Chapter 47 - Sacrifices

"Did you brush your teeth?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes, Master," Anakin called back. He could hide his annoyance in the Force with his shields, but not in his voice. The Force didn't work that way.

Qui-Gon cocked an eye at him and the twelve year old breathed in and out.

"Yes, Master. I am all ready for bed," he repeated, with more emotional control.

"I do realize you are old enough to do these things for yourself, but my practice is with Initiates a lot younger than you. And the last time I assumed you were more autonomous than you were, I had the whole council call me out on it," Qui-Gon apologized.

As Anakin followed the older Jedi into their shared quarters, he couldn't help but revisit the conversation he'd had with Dooku earlier that day. "Padawans always get to choose their Masters," Dooku had said. He said it like it was common knowledge, like something Anakin should've known about. So why hadn't anyone mentioned it before now?

Were they expecting to just throw this decision on him the day before the braiding? Like he would've been able to make a coherent decision in so short a time. How does one even decide that? Anakin couldn't help but think about this from the logic of a slave. Slaves don't get choices very often. When they do, they can agonize over it like a failing businessman, because the consequences are often the gravest.

It was years since he'd thought of himself, of his world in those terms. He thought he was over it, with his once regular mindhealer's appointments trickling down to every other week. But now, he was a slave boy again, and the Hutts just asked him which Master he'd want to own him. Does he pick one with the vast army of slaves, who wouldn't likely notice a little boy like him acting up, or slacking off. But who also won't care much if said slave were to die in an arena, or be stolen by raiders. Or does he pick the one with fewer slaves. Each slave would be required to pull a larger weight, and there would be a harsher punishment for stepping out of line, but he'll also likely care greatly if Anakin were to go missing.

Anakin knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. Anticipating a night of tossing and turning, he asked, "Can I Comm my mom first? Before we go to sleep?"

"It's getting kind of late. On Coruscant, it's even later." Qui-Gon replied.

"Ok-ay." Perhaps it was his thoughts of slavery affecting his mood, but Anakin could only muster a short drawl in his voice as protest.

"Perhaps in the morning, before we do whatever Master Dooku has planned." Qui-Gon suggested.

"Yeah. Okay," Anakin repeated. He pulled down the comforter on one of the two beds in the room. As he crawled in, he couldn't help but notice Qui-Gon placing his comlink on his own bedside table.

Indeed, sleep proved elusive for Anakin that night. He tossed, and he turned, and his mind raced with worry. When he finally fell asleep, dreams of Watto made that sleep unrestful.

"You chose this," his old Master would say as he struck Anakin over and over again!

At oh-two hundred, according to the timepiece, Anakin awoke suddenly from those dreams. The first thing he noticed was Obi-Wan's absence. While his Master would not wake him every time he had a nightmare anymore, he was usually there in their apartment to talk to and have a warm blue milk with afterwards. Their bond would always make sure the man felt it when he had a dream or a vision, and he'd always make himself available. Anakin felt his Master had gone to sleep with shields up. He'd do it from time to time, especially when he and Siri drank alcohol, and Dooku had opened a special bottle of wine for them at dinner that night.

Anakin looked across the room, and heard Qui-Gon's open mouth snore. It was clear he'd get no coddling from his grandmaster unless he woke him up, if that was what Anakin wanted. No, he was not a child anymore who needed such things. What he wanted most was to talk to someone who would understand. Then his gaze rested on Qui-Gon's bedside table. The comlink he'd put there was still sitting out. It would be a simple thing to grab it, if he tiptoed across the room. Then if he could just slip outside his door, he could call anyone he wanted.

Before Anakin had finished planning out his moves, he was standing out in the hallway with the device in his hands. He walked down a ways to an empty office room, and slipped inside. Then he tried to activate the device.

"Passcode: _," blinked on the holo screen.

For a normal pre-teen, this would probably be enough to cease all schemes and ambitions, but Anakin was not the normal pre-teen. He used a shortcut key to pull up the same page in binary, the computer's language. From there, he was able to trick the computer into accepting him as an administrator, so he could access the device.

"Only Seven digits, all numbers, no special keys." Anakin shook his head when he read the device's programmed passcode. "And it hasn't been changed in HOW long!" He made a point to discuss cyber security with the man later. For now, he had something else to do.

Anakin scrolled past various apps. 'Mission Reports, no. Calendar, no. Ah, Comm, here we go." He pulled up the dial screen and inputted his Mother's Coruscanti comm number.

"Who's this?" His mom's clipped voice came out of the device. "Do you have any idea what time it is!"

"Mom, it's me," Anakin turned on the camera and tried to get a better angle in the dark so she could see him.

"Oh, Ani?" she studied him quizzically.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late. Master Qui-Gon said I should wait until morning, but I just couldn't sleep. I had to talk to someone."

"What's going on?" On the other end, his mom took a seat, still holding her device in front of her.

"How did you know you wanted to stay with Cliegg?" Anakin asked, looking down at the woven rug on the floor.

"Oh," Shmi's eyes opened in surprise. "Well, I love him, and he…"

Anakin waved at her. "No. I don't want to hear about that." Her shoulders sagged in relief. "I mean, when you get a choice of who to trust, how do you decide?"

Shmi took a deep breath. "Am I right in guessing that you were recently given a similar choice?"

"I was told today that when I pass my trials, I'll be able to choose who I want to be a Padawan to." Anakin leaned back and stared at one of the paintings on the wall.

"In that case, when Cliegg made the deal with Watto, I didn't know I was really free until he drove me to a clinic. He handed my chip transmitter to a clinician, and told them to remove it." Shmi smiled at her memories. "He was so nervous when he asked me to come stay with him. I think he named ten other options I then had. In the end, I think the reason I chose to stay with him was because he was willing to let me go. It proved he loved me."

Anakin listened to this and frowned in a brooding, contemplative way. "How does that prove anything? If you love anyone, shouldn't you want to keep them close?"

"Real love, darling, is selfless. It's letting someone go to a better place, even though you want to keep them with you."

"Oh… Thanks mom, I love you too."

She smiled. "Your choice in teachers, I'm sure, is not expected right away. Go back to sleep tonight and discuss it with Obi-Wan tomorrow. Doubtless, he'll have some more advice for you."

Anakin's eyes returned to her. "You're right, Mom. Thanks, and goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ani." She blew him a kiss, before he turned off the Holo. Turning off the Comlink he carried it back to the bedroom, hoping Qui-Gon was still fast asleep.

The next morning, Dooku was excited to take them out to his courtyard, where he'd prepared a demonstration for them to see.

"Eat up, a healthy breakfast will give you strong muscles," Dooku encouraged, when Anakin looked down at the food like it was something Obi-Wan made himself. His omelet had green things suspended in the yellow eggs, and all young people know to be suspicious of green food. "I am positive you will enjoy the demonstration." Dooku motioned, and a man walked up and began to grate cheese on Dooku's plate. Then with another subtle move he dismissed him.

"I didn't know you had slavery here," Anakin said his thoughts outloud, as he often was prone to do, to everyone's frustration.

"Slavery, stars no!" Dooku's eyebrows joined as one. "What uncivilized, backwater planet were you raised on?" he spat.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon looked offended. Anakin merely answered, "Tatooine."

"Oh, that explains it then," Dooku coughed. "Well, every one of my workers gets paid a fair wage, and every land tennant is charged a fair tax. It is my duty, as Count, to protect the people here, not their duty to protect me."

"Oh," Anakin hummed. He apologetically took a bite of the strange egg dish and found it was not too bad.

"Come along here," Dooku led them excitedly. "Padawan, leave the plants alone," he snapped at Qui-Gon who would've stopped to examine every garden they passed. "At least wear a glove. You'd think I raised you in a mud hollow!"

"Sorry, Master." Qui-Gon wiped his hands on his robe. "I was just curious how you got it's roots to not take up the whole garden."

"And I'm curious how you ever stay clean enough to be presentable," Dooku chided.

"He needs a Padawan to hide everything green an hour or so before major functions," Obi-Wan cheekily added.

Anakin laughed at their lighthearted teasing, though he could understand his grandmaster in a way. Not his affinity towards plants, but towards messes. Sometimes, fun was worth a few grease stains. Of course his own crux would be anything silver and metallic, not green.

"Wherever did you get it from?" Dooku moaned.

"You don't want me to answer that, Master," Qui-Gon challenged.

Dooku shook his head, and continued. "Well, here we are. I had a Dojo built out here, and I was hoping you would break it in for me, Padawan." He used the Force to pick up a controller from a stand, and pushed a few buttons on it. Out from corners of the dojo came droids with long training sabers.

"Wow!" Anakin was transfixed by the sight of the droids. Unlike most Temple machinery, these droids were the latest edition. "Is that Titanium plating?"

"Yes, would you like to see a master go up against it?" Dooku asked.

Anakin would very much have liked to see what lay under the plating, and gotten his hands good and greasy in the process, but from the earlier conversation, he could tell his Great Grandmaster wouldn't have agreed, so he nodded instead.

"Alright, I guess I could give it a go." Qui-Gon flexed his joints and climbed up into the dojo. The outer edge of flooring was a clay tile, supported on a wooden platform. The middle was a thick rubbery mat which would absorb impact without causing too many bruises.

Qui-Gon pulled out his lightsaber and bowed. Anakin knew all Temple droids were programmed to start up after that bow. He noticed Dooku push a button on his remote at the exact moment to activate the droid instead. Qui-Gon fell into his Ataru moves like a Master, and soon had the first droid pinned.

Dooku laughed. "Good, now how about we show off some of your better moves. Use a Makashi attack, and I'll turn the difficulty up."

"Oh Master, I haven't done Makashi in years," Qui-Gon protested.

"Come on now, just for demonstration. You don't want to let your audience down."

"Come on Master," Obi-Wan interrupted. "I'll join you. Still remember some of the basics of Form II from my old saber classes."

As Obi-Wan climbed up into the ring, Dooku looked like he wanted to protest, but was unable to get the words to come to him. Instead he pushed the buttons on his remote to do as he said, and the droid started attacking.

Anakin noticed Dooku was a touch early when he pushed the start button, and Obi-Wan was only just able to slide out of the way, almost having his bow cut short by training saber burns. He made an Ataru spin and put his saber to block in a Soresu defense before he seemed to remember what forms he was supposed to be demonstrating. He and Qui-Gon made eye contact and then their moves fell in sync. As one Master and former Apprentice used the precise and graceful form of Makashi to disarm both droids. Neither were real experts, Anakin gathered, yet together they won the duel.

"Wooh," Anakin cheered. Both men were breathing heavily and sweating under their robes.

"Good. That could be you, one day." Dooku nodded at Anakin. "Now, how about…"

Qui-Gon waved at him. "I'm afraid, after that duel, I'm tapped out. Perhaps you, Master, would like to demonstrate. Where is your saber?"

"Oh, that old thing. I keep it in a display cupboard in the main house." Dooku answered, a touch nervous. "Perhaps we shall let our youngest member try his forms."

"Alright. Anakin, do you want to try it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Oh, yeah." Anakin tapped his belt, and realized something. "I think I left my saber in my quarters."

"Anakin, your Saber is your life. You should never leave it behind."

"I wasn't expecting to use it," Anakin defended.

Qui-Gon chuckled quietly as he came down to face Anakin. "You know where he gets that hyperbole?"

Obi-Wan clearly rolled his eyes, but his Master continued.

"We were on a mission, and he got mugged. The thief managed to get behind him. He held a blaster to your master's back and he said, 'Your saber or your life, Kid?' Well, Obi, he was always a cheeky boy. Stubborn to a fault. He said back, "I am a Jedi. My saber is my life." Then with a move I think he created himself in that moment, he twirled his lightsaber around to face behind him, and activated it to stab the bad man.

Anakin looked up to Obi-Wan in wonder, but the man blushed. Pride was absent from his face. "I did what I had to do."

"Yes, and I hadn't heard the end of that line since. He used it in front of the council to give his report. Then the next thing I hear, Master Windu is teaching Padawans, and he's using the phrase like it's a hundred year old mantra."

Anakin laughed.

"I've sent a servant to get… Oh here they are now." A servant ran up and handed a silver object to Dooku. "This is yours, would you like to show us how it works?"

Anakin took up his saber and stepped into the dojo. Unfortunately whenever adults ask that question they almost never want a mechanical lesson. While he was bowing, Dooku activated the droid on a lower skill level and Anakin turned on his blade to fight.

"Turn it up a skill level," Obi-Wan instructed, when he'd seen how low Dooku had it set to.

Dooku blinked a moment, and then acquiesced. "That color. It's…"

"Silver. A unique blade for a unique boy." Qui-Gon said.

"Yes, and it's shine. Is that blue-green I see coalescing?"

"Turquoise is the word the council uses for it," Obi-Wan shared.

"Purity, with the Heart of a warrior and a master wielder of the Force," Dooku whispered his interpretation.

Anakin didn't hear any of this. He used his lightsaber to demonstrate the moves he'd learned in the first form, Shii-Cho, which was taught to all Initiates before they became Padawans.

Anakin found the forms which challenged his age mates were almost too easy, and thus his mind strayed and he became aware of a puzzle in the Force. It was swirling around a tower on the corner of the property. Almost as if it begged to not be noticed. Though the contents were not completely shielded, like a wall was surrounding it, it was murky and hard to see, like its contents were in a sandstorm.

"Master, can I talk to you?" Anakin asked.

After their lightsaber practice outside, they all retired inside. Dooku was preparing to give Anakin a practice trial, and had recruited Qui-Gon to help him set it up. Obi-Wan had gone to check on Abigail, a meeting which Anakin's question interrupted.

Obi-Wan tapped their bond, "Okay," he said with a sigh, anticipating with the Force how serious this conversation was going to be.

"I'll take Gail out to see grandpas Qui-Gon and Dooku," Siri said, as she took the little girl's hand.

"Master, I've been thinking. What was it like being Qui-Gon's Padawan?"

Obi-Wan's eyes became wet. He closed them, and after a few seconds a gasp burst from his lips. When he finally did speak, his voice came out shaky. "He-he'll make an excellent teacher."

"You don't want me to choose him," Anakin deciphered.

"Well, that depends on who else has offered. With the right Master, your saber skills will be exemplary, but they also need to nurture your connection to the Force, and let you develop skills of your own, lest those areas suffer."

"No…" Anakin shook his head. "You don't want me to choose anyone."

Obi-Wan sighed and looked down. "I didn't…" To a casual observer, it would appear like the twelve year old was dragging the emotions out of the grown man. "I didn't want to have this conversation, no. If it were my decision, I'd never let you go. But… It isn't. You need to choose what's best for you. And I need to be okay with that. If it helps you decide, I've developed a scoring system to rank the potentials. Qui-Gon has a slight prejudice in his favor, so he's scored pretty high. Though there are a few who still outrank him, overall…"

The man had no choice but to catch the Youngling who threw himself at him in a tearful hug. "Oh Master."

"If you want, I'll show you my math. Perhaps there's an error to my scoring."

Anakin nearly laughed at him. "No, you've already helped me decide. I know who I'm going to pick."

Obi-Wan leaned into the hug, and by his bond, Anakin knew he didn't have to say it out loud.

"Oh Stars!" Qui-Gon muttered.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"It's my comlink. I thought I turned off that auto password reset thing, but here it is again."

Anakin looked up from where he was doing the written portion of Dooku's trial. It was him who turned on the password reset reminder the night before. He wanted to offer to help his grandmaster choose a better password, but one of the rules to the official Trial is no talking, so…

"So, reset your password," said Obi-Wan.

"But I can't. I enter it in and it tells me I can't use one of the last five passwords I've used before," Qui-Gon complained.

"Then choose a different one," Obi-Wan said.

"But then I'll have to change the password on everything: my computer at home, my Temple Server account, my door. It would just be easier to reset this. Hey Anakin…"

Obi-Wan cut him off. "Wait. You use the same passcode everywhere!"

"Yeah. It's easier to remember. Anakin…"

"Don't interrupt him." Dooku bellowed.

"How many people have you shared it with?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon's face turned from serious confusion, to worry, to panic.

"Yeah." Obi-Wan laughed. "Change your comlink password. When we get home, I'll help you change everything else. Hopefully before you cause a temple-wide security issue."

Two days later, Anakin and the others were preparing to go home. Anakin had to repack his bags, which were now full of additional gifts from his Great Grandmaster. All of his things were now packed, and he'd found a set of holobooks he needed to return to Dooku before they left.

"One minute." he called out to Qui-Gon as the man was doing the same thing Anakin was.

Anakin ran down the hallway and found Dooku in his study. He knocked on the door. When the older man gestured for him to enter, he did. "Master, I thought I should return these before I left."

"How did you find them?" Dooku asked.

"I liked the story a lot. Though I'm kinda confused how an old wardrobe can transport the children to a land far away. Did it have a hyperdrive?"

Dooku smiled and laughed.

"I do understand Clive Staples now. The reason the Groundlion had to die to save the boy. I think I get it now."

"Good, good. Why don't you keep these? When you pass your trials, just give them back to Master Jinn. He'll send them to me."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Uh, I also wanted to tell you thank you. I've thought about what you'd asked me about choosing a Master after I pass my trials. I haven't ever been given a choice like that before, understand. Anyway, now I know who I want to choose.

Dooku smiled.

"I'm choosing Obi-Wan."

Dooku's smile disappeared and he shook his head like he needed to get a gnat out of his ear.

"I know it doesn't seem like much, but it makes all the difference. Because I chose this. So, Thank you for explaining that to me." Anakin turned out to join the others again, leaving behind a very confused old man.

Hello,

I hope you like this. I know I had a few of you again hoping for Anakin to choose another Master. And I hope you can understand why I had them do this.

I know this is a longer chapter, but I couldn't see a good place to break it in half. It's still under 4k words though, so not too big. I almost let the scene over Qui-Gon's passwords fall into the deleted scene bin, but I like that scene too much.

Next chapter I'll be bringing everyone back to Coruscant. I'll probably be having Anakin and his friends take their trials. We may find out who else is showing interest in taking a Padawan. I have a delightful story and a cute embarrassing moment of one of the council members to share, but it might take me a few chapters to get to it.