Trigger Warning: This chapter features criminal gang members making threats to a young girl. Threats are unspecific, and if you're reading the chapter, it should be pretty clear by then they have no hope to carry them out, but they can be assumed to be threats of assault.

Chapter 44 - Home

"And we're home," Mace announced as he pulled up to the landing pad inside the Temple.

"Alright! You want to come back to the Creche with us?" Alex asked Anakin.

"No, I want to show my new saber to Master Obi-Wan, first," Anakin responded. "We'll probably go to practice with it afterwards."

"Cool, in the main practice dojo?" Alex responded.

"If you want, we can meet you there." Freya offered.

"Yeah, Okay. I'll see you later." Anakin confirmed.

Soon the whole gang of rascals, younglings, were running off, and Mace gave a sigh of relief. "Sure, we have to repair the site, restoring more damage than we've had in a millenium, but they all succeeded in getting their crystals. And they got back here safely. Alex's injuries were minor. I think that was a successful mission." Mace told himself. "The Council shouldn't be too disappointed."

"I concur. The probability of a better expedition is one over a hundred and thirty three." Huyang said behind him.

"Skywalker!" Mace hollered.

Obi-Wan smiled as he watched the Younglings duel with their new lightsabers. He was infinitely proud when he saw Anakin's unique silver blade.

Ramu, the youngling with the oddest looking lightsaber Obi-Wan had ever seen, nodded to the others. He had been hesitant to try dueling while each took their turns. It was probably because his blade was so different from the practice sabers, that he didn't know how. But Anakin had been encouraging him, and Alex agreed to duel nicely. So he agreed to try and duel. Trying was the only way to learn, anyways. Obi-Wan clapped to encourage the youngster.

As their duel started, Obi-Wan let his attention shift to the hall outside, when he heard two council members approaching.

"That's not… My point was…" Mace was clearly reaching the end of his negotiating abilities, and becoming frustrated.

"There are a lot of other uses for the module. His insite is commendable for seeing them," Plo commented.

"But the software was invented for casino droids. If people found out…" Mace tried to argue. By this point they were right outside of the doors to the dojo.

"There are no copyright issues that I am aware of," said Plo. "And we both know if any outside party looked at Huyang's programming, we'd have a bigger security issue. Reputation would be the least of our concerns."

'Huyang, isn't he the lightsaber architect droid? Gee, I do hope there isn't an issue with him,' Obi-Wan thought. 'Then, if there is, it might explain this.' A swing from Alex had Ramu's light-trident broken in two. The younglings paused their duel to allow the boy to snap the pieces back in place.

"The only thing that remains to be seen is, can this module be put to use in his assignments," Plo continued his argument. "And from the battles I've been in, chance plays a huge part. If it can help our younger members…"

"Oh, alright. But you're helping me explain this to the next person who complains," Mace grumbled.

By this point the Masters were walking past the Dojo, and Obi-Wan quickly forgot about the encounter. Ramu used the length of his staff to pin Alex's saber in place below him, and Alex conceded the duel. Obi-Wan clapped with the others to cheer his victory.

In another quadrant of the Galaxy, Dooku entered a dark alleyway with his Padawan, his Acolyte, Skorr. The seventeen-year-old stood covered in a black robe. Tol was learning fast and now controlled his emotions, though his use of the Force was still dark. He was becoming a capable warrior, and Dooku was proud of him.

Dooku motioned to the boy. Tol soon disappeared, hiding himself with the Force as he crept under the building's fire escapes. Dooku turned back around and sniffed the air. They were getting close to their target. He could feel her in the Force.

For the past three weeks a number of local fight clubs had been having a new champion. According to the witnesses, she was clad in a dirty brown robe, two sizes too big for her small frame. She was clearly a minor, yet the fight managers never looked her up and down before approving her to fight. On the paperwork, she was Eighteen, though Dooku, and several witnesses suspected Twelve was more accurate. The girl had a lot of good luck with choosing only those fights which she would win. Even after one Manager tried to scam her into agreeing to fight an opponent much larger than she was. Plus, she had a tendency for her punches, kicks, and swipes to get to her opponents weakest spots.

'There's no such thing as luck.' It was a mantra Dooku lived by, and in this case, he felt it was especially true. Dooku managed to walk onto the ring of one of her recent battles, and he could feel it there. That queasy, gotta have it, feeling he used to associate with those crispy fried things Qui-Gon would've lived off of, if allowed. Too many Padawans at the Temple had eaten them. The Refectory shelves were always full of their little colored metallic bags. After a late night scramble to find something to eat post workout, he once finished a whole bag of them, and discovered their addictive quality. As hard as it was, he and his padawan had to go cold turkey, and avoid the snacks for good. He knew Qui-Gon appreciated him for it now.

One thing was clear, this girl used the dark side of the Force in her matches. Dooku didn't think she was a temple Youngling, for he heard nothing of Jedi looking for a lost one, but she clearly had some training. She would make a good Acolyte too, he hoped. The Jedi way was one Master with one apprentice, but Dooku wasn't doing it the Jedi way anymore. He wasn't the Master, either… But that didn't bother him.

Darth Jar Jar had accepted Tol as his Acolyte after only a quick hesitation. He had mumbled something, questioning whether it was against the rules. Dooku was surprised to hear him mention this, as he had studied the Sith for most of his Jedi Career, and as far as he was aware, the Sith had no code. Only a single rule, the Rule of Two, was ever mentioned. Dooku supposed this was what Jar Jar had been talking about, and he laid out his interpretation. "Oh, okee-dokee," Jar Jar had said. And after that the teenager was approved to follow Dooku on his missions. He still kept Tol away from their communications, but that was only for the boy's safety. Dooku had no trouble believing that this girl would be accepted by Darth Jar Jar as well.

In his investigations, Dooku also found a number of skirmishes, or fights with a local gang that also had the same feeling in the Force. The one who did the fighting was never caught, but Dooku suspected that was because she won. However, these gangs were not a high mark. There was nothing to be gained, reputation or financial, from these skirmishes, so Dooku reckoned they were unplanned. Probably side effects of her living on these streets with the riff-raff.

And that's what brought Dooku and Tol out here to this alleyway. Looking for a homeless girl, in a sea of sentients. But the Force vibrated with a unique hum whenever the dark side was used, and it was humming now. As he approached, Dooku heard sounds of a fight ahead in the alleyway.

"Errrr! Ahhh!" A girl yelled out. She gave a Force Push and threw two grown men aside like rag dolls. Unfortunately, this time there were still another Five of them to jump her.

"Little Asajj, what did we talk about? You live on my streets, you owe me ten percent," the gang leader said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Dooku made his appearance, allowing his robes to flow elegantly at his side.

"Wha-? Aint none of your business, Old Man!" The gang leader growled.

Dooku merely cocked his head. "Hmm," he let out a chuckle.

"Where were we?" The gang leader turned back to the girl he called Asajj. She was being held down by her hands, a vicious blade against her neck. "You owe me little one, and I will take my payment, one way or another…"

The gang leader stopped in shock when a figure jumped out of the darkness and onto his men, kicking them to the ground.

"I did warn you." The boss's bemusement entertained Dooku. The Sith Apprentice held up his hand and the kingpin gasped for breath. He stepped forward as the man choked. "Hear this old man. These are my streets." Sure, Master Jar Jar wanted planets in his new territory, but who's to say he'll be picky about a meager gang territory on Corellia. "And anyone who wants to debate that, can fight me for it." Dooku waved his hand and the gang leader's neck snapped. Tol then released the other gang members right on cue. They ran off, clearly wiser than their former ringleader.

Asajj got up from where the goons dropped her. She backed up and turned to run.

"Ah, ah, ah," Dooku tutted. "Not you."

"Oh. What the stars!" Asajj reached into her jacket and threw a wad of credits at him. "Take it."

"I don't want your money. Little one, I want you." Dooku reached out with the Force and held the back of her robe. Unable to run, she turned around to look at him, with a very put upon expression on her face. "You are a very skilled fighter, but your form is sloppy and your Force Work is fragmented."

"You wanna fight me?" She taunted with false bravado.

"I want to teach you. Become my student, and I will see you become a warrior, worthy of a Knight's raiment. A lovely gift, was it not?"

Asajj touched the hem of her robes. "This. I stole it," she feigned indifference.

"Hmm," Dooku didn't once believe she stole the robes off of a Jedi. She'd have to have killed him first, and she wasn't that talented, yet. 'No, more likely it belonged to the one who trained her,' he deduced. Still, it seemed a sore topic, and probably best avoided, for now. "Come with me and complete your training. This is my other student. He too, was sloppy when he began."

Dooku offered her his hand. Asajj looked down, then over to Tol. Whatever she was evaluating, the next thing she did was take his hand in hers.

Dooku smiled, "What is your name, Acolyte of mine?"

"Ventress, Asajj Ventress," she answered, and somewhere in the universe, the forces of fate rumbled with amusement at a little green Grandmaster who tried to meddle.

Anakin went to answer the door at their quarters. "Grandmaster," He greeted Qui-Gon with a hug. "Mom! Owen!" Anakin soon moved to their awaiting hugs. "I built my lightsaber. Do you want to see it?"

"I've wanted nothing more all day." Qui-Gon answered with an exciting smile.

Anakin pulled out his silver hilt, and stepped back. He pushed the button to activate the blade and a silver blade, which reflected a turquoise light came forth.

"Oooh, that is so cool!" Owen exclaimed.

Shmi grabbed his hand before he could touch anything regrettable. "Be careful with that, son."

"Yeah, It's locked on the practice mode. It won't do much more than sting you. We can't unlock it until we take our trials." Anakin informed them.

"Oh," Shmi breathed a sigh of relief.

Qui-Gon thought he should keep the fact that those trials started in just a month unspoken, for the mother's peace of mind. "Good work Ani, a fine weapon. Here, you've earned a treat." Qui-Gon pulled out a shiny blue metallic bag of a snack he knew the youngling would enjoy. He did, at Anakin's age.

"No," Obi-Wan walked in and took up the proffered snack. "Siri has been working hard on her roast, and you will not ruin your appetite beforehand. Either of you," He held his hand out to his former Master.

Qui-Gon attempted to fein a look of innocence for a few moments. Then he rolled his eyes and handed over a second baggy of the snacks.

Hello all,

Here I am using Asajj Ventress's Legend's page for her age, instead of her Canon one. The Legends one had an age range, instead of an exact date of birth. I did this primarily for my own storytelling purposes, as her Canon age would be twenty, at this time. Her backstory won't be exactly canon, here either, but I don't think that's too serious.

I was half tempted to name one of the gang members Solo, having him be the father of a certain future smuggler. Han would be about 1 year old here, to my math. Anyways, you'll have to wait to find out if I have anything about his life going differently, maybe because of this.

Next chapter, I am being pulled in two different directions, so I'm not sure which one will be first. In one, I will be having Ramu learn who is coming in to help him train with his new saber. And everyone will probably be preparing for the trials, too. In the other, Anakin will be traveling with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to visit Dooku, his Great Grandmaster, for Lineage day.