Star Wars : Tanya

( 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 over it.

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 Order 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.

Making 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, many in the temple felt her voice in the force. She was your daughter. Realized we did, when we felt you quiet her." 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. "At first, a majority of the Council thought it wise you train your own."

"And now?"

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

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 to settle a simple matter between old friends and colleagues he'd hoped it would be.

...

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 Council into leaving us be! 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. Bluffing, Athemeene was sure.

"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 treat you as an enemy." Athemeene said. "They're not going to give up without a fight, husband. And they'll win that fight, they can get a court order. All they have to do is demonstrate that we're not prepared to raise the child ourselves, and it would be dangerous for us to try."

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."

...

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