The Rebel Faction

"Of course there are aspects of the Sith within me," Mira answered as they walked. "I told you, I have studied many of the paths of the Force users. I have adopted those that seem expedient and right. Yes, good people are often overwhelmed by pain and suffering. The galaxy is full of such pain. But should we deny such pain, as the Jedi do? Should we not embrace the pain, allow it to make us stronger so that, in the end, we can completely eliminate it?

"On the same topic, who ever said that pain and suffering were necessarily a bad thing? Have you ever been to Coruscant? Seen a shadow moth? No? Well, let me tell you something. A shadow moth, when it is a larvae, builds a cocoon. After several months, it attempts to break free. It must struggle, it hurts, it feels pain. It suffers. Yet that suffering is necessary for it to become strong enough to soar through the air, sending forth beautiful songs that cheer all who are around. To cut it out of its cocoon is to doom it to a life of silence, an unfulfilled existance. So, in a way, pain and suffering can be good.

"As far as leading them to experience anger, who ever said anger by itself was a bad thing? See, the Jedi teach you to suppress your anger, to rid yourself of it. A select few Jedi teach that anger can be channeled but not used. They are closer to the truth. The truth is that anger is an emotion just like love or, as the Jedi would use, peace. It is a natural feeling, something that you are born with. Should we deny that which is natural? The Jedi do exactly that. They tell you to trust your feelings, your instincts, then they command you to suppress those instincts. Can that be right?

"I don't think so. I think that anger, when used with the right intention, can be a tool to make us stronger. Anger is not darkness. To use anger for wrong is darkness, but to use it righteously is light. You do not have to deny your emotions to serve the light. Neither do you have to give into them to serve the dark. It is when you use those emotions for evil that you are serving the dark.

"Do I kill innocent beings to achieve my goal? No. Have I killed innocents? Yes. I have. It is not something I am proud of. It was probably not necessary. But I have.

"Would I call someone with different views an enemy? No. I am talking with you, yet you have different views than I do. I have but two enemies: the state of the galaxy, and those Jedi who refuse to do something about it.

"You are right. Most things are not solved with violence. If that were the answer, I would have killed you when I first saw you, since you are a Jedi. But I believe that the Jedi can be persuaded to act in the best interests of the galaxy rather than stand by and watch. If I can persuade them to take action, what quarrel to I have with them? If I can persuade them to embrace the Force in all its aspects, to understand that the Dark Side is within them, not outside them, to use their emotions to strengthen them without giving in to the corruption of evil, then why should I fight them?

"To hear you say the Jedi are disbanded is news to me, but it does not surprise me. When I left the Order, I felt the fractitious nature. There were too many like me and you that wished for the Jedi to right the wrongs of the galaxy, and too many Masters that realized that the Jedi could not accomplish that under their archaic and limiting code, for it to remain cohesive.

"You say Sith only think of violence. This is not true. What Sith have you talked to? Some do think of violence. They are the weak ones, the Sith that have given in to the Dark Side and have lost control of themselves. One of the triumverate is in that position now, or so it is said. But the Master of the Sith Order is not of that mold. Violence is not always the answer to the Sith Order. Have you been around the Sith? Have you learned from them, as I have? No. Then who are you to judge what they Sith are and are not? Do you think yourself qualified simply because a Jedi Master told you something? The Jedi fear the Sith because they know that the Sith are stronger. They know that the true Sith embrace all aspects of the Force, and they are in terror. That is why they say the Sith only deal in violence. That is why they try to eliminate the Sith. Because they are afraid."

At that moment, Ben and Mira both spotted the girl. Ben raced forward in an attempt to save the girl's life, but it was too late. He whirled, grabbing his saber from his belt, and shouted at Mira. Crap, she thought. I almost had him, too. Time to do damage control.

Though his saber was out, it was not yet ignited. So Mira remained calm and spoke evenly. "Ben, how are you so sure that I did this?" She paused as he seemed taken aback for a moment. "Actually, I did. I told you I had killed innocents. If you must know, I am still in turmoil, still questioning those things I have learned, trying to figure it all out myself. My hand struck the girl down, yes, but in my mind I was simply striking at my own inner demons. I am sorry the girl died. It is hard to explain," tears began to well in her eyes, "so I don't expect you to understand. I had to come to grips with this concept on my own. I had to work it out myself. I didn't have anyone explain it to me as I'm trying to do with you." She moved forward slowly, step by step, subtly sending out a sense of pain and fear as well as calm through the Force.

In this way, she got right next to him without his saber igniting, speaking as she walked. "That anger you feel, Ben, it is righteous anger. It is the emotion that you should use. But please, don't use it on me. Use it to right other wrongs." Slowly she reached out and touched his arm, her tear-filled eyes gazing into his. "Will you help me, Ben?" she asked, her eyes pleading. "Help me conquer the demons that drove me to do this?"

Mira smiled. "I'm glad you will help me, Ben," she said as she stood straight. "But I think I simply need to learn more to gain control. Could it be that my lack of control is simply from a lack of knowledge, or perhaps a lack of will? You yourself grew angry when you saw the dead girl. Is that anger not forbidden by the Jedi? And you would have struck me down where I stood as vengeance. In passion. Is that not a violation of the Jedi Code?

"Of course it was. But were you wrong for desiring vengeance? Should you not seek justice for the life of the girl? This is why I ask if what you call darkness is always dark?" She paused. "What I did to the girl was wrong. It was corrupted, evil, yes. But by your definition, what you did was just as dark.

"Yet you know in your heart that you were right to do what you did. So are your actions actually dark? Are they equivalent to mine? Is it really a problem from outside us? Or is it a problem from within?

"Answer these questions, Ben, and you might just help me."

Mira knew he probably wouldn't listen. If he did, perhaps he would turn, and she would gain favor with Master Vance by bringing a new recruit back with her. If not, then she was buying herself time to take his measure and to sow doubt in his mind so if they had to fight, she would have the advantage. In the meantime, she practiced something she had learned at the Temple. Since she had sensed Ben outside the sewers, Mira had withdrawn into herself, shrinking her Force signature and hoping to keep her darker feelings from him. Now, she strengthened that effort, knowing that he would be scrutinizing her. She couldn't reveal her true nature just yet.

"Perhaps you should come with me and let the Jedi teach you better control. Things have changed in the order, you shall see."

It was those words that set her mind off again. Mira had, since meeting Ben, been able to control her darker feelings. With the offer to return to the Jedi, all the hatred that she had been holding back burst forth like a dam that can no longer hold back water. The sound that came from her mouth was not quite a screech, but neither was it a yell. It was somewhere in between.

Ben started, his eyes widening. Mira's saber flew from her boot and landed in her palm. "I'll never go back to those kriffing liars, you fool! I have forsaken that path forever!" She seemed to calm for a moment as she said, "It is obvious, though, that you have been completely brainwashed by their ideas, duped by their teachings. I thought you might be stronger." She turned as she continued, "Perhaps we will meet again, Ben, under better circumstances. Or perhaps not!"

As she yelled the last sentance, she whirled, saber ignited. The emerald blade glowed brightly in the gathering darkness. Somehow everything seemed darker in the area in which the two stood. Whether the darkness was real or not was a matter of debate. It was growing late, and the smog over Telos was always bad. Or it could have been simply the revelation of Mira's true nature. Either way, the bright green contrasted with it well, momentarily blinding the Jedi and the Sith.

But neither needed to see. They had the Force. Mira closed her eyes and struck out, a downward angled slash that would have cut right through an untrained opponent. But Ben was far from untrained. Mira's saber met energy rather than clothing and flesh. Rebounding, she whirled and struck low, a strike that was also blocked.

By now, their eyes had adjusted. Mira's hate filled orbs made contact with Ben's, and the difference was astounding. But neither had time to contemplate it, as Mira quickly renewed her attack. They circled round each other, blades slashing and cutting. As skilled as Ben was, though, Mira knew this had to be a quick fight. By now, whatever mission she had been sent on was impossible to complete. It was time for her to leave.

Mira, in her furied state, barely even saw the saber swinging towards her leg. She moved to block but knew it was futile. In the short time she had before contact, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Mira imagined what it would be like to live without a leg. Perhaps she'd get one of those artificial ones. It would lower her connection to the Force, though, wouldn't it?

Then the blade struck home. Mira felt a burning sensation, and her leg went numb. She fell to the ground, rolling out of the way of the expected follow-up strike. As she did so, she noticed that she still had two good legs. In shock for a moment, she looked up at Ben and smirked. Chuckling, she stood, her weight on the right leg. Then she slowly settled onto both.

She knew Ben would be surprised. What he didn't know was that she had learned to control and even use her pain. Had her leg been sliced off, Mira would not have been able to continue the fight. She would have been done. But it wasn't, and she wasn't. In her training duel with Ithron, he had beaten her, Force choked her, cut her, and thrown her around. Near the end of the fight, she had embraced her pain and used it to fuel her anger. Now, she used part of her pain to restore feeling to her leg. The rest she used to speed her movements and increase the strength of her strikes.

Blow after blow rained down on Ben's training saber. Mira had forsaken form for the moment, simply striking as hard as she could as fast as she could, forcing him backwards. Unlike Ben, Mira recognized the general area, mostly because she could see the sewer opening behind him. When they were close enough, she disengaged for a moment and stepped back.

"You're quite talented, young Ben," she said. "Raw talent, I assume, since you display no form in your movements. You would make a wonderful Sith." She reached out with the Force and felt his anger level rise a bit at those words. "Ah, you are growing angry with me. You fear me some, perhaps." She chuckled, and the sound was ominous in the ever growing darkness. "Join me, and together we can make a difference in this galaxy. Use your anger, draw on it for strength. When we are ready, we can even cast down the Grand Master of the Sith and take up the mantle together. We can overthrow Emperor Hyfe and reunite the galaxy under one banner, a banner of peace and prosperity. What do you say?"

Ben looked at her as though she were insane. "Your words will never sway me, Mira," he answered. "I know what is right and true, and what you are is not that. Your way is not the right way. I'll never join you." The last statement was definative, ending the conversation with a confident tone.

Mira's face hardened. "So be it then." She raised her saber, hilt by her right ear, point directly aimed at his chest. A slight movement of her left hand was all that indicated the next attack. Her saber switched from green to deep violet in an instant as the gems inside were swapped, and the saber extended from a meter to three in barely a milisecond. If Ben didn't move quickly, he would be skewered and die within a heartbeat.

The shock of the Force push struck Mira full in the chest. She flew backwards, lightsaber spinning out of her hand and deactivating, landing some feet away. She struck the wall with her back and fell to the ground. Her vision grew hazy, but she still saw well enough to watch Ben fall down the sewer. Then she blacked out.

She came to a few minutes later, slowly. Her first thought was that she needed to find her saber. Her second was that she hurt - bad. She would have a major bruise on her back in the morning. Every bone in her body hurt.

Still, she managed to pull herself to her feet. Stumbling over to the sloped tunnel, Mira stared down and saw Ben lying near the bottom. He was still alive, she felt, but that wouldn't last long. The droids down there would finish him off quickly. Even if he woke up in time, those assassin droids were good enough that they would finish him without Mira's help. And she had no desire to chance facing them in her current state simply to confirm a kill.

Wandering around, she found her lightsaber and reattached it inside her boot. With one last glance down the sewer, she turned and began to make her way out of the city, drawing on the pain she felt only to keep herself moving.

As she moved, questions raced through her mind. Why would Ben not turn? What was it that created such a strong attachment to the light? Was it simply the brainwashing of the Jedi? Was it something in their teachings? At the Temple, Mira had always been taught that the Sith were evil and to be avoided or killed. She had been taught that no one could control the Dark Side, that in the end it always controlled you. But she knew better. She was the proof that one could control the Dark Side. Sure, some like Ithron fell deeper and deeper into darkness and were consumed. But one could keep oneself from falling as well.

So was it the brainwashing? Or was it something inherent in the light itself? It couldn't be that, though, since Mira had easily turned away from it. Or was it? Was Mira's turning away so easy? The Jedi had betrayed the galaxy, at least in her mind. The Sith had not. But it was not an easy decision, she remembered. But could that be the Jedi teachings that held her down?

The questions abounded, but no answers were forthcoming. Perhaps they never would be. Or perhaps she could get an answer from Master Jas when she returned to Xa Fel. Either way, she had to quiet the questions, at least until she was off the planet. It was destroying her ability to sense others and hide from them.

After a short walk, she reached the outskirts of the city and her shuttle. She hadn't met anyone on the way, though she had felt them watching her. Apparently word of her killings and her fight with Ben had gotten around. Oh, well. At least no one bothered her now.

She started the shuttle up quickly, lifting off within two minutes of entering. She quickly plotted a course to Coruscant, from which she would head to Xa Fel. As the ship entered hyperspace, she began composing the report she would give to Master Jas about her mission on Telos. She also began wondering how she would ask him about the basics of the Dark Side, those very basics that this mission had called into question.