Star Wars : Tanya

The Jedi Temple had a number of fairly modest guest rooms for visitors to stay in, but they really weren't known for their luxury.

Being an order of monks, anything too lavish was seen as obscene, and so the guest rooms were humble, with minimal decoration and unpainted duracrete walls. Even the guest room set aside for major diplomats was much the same, but with a few extra rooms for servants and a small reception room for receiving guests.

Being the Count of Serenno, and an old friend at that, the Council had given Dooku and his family the diplomatic guests room. In contrast to the plain white and gray walls, or the unadorned dark furniture, Athemeene had brought a number of colorful toys and bright picture books. Her daughter was currently dressed in a fluffy pink jumpsuit, and resting in her mother's lap, looking quite out of place in the austere environment.

At nearly a year old she was getting to be a big baby, and if left alone would begin trying to stand up. Her balance was wobbly, and a few times she'd fallen on her backside, but Athemeene knew it was only a matter of time until her child mastered locomotion. Even seeing her child learn to do something that basic made Athemeene feel incredible pride as a mother.

Dooku was seated across from the two of them, brooding. Athemeene had noticed he had a bad habit of doing that. He plotted quietly, without sharing his plans or concerns, which sometimes was unhelpful. Like right now.

"Okay, so there are twelve seats on the Council." Athemeene said aloud, getting his attention. "So we need seven votes, and we only have until the next council meeting to get them."

"And one of them must be Yoda." Dooku agreed. "The rest of the council will rarely go against him."

"Alright, so who first?" Athemeene held Tan'ya in her lap, bouncing her up and down. The small child wiggled and giggled, not noticing what was going on in the room around her.

"Yaddle." Dooku answered firmly. "She's an old friend, and likely to drop some hints about the rest of the council. Her opinion of the Jedi and the Republic were never so different from my own, she'll hardly need to be persuaded if at all."

"Maybe we should invite her out for dinner?" Athemeene suggested. "I'd like to get to know some of your old friends."

"I'm sure she'd enjoy that, but we need to move fast so it can't wait for the evening."

...

"It's been wonderful meeting you." Yaddle said, putting her jedi robes on. "Really, Athemeene it was a lovely breakfast."

Athemeene wasn't exactly a chef, but anyone could follow a recipe, and she did occasionally like to make something nice for herself or Dooku when they were at home. Besides, two old friends catching up over a home cooked meal was just about the easiest audience to please. The diminutive green jedi was only too happy to speak to Dooku again, having not seen him in a number of years.

"Really, I would have loved to come to the wedding, but the Council is busier than ever these days." Yaddle said.

"Of that, I have no doubt." Dooku stood to walk his old friend out. "How often have you had to make the trip to the Outer Rim in the last year alone?"

"More than I can count." Yaddle sighed. "So many problems in such a vast region, and we're always so far away. Sometimes I think we should move the Temple. Save us having to rush back and forth every time."

"The Council will never accept that."

"Yes, never." Yaddle agreed, sadly. Then she perked up, her long green ears rising as she looked at Dooku. "But, with you out there personally, I'm hoping you can begin to make a difference."

"That is my hope." Dooku smiled. "So you'll vote in my favor?"

"Yes, I will." Yaddle agreed. "The tradition of not allowing Jedi to have children is… maybe it was necessary at the time, but now? It is causing problems." Yaddle laughed. "Of which you are only one."

Dooku chuckled with her. "And the others? How does the rest of the council feel?"

"Oh Dooku, you know if you were anyone else there would be no chance of an exception." Yaddle paused. "But I think Yarael and Plo are ready to vote with me in favor of you. I'll have a word with them to confirm, but… Mace Windu has spoken about this, and seems firmly opposed, and Ki Adi and Eeth seem to agree with him. Yoda has been silent, along with the rest."

Once she'd left, Athemeene breathed out. "Three down, four to go… Who's next?"

...

"I understand your position, Dooku, I do, but think about what making this exception now would do?" Adi Gallia said.

"An exception?" Dooku scoffed. "Hardly. I will train Tan'ya as a jedi, and the Council will supervise."

"Dooku, if Tan'ya wasn't your daughter I'd be inclined to agree, but the risk of you or her forming attachments is simply too great."

"Adi, I need an heir or my holdings on Serenno are vulnerable. You know how things are done in the Outer Rim, with all the Barons and Counts. Blood is important, and without my own everything will come apart."

"Yes, well you still have a wife, Dooku. I'm sure you can just make another child."

Perhaps for the first time in his life, Dooku understood the feelings of a parent who had their child taken away. Adi was known for being blunt and caustic sometimes, but that she talked about his daughter like she was disposable tested his self control for a moment.

Dooku pushed down his anger and tried a different angle. "A new Temple in the Outer Rim will be just what the galaxy needs, and my daughter being so powerfully gifted proves that this is the Will of the Force."

Adi paused. "Now it sounds like Qui-Gon is influencing you."

"To an extent, perhaps." Dooku conceded. "Adi, you've always paid attention to the galaxy at large, and you know we need this."

For a moment Adi didn't say anything.

Dooku pressed his advantage. "There have already been too many mistakes we could have avoided. Galidran happened because we were too far away from events to understand what was happening, and the need to move fast meant we walked into a pointless disaster. That's not even getting into what fools like Dagonet or Larik managed."

"Yes." Adi sighed, nodding with agreement. "All examples of senatorial misconduct."

"Exactly." Dooku pressed. "There needs to be a temple in the Outer Rim that understands what's actually happening out there, and it can't be beholden to the Senate or they'll ruin everything again. As the Count of Serenno, I can build a temple and fund it myself."

"Some would say that just means you won't have oversight." Adi pointed out.

"It will." Dooku countered. "From you and the rest of the Order."

"But I don't understand why any of that means why your daughter can't be trained here."

"Because this is the Will of the Force." Dooku said, firmly. He waited, letting the silence speak for him.

Adi looked conflicted, but Dooku held his tongue. He'd said his piece, and he knew he couldn't seem too desperate, or it would convince her that he was already dangerously attached.

"...You're right, Dooku." Adi finally answered. "I don't know if this is the Will of the Force or not, but something has to change."

"So I have your vote?"

"You do, Dooku." Adi breathed out, seeming relieved to have finally made a decision. "Whatever else comes, I know that you of all people can be trusted."

That made four.

...

At a suggestion from her husband, Athemeene took Tan'ya to the courtyard to see the only tree most Jedi would ever know until they left the Temple for the first time.

Even the Room of a Thousand Fountains only contained some bushes at the largest, so the single tree in the rooftop courtyard was spiritually significant to the Order. Athemeene could even understand why, with most of the Order being raised on Coruscant from an infant age.

To her the tree seemed, well… small. It was growing in a fairly shallow soil bed, in a high atmosphere with only weak sunlight most of the day, so that was probably to be expected. Compared to the grand forests of Raxus or Serenno it seemed quaint.

Shaking her head in bemusement, Athemeene murmured, "What strange, secluded people these Jedi are."

"So it is, do you think?"

Athemeene jolted, spinning around to find that she wasn't alone. Standing there right behind her was the tiny, green form of the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Alright, it is." Yoda chuckled, his high pitched tone turning his laugh up. "For one outside the Order, strange we must be."

"I really meant no offense, it's just… well, you're right. To me the Jedi seem so very strange."

...

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