Chapter 8: Meeting Allies (Patreon)

Jacen sat across from Brianna in a small, offset room in the Temple; she stared at him with a dark black eyebrow raised, her elegant-featured face set in a small frown. “You’re kidding,” she said bluntly, though she knew it was the opposite just from the small set to his jaw.

The Jedi Padawan gave her what she could tell was a purposefully infuriating grin. “I’m not,” he replied,

“You want me to join you searching for some kind of dark artifact?” she said, frowning to drive her point forward at him, tilting her body away slightly. “I don’t know a lot about Jedi, but I know enough to just state how bad of an idea that is.”

“I understand that it’s a large ask,” Jacen dipped his head, and there was an honest note of conciliatory emotion to the motion.

Brianna felt her gut tangle with the faintest essence of guilt, though she didn’t know why. “Why?” Brianna said shortly, even as her cheeks reddened.

Jacen frowned, confused. “Why what?”

“Why?” Brianna shook her head, thinking, “Why would you want me?” She let herself fall still, attempting to read her opposite closely.

Jacen blinked and then gave her a small smile. “Would you believe me if I told you the Force is telling me most certainly that I need you?”

Brianna bit her lip, thinking over the absurd statement, yet in the same way it was certainly an understandable Jedi statement.

“Is that all?” Brianna cocked an eyebrow, and then, despite herself, needled slightly, “It’s not that you trust another Echani, even a Thyrsian, more than your order?”

Jacen shrugged, “The Jedi are the family I have known; that’s not truly relevant. What is, is whether you want to take our offer of sanctuary or wish to help me.”

“Not a great negotiating tactic,” Brianna frowned, confused. “Why would I want to put myself in more danger?”

Jacen shrugged again. “I’m not going to attempt to convince you,” Jacen said freely. “I’m asking because I feel that you may have your own reasons, and this will give you a chance to resolve your own feelings.”

Brianna scowled, “Jedi can read minds, right?” she asked bluntly, her gut twisting, wondering what exactly the Jedi had gotten from her, whether he had already known the beginnings of her plan to avenge her father.

Jacen frowned. “Yes,” Jacen admitted, “But I’m not reading yours.”

Brianna looked at Jacen with a raised eyebrow. “Can you prove that?”

Her gut twisted as she looked at Jacen; there was something odd about him. Something almost more, her instincts poking and prodding her about him, the almost pleasant sensation at the edge of her perception as she sat across from him.

Jacen raised an eyebrow, “It’s difficult to prove a negative. I could point out that most attempts to access someone’s mind are rather intrusive; you’d almost certainly know if I was attempting to read yours.”

“There’s something more,” Brianna shook her head, attempting to piece together the sensation, “It’s like I’ve been able to feel you wherever you are; there were these strange sensations the other night-” she paused, her cheeks reddening, not willing to continue.

Jacen cocked his head to the side. “I did not think you were able to reach out into the Force,” he said.

Brianna blinked, shaking her head, and scoffed, “No, far from it, I’m no Jedi.”

“Not all Force Users are Jedi,” Jacen shrugged. “Your presence has an untrained strength to it; I just did not think it would grant you perception from that far.”

Brianna's cheeks remained reddened against her will; even as she frowned in thought at the Jedi’s words, she had never considered that possibility. A part of her still didn’t really believe it, but he said those words with such certainty...

“So,” she shook her head, attempting to return to the main topic, “You want me to come with you?” she said.

Jacen dipped his head, smiling slightly, “Yes.”

Brianna contemplated it, really contemplated it; it was insane, but a part of her was truly considering it. She trusted Jedi about as much as any of her former Sun Guard compatriots had, but that was the thing: they were honorable, and if Jacen said he’d protect her, he’d already proved himself capable.

But more than that, she had a feeling that Jacen knew more about Damask than he let on. He was planning something, and if he was, then that might mean she could avenge her Father. Not that he’d been a particularly great example, but it was the Echani way; her family had to mean something to her, even if she was the last.

So a slim smile curled up her lips, a sly one because a part of her was curious what Jacen’s response would be, “So I got a big bad Jedi to take care of me? No one’s going to pick on me, are they?” she asked painting on amusement to her voice, poking and prodding to see if she could get his actual reason from him.

Jacen snorted, raising an eyebrow. “I guess that could be one advantage with traveling with Jedi,” he dipped his head.

Brianna smiled wider, crossing her arms over her stomach. “I’ve also heard that Jedi have pretty decent stamina; maybe there’s another reason I want a Jedi?”

Jacen blinked. “Celibate monk,” he replied with a raised eyebrow.

“That makes it better,” Brianna grinned, a small smile of victory flushing over her face as she saw Jacen’s cheeks redden the faintest amount; she wasn’t sure if he actually believed her act, he hadn’t been shocked at least by it, but Brianna found herself wanting to push him more, to see if she could break the Jedi façade, “If I manage to push you to such a thing then I’ve truly defeated the Jedi haven’t I?”

Jacen raised an eyebrow at her, an amused quirk to his lips, “I don’t see how telling me this gets you anything,” he pointed out.

Brianna giggled coquettishly even as she examined him; he seemed to be reading her even now, not embarrassed in the slightest, perhaps knowing the overt flirtation was nothing at all.

She shrugged carelessly, “I’ll come with you; that’s all you need to know.”

Jacen hummed, nodding his head, “Thank you then.”

-

“You want something from me?” Aayla asked, looking confused, and looking up from the datapad she had been working on at the Temple’s dining area, the cavernous halls soaring above our heads.

“Yes,” I admitted shamelessly.

Interest flickered through Aayla’s eyes before something wicked flickered in her hazel eyes. “As your senior Padawan, I’ll of course instruct you as you wish,” she almost purred, the Aayla I had first met resurfacing in her playful smile.

I gave the woman an amused smile, not able to find it within myself to flush; even the way she said it, there was an inexperienced air to it. Aayla was trying on a type of personality so far from her own it couldn’t be done completely.

“You want to match sabers again?” I asked curiously, and Aayla visibly winced, her cheeks coloring a deeper blue.

“Maybe not that,” she shook her head a small amount, more like her smile returning to her lips, “You’re absolutely insane in that regard; I’d rather face the troll.”

“I’ll let him know that,” I remarked, amused, keeping my smile restrained as Aayla started, almost panickily, her cheeks turning a truly deep blue hue now.

“Maybe not,” I smiled pleasantly, “I was wondering where your next mission with your Master might be taking you?” I asked curiously.

“Some dispute on Onderon,” Aayla shrugged her shoulders easily, “Where are you being sent?” she asked curiously.

I smiled, though that was a farce, not truly felt. I couldn’t, shouldn’t, tell Aayla the task I had been assigned, though perhaps I could tell her the first stage of my plan.

“We’ll be resolving a conflict on Serenno; there are apparently concerns among the current Council of Dukes who want mediation between them.”

Of course we hadn’t been assigned to that mission; I had chosen to take it, based on flickering cracks I saw spreading out from it, and because I knew who exactly sat on that Council and I was… curious.

A worried frown crossed Aayla’s face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? That’s all the way on the Outer Rim and I thought the system was ruled by the D’Asta family who weren’t exactly on good terms with the Republic.”

I smiled pleasantly, “Jedi don’t only help those who like us; we’re meant to serve the galaxy,” I replied.

Aayla slowly nodded, hesitating for a moment that I felt through the Force as her presence reached out to mine fully, and I felt her emotions trailing along my mind.

Concern. Loneliness. The faintest edges of darkness.

I restrained myself from returning my own emotion of concern; our temporary bond should not still be that strong, yet examining it close to her, I found the strand somehow strengthened even more so than I had last seen it.

“Take care of yourself,” Aayla murmured, almost hesitatingly, and I knew why, because I felt how her emotions had dipped far past what a Jedi should allow themselves.

Why? I was unsure; we hadn’t interacted overly much, but the Force was strange that way, and truly, when you felt someone in the Force as we had, you knew them in ways words didn’t justify.

Even now we could both tell Aayla wanted to say something more to me right now, even as I knew that it shouldn’t be said until later.

“May the Force be with you,” I nodded my head to her, smiling softly.

-

If my goodbye to Aayla was the epitome of the Jedi way of relationships, my goodbye to Ani was the complete opposite.

The girl stood fiddling with a droid, refusing to look my way, her head cloaked underneath her curled hair, seemingly attempting to ignore me for all she was worth, perhaps thinking that by doing so she delayed my departure for a second longer.

“It’s going to be a while before I see you again, isn’t it?” she murmured softly.

I shrugged helplessly, “That’s probably up to the vagaries of the Force, isn’t it?”

Ani scowled down at the parts in her hand. “We’ve barely gotten to know each other; I’m not sure why it is that I care so much,” she admitted quietly.

I smiled sympathetically. “It’s not forever, Ani,” I hesitated, unsure if I should say my next words before I forged ahead regardless. “And in the Force, separation is itself an illusion; I’m always with you.”

Ani turned, raising an eyebrow, and I saw slightly watery blue eyes staring at me quietly. “Do you really believe that?” she asked softly.

I frowned, thinking over Ani’s words before, relying on instinct, I bent down, pressing my forehead against Ani’s own, feeling her soft, warm skin under mine as her blue eyes widened as she looked up at me.

I opened my mind and extended a current out to her, offering it up.

Ani’s eyes fluttered as she touched the current, and for a moment our minds melded; I presented my deep certainty that what I was doing was necessary, not just for myself but for the Galaxy, and to that all I could still feel Ani’s reluctance.

I reached further, letting her connection join with mine, and I felt an overwhelming flow of energy traverse me, and for a moment we stood in a galaxy of fractures in brilliant gleaming displays of crackling light.

Slowly, carefully, I reached out searching for what I needed, aware of the risk I had taken by showing Ani this but having felt in the moment it was right.

We stood on soft sandy shores staring out across a blue ocean I had never seen before. I turned to see a slightly older Ani in a brilliant white gown standing across from another beautiful woman I had never seen before wearing similar white.

And there I stood in a formal-looking black tunic accented by notes of pale white, a small smile on my face, before my blue eyes flicked to look at me, and then inconceivably winked.

I was once more staring at Ani, who was looking at me in shock, her normally pale cheeks flushed red. “What was that?”

“Your future,” I replied calmly, or at least keeping as much calm as I could after having felt what I imagined catching a lightning bolt would feel like, “Or at least the future you’re headed towards.”

“No,” Ani shook her head. “I would never betray the Jedi.” She was looking at me, panicked, and I smiled warmly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“There is no betrayal to Oaths that need not be sworn; if you are happy, then that is the future I will work for,” I smiled warmly, though I only just managed to keep shakiness from it, the overwhelming nature of the vision being more than I had anticipated.

Ani hesitated. “You would do that for me?” she asked, her voice soft, confused.

“You feel it, don’t you?” I cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’ve tracked me across Coruscant and come to my aid for little reason. I promise you now, Ani, I will endeavor to see a future for your happiness.”

Ani obviously could sense and track me in the Force for reasons I didn’t deign to interpret right now; as it stood, I would leverage it.

“Why?”

I shook my head, amused. “A Jedi needs no reason to help someone.”

Ani frowned, looking at me unamused.

I smiled, “But perhaps in a not-so-Jedi sense, I would have you be happy.”

Ani’s cheeks flushed a bright red. “You’re not going to ask who that was?” she said quietly.

I shrugged, grinning. “I’m sure I’ll find out.”

Ani’s cheeks became a massive deep flush, and her blue eyes averted.

-

Getting our preparations ready for a long-term mission from the Jedi Temple was difficult in that the first real question it presented was where we would go now that we had been given free rein to pursue this darkness.

While the Masters had stated they would further investigate the Sith Temple beneath our feet, I was more concerned with how to stop the stirrings of the war, as a first step.

They weren’t yet called Separatists in the Senate, but there were stirrings within the body of the lack of function of the Republic and what needed to be done to change that. Functionally, though, what I needed to do was somehow form an intelligence network to find the information that I was missing.

Which led me back to the Mandalorian woman I had encountered when I was going after Senator Chom Frey Kaa.

Our intelligence hadn’t investigated her overly much, which meant I had to once again submerge myself within the Holonet. On a surface level, it was nonsensical: why would I need a Mandalorian, especially one that had actively attempted to kill me?

There was just something about her, though, that spoke to me.

Now, after being given the lead to pursue my premonitions, the Force that had been silent vibrated beneath my hands.

Of course, tracking a Mandalorian Mercenary was easier said than done, and even that said, the real issue was fundamentally that I didn’t know why the Force wanted me to do this.

And that wasn’t the only thing bothering me; the name lurking at the back of my mind, Count Dooku.

The man who should be a Sith Lord; to engage with him on his own territory of Serenno was an absolutely insane thing to do.

Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the right thing to do.

I had contemplated the Katana Fleet more, and the more thought I gave it, the more I realized that even if I had need of it at some point, I lacked the personnel to crew it, even with the advanced droid intelligences within the ships.

“Trust the Force, huh,” I murmured aloud before I stood up from my terminal, smiling softly to myself, before turning to head to the hangar.

We had been outfitted with a small bulbous XS stock light freighter of Corellian Engineering, not out of place anywhere in the galaxy, which was its purpose, along with enough supplies to keep us going for some time, though considering our first destination I had the strange feeling that we wouldn’t be making use of the vast majority of them.

I also had the strange feeling that I’d be seeing Aayla at least again very soon. Whatever the reason the Force had shown me how to prevent her capture, I had a similar faith that there was a larger reason for our meeting.

Which in part just increased my own belief that Jedi were truly insufferable.

Stepping into the freighter, I took a deep breath of the air, feeling for some reason an almost faint nostalgia though I couldn’t guess as to why.

“It’s not bad,” Celeste admitted from beside me, her arms crossed over her stomach. Looking around in thought, she looked at me. “I suppose I’ve traveled on worse,” she said with a small, amused smile, before she looked to Brianna, who was dressed in dark black cloth and leathers with a blaster strapped to her right thigh and a collapsed electro staff attached to her left one.

Brianna shrugged, though I noticed a small burst of relief as she walked further onto the ship. “I’m just ready to get off world,” she grumbled.

Celeste raised an eyebrow before looking at me, her face a perfect Jedi calm. “Are you ready, Jacen?” she asked.

I nodded my head slowly, before a small grin ticked the corner of my lips upward as I looked at my Master with a raised eyebrow, “Are you? You seemed rather hesitant to leave this morning?”

Celeste’s cheeks colored a light red, and she averted her gaze even as Brianna turned to look at her curiously.

“What’s this about?” Brianna asked gruffly.

“Nothing,” Celeste said, shaking her head, once more returned to Jedi calm, “I was merely insistent that we practice before we left.”

Practice, so that’s what she wanted to call it; my lip twitched upward as I felt Celeste’s force touch tweak my ear slightly in aggravation.

I walked away, pacing the ship to make sure we had our actual supplies before walking back up to the cockpit, settling into the pilot’s seat and beginning to do a pre-flight check.

I hesitated momentarily as I fiddled with the devices in the cockpit, wondering for a moment when I would next see the Temple, who knew when we’d be returning, and for the vast majority of my life this Temple had been my home.

Or just a pretty cage.

A soft, slightly sad smile spread across my face. What was a Jedi? I had often contemplated the question, and now, leaving, I felt that I had part of an answer.

A Jedi involved themselves in the business of others, attempted to save and comfort the weak and weary; they brought light with their very presence.

And here sat the Temple, far above the troubles of the galaxy; that was not a place for Jedi. A Jedi should go to the far reaches of the Galaxy, go wherever they were needed.

We restrained ourselves in the Temple and allowed our enemy to steal a march on us.

The ship hummed to life as I hit controls and switches with alacrity before igniting the engines.

“Time to see the Galaxy, huh?” I muttered.

I set the ship to begin rising out of the planet’s atmosphere as I pulled up a holomap of the galaxy, feeling my fingertips tingle with icy cold trails as I drifted over the blue light searching for a moment.

Before I was ultimately drawn to Serenno.

Well, wasn’t that interesting?

-

Count Yan Dooku pondered deeply.

Sitting in his luxuriously appointed office, he attempted to determine where this moment of contemplation had come from.

The darkening of the Force had long concerned him, the stagnancy of the Jedi, until some two decades prior, he had been granted full vision for a brief moment of an inflection point. A person he had to wait for, who would come to him upon which together the stagnancy of the Jedi Order would end.

It was only that vision that had kept his vision from straying to the darker mysteries of the Force; the vision had been absolute; all that would be required was much of the vaunted Jedi Patience.

And to leave the order.

Yet the Force practically vibrated before him now, seemingly desperate to inform him the moment for which he had long waited was now at hand.

With a tap to his holocom, he informed his attendants that the incoming ship would be granted a landing pad at his estate, and with a measured pace he began his journey there, arriving in time to see the ramp coming down and for three people to emerge.

A dark-skinned woman, with black hair and pale blue eyes, dressed in dark blacks, a blaster and electrostaff attached to her hips.

A tall woman with a long black braid and warm brown eyes, who moved with the sinuous grace many Jedi Masters did, wearing monochrome clothing with her lightsaber holstered at her hip.

And a tall young man with white hair, part of it in a padawan braid, cool ice blue eyes looking about the platform in thought, his hand idly resting on the hilt of his saber.

His blue eyes met Dooku’s own, and Dooku inhaled a breath as it felt like a cool, clean current of water had submerged him, the Force gently billowing out from the man.

“I am Count Dooku,” he dipped his head, “Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“Celeste Morne, Jedi Master,” the woman with the braid said.

The other woman hesitated for a moment before she said simply, “Brianna.”

The young man spoke, “I am Jacen Sol, a Padawan; we’ve come to talk to you, Count Dooku.”

Jacen smiled pleasantly at Dooku, and Dooku examined the boy searching for the arrogance and pride of the Jedi, to see if they had tainted yet another pupil, only to find… a plain of arctic ice and rock, underneath which moved deep oceanic currents; sight that had darkened near the boy lit up the faintest amount.

“Please then by all means come in, and we will talk,” Dooku remarked, a small grim smile crossing his face, unable to restrain the faintest flash of interest that the boy’s presence sent through him.

They walked to one of the outer courtyards before taking a seat together a droid pouring refreshments for them.

As they partook of the refreshments typical of the Serenno elite, namely a steeped, slightly sweet, acidic drink and soft, warm cakes, they did not speak, merely letting their presences in the Force settle against each other.

It was Jacen who spoke first, surprising Dooku. “We didn’t expect to receive such a warm welcome, your previous association with our order regardless,” Jacen smiled pleasantly, “What has a member of the Lost Twenty done all these years in isolation?”

Dooku raised an eyebrow at the almost tweaking Jacen did, but there was something knowing about his gaze.

“I spend much time in meditation and contemplation,” he said sternly, “That is when my family's affairs don’t require seeing to.”

Jacen nodded his head, but it was his Master that spoke then, “I am told that you left the order, Count Dooku.”

 Count Dooku turned to look at Master Morne, a Master he had neither seen nor heard of before. “And you were wondering why?” his lip curled slightly, not quite a sneer, but something close.

Master Morne smiled softly, “Not truly, I think meeting you answers that question; the Jedi are not what they once were,” she replied.

Count Dooku’s brow furrowed as he attempted to parse Master Morne’s statement, not truly able to understand how it had come about from a Jedi of the Order.

“It’s a long history,” Master Morne shook her head, “But suffice to say, while we have been authorized by the Order on our current mission, I at least am not blind to the defects of current Order.”

“And what do you think those are?” Count Dooku asked, curious despite himself.

Master Morne released a long breath, her attention turning away from them for a moment. “The Jedi are the peacekeepers of the Galaxy, but we also live in a time where we have become a political instrument of the Senate, and the Senate, as we both know, does not truly represent the people of the Galaxy any longer.”

“Those are difficult words from a Jedi,” Count Dooku remarked.

Master Morne shrugged, “But they are true from what I have seen; we are instruments of an Order sworn to two conflicting things: our ideals and the supposed representative of the people, the Senate.”

Count Dooku slowly nodded, “And what answer have you come to?”

“The Sith are returned,” Master Morne said, “Or rather they were never truly defeated, but this is something not perhaps unknown to you.”

Count Dooku's expression became more grave. “You are referring to my former Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn,” he said, and an element of sharpness emerged in his voice.

Master Morne dipped her head to him, and Count Dooku stroked his beard for a moment.

“Yes,” he finally said, “I have thought for a long time and have come to the same conclusion as you, but that does not tell me what you mean to do with this information.” he regarded Master Morne again seriously.

“We have been assigned from the Jedi Order to find the extent of this threat,” Master Morne shrugged.

Count Dooku regarded them, feeling their presences in the Force, attempting to determine what these people before him carried about themselves, what could make them the Order’s choice for such an endeavor.

He could find nothing, so he asked, “Why the pair of you?”

Padawan Sol spoke, “Because I’ve found a way to look through the darkness clouding our vision,” he said quietly.

Count Dooku, if he were a lesser man, would have allowed the astonishment he felt to show on his face; instead, he scowled thoughtfully, “Truly? I did not think the Jedi still had such technique or ability among them.”

Padawan Sol nodded, “It’s not particularly easy,” he said, “But it can be done in exceptional or the right circumstances. I came to you because I got the impression that there was some reason we needed to meet.”

Count Dooku furrowed his brow, his heart lightening strangely in his chest, even as he felt his mind tense.

Was this what he had been waiting for?

“A duel then,” he said with ease, “I wish to see your abilities before we speak more.”

Master Morne frowned, and Brianna looked surprised, but Count Dooku did not truly care what they thought in this moment.

He wanted to see his vindication.

“Of course,” Jacen nodded, and Count Dooku's heart stirred as he heard the almost eager edge to the boy, ice blue eyes flashing at him.

They left the courtyard to go to the large open-air ring of black stone set on the cliffside where Count Dooku maintained his form.

They stopped to face each other, and Count Dooku regarded Jacen’s lightsaber, noting the engravings upon the hilt before it lit up a gentle thrumming ice blue, his form opening on Djem So.

Count Dooku ignited his own saber, a darker blue springing forth even as his hand curled around the grip as he slid into opening Makashi.

The air seemed to split as they were suddenly in front of each other, and Count Dooku met power with finesse, sliding the blade away with flicks of his wrist.

Count Dooku narrowed his eyes as his guard was almost opened by an unexpected parry, and then he fell back onto a casual single-handed defensive.

Further and further he fell into his own Makashi as he met a now changing Djem So brute force becoming elegant strategic strikes, the power reverberating through the air as the force flowed through them.

Across the stone they danced, and Count Dooku found a smile beginning to strain at his lips as he finally encountered something he had not seen before.

Decades he had spent on his Makashi, and while this Djem So was still developing according to the Padawan’s style, it was far beyond what he would have expected from even Masters of the Order.

It was like a legendary Jedi of old was attempting to strain forth from the boy’s limbs, a Jedi from back during the time of the wars or the Lords attempting to make his mark on the world.

Qui-Gon Jinn had been dear to him. Rael Averross equally so. Neither of them was unskilled in lightsaber combat, and both were willful to the extreme.

Matching blades against this Padawan was completely unlike that; it was like trying to fight a storm- overwhelming force yet somehow each strike was directed purposefully, and Dooku’s eyes widened as he realized he was being asked a question.

‘Who are you, Count Dooku?’

He replied with his own blade, measured, controlled strikes, ‘I have been in more battles than you have seen in years; I have seen the pride and arrogance of the Jedi; their downfall is now almost assured.’

Darker blue flashed rapidly, but it was rebuffed by the storm, ‘The Future is undecided, uncertain, you cannot give in before the battle has begun.’

‘Foolish,’ Dooku replied, attempting to press further.

‘You’ve forgotten yourself,’ a flashing pale ice blue blade almost caught him off guard, ‘A Jedi does not give in.’

‘Child,’ Dooku stepped forward, attempting to batter the boy back with a Force Push, only for his strength to be matched with a hand directed back toward him, ‘What right do you have?’

‘I know how this all can end,’ an opening flashed in the sea of blue, but right before Dooku went for it, he retreated, realizing it was a trap.

Dooku found himself unsteadied by the certainty of the blade before him; it was a certainty he had long lacked, especially after the death of Qui-Gon, since perhaps he had gone into recluse.

Was this the inflection point he wondered? Was this what would change and evolve the Jedi into what they should have been?

He couldn’t be sure, but this blade of certainty was not the Order’s tool; that much was for certain.

He retreated back a step as did Jacen, and they both switched off their lightsabers.

Jacen’s face was slightly flushed, and Dooku could feel the boy’s body thrumming from the combat; youthful exuberance, though, was tempered by cool ice blue eyes that regarded him with a gentle smile.

For a moment the darkness of the Force was gone, and Dooku clearly saw the boy ahead of him.

“Yes,” Dooku nodded his head, “I will help you.” A grim smile crossed his face; if this was the path the Force gave him to reform, he would not shy away from it.

-

Dooku was in some ways exactly as I expected and in other ways the opposite. For one, I needed no truer sign of the changes to the Galaxy than him.

If he was a Sith Lord, I was sure I would have seen or felt it, especially in our duel, but crossing blades with him, I had been met with the fact that while Cin Drallig was an excellent lightsaber instructor, even he did not match Count Dooku in mastery.

It had been wondrous in a way I couldn’t really describe, and I felt a connection with Count Dooku merely from having crossed blades with him.

Even if Count Dooku had no resources at his disposal, I still would have wanted to see one of the finest saber duelists the Order had wrought.

And he was fine, peerless perhaps in his chosen discipline of Makashi, advanced to such a level that it had been as if we could communicate across our blades, and it was that communication I was sure that had convinced him.

We had spent the rest of the night in discussion, and it was there I began to attempt to direct the man’s attention to how unprepared the Republic was, seeking his insight into what he thought should be done to address it, only breaking as the night truly began to fall, the man giving us rooms on his estate.

We had met together again in the room that I had taken, a truly needlessly massive structure with a well-appointed bed and furniture to talk, Brianna’s presence practically buzzing against me, while Celeste regarded me calmly.

Brianna was of course the first person to talk, “So what mystical poodoo just happened, I didn’t understand any of it,” she said bluntly.

I glanced at my Master, curious as to whether she would say anything.

Celeste smiled faintly at the other woman. “It’s said among the esteemed blade masters of the Jedi Order that they can communicate across their sabers,” she said, before shrugging, “The same is said for Echani.”

Brianna frowned and glared at Celeste. “I understand that; I’m also Echani,” she scowled, shaking her head, “I just don’t see why this Count Dooku took Jacen at his word.”

Huh, she used my name; why did it sound strange coming from her lips?

“Dooku was a Jedi Master,” I smiled faintly, “He left because he believed the Jedi Order had lost its way; we came here to show him there was still a chance for something different.”

“So he trusts you now?” Brianna raised a dark eyebrow.

I shook my head. “I believe he’s willing to give us a chance. Dooku cares for the Jedi, but he believes them stagnant. I believed that presenting myself before him may make him reconsider that.”

Brianna raised an eyebrow, but then sighed and looked away. “You’re really strange, even for a Jedi; you know that?” she said quietly.

I shrugged before turning to look at her seriously. “If you like, there were some techniques I wanted to help you develop,” I said, and Brianna raised an eyebrow at me, frowning, though it was an indication to go onward.

“I told you your presence had an untrained strength; I want to help you develop it,” I said.

Brianna snorted, shaking her head. “I didn’t sign up to be a Jedi,” she replied.

I smiled softly. “I’m not intending to make you one, but I believe you should be allowed to have control over your abilities because an untrained force user can also damage themselves.”

Brianna frowned. “How so?” she asked challengingly.

Celeste took the opportunity to reply, “The Force often reacts to our own minds and strengths of will; without proper training, we can find ourselves using it in ways that aren’t safe for our bodies.”

Brianna rubbed her forehead before something seemed to occur to her. “The Force can help you find stuff, right?” she hesitated before continuing, “People you’re looking for, for example.”

I nodded my head, “Among other things.”

Brianna slowly nodded her head. “Well, fine, I guess, but if you give me this ability, I’m not going to owe you anything more,” she glared at me fiercely.

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t expect you to,” I said firmly. “Whatever I teach you is yours; if anything, think of it as compensation for your assistance.”

And as far as I was concerned, the less said about the bond I had forged by accident, the better. It was too much to drop on her tonight, and shut from my end it was nothing I could use, a distinction I doubted she'd find comforting. She'd have to hear it eventually. Not tonight.

Brianna nodded slowly with the wariness of any wild animal presented free food or drink and unable to figure out in the moment if there was a trap they could not see.

“It’s late,” Celeste said, “I believe we’ll have enough in the morning to keep us occupied to not burn the rest of our energy tonight.”

Brianna nodded, and I saw the twitch of relief in her and the small relaxing of her presence as she stood. “Goodnight then,” she said and then left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving me alone with my Master.

“You showed a great deal of faith,” Celeste remarked.

I couldn’t help the small twitch of my mouth in amusement. “I trusted the Force; there’s a difference. Dooku can be a valuable ally, but he’s been played by too many people. If we’re not upfront at the very start, we risk losing him.”

Celeste cocked her head to the side, seemingly in thought, her pale, elegant neck stretching in a very distracting manner.

“It’s strange,” she admitted, “I’m not used to trusting anyone, but you seem to do it so easily.”

“It’s not about trust,” I smiled faintly, though I couldn’t help the sad edge to it, “I just know if I don’t extend him this bit of faith, he could very well also end up our enemy.”

Celeste frowned, seemingly in thought, “I would not think a Jedi, even one who left the order due to political differences, could fall so easily.”

There was something hurt there, and I was not for the first time reminded that Celeste’s own brushes with the dark side were not the result of failing discipline but Sith artifacts, that her strength of will was incomparable to almost anyone I had met.

Celeste hesitated, and her cheeks reddened slightly as she looked away. “I would not be unamenable to sharing your bed again tonight,” she remarked quietly, almost shyly.

I turned to look at her, slightly surprised, not expecting her words or the shyness that came with them.

Celeste hesitated, her cheeks coloring even more. “I know perhaps it is not strictly necessary; I am feeling fine right now, but I don’t think it would hurt either of us to go into tomorrow,” she hesitated. “Refreshed?” she finished almost questioningly, looking at me with darkened brown eyes for a moment before they averted.

Completely against my will, my heart clenched in my chest, and I felt blood beginning to rush through my body.

“I suppose I’ll follow your lead then, Master.” I let the word rumble through my chest, enjoying how Celeste’s gaze was now completely averted even as her hands came to her white top trailing along her firm abdomen before unbinding it and letting it fall free from her chest.

My eyes landed on her pale pink nipples, already hardened, poking outward from her creamy white breasts that youthfully sagged ever so slightly on her chest as my Master smiled at me, seemingly amused by the distraction she had caused.

“I can’t believe you’re now using your body to distract me,” I said, shaking my head though not able to avert my eyes.

“Think of it as a lesson on focus,” Celeste purred, smiling brilliant red lips at me.

Author’s Note:

It turns out when someone is born in a galaxy full of precognition, the ripples can be rather outsized, huh?