Diary of an Apprentice

I am making this ongoing run-on for my apprentice Taranae Rhode and myself. Only us two need to post. This is for her ongoing training to dark jedi Knight one day.

Thank you.

Ziost surface

The winds howled on this icy world. What once was the sacred home of the Sith, laid waste with bodies of One Sith and the Brotherhood. Crashed ships scattered the surface. White outs from torrential snow blew across the landscape. Everything and everyone hated being on the surface. Except one individual. Brimstone. He found peace in the frigid climate.

Beside him stood his battered apprentice, Taranae Rhode. He found her nearly beaten to death when Plagueis invasion commenced. He gave her the choice. Power or death. She chose the first. They couldn't be more opposite. She was from the lush planet of Naboo, former home of the greatest Sith known, Palpatine. The one and the same that betrayed his clan's namesake.

Was she here cause she was a captive? Or was she indoctrinated by the corruption of One Sith? Only time will tell. But so far, she has grown in the few days he possessed her. She was his to mold. And he would make her a weapon of Plagueis. First he had to break her of her past. Like Palpatine, she had to be tortured to the point she forsaken her past. Something the chiss still had yet to learn since leaving the Ascendancy.

"So should Plagueis lay claim to this world and make it our permanent base of operations? " asked the new Master.

"I'd prefer warmer climates, master."

He had to give it to her. She was honest. And he sensed no secrecy or alterior motives. She truly wanted power.

Taranae shivered as she answered. The force had led here here - to this bleak, barren and cold wasteland. The broken hulls of ships and scattered bodies paying testament to the battle that had been fought here recently. As she had begun to sense the force at first, she had felt a disturbance here on Ziost and had traveled far to reach it in her search for answers. That there was fighting here on the surface had come as a surprise to her as she had landed, and had immediately been captured, suspected of being a rebel spy due to her garb. She still wasn't sure if her captors inviting a Sith to interrogate her had been to her advantage or not after the tales of what they were capable of had been regaled to her back on Naboo, but this one, now her Master, had seen something in her - some potential, and had immediately claimed her as his own - his Apprentice. He spun wondrous tales of power - how he could help her achieve unfathomable power, and also of the things she would be able to do whilst under his tutelage. It took her a while to accept this fact, but after the strain the Sith had put her body through, and the way he spoke of such things, she had to finally admit that there must be something to what he said to push her to such limits to believe him - therefore she accepted his offer.
She joined House Plagueis of the Sith Order and as she now stood looking out over the battlefield with her Master, she wondered what else fate and he had in store for her.

Ziost Surface

The One Sith where in full retreat. Plagueis was in full on destruction, including parts of the other Clans being steamrolled over. Arconians tried to surprise the Plaguesians, but it was all for naught.

Brimstone, with Taranae, his newly acquired apprentice, surveyed the field of operations. She wasn't fully force-sensitive, but that would change in time. Prisoners were brought forth and interrogated by the real Sith. Many were executed on the spot when they refused to abandon their loyalties and join the Brotherhood. Those that were to join, had severe reconditioning to undergo.

The Chiss knew warfare tactics. Blitz and Advance. Hit and Run. Years in the Ascendancy taught him that. The Dark Lord's Wraith on the Ascendancy up above wanted victims and total annihilation of the enemy.

Just months earlier, he was promoted to Sith Warrior and no longer referred as the one who would never make it past Journeyman status. Now his apprentice wasn't going to deal with the same heartaches. He dealt with 5 Masters that all abandoned him. He won't do that to her.

First was to show her loyalty. Was it with him or with her past? He would deal with that in time. The wind picked up as her red hair flowed. She wasn't military, that was for sure. No proper etiquette. She would learn that in due time.

Just as they watched, the commlink he had chirped. On the other end was Arturis, his superior in Karness Muur.

"Brimstone, this is Arturis,"

"Yes Master."

"We're needed back. The war is over. We won. The One Sith are fleeing."

"Great news, master. I will be on next transport with my apprentice."

"Apprentice? I wasn't aware you were assigned one."

"I wasn't. I saved her from death and felt the Force strong in her. She will make a great ally or she will die trying."

"Okay. See you both when you get to the Harrower."

"Roger, Out."

He looked over at his apprentice and fear was in her eyes. "Master, am I that expendable?" she asked.

"Only if you fail me, understood?"

"I won't fail you, Master. I am not afraid!"

"You should be!"

Taranae's shocked eyes were clear to anyone watching, including her Master. He had just told her she was expendable if she failed him, but fail him how?
Shivering again in the cold air, she wondered at his comments and at what she may have to do in the service of her Master. How badly would she be allowed to fail before he finally decided she was no longer useful?

'Master, what would you have me do? I shall do my best, but the Force you felt in me - is it strong enough for me to do anything of value for you?'

She asked knowing that the answer she received would probably not lessen her fears, but more than likely alleviate them.

'For now we must return', he replied. 'As for later, we shall see.'

With that, he turned on his heel, heading away from the conflict area and she rushed to follow, trying her hardest to keep up with his huge strides.

-Six weeks later-

The training of his apprentice was extremely difficult for her. While she excelled in the Shadow Academy and was learning about her new home in the Brotherhood, Brimstone made sure it was not going to be easy. The constant military regimen he was incorporating was taking its toll on her in all mind, body, and soul.

Ziost weeks earlier was nothing compared to the unnamed planet they were on. Icy cold weather and snow blizzards that would choke a Wampa were tearing into her psyche. But she held her own and for her rewards, the Dark Council promoted her to Jedi Hunter. Brimstone was wary of her rising too fast, but had overheard rumors of other apprentices climbing the ladder even faster. He remember it took years to train and study to rise to an upper echelon. Maybe the new Brotherhood was desperate for trained individuals. It wasn't the Chiss job to question their actions. His job was to teach.

Wearing his pristine military dress uniform, he stared out the encampment at the stars above. Taranae realized he wasn't watching her anymore while she trained with the probe droids.

"Master, what's wrong?" she asked as she turned off her training saber.

"Tell me of your family."

"What's there to tell. My family is from Naboo. My father was a former jedi. My mother didn't want me to become one with the Force."

"And what of your sister? Is she as powerful as you or more powerful?"

"I don't think she is one with the Force, Master."

Brimstone turned towards her. "You don't think or you don't know if she is? Maybe she is beyond powerful and is able to hide it from you." He then turns his back to her again. "Maybe I chose the wrong apprentice."

It was the slap in the face he needed to give his apprentice to help her unleash her full potential. Fiery hatred, as bright as her flame red hair, erupted in her as she exploded and leapt for her master, ready to kill him. As she swung down where his head was, the Sith Warrior side-stepped to the left and she fell into the nearest snow bank. She rolled over and leapt at him again. Brimstone used her momentum and his Carinor training to make her fall on her face again. Anger erupted as she forced shove him with all her might.

He slid back about a foot, absorbing her full blast of hatred. She somersaulted for him again and just when she was ready to strike him dead, he raised his hand and caught her by the throat. Slowly he squeezed till her lips started to change to a shade of blue. She dropped her training saber and plead to be released.

"Do you see what I have done to you, Taranae Rhode? I have released what has been holding you back. You are worthy of being a Plaguisian.....And my apprentice."

He released her and she dropped to one knee. Her training saber laid next to her, within reach to deliver a killing blow to her master. But instead, she just looked at him.

"I now understand master. I must sever my past to grow in the future. I must..." she stuttered in the howling winds.

"....Kill your family on Naboo, Sith!" replied the master.

Taranae stared in disbelief - she knew being a Sith would take a toll on her, but to kill her own family?

'Must I do that Master? I may be angry right now but I still have feelings for my family.'

She stared and awaited a reply, but after none came she bowed her head in resignation, not letting her Master see the tears well up in her eyes. She allowed herself a moment for them to disappear and raised her head. Staring straight at her Master she said,

'I will do it master, but I must retrieve my Enforcer ship from orbit for the trip to Naboo. When I have it, I shall set course immediately and my family shall pay for keeping the knowledge of my powers from me for so long.'

She did nothing to hide her emotions from him. She knew that he would have more respect for her if she was seen to be truthful and show that she wasn't sure about this, but would obey his command. She rose, bowed and asked,

'By your leave, Master, I will collect my ship and begin my journey.'

Later that evening.

As Brimstone watched his apprentice board her ship, ready to fulfill his demands, he couldn't help but smile. As she sat down in the pilot's seat, her Master gave her a salute, which she returned the favor. The Enforcer ship lifted up off the snow packed ground and proceeded towards the stars.

Once she was out of sight, Brimstone pulled out his communicator and punched in a security code. Moments later, he received a secured chime and knew who it was.

"Greetings brother" replied Seato'mbsto'nedansr.

"Greetings to you too" replied Seabr'imsto'nedansr.

"I'd figure you would contact me soon. How's things going?" replied Tombstone.

"It is going well. My apprentice has just lifted off. Are the plans in order for her family on Naboo?"

"Exactly as you have wished. The creatures are in place as are our security forces. So she is willing to kill her family?"

"I don't know yet. She is hesitant." The Sith Warrior took a pause in thought. "If she succeeds, she is truly a Sith. If she changes her mind, then she's truly a Plagueisan."

"So you have no outcome favored I take it?"

"None. Both serve the same purpose. She will become one of the greatest Sith or the greatest Plagueisan. What she does is her choice now."

"So how long before you get here?"

"Her ship will take about three or four days to get there. "I disabled her warp coils before we did her training here. I can be there in two days."

"Okay, we'll see you here, brother."

"Give my regards to our family.....And thank you."

----------

Naboo
Two days later.

The shuttle Brimstone flew was arriving in the space of the planet Naboo. The chiss had his plans set forth shortly after learning of his apprentice's background. He hated to play with her emotions, but it was a chance he would have to take. Years earlier, he had a chance to kill his own brother, Tombstone, but he knew it would work in his benefit to have his family as an ally instead of an enemy. He was hoping to teach Taranae the same lessons by making her choose too.

After the shuttle made its landing, he noticed a receiving party on the landing platform. 4 Chiss and what he assumed was a member of the Rhode family was waiting for him. After shutting down the engines, Brimstone stood up, straightened his uniform, and hit the landing ramp button. He made his way down the ramp and walked towards the party.

After some formal greetings, he learned that the non-chiss was actually the mother of his apprentice. They then proceeded to a private taxi that took them towards her estate. After an hour of travel, Brimstone and the other chiss were escorted to their private rooms on the estate. He proceeded to do a thorough sensor sweep for traps and bugs. He was taking a huge risk.

Later that evening, at the banquet room where a nice dinner was served, they discussed what was going to happen in a few days..

"So you are my daughter's teacher I take it?" asked the elder Rhode.

"No, I am her master. A teacher accepts failure in their teachings and proceed to re-teach. I don't accept failure in my apprentices" said Brimstone, cold and stern.

"But why she have to become a Sith? You all are destroyers. Nothing good come of the Sith. Look at Palpatine from the Empire days" she snapped back at him just as cold.

"Palpatine was a puppet in the long future of the Sith. We no longer following the old ways of the Sith."

"So you sent her here for what purpose?"

"Simply to put it, to kill you and her family."

Other than the chiss who made no response, the Naboo all gasp. "You sent her to kill us? You have corrupted her. She would have never chosen that path" said the shocked mother.

"It is all calculated and planned precisely." Brimstone paused and took a sip of his drink, then stood up. "I have no plans to have you exterminated. In fact, I hope that she will come and 'save' you from death."

"How so" spoke up Taranae's sister.

"The less you know the better. That is why I have taken precautions to stop my apprentice if it comes to the wrong scenario."

The dinner guests and hosts proceeded to hear out the Sith's plans. In a couple days, they would witness the true power of the Sith.

*note. deleted part so Taranae can place her fiction in next entry, which include the part I had. Keeping it continuous.

As the boarding ramp descended, Taranae looked back once again at her Master. Brimstone stood with his arms folded, gazing at her with the conviction that she took as being an affirmation of the orders she had just been given. In her hand she clutched the small hide satchel she had been given containing 'components.' Brimstone had instructed her not to open the satchel until she was underway and had entered hyperspace. She didn't bother asking how he would know if she opened it sooner, she just knew that he would.


Her cloak flapped around behind her, momentarily obscuring her line of vision, and as she brushed the annoying article aside she almost gasped as it revealed the area Brimstone had been standing in as vacant. She glanced around, knowing she would not see him again until he saw that circumstances demanded it, but maybe expecting to catch a glimpse of him. There was no sign of him and Taranae fleetingly wondered how he managed that feat as she slowly and resignedly climbed the ramp into the Pursuer Enforcement Ship she had acquired in her recent employment as a courier. She smiled as she thought how so much had changed in the past few days and once again thought of her family. Her smile turned sour as she remembered what Brimstone had set as her mission - she had to kill her family to truly be called Sith. Her knees gave out from underneath her as an overwhelming feeling of weakness and nausea overcame her, and as she fell to all fours she sobbed uncontrollably as the realisation of what she was about to embark upon hit home hard.


After a moment consoling herself, Taranae felt a little better and rose slowly. She grabbed the nearest bulkhead for support as the feeling threatened to overcome her again and she chastised herself.


How am I meant to become Sith if I can't even keep myself from breaking down at the merest thought? she thought to herself.


She headed slowly to the cockpit, controlling her feelings and instead concentrating on turning it to anger as her Master had taught. This is what made Sith strong, Brimstone had told her, so she sat heavily in the pilot's chair and centred herself. She let her thoughts connect with the feelings of hurt and disappointment at her family's hesitation of coming forward to tell her of her possible force connection even when she had woken from her sleep with visions and dismissing them as dreams. Her anger grew the more she concentrated and something finally had to give. The R2 unit that kept her ship in top condition squealed as if in fright as a steady stream of smoke started to spiral from his sensor array. Taranae cursed and looked around at the screaming unit
.
“I'm so sorry Dee-Three!” she wailed, “I really didn't mean to do that!”


She cursed at her lack of control and wondered what Brimstone had meant when he had said that the items in the bag he had handed her when she set off would require immense control and concentration. With a mental note to herself to open the satchel once she was safely into hyperspace, she set the co-ordinates for Naboo and punched the controls. The ship's engines screamed and ground to a halt. She rolled her eyes and set to the task of trying to repair what she knew from the sounds was a hyper drive malfunction.



2 Days Later...


After searching every place she could think of as having storage space on this vessel of hers, she finally came across a storage hold in the floor of the passageway. Struggling with the hatch, she looked for a means of leverage but unless he was about to use a ship strut taken from the underside, there appeared to be nothing. She gestured at the hatch as her Master had shown and cleared her mind, letting the mechanisms become a picture in her head. Slowly she manipulated the catch sideways with the force and heard a satisfying noise as the lever clicked back. Lifting the hatch it was a small matter of time before she found what she was looking for - a small circuit board, no bigger than her hand. She replaced the hatch cover and took the board to the hyper drive, slotting it into place as it proved a perfect fit. Taranae finally considered the job done. She frowned as she thought it seemed to be the same kind of damage that Dee-Three had sustained from her lack of Force control and the thought had hit her - Brimstone. He must have set this as a task for her as well as the mission he had already set ahead of her and now she had lost 2 days from that mission. She returned to her chair and punched the controls again.There was a shudder from the engines and sudden quiet. Gazing out of the window she waited for the tell-tale signs of hyper and smiled in satisfaction as the stars in the view screen became nothing but stretched out points of light, the lines sailing past the ship as it rocketed forwards into hyperspace.


She turned her attention to the next item on her mental checklist - Dee-Three. Walking over to the droid, she noticed that he had stopped smouldering and was now letting out a series of clicks which puzzled her - not normal behaviour for this droid. She carefully removed the sensor circuitry from its housing and turning it over a few times in her hand, deduced that it had indeed been subject to a blow out. She shook her head sadly at the thought of her powers having done this to her constant companion while on the Fortitude, her ship that had been 'borrowed' on a rather permanent basis from her last job. She reached to a panel above the bulkhead door and started to rummage through the parts she stored there for such an incident and came across the circuit board she needed. Carefully, she slotted it back into place in Dee-Three's sensor array port and shut the cover. She was immediately greeted by beeps and whistles as the droid berated her harshly before setting off at a brisk speed toward the engine housing.


Taranae sighed at the droid, but allowed herself a small smile. That little droid had gotten her through some scrapes back when she was delivering cargo and pirates had tried to steal the ship's inventory. She walked along the corridor in deep thought and was suddenly hit with a feeling of great loss. It felt as though part of her had been ripped away, like a thousand souls crying in anguish and then suddenly there was silence. She rocked on her heels as the feeling dissipated and her consciousness returned. She slowly but very weakly made her way to her bed.


She sat heavily as the feeling retreated and she wondered at what the Force may throw at her next. What did this mean and how would it affect her? The sense of loss was astounding, but she had no idea as to what could have been the cause of the strange feeling. A thought suddenly came to her - she MUST open the satchel she was given and it was now imperative, after what had just transpired, that she carry out whatever was needed to be done with the contents. She felt her life may depend upon it.



Literally running through the ship, she reached the cockpit again and retrieved the satchel from the console on which she had placed it when she first arrived on the ship. taking it and carrying it to the main bay, she pulled out a chair and sat at a table, placing the satchel in front of her with a frown. It looked like any other bag she had seen and from it she could sense a residual power. She was hesitant to open it, but she reached out, working the satchel's clasp withe her fingers until it clicked open. She reached inside and pulled out one by one its contents. She gasped slightly as recognition of some of the so-called 'components' registered in her memory as lighters parts.



Arranging them carefully in front of her, she took stock of what she had. So this was the task her senses had warned her of. This is what she needed to do which could possibly be a life or death task for her. If she could construct a lighters then she would have protection besides her blasters and with what she had felt, she had received some kind of message that this task required her utmost attention.



After a short time, Taranae's frustration grew as she tried to assemble the parts to no avail. Trying to get the parts to fit was not an easy task. She cast her thoughts back to what Brimstone had told her of lighters construction and realised that they were normally built using the Force. Taranae crossed her legs and closed her eyes. She let her mind attune to the Force and envisioned the parts laid out before her.



After what seemed like an age, Taranae was shocked as thoughts poured into her head.She saw the parts in front of her and tried to close her eyes once again, finding to her surprise that they were already closed, and she saw everything as clear as if they had been open. Focusing on the task at hand she slowly lifted the part containing the power cell into the air, smiling inwardly as she gently spun it around, aligning it ready for the next step. Next the crystal chamber was guided around the crystal mount after the flawless red crystal had been set gently into it, after Taranae spun it a few times to admire its beauty. She had no idea how she knew what the parts were, but the schematics seemed to just show themselves as the need arose for the part to be fitted. Next came the blade energy channel, which screwed into the arc tip with ease. She was glad that most of the parts she had been given were not just husks but already had some degree of assembly already incorporated into them as she felt she would have been lost on how they connected. Finally, the blade emitter shroud spun gently onto the assembly, and the saber spun gently in the air as the parts all screwed and clicked themselves into place.



Reaching out with her eyes still closed, Taranae grasped the hilt of the assembled saber. She let herself disconnect and opened her eyes. The lighters was beautiful. She had no idea what it would look like once finished but she marvelled at how a weapon so deadly could look so.... refined. She swung the hilt left and right - the balance was perfect. Tentatively her thumb nudged the ignition mechanism and as she applied slight pressure, the saber ignited with a loud hum, as the blade extended from the hand grip. A bright red luminescence lit up the room as it fired into being and Taranae grinned as she gave it experimental swings. It seemed a part of her, an extension of her arm, and she wondered how she had ever been able to get the hang of blasters when this seemed so in tune with her. She flicked her wrist again and the saber died, the blade retracting into the hilt and she twirled it in satisfaction. Now she would be safe, she had an even deadlier means of defending herself and she was sure Brimstone would be pleased. This would make her mission on Naboo much easier.



The ship dropped out of hyperspace just out of Naboo orbit and Taranae smiled as she saw the supply ship still in orbit where it had always been when she was still flying supplies from the surface into orbit for delivery. Suddenly she had a hail.


'I see the signature but I don't believe my sensors!', said a reedy voice, warped by the communications unit.


'Taranae is that really you?'


'Yeah, it's me. How are things up here?


'Pretty boring as usual Tara. What happened? They thought you'd absconded with the PES!', the disbelief in the voice sounding convincing.


'You know the drill, borrowed a ship, fought a war and so on', she replied.


'Yeah, yeah. Likely story. But the bigwigs are gonna want to know why you kept that ship so long.'


'Tell them I'm onto something big, and if it all goes well I'll buy the thing!' she quipped.
'Just headed to surface on major business so tell them not to contact me unless it's life or death ok?'


'Will do Tara, have fun.' and with that the voice crackled to silence.


Taranae thought that a strange metaphor under the circumstances - 'Have fun.' She doubted that would be the case on this mission and she smiled as she watched the regular flow of transports and ships with passengers seeking passage to other areas of the galaxy, all coming and going in a flurry. She set a course for Theed, her home town and throttled up as she took the Fortitude into orbit and began her descent. Her family lived on the North side of Theed. While they weren't rich aristocrats, they did have means. Maybe after she did kill them, she could assume the estate for her own.
'Hell, it worked for Palpatine', she thought.


She set the co-ordinates to the space port in Theed. It was time to finish her mission.

=========================================================================
JH Taranae Rhode (Sith) / BTS / Battle Team Sorzus Syn of House Plagueis [GMRG: III] [SA: II]
AC-ToSH / DC / GN / Cr:1R-2E / CF-PF / DSS / SI-BL
{SA: DPE - DPV}

Theed, Naboo
0100

Taranae made her way to her former home. Lights illuminated from inside the house and on the grounds. "This isn't going to be easy" thought the jedi hunter as she watched for security. She had figured, with her newly crafted lightsaber, she would sneak in when everyone was asleep and just make it quick and painless with their deaths.

Something was unnerving to Taranae, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She brushed it off as feelings for her family she might still be clinging on to. As she watched the final lights expire, pitching the house into darkness, she made her move. She knew her mother would have to be the first to go, then her sister. If everything went as according to plan, she will be off this planet before dawn and before they find the bodies.

Using a private hidden entrance she used to use when she was a child to sneak out for rendezvous with past boyfriends, she made her way into the house. She lurched behind corners, peering into the dimly lit room which was the main reception area. She noticed a cage that was draped with a cloth. Looking around, she peered inside and saw a slender reptilian-like creature sleeping within. She tried to touch it with the force and found herself repelled from it. Confused, she didn't understand why she couldn't read into its mind and just shrugged it off.

A door down the hallway creaked, forcing the Sith into the shadows. She peered around the corner to see that it had just opened by itself. "Mom must have forgotten to lock it" she thought.

As she made her way into the room, closing the door slowly behind her, she made her way to her mother's bed. The woman was asleep. She stood for a few minutes, watching her victim. After she had gathered herself, she pulled out her lightsaber and held it over her head, ready for its final thrust.

As she ignited it, the glow showed her mother's face with her eyes wide open. "Taranae, don't!!!!" she yelled out. Suddenly everything went dark.

************

Brimstone had waited for nearly two hours in the Mother's chamber. He knew his apprentice was nearby, he could feel her even without the captain's alert from the supply ship she had talked to earlier.

"So the plan is to stop her before she kills us" asked the Mother as she laid in bed.

"Yes." Brimstone said coldly. "She is on the grounds already. I want her to believe she is killing you."

As time marched by, he could feel his apprentice make her way into the home, even stopping by one of the Ysalamiri that had been placed in the house in various locations. He was using their force-negating abilities to not only mask his presence, but to hinder her's so she could be captured. He made sure over the months of training that she learned nothing of the creatures, even hiding all info from the archives.

"What if she goes to kill her sister first?" asked the mother.

"I've got it taken care of. I know my apprentice. Kill the one that poses the highest threat first. That is what I trained her to do" replied the chiss in another cold manner. "Now hush and go to sleep."

Brimstone got up from the squat he was in and walked over to the door, unlocking it, and letting it squeak as it slowly opened. He motioned to the other chiss in the room, hidden in another corner, that it was time.

After just making his way back to the corner, he pulled prepared to use his force power of darkness at the right time. The other chiss was to have a bead on her with his charric blaster that was set to stun. Once it went dark, he was to fire.

Brimstone watched as his apprentice sneaked in. The mother was fidgeting like she was told to, to give the appearance of a sleepless night. He admired Taranae for going through and was pleased to see she had crafted her lightsaber while on the way here. After watching her raise her lightsaber above her head and ignited it, the mother yelled out "Taranae, don't!!!!"

Brimstone dropped the room in pure darkness as the other chiss opened fire, dropping his apprentice to the ground and the lightsaber impaled the bed next to her mother, just missing her.

Brim then lifted up the shroud of darkness and the mother was smelling of fear. "She almost succeeded" she yelled. Across the room they could hear the other daughter "Momma, are you okay?" She replied "Yes, I'm fine. Everything taken care of."

Two more chiss entered the room. "Take her back to her ship and put her in orbit about 2 parsecs from here" ordered Brimstone. He looked at the mother. "I allowed you to live so that one day, Taranae will come back and have a happy life and a safe haven if she ever needed it. You will not mention this to anyone, understand?"

"I understand."

*****

A day later, Taranae woke up in her cot on her ship. Not remembering how she got there, she climbed into her cockpit and saw she was two parsecs away from Naboo. "How the hell did I get here?" she wondered. Just then, an alert on her board told her she had an incoming transmission. It was her master.

"Yes master."

"Just checking in on you. How did the mission go?"

Not wanting to fail her master, she came up with a story. "I killed my family, but...."

"But you blacked out correct?" replied her master.

"I think so."

"It is understandable. Part of being a Sith is dealing with painful events to strive for the greater power. You more likely will have blocked it out and suppressed it. It was your family."

"So what now master?"

"I have been given permission to promote you. Your are now a Knight. Congratulations. Proceed to rendezvous with the Anchorage until I get there. I am currently in charge of the Predominant as its Admiral and will be there shortly."

"Glad to see I am not the only one that got a promotion. Thank you master for your training."

Taranae turned off the communications and proceeded to punch in the coordinates for the Anchorage. She felt good about herself and newly aquired promotion. But still, in the back of her mind, she thought of her family. "Only time will heal all wounds" she thought to herself as she made it to lightspeed.

********

After talking to his apprentice, Brimstone knew he made a calculated call on her. He protected her family and his the secret from her. In time, he would tell her the truth, but now she was one of them. A Plagueisan. The Admiral made his way back to the control room of the Predominant and watched as Scythe Squadron worked on their 10th training regimen.

Brimstone’s thoughts were broken as the radar station’s tone announced the arrival of an incoming ship from hyperspace.

“Admiral Brimstone, we are detecting a ship exiting hyperspace,” the radar officer stated.

Brimstone nodded in expectation, Montresor was on time. “Excellent, inform Scythe Squadron to assume reception protocols and open a communication channel to receive our Quaestor’s guidance.”

THE END