Chapter 4

Redav slowly woke up in a dark room. He moved his head as he examined his surroundings and, attempting to sit up, he felt pain course through his body. Grunting, he laid back down and began to focus on the Force to free himself, but it was illusive.

"Ah, you're awake, I see," said a voice.

"Who are you? And why have you captured me?" Redav asked with a menacing voice.

His captor chuckled in amusement. "Why? Because I was ordered to do so." He paused before adding, "Jedi!"

"You are mistaken," He told his captor with a stony expression and confident voice. "I am a Sith and fully devoted to the Sith Order," Redav replied.

"I think not," his captor rebuked him as a fingernail trailed Redav's cheek. "However, we can change that." He said as he brought a sliver bladed knife to Redav's bare chest. "Yes, we will."

Anakin left the Council room with a smirk on his face and headed to the cafeteria for mid-day meal. Nev-Kwellen joined him and put his plate of food on a table.

"How did it go?" Nev-Kwellen asked as he took a bite out of a spicy piece of grilled meat.

"As well as could be expected. Darth Dakonda was glaring at me when I left, so I must have been pretty persuasive," Anakin replied with a smirk of satisfaction.

"Good for you. Standing up to Darth Dakonda is not an easy thing to accomplish. The Council will be sure to note that," he replied, giving Anakin a nod in approval. "After they give the verdict, we'll go out and celebrate your victory. I know a little bar that will do nicely."

"I'll look forward to it, Nev-Kwellen," Anakin responded as he bit into a piece of golden-brown fruit.

Darth Seront listened to Anakin talk to a boy as he sat eating at a table across from them. So, the hearing went well for Anakin. Still, I have a bad feeling about this. Looking away from them, he spotted Darth Khunth and his apprentice approaching his table. "So this is your apprentice," Seront remarked, examining Drengin as they sat down at the table.

Khunth nodded. "Darth Seront, this is Drengin. Drengin, this is Darth Seront," Khunth introduced them.

"I'm pleased to meet you," Drengin told Darth Seront and began to eat his food.

/Seront, I'm thinking of telling Drengin about us./ Khunth said through their bond.

/You what? Are you crazy/ Seront screamed.

/Calm down. Besides, we are going to be telling Anakin, too, when the time comes./ Khunth replied smoothly.

/We are not talking about Anakin, we're talking about your apprentice./ Seront replied.

/I don't want to lie about myself to him, Seront. I just can't do it./ Khunth confessed to Seront.

/You tell him and you'll jeopardize this mission, putting our lives – and possibly that of your apprentice – at risk./ Seront said sternly.

"Master, are you going to eat the rest of your Pacins?" Drengin asked.

Khunth stopped talking to Seront and gave a small smile to Drengin, while Seront managed a small chuckle. "Go ahead, eat them," Khunth told him, handing Drengin his plate.

Khunth looked up at Darth Seront and saw the small amusement that had been there fade away, replaced with a cold, rebuking face.

Anakin finished eating and headed to the top of the Temple, where there was a stunning view that was kept hidden from the rest of the Temple. From here, he could see the far off mountain peaks and when the sun set, it offered a magnificent view. Anakin leaned against the edge of the roof as his thoughts drifted to the past...

"I'm not going to hurt you," Garen said gently.

"Why should I trust you? Your kind killed my mother. How do I know that you're not the one who killed her? Or that you plan to kill me?" Anakin blurted out, pain and anger in his tone.

Garen glanced at Maul, whose lips were curled into a snarl, then back at the boy. "You don't," the padawan admitted.

Anakin nodded his head. "Right, so leave us alone!" he commanded, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Garen looked at the boy, sensing the fear in him. "Look, I'll give you my lightsaber to prove that I am trustworthy," he said as he placed his lightsaber on the ground and rolled it to Anakin.

Anakin unhooked the lightsaber from his belt and studied it, deep in thought…

The figure lifted his tattooed head, "I am Maul. I…" he grimaced in pain as he shifted a tiny bit, "I was following someone who claimed he was a Jedi." He held his side as pain shot through his side and his lips released a groan. "He came into this dwelling and I listened in on what was said. He wanted to kill you but your mother got in the way. The Jedi kept saying something about how 'the Chosen One must be destroyed'. I rushed into where the so-called Jedi was, just as he killed your mother."

Maul gave another groan. "We fought a furious battle but he was too strong…I did manage to get him far away from you, but he said that he would be back to complete his mission."

Anakin frowned, his brow crinkling. "My mother said not to trust the Sith."

Maul shook his head from side to side. "She did not know anything about the Sith—she only told you rumors that the 'Jedi' spread."

Anakin's eyes darkened with anger and heartache as he saw his mother's broken body in his mind. "What do I do now?"


"If you come with me and my mentor, we shall make sure you are trained so that you can destroy your mother's murderer," Maul offered as he struggled to stand.

Anakin dropped the spoon and helped Maul to his feet. "I will join the Sith," the nine-year-old vowed. "I will find my mom's murderer."

Holding the Jedi's lightsaber with his left hand he unhooked another lightsaber off of his belt…

"Why can't I use the one I have right now?" Anakin asked his Master.

"I will not put up with you using a weapon of a Jedi. Trophy or not, you are not using it."

Anakin looked up with pleading eyes at his Master. "Can't I just use them both?"

"You 'will' use your new lightsaber, but you will not use the Jedi weapon! Understood?" Darth Dakonda commanded sternly.

Anakin hooked the lightsabers back onto his belt as he continued to ponder a question…

"Anakin, being a Queen does not mean I can sit back in luxury during my whole reign. I have a responsibility to my people and to be there for them."

"It sounds to me like you're wasting your chance of enjoying the pleasures of being a Queen by only focusing on your people." Anakin remarked.

"I suppose it depends on a person's point of view and their beliefs." Amidala responded. "So what about you? What's it like training to be a Sith?" She asked carefully. Something about Anakin made her curious about him.

Anakin bit his lip and frowned, "I haven't started my training yet exactly, but I am ready to begin. Once I am fully trained I will hunt down the Jedi who killed my mother!"

Amidala shifted a bit in her seat as she heard the bitterness in his tone. "I'm sorry for you loss, Anakin," she told him sincerely. "However, are you certain that a Jedi killed your mother? From what I had read about the Jedi, they were the guardians of peace and justice in the universe, before they were defeated by the Sith."

Anakin's face contorted into a scowl, "Well, they aren't now. They killed my mother in cold blood!"

"Anakin the Sith are not to be trusted. They twist the truth and deceive the innocent for their own purposes. I have seen what they can – and could – very well do."

Anakin stood up abruptly and walked to a nearby window. "I don't believe that; they saved me from the Jedi, freed me from slavery, fed me and gave me a place to sleep. They are even going to train me so that I can avenge my mother."

Anakin frowned as his troubled thoughts continued.

Drengin sat on the couch in their quarters while his Master stood looking out one of the windows.

Taking a deep relaxing breath, Khunth turned around to face Drengin. "Drengin, what have you been taught about the Jedi?" he asked.

The question took Drengin by surprise and he hesitated a few seconds before answering. "Well, the Sith and the Jedi fought in what was known as the Great Sith War. The Jedi were defeated and killed off and the Sith took over. The Jedi had dangerous beliefs and ways. They stole children from their homes and brainwashed them. They believed that the Dark Side is dangerous and that any Dark Sider should be destroyed. The Sith know the truth the Jedi were weak, yet dangerous because of their beliefs. The Jedi were the enemy of the Sith and were the cause of the Great Sith War."

Khunth inwardly winced and continued with his questions. "What do you personally think about the Jedi?"

Drengin shrugged his shoulders. "They're our enemies and are merciless to those who dwell in the Dark Side."

"Drengin, I need to tell you something that may be a shock to you." Darth Khunth took another deep relaxing breath. "I'm a Jedi."

Drengin stared at his Master in shock. "No! You're lying. The Jedi are our enemies, and they're dangerous; you can't be one of them! You just can't!" he shouted in denial as he jumped off the couch. "They don't even exist anymore – they were all destroyed!"

Khunth's heart ached at seeing his apprentice's distress, yet the truth was out, and he couldn't back out and say he was kidding. "It is the truth."

Drengin's face had paled considerably, and he stepped to the left a few paces, "You can't be a Jedi and a Sith at the same time. You have to be lying. You must!"

"Drengin, listen to your heart; you know it's true."

Drengin balled his hands into fists and squeezed hard as fear, anger and hurt raced through his heart.

Khunth looked at Drengin, and fear gripped his soul. What if he can't handle it? Would he betray me? Us? "Padawan, please, hear me out."

Confusion and hurt ran across their bond before Drengin blocked it. Troubled, Drengin ran out of their quarters, his eyes brimming with tears as he ran as fast and far away as he could. Occasionally, he looked over his shoulder, half expecting his Master to come after him. He wiped his eyes with his hand and choked back a sob. Why? Reaching a stairwell that led up to the roof of the Temple he made his way up without losing pace.

Khunth didn't move or speak when Drengin left. Concern filled him, yet he did not move to follow the boy. Instead, he sat down on the floor and waited, praying to the Force that he had done the right thing.