by Cavan Scott
KY NAREC:
Gretz says I always yield.
QUI-GON:
And? Sometimes to win you must lose.
KY NAREC:
Exactly. (BEAT) I think.
GRETZ:
Please don’t pretend you know what that means.
The lightsaber duel ends in one of the sabers going off.
IMA-GUN: (OFF-MIC)
Solah!
SINUBE: (OFF-MIC)
Well done, Initiates.
BRAYLON: (OFF-MIC)
The next combatants will be chosen.
We hear the stones whirl as before until one is chosen.
SINUBE: (OFF-MIC)
Initiate Narec.
GRETZ:
Time to prove yourself.
BRAYLON: (OFF-MIC)
And his opponent will be…
The stones whirl until…
SINUBE: (OFF-MIC)
Initiate Droom.
KY NAREC:
(GROANING) Oh, great.
GRETZ:
What’s the matter, Ky? Nervous?
QUI-GON:
There is no need to be. The Force will be with you.
GRETZ:
(TEASING) Yeah. It’ll need to be.
SCENE 77. INT. JEDI TEMPLE. TRAINING GALLERY. JEDI MASTERS’ POV.
Another duel is under way.
YODA:
Impressive. Most impressive. Trained them well you have, Master Dooku.
DOOKU:
Master Sinube deserves the credit. He has spent more time with Heliost Clan. My time has been taken up with Thranta, as usual.
YODA:
And yet one youngling interests you, I think.
DOOKU:
He has great potential.
YODA:
An inquiring mind. That is what he has.
BRAYLON:
More like a total disregard for authority, if you ask me.
DOOKU:
That is unfair, Master Braylon.
BRAYLON:
You haven’t taught him.
YODA:
Yet.
DOOKU:
I am not ready to take another Padawan.
SINUBE:
I don’t see why not. Unless you’re thinking of sitting on the Council?
YODA:
Welcome, my former Padawan would be. That he knows. But other plans I sense he has. Chosen for him, the Force already has.
SCENE 78. INT. JEDI TEMPLE. TRAINING GALLERY.
The tournament is over, the Initiates milling around.
KY NAREC:
I don’t believe it.
GRETZ:
Maybe he couldn’t choose between us?
KY NAREC:
So he chose him?
Gretz spots Dooku approaching.
GRETZ:
Shhh.
DOOKU:
Padawan Droom. I trust you are pleased with your mentor.
GRETZ:
Yes, Master Dooku.
DOOKU:
Jor Aerith is a fine Jedi, Gretz. You will learn much from her. As will you from Master Mana, Padawan Narec.
KY NAREC:
Thank you, sir.
Qui-Gon approaches.
DOOKU:
And here is my Padawan. I hope you are ready for a challenge, Qui-Gon?
QUI-GON:
Always, Master Dooku.
DOOKU:
Then we shall begin immediately.
QUI-GON:
Master?
DOOKU:
Meet me in the training ground, in ten minutes.
Dooku strides off.
DOOKU: (GOING OFF-MIC)
A Jedi is always punctual. Remember that, Padawan.
QUI-GON:
I will.
GRETZ:
You better run along, Qui-Gon. You’ve got yourself a real taskmaster there.
JOR: (APPROACHING)
Is that so, Padawan Droom?
GRETZ:
(JUMPS) Master Aerith. I didn’t see you there.
JOR:
Obviously. Let’s take a leaf out of Master Dooku’s book, shall we? The Hall of Endurance, in five minutes.
GRETZ:
Five? I mean, yes, Master. I’m looking forward it.
QUI-GON:
Shouldn’t you have already left?
GRETZ:
Very funny.
Gretz rushes off.
SCENE 79. EXT. ROOFTOP. RAIN.
VENTRESS:
You don’t remember it at all?
She swipes another page beneath his dialogue.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Sometimes it is difficult…my memories are clouded…
VENTRESS:
Then maybe this will clear things up for you…“I must admit at first I was concerned. Had I misread the Force? Qui-Gon and I struggled in the early days of our partnership. Everything about us seemed at odds, more so than it had ever been with Rael. Perhaps we were too alike. I needn’t have worried. Trust in the Force, Master Yoda used to tell me, and as in most things he was correct. Now it feels as though we were born to serve together, Qui-Gon the student and I, the teacher…”
As before, fade into:
SCENE 80. EXT. JEDI TEMPLE. TRAINING GROUND.
DOOKU: (NARRATION)
…and I, the teacher. Aerith says we have become inseparable, and I for one welcome it…
QUI-GON:
I am ready, Master.
DOOKU:
Are you sure?
QUI-GON:
Yes.
DOOKU:
Very well. This technique is not one I learned from Master Yoda. And yet I will share it with you, as I shared it with Rael. Who knows. Perhaps you will share it with your Padawan one day.
QUI-GON:
But if you didn’t learn it from Master Yoda…Ah. You learned it from Lene Kostana.
DOOKU:
You’ve heard of her.
QUI-GON:
And how close you were.
DOOKU:
We still are. Now place the band around my chest. Yes, like that.
Qui-Gon pulls a metal band around Dooku’s chest, clicking the ends of the ring together.
DOOKU:
It needs to be tight.
QUI-GON:
It couldn’t get much tighter. What is it?
DOOKU:
A medical implement, at least originally, although I believe the Heltraxi use it as a torture device. When pressed, the button on this remote will send an electronic pulse through my chest, not enough to kill me, but uncomfortable nonetheless.
QUI-GON:
I do not wish to hurt you, Master.
DOOKU:
And you won’t. Through the Force, a Jedi can endure even the most debilitating pain. Remember the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. Master Crucitorn fought on even after being immolated by the Flame-Wielders.
QUI-GON:
Injuries that would have crippled any warrior. But we live in an age of peace.
DOOKU:
And long may it continue. However, his technique can ease discomfort on any level. The principles I teach you today can be used to soothe any pain, be it physical or mental. Now activate the band.
Qui-Gon clicks the button. There is a slight hum.
DOOKU:
(A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE) Good. Turn the dial.
QUI-GON:
Are you sure?
DOOKU:
I wouldn’t have asked you if I were not.
Qui-Gon turns a dial.
DOOKU:
(GRUNTING SLIGHTLY) Good. Now…Reach out with the Force. What do you feel?
QUI-GON:
Your discomfort.
DOOKU:
Hardly surprising. But if I…focus my thoughts…and calm my emotions.
QUI-GON:
Master, we should stop.
DOOKU:
No. Pain is only an illusion. It can be controlled.
He steadies his breathing despite the pain.
DOOKU:
I am Jedi. (NOW CALMER) I am Jedi. (CALMER AGAIN) I am Jedi.
QUI-GON:
Your pain. I cannot sense it anymore.
DOOKU:
Nor can I. The pain is still there. I merely deny its power over me.
QUI-GON:
I would like to try.
DOOKU:
You are eager. I like that.
QUI-GON:
I want to learn.
DOOKU:
And learn you shall, my Padawan.
SCENE 81. EXT. ROOFTOP. RAIN.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I shift, not wanting my legs to cramp in the cold. The sky is darkening. Between Ky and the journal, I’ve lost track of time. I glance down on the street, but it is still deserted. The Crolute hasn’t shown. If he doesn’t come back soon, I’m going to have to rethink the entire operation. I don’t want to think what Dooku will say if I return without his sister. That’s if she’s even still on Serenno.
Trust in the Force. The words Dooku wrote so long ago bolster my resolve. My first instinct was that Glute would return here. I must stand by my convictions just a little bit longer.
KY NARAC: (GHOST)
Is that the only reason?
VENTRESS:
What?
KY NARAC: (GHOST)
Why you are waiting?
VENTRESS:
You need to stay out of my thoughts.
KY NARAC: (GHOST)
How can I? What did you say I was? A figment of your imagination? No. You thought that, didn’t you? How annoying it must be.
She swipes through the datapad, frustrated.
KY NARAC: (GHOST)
But the point stands. You want to know how Dooku was with his Padawan. What kind of teacher he was back then.
VENTRESS:
I know what kind of teacher he is. I bear the scars.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
But he wasn’t always that way. It’s there, on the page in front of you. Their travels through the galaxy. Soul’s Lament. The waterfalls of Dalna. Station Zeta. Qui-Gon would have become used to waystations like Zeta, and the clientele they attracted. I should have taken you offplanet. There’s a freedom about being out in the stars. People take risks that they never would at home, perhaps showing their true nature because they think no one’s looking…
Fade to:
SCENE 82. INT. SPACE STATION.
Atmosphere: A busy space station, lots of bustle and noise.
Footsteps running through a crowd.
RAEL: (COMM)
Arath? Where are you?
ARATH:
I’m on my way, Averross. I had to see someone.
RAEL: (COMM)
And you chose now? The Plinovian ambassador is…
ARATH:
I said, I’ll be there—
He barges into someone, knocking them down.
ARATH:
Stang. I’m sorry.
QUI-GON:
No harm is done.
ARATH:
You’re a Padawan.
QUI-GON:
And you’re a Jedi.
ARATH:
For my sins. The name’s Arath.
QUI-GON:
Qui-Gon.
ARATH:
You’re here for the peace talks?
QUI-GON:
No. We’re passing through.
ARATH:
You and your Master?
QUI-GON:
Yes. Here he comes now.
ARATH:
(GROANS) Today just gets better.
Dooku approaches.
DOOKU:
Well, there’s a face I haven’t seen in a long time.
ARATH:
Dooku. What a wonderful surprise.
DOOKU:
Careful. You almost sound like you mean it. What brings you out here?
QUI-GON:
Station Zeta is hosting a summit.
DOOKU:
Oh?
ARATH:
Between the Plinovians and the Solodoe. I’ve taken a diplomatic post with—
There’s an explosion nearby. People scream.
QUI-GON:
That doesn’t sound good.
DOOKU:
Quickly. (RUNS OFF) We may be able to help.
ARATH:
Ever the hero. (CALLING) Wait up!
SCENE 83. INT. SPACE STATION. CORRIDOR.
Atmosphere: The aftermath of the explosion. People are sobbing. Fires are being extinguished. Rael Averross is attempting crowd control.
RAEL:
Please. Everyone needs to keep back. Yeah. That includes you, lady.
Dooku and Qui-Gon run up.
DOOKU:
Rael?
RAEL:
(SMILING) Master Dooku. I thought I felt your presence.
DOOKU:
You remember my Padawan?
RAEL:
’Course I do. Good to see ya again, Qui-Gon.
QUI-GON:
What happened here?
RAEL:
The peace talks have hit a road bump. The Plinovian ambassador has exploded.
QUI-GON:
He was blown up?
RAEL:
No. He did it himself.
QUI-GON:
I’m sorry?
DOOKU:
Plinovians are a gaseous life-form, similar to Master Oorallon.
RAEL:
The difference being that Oorallon doesn’t self-combust when riled. Just look at this mess.
Arath runs up.
ARATH:
I’m sorry. I came as quickly as I could.
DOOKU:
I thought you were just behind us.
ARATH:
I got waylaid. What happened?
SOLODOE AMBASSADOR:
What happened is that damn Plinovian tried to kill me!
MED DROID:
Please, Ambassador Ketas. I must tend to your injuries.
KETAS:
Get your damn pincers away from me.
RAEL:
Let’s just calm down, shall we?
DOOKU:
Indeed. Taking out your frustration on a med droid will hardly help the situation, Ambassador.
KETAS:
Then maybe I should take it out on whoever you are!
RAEL:
Ambassador Ketas, may I introduce Master Dooku. He has been sent to help with the negotiations.
DOOKU:
I have?
RAEL:
Yes.
KETAS:
The Jedi finally realized you weren’t up to the job, did they? Not that it will make any difference. The talks have been a shambles from beginning to end. I knew it was a mistake holding them here. There are too many distractions. We should’ve held them on Plin, as I originally sugges
ted.
RAEL:
We require neutral ground, Ambassador. If an agreement is to be found…
KETAS:
There will be no agreement. I have been insulted and attacked. Terraforming will continue, and that is final.
RAEL:
Ketas, please.
Ketas opens a comm channel, storming off as he speaks.
KETAS:
Tanu? This is Ketas. (BEAT) I don’t care where you are. We’re leaving. Ready the ship.
RAEL:
(SIGHS) I should’ve become a librarian. You know where you are with books.
DOOKU:
I never knew you were much of a reader. What can we do to help?
RAEL:
I’d better bring you up to speed. Arath, I need you to coordinate the cleanup. Can you do that?
ARATH:
(ICILY) Of course.
RAEL:
We’ll head back to the conference rooms.
DOOKU:
Lead the way.
They leave.
ARATH:
No, that’s fine. I’ll carry on. No need to say thank you.
SCENE 84. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM.
QUI-GON:
So both the Plinovian and the Solodoe have a claim on Plin Minor.
RAEL:
That’s right. But the Solodoe are determined to terraform the planet…
DOOKU:
Which would destroy much of the Plinovians’ natural habitat.
RAEL:
Everything was going great until Ketas accused the Plinovian ambassador of stealin’ his seal of office, which just so happens to be made of solid mythra…
DOOKU:
And therefore worth a small fortune. Where was it kept?
RAEL:
On his cruiser, the Luster. A real beauty. Top-of-the-line security systems. Cams. Pressure pads in the floor. The works. No one could get in or out.
DOOKU:
But someone did.
QUI-GON:
The Plinovian ambassador.
RAEL:
According to Ketas.
DOOKU:
Able to slip through doors…
QUI-GON:
And float over pressure pads.
DOOKU:
But if there is security footage…
A door chime bings.
RAEL:
Hold that thought. Enter.
The door slides open.
CHIEF TANU:
You called for me, Jedi Averross?
RAEL:
Chief Tanu. Thank you for joining us.