The Jedi Civil War was coming to an end! Malak had been defeated, killed by his old Master, Darth Revan who had turned back to the light side of the Force. The weakness of Malak had cost him both his life and the Star Forge, a Sith weapon able to produce an unlimited number of starships and droids. It had been destroyed by the Republic Fleet with the help of the Jedis. Everything he had built was falling apart. Now the remaining fighters from Malak's side were regrouping over the ancient homeworld of the Sith: Korriban...

"We are on final approach to Korriban. All staff prepare for landing." a voice said.

Naresha woke up to the loud sound of the ship getting out of hyperspace. The Victory had reached its final destination. In her whole life, she hadn't slept in a bed so soft. The one from her room in the academy on Korriban was so hard. Like any other Zeltrons, Naresha had red skin, her dark hair was falling on her shoulders. She was tall for her young age but not as tall as the troopers crumbling on this vessel. She got out of her bed, undressed and put her Sith robes, dark and sleek. She looked at her body… scars where running down: lightsaber cuts, burns, lashes… All of these were her master's fault: lord Rakk, one of Malak's seconds. Watching them reminded her of what she felt in front of him: both fear and anger. He was such a bad teacher. She inspected her previous clothes and got out. A group of four Sith troopers ran past her, hurrying. She started walking and reached the nearest window. Home, she thought. Naresha wanted to watch again the beautiful landscapes of the planet where she liked to wander with her friends. All these expeditions in the Sith tombs to discover buried secrets. She hadn't seen Korriban since the end of the Jedi Civil War, since the Sith forces had to shatter in the galaxy before coming back there. She looked at her world and smiled. Next to the planet, she could see a dozen of Sith interdictors, they were not moving. Starfighters were surrounding them like Raxus Prime flies. They approached as the Victory gained speed. Suddenly, there was a flash of light coming from one of the vessels. The ship split in two; its parts flew away into space going right to the Victory. A whole section of the Interdictor passed right next to the window and hit the cruiser. The ground started crumbling next to Naresha. The lights of the corridors turned down and started flashing red. Then, Naresha gave one last look at the planet as the damaged windows started to close. It was the beginning of a new battle...

"Attention all personal! To your battlestations! We are under attack by Sith battle cruisers." the operator said.

"That's not possible..." Naresha repeated silently, she couldn't believe what she saw. She couldn't imagine that in these times of despair, Siths stopped once more being allies and started again fighting each over.

The apprentice grabbed her lightsaber from her belt and started running away. She needed to go on the bridge, she didn't know what else to do. Maybe Rakk is dead. I would finally take control. She climbed up the corridors, running into troopers who were walking towards the weapon controls or utility droids working to repair most of the cruiser damaged segments. As she advanced along the gangway, she stopped as the Sith operator made new announcements to the crew:

"We are being boarded by shuttles. Prevent any entrance to the bridge."

Naresha lit her lightsaber. The red blade appeared in her hands with a majestic sound. She had not been in a fight like this before. She had waited for this moment to show what she was able to do. A door opened next to her and a group of three troopers appeared, pointing their blasters at her. She strongly tightened her saber and looked at the gold-armored men.

"Blast her!" The captain shouted as the soldiers began firing at Naresha.

She reflected a few shots directly at the chests of two of the troopers who fell on the ground. The captain was standing away, he got out his sword made of cortosis, the only material in the galaxy able to resist a lightsaber. The apprentice jumped to the soldier and hit the blade. She had the advantage on him. He blocked a few strokes and threw the weapon at the girl hurting her shoulder. She let out a scream of pain and watched his opponent as he was preparing to hit her once more. But Naresha concentrated, she used her pain as an instrument to kill him: she stood back and used the Force on him. The trooper was levitating, he felt his throat getting smaller, he couldn't breathe. His weapon felt on the ground as he was trying to free himself from her power. But he was too weak and succumbed from the chocking. The Sith apprentice let him down and rested for a moment. It wasn't the first time she felt that sensation of exhaustion after using the Force but it was bigger this time. Then, she continued making her way to the bridge. All around her, she could hear the fights going on: troopers against troopers, Siths against Siths. There were screams of death, blasters shots, lightsabers fights… As the approached the lift, she saw two groups of Sith soldiers, they were shooting at each other. Naresha held her lightsaber, closed her eyes and used the Force to rush towards the troopers.

"Stop firing! She's on our side!" one of Darth Rakk's captain shouted.

The shooting stopped on one side to let Naresha concentrate on her enemies. Each shot they fired never reached at her. She was making soft movement combining her skills and the Force. Her blade went through all of them. When she had finished with them, she shut off her lightsaber and rested. The captain of the group she had just saved went to her:

"Are you all right?"

"Yes", she responded, "I need to get to the bridge!"

"We will cover you!"

The captain made a sign to his men, telling them to fall back to the lift. Naresha followed the group. She thought it was nice to have some help. Enemy forces were still trying to make their way inside the corridors so they went on firing even when walking. Naresha made everything she could to reflect all blasts and kill as many troopers as she could. They finally got to the lift. Two groups of soldiers suddenly appeared from the doors next to them. Darth Rakk's forces were still holding their position with the assistance of Naresha. They only loose two men since the apprentice came to help them. She clicked on the doors' commands and they opened slowly.

"Come on! Use the lift!", the captain shouted.

"But what about you?", she answered.

"Just go!"

Naresha entered the elevator, got to the panel and chose the level. She turned one last time to the troopers as the opening was starting to close. They were shooting at the enemy everything they got. Those were brave men, giving their life for the power of the Sith. The doors were now firmly closed and the lift began to climb. She sighed and looked at a wound in her arm. A lot of blood rushed out of it. There was a deep cut in her shoulder. She focused on the Force and attempted to seal it. Naresha tried to remain calm as her wound ached. But then, all of a sudden, she stopped. She felt something through the Force: someone was coming…

She finally got to the bridge level. It was more damaged than what she had already seen through the battle inside the ship. Some walls were in an awful state, cables falling out of them. There were destroyed utility droids and dead bodies of Sith troopers strewing the ground. Naresha entered the command center full of technicians and pilots running around the room, working on different commands of the gigantic battle cruiser. He's still alive...

Darth Rakk was standing in the middle of the room looking through the windows at the space battle opposing Siths going on. He was a tall Devaronian, with one horn broken, a memory from the Mandalorian Wars. Rakk was once a follower of Revan but he was never a Jedi. He hid his powers until the Sith Lord helped him unleash them when he created his own Empire.

"Lord Rakk!", a technician said.

"What's the situation captain?", Rakk asked.

"Only five ships remain. They are commanded by Darth Obsidian, Darth Talr and Darth Eaesz. According to our intel, the other two are under the orders of the apprentices of Darth Yneam and Darth Imass"

"The students are taking on the Masters. Where is mine?"

"Here...", Naresha responded as she approached him.

Darth Rakk moved to her student and looked at her. He didn't smile or even frowned. He was emotionless before her. He looked at her shoulder.

"What happened?", he asked.

"Some Sith trooper while coming to you, my master, I tried to heal it...", she answered.

"Heal it...", the master said softly.

He grabbed her shoulder and tightened it: the wound was opening again. Blood started flowing out again, spilling on her dress. Naresha couldn't bear what he was doing to her, the pain she had tried to take off, returned. The crew members were watching, in silence. Then Rakk stopped…

"Pain is what make the Sith stronger, you have to use it against your enemy".

"Yes, my master".

Naresha walked away from him and sat in the only chair on the bridge. She was holding her wound, trying to stop the blood coming out. It wasn't the first time her master did something like that. She remembered her first trainings: he always tried to humiliate her in front of others, he always hurt her when she was learning how to fight using a sword. Her anger grew while he was preparing his troops. Suddenly, the apprentice was affected by a dark presence through the Force. The same thing she experienced earlier but stronger.

"Lord Rakk! We've got an intruder coming!", one of the pilots shouted.

From the corridor at the end of the control room, a man appeared. He was human, bald, wearing a dark and red armour. He was holding a double-bladed lightsaber.

"Rakk! I am here to claim your ship", the man screamed.

The master reached to him at once, grabbing his weapons from his belts.

"This is my ship. I won't let you take it!", Rakk answered to the Sith Lord.

"Mine was destroyed, I still have a chance to win this battle, you don't."

"And how do you know?"

"Everyone knows I am more powerful than you, that Malak wanted me to succeed you."

"That's something I'd like to see."

There was a deep silent. Only the starfighters flying and shooting all around in space could be heard. The two Siths faced one another, anger growing inside them as they were looking each other in the eyes. They had to wait for the first one to draw his lightsaber and do the first hit. Darth Rakk tightened his weapon and pressed its button. The red blade appeared in his hands and he let out a small grin at his opponent. He wasn't going to loose this fight, it would be a dishonour. Darth Amyil did the same and two red lights went out of the extremities of his sword. Rakk made his lightsaber spin around him and threw himself on the other Sith lord.

As the fight had started, the officers on the bridge panicked and ran away. Naresha stayed there, not knowing what to do. It was his fight, not hers, she thought. She watched as her Master lost advantage on the man attacking him. He couldn't counter all his attacks. Darth Amyil rushed his weapon on Rakk, using both blades as he could. The Devaronian lost his weapon from the powerful blows Amyil gave him. The Sith was about to see his fate. Amyil lifted his weapon preparing to give him one last hit. But his saber got blocked while going down to Rakk. A new blade appeared, in the way. There was this girl standing before him, breathing loudly and watching him with eyes full of anger.

"Oh... It seems that you care for your Master. Interesting yet funny..."

It was unexpected for her but it was her job to protect him, even if he was a pathetic...

The Sith didn't stop for her, he took his blade out and threw it on the girl. Naresha countered each blow using her strength and the Force. Rakk stood back up, his arm was hurting him. The Sith grabbed his weapon from the ground and activated it.

"Amyil! This fight is between you and me! The girl will be mine to finish...", he shouted.

How typical of his. She knew that was in his mind. He doesn't want her to take his place. Her loyalty from him disappeared. I shouldn't have saved that scum.

"Yes, you're probably right..."

Amyil gave a last saber hit on the girl, destroying her weapon. What remained of the lightsaber fell on the ground, leaving her nearly defenceless. She had lost her most precious belonging. The Sith lifted her up and threw her in the corridor. He used the Force to activate the commands of the doors and closed them. The last picture of her master was him, jumping towards his opponent. And now she just didn't care about his fate. Could he win? You would prefer him to die, don't you, she said to herself.

And now, She couldn't do anything, the ship was about to be taken by another Sith. There wasn't many troopers remaining to help her. She was lost…

No! I must survive! These words suddenly appeared in her mind and she held tight on them. I am a Sith, Sith do not abandon to death easily. Naresha ran away from the bridge. She found the dead bodies of the group of troopers who helped her. Their bodies had been cut by a lightsaber blade. The captain's headgear was split open, revealing a young man, with dark hair. Naresha looked at him for a moment. He was beautiful… She left the massacre scene keeping an image of the soldier in her mind. I need a ship. The nearest hangar was two segment away from her. The plan was to get a starfighter and jump to another system. The apprentice got there as fast as she could, using the Force to give her a little boost. She did not face any issues. It seemed that Rakk's troopers won the battle but decided to leave the ship. Cowards. The hangar was still standing. There were dead bodies of pilots all around. At the center, a shuttle was lying on its side, the cockpit half-destroyed. Naresha climbed up the stairs and got to one of the Sith interceptors. She placed herself inside and began activating the controls. The thrusters began to roar. The apprentice deactivated the magnetic clamps holding the ship from flying and the ship started going on his own. It lowered, nearly crashing on the floor.

"Come on! Hold on!", she screamed while trying to pull up.

The starfighter turned on itself making a fierce sound. Then it faced the hangar door.

"Okay we're good. Increasing power on the main reactors."

The ship started gaining speed and got out of the hangar. She was finally out of that mess. The space battle was reaching its end. Three battle cruisers were in action, with their hundreds of Sith fighters engaged in dogfights. The Victory was still inactive, the cannons weren't shooting any more. The destroyer was starting to derive into space. He must be dead now, she thought. The image of the body of her master lying on the ground was making her happy, after all she endured with him. There was only one thing she was sad about, she didn't do it herself. Suddenly, a red alarm on the ship started.

"Proximity alarm!"

Two vessels were coming after her. She pulled down the thrusters command and the ship began going down. Naresha was pushed to her seat because of the increasing acceleration. The ship was crumbling as it was making his descent. Behind, the ships started firing on her.

"Evasive manoeuvres."

Naresha made a difficult attempt to escape. It was the first time she would fly such a ship in space. It was so much different from the training secessions aboard simulators. Her efforts were vain, she could feel that the pilots had more experience in flying this kind of vessel. Then she closed her eyes. Concentrate… Concentrate… The Force... The apprentice grabbed the joystick. The Force was guiding each of her movements. Right, left, now a bit more speed. Her slick actions were helping in saving her life The ship changed its course every time she sensed something coming to her. No emotions were carrying her, she was not fearing anything. Was it the way of the Jedi? Am I conducting myself as a Jedi? Suddenly, there was a loud bang, the ship crumbled. It had been hit by the starfighters behind her. She opened her eyes again, panicking. The Jedi ways can go to hell! The consoles were flashing red, the motors were dead and one of the wings had been taken out. The ship whirled away. She had lost total control. Fear rose inside her. Then there was another shock, destroying another part of the small fighter. Naresha felt like she was going away. She was tired, her eyes started to close… One last words got out of her mouths…

"He was beautiful..."

The red blade went through his chest. The human gasped as he understood he had lost the duel against the Devaronian. His mouth remained wide opened, he was letting out the last few breathes. Darth Rakk got out his lightsaber and watched as the man fell on the ground, dead. He let out a small laugh as the fight was over and his enemy defeated. He was the man he always thought he was: the Victorious Sith. Yet, it was difficult for him to remain stable. His arm wound was worsening every second.

"I can't stop fighting now! Naresha, come here!", he said difficulty.

The door behind him opened. Heavy mechanical footsteps were coming towards him. It couldn't be a human. Rakk turned to see the newcomer. A silver droid stood before him, a HK-49, created for the use of Sith Lords only. They were cold-blooded assassins, cruel. Some stories said that Darth Revan had his own HK unit, who always finished his missions with success.

"Information: I am HK-49, your personal assassin droid. I was activated by the technicians to reclaim control of the ship from your opponent if you were to die. It is good to see that I didn't have to get my hands dirty", it said.

"Where is she?"

"Question: who, master?"

"My apprentice, Naresha Beli. She must be there."

"Truth: I have not met any one since I was awoken."

"Can you fly this ship?"

"Answer: Yes Master, I indeed can. I was taught to control this kind of cruiser."

The droid approached the control panel and started using it. He was changing from button to button at an incredible speed. Rakk went to him, keeping an eye on the battle going on.

"Statement: Weaponry reinitialized. Victory's capacity at 68 per cent. What kind of strategy do we attempt Master?"

"What ships are still active?"

"According to the latest informations, I believe that Darth Obsidian's and Darth Talr's cruisers are active

"The weakest?"

"Observation: Obsidian's one I suppose Master. Their main cannons have been destroyed."

"Good. Open fire on it."

"With pleasure Master."

Heavy mechanical sounds could be heard throughout the ship. All the systems were turning on again. The big structure of the cannons moved and pointed at Obsidian's vessel. Then, they fired.

Everything was falling apart on the other side of the battle. There were no attempt of evasive manoeuvres because of the ship's conditions. The cannons of the Victory locked onto the bridge, leaving the ships without commanders. The control center shield was at zero capacity. One of the shots hit directly one of the windows which shattered. The crew members were sucked out of the bridge, with no chance of escape. They simply died painfully. The battle cruiser, as a last action, started falling down, crashing onto the ground of Korriban. The Victory passed next to the fallen cruiser, it was now installed in barrage position with the remaining Sith destroyer. The weaponry of both ships were shooting at each other. The fact that the ships were in close range only meant worse damage. The Victory was crumbling below Rakk feet.

"Statement: master, I believe that their ship is in better shape than ours. There is only a small possibility for us to win."

"No! It can't happen!"

Rakk stood up his arm, aiming it at the Sith destroyer. He was concentrating, to control the spirit of one of the technicians. The people with weak minds were the easiest to get control of. They had more spots for a Force user to integrate. Rakk had achieved what he wanted. He could see from his closed eyes what a single technician could see. He was looking at the ship bridge which looked like his one. In the middle was standing a Quarren holding a lightsaber: Darth Talr. My final enemy… Rakk made the man he was controlling stand up, grab his weapon from his belt and shoot at the controls of the vessel. Then, the bridge got on fire.

"Computers are down! We are loosing control of the ship." Rakk heard.

"To the escape capsules", another man shouted.

The technician looked away. The commanders were all fleeing. In the middle, the Sith remained. He ignited his lightsaber and threw it at the technician. Rakk suddenly opened his eyes. He had lost the connection.

"HK, change bearing of the cannons, turn them to any ships trying to escape the cruiser."

"Yes master."

The weapons stopped, and started looking for their next targets. And suddenly, three small escape capsules launched from the side of the ship.

"Here they are master."

"Good, engage the missiles at them. They must not escape!"

HK-49 engaged the locking signal towards the three little vessels floating away from the Interdictor vessel. The beeping sound indicating the precision got higher and higher.

"Target acquired master."

"Then, fire!"

The missiles were launched and pursued the escape capsules. They reached them at high speed impairing the structure of each vessels, destroying the hulls and killing the crew members.

"Target eliminated."

Rakk, from the bridge, smiled. He was the winner of this battle between, as far as he knew, some of the mightiest people in the galaxy. The Sith were destroyed and he was the only one remaining. He would now do everything to keep this role of new master of the dark side of the Force. I have done it… Now the galaxy will be for mine!

"Sir, for your information. I have knowledge of where your slave went. It appears she has stolen a starfighter and escaped."

"But these ships aren't equipped with an hyperdrive."

"Yes, I indeed know that."

"How foolish of her… So she must be out there. Send a group of space droids to seek her."

My apprentice, the only person who could take this power from me. I must have her. I must kill her to complete the search for power over the galaxy!

Suddenly, a gigantic battle cruiser got out of nowhere. He was shattered, old but larger than the Victory. It was a ship ravaged by wars...

"He was beautiful..."

Naresha woke up, she was lying on an infirmary bed in a room with greyish walls. Two medical droids were standing next to her. They were rusty but their natural green colour could still be seen. She tried to stand up but she sensed pain through her body. It was burning her. She had difficulty moving her arms. One of the two droids got next to her, trying to put her down.

"You must rest.", it said.

"Where am I?"

"You are in a safe place.", an unknown female voice answered.

An old woman entered the room, she was wearing Sith dark robes, her hood on. Even hidden by it, her eyes could be seen, they were perfect white, it was pure. Is she Blind?, Naresha thought.

"Indeed I am."

The apprentice had learnt during her trainings that force-users who had lost sight were some of the most powerful people in the galaxy because they only saw the surroundings through the Force.

"You are reading my mind! I have never seen someone do that, even my master."

"Because your master is weak. He thinks he is all powerful because he killed a bunch of Sith idiots. He doesn't know the true power."

"So my master survived the battle of Korriban?"

"Yes he did. I had sent my associates to Korriban to contact the Sith lords. When they arrived at the scene, he was the only one remaining. They captured his vessel and brought him here."

"Can I see him?"

"In time, you will. But now you must rest. We will train you again so you can gain more strength."

"For what?"

The old woman left the room leaving Narehsa with the two medical droids.

"You have heard Darth Traya. Return to sleep."

Naresha lied on her bed again, this name Darth Traya remained in her mind until she went to sleep. She wanted to know more about her and this place.

Months passed after she first awoke in the Trayus academy. Through her journey, she learnt more about it. It is located on the fifth planet of the Malachor system where dark side powers dwelled. Sith temples are located on each of the five planets. Malachor V was the theatre of the end of the Mandalorian conflict where the forces of Revan used the Shadow-Mass generator to destroy the remaining Mandalorians. It's also the place where Revan installed himself after he joined the Siths. He trained many acolytes and Jedi who had left the order for the forthcoming war. But as the Jedi Civil War started and with Revan returning to the light side of the Force: the place was abandoned. But it was reopened by Darth Traya, one year after the end of the conflict.

Over the time, Naresha was trained into better ways unlike her master's. Darth Traya chose to become her temporary learner. The Zeltron girl was still wondering about her Master's fate. According to Traya, he had not wanted to see her. She also said that he was trying to learn the true meaning of power from two other Sith Lords who operated with Traya: Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion. Over the days, Naresha learnt new Force skills to defeat enemies, how to properly use pain and anger to grow power.

Traya saw in the apprentice a lot of potential because of her strength. She knew what she would become…

Naresha was late. Darth Traya had called for her for important matters the apprentice had yet to discover. It would probably be more training, that's the only thing she had done in days. Traya was preparing her for something, testing her, that's what she believed. The Sith lady was waiting for her in the audience room, where usually Traya, Sion and Nihilus had meetings. Naresha entered the room, it was all dark. Suddenly, three red lights appeared and approached the girl. It was the three Sith Lords or as they were called by the people of the temple: the Sith Triumvirate.

"Apprentice, do you know why you are here?" Sion, the broken Sith, asked.

"No, I do not know, my lord."

"I have been watching your progress and we three have decided that you should become someone in this universe.", Traya said.

"You will become a Sith acolyte, your work will be assassination, murder, infiltration.", Sion continued, "But before you must pass one final test."

"What is it masters?"

Nihilus threw someone on the ground before Naresha. It was Rakk. He was already beaten: his second horn taken out, he had loads of scars on all the body and one eye was missing. The man was breathing difficultly, coughing at some occasions. He didn't raise his head. He couldn't watch her.

"Kill him."

Suddenly, Naresha felt something for her master, the man who chose her to be his apprentice, the man who taught her for a big part of her life. Their bond was not yet created because of the anger she had against him. She remembered all he had made her suffer, the humiliations with the other students, the other troopers and masters. He was not a good teacher but once, she was loyal to him. Then she thought of something she had learnt. The truenature of the Sith is betrayal, treachery to gain power, to show your the strongest, to show who is the true master. It was time for her to show her true nature.

"With pleasure."