his Master taught him. Quinlan was waiting outside the Council chambers since he knew that Thann would want to talk to him since he knew that Yoda and Mace would tell him were the concern was coming from and didn't want that to drive a wedge between them especially if they were going to work together on releasing Anakin's mother.

Thann was surprised to see Quinlan waiting for but he began to sense the mans emotions were in turmoil most likely due to the stress he possibly put on their fairly new relationship but Thann knew that if it had been his Master it would have been somewhat the same and Thann knew that still there were some differences since each master taught differently at their own discretion and Thann knew that what was done was done out of concern and not spite so he didn't take it to hard since they had bonded during their mission on Kashyyyk so Thann decided to address it right away " Quinlan can I talk to you in private?" to which Quinlan nodded his head and followed Thann to his quarters which he'd not been back to since he'd mostly been off planet since the mission to Naboo since the death of his master and that suddenly hit him he'd not been back to his personal quarters which was located close to his masters old quarters which when he thought about it he felt his heart hurt a little more from the loss but now was not the time to deal with his emotions so he put them away and pulled out a chair for Quinlan who was standing near the door. When both men finally sat down and got comfortable, Thann was the first to speak " Quinlan I want to thank you for keeping an eye on me and expressing your concern to the Council though next time I would rather you point out my mistakes to me before it gets to that place. I am still young yes, but I do listen and learn, also I have no hard feelings about what you did since I know it came from a place of concern and not spite."

Quinlan was surprised that Thann was understanding with him taking his concerns to the council and he knew that Thann was also right that he should have talked to him first, but the thing that crossed Quinlans mind was that Thann was a knight and not a padawan and he should have had better control of his emotions then again he was still the youngest knight in the order and at least he was willing to learn from his mistakes to which Quinlan knew that most others would dismiss his concerns and take it as an attack on their character but Thann had differently which surprised the Jedi Master, still he had his reservations especially with the request that was made to him on Kashyyyk by his fellow Jedi.

Quinlan took in what Thann had said to him on top of the thoughts running through his mind which he knew would run wild if he let it due to his investigative nature but he knew what Thann was saying was true since he was using the force to sense Thanns emotions since he didn't want his judgement clouded and after everything finally sank in he spoke " I'm glad your not upset with me and going to the Council and yes I could've talked to you first but I'm not your master and your no longer a padawan still though you are young and still need some guidance so I'll do my best, the other thing concerning young Skywalkers mother is a major breach of the Jedi Code and goes against the will of the Council, still he did enter the Order late having his mother close by might center him and on the other hand it could backfire, it's hard to know but we won't know until she's here, and since I know that you got vacation time from the council I'd say its time to we get a move on to Tatooine.

Both men knew that there was nothing left to say so Quinlan left the room heading to his own to pack his things to get ready for their trip and Thann did the same once the man left. An hour later both men were on a transport ship in normal clothing so that they wouldn't attract attention from any of their fellow travelers still they kept their weapons close by just disassembled but still easy to access and be used if needed. Thann was amazed at the many different races he saw during their onboarding, some he'd never even encountered and that made him realize the duty that he held as a Jedi Knight of the Republic yet he knew the very mission him and Quinlan were about to embark on was outside of the Republics jurisdiction, Quinlan noticed the awe on young Thanns face as well as a feeling of deep seriousness which left the older man as to why he was feeling what he was, " Thann is everything ok?" Thann began to stow his things away and answered at the same time " I'm fine Quinlan I just never realized that we serve many people since I've only been to a few planets during my apprenticeship and seeing all these people just really opened my eyes that we truly are the servants of not just the Force but the galaxy and it reminds strongly of my oath as a Knight."

Quinlan didn't expect to hear something so deep and made him think of his own sworn oath and the memory of his becoming a Jedi Knight and stowed his things next to Thanns while he reminisced. The plan that they had come up with was for Thann to enter few underground races and win money that would be could be used on Tatooine since Republic credits didn't work out that way and the first place Quinlan recommended they stop at was Narshadaa since that was the best place to make money fast and Quinlan had a connection that would help set them up in the races and other underground games, along with setting up an alternate identity since it didn't look good if a Jedi was just out there beating people on the track at least according to Quinlan but Thann had his own ideas yet he knew that his senior had more experience than him so he deferred.

The trip to Narshadaa was only a few days and in that time Thann had learned to play a few holoboard games and one a few games that earned him quite a bit of credits from there Quinlan taught the young man how to play sebacc which was a sophisticated card game amongst smugglers and those who hung out in cantinas which further helped Thann in deciding what he wanted to do to make money still there was one other option podracing which was a much bigger gamble and Quinlan wanted to heavily avoid since it would draw all kinds of unwanted attention especially due to the fact that Thann was a standard human and no human would be able to react in time without the aid of the force and that would draw attention from the Order and so Quinlan asked his contact if there were any high level games happening.