Mei Aijin : "Dark Mistress of the Sith"
During a fitful sleep the memories flood her semi conscious mind. Vague images at first, sparked the inner turmoil that always brought up the fear, shame and anger caused by her father's death. As the dark side of the force swelled within her, the images become more vivid.
Her father was a pure blooded Sith, and within the month of his own death, he had risen to become Zeph'tor, Dark Lord of the Sith. He had a good command of the dark side, but his ascension was too fast. Yes, he had defeated his master, to seize his place, but his master was weak. When Lord Zeph'tor had taken his first apprentice, he had underestimated Drezzdon's abilities.
Lord Zeph'tor had only begun to train his new apprentice, and yet it appeared that Drezzdon was holding something back. Drezzdon had shown a lack of concentration in combat, and he frequently tapped into the dark side at inopportune times. Lord Zeph'tor had chastised him often, but he also tried to impart as much of his own knowledge into his apprentice as he could.
It was a morning like most, just short of a month after Drezzdon had become her father's apprentice. Several Dark Lords, along with their apprentices, had congregated at the arena. Zeph'tor had brought his daughter, his only child, to watch the morning games, as he often did. Like her father, she too was gifted in the ways of the force. Unlike her father, she was vastly more gifted, and not so easily led to overconfidence.
Dark Lord Zeph'tor announced in grand gesture that he would test his apprentice. Drezzdon appeared tentative at first. He stepped forward and ignited his lightsaber, and prepared for his master's attack. Zeph'tor approached the center of the ring, and ignited his two lightsabers and prepared himself as well. The other Dark Lords watched in silent anticipation. There was no count down, or other tell tale signal. The two Sith warriors instinctively sprung into action simultaneously.
Drezzdon did not hesitate to reveal his master's folly. He was able to parry his attacks effortlessly. He quickly shifted from defensive stances to offense, and pressed the fight. He was no mere apprentice with just a few weeks of training in either combat or his command of the dark side. Although Zeph'tor had managed to prolong the battle as best he could, all could see how it would turn out.
The two Sith, shifted and whirled about the arena. Their crimson blades clashing with a hiss, passing near hits with the familiar buzzing sound. Suddenly, the opportunity came. Drezzdon with a feint move, had slipped under one of Zeph'tor's strokes, and he easily trust his own blade deep into his master's arm pit. Zeph'tor stumbled, falling to a knee. Drezzdon silently and slowly walked around his foe, paused for a moment and then finished his master off with a single stroke of his blade.
Drezzdon stood in the ring, tall and triumphant. The Dark Lords looked on, with mocking expressions on their faces, directed at the crumbled body of Zeph'tor. She knew then, that her father had been set up. Drezzdon paced around the body of her fallen father, a few times. He used his dark side powers to lift her father's lightsabers to his hand. Still looking at the crowd, with a smirk on his face he placed one of the lightsabers on his belt. He approached the young girl, and tossed the other at her feet. He mockingly said, "Maybe someday you will learn to use this better than your father." He then turned away and walked towards his true master, one of the other Dark Lords.
The young Sith girl was vastly attuned to the dark side of the force. Her passion was explosive, but this was not her true power. Even when the dark side was fully flowing within her, and through her, she could mask it. None, not even her father's former master could detect her true potential.
The apprentice, Drezzdon, had only walked about five paces. He suddenly stopped and looked down in amazement, as a point of light had erupted from his chest. The blade had passed through his spine, his heart and protruded nearly its full length from his chest, when it was turned off. His eyes widened, and all he managed was a brief gurgle as he fell lifeless to the ground. Once he fell, the young girl was revealed to the stunned onlookers, the young Sith girl holding her father's lightsaber.
When Mei Aijin had woken up from her sleep, the images of her dream had faded from her mind. That was five years ago, and on this day, she is to depart for Korriban. There on that sacred planet, she will begin her own apprenticeship to become a true Sith. Unlike her father, she will never put herself into the position of serving for long, a weak master. Nor will she place her trust in anyone besides herself.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Mei Aijin: "First Lesson Learned"
My arrival on Korriban, 6 years ago, is still clear in my mind. Following the event of my father's death, the Dark Lords that conspired to kill him thought it fitting that I be sent here. I would either meet my own doom or rise to my fullest potential. Although I was only 13, I was defiant to prove that I was greater in the ways of the dark side, greater than my father had ever dreamed of being himself.
On the transport ship from Drummond Kaas, those of us meant to be acolytes were segregated from the rest of the passengers. It was in this private area that we were addressed by a Sith Acolyte, Zorin, and he spoke to us while exuding an air of malice. But, I could also sense envy in his emotion and his weakness cleared my mind of any anxiety I had been feeling.
"You have all been sent here, because someone determined that you are sensitive to the force. This will not alter the fact that you face your doom here on Korriban. So few of you will survive your trials, that I use my disgust of you to fuel my own power…."
I remember thinking, [what nonsense is this], to have our first contact with a Sith apprentice of Korriban and he is a fool! He rambled on for a bit longer….
"You have in your package the robes or garments of an acolyte. Robes for those who would be Inquisitors and garments for Warriors of the Sith. Also, you will all be given a training vibroblade. These items will identify you as acolytes and they must be worn at all times."
The ship communications speaker crackled alive…."3 minutes to disembark"
A thought crept into my mind, a mischievous thought. I was thinking that 3 minutes might not be long enough, so I decided to be the last to step off of the ship. I began to focus on masking my force sensitivity. I used my resentment of my father and his death. I used my disdain for the Apprentice Zorin. I could feel the force begin to flow through me and I concentrated on hiding it. Using this rare or perhaps even unique ability, had taxed me in the past, but not this time.
As soon as the ship touched ground, I could feel the dark side of the force leaking out from the very ground that we now rested on. Korriban was truly a special place. Steeped in history, in mystery and wrapped in the dark side to such an extent, it felt like the planet itself was a living and breathing thing. Here I could be filled with rage, surging with power and yet appear calm, steady and perhaps even unprepared in the minds of my opponents.
As we stepped further out into the hanger, the passengers from the ship divided. The acolytes formed a line on the left. Regular passengers: Imperial officers, soldiers, technicians to the right. Down the center strode two figures, a Dark Lord and his apprentice. The Dark Lord was a large man, both tall and rotund. It was hard to tell his age, but he bore the signs of a long life of using the dark side. His skin was a whitish-pink, nearly corpse like and laced with veins. This deformity was common amongst dark side users of great power or long exposure. I kept this Dark Lord in my peripheral vision, for fear that my planned mischief my attracted his unwanted attention.
As the line between me and the apprentices at the check-in area grew shorter, I focused a bit more on masking my force signature. At the end of the line the two men were checking the would-be acolytes for their sensitivity. It was finally my turn. I stepped forward and the new apprentice, Voz't Rone, spoke.
"Step forward acolyte, let me have a look at you." He paused momentarily. He suddenly wore the expression of confusion. He pulled from his belt and device, and prepared to scan me. I read the emotions of Zorin as he stood there. He was annoyed, at this delay, and I used it to help mask my signature further. Voz't Rone told me to extend my hand out, and his device took a blood sample. I focused the dark side to just mask the results in the machine. A few more moments passed. Suddenly, Voz't Rone sharply looked up and said, "This child is not force sensitive!" He paused and looked over his shoulder at two guards. "Remove this!" His voice was laced with venom.
I darted away from the line, back towards the ship. The guards began to chase after me. I ran underneath the ship to avoid them once, as I began to circle back towards the check point. Many voices were shouting. I used their anger to fuel the next step in my plan. I caught from a glance, the Dark Lord's attention. I felt his gaze, he was using his power to see through me, almost like he was reading my mind and my soul. I was already pulling my force strength away from my mask and focusing on my next move.
Just as one of the guards had almost grabbed a hold of me, I unleashed a surge of power. I leaped nearly 30 feet through the air, landing right in front of the two apprentices at the check point. As I did, I brought my fist down to the ground and released a shock wave that stunned all within a small radius around me. Some of the people were knocked to the floor; others were just stunned where they stood. I sprung back to my feet from my crouched position, and drew my vibroblade in anticipation of an attack. The two apprentices had murder in their minds. They did not have the time to act upon it. Although they drew their vibroblades, both had quickly dropped them, clutching their arms in pain.
"Very interesting…." A strangely soft, yet sinister voice spoke. The Dark Lord, Darth Renning, was standing right behind me. When I had last glanced at him he was far, very far. Without sound or revealing his presence, he stood within inches of me. His gaze then fell upon the two apprentices and he admonished them for being fools. "It is no wonder you two have been given such menial tasks." His gaze fell to me once again. "You child have some rare talents. You are unfocused, which is why you must draw upon so many sources of the dark side. Here on Korriban, you will learn to be more efficient." I did not know what to say, I just stood there and nodded.
The two apprentices, their misplaced arrogance and pride having been crushed, waved me through the line. I strode passed many in the line, as they gawked at me. I displayed a wry smile on my face. I was really quite pleased with myself. But then a concern had drifted into my mind. I was fatigued, having spent so much energy for my escapade. I glanced one last time towards the center of the space port.
Darth Renning was walking away, and his apprentice shot me a look. I could sense she was angered, but I did not understand why. I assumed it was jealousy, and that is a delicious emotion to feed off of. I focused just on her and her emotion. I blocked everything else out. The strain of my previous force use was gone. I felt renewed and more alive than ever before. I only needed her emotion as a source.
My first lesson learned…..