LordDarthYoda - You got the basic point. Think of it this way. We have rules in our politics, then someone came along and broke all the rules, but no one had the ability to stand up to them. Now Dooku's got almost unofficial control of all of Serenno, which I've always seen described as a very rich world. Plus, as a Jedi if he wanted to make more money, I'm sure he could manage to make more!

SpeechBubbleme - Dooku's fun to write, because he's very intelligent, and a master strategist. You never really can tell how much he knows... And yes, the Jedi's plan goes off the rails almost immediately, and it continues to go off the rails as all things tend to do :). I couldn't find anything that confirms Dooku's first name, so I'll just continue to call him Dooku. Would be really helpful if he had a first name though :p

A/N - I got nothing.

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 25: Mistakes

Tyra Harker hated the moments before a mission. When she was in the thick of a mission she was rarely ever nervous, but the moments before a mission started, her mind always seemed to drift to the potential ways that the mission could go wrong. And this one could go wrong in so many, many ways.

"One day you will not be so nervous," said Teff. The Twi'lek was behind her, dressed in gray and black fatigues that concealed most of his identifying features.

"Then that will be the day I mess up," said Tyra, checking her clothing to make sure it was concealing her as much as possible. Generally, Tyra hated sneaking around. She much preferred to show up in full Jedi regalia and use the power that being a Jedi implied. Sneaking around, also implied that she was doing something wrong. And tonight, she was feeling like she was doing something wrong. Breaking into Dooku's (or Count Dooku as he liked to be known) home was not exactly going to be a walk in the park. It was morally dubious, but with Dooku off attending the Tykon Summit, there wasn't going to be a better chance to go snooping around his estate. It didn't make her feel any more morally superior though.

Tyra looked over at her Master and nodded, indicating that she was ready to begin. The Twi'lek wasted no time, sprinting quickly towards the first of many buildings on the Dooku estate. Though the estate was guarded by both droids the living, it had been trivial to slip inside the perimeter of the sprawling estate. Dooku's estate was set up to catch beings of ordinary abilities, not extraordinary beings.

Dooku's estate had seven main buildings of similar size, all connected by a series of underground walkways. It was heavily guarded on the outside, but like most families on Serenno, it did not rely heavily on defences inside of the compound to keep it safe. The facade of power and security was often enough to keep potential thieves away. That and the punishment for theft from one of the powerful families was often death without a trial. That was a fate that Tyra really wanted to avoid.

As Tyra and Teff skulked towards the buiding, the first thing that she noticed was that in the large, rectangular buildings that made up Dooku's estate, was that there were way too many lights on inside of them. It was far after sundown on Serenno, but no one, not even someone as rich as Dooku left so many lights on if no one was home. As the two Jedi reached the wall, Tyra reached out and touched Teff, to tell him to slow down. She reached out with her senses in the Force and found two familiar presences not far from her.

Nara Nalto and Sascha Whitestar.

But why the hell were Sascha and Nara in Dooku's home? Had they been captured?

Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto were enduring the most awkward speeder ride of their lives. After leaving their ship on the platform, Dooku had summoned his luxury speeder along with his personal driver, so that they could all be delivered to the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit.

Dooku's luxury speeder was by far the nicest speeder Sascha had ever been in. The seats in the back (a self-contained unit on its own, separate from the main part of the speeder with the propulsion), conformed to his body as he sank deeper into the seat. It was extraordinarily comfortable, physically speaking. There even seemed to be a fine mist released into the air, making everything slightly cool inside.

Yet it was the incredible awkwardness of being in close proximity with Dooku that was the only thing Sascha could think about. He and Nara sat close together, almost shoulder to shoulder, while Dooku sat across from them, occasionally looking at his datapad and occasionally looking up to ask a question or two of them.

The questions Dooku asked were mostly innocuous, just asking who their Masters were, what they thought of Serenno, why they thought attending this Summit might be a good idea. Sascha tried not to be blunt or rude, but given the situation, he thought it was best that the answers he gave were short and to the point.

Dooku glanced out the window, "We are almost here. Are you ready?"

Nara smiled, "A Jedi is always ready, Master Dooku."

Dooku smiled back placidly, "I am no longer Master Dooku, I left the Jedi Order and relinquished my title there."

Nara didn't seem phased, "I'm aware, Master Dooku, I will continue to call you that based on the years you faithfully served the Jedi Order."

A flash of what might have been annoyance came across Dooku's face before it vanished. "That is very polite of you, perhaps you are diplomats after all."

"We try," said Sascha.

"How are you enjoying being a Padawan?" asked Dooku.

"It's challenging," Sascha answered truthfully. "I learn something new everyday though, and sometimes, that feels like that is enough."

"Plus, helping people always feels good," said Nara.

"Don't you feel like you can be doing more?" asked Dooku benignly.

"I don't know," said Sascha honestly. "Sometimes it feels like we sit inside our Temple when we should be doing something and helping people. But we are both still young Padawans, we still don't understand a lot of things."

"I think you understand more than you are letting on," said Dooku. "You both seem to be fairly intelligent young Jedi. You just don't want to voice your displeasure with someone who is no longer a part of the Order."

"That might be part of it as well," said Nara enigmatically.

Dooku smirked, but said nothing.

The speeder slowed down and Sascha took a brief look outside. They were in a highly urban area, outside a tall building that Sascha assumed was the Glickly Convention Centre, the large, sprawling building that was hosting the Tykon Youth Leadership Summit.

As the speeder halted, Sascha moved to open the door, but found that the door was locked. He cast a worried look towards Dooku who watched him with an amused look on his face. Sascha's heart dropped for a second and he started reaching towards his lightsaber, when the door opened of its own accord. Sascha almost tumbled out of the speeder but managed to keep his balance.

It took half a second for Sascha to realize that with a luxury speeder like this, someone was going to come around and open the door for him. He glanced back at Dooku, who looked even more amused. Nara was trying to suppress a laugh and not doing a very good job.

Sascha, his ego wounded, stepped out of the speeder and into the sunlight of Serenno. He nodded at the well dressed human that was obviously Dooku's personal driver. Following him out of the speeder was Dooku. Nara followed behind him.

"Traditionally I would be the first to exit," said Dooku. "But I appreciate you attempting to be my bodyguard."

Sascha blushed, "Yes, Master Dooku. An honest mistake"

"No doubt. Let us make our entrance."

An hour later, Sascha felt like he might be able to breathe again. Though the organizers at the check in desk had been surprised to see Dooku (and to a lesser extent, two Jedi Padawans), they had bent over backwards to accommodate them. The first real event of the Summit didn't start until tomorrow, tonight was just the formal welcoming gala, which he was sure would be fun. He and Nara had not brought any special clothing, so he was sure that they would look quite dour in their robes, compared to what everyone else would be wearing. The fact that Nara was not complaining about was a testament to how shook up both Jedi were. And continued to be.

For the had a problem. Dooku hadn't left yet. And with Dooku around, there was still the chance of everything going horribly wrong.

Dooku was holding court with some of the attendees of the conference hanging off his every word. In contrast, he and Nara had a small group of people that had spotted them and been brave enough to approach the two Padawans. Mostly the group, which consisted of beings from across the galaxy, seemed to be happy to meet with the Jedi, though several had pointed criticism for the Jedi in the Republic. It was all cordial, as might be expected of an event like this, but it was a sign that the young people in the Republic didn't necessarily fawn over the Jedi.

"What do you think of Count Dooku being here?" asked one young Fosh woman.

"I'm glad that he is here," he said. "Having support from the local elites is always a good thing. We are glad for his assistance in helping relocate this event on short notice."

"You don't think of him as a traitor to the Jedi?" the Fosh continued.

"No. He made his choice. He has never betrayed the Jedi Order," to my knowledge, he almost added.

"We even shared a ride here today," said Nara. "There's no ill will between the Jedi Order and Dooku."

"What do you think about Count Dooku's comments on the Jedi Order being obsolete?" asked a Gran.

"I respect his opinion," he said patiently, "But I would also disagree. For obvious reasons."

"Would you say that the Jedi should do more to evolve alongside the Republic?" asked a Twi'lek.

"I think that like any institution, the Jedi have become set in their ways to a certain extent," he responded. "I personally would like the Jedi Order to address the root causes of some issues, rather than dealing with the results."

"And how would you do that without overstepping your authority?" the same Twi'lek asked.

He held his hands up, "I don't know. I think we need to work with local governments more, as opposed to waiting for a call for help."

That answer set off a small debate amongst the assembled crowd, and Sascha and Nara were more than happy to take a step back from being the focus of the debate. Then, at an opportune moment, he pulled Nara off to the side where they could talk in private, "Dooku's still here."

"I noticed," replied Nara. "He can't suspect us of anything though. He had plenty of chances to detain us, throw us off planet, or throw us in prison."

Sascha crossed his arms across his chest, "Agreed. So why is he still here?"

Nara glanced over at the crowd surrounding Dooku, "I don't know."

Sascha wasn't sure why he was expecting Nara to have the answers to his question, but he was flummoxed nonetheless. "Here's a slightly easier question at least...where are we staying overnight?"

"We didn't get accommodations?" asked Nara.

"I was pretty sure that they came with being a part of the Summit," he replied. "But as we are sort of crashing this party, I'm not sure. Let's go ask someone at the front desk."

"We can always rent a hotel somewhere if we don't have accommodations," said Nara, ever the optimist.

"Let's just check with the front desk."

The two Jedi picked their way through the crowd and before long they were in line at the front desk, which was a temporary desk that had been set up in the main foyer of the Glickly Convention Centre. As there were only a few people in front of them, Sascha and Nara were seen to quickly.

The desk was manned by a forty-something woman who looked tired but energized. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tidy ponytail as she flicked through the three datapads that were set out in front of her. "How can I help you?" she asked before looking up. "...Master Jedi," she added.

Sascha let Nara take the lead. Nara put on her most winning smile, "I was wondering about accommodations. I understand that we arrived uninvited, but is there perhaps a room that Sascha and I could stay in during the event? We'd only need one room."

"Staying in a room with you is such a joy, Nara," he joked.

The woman ignored his playful joke, "Hmmm...all the attendees of the Summit were assigned rooms, but with the even being moved to Serenno at such a late date, we don't really have any to spare. Let me check though," The woman rifled through her assorted datapads which what was really frightening speed. Sascha stood there, amazed and entranced until the woman looked back up, "No, I'm sorry, we don't have anything available for tonight, perhaps some of the delegations will not show up, so I could maybe get your something for tomorrow?'

"That's okay," said Nara, still smiling, "We'll go and find lodging for ourselves. Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure, Master Jedi." The woman waved the next person in line to her desk, "Next!"

The two Padawans headed for the exit, intent on flagging down a speeder that would take them to a hotel with some vacancies. On their way to the exit, like a looming specter, was Count Dooku.

The two Padawans tried to ignore Dooku, but like something out of a bad dream, Dooku stepped into their path, "Leaving so soon, Padawans?"

"It turns out we don't have a hotel to stay in," he said politely. "Nara and I were just going to going to see if we can find a hotel to stay in."

"That's preposterous, is there nothing the management can do?" asked Dooku.

Sascha became aware that a crowd was starting to surround and observe them. He also realized that Dooku was playing to the crowd, trying to seem sympathetic to the future leaders of these planets. What Dooku's endgame was, he had no idea. He was starting to get some ideas though.

"We talked to the staff at the front," said Nara, calmly placing her hands behind her back. "There are no available vacancies. Really, Master Dooku, it's no problem. We'll be right back."

"I see," said Dooku, placing a hand on his chin, "Well I have plenty of room at my estate, I'd be happy to have you as honored guests during your stay."

Sascha couldn't quite conceal his dread at that scenario. The less time spend around Dooku, the better. Though he had no idea what the other parts of the team were doing, he didn't want to put the others at risk by having them be around. "We couldn't possibly..."

"I insist," said Dooku, putting a little steel into his voice.

Sascha briefly looked over at Nara. The Togruta seemed to be unhappy with the way this conversation was going. It wasn't like they could turn down Dooku's seemingly benevolent offer, especially in public.

"Of course, Master Dooku, if we will not be a burden for you."

"You will not be a burden," Dooku assured them in his velvet voice, "You are honored guests. As is everyone here."

Sascha bowed politely to Dooku, showing his respect and gratitude. Nara aped his movement a half-second later.

A night of dancing at the opening banquet and then sleeping at Chez Dooku. What could possibly go wrong. Judging by the way this mission was going, Sascha was just waiting for the first thing to go right.

Tyra Harker tugged on her Master's sleeve, "We should go."

"Go? We are almost inside Dooku's compound already!" Teff hissed.

"Sascha and Nara are inside," she said.

"What?"

"I can feel their presences nearby in the Force," she whispered. "They have to be inside, somewhere."

"They must be prisoners of Dooku," said Teff, gripping his lightsaber tightly.

"We don't know that," Tyra said patiently. "Sascha and Nara's presence in the Force doesn't seem to indicate that. We should regroup and see what we can find out. If they have been captured, they'll still be here tomorrow."

Teff looked around furtively, before nodding, "We will come back tomorrow with better information," he said. "Now lets make sure we get out of here unscathed."

The Master and Padawan duo stealthily retraced their steps and made their way back to the speeder that they had rented. A safe escape.

"Thank you for listening to me," said Tyra.

Teff shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the road in this unfamiliar world, "You were correct to temper my enthusiasm." Teff grinned slightly, "You know that I am always willing to take risks. I am glad that I have become better at choosing the right risks since picking you as my Padawan."

"You mean you've gotten better at listening to me," she replied.

"Take the compliment I've already given you, Padwan."

Tyra smiled to herself. She wasn't as close with her Master as Sascha was with his Master, but they had a very solid working relationship. This was as close to a 'good job' as she was going to get.

"I'm going to call Master Brynar, okay?" she said.

"Put it on speaker so I my participate." said Teff.

"Of course, Master."

Tyra's call to Sascha's Master was picked up after a few rings, "It's late, Padawan Harker, this better be good."

"Yes, Master Brynar," she said. "Well, it's not good...well I'm not sure what it is..." she trailed off.

"Spit it out, please," said Aurine.

"We went to Dooku's compound," she said, finding her words again. "We were almost inside, but when I reached into the Force, I sensed that Sascha and Nara were inside. We decided to abandon the mission and we left."

"Were you detected?" asked Tiplee, who was obviously now part of the conversation as well.

"No, we were never spotted," Tyra confirmed. "But Sascha and Nara.."

"Did you sense that they were in danger?" asked Aurine.

"No..." admitted Tyra. "But I only glanced into the Force briefly. I wanted to remained cloaked in the Force as much as possible."

"They were probably asleep," added Teff, "Given the time it was."

"I don't know what the Padawans are doing," said Aurine. "But they made some minor headlines by showing up at the Youth Leadership Summit without an invitation. Dooku also made an appearance at the opening event, so they probably spotted each other there. It seems unlikely that anything nefarious happened with both of them in the public eye." Aurine sighed, "But you never know. I guess Tiplee or myself will try to make contact with them tommorow to make sure that they are okay."

"Don't they have their comlinks?" asked Teff.

"They do," replied Tiplee. "However if they are at Dooku's compound, as you suggest, then making a call to their comlinks could be intercepted. I sensed no panic or pain from my Padawan, so I doubt that they are in danger. I'm sure there is some sort of logical explanation that eludes me at the moment."

Tyra glanced out the window and saw that they were almost back to Tefhit city, the closest major city to Dooku's compound. "We will await word, but our plan for tomorrow is to infiltrate Dooku's compound again and go snooping around. Who knows what we can find."

"I suspect that Dooku is not careless enough to leave incriminating info laying around," said Tiplee. "But I'll admit it is worth the risk."

"We'll do some more snooping of our own during the day," said Teff.

"Stay safe, Master Nal'ma, Padawan Harker," said Aurine. "We'll update you on the status of the Padawan, if we find anything."

"Keep in touch, Master Brynar," said Teff.

"Thank you for interrupting my sleep," said Aurine wryly.

"You were snoring anyways," said Tiplee.

"How was I snoring loud enough for you to hear me? We sleep in different rooms..."

Tyra shut off the comlink.

"Aren't you glad that you don't have Aurine as your Master?" asked Teff

"Yes, Master," said Tyra truthfully.

"We will try again tomorrow," said Teff. "Tomorrow we will find what we need from Dooku."

Somehow, Tyra Harker didn't think it would be that easy. Please be okay, Sascha. Please be okay, Nara.