Lightning in the Rane

Disclaimer: No recognizable characters, dialogue, or places are mine. SWTOR is property of Bioware and Electronic Arts. This is purely for entertainment.

A/N: This story will follow the rise of my Sith Inquisitor, Vaessa Rane, from a slave to a Darth. It'll follow pretty closely to the class story, including a lot of dialogue, though with changes at times. Other class stories are likely to intertwine a bit, as Vaessa is only one character in my Legacy.

Also, this is my first ever fic. Any reviews/critiques are greatly appreciated, I'm eager to improve and learn! :D

Prologue

Vaessa wiped the blood from her face, her hand only lingering briefly on the raised skin that marked her branded cheek. She winced feeling the coarse skin under her fingers, the rising and falling of each bump so unnervingly familiar to her by now. Only the jarring thump of the slave's body hitting the ground drew her attention back to the scene before her. Laughter erupted from the monstrous Houk guard as he kicked the man to the ground. The old man was yelling something between screams of pain, though what he was saying she had no idea. Was he even speaking basic? Those weren't words she recognized, though it hardly mattered, the intent behind them was pretty clear. His right hand clutched hopelessly at the stump where his left had so recently been. Without even realizing it, her body shook as she took in the sight.

The Houk's booming laughter was cut short as he turned now to face her, his meaty arm raising his vibroblade up in her direction, blood still dripping off its cortosis-weave blade. She hadn't even considered that in all the commotion, she had frozen in fear, standing stock still save for her shaking. If she was standing still, she wasn't working, and if she wasn't working…

"You there!" His voice bellowed from his throat, sending a shiver down her spine as she worked her gaze up his towering frame to meet his eyes. "Yea, you little girlie! Any reason you just standing there gawking? You got some sorta reason to not be working right now?"

The words sputtered from her lips, "N-no sir I-"

"This is a private conversation we were having, your friend and I," he gave her no time to eke out an excuse, "'Course, I'm sure you could join in if you really want to." He grunted in amusement, tipping his head towards his blade.

Vaessa considered her options. She hadn't survived this long to die over a mistake like this. Yet the old man – Maerlon – had cared for her. He'd protected her when she first arrived here years earlier. How could she just leave him to suffer at the, admittedly terrifyingly large, hands of this brute? Her eyes darted around to examine the mine around her. The other workers had sharply lowered their heads, doing their best to ignore the commotion and return to the spice.

Right, she sighed, so much for solidarity. Can't say I blame them though. Would it be too much to hope an energy spider would drop from the ceiling and stab the hulking Houk in the back? Figures the one time she actually wants one to pop out she's out of luck.

A familiar voice broke through her thoughts, "Hey I'm talking to you girlie!" Crap! What was she doing hoping for miracles? When has luck ever been on her side? She quickly attempted to stammer out an apology.

"S-sorry, I'm sorry sir, I was just, um," but it was too late, he'd started towards her now, vibroblade raising higher with each step he took. His feet seemed to shake the ground as he walked, his hunched form stomping towards her as he seemed ready to take a swing at her head. Vaessa's mind scrambled to formulate a plan, an action, anything to get her out of this. She began to stumble backwards, her spindly legs desperately trying to pull her away from the danger even as her brain froze in terror. Her eyes darted to Maerlon, his cries having subsided now. Was he even still alive or had he just passed out from shock? Sparks exploded into the dark cave, illuminating the Houk's face for a brief moment as his blade clashed with the rock wall next to her face. Her eyes met his as she was drawn away from worrying about her friend and back to her current predicament. The look in his eyes immediately filled her with dread as the image, only lasting an instant in the immediate flash of the sparks, seared its way into her brain forever.

He's enjoying this, she realized. How could someone possibly take pleasure from such sadistic cruelty?

Almost instinctively, her reflexes kicked in and she ducked to the ground before scampering off to the side, her hands and feet scraping the dirt just to move. The Houk lumbered after her, laughing as he slashed down at her. This time his strike landed, the blade cutting across the right of her back. Nothing too deep or life-threatening, but enough to draw blood and a yelp as the piercing jolt of pain shot through her body. She fell forward onto her face, her branded cheek rubbing into the soil as she clenched her teeth and grimaced. Her whole body shook as she turned to face him.

She was going to die. She knew that, but it still stunned her. Her mind started thinking back to just a few years earlier. Not that she wanted to, but she couldn't help it, the memories started flooding in. The tears welling up in her eyes stung as the mixed with the dirt, as her breathing grew rapid and shallow. I'm sorry Kade.

The next few moments played out over what seemed to her like a lifetime. The vibroblade rose in the air, gripped tightly by the Houk's nerf-sized hand. He was saying something but her ears had long stopped listening. The air seemed to crackle as Vaessa brought her hands up in front of her. She could make out the exact moment the sadistic glee in his eyes turned to alarming fear; the moment terror swept over him in a manner he'd never before experienced. It wasn't when her expression change from one of fear to rage, nor was it when she began to shout. No, it was the moment the first arc of lightning snaked its way from her outstretched finger, through the musky cave air, and struck the barrel of his broad chest.