THE FORCE HAS A WILL

Once again, Leena stood in the middle of the void.

She felt rather lifeless and alone. More alone than she felt in the years she served under her Master. There was no feeling of warmth, love, nor comfort in the darkness as she was always led to believe. The dark has always been generous to her, it gave her comfort from all of those horrible nightmares, the echoing voices in her mind.

"Have you thought this through?" Leena turned her gaze toward an image of herself. Leena Sern who wore simple light clothes, her eyes were the shade of grey. Calm and kind – an image only a few would see in her. "You are walking down a path no one could follow."

"Because the path you chose is the path of power." On the other side was also her, Leena Sern who wore the dark clothes of a Sith Lord with eyes the shade of corrupted yellow. Filled with anger, hatred, and the lust for vengeance. "You once asked us what we wanted from you, Leena Sern."

"And we are here to collect the answer we seek." Both of them spoke.

The apprentice that stood at the spring in the middle of Tatooine was far different from the woman who stood before them. Two different entities that embodied both light and dark, both aspects of the Force that she cannot embrace any longer – she, like the rest of the Sith and Jedi before her, had to make a choice.

"Balance is nothing more than an illusion." The dark one spoke. "You of all people are aware of that. Those before you… were well aware of that. You can never be both."

"It is one side or the other." Said the light one. "You cannot keep the coin turning forever."

"Vengeance… is all I have."

With the defeat of Darth Vengean, Darth Baras has claimed his seat on the Dark Council and risen to his new prominence within the Sith Empire. From his position of authority, Darth Baras plots his next move. Baras's apprentices, Lord Sern and Lord Draahg, now share their Master's power. Together they would crush the Republic for the glory of the Empire.

Vette closed her eyes as she waited by the lounge of the stronghold. She couldn't shake that image she had when Leena came home one night, her armor damaged, parts of her were covered with dirt and blood. When she heard the mass murder of those who served Darth Vengean, she didn't need to ask questions on where her friend, her sister went or what she did.

Leena was walking down a path that even she couldn't follow. All she could do was stand there and watch her walk away until she's gone from her sight.

The dark look in her eyes, it frightened her.

Lord Sern wore simple robes, with a hood around her head. Walking around the buzzing streets of Kaas City, young apprentices rambling here and there – Imperial soldiers doing their rounds, citizens speaking in hush tones. It was normal for Sith to go against one another in the name of power, but for Baras to take his seat on the council was a different matter.

"Imperial Intelligence is finally disbanded." She overheard one of the citizens say as she waited for a speeder.

"My brother was part of Intelligence," another spoke. "He was immediately assigned to the military."

Taking the speeder, she didn't even dare look down to the people who looked like ants from where she was. It's been a week since Baras had his position of power, and even when she shared the blame for the murder of Darth Vengean – she was more frightened of her own Master, a man who remained in the shadow. Who knows what he would use against her at this point.

Her destination was an apartment building, guarded with one of the finest battle droids the Empire could ever have. Where Imperial soldiers and their families would live as a benefit for a job well done in the military – one of the few buildings around the city.

Lord Sern proceeded at the reception table and simply said. "Do you have a spare key for Moff Zabro's complex?"

"I'm sorry but you are?" He simply asked.

Leena looked at the receptionist in the eyes. He froze on his seat for a short while, "I'm his oldest daughter. I don't think I need to say anything more."

"Of… of course, my Lord. Pardon for the delay." He quickly said as he proceeded to get another key as she asked.

Leena took a deep breath, looking around the lobby – remembering her days as a simple child before the Sith took her away. She never dared step foot here when her Master took her as an apprentice. As much as possible, she, herself didn't want any communication with her family.

"Here you are, my Lord." Handing over the keycard, the Sith Lord simply gave a nod and went towards the elevator.

No one expected a Sith Lord to visit a compound like this – with most soldiers being separated from their Sith Lord children or siblings, always being viewed as lowly beings from their Sith superiors. It was simply common practice, as their Jedi counterparts are taken away from their families by force.

Her mother who was either painted as a hero or a monster, her father who lied, her brother who abandoned them – the overwhelming emotions, the anger, the pain, the suffering – it was all them. This was how Lord Sern came to be, at every chance that she opened her eyes, she remembered those painful sufferings that she had to endure. The lies that would come out naturally from those who she trusted and want to trust.

The dark has always been generous, which she questioned to herself: Why did she keep on seeking for the light? When everything she did was all for her and only for her. When she could have proceeded with deeds that could help her form a much better, and loving life. When she could have accepted the aid and love of those around her, when she could have been thinking about them – she was only thinking about herself.

The voices in her head – the many lessons she received from both the Jedi and the Sith, Leena finally grasps which side of the Force could bring her the power she needed to be freed from these shackles that bound her to her Master.

The tragedy of the Sith is a source of power that she could never turn her back on. The trap of the dark side has always been endless.

Leena stood before their old apartment door. Recalling those simple childhood memories, she had with her father and sister.

Placing in the keycard, the door opened right before the Sith Lord. The first thing she saw as she entered was furniture covered in white sheets. There was no sight of a single droid, keeping the place clean – it was filled with things from her past, covered up and nothing more.

The moment the door closed; Leena immediately ignited her lightsaber. She knew she wasn't alone inside.

Leena moved around the apartment cautiously, holding her weapon firmly as she was ready to strike anyone who would attack her. "I know you're there."

"I know you know." A female voice replied. "The stories I heard about you all have been watered down."

"So you broke into my home, just to test if the stories are more brutal that you heard?"

Leena turned around to have her lightsaber a few inches from the neck of this intruder. She stopped, the moment she had brief contact with the woman who dared point her blaster to a Sith Lord. What caught her attention the most was the shade of grey in this woman's eyes. "Then what brings you home, sister? I haven't heard from you in years."

"Likewise," Leena replied. Turning off her lightsaber as her sister lowered her blaster. "You… this is not what I'm expecting from you at all."

"What?" Azal raised her brow in pure amusement, along with a matching smirk on her lips. "The Imperial uniform doesn't look good on me?"

"No, it's not that." Leena sighed. Observing her younger sister. All she could remember was a little girl who always followed her everywhere she goes, tries to mimic everything she did. It pains the Sith Lord, the mere fact that the last time they spoke to each other was the time when they were children – didn't even have a proper goodbye when Tremel took her away.

"Something is on your mind." Something about the little sister's smile felt disturbing. It bothered the Sith Lord that she could not properly tell what Azal was feeling, her emotions were not easily exposed. Perhaps if she bothered to bring in her apprentice, Jaesa could know what the nature of Azal Sern had become over the years. "But a Sith Lord doesn't often share what she's feeling. So, who am I speaking to – Lord Sern or my older sister, Leena? Because if I am talking to my sister – I only have one thing to say."

"And what is that?"

"Credit for your thoughts?"

For the first time in a long while, Leena cracked a genuine smile. Azal in turn, smiled back – as if all of the nightmares she endured were all gone from her mind. It was like they both entered a dream that they have not experienced since their horrors, seeing the light of dawn for the first time while they feel the happiness.

"I can't." The older sister answered. "My mind is… a mess. In all of my years… you could say that I have seen enough war, I have seen enough of death, and I have… I have…"

"You've lost so many." Azal nodded in understanding. Gently taking her sister's hand, guiding her to the kitchen that she just recently fixed. "I understand."

"No," Leena argued. "You don't."

"But I do." As Azal let go, she proceeded to make some warm tea. It was only proper to be a hostess for a guest, but it was only natural to be kind to those who are suffering in battles that they could never fight in. "In my years of service, I've learned that life is about suffering and that there is no way of escaping it. And I know that the galaxy has never been kind to you. I have… heard stories. Horrible stories."

"What kind of stories?"

Azal placed the cup of tea in front of her sister. An Imperial who dared look in the eyes of a Sith Lord. "You already know what those stories are. I don't want to remind you of the pain, but if there is something that I should be reminding you about is that whatever happens – I need you to come back alive. I don't need you to play these… Sith games."

"And what do you know about Sith games?" Leena asked as she took a sip from the cup. It needed more sugar.

"I've been tangled up in a few during my service in Imperial Intelligence." The last part caught the attention of the Sith Lord. There were confirmations that Imperial Intelligence was finally shut down a couple of weeks ago and that majority of its employees were distributed to the army and the navy. "Of course, I can't tell you which ones. You have secrets and I have mine."

"I don't think there's a single Imperial soldier in the Empire who isn't caught up in Sith politics."

"Father's tips were helpful..." The youngest complimented as she took a sip from her cup. Leena had her gaze on her sister, observing her movement, analyzing her feelings towards the subject, seeing what kind of reaction she would make. "...most of them were helpful."

"Mind telling me how you became a Major in the Imperial army?" The older sister grew curious. She wasn't so sure what had happened to Azal these past years, or if she knew if one of their older brothers were alive. Their father planted a lie inside of their minds – a single mistake that could easily change their lives if he was brave enough to take him back.

Azal smiled as she placed down her cup on the counter. "Like you, I killed the right people to get where I am now."

"Are you mocking me, Major?"

"We both know its true." Azal continued. Slightly tilting her head, looking for some sort of answer in her sister's eyes. "We have so much blood in our hands, so much that we cannot wash them off no matter how hard we try. We lie and kill in the service of liars and killers, that's how the Empire is – the Sith play us like pawns in a game we don't want to play."

"You're lucky that you don't get to play the game."

"Oh, trust me, big sister, I've been playing the game longer than you've been." Azal paused for a while, thinking of her words carefully. "I did the liberty of… looking into your crew. Colorful bunch, but that apprentice of yours… you need to be careful around that one."

Before Leena could even say something, her sister was receiving a priority holo call. The Major immediately answered. "Major Sern, what's the situation?"

Leena closed her eyes; she could feel something – someone familiar landing on the planet ground. There was something wrong. A disturbance through the Force, it was calling for her – pulling her deeper into the void.

The Sith Lord turned around and looked down from the window. And there he was, engaging Imperial troops with a swing of a blue lightsaber. That kind of brown shade could never be found within the grounds of Dromund Kaas – the heart of the Sith Empire.

Her corrupted eyes had this glow for bloodlust – the kind she never felt before. Legions of Sith and Imperial troops were on the planet's surface, facing a battle that no one expected. "Leena, Republic forces are attacking the Imperial fleet." The Major informed.

Following her sister, she saw a single Jedi from down below. "A Jedi? Fool, I'll inform superiors—"

"No," Leena answered with her gaze followed the Jedi, he was heading towards the Emperor's shuttle. The only thing that stood between him and that shuttle were several soldiers. "Let him be." Lord Sern opened the door leading to the balcony, the levels of their apartment weren't all that high – and with her ability with the Force, what she was about to do was simple.

"Leena," Azal called her out in worry. "What are you doing?!"

For once, she did not care about the cold nor the rain. She only had her eyes set on one goal, something she should have done years ago – something that should have happened on Alderaan for her suffering to be worth it.

"Leena!" Azal was saying something more. No matter how loud she cried her sister's name, Leena's attention was only on one target – igniting her mother's lightsaber, Leena jumped down from the balcony. Having her blades meet a familiar lightsaber but with a blue shade. The Jedi's eyes widen as he had a good look of her face.

Pushing her away from him with the Force, the Jedi's expression was filled with horror. Identical lightsabers with two different kyber crystals, and two different wielders. One a son and the other a daughter.

"Hello, big brother."

"Leena." Tyrral muttered in shock.