Before - Legends Holo-Diary of Master Dooku (Diary Challenge 2013), spans age 4 to TPM (Updated 1-13-14

Hazel Yeah, and Dooku will be quite appreciative of Jocasta's support in later years, despite what happens between he and Lorian.

Jedi_Lover Had fun figuring out how to twist that old childhood taunt. It made perfect sense for the Jedi younglings to have their own version considering the rules concerning the topic. Heh. As for the Padawan... well read on.

benknobi1 Don't know where that came from, but okay. Yan, for Dooku, I believe is either the Hebrew or Chinese version and not the French one. I'm not sure which one the original creator took it from though. It's pronounced "Yahn" (Hebrew) or "Yehn" (Chinese), depending on which version you use. In Hebrew it means "God [Yahweh] is Gracious" and in Chinese "Swallow", as in the bird. Odds are the original creator probably meant the Hebrew version. It makes the more sense and flows better on the tongue beside Dooku. It is also a variation of the spelling for "John", though Dooku does not strike me as a John. Lol.

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Year Three – Day 123B

Something is terribly wrong. The camera view is askew and partially blocked by a rolling cabinet. What can be seen, however, is a terrified boy being held by an angry Padawan. A hand covered the boy's mouth while the other held an unlit lightsaber next to his body while the same arm holds him in a tight grip.

“Let the boy go, E'lan,” commanded the third figure in the scene. His emerald lightsaber was lit and bathed the darkened medical room in an eerie viridian glow. It was Master Cerulian and his old features held a restrained, righteous fury at the audacity of the Padawan. He was also blocking the only way out of the room. “It is over.”

“No! You will let me pass, old man!” spat the Padawan. “I swear I will hurt him if you don't!”

Dooku struggles in the Padwan's grip and whimpers beneath his hand when he tightens his arm grip, squeezing the injured arm inadvertently. The boy's eyes are angry and frightened and seem to plead to Cerulian for help.

“You don't want to hurt him for something he didn't do, boy,” warned the older master. The Padawan glowered darkly at him.

“He told all of you what had happened, I warned him what I would do if he did!”

“He said nothing, E'lan. We found out on our own despite your attempts to hide it.”

“How?” E'lan inquired venomously. “How could you! I played my part of a mourning student, I erased the recordings! I made sure the only witness didn't say a word!”

“You failed to preconceive that perhaps the boy would make his own recording,” Cerulian replied, pointing the tip of his blade in the Padawan's direction. “To cope with what he had seen. He told no one but his own journal.”

“You lie!” Tears brimmed in Dooku's eyes and Cerulian narrowed his eyes.

“Dooku,” calmly said the Jedi Master, the fury replaced with a determined serenity. “Remember the first time we met?” Dooku nodded as best he could while being held. “How you didn't want Master Ik'e to take your hair and what you did to prevent it? Now would be a good time to behave that way again, youngling.”

“What are you talk....ahh!” The Padawan dropped Dooku when the boy had bitten into his hand as hard as he could. Before the youngling could climb to his feet to get away, an unseen force propelled him away from the murderous Jedi just before the blue blade came to life and slashed down where Dooku had been. Dooku clung to Cerulian's robes from behind him as the Padawan recovered, angered at losing his bargaining chip.

“Run, boy! Go get help!” yelled Cerulian as he lunged forward and met the Padawan's angry strikes. Dooku was last seen running out of the room just before something hit the holo-recorder and static replaced the scene.

Year Three – Day 125

Dooku is no longer in the medical ward, but back in the creche with his clanmates. Lorian and Jocasta are with him as are a couple other younglings. Apparently they all had heard of his misadventure and wanted to hear more from him. It is Jocasta who shoos them all away, including Lorian, to give the boy some privacy. Once they were all gone, Dooku turns to the recorder.

The murderer is dead. Master Cerulian killed him back in my room after I had fled to get help. I'm glad it is over, but I still cannot sleep. I keep having this feeling that he'll come back somehow. Master Naki says its natural for me to be like this and a Mind Healer can help me adjust. I'm to see one later this week. I'm not sure what to expect though. Healer Ioyna says a Mind Healer's talent is to see what bothers a Jedi and tries to find a solution to help them resolve it. Sometimes, she says, they will use the Force to heal the wound in the spirit. I don't really understand it all but she says it can help me cope and let go of what happened.

He pauses and casts his eyes down to his hands. His arm is still in a sling but there is a bit more mobility to it than before. His fingers fiddle with the ends of his tabard.

I killed him, you know. The Jedi Master who's padawan turned against. If I hadn't said a word, he wouldn't have gotten distracted. It's my fault. All my fault. I'm suppose to be a Jedi and help people and all I wanted was for them to stop fighting. Instead I get the master killed and... and... if I hadn't said anything to this stupid thing, the masters wouldn’t have found out that it was the Padawan and he would be alive too and getting help. He wouldn't have wanted to punish me for talking.

He grows angry quickly and gets up off the floor to pace around his room.

Its their fault he came back! If they hadn't listened in on me when I spoke to my journal, he wouldn't have come back! They would have caught him later and he'd be alive!

Dooku kicks a piece of machinery he apparently had been working on before the whole incident. It clanked and clunked across the floor, dropping a few screws and bolts along the way. After a moment, he calms down with a shuddering breath before dropping to the floor where he was a few feet away from the recorder.

He wipes at his eyes with his free hand.

I see them in my sleep. They are fighting. The master looks at me, pleading me to go away. Then I see the Padawan accusing me of killing him and his master and he comes at me. Master Cerulian is there to stop him, pulling me away in time. I don't know what to do to make them all stop. If only I had been stronger...

“They might be alive,” he barely whispers loud enough for the recorder to pick up.

 

I hope they give Dooku a new room. I don't care how much the mind healer helps him...you don't put a boy back in a room where a Jedi just hacked up a murder who earlier broke the boy's arm and threatened to kill him. That would be really traumatizing.

I am thinking the reason the Jedi took children without consent is most parents would say, "You are going to give my six year old a lightsaber? Are you crazy?"

Never mind me, I never like the child soldier aspect of the Jedi.

Nice update.

 

Jedi_Lover Yeah they returned him to the creche once it was over. They actually used him as bait, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on cpov), Dooku is not aware of that fact and probably won't realize it until decades later. I don't like the Jedi taking children either, to me it just smacks of indoctrination and "its my way or the highway" mentality and probably why they end up all dead in RotS.

 

I'd say that aspect of the Jedi way was one of the main reasons why the people of the galaxy believed Palpatine.

Poor kid. He's goikg to need a lot of therapy after this.

 

I look forward to seeing Dooku grow stronger. He's really going through the 'ringer' now huh...

Also, Yan sounds like "Han" in French and Yann sounds like Ian. French are silly.

 

Apologies for the long wait for the next entry. DRL got in an unpleasant way. This entry also was a pain in the arse to write. I've rewritten it so many times I gave up and said "screw it, this is it", just so I can move on.


Hazel A lot of therapy indeed, in which we get a glimpse in to it with this entry.

benknobi1 Very.

Jedi_Lover

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Year Three – Day 130

Dooku is not in the creche or the Healer's Ward, nor is this entry being recorded by his holo-recorder. It seems to be a security entry or a medical entry that was added to Dooku's recorder in place of another entry that was missing. It was added at a date years from the one displayed on the video, after the re-emergence of the Jedi in fact.

The perspective is from an angle above the two sole occupants. He's in what appears to be a meditation chamber, dimly lit and furnished with cushioned, short stool-like seats. There is a table off to the side against one wall with a pitcher of water and two glasses and a serene painting depicting some distant world's shoreline. Dooku is fidgeting uncomfortably on one of the cushioned chairs while a middle-aged human male sat across from him. He was dressed only in his tunic and pants, the tabard, cloak and belt having been set aside.

Between them were a variety of objects. Some of them were toys while others were puzzles and games only a child would find interesting. There were also parts for a mock lightsaber in a small box. In addition there were some geometric shapes and pebbles that were probably meant to be used by a Force-sensitive child. Dooku's attention seems to be drawn to the lightsaber parts than anything else.

The light haired Jedi opened his blue eyes to meet Dooku's dark ones after a couple minutes of silence passes between the two.

“I can sense your discomfort in being here. You do not trust easily,” he said with a gentle smile. “If at any point you feel uncomfortable talking to me, pretend I am not here and speak to your device as if you were simply making an entry. Do you believe you can do that?”

Dooku nodded while glancing at his recorder that sat on a nearby cushion, it's recording light blinking and obviously capturing what is happening in the chamber.

“Excellent.” The Jedi mind healer shifted until he was cross-legged on the seat and more comfortable than he was. “We shall begin then. Let's start with something you are comfortable with. I'm told you have a keen interest in lightsaber combat. Not uncommon for our younglings, I remember being fascinated by the weapons myself when I was your age. Tell me what do you think of them?”

There was no answer. The Jedi remained expressionless save for a slight twitch of his brow. Dooku remained quiet but looked away. The statement of him being uncomfortable was exaggerated. It is apparent he does not want to be there, however the lightsaber parts caught his interest again and the Jedi seemed to pick up on it.

“Go ahead and play with them,” the Jedi offered with a gesture of his hand. Dooku looked at him skeptically before he warily slid off the cushion-seat and went over to the box of parts. He began fishing through them, looking for all the parts he needed to assemble the mock-weapon. While he proceeded to occupy himself with his interest, the Jedi Knight continued to try and talk to him.

“Have you ever assembled one of these before?” he asked of the boy. Dooku shook his head lightly while he sat down cross-legged next to the box, several parts laying in front of him. He picked up what was half of a hilt and another inner piece and began assembling them. “No? You seem to know what you're doing.”

“I've seen an older Jedi put one together,” Dooku answered as if it was obvious. He didn't look up at the mind-healer while he reached for another part.

“You like to watch the other Jedi, don't you?” he asked subtly. Dooku hesitated in sliding an inner piece into the other half of the lightsaber hilt. It looks like he's thinking about responding before he resumes putting the weapon together and ignoring the Jedi. The healer frowned a little and looked thoughtful before trying a different approach in getting him to talk. “Do you ever ask to observe them?”

“No,” the boy replied after a minute of thought. He reached over for the focusing iris and started screwing it into place.

“So you watch in secret?”

Dooku stopped assembling the toy and looked up at him angrily, offended. “No. They know I am there and don't mind.”

“How do you know?”

“I can sense it.”

“What else can you sense when you observe the others?” Dooku's expression softened a little as he went back to the lightsaber. He didn't answer and the Jedi sighed softly. “Can you sense their moods?”

“No,” the boy answered. He reached for an inside piece and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to figure out how to attach the piece to the rest of the mock weapon. “I just know things.”

“The Force?”

“I guess.” The boy tossed the piece aside and reached into the box for something else. “I hear a whisper telling me the others don't mind me, telling me what a Jedi is doing or going to do just before it happens. It tells me that this,” he holds up a contraption resembling one of those Gand fingertraps but the center was visible, “is the piece I need next.” He then sits back down in front of the mess that was suppose to be a lightsaber and starts adding the crystal mount to the energy chamber.

“Do you always listen to it?”

“I dunno,” he replied, paying little attention to the Jedi while he talked. “Maybe.”

“Were you hearing it when you observed the duel?” Dooku stopped in connecting the wires to the crystal matrix, dropping the pieces in front of him so that what little work he had done came undone. He did not look up nor did he answer the healer. “What was the Force saying to you?”

The boy finally picked up the parts again and in a quiet voice he answered, “He had to be stopped.”

“Who?” the mind-healer pressed gently. “Who had to be stopped?”

“The Padawan.”

“Why?”

“He was...” Dooku paused and wore a thoughtful expression, as if he was puzzling over what to say. He shook his head and did not finish the sentence right away.

“He was what, Initiate?”

Dooku did not answer once more. He reached for a part that fell off the lightsaber and reattached it. The Jedi tried to ask again and when he did not receive an answer again, he sat back into his cushioned seat and thoughtfully observed the boy. Dooku continued to assemble the mock weapon until he had something that resembled a lightsaber finally, but when he went to turn it on, nothing happened.

The boy wore a disappointed look, then scowled at the device before he started taking it apart to find out what went wrong with the assembly. He did this two more times all the while the healer remained quiet and simply let him play with the fake weapon. After the third attempt to get it to work, Dooku tossed the thing back into the box angrily and gave a frustrated pout.

“Are you ready to talk now?” the Jedi asked a moment later. Dooku looked up at him with a scowl before turning his glare to the rest of the toys and puzzles in the room. He called a couple articulating figures to himself and examined them quietly while giving his answer to the Jedi. Silence reigned in the room for several minutes more and the healer gave a sigh bordering on frustration. Dooku had the two figures battling each other, the one figure seeming to grow more erratic and angry in its movements. “I can't help you if you don't talk to me, young... Dooku!”

The angry figure had flown across the room to smash into the wall just before Dooku stood with the remaining figure and ran away to another part of the chamber. Concerned, the Jedi healer followed him and watched as Dooku hid behind a larger couch with the remaining figure.

“I didn't mean for them to die,” whispered the boy, the audio of the security camera barely picking up his words. “It wanted them to stop, I wanted them to stop. The master, he wanted me to go away. I... shouldn't have been there. I got him killed.”

The healer knelt down beside the couch and reached a hand out for the boy, laying it gently on his bent knees. “Is that what you believe?” Dooku could not be seen by the camera's angle but there was a subtle movement from behind the couch. “Is that what the Force is saying?”

“No,” came the boy's reply a moment later. There was a quiet sob and the healer reached for him with both arms and gathered him up. Dooku rested his head against the man's shoulder, his arms wrapped around his neck and the other figure still clutched in his small hand tightly. “He wanted to protect me. That's what the whisper is telling me.”

“Yes, little one,” confirmed the Jedi with a slight nod as he brought the boy back over to the seats. He tried to sit the boy on one of the seats but Dooku refused to let go and with a sigh and probably going against his own policy, he took the boy to his own seat and let him stay in his arms. “Master Vanoor knew you would be in danger if you stayed. What happened to him was the Will of the Force...”

Dooku shook his head against the Jedi's shoulder in disagreement before sitting up and scowling. “No it wasn't. The Force, it wanted them to stop. It didn't want them to hurt each other. I was suppose to stop them, but...”

“But what?”

Dooku sniffed and wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his tunic. “I didn't listen.”

“To the Force?”

Dooku nodded slowly.

“What were you suppose to do?”

“To get help.”

“And because you hadn't, you believe you got Master Vanoor killed?” The boy nodded guiltily and the healer gave him a sympathetic, sad smile. “Oh youngling, you cannot believe that. Even if you had listened to the Force, Master Vanoor may still have died. You cannot say...”

“I should have stopped them,” Dooku answered darkly, the scowl seemingly to become a permanent expression on him lately. “If I was older and stronger, I could have stopped them. I know it.”

“And perhaps you could have,” the Jedi replied calmly, his tone soothing. It seemed to calm the boy a little that his scowl disappeared at least. “But you were not and at no fault of your own. You did what you believed was right and Master Vanoor took the risk to protect you from E'lan. Such is the risk we all take when we become Jedi Knights, a risk you will one day take yourself to protect perhaps your own Padawan or another youngling from an immediate threat. What happened was Master Vanoor's choice and nothing could be done to change it.”

“It still hurts,” Dooku quietly commented, his dark eyes darting to the figure in his hand. He squeezed it firmly, reassuringly.

“Time will heal the wound, Initiate. I can also help ease that pain if you like,” he offered and the boy looked at him curiously.

“How?”

“There is a technique that mind-healers learn. I can help you to forget the bad memory on your own through meditation. It will mean you will have to reassemble that lightsaber several more times though,” he lightly joked and Dooku gave the discarded piece of junk a dubious look before turning a confused one on the Jedi. Seeing that he did not understand the Jedi explained, “You would have to see me several more times until it no longer bothers you.”

“Will it make the dreams stop?”

“Dreams?”

“I can't sleep. I see them fighting.”

The Jedi nodded in understanding. “Yes, it will make those dreams stop eventually. In fact, your creche-master can help you with those. We can begin now if you like?” Dooku was hesitant as he thought it over but then he climbed out of the Jedi healer's lap to go back over to his seat. The Jedi smiled softly at his willingness and watched as the boy climbed back onto his own seat and sat cross-legged with the toy still in his hand.

He then began instructing Dooku on entering a meditation trance and before long the boy sat with as close of a serene look on his face. The footage abruptly ends there.

 

This whole scene felt so true. I really liked it.

 

Hazel glad someone liked it. It was such a pain to write.

benknobi1 Jedi_Lover

Dooku's b-day again!

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Year Three – Day 145

Dooku no longer has the sling. He seems rather happy compared to his last entry a year from this one. He has his training saber in his hands plus a couple other objects, one looking more like something he has been putting together rather than something given to him. It was an amalgamation of parts, there was at least one piece that looked like a comlink sticking out of it. The other item was a book, a real book made of leather and paper.

I'm seven years old today. Master Naki, again, only told me but didn't give me anything this time. Though the day wasn't entirely disappointing as last years. My clanmates got together to celebrate, or as best as a bunch of younglings can anyway. We mostly played around in the creche, but it was Lorian who came up with a way to spend the day. We managed to sneak out of the creche to go explore the Temple and some interesting places. Jo did get me something though.

He lifts up the leather bound book to show the recorder the title. It read 'Lightsaber Techniques of the Past by Master Ven Zallow'.

I've already looked through the first couple chapters on it. I... don't fully understand everything that is being said by Master Zallow, but it has pictures at least.

He opens it up and flips through a few pages before holding it up to show a sketch of two Jedi dueling.

Jo said it would help me with my lightsaber lessons. Well, that's what the archivist told her it would do. I can read, but there are words in here I've never seen before and I cannot pronounce them either. I suppose I'll have to ask Master Naki what they mean.

He closes the book with a huff and sets it aside. Dooku then picks up the mesh of parts and rolls it between his hands.

Engineer Worlek, one of the civilians who works in the hangers, got me the parts to put this thing together. It's suppose to be a hyper-comlink but I can't get it to work. I want to know what is going on outside of the Temple since we're not allowed to leave the grounds, plus I want to see if I can use it to call home. We're also not allowed to see our families if we had any. I still miss them and I haven't forgotten the promises I made, but its hard to be patient.

Master Naki told me that I would be able to do almost anything I wanted, including going back home if I so chose, once I made Knighthood but she said that won't happen until I'm in my twenties.

He starts counting his fingers.

That's... more fingers than I have and I'm only seven! So I'm trying to shorten that time by making this stupid thing. Maybe Worlek can help me with it.

He sighs in frustration and sets it aside.

Healer Treylon has been telling me that I've made progress in accepting what had happened and letting go. I think he tricked me into doing meditations. He must have heard from someone that I don't like meditating. I don't like sitting still for long but... I have to admit that they have helped. I don't have the nightmares anymore, though I think Master Naki might have something to do with that. She's helped me sleep since I told her the dreams were keeping me awake. Maybe tonight I can sleep on my own?

He purses his lips thoughtfully.

Tomorrow evening is Master Vanoor's funeral. I found out by asking Master Cerulian when he came to visit me to see how I was doing. I asked if I could go but he says only Padawans or higher ranked can attend. I think I will still go though. I'll have to recruit Lorian's help though. He knows how to open up the creche doors after lights out.

 

I feel sorry for the boy. I still don't like the fact that he can't leave until he is a Knight. By then his family will be strangers.

 

Dooku seems to be doing better and I'm glad he had fun on his b-day.​

 

Jedi_Lover Yeah, but I think by the time he's a padawan, he manages to get in contact with them some how. From all the sources and books I've read, Dooku knew his origins and stayed in contact with his family. So they won't be total strangers to him at least.

Hazel Yeah he is and he's happy to have a fun b-day. It was better than the last couple at least. Though his 8th is not so much. as you will see

benknobi1

Sorry for the long wait between entries. DRL hit me, plus Dracula and Fu Manchu kinda derailed me this month too. But we're now back on the Dooku Hour! This entry is for March's "Sick Day". Poor Dooku.

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Year Four – Day 145

Dooku is in his bed, covered up to the neck. He's laying on his side and the recorder seems to be propped up on a table or nightstand beside the bed. He reaches out to adjust it's angle before covering his face with a fist as he starts coughing.

This is the worse Naming Day ever.

He sniffs and tries to breathe.

The whole creche is sick and I was the last one to fall ill. I blame Medea. She got sick first and is always dirty and touching everything. I remember when she started coughing, Master Naki took her to the healers and then came back and started taking everything away from us. Lor managed to keep one of the toys from the master but then he was the next one to get sick. Then Gorek, Jocasta, Liam, and a few others and finally me.

He coughs again and closes his eyes in misery. Dooku wipes at his runny nose with his sleeve.

Healer Ioyna came in after Gorek got sick and I overheard her saying to Master Naki that we had gotten the Iridonian flu bug. I don't know what she meant by that. There are no bugs in here and I know the ones Liam has are not from Iridonia. I think they're from Alderaan.

“Dooku,” came Naki's voice when he started another coughing fit. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and placed a hand on his brow. He moaned in misery. Worry etched her usually stoic expression. “You should get some rest. You can record an entry when you're better.”

“I'm thirsty,” was his reply and the creche-master reached past the recorder to grab a glass of water for him to drink. She helped him sip the cool liquid before returning it back on the nightstand and making him comfortable again.

“Go to sleep, Yan,” she gently commanded, her hand passing over his eyes. He was asleep when she pulled her hand away. Naki then reached for the recorder and the image goes blank as it is turned off.

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Poor Dooku! I know all too well what it feels like to be sick on one's birthday.

 

Hazel He's feeling better now.

benknobi1 Jedi_Lover

I've skipped over year 4, simply because I can't think of anything for him to do other than the usual training and the important stuff that happens, happens when he's older anyway. So we're at year 5 now and we'll be seeing more of Lorian. According to Jude Watson, he and Dooku didn't become best friends until Dooku was 9.

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Year Five – Day 200

Dooku is taller since his last entry over a year ago. He's grown quite a bit and seems more confident than when he was last seen. He's nine years old now and is presently floating several heavy looking objects in the air around him with little effort on his part. At least until someone interrupted his concentration with a tackle from out of no where.

Lor!

Ha! Got you!

The objects fell around them with a heavy thud. The two boys wrestle a bit in front of the recorder with Lorian coming out on top and winning the match. Dooku scowls, displeased at losing and being pinned. He shoves his friend off him with the Force and Lorian falls back on his rump.

“Cheater!” Lorian accused in jest.

Yeah well, you cheated in sneaking up on me.

Lorian comes back over and sits in front of Dooku, who is scowling over his shoulder.

Lets go do something.

I'm already doing something, Dooku replied.

What? Recording on this thing again? Its all you ever do, Yan! Come on, I discovered a new passage yesterday and I want to try out a new idea on Master Ollicu. It'll be a blast, I promise!

Dooku looks hesitant as Lorian turns to the recorder.

It'll be the best ever!

The blonde boy gets up and tugs at his friend's arm. Dooku is reluctant but after a moment, he lets his friend drag him to his feet and the recording ends with him gesturing at the device.

Year Five – Day 200B

Dooku is wearing a scowl as he dries his wet hair before he begins this entry a few hours after the last one.

Lorian is going to get me expelled. His grand idea to try on Master Ollicu got us running for our lives. Apparently the Quarren master did not appreciate having his mobile humidifier reprogrammed to emit a green mist whenever he tried to use it. He knew immediately who was responsible upon seeing us slinking about some pillars in the Grand Hall. We ran as if we had a Sith Lord on our tails.

We might as well have had one because Ollicu was clearly not pleased in being turned into a sickly green color by two younglings who apparently have nothing better to do than to pull pranks on him. Of course we were prepared to make a quick get away, what we were not prepared for is that Master Ollicu knew our plans somehow. I guess he used the Force to figure out that we simply did not vanish into thin air when we ran into the meditation room just off the Hall, because the next thing we knew the door to the secret passage opened up in front of us and this greenish ghoul with tentacles wiggling in irritation glared down at us.

One of us screamed, I think it was Lorian. It might have been me, I'm not really sure which of us yelled like a girl. We were too busy running down the narrow passage for our lives to tease the other about it. Ollicu right behind us. I knew he could have ended the chase very easily by grabbing both of us with the Force, but I think he wanted to, and very successfully, scare us into never bothering him again. We were very much afraid of getting caught by him and if I hadn't grabbed Lorian by the arm and dashed out through another door, we would have been horribly lost in the hidden passages. We haven't exactly found all the entrances and tunnels yet and had been warned by older Padawans that it was very easy to get lost in the hidden labryinth.

We found ourselves just outside of a refectory and would have run into the mess hall to escape but we both knew it would only delay the inevitable. Ollicu would have found us even amongst the throng of younglings and Jedi. Before I could even say “We're trapped!”, Lorian grabbed me by the arm and dragged me over to a chute cover inside the refectory and immediately I knew what he had in mind.

“No!” I remember protesting. “That's a garbage chute!”

“I know! It's the only way to get away. He won't suspect it! Now get in!” Lor had commanded and helped me into the chute first. I cried out in fright as my feet gave way and gravity took over. I slid down the narrow chute, cringing at the thought of being covered in all sorts of food and liquid and praying that the ride would end soon.

It did, in a spectacular and stomach churning splash. I surfaced with a gasp and spitting out something green and slimy, and trying not to gag on the fact that I had consumed fetid water before coming back up. I looked up in time to hear Lorian coming down the chute and with a cry of excitement he landed next to me, further covering me in more filth. I helped him up and he pulled from the top of his head something reminiscent of Ollicu's chin tentacles and then laughed.

“That was... AWESOME!” I gave him the dirtiest look I could muster. How could he think flying through a garbage chute and landing in a trash compactor, awesome? We were filthy and the place smelled horribly!

“Let's get out of here,” I had said and sloshed my way toward the door. I was thankful that the water only went as high as our waist. I did not want to swim any more in this foul stuff than I had to. “When we get out of here, I won't ever complain to Master Naki about taking a bath again.”

“Haha,” chuckled Lorian from behind me as we climbed up to the small ledge that was the door alcove. He stopped laughing when we tried to open the door and it wouldn't budge and I could sense that he was starting to grow worried that his brilliant plan of escape was not so brilliant after all. “Um... you don't see a control pad do you?”

“No,” I replied with heavy concern. How were we going to get out of here and when was the last time the compactor compressed the garbage? As if to answer my unspoken questions, we heard a grinding noise in the background. I met Lorian's gaze as he met mine and we both knew we were in serious trouble.

I seriously did not want to become a Jedi pancake and because of my thoughts of coming to such an inglorious end were quite vivid, I panicked. I did not panic in the same way Gorek panics, clutching at my hair and stomping my feet. No, I simply just froze in place, breathing heavily. I was petrified and Lor could sense it. My fear of being smashed under a pile of refuse did not help him either and the next thing we both knew, we were banging on the door, calling out for help, praying to the Force that someone heard us.

The sound of groaning and twisting metal and squelching liquid and whatever else was in here with us, added to the noise of the walls slowly compressing together. We gave up trying to call for help and turned our backs to the door, pressing them as far as we could to flatten ourselves. The alcove was not very wide, only less than half a foot in depth and it wasn't enough to safely press ourselves into to avoid the closing walls. There was also the problem of the trash being compressed in our direction. If we weren't flattened, we would surely be impaled instead!

“If we survive this, we are not doing this again!” I declared as my imagination played against me and I envisioned myself being impaled by forks that some absent-minded Jedi had accidentally thrown away rather than setting it with the rest of the utensils and trays for washing.

“Agreed!” Lor concurred next to me. As the walls drew ever and frighteningly closer, I remembered closing my eyes and turning my head away, not wanting to witness my own death. I could hear my father, whom I can barely remember now, shaking his head and regrettably commenting on my end. It went something along the line of 'It was probably fortunate then, that we had given him away if he managed to bring shame by getting himself killed on Temple garbage.' I wanted to please my parents so much, that I knew they would be ashamed and disappointed if I died this way.

And then, suddenly, everything stopped.

Tentatively, I opened one eye to look and saw the walls had desisted in their attempt to turn us into Jedi pancakes, just inches after passing the threshold that was the alcove. We glanced at each other and wondered what had happened. Had the machine broke? Did it realize there was something alive down here? Did someone realize we were down here? Our questions were answered when the door that we were pressed up against suddenly opened and we both fell unceremoniously backwards and before a pair of clawed, green and hairy feet.

I looked up from my sprawled position at a derisively serious face of our Grand Master. He leaned on his cane and his ears twitched ever so slightly that to anyone who didn't know him, would think he was irritated. But I knew him well enough to know he was amused.

Very amused.

“A wonderful smell, you two have discovered, yes?” he chuckled, finally showing the amusement I knew he was feeling. Quickly we gathered ourselves up and I tried to make myself as presentable as possible for the venerable Jedi Master, but I knew I reeked horribly. The wrinkle of his nose indicated as much. “To the showers you two shall go, then meditate on what you have learned from this. Tease Master Ollicu, you shall no more.”

“Yes, Master Yoda!” we both said in unison. He prodded us on our way with a tap of his cane and we hurried as quickly as we could for our creche. We did not hear the end of our misadventure when we got back to the creche. Master Naki was waiting for us with a clean set of clothes and towels and lots of soap, and a very long lecture.

Dooku reached for the comb and started combing his hair back as he continued his tale.

I never felt so relieved in having a bath before until now. Master Naki had ushered us both into the community showers, not wanting us to track our new found filth through the creche common room. She made sure we were alone first before she had us strip out of our dirty robes, in which she hesitantly took and held by her fingertips before discarding, and ushered us into a stall. The cold water was a relief and the nerf-smelling soap bar was far more pleasant than what we had been covered in.

Of course, Lorian couldn't be serious about the whole thing and started joking as we suds up. “A wonderful smell you two have discovered!” he cracked up in his poor imitation of Master Yoda. I glowered at him when he pushed his soap bar in my face. “This thing smells just as bad as the garbage.”

“It smells better,” I countered. “Though I wouldn't mind what Master Naki uses.”

“Sssh! She doesn't know we snuck into her rooms,” Lor reminded me and I took a moment to recall another of our misadventures where we had been eight and had dared to trespass into our creche-masters domain to see what it was like. We had discovered Master Naki kept a colorful avian for a pet and Lor had made a comment in which the bird repeated, repeatedly. It also happened to include my name. I had managed to quiet the creature and we got out before our creche-master returned to find out what was going on. I still think that the beast ratted us out cause every time we see it perched on Master Naki's shoulder, it would repeat the same comment and ending with my name.

'Don't be such a Neimodian, Yan!' Master Naki never inquired as to why the avian kept calling me a coward. But I think she knew and because of that, I simply rolled my eyes at my friend and scrubbed furiously at the filth all over my body. When we were done, Master Naki dressed us and sent us back to the creche and to our small rooms to meditate. Which is what I should be doing right now instead of this.

The sound of fabric moving is heard off-screen and Dooku looks over to see what it was. He frowned as Lorian came into view and sat beside him.

You shouldn't be here.

I know, but I can't meditate and I see you're not either.

I will be after I finish with this.

Dooku gestures at the holorecorder and wrinkles his nose at Lorian.

You still smell.

You smell like nerf.

At least I don't smell like yesterdays leftovers and who knows what else was down there.

Maybe we should go raid Master Naki's perfumes?

NO!

Dooku's shout startled Lorian and he stared at his friend strangely. The taller boy quickly apologized for his outburst and began to explain.

I don't want to get in trouble twice in one day. Maybe you should just go and ask Master Naki for another bath?

No way! Besides, I'm clean though maybe not as squeaky clean as you. You're skin is red.

Dooku looks down at his exposed arms dubiously and then sighs softly.

I had to get it off. I still feel dirty.

You alright, Yan? You never had a problem with being dirty before.

That was before taking a swim in garbage, Lor.

I suppose. Come on, lets find something to do and if Master Naki shows up, we can say we wanted to meditate together.

Dooku shook his head at his friend and gave him a look that suggested Naki would not fall for such a fabrication.

She knows we don't like to meditate, so that won't work. Besides, I'm not feeling all that well anyway. I think I swallowed too much of the garbage stew.

Ewww. You should go to the Healers just in case you swallowed a dianoga.

He gave Lorian a dubious look and the blonde boy broke out into a fit of giggles.

What's so funny?

It took Lorian a few minutes to stop laughing and with tears in his eyes he replied,

Just a thought I had, of you swallowing a dianoga.

Ha ha, very funny. I'm serious, I'm not feeling all that...

He didn't finish the sentence before he shot up to his feet and bolted for the refresher. The unmistakable sounds of someone unloading their stomach contents could be faintly heard in the background. Lorian got up a moment later when his friend didn't come back and he could be heard off-screen.

“Yan? You alright?”

No reply.

“Ewww! Master Naaaaaakiiiii!” Lorian could be seen running across the recorder's screen as he hurried out. “Yan upchucked a dianoga!”

“I did not!” Dooku shouted miserably from the refresher. Lorian returned with Master Naki a second later. Quietly she could be heard speaking to the young boy.

“My goodness, you didn't swallow anything in that compactor did you? Come on, lets get you to the Healer's Ward...”

“I don't wanna die, Master,” complained a miserable Dooku as he's carried out of the bedroom, Lorian tailing right behind them both, looking concerned.

“I doubt you will, youngling. You probably ingested something disagreeable and which Healer Ioyna can't fix.”

“She'll have to operate to remove the rest of the dianoga, Yan,” teased Lorian and the silence that followed suggested Dooku was glaring daggers at his friend. The holorecorder shut down a second later.

 

I hope the boys learned a lesson here.

 

Hazel Oh Dooku certainly did. He takes his vow of never again complaining about taking baths seriously. He becomes a bit OCD with hygiene after that. Imagine his future reaction to Qui-Gon's habit for all things nature and fuzzy!

 

When jumping into raw sewage...keep your mouth shut! Lol!

 

benknobi1 Jedi_Lover Hazel

This entry might be familiar to everyone that has read Dark Rendezvous. I probably have it happening at the wrong age, but oh well.

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Year Five – Day 220

Dooku looks angry, though he's doing his best to control his temper.

Master Yoda is being unfair to me. I was in his class for telekinetic control with others of my age or near it. He was letting us practice push feather since the tournament is only a couple weeks away and a lot of us wanted to participate this year. We went through the usual exercises to get warmed up before he paired us off in a mock tournament. He joined in this time because we were short one participant.

The exercise started out alright. I was winning my matches easily. I've learned that I could do telekinetic exercises very easily, so push-feather isn't that hard for me. At least until Master Yoda was paired up against me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not knock him off his pedestal like I could the others and after a few tries he'd send me tumbling to the mat with a simple shove in the Force.

I know he's not playing fair. He lets the others who have even less skill in telekinesis win against him. I've seen him do it. There was one girl who was having difficulty and after a couple tries against him, he let her win and fell over with great enthusiasm. He never once did that for me!

Not once!

His temper flared and if he had anything in his hands, he probably would have broken it, such was his anger and hurt.

Master Yoda is unfair, cruel! All I wanted was just one win against him like he gave the others, I wouldn't have cared if he let me! By not falling over he made me look like a fool, a new youngling who couldn't manipulate the Force! Why? Why would he do that to me? I thought he was pleased with my progress with the lightsaber?

It doesn't matter. I'll show him though. I'll show everyone that he's treating me unfairly. Tomorrow I will feign getting hurt, maybe even break my arm. He'll have no choice but to confess what he's doing!

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I am loving this. Count Dooku is one of my favorite SW Characters. Excellent work. Please, keep the updates coming.

 

I see some darkness lurking in Dooku. Too bad he didn't understand Yoda's intentions.

Great entry!

 

Nice update.

 

Rainbow Knight Star Yeah! Another reader! Thanks for the bazillion likes too.

Hazen Alas no he didn't, til it was too late.

Jedi_Lover Thanks.

benknobi1

Dooku discovers the lesson he was to learn, much to his bereavement. Poor kid.

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Year Five – Day 221

Dooku looks ashamed, he doesn't look up once at the recorder and tears brim his eyes. He's in the small cave behind the waterfall where he had once hid in long ago.

I was wrong about Master Yoda and made a bigger fool of myself than I really was. I went to his lesson today with the intent of getting hurt to show everyone how unfair he was being toward me. I never stopped to realize that he was trying to teach me something and only when I was about to make a big mistake, did I understand.

He bites his lower lip.

I... He was waiting for me, even arranged it so that we were first. I was ready to lose and break my arm and before I could give the customary bow, he declared “I win!”.

“But we haven't even started yet!” I had protested.

“Already lost you have, the moment you walked in,” he pointed out with a claw in my direction. I stared dumbstruck at him. He knew what I had been planning and prevented me from carrying it out. “Proud you are, Dooku. Thinking in the right, eager to prove yourself you were. Did not stop to think that perhaps old Yoda was teaching a promising student. Pride will be your undoing if you allow it, youngling.”

I didn't know what to say to him or do after that, so I bowed and accepted my loss. I didn't participate for the rest of the lesson. I screwed up and Yoda admonished me for my stupidity. I was going to hurt myself just so I could nurse my pride. He might as well have just hit me with his cane like he tends to do when I'm being stupid.

I wish he had.

He swallows thickly and wipes at his eyes.

Maybe I should get that hyper-comm working and call my father to take me back. I don't think I'm cut out to be a Jedi. I'm easily angered and hurt when things don't go my way or I don't win.

He sniffs and just sits there in the cave for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. Dooku wipes his sleeve across his nose and rubs the tears from his eyes again. After a while there is a noise from the cave entrance where the water fell like a curtain. His dark eyes turn toward it, scowling that someone would disturb his hiding place. His expression softens when he sees it is Jocasta, and the relief he shows suggests that he's glad its not Yoda or Lorian.

What are you doing hiding in here for?

Hiding.

I can see that. But why?

Jocasta comes to sit down beside him. He's taller than her now by a couple inches.

I don't want to talk about it.

Alright, but Master Naki always says it helps to talk.

Dooku scowls a little but it doesn't stay for long when he's suddenly hugged by the young red-head. She grips him firmly for a second more before letting go.

What was that for?

You looked like you could use one.

He blinks, dumbfounded at her but then smiles shyly which she returns. They end up chatting about the others and things they've done and seen recently. Not once does she ask him again about what had upset him and he's grateful for it. He's laughing by the time the entry ends.

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Don't try to pull one over on Yoda! Unless you are Palpatine...he never saw that one coming. Nice update.

 

Friends are more precious than gold. Jo keeps proving that over and over. Young Dooku is fortunate to have her support.

I'm looking forward to the next entry.

 

Jedi_Lover So very true!

Rainbow Knight Star He is very fortunate indeed, and her continued support in later years will be very important to him. Especially when a certain best friend turns out not to be a very good friend at all.

Hazel benknobi1

A very light, short, but humorous entry that was inspired by something Christopher Lee did as a child and would be so very much like Dooku to do too.

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Year Five – Day 234

Dooku is exuberant in his excitement as he paces around the common room, announcing:

I won! I won! I won!

We know!

That was Liam, a stocky boy with sandy-brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a jar with a bug inside in his hands as he sat on one of the couches. A couple of the others from the creche are present, Gorek and Medea sat or stood around Liam, watching Dooku a little perturbed.

“He's not going to stop is he?” Medea inquisitively whispered to Gorek, who shook his head lightly. “I knew he liked to win, but... geez, rub it in why don't he.”

Gorek snorted in amusement.

Dooku!

Dooku stops mid-step and mid-sentence when his name is called by the creche-master. She's standing in the door way to the common room. Her arms are folded across her chest and she's giving him the Sith Look. The boy looks down and straightens, behaving immediately.

Jedi are humble, even in victory. You would do well to remember that, youngling.

Yes, Master Naki.

Go and meditate on that.

Dooku groans but nods in obedience. He starts to head out but then does a quick one-eighty to grab his recorder. And as he does, he whispers into it:

I still won!

Dooku!

Is humble!

The scene jostles as he hurries out. It settles at the edge of his bed and he hops onto it before exploding into a lengthy tale of how he had won the Push-feather Tournament Twelve and Under.

“You're not meditating, Dooku,” Naki accused once he came to the end of his tale.

Yes, I am!

“Dooku...” Naki's voice is getting closer and Dooku doesn't look like he's going to climb off of cloud nine any time soon. When Naki appears at the edge of the scene in the door way of his room, he's quickly gets on the floor and crosses his legs.

Is humbly meditating!

He opens an eye when he hears Naki leaving and then smirks up at his recorder, whispering,

And wins again.

“I can hear you!”

 

Dooku is probably thinking, "It's hard to be humble when you are as great as I am.".