"But Master!" Obi Wan whined.
"Obi Wan!" Qui Gon was getting irritated with his 15 year old Padawan. Obi Wan's jaw snapped shut, and he began to pout. "Obi Wan, a Jedi does not need extra credits, nor does he pout when he doesn't get his way."
Obi Wan's expression sobered immediately, but he still retained that crest fallen look that Qui Gon could hardly refuse.
*Sith this boy has me catering to him.* Qui Gon smiled at that. He looked seriously at Obi Wan. "However, Padawan, I understand that Bants thirteenth birthday is nearly at hand. And as she will either be taken as a Padawan or leaving for the Agricorps it would be nice of you to get her a small gift."
Obi Wan brightened, "Then you will lend me the credits?"
"Not a chance." Qui Gon said straightfaced. "I think this would be a perfect learning opportunity for you."
Obi Wan felt his heart sink into his feet. "Oh Sith, not another 'learning opportunity.' The last one nearly killed me.*
"Any normal boy your age would have a job or apprenticeship by now..."
"But master, I AM apprenticed...." Obi Wan protested with growing fear.
Qui Gon continued speaking, ignoring Obi Wan completely. "Since we are between missions at the moment, I would like you to find a job outside of the Temple, but still close by. You can work after your studies hare are complete every night."
"Master, what about my meditation time?" Obi Wan said in a last attempt to put this horrid thought out of Qui Gons head.
"You can catch up on it when we go on our next mission!" Qui Gon said in his 'This discussion is CLOSED' voice, that Obi Wan was all too familiar with. "You may do what you wish with the credits you earn. This isn't about credits. I wasn't you to see from the point of view of the majority of boys your age. You may go look for a job now if you like."
Obi Wan stared at him, unbelieving. In his smallest voice he managed to say "But I was going shopping with..."
"Now Obi Wan Kenobi!"
*Oh Sith, why don't you just shackle me and sell me to the slave market.* Obi Wan grabbed his cloak as he headed obediently out the door to find his new 'job'.
Obi Wan met up with Reeft and Garen Muln just as he was leaving the Temple to get a transport.
"Obi Wan!" Reeft waved at him and smiled.
Obi Wan sighed and decided that he had better catch up with them and explain things now.
"We had thought that your master wouldn't let you come with us." Garen Muln said.
"I'm not going with you. Master Qui Gon said that I have to get a 'job'." Obi Wan spit out the word with obvious disgust.
"A what??!" Reeft looked at him like he had said something dirty.
"You heard me. I don't really want to talk about it right now. I'll take a transport with you to downtown if you don't mind. Since I don't have a single credit right now."
Reeft nodded, and Obi Wan sighed as he climbed into the transport with them. He explained the situation a little more on the way to the Food and Store Sector. When they reached Obi Wans destination Reeft and Garen Muln gave their sympathies, and Obi Wan was alone with his humiliation.
*I don't believe this. I was raised as a Jedi, I don't have any skills for this kind of work. I could find a job where my Jedi training would come in handy, but that would be against the code. This is beyond the point of NOT FAIR!* Obi Wan realized that he was standing in the middle of the street sulking again when a transport going about twenty over the Limit nearly ran him over. He got onto the walk way, and looked at all the businesses to choose from. *Well at least I have choices.* He sighed again and tried to decide where to try first.
He tried the Falcon Exercise Club, Re Tals Sports Equipment, and Cal Lea's Transport Repair. All three of which were equipped with personnel who laughed in his face and kindly showed him the door. He was beginning to get rather upset. He walked into Terya's a food service chain that was rather prominent on three planets in this system. He had gone in with the intention of getting something to eat, and it wasn't until he had gotten to the counter that he remember he didn't have a single credit.
"May I help you?" The large humanoid behind the counter asked in a gruff and rather frightening voice.
Obi Wan just frowned. "No, I just remembered, I don't have any credits." The man behind the counter smiled, "Are you looking for work, we have a few positions open."
Obi Wan shrugged "Why not, it can't be that bad here, you just give people the food that they want and transfer their credits."
* * *
A standard week later, Obi Wan stumbled into his quarters and collapsed on the sleep couch nearest to him. Qui Gon smiled at him. "So, how was your first day at work?" Obi Wan just glared at him, then rolled over onto his stomach and sighed into the pillow. "That bad?" Qui Gon asked, no concern showing in his voice.
Obi Wan spent the next four standard weeks working at Terya's before he quit. Qui Gon was less then pleased, but he was fairly understanding.
"Don't worry Padawan, the first job is often the hardest, I'm sure that the next one you get will be better."
"Next one??" Obi Wan wailed. "I just spent four weeks working in that... that... In any case, I had enough credits to buy Bants gift, but not enough energy to spend more then five minutes giving it to her. And on top of that, the rest of my credits all went to transports to and from work. I may NEVER eat a Grellian burger again after I saw how they make them. Why in this UNIVERSE would I need to get another job??"
"Obi Wan," Qui Gons voice had softened, "I wanted to get a job so that you would learn about the responsibilities that the majority of your peers face. And I don't think that you've learned that yet. My master had me do the same thing when I was about your age."
Qui Gon's words were less then comforting to Obi Wan, because he realized that he was going to be forced to get another job. *Oh PLEASE let a surprise mission come up tomorrow morning!* Obi Wan begged in his head.
He didn't get his wish.
Obi Wan went out the next evening to find another job. The only thing his master had said was that maybe he should try to find one closer to the temple this time. *Such great advise. Talk about stating the obvious!* Obi Wan had the transport pull into a refueling station not far from the temple. He paid the driver with what was left of his credits from his first job and walked in.
So began Obi Wan's career at the Galactic Transport Refueling Center. It was considerably better then the job at Terya's had been. There was just as much to do, with less variety, but he didn't have every hungry child in the sector screaming in his ear that he or she wanted the Wookie toy and not the Droid toy with the meal.
After a few weeks of seemingly ENDLESS days where he went about his studies, then went straight to the Station to work the night shift, Obi Wans salvage came. It came in the form of a pink slip however.
"Fired??!" Obi Wan looked at his boss with complete unbelief in his eyes. "What do you mean I'm fired?" As much as Obi Wan hated this job, and as much as he wanted his life back to normal, there were two things that ran through his mind. First, he couldn't think of anything he could possibly have done to be fired, and second, Qui Gon was just going to make him go out and get ANOTHER job, and this one might be even WORSE the Station.
"I'm sorry Obi Wan, but we are making some cutbacks, and part of that is that we are going to be closed at night now. So we don't need you anymore."
Obi Wan felt his heart sink, this wasn't fair, he hadn't done anything wrong, they just didn't want him there.
When he went home from work on that last evening he had to face telling Qui Gon what had happened.
"Learned something, have you?" Qui Gon said with a smirk. "I think that maybe you've worked enough for now."
It was the words 'for now' that caught Obi Wans attention. Did this mean that he wasn't going to have to work at menial jobs for terrible pay anymore? Or did it simply mean that Qui Gon was letting him take a break, and would make him find another job soon?
"Tell me Obi Wan, is there a moral you have learned? Or are you still clueless as to why I sent you out to find a job in the first place."
Obi Wan was about to say that he was honestly still confused, but much to his surprise, he found that he HAD learned something. He struggled to put it into words. "I think Master, that I learned that not only is it hard to find a job at all, much less one you like, but its hard to adapt to what they have you do, and even harder to keep that job when you aren't needed, even if you are a good worker."
Qui Gon smiled at the boy. Why don't you go meditate on this some Obi Wan.
Then get some rest. We have a mission in a couple of days.
The End.
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