In the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Darth Aella fought her way through the Jedi Trials Chamber. Her new lightsaber gripped tightly in her hand. It's hilt was polished black obsidian with Sith runes etched into it. It's blade was blood red, darker even then her Master's. She had poured every ounce of her hate and rage into the formation of the synthetic crystal that powered her blade. The Dark Side had rushed through her as she formed her crystal. And she had channeled it into her crystal, imbuing it with the Dark Side itself.
The latest challenger thrown at her by the Chamber had just fallen after her blade had slid easily through it's back between his shoulder blades. The long dead Sith Lord she had just fought was an expert at Form II, but her power with the Dark Side had defeated it. The sheer power of her attacks through the Force and her use of Sith Sorcery had been its downfall. The same fate had been shared by all the Jedi and Sith she had fought before it.
To any observer, Darth Aella would appear, calm, focused, detached. The only sign of her connection to the Dark Side was the golden yellow glow of her eyes. To a trained Jedi or Sith however, she was a raging storm. On the outside, she rarely lost her composure. Even when deep in the throes of the Dark Side, she exhibited a curious detachment. Rarely visibly displaying any emotion. But on the inside, her emotions raged with all the fierceness of a storm on Dromund Kaas. The waves of her emotions were crashing within her. And she fed off of them. Using her hate to feed her rage. Using her rage to feed her hate. A limitless feedback loop continually increasing her power with the Dark Side.
As she stalked through the Chamber, she smirked to herself. These simulacrums were almost laughably easy for a true disciple of the Dark Side to defeat. Seeing another Jedi ahead of her, she paused. This one was different. Sinking into the Dark Side, she reached out with the Force. This was no simulation. The Jedi in front of her was very real. Apparently, her Master meant for this to be a true life or death test. She carefully gathered the Dark Side to her and weaved a shroud around herself. To anyone looking, she would appear as nothing but a shadow. Watching the Jedi before her, she saw him nervously gripping his lightsaber. His robes were dirty and tattered, torn in multiple places. This Jedi had been captured. And recently by the look of it.
Wondering why he hadn't been sent to Korriban to corrupt to the Dark Side, she buried herself deeply within the Force and sent the merest tendril of energy toward him. Her eyes opened wide at what she felt. He was immensely powerful with the Force, and utterly devoted to the Light. Even after everything he had been subjected to while imprisoned. That was surprising. Most who were captured, whether Jedi or not, showed some signs of despair. But this Jedi, he felt almost resigned to his fate. As if he knew that he was not long for this world, but was determined to remain true to his ideals. She had to admire him. Though he was only a weak Jedi, he was as utterly committed to his cause as she was to hers. He would be a worthy opponent. If she was foolish enough to give him a fair fight.
As she began to weave a Force Spell to crush his mind and rendering him into nothing more than a slobbering fool, he turned toward where she had concealed herself and ignited the green blade of his lightsaber.
The Jedi called to her, "Sith, I can feel you over there. Your "Lord" has sent you here to defile this place. He has sent you to your death. Know this, I am Jedi Knight Qu Rahn. And I offer you a choice: the Dark Side and your destruction. Or the Light and your life. One will lead you to untamed power. But it will also lead to a certain, solitary end. The other leads to a life that is full and rewarding, no matter the years in that life. You must choose." Finishing his speech,he stood ready and prepared to face the Sith.
Darth Aella had to admit, she was impressed. Oh, he was a misguided fool. But he was a committed misguided fool. If she was less devoted to the Sith, or less firm in her own beliefs, he might have swayed her with the power of his convictions. As it was, they only made her pity the fool. She stayed silent, but let a small smile play across her lips. She was going to enjoy this.
Sending her spell toward him, she watched through the Force as it's thin tendrils slipped through the tiniest cracks in his defenses. Moving so slowly and subtly that the Jedi wouldn't notice until too late. She was grateful Lord Sidious had discovered her talent for Sorcery and forced her to develop it. She had rapidly gained a proficiency with the arcane skill. Which was good, as any one who tried to use Sith Sorcery without being fully committed to the Dark Side and the Sith would quickly succumb to their own spells. Just as she thought she was about to succeed, the Jedi seemed to shudder and force himself toward her. Gathering speed and power as he came.
Overcoming her surprise that he had detected her attack, she abandoned the subtle approach and used all her power to force her spell through the cracks she had found in his shields. She knew that this would make the spell less effective as she wouldn't be able to worm it as deeply into his brain, but she needed every advantage she could get. Aware now of the danger, the Jedi Knight tightened his shields. But not before she was able to infect him with her spell. She saw the moment it took effect, as the Jedi stumbled in his charge toward her and became slightly less coordinated in his movements. But he still retained enough control of his abilities that she would have to be careful. The Jedi would still be dangerous.
Launching herself into Form IV, the Ataru style compensating for her slight size and his longer reach, she flew through the air toward the Jedi. Her dark, blood red blade slashing down toward him. The Jedi moving his green blade to block. Their blades crashing against each other, Sith and Jedi fought throughout the chamber. Summoning Force Lightning into her palm, she let it feed up her lightsaber, the lightning wrapping around her blade, snapping out at the Jedi every time their blades met. The burns beginning to take their toll on the Jedi along with her spell. His movements began slowing, becoming more and more uncoordinated. The Jedi soon made a fatal mistake, being but a fraction of a second too slow parrying her strike, her blade slipped past his defenses and in an instant, the Jedi's head was separated from his shoulders. His body stood there for a moment longer before slowly crumpling to the bloodstained floor.
Holding her ready stance, Darth Aella reached out with the Force to feel for more enemies. After a moment, she powered down her lightsaber, clipped it to her belt and dropped to one knee. "What is thy bidding, my Master?"
Approaching his apprentice slowly, Darth Sidious said to her, "Evaluate your performance here, Lord Aella."
"Yes, my Lord." Furrowing her brow while remaining down on her knee, she thought through her entire fight. From the moment she entered the Chamber to the moment she powered down her lightsaber. "It varied Master. I defeated them all, but I faltered against the Jedi at the end. He detected my attack and substantially thwarted it. Against a true Jedi Master I would have failed."
"Good, my apprentice. You have progressed far." Sidious' tone then hardened, "But you have far to go. Your technique was sloppy. You should have been more careful. Against a Jedi like Yoda or Skywalker, you would have been killed almost instantly." At the mention of Skywalker's name, Sidious felt his face constrict into a snarl. The thought of Skywalker still infuriated him. His one mistake. And the one mistake that had cost him dearly.
Turning back to his apprentice, Sidious motioned her to rise and the two Dark Lords of the Sith made their way out of the ruins of the Temple. As they walked, Sidious gave his apprentice her first mission. By the time he finished explaining, Darth Aella had apredatory glint in her eye.
On Tython, Ahsoka Tano sat deep in Meditation. The Council had deemed her ready for her Trials. This time spent in Meditation would be important to her when she entered the Trials Chamber. She would need all her strength and focus. Normally, Anakin, as both her Master and Jedi Battlemaster would be present for them. But these were exceptional times. And the Council, with Anakin's agreement, wished her to take her trials as soon as possible.
She was both excited and nervous. While she had a vague idea of what the Trials would entail, she wasn't completely sure. And neither Anakin nor Obi-wan could help her. As neither of them had gone through the Trials, both having been granted the rank of Jedi Knight through their actions in the field. The Council had offered the same to her as well, but when she had declined to return to the Order, she had declined the offer as well. She kind of regretted that now, she thought ruefully.
The next day, she would be tested as she never had been before. Master Koon was with her in the Meditation Chamber. During this time in Meditation, a Padawan was expected to dive deeper into the Force than they ever had before, so deep that it was not unheard of for Padawans to get lost in the Force and never make it back. Master Koon was there to help guide her back just in case.
In the morning, as she entered the Trials Chamber, all her senses were alive. As the first simulation began, she sank into the Force and leapt into action.
Nejaa Halcyon and his son Valin, along with Master Mundi, had just landed on Corellia. Several covert holocalls between Nejaa and his friend Rostek Horn had finally resulted in this clandestine meeting. The men and women of CorSec were not happy with the Empire. Neither was Corellia as a whole. The Jedi were here to see what aide could be offered between the two groups.
The meetings were expected to last a week or two. In that time, Valin was to work undercover as a CorSec officer partnered with Rostek. For the time that he was here, Valin would go by the name Valin Horn, a cousin of Rostek's. Valin was quickly proving to be an astute investigator. Combining traditional CorSec methods (taught him by his father and Rostek) with subtle use of the Force, he was able to quickly crack several cases. In addition he was able to accomplish his real mission here, to gauge the average Corellians' feelings toward the Empire with several discreet inquiries. Rostek's reports turned out to be completely accurate. Corellia was grating under the Empire. Even their leadership was not happy with the New Order. But they were doing their best to provide enough lip service to the Empire to keep from being totally subjugated.
He also met Nyche. Calling it love at first sight would not be an understatement. He knew as a Jedi, even a Corellian Green Jedi, that he was supposed to keep a tight reign on his emotions. And that was even with the new Code. But he couldn't help but be swept off his feet by her. When the time came to return to Tython, Nyche would be coming with him.
Nejaa and Ki-Adi's trip was also highly productive. CorSec would begin quietly recruiting for the new Alliance Navy. They would send officers and enlisted to the Navy to be trained and train new recruits in turn to expand the Navy while the Jedi would send Master-Padawan pairs to Corellia to work with CorSec and receive training as Investigators. They would also be on the lookout for Force Sensitives. The first group of Officers and enlisted would be joining the fleet in two months.