CHAPTER FOUR
More anger then he had ever experienced up to this time filled Qui-Gon and coursed through every fiber of his being. His back turned to the Jedi Council, he channeled his emotion into a powerful force push that not only opened the door to the Jedi Council chambers, not merely opening it, but actually blowing it off its frame making it useless and unable to be closed.
Master Yoda shouted, "Master Qui-Gon!" out of shock at seeing Jinn's behavior as Qui-Gon strode out of the chamber.
Master Yarael Poof, the Quermian Jedi Master, stood and said, "Qui-Gon and I have always had a special relationship. I'll go and talk to him. Perhaps outside of this environment he can be made to understand our reasoning behind our decisions."
Yoda waved Yarael Poof to be seated and said, "No. Go after him we could, but increased his anger will only be. Time to calm, meditate and reflect is what Master Qui-Gon needs. Peace will be restored within him."
Yarael looked at the other council members briefly, nodded that he agreed with Yoda and sat back down.
Qui-Gon sat cross legged with his palms resting on his knees on a mat lying on the ground in the center of the Jedi Meditation Garden, which is located in the center of the Jedi Temple.
The meditation garden had been landscaped and maintained with care to promote a since of peace, stillness and tranquility. For countless generations, the Jedi have come here in their most personal trying moments to re-center their selves in the force. Regardless of the inner turmoil a Jedi finds himself in, the gardens the flow of the living Force instills peace in those who visit it.
Qui-Gon not only sat mediating in the garden to center himself, but also trying to understand and come to terms with the council's decisions and three matters which are very important to him, and trying to figure out the best way to break the bad news to both Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan he wasn't too concerned about. Sure, he would be disappointed, but he was also a mature young man and would only gain strength from this trial. Qui- Gon's main concern was for the child Anakin Skywalker. The boy had been uprooted from the only life he knew, as a slave on Tatooine brought here to be trained as a Jedi, was rejected for training, helped save a system from occupation of the Trade Federation, brought back to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi, and now he has been rejected again. That alone could be enough to destroy one as fragile as a child. To add to this, Qui-Gon couldn't allow Anakin to be returned to the only life he knew prior to meeting Qui- Gon. He couldn't allow Anakin to be returned to a life of slavery. Qui- Gon's conscious wouldn't allow him to do that.
Qui-Gon's reflections were interrupted by the sounds of rustling grass behind him. Qui-Gon turned and faced his unexpected company. He saw Liak Cloem, a Shistavanen Jedi Master who was also a childhood friend of Qui- Gon's in their Temple training before being chosen by Masters to be a Padawan.
"Qui-Gon. What a pleasant surprise to find you here. Mind if I sit with you or would you prefer to be left in solitude?" Liak greeted his old friend.
"Please by all means sit." Qui-Gon replied finding a more comfortable and relaxed sitting position.
Qui-Gon was amazed that after all of these years of knowing the Shistavanen that a small part of him still found his friend intimidating. Shistavanens were often referred to as Shistavanen Wolfmen because of their canine appearance. They are hairy bipeds with high-set doglike ears and muzzles with sharp teeth and sharp claws where a human's finger and toe nails are. Adding to the fear that many species have of Shistavanens is the fact that they can move just as easily on four legs as they can two and that due to the fact that Shistavanens tend to have very isolationist personalities they are one of the most uncommon species to see outside of their home system of Uvena.
Liak sat on a stump that was placed in the garden to be a seat and said, "Something seems to be bothering you my friend. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
Qui-Gon sighed and answered, "No. Not really. It is just at times I can not understand why the Jedi Council makes the decisions that they do."
The Shistavanen gave the human a puzzled look and asked, "Why? What did they decide against you about?"
"Where do I start?" Qui-Gon said to himself more than to Liak.
Liak laughed and said, "Well, it has been more than a year since we've seen each other. Why don't you start from the beginning because it will all be news to me."
"Well, Obi-Wan and I were sent to Naboo to settle a trade dispute between the Naboo and the Trade Federation. It was a trap, Obi-Wan and I made it to the planet's surface where we eventually made contact with the Queen of Naboo. Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan and I tried to break through the system blockade to bring her here to Coruscant so that she could go before the senate. We took sever damage to our ship and had to land on Tatooine. While on Tatooine two things happened. First, I found a young boy with the highest concentration of midi-chlorians that I've ever seen in a being. Second, I had to fight someone well trained in the Jedi arts. I believed this person to be a sith. I struck a deal to free the boy from a life of slavery and brought him back to Coruscant with me to be tested for potential in the Force. The council wouldn't allow him to be trained although they admitted that he has great potential, and they wouldn't even consider that the being I fought could be a sith. The Queen, the boy, Obi- Wan and I all went back to Naboo where Obi-Wan and I fought the sith, this time killing him. We all came back to Coruscant and again the council refused to consider allowing Obi-Wan to take the trials into knighthood, refused to allow Anakin to be trained as a Jedi, and refused to even consider that the Sith might have returned." Qui-Gon sighed again, shook his head and continued, "I just don't know what to think."
"Well, there is the option of going before the council and pleading your cases again." Liak said.
The human Jedi Master chucked and said, "No. I think that after my last visit there a return to appeal their decisions would be counter productive."
In a patient but not quite understanding tone of voice the Shistavanen Jedi Master said, "The council members are council members because they have proven their wisdom on many occasions. They are there because they have proven again and again that they deserve to be on the council. You and I are not because we lack their degree of wisdom just as a knight lacks the wisdom of a master and a Padawan lacks the wisdom of a knight."
"I know this. But I can't help but question the wisdom of the council masters on these decisions. Obi-Wan is more than ready to face the trials. Anakin has the potential to become a greater Jedi than any of them and I also believe that he is the Chosen One that will bring the Force back into balance. I truly believe that the sith are reemerging and if they are the council could be putting us all in great peril by refusing to even consider the possibility."
"Well, if you won't take it before the council again, your only option left is to concede and accept their decisions." Liak said.
The human Jedi ran his hand through his hair and said, "I know I know. But I don't know what to do with the boy. He had his freedom. I can't return him to slavery, but he has no one outside of Tatooine to whom I can take him."
"What will you do?" Liak asked.
Qui-Gon stood and said, "I don't know, but I have to tell them what has been decided for their futures. Nice to see you again Liak, I just hope that the next time it can be under better circumstances."
"May the Force be with you." Liak said nodding to his friend.
"And with you." Qui-Gon responded anger and frustration still evident in his voice. He then took his leave of the meditation gardens.
Master Jinn made his way from the Jedi Temple to the Naboo Consulate wing of the Senate Housing building. After receiving approval the two armed Naboo guards allowed Qui-Gon to pass. He walked into the wing and was met by one of the queen's handmaidens who took him to her.
As he entered the luxuriously appointed sitting room that Queen Amidala was in, the queen stood up, smiled and said, "Master Jedi. Please have a seat. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Both the Queen of Naboo and the Jedi Master sat down.
Qui-Gon with a downcast expression said, "Your majesty, I have a rather big favor to ask of you."
"Anything for one of the men who helped save the lives of so many on my planet. What can I do for you?"
"The Jedi Council has decided against allowing Anakin to be trained as a Jedi. It wouldn't be fair to him to return him a life of slavery on Tatooine, plus that would be in violation of the Republic's anti-slavery laws. He doesn't have any other relatives that I'm aware of besides his mother. I was hoping that you'd allow him to return to Naboo with you and find some sort of foster family for him there."
"Your council sounds an awful lot like the Senate right now. They voted against revoking the Trade Federation's trade franchise, turned Nute Gunray over to the courts to determine if he committed a crime or not, and to top it off he isn't even being held in custody until his trial."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry to push the issue right now when you have your own matters distressing you, but I need an answer to my question. I haven't spoken to Anakin yet, and I'd really prefer not to until I have found a solution to where he is going live."
Queen Padme Amidala smiled and said, "Having him live on Naboo would be no problem at all. To most of my people he is something of a hero now. I'm sure finding a good home for him will be no problem at all."
For the first time since going before the Jedi Council a heartfelt smile showed on Qui-Gon's face as he stood and said, "Thank you your majesty. I know you have a lot to do so I won't take any more of your time. May the Force be with you."
"And with you Master Jedi." The Queen said honoring the Jedi's customary parting.
With this problem solved, Qui-Gon left the queen and moved on to deal with the remaining issues.
Qui-Gon returned to the Jedi Temple and after a search he located Obi-Wan in the Archives studying the history of the sith and the records of the ancient Jedi who encountered them.
He walked quietly behind his Padawan and put his hand on his shoulder. Obi- Wan who was engrossed in his study jumped, startled at the sudden expected touch.
"Oh, Master." Obi-Wan said as he turned around to see who his visitor was.
"What are you looking into Padawan?"
"The Sith. With them coming back I figured I had better learn all I could about the ancient encounters."
Qui-Gon smiled sadly and said, "That is why you will become a great Jedi Knight one of these days."
Obi-Wan didn't miss the look on his master's face or the tone of his voice and gave his master a quizzical look of his own.
"Let's go for a walk." Qui-Gon answered Obi-Wan's look.
Without another word, the young Jedi student stood and left the archives with his master. They walked in silence through the common areas of the temple with no destination in mind. Anxiety rippled off the both of them, Qui-Gon trying to find the words to break the bad news to his student and Obi-Wan already knowing what his master was going to say but hoping beyond hope that it was anything else.
It was Qui-Gon who broke the silence by saying, "I spoke to the council about them allowing you to take the trials today."
As if choreographed the two Jedis stopped walking at the same time and looked at each other. The moment of truth had arrived.
"They are denying you the trials for now." Qui-Gon finished.
They looked at each other in silence for a second and Obi-Wan choked out, "Did they say why?"
Qui-Gon shook his head, crossed his arms and said, "No, nothing specific. They would only say that they don't feel you are yet ready."
The two stood in silence for several moments longer until finally Obi-Wan said, "If you'll excuse me Master. I'd prefer to be by myself for awhile."
Qui-Gon fixed Obi-Wan with a sympathetic look and said, "No Obi-Wan. Take all the time you need."
With that, Obi-Wan walked off, lost deep in his own thoughts and Qui-Gon just watched him leave feeling bad for his apprentice.
Obi-Wan left his master, his insides were a tornado of emotions. He decided that the best place for him was the lightsaber practice arena, where all Jedi from the youngest Padawan to the oldest member of the council go to practice, sharpen and keep proficient with their lightsaber skills.
Obi-Wan set his droid opponent to knight, which means that it would fight as well as any non-force sensitive being with skill levels with a lightsaber. The sparing droid was armed with a non-lethal training lightsaber and non-lethal laser cannons mounted on its shoulders. However, just because the droid's attacks are non-lethal doesn't mean you don't feel pain when you are hit. Jedis learn at a young age how important it is to move fast and avoid your opponent's attacks. The droid also boasted small low power booster rockets on its legs that rotate 360 degrees which could allow the droid to jump in any direction during combat.
The droid fired multiple blasts from both shoulder cannons. Obi-Wan deflected the ones that were at risk of hitting him. The droid advanced on Obi-Wan while he was busy deflecting the blasts. As soon as the droid realized that Obi-Wan was back on guard it stopped its advance and fired another salvo from the shoulder cannons.
This time Obi-Wan dived to the right and rolled ten feet before coming back to his feet. The attacking droid paused, as if unsure what its human opponent just did. As the droid turned to face him, Obi-Wan shut down his blade and cart wheeled towards the droid past its laser cannon range.
As soon as he was out of danger from the droid's lasers Obi-Wan thumbed his lightsaber back to life and swung the blade towards the droid's midsection. The droid suddenly on the defensive recognized Obi-Wan's attack and blocked the stroke with its own lightsaber.
Not liking its current circumstances the droid activated its booster rockets and leaped over Obi-Wan's head landing on the other side of him. Obi-Wan countered this by turning around and striking before the droid could land, cutting its legs off at the knee.
The droid lay on the ground firing its lasers up into the air, the lasers are fixed in one location and were unable to track Obi-Wan and swinging its lightsaber towards Obi-Wan trying in vain to protect itself and delay the inevitable.
Obi-Wan stepped in on the droids right side, it brought its lightsaber to bear to defend itself, but not fast enough. Obi-Wan drove his blade down into the droid's chest plate, and it ceased to exist.
The Jedi Padawan wiped the sweat off of his head and heard someone clapping. He turned to the arena's entrance and saw Blackmar Nalar, the gray skinned Weequay is a lifelong friend of Obi-Wan's and a fellow Padawan.
"Fine fighting Obi-Wan. The droid wouldn't give into your concessions and aggressive negotiations were required?"
Obi-Wan scowled at Blackmar.
"What's wrong my friend?" The Weequay asked sensing his friend's sour mood.
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it back onto his tunic, but didn't answer Blackmar.
"Obi-Wan? What's wrong? You never behave this way." Blackmar pressed.
"Fine, if you have to know I'll tell you." Obi-Wan said in a voice which would encourage most individuals not to ask anymore.
"Of course I want to know. We've always been like brothers you and me. Of course, I'm the one who got all the good looks." Blackmar said trying to make Obi-Wan smile, knowing that humans find the weathered look of the Weequay disgusting. His attempt failed.
Obi-Wan sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the arena wall and looked at his friend, "Blackmar, I feel like I'm 13 again and facing a life in the Agricultural Corps." the Jedi Agricultural Corps is where Force sensitive youngsters that are not chosen as a Padawan by a master where they spend their lives using their Force abilities to help farm crops grow.
"What do you mean?" Blackmar asked.
"The council has twice refused me the trials of knighthood." Obi-Wan answered.
"Ah. Well the council members are the wisest of all Jedi. I'm sure they have their reasons." Blackmar said.
"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Just what I said. Granted I'm a couple of years younger than you, but I haven't been chosen to take the trials into knighthood yet either. The council knows why they decide what they decide, even if we don't."
Obi-Wan glanced a hate filled glance at Blackmar, "Well this time they are wrong. I'm ready to take the trials and it is unfair to hold me back."
"Face it Obi-Wan. Maybe, just maybe as much as you want it you're not ready to be a knight yet."
"So that's all there is to it in your view? Jedi Council right, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi bad Jedi?"
"Obi-Wan." Blackmar began.
"No, I don't want to hear any more."
"Obi-Wan, listen to me." Blackmar said.
Before Blackmar could say anymore, Obi-Wan reached his hand out as if to grab a hold of Blackmar. While twenty feet separated them and physical contact was impossible, Obi-Wan reached out through the Force and began to choke Blackmar.
Blackmar reached up to his neck trying to release the Force grip as though it were a physical hold and struggled to breath.
The struggle was futile, and Obi-Wan continued to choke him as Blackmar's life Force slowly him. Finally when Blackmar's eyes began to roll into the back of his head, Obi-Wan released the grip and stormed out of the arena.
While the confrontation in the lightsaber training arena was occurring, Qui- Gon walked across the temple to where Anakin was playing with several other force sensitive children. The same children that he had hoped, but now knew wouldn't be the case, that would become the same kind of lifelong friends that he and Liak Cloem were.
Qui-Gon interrupted the game that the children were playing and said, "Anakin. Come for a walk with me."
Anakin waved bye to his friends and followed the Jedi Master out of the room.
As with Obi-Wan, they walked in silence for a little while before Qui-Gon said, "Anakin. I have some bad news for you, but I want you to take it like a big person. Ok?"
Anakin shook his head in the affirmative and said, "What is it Master Qui- Gon?"
Qui-Gon stopped walking and Anakin followed suit. Qui-Gon then kneeled down so that he could look Anakin eye to eye and said, "The council has denied me permission to train you."
Tears began to well up in Anakin's eyes instantly after Qui-Gon had said what he needed to say. Anakin said, "But you promised me. You promised that I'll be a Jedi. You promised that I'd be the best Jedi ever. Jedi's have to keep their promises."
"I'm very sorry Anakin. It was a promise that I shouldn't have made and I won't be able to keep it."
"So where do I go now? I mean I can't stay in the temple anyway can I?" Anakin asked.
"No Anakin you can't....."
Before Qui-Gon could finish Anakin interrupted, "Take me home. Back to my mom, my friends and Watto."
"Anakin, I can not send you back to a life of slavery. I have made arrangements for you to go with Queen Amidala to live on Naboo."
Unhappily Anakin said, "But I don't want to live on Naboo. I don't know anyone there."
"I'm sorry Anakin, but you don't have a choice. I won't allow you to go back to slavery. Come, let's go. The Queen is waiting for your arrival."
Rage and anger began to build in Anakin, along with a hatred for the Jedi he had aspired to become, but he didn't say anything else.
They arrived at the Naboo Consulate Wing and were passed without challenge by the Naboo guards outside.
Queen Amidala was waiting for them, without the makeup and big fancy dresses of her position.
"Master Jedi, Ani. How nice to see both of you. Come on in."
Qui-Gon bowed and said, "Your majesty, it is a pleasure as always." While Anakin just looked at her not saying a word.
"Well, I think we should get Anakin settled in." Padme said.
Anakin, sadness evident on his face said, "All I have is the cloths I came in from home and a few outfits the stupid Jedi gave me."
Qui-Gon frowned at Anakin's last statement. Queen Amidala noticed this and sensed the tension between the two. To ease the tension she smiled brightly and said, "Well. We will just have to get you some cloths than. Cloths fitting a proper young man from Naboo."
The queen motioned towards one of her handmaidens and said, "Sage here will show you to your room so you can relax and get use to your new environment if you'd like Ani."
Without saying another word, Anakin took off, not waiting for Sage and let the Force guide him to the room which was now his.
The queen laughed and said, "Well now. He is a little Dewback today isn't he."
Qui-Gon gave her a forlorn smile and said, "He is mad at me. I made the mistake of promising him on our way back here that he would be trained as a Jedi. I thought the council would take him. I was wrong and he is taking it rather hard.
"Well, I'm leaving for Naboo in two days. I'll make sure to place him with a pilot who has children so that he can have some siblings to play with to make adjusting easier."
Qui-Gon smiled happily this time, "Thank you Padme. I really appreciate this."
After leaving the Naboo Consulate Wing the Jedi Master found himself unable to bring himself to return to the Jedi Temple so that he could rest in his quarters. Instead he secured a room at a temporary housing establishment for the night.
He woke early the next morning and left the room he rented and began to walk with no destination in mind.
Qui-Gon needing time away from anything Jedi to think things through, he was depressed, angry and confused. He wanted to have time to himself, without any telling him how great the Jedi Council was. Qui-Gon knew that he would calm down, but he needed time for it to happen naturally.
The Jedi Master wandered the top of Coruscant, the massive planet wide city. As we walked he chanced upon a place he and Obi-Wan had come to many times over the years, a little greasy spoon type of restaurant called Dex's Diner. He went in.
A brawny reptilian alien with a ridge plate on his head and a moustache that looks out of place and four arms came out from behind the counter, began moving towards the Jedi Master saying, "Qui-Gon. Nice to see you."
Qui-Gon smiled and said, "Good Dex. How are you?"
"Not bad, not bad, and Obi-Wan. Where is your student today?" Dexter Jettster, the diner's owner said.
"Well, he isn't very well right now. The council declined him taking the trails now and he is pretty upset, but he'll be fine." Qui-Gon answered.
"I'm sorry to hear about Obi-Wan. I like that kid. He is a good human and does credit to your species." Dexter said. After saying this he looked towards a booth in the back of the diner and continued, "Another old friend of yours is here today. Haven't seen him around in a long time, maybe you should go over and talk to him." Then he pointed to the booth.
Qui-Gon looked to where the alien was pointing and saw a much older man than himself who is a former Jedi Master who now is known as Count Dooku instead of his former Master Dooku as he was known while he was still with the order.
The Jedi Master nodded his head towards Dooku and asked the diner's owner, "Could you send a server droid to me over there?"
Jettster patted Qui-Gon on the back, which to his own species would have been a light friendly pat but was almost enough to land the Jedi Master on his nose and said with a big smile, "Of course I will. How could I stay in business if my server droids didn't go to take the orders of paying customers where they sat?"
Qui-Gon gave the huge alien a human size pat on the back and said, "Thanks Dex." Qui-Gon left the alien and walked over to the former master.
Qui-Gon walked over to the table and Dooku looked up at him, recognition instant on his face. He stood up and embraced the Jedi Master in a tight hug of comradeship and said, "Qui-Gon my old Padawan. How are you doing?" He then released the younger man and had a seat. Qui-Gon followed suit and sat himself.
"Not too bad Master Dooku."
The server droid arrived at the table; Qui-Gon ordered a slab of Vornskr ribs and a cup of Java Juice. Count Dooku ordered the same.
Dooku waved a hand in dismissal, "You'd better watch who you call master Qui-Gon. If it were to get back to the council that you've called a former Jedi master you may end up on Hoth trying to negotiate a truce of peace between the Wampas and Tauntauns."
Qui-Gon smiled, he always appreciated his former master's sense of humor. Dooku continued, "I noticed that you said not too bad. Is there something bothering you?" He put a special emphasis on the word too to make it clear that that was the word that didn't escape his attention.
The Jedi Master sighed for another one of the countless times since his return from the mission to Naboo and said, "Just Jedi business. Nothing I'd want to bother you with since you left the order by your own wishes."
Count Dooku's face took a serious look as he said, "Come now. Because of the Jedi Code, you're the closest thing to a son I'll ever have. If you have something bothering you, I want you to be able to discuss it with me. Even if it is Jedi business. Just because I'm not longer a Jedi does not mean that I'm no longer your friend."
Qui-Gon smiled again at his former master and said, "Well it is a couple of things really. The first one is my Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is headstrong and sensitivity to the Living Force sometimes eludes him, but he has a natural inclination to the Unifying Force. He has proven a great skill in Force techniques like speed, healing and telekinesis. I feel that he is ready to take the trials, but the council has disagreed with me twice on the matter. It is almost as if they feel that my judgment is suspect."
Dooku nodded at his former student and said, "Continue."
"Next and another reason that I want Obi-Wan to take the trials is that I've found an eight year old boy who has the highest concentration of midi- chlorians that I've ever seen, even higher then Master Yoda's. I firmly believe that he is the Chosen One, but the council refuses to allow him to be trained because of his age, and the fact that after a life of slavery on Tatooine he has a great deal of anger built up inside of him."
This caught Dooku's attention but instead of letting on he said, "I have a feeling that there is something else your not telling me. Come on my old Padawan, let it all out."
"Well, there is one more thing. Twice, once on Tatooine and the second on Naboo I encountered a Zabrak, who had his entire body tattooed red and black. He was well trained in the dark side of the Jedi arts. I believe that he was a sith but the council refuses to even consider it."
Dooku sat back and steepled his fingers and said, "First, I also know the sith have returned. I have my own resources and I've discovered that a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious is gaining a stronger and stronger hold on the Senate every day. I also once tried to speak of this to the council and they wouldn't listen to me either. Second, who better to judge a Padawan's abilities then his own master? That shows the arrogance, which the council preaches against, of the council thinking that they know a student better than their own teacher who has been with them every day since they were young children. Third, the Force is severally out of balance and it is getting worse all the time. If you believe you have found the Chosen One that the ancient prophecy talks about why wouldn't they allow him to be trained? I'll tell you why, they are afraid of one stronger then them coming up through the ranks and exposing their mismanagement of the order. These are just a few of the reasons that I left the order. I just couldn't handle it any more."
Qui-Gon finally had the opening to ask the question that he had wanted to ask of Dooku ever since he heard that his former master left the order. That question was, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave the order?"
"That is a hard question to answer because there are so many answers. I guess that it comes down to the corruption and hypocrisy of the Republic combined with the hypocrisy of the Jedi Order."
Qui-Gon gave Count Dooku a quizzical look and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, lets start with the Republic. Think about it Qui-Gon. Think about this boy you told me about. He was a slave on Tatooine right? Tatooine is a member world of the Republic right? So why was he ever a slave? Why weren't the Republic's anti-slavery laws enforced there as they are on Bothawui or Corellia? If you were to try to hold slaves on those worlds you'd end up in a prison colony. The answer is that the Republic really does not care, as long as it stays on a backwater on the Outer Rim, you can do pretty much whatever you want. The Republic knows the locations of illegal prisons that are not set up by the government but by corporations to get enemies of their companies out of the way without having to kill them. But do they do anything about them? No, they are plentiful. Look at the spice trade. That is also illegal, but everyone knows that you can where you can find the major spice mines, just look at Kessel. Consider the laborers or I'd be more accurate to say slaves that work those mines. Do you think they have any sort of standard of living at all? They'd have better lives in the lower levels of Coruscant. Does the Republic step in to stop any of these illegal activities? No. And why not? Because the Senators get richer off of these activities. There is a lot of money to be made in pretending you don't know what is going on right under your nose." Dooku paused his ravings to observe his former students reactions to what he said.
Seeing that he had Qui-Gon's undivided attention and interest he continued, "By your connection to the Republic, the Jedi become tainted by the Republic's misdeeds. I bet that you don't even realize that the majority of the Republic's citizens consider the Jedi to be the Republic's enforcers not the guardians of truth and justice."
Count Dooku paused again to allow this to sink into to Qui-Gon. Once again, he was the Master and Qui-Gon was the student, taking in everything that the older wiser man told him.
"Also," Dooku continued, "the current Jedi Council differs drastically from that of the ancient councils. They make decisions based upon personal opinions, such as that of Obi-Wan. Also, they ban forms of the force that are perfectly safe and very effective for a Jedi to use and they throw up all sorts of fear and mystery surrounding it."
Now Qui-Gon looked at his former master very alarmed. Dooku caught this and said, "Correct my friend. I'm talking about the dark side of the Force. The dark side arts are perfectly safe for a Jedi to use as long as he controls the dark side and doesn't allow the dark side to control him. Look at me, I practice the dark side arts and I'm no sith am I?"
Qui-Gon had to concede his former master's point.
"As a matter of fact. I firmly feel that the Jedi Council's misuse of their power and lack of use of the entire Force not just the light side is the cause of their diminishing abilities to use the Force. I was a powerful Jedi; I'm an even more powerful one now that I left the archaic Temple and the fools who lead it. Now there is something I'd like to talk to you about."
Qui-Gon looked at his master for a second and said, "What is it?"
"What if I were to tell you that there is a better way? A governmental system free of the corruption that engulfs the Republic, and that I am the leader of such a government? I will lead as many systems as I can out of the Republic and return them to the principals on which the Republic was originally founded."
After all that Count Dooku had said, and the decisions that the council had made recently Qui-Gon was interested. "I'd say tell me more."
"In order to do this, I'm going to need to create a Jedi. Jedi who are just as fed up with the corruption of both, the Republic and the Jedi way. I need them to be what they were intended to be, protectors of truth and justice. Just as we were when the Republic was founded. The Jedi of the Republic have lost their way. I need to restore the true Jedi Order. I want you Qui-Gon to help me recreate the original Republic and the original Jedi order. Obi-Wan will enter as a knight and this boy you've told me about will be your third Padawan. I will teach you all that I've learned, how to use the entire Force, not just what it has been decided you can and can not use. Please Qui-Gon, I can't do this by myself."
The silence was so thick between the two men that you wouldn't have been able to cut it with a vibro-ax. Then Qui-Gon said, "What you've told me makes sense master. Let me mediate on it and get back to you tomorrow. Plus I'll have to speak with Obi-Wan."
Dooku smiled and said, "That's fine Qui-Gon. Just fine. Meet me here tomorrow, same time."
More anger then he had ever experienced up to this time filled Qui-Gon and coursed through every fiber of his being. His back turned to the Jedi Council, he channeled his emotion into a powerful force push that not only opened the door to the Jedi Council chambers, not merely opening it, but actually blowing it off its frame making it useless and unable to be closed.
Master Yoda shouted, "Master Qui-Gon!" out of shock at seeing Jinn's behavior as Qui-Gon strode out of the chamber.
Master Yarael Poof, the Quermian Jedi Master, stood and said, "Qui-Gon and I have always had a special relationship. I'll go and talk to him. Perhaps outside of this environment he can be made to understand our reasoning behind our decisions."
Yoda waved Yarael Poof to be seated and said, "No. Go after him we could, but increased his anger will only be. Time to calm, meditate and reflect is what Master Qui-Gon needs. Peace will be restored within him."
Yarael looked at the other council members briefly, nodded that he agreed with Yoda and sat back down.
Qui-Gon sat cross legged with his palms resting on his knees on a mat lying on the ground in the center of the Jedi Meditation Garden, which is located in the center of the Jedi Temple.
The meditation garden had been landscaped and maintained with care to promote a since of peace, stillness and tranquility. For countless generations, the Jedi have come here in their most personal trying moments to re-center their selves in the force. Regardless of the inner turmoil a Jedi finds himself in, the gardens the flow of the living Force instills peace in those who visit it.
Qui-Gon not only sat mediating in the garden to center himself, but also trying to understand and come to terms with the council's decisions and three matters which are very important to him, and trying to figure out the best way to break the bad news to both Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan he wasn't too concerned about. Sure, he would be disappointed, but he was also a mature young man and would only gain strength from this trial. Qui- Gon's main concern was for the child Anakin Skywalker. The boy had been uprooted from the only life he knew, as a slave on Tatooine brought here to be trained as a Jedi, was rejected for training, helped save a system from occupation of the Trade Federation, brought back to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi, and now he has been rejected again. That alone could be enough to destroy one as fragile as a child. To add to this, Qui-Gon couldn't allow Anakin to be returned to the only life he knew prior to meeting Qui- Gon. He couldn't allow Anakin to be returned to a life of slavery. Qui- Gon's conscious wouldn't allow him to do that.
Qui-Gon's reflections were interrupted by the sounds of rustling grass behind him. Qui-Gon turned and faced his unexpected company. He saw Liak Cloem, a Shistavanen Jedi Master who was also a childhood friend of Qui- Gon's in their Temple training before being chosen by Masters to be a Padawan.
"Qui-Gon. What a pleasant surprise to find you here. Mind if I sit with you or would you prefer to be left in solitude?" Liak greeted his old friend.
"Please by all means sit." Qui-Gon replied finding a more comfortable and relaxed sitting position.
Qui-Gon was amazed that after all of these years of knowing the Shistavanen that a small part of him still found his friend intimidating. Shistavanens were often referred to as Shistavanen Wolfmen because of their canine appearance. They are hairy bipeds with high-set doglike ears and muzzles with sharp teeth and sharp claws where a human's finger and toe nails are. Adding to the fear that many species have of Shistavanens is the fact that they can move just as easily on four legs as they can two and that due to the fact that Shistavanens tend to have very isolationist personalities they are one of the most uncommon species to see outside of their home system of Uvena.
Liak sat on a stump that was placed in the garden to be a seat and said, "Something seems to be bothering you my friend. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
Qui-Gon sighed and answered, "No. Not really. It is just at times I can not understand why the Jedi Council makes the decisions that they do."
The Shistavanen gave the human a puzzled look and asked, "Why? What did they decide against you about?"
"Where do I start?" Qui-Gon said to himself more than to Liak.
Liak laughed and said, "Well, it has been more than a year since we've seen each other. Why don't you start from the beginning because it will all be news to me."
"Well, Obi-Wan and I were sent to Naboo to settle a trade dispute between the Naboo and the Trade Federation. It was a trap, Obi-Wan and I made it to the planet's surface where we eventually made contact with the Queen of Naboo. Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan and I tried to break through the system blockade to bring her here to Coruscant so that she could go before the senate. We took sever damage to our ship and had to land on Tatooine. While on Tatooine two things happened. First, I found a young boy with the highest concentration of midi-chlorians that I've ever seen in a being. Second, I had to fight someone well trained in the Jedi arts. I believed this person to be a sith. I struck a deal to free the boy from a life of slavery and brought him back to Coruscant with me to be tested for potential in the Force. The council wouldn't allow him to be trained although they admitted that he has great potential, and they wouldn't even consider that the being I fought could be a sith. The Queen, the boy, Obi- Wan and I all went back to Naboo where Obi-Wan and I fought the sith, this time killing him. We all came back to Coruscant and again the council refused to consider allowing Obi-Wan to take the trials into knighthood, refused to allow Anakin to be trained as a Jedi, and refused to even consider that the Sith might have returned." Qui-Gon sighed again, shook his head and continued, "I just don't know what to think."
"Well, there is the option of going before the council and pleading your cases again." Liak said.
The human Jedi Master chucked and said, "No. I think that after my last visit there a return to appeal their decisions would be counter productive."
In a patient but not quite understanding tone of voice the Shistavanen Jedi Master said, "The council members are council members because they have proven their wisdom on many occasions. They are there because they have proven again and again that they deserve to be on the council. You and I are not because we lack their degree of wisdom just as a knight lacks the wisdom of a master and a Padawan lacks the wisdom of a knight."
"I know this. But I can't help but question the wisdom of the council masters on these decisions. Obi-Wan is more than ready to face the trials. Anakin has the potential to become a greater Jedi than any of them and I also believe that he is the Chosen One that will bring the Force back into balance. I truly believe that the sith are reemerging and if they are the council could be putting us all in great peril by refusing to even consider the possibility."
"Well, if you won't take it before the council again, your only option left is to concede and accept their decisions." Liak said.
The human Jedi ran his hand through his hair and said, "I know I know. But I don't know what to do with the boy. He had his freedom. I can't return him to slavery, but he has no one outside of Tatooine to whom I can take him."
"What will you do?" Liak asked.
Qui-Gon stood and said, "I don't know, but I have to tell them what has been decided for their futures. Nice to see you again Liak, I just hope that the next time it can be under better circumstances."
"May the Force be with you." Liak said nodding to his friend.
"And with you." Qui-Gon responded anger and frustration still evident in his voice. He then took his leave of the meditation gardens.
Master Jinn made his way from the Jedi Temple to the Naboo Consulate wing of the Senate Housing building. After receiving approval the two armed Naboo guards allowed Qui-Gon to pass. He walked into the wing and was met by one of the queen's handmaidens who took him to her.
As he entered the luxuriously appointed sitting room that Queen Amidala was in, the queen stood up, smiled and said, "Master Jedi. Please have a seat. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Both the Queen of Naboo and the Jedi Master sat down.
Qui-Gon with a downcast expression said, "Your majesty, I have a rather big favor to ask of you."
"Anything for one of the men who helped save the lives of so many on my planet. What can I do for you?"
"The Jedi Council has decided against allowing Anakin to be trained as a Jedi. It wouldn't be fair to him to return him a life of slavery on Tatooine, plus that would be in violation of the Republic's anti-slavery laws. He doesn't have any other relatives that I'm aware of besides his mother. I was hoping that you'd allow him to return to Naboo with you and find some sort of foster family for him there."
"Your council sounds an awful lot like the Senate right now. They voted against revoking the Trade Federation's trade franchise, turned Nute Gunray over to the courts to determine if he committed a crime or not, and to top it off he isn't even being held in custody until his trial."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry to push the issue right now when you have your own matters distressing you, but I need an answer to my question. I haven't spoken to Anakin yet, and I'd really prefer not to until I have found a solution to where he is going live."
Queen Padme Amidala smiled and said, "Having him live on Naboo would be no problem at all. To most of my people he is something of a hero now. I'm sure finding a good home for him will be no problem at all."
For the first time since going before the Jedi Council a heartfelt smile showed on Qui-Gon's face as he stood and said, "Thank you your majesty. I know you have a lot to do so I won't take any more of your time. May the Force be with you."
"And with you Master Jedi." The Queen said honoring the Jedi's customary parting.
With this problem solved, Qui-Gon left the queen and moved on to deal with the remaining issues.
Qui-Gon returned to the Jedi Temple and after a search he located Obi-Wan in the Archives studying the history of the sith and the records of the ancient Jedi who encountered them.
He walked quietly behind his Padawan and put his hand on his shoulder. Obi- Wan who was engrossed in his study jumped, startled at the sudden expected touch.
"Oh, Master." Obi-Wan said as he turned around to see who his visitor was.
"What are you looking into Padawan?"
"The Sith. With them coming back I figured I had better learn all I could about the ancient encounters."
Qui-Gon smiled sadly and said, "That is why you will become a great Jedi Knight one of these days."
Obi-Wan didn't miss the look on his master's face or the tone of his voice and gave his master a quizzical look of his own.
"Let's go for a walk." Qui-Gon answered Obi-Wan's look.
Without another word, the young Jedi student stood and left the archives with his master. They walked in silence through the common areas of the temple with no destination in mind. Anxiety rippled off the both of them, Qui-Gon trying to find the words to break the bad news to his student and Obi-Wan already knowing what his master was going to say but hoping beyond hope that it was anything else.
It was Qui-Gon who broke the silence by saying, "I spoke to the council about them allowing you to take the trials today."
As if choreographed the two Jedis stopped walking at the same time and looked at each other. The moment of truth had arrived.
"They are denying you the trials for now." Qui-Gon finished.
They looked at each other in silence for a second and Obi-Wan choked out, "Did they say why?"
Qui-Gon shook his head, crossed his arms and said, "No, nothing specific. They would only say that they don't feel you are yet ready."
The two stood in silence for several moments longer until finally Obi-Wan said, "If you'll excuse me Master. I'd prefer to be by myself for awhile."
Qui-Gon fixed Obi-Wan with a sympathetic look and said, "No Obi-Wan. Take all the time you need."
With that, Obi-Wan walked off, lost deep in his own thoughts and Qui-Gon just watched him leave feeling bad for his apprentice.
Obi-Wan left his master, his insides were a tornado of emotions. He decided that the best place for him was the lightsaber practice arena, where all Jedi from the youngest Padawan to the oldest member of the council go to practice, sharpen and keep proficient with their lightsaber skills.
Obi-Wan set his droid opponent to knight, which means that it would fight as well as any non-force sensitive being with skill levels with a lightsaber. The sparing droid was armed with a non-lethal training lightsaber and non-lethal laser cannons mounted on its shoulders. However, just because the droid's attacks are non-lethal doesn't mean you don't feel pain when you are hit. Jedis learn at a young age how important it is to move fast and avoid your opponent's attacks. The droid also boasted small low power booster rockets on its legs that rotate 360 degrees which could allow the droid to jump in any direction during combat.
The droid fired multiple blasts from both shoulder cannons. Obi-Wan deflected the ones that were at risk of hitting him. The droid advanced on Obi-Wan while he was busy deflecting the blasts. As soon as the droid realized that Obi-Wan was back on guard it stopped its advance and fired another salvo from the shoulder cannons.
This time Obi-Wan dived to the right and rolled ten feet before coming back to his feet. The attacking droid paused, as if unsure what its human opponent just did. As the droid turned to face him, Obi-Wan shut down his blade and cart wheeled towards the droid past its laser cannon range.
As soon as he was out of danger from the droid's lasers Obi-Wan thumbed his lightsaber back to life and swung the blade towards the droid's midsection. The droid suddenly on the defensive recognized Obi-Wan's attack and blocked the stroke with its own lightsaber.
Not liking its current circumstances the droid activated its booster rockets and leaped over Obi-Wan's head landing on the other side of him. Obi-Wan countered this by turning around and striking before the droid could land, cutting its legs off at the knee.
The droid lay on the ground firing its lasers up into the air, the lasers are fixed in one location and were unable to track Obi-Wan and swinging its lightsaber towards Obi-Wan trying in vain to protect itself and delay the inevitable.
Obi-Wan stepped in on the droids right side, it brought its lightsaber to bear to defend itself, but not fast enough. Obi-Wan drove his blade down into the droid's chest plate, and it ceased to exist.
The Jedi Padawan wiped the sweat off of his head and heard someone clapping. He turned to the arena's entrance and saw Blackmar Nalar, the gray skinned Weequay is a lifelong friend of Obi-Wan's and a fellow Padawan.
"Fine fighting Obi-Wan. The droid wouldn't give into your concessions and aggressive negotiations were required?"
Obi-Wan scowled at Blackmar.
"What's wrong my friend?" The Weequay asked sensing his friend's sour mood.
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it back onto his tunic, but didn't answer Blackmar.
"Obi-Wan? What's wrong? You never behave this way." Blackmar pressed.
"Fine, if you have to know I'll tell you." Obi-Wan said in a voice which would encourage most individuals not to ask anymore.
"Of course I want to know. We've always been like brothers you and me. Of course, I'm the one who got all the good looks." Blackmar said trying to make Obi-Wan smile, knowing that humans find the weathered look of the Weequay disgusting. His attempt failed.
Obi-Wan sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the arena wall and looked at his friend, "Blackmar, I feel like I'm 13 again and facing a life in the Agricultural Corps." the Jedi Agricultural Corps is where Force sensitive youngsters that are not chosen as a Padawan by a master where they spend their lives using their Force abilities to help farm crops grow.
"What do you mean?" Blackmar asked.
"The council has twice refused me the trials of knighthood." Obi-Wan answered.
"Ah. Well the council members are the wisest of all Jedi. I'm sure they have their reasons." Blackmar said.
"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Just what I said. Granted I'm a couple of years younger than you, but I haven't been chosen to take the trials into knighthood yet either. The council knows why they decide what they decide, even if we don't."
Obi-Wan glanced a hate filled glance at Blackmar, "Well this time they are wrong. I'm ready to take the trials and it is unfair to hold me back."
"Face it Obi-Wan. Maybe, just maybe as much as you want it you're not ready to be a knight yet."
"So that's all there is to it in your view? Jedi Council right, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi bad Jedi?"
"Obi-Wan." Blackmar began.
"No, I don't want to hear any more."
"Obi-Wan, listen to me." Blackmar said.
Before Blackmar could say anymore, Obi-Wan reached his hand out as if to grab a hold of Blackmar. While twenty feet separated them and physical contact was impossible, Obi-Wan reached out through the Force and began to choke Blackmar.
Blackmar reached up to his neck trying to release the Force grip as though it were a physical hold and struggled to breath.
The struggle was futile, and Obi-Wan continued to choke him as Blackmar's life Force slowly him. Finally when Blackmar's eyes began to roll into the back of his head, Obi-Wan released the grip and stormed out of the arena.
While the confrontation in the lightsaber training arena was occurring, Qui- Gon walked across the temple to where Anakin was playing with several other force sensitive children. The same children that he had hoped, but now knew wouldn't be the case, that would become the same kind of lifelong friends that he and Liak Cloem were.
Qui-Gon interrupted the game that the children were playing and said, "Anakin. Come for a walk with me."
Anakin waved bye to his friends and followed the Jedi Master out of the room.
As with Obi-Wan, they walked in silence for a little while before Qui-Gon said, "Anakin. I have some bad news for you, but I want you to take it like a big person. Ok?"
Anakin shook his head in the affirmative and said, "What is it Master Qui- Gon?"
Qui-Gon stopped walking and Anakin followed suit. Qui-Gon then kneeled down so that he could look Anakin eye to eye and said, "The council has denied me permission to train you."
Tears began to well up in Anakin's eyes instantly after Qui-Gon had said what he needed to say. Anakin said, "But you promised me. You promised that I'll be a Jedi. You promised that I'd be the best Jedi ever. Jedi's have to keep their promises."
"I'm very sorry Anakin. It was a promise that I shouldn't have made and I won't be able to keep it."
"So where do I go now? I mean I can't stay in the temple anyway can I?" Anakin asked.
"No Anakin you can't....."
Before Qui-Gon could finish Anakin interrupted, "Take me home. Back to my mom, my friends and Watto."
"Anakin, I can not send you back to a life of slavery. I have made arrangements for you to go with Queen Amidala to live on Naboo."
Unhappily Anakin said, "But I don't want to live on Naboo. I don't know anyone there."
"I'm sorry Anakin, but you don't have a choice. I won't allow you to go back to slavery. Come, let's go. The Queen is waiting for your arrival."
Rage and anger began to build in Anakin, along with a hatred for the Jedi he had aspired to become, but he didn't say anything else.
They arrived at the Naboo Consulate Wing and were passed without challenge by the Naboo guards outside.
Queen Amidala was waiting for them, without the makeup and big fancy dresses of her position.
"Master Jedi, Ani. How nice to see both of you. Come on in."
Qui-Gon bowed and said, "Your majesty, it is a pleasure as always." While Anakin just looked at her not saying a word.
"Well, I think we should get Anakin settled in." Padme said.
Anakin, sadness evident on his face said, "All I have is the cloths I came in from home and a few outfits the stupid Jedi gave me."
Qui-Gon frowned at Anakin's last statement. Queen Amidala noticed this and sensed the tension between the two. To ease the tension she smiled brightly and said, "Well. We will just have to get you some cloths than. Cloths fitting a proper young man from Naboo."
The queen motioned towards one of her handmaidens and said, "Sage here will show you to your room so you can relax and get use to your new environment if you'd like Ani."
Without saying another word, Anakin took off, not waiting for Sage and let the Force guide him to the room which was now his.
The queen laughed and said, "Well now. He is a little Dewback today isn't he."
Qui-Gon gave her a forlorn smile and said, "He is mad at me. I made the mistake of promising him on our way back here that he would be trained as a Jedi. I thought the council would take him. I was wrong and he is taking it rather hard.
"Well, I'm leaving for Naboo in two days. I'll make sure to place him with a pilot who has children so that he can have some siblings to play with to make adjusting easier."
Qui-Gon smiled happily this time, "Thank you Padme. I really appreciate this."
After leaving the Naboo Consulate Wing the Jedi Master found himself unable to bring himself to return to the Jedi Temple so that he could rest in his quarters. Instead he secured a room at a temporary housing establishment for the night.
He woke early the next morning and left the room he rented and began to walk with no destination in mind.
Qui-Gon needing time away from anything Jedi to think things through, he was depressed, angry and confused. He wanted to have time to himself, without any telling him how great the Jedi Council was. Qui-Gon knew that he would calm down, but he needed time for it to happen naturally.
The Jedi Master wandered the top of Coruscant, the massive planet wide city. As we walked he chanced upon a place he and Obi-Wan had come to many times over the years, a little greasy spoon type of restaurant called Dex's Diner. He went in.
A brawny reptilian alien with a ridge plate on his head and a moustache that looks out of place and four arms came out from behind the counter, began moving towards the Jedi Master saying, "Qui-Gon. Nice to see you."
Qui-Gon smiled and said, "Good Dex. How are you?"
"Not bad, not bad, and Obi-Wan. Where is your student today?" Dexter Jettster, the diner's owner said.
"Well, he isn't very well right now. The council declined him taking the trails now and he is pretty upset, but he'll be fine." Qui-Gon answered.
"I'm sorry to hear about Obi-Wan. I like that kid. He is a good human and does credit to your species." Dexter said. After saying this he looked towards a booth in the back of the diner and continued, "Another old friend of yours is here today. Haven't seen him around in a long time, maybe you should go over and talk to him." Then he pointed to the booth.
Qui-Gon looked to where the alien was pointing and saw a much older man than himself who is a former Jedi Master who now is known as Count Dooku instead of his former Master Dooku as he was known while he was still with the order.
The Jedi Master nodded his head towards Dooku and asked the diner's owner, "Could you send a server droid to me over there?"
Jettster patted Qui-Gon on the back, which to his own species would have been a light friendly pat but was almost enough to land the Jedi Master on his nose and said with a big smile, "Of course I will. How could I stay in business if my server droids didn't go to take the orders of paying customers where they sat?"
Qui-Gon gave the huge alien a human size pat on the back and said, "Thanks Dex." Qui-Gon left the alien and walked over to the former master.
Qui-Gon walked over to the table and Dooku looked up at him, recognition instant on his face. He stood up and embraced the Jedi Master in a tight hug of comradeship and said, "Qui-Gon my old Padawan. How are you doing?" He then released the younger man and had a seat. Qui-Gon followed suit and sat himself.
"Not too bad Master Dooku."
The server droid arrived at the table; Qui-Gon ordered a slab of Vornskr ribs and a cup of Java Juice. Count Dooku ordered the same.
Dooku waved a hand in dismissal, "You'd better watch who you call master Qui-Gon. If it were to get back to the council that you've called a former Jedi master you may end up on Hoth trying to negotiate a truce of peace between the Wampas and Tauntauns."
Qui-Gon smiled, he always appreciated his former master's sense of humor. Dooku continued, "I noticed that you said not too bad. Is there something bothering you?" He put a special emphasis on the word too to make it clear that that was the word that didn't escape his attention.
The Jedi Master sighed for another one of the countless times since his return from the mission to Naboo and said, "Just Jedi business. Nothing I'd want to bother you with since you left the order by your own wishes."
Count Dooku's face took a serious look as he said, "Come now. Because of the Jedi Code, you're the closest thing to a son I'll ever have. If you have something bothering you, I want you to be able to discuss it with me. Even if it is Jedi business. Just because I'm not longer a Jedi does not mean that I'm no longer your friend."
Qui-Gon smiled again at his former master and said, "Well it is a couple of things really. The first one is my Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is headstrong and sensitivity to the Living Force sometimes eludes him, but he has a natural inclination to the Unifying Force. He has proven a great skill in Force techniques like speed, healing and telekinesis. I feel that he is ready to take the trials, but the council has disagreed with me twice on the matter. It is almost as if they feel that my judgment is suspect."
Dooku nodded at his former student and said, "Continue."
"Next and another reason that I want Obi-Wan to take the trials is that I've found an eight year old boy who has the highest concentration of midi- chlorians that I've ever seen, even higher then Master Yoda's. I firmly believe that he is the Chosen One, but the council refuses to allow him to be trained because of his age, and the fact that after a life of slavery on Tatooine he has a great deal of anger built up inside of him."
This caught Dooku's attention but instead of letting on he said, "I have a feeling that there is something else your not telling me. Come on my old Padawan, let it all out."
"Well, there is one more thing. Twice, once on Tatooine and the second on Naboo I encountered a Zabrak, who had his entire body tattooed red and black. He was well trained in the dark side of the Jedi arts. I believe that he was a sith but the council refuses to even consider it."
Dooku sat back and steepled his fingers and said, "First, I also know the sith have returned. I have my own resources and I've discovered that a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious is gaining a stronger and stronger hold on the Senate every day. I also once tried to speak of this to the council and they wouldn't listen to me either. Second, who better to judge a Padawan's abilities then his own master? That shows the arrogance, which the council preaches against, of the council thinking that they know a student better than their own teacher who has been with them every day since they were young children. Third, the Force is severally out of balance and it is getting worse all the time. If you believe you have found the Chosen One that the ancient prophecy talks about why wouldn't they allow him to be trained? I'll tell you why, they are afraid of one stronger then them coming up through the ranks and exposing their mismanagement of the order. These are just a few of the reasons that I left the order. I just couldn't handle it any more."
Qui-Gon finally had the opening to ask the question that he had wanted to ask of Dooku ever since he heard that his former master left the order. That question was, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave the order?"
"That is a hard question to answer because there are so many answers. I guess that it comes down to the corruption and hypocrisy of the Republic combined with the hypocrisy of the Jedi Order."
Qui-Gon gave Count Dooku a quizzical look and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, lets start with the Republic. Think about it Qui-Gon. Think about this boy you told me about. He was a slave on Tatooine right? Tatooine is a member world of the Republic right? So why was he ever a slave? Why weren't the Republic's anti-slavery laws enforced there as they are on Bothawui or Corellia? If you were to try to hold slaves on those worlds you'd end up in a prison colony. The answer is that the Republic really does not care, as long as it stays on a backwater on the Outer Rim, you can do pretty much whatever you want. The Republic knows the locations of illegal prisons that are not set up by the government but by corporations to get enemies of their companies out of the way without having to kill them. But do they do anything about them? No, they are plentiful. Look at the spice trade. That is also illegal, but everyone knows that you can where you can find the major spice mines, just look at Kessel. Consider the laborers or I'd be more accurate to say slaves that work those mines. Do you think they have any sort of standard of living at all? They'd have better lives in the lower levels of Coruscant. Does the Republic step in to stop any of these illegal activities? No. And why not? Because the Senators get richer off of these activities. There is a lot of money to be made in pretending you don't know what is going on right under your nose." Dooku paused his ravings to observe his former students reactions to what he said.
Seeing that he had Qui-Gon's undivided attention and interest he continued, "By your connection to the Republic, the Jedi become tainted by the Republic's misdeeds. I bet that you don't even realize that the majority of the Republic's citizens consider the Jedi to be the Republic's enforcers not the guardians of truth and justice."
Count Dooku paused again to allow this to sink into to Qui-Gon. Once again, he was the Master and Qui-Gon was the student, taking in everything that the older wiser man told him.
"Also," Dooku continued, "the current Jedi Council differs drastically from that of the ancient councils. They make decisions based upon personal opinions, such as that of Obi-Wan. Also, they ban forms of the force that are perfectly safe and very effective for a Jedi to use and they throw up all sorts of fear and mystery surrounding it."
Now Qui-Gon looked at his former master very alarmed. Dooku caught this and said, "Correct my friend. I'm talking about the dark side of the Force. The dark side arts are perfectly safe for a Jedi to use as long as he controls the dark side and doesn't allow the dark side to control him. Look at me, I practice the dark side arts and I'm no sith am I?"
Qui-Gon had to concede his former master's point.
"As a matter of fact. I firmly feel that the Jedi Council's misuse of their power and lack of use of the entire Force not just the light side is the cause of their diminishing abilities to use the Force. I was a powerful Jedi; I'm an even more powerful one now that I left the archaic Temple and the fools who lead it. Now there is something I'd like to talk to you about."
Qui-Gon looked at his master for a second and said, "What is it?"
"What if I were to tell you that there is a better way? A governmental system free of the corruption that engulfs the Republic, and that I am the leader of such a government? I will lead as many systems as I can out of the Republic and return them to the principals on which the Republic was originally founded."
After all that Count Dooku had said, and the decisions that the council had made recently Qui-Gon was interested. "I'd say tell me more."
"In order to do this, I'm going to need to create a Jedi. Jedi who are just as fed up with the corruption of both, the Republic and the Jedi way. I need them to be what they were intended to be, protectors of truth and justice. Just as we were when the Republic was founded. The Jedi of the Republic have lost their way. I need to restore the true Jedi Order. I want you Qui-Gon to help me recreate the original Republic and the original Jedi order. Obi-Wan will enter as a knight and this boy you've told me about will be your third Padawan. I will teach you all that I've learned, how to use the entire Force, not just what it has been decided you can and can not use. Please Qui-Gon, I can't do this by myself."
The silence was so thick between the two men that you wouldn't have been able to cut it with a vibro-ax. Then Qui-Gon said, "What you've told me makes sense master. Let me mediate on it and get back to you tomorrow. Plus I'll have to speak with Obi-Wan."
Dooku smiled and said, "That's fine Qui-Gon. Just fine. Meet me here tomorrow, same time."