Legacy of the Jedi

  Legacy of the Jedi

  JUDE WATSON

  CHAPTER No. 1

  The corridor was empty. The two thirteen-year-old boys paused outside the closed door. There were locks at the Jedi Temple, but they were rarely used. There was no need. There was nothing to hide. Nothing was forbidden. The Jedi's code of honor gave each individual the challenge and privilege of walking the Jedi path. It was assumed that the discipline needed for this would also prevail in one's private life.

  So to enter another Jedi's room without an invitation would not violate a rule. Not one that needed to be spoken or written, at least. Yet Dooku knew it was wrong. It wasn't terribly wrong. But it was wrong.

  "Come on," Lorian said. "No one will find out."

  Dooku glanced at his friend. Lorian's face was eager. A dusting of freckles scattered across his blunt nose like a dense constellation of stars. His eyes were warm, lit with mischief, a dark piney green with amber lights, like a forest shot with sunlight. Lorian had been suggesting schemes since they were seven, and he'd talked Dooku into exploring the garbage tunnels. The experience had left Dooku with a reeking tunic and a healthy respect for sanitation practices.

  "Besides, he's your Master," Lorian said. "He wouldn't mind."

  It was true that Thame Cerulian was Dooku's Master. The renowned Jedi Knight had chosen him last week. Dooku had just turned thirteen, and he was relieved that he wouldn't have to wait any longer to become a Padawan Learner. Yet he had not had time to get to know Thame at all. Thame was in the Outer Rim completing one last mission before taking on a Padawan. Dooku was proud to have been chosen by such a legend.

  The question was, could he live up to that legend? Dooku had to. Getting a peek into Thame's personal quarters might give him a head start.

  He nodded at Lorian and accessed the door. It slid open silently. He stepped inside. If he expected a clue to his new Master's inner character, he was disappointed. The sleep couch was narrow, pushed against one wall. A gray coverlet was folded neatly at the bottom. A data-screen sat on a bare table. No laserprints or holograms hung on the wall. No personal items were on the desk or the small table beside the sleep couch. There was a glass carafe with a small glass stopper. The transparent vessel and the gray blanket were the only signs that someone actually inhabited the room.

  "Wait," Lorian said. "I found something."

  He slid his hands along a seam in the wall that was almost invisible. He pressed a recessed button and the wall slid back to reveal shelves over the desk. They were filled with holobooks.

  Dooku bent to examine the titles. Thame, he knew, was a historian, an expert in Jedi history. He had never seen most of these titles before. Galactic history, biographies, the natural sciences of different atmospheres and planetary systems. It was an impressive library.

  Lorian dismissed them with a glance. "You'd think he'd have had enough of studies after Temple training. I can't wait to get out into the galaxy and do things."

  Dooku reached for a holobook with no title or author. He flipped it open and scanned a page.

  Meditation beforehand is necessary in order to ready the mind. Some suffer from nausea or dizziness at first viewing. But primarily one must prepare for the effect of the dark side upon the mind, especially the young or weak. Nightmares and dark visions can result, lasting years. . . .

  "This is a manual about the Sith Holocron," Dooku said, his voice a whisper now. He handled the holobook carefully.

  "The Sith Holocron? But no one can view it," Lorian said.

  "That's not so. Jedi Masters are allowed. Not many are interested. Most Jedi Knights think the Sith are extinct and will never return. Except for my Master." Dooku gazed at the book. His stomach twisted, as though he'd gazed upon the Sith Holocron itself. "He believes there will come a time when the Jedi will have to fight the Sith again."

  "Does this manual tell you how to access the Holocron?" Lorian asked, interested now.

  Dooku flipped through it, his heart beating. "Yes. It gives warnings and instructions."

  "This is so galactic," Lorian murmured. "With the help of this handbook, we could access the Sith Holocron ourselves!" He looked at Dooku, his eyes shining. "We'd be the first Jedi Padawans to do it!"

  "We can't!" Dooku said, shocked at the suggestion. "Why not?" Lorian asked.

  "Because it's forbidden. Because it's dangerous. Because we don't know enough. Because of a million reasons, all of them good ones."

  "But no one would know," Lorian said. "You could do it, Dooku. You have a better Force connection than any Padawan. Everyone knows that. And with the help of the holobook, you'd succeed."

  Dooku shook his head. He put the holobook back on the shelf.

  "It would be amazing," Lorian said. "You could find out Sith secrets. If you really knew the dark side, you'd be a better Jedi Knight. Yoda says that we can't fight evil without understanding it."

  "Yoda never said that."

  "Well, it sounds like something he'd say," Lorian protested. "And it's true. Isn't that what Temple training is all about? All we do is study so we can be prepared. How can we prepare to meet evil if we don't understand it?"

  That was the trouble with Lorian, Dooku thought. He had a way of putting things that made sense, even when he was asking you to break the rules.

  He looked over at the holobook again. It was tempting. And Lorian had put his finger on Dooku's secret wish — to be the best Padawan ever. He wanted to impress his new Master. Could the Sith Holocron be the key to his wish?

  "We'll only take a quick look," Lorian said. "Just think, Dooku. The Jedi are the most powerful group in the galaxy. We could be the best of the best."

  "A true Jedi does not think in terms of power," Dooku said disapprovingly. "We are peacekeepers."

  "Peacekeepers need power, just like everybody else," Lorian pointed out. "If they don't have it, who will listen?"

  Lorian was right, even though he wasn't expressing himself in what would be considered a true Jedi way. The Jedi did have power. Jedi did not use that word, but it fit. Lorian knew that, and he wasn't afraid to say it. Jedi were renowned throughout the galaxy. They weren't feared, but they were respected. They were asked by governments, by Senators, for their help. If that wasn't power, what was?

  The best of the best. Wasn't that what he wanted?

  "Thame is a great Knight," Lorian continued. "I'd think you'd want to be worthy of him. If I had a Master, I'd prepare as much as I could before we left the Temple. I wouldn't want to disappoint him."

  "I won't disappoint him if I do my best," Dooku said. "That is all I can do."

  Lorian threw himself back on Thame's sleep couch with a groan. "Now you sound like Yoda."

  "Don't sit there!" Dooku hissed, but Lorian ignored him.

  Lorian stared at the ceiling. `No one has chosen me."

  Dooku held his breath. Here it was, the big thing between them. He had been chosen by a Jedi Knight, and Lorian had not. Dooku had been one of the first to be chosen. Every day afterward, the two boys had waited for a Jedi Knight to choose Lorian. They knew that many had watched him, and some had considered him seriously. Yet each time, the Knight had chosen someone else. Neither Dooku nor Lorian knew why. Dooku had always been ahead of Lorian in battle skills and Force connection, but Lorian was just as brilliant in his studies and commitment. It was unthinkable that Lorian would not be chosen eventually.

  "It will happen," Dooku said. "Patience exists to be tested."

  Lorian flipped over on his side and gave Dooku a flat stare. "Right."

  Dooku wished he could take back his words. They were so . . . correct. They were something a Jedi Master might say, not a best friend. But the truth was that he didn't know what to say. The period of waiting was hard, but e
verything would turn out all right.

  Lorian coiled his body into a ball and then shot off the bed. "Okay, make a decision. Do we access the Sith Holocron or not?"

  Dooku reached over to straighten the wrinkles Lorian had made on his new Master's bed. Thame was everything he'd hoped to get as a Master. He couldn't jeopardize that. Not even for his best friend.

  "Not," he said. "We'd get in serious trouble if we got caught."

  "You never worried about getting caught before," Lorian said.

  That's because I never had so much to lose. But Dooku couldn't say that. If he did, it would only point out that Lorian didn't have a Master.

  Dooku felt Lorian's eyes on his back as he bent to smooth the coverlet at the end of Thame's sleep couch.

  "If you could do it without the risk of getting caught, you would do it," Lorian said. "So the fact that it's wrong isn't really the reason you won't. Maybe you're not the true Jedi you think you are."

  He sauntered out the door. "Just wanted you to know that I noticed."

  CHAPTER No. 2

  Now that Dooku was through with his official Temple training, he was allowed to structure his days himself. Although he was expected to continue to study and devote himself to battle training and physical discipline, it was also expected that he would allot the time for activities he enjoyed. In the brief period between a Padawan's last official classes and becoming an apprentice, the Jedi Masters indulged their students and gave them freedom to roam.

  Dooku woke early. His conversation with Lorian the day before still troubled him. He decided to head to the Room of the Thousand Fountains to stroll among the greenery and let the music of the water calm his mind. It felt luxurious to be able to decide how to spend his time. He knew such days would be over soon, and he intended to enjoy every second of them. He wouldn't allow a small disagreement with his friend to ruin them, either.

  He stepped out into the hallway and immediately noticed a change. Dooku sometimes wasn't sure whether the Force or his intuition was working — he wasn't that experienced yet. But he knew that the atmosphere in the Temple had changed. There was a humming current underneath the calm, an agitation he could pick up easily.

  Ahead of him, a few students stood in a cluster. Dooku approached them. He recognized Hran Beling, a fellow student his age. Hran was a Vicon, a small species only one meter tall.

  He didn't have to ask the students what they were discussing. Hran looked up at him, his long nose twitching. "Have you heard the news? The Sith Holocron has been stolen!"

  Dooku was naturally pale, but he felt his blood drain from his face, and he was sure he looked as white as a medic's gown. "What? How?"

  "No one knows how," Hran said. "There could be an intruder at the Temple."

  One of the younger students lowered his voice to a whisper. "What if it's a Sith?"

  Hran's eyes twinkled. "Yes, what if it is?" he asked solemnly. "He could be walking the halls. He could be anywhere. What if he's behind you right now?" Hran gasped and pointed behind the young student, who jumped in alarm, his Padawan braid flying.

  The others burst into nervous laughter. Dooku didn't join them. His heart thumping, he turned away.

  There had been no intruder. He was sure of it.

  Dooku hurried to Lorian's quarters. The privacy light was on over Lorian's door, but he accessed it anyway. The door was locked.

  Dooku pressed his mouth against the seam of the door. "Let me in, Lorian."

  There was no answer.

  "Let me in or I'll go straight to the Jedi Council room," Dooku threatened.

  He heard the smooth click as the lock disengaged, and the door slid open. The room was dark, the shade drawn against the rising sun. He stepped inside and the door hissed shut behind him. All was dark except for the hologram of Caravan, a model star cruiser Lorian had designed. It traveled the room in an endless loop.

  Lorian sat in a corner, as if he were trying to press himself against the wall hard enough to melt inside it. His hands dangled between his knees, and Dooku saw that they were shaking.

  "You took it."

  "I didn't mean to," Lorian said. "I just wanted to look at it."

  "Where is it?"

  Lorian pointed to the far corner with his chin. "Do you feel it?" he whispered. "I feel so sick. .. ."

  "Why did you take it?" Dooku asked sharply, his gaunt features making him look older than his years. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He could feel the dark power of the Holocron. He didn't want to look at it. Just knowing it was behind him in a dark corner was enough to make him feel shaky.

  "I was in the archives. I had it in my hands. Someone was coming. I put it underneath my cloak. Then I ran." Lorian shuddered. "I was going to take it back, but I can't .. . I can't touch it again, Dooku. I didn't expect it to be like this."

  "How did you expect it to be?" Dooku asked angrily. "A pleasant walk in the woods?"

  "I have to bring it back," Lorian said. "I need your help." Dooku looked at him in disbelief. "I told you I didn't want anything to do with this."

  "But you have to help me!" Lorian cried. "You're my best friend!"

  "You got yourself into this," Dooku said. "Just stick it under your cloak again and bring it back."

  "I can't do it alone, Dooku," Lorian said.

  Dooku's gaze rested on Lorian's shaking hands. He didn't doubt that Lorian wouldn't be able to do it. "Please, Dooku," Lorian begged.

  Dooku didn't get a chance to answer. The door suddenly hissed open. Oppo Rancisis, Jedi Master and revered member of the Jedi Council, stood in the doorway.

  "Are you ill, Lorian?" he asked kindly. "Some of the Masters noticed that you . .." His voice trailed off. Dooku felt the atmosphere in the room change, as though gravity had increased. He felt it pressing against him.

  Oppo Rancisis stared at them. "I sense a tremor in the Force," he said.

  They could not speak.

  His keen gaze swept the room. Suddenly he turned and strode to the corner and picked up the Holocron. He placed it carefully in the deep pocket of his robe. Then he turned and regarded the two boys.

  Lorian pressed himself back against the wall and pushed himself to a standing position.

  "It was Dooku's idea," he said.

  CHAPTER No. 3

  Dooku was too shocked to say a word.

  "The Council will want to see you both," Oppo Rancisis said sternly.

  "But I didn't —" Dooku began.

  Oppo Rancisis held up a hand. "Whatever you have to say will be said before the Council. The truth will be spoken there." He turned and walked out.

  "Dooku, listen —" Lorian started.

  Rage filled Dooku. He couldn't even meet his friend's gaze.

  He ran blindly down the hall. He didn't know where he was going. He had so many sanctuaries in the Temple — a favorite bench, a spot by a window, a rock by the lake —but he could not imagine any of those places offering him sanctuary now. His heart was so full of black anger and bitterness that he felt he was choking.

  His best friend had betrayed him. Throughout the years at the Temple, he could always depend on Lorian. They had shared jokes and secrets. They had competed and helped each other. They had quarreled and made up.

  The fact that this person could betray him shocked him so deeply he felt sick.

  He didn't know how he passed the day. Somehow the news got out that the two had been caught. Students sent him sidelong looks and hurried by him. Jedi Knights who did not know him studied him as they passed in the hall. Dooku longed to go to Yoda and explain everything, but he knew that Yoda would only repeat what Oppo Rancisis had said. He had to suffer through the days until the Jedi Council found the time to speak to them.

  Dooku did not have the appetite or the nerve to face the others in the dining hall for the evening meal. He stayed in his room. When at last the hallways glowed with the cool blue light that meant the Temple was settling down to sleep, he felt relief. At least for the next hours he wouldn't be u
nder scrutiny.

  He couldn't wait to be called before the Council. He couldn't wait to tell the truth. He knew the Masters would believe him and not Lorian. A Jedi Master was adept at discerning truth. Lorian would not get away with his lie, and Dooku would have justice.

  He turned out the light and lay on his sleep couch, his heart burning. He imagined how clearly he would speak. He would tell the truth — all of it. He would tell them how Lorian tried to tempt him. He would tell them how he refused him, and how Lorian had pressed him. It was with great satisfaction that Dooku imagined Lorian's punishment. A reprimand would surely not go far enough. Lorian could even get expelled from the Jedi Order.

  His door hissed open. He hadn't locked it. Dooku never locked his door. He'd never needed to, until now.

  Lorian slipped into the dark room. Dooku said nothing, hoping his contempt would fill the space better than words.

  Lorian sat on the floor, a few meters away from the sleep couch.

  "I had a reason for saying what I did," he said. "I'm not interested in your reasons."

  "You don't understand anything," Lorian burst out. "Everything comes so easily to you. You never think about other people, about how they suffer. You just kept telling me I shouldn't worry about getting chosen. Why shouldn't I worry? Time is running out! It's so easy for you to say. You were picked right away."

  "So you're blaming me for that?" Dooku hissed. "Is that why you lied to Oppo Rancisis?"

  "No," Lorian said. "And I don't blame you for anything except not trying to understand how I feel. We're supposed to be best friends, and you never, ever really tried. All you think about is your own pleasure in your success."

  "Get out of my room," Dooku said.

  Instead, Lorian stretched out on the floor. His voice lowered. "Can't you understand, Dooku? I'm in trouble. I need your help. I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have taken the Holocron. But I was desperate. I thought if only I had an edge, if only I could know something that no one else knows. . . . Can't you understand why I would want that?"

  "No," Dooku said. But he did.

  "Now if the Council finds out I did it, I could be kicked out of the Jedi."