Author's Notes: Thankyou for your reviews everyone! They just make me feel so much better – especially good ones! At least I know I'm not just writing to a brick wall. ^_^ And if there are any lurkers about, please just add a lil review or email me so I know what you think too! Don't be shy! I've had lurkers on other fics who email rather than review here.
Latest news is that I have Dooku Fever, so I've started to write a more 'intense' Dooku AU fic, called 'Eclipse', so go and read that if you're after something a little less 'subtle' than this. ^_~ So, I'm now writing two Star Wars stories, whilst maintaining several websites and trying to have a life away from a PC monitor…I'm notorious for trying to do way too much at once! Heh. u_u And sorry this part took so long to emerge! This fic has been maturing gradually since June 2002, believe it or not, and I think that I finally have a clear view of where it's going!
WDCain: Hmm…good foresight, you have! ^_^ I won't give much away, but Allyaah is going to get caught in the thick of things.
Lay'ren: I am actually planning on finishing…it just may take some time! ^_~ Thanks for your review!
Charmisjess: Thankyou – I'm flattered by your comments! I have always thought that Dooku as a Jedi would be stern yet gentle, and it's something I'm striving to portray in this fic – he couldn't have always been evil (if he even is evil at all…^_~). I imagine Jinn & Dooku's relationship to be a very good one – it must have been for Jinn to have turned out so well – so I'm glad you like how I've written it. I'm doing my best, and just 'following my heart', if that's the right phrase. 'Feel, don't think; use your instincts…' as Qui once said. ^_^
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A Test of Faith
Chapter 6
Qui-Gon waltzed into the cockpit of the cruiser, realising that they'd come from out of hyperspace. Ahead was a murky brown coloured planet, one of five in the system. He swallowed lightly, and looked down into the co-pilot's seat; his master was asleep there, his chin cushioned upon his collarbone. Jinn chuckled gently, and turned to Allyaah in the pilot's seat, "Is this Colla?" he asked her, kneeling between the seats in the cockpit and leaning onto the edge of Jiao's; he gestured ahead with his hand.
"Colla IV, Master Jinn," she replied, looking at him briefly, "Colla V is behind us, and you can see the other three in the distance... they're that far off that they look a little like stars, though."
Jinn looked about at them with awe, "Wow," he sighed, "Everything's so beautiful."
"Space is," Allyaah agreed, "But it is also dangerous... very dangerous."
Jinn paused for a second, thinking deeply, before querying, "Why is beauty always wasted upon hazard?"
"Is it?" Jiao returned quizzically.
Jinn grinned, "It seems to be. Beautiful systems are often dangerous, like this one; space is beautiful - but dangerous; some fish and insects seem beautiful, but are actually venomous... and some people likewise."
Allyaah chuckled a little at Jinn's manner, "You're a witty one, Qui-Gon," she said with a smile, "But don't generalise."
"Okay, master, I'll try not to," he nodded gently, rising back onto his feet, and looking out of the window again; Jinn was a tall boy - very tall - almost as though from being trained by a lofty man, he was going to grow the same way; he was definitely taking on Dooku's whimsical edge, and charming manner, if nothing else.
"Do they know we're coming?" Jinn suddenly asked, turning to look upon Allyaah once more.
Allyaah shook her head in reply, "I don't think so," she rejoined.
Jinn rolled his eyes, "Well, I'm sure they'll be happy with uninvited guests turning up on their doorstep."
"You can be sarcastic, Jinn, just don't push it," Jiao warned him, "If you look on things with such pessimism, then you're likely to become more fallible."
Jinn looked back at her sheepishly, "Sorry, master. I just don't want to be unrealistic."
Jiao smiled, "I know, Qui-Gon," she said gently; she turned ahead, watching the consoles before her for some sign of contact – surely the Colicoids, being the isolationists that they were, would contact and question the pilots of unexpected ships before allowing entry…?
They continued to approach Colla IV, and still there was no sign of contact from the Colicoids. Jiao watched the control panel further, unsurely knitting her brow, a slight feeling of something being amiss fizzing in her blood.
Jinn sensed her worry, but kept quiet, feeling the tension too.
Allyaah swallowed lightly, then broke the silence, "Wake your master, Qui-Gon," she asked him, tapping about on the consoles, preparing to enter into the atmosphere of the planet.
Jinn felt like asking 'Why don't you?', but knew that the atmosphere wasn't right for impertinence, even mocking impertinence. He turned to his master, and gave him a slight shove on the shoulder, "Master, wakey wakey," he said nonchalantly.
Jiao couldn't help but smirk - they were quite a twosome, being so unlike most other Master-Apprentice pairings within the Jedi Order.
Noticing that his light pushes weren't having much effect, Jinn gave his teacher a firmer shove, "Master!" he said loudly, rocking Dooku's body forcefully.
Serenn slowly opened his eyes, and turned to Qui-Gon grumpily. There was a long pause in which he just glared at his Padawan before he finally retorted, "Thankyou, Master Jinn," with a quiet sarcasm. He then, to Jinn's surprise, abruptly reached over and pushed his apprentice firmly in retaliation, making young Qui-Gon lose his footing and go tumbling down behind Jiao's chair onto the floor. Jinn laughed flippantly, lying flat out on his back.
"Children, behave," Allyaah said sternly yet cordially.
Dooku grinned slightly, looking from his fallen apprentice back to Allyaah. Qui-Gon gradually managed to stop chortling, and proceeded to then slowly return to his feet; "She asked me to wake you, Master! It wasn't my fault!" he smiled, placing blame onto her.
Jiao turned to him, "Thankyou, Master Jinn, for your courtesy," she light-heartedly said.
"No problem, Master Jiao," he countered politely, grinning with charisma.
"I thought it'd be your doing," Dooku beamed at her teasingly. She gave him a slight glance in response, but made no oral reply. Serenn nodded discreetly toward her, before turning to see the planet fast approaching ahead; his mood suddenly dropped into a more sombre mode, "Ah... so this is the reason for my wake up call?" he asked, tossing his hair back over his shoulder.
"Uh-huh" Allyaah replied, "Here's our Colla IV." She turned to Jinn, "Go back and get strapped in Qui-Gon - it'll be a bit bumpy as we enter the atmosphere, and I don't want you to fall and knock yourself out."
Jinn looked to her, "I'll be all right," he said certainly, glancing across to his Master for support. He didn't get it; "Do as she says, Qui," Dooku ordered gently, "She's a more experienced pilot than the both of us put together, so I'm certain that she knows best."
Jinn sighed, then slowly acknowledged his Master's command with a slight nod, "Yes, Master," he said, his Padawan braid bobbing up-and-down by the side of his head. He passed out from the cockpit, and went in the back to belt up.
Serenn took his seatbelt, and strapped himself in, "Do you think we'll get a welcome party? Or an execution procession?" he asked her, smirking with his typical dry scepticism.
Allyaah shook her head in response, "Why are you so cynical all the time?" she asked him quietly, guiding the ship skilfully toward the planet's atmosphere.
"Me, cynical?" he asked her with a muted offence, throwing her a brief grin, "I never look on the down side of things! You must have me confused with someone other."
Jiao nodded, forcing a mild laugh under her breath before reverting to a more solemn manner, "Seriously, Serenn," she said, "I mean, are you okay?"
"I thought that Jedi shouldn't worry for each other," he spoke softly, reminding her of the point she had made to him the other day.
"Serenn," she warned him.
"Of course I'm okay! I don't have much choice about it, do I? I'm a Jedi; we just have to get on with things," he replied bluntly.
Jiao kept her gaze on the approaching planet ahead, leaving a lull in their conversation for the moment, and watched as the ship began to enter Colla IV's atmosphere. She kept her hands steadily on the controls, concentrating on what she was doing, and slowly took their craft through the atmosphere, having a few moments to relax before she would be close enough to the planet surface to consider landing. Turning back to the esteemed Jedi Master again, she continued; "I know you're one of our greatest Jedi. I know you were privileged enough to be the final Padawan trained to Knighthood by Yoda, and I know a lot is expected of you. But I also know that you're still human; you have problems, but you keep them locked up, and try and deal with them on your own… and I'll just say it again, even though I know you don't want to hear it at all – it wouldn't hurt for you to open up a little."
"Don't lecture me, Allyaah," was all he rejoined with. That tinged the atmosphere between the old friends coldly, and Allyaah found the final silent descent down to the planet's surface dreadfully awkward.
* * * *
The ship landed smoothly on the barren wasteland that was Colla IV, and, once its engines ground to a halt, and it rested peacefully on its legs, the small Jedi party made their way out of the craft, pacing steadily down its ramp. The atmosphere outside was brutally arid, and Jinn immediately felt his lips go crisp once he set foot onto the waterless, rocky surface; "It's so dry!" he gasped, coughing hard as he choked on the dusty air.
Dooku ruffled his hair teasingly, "Stop whining, Master Jinn," he smirked, "We're all suffering."
"You should be better off then me, boys," Allyaah smiled, "Apparently, men have one percent more water in their bodies than women."
" 'Men?'" Dooku asked frivolously, looking around himself, "There's only one 'man' here."
"I'm not a child anymore if that's what you're trying to say, Master!" Jinn snapped at his mentor jokily, obstinately folding his arms in the process and giving Dooku a hard stare.
"Okay, lads, enough," Jiao said before Serenn could continue his tease, "We have things to do." She walked away from the ship, ahead of the two, and looked over the dry landscape, squinting at the horizon that trembled vulnerably in the heat; the sun above blazed down mercilessly on them all, glinting brilliantly off of their ship's hull. A dust-ridden breeze suddenly blew into her countenance, forcing her to glance away and wipe the invading particles from her eyes. Jinn meanwhile took a good look at the immediate vicinity, seeing nothing here, or anywhere for miles around for that matter, that wasn't flat or rocky, or in a horrible, monotonous shade of yellow-brown; the grisly orange sky complimented this setting.
"Did you land on the right planet, Allyaah?" Qui-Gon called over to her, his Padawan braid fluttering into his face as another breeze blustered past, hot and stifling, "There's nothing here!"
"Master Jinn, I can tell my Colla IV from my Colla III, so don't tell me that I've landed on the wrong planet!" she promptly rejoined, hands on hips, turning back to him.
"Are you so blind, my Padawan?" Dooku suddenly quizzed Jinn whimsically, his condescending-come-mocking smirk appearing on his visage.
Jinn frowned, wheeling about to face Dooku, " 'Blind'?" he spurted, "Master, look around! There's nothing here!"
Serenn shook his head gently with a slight scoff, and opened his hand over the ground; with a small rumble, he drew a large stone up into his palm from the floor, and, with a lightning quick movement, flung it ahead of them all, sending it flying through the air.
Jinn watched the stone soar uncertainly, following its climb then descent, until it landed upon a curved rise in the ground with an immense 'crack'.
SQUAWK!!!
The 'rise in the ground' shot up onto its feet, claws a-blazing, and squealed viciously at the party – it had been a hidden and camouflaged Colicoid!
Jinn gasped, jumping back with a start.
"Your eyes can deceive you," Dooku stated to the boy, "Don't trust them."
"Yes, Master," Jinn nodded breathlessly, keeping his wide eyes on the insectoid that had burst forth from the ground; the creature's small, beady eyes fixed themselves on the trio of humans, its pincers clicking together whilst it thought things over. Its head was joined to its curved, main shell mounted over its back, and it stood on a tripod of spindly yet sturdy legs; it possessed two giant fore-claws, that were in essence long, pointed shells, under which its smaller, more intricate hands were hidden. These claws emitted a pungent and toxic venom from their forked tips, which was used in combat and self-defence to a lethal and atrocious affect. It was a terrifying-looking, almost invulnerable beast.
Serenn stepped steadily over to where Allyaah stood, leaving his stunned Padawan by the ship, coming much closer to the dazed Colicoid that he had impolitely awoken; "I don't have to tell you how rude that was, Serenn," Allyaah hissed at him irritably, giving him a meaningful look as he stopped by her side.
Dooku shrugged, "It taught Qui-Gon a lesson."
Allyaah shook her head slowly at him, and watched as he went on to step toward the roused beetle; it regarded the towering Jedi warily – visitors to Colla IV were few and far between, and visits from humans even more so.
"Greetings, friend," Dooku nodded to the creature, his dislike of the species kept well concealed within the fine folds of his demeanour, "We're here on business of the Republic, and would appreciate speaking to one of your superiors. Could you direct us to the city of 'Drykos', please?"
The Colicoid's tiny, black eyes blinked, looking from Dooku to his two companions, to their ship, before then glancing back to Dooku again.
" 'Drykos'? Your capital city?" Serenn asked again, looking hard at the Colicoid.
It's pincers clicked once more, and it made another sweeping glance over the Jedi party, a vacant, baffled look in its eyes.
"Do we understand one another?" the Jedi Master tried once more, uttering his every syllable slowly and clearly.
The creature stepped backward, seeming more afraid of Dooku than the party of it.
"It's a worker drone Serenn," Allyaah said, appearing by his side.
"Your point being?" he returned discreetly.
"That Jedi Masters should do their homework," she grimaced.
Serenn was the one giving her a meaningful glance now, out of the corner of his eyes.
Allyaah got the message and continued, "Workers are the lowest class of Colicoids – they're not well educated, and do not have the intelligence of the higher social levels of the nests."
"He doesn't 'do Basic', you mean?" Dooku queried mildly.
"Yes, exactly," she smiled.
Serenn sighed, looking back upon the beast again as Jinn steadily made his way up to Allyaah and him, looking cautiously at the beetle-like creature between the gap of Dooku and Jiao's bodies; the Colicoid gave the Padawan an equally unsound returning glance.
"Would you like to 'chirp' to him in his own language, then?" Serenn asked Allyaah astringently, rubbing his beard over whilst hanging his other hand on his hip.
Allyaah adopted 'the look' again, "Don't be ridiculous," she replied casually.
"How do we find Drykos, then?" Dooku went on, "We're talking about an underground city."
"Underground?" Jinn suddenly asked, breaking his stare from the guarded Colicoid, still stood before them all silently.
"Yes. Don't you recall your research?" Dooku posed toward him.
"Oh…'course," Qui replied with a nod, thinking back to his recent hefty research, and all that he had discovered about the Colicoids and their planet.
"Just have patience," Allyaah reassured Serenn, giving his arm a tap, "We'll find the coordinates of the city via our cruiser's radar – it shouldn't be a problem; we have a map of the planet on file." She turned to make her way back to the ship, "Now, come on, and leave that poor thing alone."
Dooku paused, his underlying ire for this mission bubbling up for a moment through the cracks of his disposition; he gave the Colicoid one last glance, before exhaling loudly and following Allyaah to the ship.
Jinn watched after the two before looking back to the mystified Colicoid, still stood in the same position, with its black, empty eyes gazing at him; "Sorry," he shrugged, "My Master gets like that sometimes…you ought to try living with it! Though hurling rocks at me isn't something he's ever done before, but I wouldn't put it passed him…"
The Colicoid blinked again, ever more bemused. Qui-Gon opened his mouth to make a vain continuation of his monologue, but was interrupted by his Master's call; "Qui-Gon!"
Jinn halted, sighing; "Well, bye then," he nodded to the Colicoid, before running off after his teacher.
* * * *
[Jedi…three Jedi"]
["Fully-trained Jedi?"]
["…I don't know…reports from outpost suggest there being two adults and a youth."]
["Did outpost make contact with them?"]
["No…outpost posed as a mute…"]
["Good. Let these so-called 'resourceful' creatures make their own way here. It'll be a challenge worthy of them."]
["Wait…outpost confirms that one of the Jedi is a Master…and a strong one."]
["Strong? How does outpost know?"]
["Outpost says that its profile matches that of a Jedi Master in the Galactic Database…'Dooku', it's called."]
[" 'Dooku?'…I have heard its name before."]
["It led the campaign to quell the Nal Hutta riots, not far from here, some time ago. We lost good business partners because of those riots…"]
["It was the Republic's fault those riots even started. And they only made matters worse when they tried to remedy the riots with their inane Jedi Knights."]
["It'd be interesting to use this 'Dooku' then. It may be just the one we need for our grubs…"]
["Yes…is it very powerful?"]
["Apparently so. A leading member of the Jedi Councils trained it. It's an infamous speaker, too, and a strong warrior."]
["But what of its midichlorian count? That's the important thing; that's why we drew those creatures here in the first place. Those other Jedi could have been set free otherwise, though they deserved death for their intrusion. Their blood was too weak."]
["…Confirmed – it has a high midichlorian count. It could be perfect."]
["Draw them in, then. Tell outposts and garrisons not to kill them. Yet."]
["Yes, your highness…"]
* * * *
"There, look! We're only ten miles from Drykos," Allyaah said, pointing to the display on the radar in the ship's control room, "We can get there in no time!" She turned to Dooku with a smug look, "And you doubted me?"
"Since when have I ever doubted you, Allyaah?" he smirked suavely in return.
"Yeah, yeah, mister Charisma," she smiled, giving him a friendly shove, and switching off the readout, "Come on – let's get a move on." She rose from her seat before the control panels, and paced out of the cockpit.
"We've got to walk?" Jinn whinged, gawping at Allyaah's 'get there in no time' comment, "In this hot desert? What if we get lost? What if we shrivel up into prunes and die in a most embarrassing way? For lack of a better phrase, I'd never live it down!"
"Just 'use the Force', Jinn – how many times must someone say that to you?" Dooku replied, completely unmoved by Jinn's melodramatics, "And, besides, we're not walking. We have a couple of swoops in the hull."
"We do? Oh, bless the Jedi shipyard for being so resourceful!" Qui-Gon cheered with elation, leaping up from his seat and rushing out after Jiao.
Serenn chuckled to himself and steadily followed his lively protégé.
TBC…