The first time Han was mistaken as a Jedi by a Jedi was wholly on his padawan. That Han taught him how to act – and it itched a bit the kid was better at it than him – was irrelevant. "Master Dooku, may I present you my master, Han Solo. Master, Master Dooku, from Coruscant Temple".
Dooku first impression of Han Solo was deceptive in the sense it was truthful, but he quickly reasoned Han Solo was undercover. The stress placed by the padawan on his temple informed him the master-padawan pair probably came from another temple. Dooku had rarely interacted with non-Coruscanti Jedi, but saw no need to affirm his temple superiority as Coruscanti often did, as he was himself quite critic about Coruscanti Jedi. "Master Solo" he bowed.
Han was not in an habit to bow when he met someone, but he learnt to talk serenely commanding by observing his relatives when need was felt. As he did not know how to salute a Jedi he wasn't a kin to, he settled on addressing him like he was addressed, and behaving like when he was passing himself as a Jedi. Besides, it was an opportunity to have a detached viewpoint of Obi-Wan advancement. "Master Dooku. Well met. If you'll allow me time to wash myself and my padawan to put together a meal we would be happy to share it with you."
As Dooku intended to have a word and his interlocutor was covered in oil, he easily agreed. The words he had been saluted with were not those he was used to and the bow had been stiff at best so he found himself asking the padawan "How long have you been away from Corellia, padawan?" The pronunciation had betrayed Master Solo, even if Dooku wasn't familiar enough with the Green Jedi to know their salutation. In fact, the awkwardness of the bow may be explained by the complex salutation Green Jedi were rumored to have which were not shared by the Coruscanti. Master Solo may have intended a significant bow and realized Dooku may not understand the meaning, or been similarly unaware of Coruscanti Jedi greeting customs. In a galaxy with numerous greeting rituals, Jedi tended to look at intent rather than formalness, so Dooku brushed off any misgiving about the salutation.
"I've never been, Master Dooku. I was raised in Coruscant Temple, but aged out and was sent on Bandomeer Agricorp. It is where I met my master two years ago. Since then, we have not once returned to Corellia. I think my master last trip was eight years ago, give or take some" piped the padawan. Such an odd way to form a partnership, thought Dooku. But one who should have been wished by the Force. As Initiate switching Temple never happened, Padawan Kenobi being dropped off then nearly immediately found by a Jedi from another Temple made an amount of sense for a Force-sensitive. "I trust you must find Master Solo teaching more suited than the Coruscanti Temple one" he settled on. The padawan Force presence wavered brightly as he expounded on his teaching. Impaired, apparently, by the lack of structure and other Jedi or agemate, but rich in lessons he never had in Coruscant.
Master Solo returned shortly before padawan Kenobi stew finished cooking, his Force presence as muted as when they first met. An ingrained habit, thought Dooku, sensing padawan Kenobi attempt to raise similar emotional shielding. Was he a Shadow hiding his presence or a Jedi used to protect himself from broadcasting surroundings? Probably the last, or he would not have taken a padawan. Youth were particularly prone to temptation of the Dark Side with their temper running high at that age. He inquired about the reason of their presence on the planet. "Just refueling and patching some damage we had a few weeks back. A bad encounter with slave smugglers near Ryloth". Dooku nodded politely, because he was familiar with such missions, as one of his padawan now specialized in undercover works and rings dismantling. Then, at Master Solo return query, he explained the border dispute he had been called to settle. Master Solo similarly politely listened, asked some questions, evidently having followed the strife in the sector. Maybe sector assigned, guessed Dooku, or simply wary. His intense shielding made him lean toward the last.
"Padawan Kenobi was telling me of your trips, you must hold dearly to this ship " Dooku hazarded, curious about their real purpose. Indeed, padawan Kenobi had spoken of many planets and a few scuffs along the way, but not enough for Dooku to pinpoint their mission. And, Jedi or not, asking a Corellian about his ship was always a surefire way to get them to talk. Master Solo seems to brighten at the last word, then promptly and masterly side-steeped Dooku question by a barely restrained barrage talk about the Millenium Falcon and the smallest of his components. "The Millenium Falcon is nearly part of the family. It's the third time I fly it". Somehow, Dooku doubted so, as the ship was singularly well kept. And while Dooku did not follow the works of Corellia shipyard, some of the engineering Master Solo had expounded on was of recent make. Dooku pointed so, which prompted Master Solo to extoll of the virtue of what Dooku realized was in fact different ships all called Millenium Falcon and closely linked to Master Solo teaching line.
Apparently, Master Solo sailed in the first along his Jedi Master Leia, a skilled mediator, as a padawan then a young knight. That, or more scandalously Master Leia took a second padawan, Ben, while finishing forming Master Solo, explaining maybe the later clash separating the then Knight Solo from his master. Dooku favored the first explanation, with Master Leia hastily taking a second padawan and Master Solo finding his feet by running joint missions with his former master. Dual tutelage sometimes inspired such reaction as the secondary teacher overstepped his bounds. Dooku, having received dual tutelage as his primary master was often busy, was well aware of such configurations and their pitfalls. Solo then seemed to jump on his tale and Dooku confusedly understood he had cut link with his former master following that dispute and took a padawan himself, a wookie named Chewbacca.
His former master must have died soon after, because another Jedi, Luke Skywalker, finished teaching Ben, but Master Solo link with his brother padawan seemed to have dwindled before the later reached his trials. Upon Master Leia death, Master Solo inherited the Falcon and started undercover missions, probably once his padawan reached senior rank. The first Millenium Falcon was apparently lost to smugglers after Chewbacca knighting. The second Millenium Falcon appeared as Master Solo took charge of Rey, a nineteen year old Force-sensitive, previously formed by Luke Skywalker, who had seemingly died before finishing forming his padawan. Dooku mentally tallied Master Solo age based on this last padawan, because his return to Corellia eight years ago was probably for Padawan Rey trials, and came short a decade or two, even discounting the slow-aging of Force-sensitives. Sufficient time for another suspiciously unnamed padawan or a stint in the Shadows.
As it was by then late into the night, he accepted Master Solo offer to spend the night in the Falcon. He had already packed off from his current accommodations, and saw no need to sleep the flight to Coruscant in his uncomfortable Temple-issued one-man ship. He woke feeling a release in the Force, similar to the coming-out-of-trance his own master favored in the morning. After dressing himself, he walked into the common floor, and narrowly avoided a stray hit by a training remote. From the threshold, he dispassionately observed the padawan. He was quite successful at stopping the rapidly fired hits, and seemed wholly immersed in the Force, having acknowledged then dismissed Dooku presence early on, but his stance was off, and his footing abysmal. Dooku started barking correction nearly automatically, the padawan seamlessly taking in the advice as he continued to intercept the hits.
He continued doing so while accepting a cup of tea, then, realizing said cup of tea had been handed by padawan Kenobi master, turned to politely reprimand the master for the disgracing footwork he was seeing. Half a minute into the conversation was sufficient to find out Master Solo had no idea what he was speaking about, another half-minute established he wasn't proficient in lightsaber fight himself, and it took less before Solo admitted he wasn't a Jedi.
It was around breakfast that Dooku learnt of the unusual meeting then padawanship linking a freighter captain with in-law and a rejected Initiate. Dooku was curious why the padawan had not been chosen, because he was clearly talented in the Force, dedicated to his training and rather calm for a human male teenager. Calmer, certainly, than the aghast freighter captain who was overplaying a bit his surprise at Dooku own surprise: "Leia? She was my wife! She was part of an Alderaani diplomatic initiative. Ben's my son, Chewbacca was my copilot, Luke is Leia brother and Rey a mechanic I picked on Jakku who later became Luke padawan." The initial feeling was clearly authentic, but the further overplaying raised question. Learning that Han Solo was wary of angry Force-sensitive because he had been confronted to half a dozen Dark Siders in his life opened another can of worms.
Unlike Dooku, Jocasta Nu knew more about Green Jedi than Temple gossip. Alas, she never met one in person longer than a scant few days at the time, and those she met were as a rule librarians. Considering the diversity of beliefs inside the Coruscanti Temple – or at least the near imperceptible to the outsider differences, which were glaring to Coruscanti Jedi – she was not so arrogant to believe all Green Jedi were similar to those she met in the past. And Han Solo was glaringly Corellian, from his pronunciation to his love of ships. Now, had Jocasta come across him in a random setting, she would not have believed him to be a Jedi. He was dressed in a smuggler attire, hadn't totally throw his smuggler act – but then, maybe it was not an act and he was just that much a Corellian – and had lost his lightsaber recently. But landing on an ancient Jedi Temple, a padawan Jocasta remembered from his Initiate days in toe?
So Jocasta, as head of the expedition, politely welcomed him and didn't raise the subject of beliefs. As the Green Jedi were a schismatic outshot from the Coruscanti Jedi, she saw prudent not to start an argument. Still, what a strange Jedi, Han Solo. Not once had his shielding wavered in his stay and if it were not for his age and the tale he came with, she would have difficulty discerning he was a master. In fact, considering the way the Force shied around him, she would have suspected him of a more nefarious affiliation had Padawan Kenobi not bubbled brightly. But since Obi-Wan was not yet as good at shielding himself as his master, Jocasta had little reason to doubt when taking Master Solo account of their encounter with the Dark Sider.
Why, such an helpful thought: Master Solo had probably already sent one to Corellia Temple and saw fit to also inform the Coruscant Temple. It was gestures of that kind which kept the Temples somewhat in communication. Granted, that particular Dark Sider wasn't going to attack another Jedi, but the fact padawan under their master protection were no longer safe, and the casual estimate of Obi-Wan worth on a slave market were worrisome. Clearly, Master Solo was quite knowledgeable on the subject, which cleared some observation Jocasta had made.
Now, Jocasta had met a lot more Jedi coming back from rough missions than she had Green Jedi. Clearly, by the way Master Solo was brushing his courtesy it had been a long time since he had been in contact with other Jedi. Dooku had nearly said as much when he indicated the coordinates to Jocasta, but he had neglected to tell her Han Solo was a Green Jedi, preferring to call him "an interesting man". Dooku mays have been the last Jedi he met, and before that Obi-Wan, going by the fact padawan Kenobi never put foot on Corellia Temple. A long mission, indeed, probably in relation to his knowledge of Force-sensitive traffic. One he had met Obi-Wan on, going by the padawan reluctance to disclose the circumstances of his meeting with his master. Nar Shadda was an ugly place and if there was one place one could be assured to find sentients traffic, it was Nar Shadda. Jedi knew to stay away from this place, so for Master Solo to have gone there meant his mission led him there.
Long term mission only explained half of Han Solo peculiarity, on the other hand, an doubt reared its ugly head when she came across him mentioning possession and Force draining technic in such a casual way it could very well have been an everyday occurrence. "Oh no, only saw it twice" answered Solo with a flicker, like he only realized now that possession weren't things openly discussed outside Shadow ranks. "First when Luke nearly got recruited by a wannabe Sith Lord, second with Rey. They both side-stepped the attempt by not killing directly". Jocasta brow raised without her accord because she was first and foremost an archivist and as such well-informed about the disappearance of the Sith. "Sith Lord?" she asked, making Solo raise his own eyebrow. "He was calling himself Darth, and certainly in a league of his own when it came to being a scary foe". Subsequent questions led Jocasta to discover Han Solo had in fact met six Dark Siders, two of whom acted almost like a Sith teaching line, and survived them all. Pressing him led Solo to open some on the subject. In Jocasta mind, it proved above all his dedication to the Order, as some moments were evidently difficult to recount and his tales involved some physical and emotional scars.
Master Solo had not met the eldest of this pseudo-teaching line himself, as a fellow Jedi and oft-partner of his, Master Luke, tricked the apprentice to turn on the master. Solo himself had already failed in a first confrontation against the apprentice, a cyborg going by Darth Vader, alongside Master Luke, a Master Leia and a third being named Chewbacca. His story had holes, some he refused to fill, and he was scarce on details. Master Luke full name was Luke Skywalker and he was dead, killed by a Dark Sider answering to Kylo Ren. Master Leia was Alderaani, and at the time they were confronted to Darth Vader, Luke was the best formed amongst the three of them, Han coming second. By his hints, Luke and Leia had probably shared a master, or the second had been a padawan of the first. Chewbacca was a wookie and close enough to Master Solo they may have belonged to the same teaching line. But Jocasta could fill part of what Master Solo left unsaid based on her own mission history and the missions reports she had access in the Archives.
Solo, Skywalker, Leia and Chewbacca had been a strike-team deployed to deal with a discovered Dark Sider. Solo, Leia and Chewbacca had fell into a trap designed by the Dark Sider, and only escaped thanks to a rescue by Master Luke. It costed Master Luke his hand and Master Solo a few scars and a bad joke about carbonite he refused to explain further. Afterward, they had regrouped and choose another, riskier strategy, which paid in form of two pseudo-Sith death. As Jocasta continued to prod, other events poured out of Master Solo mouth. He had confronted two other Dark Siders with Master Luke, and one with Master Leia. It was then Jocasta started to doubt, because as a rule Jedi encountered maybe one Dark Sider in their life, but not four and rare were those who lived to tell such tales. But she had no time to ponder the matter as Master Solo hesitantly broached the next Dark Sider he faced off.
His face closed off as he spoke of Kylo Ren, who killed Luke and caused Leia death. A former padawan of Luke, who had turned to the Dark Side and his own teaching line. By what Han did not say, he had at that time ceased to be part of the strike-team and Kylo Ren – Ben, by the name that had escaped Master Solo lips once – had replaced him. Master Luke had similarly retired earlier, because he formed two padawan: first Ben, second Rey, which he was midway through teaching when his former padawan killed him. Leia, which at the time headed the strike-team, had probably been the first to die. Solo unfurled his tunic, revealing a precise lightsaber strike Jocasta would have believed fatal had Solo not been before her hale and healthy. Kylo Ren handiwork, when Solo confronted him with Rey, the nineteen years old padawan of Luke he took as his own after her first master death, and Chewbacca. That wound explained why it was Rey and Chewbacca who faced off against Kylo Ren afterward, and his master Snoke, and the third pseudo-Sith of this tale, pulling up the strings hidden behind his puppets.
Han Solo, she realized belatedly, was an ex-Shadow. It was so obvious now: the constant unthought shielding, the wariness and lookout he kept. He was probably regularly scanning the surrounding and Jocasta hadn't felt a thing because he learnt to be undetected doing so while hunting Dark Siders. No wonder he disposed so quickly of the Dark Sider a few weeks past. No wonder Han Solo was the Jedi deployed on a mission taking him on places like Nar Shadda or he was traveling around with cortosis. The Green Jedi were confident in his ability to survive.
And Skywalker, Chewbacca and Leia had probably been Shadows too, deployed two or three at a time against foe. Her fingers itched toward a stylus and holopad, but she restrained herself. Shadows did not like to be gawked at and were generally rather tight-lipped. No wonder Solo account was bribes and brisk. More curious he spoke to her. Did he thinks the danger was rising and his hierarchy had not acknowledged it so he was passing word to another Temple? Did he believe she had leave to take away his padawan? She had not, not if he had completed the paperwork for taking Obi-Wan as a padawan. At the same time she had this thought she realized he most probably had not, what with Obi-Wan being a Coruscanti Initiate and Solo being a Corellian Jedi. Solo had most probably picked him up, started forming him then decided to take him as a padawan. "Do you need help for the paperwork of taking Obi-Wan Kenobi as a padawan?" The guilty look was all the answer she needed. She assured him she had access to the administrative register of Coruscant Temple and would modify the record as he clearly was doing a good job forming padawan Kenobi. That boy was a lot calmer and more in touch with the Force than the last time Jocasta saw him.
Then she tackled her first interrogation "I know it come. It is not even a question of frequency of Dark Siders popping up, it's in the air. You can feel it more clearly in the Outer Rim. War on a galactic scale, Temple burning in the night as the Republic collapse and an Empire rise. Jedi slaughtered to the last, called traitors for having been blind puppets in the hand of the Sith. It'll fall quickly, but so much deaths for the ambition of one man. Alderaan an asteroid field from a technological terror and its princess having not told the rebel base emplacement. Former padawan slaying former master, deluded love forging a Sith killing off former brothers to one end of the galaxy to the other. I know it come. Tell them, they must be ready" answered Han Solo, his eyes far-away. It chilled Jocasta to the bones. Visions. She thought of Councilor Sifo-Dyas, a renowned prophet, whose words were taking a dark turn as of late, and his mutter of the Force becoming clouded.