LITTLE BIRD

'I'll protect them. I promise.' Leena woke up for another morning.

After the stunt she pulled nights before, she couldn't help but feel uneasy ever since. Vette would find the apprentice outside by the balcony, holding one lightsaber as the apprentice would proceed to rounds of training from the moment she would wake up until she would be called in again for lunch. She would always be soaked and wet when she would come back in, naturally, the droid would clean up the drips of water she would leave behind and prepare her bath and her clothes.

But the Twi'lek noticed how silent the girl became.

Every day she would leave the stronghold because she was summoned by her Master, and every day when she came home, the Twi'lek noticed that the apprentice's eyes were slowly becoming lifeless. Day by day, as if her eyes were not seeing the light. Not a crack of laughter or a smile.

Leena felt empty, not knowing the purpose of the Force. Why it still keeps her alive, live through all these sufferings, all these tortures – they say that the Force has a plan. And the Force is not yet done with him.

That afternoon, Leena went out for a walk and Vette didn't take no for an answer when she offered the Sith apprentice some company while the droid cleans up their mess.

Having her arms around hers, Vette would chatter some of her usual adventurous tales as a pirate and a thief.

'Salvation and domination are the same things', Leena's eyes widen as she heard the voice again. Stopping from her tracks, Vette turned to the Sith with a concerned expression.

"Leena?" Vette quietly called out as citizens of Dromand Kaas would pass by them. The Sith apprentice whose mind is haunted by the voice of an unknown woman.

"C-can we go back?" her hands were shaking. Vette turned around to see if there was something bothering her, but there was nothing in sight that could even frighten a Sith Lord. It was odd, a Sith who visibly showed fear and trauma.

"What's wrong?" when the Twi'lek asked, the girl remained quiet. As she would see vivid visions of flames in the night sky. Hearing the sound of blasters being fired somewhere, the sound of screaming of people around her – men, women and children alike. The familiar feeling of horror and fright as she stood under the rain, with Vette trying to call her back in reality.

The monsters were everywhere for her, and Baras was the biggest monster she had to face.

"Leena Sern," the apprentice turned around as she had her lightsaber at hand by the mere mention of her name. It was no one special, it was a civilian who smiled in the presence of a Sith apprentice. "Forgive me. But I come with a message."

Leena lowered her lightsaber and nodded. "Bring me up to speed."

"Darth Occlus wishes to have a word with you," the man spoke with a smile still on his lips. "The Lord would like to meet you in the Citadel."

"Your name, now."

"Arrun Zaine," he introduced himself.

"I will remember that." Watching him leave, Leena looked down on her feet as the raindrops continue to touch the ground.

Darth Occlus is a dark council member in which no one really knows the Lord's physical appearance. Always appears cloaked and masked and only the most basic characterizations can be used to describe this dark lord. No one knew the Lord's race and species, as well as any finer details regarding hair color or even the eyes. The reason for being in constant concealment is unknown, though both given the situation and even the reputation the Lord managed to gain over the years, most just assume that Darth Occlus suffered some kind of grievous injury in the past.

Throughout the years, no one could really remember the Dark Lord's name, but everyone knew this: The Dark Lord occupies the seat of the Dark Council as the head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge.

When the apprentice arrived at the Citadel, she instructed Vette to stay outside in case things go wrong. The Dark Lord asked for the apprentice, she might be punished if she brought in a slave Twi'lek. The Dark Lord's followers watched the girl walking through the chambers of the Lord they serve.

The girl froze on her spot when she saw the Dashade standing behind the Dark Lord. A beast that could devour force-users with his mouth.

"Don't be afraid child," The Dark Lord's voice sounded female behind the ugly helmet mask she wore. Her robes were black and red, signifying the power she wielded for years. "Kham won't eat you… unless I say so."

"Oh… uh…" the more reason why she didn't want to move closer.

The dark lord laughed. "Not to worry child, if it makes you more comfortable… I like two things, ancient artifacts and getting my way. Baras won't hear a word about this meeting, I made sure of that already. He would be a fool to try and even sniff something out of me, but once the blood spills there's no way to put it all back in a lifeless corpse, and here we are to see things through. What do you say to that – Sern?"

The girl didn't answer, she was too uncomfortable, too scared to even give that answer. And Occlus was very much aware of that, she could sense it all the way from her chair. "Shall we have some ladybabies?"

The girl looked up at the Dark Lord with a twinkling expression in her eyes.

"I knew they'd be your favorite." Occlus gestured for the girl to sit down in front of her. With ladybabies being food that is often covered in chocolate. Pressing a button on the desk, Leena was rather startled at the sudden change of tone as she sat down. "Are you going to bring the food or are you going to starve me to death?"

"Trust me, child, I'm much less boring than the rest of the dark council. Even Baras's Master is a hoof, his chaotic ambition will be the end of the Sith Empire, it won't be long until the apprentice tries to kill the master. Almost any pair of master and apprentice would go through that uncivilized phase but, we Sith manipulate and murder for power – and being Sith is a lifestyle."

The girl stayed quiet, wondering why she was really called in. The Dashade was looking at her like she was some sort of food waiting to be eaten.

"I called you here to tell me the truth." Occlus proceeded as her doors were still closed and her food has not yet arrived. "About this Master you serve. This, Darth Baras."

"I…" the girl trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I…"

"Who else would know better, child?" The dark lord smiled behind her mask. "My spies sent me troubling tales… is there any truth to them? Has he truly mistreated you?" the girl remained silent. Brutally being mistreated wasn't stranger to the apprentice and master relationship within the Sith. There were masters who want their apprentices to be tamed and not have the ability to question them in the future. And there are some who bring them up as a protégé and soon, will face death through the lightsaber of the apprentice.

And an endless uncivilized wheel that keeps on spinning. "Did he already cut off your tongue?"

"Bara—Lord Baras, my Master is wise and powerful… and teaches me the ways of the Sith."

"Yes… all Dark Lords are powerful, and when the apprentice kills its always in their names, and not the Empire's." The dark lord sighed. "But how brilliant is he? How clever? Does he treat you like a proper apprentice or has he chained you like a common animal to be tamed?"

Before the girl could answer, a servant entered the chambers with a plate of ladybabies. "Bring me cambylictus barriers." Ordered the dark lord.

"The barriers will be served after the ladybabies, my Lord."

"The barriers will be served when I want them served. And I want them served now." Occlus didn't need to use the Force for this fool to follow what she wanted. Excusing himself, Leena was rather surprised that the dark lord didn't become violent – then again, they were only barriers.

"Are you frightened, child?" Occlus asked as the girl's attention was grabbed on again. "No need for that… if anyone would try and deliver word to Baras, my friend here would eat this spy immediately. Now, tell me the truth – no one will harm you under my watch."

"Overseer Tremel always told the truth," the girl mumbled as she was already fidgeting with her hands.

"Yes, Tremel had that kind of reputation and dark lords called him a traitor and had him killed—"

"Baras." Leena corrected with a rather deep tone, Occlus can sense the energy of hatred within her. She saw it, the eyes of Zylas Sern. Her angry eyes. "Baras did that. He promised that I won't be punished and he cut off his head and his limbs apart and told me that traitors should be treated like that. And he dragged me in the room and made me stare at it for hours."

The Dashade gazed at his Master who in turn, looked at the girl curiously. "Go on."

Leena realized that she did something wrong, and was immediately placed in a state of panic. "I… I can't… I never… meant—Tremel was a traitor… I was… trained by a traitor… he did… me wrong… he did the a-academy wrong… Please don't make me say more."

"The little bird is terrified." Spoke the Dasharde.

"Speak freely, child. I will never betray your trust." The apprentice looked at her as if she was about to cry. All that pain and suffering, those painful memories that she had to endure those past three years.

"He's a monster."

Zylas Sern's oldest surviving child, terrified of a Dark Lord who has her chained up.

'Our family was torn from greatness, crushed by the treachery of another – a man named Tulak Hord.' Occlus remembered the words of Aloysius Kallig, being a descendant of his bloodline, she climbed up the ladder to make sure that her lost bloodline would be back to power. 'In restoring our bloodline to glory, you must not make the same mistake.'

"A Sith once told me that... treachery is the Sith's endless game," the dark lord granted advice to the young apprentice. "And he told me that I must win it, I pass that statement to you as well, Sern. You're still young and you will learn so much more and see what the galaxy has to offer you. Your mother would want you to carry on and win the game against your Master."

"You… you know my mother, my Lord?"

"Indeed, I did." Occlus nodded as the Dasharde just stood there beside her. "I worked with her for some time… until she decided to settle down, marry and have kids. She's one of those… few Sith Lords who viewed the galaxy differently. That there's more to the Force than power… and began to view the bigger picture. A warrior who sought out for knowledge, she was one odd Sith."

'She has a sweet innocence. The voice that invaded Leena's mind throughout the past few days invaded the Dark Lord's. But unlike the apprentice, Occlus remained in silence as she took a bite out of the ladybabies that were on the table. 'Her fate will be a cruel one if Baras won't prepare her for the worse.'

"Just because we're Sith doesn't mean we're not allowed to form bonds. It's not an easy thing to explain," Occlus sighed as the servant from earlier came in with a plate of barriers she asked for. Dismissing him, he quickly made an exit to the chamber before she ordered Kham to even eat him when she feels like it. "I doubt Baras explained to you what Force bonds are…"

Leena shook her head, confirming Occlus's thoughts. "It's usually a bond that develops between apprentice and Master when one truly understands another. It is developed over time through an understanding of each other. But it is not limited to the relationship between apprentices and Masters, it applies to all force-sensitives. You make connections through the Force, and it resonates with those who travel with you. The resonance becomes greater if the other, is also Force-sensitive and it causes your actions to affect others, more than what any Master's understanding of the Force is. And this kind of bond travels both ways."

She continued to further explain. "It allows you to communicate feelings, thoughts, and images across distances and granted greater coordination in battle. Through such connections the Force easily flowed, sometimes allowing one's will to bolster the strengths of others or possibility to draw upon their strengths. You could say, I had such bonds with your mother – not just fellow Sith but, we grew to have an unlikely friendship between the two of us during our youth. If Baras didn't eliminate my spies on Korriban, each time I would send a new one – I would have taken you as my apprentice instead of his, but alas – he won that game."

"I… I want freedom from him, my Lord. I don't want to be Sith, I want to go home."

"And the only way you can go home is to become stronger… the Force is strong within you, perhaps, even stronger than mine when I was your age."

"But I… I don't know if I can—"

"How could you ever hope to know the threat your face, when you refuse to walk in the dark places of the galaxy? Face war and death on such a scale. Once you travel far enough, rather than waiting for the lightsaber to go right through your skin, perhaps you will share the same fate as Zylas, your mother. But you are not your mother, Leena Sern – you are not Zylas." The Dark Lord continued.

"One day, you will understand the Force better than any Sith Lord or Jedi Master. I see the potential that the Force will grant you great power, leave a mark across the galaxy wherever you go. And Baras will use you as a weapon to shape the galaxy in his image, and when the time comes that his wheels would start turning in motion, that would also be the time when his greatest weapon becomes his greatest obstacle. Remember this when times are dark, your father and your sister have to remain strong if they are to prevail and you must remain strong for them."

The Serns draw their strength from one another. Occlus would remember the countless of times where Zylas would tell that to her.

Leena isn't as headstrong as Zylas or as stubborn, she seemed to be a delicate flower dying in the hands of her caretaker. But naturally, a strong being doesn't just become strong in a snap of a finger. It would take years to build, stone by stone until the walls are high and can intimidate others.

'Revenge will be hers entirely, my old friend.' Occlus heard the voice once more. 'And it will serve her well.'

"You have your mother's lightsaber, yes?" The dark lord asked.

Leena nodded and presented the lightsaber in front of Occlus, naturally, she would remember how Zylas would wield her lightsabers and like her daughter – she could hold onto two at the same time. "Since you have that, might as well have the other one," Occlus spoke softly as she took out a case from the shelf with the use of the Force.

Having it float across the room and made it land on the table in front of the girl. Opening the case, there was another lightsaber with the same design as the one Leena had. "You have two lightsabers right now, I would understand if you don't want to use this but… she would want you to have it."

"T…thank you, my Lord." Leena nodded as she was still cautious as she took the lightsaber. The dark lord could feel the fright inside of the child. And Occlus can't blame her for it, she was young when taken away from her family.

It wasn't advisable to take children into the academy but, Tremel did his duty to Lord Sern and trained the child in combat for three years and tried to oversee her trials as an acolyte.

If Occlus knew, she would have taken this one as her apprentice but Baras played the game well. She would like to believe that the girl hasn't killed anyone yet but, as a Sith apprentice, she should have her fair share of a body count piled up somewhere – and have her hands tainted red as the blood of her enemies.

After all, killing is the sweetest thing there is.

When the girl left her chambers in the Citadel, Occlus couldn't help but contemplate and think back – during the time of the Battle of Alderaan and what happened afterward. She closed her eyes and remembered all those battle cries the Sith would give out as they would go against the Jedi.

She remembered Zylas being stubborn as always as she held her ground. A stubborn warrior with honor – and look where it got her.

'Once Baras is done with her, he will want her dead, as he wanted me.'

"He'll fail," Occlus assured the voice. "He doesn't know that he's creating a monster of his own. Not yet anyway."