THE ROLE OF THE DARK APPRENTICE

Quinn made sure that everything was already loaded on the ship, enough supplies that would last them for months, and managed to have the navigation controls ready for departure. When his Lord and Master arrived with her apprentice, he couldn't help but observe the both of them – noticing the drastic difference. There would always be two, as a fellow Imperial soldier once told him: Two. There would always be two. A Master and an apprentice.

Although he understood that the young apprentice still needed adjustments to the new lifestyle that she has to embrace, he was very wary of her considerable power. Gaining her as an apprentice was a victory, he was very sure of that – a kind of victory that even Darth Baras failed to anticipate.

Like other Sith, his Lord has experienced pain and as they say, pain makes a Sith stronger. Apart from him wanted to relive her from that pain, and a part of him reminded himself of his position – where he should stand. He would never become her equal and that was fine with him. To see his Lord be the future of the Empire was an honor enough.

Jaesa on the other hand didn't know what to feel. Being with Vette was easier compared to Quinn, perhaps it was because the Captain was considered to be a "die-hard Imperial" and the Twi'lek companion didn't have many affiliations and wouldn't care if the Sith Lord would defect to the Jedi if she ever did.

Spending her days on Dromand Kaas alongside her parents was an experience she never expected.

The young apprentice would open her datapad to see the messages she sent to her new Master when she was only a Padawan to Master Karr.

Please forgive me. Was the subject. I never meant to betray you. I was prepared for our meeting when Master Karr detained me and sent his Jedi in my place. Now I have to answer for their fates. Zylixx was always distant around me. He knew I could sense the darkness inside him. You saw it too. You brought his darkness to the surface. I have so many questions for you, but Master Karr won't ley me out of his sight. If only I'd had my way, this whole mess would be over by now.

She remembered to follow another message to the Sith. Master Karr was always strict when it came to her. He once told Jaesa on a more personal note that he once met a Padawan that was once a student of Master Yonlach – how strong she was in the Force and how talented she was with the lightsaber. But no one dared to mention her name, not even the Master who hid within the sands of Tatooine.

Even without the mention of her name, Jaesa remembered how he smiled when he told her stories about this special Padawan. He praised her so much, that she felt how much Master Yonlach cared for his former Padawan. How much it would surprise people how kind she was. How she cared deeply about her friends and looked out for them until the end.

Jaesa wanted to meet her at some point. But the Force has always been so strange.

She sighed and read the message she sent. Leena didn't reply to any of them – the apprentice didn't need to question why. I'm sorry. She read. Please believe me – the ambush wasn't my idea. Master Karr discovered our plan and sent his Jedi to kill you. I must admit. I felt relief when Master Karr found out. I hoped this would be all over. But when Ulldin returned with your message. I couldn't believe it.

I thought Sith killed their victims. Master Karr was surprised too. He insists sparring Ulldin was part of Baras's master plan, but I know better. Your actions were your own. Thank you for showing Ulldin mercy. I only wish we'd met instead.

It crossed her mind that perhaps… this Sith Lord was the Padawan of Master Yonlach all those years ago. Leena was strong, rarely lost a battle. She's Sith and it took her by surprise to see how kind she was on the inside. How much she cared deeply about her companions and looked out for them no matter what.

They were in space. Quinn was at the bridge preparing for hyperdrive while Vette remained their quarters. The ship was going to be her home from now on, learning whatever she can from her new Master. Jaesa enjoyed Vette's company and was very excited to learn that she would be sharing quarters with her. The Twi'lek would tell her about the times when Leena would come home covered in mud, or the times Arrun would just come and visit her by surprise.

She was learning something new about Lord Sern – and it made her feel happy.

When the apprentice could no longer take the silence, she found herself standing in front of her Master's chambers. With a deep breath, the door swung open – revealing the Sith Lord in lighter clothing and her white hair down. Her grey eyes turned to the apprentice as she walked inside, allowing the doors to close behind her.

"Is Vette bothering you as well, Jaesa?" The Sith Lord raised her brow. After all, Quinn was the first one to complain about the Twi'lek even though Leena herself didn't find any complications with her for how many years.

"No, I…" Jaesa avoided her gaze for a while. Making the Lord even more confused. It wasn't long ago when Leena was around her age – then again, when she was eighteen herself, she killed off her competition to become Baras's apprentice.

"Just lay it out," Leena encouraged in a more calming tone. "It's just me and you."

The apprentice nodded and sighed again. Looking at her Master, she was nervous. "Master, I feel compelled to tell you – I'm uneasy fighting alongside diehard Imperials."

Vette complains about me, Quinn complains about Vette, now Jaesa complains about Quinn… The Sith Lord couldn't help but mentally sigh about this situation. What can I complain about?

"It seems like a foolish risk – we are always surrounded by the enemy. If it's discovered that we're working to reform the Empire, what will we do? What will happen?" Questions that made the apprentice uneasy.

Perhaps a whole week on Dromand Kaas wasn't the best idea after all.

"It's not your concern." The apprentice disapproves. "I have everything under control. Just don't discuss our greater plans unless you and I are in private."

Jaesa couldn't help but just nod. She wondered how long her Master has stayed neutral or was she ever truly neutral. Was there a time where she completely communed with the light side? Or perhaps she was with the dark side before she stood on neutral ground. "This work is so grim. And I must learn to play the part of the dark apprentice. I've always despised those who pretend to be what they are not. Now it seems I've joined their ranks."

"You must keep your sights on the goal, and be ready to do whatever it takes."

"I hear you, Master. I will follow your lead. I'm going to show you that you made the right decision taking me on."

"Perhaps we should start with the basics, shall we?" Said the Sith Lord as she stood up looking at her apprentice. "What is the Jedi Code, Jaesa?"

"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force."

"Fundamentals of the Jedi Code build the very core of the Order. The Sith and Jedi are similar in almost every way – including their quest for greater power. Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, power. Through power, victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free." The Master closed her eyes, sitting down back on the bed as she remembered the vivid image inside of her head.

Perhaps his death has a meaning. There's no coming back and she knew it. A part of her wants to save his memory, but she can't save someone already dead. She wished that she was dead too, but what difference would that make? But she's there. She's alive.

Life can be one thing and in an instant, it becomes something else. Would the Force set her free when it's all done? Would it be different if the pain was all gone?

What do all these deaths mean?

They mean something. It was something Arrun would say. The Force has a plan.

"We are similar in almost every way," Leena began to preach her lesson as she gestured the child to sit down. The apprentice obeyed and listened. "Including our quest for greater power."

"But Master," The apprentice spoke. "The Sith rely on their passion for strength. They think inwards, only about themselves."

Leena smiled. "And the Jedi don't?" Master Nomen Karr was one example of selfish Jedi, regardless of their code – their beliefs. "Thousands of years ago, the Jedi had another Civil war which split their order. They waged war on their fellow Jedi. A kind of war that raged across the Galaxy, but these fallen Jedi were cast out. Defeated. And they retreated to worlds in the Outer Rim. And over time, they took on the mantle of the Lords of the Sith…"

The Master taught the apprentice the history of the Sith and how they came to be. It was true that even in their hearts, they could never forget the Jedi. The hatred the Sith had for the Jedi Order burns in their veins like fire and it echoes in their teachings. In that, they are concerned only with the destruction of the Jedi. It was all that matters and all that ever mattered.

But it's a different war they, as the Sith wage, it was a thing of silence and shadow. Taught to strike through the darkness – hiding from the face of the galaxy until all Jedi are exterminated. When the Jedi are gone – the galaxy would be theirs.

Jaesa was aware of these lessons but only knew it from the Jedi, and now she was seeing it all from the ways of the Sith. Though her Master warned her to stay on the path to the light side, the young apprentice couldn't forget the words her Master spoke afterward: "I've seen human nature at its core, Jaesa. And there is no light there."

The more she listened, the more she understood where her Master desperately stood. There's a conflict inside of her – wanting to stand in the middle, to balance it all out but it didn't work that way. She's broken and yet reborn into something else. There was always more to a story and Jaesa could see it – the shadows inside of her Master's mind.

She knew who she is and what she wants. The galaxy has wronged her and yet it has granted her gifts of wisdom and experiences. The power of the dark side is hers to command. The power of the light side is hers to embrace.

The never-ending war of the Force.

The silence in her mind was rather troublesome. Having to teach Jaesa at least the history of the Sith was fruitful, a promising pupil who was willing to understand both sides of the Force – regardless if she only walks through the light.

She couldn't help but feel the frustration of Arrun being right.

In which the true war is never waged by droids or soldiers. That the true war is waged in the hearts of all living things – against our natures, light or dark. That is what shapes and binds the galaxy together and not these creations of man. Troubled as she was inside her heart, her gaze went to the Jedi Holocron resting on the table.

Tarun's teachings would be there and deep down inside, she wanted to speak to her mother – whose Holocron is now in the hands of her dark Master. She received the knowledge and preparation that Lord Zylas Sern was able to grant her – she knew where she stands. The craving for vengeance was still there and yet the unexpected mercy has been granted to those she deemed to deserve it.

She knew that there would always be war. War within herself. War within the people around her. A war between two Orders, two factions, two beliefs – the never-ending war of the galaxy. She had to choose a side and she chose the Empire.

She suffered losses no one could ever imagine.

The role of the dark apprentice has always been difficult. She knew that from her own experience.

She confesses. Her companions could see how she could touch so many lives, saved so many people. A woman who understood that no one could stop the monsters without sacrifices in the journey. It's not fair. She knew that. She allowed it to hurt. She allowed it to burn.

Her whole life is burning.

She has seen things no one would believe. She has lost things no one could truly understand. And no one knows what she does with all of that pain. She holds it tight, 'till it burns in her heart and she says: No one will ever have to suffer like this. No one else will ever have to feel this pain.

The role of the dark apprentice is hard.

The role of the dark apprentice is painful.

The role of the dark apprentice is frightful.

She, the Master had endured – and so will she.