THE SITH AND THE JEDI CODE

True, Arrun's lost finally cracked her but it wasn't enough to break her entirely. Baras understood the danger of going against a Sern head-on, even when he wasted his years on taming this one. The apprentice is still her mother's daughter, he could never forget that he could never forgive that. What made her even more dangerous was how he saw that she was quick to learn and adapt – much like her father.

Moff Zabro was known to be many things. Some would even say that he's more cunning than any Sith in the Empire – but Baras wasn't concerned about the potential danger that Zabro could get himself into. He was more concerned about what would happen if his apprentice decided to seek him out. Having Leena Sern around was like having Zylas back from the grave. If she lived longer, the late Lord would have been a Darth – or a member of the Dark Council.

Having tabs on Leena was one thing, placing Malavai Quinn under her command. With the temporary obedience, he managed to put on her, surely it was enough for his plans to go through as he wanted them to be. Soon she will surpass him and hunt him down in return, after all, for years he forced her to embrace the darkness and channel all of her hatred and anger – the only problem was that those emotions were targeted towards him.

Leena Sern, a Sith apprentice in chains, bound to a Master in the dark and was not allowed to see the light. She knows that the dark can be generous but the dark is patient and it will always win. She won't make it as a cruel Sith Lord, she didn't want to plant in fear – but rather inspire. But who was she to wish such a thing?

She was like a lone candle inside a dark room. A dying candle. The Force is more than the match for even the flames burn out when the time has come. It wasn't long when the apprentice felt another disturbance in the Force. Unlike the one she experienced in Balmorra, this one felt like another candle has been lit within the darkroom. The wonderful feeling of warmth somehow entered her life with a single string of the Force.

She feels this familiar ray of connection through the Force and yet, the apprentice grew confused as she prepared herself for battle. Reckless as she was, she made sure her armor was intact and made Quinn took note on which to repair once they were back on the ship. Deep down inside her, she knew that the Force would protect her, for the Force wasn't done with her.

The Havoc commander owed their lives to her. Captain Frasmi's XO Jorgan was feeling sketchy towards this whole deal, but a soldier pays their debts – and Frasmi was one of the few Republic soldiers who keeps her word.

The apprentice proceeded to the meeting point and Vette watched her friend with caution, while Quinn was already standing on the defensive with his blaster out. Face to face with the Dark Lord who wanted to kill her, the Twi'lek was close to drawing her blaster, following the Captain's example as she allowed the Sith to conduct their business.

"Lord Rathari, I presume." Leena gestured humbly, regardless of the future bloodshed. "Finally, we come face to face."

Rathari crossed his arms and took a good look at the apprentice. With the cybernetics around his face, Sith would usually hide their face, even when they only show the expression of hate and anger running through their veins. "Ah, you showed. You lack your Master's caution: I applaud that."

"I serve him," Leena answered rather bluntly. "But that doesn't mean I'm like him."

"Dellocon, Baras's lackey is here. So, say your piece, and do it before I kill this would-be assassin." The point was made and the apprentice has to slay. Another body count to add in her pile and more blood on her hands. Seven years of being Baras's right hand came with a price and she was forced to pay.

"Baras is insane and paranoid!" Spoke the agent. "I was a faithful servant, and my cover was intact! Did he expect me to accept being murdered for reassurance? Just wait for death? I took the risk of the job when I took it and figured out how to avoid them. Lord Rathari protects me now, and all of Baras's secrets will be his. And one day, he will kill you too."

Leena had her full attention on Agent Dallocon. She knew where she got herself into, even when she didn't want to, Baras has her around his finger and he controls her. But the apprentice knew where her loyalties lie, not to her Master but the Empire that her family serves and protect – the Empire was her source of power.

"He can try."

Rathari could see what Darth Occlus spoke about.

The grey eyes of Lord Sern that haunted her ever since she died, now lives in the spawn. If what the Dark Council member said was true, then he wouldn't be a match for this girl who stands in front of him. The difference between him and her was that he is a Lord of the Sith and she is only a mere apprentice who lives in the shadows of her mother. "In a hundred years when I am legendary with the Sith, your and Baras's deaths at my hands will not even be a footnote."

"However," He paused. "I would never lower myself to duel a mere apprentice such as you. You haven't earned the honor."

"A Sith Lord should be a man of his word." The apprentice made a bold statement.

Rathari laughed in mockery. "So naïve! Lies and deception are important weapons of every Sith's arsenal. These men are my elite guard, trained to take on Sith. Half of them could kill you, but I don't like to play favorites."

The apprentice smiled. "Your men are going to be busy with mine, my Lord."

When Vette gave out the signal, the Republic squad flew onto the platform with their jetpacks and their blasters pointed at Rathari and his men. He greatly underestimated her resourcefulness.

'If what Baras said is true, I want you to avoid any contact with the girl.' Rathari recalled Lord Occlus's words, he was the last person she contacted before she resumed to her duties with the Dark Council and her traveling. No one knew where she is exactly, it was as if she has merged with the darkness – as she can be anywhere she wishes to be.

'She's only a girl. A mere apprentice. She will have no chance against me, my Lord.'

'Foolish Rathari. Serns can never be tamed and compared to you, she will be one obstacle that you will never overcome. Much like her mother was mine.'

And he was a fool to ignore Lord Occlus's warning. When the apprentice drew out two lightsabers, Rathari froze for a bit as his eyes met hers – those weren't the eyes of a killer or a typical Sith who wishes for bloodshed. He couldn't find the words for it when he had the energy to draw out his lightsaber.

Leena Sern, he thought to himself as he was prepared to attack the girl.

When the blasters began to fire, Rathari was shocked by how the girl managed to clash her lightsabers onto his. Lord Occlus had the right to call him foolish, he greatly underestimated the apprentice as a whole. She seemed to be more than what Baras hoped for her to be, a weapon of mass destruction – his righthand, his enforcer.

Rathari did his best to block every single attack that the Sern apprentice was giving him, she was aggressive and her expression remained the same. The look on her eyes, it bothered him greatly.

With every swing of her lightsaber, left and right, the Sith Lord could feel this strange tingle sense of power running through her. The Force couldn't help him defeat her, no matter how much he stood in defense or how much he dug deep within him.

She attacked and he defended himself as best as he could. But the Sith Lord's best wasn't enough and it will never be enough. And never had he witnessed such power, no wonder Baras had an eye on her since the day she was placed in Sith Academy to be an acolyte.

This raw power that sleeps inside of her, Occlus was right to warn him.

"I yield!' The Sith Lord screamed. "The day and the planet are yours. I freely pass the scepter." Stabbing Dellocon in the back, he was no longer a threat to Leena nor her master. He could feel the power within her, a kind of power that he ignored as they fought. What shocked the apprentice was the fact that the Sith Lord knelt in front of her. He says, "I hope it ingratiates me in some way."

"You shouldn't have killed him." Said the apprentice.

It made the Sith Lord confused. "Why? Baras would not have accepted a show of mercy and you must not cross him… yet."

His eyes met hers on the moment he lifted his head. He didn't know what Lord Sern looked like, but he could only imagine how powerful she must have been to earn such praise from Darth Occlus and now, her daughter was receiving the same. "It's clear to me now—someday, you will rise above your master. It is you, not I, who will be Darth Baras's end. Grant me mercy…"

He knew that mercy wasn't the Sith way, but from her reaction earlier – he knew that this one was conflicted within. The balance of the Force was slowly developing, light and dark. "I wish to see it. Honor me with some small hand in it."

"What do you wish to make out of this?" The apprentice questioned. "I'm an apprentice and you are a Sith Lord, who has the backing of the Dark Council. I serve my Master, and nothing more."

Rathari smiled as he remained in his place. Lies may have fooled Baras but it did not fool him.

Baras made clear that she was only second to him and nothing more, but the Force has a plan for the Sern girl and Rathari had embraced that ideal fact. "I offer you my service and will answer your call when necessary. Fear limits you and your vision, Leena Sern. They're like binders to what maybe just a few steps down the road for you. The journey will be hard and difficult, your talents, abilities and your self-worth will be the key. Turn fear into freedom, and I shall wait in patience for your summon."

The Sith Lord stood up, knowing what must be done. "I leave you to your business, my Lord. Remember, I am at your disposal, whenever you may seek to topple Baras." He bowed with respect. Perhaps the apprentice can be more than just the right hand of the Lord Baras, she could be more than what her mother used to be when she was alive.

Only the Force would know.

After the whole conflict ended, the apprenticed turned to Frasmi who was bold enough to remove her helmet to face the Sith. "Well Sith, we had an interesting deal. There's no one left but you and your men, and me with my men. We've met your objective, may we go?"

"You have served me well, Captain. Leave in peace."

Frasmi smiled. "If you were with the Republic, we could have been friends." She turned around to face her squad. "Alright men, you heard the Sith. Let's get back to our neck of the woods!" Vette was lucky to have Leena to be like a sister.

The Sith apprentice who had the compassion and mercy, and yet strike fear to her enemies with a sense of honor. If Rathari proved himself correct, then the apprentice would be free of Baras's chains – but even when the chains are broken, there was no turning back.

Leena knew as much.

Quinn, on the other hand, saw another act of mercy towards the enemy from his new Master. And at the same time, he couldn't forget the threats she gave to him for a couple of nights. She was a bit paranoid at the same time, calm and composed. She seemed to know what she was doing and how careful she is. Quinn knew he didn't have the chance and yet, he knew that siding with her was no mistake.

Even when the apprentice was slowly reaching out for the dark side, inside of her there were still two – the light and the dark. Something she learned from the Revanites – from both Jedi Master Tarun and Lord Zaine, her late husband.

"I will prepare the ship for flight." Quinn excused himself as he proceeded to the ship.

Baras praised her for a job well done, no loopholes this time. Halidrell was an unfortunate one, killed in the hands of Rathari all because she stood in the middle of a Sith war, did Rylon and so did Dellacon – and they all knew the risk that came with the job. But it was a horrible risk covered with blind loyalty.

Leena was fully aware that she would end up the same fate as them once Baras got everything he wanted, everything he needed from her – death was at the end of the doorstep. The only kind of freedom she knew she could grasp without the permission of her Master. He needs her and her power to dominate the Sith Empire but even she knew she couldn't die and collapse into nothing, she needed vengeance.

The apprentice found herself quietly meditating inside of her quarters as they prepared for their departure for Tatooine. The hunt for Jaesa Willsaam begins, but her mind was struggling as the power of the Force continued to bother her. Alone and unbothered by the presence of Vette or Quinn, even 2V – she still felt like a beast inside the cage, waiting to be free and she was disgusted by it. The mere idea that she was doing everything Baras wanted her to do.

Opening her eyes, the Sern turned to the two holocrons resting on the table. She hadn't touched the Jedi Holocron at all, she didn't feel the need to learn the light side of the Force if her goal was to kill. She had no inner peace like Tarun, all she had was cold rage and regret, the sorrow that swallowed her whole as the guilt continued to cling onto her as the burdens grew heavier by each life she took in the name of Darth Baras.

She needed a sense of calmness, a reminder of who she is and why she's doing this. She didn't want to be blinded by hatred like most Sith, nor did she want to be blinded by loyalty like those before her.

Without thinking, Leena took the Sith Holocron and in front of her stood her mother – Zylas who smiled for a moment and later frowned at the sight of her daughter. "Oh, my sweet Alderaanian child…" The Sith Lord couldn't help but sigh helplessly. "…the Force has not been kind to you."

"I don't know…" the apprentice mumbled as she sat down on the bed, with the Holocron still on her hand. "…I imagine enemies everywhere, I have to show people… that I cannot be betrayed and if they do, they will pay the price. Tremel died because of me, I haven't heard a single word from his daughter since, Arrun… Arrun died because of me, Darth Occlus wants me dead, my Captain betrayed me – I… I just want to be free, and I want him dead... more than anything in the galaxy." That hasn't changed.

Zylas could not express the disappointment she was feeling, even when inside of the Holocron. Her daughter was walking through a dangerous path, the kind of path that she managed to survive until it killed her, the kind of path that Occlus embraced until she became the Darth she needed to be. But as a mother, she couldn't bear to see her daughter struggle in such internal pain.

"As Sith, we believe that peace is a lie, that there is only passion. But for the Jedi, when there is no emotion there is peace. Sith philosophy claims to free us from chains, but we trap ourselves in fear and the Jedi are no different. The Jedi code destroys human nature, and so do the Sith even though we embrace the spectrum of emotion."

The Sith Lord continued. "They are right to assume that fear leads to the dark side. For fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. And they would deny any form of emotional bonds, attachments, that's why they usually take their Padawans young, separate them from their parents as they are the first step of connections. They learn the higher mysteries of the Force and they would deny any selfish desire to deny the dark side and would die either in combat or of old age. The Jedi Code destroys human nature and so does the Sith Code. If we embrace only the spectrum of hatred and anger – then we are corrupted."

"But you told me to conquer fear… I must become fear."

"To become fear, you must face your fears before you can become one with the darkness." Zylas corrected. "The failure of the Sith is that we consume too much on our lust for power that we forget why we chose to follow the path to the dark side. The more you lust for it, the more you forget who you are, and then you will reach to the point when you become the monster – with no capable desire of passion, only the fear of being weakened."

"Then what good does the Force grant us?" Leena asked, looking up to her mother in times of desperation. The feeling of loss and being lost – she knows she has nothing more, and vengeance was the only thing that kept her alive. It was the only reason why she's alive.

"Most Force users have discipline but not all can achieve peace. There would be beings that would want to use the Force to stop so many things across the galaxy. Corruption, slavery, death – fight for what they know is right. But both Jedi and Sith would restrain them. The Jedi claim that the dark side is evil while the Sith claims that the light side is weak, and both are wrong…

"…There would be times that the dark side can bring the good out of people, that sometimes, anger and hatred are deserved and right. Sometimes things change because of it, but being Sith doesn't make us monsters. There is always suffering and injustice in the galaxy. You would be surprised that the Jedi, as an Order of peacekeepers can even stand the sight of it and do nothing. And one day, you will understand."

"Understand what, exactly?" The daughter strangely felt back in line with what she should do. But she couldn't abandon her quest for vengeance. After everything Baras did to her, all she knew that she would be satisfied when he dies in her hands.

"You will understand that sacrifice will be necessary, whether you serve the light or the dark." Sacrifice. Tremel sacrificed himself for her, Arrun sacrificed himself for her – Tremel risked his safety for her. And where was she in all of that? Playing it safe. "Yourself or others, and with each sacrifice – it will take you a step further away from the person you want to be. And the person you are is Sith… and—"

"—A favor for a favor keeps me in power." The apprentice remembered those words well. Even though Zylas didn't see it to be right when she was alive, it was just how it was. They were Sith, it was their way of life for the sake of survival. The daughter continued. "Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free."

When Leena looked at her mother, Zylas smiled. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. These two ideologies go against one another. And each ideal has more questions than answers. Sith consumes order and power, the philosophy itself – it destroys itself. While Jedi on the other hand, believe that their ideologies bring galaxy peace and yet, the galaxy continues to suffer because they refuse to help those in need."

"I won't give up, I need Baras's blood on my hands for all those years of suffering he gave me."

"And I won't stop you." She's the mother, all she could do was watch from the shadows and see how things turn out. "Which path you walk through is something you must decide for yourself. There is passion, yet emotion. There is serenity, yet peace. There is chaos, yet order. There is no dark side or light side, there is only the Force."