The Sith Lady kept at a brisk pace for several minutes before finally stopping at the very last door to the left. She turned to face 047 and smiled sweetly, the girl had grown accustomed to that smile and it was very creepy, coupled with the insanity Sera often displayed….
“Yes?” 047 asked respectfully.
“Today you will face one of your most… interesting challenges.” Sera said evenly.
“Which is?”
“Now dear, if I told you I’m afraid the surprise factor and fun would be taken away.”
“Is the challenge in this cell?”
“It is.” Sera said. “You may want these.”
She pulled from beneath her robes a plain, black pouch, held together buy a silver button. The girl took it from her mentor’s hands and examined it.
“What’s this?”
“Your creative instruments.”
“What?” 047 asked, utterly confused as she opened the pouch, inside, lined up in separate sleeves, arranged in height were several sharp needles, the kind which Sera had used on her before… would she be required to torture someone?
“It will all become clear very soon.” Said Sera sweetly as she pressed a button on a panel next to the cell door, it shot open instantly. The girl glanced inside, only to see her parents, both looked slightly confused.
“What’s this?” 047 asked, ignoring a wave of anger that hit her full force at the sight of the two occupants, she was not even entirely sure why she felt that surge of hatred…. Sera just smiled broadly.
“Enjoy.” She said simply, half shoving the girl into the cell unexpectedly. “I’ll leave you three alone.”
The girl looked back as her mentor disappeared behind the black door. She then turned to her parents.
“Nadia!” Her mother cried. “It’s so good to see you dear.”
“My name is not Nadia anymore.” 047 snapped icily.
“Yes it is, you’ve always been Nadia…” Her father said, confusion evident in his voice.
“My name is 066-047 you lying bastard!” the girl screamed, her anger rising to boiling point. How dare they refuse to acknowledge her by her true identity! They were the ones who put her through all the grueling torture and training in the first place!
“Nadia, calm down, you’re-“ Her mother began before being cut off.
“SHUT UP! My name is not Nadia, my name is NOT Nadia!” 047 screamed, as though the name itself was physically harming her.
“What have they done to her?!” Her mother cried in terror.
“Nadia?” Her father asked rather loudly. “Nadia Derevko, do you hear me, what’s happened-“
The middle aged man gasped as a long, thick needle was thrust into his neck, he gagged and cried out, his tongue falling from his mouth as he screamed, another needle flew right through it, this one shorter, pinning it outside, into his cheek. He backed away as her mother shrieked in fear, blood dripped onto the already dirty floor.
“I told you,” 047 hissed. “not-to-call-me-Nadia!”
Her father let out a gasp as he fell to the floor, his eyes rolled into his skull as he took one last breath….
“You!” her mother shouted, she smacked her daughter hard across the cheek. “What have you DONE! Your father-my-my husband! How could you!”
“It had to be done.” 047 stated coldly, her mother’s hand flew for her face again, she reached out and caught it with inhuman speed, brought on by the Force which she was nearly done learning.
“Unhand me! You are no longer any daughter of mine!” the woman bellowed as tears streamed down her cheeks. Three needles pulled themselves out of their sleeves from the pouch, which now lay on the floor. They floated up, as though on invisible strings and angled themselves at the crying mother.
“Nadia! STOP IT N-“
The three needles shot forward, and dug themselves into the woman’s skin, one through the nose, one through the neck, and finally one through the temple. The girl’s mother fell down dead and bleeding, landing right next to her father.
047 had passed her great test.
When 047 left the room, Lady Sera was standing outside, waiting for her. She silently handed the Sith the pouch, missing a few needles, calmly and cooly, as though she had not just killed her parents. Lady Sera leveled a gaze at her. "047," she said, and the girl looked up. "Three people died in that room," she told her student. "Two of them were your parents. The other was a young girl by the name of Nadia. Tell me... does even a trace of her still exist?" she asked, probing the Force Wraith's mind.
047 met her gaze head-on. "No. She does not exist," the Force Wraith replied.
"Who are you?" Lady Sera prodded.
"I am 066-047," 047 answered.
Lady Sera smiled. "Yes, you are," she stated, stroking the girl's right cheek, with the scar on it. "You have done well."
__________________________________________________________________________________
(Three weeks later...)
066-047 had returned from a successful mission earlier that day. Lady Sera met her outside of a cell, much like the one the Force Wraith had first arrived in. A little boy was in there, crying loudly, but Sera could feel the sheer power emanating from the boy. She smiled, and turned her smile to the Force Wraith beside her. "Very well done, 047. Tell me, you did capture his parents, also?"
The Force Wraith nodded, locks of black hair nearly hiding the Imperial symbol-shaped scar on her cheek, but not quite. "They are in separate cells. They were acting as spies for the Freedom Alliance," she remarked.
Lady Sera's smile turned into a grin. "Good. Perhaps I can get some information out of them before I put them to another use," she replied ominously. "I have been told you fought and defeated a Jedi," she said. 047 simply nodded, but the hint of a smile on her lips told Sera she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. She glanced once again at the dark-haired boy, then turned back to the Force Wraith. "Come, Emperor Xarkun wishes to see you," she said, and the two girls walked to the throne room. The silence between them was a mix of hatred and grudging respect... the Force Wraith had become quite powerful and efficient, thanks to Lady Sera's training, but she still had an undying hatred for the Sith Lady. Strangely enough, Lady Sera fostered this hatred in her, telling her it would make her powerful, and in truth, it did. She did not seem to mind that the anger was aimed at her, only that it wasn't aimed at Emperor Xarkun. In return, Lady Sera showed affection and pride in her student, always talking in that sickeningly sweet way, which only made 047 even more angry. In retrospect, the Force Wraith wondered if that was the point.
When they entered the throne room, both the Sith Lady and the Force Wraith bowed before the Emperor, until he gestured for them to rise.
“Ah,” Lord Xarkun said quietly. “You are 047, this exceptional Force Wraith protégée I’ve been told so much about… I’ve observed you myself.”
“You-“ 047 began, cutting herself off, she had clearly been taken aback by the Emperor’s abruptness.
“I would not be so confident in you, enough to allow you to come before me just on Lady Sera’s word, no matter how accurate it may be, no. I observed a very large amount of your training. You’ll make a most promising Force Wraith.”
“I-I… thank you, my Emperor.”
“What is your name?” Xarkun asked.
“What?”
“Your name,” he repeated coldly.
“066-047.”
“No.” The Emperor stated simply.
“No?”
“Are you hard on hearing? I said no.”
“But… then what is my name?”
“You’re are very promising… a most powerful Force Wraith indeed, thus I do not think you should be known by a number. You need a title; you’re too exceptional to be called 047.” Xarkun said.
“A title? Like Lady Sera?”
“No. The title of Darth is bestowed upon Sith, of which you are not. No, you shall be known, for this point onward as Velia. It is likely you will command my army of Force Wraiths.”
“Thank you my lord.”
“Leave now Velia, wait outside this throne room for Lady Sera, I sense she wishes to speak with me.”
“Very well,” said Velia unquestioningly. She promptly left the throne room and Xarkun turned to his apprentice.
“You’ve done well.”
"Thank you Master," Sera said, her eyes lowered, "The boy Velia brought is strong in the Force, very strong. Stronger than I am." She gazed off into the distance. "My days are short, Master. If it pleases you, I would like to train this boy, not as a Force Wraith... but as a Sith. An apprentice to leave you when I die," she said, and turned her eyes back to her Master. "His training would not interfere with the training of the Force Wraiths," she added.
“A pity that there is no cure for you ‘condition’.” Xarkun remarked, not sadly, but… still he felt the loss, like losing a very useful tool, one that might not be replaced. “I’ve seen this boy. I sense his potential, and I need an apprentice in your stead. Train him, begin immediately, forge him into a great Sith Lord, more powerful than you, more powerful than Magus or his pawn Duo, forge him into the kind of protégée that will one day equal me.”
Sera bowed. "As you wish, my Master," she said, and left.
Outside of the throne room, Velia was waiting for her. Lady Sera smiled at her. "Congratulations, Velia. Perhaps it is time to have you assist me in training the other Force Wraiths," she said, as they walked down the corridor. "It will benefit you for them to see you as their commander," she explained. "Besides, your battle with the Jedi is proof of your proficiency with the lightsaber... who better for them to learn these skills from?"
Velia eyed her skeptically. "There's something you're not telling me," she said, then ammended, "milady."
Lady Sera smiled. "Your insight serves you well. It is little wonder why Emperor Xarkun handpicked you out of all of his Force Wraiths. You are correct... I will soon begin a project having to do with that little boy you brought me. Tell me... have you found training under me difficult?" she asked the girl. She regretted doing this, but knew she had to head off Velia's feelings of jealousy at not becoming a Sith.
Velia scowled. "Difficult? That's an understatement," she said icily.
Suddenly, Velia stopped, as images more horrifying than anything she had ever imagined filled her head. Just as quickly, the images faded, and Velia was holding her sides, gasping for air. Lady Sera's fingertips traced her spine, and Velia stood up suddenly, creeped out any time the Sith Lady touched her. "That was one of my memories," she said, vacantly. Her eyes came back to meet Velia's. "The boy's training will be far more... difficult... than yours was. He will have my memories... his mind, will be like my mind," she explained to Velia, who had suddenly gone much paler. "Do you truly wish such a fate for yourself?" she asked quietly.
Velia shook her head slowly. She wanted power, but not at the cost of the madness she sensed from Lady Sera. And she certainly did not like the sound of training more difficult than what she had already been through.
Lady Sera smiled, and the chill suddenly left the corridor. "Good. When you are here at the Palace, you will assist me in showing the other Force Wraiths what you have been taught with the training sabers. You will still continue to train with me, of course, but, aside from further practice, your skills are almost complete," she said, as they continued to walk down the corridor.
Next Chapter?
Imperial Palace, Chapter 4
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