Chapter Two

"Where are we going?" Alarah questioned the Jedi Master as he led her out of the Praxeum and into the forest.

"Somewhere we can speak undisturbed,"

Following closely she lowered her gaze to the moss covered stones beneath her feet, ignoring the dappled sunlight as it shone through the trees either side of them. She knew what was coming. She was going to be reprimanded for her Lightsaber. Why else would he bring her this far from the other students? Her Saber was not normal...not like the others. Her blade was not bright like everybody else's. In fact her blade was quite the opposite.

"Stop here," the Master motioned for her to stand before him. "Take your weapon."

Breathing deeply Alarah did as she was instructed and unclipped the Lightsaber from her belt, her pale skin a stark contrast to the black metal of the hilt.

"Ignite it,"

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes briefly before obeying him. The familiar kick of energy as the laser burst through the crystal cut through the serenity of the glade as she stood, arm outstretched, staring at the slender beam before her. The beam emitted from the Saber was strange, unlike anything she had seen before. Instead of burning brightly the blade was in fact completely devoid of colour. The core 'burned' black, so black that the more she looked at it the more Alarah noticed how it seemed to draw in the light from around it. It appeared to be consuming the light.

She turned her attention to her tutor's face. Although very little expression ever showed on the man's face his eyes suddenly seemed to be alive with curiosity. Somewhere behind the dark irises a spark had ignited. A spark of interest different to any other. It was as though a long dead love had been awakened in him. He eyed the blade carefully as though he was trying to put a name to a face.

"Why is it like that?" Alarah finally spoke.

"It just is," he answered flatly. Collecting his thoughts quickly he looked directly into the lilac of her eyes. "I know what you are thinking and you are wrong. Do not be afraid of what you do not understand. If we were meant to understand everything we would have no purpose for living."

"But how can it be black? A Lightsaber by definition projects light. There is no such thing as 'black' light. It makes no sense," she shook her head.

"On the contrary, it makes perfect sense," he turned away momentarily. "The weapon you have created is indeed a Lightsaber. It is absolutely perfect and holds incredible power. There has only ever been one other like it."

Lowering her weapon Alarah noted the acute whistle is made as it sliced through the air. It was like nothing she had ever seen or heard before. Yet, here was her Master telling her it was not the first of it's kind. She wasn't entirely convinced he was being completely honest with her but he was persistent in telling her that she had done nothing wrong and was not to worry.

"When I was an apprentice, before the Empire drove the last few Jedi into hiding, there were stories of a weapon just like this one: The Darksaber," he paused as though trying to recall a distant memory. "The Darksaber was created by a Mandalorian named Tarre Vizsla over a thousand years ago. It was reportedly held by only the head of the House of Vizsla on Mandalore."

"Mandalorian? Aren't they Bounty Hunters?"

"Not all. Before Tarre was the head of the House of Vizsla Mandalore was a very violent place. Mandalorians were feared throughout the galaxy and further. Their reputation preceded them as merciless thugs who would do anything to get what they wanted. The House of Vizsla brought about important change on the planet. Tarre became the first Mandalorian to join the Jedi Order and after his death the Darksaber was kept in the first Jedi Temple. Over the following centuries Mandalore descended into civil war between the True Mandalorians who ruled the planet in peace, and amongst others a splinter group calling themselves The Death Watch who opposed the more modern, pacifist government. A lot happened but ultimately the Death Watch stole the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple and it was returned to the House of Vizsla, who by then were leading the Death Watch. The civil war lasted centuries and even to this day there is unrest."

Alarah extinguished the beam and turned the hilt over in her hand. This couldn't possibly be the same weapon, she had collected the crystal herself. She had fashioned it herself. It was hers. The Kyber Crystal that had called to her had been rough in the ground, not smooth as an existing weapon would have.

"Legend says the Darksaber was the most powerful Lightsaber created and that it saw the demise of many Jedi,"

"I don't want it!" she thrust the weapon towards him. If it truly was so dangerous she wanted nothing to do with it. She had enough trouble trying to use the Force without taking responsibility for 'the most dangerous Lightsaber created'.

"The Force led you to this," he reassured her. "The crystal was always meant for you. This weapon was destined for you, and you for it. Do not fear it. Fear is the beginning of the path to the Dark Side. Your weapon is an extension of yourself, it is part of you and thus you must learn to use it effectively. I can no longer train you...you need more than I can give. Prepare your things, tomorrow you will travel to Coruscant."

With this he left her standing alone in the clearing. Watching him walk away from her the young Jedi sighed heavily. Why was she being sent to Coruscant? If she had indeed done nothing wrong then why was she being sent away from the Praxeum? And why to the Headquarters of the Order? She assumed that was where she was being sent. If there was truly nothing to worry about then why did she have this hollow feeling in her stomach? Never the less she knew had no choice, arrangements were probably already being made and she was expected to follow her instructions to prepare for her journey. Clipping her Lightsaber to her belt she slowly made her way back into the temple and headed towards the shared sleeping quarters. She didn't have many possessions but she did not want to leave anything behind.

Pulling the sheets from around her Alarah tossed in her bunk. Her sleep was disturbed by the usual unsettling memories of her family on Besthra and she awoke sweaty and cold in the darkness. Pressing her palm to her forehead she breathed deeply. All these years and still her dreams were as vivid as the night she had left her home planet.

Sliding her legs over the side of the bed she pressed her feet to the hard floor. Sitting hunched over herself, trying to clear her mind of the picture of her younger brother's lifeless body

she ran her slender fingers through her long, pale hair. Slowly she stood up stretching her back as she did so. Silently making her way between the beds she looked at her sleeping peers, each one laid contentedly in their bunk. She almost wished she could sleep like that; contentedly. Almost. She knew that if she did not dream of her family she would very likely forget them completely. She was not willing to do that so for the time being at least she had resigned herself to sacrifice her sleep to keep her memories alive.

A strange feeling of discontent washed over her. The hairs on the back of her pale neck seemed to stand on end and she began to feel slightly claustrophobic. It felt as though the air around her had begun to change density. It felt strangely heavy. Standing perfectly still she surveyed the darkened room with her hyper-sensitive eyes. Her home planet of Besthra spent most of its cycles in almost near darkness, thus the Besthran's eyes had evolved to function in extremely low light. Some of the older generations had very little pigment in their eyes, or skin for that matter, and their ability to see in the darkness was almost unparalleled in this galaxy. Alarah's lilac eyes were a direct result of her life away from Besthra however her ability to see in the darkness was unaffected. Looking around the dormitory she listened carefully. The rhythmic breathing of her fellow students filled the room along with the occasional creaking of a mattress as weight shifted upon it. Assessing the sleeping students she continued to the bathroom before returning to her bunk with a mug of water. Placing her drink on the floor she lay back down, staring across the aisle to the next bunk.

Pulling the sheets back up over her shoulders the young padawan became increasingly aware that the temperature in the room was dropping quickly. Noting the sight of her own breath before her she felt under the mattress for her Lightsaber. Something was not right. The back of her skull felt increasingly tight and the atmosphere in the dormitory had changed. She listened. Nothing out of the ordinary. Pulling her weapon to her torso she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She listened again. What was that? Under the familiar breathing and gentle snoring there was another, unfamiliar sound. If she hadn't felt so odd she would have probably never have noticed this new sound. There it was again. Movement. The sound was so tiny that for a moment Alarah thought perhaps she had imagined it. She would have been satisfied with her conclusion had she not seen, in her peripheral vision, a dark mass standing against the far wall.

Fixing her gaze to the ceiling Alarah steadied her breathing as the shadow moved almost silently between the beds. There were no windows in the dormitory and she was sure the visitor believed they were hidden in the perfect darkness. They had not counted on a Besthran being present, or awake. Tracking the shadowy figure as it moved closer the young padawan gripped her saber tightly. She could feel her pulse hard in her chest but tried to clear her mind of thought. Memories of her final night with her family would do her no good now.

As the figure stopped at the adjacent bed Alarah noted the muted gleam of metal beneath cloth as the intruder stooped to check the sleeping figure before moving to stand beside her. Lowering her eyelids Alarah peered through her lashes at the armoured figure standing over her. She could see him quite clearly in the darkness. A battle-scarred face stared down at her, the eyes covered with surveillance goggles. A bounty hunter. Tightening her grip on the Lightsaber Alarah waited, her thumb hovering over the ignition button. Slowly the figure leaned over her seemingly searching for something. As the body shifted position she noted the elongated, tusked skull emblazoned on his armour.

A massive tremor shook through the Praxeum, knocking the bounty hunter off balance and waking the sleeping padawans. Taking advantage of the situation Alarah leapt up from her bunk and pinned the intruder to the floor, pressing the open end of her Saber to his temple.

"Who sent you?" she hissed as her peers grabbed their weapons and ran out into the hallway.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" the yells echoed through the Praxeum accompanied by laser fire and explosions. Quickly assessing her situation Alarah hit the intruder hard in the back of the skull, rendering him unconscious before running to assist her fellow students in their efforts to defend the base.

Making her way up through the temple Alarah ran towards the laser fire and out into the forest. Most of the upper floors had been destroyed in the explosions and she had wondered how the structure had remained upright. Entire walls were missing and many vehicles were ablaze. There didn't seem to be any way to escape. The fire had spread from the old star fighters and convoy ships to the trees and the sky burned orange with the flames. She watched as more attackers descended from large vessels passing overhead. How could they fight these soldiers? Each one appeared to be armoured and weaponised. All the Jedi had were their Lightsabers and the majority of the students were less than skilled at using them effectively. In amongst the chaos Alarah saw her Master take down three or four infiltrators before being gunned down. As he fell to the stoned floor he turned towards her, their eyes meeting briefly as his lips silently said, "Go."

Clutching her Lightsaber she turned towards the darkness of the forest and ran. The feeling in the base of her skull had been replaced by a sudden fear. She had been here before, in this situation. The memories of her final night on Besthra flooded her mind as her feet carried far into the trees. Images of her friends being gunned down in the village, the harsh screams of the children as they were slaughtered in their beds clouded her mind and she became aware that she was lost. Stopping in her tracks she turned to try and find her bearings. Her heart was beating hard inside her ribcage and her head was fuzzy from the flashback. She did not recognise these trees. She had never been this far into the forest. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of burning wood and she could still hear the sounds of the battle in the distance but she could not see where the temple was. She had no idea how far she had run or in which direction she had travelled. Even if she could work out where she was what was she supposed to do? It had been quite apparent there were more attackers than there were Jedi on the base. All the transport had been destroyed and she had been told to go by her master. She could only assume that he was dead now. If he was one with the Force then what were chances of the apprentices surviving the assault? And why had she been told to run? Was she really such a risk to the Jedi that they would rather her run away than stand and fight alongside them? She couldn't even retrace her steps to go back and fight. She was well and truly lost.

Standing for a moment she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end once more. She was not alone. Trying to tune out the ongoing battle she listened to the forest. Somebody was following her in the shadows, their footsteps deliberately quiet. Turning quickly she eyed the trees. A flash of moonlight across a breastplate betrayed her stalker and she started to back away.

"I see you," she called, igniting her Saber.

The armoured man emerged from the trees slowly approaching her.

"Give me the weapon," he demanded from behind his expressionless mask. His armour bore the same tusked skull as the bounty hunter in the dormitory. He repeated himself firmly, "Give me the Darksaber Jedi."

"What?" she breathed. He thought her weapon was the lost Darksaber. How could he even know about her weapon? Was that why they were here? She had only created the Saber the previous day, how could anyone know about it? It didn't make any sense. "No," she said curtly.

Advancing quickly the Bounty Hunter raised his blaster and fired forcing Alarah to react instinctively to defend herself. As she tried to raise her Saber to intercept the blast fear gripped her tightly and she stood rooted to the spot. Closing her eyes she awaited the inevitable searing pain of the laser as it hit her body. She heard her Lightsaber cutting through the cool air and opened her eyes expecting to see her blade before her but it was not there, it was still at her side buzzing intently.

Standing before her, between herself and the Bounty Hunter, was an unfamiliar Jedi. His Lightsaber moved swiftly through the air cutting the soldier down almost silently, its bright green blade illuminating the trees as his lifeless body slumped to the ground.

"Are you ok?" the Jedi spoke softly to her, his voice smooth and reassuring. Turning to face her he quickly noted the black bladed Saber in her hand before repeating himself. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded quickly.

"You can turn that off," he nodded towards her Lightsaber. She did as she was instructed and clipped the weapon to her belt. Peering over his shoulder the dark-clad Jedi seemed distracted for a moment before turning his attention back towards her. "We have to go, more are coming."

"They destroyed all the transport, there's nowhere to go," Alarah protested.

"You must trust me," he spoke plainly before taking her hand and leading her further into the forest. "We must move quickly. They are not going to stop until they have the Sister Saber."

"The what?"

"Go!"