by Cavan Scott
VENTRESS:
I did what I needed to survive. Hal’Sted…Hal’Sted looked after me. He treated me like a daughter.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
He made you a weapon.
VENTRESS:
No. That was you.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
I rescued you. When I saw what you could do…
VENTRESS:
How I could aid your crusade, you mean.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
The Force led me to you.
VENTRESS:
Shame it didn’t help you stick around. But nothing lasts forever. Not Hal’Sted. Not you.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
And neither will Dooku.
VENTRESS:
You don’t know that.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Don’t I?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I can’t listen to this. Ky…Ky is dead. This thing in my head is a delusion. Nothing more. I reactivate the final data disk, another hologram shimmering into life. I concentrate on Dooku, older again, although his Padawan’s braid still rests on his shoulder. But something is wrong. His expression is guarded, his stance awkward and stiff. Even in the holoform I can see the shadows beneath his eyes. Something has happened.
DOOKU: (TWENTY YEARS OLD, HOLOGRAM)
Sister. I do not know if you will play this message, but I want to explain. I need to explain. I meant you no harm, you have to believe that. I only wanted to help. To support you. If I had only known what would happen the day I received your message…
PART FOUR
SCENE 52. EXT. JEDI TEMPLE. MEDITATION BALCONY.
LENE:
That’s it, Dooku. Concentrate on the convor.
High above, the convor hoots as she flies through the air.
DOOKU: (TWENTY YEARS OLD)
She keeps flying out of reach, Master Kostana.
LENE:
Because I have trained her well. Just as I am training you.
DOOKU:
Shouldn’t Master Yoda…
LENE:
Master Yoda is busy with the Council and has asked me to take you through the basics of animal kinship, if you’d ever stop talking.
DOOKU:
I’m sorry.
LENE:
Good. Now concentrate. Others call this beast control. They are mistaken. Jedi never control. We influence. We persuade. Reach out to Ferana. Feel the Force flowing through her, feel it flowing through you. Yes. That’s it. One mind. Two bodies. What do you feel?
DOOKU:
Her wings ache when she flies.
LENE:
Poor old thing.
DOOKU:
She trusts you. Knows you will never do her any harm. But isn’t so sure about Sifo-Dyas.
LENE:
I believe the feeling’s mutual. Okay. Touch her mind. Know what it’s like to fly above the Temple. Share the experience with her.
DOOKU:
It’s…thrilling. The air beneath her…beneath my wings. Soaring down. Twisting around. Turning. So many colors.
LENE:
Ask her to fly from one spire to the other. From the Tower of First Knowledge…
We hear her flying high above.
DOOKU:
To the Reassignment Spire.
LENE:
That’s good. Now, send her to the Tower of Reconciliation, but…quick, change her mind. Persuade her to fly to the Tranquility Spire. That’s it. You’re doing it, Dooku. You’re doing it.
There’s a beep from Dooku’s holoreceiver, hidden in a pouch on his belt.
LENE:
Concentrate.
The beeping continues.
LENE:
What is that?
High above them, Ferana squawks and flies away.
DOOKU:
I lost her.
LENE:
Because you were distracted.
Dooku fumbles with his belt.
DOOKU:
I’m sorry. I’ll switch it off.
LENE:
Is that a holocomm?
DOOKU:
Yes. But—
LENE:
It’s not standard issue.
DOOKU:
I know, but I can explain.
LENE:
Give it to me.
DOOKU:
(SIGHS) It’s not what it looks like.
LENE:
Let’s see, shall we?
She activates the holocomm. A hologram of an eighteen-year-old Jenza appears. She is upset. Crying.
JENZA:
(SOBBING) Brother.
LENE:
Brother?
JENZA:
Mother…Mother has passed. She is to be buried in the family mausoleum on Mantero. Will you come to the funeral? Father is…well, he’s worse than ever and Ramil doesn’t care one way or another. I know I shouldn’t ask, but I need you here. I need someone who understands. Please come. Please come home.
The recording ends.
LENE:
Home.
DOOKU:
Serenno. That is Jenza. My sister.
LENE:
So I gathered. How long have you two communicated?
DOOKU:
Ever since Carannia.
LENE:
(DISBELIEVING) The Celebration…but that was years ago. And you’ve never told anyone.
DOOKU:
No. I mean, I told…(REALIZING WHO HE’S TALKING TO) No one. I told no one.
LENE:
You told Sifo-Dyas. Of course, you did. (SIGHING) Yoda is going to be…
DOOKU:
Livid?
LENE:
Disappointed. Which, trust me, is worse. What were you thinking?
DOOKU:
She sent me the receiver. What was I supposed to do?
LENE:
Not keep secrets.
DOOKU:
Oh. Because you always tell the truth.
LENE:
Dooku! You’re the Grand Master’s Padawan.
DOOKU:
What difference does that make?
LENE:
(SIGHS) It doesn’t.
DOOKU:
Jenza and I have a connection, Lene. We’ve had it from the moment we met. And that’s what I don’t understand—the Jedi are supposed to protect the galaxy and yet we remove ourselves from it. Cut ourselves off.
LENE:
So our judgment isn’t clouded.
DOOKU:
But what if that’s wrong? My sister’s in pain and I can help her. I…I owe it to her. She’s listened to me all these years. Whenever I’ve been angry. Whenever I’ve struggled. She’s always been there, my guiding light.
LENE:
The Force should be your guide.
DOOKU:
And the Force is in all things. Who’s to say that it hasn’t been working through her all these years? Who’s to say it can’t work through me, now. She needs me.
LENE:
It’s not me you need to persuade.
DOOKU:
Will you talk to him? On my behalf?
LENE:
To Yoda? No. (BEAT) But I’ll stand beside you, when you address the Council.
SCENE 53. INT. JEDI COUNCIL CHAMBER.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
The last time I stood before the Council, all eyes had been on Sifo-Dyas, but now they were firmly set on me. There was nowhere to hide. The Masters listened to my confe
ssion, their condemnation palpable. I told them everything, about you, our messages beamed back and forth across the stars, and what you had asked of me. And then I waited, the silence damning. When he finally spoke, the sorrow in Yoda’s voice was like a lightsaber in my chest…
YODA:
What have I always tried to teach you, my Padawan?
DOOKU:
That a Jedi must be strong—
YODA:
No. The Force is strong. A Jedi listens. A Jedi understands. A Jedi respects.
DOOKU:
I do respect you.
YODA:
Not I. Respect the Force. Respect its teachings. How many times must the same things I repeat. Away from the past a Jedi must turn. Only in the present you should dwell.
BRAYLON:
Familial attachments are strictly prohibited. You know that, Dooku.
DOOKU:
I do, Master Braylon. I just thought—
YODA:
Thought? Tell you what you thought, I will. Thought you were different, hmmm? That the rules you could break.
LENE:
I don’t think it’s so much break, as bend them a little.
YODA:
Your influence, this is, Master Kostana. Not mine.
DOOKU:
Masters, please. I was wrong to hide the holocomm from you, I know that. I was wrong to keep my relationship with Jenza a secret. But none of this is my sister’s fault. Punish me, yes, but please, don’t punish her.
SINUBE:
What would you have us do, Padawan?
DOOKU:
Let me go to her, Master Sinube.
YODA:
Hmh!
DOOKU:
Let me stand by her side as she buries our…as she buries her mother. And then I swear, I will break all contact.
YODA:
True to your vows you will be?
DOOKU:
I promise.
YODA:
Hmm. A fine speaker, you are. A great politician you would make.
DOOKU:
Then you will let me go?
YODA:
Leave the Temple I cannot.
DOOKU:
But—
BRAYLON:
Master Yoda is negotiating a treaty between the Forta and the Lerall.
YODA:
At a delicate stage, the talks are.
LENE:
What if I take him?
YODA:
You?
LENE:
I have business in the Gordian Reach. Serenno isn’t that far out of my way.
YODA:
Business? What business?
LENE:
There have been worrying reports along the Hydian Way, a rise in lawlessness and disorder.
BRAYLON:
That’s true. Reports that the Senate has chosen to ignore.
YODA:
Investigating these reports, you are?
LENE:
That was my plan. And Dooku is a native of the region. He may be able to sense something that others have not.
SINUBE:
And if the Senate asks?
LENE:
He is visiting his home for a state funeral.
BRAYLON:
It is the perfect cover.
YODA:
Happy about this I am not, Master Braylon…but my permission I give.
DOOKU:
Thank you, Master.
YODA:
Do not thank me yet, my apprentice. Fickle the past can be. The pain of tomorrow, the comfort of yesterday is. Only in the present should we trust. Only in today…
SCENE 54. INT. THE TRUTHSEEKER.
Atmosphere: The interior of a spaceship.
DOOKU: (HOLO-NARRATION)
I had often wondered what it would be like to take to the stars in Master Kostana’s shuttle, the Truthseeker, to soar away from Coruscant time and time again. And now I knew, and the reality of the situation weighed heavy on my heart as we sped toward Serenno…
SIFO-DYAS: (TWENTY YEARS OLD)
Doo?
DOOKU:
Please don’t call me that.
SIFO-DYAS:
You never used to mind.
DOOKU:
Yes. Yes, I did.
SIFO-DYAS:
I’m sorry.
DOOKU:
No. I am. I just keep thinking about what Yoda said.
SIFO-DYAS:
About your sister?
DOOKU:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt…I’ve felt like I don’t belong.
SIFO-DYAS:
Dooku, that’s ridiculous.
DOOKU:
Is it?
SIFO-DYAS:
You’re the most accomplished Padawan in a generation. Everyone says so. You say so, most of the time.
DOOKU:
I know I am…difficult to be around at times.
SIFO-DYAS:
(WARMLY) Only at times? That’s one way to put it.
DOOKU:
You’re teasing me.
SIFO-DYAS:
Yes, because sometimes we all need a little teasing. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve strived to be the best. No, actually it’s more than that. You’ve known you are the best. Remember when Yoda chose you as his Padawan?
DOOKU:
It’s hard to forget.
SIFO-DYAS:
The others were surprised. But not me. It made complete sense. Of course Yoda would want to shape you.
DOOKU:
But what if I don’t want to be shaped?
SIFO-DYAS:
You don’t?
DOOKU:
Everyone is so sure of my future. Yoda. The Council. I’ll become a Jedi Knight and one day take a Padawan of my own.
SIFO-DYAS:
(SMILING) May the Force be with them.
DOOKU:
It’s not funny! Become a Master. Join the Council. And then what?
SIFO-DYAS:
Rule the galaxy?
DOOKU:
I could do a better job than the Senate.
SIFO-DYAS:
You’d do a better job than anyone. But this isn’t about your future.
DOOKU:
Then what is it?
SIFO-DYAS:
Your secret. Everyone knows now. Jenza. The holocomm. You can’t control it anymore. Can’t decide when or where you talk to her. You’ve even agreed to give her up. And why? Because whatever you say, however resentful you feel at this moment, you are a Jedi, Dooku. Through and through. More Jedi than I’ll ever be. This is where you belong. This is where you make a difference. I don’t think your future is mapped out at all. You’re going to change everything.
DOOKU:
For the better?
SIFO-DYAS:
This is you we’re talking about.
DOOKU:
(QUIETLY) Thanks, Si.
SIFO-DYAS:
(TEASING) Please don’t call me that.
DOOKU:
(SMILING) You never used to mind.
There’s the creak of a deck plate.
LENE:
Knock knock.
The Padawans stand.
DOOKU:
Master Kostana.
LENE:
We’re approaching Serenno. Should we land at Carannia?
DOOKU:
No. Take us straight to Mantero.
LENE:
The Funeral Moon, coming up.
They follow her through to the cockpit.
SIFO-DYAS:
Funeral Moon?
LENE:
Serennians bury their dead on the smallest of their moons.
DOOKU:
So our ancestors can gaze upon us forever.
SIFO-DYAS:
That’s amazing. I mean, it’s ghoulish, but that’s what makes it so great. I like your planet.
DOOKU:
And guess who has the largest plot of all?
SIFO-DYAS:
House Serenno?
DOOKU:
Who else?
SCENE 55. EXT. THE MANTERO ATMOSPHERE.
A cut scene of the Truthseeker zooming past.
SCENE 56. EXT. MANTERO CEMETERY SPACEPORT.
Atmosphere: A busy spaceport, full of the usual bustle.
A landing ramp lowers and Count Gora clomps down, followed by D-4.
GORA:
Tell those two to hurry up will you, Dee-Four?
D-4:
At once, Count Gora.
Ramil and Jenza come down the ramp.
RAMIL:
No need. We’re here.
GORA:
About time. The sooner we get this done, the better.
JENZA:
The sooner we get this done? You’re talking about Mother’s funeral!
GORA:
Damn circus.
JENZA:
How can you say that?
D-4:
Please don’t make a scene, Lady Jenza. The cam droids are watching.
GORA:
What did I tell you?
RAMIL:
Let’s just play the grieving family and get back home. I’ve a race tonight.
JENZA:
I’m not playing, Ramil.
GORA:
Good for you.
He strides off.
GORA: (CONT.)
Dee-Four, inform the newsnet to focus on my daughter. She’s the best bet, if it’s tears they’re after.
JENZA:
Monster.
RAMIL:
Now, now. You know what he’s like.
JENZA:
And you’re just as bad. Racing, today of all days.
RAMIL:
It’s what Mother would have wanted.
TRADER:
Memory Stone, sir? To remember your loved one?
RAMIL:
(HAUGHTILY) No, thank you. We don’t need any of your funeral tat. (THEY CARRY ON) Damn grief-mongers.
JENZA:
He’s just trying to make a living, Ramil.