A SERN’S FEAR

Upon arriving at Nar Shaddaa, the few members of Lord Sern's crew were gathered. Vette and the Captain were already preparing for the mission when Leena broke the silence surrounding them. "I'll only be taking Jaesa to this mission."

"Wait, what?" Vette's surprised tone made the young apprentice wonder. Though she was grateful that her Master was giving her a chance, even Quinn's surprised expression made her curious.

"Are you sure that's wise, my Lord?" Asked the Captain.

Leena proceeded to nod as she wore her helmet. "She's my apprentice. Jaesa needs to learn her lessons with me and me alone, I trust that both of you won't destroy the ship while we're gone?"

Vette and Quinn quickly exchanged a glance. They didn't get along but they knew how to trust each other when it comes to the battlefield. They shared a somewhat, similar interest – to keep their Lord and companion alive.

The Twi'lek was no longer bound to shackles, she could have left if she wanted to but stayed. Quinn, on the other hand, had his loyalties straighten out when the Sith Lord caught him contacting Baras, and informing him of their progress. Besides the whole idea of Leena Sern beheading him with a lightsaber, he could feel it – the dedication she had, the will she could muster to inspire soldiers, and have the mindset for victory.

The victory that the Empire needs.

Jaesa, on the other hand, was reluctant to go with her Master alone and gave a pleading look to Vette – wondering what she should do. The Twi'lek smiled in assurance, that whatever Leena has in mind, she should put her complete trust in their Lord.

It was just the two of them, the Master and the apprentice. Jaesa couldn't help but feel uneasy. It wasn't because of the presence of her companion, her Lord, and Master – but rather the feeling that the moon gives itself. She could sense something, something that not all Force users could see. She felt this when Master Karr brought her here some time ago when she sensed the darkness of an Imperial spy.

"Your thoughts are disturbed." Spoke the Master as the both of them climbed down the speeder. "I can feel them from a great distance, like a shiver running through you."

"I felt strange when I first came here, and I still do. I could feel this… background noise like a vibration of some sort. I could… feel some sort of craving in the air, Master." Jaesa admitted as both of them walked towards the location of the Republic post. "It's like the feeling of hunger."

"It is Nar Shaddaa." The Master answered. The apprentice grew confused but listened thoroughly to what her Master had to say. "You feel Nar Shaddaa, the true Nar Shaddaa. It is the moon with the metal and the machines stripped away and the currents of the Force laid bare."

"The sound… its strange, tense. It feels so alive and yet I could also feel desperation. The currents are moving fast, almost frantically."

"I'm surprised you can also feel it." As calm as Leena was, there was a lot she could teach the young apprentice. Teach her ways of the Force that she learned from her late husband and from the Jedi Master named Tarun. "I feared that conflict has denied me to such perceptions. What you feel is the echo of the minds of these creatures within the Force. Their anger, their greed, their desperation. It is life."

"Is it… possible for me to manipulate it? To control people?" Jaesa's curiosity brought a smile behind the mask.

"One might as well move the universe… but such manipulation is possible, yes. It requires that one be able to feel the critical point within the fractured mass, and know-how to strike it in such a way that echoes travel to your intended destination."

"Then control over such a large scale is possible."

"Not in the sense you understand it – the ability to fool the minds of others, to dominate them on a massive scale that you speak of is not achieved best through raw power. Manipulation is done through propelling events, or selected ones into motion. It is done through teachings, through examples, through conviction. And the greatest of victories are not manipulated at all, but simply awakening others to the truth of what you believe. Of hearing it echoed around you, in life." She spoke from experience.

The Sith Lord who danced with different teachings and examples – as well as convictions. She has mastered the dark side of the Force and yet struggles to keep it both in balance. Manipulation has always been a great tool in a game she plays, especially when her opponent is Baras himself.

With this kind of task, Leena didn't need Quinn to know that this would only take a day or even less. To eliminate a single man with a taskforce was easier compared to the whole battalion she slaughtered back on Balmorra.

She was aware that Jeasa was a gentle soul. A Jedi by heart and morals – she wouldn't walk through the road of a Sith, the innocence inside of her. The Sith may walk through the line between the light and the dark, but it has always been an eternal conflict inside of her. A conflict that could never be resolved.

"Ready yourself." Said the Master as she ignited only a single lightsaber. Taking a turn as she saw two Republic Watchmen guarding the door.

With something so simple, Leena could have done it alone but she insisted that she brings the apprentice along and not her two companions who were more well equipped and used to tasks like this. Beyond this one apprentice, there was something truly special about her – and Leena was rather determined to make it bloom.

The apprentice didn't even have enough time to draw out her lightsaber when the Master went for the slaughter.

When the doors swung open, she saw the Imperial traitors that were refereed. To. "General Gonn, I'm happy to report that Jedi Knight Xerender has landed safely on Hoth. I saw to it personally." The Chiss spoke in confidence as the General smiled in approval.

"You are a valuable asset to the Republic, Fawste. Someday, the rest of the Chiss will follow your lead."

"The rabbit comes out of his hole." Said the Sith Lord. Having their complete, undivided attention it was obvious why she was there. "Nice to see my information was correct."

The apprentice stood still behind the Master. These were republic troops, men she was supposed to fight alongside with. But now she stands with the Sith Empire – a part of her was grateful that she had a mentor like Leena Sern and the other half was disgusted.

"Men, we've got trouble! Rally around the general!"

"Protect our allies as well." Commanded Gonn. He wasn't so afraid of going against a Sith. His pride won't allow it. Blasters were aimed and ready to fire towards her and she didn't flinch. The apprentice grew worried if her mentor could even handle such a number. "I think I can guess who you are, Sith. For all of Darth Baras's covert manipulations, you have banged around the galaxy rather loudly. Now Baras has finally found me… I'll have to be more careful moving forward."

"Cease your operations, and I'll see to it you live." A chance for mercy, as always.

"Keeping the fringe systems free from the Empire is more important than my life." The general reminded the Sith Lord of her father, a well-decorated Moff who earned the respect of his men. Soldiers around them were probably no different, they worshiped the General and would die for him if needed. All but one.

Master and apprentice could sense it, the lingering doubt and fear for his life – the Chiss wants to live. "Sith, you are Darth Baras's apprentice? We-we know of you. This, uh, this isn't what it seems."

"I'll deal with you after, Chiss."

Gonn, on the other hand, was willing to provide protection. "Fear not, Fawste. The Sith will not defeat me. My men and I have faced worse. Men! Take this Sith down!"

Sith and Jedi are usually strong and capable warriors in their own right. Jaesa ignited her lightsaber but Leena showed no need for any assistance. What are they without the Force? What remains if they do not have it?

The Sith and Jedi rely on it, depend on it, more than they know. Leena understood that very well. Which is why she wasted her years in perfecting lightsaber combat than the understanding of philosophy and the mysteries of the Force. She wasn't so surprised if ordinary beings like soldiers can be more capable than a Jedi or a Sith. They could survive where the Sith or the Jedi cannot because they do not hear the Force as the Force-sensitives could.

It was an irony.

Leena knew that it is a conflict that strengthens them and isolation that weakens them.

The apprentice was rather captivated by the scene. How the Master manages to block the blaster fire and slay soldiers as if she was performing a waltz on Alderaan. Her power was also considerable and undeniable – it was understandable why Master Karr insisted that he would go alone when the time came to face her. She was like a dragon who slept for a thousand years and woke up with flames that could burn down the whole galaxy.

She was like a burning star in space. Surrounded by the dark void and yet glows brightly to guide and inspire lives. Jaesa was at awe as she watched her Master.

But Jaesa didn't know that even stars burn out.

"You killed them all. Please, mercy! I—we will rededicate ourselves to the Empire!" Traitors are punished with death. Baras told Leena that when he made Tremel an example to her.

"What did you help Gonn with?"

"I—I helped a Jedi land on Hoth undetected." The Chiss answered nervously. "I believe he's searching for something in the starship graveyard wreckage. But that's all I know."

"Go back to the planet and learn more about this." Grant mercy to those who deserve it or to those who can be useful. "You serve me now. Understood?"

The Chiss bowed. "R-right away, my Lord. Thank you for your mercy."

When the traitor left – Leena turned to the apprentice with a smile behind her mask. "I felt that you were uncomfortable with fighting Republic troops. I understand that" Leena said as she gently placed her hand onto the shoulder of the apprentice. "But you have to understand that we could never let our guard down. That we can never expect a battle to be fair because it will never be fair. I'm not asking you to be a Sith or a Jedi, Jaesa. I'm asking you to be a warrior."

"I'll do my best, my Lord." Jaesa nodded reluctantly.

The noises in Leena's head were always louder on Nar Shaddaa and Alderaan, now that she thought about it. Cyrus's noise has been silent – like he said he would be but now she heard a different noise, a different drumbeat.

On the speeder as the two headed to the spaceport, the Master had her eyes closed focusing on the noise she was hearing inside of her head. The noise she hears felt like a battlefield, an empty one – because everyone else has fallen. Memories become stories or they are forgotten.

'Almost dying changes nothing. Dying changes everything.' She could hear his voice. The Jedi Master who served as her guide when she didn't know what to do. The comforting bond that they had was something none of them could explain, not even to themselves. 'I don't understand, Tyrral. I don't think she's a threat. I think… I think Leena is a good person.'

'A Sith can never be a good person, Cyrus. I'm certain that Master Orgus should have been an example to everyone in the Order – the Sith can never be trusted.'

'And yet Master Karr is with us and alive because of her.' She could hear Cyrus's defensive statements to this – Jedi named Tyrral. A man with the same name as her dead older brother was some sort of irony towards her. 'Maybe she can be redeemed and join us –'

When Jaesa and Leena arrived at the ship, she gave immediate instructions to the Captain to head back to Dromand Kaas. Quinn nodded and proceeded to do what was told.

'Cyrus,' The Sith Lord heard Tyrral's voice became strict and rather commanding. 'If the reports are correct the Treaty of Coruscant is slowly shattering into pieces. We'll be at war soon and we cannot have hopes of a Sith joining our ranks. You have asked for my opinion and my answer is no.'

'I don't understand, Tyrral – what did I ever do to you?' She could sense hostility in both Jedi. But there was something else – there was pain, not only through her bond with Cyrus but – she could feel pain from her chest.

"Hey, Leena?" Vette called out in worry as she turned back to notice something wrong with her companion. "Are you alright?"

'Enough, Cyrus.'

Her chest began to tighten – she felt as if she could no longer breathe. Her vision slowly becomes blurred and confused, Vette tried to reach out to the Sith but she couldn't hear her at all. It was like the shadow has embraced her with the endless silence of space. Jaesa called for the Captain by the bridge, both of them rushed back with pure concern.

"Leena!" Vette cried out to the Sith again. She couldn't hold her, she was just there – up her guard and wanting to help her. She experienced something like this before – back when they first moved to Dromand Kaas. Everyone could hear her heavy breathing from the helmet – the Twi'lek didn't want to give up on her. "Leena! Leena! Listen to me!"

Her confused gaze would see Vette and then after a few moments, Leena was seeing something else. But she was slowly hearing the Twi'lek's voice. "Listen!"

Vette continued to shout as if her friend was out of reach. "It's me! Vette! I'm right here!" She could hear assurance from the tone but all she could see was a Jedi. A man, perhaps only a couple of years older than her. Pushed back, black hair, and the same shade of grey eyes as hers – and Cyrus.

Vette desperately called out for her. "Just calm… calm down! Okay?! Everything is going-o – alri--t!"

The Twi'lek's voice was becoming rather distorted and was replaced completely with the sound of Cyrus's voice. She could hear what he hears, see what he sees, and feel what he feels. At this moment, the Sith could feel the frustration and anger between both of these Jedi.

Jedi that she was supposed to have no ties with.

'No! I need to know!' Cyrus was persistent despite their argument. He didn't seem to be aware that the Sith was with him. 'Why are you so hateful towards the Sith? Why don't you give good people a chance?! What are you so afraid of?!'

'I SAID ENOUGH!' As Tyrral shouted, the Sith screamed and threw off her helmet as she lost balance. Hitting her back against the holoterminal with eyes filled with fear and confusion. It was like she was hit by a massive wave by the Force. It was something she experienced for the first time and yet, there was nothing or perhaps even anyone who could explain what just happened.

"—y L—d?" Leena could faintly hear Quinn's voice as she slowly looked up. Everything was still so blurry, she couldn't see straight – her energy was fading, she was feeling weak as if there was a pull-through the Force.

"W—s--- be – alr---?" Jaesa seemed to be asking something, but the Sith couldn't make the words. And it was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness.