Snips of the Future Chapter 6

In thirty years the number of surviving Jedi could be counted on one hand.

Those words seem to reverberate around the cabin, and total silence gripped them. Dooku had thought he'd been prepared for bad news. He was one of very few who would listen to Master Sifo-Dias talk about his visions. But 'bad' didn't even begin to cover this, and Yan Dooku, Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council discovered he was having trouble processing the enormity the catastrophe they were facing. Ahsoka just sat there hunched up with her arms around her knees, and her eyes looked as haunted as any Dooku had ever seen.

With a mental wrenching, Dooku turned his thoughts away from the horrors of the future, to more immediate concerns of his former padawan and the dangers they were about to face.

"We will discuss this at a later time. I promise you, young Tano, that I will see to it that what you have seen never becomes more than a vision." He gave her what was meant to be a reassuring look, though Dooku wasn't sure how well that had gotten across. As he'd referred to earlier, Dooku found it hard to interact with very young children. He had a hard enough time connecting with adults, witness his relationship, or lack thereof, with his former pupil, and at this moment looked her age, not the unsettlingly precocious visionary he'd gotten used to dealing with.

"In the mean time, if you have seen anything at all about Qui-Gon and his Padawan's experience please share it, no matter how trivial. How long did the repairs take? Did they encounter anyone other than this Sith? How did the Sith find them? You mentioned that Master Jin fought the Sith, but they both escaped. How did that happen? Were either of them injured?"

"I don't think the repairs themselves took too long," Ahsoka seemed to come back to herself, and be as grateful for the distractions as he was. "The problem was getting their hands on the parts. Tattoine is controlled by the Hutts, and all they had were Republic Credits which are useless there."

"And how did they acquire the parts? Or did they sell the ship to buy something cheaper, or buy passage?"


They were getting into areas that Ahsoka was reluctant to discuss. Intellectually, she knew that this Master Yan Dooku was different from the Count Dooku of the Clone Wars. She was even willing to accept, provisionally at least, that he'd not yet fallen to the Dark Side. But there was a big difference between what her mind could intellectually accept, and what her emotions were telling her. Besides, she had know idea if Sidious had already made contact with him, and she didn't want Anakin getting any more attention from the Sith Lord than she could help. She regretted mentioning him during her first discussion of the future with Dooku. Still, as a Jedi, or even as an independent Force user, she was supposed to be mindful of her feelings, but not to allow them to control her. That way led to the dark side, and she could see why.

"Master Jin won the parts he needed as the reward for a pod race."

"Master Jin participated in a pod race? Where did he get the pod?"
"He didn't participate. Anakin had a pod he'd built without Watto knowing, and he suggested Master Jin pretend it was his. Anakin piloted the pod and won the race."


"And this Anakin is...? Why couldn't he enter under his own name? I'm assuming this is the child that Qui-Gon wanted to take as his new apprentice. While he already has an apprentice in Obi-Wan no less." Dooku knew there was more to the situation with this child than Ahsoka was willing to admit.

"Anakin Skywalker is a 6 year old slave of Watto, the junk shop owner. He's strong in the Force. Very strong."

"I am not an expert on the sport of Podracing, but I would have believed the reward for a major Podrace would be well over the cost of even the most expensive yacht hyperdrive. Was the remainder used to free Anakin and whoever is his caretaker?"

"Master Jin said that if Watto put up the entry fee and let Anakin be the pilot, then if he lost Watto could have the pod racer, and if he won Watto could have the winnings, minus the cost of the parts."

Yan Dooku sighed mentally. It seemed that his former apprentice bad habit of only being concerned with the present, and ignoring the practicalities had gotten worse over the years, rather than better.

"Master Jin bet the ship against one of Watto's slaves on Anakin's winning the race, and won another gamble so that it would be Anakin rather than his mother. I think Watto wanted to renege on the bet, but Master Jin threatened to inform the Hutts."

Worse and worse. It took all of Dooku's self-control not to cover his face with his hand. Still, there was another matter that needed to be unraveled.

"And how exactly were you planning on raising the money to buy Anakin's mother? Or Anakin himself if we manage to repair their ship without needing to enter this race?"

"Well, I figured I'd sell my Baran Do amulet Master Plo gave me and the Akul tooth necklace from my parents and rustle enough money to bet on An... I mean, what makes you think I was planning to free anyone?" Ahsoka obviously realized she'd been caught, but was unwilling to admit it.

"I may not know you extremely well yet, but I can at least guess that much. Besides, you are not the only Jedi to abhor the practice of slavery. However, selling mementos is a rather drastic step, and one unlikely to raise you the capital you need. Your idea of betting on young Anakin's race bears consideration, but as it happens there are in fact anti-slavery groups who make a habit of freeing people. I'll contact Prince Organa and Senator Antilles. Senator Antilles is a prominent member of the Senate Anti-Slavery Committee and the Organas are proud members of the Anti-Slavery league. They don't just give money to anyone who asks it, but we are acquainted, and they will be able to forward the money requested."

"I... But... Thank you." Young Ahsoka seemed to be overcome, and at a loss for words.

"Many in the Order long to shut down the Hutts. I am one of them. But our opponents are correct that it would take a war, and a very bloody and unpleasant war it would be."

Ahsoka snorted, as if something were too ironic for words, reminding Dooku of their earlier conversation, and he felt chills up his spine, but continued.

"Another difficulty is that for a thousand years, the Jedi have been accountable to the Republic, which is generally interpreted as accountable to the Senate, and the Hutts have deep pockets. Plus, I'm not sure if all the Judicials together would be able to take down the Hutt Cartel. The Republic Outlands Security Force is the closest sizable force that might be at all sympathetic, but they are still many sectors away. They cannot leave their sectors without being accused of attempting to conquer."

Ahsoka snorted again, but didn't deny it.

"However, it might be a different matter if a crime boss attacked a Jedi and we could prove it. The Hutt Cartel is very good at disavowing any lackey who's actions might upset the status quo. I doubt we could bring down any of the Hutts themselves, or their direct subordinates, but we could probably prune back part of the lower echelon, and free a bunch of slaves in the process. So I ask again, aside from this Sith, did anyone attack the party in your vision."

Ahsoka seemed surprised. She was still very young, and even if she'd been a padawan, few Jedi were very experienced in using corruption against itself. But she furrowed her brow in obvious concentration.

"I don't think so. I never thought of it before, but for such a lawless place they seemed to get off pretty lightly. Master Ob... I mean, I guess I thought they were okay because they didn't have anything valuable, but I guess it makes sense. The closest they came was a Dug named Sebulba almost attacking Jar-Jar Binks, but nearly everyone wants to strangle Jar-Jar at one point or another."

"I guess I should be relieved," said Dooku, adding another note to a mental file labeled 'Ahsoka Tano Oddities'. 'Master Ob...' huh? "Ah well, it's not like we could have made a serious dent in slavery operations that way." He sighed sadly, but he wasn't about to burden a youngling with his disgust with the Jedi's unwillingness to actively change things for the better. "We do what we can."


Diverting the expedition to Tattooine of all places, was surprisingly easy. Young Tano seemed to be extremely familiar with the design for some reason, and she was able to pinpoint a particular pipe in the duct-work who's rupture would overheat the navigational system, necessitating a full hard reset, finding the break and replacing the line, and days of re-calibration, without causing any kind of permanent damage. Dooku was starting to get used to the young Togruta's constant surprises, but he did find this one a bit of a relief. Tattooine was not a place that the Order brought younglings, for very good and obvious reasons. If he'd simply ordered the ship to divert, as he had originally planned, the others would have naturally informed the Council of his actions, and Mace and Eeth Koth would have been on the his holo within the day to countermand his order, and demand the whole group to return to Coruscant immediately. Little as he would have enjoyed the resulting argument, he would have listened, and they would have been right.

So it was with guilty relief that he listened to Captain Torva Ahn apologize for the inconvenience, and inform him and Master Tri-Lan that they would be forced to remain on Tattooine for several days while repairs were made to the Navicomputer.

The blue Twi'lek was extremely apologetic, and Dooku took pity on him.

"Do not worry, Captain Ahn. I am confident that this is no fault of you or of any member of your crew, and I shall so inform the Council." Then he looked at Master Tri-Lan, knowing that what he said next would not go over well with her.

"Perhaps this is the Will of the Force. It is not often that our Seekers get this far out into the Outer Rim. I will see if any Force Sensitive children can be found here." So far so good. The others seemed somewhat surprised, but not alarmed. Of course, the hard part was yet to come.

"Given that Tattooine does not have regular contact with the Jedi, and has lots of contact with criminal elements, having a youngling along will help to ease the fears of parents."

Master Tri-Lan was looking positively murderous, and Torva Ahn was gaping.

"Since she herself has recently been on the opposite end of this situation. I propose taking Initiate Tano with me. Her presence could be invaluable."

"Out of the question!" Snapped Captain Ahn, and though he wasn't fond of being spoken to that way, he was impressed by the Twi'lek's determination. Ahn was one of those who's connection to the force was strong enough to get them inducted into the Order, but not strong enough to attract a Jedi to take them as a Padawan. Nevertheless, his determination did not waver, even in the face of a Council member known for his sternness.

"I can't believe you would even consider something like this," Captain Ahn continued. "Young Tano can't be more than five years old! Mos Espa is no place for a child."

Master Tri-Lan looked like she would add a great deal in agreement, then sighed.

"This is what this whole trip is really about, isn't it? No, you don't have to answer. You aren't the only one to notice that something is going on with Ahsoka. I don't like it, but I can't say it won't be a relief to see her deal with whatever it is that's bothering her so much. Blast foresight anyway."

"And I will be going along as well."

The three of them turned around, to discover Shayl Le'tah standing in the door behind them.

"I can look after Ahsoka, and I'm old enough that I'm taken more seriously." Then she smiled, and it was a smile with teeth in it. "Plus, I'm good at gathering information, as I believe I've just proved."

Now it was Dooku's time to sigh, but the girl did have a point. She was old enough that his discreet digging had already picked up word that she'd likely be a Padawan within a year or so. And he had no illusions about his suitability as a babysitter.

"Very Well. I have arranged for our funding for this trip to be converted into a currency that is accepted locally. I will inform the Council of our situation, and young Initiate Le'tah will inform Ahsoka to meet me at the airlock in late afternoon. I have no interest in experiencing this planet's noonday heat without pressing reason.


Notes: I had a lot of writers block on this one, plus spending time writing jumpchains for Reddit, but I'm glad to be able to publish this chapter. Ahsoka is drawing from memories of things Obi-wan said, things Anakin said, and rumors she heard in the temple. Dooku noticed that Ahsoka said she'd heard of things from someone called "Master Ob..." but he's not ready to push the matter and try to force her to share all her secrets. For one, he's experienced enough to know that it could well drive her away. For another, he's not very comfortable with kids. I'm looking forward to sharing more. The captain is another OC created to fill out the roster.