small things.

[quigonejinn]

Obi-Wan was Corsucant bred and born. Dooku, on the other hand, came from a clan of high-level Republic diplomats that moved from planet to planet and system to system as their careers dictated. There were a number of missions where Dooku found that his path being smoothed for him by an uncle who would know dear Orda's boy anywhere, even if he had been taken away by the Jedi as a baby. He had his mother's nose and his great-grandfather Morgat's chin, after all, and wouldn't his parents be terribly pleased to hear that their son was doing so well for himself?

Qui-Gon, on the other hand, never ran into any of his relatives in interstellar travel. His birth planet featured, as its primary characteristics, incessant rain, astounding poverty, and internecine warfare.

When he was fifteen, he and Dooku were dispatched to keep the inhabitants of that mudball from exporting its misery. There were indications that the high-level officials of one faction had obtained black-market space fighters, that they intended to use them against Republic and Trade Federation ships coming to do business with other factions of the planet, and it was made very, very clear to Qui-Gon and his Master that they were there to keep the lid on the pot. They were not there to fix things. The planet had an internal governance frame.

It was beyond the terms of the Republic charter to tamper with it, and after things were over, Dooku founds his apprentice standing rather miserably outside near the diplomatic compound.

They were at the bottom of hill country, and it was raining. Steady, fine drizzle that came down out of the sky and was even worse than a hard rain for soaking clothes through and through. Dooku had one of the tiny portable anti-grav units that he favored as a means of keeping the rain off of him, but Qui-Gon was just standing in the weather, staring up at the foothills. Water was running down them -- the soil was almost continually saturated during this, the rainy season, and there was little vegetation that could stand up to the constant rain, so there were little piles of eroded rock and soil at the foot of each hill. In fact, the ground that they were standing on was nothing but washed-down pebble, and there was a bruise across Qui-Gon's face from where he'd thrown himself over a dignitary to protect him from an assassination bombing attempt during negotition meetings.

The man, for his part, screamed and shoved Qui-Gon off of him. Cursed Qui-Gon for being another member of the traitorous, murderous Jinn clan, and instead of going to those who had actually been injured, his bodyguards came rushing over.

The rain continued; Qui-Gon continued to keep silent. He had his hands tucked underneath his robe. He was staring out at the mists over the hills, and eventually, Dooku used the Force to bring a small rock out of the mud, where it hung in the air for a moment, turning in the rain so that the mud would wash off of it.

Dooku gestured for his Padawan to take it.

Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows and looked at his Master as though he were about to ask whether some rain had trickled past the anti-grav unit, but then he saw that rock was glowing somewhat. It was hard to see in the drizzle, but it definitely seemed to be lit from within, and Qui-Gon's eyes went wide.

"Compressed ancient plant matter that was, while living, rather high in midichlorians." A pause. Dooku's voice was a little arch, but still fairly kind. "I suppose that part of the briefing materials failed to merit your attention, Qui-Gon, as it did not feature lightsabers and space pirates."

Qui-Gon shook his head and kept his eyes on the pebble. He reached out, tenatively took the stone in hand, and at which point it began to glow quite brightly. It was warm in his hand, too, and now he looked over at his Master.

Dooku put a hand on Qui-Gon's wet shoulder. "It is from the River of Light on this planet, Padawan."

"They have something like that here?" Qui-Gon swallowed, looked down at the rock in his palm. It felt like a living thing in his palm; he could see the faintest, lightest bands of the Living Force pulsing through it in time to his own heartbeat.

"It's high in the mountains. Untouched and quite beautiful, though I suppose if these savages could figure out a way to make those rocks into weapons, they would have."

Qui-Gon looked up in surprise. All through the trip and the negotiations, Dooku had been reprimanding him for having a negative attitude towards the inhabitants of his birth planet, for snobbery towards a foreign society, and here his Master was calling them savages.

Dooku saw the look. He was standing close enough now so that the anti-grav field covered half of Qui-Gon and kept the rain from falling on the left side of Qui-Gon's body.

"Remember, Qui-Gon. It is not our birth or our environment that make us, but instead, our characters. It is our commitment to the Force. It is the choices that we make. You should not allow small things to define or constrain you."

There was, for a moment, nothing in the air but rain and the weight of Dooku's words. Qui-Gon was staring at his master even though he had been taught that such direct looks were impolite in almost every Republic society, but even after the moment had passed, Dooku said nothing about it.

Instead, he patted Qui-Gon's shoulder and pulled him close so that the anti-grav field would cover them both on the way back indoors and to the landing bay where their transport was waiting. If Qui-Gon wanted to see the River of Light, there would be plenty of opportunity, no doubt, for them to see it on a return trip to the planet; in the meantime, Qui-Gon could just keep the pebble in his pocket.

In fact, Qui-Gon kept it clenched in his hand all the way out of geosynchronous orbit, and he died without ever seeing the River of Light.

In fact, as far as he knew, Qui-Gon never saw another pebble from it again.

Comments

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Another lovely ficsnip. I'd honestly really like to see this one expanded, and show their whole trip on the planet, but that's me being selfish and greedy. :) You did repeat yourself a few times here, and for the life of me, I don't get why you even mentioned Obi-Wan, but I really liked the moment between Dooku and Qui-Gon, and the differences between them. It comes across a lot like I imagined it might. I also like the little details you put in here, and the terminology made it feel very much like a sci fi short story -- an atmosphere too few fics achieve.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Hi, Dooku! *waves to his snot-faced self*

Yeah, after you asked this morning, I gave writing the Director's Cut version a shot. It's interesting stuff to feel out, and yeah. I don't know your reading style, but if you're interested in seeing the thing as it's being written -- in all honesty, because I'm so (*@#)_(*@# busy these days, I doubt I'm going to finish anything that I can't write in 50 minutes or less -- I'm currently poking and prodding at a version over here and threw up an outline while I was supposed to be paying attention in class.

Dilly has been talking to me a lot about how littel sci-fi there actually is in Star Wars. It's something that I didn't notice at ALL until she pointed it out, but now, I'm like *GLEEFULLY CRAMS SF IN ANYWHERE I CAN GET IT TO FIT :D :D :D*

Thanks so much for the FB, man. <3

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

I had like this awesome response typed up, right? And LJ just ate it.

*breaks things*

In any case, I don't normally read WIPs, but I'm about to read yours, most because I know how it ends and I don't fear being left in suspense. Well, that and it's not like I'm investing time in 6235743657 chapters, only to be cut off. XD

Yeah, there really is a severe lack of sci fi in fics. I had this rambly, mildly OT response typed up about the subject, so I guess it's a blessing LJ ate it, because i don't have the energy to repeat myself. XD But I love it when people make up alien ecology, explore xenosociology, make up new beasties/planets/technology/whatever. And most people seem scared to do it for some reason. But cram it in wherever, yes. *encourages*

You're welcome. :D

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Ahah. It's not so much a WIP as it's, like, kind of a running open draft that you can look at and poke and give me ideas about. neotoma has been talking to me about Qui-Gon's birth story, but yeah. It's just something that you're welcome to throw id --

Er, I see you've already left me a comment about it.

But yeah. It's weird that people don't seem to do more with inventing physiology and planets and system and things. I mean, come on, guys. As great and hot as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and Co. were, if you're playing with the Old Republic, you have license to work with this incredibly rich, vast, genuinely multi-cultural dkfj;lighdfj ARGH.

<33333 Every now and then, I make up a list of things that I'm going to try to do more in my fic. A while back, it was stuff like dispelling the idea that Qui-Gon was some kind of hippie dude who liked tea and incense. This time, I think it might be stuff about how Obi-Wan is not a wuss and how I need to make more use of the Republic as a genuince character.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

:D

I'm guilty of not being terribly creative about inventing things in fics, too, though I try to expand in my longer fics. I mean, exploring new planets and locations, meeting new monsters and aliens, and whatnot is canon, so I don't get the shyness. :|

Making lists for such things is a great idea. I need to make a list of stuff I've made up so I can go back to it and use it if need be, and yes, need to remember the political fun to be had in SW. There's another thing I think needs to be done. Political intrigue. Not enough. *plots*

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

PS: I need to do this at length and for each story individually, but I keep being too busy for it.


AHHHHHH your Vader-fic. And AHHHHHH, how I wish I could write narrative like you. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

XD Thank you very much! But please -- aim higher. Really, I'm horribly awkward at many points. :S

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I really love how you've got different interactions with family for Dooku and Qui-Gon. It makes sense that the extreme-upper class do not completely lose touch with their Jedi children, but that those in the lower classes do.

I can just imagine how confused and upset being rejected for his surname would have made Qui-Gon, and how it made him not at all curious about his origins. I think he might also have been quite unsettled to be around people who *looked* like him physically; he wouldn't have grown up with family resemblances taken for granted. Being recognized as a Jinn without introducing himself would have been something outside his experience.

Also, Dooku anti-grav umbrella -- nifty, but I can totally see him neglecting to give his apprentice one.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, and yes again. I was thinking about exactly of those things when I was writing this -- odd-couple stuff about Qui-Gon and Dooku aside, but my God, how uncomfortable it must be to go back as a Jedi to your home planet.

As you've pointed out, Qui-Gon would look like them. Qui-Gon might very well sound like them, be easily blend into the landscape and be more comfortable with their furniture than he might on another planet, but no matter how friendly they are towards Jedi, unless they're as cosmopolitan as I imagine Dooku's family is, Qui-Gon is going to feel this enormous, vivid cultural divide. It's interesting as all hell, particularly if his original society has some strong elements of martial training in it. It'd draw Qui-Gon closer to his age-contemporaries in one way but set him apart in another.

And yes, Dooku is exactly the sort of asshole who would, ah, forget to give his Padawan an anti-grav umbrella. I have this mental image of Dooku and Qui-Gon slogging through mud together, and there's this little halo around Dooku from where the rain is reversing grav, so he's perfectly dry.

And Qui-Gon is soaked through and through and only vaguely starting to realize that hey, something's wrong here. XD

[hlglne.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for this important pioneering effort. Dooku all over us.

[a-blue-moon-cat.livejournal.com]

*wibbles* I like the idea of Obi-Wan's pebble being from Qui-Jon's home planet. (If that's canon, I don't from, since I have yet to read the JA books. However, I did buy a Last of the Jedi book today by Jude Watson. *beams*)

"Remember, Qui-Gon. It is not our births or our environment that make us, but instead, our characters. It is our commitment to the Force. It is the choices that we make. You should not allow small things to define or constrain you." Very good. Sounds like something that Gandalf or Dumbledore would say. Very truth, to some extent.

Did I mention that I love the imagery?

[a-blue-moon-cat.livejournal.com]

Truth was meant to be true. *note the facepalm icon* :)

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

*laughing* Yeah, one of the issues that I have with a lot of Dooku characterizations is that they underestimate how cool he must have been. Sure, a lot of stories talk about how he's a badass and brilliant and stuff, but I feel like they don't convey how emotionally seductive and how natural-feeling a father-figure he would have been before he went so batshit crazy.

Thanks for the note, man. <3

[hideincarnate.livejournal.com]

Wow. *____* (I really suck at feedback I'm sorry!)
I think you're a genius for expanding on how exactly Qui-Gon got that rock! This gives it a great backstory!

[polgarawolf.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's heartbreaking. And (which I'm fairly sure you don't intend) reminds me that Dooku is only ten years older than Qui-Gon and that the two must have been awfully awfully awfully darn close for Qui-Gon's loss to have undone Dooku so completely he would believe there was no hope left whatsoever and so gone over to the Sith's side, even though the Sith was responsible for Qui-Gon's death.