Epilogue…

Allies and Obstacles…

The impromptu crowd of padawans and Jedi parted to make way for Yoda and his opponent amid resounding cheers and applause. Yoda responded to the throng's approval with a slight nod and a smile as he and Mace Windu passed through the makeshift passageway they had provided.

When they entered the small meditation chamber attached to the training room, Yoda climbed up onto one of the long wooden benches, moving his gimer stick aside before settling into a comfortable seated position. Pulling his feet under him, Yoda leaned back against the cool duracrete wall and smiled.

"Most impressive, your display of lightsaber skills was," Yoda announced as he watched Mace use the Force to pull a bottle of water from the other side of the domed chamber to his waiting hand. Mace grabbed his towel from where it rested on the seat next to Yoda and wiped his sweat-drenched brow and neck.

Mace smiled and tilted his head in a clear acknowledgement of the compliment. With an exaggerated display of exhaustion, Mace dropped into the seat next to Yoda.

"How is it that no matter how hard we spar, you never seem to break a sweat?"

Yoda laughed at that. "When nearly eight hundred years old you reach, long ago shriveled up will your sweat glands be, too!"

Mace chuckled. "I almost had you near the end."

"Almost," Yoda replied, his smile widening. "Heh! As useful, that observation is, as giving credit for 'almost' landing a ship!"

Mace leaned forward, placing his elbows one his knees, and laughed. "Good point."

Yoda leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

A tranquil silence filled the room.

"Yoda?"

"Hmmm?"

"You weren't taking it easy on me, were you?"

Yoda opened an eye and looked at Mace. The newly promoted Jedi Master seemed to be trying to hide his clear unease at having asked the question. For a moment, Yoda considered dismissing the inquiry out of hand, but he sensed that the answer was important to Mace.

"Concerned, are you, that I was?"

Mace's nod was barely perceptible.

Yoda opened his other eye, sat up, and smiled. "Gave our sparring match my all, I did."

Mace pursed his lips and twisted his mouth. After a few long moments, he settled his gaze on Yoda. Mace smiled. "I don't think so."

Yoda raised his right eyebrow. "No?"

Mace shook his head, his smile widening. "No."

Yoda bent his head but said nothing.

Mace obviously understood the silent gesture. After a meaningful sidelong glance in Yoda's direction, he tilted the bottle of water to his lips and took several thirsty gulps. Setting the bottle down on the bench, he turned to face Yoda and draped the towel around his neck. He grasped his right ankle and pulled it under him.

"Yoda, it's just you and me here, right now," Mace began, his eyes boring intently. "I could feel you holding back."

Yoda held the gaze, but drew the corners of his mouth tight. Yoda swallowed. "More to say, you have." It was not a question.

Mace glanced at the bench.

"I tried to find your shatterpoint…."

Yoda frowned. He was intimately familiar with Mace's special gift, having spent years working with him to learn how to interpret the visions the Force provided. Mace's ability to see the weakest point in anyone or anything had long been a topic of animated discussion among the members of the Council. That, and his undeniable power in the Force, would likely result in his appointment to the Council earlier than anyone in Jedi history.

But Mace's ability to see shatterpoints had a way of making those around him uncomfortable. Just about every padawan and more than a few Jedi Knights had reported feeling that every time Master Windu glanced at them, he was secretly scrutinizing their faults. Perhaps it was the fact that Yoda never seemed concerned about Mace's gift that Mace seemed to seek him out more than any other Jedi. Admitting to searching for Yoda's shatterpoint, especially in a quest to win a friendly sparring match, was likely twisting Mace's insides with apprehension.

Yoda smiled. "A useful tool, that is. Use it, I would, if available to me, it was."

Mace visibly relaxed as he let out a breath. He nodded silently, as if to thank Yoda. At length, he spoke again. "I couldn't interpret it, though." He ran his thumb along the smooth wood surface of the bench. "I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on what I saw."

Yoda took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. In all his years, he had never felt closer to any Jedi than he did to Mace. Theirs was as real a friendship as Yoda had ever encountered. If anyone could handle the truth of his experiences, Mace could.

No.

Trying to anticipate Mace's insights served no purpose, and planning a response was equally pointless.

There is no emotion; there is peace… Yoda closed his eyes and breathed in the Force as he recited the mantra in his mind.

Yoda crossed his arms across his chest. "Your observations, share."

Mace responded with a curt bow of his head. "On the few occasions that I've looked for shatterpoints in other Jedi, their major fault lines are always connected to the Order."

Yoda nodded. "Expected, that would be. For the Jedi, deeply connected to the Order, we are. Know what to do without it, most would not."

"Yes, I can see that." Mace looked away to the far side of the chamber. "There are, of course, some Jedi who have a much looser connection to the Order, if at all…Qui-Gon Jinn, for example."

Yoda raised his right eyebrow. Convinced that no response was required, Yoda chose to remain silent.

"But you…." Mace breathed out and returned his gaze to Yoda. "You were so blinding in the Force, I couldn't see any fault lines…." Mace looked at the floor.

Yoda waited.

When Mace said nothing more, Yoda decided it best to press him. "Unlike you, it is, to be so unsure of yourself, Mace. What else, did you see?"

"That's just it, Yoda!" Mace exclaimed, his tone more frustrated than Yoda had ever heard. "I'm not sure what I saw!" He screwed up his face, as if searching for the right words. "Deep beneath the layers and layers of light, I saw…a…blemish. It was barely there. A dark spot…no…a…void. I don't know what it was, but I know that it was your shatterpoint."

Yoda swallowed.

"Do you have any idea what that void might be?"

Yoda stared at the spots on the back of his hands. They seemed to be multiplying in number every year.

"Yoda?"

Startled, Yoda looked up at Mace. He stared at his friend's expectant face, one filled with clear respect and admiration. Yoda sighed. "Reside deep in all of us, some darkness always lives. Possible, it is, that this is what you saw." Yoda picked up his gimer stick and poked Mace gently in the ribs, smiling. "Or floated in your eye, a speck of dust did! Know for sure, I do not!"

Mace leaned back against the wall and chuckled, seemingly relieved. "Perhaps you're right. It's probably nothing."

Yoda nodded and placed the end of his gimer stick on the floor. He scooted off the bench and started to hobble to the door.

"Where are you going, Master?"

Yoda turned and looked at Mace over his shoulder. "Work as well as my ears, my nose does not but…" Yoda sniffed the air. "…tell, even I can, that need a trip to the 'fresher, we both need!"

He hobbled out of the chamber to the sound of Mace's clearly amused laughter.


"Master? May I have a word?"

Yoda beamed. "Dooku! Returned from your mission early, you have! Good to see you, it is." Yoda extended his gimer stick to his former padawan. "Come in, please."

Dooku slid from the doorway and sat across from Yoda inside the spare quarters. He threw a fleeting look at the fading sunlight as it drew shadows on the floor through the blinds.

Yoda looked down at the same spot on the floor, waiting. Dooku had long been a man of few words, and only spoke after careful consideration. It was likely that Dooku had been standing outside Yoda's door for some time before actually requesting permission to enter. Whatever it was that Dooku wanted, it was important to him. He would consider seeking an unscheduled audience with Yoda under other circumstances…rude.

Finally, Dooku looked up. "I managed to observe your sparring match with Master Windu earlier." The melodic baritone in his voice, while conversational, carried a tinge of…reproach?

"Approve of the match, you did not."

"It is not my place to approve or disapprove of the conduct of two Jedi Masters."

Yoda leaned forward and smiled, nodding. "Nonetheless, approve, you did not."

"I was more concerned about the techniques that Master Windu was employing during the fight, Master Yoda."

Yoda furrowed his brow in confusion. "His techniques? His skills with a lightsaber, rivaled only by you, they are. Why concern you, do they?"

"Master Yoda!" Dooku straightened, his eyes wide. "Surely you realize that he is developing his own lightsaber style!"

Yoda's confusion grew. "Of course. Working to improve Form Seven fighting, he has been. Developed Vaapad from it, he has." Yoda ran a hand over his balding head. "Understand your concerns, I do not."

Dooku frowned. He paused, seeming to consider his words. "My concern is that throughout the fight, he appeared to…enjoy himself. And…he seemed to be sinking toward the dark side."

Yoda nodded in understanding. Of course Dooku would be concerned about the way Mace fought. If Yoda had taught his padawan anything, it was that the dark side was to be avoided at all costs. For Dooku, dancing along the edge of the dark side was something Yoda had actively discouraged.

But Mace was different. While others tended to focus on Mace's ability to see shatterpoints, Yoda knew that was not his true gift. Mace's talent was his remarkable capacity to descend to the edge of the darkness without ever crossing it.

"Fear for Mace, you need not."

Dooku raised both of his eyebrows. He stared at Yoda for a long time, silent.

"I don't suppose you would allow for the possibility that your friendship with Master Windu might be blinding you to the danger he poses to himself, would you?"

Yoda paused to consider it. "Meditate on it, I will."

Dooku opened his mouth, as if to respond, then seemed to think better of it and nodded instead.

"That is all anyone can ask, Master," he said. He stood and left Yoda's chambers without another word.

Yoda stared at the door.

He had just started to close his eyes when his comm link beeped. Yoda pulled out the tiny device and activated it.

"Yes?"

The voice that resonated in the room was full of mischief. "Care for a rematch?"

Yoda grinned.