Whispers of Menace
A Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Alternate Universe
Chapter Fifteen:
Midnight Wanderings
and
Return to Naboo
As far as distance went, the new apartment was near my old room, but the differences were huge. I could tell immediately that it was one of the larger Master-Padawan configurations, similar to the one I'd shared with Sifo-Dyas. And I wouldn't have to share the 'fresher with more than a dozen other Knights.
I definitely don't mind a few creature comforts.
Without a single complaint, Anakin slipped into a set of standard-issue pajamas and went right to sleep; he'd been even more exhausted than I'd thought. Of course, if I was converting the time correctly, it was fairly late on Tatooine, not just nine in the evening. Watching sunrise together was a distinct possibility.
And while his bed was decently sized, actually bigger than the one I'd had before, mine was luxuriously huge. Strange dreams had sometimes ended with me in a tangle of sheets on the floor, but that certainly wouldn't be happening here. All my clothing had been neatly arranged in the closet, and my holobook was in the nightstand's top drawer.
The rest, I decided, could be explored in the morning.
I woke abruptly to a dark room and groaned. The desk chrono provided the only light, reading 12:09. But the tug on my heart and mind was insistent, so I grabbed a nightrobe and felt my way out to the corridor. The lights were turned down low, leaving just enough to navigate by, and I followed the pull of the Force.
The door it led me to was familiar, and yes, it was locked. But I could sense Master Dooku awake on the other side, a jumbled, seething mass of raw emotion, and tripped the lock to go inside. He had sat down in the middle of the living area, with two distinctive, curved lightsabers on the floor in front of him.
Komari Vosa's lightsabers.
"I failed her." The whispered words were filled with despair and self-recrimination. "I killed her."
~Oh, kriffing hells.~
"What happened?"
"I told her about the decision on her Trials." The older man put a hand over his eyes as he drew in a ragged breath. "And she left. I thought she just wanted to be alone for a while." He looked up, and I bit back a shocked gasp at the tears streaking his normally inscrutable face.
"She did something rash, didn't she?"
"She went to Baltizaar with four young Knights. They failed to report back on schedule, and the recovery team found two bodies. They brought these back, as well. She's… gone."
I'd heard rumors about a cult killing citizens somewhere in the Corenthia Sector, and Baltizaar was smack dab in the middle of it. ~Of all the lack-witted places to let someone like her go…~
"You did not kill her," I insisted, kneeling and reaching out to my sparring partner. "She chose to go. You are not responsible for her actions."
"I didn't make sure that she stayed in the Temple…"
"Komari is twenty-seven, Yan," I snapped. I knew it was disrespectful to call him by his given name without permission, but he needed to be pulled out of this surly funk, and I would yank any chain necessary to do so. "She is more than old enough to know right from wrong. She chose to do the wrong thing, Yan. And you cannot control her choices."
"I thought I taught her better!" He pulled away physically, his posture becoming more confrontational; I considered that a big improvement. "I trusted her!"
"And she abused your trust. It happens to us all at some point. Either you accept that and move on, or you can tear yourself to pieces over something you can't control. Which are you going to do, Yan?" He'd risen to a crouch as I spoke.
"I will not be used."
"You know what I think happened?" I continued, probing at the obviously tender subject. "Komari blamed you for all of her shortcomings, and she wanted to hurt you. That's why she went on that mission, why she put herself in such danger. To make you feel guilty when she was the one who failed despite what you tried to teach her."
"No one makes me do anything." Now there was the response I wanted. "She may have hurt me, but I refuse to let her break me." As though a pressure valve had suddenly vented, Master Dooku's body relaxed, and he eventually looked up to meet my eyes. "Thank you, Serra. I… suppose I needed that."
"You're quite welcome," I said as brightly as I could manage. A yawn sneaked up on me, and he chuckled as I tried to stifle it.
"Spar later? When it's actually light out?"
"As long as you don't mind my Padawan coming along." He blinked in surprise.
"Did someone lose their marbles long enough for you to pick out an Initiate?" I chuckled at the reference to my long-standing but informal banishment from the crèche.
"No, no… he's spent the last two-thirds of his life on Tatooine, actually."
"And the Council's still letting you train him?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "This I have to hear." I shrugged.
"It's not like they got much of a choice, since the training bond had reached full strength before we even got in-system. Either they let me train him here, or we leave the Order. Your former Padawan and his Padawan backed me up." ~Not to mention that those manipulative beings probably want to keep the Chosen One under their 'control.'~ "Ani has a vast amount of raw power… Something, ah, weird happened while I was reporting to the Council—they were rather put out that I'd joined Qui-Gon's mission without consulting them—and he broke through the shielding and yelled in everyone's minds when he felt part of what I did. Worried him half to death. Only then did they actually listen."
"Impressive." His expression conveyed more than the single word, and he sat back down, more relaxed. "How did you find him? And how did Qui-Gon's mission to Naboo end up on Tatooine, of all places?" I made myself a bit more comfortable and began telling him about the entire situation, only to interrupt myself with another yawn.
"Sorry," I murmured. "Long day, not enough sleep yet." He smiled slightly, shaking his head.
"Go back to bed, Serra," he insisted. "You can tell me later. I want an opponent, not a pushover, to spar with. And if you think the boy would be interested in watching… How about ten thirty, in our usual gym?"
"That'll work just fine for us… unless Amidala decides she wants to go home first thing in the morning."
"Indeed. Go on, I'll talk to Qui-Gon at a sane hour." I threw him a mock salute, conceding the discussion, before leaving.
Of course, deciding to return to Naboo was one of the first things Padmé did that morning, at least that I heard about. Still, Master Dooku made time to see us all off, and an effort to ease Anakin's mind about our safety.
"Your Master will be fine, young one. Between her, my old Padawan, and my grand-Padawan, they will handle this Sith Lord. They are in the highest ranks of the Order's fighters." Then he straightened, clasping my hand firmly. "Thank you again for that kick in the rear." I grinned wryly.
"I'm glad I was able to help, my friend. We'll have that sparring match when I get back?"
"Naturally. Safe travels, Serra." Then he turned to greet Obi-Wan briefly before gripping Qui-Gon's arm and getting pulled into a back-slapping hug, followed by a brief, low-voiced, but intense discussion.
We reached the Senate landing pad well before the political contingent, and it was obvious that repair crews had been over the cruiser with a fine-toothed comb; it was ready to go on a moment's notice, save for its passengers. Artoo was there, rolling down the ramp and warbling a greeting at full volume. He and Anakin moved to the edge of the platform to watch the traffic as the other three of us talked tactics.
"Definitely don't go after him without someone to cover your back," I noted. "There's something different about his lightsaber, something extra, or its hilt wouldn't be so long. I just can't figure out what that 'something' is."
"Yes, we must stay on guard, alert," Qui-Gon added. "There's no telling when he'll attack, only that he will."
"With tattoos like the ones you described, I'd imagine that he would choose a critical time, one where many others will be there to witness an open challenge. I doubt he's one to stay hidden when such an opportunity arises." Obi-Wan wore an intent frown as he analyzed our meager observations of the Dark Sider we'd seen just the once. I got the feeling that strategy and tactics were simply natural to him… at least when he wasn't concentrating too hard on the fact that he was using them.
Surprisingly, when the politicos arrived, the Queen and her handmaidens were dressed in a manner similar to Captain Panaka's uniform, done up in maroon velvet with gold trim. Light makeup and an elaborately styled headdress marked one girl as the monarch, but for now, it wasn't Padmé.
"Artoo!" My head snapped around at my Padawan's shout, but the droid was nowhere to be seen. Then a slight roar accompanied the astromech's reappearance, propelled by a rocket in either 'leg.' "Don't do that," it was told firmly. "It's not nice to scare someone like that, especially if you want to be friends with them." The blue-and-white droid whistled apologetically.
"The moment we land, the Federation will arrest you and force you to sign their treaty," Panaka said, obviously trying to change the mind of the 'Queen.' Padmé shot me a devious little grin.
"I agree, Your Highness," Qui-Gon told the girl in the face-paint. "I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by this."
"I'm going to take back what is ours." There was durasteel in the decoy's voice, and I applauded mentally.
"There are only a dozen of us, Your Highness," the captain protested, waving an arm toward the small cluster of uniformed men. "We have no army to fight the droids."
"And we can only go so far as to protect you," Master Jinn added. "The Senate would have to authorize any act of war."
"Jar Jar Binks," the girl called, turning toward the Gungan.
"Meesa, Yer Highness?"
"Yes. I need your help."
~Great, just wonderful. Heading into enemy-held territory, and we're relying on Binks. This is going to be such a mess.~