Nathrrya and Qui-Gon walked side by side as they made their way through the spaceport towards Watto's shop. The Sith was uneasy.

"I don't like this," she said. "The plan could easily backfire on us."

"You don't think that Anakin can win the race?" Qui-Gon asked, perturbed that the Sith was uneasy. He frowned as the sun glistened on the beads of sweat on his brow.

"No, not at all," she replied. "He'll most certainly win - this I have no doubt about. I'm bothered by Watto. If he becomes too much of a problem… well, I can think of a few ways of making him see our side of things."

"You're talking about the Dark Side," Qui-Gon stated with a disapproving look.

Nathrrya shook her head. "You'd think so, but I don't believe I'd need to resort to that with Watto. Fear is a powerful tool and it has nothing to do with the Dark Side. Make him fear us and as long as he believes it's in his best interest, he'll do what we want." She patted her blaster to make her point.


Watto flew over to the two Force users when Nathrrya and Qui-Gon walked into his shop. Anakin walked behind his master.

"The boy tells me you wanta sponsor him insa race. You can't afford parts. How can you do this? Not on Republic credits, I think." Watto laughed.

"My ship will be the entry fee." Qui-Gon said as he produced a small holo of the ship to show the junk dealer.

"Not bad... not bad... a Nubian." Watto said thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"It's in good order, except for the parts we need."

"But what would the boy ride?" Watto asked. "He smashed up my Pod in the last race. It will take some time to fix it."

Qui-Gon smiled "I have... acquired a Pod in a game of chance. 'The fastest ever built'."

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it." Watto laughed at his own bad joke. "So, you supply the Pod and the entry fee; I supply the boy. We split the winnings fifty-fifty, I think."

"Fifty-fifty!?" Qui-Gon asked not at all pleased. "If it's going to be fifty-fifty, I suggest you front the credits for the entry. If we win, you keep the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need... If we lose, you keep my ship." Watto seemed to be considering the offer. Qui-Gon opened his arms gesturing to the deal. "Either way, you win."

"Deal!" Watto exclaimed, agreeing to the terms. Qui-Gon reached out his hand to shake and Watto slapped the Force user's palm in agreement to the deal. He turned to Anakin then. "Your friend is a foolish one, me thinks."

Nathrrya caught the comment and smirked. "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" She grinned at the shop owner before following Master Jinn out of the door.


Nathrrya and Qui-Gon were standing on the back porch of the Skywalker hovel. Below them in the courtyard they could see Anakin tinkering with his Pod along with Artoo and some of his friends.

"What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here for a long time." Obi-Wan's voice came through Qui-Gon's commlink and there was an obvious note of concern when listening to the Padawan.

"A ship without a power supply will get us nowhere," the master said. "And there is something about this boy..."

Obi-Wan groaned "Please tell me you're not bringing back another pathetic life form, Master. We already have one of those."

Nathrrya chuckled at Obi-Wan's referral to the Gungan. "We may well be Obi-Wan. However, there is something unusual about the boy."

"We have to go my Padawan, Anakin's mother is coming." Qui-Gon closed the connection and had just put the commlink away as Shmi came onto the porch.

"You should be proud of your son. He gives without any thought of reward." The Jedi Master remarked looking down at the boy.

Shmi smiled. "He knows nothing of greed. He has..."

"He has special powers." Qui-Gon finished.

"Yes..."

Qui-Gon nodded. "He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait."

Nathrrya had been leaning against the wall of the hovel when she picked up on what Qui-Gon was saying to Shmi. She glanced over to him and raised her eyebrow. Qui-Gon… what are you doing? she thought to herself.

"He deserves better than a slave's life," Shmi said sadly as she looked down at her son.

"The Force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear. Who was his father?" Qui-Gon asked.

"There was no father that I know of... I carried him, I gave him birth... I can't explain what happened. Can you help him?" Shmi asked though it was clear the subject was an awkward one.

That you know of? Nathrrya inwardly snorted. Lady, you either did it with someone or you didn't. She rolled her eyes but remained quiet.

"I'm afraid not. Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early, and he would have become Jedi, no doubt...he has the way. But it's too late for him now, he's too old." Qui-Gon replied.

The Sith ground her teeth but held her tongue despite having a few choice words for the Jedi Master. She waited until they finished their conversation and Shmi had disappeared back inside the hovel and out of earshot. She glared at the Jedi and he looked back at her, the expression on his face clearly asking what her problem had to be now.

"Are you saying that your Order still has that laser-brained idea of kidnapping younglings from their families?" She couldn't believe the idea of it, her question betrayed her annoyance and disbelief of the concept.

"It's not kidnapping," Qui-Gon defended. "The Jedi just recruit at a young age, that's all."

Nathrrya rolled her eyes at the man and kicked herself off the wall to face him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Right… sure. But no matter how you dissect it, it's still kidnapping, Master Jedi." The fury was building. "And what happens to them when they… what was it? When they turn thirteen and a master or a Knight hasn't chosen them? Huh? What happens, Qui-Gon? They get shipped off to some agro world and have their dreams crushed? I'm sorry, but I'm surprised that there aren't more fallen Jedi or Jedi-turned-Sith around here if the Order treats their recruits like that, especially if they're so precious to you."

Qui-Gon responded with a thunderous expression, his own fury going through his eyes. Nathrrya felt the wave in the Force around the man but she was defiant and held her ground. "Don't you dare mock the Jedi Order for the Jedi way of life, Sith."

She only smirked and took a good grip on the vibro-knife she had inserted into the man's pride. She was going to twist it and then pull it out in a flourish. "Anakin is the perfect age to start Sith training. Now that I think about it, it's been far too long since I've taken an apprentice. He might even go for it when he finds out from the Jedi council that he's 'too old', don't you think?" She smirked and then it turned into an evil grin. She let a little bit of the Dark Side flutter around her and it touched the Jedi, startling him just a little bit.

"You wouldn't dare…" Nathrrya's tactics had worked, she was now officially under the Jedi Master's skin. Luckily enough for him she had no intention of taking the boy as her apprentice. She certainly had no intent to train the kid, either, though she was enjoying the sudden discomfort displayed by the Jedi Master.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" she asked sweetly. "I'm Sith. I'd be a daft fool if I passed Anakin by. But if I were you, Master Jedi, I would be far more worried if Sidious discovered him… or his apprentice."

That last thing was a sobering statement. It paused the Jedi and made him consider the truth in her words. "Yes… Darth Sidious is the real enemy."

"Yes, he is." She calmed herself and her demeanour changed. "I'm sorry - I may have poked a little further than I had meant to but it was damn good fun to see your reactions."

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean, Nathrrya?"

The Sith shrugged her shoulders. "I was trying to get you to see just how flawed the Jedi way is in training their apprentices. I don't see it being totally wrong, just flawed. And before you say anything, yes, I'm aware of how flawed the Sith way of doing things is as well. I went through it… and I managed to keep my sanity in the end." She paused, her mind running over that whole period she spent in the tombs on Korriban and her first missions as her master's apprentice on the Sith capital of Dromund Kaas. "There shouldn't have to be an age limit for starting Force training," she added. "I didn't get to the Sith Academy until I was thirty-five."

"You didn't?" Qui-Gon asked truly surprised.

"I can thank my parents for that. My force abilities didn't manifest until I was fifteen." she said, smiling. "They didn't want to see their baby girl turned into a monster… and their fear was not without foundation. While they were both Force sensitive they weren't strong in it. They both came from families that were known to have Force-strong children. I just happened to be the unlucky one and got the full brunt of the power from both families. I was born in Imperial Space, so I was destined for the Sith Academy sooner or later." What she said was mostly true; it had been her Sith grandparents that were responsible for her late entry to Korriban. Not that she had any intention if telling the Jedi about that facet of her family history anytime soon.

"Are you saying you come from a line of Sith?" the Jedi Master asked with a frown.

Nathrrya shook her head, a slight smile on her face. She did, thanks to her mother but she was keeping that to herself. "No, just the opposite in fact. As far as I'm aware I'm the only Sith... the black Nerf of the family." There was a hint of pride in her voice. Nathrrya becoming Sith may have been a case of cosmic bad luck, or the will of the Force. She wore the dubious honour with pride... so she could stick to the more traditional members of her Jedi family. Her cousin, Force bless him, had never been like that and considering who he'd ended up with, it was just as well.

"You're descended from Jedi?" he asked, shocked to the core.

The smile Nathrrya gave the Jedi Master could be considered evil, for the Sith was enjoying herself far, far too much. "Not only descended from but also related to - my cousin was a notable Jedi Knight. I'm not sure if your archives go that far back, but if they do they might even have archives of him and the Padawan he helped to train. He had the title of Hero of Tython and the honour of being the Slayer of the Sith Emperor."

The pride and admiration she held for her cousin was very evident in her voice and this was surprising to the Jedi Master. But then her demeanour changed suddenly. It wasn't as happy or carefree the way she was about her relative. "If the Sith had ever discovered my Jedi lineage, they would have executed me without a second thought." She sighed, again it was mostly true as if enemies of her Sith family had ever discovered the truth it would not have ended well. She looked down at Anakin and saw him still tinkering with his Pod racer. "Shall we go and see if that mobile death-trap of his actually works?"


In the Jedi Temple on Coruscant Cin Drallig, Battlemaster of the Jedi Order sat with a thoughtful expression on his face as he ate lunch in one of the temple dining halls. The past several days had seen him go over the short conversation he'd had with the mysterious Jedi, Nathrrya. The more that Cin had gone over what the woman had said and how she had said it, he had concluded that Nathrrya was no Jedi but if she wasn't a member of the Order then what was she?

Cin look up as he heard someone sit opposite him. "Mace, what can you tell me about Nathrrya?" he asked.

"Not as much as I would like." The Council master admitted "What makes you ask?"

"I've been going over the conversation I had with her when she repaired her lightsabre and it was more how she spoke about the Jedi Order that makes me think she isn't a Jedi." Cin explained "There's more, she's seen real combat not just sparing matches. When she ran through some katas, her movements were always the most economical to preserve her strength and stamina. I do teach such things but she did it without thinking about it."

Mace nodded slowly "A battle reflex?"

"That'd be my guess." The Battlemaster agreed "Perhaps the most concerning thing of all was when Nathrrya threw her lightsabre at one of the training dummies. She took its head clean off. It was a deliberate kill move. Her throw did what she intended it to do."

"That is... disturbing." Mace said with a frown. "So, if you believe Nathrrya isn't a Jedi then...?"

Cin shrugged. "That's the one thing I haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory answer to. The obvious and horribly cliché answer is to say Sith..." he shook his head "but that doesn't feel right."

Mace rubbed his chin thoughtfully "What colour was her lightsabre?"

Cin grinned. "Violet, same as yours."


Anakin was sitting on the balcony rail of the hovel he called home as Qui-Gon tended to a cut on his arm. As it was evening and Anakin had leaned back to look at the vast blanket of stars in the sky - something he was prone to do when he had the chance.

"Sit still, Ani. Let me clean this cut." The Jedi master admonished lightly.

"There are so many!" Anakin said looking up at the field of stars. "Do they all have a system of planets?"

"Most of them." Nathrrya's voice floated gently from the far corner of the balcony.

Both males startled slightly as they had forgotten she was there. The Sith was good at going unnoticed when she wished to.

"Has anyone been to them all?" Anakin asked after a few moments, looking back up at them.

"Not likely." Qui-Gon said with a chuckle.

"I want to be the first one to see them all." Anakin said wishfully.

"There, good as new." Qui-Gon said with a smile as he finished tending to the boy's injury. He had also taken a small sample of blood without Anakin's notice but from her corner, the Sith had seen the sleight of hand. Nathrrya frowned wondering what the Jedi Master was up to. "One day you may get your wish. Do you remember the dream you had about being a Jedi?"

Anakin nodded. "Yeah, but it's just a dream."

"Sometimes dreams can be a glimpse into the future but only those who can touch the Force are able to achieve such things Anakin." Qui-Gon explained. "I believe it was no ordinary dream but an indication of what your life could be."

The boy frowned. "The Force?"

Qui-Gon was unsure as to how to explain it in a way that Anakin would understand.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi their power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." Nathrrya spoke up. "At least that's how it was once explained to me."

"And I, have it?" Anakin asked.

"You have the raw ability to use the Force. You already do to some degree that is why you can race pods." Qui-Gon said.

The boy nodded slowly his gaze turning to the dark corner of the balcony where he knew Nathrrya was leaning against the wall. "You can use the Force too."

There was an intake of breath as Nathrrya moved into the light from the open doorway. "What makes you say that Anakin?" she asked curiously.

The boy shrugged. "I've always had this inner voice. When we were alone at Watto's it told me while you could be extremely dangerous that I needn't worry as I was safe with you."

"Ani, bedtime!" Shmi called from inside the hovel.

"But there's more when I look at Qui-Gon it looks as if he's surrounded by light." Anakin explained "You're surrounded by light too but it's much darker, not in a bad way, just darker."

"Ani! I'm not going to tell you again!" Shmi called for a second time.

"Go on, you have a big day tomorrow." Qui-Gon urged. "Goodnight." the boy hurried inside.

Both the Jedi and the Sith stood side by side as they watched the door close behind Anakin. They looked at each other contemplating what had just occurred. It shouldn't have been possible for the boy to do what he just had. Anakin had been able to read their Force signatures. Unless...

"You think Anakin is the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy, don't you?" Nathrrya asked bluntly.

Qui-Gon was going to ask how she knew such a thing but the question died before he even asked. Her cousin who had been a Jedi so he was the likely source of her knowledge. The Jedi Master nodded as he took the blood sample and inserted it into his commlink, then he called Obi-Wan.

"Obi-Wan..." said Qui-Gon waiting for his Padawan to answer.

"Yes, Master?"

"Make an analysis of this blood sample I'm sending you." Qui-Gon noticed Nathrrya had a question in her eyes. "I need a midi-chlorian count."

The Sith looked totally baffled by this. "What in the Living Force does a midi-chlorian blood test have to do with Anakin's strength in the Force?" she asked clearly confused. What kind of messed up galaxy have I woken up in?

"Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life form that resides within all living cells. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force." Obi-Wan replied through the commlink.

The Sith blinked, once, twice then she facepalmed. "Living Force, you Jedi have clearly lost the knowledge of what Midi-chlorians are!" she cried in utter disbelief. "As that's the biggest load of Bantha poo-doo I've ever heard! Whoever the kriff came up with that needs a blaster put to their head." She snorted "Midi-chlorians are indeed bacteria and they are only attracted to those with the Force but that's all they are. Also, some species have a body chemistry that's toxic to Midi-chlorians and while they can have Force sensitivity they'll have almost no Midi-chlorians. Hell, I knew a human Sith, Darth Nox was her name and she had a well below average Midi-chlorian count but weak in the Force she most certainly was not."

Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were stunned into silence as their view of Midi-chlorians and by extension the Force had just been turned upside down and inside out by a woman who openly admitted to being Sith but who also should not be alive. The most perplexing thing for the Jedi Master was that he sensed no deception in Nathrrya's words. Her baffled reaction to the blood test and Obi-Wan's expiation were genuine and she truly believed what she'd told them.

"This is one debate I'm ill equipped for." Obi-Wan said at last. "Goodnight, Master, Nathrrya." The commlink fell silent.

"I can't believe I'm even suggesting this but do you want me to test Anakin?" Nathrrya asked "There's a Force technique called the Ritual of Force Potential and as the name suggests it's used to gauge the Force Potential of someone who is being considered for training. Both the Sith and the Jedi used it, it was as common as the lightsabre."

"I will consider the possibility." Qui-Gon said as he regarded the woman before him. Once they returned to the Jedi Temple he would have to speak to Master Yoda about what Nathrrya had said in regards to Midi-chlorians. "It's said that the Chosen One will bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith."

The Sith in question snorted. "If you're trying to scare me, Jedi, you're doing a poor job of it. The prophecy I'm familiar with only says that the Chosen One will bring balance to the Force. It's never clear how it would be done or what it actually meant." Nathrrya eyed the Jedi Master for a moment, regarding him as he did her. "The part about destroying the Sith must have been added after my time. The thing that bothers me most about the boy is the fact his Force signature is so pure - there's not one speck of darkness to be found in him. Given where and how he lives, I'd have expected some."

"You're worried he's pure light?" Qui-Gon asked, surprised.

Nathrrya shook her head, her brow furrowed. "Not really. Everyone who is Force-sensitive has the Dark within them; Sith, Jedi… even you. I can see it and I can sense it because I can see it within myself. Hell, even my cousin had a bit of the Dark Side as well. Neither the Dark Side nor the Light Side can exist without the other. But the boy… there is no Dark."

"Qui-Gon, can you imagine what would happen if Sidious gets his hands on the child? The damage that can be wrought?" Nathrrya shuddered. It wasn't for dramatic performance but the through truly worried her beyond all reasonable doubt.

"I can." Qui-Gon replied grimly. "But what do we do?"

"What can we do?" Nathrrya asked sadly. "The boy's a slave."


A/N: In case you missed it I utterly despise the idea of Midi-chlorians. :)