It had been seven years since Mordivai had last set foot on Korriban. The bronze cliffs and red sands were familiar to him from his many visits here as a child. He had been born here in fact, at his mother's family estate, announced to the world with a welcoming party attended by all the prominent Sith lords. He was heir to a long and proud legacy of Sith going back generations, his success assumed and assured. Did his parents still look for him? Had they given him up for dead? He was a foreign blot on this forbidding landscape now, his breathing the only sound in the desert's lonely silence. His boots kicked up puffs of dust as he trudged through the valley, and he scanned for patches of shade. The sun's pounding heat could easily overwhelm a traveler, he knew, and it was best to conserve what energy he could. He decided his best course of action was to wait out the daylight and travel instead during the hours of dusk and dawn, and perhaps find some snatches of sleep in between.

The day was mostly uneventful. Once, he spotted another acolyte on a ledge far below him, eating some rations, and a few times he spotted wraid herds loping about in the distance. He made good strides as the sun was dropping beyond the far ridge, taking advantage of the cooler air and shade to expend some energy, and by the time the darkness began to make his steps too treacherous to see, he had found a short, dry enclosure among a crumbled rock formation. With no glowrod, he didn't want to risk trying to travel at night, and he knew that some of Korriban's more viscous creatures were nocturnal. He settled into his tiny cave, had a small bit to eat and drink, and then tried to get some sleep.

He was awoken a short time later by a snuffling around the mouth of his hiding spot. He reached out with the Force and touched a dull mind, vaguely curious and not immediately hostile. Still, he knew of very few creatures that were truly docile here, so he decided to act with caution. When the creature began to creep too close, he was forced to chase it away, yelling and waving his vibroblade, and thankfully, it bounded off, too startled to put up a fight. Mordivai guessed that he had been a Tuk'ata and was grateful that it had not been hungry.

He had a harder time falling asleep after that, especially since his face where Harkun had hit him had begun to ache, but eventually he succumbed to a fitful doze. He was awoken again by a scream tearing through the night air, high-pitched and ragged. He sat up fast enough to slam his head against the low ceiling and crawled to the entrance to listen. The screaming continued, tortuous and prolonged, no longer cries of fright now, but of pain. Mordivai's heart thudded against his ribs, wishing for the assault to be over. He heard no other sounds, no growling, and the silence of the other attacker made the whole situation that much more disturbing. Was one acolyte attacking another? Was it a beast attack? He could only be sure of one thing, and that was that one less acolyte would be making it to the academy tomorrow.

The night had dragged on further when he was awoken for a third time by the sound of skittering pebbles close by. He froze, all senses on alert. This was no beast. He could sense a hazy and indistinct Force signature, the sign of an untrained Force-user. He grabbed his vibroblade and slipped out of his hiding place.

The desert had transformed into a different place at night. It was chilly and alive with sounds. A breeze had kicked up, whistling through a nearby canyon, and night insects gathered in pockets of iridescent light, moving slowly like amorphous clouds through the valley below. Mordivai gripped the hilt of his vibroblade and scanned the area for signs of life.

There was a flicker of movement to his right, close to him, too close, and he struck out at it with a low kick. He hit his mark, toppling the intruder, who landed in the dirt with a thud. Mordivai held the body under his boot and swung his vibroblade close.

"Wait!" cried a female voice. In the dim light, he saw a human shape waving her hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender. "I mean you no harm! You're the Jedi, aren't you?"

Mordivai released his foot, but kept the vibroblade out before him.

"I am. What do you want?"

"I just...I thought I'd be safer near you...after that...that horrible screaming, you know. I didn't mean to bother you. I was just going to sleep out here."

"You shouldn't have snuck up on me like that."

"I know. I'm sorry. Look, I have a glow rod. Can I get it out?" She sat up slowly and fished into a pocket. A moment later, a pale green light emitted from her hands, casting the ground in a sickly glow. Mordivai recognized her immediately as the acolyte who had complained about getting no water. He felt no hostility coming from her, only apprehension. He lowered his blade.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Kory."

"Mordivai. Let's get inside. We shouldn't stay out here."

He led her into his tiny cave, more like a crawl space really, and she lay down by the far wall, staring at him with what Mordivai guessed was a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"You want some water?" He had been carefully rationing his water supply, but after a long day in the dry desert, he knew this girl needed it now much more than he did.

"Oh stars, yes." She snatched it out of his hand and began guzzling. Finally, she gasped and wiped her chin. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to drink any more. Here, you should take this back."

There was a dark stain slowly pooling under her arm. This was a bad sign. An open wound could attract all sorts of predators.

"You're hurt." He reached for his med kit and tossed her a tiny vial of Kolto gel and a small packet of bandages.

"I know. Tuk'ata got me. Or tried to anyway."

"That wasn't you though, earlier?"

"The screaming? Oh no. This happened earlier in the day. I don't know what that screaming was. It sure was awful." She quieted, occupying herself with bandaging her forearm. When Mordivai saw that she had finished wrapping, he crawled a bit closer.

"I can secure that for you."

"Thanks."

Up close, he could see that Kory looked young and had reddish hair a shade lighter than his. A scar crossed her face from one side to the other, dividing it in a diagonal. It was faint now, obviously an old wound. He was reminded then of Zayla the way he had last seen her, with her face bandaged in the Kolto tank. He finished tying and crept back to his spot on the floor.

"You should try and sleep. As soon as the sun rises, we need to get moving again."

"I can travel with you then? Oh, stars, thank you so much."

"Actually, Harkun's little experiment would have backfired on him if only all of us had banded together from the start. But I guess cooperation isn't a Sith trait."

Kory yawned and flopped back against the dirt. "Well, he can't kill us all, can he?" She closed her eyes, appearing not to expect a response.

Mordivai didn't feel confident about this girl's future on Korriban. She was too open, too trusting, and her Force powers felt weak and unkindled. A protective instinct made Mordivai want to help her, however. She didn't deserve to be here and he hoped that somehow she would find a way to survive.

The next morning, Mordivai set out again with Kory. He was tired and stiff, and thirsty now too. His eye had swollen shut, disrupting his depth perception, which he assumed had been Harkun's intent all along. Kory was obviously favoring her sword arm and the blood was beginning to soak through the bandage. She kept pace with him without complaint, but he knew she was hurting and that the wound needed stitching. Of course the med kit had been devoid of painkillers.

They encountered a few Shyracks once when passing under a dark overhang, and Mordivai dispatched them with relatively minor effort. Kory appeared to have some rudimentary skill in Force manipulation, and was able to take the largest Shyrack out of the fight in a bubble of Force stasis while Mordivai took care of the rest.

They were forced to travel through midday. Time was slipping away and Mordivai began to fear that if they didn't make it by tonight, their chance of survival in the desert would drop significantly. He pushed them hard those last few hours, and at last they were rewarded by the sight of two huge sandstone statues in the distance. The Academy.

A few hours later, Mordivai stood in Harkun's office with four other acolytes, all that remained of their cadre of new recruits. With Mordivai were two men, one whom he recognized as being the former slave, and one other woman besides Kory, who he also recalled as the acolyte who had so gleefully snatched the last glowrod from under him. Mordivai was barely listening to the drivel of insults and discouragement coming from Harkun, when a new figure entered.

"Ah, Ffon, here you are."

The robed newcomer, a Sith Pureblood, came and stood at Harkun's side.

"Now, this is what a real Sith looks like," Harkun said. "Ffon is clearly not the equal of any you, but if you try you may become half the Sith he is. He has been groomed for this role from birth and is a proper Sith in both talent and bloodline. Nothing like you sorry lot. Former Jedi and even slaves!" Harkun wrinkled his nose. "It disgusts me that the Academy has fallen so low as to call you all acolytes alongside Ffon."

Mordivai was keenly aware of Kory standing next to him, her Force presence fading in and out. Her bandage was openly soaked now, but Harken had made no move to get her medical care or even allow her to sit. She weaved on her feet, blinking and wincing, her face sallow and slick with sweat. Her pain distracted Mordivai and made his dislike of Harkun stronger by the minute.

Harkun dismissed Ffon, whose only purpose at this meeting apparently had been to highlight the rest of their failures. "So, first item of business," Harkun continued, "is to weed out the pathetic from the capable. Kory, step forward."

Kory wavered on her feet, but managed to approach Harkun while remaining upright.

"You are a weak excuse for a sentient being and never should have survived the desert trek here."

Lightning shot from Harkun's fingertips, and Kory was engulfed in a flash of dark side power. She let out a strangled cry, jerked briefly and then collapsed to the ground. Still, Harkun continued his barrage of lightning long past the stage when she had fallen still, only relenting when her death was assured. Mordivai looked up from her body, stunned, and saw Harkun watching him, the faintest smile playing across his face.

"Keep that in mind before you take on any more pet projects, Jedi. You do not do anyone any favors by indulging such weakness."

00o00

Mordivai was was left to muddle his way through the the hallways of Korriban, where eventually he found a med center, a cafeteria and the dormitories. He was not assigned a room, but neither were any of the other acolytes. In the end it was a free-for-all turf war. The bedroom doors only locked from the inside, and Mordivai discovered that if he wanted any privacy or ownership over his space, he needed to defend his room choice from hostile take-overs.

At night he bolted the door and during the day he sealed it with a ring of Force power. Neither method was strong enough to deter a truly determined intruder, but it marked the room with his signature and declared it as taken, and Mordivai hoped that would be enough. He learned this the hard way when his med kit was stolen from his room on the second day, and also when he discovered an unwelcome visitor.

He recognized her as Rabinya, the one female acolyte left from his original cohort. She was the only person among them who acted genuinely pleased to be at Korriban. Mordivai had heard that she had been a destitute street urchin before her Force sensitivity was discovered, and for her the academy must have felt like a step up in the world. She was hungry for power and eager to prove herself. Mordivai suspected her as the thief of his med kit.

He expected to find her sniffing about for more things to filch, but instead he walked in to see her lounging comfortably on his bed.

"What are doing here?" He stopped in the center of the room.

"Mordivai, right? You're the Jedi."

Mordivai gave a begrudging nod of acknowledgement, already displeased that she had avoided answering his question.

"I'm Rabinya." She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Korriban must be tough for you."

The last thing Mordivai wanted from his fellow acolytes was sympathy. He said nothing. If she was trying to trap him into something, she wasn't going to get it.

She slid off the bed and slunk towards him. "I can only imagine how your life must have been before coming here. So many rules, so many restrictions." She tossed her head and rolled her eyes, affecting exasperation. She was standing close now, so close that Mordivai could see the intricate weavings on her long braided hair. "But now you are finally free to do whatever you want."

She pulled the end of her braid over her shoulder, fingering it absentmindedly while her dark eyes caught his. "We don't have to be at odds you know. I can help you."

"I doubt that."

"We can be friends, or maybe even more than friends."

"I'm not interested in making friends, of any kind."

"Aren't you the least bit curious? About what you've been missing? About all the freedoms you could enjoy as a Sith?"

She touched a finger to his chest drew it down towards his stomach. Mordivai stepped backwards.

Mordivai's mother had taken particular pride in the fact that she had turned several Jedi in her lifetime. Gatten would have called it "corruption," but his mother called it "freedom." This acolyte though, she was a mockery of a Sith. Mordivai had no doubt that her amateurish attempt to seduce him was nothing more than an opportunity for her to secure bragging rights on having been the first to corrupt the resident Jedi.

This is exactly what the overseers wanted; for the acolytes to turn on each other and weed themselves out of the Academy. Rabinya was merely a slave to their manipulation.

"You shouldn't have bothered coming here," Mordivai said. "You talk of freedom but you know nothing about what it means to be Sith."

She laughed. "And you do? Tell me, Jedi, what does it 'mean to be Sith?'"

Mordivai closed his mouth. He had no plans to give away his identity here. News of his becoming a Jedi would bring great shame upon his family and he did not want them to suffer. Perhaps his parents were misguided, or ignorant of the light, but they were not evil.

He went to the door and opened it. "I want you to leave now."

"You're making a mistake," Rabinya said. "You may regret turning away a potential ally."

He held the door open. She gave him a lingering look and sauntered out.

The next day, he came back to his room to find a different acolyte waiting for him, this one leaning on the wall outside his door.

"Wydr," Mordivai said. "Or is it Balek?" Wydr and Balek were twin brothers. They would have looked identical except for the fact that one of them had skin tanned brown from the sun, while the other was much paler. This was the pale one, but Mordivai still wasn't sure which name belonged to whom.

"Balek," the acolyte answered. Mordivai had already pegged the tan one, Wydr then, as being the more dim-witted, while this one had a cunning look in his eye. Still, Mordivai expected he was simply another form of brute, the kind that frequently assumed his build and bulk could easily overpower someone of Mordivai's stature. Mordivai looked forward to proving him wrong.

Balek pushed away from the wall and stood in front of Mordivai's door, blocking entry. Mordivai stopped in front of him and met his gaze square on, ready for the challenge. Acolytes were not supposed to duel outside the practice ring, but Mordivai had already heard of some acolytes inexplicably going missing, and the Sith lords in charge enforced the safety rules sporadically at best.

Balek was not adopting the threatening stance of someone asking for a confrontation, however. Instead he gave Mordivai a sly smile and slid his hand along the door frame, leaning against it with an almost casual air.

"Rabinya tells me that she visited you yesterday."

"I don't care for visitors."

"She says you refused her. I told her that maybe you just didn't have the right kind of persuasion."

Now Mordivai understood where this was going. "You all can quit your little game. I'm not going to play."

Mordivai sent a trickle of Force power to the door, unsealing it, and it popped open. Balek was forced to catch himself before he fell backwards into the room.

"I heard you were a slave too. Is it true?" Balek asked. "My brother and I were slaves as well. Wydr was a laborer, but I was...a different kind of slave."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Mordivai said flatly. He pushed his way past Balek and into the room. When he tried to close the door though, Balek blocked it, pushing his foot along the floor.

"I'm good at what I do. Perhaps you'll reconsider."

"I would have thought that you'd be eager to put that life behind you."

Balek shrugged. "No use in wasting hard earned skills, is there?"

"I used to sort through ancient Sith refuse piles. That doesn't mean that I have the desire to go wade through trash compactors now."

Balek actually chuckled. "I like you, Jedi. Let me tell you something. You are making your life here needlessly difficult. Get off your high throne and come join the rest of us."

"And you all are just one happy family, right? Rabinya would kill you in Corellian minute if she got the chance. Ffon would need even less time."

Balek sighed and straightened, removing his body from the door. "None of us stand a chance against Ffon. But I'd bet my cards on you any day. Harkun knows it. We all know it. Ffon knows it too." He backed away. "Watch your back, Mordivai."

It was a warning, not a threat. Mordivai gave Balek a respectful nod.

"I am always watching," Mordivai said.

A/N: Balek, Wydr and Kory you may recognize as three of the acolytes you start off with in your group at the beginning of the inquisitor story. Balek and Wydr are the twins that try to kill you in the training room, and Kory was killed early on. Rabinya is my creation. And I'm sure we all remember Ffon...