Drabble #26

[matril]

Another exploration of a link in the Master-Padawan chain.

p.s. I don't read any EU, so I don't know what sort of backstories they've devised. I'm just extrapolating from the films and making it up myself. ;)


Leaving
----
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," Qui-Gon apologized, a bit breathless.

"That's all right." Master Dooku gave him a strange, sad smile and put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure your new Padawan keeps you busy."

"Yes." Qui-Gon laughed. "Young Obi-Wan has a very different temperament from mine."

"I'm sure you'll make him a fine master," Dooku said approvingly, but his face quickly turned back to melancholy as he looked back out the window.

"What is it, Master?" Qui-Gon asked, a little worried.

Dooku sighed, still staring outside. "You needn't call me that any more," he said at last.

A flutter of fear passed through Qui-Gon, though he couldn't say why. "What do you mean? You'll always be my master; it doesn't matter that I've been knighted."

Dooku turned around, his face creased and tight. "My old padawan, I'm leaving the Order."

Qui-Gon simply blinked. "Leaving?" he repeated blankly.

A somber nod. "More and more, I've found myself growing dissatisfied with the way the Order is run." Dooku met his eyes soberly. "I cannot, in good conscience, remain a member of something that I do not agree with. So I am leaving."

"You're leaving." Qui-Gon still couldn't seem to make sense of the words. It was no secret that his old master often disagreed with the Council, and the Code. Qui-Gon himself could sympathize with such feelings. But leaving outright?

Dooku seemed almost wistful now. "I hope you will not think ill of me. I hold the Jedi Order in the highest respect. Yet when they ignored the strife on my own home planet, preferring to deal with matters closer to the Core - but there I have erred, I suppose," he went on with sudden bitternes. "A Jedi has no home but the Temple, and no family but the Order." He noted Qui-Gon's unease and apologized. "Forgive me, my old friend. It is a personal matter. Continue your own work with the Order, with your new Padawan. You can do much good here." He drew a deep breath. "But I am finished."

Qui-Gon's years of training in meditation had taught him to remain calm. He didn't plead for Dooku to stay, or burst into tears. He merely gave a small smile and said, "I'll miss seeing you around the Temple."

"And I you." Dooku bowed deeply, perhaps an unprecedented gesture from a master to a former padawan. "Farewell."

Qui-Gon lifted his hand. "May the Force be with you."
----

Comments

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

I don't think it says in AOTC exactly when Dooku left the Jedi Order, but in the novelization, etc., it says he left soon after Qui-Gon's death. Still a nice piece.

[matril.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Well, I'm manipulating the story to suit my own purposes. ;)