The only one thing that was visible appeared to be a figure embraced by both shadow and swirling mist. He withdrew the cylindrical hilt of a lightsaber from his belt, and activated it, conjuring a beam of pure white plasma energy. From the shadow, similar cloaked figures emerged, withdrawing lightsabers of scarlet. As a battalion, these cloaked encroachers engaged the solitary figure, leaping towards him with dastardly audacity. He calmly evaded, striking the first aforementioned encroacher in the tendon with his blade of light, and the figure crumpled limply to the gelid midnight black floor. The others seemed baffled by how easily their leader was defeated, yet continued the foolish skirmish nonetheless. The heroic and calm figure stood passively but aggressively in a readied combat stance. A pair of enemies rushed him, lunging for his midsection. He deflected their strikes, using the Force to coax each of their blades to find their wielder's throats. He disengaged, hurling himself backwards, throwing his weapon in the direction of the last attacker. Said attacker soared over the blade, approaching the figure with increased velocity, very nearly dancing with his saber. He wove his way through the mist, aiming the tip of his sword to the figure's heart. The figure easily dispatched him as well, however, ducking under the end of the blade, striking him with an uppercut, following through with a lightsaber slash riddling all the way up his abdomen and continuing through his neck and brain. The man fell literally in two, the wound cauterized instantaneously. The zen figure stood humble for a moment, before kneeling, only to become one with the mist…

Sabrina

Chapter 1 - The Man in the Mist

Sabrina raised her head, gasping for air, and studied her surroundings. The Sith Academy, Korriban. In front of her, a massive statue of a cloaked Sith lord was engulfed in pale mist. She sat idle on her knees, reflecting and meditating. What she wasn't aware of, however, was the calculating eyes of Darth Baras peering into her soul from high above. This one is different, of some worth, it seems. She shall be my champion, Baras contemplated. He summoned her to his quarters, and gave Sabrina her final orders as an apprentice.

"Tremel has become weak. It is your duty as a Sith of strength and order to eliminate him. Bring me his hand as proof and you will become my official apprentice. When the deed is done, meet me at the shuttle bay. There is much to be done." Baras stated. Without giving his future apprentice a chance to engage in conversation, he stormed out, heading toward the exit. Sabrina sat there for a few moments, dumb founded. Overseer Tremel was her most favoured tutor, her one true inspiration. And now, it was her 'duty' to slay him. She imagined the reaction that Eskella – his daughter, would have. No doubt, she would make an attempt on Sabrina's life… which would end up in Eskella's death. Despite her aggressiveness, Eskella wasn't particularly skilled in swordsmanship or use of the Force – heartbreaking for Tremel. Whatever the case, it was Sabrina's task to end his life. Wandering aimlessly down the byways and corridors, Sabrina contemplated her next action. Ever since she met Baras, she had been planting the seeds to his downfall, as any good Sith apprentice should do. Of course, there was competition. In the tomb of Naga Sadow, she was forced to kill Vemrin, another of Baras's protégés. After she did so, she received her light saber, an ancient weapon of the Sith and Jedi orders. And now, she was to use this weapon to kill her former tutor. She kept saying it in her head over and over, trying to form a plan that would ensure Tremel's survival. When one such idea came, she entered Tremel's quarters.

She drew her light saber as he had done, fearing her plan had just run off its tracks.

"Overseer! Sheathe your blade at once!" Sabrina shouted in fury.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Baras sent you to slay me," he struck at her side, which she easily blocked and swiftly countered, "and that certain event will not transpire here today! I'm sorry, apprentice. I'll try to make it as painless and merciful as I can."

"What makes you so ensured of your victory?" Sabrina questioned from behind crossed blades.

"Please, apprentice. You're not a Sith yet." Tremel stated, sliding backward and striking at Sabrina's head.

She dodged under the blade, and kicked him in the shin, before undercutting him with the hilt of her saber. She forced pushed him back into a limestone statuette of Naga Sadow. He got to his feet, and dusted off the plaster, while growling aggressively. He threw himself at Sabrina's lithe but readied figure, his blade glancing neatly off hers. She struck him in the chin and ran her blade down his arm. A cauterized wound instantly appeared, a riddling line checkering his sword arm. He gasped, falling to the ground.

"I… I was wrong… you do have a chance of saving the Sith… you have the ability and the know-how. Do it then. Finish me off, appease your master. You alone shall determine the future of the Sith." Tremel huffed, out of breath and will.

Sabrina shook her head. "I'm not going to kill you. Why waste something of value. Go into hiding. When the time comes for Baras to die, you will be there, for your usefulness shall be at its peak. But first, I need your hand."

Without saying a word, Tremel directed his hand in Sabrina's direction. Sabrina activated her blade, and sliced clean through her tutor's wrist. He exuded a small gasp of pain. "Tickles a bit…" is all he muttered.

The shuttle was luxurious, perhaps overly so. Aforementioned shuttle was headed toward the Imperial Fleet's main attraction, the Vaikan Spacedock. When she arrived, Sabrina spoke with some advanced trainers in the Combat Training section of the metropolis station. Baras had commissioned said trainers to teach Sabrina in the way of the Marauder, a Sith assailant who specializes in techniques with the light saber. After her training was complete, she linked up with several others who wished to take an elitist flight to Dromund Kaas on the Black Talon, yet another overly luxurious transport… ((I will add Sabrina's adventure on the Black Talon as a Bonus Chapter later on. For now, let's get back to Sabrina on Dromund Kaas.))

Sabrina sat up in her seat, stirring from a light slumber. The Black Talon approached the Dromund Kaas Spaceport. When they docked, the remaining passengers dispersed, and Sabrina checked through Customs, talked to a few of the staff, and retrieved a map, before venturing into the wilds…

"By the might of Tulak Hord! Looke at the rain!" Sabrina announced a little too loudly, but it's not like she could be heard over the downpour. The continuous patter of precipitation clashing with vine drowned out all else. The landscape with riddled with criss-crossing vines and gnarled shrubbery, it looked like a dark maze of malicious intent. Sabrina trotted peacefully along, her blade sheathed loosely at her side.

She spoke to a speeder operator, and arranged transport to Kaas City. From the seat of a landspeeder, the scenery went by in flashes, but she did spot an enormous unfinished statue, a camp of mercenaries, and many a jungle critter. She was quite disappointed when her transport landed at the overlook of the Citadel…

Baras looked quite amused, perched from a plus highback chair sitting across from a desperate looking man chained tightly to a torture table. Baras shot current after current of high voltage electricity out of his fingers. It glanced off walls as well as arced toward the prisoner, causing him to shriek in pain when it impacted. "Republic uncouth scum… I… will… break you." Baras whispered to him from an inadequate amount of adjacency. Sabrina only stood there, observing the interrogation taking place. When she could take no more, she shouted to her sadistic master. "I do believe if you haven't broken him by now, you haven't a chance, Master!"

Baras twirled around, staring at Sabrina with cold eyes through his steel mask. "You dare say something like that… to me?"

Sabrina nodded, as her hands went to her blades. She knew the partnership couldn't have lasted long. Baras, in turn, withdrew his singular blade, and conjured an orb of Force Lightning in his palm. His apprentice sighed, sheathing her left blade, and levitating a chair via the Force. She smirked, before sending the chair full force in a trajectory towards Baras. He attempted to evade with a backflip, but was caught in the middle of the act by the chair, sending him full force into an adjacent wall. He coughed and wheezed only for a few moments, before regaining his footing and advancing toward Sabrina. She twirled around, withdrawing her left blade, and crouched like a patient predator in search of satisfaction. Baras charged, lunging with his blade. Sabrina grasped his shoulder, vaulting over him, and grazed him in the back with her right blade. He howled in pain, and backed off a bit.

When Tremel burst through the door, things got even more interesting. Sabrina wasn't at all surprised to see him, therefore, they worked well as a team to attempt to destroy the trained Sith lord. Tremel slid under Baras's feet, attempting to cut him off at the legs, whereas Sabrina took the higher route, jumping, vaulting, and slashing at the shoulders and head.

"Enough!" Baras shouted in fury, sending Sabrina outside the room and Tremel into his glass desk. Sabrina got to her feet at once, but Baras had slammed the entrance and locked it tighter than a Colicoid's safe. It was Tremel's fight for now.

"You're weak, Tremel! So, weak, it seems, that you have infected my prize student with your contagious disease of cowardice!" Baras continued to shout, behind locked blades. Tremel backed off, keeping his blade drawn.

"It is a Sith's way to have his own agenda… This, I know. But yours will cause the end of the Sith Order as we know it! I won't see such a 'prize' pupil go to waste acting out your worthless schemes." Tremel retorted.

Baras shouted in rage, hurling many an ornament off his desk towards the Overseer. Tremel attempted the best he could to evade, but his strength and will were waning quickly. He knew he wasn't nearly a match for Baras. Perhaps sensing his doubt, Baras took the opportunity to strike. At once, Tremel was once the ground, collapsed to his knees by Baras's formidable grasp of the Force. Baras approached slowly, his blade deactivated. He pressed the end of the hilt against Tremel's spine, and activated the blade…

Sabrina heard a howl of pain emit from the office's interior. She cursed, slashing at the lock one last time in the vain hope of releasing its hold on the entrance. Surprisingly, the lock fell weakly in front of the door. For a moment, all Sabrina could do was stare at it with a mix of awe and disbelief, before she entered the office tentatively. Tremel could be seen lying still on the ground, a massive cauterized wound in the center of his back. Sabrina closed her eyes, realizing that Baras was nowhere to be found. She stood for a few moments, not entirely sure what to do. She drew her blade, and started to search.

Baras, it seemed, had met a gruesome end via an unknown assailant. He was curled around a scarlet saber in the far left corner of the ceiling. Every once and a while, he let out a small groan as Sabrina inspected him. The blade had been drove straight through his gut, and he was then put on display… the killer had some obvious skill. Baras grunted, staring at his pupil. "You… bitch…" he murmured.

"Oh, shut up," Sabrina requested, as she used the Force to choke him, disabling his ability of speech. With a sickening crack, his head slumped down, his neck severed from his spine. Slowly, he slid off the lightsaber, passing through the blade, and collapsing six feet to the cold floor. Sabrina smirked, but drew her blade, essentially becoming aware of the danger. The saber utilized to impale her former master deactivated automatically, and twirled into a dark corner of Baras's quarters. She went to investigate.

Sabrina followed the trail of the light saber, and she didn't travel far. When she reached her destination, a moderately sized man stepped out of the darkness. His figure was slim, yet he had an aura of danger swirling about him. He was masked, and was adorned by scarlet and glinting silver Sith battle armor. A long, trailing cloak fell from his shoulders, yet his hood remained down. He bowed, introducing himself. "I am Lord Zelkin Infinium. And you are Sabrina Williams, former apprentice of Darth Baras. It's a pleasure." Zelkin offered his hand to shake. Sabrina took it tentatively, and went straight to the point.

"Did you kill Baras?" She questioned bluntly.

Zelkin smirked devilishly, although it couldn't be seen under his mask. "Yes. Yes I did. What of it?"

Sabrina shook her head. "A simple inquiry. Why I wonder, did you interfere? Did you wait for him to kill Tremel before you did so?"

Zelkin maintained nonchalance about the situation. "Despite Baras's madness, he was correct in saying that Tremel had grown weak. I needed him out of the way. As they say, two birds."

Sabrina nodded, but was still semi-angered. "Why did you need Tremel out of the way? If he was so weak, I don't see how he could've made any impact on your plan. And of course, you have a plan. Sith like you always do."

Laughing outright, Zelkin nodded. "Even the smallest and weakest of creatures can create a major and harmful impact. Tremel was a meddler, and needed to be dealt with. Baras was the same. And now, you're free. Free to develop your powers and you see fit, not your master. Or, you can become my apprentice, therefore become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Sabrina contemplated. "Well… you're awfully forward aren't you? I figured someone like you would already have an apprentice."

Zelkin shook his head. "I did… long story."

It was Sabrina's turn to chuckle. "Alright… but I wonder… does my Master answer to someone of higher power?"

"Well, it depends on how you look at it. I'm sure my colleagues would be overjoyed to meet someone of your skill… and yes, I know what you can do. Sith apprentices don't often attempt to kill their masters merely days after leaving acolyte-hood… but it seems, you had the power to nearly do so." Zelkin admitted.

"Pity it had to be nearly…" Sabrina continued.

Sabrina regretted the pitiful amount of time she was able to spend on Dromund Kaas. She no doubt knew she was to return at some point in time, but for now, it was back to the Imperial Fleet aboard Zelkin's Fury Class Imperial Interceptor.

((If you have read this far, I thank you for not giving up on the story too quickly… I'm not one to follow the storyline of the game… we've all experienced that before. I've been trying to add as much action to the first chapter as possible to try to get more reader's attentions. Trust me, there's more to come. By the way, if anyone from the Shades of Serroth is reading this, I extremely miss the roleplay experience your guild offered, but the game was just too much for my old desktop to handle. I hope to start playing SWTOR again very soon, and hope to see you all again when that time comes. For now, cheers! I will update when I receive a little bit of feedback! Thanks for reading!))