The Goat

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, all unoriginal. Also I have no money anyway, nor will this in any way create any. Any similarity to anything is accidental.

Rated G I guess, I don't plan on anything bad, might change a little, a really minor character or two might die.

Trying to be humorous and sweet about the relationship between Dooku and Qui-Gon. Several issues I wanted to resolve: Obi-Wan is supposedly very 'by the book,' why would such a maverick pick him as an apprentice? Dooku is very confident in Jinn's loyalty- just to dig at Kenobi or was there something more. Why would Qui-Gon tell Anakin – 'you will find out who you are?'

Italics are thoughts

Part I: The Best Padawan

Knight Dooku had a good reputation. He was not as famous as some of the more spectacular fighters, nor was he as strong in the force as some others, but those who knew him respected him. Dooku had been distinctive from his earliest training, mainly because he never did anything distinctive. He was an excellent duelist, but he was lacked some of the originality or group skills that other knights had. He was a skilled diplomat, but at times he betrayed a lack of empathy with those he sought to help, a scorn for their lack of vision. He was a traditional Jedi, yet he displayed a rigidity in his own nature that went far beyond the Jedi code. He disliked disorder, irregularity, and disobedience. The closest he came to personal joy was how, under his manipulation, whatever mess he encountered was brought into harmony with the unifying force. All things under his hand became orderly. The treaties that he brokered fairly glowed with the force. To look into the future and watch it develop so nicely along the lines he had drawn and foreseen was his greatest joy. His heartbreak was the chaos of the republic. The constant quarrelling, the unraveling that dominated his life.

His main fault was his contempt for those who did not follow the Jedi code, which was most of the galaxy. He saw them as greedy, lazy, and stupid. Though he did not, as a Jedi, deign to use such pedestrian terms, he considered them uncouth in his mind and untutored in his speech and left his commentary at that. He disliked almost all systems of government with a passion, since he saw them as mismanaged by fallible and indolent beings. Most politicians, and it was a major part of being a Jedi, did not notice his dislike of them. Some did. It gave him even more reason for his dislike.

His own master, Yoda, had trained dozens of knights, and he saw great potential in Dooku. He had constantly impressed upon the young man the importance of individual life, had urged him to seek respect of others through the living force. Dooku remained unconvinced of the point. It was, he showed his Master Yoda, not in the Jedi code of conduct. The living force itself was in none of the early manuscripts as a focus of the Jedi. It certainly existed, it was the first part of Jedi awareness, but it seemed to Dooku no more than a means to an end. The unifying force was the entire point of the order, or rather the unifying force was what guided a Jedi through all the ways of the force and its manifestations. The living force was merely being aware of your surroundings and behaving in a manner that conflicted with the life forms around you as little as possible; to use a word in standard, to have 'compassion'. Dooku, while he always paid attention to blending in with his surroundings, did not see why compassion needed to be studied. "So easy, to find, hmm?" replied Yoda. Yoda had sent him to a tiny planet, which was completely covered in swamps and marsh. He had instructed his padawan to meditate solely on the living force- not on what was, or what might be, only to be.

Padawan Dooku had established a crude camp in the marsh and sat down to meditate. By carefully concentrating he was able to see through the Unifying force that he would only be on the swampy muck pit for thirteen standard weeks and several days. Then a small political matter, a civil war, recalled him for active assignment. He could deal with that. Master Yoda seemed to give up on the point after that. His only comment was that he expressed a wish that Dooku might someday have a padawan that behaved in the same manner.

At the age of thirty-five Dooku had not yet taken a padawan, and he wondered now if there was something prophetic about his sudden recollection. Yoda had been pushing for him to take one, and given his growing inclination for disputes at the council, it seemed a logical step. The padawan would have trials in about ten years, giving him a close ally, and the weight of the title of master. It seemed the sensible thing to do. He meditated on the matter, and the force was in agreement. It was time for the knight to become a master.

Dooku proceeded to the initiate's quarters to watch the classes. In the second class he spied a likely human, big for his age. Dooku smiled. Humanoids were one of the more athletic and more adaptable species; they also had a tendency to be some of the strongest force users. This boy had tousled dark hair over piercing green eyes. He frowned in concentration at the lesson, and then quickly followed the instructions of Master Mundi. Each initiate was constructing a pattern of different colored and weighted balls, and then suspending it. This boy was one of the more successful. Dooku reached out and nudged a light blue ball out of synch. Instantly, the boy turned towards him. Hands on his hips, he radiated a series of emotions: slightly irritated, then surprised, and finally curious. Dooku was impressed to see how attuned the initiate was to the force signatures of those around him. He had instantly picked out the culprit. The initiate then returned to his lesson, quickly rebuilding the pattern. One sparring match later Dooku had made his choice.

He approached the boy after saber class and acquired his first padawan learner. Dooku introduced himself and learned the boy's name. He informed him that he was chosen as a padawan, if he wanted to be. Initiate Jinn had smiled, which Dooku took as acceptance. The boy had then voiced formal approval in imitation of his new master, and Dooku had radiated approval.

The boy, Qui-Gon Jinn, craned his neck to look at the tall man with close cut hair and a light mustache. Initiate Jinn was glad the knight had not come in for technology or piloting, or he would never have gotten a second glance. Now he was able to watch his master, Master Dooku he reminded himself, fill out the necessary data pads that officially began his apprenticeship.

The temple crèche master then turned to Qui-Gon, "Congratulation initiate, you will now have new quarters, your general studies are now your own responsibility, to be tested at regular intervals for satisfactory progress. Since your master is a young knight on active duty, you will have an extreme climate orientation class. You have several compulsory courses to fill in the gaps when you are not on missions… Also, as an apprentice to a knight, you are now an official servant of the republic. Here is your credit reader."

The blue hand of the instructor with its stubby fingers presented Qui-Gon with a thin card. As he took it, he felt a glimmer of distaste from Dooku at what? He wondered. But it slipped away from him and for a while he was busy trotting to match his master's adult stride. Qui-Gon followed his master through seldom-visited parts of the temple and into his new life. Higher up in the temple there were many similar halls. The floor was not as well worn, and the force signatures were less distinct. As though everyone was hiding or trying to be quiet. It reminded him of the library. Padawan Jinn frowned, then made his face neutral as Master Dooku showed him the entrance code and opened the door. Qui-Gon forced himself to concentrate on the code, since he hated codes, but fortunately it bore a faint resemblance to the water breathing toads, nantos, he had recently enjoyed meeting in marine life class, and he found it easy to remember the code visually in that way.

Dooku found himself inexplicably uncomfortable, and the words came out in a rush, "This is the common room, my room is the first door, the second door is yours. It's empty, and hasn't been used. I will contact the quartermaster and request the standard issue items. You'll need a robe as soon as possible as well as Nutrient pills and an E- pack. I'm sure you will find those supplies to be adequate for the time being."

There was a short pause as man and boy looked at each other.

"Yes master," Qui-Gon remembered to say.

"Well, then… padawan."

Dooku inwardly felt a flash of irritation. He knew the course of events to follow. In the next week he was supposed to bond with his apprentice, establish a training bond, begin to meditate and do as many things as possible together to establish a sense of partnership. Then they would be master and apprentice and everything would proceed as usual. Of course, he still had no idea what to actually say in the meantime. The boy kept staring at him as though he expected something more, and Dooku was beginning to feel rather uncertain about the whole thing. He prided himself on having a calm and elegant manner, but his own master had been Yoda, and he surely could not adopt his own master's approach of hitting his new padawan with a stick. Dooku was struck with a sudden feeling of not rightness – he could return the boy, it would be tragic for an initiate of course, but the young were resilient. At that moment only Dooku's sense of propriety that kept him from backing down, it would be rude to return the boy now. Then the unifying force spoke to him, and it spoke of great possibilities and opportunities. Yes, he had chosen his padawan, and the choice was a good one. Meanwhile this young life form that swayed like a weathervane in currents of the living force was feeding off of his own lack of balance. Dooku inwardly sighed and reached harmony in his mind. Having a skilled padawan was one thing, but living with one quite another. The living force was going to be humming in his head once he opened the training bond, and he so much preferred to focus on the larger picture. It might have some advantages, however, the unifying force could certainly not help the current situation.

Qui-Gon stood still for a moment, then turned and entered his room. He had never had a room. In the crèche they lived in dorms. He missed the other force signatures of his classmates; they were seldom this far from each other. He tried to sense the former inhabitant of his quarters and encountered nothing. A wave of loneliness rose inside of him. He walked over to the room controls and opened the window. Strong sunlight beamed in. This high up in the temple the considerable smog of the city was lessened. He could see thousands of crafts navigating the city below. He reached out gently through the force and felt the presence of all the life forms.

The room itself looked no more cheerful in the light. It reminded him of the crafts they used for their off-world field trips. The same gray carpeting and slick metal counters and shelves. The same white sheets on the bed, even the same light fixtures. In fact the emptiness around him reminded him a little of the cold void of space, where so few life forms spoke to him. The few times he had gone he had concentrated hard on the force signatures of his peers in order to ignore the vast emptiness. Instead he now focused on the man outside his door, his new master.

It was strange; to focus this closely on someone he didn't know. It was disturbing to find how differently the force flowed through the man. It wasn't like the soft constant radiance of the crèche masters or the open give and take of his fellow initiates. Even the familiar living force seemed suddenly altered. He realized his master was uncomfortable, more than that he couldn't read. There were many alien thoughts and perceptions, adult ideas and concepts he had never felt. Behind that there was nothing, emptiness. It was Qui-Gon's first experience with force shielding, and he didn't like it. It was like the surfaces in his room, clean and blank and sterile, where there should be marks and smells and emotions. Unable yet to face the knight outside the door, Qui-Gon ran his finger over one of the wall panels, leaving a faint smear on the metal. It made him feel better.

Dooku felt the presence of Qui-Gon nudging towards him. It reminded him of the many changes he had suddenly created. He had not given this enough thought. Deciding that all younglings were excessively fond of sugars and fats, he decided he might present a food treat as a peace offering. So far the boy had been polite enough, but as a padawan he was supposed to have some sort of intimacy, at least a sort of fond respect for his master. Dooku had immediately harbored a respect for Yoda, but that had been easy, since the entire temple respected Yoda. He walked to the food area for specialty items, found nothing. A few delicacies from outer systems meant for entertaining important visitors. Perhaps an object would do. He glanced about for something that would amuse a child. He knew he had a somewhat spartan room. His best possessions were some fine clothes for important political events, and some rare data pads. Certainly nothing a child could even read. On a low table against the wall the license specs and record of ownership for his personal craft glinted faintly. Other than that, there was little material in the room that would differentiate it from any other knight's room. There was nothing that would amuse a boy. It was with relief that he remembered Qui-Gon would require his academic data pads, and a training saber. He sent a small wave of reassurance to his new apprentice and set out down the hall.

Qui-Gon felt his master leave, and then reentered the main room. He opened his master's door and found an equally sterile environment. He thought of Yoda's curious quarters, the only other master's he had ever been in, with its moist environment and hundreds of different objects and smells. There was so little here that was alive. His long legs folded under him as almost automatically he sat down to meditate, reaching out to the force for guidance.

Dooku returned with the necessary items to find his apprentice meditating in their quarters. He waited a moment for his padawan to notice him and then handed him a bundle of additional possessions.

"I'm glad to see you meditating. A droid will bring up the rest of your things later. We have an appointment with the council in the hour. You should get ready."

Qui-Gon nodded, feeling conspicuous with the eyes of Master Dooku on him, he walked into his room and placed bundles on the shelves. He had no idea how to prepare for a council meeting. He knew some of the council members already, he had classes with them, but he had never actually been before the council. He combed his hair with a fresher comb, looked at his scuffed initiate boots and fidgeted for a minute or two before rejoining Dooku.

When Qui-gon appeared more or less as grubby as he had left the room, Dooku was able to tell him that he should, at the very least, polish his boots, and that while there were many worlds and species where this was otherwise, humans were expected to keep all air passageways clear of noticeable debris. Qui-Gon blew his nose. Thankfully, not on his sleeve thought Dooku. Then the boy fumbled with a polisher before Dooku showed him how to do that as well. When he glanced up the time had passed, and they were expected before the council.

They walked in silence down yet more halls, which Qui-Gon was careful to memorize, and to a large central lift. Then they walked down a short hall to two slightly curved doors that opened to reveal a world of color and light, and the entire Jedi council.

Suddenly Qui-Gon was glad for the seemingly emotionless man beside him. The force was strong in the room, but it was not the force he knew. There were the life forms in the room of course, but several council members had a unique signature that he seldom felt- a very strong connection to the unifying force. He realized then that his master must have a similar approach, which was why his force signature seemed so strange. With this realization Qui-Gon began to relax, he merely needed to learn this new way of communicating with the force, and everything would return to normal.

Next to him he heard Dooku speaking, with the air of one who has addressed the council many times. It was the voice of a man speaking to equals, and Qui-Gon was impressed. Dooku was telling the council that he had chosen Qui-Gon as an apprentice, at the same time he felt something else in his manner, something adult that Qui-Gon could not yet place.

Yoda then looked closely at him, "Initiate Jinn- accept this apprenticeship, do you?"

Qui-Gon felt the full concentration of the council on him, "Yes, Master."

"Then master and padawan you are."

Dooku and Qui-Gon bowed in unison, and left. Dooku, while leaving, caught a glimmer of humor from Yoda, and something that might have been sympathy. Qui-Gon felt nothing, though Dooku had also sensed the council had clamed him emotionally.

On the way back Qui-Gon was unable to break the growing silence, so he concentrated on trying to read his master. It was like looking for force signatures on the main hall floor. There were dozens of fleeting impressions that he lost even as he grasped at them, and underneath a cold nothing.

Dooku watched mentally as his new apprentice clumsily tried to probe his shielding then spoke, "What are you trying to do padawan?"

Qui-Gon blushed, "I was looking for you in the force master."

"And you couldn't find me?"

"No, master."

"How about now?" Dooku flooded the force around him with happiness and the faintest suggestion of humor. He was beginning to feel amused by the clumsy boy beside him. In a humorous moment he concentrated, and projected a force signature of himself at the end of the hall. Then he concentrated a little more, and projected the presence of Yoda where he was walking.

Qui-Gon giggled.

"Show me how to do that, master."

"You have much to learn first, my very young padawan."

Later that day Qui-Gon kneeled before Dooku and prepared to merge with him in the force. They would create a close mental bond, it would help them communicate and understand each other. Dooku explained that Qui-Gon would at first not be able to filter much of the bond, but that he would learn in time, not only to control his own mental bonds, but other's as well. For the time being, Dooku would monitor the training bond for both of them.

Dooku sat cross-legged and entered a state of deep meditation. He sent a suggestion for Qui-Gon to do the same. Qui-Gon breathed deeply as he had been taught, and quieted his mind. Gradually he grew less aware of his own body, he began to feel the force around him. This time however was unlike anything he had felt before, there were no distinct shapes in the force, no emotions, there was only a constant flow, as though he were in an ocean, with different currents. Then Qui-Gon had a distinct feeling that he was seeing through Dooku's mind, his feelings and thoughts: joy, bitterness, and many vague feelings beneath the surface that frightened him a little. A Jedi does not know fear. The thought came to him, crystal clear as a voice in his head. As he slipped deeper into the consciousness he became more aware of his surroundings. He suddenly felt differently about the room, it was familiar. The couch he liked to sit in, the way the seats faced the window that looked east. He saw how small he was, how inexperienced, fondness at his innocence, a slight irritation at his awkwardness, and underneath it all a sadness. Then Qui-Gon was pulled away and back into his own body.

He opened his eyes and felt differently about everything. It was as though the force had found him. All aspects of it were suddenly about him. There was his own beloved living force, but now there was something else, whispering to him. Suggestions of things that used to be and that might be. Then there was the presence: confident, powerful. It felt to the thin and gangly boy that he had opened his eyes and become a full-grown man. There was experience and confidence now in his mind that had not been there before. My master, he realized. Then he forgot the new aspect of the force around him, he focused on this new being, this presence that was more known to him than any other life. It reminded him once of how he had entered a deep force trance while focused on an off-world bird in his science class. He had felt bird feeling, felt the flutter of his wings, the quick hazy sensations of being. His crèche master had needed to pull him out, his heart racing, his life-force for the moment almost forgotten. Now he had that connection with another person. It was fascinating. To feel such great physical power, beyond it a practice connection to the force, like meeting an old lover. What does that feel like? What's a lover? The sudden realization that confidence came from experience, that his master often felt as lost as he did. That was shocking. Qui-Gon leaned forward, intrigued, until he felt a hand shaking him, until he shook the boy with his hand, slightly alarmed...

Then he was Qui-Gon and for a terrifying moment the force was almost completely gone. Like being adrift in space, there was nothingness. Qui-Gon gasped and looked up into the face of his master. You have much to learn. Dooku hauled his apprentice to his wobbly, oversized feet, but some of the bond began to filter back through, despite is irritation and concern he felt a surge of joy and th ehopefulness only found in the young. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon smiled, feeling his exuberance flood through over to Dooku, and in a moment of trust letting that emotion go. In return, he suddenly felt a surge of surety and confidence. He would learn.