by Cavan Scott
DOOKU:
N-no. Nothing at all.
SINUBE:
Excellent. Trust your feelings, Dooku. I have faith in you.
Sinube hobbles away.
BRAYLON:
Contenders, prepare for conflict.
Both boys ignite their sabers, Ventress narrating over it.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I close my eyes as Dooku describes the battle, seeing myself in his place, feeling the power pulse through my lightsaber hilt before the blade bursts into life, my opponent doing the same, feet apart, lightsaber held low, its blade thrumming with energy.
Would I have done as he did, strategies racing through my mind, every sensation amplified, every emotion heightened? The beating of my heart. The cold tickle of sweat running down my back.
Who will make the first move? Who will take control? Recalling the lessons of a hundred training sessions, the repetition and discipline. Reminding yourself that the tournament is ceremonial and your strikes must be measured. There can be no injuries, no fatal blows. You must disarm, not disable.
I could have done this. I should have.
YODA:
Let the tournament begin.
On “Begin,” Yoda brings his stick down heavily on the floor.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Dooku’s words are intoxicating now. As I sit here, surrounded by his trophies, I am no longer listening to his account, I am experiencing it, living each and every moment of the duel, Dooku striking first, the Initiates’ lightsabers meeting accompanied by the sharp tang of crackling plasma. Sifo-Dyas throwing himself back, kicking at Dooku’s wrist, almost knocking his lightsaber from his fingers. He staggers back, meeting Sifo-Dyas’s blade as his opponent twists. Dooku blocks every blow, one arm tucked neatly behind his back, eyes closed behind the visor. Sifo-Dyas thrusts and lunges, every attack a story in its own right, revealing his tactics, exposing his weaknesses.
Sifo-Dyas somersaults over Dooku’s head—the moment Dooku has been waiting for. He slices up, not to spear his opponent, but to force Sifo-Dyas to twist in midair to avoid the humming blade. The boy lands awkwardly, his ankle folding beneath him. He crashes to the floor, his extinguished lightsaber skittering across the ancient flagstones.
This is it. The moment of victory.
ARATH:
(SHOUTING FROM THE SIDELINES) What are you waiting for? Finish him!
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
If I were there, I would have been screaming the same. And yet Arath’s cry gives Dooku a moment to pause. He senses Sifo-Dyas in front of him, sprawled on the floor, waiting for him to call for his surrender.
Instead, Dooku reaches out with the Force, sending Sifo-Dyas’s lightsaber sliding back to his hand.
DOOKU:
Take it. Get up.
SIFO-DYAS:
Doo?
DOOKU:
We finish this together.
Sifo-Dyas’s lightsaber reignites and he jumps up.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
And that’s what they did, completing the duel in front of their clan, neither holding back or pushing the advantage. It sounds like a glittering display, and when they are finished, hair slick with sweat, lightsabers locked together, the gallery erupts into applause.
The clan applauds, cheering as the lightsabers shut off.
SIFO-DYAS:
We did it! We did it!
DOOKU:
Sifo, behind Yoda—she’s…she’s here. She must have seen everything.
SIFO-DYAS:
(LAUGHING) Saw you, you mean. (BEAT) Thank you.
DOOKU:
For what?
SIFO-DYAS:
You know. You could have finished me, there and then, just like Arath said.
DOOKU:
Since when have I ever listened to him?
BRAYLON: (OFF-MIC)
Settle down. Settle down. We must prepare for the next duel. Please. We must have silence.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Dooku describes the duels of each of his clan-mates in excruciating detail, fascinated even at this young age with form and technique. I don’t need to listen to all of it, scrolling through the files until I reach the moment Dooku has waited for. The same gallery on a different day. The same Masters standing in front of the same pupils, the anticipation in the room at an all-time high…
BRAYLON:
The time has come, Initiates. I will ask each of the Masters to choose their Padawans. This is a solemn moment, but also a joyous one. You are about to embark on the next stage of your journey. May the Force guide us all.
SIFO-DYAS:
(WHISPER) This is it, Doo.
DOOKU:
Shhh!
SIFO-DYAS:
I can’t. It’s too exciting.
BRAYLON:
Who will make the first declaration?
SINUBE:
I will. By the will of the Force, I choose Zang Arraira as my Padawan.
ZANG:
(GASPS) It will be an honor to train with you, my Master.
BRAYLON:
Is there anyone else?
LENE:
Yes. I wish to claim a Padawan.
DOOKU:
(TO HIMSELF) The Force will be with me. The Force will be with me.
There is excited babble among the younglings.
LENE: (CONT.)
I choose…
ARATH:
(SNICKERS) Look at Dooku. All a-flutter.
DOOKU:
Seriously. One more crack and I’ll…
LENE:
…Sifo-Dyas.
DOOKU:
What?
LENE:
Come, Padawan. Join me.
SIFO-DYAS:
(LOW, TO DOOKU) Dooku. I’m sorry.
DOOKU:
It’s fine. (IT’S NOT, BUT HE DOESN’T WANT HIS FRIEND TO KNOW) Congratulations. Go, go.
Sifo-Dyas approaches Lene.
SIFO-DYAS:
Thank you, Master.
ARATH:
(LEANING IN TO DOOKU) Awww, is someone going to cry?
LENE:
What of you, Master Braylon?
BRAYLON:
I will not elect a Padawan this year, but if there is anyone else…?
YODA:
Yes. Chosen, I have.
An excited buzz goes around the gallery.
SINUBE:
The Grand Master is to take a Padawan. This is a rare honor.
YODA:
Dooku, I choose. My Padawan he will be.
DOOKU:
(SHOCKED) Thank you, Master.
YODA:
Arduous the training will be. Much I expect of you.
DOOKU:
And I won’t let you down. I promise.
YODA:
A promise not to me you must make, my young Padawan, but to yourself. The Force will guide you. Yes. The Force will guide us all.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
But the Force had little to do with the glee in Dooku’s voice as he talked to his sister later that night…
SCENE 29. INT. THE WINDRUNNER. DOOKU’S CABIN.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
You should have seen Arath’s face, Jenza. His name wasn’t even called. Yoda said he wasn’t ready, that he would continue to train as an Initiate for another year. Another year!
I know it’s wrong of me, but I can’t help but think he got what he deserved.
VENTRESS:
So much for Jedi compassion.
She turns of
f the hologram, swapping another disk into the player.
KY NARAC: (GHOST)
More?
VENTRESS:
Can’t a girl be curious?
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
Yoda has told me that our training will be delayed…
VENTRESS:
No.
The recording scrubs forward. She clicks the button.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
…tied up with negotiations with the—
VENTRESS:
No.
She fast-forwards again.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
This is it, Jenza.
VENTRESS:
This sounds more promising.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
Yoda has told me to meet him in the training garden. My apprenticeship begins today…
SCENE 30. EXT. JEDI TEMPLE. TRAINING GROUND.
Atmosphere: A gentle wind rustling through the leaves of the kukra tree. Birds singing.
Dooku approaches a meditating Yoda.
DOOKU:
Master Yoda.
There is no response.
DOOKU:
Master Yoda. I am ready to commence my training.
Still no response.
DOOKU:
Hello?
SCENE 31. INT. THE WINDRUNNER. DOOKU’S CABIN.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
It was obviously not what the new Padawan was expecting.
The sound of a recording fast-forwarding.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
And yet, if his next few holomessages were anything to go by, the following days brought little change.
She presses play.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I don’t understand it. It’s the same every time.
SCENE 32. EXT. JEDI TEMPLE. TRAINING GROUND.
As before, Dooku approaches.
DOOKU:
Master Yoda?
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I go to the training garden at the allotted time to find Yoda sitting, cross-legged, on the floor. Just meditating.
DOOKU:
I’m sorry, Master, but I thought we might begin today.
Nothing but the birdsong.
DOOKU:
I’m eager to begin my apprenticeship.
Nothing.
DOOKU:
I have so much to learn. Master Yoda.
Nothing.
DOOKU:
Master Yoda.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
It was the same yesterday, and the day before. I might as well be talking to the statues of the Four Founders.
Again, we hear Dooku approach on another day, his step just that little bit more brusque, and when he speaks, his tone is just a little more frustrated.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
And then today…today he was floating! A meter from the floor! Still with his eyes closed. Still not moving. Not talking.
DOOKU:
Master. Have I displeased you, somehow? Have I done something wrong? Why will you not talk to me? (BEAT) Master, please.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
It’s all right for Sifo-Dyas. I’ve seen him every day this week, in the training gallery, practicing with Lene. Zang too. Just this morning, she was performing soothing rituals in the atrium. Soothing rituals! Master Sinube was right there alongside her, talking to her, encouraging her, like he’s supposed to be. But not Yoda.
We hear the swipe of solitary lightsaber practice, Dooku showing off in front of his meditating teacher.
DOOKU:
(WITH EFFORT FROM THE MOVES) Look, Master.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
Never Yoda.
More swipes.
DOOKU:
I have been practicing.
And more.
DOOKU:
I have perfected the forestalling stance. Do you see? Do you see?
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
He sits and he meditates and he floats and he doesn’t even acknowledge my presence!
Another day. More footsteps. Angry now. Dooku’s voice raised as he marches forward.
DOOKU:
Why are you doing this? Why did you even choose me?
More fast-forwarding.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I don’t know what to do. Do I talk to Braylon? Do I go to the Council? It’s not right, Jenza. It’s not fair. Master Sinube said it himself. I was his best pupil. His best! Is this how the best are treated?
DOOKU:
(SHOUTING) Why won’t you answer!
Another hologram of Dooku opens.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I’ve had enough of it now, Jenza. It’s been almost a month. I talked to Lene, asked her advice, but she said it wasn’t her place to interfere. Not her place. Since when has that stopped her? But I’m not standing for it anymore. Oh no. Yoda said, on the day of the tournament, he said that the bond between a Padawan and his Master was sacred. And this is how he treats me. How he…how he insults me. He demands respect. Oh, how he demands respect, but he doesn’t give. Doesn’t earn it. I’m going to show him, Jenza. If he won’t teach me, I’m going to show him what I can do.
Back in the training garden. Same atmosphere. The breeze. The birds. Dooku marches up.
DOOKU:
I’m ready for my lesson, Master. Look.
More fast-forwarding.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I did it. Just as I said I would. I marched up in front of him and reached out with the Force.
DOOKU:
(GRUNT OF EFFORT)
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I lifted everything I could around us. Stones. Leaves. Blossoms. I even lifted some of the soil from the roots of the Great Tree, molding it as we were taught in Master Veleckra’s Force-sculpture lesson; a perfect icosahedron, fashioned out of dirt. Do you know how difficult that is? And still…and still he ignored me! He might as well have laughed in my face.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to show him. I had to make him open his eyes.
I let everything else fall and focused on the tree. They say it is old, even older than Yoda, that it originally stood on Ossus, at the heart of the First Temple. I don’t know how many Jedi have trained beneath its branches, or how many birds have roosted among its leaves, but I knew it would get his attention.
I imagined my hand, huge and strong, closing around that gnarled trunk, the rough bark beneath my fingers. I could feel the Force running through the kukra’s sap, radiating out, sweeping over the ziggurat, over the entire district. Yoda loves that old tree. Growing up, I had seen him standing at its base day after day, looking up into the twisted boughs. I’d felt the connection between the two of them, each impossibly ancient. Now he would see the tree afresh. He would open his eyes as I pulled it from the ground, roots and all, as easy as if I’d plucked a fresh shoot from its bed. He would remember why he chose me. He would remember my strength in the Force.
DOOKU:
(NOISES OF EFFORT)
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I pulled, recalling Yoda’s own words as my guide. The only difference was my mind. The only difference was my mind.
The branches began to shake, leaves tumbling to the ground. I would show him. I would show him I was ready, once and for all.
The noises of effort become an almost bestial roar that is at first intent and then frustration.
Dooku has to stop. We hold on the silence for a moment as he breathes heavily, the leaves continuing to fall.
DOOKU: (
HOLO-NARRATION)
I couldn’t do it. It was too much.
Dooku slumps to the ground.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I sat down, hard, in front of him. Exhausted in both body and spirit.
DOOKU:
(BREATHING HARD, TRYING NOT TO CRY)
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I had failed. I wasn’t strong enough.
And yet, when I looked up, Yoda’s eyes were open, and they were settled on me.
YODA:
Ready, are you, my Padawan? Ready to learn what you do not know?
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
And finally I understood.
DOOKU:
Yes, Master. Yes, I am.
YODA:
Then begin, we shall.
SCENE 33. INT. THE WINDRUNNER. DOOKU’S CABIN.
Ventress switches off the holocomm.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
A good lesson.
VENTRESS:
Like you would know.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
I could say the same of you, sitting there. Have you so easily forgotten the lessons I taught you?
VENTRESS:
You didn’t teach me anything, because you aren’t real.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Never waste an opportunity. Keep your senses open.
VENTRESS:
(IRRITABLE) What are you talking about?
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
You want to learn about Dooku, but you can’t see what is under your nose. Where are you sitting, Asajj? Whose desk is that? What secrets does it hide?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I look down at the wooden table, at the files, arranged neatly.
VENTRESS:
They are for show.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Yes, they are.
VENTRESS:
Then what am I supposed to be looking for?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Drawers. There are drawers in the desk. I hadn’t even thought to look in them. Ky is right. He may be an annoying fiction, but he has a point. If I want to truly know my new Master, maybe I should display a little more…initiative.
I reach out with the Force, letting my hand be guided to the drawers on the right, third one down. It’s locked. Unsurprising. But locks can be broken.
We hear Ventress break the lock using the Force. The drawer opens.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)