Protégé: Chosen - Chapter 4 (Star Wars, PG, Anakin and Dooku)
Title: Protégé: Chosen
Authors: Persephone_Kore and Dreagoddess
Timeframe: Starting in The Phantom Menace
Characters: Anakin, Dooku, others
Genre: AU
Keywords: Dooku, Anakin, training
Summary: Master Dooku steps in to offer to train Anakin Skywalker.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Her last name wasn't Vosa, was it?
Dooku felt a chill sweep down his spine. "And how precisely would you know that?"
"There's--" Anakin swallowed. "Jabba runs Mos Espa. Everybody talks about him and what he does. Watto complained about it a lot with some of his customers. I -- I remember them, when they talked about Jabba being mad about Bando Gora...they were saying it's because someone new has taken over. Komari Vosa."
Dooku leaned back, feeling his own cheeks blanch paler than Anakin's. He exerted himself for the discipline to breathe, when he began to feel dizzy. "Yes," he said slowly. "Her name was Vosa."
"Oh. Um..." Anakin looked at a loss as to what to do next. He looked down at his hands, then over at Qui-Gon entreatingly.
"Thank you for the information, Anakin," Qui-Gon said quietly. "That's something we should check out." Wordlessly, he covered Dooku's hand with his for just a moment.
Dooku shuddered very slightly, and then carefully folded the shock and horror, regret and betrayal, all up inside and sat up again. (He was supposed to release them. He wasn't sure he could yet. He felt as frozen as when he had first heard she died, even though she was alive now. Only there was something blazing hot against one tiny part of his mind, bright and pulling without even knowing it, his new Padawan, and he was not altogether sure how to deal with this feeling when there was a live bond there.) "It is. A Jedi who has gone wrong is... extremely dangerous."
Anakin felt cold all over, even more than he had before during space travel. It seemed to be coming from inside him this time, and it was all the more unnerving for that. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, wishing heartily he'd never listened to gossip so he wouldn't have had to be the one to say that.
"Don't apologize for telling me," Dooku said quietly. "It's better to know the truth, even if it is a painful one." He paused and looked at the boy again. "If that was only an expression of sympathy, however, thank you."
Anakin looked down. "Um. If your old padawan is still alive, does that mean you can't have a new one now?"
"No. She was no longer my Padawan, before she left."
"...Oh. Good, then."
Dooku wasn't sure he would classify anything in this situation as "good," but he supposed it would be substantially more complicated (and probably, yes, even more unpleasant) if Anakin's status were somehow in question. He managed something that might have resembled a smile, decided it probably didn't, and let it go. "Well, at least you're not trying to get away from me."
"I want to be a Jedi," Anakin said quietly and uncomfortably. "No one else seems to want to let me."
"I'd hardly go that far. Qui-Gon at the least...." Dooku's smile was somewhat more worthy of the name this time. "But while I imagine Obi-Wan would pass the Trials -- not easily, or they'd hardly be Trials, but capably -- he hasn't taken them yet."
Obi-Wan shifted a little where he sat. "That's a while off yet."
Dooku glanced at Qui-Gon. "As you say."
"So you can only have one padawan at a time, right?" Anakin asked. "Why?"
"There are lessons that are conducted in groups," Dooku said, "but the process of learning to be a Jedi, in the end, seems to be best conducted through an apprenticeship -- one apprentice to one master, with a shared responsibility to the Force and to the galaxy as partners, and with the master's full attention as a teacher given to one apprentice."
"...Okay. What kind of classes? I -- I never went to school or anything. I learned how to fix things at Watto's, and Mom taught me how to read and stuff."
"From what I've been told of your mechanical skills, you may find yourself fairly advanced already with respect to the mechanics, electronics, and other technological classes. There are several other academic topics -- history, literature, mathematics, cultural studies, sciences -- on which you're likely to need remedial work, some for the information content and some for the thought processes, how to find and apply the information. And then there is the training in the Force -- in its perception, guidance, use, philosophy; how to school your mind and body in harmony with it."
Dooku smiled faintly. "That last I will handle, unless there's a specific area you wish to seek another specialist for. You will have to work very hard for those; you are naturally very strong in the Force, but have not had the specialized training in physical, mental, and emotional discipline that most Jedi would have been learning for six years by your age. And... many of those are not easy. Were not easy, for me, even at the age supposed to be ideal for them. It's always the ones we need most that are hardest to learn."
The smile grew a little pained and then fell away; he stopped and drew a long breath. "For most of the academic subjects, you will also be... catching up. We'll have to determine at what level you need to begin, and where it would benefit you to sit in classes and where it would be better to introduce topics at whatever pace you can absorb them. Some of them I can tutor you in." The smile came back, just a little. "It sounds as if you've probably outstripped me in practical applications of the technological fields."
Anakin blinked a few times, settling back a bit and tilting his head a little as if he was trying to swallow something entirely too large for this throat. "I -- o-kay." His voice was a little tentative. "I can do all that. No problem."
Dooku mentally reviewed what he'd just said and summoned a reassuring tone, even if he couldn't quite manage a cheerful expression. "I'm sorry. It wasn't meant to sound that daunting," he said. "In short: you're starting your training several years later than is currently normal for a Jedi. You'll find that you have a great deal more practical experience in some areas than your peers, but that they will take for granted other things you've never had occasion to think of before. There are things you'll need to catch up on." A wry smile. "It will not be easy. But it won't be impossible either. Making sure of that is now one of my primary purposes in life."
"Are you going to be making sure it's not impossible, or that it's not easy?"
"Both," said three voices at once, Obi-Wan with a bit of a laugh.
Anakin managed a grin at that, if a small one. "Okay. I guess I can handle that. Nothing worth doing is easy, anyway."
Dooku smiled back, for real this time. "That's the idea. Not that you should dismiss the things that do come easily or naturally to you, but if all your training were easy I would be doing you and the galaxy a disservice -- not letting you reach your potential."
Anakin grinned, but after a moment he bit his lip and looked down, then up again with his face set and his eyes urgent. "When I'm a Jedi... can I go back home and free the slaves? I thought Master Qui-Gon was there to do it, but...if I'm going to be a Jedi, I can do it. Right?"
"...Maybe," Dooku said. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both looked faintly startled, which he marked as an accomplishment. "That would be a worthwhile task that is not only difficult, but maddeningly complicated. People have been working on it quite literally for centuries. Slavery is illegal in the Republic, but this only means people can be punished for it if caught, not that it doesn't exist. Tatooine is supposed to be part of the Republic but in practical terms is controlled by the Hutt Empire, which does permit slavery." He rested one elbow on the back of the seat, turning toward Anakin. "The Jedi, due to a voluntary alliance with the government of the Republic, have a great deal more authority and standing within that Republic than we otherwise might, but part of the price is to have almost none elsewhere. It may be possible to guide Tatooine back toward greater participation in the Republic, and perhaps from there to enforcing the clause against slaveholding. Changing the habits of the Hutt Empire...." He sighed. "I think that would be the work of someone very persuasive, and with a lifetime longer than any of us are likely to have."
"Persuasive?" Anakin repeated, looking vaguely horrified. "But -- Jedi have lightsabers and special powers! Can't you just go in and make them free the slaves?"
"Not without causing a great many deaths," Dooku said bluntly. "And I don't mean only the slaveholders. There are, all told, about ten thousand Jedi. We cannot be everywhere, and we cannot do everything. We could not, for instance, disable all the explosive devices used as 'restraints' before some individuals, yet beyond our reach, might choose to blame their slaves for our efforts or kill them simply because they preferred that to letting them be freed." He grimaced. "And if you meant the Hutt Empire, the attempt would probably start a war -- which the Republic would almost certainly lose."
"...I thought the Jedi were supposed to be able to do anything. What's the point of learning all that stuff if you can't even help people?"
"We can help people. But we do have limits, even if they're often in different places from other people's."
Anakin frowned and looked down. He fiddled with the edge of his tunic while he thought. When he looked up again, he met Dooku's eyes and asked very seriously, "But if you train me, I'll be able to help more?"
"That is a Jedi's mission. We serve the Force, and also the Republic through it. Which means we serve life, first and foremost, and we protect it the best we can."
Anakin nodded slowly. "That sounds like it's worth doing."
Dooku nodded in return. "If I didn't believe it to be worth doing," he said, "I would have left the Order."
Although sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that, after Galidraan, his failure with Komari, Baltizaar.... Sometimes he felt as if he was balanced on a knife-edged precipice. One more disaster and he might.... Well, it wasn't as if that was a consideration now. He had a padawan to take care of, one who would require special care. Anything but average.
Qui-Gon cast him a sideways look, as if he knew the gloomy path Dooku's thoughts had momentarily taken. "It's hard and dangerous work. Sometimes it's boring and extremely unglamorous. But every Jedi will agree it's worth it, even on our worst days."
"I'll try and be really good at it," Anakin promised soberly.
"I won't let you be less," Dooku told him. He would not fail this one. "I will train you to be the best possible Jedi you can be."
Anakin smiled a little at that. "Well," he said, looking over at Qui-Gon, "it sounds like you did a really good job with him."
"I'll introduce you to the others once we're back at the Temple again," Qui-Gon promised, eyes twinkling. "Mr'tan and Ilena Xan. You'll like them both. Mr'tan spends much of his time off-planet on missions, like Obi-Wan and I do, but Ilena is one of the class instructors. Hand-to-hand combat. She only just took over, but she's becoming infamous among the initiates already, I understand!"
"And how I trained someone who decided to specialize in unarmed combat is a mystery to all," Dooku added. "Given Anakin's mechanical talents, I suppose the only remaining surprise would be to have one turn out a Healer."
"Why is it a mystery she'd specialize in unarmed combat? Do you not like it or something?"
"I'm not opposed to it, and it certainly has its uses. But I prefer a more...elegant solution, where possible. Lightsaber combat is what marks a Jedi."
"Master Dooku and Master Yoda," Qui-Gon explained, "are the best lightsaber duelists in the Temple. And also among the best at not having to use them." He eyed Dooku with some amusement. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you and Master Yoda go at it...."
"We haven't dueled for a long time. I don't think I'd ever want to go against him seriously. I have no doubt he's as capable of trouncing me as anyone else in the Temple."
"No one in their right mind would want to go against him seriously! Arguing with him is more than enough."
"At least he listens. Sometimes."
"He didn't want to listen about me," Anakin grumbled.
"...He disagreed. It isn't always the same as not listening." Dooku looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, I have to admit, it would be fairly problematic to fit you into the training programs without someone dedicated to individual work. There are a number of programs to deal with species whose developmental processes are drastically different from those shared by humans, and there is tutoring and some adjustment available for individual variations, but the relative uniformity has allowed them to become really very rigid. Too much so, probably. It's good for them to be shaken up periodically, but it shouldn't be done at your expense. I think this will work out much better." A faint smile. "And he did concede eventually. The Council couldn't prevent me from taking you as my Padawan, but they -- or he, specifically -- could have made it much more difficult."
"What makes him so important?"
"Ah." Dooku smiled. "For one thing, he is the head of the Jedi High Council, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, and thus officially in the highest place among the Jedi. For another, he is the Council member I personally most respect. Third...." The smile deepened just a little. "He is almost entirely unconcerned with personal dignity, and I can imagine him doing any number of bizarre things to disrupt the proceedings if he really wanted to."
Anakin grinned a little at that. "He sounds like he could be fun... some of the time."
"He is. Although I was first apprenticed to another Master, he took over the bulk of my training when I was young."
Anakin blinked. "That's not how it sounded like it was supposed to happen."
"Any Jedi may assist in the training of another, although it's poor manners to do so over a Master's objection, of course. Transfers are rarer. You will very likely be trained in at least some respects by other Jedi before you are Knighted. I cannot be an expert in every area--"
"He admits it," Qui-Gon murmured with laughing eyes.
Dooku eyed him briefly and continued, "And so you may take training from others. As I mentioned, your mechanical abilities appear to be quite high, so you may study under another Jedi who is more skilled in that. Master Thame was much occupied with his historical research, so I sought out a great deal of other training on my own."
"And I believe you suggested once that Master Thame was, ah, older than would have been ideal for taking another Padawan," Qui-Gon murmured. "Although that was some time ago...."
"He was mostly retired from missions. Master Yoda's duties were also mostly at the Temple. Both were likely to be called on, when they did leave, for situations deemed unsuitable for a Padawan. I didn't get off planet much." A quick look at Anakin. "Which will not happen with you, I assure you. I believe in my apprentices taking an active part in my missions."
"I saw Master Qui-Gon fighting the Sith," Anakin said. "I'll try if you want me to but I think I'd have a better shot against the Trade Federation fleet."
Dooku almost smiled. "I expect my padawans to be an active part of our missions, to the extent their training allows. At this stage in your training, you'll mostly be observing. I assure you, if the Sith appears again, I expect you to stay out of the fighting. You'd be more hindrance than help without proper training."
"...Okay." Anakin shivered a little. The chill inside him had faded from being painful and numbing at the same time (which didn't seem fair) to something much less, although he still kept stopping himself from poking at it. You weren't supposed to poke at sore places unless you knew what you were doing. But he thought the Sith had looked right at him once, and it wasn't as if he'd never met anybody with yellow eyes before but something about those....
"We'll find a safe place for you once we're on the planet. I don't expect you to be involved in the battle. Once we're back at the Temple, I'll begin your lessons, starting with self-defense." Dooku smiled this time. "And we'll get started constructing your lightsaber. I always enjoy that part."
Anakin's eyes lit up at that last -- lightsabers were totally wizard. And how he'd spotted Qui-Gon. "I'd like to help if I can do anything though...."
"Much of that will depend on the Queen's plan, and how the Gungans react. We'll see."
That got a blink. Of course the voices and accents were wildly different, but Dooku had hit one of his mom's tones exactly. And Anakin was pretty sure it meant the same thing. "Yes, Master."
...It was kind of comforting, really.
*****
Chapter 5
Authors: Persephone_Kore and Dreagoddess
Timeframe: Starting in The Phantom Menace
Characters: Anakin, Dooku, others
Genre: AU
Keywords: Dooku, Anakin, training
Summary: Master Dooku steps in to offer to train Anakin Skywalker.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Her last name wasn't Vosa, was it?
Dooku felt a chill sweep down his spine. "And how precisely would you know that?"
"There's--" Anakin swallowed. "Jabba runs Mos Espa. Everybody talks about him and what he does. Watto complained about it a lot with some of his customers. I -- I remember them, when they talked about Jabba being mad about Bando Gora...they were saying it's because someone new has taken over. Komari Vosa."
Dooku leaned back, feeling his own cheeks blanch paler than Anakin's. He exerted himself for the discipline to breathe, when he began to feel dizzy. "Yes," he said slowly. "Her name was Vosa."
"Oh. Um..." Anakin looked at a loss as to what to do next. He looked down at his hands, then over at Qui-Gon entreatingly.
"Thank you for the information, Anakin," Qui-Gon said quietly. "That's something we should check out." Wordlessly, he covered Dooku's hand with his for just a moment.
Dooku shuddered very slightly, and then carefully folded the shock and horror, regret and betrayal, all up inside and sat up again. (He was supposed to release them. He wasn't sure he could yet. He felt as frozen as when he had first heard she died, even though she was alive now. Only there was something blazing hot against one tiny part of his mind, bright and pulling without even knowing it, his new Padawan, and he was not altogether sure how to deal with this feeling when there was a live bond there.) "It is. A Jedi who has gone wrong is... extremely dangerous."
Anakin felt cold all over, even more than he had before during space travel. It seemed to be coming from inside him this time, and it was all the more unnerving for that. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, wishing heartily he'd never listened to gossip so he wouldn't have had to be the one to say that.
"Don't apologize for telling me," Dooku said quietly. "It's better to know the truth, even if it is a painful one." He paused and looked at the boy again. "If that was only an expression of sympathy, however, thank you."
Anakin looked down. "Um. If your old padawan is still alive, does that mean you can't have a new one now?"
"No. She was no longer my Padawan, before she left."
"...Oh. Good, then."
Dooku wasn't sure he would classify anything in this situation as "good," but he supposed it would be substantially more complicated (and probably, yes, even more unpleasant) if Anakin's status were somehow in question. He managed something that might have resembled a smile, decided it probably didn't, and let it go. "Well, at least you're not trying to get away from me."
"I want to be a Jedi," Anakin said quietly and uncomfortably. "No one else seems to want to let me."
"I'd hardly go that far. Qui-Gon at the least...." Dooku's smile was somewhat more worthy of the name this time. "But while I imagine Obi-Wan would pass the Trials -- not easily, or they'd hardly be Trials, but capably -- he hasn't taken them yet."
Obi-Wan shifted a little where he sat. "That's a while off yet."
Dooku glanced at Qui-Gon. "As you say."
"So you can only have one padawan at a time, right?" Anakin asked. "Why?"
"There are lessons that are conducted in groups," Dooku said, "but the process of learning to be a Jedi, in the end, seems to be best conducted through an apprenticeship -- one apprentice to one master, with a shared responsibility to the Force and to the galaxy as partners, and with the master's full attention as a teacher given to one apprentice."
"...Okay. What kind of classes? I -- I never went to school or anything. I learned how to fix things at Watto's, and Mom taught me how to read and stuff."
"From what I've been told of your mechanical skills, you may find yourself fairly advanced already with respect to the mechanics, electronics, and other technological classes. There are several other academic topics -- history, literature, mathematics, cultural studies, sciences -- on which you're likely to need remedial work, some for the information content and some for the thought processes, how to find and apply the information. And then there is the training in the Force -- in its perception, guidance, use, philosophy; how to school your mind and body in harmony with it."
Dooku smiled faintly. "That last I will handle, unless there's a specific area you wish to seek another specialist for. You will have to work very hard for those; you are naturally very strong in the Force, but have not had the specialized training in physical, mental, and emotional discipline that most Jedi would have been learning for six years by your age. And... many of those are not easy. Were not easy, for me, even at the age supposed to be ideal for them. It's always the ones we need most that are hardest to learn."
The smile grew a little pained and then fell away; he stopped and drew a long breath. "For most of the academic subjects, you will also be... catching up. We'll have to determine at what level you need to begin, and where it would benefit you to sit in classes and where it would be better to introduce topics at whatever pace you can absorb them. Some of them I can tutor you in." The smile came back, just a little. "It sounds as if you've probably outstripped me in practical applications of the technological fields."
Anakin blinked a few times, settling back a bit and tilting his head a little as if he was trying to swallow something entirely too large for this throat. "I -- o-kay." His voice was a little tentative. "I can do all that. No problem."
Dooku mentally reviewed what he'd just said and summoned a reassuring tone, even if he couldn't quite manage a cheerful expression. "I'm sorry. It wasn't meant to sound that daunting," he said. "In short: you're starting your training several years later than is currently normal for a Jedi. You'll find that you have a great deal more practical experience in some areas than your peers, but that they will take for granted other things you've never had occasion to think of before. There are things you'll need to catch up on." A wry smile. "It will not be easy. But it won't be impossible either. Making sure of that is now one of my primary purposes in life."
"Are you going to be making sure it's not impossible, or that it's not easy?"
"Both," said three voices at once, Obi-Wan with a bit of a laugh.
Anakin managed a grin at that, if a small one. "Okay. I guess I can handle that. Nothing worth doing is easy, anyway."
Dooku smiled back, for real this time. "That's the idea. Not that you should dismiss the things that do come easily or naturally to you, but if all your training were easy I would be doing you and the galaxy a disservice -- not letting you reach your potential."
Anakin grinned, but after a moment he bit his lip and looked down, then up again with his face set and his eyes urgent. "When I'm a Jedi... can I go back home and free the slaves? I thought Master Qui-Gon was there to do it, but...if I'm going to be a Jedi, I can do it. Right?"
"...Maybe," Dooku said. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both looked faintly startled, which he marked as an accomplishment. "That would be a worthwhile task that is not only difficult, but maddeningly complicated. People have been working on it quite literally for centuries. Slavery is illegal in the Republic, but this only means people can be punished for it if caught, not that it doesn't exist. Tatooine is supposed to be part of the Republic but in practical terms is controlled by the Hutt Empire, which does permit slavery." He rested one elbow on the back of the seat, turning toward Anakin. "The Jedi, due to a voluntary alliance with the government of the Republic, have a great deal more authority and standing within that Republic than we otherwise might, but part of the price is to have almost none elsewhere. It may be possible to guide Tatooine back toward greater participation in the Republic, and perhaps from there to enforcing the clause against slaveholding. Changing the habits of the Hutt Empire...." He sighed. "I think that would be the work of someone very persuasive, and with a lifetime longer than any of us are likely to have."
"Persuasive?" Anakin repeated, looking vaguely horrified. "But -- Jedi have lightsabers and special powers! Can't you just go in and make them free the slaves?"
"Not without causing a great many deaths," Dooku said bluntly. "And I don't mean only the slaveholders. There are, all told, about ten thousand Jedi. We cannot be everywhere, and we cannot do everything. We could not, for instance, disable all the explosive devices used as 'restraints' before some individuals, yet beyond our reach, might choose to blame their slaves for our efforts or kill them simply because they preferred that to letting them be freed." He grimaced. "And if you meant the Hutt Empire, the attempt would probably start a war -- which the Republic would almost certainly lose."
"...I thought the Jedi were supposed to be able to do anything. What's the point of learning all that stuff if you can't even help people?"
"We can help people. But we do have limits, even if they're often in different places from other people's."
Anakin frowned and looked down. He fiddled with the edge of his tunic while he thought. When he looked up again, he met Dooku's eyes and asked very seriously, "But if you train me, I'll be able to help more?"
"That is a Jedi's mission. We serve the Force, and also the Republic through it. Which means we serve life, first and foremost, and we protect it the best we can."
Anakin nodded slowly. "That sounds like it's worth doing."
Dooku nodded in return. "If I didn't believe it to be worth doing," he said, "I would have left the Order."
Although sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that, after Galidraan, his failure with Komari, Baltizaar.... Sometimes he felt as if he was balanced on a knife-edged precipice. One more disaster and he might.... Well, it wasn't as if that was a consideration now. He had a padawan to take care of, one who would require special care. Anything but average.
Qui-Gon cast him a sideways look, as if he knew the gloomy path Dooku's thoughts had momentarily taken. "It's hard and dangerous work. Sometimes it's boring and extremely unglamorous. But every Jedi will agree it's worth it, even on our worst days."
"I'll try and be really good at it," Anakin promised soberly.
"I won't let you be less," Dooku told him. He would not fail this one. "I will train you to be the best possible Jedi you can be."
Anakin smiled a little at that. "Well," he said, looking over at Qui-Gon, "it sounds like you did a really good job with him."
"I'll introduce you to the others once we're back at the Temple again," Qui-Gon promised, eyes twinkling. "Mr'tan and Ilena Xan. You'll like them both. Mr'tan spends much of his time off-planet on missions, like Obi-Wan and I do, but Ilena is one of the class instructors. Hand-to-hand combat. She only just took over, but she's becoming infamous among the initiates already, I understand!"
"And how I trained someone who decided to specialize in unarmed combat is a mystery to all," Dooku added. "Given Anakin's mechanical talents, I suppose the only remaining surprise would be to have one turn out a Healer."
"Why is it a mystery she'd specialize in unarmed combat? Do you not like it or something?"
"I'm not opposed to it, and it certainly has its uses. But I prefer a more...elegant solution, where possible. Lightsaber combat is what marks a Jedi."
"Master Dooku and Master Yoda," Qui-Gon explained, "are the best lightsaber duelists in the Temple. And also among the best at not having to use them." He eyed Dooku with some amusement. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you and Master Yoda go at it...."
"We haven't dueled for a long time. I don't think I'd ever want to go against him seriously. I have no doubt he's as capable of trouncing me as anyone else in the Temple."
"No one in their right mind would want to go against him seriously! Arguing with him is more than enough."
"At least he listens. Sometimes."
"He didn't want to listen about me," Anakin grumbled.
"...He disagreed. It isn't always the same as not listening." Dooku looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, I have to admit, it would be fairly problematic to fit you into the training programs without someone dedicated to individual work. There are a number of programs to deal with species whose developmental processes are drastically different from those shared by humans, and there is tutoring and some adjustment available for individual variations, but the relative uniformity has allowed them to become really very rigid. Too much so, probably. It's good for them to be shaken up periodically, but it shouldn't be done at your expense. I think this will work out much better." A faint smile. "And he did concede eventually. The Council couldn't prevent me from taking you as my Padawan, but they -- or he, specifically -- could have made it much more difficult."
"What makes him so important?"
"Ah." Dooku smiled. "For one thing, he is the head of the Jedi High Council, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, and thus officially in the highest place among the Jedi. For another, he is the Council member I personally most respect. Third...." The smile deepened just a little. "He is almost entirely unconcerned with personal dignity, and I can imagine him doing any number of bizarre things to disrupt the proceedings if he really wanted to."
Anakin grinned a little at that. "He sounds like he could be fun... some of the time."
"He is. Although I was first apprenticed to another Master, he took over the bulk of my training when I was young."
Anakin blinked. "That's not how it sounded like it was supposed to happen."
"Any Jedi may assist in the training of another, although it's poor manners to do so over a Master's objection, of course. Transfers are rarer. You will very likely be trained in at least some respects by other Jedi before you are Knighted. I cannot be an expert in every area--"
"He admits it," Qui-Gon murmured with laughing eyes.
Dooku eyed him briefly and continued, "And so you may take training from others. As I mentioned, your mechanical abilities appear to be quite high, so you may study under another Jedi who is more skilled in that. Master Thame was much occupied with his historical research, so I sought out a great deal of other training on my own."
"And I believe you suggested once that Master Thame was, ah, older than would have been ideal for taking another Padawan," Qui-Gon murmured. "Although that was some time ago...."
"He was mostly retired from missions. Master Yoda's duties were also mostly at the Temple. Both were likely to be called on, when they did leave, for situations deemed unsuitable for a Padawan. I didn't get off planet much." A quick look at Anakin. "Which will not happen with you, I assure you. I believe in my apprentices taking an active part in my missions."
"I saw Master Qui-Gon fighting the Sith," Anakin said. "I'll try if you want me to but I think I'd have a better shot against the Trade Federation fleet."
Dooku almost smiled. "I expect my padawans to be an active part of our missions, to the extent their training allows. At this stage in your training, you'll mostly be observing. I assure you, if the Sith appears again, I expect you to stay out of the fighting. You'd be more hindrance than help without proper training."
"...Okay." Anakin shivered a little. The chill inside him had faded from being painful and numbing at the same time (which didn't seem fair) to something much less, although he still kept stopping himself from poking at it. You weren't supposed to poke at sore places unless you knew what you were doing. But he thought the Sith had looked right at him once, and it wasn't as if he'd never met anybody with yellow eyes before but something about those....
"We'll find a safe place for you once we're on the planet. I don't expect you to be involved in the battle. Once we're back at the Temple, I'll begin your lessons, starting with self-defense." Dooku smiled this time. "And we'll get started constructing your lightsaber. I always enjoy that part."
Anakin's eyes lit up at that last -- lightsabers were totally wizard. And how he'd spotted Qui-Gon. "I'd like to help if I can do anything though...."
"Much of that will depend on the Queen's plan, and how the Gungans react. We'll see."
That got a blink. Of course the voices and accents were wildly different, but Dooku had hit one of his mom's tones exactly. And Anakin was pretty sure it meant the same thing. "Yes, Master."
...It was kind of comforting, really.
*****
Chapter 5