Bonds and Relationships

It hadn't been that long ago that Tyrone Dooku, Jedi Knight of the Republic, had been a padawan. If Tyrone hadn't been so ahead of everyone in his age group, Master Yoda would never have agreed to him taking a padawan so early in his Knighthood, but Master Yoda had been Tyrone's own Jedi Master, and knew better than anyone what Tyrone was capable of. The Jedi Council almost always heeded Master Yoda's wisdom and so less than a year into his Knighthood he had been given the padawan of his choice: Qui-Gon Jinn.

Qui-Gon was a really likable lad, Tyrone decided, every time Tyrone saw him; he had a ready smile on his face that matched his cheerful disposition. He was unlike any Jedi he had ever seen though most of them practiced the Jedi serenity, Qui-Gon, Tyrone realized was…bouncy. It was hard for the newly minted padawan to stay in one place.

Tyrone Dooku thought back to how he had been as a padawan, how he had been around Qui-Gon's age. Tyrone had been a serious lad, often taking the easy way out and using the Force for simple tasks, a fact that Master Yoda had often berated him for. He had advanced so much quicker than the other younglings and padawans, and he had been forever set apart by his abilities. He had thought he had found a friend in Lorian, and so after the 'Dark Holocron Incident' he had wondered around the Jedi Temple aimlessly, until he came upon a group of younglings. They looked to be about seven standard years of age at the most. Tyrone wasn't even sure why they both ended up in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, but here they both were.


There were three males in this group, and Tyrone turned his dark eyes to look at them, he hadn't been in a very good mood to begin with, so perhaps he hadn't started off on the right foot, of course as Tyrone had just lost one of the only sentinents he considered his friend in such a betrayal, seeing younglings close to one another had only gained his ire. He would look back on this later and wonder if it was he who had started the downward turn in what he classified as a relationship or whether they were just being prickly younglings at an age where he was still finding himself. He would wonder if it was just that he felt out-numbered, a breed apart, alone, or if they really had done something to offend him. Later, it wouldn't matter as there would be dislike and distrust on both sides.

There were more younglings in this group than he had realized although the trio seemed to be in their own little world, as if the outside world wouldn't and couldn't infringe on their friendship. He watched as the three of them began levitating the water from the spring in the fountain, and as more and more of the water was levitated. Although, it was a relatively harmless feat, it concerned him enough that he looked around at the other fountains to find the water on the others rising up as well. Tyrone turned and scowled at them, where was the Master in charge of the Sevens, he wondered?

Tyrone wondered if he should find out, though as a Padawan it wasn't really his concern. He studied the trio for a moment, looking at the way they interacted and reacted to one another. Relationships and attachments although forbidden were intrquing to him. He had just begun his tutorage under Master Yoda, yet he felt none of the emotions that the younglings displayed readily. The three certainly did make an odd pair at first glance, though he didn't know their names. The tallest of the group was a bald-headed Koran from the looks of him, the second tallest had longer hair than he had ever seen on a youngling with the exception of Qui-Gon, and he had dark, serious eyes, not unlike Tyrone himself. The shortest was a Wee-Quay. As the trio started making designs and shapes with the water, despite himself, Tyrone was impressed, impressed and more than a little wary. The Wee-Quay nudged the dark-haired human and whispered loudly.

"Do you know what I heard, I heard some of the masters talking about it," he said excitedly.

"What's that?" the Koran asked.

"I heard that someone stole a Dark Holocron from the Jedi Masters."

"Did they say who did it?" asked the human.

"Yeah, Tyrone Dooku."

At that, Tyrone Dooku felt his stomach drop as he approached the trio cautiously. "You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand," Tyrone said in a calm, civilized tone.

"I heard it from the Masters," the Wee-Quay insisted.

"If he says the masters told him, then they did," said the human with the dark hair. "How would you know otherwise?"

"Simple," Tyrone said as he paused, knowing timing was everything. "I am Padawan Tyrone Dooku," he said, and watched as what he said sunk in. The water which had been above the fountains levitating into interesting designs dropped to the floor, as they concentration wavered, now focused solely on Tyrone. "Careful," Tyrone admonished a little snidely, "Levitation requires great concentration. Someone should notify the droids," Tyrone sniffed, "To clean this mess up. The Jedi Temple is to be in pristine condition at all times," he recited.

"Padawan Dooku," the Koran addressed him by his title, "We apologize for our mistake." Tyrone nodded at the Koran.

"I accept your apology…." Tyrone paused wanting their names.

"Youngling Mace Windu," the Koran supplied.

"Youngling Windu," Tyrone completed his sentence.

The Wee-Quay spoke up, more than a little put off by Tyrone's advice. "Why did you do it?" he asked and Tyrone blanched. He hadn't done it, Lorian had. Why had he thought that admitting Lorian's deed would be the end of it? They had seemed to have proof enough to ensure he was guilty, and he had been more than a little shocked that Lorian had framed him, had made Tyrone into the guilty party, that wasn't good breeding, and Tyrone as a gentleman could not accuse another noble, another Jedi even if they were guilty, it broke the rules of civilized behavior.

"It was just a simple misunderstanding," Tyrone explained, the best he could within his own rules. "No more than that," Tyrone said, brushing at invisible lint on his dark brown robes. This wasn't the end of it, but how could he resolve the problem Lorian was causing for him without breaking his own rules, a set of rules, even most Jedi didn't live by, but they said a lot about Tyrone's character and he wouldn't break those rules under no circumstance.

"I don't believe you," the dark-haired human said as his dark eyes met Tyrone's. "You are a liar, and I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't stripped of your Padawan status." Tyrone's lips tightened, even though he didn't say a word, his eyes merely darkened as they clashed with the youth's. "I bet you set Lorian up, and the Council bought it."

"Perhaps," Tyrone said, keeping his voice calm, despite the anger that seemed to well up inside him, "You should get to know your new 'friend' before following in his footsteps," Tyrone said, before looking away and spotting a cleaning droid he went to not only notify it about the mess, but to notify the Knight in charge of the sevens of their misconduct. It was never too early to learn the important lessons in life.


Tyrone was brought back to the present as he noticed that the training blade the Qui-Gon had selected was the same color as his own. "Qui-Gon, how many forms of combat have you learned?" Tyrone asked, conversationally, so that he knew how far his studies had gone before he introduced him to any.

"Master Dooku, we have a rudimentary understanding of all techniques."

"Very well," Tyrone told his apprentice, "Which one would you like to learn?"

"Form IV," Qui-Gon said quite confidently, "Artaru."

"Alright," Tyrone said, with a small smile that always seem to come out around the good-natured boy. "You do realize, my padawan, that this style may not serve you in all situations, and that you may change styles many times during your life."

"Yes, Master," Qui-Gon replied as he attempted to bow.

"Qui-Gon, always keep your eyes on your opponent, never allow your eyes to leave his for an instant," Tyrone began by explaining, it was his job to keep his padawan alive, afterall.

"Master," Qui-Gon asked as he assumed the Jedi ready position, "Have you ever lost a match?"

Tyrone's smile lessoned just a hair, as he thought back. "Only to my master, but beat me yourself, padawan, and you can deeply put a dent in my record." But it wasn't his loss that he was thinking of, but one of his wins. One of his first wins, and one of the first times he had gotten out of control, one of the first times he had let his emotions get the better of him.


It was when he was twelve, only about a week after the 'Dark Holocron Incident' in which he had been put on an opposing team, against Lorian Nodd, his once friend, who had taught him the meaning of betrayal and friendship. It was only mean to be a training exercise, but they had both taken it too far. He had still been steaming from his interaction with the Trio of younglings, though he hadn't learned but one of their names, and it wasn't even one of the ones that had ticked him off. In fact, if Mace Windu hadn't been with the other two, Tyrone would have found no fault with him, as it was he would suffer by association.

Tyrone listened to the master in charge as they called both Lorian Nodd and him to practice their skills with a lightsaber. Or at least with a training saber, Tyrone easily used the Force and called the saber to his palm, and walked confidently to the center of the ring. He knew that Lorian was nervous, and not nearly as confident in his skills as Tyrone was in his own. Tyrone bowed, keeping his eyes on his opponent, on the traitor, on the enemy. Tyrone easily slipped into his Jedi ready stance as he slid into the traditional style of Form II, Makashi, also known as the way of the yslalmiri, was Tyrone's chosen form, it displayed the elegance, the supiority in which Tyrone had been born with, it was easily an extension of himself, of everything he stood for. Though he was aware that Lorian had fallen into the same form, Lorian lacked the nobility, the honor that would allow him the leverage to beat him.

Tyrone found himself saying a different version of what Master Yoda had already said around him, 'A bad feeling about this, I have.' And instead spoke as he thought, "I have a bad feeling about this," he murmured, before his emerald training blade clashed against Lorian's yellow one.

"Ty, I want to thank you for sticking up for me," Lorian said.

"You," Tyrone said, pointing his emerald blade at Lorian chest, "Are without honor."

"Ty, you can't judge me."

"No, I can't, but the Council can," Tyrone said as his blade again clashed with Lorian's. "If you were a man with honor, you would admit your misconduct, sooner or later it will be found out." Tyrone looked up to see the smirk on his face, as their blades locked together bringing them closer so that Lorian could whisper to him.

"Why bother, Ty" Lorian said in a low voice, "When I've got you to take the fall."Tyrone Dooku saw red, everywhere he looked he saw red, as his slashes came faster and harder, and Tyrone found himself using not just the Force but brutal strength to beat back his increasingly failing opponent. "You don't know the meaning of friendship, Ty, there is no such thing, there are people that you use and people that use you, and Ty you got used. Friends?" Tyrone felt himself sway, but instead of it making him sick, it made him powerful, the next thing he knew he was standing over Lorian with his blade above him as he sliced into his side and the Masters came quickly to pull them away from one another. He had felt extremely powerful in a way that had previously eluded him. Master Oppo held him in a tight grip that Tyrone didn't try to free himself from, as all the anger left him.

"Heard the confession we did, a greater purpose for putting you together their was. Uncover the truth, we have," his Master, Yoda, intoned.

Tyrone Dooku wasn't sure how he felt, he knew he should be glad that he was vindicated, but a part of him felt like he had been manipulated and duped, and it wasn't a good feeling. He knew he would have to meditate later tonight and release this whole incident into the Force, but it wasn't something he relished, particularly since his Master was on the Council, and was behind this little 'experiment'.


Tyrone was surprised at how good Qui-Gon was for a lad. He had some rare quality that Tyrone had not seen before-dash that was the quality he hadn't been able to name before, a rare combination of boldness and grace. Tyrone had a feeling that one day Qui-Gon would make a decision that would change the very fabric of the Jedi Order.

He turned to see the Troublesome Trio as he had nicknamed them walking by as he and Qui-Gon finished. "Come on, Qui-Gon, it's time enough that you move your things from the Younglings Dwelling, into my room, as your mentor, it is my job to advise you," he advised the lad. Qui-Gon nodded his head and spoke enthusiastically about how 'wizard' it was to have a mentor. He tightened his grip on Qui-Gon's shoulders as the Troublesome Trio came near. "Padawans," he nodded in greeting as was customary by the Jedi, protecting Qui-Gon from their ambiguous relationship. Part of him hoped he could shield Qui-Gon from it. "I do hope you are staying out of trouble," the words seemed to leave his mouth before he was aware he had formed them. They looked back and forth between him and Qui-Gon before the dark haired human whom he had since learned his name was Nioman Dokoora spoke up.

"Tyrone, I'm surprised you were given a padawan."

Tyrone was tempted to roll his eyes, but that would have been so uncivilized, so instead he said in a haughty manner, "The Council obviously trusts my judgment, you should as well. Come along, Qui-Gon," he said ignoring them. He and Qui-Gon had better things to do than trade insults with padawans.