Trial of the Times

Chapter 5 - Embracing Reality - Rewritten

Dooku would be lying if he said he wasn't shaken by the outcome of the sparring match. He has seen many possible outcomes, most of which ended with him teaching Skywalker a lesson in control. But... nothing like this. If it had been a real duel, Dooku has no doubt that he would have been killed, and that realization is nothing if not chilling. Skywalker's sheer, raw power is something Sidious has always coveted, and Dooku had thought it a ridiculous notion – why would his master want a Sith with so little control? – but now, now he understands.

Skywalker's power is unparalleled, Dooku has always known that, but he's always thought that control and skill are more important. Never had he thought the boy capable of learning to harness his abilities to the point where he'd be able to defeat him. He has long been known as one of the best duelists of the Jedi Order, favoring Makashi over the other lightsaber forms which has given him a distinct advantage in duels.

Maybe he's moving too quickly, maybe he needs to be more cautious around the boy, teach him to curb his aggression before anything else. Sidious will use words against him to try and twist his mind. Perhaps an impermeability to verbal assaults is more important than learning how to use the Force in its entirety, than mastering complete control over emotions, at least for him. Dooku no longer harbors any illusions that Skywalker would have been his executioner should worst have come to worst and Sidious taken the final step to turn the boy.

He is still unwilling to admit that he may have been wrong about Skywalker, but still... perhaps the boy is capable of control and of harnessing his full potential. Dooku just doesn't quite see how yet. He is so emotional all the time, and it's hard to imagine how he'll ever actually succeed. Much as Dooku hates to admit it, he is a bit apprehensive of the boy now, a feeling which he knows is mutual. Skywalker wasn't doing nearly as good a job as he ought to have been in hiding his fear. It will make any joint effort harder, which Dooku finds especially distasteful. A true Jedi could put aside emotional differences to work for the common good.

As tempted as he is to comment on it, he knows better than to antagonize the boy, especially now. His emotions are incredibly volatile as he mourns for his master. Dooku has little desire to make Anakin into an enemy again and break their fragile truce. It would be easy enough to subdue him, but the headache he would inevitably face wouldn't be worth it. If he didn't kill him, he would have to tell his master that he captured him. That would be easy enough, not so much what will likely follow.

He has the inkling that Sidious was planning to use Kenobi's death to drive Skywalker firmly into the embrace of the darkness, and even if the boy resisted him, torture would eventually change his mind. Twisted by the Dark Side and with uncontrolled passions, he would be no more than a rabid animal attacking at its master's behest. What Dooku fears is when that power would be turned against him.

There is, of course, another option. He could always manipulate Skywalker to the point where he willingly embraces the Dark Side – he already is to a point, using dark techniques to empower himself, but he's also finding balance that way. Were Skywalker to willingly join the Sith in actuality, not just in name, he and Dooku would make a powerful, unbeatable duo.

Dooku lets himself imagine it for a moment, he and Skywalker acting however they please to rebuild the galaxy into a more stable place with no one who is strong enough to oppose them, much less the Jedi who have become weak, clinging to the Republic when it's so clearly falling all around them. Maybe if they were less arrogant, more willing to listen, they would have already discovered Palpatine's identity. Dooku gave them – Kenobi, actually – a huge clue on Geonosis, even as he knew that the Jedi would be too far gone to listen. But there was still a chance, and he took the gamble that they might.

They didn't, of course. What else could he expect from the short-sighted fools? They can't even help their own Chosen One – what a ridiculous prophecy – from being manipulated by a Sith. They can't even help him control himself. Instead, they leave him prey to those who might seek to use him – as they themselves do.