WEAPONS

"Whatever happens I don't want you straying away from the light side of the Force," Leena spoke out of the blue, catching the apprentice off guard. She had her brown gaze focus on the Sith Lord. Leena couldn't help but grow concerned towards her comrades – their powerbase was growing and so was her reputation, as well as power.

It wouldn't be long enough until Baras stabs her in the back.

"Master…" Jaesa muttered in worry. The Sith turned to her, with a smile behind her helmet. The apprentice then spoke her concerns at the wrong place and yet she was certain, no one would disturb them just yet. "As a handmaiden on Alderaan, I was surrounded by the falseness of nobles and their political agendas. I could have used my power to expose it all and bring a corrupt system to its knees. But out of fear, I held back."

Jaesa felt that it was the appropriate time to confess those difficult feelings inside of her, in case anything went wrong during the mission. These were the Republic's finest – even when she didn't want to doubt her Master, it was still there.

Leena gave an immediate answer. "You must not use the Force to dictate a change to others."

"But aren't we doing just that?" Jaesa asked her Master in return. People like them have the influence and the power to change. They were taking the chance to do something good with their lives. "Using our powers to force change on the Empire? What's the difference between changing Alderaan politics and changing the Empire?"

"Changing the Empire will save countless lives while the politics of Alderaan are insignificant in comparison. It might bring peace to the galaxy but I'm not one to believe in pointless dreams."

"Bringing peace is not a pointless dream—"

"As long as the Force is here to bind everything in this galaxy together, there will never be peace. Conflict will be present wherever you go because that is the balance that keeps us alive. The Force is conflict itself, I told you that."

"But the Jedi—"

"I am not Master Karr, Jaesa," Leena spoke firm and strict. A tone Jaesa doesn't usually hear from her. "Both factions treat the Force differently, the Sith try to enslave it while the Jedi treat it as a companion when in reality – the Force is something that lives through conflict and only conflict. You can't be what I need you to be. Not yet. But the choice will always be yours, remember that."

She nodded. "How do you treat the Force then, Master?" Jaesa knew herself, there's some of that Alderaanian handmaiden left in her – she can get discouraged without tangible progress. It bothered her greatly.

"There is no truth in the Force." She spoke the words of Lord Arrun Zane. "There is no great revelation. No great secret. There is only you. We do not command or befriend the Force. It commands us instead. I hate the Force. I hate that it seems to have a will – that it would control us for some measure of balance when countless lives are lost. When someone brings in truth, the two Orders will condemn it for their teaching and philosophies, beliefs that they thought what's right for the galaxy because we always see the eyes through the Force – it is something that both the Jedi and the Dark Council would never understand. Perhaps your 'fallen Jedi' did not truly fall or the 'redeemed Sith' is not truly redeemed. Perhaps they changed their beliefs, their loyalties out of necessity to unconsciously save themselves. A fall or the feeling of guilt is not entirely different and yet the difference between a fall and a sacrifice can often be difficult, no one has yet to understand the difference at all."

"Not even you?"

"Not even me." The Sith Lord agreed.

"Is that why you stand by the Sith? Because you believe in their philosophies and teachings?" There was so much more to her Master than what she merely says. This greater power that slept inside of her, Jaesa wanted to learn so much from her experiences – be the warrior-like she is.

"I stand by the Sith because the Jedi destroyed what should have been the most important thing in the galaxy to me." It was no secret. Like any other Sith, Leena's hatred for the Jedi was strong regardless of her affiliation with Jedi Master Tarun and even her friendship with Jedi Master Cyrus. Tarun stood with the Order of Revan, she fully came to understand that one day she would face Cyrus in the battlefield as enemies of their Order.

Cyrus must have felt the same, but until then they have stood by each other's side through the Force. An unknown bond in which no one could truly explain. "If it wasn't for the Jedi and their Republic, I would still have a family. A mother who would love me, raise me, and train me. A father who would see me grow. Siblings to grow and love. The Empire may have burned Alderaan to ashes, but what do I care about politics? I suffered… a great deal all because the Jedi murdered my mother. They owe me decades of suffering, Jaesa. I cannot forget that. I will never forgive that."

Leena couldn't remember the feeling of having a real family. She was nothing more than Baras's most favored weapon. She was nothing more than an animal inside of a cage, fighting for her life whenever she was thrown inside of an arena. Leena knew very well that she didn't choose this life, she was just living in it – she was haunted by what might have been in the Force wasn't so cruel.

"Some things just stay broken."

"Why… do you want me to stay on my current track then? If you despise the Jedi so much, why… not manipulate me into being a Sith?"

"Because I want you to be better." The sound of genuine concern could be heard from her Master's voice. Jaesa knew there was kindness in her, she saw how fond Vette was with the Sith Lord. As the apprentice, she was often surprised to hear stories about Leena by Vette – how she was like when she laughed, how she smiled, what things she enjoyed, or made her relax even for the slightest moment. It was the side of Leena Sern Jaesa that never really saw. "Just because I see the Jedi as foes doesn't mean that the Sith are any better."

To her, Leena was her mentor and slowly, becoming her friend. She was slowly starting to see what Vette has been telling her these past few months. What the Captain kept on admiring in this short time of service.

"Enemy sighed!" Both Master and apprentice turned their attention to the entrance to see the General along with a couple of men, enough to outnumber them but not enough to eliminate them. "Captain, attack pattern aught-seven-seven."

The captain obeyed and proceeded to give out orders. "Men, fan out! Aught-seven-seven! Be ready to engage, wait for the general's order!"

Pretend to be weak so he may grow arrogant.

With several Republic troopers scattered and ready to fire, the Sith Lord couldn't help but wonder what they were so desperately trying to hide from the Empire. The treaty already collapsed – it was only a matter of time before they begin to open fire at each other. "Foreman Varl was picked up and confessed a Sith was here. So I was able to bring back up. I am General Elaxis Frelka of the Republic Strategic High Command. Your incursion here violates the spirit of the Treaty of Coruscant. We have you dead to rights, surrender."

"If I had a sense of humor, I'd find you amusing."

"We have prisons that can stand up to Sith. Perhaps you'll find them funny." The General didn't seem to be so amused by her answer. "Unfortunately, you've discovered our plans, but no matter. The wheels are already in motion. Our new technology will deliver arms superiority to the Republic. And I'm ready to give my life to defend this installation."

Playing dumb has always been a classic. "Exactly what are you mining here that will provide such an advantage?"

"You mean you don't know?" General Frelka raised his brow. "Oh, this is too rich. Men, this Sith must not be allowed to reveal our operation. Attack to kill!"

One lightsaber was all she needed. She grew up in a place that upholds its tradition and conviction, a place where the strongest rule and those who achieve the most receive the greatest rewards. That is what sets the Sith apart from their enemies. In the Empire war is a way of life. Conquest is a right. The strongest are entitled to everything they claim.

A specific mindset that she grew accustomed of.

Something that Jaesa needed to understand if she wishes to stand by her Master's side. With her lightsaber ignited, the young apprentice would turn her glance towards the Master. She could swear that Leena's armor was heavy, their Twi'lek companion did mention that it was made out of cortosis – but the Master moved quick and was able to strike down their enemies firmly, without any mercy.

Leena Sern wasn't just another Sith Lord. The apprentice saw it in the eyes of their companions, their loyalties – their feelings towards the Master. She was a warrior who understands the need to face and defeat the enemy. Both aspects of the task can be challenging, both can require thought, insight, and planning.

But a warrior may forget that even the task of identifying the enemy can be difficult. To kill the enemy, she must be roused to anger.

Though a non-force sensitive can eliminate a Sith or a Jedi with the right tools and training, their only disadvantage was that they kept on categorizing the beings in the galaxy into factions. For a General, Frelka underestimated the mind of a warrior and how determined she was to achieve this goal, the path to war.

When Frelka fell, the room was silent. The young apprentice watched her Master lean down and take a keycard from his pockets. When Leena proceeded to the mining computer, Jaesa couldn't help but be curious about what her Master was planning to do. The objective has been met – the General was dead, what's there to do?

Leena managed to access the database.

Frelka was mining materials for Project: Saintide. The War Trust General Minst is in charge of receiving the materials from the cave they stood. The Sith couldn't help but smirk under her mask, as the location was revealed to were her next target was hiding – in the dismantled reactor core in the sewer sector of old Taris.

[Choose function:]

The Sith Lord proceeded to access the project. Never waste potential resources.

[Access Project Siantide.]

There she learned that the substance being mined in the cave is residue from the incineration of the millions of life-forms that perished when the Empire bombarded Taris. The Republic has discovered a way to process the substance into a powerful new energy source. The full implications are still unknown.

"Master? I think we should leave…" Jaesa felt uneasy when Leena remained silent throughout the whole ordeal after their discussion. She grew distressed when the computer-generated voice spoke: "The facility will self-destruct in sixty seconds…"

"MASTER!"

"Stay alive, apprentice."

Pretend to be weak so they may grow arrogant.

Words that Leena would use from time to time, mandating the situation she would be in. Playing the cards carefully and right, making sure that at the end of the day she would live to win another day. If she continued to play this game right, she would get the revenge that she always craved. The blood of her Master in her hands.

"Lord Sern has proceeded on the hunt for General Durant, sir…" Rymar proceeded with the information as the Moff silently listened to his General's words carefully. Men like him place himself beyond the possibility of defeat, waiting for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure himself against defeat was a complete absolute, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. A man may know how to conquer without being able to do so.

Moff Zabro's victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage. A man like him wins his battles by making no mistakes. It's how his game is played. "…and then there's the matter of Moff Hurdenn."

"What has Hurdenn done this time?"

"I'm sure you are aware of the platoon he dispatched earlier and how Lord Sern told him off wanting the Black ops troops for Durant." General Rymar proceeded to grant the information that's in his datapad. "Darth Baras is hailing you."

"Now?"

"Now." Zabro heavily sighed.

Baras was never a pleasant sight for him. He remembered those times where Zylas would complain about the man, on how they would try to outsmart each other at every turn until one of them died. Zylas paid the price and a man like Zabro has been wondering for years how Baras did it.

Leena picked up her holocom to find Pierce hailing her, Jaesa was carefully listening behind her. "I'm in a medivac transport, arriving back at base. I needed to tap you. Darth Baras has made contact. I updated him. I have him, Moff Hurden, and Moff Zabro on holo for you."

"Patch them through immediately."

"Will do." And he did. To think that she would be in contact with her father in such dire circumstances as a Sith Lord and an Imperial Moff. It was troublesome.

"Apprentice, your progress has been conveyed to me, and I've been briefed on the search for General Faraire. Moff Hurdenn informs me that Faraire has relocated all of the Republic's forces on Taris to protect his command center at the Republic stronghold."

"I guess I know where I'm going." Zabro couldn't help but sigh.

"First you must convene with me." Baras was determined to win this before the war takes full effect. To please his Master he had to make sure that his apprentice is in full obedience. "This assault will take all of our firepowers. I've summoned your crew to the base. They will all be utilized. And I've informed both Moff Zabro and Moff Hurdenn that you are commandeering the entirety of their forces."

"Yes, right," Hurdenn spoke, breaking the silence. Zabro on the other hand kept his mouth shut. "They are yours to command, my Lord."

"I have longed to lead an army." Zabro couldn't help but had his gaze on the holoterminal displayed in front of him. It felt all familiar for him – as if Zylas came back from the grave.

"You will now sink your teeth into full-scale war. Rendezvous with Zabro, Hurdenn, and your crew at the Imperial base. There is much planning to do. Be swift." When it all ended, Hurdenn left the room to prepare for Lord Sern's return – the old Moff on the other hand couldn't help but worry about what is to come for them.

It was all familiar to him. All too familiar it placed fear into his old heart.