38 BBY

Though you wouldn't think it while meeting with him, as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda has had dealings with every kind of scandal you could think of. Though they were all connected to the Force, and Yoda saw to it that they all took their duties as Jedi seriously, the unfortunate truth was that when a youngling became a padawan they stepped out into the world on their own for the first time, and all the powerful temptations that could bring.

Over the course of his hundreds of years as a Master in the ways of the Jedi, Yoda had seen drug addictions, gambling debts, prostitution rings, bribery, and of course, the most dangerous vice of them all, love. Nothing could ensnare the mind of a young jedi like love. Long ago Yoda had lost count of the number of children born from these illicit unions that he'd had to deal with, and the number of padawans who'd left the Order.

In the end the Council almost always had to deliver the ultimatum. Choose, will you leave the Temple or stay? So often Yoda just didn't have the heart to do it himself. It was particularly difficult for pregnant young padawans, who could feel the life growing inside them through the force. In those cases he always delegated to a female master, preferably of the same baseline species as the padawan. Those were always the worst cases.

Today, Yoda almost wished for one of those instead.

Dooku was one of the Grand Master's greatest regrets. The current Count of Serenno was the greatest jedi of his generation, and the most skilled duelist in the order, a hero to many in the temple, and padawan to Yoda himself. Now he was gone, and his faith in the order and in the Grand Master were completely crushed.

Some part of Yoda hoped that Dooku would found a jedi temple of his own in the Outer Rim. He was certainly qualified enough to do it, and well connected with the nobility out there. That was why Yoda had told Dooku to keep his lightsaber when he left. An offshoot of the order present in the Outer Rim could do a lot to help the people of that troubled region. A temple there could do a lot to prevent fires, instead of forcing the jedi to constantly rush around putting them out.

Such a thing might have even brought Dooku peace. A good project to put his charisma and vigor to work on. Even as a sixty year old man Dooku was incredibly energetic, with a naturally dignified presence that would be well suited for the head of an order. That was what Yoda hoped, and even expected from the way the Count talked about the failings of the Jedi Order.

"Know you, how to be a Grand Master, then show me. Please."

Instead the Count married and had a child.

To say that Yoda was disappointed was an understatement. Dooku had spoken for so long about the Outer Rim and helping those who lived there, and when he finally had that chance he instead chose to settle down.

If Dooku had married for love, Yoda would at least be able to understand, but instead what he saw was deeply troubling. At the wedding Yoda had been disgusted to see gangster Hutts, Mandalorian warlords, Trade Federation lone sharks and a young woman who was terrified by the marriage being thrust upon her.

The call took a long time. Some Jedi liked to joke that calling the Outer Rim from Coruscant was up to the will of the force. The further the signal had to travel through hyperspace, the more chances there were of interference. Often a call simply wouldn't connect, or cut out part way through.

While waiting for his holoprojector to connect, Yoda contemplated what he was going to say to his former student. This was official business, he could talk to him as Grandmaster of the Order, but then if he were to try and bring the weight of his office to bear it would be more effective with the rest of the council there. No, today, Yoda was calling to talk to an old friend. This was better dealt with as a small issue that had emerged between old friends. Surely, when the whole situation was explained to him, Dooku would see reason.

Yes, Yoda was certain.

Finally he connected through to a protocol droid, who then went to find the Count.

"Master Yoda." Dooku looked well in the grainy cast of the holoprojection. It was hard to see when everything was toned blue by the projector, but there was a difference in color between the hair at Dooku's temples and the crown of his head. He was slowly succumbing to the influence of time. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Not a pleasant call, this is, I fear." Yoda let his reluctance be known. "Concerning your child, a prophecy is."

Dooku's lips pursed ever so slightly. "The Order knows of my daughter, then."

"Yes. When born she was, many in the temple felt her voice in the force. She was your daughter, realized we did, you quieted her, we felt." Yoda tried to smile for his old friend. "Some congratulations, in order. Strong in the force, she is."

"I see." Dooku didn't sound pleased. "And now someone has had a prophecy regarding her."

"Yes." Yoda nodded. "Originally, wise it was seen, by a majority of the Council, that you train your own."

"And now?"

"Another vote, there will be." Yoda lowered his head. "Requested, I did, to allow to speak to the council, you."

There was a moment where Dooku seemed upset, bordering on furious, but soon he bowed his head. "Thank you my old master, for giving me this chance to speak to the council."

"A small thing, it is."

"A small thing indeed for a father to have a chance to speak about his own child's future." Dooku's voice was caustic and bitter.

Yoda restrained a sigh. He hadn't meant for his courtesy to Dooku to be received as condescension. Instead he said, "Look forward to seeing you, I do."

"...I will be on Coruscant soon." Dooku replied, before hanging up.

Yoda sighed and put his holocaster away. That had been far from the friendly call he'd hoped it would be to settle a simple matter between old friends and colleagues.

Athemeene seriously couldn't believe that her wise husband thought he'd be going to Coruscant alone! Without saying a word to her, he'd ordered a droid to pack his things and was on his way to his personal ship. It was all Athemeene could do to order a droid to pack for her and Tan'ya and head straight for his ship with their daughter.

The Count alway had a way of knowing where she and Tan'ya were. At this point Athemeene was pretty sure that it had something to do with the Force. When he came aboard the ship he marched straight to his wife, obviously fuming even if he didn't say or do anything.

"You and Tan'ya will stay here." He said firmly.

"No." Athemeene said, and took a seat, balancing her frightened looking daughter on her hip. Young Tan'ya glanced between her mother and father, looking nervous. Athemeene knew her baby girl didn't understand what was happening, but she obviously could see everyone was upset about something.

"Athemeene, you must remain here on Serenno." Dooku warned.

"No, I won't sit and wait while some council of decrepit old men choose my child's future for me!" Athemeene said firmly. "Besides, I've always wanted to go to Coruscant anyway."

"Athemeene." Dooku said through gritted teeth, not quite shouting. "The Jedi are not immune to temptation. It will be much harder to convince them to let my daughter go if they have her in their grasp."

Athemeene scowled at him. "You're already thinking about this the wrong way, husband."

"And what way should I be thinking about this, wife?"

"You're thinking like a Jedi!" She hissed to him, "Not a father, and not a Count!"

Dooku was seething. "Nonsense."

"You're not a jedi anymore!" Athemeene pressed. "You can't just show up, and pressure the Jedi Council into giving up! The entire Republic is behind them!"

"Serenno can secede from the Republic." Dooku cut back. "We have discussed this."

"Don't be silly! Half the planet will cheer for you and the other half will riot! They might hate the Republic, but that's where all their business is!" Athemeene shouted back. "You can't just leave overnight, you need to at least make some arrangements."

"Arrangements have been made." Dooku replied, sounding confident. Too confident

"But they're not ready yet, are they?" Athemeene demanded. "Otherwise we would have left already."

The Count scowled. "You will listen to me, you must leave."

"No." Athemeene replied firmly. "You need us."

"I do not."

"You have to bring Tan'ya because if you defy the Jedi Council openly, they'll have no choice but to come down on you." Athemeene said. "They're not going to give up their claim on all of the galaxy's force sensitive children without a fight, husband. And they'll win that fight, they can get a court order if they have to, the Jedi have that right."

Dooku opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. She was right, though it galled him to admit it.

"If Tan'ya is coming, then I'm coming." Athemeene continued. "You can't let them see you as being scared, or angry, or like you're trying to hide or protect something." All of those things described Athemeene to a tee right now, she realized. "Husband, you need the Jedi Council to believe that Tan'ya is already in their hands. You need to make them believe the difference between you training her and one of them is not an important one."

He stared at her for a long moment, and she could see the whirlwind of thoughts behind those normally unreadable eyes. Eventually, he breathed out through his nose and turned away. "I can see you won't be moved." He strode down the ramp back towards the house. "I'll get the droids to pack your things."

Athemeene had already taken care of that, but she didn't correct him. Dignity and composure were important to the Count, and grinding his nose into the fact that she won their fight wouldn't be good for either of them.

Wait.

"We just had our first fight." She murmured to herself in shock.

Athemeene looked down at Tan'ya, who through the yelling and raised voices hadn't uttered even a peep, just stared at them with wide, watchful eyes.

"Well at least nothing bothers you." Athemeene chuckled and bounced her.

Never had the trip to Coruscant felt so long before. When he was still a member of the Order, Dooku once had a reputation for impatience, always demanding action rather than caution but then the Jedi Council would prefer to do nothing on most days. He tended to dismiss that view of himself. He was used to traveling great distances, waiting calmly to speak to people at functions, and waiting for any amount of time necessary to accomplish his goals. Just so long as waiting was not needless, he was willing to do it.

Today, Dooku practically fidgeted in his chair. He wasn't the pilot of his own starship, he had droids for that, and normally that suited him just fine, but today it left him with nothing to do but sit and brood. The passing lights of countless stars blurred past the ship, making hyperspace look like a shining tunnel of silvery blue and casting a pale flickering light over his face.

He couldn't meditate, he was just too restless. The thought of Tan'ya going to the Temple had unmoored something in him that he hadn't realized was there. A streak of possessiveness that still felt quite alien. After ending the call with Yoda, Dooku had nearly been ready to charge up the steps of the temple and, what? Fight the Council? Force them to back down with his lightsaber in hand or shout them down with words? Maybe Yoda was right about the danger of these attachments.

Dooku sighed, and in a moment of weakness put his head in his hands. It was amazing that he had such clear plans for the future, and yet still somehow felt so lost.

He was lucky Athemeene was there. It wasn't that he hadn't appreciated her before this point, she had been doing an excellent job as a wife, raising Tan'ya and managing the Serenno Palace more and more as each day passed, but Dooku realized he hadn't respected her before now. It was the first time she'd ever told him no. Obviously, he didn't want her to make a habit of it, but in this case she'd been right. The Jedi Council would have to rise to any challenge he directed at them, and as an individual Dooku had no chance of overcoming the combined power of the Republic backed Jedi.

In time he would build his strength, but for now he was made to play the Council's game by the Council's rules.

The door to the bridge slid open, and Dooku didn't need to turn his head to know that Athemeene was standing there.

"Tan'ya is asleep." Athemeene said, before coming over and sitting next to Dooku, her floral perfume tickling his nose. His wife had always been good looking, even a great beauty. Since giving birth to Tan'ya she'd also gained some weight, adding a little extra to her cheeks and hips. Somehow he found he didn't particularly mind.

Something on his face must have given away how unsettled he was, Athemeene reached over and took his hand in both of hers, placing it on her lap. "Are you okay?"

He wasn't. Dooku was shaken, ready to lash out and strangely exhausted, but he couldn't say that to her. Right now Dooku needed to be powerful, in control, and focused. He glanced across and saw the look of concern on her face, and the lie died on his lips. Even without the force he was sure she could see right through him.

With nothing to explain to her, they sat in silence for a long time. The low hum of the hyperdrive and the glimmering of billions of stars accompanied the sound of their breathing, and the occasional articulation of the droid pilot's mechanical limbs as it adjusted their course slightly.

Finally, she asked in a soft voice, "What's the temple like?"

Dooku paused, considering for a moment before answering. "The Temple sits at the top of Coruscant, in view of the Senate itself. It's impossible to imagine just how high up the towers rise. Even with the planet's weather systems, Coruscant has always been very cold.

"Compared to the world outside, the temple was warm. Safe. As you step inside you can actually feel the change in the air. For someone raised outside the Order, the Jedi always seem cold and aloof, but if you're raised among them you can sense each other's feelings in the Force. We might not… cuddle, or kiss, or whatever else, but what need do you have of those when you can share the very feelings of affection?

"Jedi are not supposed to have attachments, but there was a real love inside the Temple. Amongst each other there was a deep, ancient, powerful bond, an unbroken chain stretching into the mists of history and reaching forward into millenia unseen. It goes unspoken, unquestioned. It was there, lingering over everything and connecting everyone, even when we left its walls. It was of great comfort to know that in the Temple, there were always Jedi meditating and watching us through the Force."

"...But you left." Athemeene murmured.

There was a long pause, before Dooku nodded. "But I left." His voice, usually a powerful bass rumble, sounded small even to himself.

His wife put a hand on his shoulder, not needing to ask why, but understanding that he was in pain. "It's okay to grieve." She murmured.

A lump was building in Dooku's throat, but he swallowed it down. "No, not yet." He said, forcing his voice to become firm. "I need to be… composed." He looked at Athemeene, and saw the water building in her eyes. "Wife, please. I can't speak of this now."

She nodded, sniffling slightly and standing up. She took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her cheeks. "You're right. Now's…"

"It's not the right time." Dooku agreed and stood up.

"We have to be strong." Athemeene smiled up at him, and reached out to massage his bicep. "Strong."

"Yes. For Tan'ya."

"For our child." And then, her lower lip quivering, Athemeene reached out wrapped her arms around her husband, pulling herself closer to hug him.

Dooku looked down at the top of his wife's head, both arms raised above his shoulder in surprise. He had been paying such little attention to the Force that he hadn't noticed her intentions at all. After a long few seconds of being unsure of what to do, Dooku slowly lowered his arms and wrapped them around his wife.

It was the first time they'd ever hugged. No, Dooku realized it was the first time he had ever been hugged. They stood like that for a long moment, and he realized he was unsure of what he should do with his arms. With no other day, he raised a palm to slowly pat her back like he would to relax Tan'ya. Athemeene raised her head to look up at him, eyebrow quirked and eyes sparkling with amusement and he stopped.

"Sorry." He murmured.

A peal of laughter escaped Athemeene, and she stepped away. "It was fine, it was… You did wonderfully." In the force she was radiating with something like an epiphany. She had learned something about him that she thought was important, though Dooku really wasn't sure what. She touched his arm again. "I'm happy."

Well, he could read that much. "...Good."

That drew another burst of laughter, and Athemeene dabbed at her eyes. "Okay. Okay. We've got twelve hours to Coruscant. I'm going to go get changed, and then we'll try to come up with a game plan."

"An excellent idea." And what was she so amused about? Was she laughing at him?

She smiled again, then turned back the way she came. There was a hiss of gas as the door opened and shut, and Dooku was left to himself on the bridge again.

It was only when he sat down that he noticed his nervous energy had largely dissipated. That well of fear inside him just seemed to have… melted away on its own.

How strange. But not at all unwelcome.