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A Shift in the Force: Chapter Twenty-Two: Considerations of a Shadow
AN: Guys, we are now two reviews away from 100! Thanks so much for all the support, you lot are what keeps this fic flourishing and my inspiration for it alive!
And I see there's a lot of excitement about Padmé, Anakin, and Talik playing matchmaker (at least, that's the way it seems to me), and the plan is for Obi-Wan to see Sabé in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it.
Arthree gave a whirring sound of confusion and caution, but Sabé ignored him for the time being, trying to focus on walking step in step with the old Jedi Master, but Master Dooku had longer legs than her; the only consolation was that he had slowed to fit her pace.
"Master Dooku—" Sabé started, but he cut her off smoothly.
"I am no longer a master, nor am I a Jedi," he said, stalling her words with the raise of a hand.
Sabé arched an eyebrow; that was a bit curious. "Then what should I call you?" she asked instead, ever accommodating.
"Count Dooku," he said in reply and Sabé could swear she could see a glint of pride in his eyes at the title he had claimed. That was not the Jedi way.
"Count Dooku," Sabé corrected, "no disrespect, but you are probably the last person I would have expected to find on a transport like this…and I doubt you go out of your way to have conversations with your old master's former students."
In fact, the timing couldn't have been more odd, and Sabé's line of work had taught her to be very suspicious of strange occurrences. Still, she wasn't entirely certain that Master Yoda had any other living former apprentices other than themselves.
"I do not," Count Dooku conceded, glancing down to her and Sabé wasn't blind to how tall he was compared to her. "It was mere coincidence that your travels coincided with mine."
But Sabé, like any good Jedi, didn't believe in coincidences, or luck.
"And I find myself a bit curious."
"Curious?" Sabé repeated.
"As I recall, you always had some rather controversial view on the Order," Count Dooku said, "however, I was never quite aware of how controversial they were."
Sabé started in surprise. It was true that a good portion of the Jedi in the Temple knew of her for her views that barely coincided with what the Order deemed good, but no one –save for her closest friends and their Padawans– had ever really shown an interest in hearing whatever she had to say.
"You want me to explain my views to you?" Sabé asked, thrown a bit by the admission.
"I'm sure it would be most illuminating."
Sabé considered him briefly. It felt more like he'd sought her out than anything else…but if he had, why would he ask her such a thing? Why would he have cared about her views on the Order he was no longer a part of?
But Sabé was always eager to share her opinion, especially since people didn't ask it of her often. So she told how she thought that the Jedi giving the parents of Force-sensitive children the choice to let them become Jedi or stay with them was the thing she had the least problems with, but then the Jedi took the children away it was likely they would never see their children again, unless they were very lucky, and Sabé had at least five problems with that…
"I see you have a large number of issues with the Code," Dooku uttered with a vein of faint amusement; he clearly hadn't known just how passionate Sabé was concerning the Code and things that should be altered or done away with completely.
"Believing there is no ignorance is in itself ignorance," Sabé offered for good measure, referring to the line of the Code: There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. "The Order follows a Code that I think is far too simplistic and they're too narrow-minded –in some areas– to consider change being the better option."
"The Order has always maintained a rather obstinate position," Count Dooku mused thoughtfully and Sabé hummed in agreement.
"They have…but their denial of their own changes is proof of their infallibility, whether they want to admit it or not," Sabé said with a shrug as Arthree wheeled forward with a beeped warning of their transport arriving in a few minutes and Sabé reached down to pat his domed head. "They teach to fear fear, as ironic as it is, rather than explaining that fear is just a feeling and feelings can be controlled."
"I can't tell Master I'm afraid!" Anakin had looked horrified when Sabé had given him a cup of steaming muja juice.
"Anakin," Sabé had given him a patient sigh, despite the fact that the boy had awoken her in the middle of the night from his nightmare (as he was staying with her and Talik while Obi-Wan was on assignment), "everyone is afraid of something, but fear is just a feeling, what matters is that you don't let it control you…and its okay to tell Obi-Wan, he'd never think less of you; he's been through the same thing."
And Anakin relented.
"An interesting concept," Dooku said flatly and Sabé wondered if it was possible for his voice to be anything but that. "And what do you think of the Dark Side compared to the Light?"
"I think that there are problems with both," Sabé said, waving a hand carelessly as they circled back to the transport waiting area that she had been sitting at previously, "but I don't think one is above the other."
They arrived back in time for the transport to arrive and boarding to begin.
"You have given me much to think on," Count Dooku said, giving the Jedi a short bow before leaving her swiftly and Sabé couldn't help but be confused by his sudden departure and his line of questioning.
"She has the potential to turn."
"Good…good…"
"Master!" Talik gave an excited cry when she saw her master climb the last of the stairs into the Temple, making her way inside with her cloak tucked under her arm, and she caught Talik easily as she threw her arms around her. "Master, you're back!"
Sabé gave a light laugh, embracing Talik just as readily. "Talik, did you think I wasn't coming back?" she asked with a smile.
"Of course not!" Talik said adamantly before stepping back to get a good look at her master. "Wow, Master! You look so pretty!"
Sabé arched an eyebrow, clearly amused, but it still made Talik backtrack suddenly.
"I –I mean," she stuttered, "not that you weren't pretty before, its just –its more obvious now."
She had no idea that her master's hair was so curly, for one thing. Talik couldn't really remember a time when she'd actually seen her master's hair down. Sabé made a habit of keeping her hair in perpetual braids for a reason and the only time Talik had seen it down was when it was wet and she was plaiting her hair into braids once more. But her curls were so pretty that Talik had to wonder why she kept them in braids so much.
"And you're looking so much better," Talik added, refusing to stumble any more over her words. "So Naboo was nice, right?"
"Varykino is lovely this time of year," Sabé said, wrapping an arm around Talik's shoulders as they began to walk inside. "How was your time with Master Aayla?"
"She helped Anakin and I with our lightsaber techniques," Talik informed her brightly, "she says Anakin's Ataru needs some work and my Jar'Kai has got a long way to go."
That didn't come as much of surprise to Sabé, seeing how Talik spent most of her time working with Master Vokara Che, she may have been a prodigy in the healing arts, but Sabé wasn't about to neglect Talik's training.
"Are you the best in the Temple at Jar'Kai?" she pressed, a smile still present on her lips.
"Nearly," Sabé laughed, "though only because there are so few that choose to study it. It takes a certain level of skill." She cast a wink to her Padawan that had the girl flushing with pleasure.
"Master Sabé!" came a second voice and Sabé almost had the wind knocked out of her as Anakin came barreling into view, throwing his arms around her waist to hug her. Sabé had to catch herself with the Force to keep from falling to the ground. "You're back!"
"Yes," Sabé said, just a bit flummoxed, "though I don't know why everyone's so excited about it…I've only been gone two weeks."
"The Temple's boring without you, Master Sabé," Anakin promised and Talik bobbed her head in agreement.
"Oh, Anakin, are you saying that you find your dear master boring?" Sabé asked, a hand moving to her mouth, her eyes glittering as she said the words in a pseudo-horrified voice.
"Of course not!" Anakin said stoutly, ever loyal to his master. "Master's the best!"
And as he spoke, his master –whom he had briefly abandoned at the sight of Sabé with Talik– came up to join them, taken by surprise by Sabé's current outfit.
If there was one thing he knew about Sabé, it was that she avoided wearing dresses if she could help it, she was much like Siri in that respect. But where Siri had found her beauty to be irksome, Sabé had used hers to her advantage; no one looked twice at a beautiful woman in a crowd, and no one suspected that same beautiful woman of spying.
And, of course, Obi-Wan had always been aware that Sabé was beautiful, it was something rather hard to deny, but it still came as a smack to the face.
The dress was flattering but modest, suiting her immensely, and the color brought out the exact shade of brown that her eyes were, soft chestnut.
Obi-Wan swallowed when he realized his throat had gone dry, and then he cleared his throat.
"So this is where my Padawan ran off to," he commented lightly and Sabé gave him a sheepish smile.
"I've got that kind of personality," she laughed, making a curling gesture with her hands, "I draw you in."
Anakin laughed too and Talik burst into giggles.
"Don't worry, you can say it," Sabé added, "I look pretty ridiculous, but Padmé insisted, so I figured I could indulge her."
"No, you don't look ridiculous at all," he assured her, "in fact, you look very lovely."
A faint pink dusted across her cheeks, almost impossible to tell against their natural hue. "Thanks, but I'll be happy to get out of it, all the same…Aayla's still got a spare set of my clothes in her apartment for me, so I'd figure I'd change and take Talik off to Dex's for lunch…would you and Anakin want to join us?"
There was an eager light in Anakin's eyes as he turned on Obi-Wan, who felt his mouth moving long before he had come to a decision. "I don't think we'd mind," he said.
"Oh, yeah, Master!" Talik tugged on the cloak wrapped around her master's arm, causing Sabé's gaze to shift downwards. "Master Maw wanted to see you when you got back."
"Master Maw?" Sabé uttered in surprise. Of all the people she could have expected to want to see her, he was far from the top of the list. Her brow furrowed in confusion when a guttural voice spoke behind the grouping.
"Knight Amidala, a word," the Boltrunian Shadow spoke out of the darkness and Sabé blinked, schooling her expression into one that betrayed nothing but outward calm.
"Of course, Knight Maw," she said simply before turning back to Obi-Wan briefly, "shall I meet you on the outer landing in a few minutes?"
"We won't leave without you," Obi-Wan promised, and she spared him a smile, squeezing his arm briefly before striding past.
"Knight Maw," she said politely, "I hope you are well."
"As well as usual," Maw replied in his typical brusque manner, "I'm here to speak to about official business."
Sabé straightened her spine just a little as they walked, swallowing briefly. "I wasn't aware that my last Shadow assignment was less than satisfactory."
"It was not," Maw countered, "this is a separate matter."
A separate matter? Sabé couldn't help but cast an odd look in his direction. What on earth was he talking about? Her last Shadow assignment had lasted nearly a month and then she'd remained on-planet for the two weeks before she and Talik had been sent off to assist with the rising tensions on Anobis. She couldn't imagine that he was here to speak to her about Korinth'Kel's death; the High Council had already done that…
It didn't leave her with many ideas for why he could be there to speak with her.
"As I'm sure you're well-aware, the Council of First Knowledge cycles through Jedi members every five years once their terms are up," Maw began and Sabé didn't quite follow.
Of course, she knew about how things worked with the Council of First Knowledge, it was usually from them that she was given her Shadow assignments. Master T'un was in charge of the Council, being the Caretaker of First Knowledge. T'un was a cunning Jedi and in his youth had operated as both a Slicer –a computer expert capable of infiltrating networks and leaving without a trace– and a Security Expert –those known for their abilities in disarming traps and alarms– before he had retired to take on the duties of being Caretaker full-time.
Master T'un was certainly someone to be revered in the Temple.
"Yes," Sabé said the word slowly, arching an eyebrow.
"It has been decided, after a great deal of evaluation, that you will replace Master Zhint as the fifth member of the Council."
"Master Z –I'm sorry, I think I misheard you," Sabé said faintly, "because I could have sworn that you just said that I would be replacing Master Zhint on the Council of First Knowledge."
Maw's sharp teeth bared in amusement at how she was taking the information. "I did just say that, yes. Mast Zhint wasn't due to retire from his position for another three months, but he's going to spend the next year as a Jedi Watchman on Felucia, so he submitted his resignation early," he explained patiently.
"I…" The words were strangled from Sabé's mouth briefly, "I would have thought I would be too young to serve on the Council."
"You're young," Maw agreed, "but not too young…0900 tomorrow, Knight Amidala, don't be late."
Then he left the way he had come, leaving Sabé standing there, staring blankly at the floor, hardly daring to believe that she had somehow made it onto the Council of First Knowledge.
And then an undeniable glee bubbled up inside of her. To serve on at least one of the Councils of the Jedi Temple, had always been a dream of hers, but she had never imagined that it would come across, and when she was as young as she was either; it was an honor to be sure.
"I can't believe they made you a member of a Council at twenty-eight!"
Sabé's face was flushed the happiness (newly dressed in her comfortable boots, tunic, and trousers) as she and Obi-Wan and their respective Padawans entered Dex's Diner. "It's okay to admit you're jealous, Obi-Wan, it's an emotion that everyone feels."
Talik was cackling behind them and Anakin had stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing.
"I'm not jealous," Obi-Wan denied, "I don't fit the criteria for being selected to be a member of the Council of First Knowledge."
And that was true. Obi-Wan had trained as a Jedi Guardian, but somehow he'd ended up caught somewhere between Jedi Guardian and Jedi Consular, no doubt owing to his peace-keeping nature. Those on the Council of First Knowledge were almost exclusively Jedi Sentinels, almost being the key word, because Sabé had never once identified as a Jedi Sentinel, except in doing her work as a Jedi Shadow.
"It is a high honor," he added, "I'm glad they saw how skilled you were."
Sabé gave him a half-smile, but he could see how it made her eyes glow with a subtle light that few could see and he looked away quickly, forcing down a flush of heat. "Thank you," she said simply before turning to the service droid wheeling towards them. "Table for four," she told it.
"Right this way, honey," the droid's metallic voice replied, wheeling them towards a booth by the window. "Can you get you something to drink?"
"Some Jawa juice would be lovely," Sabé told it, sliding against the corner with Talik coming in beside her, and if Obi-Wan's knees bumped hers, she certainly didn't show it.
"Same!" Talik piped up.
"Juri juice, please," Anakin said, making his friend wrinkle her nose at him, Juri juice, was, after all, an acquired taste.
"Some muja will be fine," Obi-Wan said as the droid handing out menus to the four of them, though Sabé and Obi-Wan didn't need to bother opening theirs, already knowing what to order; Dex's Diner was the favored hangout of young Jedi and both had come often when they were younger with their own respective groups of friends.
"If you're on one of the Councils now, does that mean we won't go out on as many missions?" Talik asked her once she'd found what she wanted.
"It's possible that I will end up staying on-planet a bit more," Sabé agreed, "you might end up doing a few missions without me, maybe they'll let you go off with Anakin and Obi-Wan."
"That would be so wizard!"
"That sounds like chaos just waiting to happen," Obi-Wan said in perfect time with his Padawan, the deadpan voice making Sabé laugh.
"Master says a little chaos is good for the soul," Talik said, grinning widely at Obi-Wan and the Jedi knew if he looked to Anakin, he'd see an identical expression.
"Your master prefers chaos, Talik," he said shrewdly, "it is far easier for her to find order within it rather than the other way around."
"Well, not all of us can have that rather singular talent, my dear," Sabé said, taking a sip of her juice as it arrived and the droid took their orders before wheeling off again to take them to Dex to cook them up.
Obi-Wan shook his head in exasperation. "She also likes making others' existence difficult."
"You can't say that I don't keep things interesting, Obi-Wan," Sabé said, her smile splitting her face. "You'd have a bit more fun if you weren't so straight-laced."
"I am not straight-laced," Obi-Wan said, sounding just a bit affronted and both of Sabé's eyebrows rose high on her forehead.
"Not as much as you used to," she had to agree, "Anakin being your Padawan has done you some good there."
"Hey!"
Sabé spared him a wink.
He will be the making of you, Sabé sent the thought to Obi-Wan and the elder of the two –though only by one year– felt his shoulders fall slightly.
Yes, he agreed, he will be.
"Are they having a mental conversation again?" Talik whispered across the table to Anakin.
"Looks like it," Anakin responded with a whisper that carried a bit more than his friend's.
"Anakin," Sabé said, turning towards the Tatooine-born lad, "Talik tells me that you two have been spending some time reforming your lightsaber techniques with Master Aayla…how would you like to try against me later?"
"That would be wizard!" Anakin said, bouncing eagerly in his seat. "I've barely fought against you!"
Sabé's lips twitched. "There are other Jar'Kai masters to test yourself against, Anakin, I can't imagine they'd turn you away."
"You're the nicest Jar'Kai master, Master Sabé."
Obi-Wan's eyes softened briefly. He meant that she was the most understanding towards him, particularly when one considered how he had come to arrive at the Temple a few years too late to be trained. Sabé was patient and kind and Anakin had a habit of going to her after Obi-Wan or any other Jedi lectured him, because Sabé didn't lecture, she explained in a fashion that made it clear that the gaps in Anakin's education were not his fault.
"Well, I'm certainly nicer than Pong Krell, I won't deny that," Sabé muttered, raking a hand through her curls. "Avoid training with him until you've got some mastery in your lightsaber technique," she warned, "he almost took my head off once."
"He did?" Obi-Wan asked, startled.
"He's what I would call a furious fighter," Sabé said dryly, "but strength can only get you so far in battle."
And Sabé knew that better than anyone else; Jar'Kai was a style that dealt very little in overwhelming strength as Ataru did.
"So, tell me, did you drive Master Aayla completely up the wall?"
And both Padawans were rather animated in telling her their exploits over the past two weeks and Obi-Wan watched her pay attention to everything they said.
The Force gave a wistful hum.
If there was one thing that Sabé had missed more than most while she had been away, it was sleeping in her own bed. She'd sent Arthree on ahead before she'd taken the transport to the Jedi Temple, but now she and Talik were returning once their lunch with Obi-Wan and Anakin had concluded.
"How was Padmé?" Talik asked her as they stepped off the transport to head inwards into 500 Republica. "She got re-elected, right?"
"Yes, she did…she and Sola are doing very well." A soft smile graced Sabé's lips. "Sola has a daughter, Ryoo, and another on the way."
"Really? How d'you know? I thought you two didn't really talk," Talik said all in one breath.
"We made up when I stayed in Varykino," Sabé said with a simple shrug, the pair passing through the sliding automatic door and into the expensively decorated lobby.
500 Republica was rather exclusive for those of higher status, home to the most wealthy and most famous of Coruscant, which was why, at first, it had come as a bit of a surprise to see a Jedi entering and leaving it at ease, but its inhabitants were so used to Jedi now that only the newer members of the tower found it odd.
Sabé gave a smile to the bellman before making her way to the turbolift, pressing the button to head up and waiting for the lift to open, but it must have gone very far up.
"Ah, Knight Amidala," came a voice of surprise and both Sabé and her Padawan turned to see Chancellor Palpatine standing there with a grandfatherly smile on his face.
"Your Excellency," Sabé said simply giving a short bow that Talik replicated, "a pleasure to see you again."
In truth, Sabé hadn't seen the Chancellor all that often; her work as a Shadow tended to keep her a bit away from the world of politics, and it wasn't something she minded all that much.
"And you," Chancellor Palpatine said kindly, "I am grateful for your assistance in resolving that bit of unpleasantness on Anobis."
Sabé's smile stiffened. "It was no trouble."
"And you have my condolences for the death of your friend Korinth'Kel Dorma," he added and Sabé swallowed thickly.
"Thank you," she said, and it was hard work for the words not to come out as a croak. The turbolift dinged behind her. "I apologize, Chancellor, but I've been away for two weeks and am quite exhausted—"
"Of course, of course," the Chancellor said easily, "I won't keep you. Welcome home."
"Thank you," Sabé said with more of a hint of smile than before as she ushered her Padawan into the lift.
And before it shut, she could have sworn she saw a hint of yellow in Chancellor Palpatine's eyes…but it must have been a trick of the light.
AN: So, Sabé is officially back on Coruscant! Yeah, now we can get back to the good stuff! Well, not the really good stuff that's going to absolutely destroy you, but the good stuff that you'll enjoy immensely, I've got lots of foreshadowing and alluding to do…
And we see a few hints of Obi-Wan's slowly developing feelings, remember guys, this is a slow-burn romance and its going to take some time for Obi-Wan to catch up
As always: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
