Before - Legends The Moment -- **complete**, Qui-Gon, Dooku, Jedi OCs -- Broken Nose Challenge -- 22-May-2006

Title: The Moment
Author: ardavenport (aka Anne Davenport)
Timeframe: pre-Episode I, pre-TPM
Genre: drama, Qui-Gon broken nose challenge
Characters: Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi OCs
Keywords Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku, broken nose challenge, Jedi
Summary: Qui-Gon encounters nasal difficulties on a mission with his Master and fellow Jedi
Notes: All I wanted to do was break Qui-Gon?s nose, but it turned into a Jedi mission anyway. Typo is my middle name, with missing words and errors that spell checkers don?t catch being my speciality ? if you see any, just post a reply or send a PM with the what and where and I will kill them with no mercy.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to George and Lucasfilm; I?m just playing in their sandbox



WHACK!

Qui-Gon Jinn went down on the hard-packed dirt, his nose flattened by the impact.

The first thing he felt was complete surprise. He?d been running with the others; he could feel the Force guiding them in the dark. Then a flash of lightning had illuminated the flat, gray shape coming right at his face with just a fraction of a second for him to realize that it was going to hit him and he couldn?t stop it. Thunder rumbled over the growing windstorm.

?Qui-Gon!?

He could just hear the voice in the howling wind. The wind was getting larger, which made no sense to him, but it was. He saw Master Dooku, frozen in another flash of lightning, reaching down to him. In the darkness of storm and wind, his Master?s hands grabbed him, lifted him up over his shoulders. He felt motion, his Master turning and running over the uneven ground. The wind kept getting larger.

Then he felt the pain.

Blood pounded into his nose, throbbed in his whole head with every bouncing stride. It filled his nasal passages and he gagged, choking on it.

Seconds later he flew through the air, landing on a moss covered bank and sliding down to a shallow bottom. Dooku?s weight landed on top of him, his Master?s robe covering his head.

The wind had grown into a thing. It had become a huge mass of deadly size, loud, thundering and rushing at them. Qui-Gon closed his eyes tightly and turned his head, trying to clear his nose of the fluid drowning him. Sound itself had become solid.

It receded.

Qui-Gon knew they were safe. It wouldn?t come back for them. He sensed the others, Master Yewmakkor and her Padawan, Eenid, through the Force. Then he felt Eenid?s weight on his legs, covering him as well as Dooku.

A light flashed in his eyes and he winced away from it?s harsh, steady glare.

?Qui-Gon.? Dooku squeezed his shoulder, hard. His head cleared, strength from his Master filling him through the Force. He saw his Master?s head looming over him only as an outline of gray hair; he couldn?t see his eyes.

Yewmakkor told him to lie still. Her long hair tickling his skin, her paws touched his forehead, his cheek. His nose was hot with pain, but he didn?t flinch when her fingers brushed the swelling injury. Lightning flashed behind her enormous head. She told Dooku that he was bruised, his body shocked, his nose was broken, but nothing worse. The wind had diminished to a normal storm that competed with the Wookie?s howling speech but no longer drowned it out. Thunder rumbled.

A bacta-treated patch next covered his face under his eyes. It?s cool, medicated lining offered some relief. Breathing deeply through his mouth, Qui-Gon tried to focus on slowing the blood flow, but the swelling was already well along. Yewmakkor tried to be gentle, but even the most fractional motion moved broken edges of bone and cartilage together. Qui-Gon tried to breath the agony in and let is pass, but it kept wanting to stay. Dooku?s hand on his forehead pressed strength down on him, but it conflicted with the healing he felt through Yewmakkor?s touch. The Force felt stormy, like the weather around him, inside him. Qui-Gon tensed; he felt as if he was drowning in it.

?The boy doesn?t need to be coddled,? Dooku said. The

 

Oh, I loved the suddenness of it - the way his nose was just broken and the wind was howling. He sounded confused and yet thinking clearly about his master and the Wookiie arguing.

Great job. Looking forward to more.

 

Ooh, really nice job with this! You expertly captured the chaos and violence of the injury, which was a very cool, literal way to take the challenge. I mean, you focused a lot on the actual nose breaking, and made it into the substance, the drama of the fic. I know with a challenge like this, I would be tempted to just have the injury be a sort of by-the-by to elevate some other scenario. I loved Qui-Gon's perspective on it all, the sort of confusion he's feeling. Masterfully done.

I've never broken my nose before, but wow. Ouch. The details were painfully perfect!

Dooku jumping/falling on Qui-Gon really amused me for some reason.

I hope to see more soon!

 

That was a throw-your-reader-into-the-middle-of-the-action kinda post! I liked it. No setup--just WHAM!--a broken nose and all the accompanying misery. The bit about bone grating on bone was a great, realistic detail.

I liked the Wookie, too. It was intriguing to see such a gentle and protective side of such a large and normally fierce being.

 

Great start! I'm glad to see there will be more! Poor Qui-Gon's nose! I will hug him and make him feel better!

 

dianethx: Oh, I loved the suddenness of it - the way his nose was just broken and the wind was howling. He sounded confused and yet thinking clearly about his master and the Wookiie arguing.

With Jedi who have some kind of pre-cognizance about what?s going to happen, I was thinking that it would likely be something so sudden and random that even a Jedi couldn?t see it coming. The weather is a great source of randomness. Thanks for reading!

Charmisjess: Ooh, really nice job with this! You expertly captured the chaos and violence of the injury, which was a very cool, literal way to take the challenge. I mean, you focused a lot on the actual nose breaking, and made it into the substance, the drama of the fic. I know with a challenge like this, I would be tempted to just have the injury be a sort of by-the-by to elevate some other scenario. I loved Qui-Gon's perspective on it all, the sort of confusion he's feeling. Masterfully done.

Thanks! Injuries like that are pretty traumatic, but the person being injured, especially if they can still think, often doesn?t get it, while it?s amazingly obvious to everyone around them.

My sister broke her nose, in a far worse accident than what I?ve written for poor Qui-Gon. The details of nose-breaking are painful.

And Dooku was trying to protect Qui-Gon when jumped on him, but when you?re running it never comes out as heroic as it?s supposed to be.

Ara-gon: That was a throw-your-reader-into-the-middle-of-the-action kinda post! I liked it. No setup--just WHAM!--a broken nose and all the accompanying misery. The bit about bone grating on bone was a great, realistic detail.

Glad you enjoyed it! There?s nothing like starting off quick on a story.

For the Wookie, I was thinking of how Chewbacca was with Han just after he got out of the carbonite; you know those big, walking carpets have a mushy side to them.

VaderLVR64: [/i]Great start! I'm glad to see there will be more! Poor Qui-Gon's nose! I will hug him and make him feel better! [/i]

Glad you liked it! Oh yes, there is more. More mission, more nose. And things get better for Qui-Gon, after a fashion.


And now, some more...


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Qui-Gon heard a new sound, unformed and random like the wind, but punctuated with small, sharp impacts. It got louder, more insistent. His nose throbbing, Qui-Gon kept his head still. The sound pounded harder and he heard thunder. He opened his eyes and saw nothing, total darkness. The air was humid and wet.

He didn?t remember laying down, or being moved. He didn?t think that much time had passed, but he couldn?t be sure. Stirring, Qui-Gon found himself lying on his side and covered with his own wet robe. He didn?t remember his robe being taken off of him either. His head lay next to wet fabric, Dooku, he realized. Rain poured down on them from above in heavy waves of water.

Yewmakkor?s mournful howl told him to lie still, her wet paw rubbed his shoulder. They all huddled together under their robes. The mossy ground was spongy and wet, but they were not lying in water. Even though it hurt, Qui-Gon forced air our his nose, clearing it. Clots of blood came out. He ducked his head, trying to wipe it away onto the ground and not on his Master?s tunic. He wasn?t sure if he succeeded. Dooku?s arm reached up, the hand stroking on his head and brushing away the water that quickly dripped down again on him through the robe. Trickles ran down his face. The coolness actually felt good on his injured nose.

Qui-Gon sensed deep concern from his stern Master, and that alone confirmed to him that he really was injured. He relaxed, reassured by the Jedi Knight?s presence. Qui-Gon was Dooku?s first Padawan and emotion often seemed to flow through their bond more easily from student to teacher. Qui-Gon sometimes wondered how well his Master accepted this, but he never questioned him about it, words seemed so ina

 

Wow, what a chapter... and what a cliffhanger. I hope for poor Qui-Gon that the "Whack" doesn't concern his nose again! Very interesting story!

 

"Whack"? Oh, dear -- did they forget about their prisoner? Or maybe the wind just picked up, or something....

I'm enjoying this. I confess I was a little nervous after "What Are You Smiling About?" You have really vivid imagery, especially of how strange the storm makes everything look, and for some reason I'm especially tickled by your choice to make the other Knight and Padawan of species that tend to be larger than humans... even the pair you're currently playing with who usually get pointed out as tall.

 

Fifilla: Wow, what a chapter... and what a cliffhanger. I hope for poor Qui-Gon that the "Whack" doesn't concern his nose again! Very interesting story!

Oh, it's those little details that come and whack you in the face later. Glad you liked it.

Persephone_Kore: I'm enjoying this. I confess I was a little nervous after "What Are You Smiling About?" You have really vivid imagery, especially of how strange the storm makes everything look, and for some reason I'm especially tickled by your choice to make the other Knight and Padawan of species that tend to be larger than humans... even the pair you're currently playing with who usually get pointed out as tall.

Oh, most of the fics listed in my bio are way, way less evil than that one! Though only a few of them have Qui-Gon and Dooku. I was just killing Qui-Gon on a dare. And I did like putting those two together with Jedi who were a bit taller and bigger than they were. It's a little bit of role reversal where they get to be the short ones on the team. Glad you enjoyed it!


And now a little more...


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In the fraction of a second before it struck him, Qui-Gon realized that the narrow, gray plank that hit him in the face was almost the same color as the thing that had hit him the night before.

Qui-Gon?s control shattered when the pain went right through to the back of his head. He fell backwards, down into the ship. In a second of weightlessness he saw the rectangle of gray sky receding above him before he hit the deck and slid down to the opposite bulkhead. He heard a murderous Whiphid roar and felt a moment of terror that Eenid would lose herself utterly to the dark side if she killed Gooly. He flailed, trying to get his legs under him, spurred on by the white hot bloodlust that he felt through the Force..

Then it was gone.

The furious rage burned itself out and dissipated. Qui-Gon heard Gooly?s high voice yelling loudly about being abused. Eenid replied in a much lower volume; Qui-Gon couldn?t make out the words, but the tone was no more or less calm than usual for her.

Even with the pain in his nose, his face, now his whole head, he didn?t think anything new had been broken by the impact. He wondered if his swollen face had cushioned the blow somehow, but the pain was heating up. He stopped struggling to rise and lay sprawled on the floor where it met the wall. He now had bruises on his legs, back and arms along with his broken nose. Qui-Gon drew the Force to him, struggling for his earlier control. It came slowly.

He heard noise and more complaining from Gooly. Qui-Gon didn?t move, keeping his mind focused on his injuries. He heard Eenid?s claws scrabbling on the hull and the open door above him darkened with her shaggy head. Then a squirming Gooly, trussed up with cord, was lowered into the ship, the collar of her body suit bunched up around her head where Eenid?s clawed hand grasped it. She swung back and forth and then landed, mostly, in one of the rear seats of the cabin.

Then Eenid?s great bulk squeezed in; she did have to turn her head to get it though the jammed door. Qui-Gon smiled reassuringly up at her concerned gaze, though he feared that it had come out more like a grimace. The Whiphid did not look reassured. She turned her head to growl at Gooly, who immediately stopped squirming and huddled fearfully, clutching the edge of her seat.

Using handholds on the wall, she went to the rear of the cabin. Eenid returned with the ship?s medkit. She helped Qui-Gon up into the rear seat opposite Gooly?s. She buckled the body strap over his shoulders when he started to slide out toward the wall and then picked out a scanner and held it close to his face.

?I?m sorry.? Eenid apologized. ?I did not see that she had picked up a piece of debris. She had hoped to force me to help you and let her escape.? Eenid?s large, yellow eyes flicked toward the amphibian. Gooly glared back, but with her

 

Oh, goodness. I'm thoroughly, thoroughly enjoying this fic, and I'm so glad you're continuing with it. That being said, I'm sorry I missed reviewing last chapter, I'll have to make up for it.


--I loved the opening scene, with them all huddling. Qui-Gon's thoughts on Dooku were great, I like the softer side shown here. Patting him on the head some. The trickles of water. A very quiet, nice scene.

I'm not sure why, maybe because I'm thinking about it more, but Dooku seemed younger to me this chapter. Not that he was different from your first chapter, or something, I just got a very clear image of him as a young Master, jockeying for position with the Wookie Master, trying his best to take care of Qui-Gon. And I really, really liked it. Yours is the the first characterization I've read that both really seems to work with the EU timeline/ characterization, and yet remains true to the human side of the character. He didn't lose his smoothness or talent, but you 'younged' him very well. Brilliant work.

I was very concerned about this cliffhanger, at the time that I first read it.

 

Part 2---


Ahhhh, your descriptions! They're so painfully gorgeous! In this chapter especially, I liked your word choice. You have a lot of well-worded phrases in this, your writing style is refreshingly vivid.

I love Qui-Gon and his force use. A good portrait of the character.

Dooku. What a promising cliffie. Oh, please do update soon. I'm very hooked, you have me!

 

Very nice update again!
Your story is so different from everything else I have read lately. Very interesting to read - please update soon!

 

Charmisjess: I'm not sure why, maybe because I'm thinking about it more, but Dooku seemed younger to me this chapter. Not that he was different from your first chapter, or something, I just got a very clear image of him as a young Master, jockeying for position with the Wookie Master, trying his best to take care of Qui-Gon. And I really, really liked it. Yours is the the first characterization I've read that both really seems to work with the EU timeline/ characterization, and yet remains true to the human side of the character. He didn't lose his smoothness or talent, but you 'younged' him very well. Brilliant work.

...Part 2---

Ahhhh, your descriptions! They're so painfully gorgeous! In this chapter especially, I liked your word choice. You have a lot of well-worded phrases in this, your writing style is refreshingly vivid.

I love Qui-Gon and his force use. A good portrait of the character.

Very glad you?re enjoying the story. Thanks very much for the replies!

I think that putting Dooku with another Jedi Knight with her own padawan tends to make him seem younger; he?s not in charge like he would be as a Master...or a Sith Lord...but he?s still assured and intelligent. He knows that he doesn?t have any rank over Yewmakkor; they are equals, but he still disagrees with her. If he acted like he were in charge, he would look arrogant and Dooku is smart than that.

I think that Qui-Gon has always been strong with the Force (which is why Dooku picked him); he just doesn?t compare himself to others.

And I get writer?s block if I don?t have enough description, so I know where everything is.

Fifilla: Your story is so different from everything else I have read lately. Very interesting to read - please update soon!

Thanks! I try to be different.



OK, now for more...



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Qui-Gon opened his eyes and stared up at his Master?s dark brown ones. The cabin of the ship was now level. Eenid sat in the co-pilot?s seat on the right, Yewmakkor in the pilot?s seat on the left. There was a pink, bald, vaguely humanoid head in the seat right in front of him. There were silver metal implant with blinking yellow and white lights on it?s sides, just above the head?s ears.

Dooku looked quite amiable.

?I regret disturbing you, Qui-Gon, but our friend here,? he gestured toward the head which did not move in return, ?is eager to be gone, especially now that people know where he has been hiding. And I doubt that even you could meditate through the noise we?re about to make.? Eenid clicked a switch and the ship?s engines started up.

?Especially with that damn door open,? Dooku yelled. Qui-Gon looked back over his shoulder. The door was still stuck and if Dooku and Yewmakkor couldn?t get it closed then it likely wasn?t possible without an overhaul for the whole ship or possibly a scrap yard.

They lifted off and immediately entered the thick, low cloud layer above them. The cabin became very humid. They couldn?t go high enough to get above the weather without entering thin atmosphere, so Yemakkor flew by sensors until they finally reached clear skies. The flat, featureless plains had changed to rolling, yellow hills. Qui-Gon couldn?t see very much from his seat behind the others, so he sat back and closed his eyes. No one spoke.

Their mission was complete, at least partially. None of the Jedi knew what knowledge inside the cyborg?s machine-augmented brain made the creature so valuable, but it was important enough for the Jedi Council to divert Dooku and Qui-Gon from their return trip back to Coruscant to rendevous with Yewmakkor and Eenid who had purchased the ship they were in on the authority of the Galactic Senate itself so that they could arrive at this world as quickly as possible. It had taken them two days to travel together to this world. It could take them as long ten days to get back to Coruscant depending on what transpor

 

Dooku found Yewmakkor sloppy and undisciplined (and she shed hair in the ship).
Dooku is disturbed by the Wookie hair in the ship - very funny!

Great chapter, I especially liked the description of the sounds when Qui-Gon couldn't feel anymore what's going on.
And now we finally know who is responsible for the look of Qui-Gon's nose - it's all Dooku's fault

 

*still laughing* ardavenport, that was absolutely brilliant!! What a great post.

I think I've thoroughly disturbed my coworkers, cracking up reading that at work.

Ooh, Dooku. *shakes head* Between him and the Wookie...poor Qui-Gon! I love the way you drew that scene, back and forth between what Qui-Gon's thinking and what Dooku's saying...the reactions, and such.

I also must compliment you on your Qui-Gon POV. I'm not sure I've said anything about that in my reviews yet, but you write him very nicely.

 

*gigglefits* It'll look straighter once it's healed, huh? Oh dear, poor Qui-Gon!

I've just found this fic and I've been thoroughly enjoying it so far. I love reading Dooku and Qui-Gon apprenticeship stories, and this one has both their personalities so well! I love Dooku as the young Master trying desperately to train his padawan correctly and jockey for position with another Knight. *pats them both* I can't wait to read more!

 

Loved the way the two masters are arguing. This last chapter was really funny, especially Dooku thinking he could do better than a medical droid, no matter how programmed it was.

Loved this:

?It looks fine,? Dooku said, though his voice lacked his usual confidence. Yewmakkor turned her head sideways. ?It will look straighter when it?s healed.?

Qui-Gon did not ask for a mirror.

Very wise, Qui-Gon. You'll have a very distinct nose eventually.

 

Fifilla: Dooku found Yewmakkor sloppy and undisciplined (and she shed hair in the ship). Dooku is disturbed by the Wookie hair in the ship - very funny!

Great chapter, I especially liked the description of the sounds when Qui-Gon couldn't feel anymore what's going on. And now we finally know who is responsible for the look of Qui-Gon's nose - it's all Dooku's fault

Yes, the sounds of medical procedures can be even more scary than the feel of them; they put a in a level of anticipation about what you?ll find out what happened later. Glad you like it!

Charmisjess: I think I've thoroughly disturbed my coworkers, cracking up reading that at work.

Ooh, Dooku. *shakes head* Between him and the Wookie...poor Qui-Gon! I love the way you drew that scene, back and forth between what Qui-Gon's thinking and what Dooku's saying...the reactions, and such.

I also must compliment you on your Qui-Gon POV. I'm not sure I've said anything about that in my reviews yet, but you write him very nicely.

Thanks! I hope your coworkers don?t think you?re too disturbed. And Qui-Gon put up with so much; he?s just so trusting. I do like writing him; I?m glad my interpretation of the young version of him worked out.

Dreagoddess: I've just found this fic and I've been thoroughly enjoying it so far. I love reading Dooku and Qui-Gon apprenticeship stories, and this one has both their personalities so well! I love Dooku as the young Master trying desperately to train his padawan correctly and jockey for position with another Knight. *pats them both* I can't wait to read more!

Thanks! They are an interesting pair, I think, because they are such different characters in the movies and they both seem like they weren?t too different when they were younger (except that Dooku wasn?t a Sith). Their two different personalities make them more fun to speculate about.

dianethx: Loved the way the two masters are arguing. This last chapter was really funny, especially Dooku thinking he could do better than a medical droid, no matter how programmed it was.

Jedi may be close to the Force, but they don?t always get along. They?re so much more interesting when they act like ordinary people. I?m sure that Dooku has a streak of pride in him that sometimes leads him astray and that Qui-Gon has to put up with. Thanks for reading!



Now, the final part...




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Qui-Gon supposed that his Master had been correct that they had not had time to look for another med-center for treating his nose. Several suspicious characters eyed them, and especially Pyas-83, as the portmaster led them to their new ship. Yemakkor?s snarls sent many of them scurrying. Eenid kept a huge, clawed hand on the cyborg?s shoulder, her narrowed eyes suspicious and warning.

The trip back to Coruscant was uneventful save for the one time that Pyax-83 tried to access a data terminal on their ship. Eenid and Dookus? lightsabers had almost simultaneously blocked the move. That incident had produced the only expression?total shock?that Qui-Gon ever saw the cyborg make. Pyax-83 was not exactly their prisoner, but her presence on Coruscant was strongly encouraged by many of her former comrades who would be party to the negotiations that awaited the cyborg.

Qui-Gon did take his bandage off and evaluated his new face in the mirror in the ship?s private fresher. It mostly stopped hurting after the first day. He presumed that it was technically healed, but he kept touching the new bulges on the side of his nose and checking his profile every time he went to the fresher.

The trip did give Qui-Gon time to ask Eenid and her Master about ?The Moment?, when the Force flowed through them, full of primal, but ephemeral rage that disappeared when spent. He meditated and learned about the Living Force and the difference between knowing, not knowing and the unknowable. Dooku sometimes listened, but often he sco

 

Great story with a very nice ending!

I think it's funny that Qui-Gon doesn't care about his nose anymore while Dooku takes it as his personal failure - and he must see it every day.

 

Yes, I think that Qui-Gon isn't too picky about his appearance; as long as his nose works, he's fine with it. Dooku seems a little fashion conscious, and Qui-Gon's nose would be a reminder that he can't do everything well. I suppose that could be a potential reason for Dooku to not keep up with Qui-Gon. I've seen people speculate that Qui-Gon didn't keep up with Dooku after he became a Knight, but I suppose it could have been the other way around.

Thanks for reading!

 

Aww, brilliant fic, adavenport! I really enjoyed reading this, you did a spectacular job with both Qui-Gon and his Master. It was entertaining, vivid and all-around thoroughly well done.

I liked the ending, those two. *shakes head at them* It strikes me as very Dooku, not that he would really be bothered by the straightness or unstraightness, but that his Padawan was wearing a reminder of his failure on his face 24/7.

Excellent piece!

 

I'm going to write essays again.

I loved so many bits in this story - but mostly, your eye for detail. Descriptions about the howling rain, and Dooku and the wookkie Jedi snapping at each other, though not sirespectfully, and their instinctively knowing what would irritate the other; Qui-Gon's discomfort (and his ability to sense the Moment)...and that episode where they repair his nose. Wow. I liked it best when Eenid politely inquired about whether they shouldn't seek another med-centre. And when Yewmakkor asked Dooku how many noses he'd repaired.

And finally, his deciding that he didn't really need to repair his nose. And Dooku's Moment, at that point. Qui-Gon is very wise not to seek mirrors, for a while - but I liked it best that it didn't bother him.

Bravo, bravo.

 

Part 2

A one-Wookie night, eh?

It was nice to see Dooku actually allowing Qui to feel his emotions. It makes him seem more human.

Brilliant descriptions of Qui-Gon's use of the Force.

Part 3

Oh, no, not the nose--AGAIN!

And a nice lesson on the Living Force. It's not having the emotions that's right or wrong; it's what you do with them that determines it.

Part 4

And Qui-Gon needs his nose treated on a planet where there are no noses! Oh, the irony! And Dooku and Yewmakkor are going to heal it? I have a bad feeling about this. Too confident, are some.

Part 5

A perfect ending. I agree with the others about the broken nose representing failure and therefore being a bigger issue to Dooku than to Qui-Gon. In all, a wonderful piece.

 

Charmisjess: Aww, brilliant fic, adavenport! I really enjoyed reading this, you did a spectacular job with both Qui-Gon and his Master. It was entertaining, vivid and all-around thoroughly well done.

I liked the ending, those two. *shakes head at them* It strikes me as very Dooku, not that he would really be bothered by the straightness or unstraightness, but that his Padawan was wearing a reminder of his failure on his face 24/7.

Thanks very much! Even with their differences, Dooku and Qui-Gon could be quite an effective pair. I?m sure Qui-Gon inherited some of his sternness from how he was taught by Dooku.

I suppose that not getting his nose fixed might be a subtle way for Qui-Gon to rebel against his master? Dooku may or may not see it that way; I?m not sure about that. I do think that Qui-Gon isn?t too picky about his appearance, as long as the nose works and it doesn?t get in the way, he?ll leave it.

Princess_Arulmozhi: I loved so many bits in this story - but mostly, your eye for detail. Descriptions about the howling rain, and Dooku and the wookkie Jedi snapping at each other, though not sirespectfully, and their instinctively knowing what would irritate the other; Qui-Gon's discomfort (and his ability to sense the Moment)...and that episode where they repair his nose. Wow. I liked it best when Eenid politely inquired about whether they shouldn't seek another med-centre. And when Yewmakkor asked Dooku how many noses he'd repaired.

Glad you enjoyed the story; thanks! Sometimes the most illuminating things about a character show up when they?re put into situations where they are working with other characters of similar status and abilities. Then you have to look for subtleties in their personalities and actions, because in that situation they can be seen as just part of the crowd.

The weather descriptions come straight from the weather around here, including a tornado spawned by Hurricane Ivan a few years ago. I knew I was going to get to use that experience sometime.

Ara-gon:

Thank you!

One Wookie night.

I think that feeling emotions has to be a big part of any Jedi?s training, so that?s what Dooku would be teaching Qui-Gon. But they are very different personalities, so they?ll do things differently as Qui-Gon learns and gets older.

And poor Qui-Gon?s nose. Between getting hit and his Master?s pride, he has a hard time in this story. But he?s tough, he gets through it.