3,655 BBY or 2 BTC…

Four years had passed, Jorek, Liam and Nakari trained together almost every day; they were inseparable from one another. Day in and day out they would train both lightsaber techniques and Force control. Many considered the three of them to be the most dedicated students in the Temple; this wasn't far from the truth.

Kiber was still having troubles with Pohn, and ever since Pohn had gotten in trouble for what he hadn't done (punching Kiber) he had become more and more aggressive. Kiber had contemplated leaving quite a few times, but he didn't want to be considered a deserter; he didn't want to be like his uncle who he had been compared to so many times. Kiber tried his hardest to ignore the harassment, but every day it would get worse. Pohn once even sabotaged Kiber's lightsaber to short-circuit when it was ignited; it wasn't a big explosion but it ruined Kiber's day and left him with charred hands.

Kiber had even considered ending his life 'There is no death, there is the force' he told himself. But he felt he still would not find peace in the cold embrace of death, or the force, or whatever; he didn't care. His newest lightsaber was masterfully crafted, and had a yellow crystal that focused the blade of energy.

Every time Liam trained with Master Liamen he would marvel at his master's lightsaber; it had a very decorative hilt and shining silver blade that shone like the sky scrapers of Coruscant in the mid-day light. Today was a beautiful day out and their training was over so the three of them, Liam, Nakari, and Jorek, went over to the balcony overlooking the city-scape of Coruscant. Jorek had to leave and left Liam and Nakari alone looking out towards the beautiful skyline abuzz with ships from all corners of the galaxy.

"Hey, Liam…"

"Yeah?"

"… Why do you think Jedi aren't allowed to… know what, forget it." She turned her head and tried not to look at Liam's face. Liam was a clueless sort when it came to these subjects so he didn't get the hint.

"Aren't allowed to what?" he urged her to finish her sentence; she still tried to avoid it.

"I… *sigh*… why aren't Jedi… allowed to…" she hesitated and her cheeks were rosy colored on her pale skin, "Love?" Liam could sense the obvious aura of tension between the two of them. What is she implying? He wondered.

"I… I'm not entirely sure." The air between them went silent again. Finally Liam spoke once more.

"I heard it's because we – as Jedi – cannot hold someone in higher regards than the rest, so as to pass fair judgement."

"That makes some sense I suppose…" the area once again fell to silence. "Liam?"

"Yes?"

"What…" she didn't want to ask this question either, "What would you do if you liked someone like that; how would you make it stop?" Liam's whole body tensed up in that moment; he was still clueless as to what she was inferring.

"I would try to stop thinking about them…" was all he could think to say in a split second decision. They went back into the temple and went back to training after that; without another word.

Whenever Kiber wanted to escape from his woes he would grab his lightsaber and dress up in a tight black robe so that no one would know it's him. After that he would sneak down into the lower districts of Coruscant to go and have a drink at a sleazy bar there. Today was the same as any day; no one asking for ID or asking his age, just asking for credits. He had extra change lying around all of the time, so he could go and grab a drink whenever he felt like it was the right time to get away. He pulled up a stool to the bar counter where he could see the familiar face of the Human bar keep. Regardless of the stereotypical sleaziness of the bar, the owner was very friendly and the usual patrons were agreeable enough, never asking questions or taunting him.

"I'll have the usual." He said as he threw a few credits on the counter. The friendly bar keep smiled and turned around to grab him his pick of poison. All of the regulars were there, and all of the same empty seats were still empty; minus one. Beside him on another stool sat a man who was wearing a long purple and black robe. Upon closer examination Kiber almost jumped out of his seat; he was a pureblood sith! His red face was bright in the darkness of the bar, and his chin was dotted here and there with small facial tendrils of red skin like crimson stalactites. While Kiber was looking at the man; the sith suddenly turned to face him with his bright yellow eyes. Kiber was petrified by the sudden interest this man had in him. The sith slowly smiled through his yellow teeth and set his drink down. He turned his stool completely to face the young man and put his right hand on his hip.

"Are you… Kiberan?" asked the sith man from underneath his breath. The young human boy was even more terrified now, how could this stranger know his name?

"Y-Y-Yes…" he shouldn't have answered but he did. The sith man clapped his hands together and smiled still.

"My master has told me so much about you!" he laughed a bit and the bar patrons turned to look at him; he pushed his hood back to reveal his short, slicked, black hair. "I am Artumez, at your service." He held out his hand and Kiber unwillingly shook it. He looked down to Artumez's belt and saw a double-bladed lightsaber; Kiber had scarcely seen one.

"Who… Who is your master? How does he know me?" Artumez seemed shocked and then embarrassed.

"Oh! Where are my manners? I forgot to tell you why I'm here." Kiber was still awaiting an explanation from the strange sith man.

"Well…" said Kiber impatiently.

"My master's name is…" he leaned forward and whispered in Kiber's ear, "Kiberan..." he let out a light chuckle as Kiber came to the realization of who he was and whipped out his saber. Artumez ignited his own saber and the yellow and red blades made contact within the darkness of the dim bar lights.

"Hey!" called the bar keeper, "Take it outside!" Artumez turned and wiped his hand through the air. "…But you don't have to if you don't want to." He went back to his usual duties. Kiber was even more confused now, what had happened there? A blunt object knocked against Kiber's skull and he realized too late that it was the hilt of Artumez's lightsaber. He awoke outside of the bar and rubbed his head with his left hand while lifting himself off of the pavement with his right. He was in an alley way beside the bar; Artumez was sitting on a garbage can only a foot away. Kiber did not even attempt to fight this time; he instead wanted to ask a question.

"What do you want?" he asked the red skinned man.

"I want to open your eyes to the dark side of the force." Kiber scoffed and put his head against the wall. "I want to help you."

"Nice try, but try being more subtle next time," he looked at his captor and smiled, "You scum sucking karking sith bastard!" Artumez seemed unfazed by Kiber's insults. He stood up and helped Kiber to his feet.

"I only want to talk, you can decide for yourself after we're done." He began to walk down the alley so Kiber took that as his queue to follow.

"I know you have been having troubles with a 'Bully' amidst your Jedi ranks." Kiber looked even more surprised, to know his name was one thing, but to know something that personal… "Why do you not simply deal with him?" Kiber was – once again – confused as to what his meaning was.

"Deal with him?" he echoed the sith's words questioningly.

"End his life." He replied. Kiber had never even considered such an act upon even his worst enemy, but maybe that was his Jedi training talking. "Your uncle has many eyes, and some of those eyes have foreseen that your problem will just get bigger and bigger, unless you solve it yourself." Kiber stopped just before the exit to the streets from the alley; Artumez turned to face him.

"What are you implying, sith!?" he asked. Artumez crossed his arms and sighed.

"I'm saying you should get your revenge upon the little wretch and then join us."

"Kark that!" said Kiber, "I'm not going to let you manipulate me." Artumez shook his head.

"You are already being manipulated. You will be free from their oppression, from the suffering. I could show you but a glimpse of the dark side's power and then you could unlock the rest for yourself," Kiber knew there was a catch, "but the fastest way to unlock your true power would be to take the life of the one who has driven you to this madness." Kiber actually found himself considering it; he tried to shrug off the thought, but it wouldn't help.

"What would I have to do exactly?" he asked.

"Kill Pohn in two days' time, during the night, and then meet me back here in this alley." He began to walk away.

"It's your decision; I will be waiting in this alley for five hours from eight o'clock to one… if you decide to join us, then you will come…" he disappeared into thin air, leaving Kiber to think. His hands were shaking violently and he couldn't move; he was too afraid of what he might do if he made his way back to the temple… and to Pohn…

Two days had passed and it was the middle of the night. The lights from the city illuminated the night sky more than the stars. Kiber had made his decision; he had wished to tell his brother about his encounter with Artumez, but decided it was best not to lest he not change his mind. He had even considered asking Liam to join him, but he knew that would not end properly – Liam was too respected; too good at being a Jedi. Tonight was his date with destiny, a destiny he had forged himself, and Pohn would be the anvil upon which he hammered his blade. He dressed in his black robes and hooked his saber upon his belt; he put his hood up and tightened the cowl on his face, covering his mouth and nose. He turned to the door of his room and breathed through his teeth.

"All you'll ever be," he whispered to himself, "Is a conduit of hatred, unless I destroy you first." He started off down the dark hallway, his heart beating like a drum.

Liam sat up in his bed; he was in a cold sweat and breathing heavy. He could sense a disturbance in the force, and it was strong. He ignored it as best as he could while he tried to get back to sleep; it was far too loud in his head for him to ignore. He swept away his covers and held his head.

Something was wrong, and he needed to know what.

Kiber made his way to the other side of the temple where Pohn's room was, he was really going to do it; this was it, the moment that he would commit that which he had never considered until just two days ago. He came to the boy's door and opened it inch by inch, making sure not to wake him. He crept into the dark room and took out his lightsaber; this was the point of no return. He pondered for a moment, would he want to be a sith? What would that entail? Just as well, this man who had made his life hell was still a man, a living being with a soul, and people who cared about him. Who else would he be hurting – would he be hurting himself? This saber that he held in his cloaked hand was the ticket to power, to a new future that he could actually have some control over. Could he justify murder by pleading that he wanted freedom? Better yet, what was freedom by a sith's definition?

He was lost in thought when Pohn got out of his bed and ignited his own blue saber; Kiber quickly ignited his own weapon and blocked the attack as sparks lit up the room for a split second.

"What are you doing!?" Pohn whispered in a panic.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Kiber said as he noticed his own voice being twisted into a darker song. Kiber knew that he was far more than a match for Pohn. Pohn was too focused on force combat and did not practice with a blade often enough to face Kiber in single combat. Kiber slashed down with his large muscles to throw away Pohn's saber; amazingly it worked. Pohn was sent reeling across the room into his nightstand; he had no time to recover as Kiber cleaved him in half. Before he died the regretful Jedi said: Why, I was never serious? And then his breath left him as he fell to the ground.

That didn't matter to the victim though did it?

"KIBER!" screamed one of the masters that heard the ruckus from across the hallway; he ignited his blue saber. He was a Twi'lek; Kiber did not know his name, but it didn't matter now. Kiber considered turning himself in, but just then a feeling of pure adrenaline and… power, rushed through his every bone. Artumez was right; as he fed his emotions he became more powerful. He wasn't going to give up this kind of power now. Kiber used the force – actually used it – to pick up his victim's lightsaber from across the room and ignited it.

"Stop this!" demanded the Twi'lek. Kiber ignored his order as he screamed like a banshee, flinging himself at the master who blocked his path.

"Why would I stop when there is so much more to achieve?" Kiber said in a gravelly voice. A battle ensued, and even though the master had had numerous years of training under his belt, he made a mistake. He was going easy on Kiber to try and bring him in alive, unaware of the power that this Padawan had now unlocked. He parried the wrong strike at the wrong time, and so Kiber was able to kick his leg out and take his head off. As his tentacled head rolled upon the floor Kiber could barely believe what had just happened. He heard hollers and looked down the hall way. He snapped out of his vengeful bloodlust and it hit him; he had killed somebody innocent.

"Kiber, stop, please!" he could hear the voice of his brother as he ran down the hall towards the scene of the crime. He had his saber ignited and numerous other Jedi were following behind him. Kiber couldn't face his brother, not now. He ran as fast as he could; he even used the force to lighten his step. It was instinctual; he had no idea how he did it at the time, but it was happening. He ran to the other side of the temple and jumped out the window. He slid down the side of the temple's slanted walls and landed at the taxi speeder. He threw a bag of credits at the droid and it input the coordinates for the bar…