IV: Wildburn Cascade
Qui-Gon
Isk walked faster without his pack, and Qui-Gon also helped him out a little with the Force so they made better time. The land was flatter here, but there was less shade to walk under. The sun wasn't exactly visible through the haze cover, but it was still very bright, much brighter than it had been the day before. Qui-Gon got a better grasp on how his vision and hearing were being affected by the environment as they walked and took some time to examine the planet. The horizon was strangely bent, and the sky was a different color here than it was even up at the great house. There it had been deep turquoise, while here it was blueish-green-white. There was some wind, but it was very slow. Hard to walk against, though, since the they were deep under the absent ocean and the air seemed like a filmy insubstantial liquid.
They passed the first group of people an hour after lunch. Two girls and a boy were resting in the grass and stared openly at Qui-Gon, but didn't say anything. After that, they started catching up to people walking along. All seemed about Qui-Gon's age or slightly younger and were carrying packs that were similar to the one Isk had had. Questions like "Who's he?" were common, and Isk handled them as gracefully as he could. Qui-Gon was aware he looked a mess and remembered Dooku's lessons about presentation guiltily. He felt like a sweaty, smelly Coruscanti aberration. Maybe they'd put him in an exhibit. The fact that the local accent was nearly impenetrable down here when people were talking at the same time just made him a little more paranoid since Qui-Gon could only pick out about half the curious questions and Isk's answers.
Just before the natural terrain turned into something decidedly unnatural, Isk found his third plant sample. Qui-Gon helped him root around in the dirt, and tried to convince him to take a whole seedling instead. Isk just rolled his eyes, and Qui-Gon felt a like a stupid foreigner. That didn't stop him from taking a plant of that species for himself, though. He had several already transplanted into a cannabalized rations tray. He wasn't sure if he could keep them alive in the hostile environment of his room back home, but he tried to have a living memento of every mission growing in there. His Temple room was more like a garden or a greenhouse, with enormous lights and planters covering every available surface. It was heavily automated, so the plants would live even if he was a long time away. Dooku had helped him set it up, mostly as a lesson in dealing with Customs. Coruscant Biological Control hated him now.
Qui-Gon stored the samples in one of the packs before walking up to the boundary and stopping. The small rise he was on was cut away at a forty-five degree angle down to farmland of some sort, a perfectly flat orchard that stretched from horizon to horizon. The green foliage there contrasted with the more golden hue of most of the plants he had seen. He stared out at the rows of perfectly groomed trees, blinking as he noticed pale, white balloon-like creatures with trailing tendrils floating purposefully over the rows. In the distance, the rows parted around a spiky pyramidal structure that didn't look anything like the colonial building he had been staying in earlier. It wasn't city-sized, but it was pretty big. There were stone steps leading down to the orchard, and a great avenue between them and the pyramid.
"Is that where we're going?" he asked.
"Yes," Isk said. Qui-Gon reached out in the Force for Dooku, but his Master's shielding was back to its usual impenetrable state. Dooku was alive and probably on the same planet, and that was about all he could tell.
"Huh," he said, and headed down the stairs.
It was a road more than a path, though there were no vehicles on it, only people walking in the same direction. This road was well paved in jagged-patterned stone. Glancing from side to side, Qui-Gon looked between the rows of trees, only faintly curving in the far distance. They were almost like an army of statues.
The ghostly caretakers seemed to be following him, he noticed after a while. At least there were a lot more of them hovering in the area around him. Isk seemed nervous about that, but they didn't bother Qui-Gon. There was no malice there. He noticed the other Serenni on the trail were keeping a good distance now, too.
"Not that far now," Isk said. "See?" Squinting, Qui-Gon could make out a few vehicles converging on the tower-thing. Isk pointed out a phalanx of great bird-creatures that also headed that way with a wistful look on his face.
It was longer than 'not that far', and Isk was flagging by the time they reached the great stone-paved clearing around the structure. Qui-Gon picked out their Thornwing easily from the local craft and walked over.
Isk followed. "Is that your ship?" he asked.
"It's not ours, but Master Dooku is first response and one of the order's heavy hitters, so we have use of it."
"Is that him?" Isk asked. Qui-Gon squinted and made out a figure cloaked in light grey. Isk's eyes were a lot better down here. "Probably." he said. Suddenly, getting back to the ship didn't seem so important. Maybe he could spend a few more days wandering out in the orchards...
Of course, then Dooku would probably leave him behind. Heh.
"I'd like to talk to him," Isk said, a tight and unhappy look on his face.
"Okay..." Qui-Gon said. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and strode over.
Qui-Gon had never seen Dooku in that exact outfit before. This one mixed the pale grey of his most formal undertunic with the dark brown tabard of his work clothes. His master was also wearing his apprentice's lightsaber behind his own. Sudden resentment welled up in Qui-Gon at that, but he quashed it.
"Qui-Gon," Dooku finally said. in acknowledgement. The accent of that dark voice was no longer anything close to Coruscant standard, but rather the blurred and melodic Serenni dialect. He'd seen Dooku switch accents shamelessly before, but never with him. It was alarming, and Qui-Gon was a little shaken by it.
"Master Dooku," Isk said, from behind Qui-Gon. Dooku turned to look at him.
"'Dooku' is sufficient. And you are?"
"Isk- Iskan Tera."
"Iskan." Dooku looked him over slowly. "Is there something you need?"
Isk swallowed, but stared at Dooku "You left him alone down there, with his mind crazy."
"I did," Dooku said neutrally. Qui-Gon winced. Criticizing a Master's training methods to their face was Not Done in the Temple, but Isk couldn't know that. Still, Qui-Gon badly wanted to muzzle him. He didn't need to be in any more trouble.
Isk scowled and fished in a pocket. Qui-Gon could sense that the kid was intimidated but angry. Dooku was giving him the full 'why are you wasting my time, insignificant mortal' look, but Isk forged onwards. "You left him narced to the gills down here. With a lighter." Isk held Qui-Gon's multitool - so that's where it'd gone!- out, pointing it at Dooku.
"...oh." Dooku said.
"Right. Pure di Serenn." Isk crossed his arms. "Too long in the thin air. What the hell were you thinking, bringing fire down to the deep lands?"
"They're in the standard kit." Dooku said. He sounded almost tired, but perhaps...apologetic? "I was aware of the issue. One of the reasons I confiscated his lightsaber and several other items. I did not recall that there was one built into the multitool." He held out a hand to receive it.
Isk grudgingly handed it over. "Do you know how many people were out there today?"
Dooku nodded slowly. "One hundred and twenty six, including myself and my apprentice. But I'm not, you know."
"Not what?"
"Not di Serenn."
Isk gave him a look. "You're wearing grey."
Dooku half-smiled. "Well, true enough." He looked up. "Qui-Gon, please get changed. You're filthy. Keep the hatch closed as much as possible and don't fool with the atmospheric controls. The inside of the ship isn't designed for such an oxidizing environment and I've jury-rigged a temporary solution."
"Yes, Master," Qui-Gon said, He wanted to hear the rest of the conversation Isk was having with Dooku, but orders were orders.
"Oh, and Qui-Gon?"
Qui-Gon looked back.
"This...is yours." Dooku held out Qui-Gon's saber on his outstretched palm. Qui-Gon smiled a little and summoned it gently to his hand. He climbed into the ship as Dooku turned back to Isk, talking in a low voice.
It was nice to be clean. It was even nicer to get clean clothes on. His 'dress robes' were more or less indistinguishable from his work robes, except he didn't wear them in the field and they didn't have quite the variety of interesting stains and tears. Dooku had noted once that Qui-Gon seemed to attract filth, though it wasn't clear in context whether he had been talking about grime or people.
Dooku ducked in after a few minutes, settling on the couch. Qui-Gon fidgeted. For once, he had no outstanding assignments, but he'd never get away with slipping out to talk to Isk or just get away from the inevitable Talk he was dreading. Dooku seemed to be distracted and was not actually paying much attention to him. Qui-Gon tried to sneak into the sleeping quarters to avoid the inevitable dissection of everything he'd done wrong over the past two days, but Dooku glanced up as he stood to leave.
Here it comes. Qui-Gon thought grimly and braced himself.
"Qui-Gon. Linear coefficient of expansion for platinum."
Wha...? "Uh. Small?" Qui-Gon guessed, frantically trying to remember his physics. Thermal expansion was definitely not something he had been expecting Dooku to grill him on.
"That's what I recall. Look it up for me, please?"
Qui-Gon blinked. Dooku's memory, while not perfect, was so close to it that less organized beings usually could not hope to catch him out. Between this and...whatever Isk was on about, he was starting have a bad feeling about his Master's current state of mind. He looked up the information on a datapad and handed it over. Dooku scanned it with the slightly glazed look that he got whenever he did math or accounting in his head. His apprentice sat down beside him.
"What would have happened if I'd tried to start a fire?" Qui-Gon asked.
Dooku looked up and smiled bitterly. "Ah. You'd have sparked a wildburn, no doubt. The life here is surprisingly resistant to that sort of thing even with the high partial pressure of oxygen, so it would have eventually burned out. Eventually. In this atmosphere, however, humans are very flammable. Chances are you would have died, Iskan would have died, and, depending on the prevailing winds, you could have taken out a hundred or more youths and a good part of the gardens."
"But...you were leaving marks with your saber." Qui-Gon said.
"Not quite the same. And I know how to...deal with that sort of thing. Something I need to teach you."
Qui-Gon hesitated, then asked the next question. "And what would you have done, if I had died?"
"I would have accepted the consequences of my actions," Dooku said. He sighed. "I am...glad...that that did not come to pass."
Another Dooku non-answer. His master looked troubled, so Qui-Gon let the matter drop. The silence that settled over the pair was not a happy one.
"You should return Iskan's pack," Dooku said. "He does need the leaves he gathered." Qui-Gon noticed for the first time that there was another set of three leaves on the table by Dooku.
"Oh," Qui-Gon said. "Right." He'd gotten used to lugging both around. "Do you know where he is?"
"Yes. It's about time." Dooku unfolded to his feet. "Initiation and election will take place this evening, as soon as the sun touches the horizon. He glanced at Qui-Gon. "Come along, then."
The giant fortress-like structure was as odd as it looked from afar. The main building flared out from a relatively small base and then tapered to a curved horn-like peak. It was made of some dark material. Strands of that unknown substance arced out like a web between the flare and the ground, giving the whole structure a pyramidal outline. As Qui-Gon came closer he saw that the walls also seemed fibrous, though stone and synthetics were interworked for the door. A shadow passed over their heads, and Qui-Gon got a closer look at one of the bird-things he'd seen before. Its wingspan must have been ten meters, and he thought there might be a rider on it. Its feathers were a dark brown, but the head was bald and black, and there was a dark yellow ruff around its neck that faded to an earthy brown on the chest. Qui-Gon lost sight of it as it alighted on the ledge above. He glanced over to Dooku to see that his master had been watching it too.
"Immensely impractical." Dooku said. He shook his head and entered the woven passageway into the structure's heart.
The tall corridor branched to arc around the core of the building, branching again vertically to give access to other levels. Dooku went up, and they came to a wide room with an arched series of windows on one wall. The obscured sun was half-visible through, slowly slipping down. The room was full of people, and he thought some of them might be ones he'd passed on the trail. Most looked a little nervous. A few were sitting on the floor, clearly tired from the long walk. Qui-Gon smiled as he picked out his friend Isk, who brightened when their eyes met and hurried over.
Isk was in deep brown robes, as were most of the others. Some had pale grey accents striping the sleeves, a few had more, and one boy wore about half grey. Qui-Gon mentally compared the colors Dooku and the others were wearing, and came to the conclusion that they were pretty much exactly the same. Which was probably not coincidental, but damned if he knew what it meant. Was it a rank thing? Dooku was hardly wearing any brown. Why would he have had the pieces of this outfit ready to be put together for years?
They joined the group. Dooku stood around, looking serene and unapproachable. Qui-Gon, in contrast, stood around and looked awkward, though, to be fair, it seemed a lot of people were standing around and looking awkward. Isk was very good at it and also seemed to want to keep Qui-Gon between himself and Dooku. Qui-Gon handed the boy his leaves, but Isk asked him to keep the pack so he wouldn't stand out. Of course, now Qui-Gon stood out, but he supposed that the theory was that he was going to stand out whatever he did. He had his own pack too, but he was starting to think his confused plan was a little ambitious now. He was back to having little to no idea about what was actually going on.
A few latecomers trickled in before the sun was completely framed in the windows, deep wine-red. "It's time." someone said, and the door opened. Like the entrance to the structure, the first ten meters of the revealed passage were loosely woven strands like a shrikespider's web. Through them Qui-Gon could see the room they entered was in the flared upper levels of the building. It was an indoor arena, and full of people in the sloping stands and three suspended levels. Looking up at the ceiling, Qui-Gon saw one of the floating creatures from before nestled in the exposed weavework. High windows let the last of the day's light in, though the ceiling glowed with a soft gold hue.
The whole damn colony had to be there, seated in the various sections. The center of the amphitheater was small compared to the extent of the stands, and the seats around it were empty. About twenty people were standing in the center, surrounding a wide stone block. There was also a great chair, similar to the one he'd seen at breakfast the day before but on a larger scale. Draped over it was a woman dressed entirely in pale grey.
As they group of initiates walked closer to the central stage, Qui-Gon realized the Contessa was the woman in the throne. He also picked out Indrea among those standing near the throne. Most of those standing were wearing some amount of grey, though three of them were in all brown. He thought one tall young woman there might be Astel, but he wasn't sure.
Their group was flowing steadily into the center of the arena. Qui-Gon stepped out of the pack and grabbed one of the empty seats instead, indulging in a little cultural anthropology.
There was a round stone block in the center of the arena floor with a shallow and wide depression in its flat top. A wrinkled old woman in grey and brown stood beside the altar as the incoming men and women filed by, each leaving their three leaves within it. Dooku wa among them. fter they did so, they went to take their seats in the first few empty rows. Isk grabbed the seat beside Qui-Gon after he had finished, and Qui-Gon smiled at him
After all had left their offering, the old woman stepped back to the edge of a white circle inscribed in the stone, maybe three meters away. Blue flame erupted from the block, reaching skywards. There was some initial smoke as the leaves were incinerated, but the fire burned cleanly after that.
It was only then that Qui-Gon realized Dooku was still standing and staring at Anare on her throne with a challenge in his eyes.
The Contessa sighed, rose to her feet, and strode across the floor to Qui-Gon's master.
"Dooku." Anare said, in a patient 'talking-to-small-children' tone. Her voice carried easily - either the acoustics in the room were really something, or she was amplified. "You don't have a cohort. This circle for cohort leaders."
"Yes he does." Qui-Gon called out, coming to his feet. Both of them turned slowly to stare at him.
Dooku smiled tightly, but Qui-Gon could tell that his master was not entirely pleased at his interference. "Contessa," he said. "I have a right to be here."
"Vicereine." Anare corrected sharply. "My father is dead, and I claim the title he never dared to." She looked back at Qui-Gon, raking him with a knowing look. "Your little boy doesn't count as a cohortman." Qui-Gon felt himself blush, but suppressed it quickly. "He's not Serenni. And really, neither are you."
Qui-Gon gave her a bright smile. "No? So how is this supposed to go?" He couldn't quite make out the faces of the audience at this distance. It was easier to pretend he only had an audience of two. Both Dooku and his mother were terrifying creatures in their own right, but Qui-Gon didn't feel like letting either of them intimidate him tonight.
"I beg your pardon?" Anare asked, startled.
"It looks like I'm not dressed for this, but..." Qui-Gon nodded at the still-burning flame. "Walk the trail, pick the leaves, and put them in the fire. Didn't see anything else ceremonial, but I might have missed something."
"That's the...essence, yes." Dooku said. He seemed to be letting Qui-Gon run with this, which Qui-Gon appreciated.
"Do they have to be dead leaves?" Qui-Gon asked.
Dooku raised an eyebrow and looked back at the age-withered woman who had overseen the ceremony. She was walking over.
"Because that seems rather a waste." Qui-Gon bulled onwards. "I brought seedlings instead." He retrieved the seedling tray he'd filled with specimens of the species Isk had taken and presented them proudly. Keeping them alive had been a trick, but he'd gotten the whim in the deep lands and the Living Force had served him well. He liked plants, and they liked him back.
The shrunken old woman examined them. "They are the correct species." she said. "And they are alive." She looked shrewdly at Qui-Gon. "You collected these yourself? On the Run?"
"Yep."
"You did it breathing our air, shallow-kin? Without any, ah, artificial interference?"
"Yes, I did. Ask Isk." Qui-Gon said, pointing to where his friend was sitting. The poor kid looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, but nodded.
"How did you know which to take?"
"They sang the same as the ones Isk cut." Qui-Gon frowned. "Er...do I have to burn them?"
Dooku gave Qui-Gon a long and thoughtful look "Singer Andem?" he asked blandly.
"The offering is acceptable as given." Andem's eyes met Qui-Gon's in quiet and amused approval. "I am glad to see you are fulfilling your responsibilities here, Idis." Dooku cleared his throat, but said nothing.
Anare gave the woman a sharp look, but merely laughed quietly. "Still. One shallow-kin boy?" Her voice was contemptuous. "An arrogant stranger, to stand here with only that at your back. Sit down, Dooku. This is no place for your games."
Indrea moved to speak, but Dooku waved him down. He studied Anare, and stretched out his hand. Qui-Gon saw a glint of metal on it. "The Lord Execsar gave me this, lady Vicereine. It is by his will I stand here tonight, on the strength of his word and his gift." He glanced at Qui-Gon, who took that as his cue to sit down.
Anare looked down at what Dooku held in his open palm. Craning his neck Qui-Gon made out what looked to be a silver ring. "Serenn's-- give me that!" the Vicereine exclaimed in sudden fury. "That's mine, and it was not his to give you!"
Dooku's hand closed around the ring again, and then he turned and hurled it into the fire. Qui-Gon felt rather than saw it stop in the heart of the flames, hovering in the hottest part.
"Take it, then." Dooku's voice was dangerously low. Qui-Gon started to get a very bad feeling about this. His Master was scrupulously just, brilliant, indomitable and wise. However, he was not a merciful man, nor a particularly kind one. There were whispers in the temple about Dooku.
The Contessa paced around the fire, seemingly entranced. She raised her voice, chiding Dooku wearily. "It doesn't even fit you. It never fit Indagren either. Neither you nor Father had any respect for Serenn's legacy. You would destroy this relic of her now out of spite. You take and take, and what have you given in return, Dooku? You come home with no thought of contribution, only the destruction of everything I have worked to accomplish. Immaturity." She stared at him. "You don't belong here. Leave us. Have the galaxy for all I care. But leave me my world."
"You never wished for equals." Dooku said. "Why you never wed. Why you created us chimaera-children. It's not your world, lady mother. Not yet."
"You were a beautiful creation." Anare said. "A work of art. I watched you develop every day. I loved you, you know. And I cried when I realized what was horribly and irrevocably wrong with you. That my little boy was dead, and in his place was this changeling, cruel and demon-wise."
Dooku's mouth twisted. "You must have been horrified when you realized I had a mind of my own, that I would not consent to being shaped to your will through lies and manipulations. That I realized what you were doing, and your very thoughts betrayed you, as they still do." Dooku walked up to her and took her chin in his hand, looking down at her. His voice was soft. "Have you realized yet how far I have surpassed you?"
"You're not satisfied with anything. Not with whatever purpose the Force stole my child for. You want to take everything from me." She stepped away. "You're still that bitter little boy, deep down. You always will be, and you can't make him go away by my destruction."
Dooku sighed. He turned and walked close to the fire, closer than the white safety circle around it.Qui-Gon felt him channel the Force with awe-inspiring strength as he reached into the fire with both hands, plucked the ring out of the air and fit it on the smallest finger of his right hand. The fire flared up suddenly, blue at the core, lighting all their faces strangely. Dooku displayed the ring on his untouched hand before returning to the Vicereine. Disbelieving murmurs started up, and Qui-Gon remembered what Dooku had said about the danger of fire in these lands.
"A parlor trick." Anare said. Fearless, she walked up to her son, who smiled slightly as he looked down at her. Qui-Gon saw that smile and shivered. Dooku's shields were shattering with the effort he was putting into shielding himself from the heat of the ring, and Qui-Gon sensed a cold triumph within, and the echoes of a vengeful fury. His Master had many facets, and one of the most deeply hidden was the demagogue, the manipulator. If Dooku was letting the his inner drama queen out to play, that meant trouble.
Qui-Gon wanted to scream at Anare, to tell her Dooku wasn't bluffing, that he didn't bluff. But it was too late--Anare confidently reached for Dooku's hand, seizing the ring. She knew her mistake immediately. The Vicereine screamed, the furious heat mangling the soft flesh of her palm and it burst into flame. Qui-Gon felt Dooku quench the fire that threatened to consume her after a moment, but she still collapsed to the floor, clutching scorched and sizzling flesh to her chest. Her face was clenched in pain, but Anare choked down her sobbing shrieks after a few seconds and huddled in silence, braving it out.
"No." Dooku said softly, making no move to help. "Not at all, Vicereine." He turned away. "You overreach, Anare, as you always have. Blood is not enough to make you Indagren's heir, or his equal in these matters."
"I'm Serenn's heir!" Anare snarled, tears in her eyes. "Not my dotard father's!"
"Perhaps." Dooku said. He glanced at the ring on his hand. "Perhaps not. But your birthright is something you must live up to. You may become greater than you ever dreamed. If you learn wisdom. If you hold yourself to the highest standard you can concieve of. Serenno deserves all you have to give, and more, and you must give it all of yourself. An Execsar is not first a lord, he is first a servant."
Anare sneered. "And you are so eager to serve."
Dooku half-smiled at her. "I am a servant of the will of the Force. I always have been." He reached down with his left hand to help her up. "Will you yield to me then, mother?"
Anare jerked away. "Never."
Dooku's voice rose as he turned to address the crowd. "And you, cohortmen of Serenno?"
"Always." Indrea said, the first voice raised. Murmuring sprang up, and Qui-Gon saw the engraving on his right chair arm begin to glow in pale green and white. Two runes now rose out of that surface. From beside him, Isk saw his confusion. He whispered, "You want that one," pointing at the silvery character.
Qui-Gon thought only a moment before pressing the silver rune down.
Light played over the dark ceiling, as sparks of white appeared there seemingly out of nowhere. Green pinpoints swirled with them, but the white outnumbered the green. At first this was tentative, and then the white began to sweep across, gathering momentum. Qui-Gon realized that the green stars were flaring bright silver as votes were rethought. The pinpoints joined in a single glow, and the room was starkly lit in white. Only a faint green glow remained in the milky and pearlescent ceiling.
Dooku and the others in the center made no move, watching as the judgment of the colony unfolded. Qui-Gon saw the hint of a smile on his master's face as the light played over it.
And then Dooku grasped Indrea's hands, pulling them together, careful to put his left under his right to shield the heat of the ring. "The cascade has spoken, and I speak now for us all. And I name you Execsar, cousin mine."
There was utter silence. Indrea tried to pull away, but seemed to find Dooku's grip unbreakable. "I can't accept this, Idis." The other man's voice was a little strangled. "And I'm not actually sure you can do that."
The reflection of blue flame gleamed in Dooku's eyes. "I don't think anyone can stop me. And it certainly never stopped Mother."
"I...can't."
"Are you sure you want to cross me on this, Indrea?" Dooku smiled, but Qui-Gon could not read him at all. "You are manifestly qualified to run the damn planet. You've been trained for this role. You've been doing it for years."
"I was Indagren's servant," Indrea said. "It was different."
"Not so different," Dooku said. "And when I leave, it will be as it was before, except only that Indagren has left us. There will be strife and the Vicereine will make trouble, but that is why we keep her around, after all." His patronizing glance back at her was almost fond, and was answered by bared teeth.
"I... are you certain?"
"Yes." Dooku's voice held absolute conviction. Qui-Gon grinned suddenly. It was completely forbidden for a Jedi to accept political appointments, but he was sure nobody had ever seen the need to make a rule about making them.
Indrea closed his eyes briefly. "Very well. But I am your man, Idis."
Dooku was still a moment, and then nodded slowly. Indrea took a deep breath. The room was still very quiet as the Serenni man walked up to the dais, ran a hand over the arm of the chair, and took a seat. When he looked up, it seemed his moment of vulnerability had passed, and Qui-Gon thought he could see for a moment what Dooku must have percieved in the man.
Dooku stepped back. "Let it be so." he said, and inclined his head slowly.
"Will you be returning?" Indrea said after a short pause.
"Perhaps some day," Dooku said. His Coruscant accent had instantly returned. "Not soon. There are too many things I need to accomplish - to learn. About being and becoming." He looked at Qui-Gon. "And also things I need to teach."
"As you will," Indrea said. He smiled slightly. "Dismissed."
Qui-Gon saw the flash in Dooku's eyes, and the look of shared amusement that passed between him and the new Execsar. Dooku bowed deeply and walked away. A nod to Qui-Gon indicated he should follow, and Qui-Gon stood, nearly missing Dooku's fingers weaving a brief signal. He had to think to recognize it, since he had only seen the sign once or twice in his entire apprenticeship.
Well done.