KOTOR; Sith Lords—the Rise of Darth Monikas
(Author's note: this story is actually a companion story to a much longer one that I published a year ago. [Knights of the Old Republic: Unexpected Allies] The Sith apprentice in this story is the secondary character in the first story and I only used her perspective about 10 percent of the time at most. However, since writing that story I decided I wanted to explore her background in more depth than I did the first time. As the two stories intersect quite often, there is some shared dialog if you happen to have read the first story. If you did not read the first story then you are welcome to read Chapters 1-3 and the very beginning of 4 for the encounter that began this one. It is not totally necessary if you know that it detailed an encounter of a young Jedi Padawan with the Sith apprentice who is the main character here. Some things eluded to in that story are found here and some things paraphrased here are found in that story. )
3655 –DromundKaas—in orbit
Julienne sat looking out her viewport, wondering how long it would be before she decided to actually land the ship. The Sith governing planet was no beauty, with its pollution and lightning-crazed skies, but it was home in a way. Maybe not home, but familiar at least.
The problem was, now that she was back, she was uncertain how to proceed. Unclaimed Sith apprentices were sometimes just killed out of hand if no one could find any use for them. She was as likely to be executed as taken on by another Lord. She had been sitting in orbit thinking about it for the better part of twelve hours and she could not come up with any way to mitigate the risk she was about to encounter. Darth Fright had not had a particular patron on the Dark Council, but he had managed to keep himself busy with assignments and that had a different kind of value. Unfortunately, he had shared almost nothing with his apprentice and so Julienne had nowhere to turn.
Suddenly, Julienne reached up and engaged the ships drive. This was not helping and it was just delaying the inevitable. She had recovered enough that she could fight effectively and so she could navigate Kaas city without being in danger, so there was no sense in waiting. A thought had formed in her mind and it was time to act.
She entered the landing pattern at the main spaceport and set down without incident. Fortunately, the Sith administrator would not question an apprentice about their business flying a military-grade ship. The Lords often sent their cronies off on their own, if not normally as young as Julienne.
She took public transportation to the vicinity of her destination and then walked the last kilometer to the fortified front gates of the compound owned by Darth Acina. She was known to have close ties to the council and some thought her to be somewhat more sympathetic to female apprentices; at least, her last two had been female and they had both become Sith Lords eventually. Julienne had never met her, but she had been inside the compound on two occasions. It was time to gamble.
The guards looked askance at the scrawny girl asking to see Darth Acina, but her robes and lightsaber kept them from doing anything else. She had to wait for nearly half an hour while a message was sent through but eventually she was allowed to enter and then escorted briskly into the presence of the resident Sith Lord.
Acina was not over tall or physically impressive, but as usual, it was how she felt in the Force that really mattered and her aura exuded strength and confidence and more than a little curiosity.
"Ah, I do recognize you," she said before Julienne could open her mouth. "Do you bring a message from Darth Fright? Your own message was rather vague."
"No, my Lord," said Julienne. "My former master is dead. Killed on Taris."
Acina controlled her surprise well and then just stared hard at Julienne without speaking. Julienne was sure she felt the lightest brush of a psionic questing, testing her mental ability to keep her thoughts secure and avoid the domination of another. Whatever Acina sensed made her smile.
"I suspect you have a story for me, then, do you not?" said the Sith Lord. "I think I shall prefer to hear it in private." The woman stood quickly and gestured for Julienne to follow. They left the larger audience room and were soon seated across from each other in what looked like a small dining room. In a moment food was brought, but none of it was served to the young girl. Acina gestured to Julienne. "Speak, girl, tell me about Taris and dear old Fright." She began to eat food without even looking at what she was consuming; all her attention was on Julienne.
Julienne had the feeling that lying was a bad idea, so she simply began at the conflict with Shemric and moved along until the final fight with Lord Fright. When she finished, Acina continued to stare as if the Julienne was an odd puzzle she was trying to figure out. Finally, when all the meal was consumed, she pushed it aside and leaned toward the Sith apprentice.
"What do you wish of me, Julienne Qa?" she asked. "I am not really looking for a new apprentice right now, if you are implying that you need a new master. I sense the truth of your words and so I am impressed that you managed to survive the experience, even if you needed help from a Jedi." She sneered but it was not aimed at Julienne, but the Jedi Order; that was clear.
"Lord Acina, I am in need of a patron and master," said Julienne. "Female apprentices are never very popular; Darth Fright took me on grudgingly and I don't truly believe he intended to keep me in service long or teach me much of anything. I can be more than a Marauder, but I need someone willing to teach."
"And why did you think that might be me?" asked Acina.
Julienne took a deep breath, quickly. This woman would see through flattery easily, so her reply needed substance. "I was privy to very little of Lord Fright's information and none of his thoughts, so early on I had to learn to find things out on my own. Your reputation is of a Lord on the rise, shrewd at political machinations and able to defend her own when necessary. You have several newly raised Lords still under your patronage, as well. I thought I might take service with one of them under your lead."
Again Acina watched her for a time. This woman would win a staring contest with a rock and Julienne was starting to sweat despite her efforts at self-regulation.
"You intrigue me, Julienne," she said finally. "I find myself thinking of things I might ask you to do. I think I shall see how well you complete these tasks before I make a decision. Are you ready to begin?"
"Yes, ma'am," she replied neutrally. A trial was better than an outright no.
"Good. I presently have two of my former apprentices that are still nominally reporting and taking order from me," she said. "Do you know them?"
"Lords Shiloh and Darkmund," said Julienne.
"Indeed, and what do you know of them?" asked Acina.
"Lord Shiloh appears to lean toward more martial pursuits, and Lord Darkmund more toward intelligence gathering," said Julienne. It was basic stuff, but really, Fright had done nothing to prepare her for this.
Acina shrugged but then nodded. "A succinct enough summation," she said. "Though I wonder how you know it." It was said as a statement, but there was a clear question involved.
"My Lord, I have observed them on a very limited basis and I listened and talked to a few others about them," said Julienne.
"Well, then you asked the right questions and gleaned out the true answers," said Acina. "I am going to ask them each to take you on in turn, to train you and to serve me."
Julienne bowed. It was more than she had hoped. Well, she had hoped Acina might take her, but as the Sith Lord circled closer and closer to the foundations of power in the Empire, that had been unlikely. Now she just had to survive two Sith Lords who would probably not welcome someone who might supplant them. Hopefully, she would learn more from them than she had been taught by Lord Fright.