24BBY, Mandalorian System

The Malevolence was almost invisible against the black of the universal abyss. After a day of traveling without warp speed, Nix, her Father and their clansmen had arrived at the Ship commandeered by the man known as Count Dooku.

Nix had no idea what to expect from this person. Who was he? He had to be someone of substantial influence to convince Pre Visla and her Father to temporarily abandon all progress in taking back Mandalore for a simple merc contract. And anytime her Father talked about him, it was not without the utmost respect.

Their shuttle floated up next to a docking port, and soon they were connected to the side of the Malevolence.

"Unlock the cryo pod, and lets go." Her Father commanded the other Mandalorians with ease. The shuttle bay door opened up, and their group started through the Malevolence, the cryo pod hovering alongside them.

Nix noticed the lack of color. Everything was colored either a jet black, or a carbon steel gray. It seemed as if Count Dooku preferred practicality over design, and she liked that. Following the lead of her Father, it seemed as if he had been through this pathway plenty of times. Had he worked with Count Dooku before, without informing her of it? How well did she know her Father?

As they passed through hallways, the guards let them pass with salutes to her Father. To Nix, that meant they knew who he was. Did they know him through Count Dooku, or was her Father's status that renowned? She was growing to be more suspicious of the situation, looking to her Father for any sign of what was really going on. His face gave nothing away, always the Stoic.

Before she could think through their situation any further, they entered the bridge. She didn't realize it when their shuttle pulled alongside the ship, but the viewing windows on the bridge looked out over her home moon of Concordia. They were some distance away, with their system's star on the other side of her, casting a crescent of light along the horizon. It was peaceful.

"Welcome, Ronox Ordo. And this must be your daughter, Nix Ordo." A man dressed in dark brown robes, with white hair and a full beard addressed her and her Father. She rightly assumed that this must be the Count. He studied her for a second, as if measuring her potential.

What drew in Nix's attention wasn't him exactly, it was the young woman standing behind him. She closely resembled Nix's own Mother, and the sudden thought of her caught her off guard. This woman had pale gray skin, with silver-blue eyes. Although her Mother had long red-violet hair, the woman standing in front of her was clean shaven and tattooed. Nix did not feel any of the warm feelings from her that her Mother had always exuded. There was a flash of happy memories, running through fields of flowers on Concordia with her Mom. And then suddenly she saw the spear through her Mother's chest, a flash of agony, and then nothing.

She realized she hadn't thought of her Mother in a very long time.

Count Dooku narrowed his eyes at Nix as if he sensed her sudden unstable emotional state, then spoke again. "You both live up to the legacy of your ancestors. Let me see the body."

The warriors that helped her assassinate him were the same ones that guided the cryo pod on its way to the bridge. They brought him forward, and Nix swore she saw a flash of regret as Count Dooku gazed upon the man. Almost as if he was looking upon someone he once considered a friend.

"Now, we need to discuss some important matters, other than payment of course." Her Father spoke directly to Dooku.

"Ah yes, you will receive your payment in full, as promised, along with supplies for your cause. So as long as you follow through on your word to overthrow the New Mandalorian Government and swear loyalty to me, and the Separatist Alliance."

Nix had a hard time believing her Father would bow down to anyone after receiving the mantle of Mandalore. Regardless, her Father gave him a curt nod as if to agree.

"And you, young one. What are your aspirations?" This time, Count Dooku addressed only her. She actually hadn't put much thought into this. If her Father were to assume the title of Mandalore, she would help him do so, and possibly one day follow in his footsteps.

Sensing a hesitation, her Father answered. "The Force has manifested within her, as you foresaw."

"As they must have, having the ability to assassinate a former Jedi Master-even in a comatose state."

A Jedi? No wonder he was able to mentally paralyze her and her men. She still didn't quite understand what had transpired. But Dooku knew what they had walked into, and it sounded like her Father was in on it too. Rage built inside her. She couldn't trust her Father when she needed to be able to.

"What are you getting at?" Nix inquired, a little coldly.

Count Dooku looked at her, seemingly...impressed? "I would like to teach you the Dark ways of The Force along with my other pupil, Asajj Ventress." He extended his arm toward the woman standing behind him. "When the time comes, the two of you will face each other for the title of my Sith apprentice."

There was that word again, Sith. Nix took one hard look at the young woman, and immediately set in her mind that she was her competition. She had to best this woman, and the thought of honing the power she demonstrated earlier excited her. Asajj regarded her with a similar cold gaze.

Nix smiled, without any warmth reaching her face. "I accept."

22BBY, Serreno

Two Galactic standard years into their training, Nix had become very adept at lightsaber combat, and carried two of her very own red bladed sabers. Count Dooku had trained them both under the same dual lightsaber fighting style-Makashi, form II; a strategic move to ensure they would be completely matched when it came down to dueling each other.

He had also taught them in the ways of Sith meditation, and honing the Dark Side of The Force for their own bidding. Asajj excelled at Force Telekinesis, and was adept at using mind tricks. Nix used The Force differently, greatly enhancing her strength and speed, and she was well versed in calming humans and taming beasts-and enraging them. The latter wasn't of much help in combat, so Nix relied on the fact that she was a superior duelist to Asajj.

Now they were to complete their final training exercise before their first actual mission. Today was like any other training day, waking up before dawn as she had when she trained with her Father. Instead of martial arts training however, they always began the day with two hours of meditation. Count Dooku taught them that to master wielding a lightsaber, they must first master their minds.

Before every meal, they had to earn it. They would duel each other three times a day for a small plate of food, and the loser had to go without eating. There were a few days where Asajj wouldn't eat at all-she wasn't able to best Nix in combat. Nix would never admit it, but there were a times she let Asajj win, so she wouldn't starve. If Asajj wasn't at her best, Nix wouldn't improve either.

Before their first meal of the day, they were to meet Count Dooku in their training room. Their training room was located at a secret facility not far from the Dooku Family Palace. It was a very plain, large, building. The facility was protected by battle droids, as was the Palace.

Count Dooku spent most of his time at the Palace. Neither Nix nor Asajj had ever stepped foot inside.

They arrived at the training room, a large and open circular room with a domed ceiling. Dooku was centered on the mat, sitting in a meditative pose with his eyes open. He was waiting for them.

"As you know, today is your final exercise. This is the last thing I have to teach either of you." He stood up with his imposing sense of grace.

"Today you learn how to hide your intentions and motives in combat. If either of you are to defeat Jedi Masters, you need to know how masking your movements will give you the upper hand in battle. The way you do this, is through the force."

Count Dooku pulled out two blindfolds out of the inner pocket of his robes and held them out in front of him.

Nix and Asajj, in unison, stepped forward to claim a blindfold.

"Sit. And place them over your eyes."

"Yes, Master." The Apprentices replied in unison, and did as they were told.

"Now, duel one another."

Duel one another? Blindfolded?

"Master? I don't see how this-" Asajj was interrupted by her own screams as Dooku sent Lightning born of Force Energies through her body.

"Do NOT question me, Asajj." Dooku let up on his torturous method of discipline. Nix heard her trying to catch her breath, and wondered why she always had to question his motives. He always had a methodical reason behind everything he did. Asajj didn't know how to take orders.

"Now. DUEL."

Nix, using her mind and the Force, unsheathed her lightsabers. Asajj had done the same. Nix waited for her to make the first move, which she learned from her Father. This gave her time to calculate Asajj's move and prepare for it. She always began with the same one of four moves, which was how Nix consistently defeated her. Asajj never realized that she lost before she ever started.

It worked. Nix countered Asajj's first cut at her, and they fell into the usual dance of lightsaber combat. Although blindfolded, the ability to duel without their sight was remarkable to her. They parried and swung their blade at the other, and Nix could hear the electric sound of their sabers making contact. Nix only now realized exactly how much wielding a lightsaber depended on using the Force. Something she was always told, but never quite experienced until now.

As they slashed and stabbed at the other with dual wielded sabers, Nix was trying to think of a way to get the upper hand. She had a feeling Asajj would be calculating the same.

Asajj became ambitious, and struck Nix with a wave of Force Energy. In that moment, she knew Asajj was flustered and vulnerable. Nix had an opportunity to strike at her, to show Dooku who came away from this lesson as the Victor. She swung her blade toward Asajj's throat.

Then felt a fiery warmth against her own.

Dooku clapped ominously.

Had she just made the most simple mistake, and lost?

She pulled off her blindfold to see that Asajj's blade had met her throat, and Nix's had met hers. Asajj had removed her blindfold, and the two of them stared at each other, speechless. For the first time in their training, they were evenly matched.

Count Dooku, who had prepared years for this moment, declared, "You're ready."

(Star Wars canon has a different backstory for how Asajj was brought under the tutelage of Count Dooku. She actually taught herself the form II lightsaber technique, and Count Dooku had given her the lightsabers from his former Padawan, who was assassinated by Jango Fett. Y'all will see Commander Wolffe in the next chapter as well. Please review! I would like to hear what y'all think of my writing, and if you have any suggestions. Thanks!)