I found Master Dark Woman where I left her. She was standing opposite an aged Jedi Master who'd missed being Sidious's latest pawn by the narrowest of margins, and didn't look happy about it.
I knew my Master was still talking to Master Dooku, and not Darth Tyranus, because Master Sifo-Dyas was standing to his old friend's immediate left.
Catching sight of me as I emerged from the mouth of the cave, Master Dark Woman favored me with another of those rare small smiles of approval when she saw the completed lightsaber hanging from my belt.
The white haired aristocratic Jedi Master's brown eyes lit up as he too noticed me, but I couldn't help noticing that the pronounced features of Sifo-Dyas's longer face were tight with tension for some reason.
Striding up to the group, I bowed to each of the three Jedi Masters in turn as I'd been taught, then turned back to my Master and held out my completed lightsaber for her inspection.
Perhaps conscious of the moment's proprieties, neither Dooku or Sifo-Dyas had as yet said a word in my hearing, but I could feel the intensity of Dooku's silent regard like light from a passing vehicle glinting off a bared knife-blade on an otherwise dark street.
Dark Woman mmm'd as she studied the weapon intently. Giving no clue outward clue as to her opinion as she took a step back from her Padawan and fellow Masters, then ignited the lightsaber.
Nothing of it showed in her expression, but I felt the tiniest pulse of surprise as the woman first regarded the blade's coloring and guessed it was her realizing I'd somehow lucked into a pontite crystal.
She smoothly adopted a conventional "Jedi Ready" posture, then moved from the first to the second Djem So cadence with the ease of one who'd been a master of Form V for years.
Deactivating the lightsaber, the older woman rejoined the group and returned it to me. Her smile deepening the lines at the corners of her mouth as she complimented.
"It's a near-perfect example of a lightsaber optimized for a practitioner of Djem So and Shien, but doesn't sacrifice it's suitability for use with other forms. I know Jedi who would object to abandoning the traditional length, but I say pretending a weapon is anything but a weapon is foolishness.
Restraint should be an attribute of the lightsaber's wielder. Not a matter of intentionally poor design. You have every right to be proud of this work, Apprentice."
Hearing my ever-demanding instructor always so spare with her praise speak so positively of my efforts brought a broad smile to my face. Despite the emotional fatigue of my ordeal, I'd begun to feel light as a feather as I basked in the genuine approval and pride in my accomplishment coming from my teacher.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because the other two Jedi took the pronouncement of my Master's verdict as their cue to join us in conversation.
I felt the extremely brief flare of my Master's annoyance before she brought it under control as Master Dooku spoke first, but couldn't follow the complicated threads of her feelings and pay attention to Christopher Lee as he addressed me.
"Ahh, this is the promising Padawan responsible for my apprentice's survival. It's a genuine pleasure to meet you, young Skywalker. Congratulations on passing through the Crystal Caves and completing your first lightsaber" Dooku offered in an easy, cultured tone.
He'd moved up to stand nearly shoulder to shoulder with Dark Woman, and was careful to meet my gaze directly as he gave me his full attention. His warm words and complimentary manner reminded me the man wasn't a master diplomat for nothing.
Inclining my head respectfully, I offered my own niceties.
"It's an honor to meet you, Master Dooku. I found your lecture on telekinesis extremely helpful, and your insights concerning use of the Force in conjunction with the lightsaber riveting when my Master shared them with me. I must confess I'm not yet equally familiar with your diplomatic achievements, however."
Lips curving momentarily upward in the briefest of smiles, Dooku turned to glance sidelong at Dark Woman and comment.
"I see you've hammered good manners into your latest protege, Dark Woman. He seems to be thriving on your, unorthodox methods."
I felt my Master's annoyance try and fail to become anger as she exercised self-control I could only dream of to remain not only calm, but serene despite the jibe at both her teaching methods and the subtle reference to her failure with Aurra Sing.
There was actually amusement in her voice, as she replied, "Ever and always you must fence with everyone around you, Dooku. It keeps your skills sharp, but makes it difficult to enjoy your company. Still, your consistency is a comfort to another old Jedi like me."
Sifo-Dyas quietly snorted in laughter at the riposte, but quieted as soon as he saw I'd noticed. Apparently there was some unspoken rule that Jedi Masters could only be so human in front of mere Padawans, who knew?
Dooku's face didn't betray the slightest sign of the flare of genuine anger my Master's words had kindled, but it was there in his aura for me to sense for just an instant before he quelled it.
I was definitely getting an education in practical control of one's emotions today, and felt like a judge at a tennis match. Watching the ball batted from one side of the court to the other at ever-increasing speeds, but entirely detached from the proceedings myself.
"Forgive any acerbity in my words, but I did formally request a private Gathering rite for my Padawan and myself. Anakin is sensitive enough to the presence of other Force-sensitives and their auras that the presence of the two of you could easily have interfered with his interactions in the Caves.
Invalidating the test or disrupting his trance and robbing him of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to face fears and shortcomings he might not even have been consciously aware of.
Not to mention depriving him of a great deal of food for thought while meditating upon the nature of the Living Force" Dark Woman chided her two fellow Masters in that simple, unruffled way she expressed all but her most intense displeasure.
Sifo-Dyas looked deeply abashed at these words, and even always-confident Dooku seemed somewhat contrite for several moments.
"I think I speak for Master Sifo-Dyas as well, when I offer our sincerest apologies, Master Dark Woman.
My curiosity concerning your student, as well as my desire to both convey my thanks for his aid to Qui-Gon and communicate my old apprentice's salutations and best wishes lead me to seize this opportunity when it presented itself.
It never occurred to me your Padawan's grasp of the Force had progressed to the point our presences within it might pose an impediment. You must be extremely pleased to see such sweeping progress in your student."
Before my Master could reply, Dooku's face lit up as his expression became that of a man who'd just had an idea. If it wasn't for my sensitivity to others emotions, I never would have noticed the note of calculation in his aura that gave the lie to this "idea" being as spontaneous a thing as his expression otherwise indicated.
There didn't seem to be anything negative in his too-complex-to-read more clearly palette of swirling emotions, so I figured it was more akin to a ploy he'd held in reserve in case his conversation here somehow went wrong.
"I know how I can make this up to both of you. The Council requested I recommend a Jedi Knight or Master with knowledge of the Gardaji Sector, and a Padawan with some technical or piloting training.
Knight Vergere went missing on the mysterious planet Zonama Sekot while investigating rumors of an attack by unnamed aliens with powerful ships and weapons.
The Temple is presently full of Padawans pleading with their Masters to volunteer for the mission, but it occurs to me it would be exactly the kind of mission the pair of you would be perfect for.
Qui-Gon told me your apprentice was apparently a proficient pod-racer at the tender age of five, and has quite the enthusiasm for spaceflight and ships. Zonama Sekot is rumored to actually breed bio-ships that are among the fastest in the galaxy."
Oh my god, I needed to keep this man out of Palpatine's hands at all costs. He was good, and I mean sell-napalm-in-Hell good. Before the man was half-done, I was giving my Master pleading eyes, and by the time he got to.
"planet that breeds super-fast bio-ships" I was ready to get down on my hands and knees to beg like a dog.
Dark Woman gave Dooku a sharp look, but chocolate wouldn't have melted in the man's mouth just then, he was so smoothly innocent. Looking from my silent pleading to her dour expression, the veteran diplomat gave her the diffident shrug which silently said.
"Hey, I'm trying to be the cool yet dignified Jedi Uncle offering public service opportunities that just so happen to be SUPER AWESOME, but go ahead and play the responsible, stick-in-the-mud heavy if you want."
I literally felt schizophrenic in that moment. On the one hand, I fucking knew what Dooku was doing. Step One: Establish rapport with the Chosen One. On the other hand, I couldn't clear my brain of imagining my own living spaceship for five damned seconds to consider anything else.
Finally, after looking at me and then at Dooku for a very, very long time, Dark Woman asked sharply "Did the Council have any reason to believe these attacking aliens might still be in the vicinity? An investigation and some reconnoitering is one thing, but Anakin isn't ready for an active theater of conflict."
Spreading his hands with an expression of solemn seriousness, Dracula continued to beguile. "No, nothing of the sort, or the Council would be sending an entire team.
The biggest complication is a mere rumor that Raith Sienar, CEO and one of the lead designers of Santhe/Sienar-Technologies is trying to locate Zonama Sekot.
Probably seeking insight as to how the inhabitants of the planet create their amazing vessels, so his company can get a leg up on their competition.
The Order would prefer not to bring down a plague of corporate opportunists on an Outer Rim population which is likely unused to dealing with their kind.
Which is why I suggested we look further afield for investigators than anyone presently on Coruscant. Santhe/Sienar-Technologies refurbishes and refits most of the ships the Order routinely borrows.
It wouldn't exactly be hard for Raith to plant a tracking beacon on every ship they retrofit."
"Why would a CEO be planting tracking beacons on retrofitted ships at the risk of causing a scandal and alienating his customers? There's also the question of how this man would even know about the Order's missions" Dark Woman replied.
Seemingly unconvinced by Dooku's logic, and in no mood to buy a pig in a poke. I desperately wanted to interject in support of us accepting the mission, but I knew that was the way to guarantee she refused it outright.
Dooku's face grew surprisingly grim. It was as if what had been a fairly light and trivial thing had suddenly wandered into deadly serious territory. His voice was quiet, but cuttingly intense as he answered.
"You've been away from the Temple for too long, Dark Woman. There are troubling coincidences involving information as sensitive as it was supposed to be secure being disseminated to disastrous result.
I'm unwilling to make overt accusations without proof I damned well intend to acquire, but the idea of a leak within the Order itself is; I believe, no longer the unthinkable impossibility it once was.
Truly, I meant the idea of the mission as something I believed you and your Padawan would find both satisfaction in service as well as opportunity for continued progress in young Skywalker's training.
That it would also mean the mission had been taken up by those with a ship untouched by government or corporate interests recently is simply icing on the cake."
Seeming to provisionally accept the other Jedi Master's reasoning, the tall, lithe, silver haired woman intently queried "Assuming for the moment that Anakin and I were to take the mission to Zonama Sekot in search of Knight Vergere, what do the two of you intend to do?
I can't shake the feeling that the two of you consider this mission more important than you're letting on, but that you've got something else in pressing need of your attention. Bringing us to this happy coincidence. Have I struck near the mark?"
Speaking up for the first time, Sifo-Dyas interjected "Tell them, Dooku."
Looking annoyed at his compatriot, Dooku sighed loudly, then admitted.
"The Order simply wants Knight Vergere's fate ascertained because Master Thracia Cho Leem has not for a moment ceased pushing since her most prized protege went missing, and as you know Master Cho Leem is a dear friend of our Master of the Order, Master Windu.
I doubt the rumors of unknown aliens attacking an Outer Rim world would otherwise have prompted the Council to dispatch a pair of Jedi. My, our, investigation however has turned up a deleted and barely-recovered fragment of Coruscanti security-net footage.
The timestamp and location are both gone, but the five seconds of footage Master Sifo-Dyas recovered clearly shows Knight Vergere breaking open a Coruscanti high-rise window with her lightsaber, then leaping from it as Force Lightning pursued her.
I spoke to Qui-Gon at length about this, and he agrees that finding Vergere could be just the break the Order needs to identify the other Sith."
There was a sharp intake of breath from my Master, then she simply said "Send the details to my datapad." Looking at me then, she remarked.
"Good thing you love space-travel, eh?"
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