Mira sat in her room at the Sith Temple, meditating. It had been a full forty-eight hours since she had arrived, and since the welcome from Kraken she had been alone. Not an unknown state for her, of course; the last year had been spent in solitary either on her home planet of Dathomir or travelling about the galaxy. Her search for the planet Xa Fel had led her to Coruscant, Korriban, and several other nameless planets before reaching its fulfillment. Now that she was here, though, that desire for instruction simply grew.
She had heard once that unfulfilled desire was one of the many traits of the Jedi. Perhaps it had been Master Horn who had spoken those words. Or one of the other Masters at the Jedi Academy. No matter. Those days were long past, and the Dark Side was now the focus of her attention. She believed that the Sith Order taught fulfillment of desire, but she was beginning to have her doubts. In fact, it seemed as though the Jedi and the Sith weren't so different. Perhaps she had been mistaken in coming here.
Her wisdom was far beyond her years. From childhood she had trained as a Jedi, first at the Academy under Master Skywalker, then as an apprentice to Master Horn, and finally under the tutalage of a multitude of Masters. But the wisdom she had gained since leaving the blind teachings of the Jedi more than a standard year before was greater than for the previous eighteen years of her life. The Dark Side, if used properly, could be the tool by which order was restored to the fractured galaxy. And it would soon be
her tool.
Her teachings with the Jedi had been nearly complete, and had she remained there was little doubt that she would have been granted Knighthood soon. She looked back on her decision with little regret, though. It had been the
right choice. Either way, there was no returning now. She had made her decision; it was time to live with the consequences. She smiled slightly. Another of those useless Jedi maxims. She had much to unlearn before she could begin to learn.
Her meditations were interrupted. A voice, or a feeling, she didn't know which, but she did know it was a summons. Through the Force, no less. It came again, less subtle this time, invading her mind, planting the desire to come. In less than three seconds Mira had vaulted to her feet and called her lightsaber to her hand. Clipping it to her belt, she exited her room, following the direction of the call, and her mind once again dissolved into thought.
This time she thought about the weapon at her belt. She was more than a little surprised it had not yet been taken from her by the Sith Masters, to be returned upon completion of her training. The weapon itself was forged from crystals taken from lightsabers she had found inside a rancor's cave. The rancor itself was dead, killed by Mira in an exhausting battle. She had built the weapon as a dual-phase blade, partially to impress and honor her current Master. Corran Horn was one of the few Jedi who had built such a blade. Now he was gone - lost somewhere, she assumed - and she didn't know any others who had a lightsaber like his. Except for her.
When she reached the top of the temple, she found Master Necros and several other apprentices gathered already. At his instructions, she smiled. The Dathomirian warrior-girl had survived challenges greater than this before. This little run would be nothing compared to the rancor. She checked that thought, though; with the rancor she had at least had a vibrosword.
Determining that her lightsaber would remain at her belt, she began running down the temple stairs. Three other apprentices were in front of her, including the one called Ithron. She was content to let them remain there. Her skills were in stalking, in remaining hidden and in the background. Let the others have the glory - Mira would have the victory.
As the apprentices began speeding through the woods, Mira slackened her pace.
Let the others deal with the predators, she thought. Silently she ran, calling on her limited abilities to shield her presence from the local wildlife. Running in and out of shadows, she managed to avoid detection for some time. Apparently the other apprentices were intecepting the predators. At least, that was until Ithron met the bears.
At that point Mira passed him, more like a shadow than a being. At once she became a target. One beast in particular picked her and began the hunt; she felt its mind revert to its predatory nature. It stalked her through the undergrowth, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Not content to be prey for a carnivorous animal, Mira used the Force to flip a strong, pointed stick into one hand and a fist-sized rock into the other, never breaking stride. The beast remained content to stalk, and Mira continued to run.
After several minutes, the beast tired of its game. Moving with incredible speed, it launched itself from the shadows, intending to rip the human in half with one pass. Mira felt the attack coming and rolled, driving the stick upward as she did so, hoping to catch the beast in the stomach. No such luck. She barely had a glimpse of two rows of razor-teeth as the shape flew past.
Mira came out of her roll on her feet, stick pointed like a sword at her attacker. Her eyes took in the sight. Long snout, two rows of teeth. Six legs, the foremost with three-inch claws. Body long and lean, covered in gray and black hair. Yellow eyes. Quickly recalling her studies, she recognized the creature.
Wolfin, she thought. One of the deadliest, most silent creatures to stalk the galaxy. Briefly she thought of using her lightsaber, but the Sith Master's words rose up in her mind.
Nothing but your feet and your hands. This would be an interesting fight.
The creature growled as it circled, searching for an opening. Mira circled as well, making sure to keep the pointed end of the stick facing her opponent. Then, ever so slightly, she let the point droop. The wolfin moved faster than she had anticipated, but she was quicker. The hand holding the stone came around with blinding speed, crashing into the animal's head even as Mira spun away. The wolfin stumbled as it landed, briefly stunned. Thrown off balance by the strike, the beast never saw the lance that pierced its side and drove it into the ground or the stone that crushed its skull.
Mira stood over her would-be killer, pleased with herself, though disappointed that the fight was over so quickly. Her pleasure came from the fact that trickery and deceit had once again served her so well. But now back to the task at hand. Once again Mira slipped into the shadows and ran towards the rendezvous.
She arrived at the clearing with no further incident. Several apprentices had gathered already. Ithron was just arriving as well. She remembered the boy from the Academy, though that had been years ago, before Master Horn had taken her as his Padawan. She wondered how he had come to his decision to leave. Was it for the same reason as her?
Mira reached out through the Force, barely skimming the surface of the boy's feelings. No, he had not left to save something or to bring order. His mind was too full of hate, to passionate about destruction. He was a resource to be used, nothing more.
She remained in the shadows for some time, allowing the Force and her black rancor-hide clothing hide her from prying eyes. As she did, she took the measure of each of the apprentices. Some, like Ithron, were full of hate, others filled with passion. Few were cool and calculating, like herself, but to those minds she was drawn. Honing in on one, she emerged from the woods and strode towards him.
She never reached him, though. Master Vas Jance's appearance startled her and refocused her attention completely. Here was a man she could respect. He had a sense of detachment about him; the anger was there, but it was controlled. He had a larger plan, and those around him simply fit into it. She smiled. He would be a fine teacher.
Before she could move, though, Ithron had approached and asked for the opportunity to train under the Master. With his acceptance, her ire rose. Ithron, so full of hate, could be used, but never would he make the leader worthy of a Sith Master's attention. Or so it was to her mind. Nevertheless, she remained in her place, waiting for Master Necros to arrive and begin training the new students. She looked forward to it.
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