Chapter 57
No one dared challenge the stately Jedi master as he pushed his way through the patrons of the dingy cantina. He was an intimidating enough presence even if he did look out of place, and none of the sort these types of places attracted wanted trouble with the Jedi. His nostrils flared, his patrician nose twitching at the noxious mixture of cheap liquor and body odor. If the Force presence wasn't so unmistakable, he would have left long ago. The audacity – a Jedi padawan at a place like this and he was not even bothering to shield.
The crowds finally parted enough, allowing him to catch sight of the object of his search. The young man saw him too, visibly sighing as he whispered something to the lithe Twi'lek draped across his lap.
"Master Dooku," Xanatos acknowledged with a casual nod of his head. Blatant disrespect – a Jedi padawan always stood when an elder entered the room. He would learn.
Reaching out, Dooku grabbed a fistful of tunics and yanked the young man over the table and to his feet, sending the Twi'lek falling and several empty glasses crashing to the floor.
"I am astonished that you feel this is acceptable behavior for a Jedi padawan," Dooku rebuked sternly. "Do you have any idea what hour it is?"
"As long as I keep up with my training, my free time is my own," Xanatos bit back.
"Yes, I am well aware of how Qui-Gon indulges you." Dooku released his grip and smoothed the shoulders of the young man's cloak before straightening his braid over one shoulder. "However, my former pupil has left you in my care for the duration of his current assignment."
"He asked you to oversee my training." Xanatos pushed the older man's hands away. "I am hardly a youngling who needs care."
"Perhaps." The Jedi master flashed a stern smile. "But you lack discipline."
"I rank highly among my peers in training … have excelled in all my studies … have successfully completed two solo missions. I think that speaks for my discipline."
Xanatos turned and started out of the cantina, slapping the credits to cover his tab down on the bar before leaving. Dooku trailed him out into the alley before grabbing the young man's shoulder and spinning him around.
"What do you want from me, Old Man?" Xanatos snarled.
"What is your goal in life?"
"To become a Jedi knight." Xanatos spread his hands to the side and offered a curt bow. "Then, a Jedi master."
"And beyond that?"
"What? Sit on the Council?" Xanatos let out a chuckle. "I'll clue you in. That's never going to happen. They don't like me, and the feeling is mutual."
"So, you've already given up on anything extraordinary …"
"Look!" Xanatos interrupted. "I'm sorry if you're bitter that the Council has overlooked your obvious brilliance and that Qui-Gon seems to not feel the Force is leading him to kiss up to the Council," Xanatos mocked. "And apparently I'm a pretty big disappointment to you also. Better luck with the next …"
The sharp slap left a red mark across one pale cheek. Those midnight blue eyes shifted, anger burning through the half-drunken haze. Dooku had definitely gotten the young man's attention.
"My master will hear that you struck me," Xanatos threatened.
"I am sure there is a lot he will hear about." Dooku latched onto the young man's arm and began to drag him toward the waiting speeder. "A little discipline will do you good while your master is away. You only think you have worked hard before now."
Xanatos had chosen the small spaceport, remembering it from his days on undercover assignments as an information hub for many of the unsavory sorts in the galaxy. It was likely that Dooku had eyes and ears here. He and the Council had agreed that seeking Dooku out was not an option. It was too obvious. Xanatos had to draw Dooku to him. After speaking with Yoda, they had agreed that the best way was to tempt the older man's sense of superiority. Now he was beginning to doubt himself.
Xanatos rubbed a hand across tired eyes, dragging it down across a stubbled cheek as he reached into the Force to clear his mind. He reached for the half-empty glass in front of him and finished off the contents. His face twisted into a grimace as he added the empty glass to the small collection in front of him. If nothing happened soon, the Council was going to begin to wonder if he had decided to genuinely drink himself into oblivion instead of just appearing to do so. Hopefully word of the bar fight the previous night hadn't gotten back to them.
He focused his thoughts and pushed the doubts away. Dooku would come.
{Master, I wish I could ask your advice on how to deal with Dooku.}
Xanatos had no doubt that Qui-Gon could hear him and at times got brief flickers of something that passed for communication with the deceased master, but that was all. A slight warming along the former training bond brought a smile to his face.
{If I screw this up and get myself killed, I know Obi-Wan will take care of Anakin. You will have to take care of Obi-Wan.}
There was a hint of laughter, as though it was something he even had to ask.
"Can I get you something else, Honey?"
Xanatos closed his eyes, once again pushing away the fog that lurked just on the fringes of his consciousness. If he drank anymore, he would officially reach the impaired point and that wasn't a good thing when dealing with Sith lords.
"Not thirsty." He smiled before offering a teasing touch to the young woman's arm and pulling her into his lap. "Maybe you could just sit here and keep me company."
"Somehow I think you'd be nothing but trouble," she flirted back as she ran fingers down his face, her fingertips lingering on the scar that marred his cheek.
Xanatos was coming up with a fitting retort when he felt the first ripple in the fabric of the Force, a probe of darkness searching out his presence. It sent an involuntary shudder down his spine.
"Go in the back and find something to do or hide," he whispered hurriedly as he pushed the young woman off his lap.
She began to protest, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. Xanatos pressed a finger to her lips and offered a smile. "Just go," he soothed. "Someone is looking for me, and you may not want to be in here when he finds me."
She offered him a backwards glance, but complied, disappearing into a back room not a moment too soon.
"Xanatos," came a refined voice. "I suppose it is only fitting that I come and pick you up off a cantina floor yet again."
Xanatos pushed the haze from his mind, reaching to the Force for clarity. He quickly stood and turned, knocking glasses to the floor as he pretended to stumble. "Get away from me … Sith," he spat, raising his saber as he made the appearance of steadying himself with his other hand on the table.
"You were hardly a match for me sober," Dooku said with a chuckle. "Surely you won't do much better as a drunk."
"I'm not a drunk."
Xanatos braced himself as he felt the Dark side stir right before a powerful Force push sent him flying over the bar. Patrons were already scrambling as he knocked drinks away and landed roughly on a pile of alcohol-soaked broken glass. He cautiously got to his feet, one thought giving him comfort. It was clear that Dooku was only toying with him.
Xanatos launched himself back over the counter, purposely opening himself up to another attack. It defied all logic, but he was supposed to be drunk and sloppy. He was met with a barstool that shoved him into the bar. He sat for a moment dazed, aware of a trickle of blood streaming down the side of his face. Dooku approached, hovering over him as he stared down that damned aristocratic nose.
"What do you want with me, Old Man?" Xanatos demanded.
"The same as I have always wanted – for you to recognize your own considerable potential."
"Still not happy?" Xanatos murmured sarcastically.
"I will admit to a certain amount of pride. I had never thought you would obtain the rank of Jedi Master or take on the responsibility of an apprentice, but I have come to realize there is a deeper potential in you, one the Council clearly does not appreciate."
Dark tendrils of the Force slithered around his mind, serpents ready to raise up and strike. Xanatos slammed down his shields. "The Dark side?" he let out a humorless chuckle. "All it has ever done is cost me."
"Only because you fear it instead of embracing it."
Dooku yanked Xanatos to his feet by a fistful of tunics before dragging him up the stairs and depositing him roughly onto the bed in the Jedi master's rented room.
"Clean yourself up. Tomorrow, when you aren't so … impaired … we will discuss your future."
Dooku left, the door sliding shut behind him. The Sith's presence stayed nearby indicating that escape, even if he desired it, was not an option. The fact that he had left Xanatos armed meant that he expected his offer to not be refused.
Xanatos rubbed a hand down his face. He had been successful, which only meant that his situation was about to become more complicated and dangerous. Sliding a portable transmission device from its hiding place, he sent one encoded transmission. "Bait taken."
Settling down onto his stomach on the sleep couch, Xanatos slid his hands under his pillow, saber clutched firmly within grasp. It was a habit he had grown out of since Anakin had come into his life, but one he knew he needed to quickly learn again.
Anakin glanced across the Shahmat board, fingers hovering over one piece indecisively. He glanced up at his opponent. Ben's gaze was directed towards the board, chiseled and calm, giving him nothing to work with at all. With a sigh, Anakin settled on a piece and moved.
Brown eyes shifted to meet him after a moment before Ben picked up one of the black pieces and settled it back down a few spaces away. "It's your move again and you're in trouble."
Anakin whispered a curse under his breath as he surveyed his pieces. Ben got up and walked toward the small kitchen area to check on dinner.
"I know where every piece is on that board. I will know if you move anything," he called out. "Besides, Ruo will tell me."
Anakin looked over to where his friend's apprentice was stretched out on the couch with a datapad. "Your master just accused me of being a cheat."
"Are you?" she asked with a mischievous smile.
"Exactly when have I ever cheated?" Anakin protested as he followed Ben into the kitchen. He was hit with the mouth-watering aroma of nerf stew, the recipe that Qui-Gon had passed down to his padawans.
A sudden wave of homesickness washed over Anakin. The stew was a favorite of Xanatos' and the savory smell made him wish he was back in his quarters with his master - not staying in Obi-Wan's spare room. He reached up to where his braid had hung up until the previous evening. It had been severed by Obi-Wan in a mock knighting ceremony.
"Are you okay, Anakin?" Ben asked.
"Yeah." Anakin shrugged and offered a half-hearted smile. "Obi-Wan better hurry up. I'm starved."
"I know you're worried about him. In fact, I would be going mad if I was in your shoes," Ben offered, resting a hand on his friend's shoulders. "From what my master tells me, this is what Master Xanatos did before he took you as a padawan. He knows what he's doing."
"Thanks," Anakin said. "I am just running out of distractions."
"You're right. We should get out of the Temple tomorrow," Ben suggested as he pulled some bowls out of the cabinet.
"Should we finish our game?" Anakin asked.
"Master Obi-Wan is almost here and it's my game in two moves," Ben replied with a cringe.
"I honestly don't know why I play with you. I mean, didn't you beat Master Yoda?"
"That was a draw," Ben replied as both young men returned to the sitting room to greet Obi-Wan. Ben was the first to notice the serious expression on his master's face.
"What is it, Master?"
"We received a short message from Xanatos?"
"And ..?" Anakin practically interrupted.
"Dooku has taken the bait."
"That's good," Ben said. "At least I think that's good."
"It is," Anakin said. His master had survived his initial meeting with Dooku and was in a state of being able to send a transmission. The young man's momentary relief was tempered with the knowledge that the real danger was now beginning.