A master's betrayal

- Dak Vesser -


The nights on Korriban were icy. I knew this, knew that the frigid air could creep in even through a thick duranex bodysuit under dark robes, and yet here I was, pacing the valley as dusk settled down on this gods-cursed planet.

Juhani. A beloved face from my past, and I didn't even know if she still lived. Master Uthar was storming around in a snit, Master Yuthura had been missing for the last two days, and Juhani was here on Korriban.

But is she still alive?

No one came out of Tulak Hord's tomb, not in recent memory. Except that little chivhole, Mekel, had. He'd thrown me a disgusted sneer, a half-hearted push of the Force, and then scampered, a bloody knapsack thrown over one shoulder. I'd pulled on the Force tight, ready to challenge him for all that his strength eclipsed mine, when Force rumblings echoed menacingly from the tomb and we'd both fled. I should have stayed, should have made sure Juhani wasn't still stuck in there with that obnoxious friend of hers, but I'd been so convinced that damn Mekel had something to do with it that I'd turned and shadowed him back to the Academy.

The bugger had lost me in the Academy's warrens, and he'd been missing since then, same as Yuthura Ban. Deep down, I'd truly believed that must have been Juhani's end, and the angry despair curled hot in my gut at the thought.

And then I'd run into Lashowe.

"Dak," she purred, but she was less confident than customary. There was a rattled look in her ice blue eyes that she couldn't quite conceal. "Uthar's on the warpath, looking for that new initiate Staria."

"Staria?" I snapped, recognition burning in me as I remembered what Ness had named Juhani. "What the frell does he want with Staria?"

Lashowe eyes narrowed with speculation. "Have you seen her, Dak? Our Master will be most pleased if you bring her to me."

Lashowe, I thought with inimical disgust, always on the lookout for advancement and prestige. She was Uthar's golden child, Uthar's chosen one, Uthar's darling. Between her and that bootlicker, Dustil, it was usually easy to keep my head low.

"She karked it in the tombs yesterday, Lashowe. On bloody Yuthura's orders." The words burned as I spoke them, burned a deep agony I could taste in the back of my throat. It was the death of a precious vision I'd held – a cornerstone deep in the back of my mind where Uthar's psychic grasp couldn't reach. The mental image of Juhani proudly serving the Order shone like a truth: I could see her, bright blue lightsaber held high as sunlight kissed her warrior's form. No matter the failure I'd become, at least I could believe that Juhani was truly a guardian of the galaxy.

But, no. She'd left, just like me, looking for power that the Jedi couldn't give. And now she was dead. And I'd utterly failed to save her.

"Master Uthar doesn't believe so," Lashowe murmured, eyeing me over. I noticed her pallor, then, a clammy sheen to her skin like she'd just been fighting a losing battle. "He thinks she's hiding somewhere in your cherished Valley."

I stilled, staring at her fixedly as my thoughts raced and my emotions twisted. Lashowe wasn't an idiot, she'd picked up something in my tone, and it was time for me to go on the offensive. "Had a run in with our Master yourself, Lashowe? Did he kick you out of his bed?" I sneered.

A spark of fire shot through her eyes. "I aim to serve Master Uthar always - as should you, Dak. I know you like to hide away out there, pretending to be a little scholar freak, but just you remember where your loyalties lie. You are one of us."

With that, Lashowe had stormed off to the Valley. As had I, slower and with more caution.

Was it possible that Juhani had survived the menace of Hord's tomb? Lashowe and Master Uthar both believed so. And Mekel had escaped apparently unscathed.

What does Uthar want with Juhani? And if she is alive, why would she be hiding? I'd waited until I'd sensed Uthar leave, feeling impatient and annoyed and wretchedly hopeful, before sidling back down to the Valley myself. Uthar often ignored me in favour of his other two Adepts, and that suited me just fine. I had no qualms conceding that Lashowe was more powerful than I, and I certainly wasn't going to kiss his arse like that little doormat Dustil. Assuredly, one had to bow and scrape to Master Uthar, but he didn't own my soul.

Really? Are you so sure about that?

My eyes closed as I pushed away the inner sneer, and instead Juhani's words flashed through my mind: Dak, have you ever considered leaving this place?

Had I? Not really. It wasn't what I'd thought it would be, but neither was the Order. I'd utterly failed to find peace and self-worth thus far.

But it was obvious Juhani had doubts about the Sith, and Master Uthar must know it. Yet once admitted to the Academy, it was impossible to run. Selene tried, and failed. Thalia tried, and failed. Jorrie, Denessari, Mel… the list went on. If Juhani really was still alive, surely she could be convinced to play the game. Surely Master Uthar could be convinced that she would make a fine Dark Jedi.

A faint wind brushed over the darkening valley, blowing dust and that damn sulphuric taint in my face. One never really became accustomed to the sharp taste at the back of one's throat, that harshness burning deep in the lungs after a day spent outside. There were Force methods that could filter the impurities of the air, but they required study and practice, and were hardly the type of learning encouraged on Korriban. Research was more… limited, here, than Dantooine.

I remembered leaving the Jedi Enclave in a fury, finally snapping under Master Dorak's constant prattling on emotional vigilance, and Juhani's constant concessions to her scow of a Master. I'd intended to leave the Force behind, I really had, but it had found me in the shape of Nisotsa Organa. The Quiet Death, I'd heard her called. Master Uthar treated Nisotsa like an equal, although she never outright challenged him the way that prick Bandon did. No, Nisotsa was silent and struck from the shadows.

I hadn't put up much of a fight. Her strength was awe-inspiring – she was one of the blasted Jedi Thirteen, after all, one of Malak's senior Dark Jedi. She'd promised power and freedom, and I'd believed her. Even now, Nisotsa sometimes visited Korriban, always stopping to award me with an icy cold smile and a pat on the head. Like a loyal little kath hound.

I'd found the power I wanted, but not the freedom.

"Adept," a Sith soldier acknowledged, as he walked past me to head toward the Academy. I'd been so lost in my own damn thoughts that I hadn't even noticed the soldiers changing shifts.

I sighed in annoyance and stretched my senses out, traipsing along the dusty ground in the growing darkness. I was deep in the Valley now, near Sadow's tomb – that cursed place Master Uthar and Master Yuthura liked to hold their graduation ceremonies. Despite myself, I shivered. Adept trials were a harrowing experience, and not one I'd care to repeat. I had no idea how Shaardan managed to live through three occurrences of them and still fail. And still breathe.

Sadow's tomb was dubiously graced with a stone sculpture of the Lord himself – much like the granite and ferracrystal replica in the Academy's hall – but this statue was older, and emanated with swirling dark Force that was noticeable when one neared. The eerie sensation clouded the senses, made it difficult to walk past and head inside. Most avoided the tomb instinctively, as the roiling energy had a natural repelling effect on life itself. Sadow had been a master alchemist, I knew, and had voluntarily placed himself in suspended animation for centuries on Yavin IV. That was all past history now with his resurrection and true death eons ago, but there were theories that Sadow's statue on Korriban held some sort of Force echo of the Sith Master himself.

It was... interesting to speculate. Certainly, the Force swirled in stronger eddies here than anywhere else in the open Valley. And as my feet crunched on a patch of gravel, I sensed a flicker of life move behind the statue.

I drew deep on the Force and stalked over to the sneering Naga Sadow.

"Dak?" someone whispered from the shadows. I froze, disbelief coursing like a shot of firewhiskey through my gut as a figure unfurled from beyond the stone base.

"Juhani," I breathed, breaking into quick strides. She was a tall, lithe figure in the dark, and I grasped her fiercely. "Juhani! You're alive!"

My arms were tight around her, my heart tight with emotion. She sighed, and dropped her head on my shoulder. An unfamiliar feeling of contentment budded deep within me. I could hear her heart beating strongly through the Force, and felt a prickling against my closed eyes. She was here, and she was okay. "I thought you were dead. I thought you were gone!"

"No," Juhani said softly, pulling back. Her slanted amber eyes I'd always found so mesmerizing gleamed at me in the starlight. "I only planned to be here for a short while, but Uthar has been in this Valley all day. I am concerned he has been looking for me."

"I know," I murmured, my hands still clasped on her shoulders. We were of an equal height, and my gaze roved over her face fervently. She really was here. "Juhani, what does he want with you?"

"I do not know," she whispered. Her face, alien and yet so dear to me, was solemn. "But I am certain he bodes me ill. I must leave here, Dak."

"Leave?" I frowned. "Hang on, Juhani, you can't think you'll be able to leave the Academy."

She stared at me, saying nothing. Her eyes were deep and intense, and I had no idea what she was thinking. "Juhani, Uthar won't turn you away. Whatever his issue is with you, if you just crawl and beg forgiveness, he'll accept you back."

At that, a flare of irritation sparked through her gaze, and I was reminded of just how proud she could be. "Dak, I am not here to be a Sith. I only came back for you."

"For- for me?" I spluttered. I'd thought, outside Hord's tomb, that she had some crazy redemption idea in her head. Turned out I was right. "Juhani, don't be an idiot! This is the damn Sith. You can't just change your mind and expect to walk away! I won't let you kill yourself, not like this!"

"Dak-"

"No," I said coldly. "No. I thought you'd died in the tomb. I'm not going to let you die again."

"Dak!" she cut in. "I have to get out of here. The others need me-"

"What, that frelling Ness Jonohl? She escaped too?" I sneered, and read the truth from her expression. "What happened in the tomb, Juhani?"

Her eyes slid away. "Ness and Mekel found… they found the old Headmaster." She trailed off, and the silence was heavy in the Korriban dusk.

The old Headmaster. Jorak Uln had been Headmaster when I'd arrived. He liked me, liked my interest in the tombs and my willingness to catalogue and research any finds that were available. I hadn't been there long before Adept Uthar Wynn had staged a bloody coup, ripped out Jorak's eyes, and then turned on Jorak's first apprentice. I hadn't thought of Uln in some time, but I'd liked the place better when he was Headmaster.

"Huh. Did Master Uthar leave his corpse in Hord's tomb?" A body couldn't have been the danger, though. Some whispered that a remnant of Tulak Hord survived, living on in the immortality that the ancient Sith Lord had once dreamed of.

"No, not his body. Jorak Uln wasn't dead, Dak."

My gaze swung back to her, surprised and appalled. "Uln, alive?"

"Yes. He- well. Suffice to say he is not alive now."

"Mekel?" I gasped in disbelief. "Mekel took out Jorak Uln?" Mekel was strong, at least as strong as Lashowe, but I would not have credited either of them with enough power to defeat someone like Uln. Even if Uln had been scraping by for years, isolated and blinded. Uln's the reason people don't return from Hord's tomb, I realized suddenly. Uln's the reason Uthar avoids it. Even after all this time, Uthar fears Jorak Uln.

Feared. Past tense, not present.

Juhani was shaking her head, and my shock deepened. "Your friend," I said slowly, reading the truth from her tawny gaze. Oh, that Ness Jonohl had been both annoying and confident – and, it seemed, powerful. For if even Uthar hadn't been able to kill Jorak... My eyes widened. "Uthar's not going to like this. Shavit! That's why Yuthura and Mekel have gone awol!"

Uthar had claimed the post of the Headmaster without truly killing the old one. Might ruled on Korriban, but status had a lot to do with it. The petty games and power-plays pissed me off, but this deception might turn some of the initiates against Uthar. Unless they were sufficiently cowed- and Uthar could be frelling scary. And I couldn't see Yuthura slamming down Uthar, not unless she had other allies.

Other allies… Suddenly, my gut clenched in a seething ball of fury and fear. "Ness is allied with Yuthura," I snapped. My voice turned bitter, for Juhani had already shown where her own loyalty lay with her cursed determination to follow Ness into Hord's tomb.

"No," Juhani said, and she sounded sad. "Dak, you truly do not understand. We did not come here to join the Sith. We came to Korriban for another purpose."

The silence stretched between us as I struggled to comprehend. I could feel my head shaking in disbelief. "What?" I hissed. "Don't be ridiculous… no Force-sensitive comes to Korriban for any reason other than to join the Sith. I don't-" I broke off, staring at her angrily. "Juhani, you already told me you left the Order!"

"I did," she replied gently. "But Ness turned me back. I am a Jedi, Dak, not a Sith. And you can be one again, too. There is no future here on Korriban. Surely you must see that."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. "How the frell do you expect to leave the Academy? What, walk out the front gates?"

"We did once before," she answered, her voice steady and sure. "Come with us, Dak. Leave this place. You are a good person, and I know you cannot be happy here."

It was an empty dream, a promise of a future I could never grasp. I'd killed people, here: initiates in my way, mercenaries on Uthar's orders, prisoners who couldn't hold up under the torture. There were some things one couldn't return from. I wasn't happy here, but shavit, I hadn't been happy with the Order, either. "You can't turn your back on the Dark Side, Juhani. If you'd truly fallen, you would know that."

I could hear the coldness in my voice, the acknowledgment that, once more, we were on opposing sides of an ethical chasm. There'd been a time when I'd hoped she'd follow me away from Dantooine, but her will had been too strong for my persuasion. I saw the disappointment flare in her eyes, and it stung. It stung deep.

"No, you don't turn your back on it. You fight it." Her voice was steel; as strong and sure as ever. "You rise above it. And you do your best to make the right choices, even if you made poor ones in the past. Anyone can turn back, Dak. I know this well."

My returning laugh was low and scornful. "Really, Juhani? What did you turn back from, almost killing your master?"

"I was not referring to my own redemption," she snapped tartly. "Although, in my rage, I did kill some who had wronged me in my youth. I am ashamed of my past actions, but I strive to better myself now."

"And the Order welcomed you back with open arms, I suppose?" I muttered, my voice spiking with sarcasm. "Shouldn't you be meditating in a corner somewhere, languishing in guilt over your past crimes?"

Juhani shifted uncomfortably. "I have only spoken with one master since my return, Dak. But it is enough."

I shook my head in disgust. "So you don't know, not really."

"I do." Her words rang with a bone-deep conviction.

I sighed. When Juhani believed in something, there was no changing her mind. She was as unyielding as Korriban ferracrystal. "You know nothing about the Dark Side, Juhani, if all you did was run after some childhood bullies."

She inclined her head. "Perhaps the Dark Side tempts us in different ways, Dak. I feel it, even now, on this planet. It coaxes me to run; run from my emotions, run from my connections, run until no one is left who will challenge me to be the best I can be." She sighed, and it was a melancholy sound that curled around me in the darkness. An unbearable sadness engulfed me. The yawning gulf between us was impossible to breach. "The Light Side is not the easy path, but it is the right one."

For you, Juhani, maybe.

"You won't stay," I said flatly.

"No. And you will not go with me, will you?"

Maybe if it had just been her, the temptation would have been strong enough to outweigh the risk. But while Juhani cared for me, it wasn't the same as what I'd once felt for her. What I still did, deep in my heart. Maybe I couldn't stop her, but I wouldn't follow her again and uselessly pine my heart away.

Juhani touched the side of my face briefly. "Goodbye, Dak. Take care." I felt my eyes close, and my cheek burned even after she withdrew her fingers. The disappointment was acute, deep and painful; the worry for her safety even more so. But if she truly could escape Korriban, then maybe once more I could dream of her in a happier place, while my own soul rotted in despair.

Juhani had taken maybe five steps away before I felt it. An ominous, forbidding presence slowly edging closer in the evening dusk. Juhani froze, and my stomach turned in fright.

Uthar.

The shadows moved in a murky fashion, coalescing into the shape of the Headmaster as he neared.

There was no hiding now.

A tenacious determination punched me low in the stomach, and I knew then that I'd do whatever it took to get Juhani away from here, away from Uthar, away from me.

I strode past her, hissing, "play the game," and walked forward to address my Master.

"Master Uthar!" I called out in greeting, coming to a stop and bowing in deference. "Initiate Staria has been looking for you."

"Adept Dak," Uthar's oily voice greeted me as his unhurried steps brought him ever closer. I quashed the nausea swirling in my belly, thinking only of loyalty to my master. Uthar's mind-games were well-known. "Isn't that interesting, because I have spent all day looking for Staria."

I forced a hollow chuckle. "I am afraid Staria was a little overwhelmed with the presence of Sadow's statue," I replied lightly. "I have been trying to educate her upon the dangers of the Valley."

"Really?" Uthar's milky-white eyes narrowed. "You are quick to speak for Staria, I see."

"Master Uthar," Juhani murmured. There was a quaver in her voice that I wasn't sure was genuine or not. "Forgive me for my tardiness. Adept Dak has been trying to draw me away from this tomb."

Uthar stilled, his clouded eyes reaching past mine. The black ink on his scalp faded into the shadows, leaving only slivers of pale skin noticeable. Deep inside me, there was a burning need to understand Uthar's obsession with Juhani. For if I knew the reason, perhaps I could formulate a way to extract her safely.

Only minutes ago I'd desired her here, with me, on Korriban – but now, now, it was the last thing I wanted. Juhani's safety, Juhani's needs – they trumped mine. Maybe I really was just the same love-struck fool I'd been years ago.

Uthar turned his head sharply to me once more, a frown bunching his brow. I forced my thoughts blank, my posture deferential, and looked at him expectantly. He grunted.

"I expect punctuality in all my students, Initiate," he said, looking back to Juhani once more. His voice was soft and almost friendly, and raised the hairs on my neck. "And I do not give warnings more than once. Perhaps, if you are finished... submerging yourself in Naga Sadow's replica, you can lead the way back to the Academy."

Juhani blinked at him in the evening darkness, and I sensed rather than saw Uthar frown. "Go!" he snapped. "I am not done with you yet, Initiate. Back to the Academy!"

Juhani jerked forward, tripping once as she stumbled past us, shooting me a half-terrified look. But it was false, I knew, as I spotted the gleam of determination in her gaze that was simultaneously gratifying and alarming. Play the game, Juhani! Play the frelling game! Uthar could be appeased by pleading, by breaking. The sort of behaviour that ran deeply against Juhani's personality.

My gaze slid back to my master, and my unease spread like a virus. Uthar doesn't give verbal warnings, I realized, and my stomach turned. No, Uthar's warnings usually consisted of a mind-raping, or a ball of lightning to the face. And that was if you were lucky. I'd seen enough Sith hopefuls kark it on a first meeting with the Headmaster just because he thought them weak.

Maybe… maybe Juhani caught him on a good day? Or maybe the reason he's after her is just her potential? Juhani's sparring and lightsaber prowess had been impressive back on Dantooine. We were an even match on some areas of Force aptitude, but she could kick my arse when it came to out-and-out combat.

Uthar's pale gaze slid to mine, and I forced the thoughts away with a mental kick. Keep your mind blank, dumbass! I looked over to Juhani, traipsing ahead across the cursed Valley, and desperately hoped there'd been no mental bleed-over from my part.

"Walk with me, Adept." Uthar murmured, starting the trek back himself. I fell into line. "I sense events moving, Dak. This is not the time to be skulking near the tombs."

"I understand, Master," I replied.

"Do you, Dak? Do you really?"

Sometimes, it paid to be bold with Uthar. And if it drew his attention away from Juhani, shaken and uncertain as she floundered ahead of us, then all the better.

"I understand that Master Yuthura has been missing since Mekel escaped Hord's tomb." The statement was daring, but surely Uthar already suspected something. I kept my minds-eye tight on the image of Mekel, retreating from the tomb with an ensanguined knapsack slung over his back. Only now did I start to suspect what Mekel may have been carrying.

Proof.

There was a whisper of something in my thoughts, something other-worldly, something that didn't belong. I dared not deviate from that one particular memory.

Uthar grunted after a lengthy silence. "There was a report of Adept Mekel running from the Academy. I had believed he'd scampered in failure. Hmm." I could feel Uthar's heavy gaze on me, and knew he'd been snooping. He probably still was, and I shook off the chill of preternatural terror. I could do this, and keep my thoughts contained. I had to, for Juhani's sake. "You have never warmed to Mekel, have you Dak?"

"Not particularly, Master," I said neutrally.

"But you seem to have taken a shine to Initiate Staria," he murmured, his voice pitching high with curiosity.

I tensed. "I believe, given the chance, she may have potential, Master Uthar." A brief flash of Juhani flashed through my mind – the first time I'd seen her on Dantooine. Tipped ears, striped markings along her cheekbones, slanted eyes narrowed in uncertainty even as she stood tall and proud beneath a tattered tunic of rags. She'd been the most exotic thing I'd ever seen.

My fists clenched as I abruptly forced the image away.

Uthar tsked. "She claims to be a fallen Jedi, although we have not found any records of a Jedi Staria. Are you sure you didn't know her during your time on Dantooine?"

Coldness crawled through my gut. I was Uthar's Adept, oh yes, but I'd never intrigued him. I'd dropped a false family name on Korriban, stupidly keeping my first – Dak was such a common name, after all. I'd never known Uthar had dug up my past.

"No, Master Uthar," I answered, and the words sounded forced even to my own ears.

"Tell me about your time with the Jedi, Dak," Uthar said. His words were mild and friendly, and my unease intensified. "You were not there for very long, I believe?"

"Three years, Master," I replied, my eyes fixed on Juhani as she picked her way up the climbing path that twisted out of the Valley. "I did not progress past Padawan. I came to the Jedi later than most, and realized it was not for me."

"And who were your friends there, Dak?"

My edginess was increasing. For if Uthar knew my history, then it wouldn't take much digging to learn who my companions had been. Although, with luck, he'd never bothered digging that far. "I was not close to many, Master Uthar. I studied under Master Dorak." My mind zeroed in on an image of the Enclave's Chronicler, Master Dorak – who'd seemed a good fit for me at first, due to our shared passion for history. But I'd chafed under his dry rules and regulations, and he'd vacillated between over-the-top leniency and sharp disapproval when I failed. He'd leave me enough rope to hang myself, and then seemed surprised when I did so. I was not sorry to leave him behind.

"That is not an answer, Dak," Uthar replied, his voice so benign I didn't trust it. "You must have had close acquaintances you left behind. Tell me about them."

"I had a good friend, once," I hedged. I could not, would not, betray Juhani. It was too dangerous to lie, in case Uthar knew more about my past than he'd already let on. But Juhani had already assured me of the safety of my one other friend. She is a Knight now, Dak. "But I do not think about her. She is beneath my contempt, Master Uthar."

Ahead, Juhani was clambering over a large boulder in the shadows. Pale illumination flickered down from distant Academy – two large fire pits blazed on either side of the entrance, throwing shadows that skittered like skorpocrabs against the night-time landscape.

"Names, Dak, names!" Uthar chuckled, and his heavy hand clapped me on the shoulder. "Otherwise you will have me believe you are hiding something."

"Not at all, Master," I replied in a mild tone. I didn't trust Uthar. I didn't trust my own head. I didn't trust his puzzling fascination with Juhani. "It's simply that it was such a long time ago that I don't even know if she lives. Her name was Belaya Linn."

Uthar's hand dropped from my shoulder abruptly, and I turned to face him, startled. But his expression was composed as he stared ahead at Juhani's retreating form. He cleared his throat. "Were you in love with this Belaya, Dak?"

"No!" I snapped, surprised at the question. Juhani stopped, craning her head back to face us. She'd reached the Academy, now. "I beg your pardon, Master Uthar, but no. She was a friend and nothing more."

I'd been close to Belaya, and admired her greatly. We'd both loved Juhani from afar, but Belaya accepted it wasn't meant to be and endeavoured to remain no more than a true friend. I'd run off like a whiny brat. My mouth twisted as I remembered the sour note we'd parted on. Belaya had been a better person than I, in the Force and strength of character. The best of us three, I'd always suspected.

Something foreign twitched behind my eye, and I roughly pushed the memory away. Mindless idiot! I hadn't even realized my thoughts were wandering. My gaze slid to Master Uthar, but nothing showed on his pale, tattooed face other than benevolence. The firelight sparked against the opalescence of his corrupted eyes as we drew to a halt by the entrance.

Juhani was waiting, her gaze hooded as Uthar waved the doors open. A soldier posted within snapped out a salute, and Uthar marched inside. Somehow, his stance and manner seemed more purposeful than before.

"Follow me," Uthar threw over his shoulder. "I have something to show the both of you."

We both trailed in his wake. Juhani's slanted gaze slid my way, and her lips parted, as if to speak. I shook my head curtly, glancing at Uthar's retreating back. I'd been doing a piss-poor job so far of containing my thoughts, I realized with disgust, and wasn't sure if it'd been due to my nerves or something more insidious. There were rumours that Uthar's mental prowess could be stealthy enough to direct another person's thought-stream without them even realizing. All I knew was that I'd been determined to think nothing, and my thoughts had kept drifting back to Juhani.

I could only hope Uthar hadn't picked up on anything.

We walked in silence through the Academy, and I was struck once more how empty the place felt since Bandon had stripped it of near-all the Adepts. Even before then, we'd been running low on students. The death-rate on the frontlines wasn't particularly appealing, which was why Uthar's first apprentice was such a coveted position. Even Darth Malak wouldn't readily snatch Uthar's apprentice from him. First apprentices were sacred.

And it was apparent that Yuthura was on her way out.

Uthar led us to a grand cavern on the other end of the Academy. It was deserted apart from the blonde figure of Lashowe. She was sitting cross-legged, in a meditative position, right in the centre of the cold marbled floor.

Lashowe looked up at our approach, visibly startled, before standing and bowing in deference. Uthar strode over to her, caressing the side of her cheek. Lashowe's speculative gleam fixed on Juhani.

She smiled, and the bottom of my stomach dropped out.

I smiled back at her.

"Wait here, Lashowe," Uthar murmured, and strode toward the training rooms. I still didn't get it, didn't understand Uthar's ploy, and wondered wildly if he was planning on making us duel. But then Uthar halted in the centre of the empty sparring arena.

"Where is the guard?" Uthar snapped to himself, staring toward the restricted corridor.

I knew what was down there, and the bile rose in my throat as Uthar started moving again, motioning us onwards. I found myself reaching for the Force instinctively. Play the game, Dak! Play the frelling game! This time the mental plea was directed at myself. But I had to get Juhani out, any way I could.

No matter what Uthar was planning to do. No matter what Uthar was planning on making me do. Oh, I'd knew the games he liked to play, in his twisted interrogation room. I'd been forced to partake in them more than once. But Uthar he was too strong for us to take on directly, in the heart of his fortress, surrounded by his guards and his allies.

The only thing I could do was play along until Uthar grew bored and left. Then I could extract Juhani safely.

There was no guard by the locked durasteel door, and that wasn't normal, either.

I felt the Force coalesce in a swirling miasma coiling around my master. It was almost suffocating in its intensity. I should have struck him outside, tried to take him by surprise. But no, no, he was after Juhani – not me. Stay focused, Dak, and do what you need to, to survive. Play the game and get Juhani out afterward.

The door hissed open with a command from Uthar. "Go inside," he ordered silkily. "There is someone I would like you both to meet."

Juhani looked at me in confusion and not a little fear, before pursing her lips and taking a step forward. I followed her, into the gods-cursed room, my gaze darting to the blighted Force cages.

They were empty.

I swung around to face Uthar, and his expression had contorted into utter fury. "What is going on?" he bellowed.

"Master Uthar-" I began, but didn't know how to finish.

Uthar snarled, and strode to the console. "Stay!" he snapped at Juhani, who was standing awkwardly in the centre of the room, disgust evident in the tawny yellow of her eyes as they trailed over the manacles and the dried blood stains evident on the floor.

This is Korriban, Juhani, I thought sadly. This is what we turn into.

I took a step closer to Uthar, close enough to view the console as he keyed in a command. A gathering storm of anger grew on his face as he scrutinized the textual input, and I looked back to the exit, inwardly debating the risks of a sudden escape attempt. When I glanced back at Uthar, he'd lifted his head to stare at me. The fury in his opalescent eyes was sharp.

The emotion vanished a second later, to be replaced by benign calm. Like a fire constantly doused and reignited, Uthar jumped from rage to peace so swiftly that I thought it truly a sign of manifesting insanity.

"Well," Uthar murmured softly. "It seems I have a puzzle to solve."

There's been a break-out, I realized with a wave of coldness. I hadn't known of any recent prisoners, and I also didn't think anyone would have the sheer gall to attempt such a thing. Yuthura, perhaps, if she planned on mounting a rebellion, but what worth would a prisoner hold for her?

And, truly, I'd suspected Uthar had brought us here to imprison Juhani – as horrific as the thought was – and I still hadn't a plan for how to extract her other than to wait Uthar out and hope he didn't hurt her too badly in the process.

And then, somehow, sneak her off Korriban.

There was a tingling in my mind, then, and I opened my mouth to speak only to find my jaw had locked-

My entire body froze: my limbs, my fingers, even my eyes.

"Staria," Master Uthar said, tapping a key on the console to clear the screen. The only movement I could make was breathing, and even that seemed almost insurmountable. "We Sith do not have the same code as the Jedi you trained with, so I can understand that you require a settling-in period. But I will have you know that the one thing I cannot abide is betrayal."

His voice was calm and soft and reassuring, and the bastard had put me under stasis!

"I apologize again, Master Uthar, for-"

"No, not you, Initiate," Master Uthar chuckled. "I am not unreasonable. No, I am referring to Dak."

My stomach churned and my ears rang. Shavit! Uthar had been snooping after all. If he named me a traitor… did he believe I would turn on him? Did he believe my feelings for Juhani trumped my loyalty to him?

Did they?

With a fierce mental lunge, I reached out to pull deep on the Force – but it was beyond my grasp, and all I could feel was this invisible barrier holding my body immobile. Keep trying, idiot! Uthar couldn't trap me like this for long- it wasn't one of his strengths- but breaking free wasn't one of mine-

"Let him go," Juhani hissed, and whatever nervousness had been in her demeanour was fast disappearing.

"I will let him have his chance to speak," Uthar said mildly. "After I have had mine, of course. For I believe you would make an asset to the Sith, Staria, but first you must understand how grievously Dak has betrayed your kindness."

What?

Mentally, I pummelled against the stasis with no apparent effect. Uthar liked to play his cruel, twisted games, but I hadn't even thought he'd turn on me. I was his Adept! And I'd not done anything to Juhani, bar encourage her to join the Sith, so the bastard had absolutely nothing on me-

"I do not understand, Master Uthar." I could see Juhani's tawny gaze fixed on mine in the periphery of my vision, but try as I might, I was wholly unable to move. Even my damned eyes stayed fixed on the blank console screen, as I mentally struggled and pushed and slammed against Uthar's shields.

"Why, Dak betrayed a dear friend of yours to me. To the Sith," Uthar extrapolated. I focused on what little Force I could reach, shaped it into a tight ball of fury, and threw it with all my mental fortitude at the barrier that imprisoned me. It didn't move. "Captured her because he was jealous, he told me, of your attachment to her. He took much delight in her pain."

"What do you mean?" Juhani's tone held nothing but frustration and mounting anger, now.

What the frell is he on about? My only consolation was that Juhani seemed as confused as me, so whatever Uthar's ploy was, it wasn't working.

Uthar tapped a key, and the sounds of a woman screaming cut through the air. My eyes were drying out, still locked on the screen. The vid-feed was that of a tortured prisoner hanging limply in a cage coughing up blood that splattered onto the chrome flooring.

The prisoner was Belaya Linn.

Horror sheared deep through me, carving through my fury and alarm. It couldn't be true, it couldn't be right – Juhani said she was back at the Order! I numbly took in the scene of a limp woman, as a hank of sun-streaked brown hair fell over her face.

Juhani had stridden forward by then, next to the console. I couldn't see her damned expression, not held prisoner like this, but I heard the anguished whimper as it left her lips.

This had to be some sort of cursed trick, it couldn't – that can't be Belaya!

Uthar punched another key, and different footage of the same prisoner flared into view. The woman was obviously Belaya Linn, now: her face arched into direct view as pain contorted her features and cries of anguish ripped from her lungs. She convulsed, jerking wildly from side to side, metal restraints holding her fixed she shrieked from some invisible attack.

"No!" Juhani cried. "No, this cannot be true!"

"Please," a broken voice emanated from the video, in between screams. "No more."

Could Uthar forge a recording like this? I thought wildly, desperately searching for an answer beyond the obvious. But Uthar had expected a prisoner to be here… and he'd expected it to be someone of import to Juhani. I accepted, then, with a chilling abhorrence, that the videos showed the truth.

"I am afraid it is true, dear child," Uthar said consolingly. "Your friend Dak wanted you all to himself. That is why he killed Belaya."

What? No! With a ferocious surge of fury, I slammed myself hard against the stasis. I felt a tremble, then, but the shield still held. Like a rabid kinrath closing in for the kill, I pulled back to try again.

"I will not believe this monstrosity!" Juhani yelled, shaking her head violently, her warrior's tail lashing from side-to-side.

"Do you need to see more?" Uthar replied, tapping a key again. Belaya, now, choking as she gasped desperately for air, her face drawn and pale, and her eyes shot with red.

"Stop it!" Juhani shrieked. "Stop it at once!"

The console cut out under Uthar's command. My will punched into his Force barrier again, and again, and I could sense Uthar's stasis shuddering beneath my barrage.

"Let Dak go," Juhani demanded, her voice thrumming with rage. "I must hear from him."

"What would you hear, Initiate?" Uthar said softly. "How Dak left Dantooine under the pretence of study, choked in a cloud of bitterness because you rejected him? Or that he found Belaya, searching for you, and promised to keep her safe?"

"You said you would let Dak have his say," Juhani bit out, and her voice broke on my name. My heart stuttered. Don't believe him, Juhani! I wouldn't do that, not to Belaya, not even for you. I could only hope that Juhani kept faith in me, even if I didn't deserve it. My thoughts seethed with terror and anger and most of all – confusion.

Why would that bastard lie? Why would Uthar betray me?

"So I did," Uthar answered Juhani, even as he walked. My master laid a gentle hand on my frozen shoulder. Ah, but your thoughts betrayed me, Dak. You are not faithful, but perhaps your fury-filled friend will be. She would certainly make a tantalizing asset.

His oily voice sunk into my mind, deep enough that I didn't react in time as the stasis vanished, and instead stumbled inelegantly to the ground. I thudded heavily onto my side, grunting as sharp pain stabbed against my cheekbone.

"Dak, now is your chance to explain your actions, and why you brought Belaya to me," Uthar said, his words poisonous as they echoed throughout the room. I struggled to my knees, jerking desperately around to face Juhani.

Her eyes were wild and red-rimmed as they stared at me in horror.

"Speak, Dak!" Uthar ordered. "Explain why Belaya's torture was justified, why it was excusable to turn on one of your oldest friends!"

"Juhani! Its lies – all lies!" I spat out. "Trust me, I didn't know about Belaya, you told me she was safe on Dantooine!"

Uthar chuckled, and it sounded like the menacing crow of victory. "You say you are trustworthy, Dak, but you are quick enough to use Staria's true name to a Master of the Sith."

"Dak," Juhani said desperately. "I do not understand. That cannot be Belaya!"

"Oh, it was," Uthar cut in. "She was searching for you, Juhani. A pity she found Dak instead." He paused. "Dak always believed she was the best of you three. I am afraid my naughty adept is completely riddled with jealousy."

"No!" I snarled, fury swelling at the injustice. Force-strength shot through my limbs like wildfire – I'd had enough of cowering to that lying monster, and my hand dropped to my waist-

I went flying to the far side of the room, slamming against the wall, barely aware of Uthar's outraised hand.

"No, Dak, it is your friend here who has cause against you. You captured, tortured and killed Belaya Linn. It is only fair that you face up to it in the form of Cathar justice, don't you think?"

"She cannot be dead, she cannot!" Juhani denied. Winded, I lifted my head to see her, her face pale beneath the downy fuzz on her cheeks. "Please, Dak, say something! Belaya… Belaya cannot be gone!"

"He's playing us, Juhani," I hissed, scrambling to my feet, struggling to pull in a breath. "Setting us against each other. I don't know what happened to Belaya, or if she is really dead-"

"Oh, you need to hear more?" Uthar injected, and jabbed one more at the console. Belaya's pleas for mercy filled the air again, stabbing into my heart like a chiv-blade

"Stop it!" I howled, fists clenching. My thoughts raced through flashbacks then- memories of Juhani, and Belaya, and Quatra that unemotional scow whom Juhani loved so futilely, and I shook my head irritably at the sudden, unprompted recollection-

"But you enjoyed hearing her break before, Dak. What, is it not so much fun now the woman you love is seeing what a monster you have become?"

"Dak, tell me this isn't true, this did not happen," Juhani pleaded, taking a step toward me. Her slanted eyes gleamed with the sheen of tears, and her lips pursed with abhorrence.

"It's not true!" I shot back desperately. "I mean, it seems like she must have been here, but I didn't know anything about it, Juhani! You must believe me!"

"How would I know all I do if Dak hadn't told me so readily, hmm?" Uthar countered. "Dak even confessed to me that he wished one day to capture your old Master Quatra, and hurt her as well. He deeply resents anyone you care about, Juhani." Uthar waggled a finger knowingly. "He is in dire need of a telling off, I do believe."

"No, no!" I yelled, and there was a sudden charge in the air. The Force picked up around me, fuelled by my hatred for the malevolent chivhole who ruled this cursed place.

Juhani was silent, and now was my chance-

The Force was wrested violently from my grasp, sucked away to agitate around Uthar- dark and foreboding and much, much stronger than anything I could hope to muster.

Juhani's face had set as she looked over to me. There was a sickly rage growing there, turning her eyes a tawny darkness.

"Belaya did not deserve this," she whispered, and her voice was bitter. "How could you, Dak? You say you loved me, and yet you do this to my dearest friend? Say something!" she finished on a howl, and her fur began to stand on end.

"Juhani, listen to me!" I begged desperately. "This is Uthar's doing, not mine! Trust me, please!"

"My doing?" Uthar scoffed. "I did not torture Belaya Linn. I certainly did not kill Belaya Linn. No, Dak, this is a quandary of your own making, and you shall reap the consequences."

"You murdering bastard!" I seethed, and suddenly my lightsaber was in my grasp, hissing red fury in front of me.

"How can I trust you, Dak?" Juhani cried, her voice hoarse, and my gaze snapped back to her. Her mouth curled down in torment. "Not so long ago you were desperate to have me stay on Korriban!"

"Juhani, for the last time, it wasn't me!" I raged, the 'saber wavering in my grasp as I glared alternately between her and Uthar.

"Are you thinking of believing his lies, Juhani?" Uthar said. "Do I need to remind you once more of what he has done?" There was a tap, and the tortured cries of Belaya shot through the room again, pleading for a mercy she hadn't been granted.

All despair vanished from Juhani's expression, replaced by a manifesting fury. "Damn you, Dak Vesser!"

No. No! I thought in growing horror. "Juhani, Uthar is the real evil here!"

But Uthar's attention was caught, suddenly, by something else, and he turned to face the closed durasteel door. A frown pleated the pallid skin on his brow.

There was a flash of swirling Force around Juhani, a whiplash of temper snapping, and I understood, then, that my friend had finally lost control.

"Well," Uthar murmured, jerking his head back to face us. "It seems I have visitors at my front door, and my attention is needed elsewhere." He smiled at me then, kind and benevolent and evil. "And I can see you two have a lot to discuss."

He strode over to the door, thumping his hand on the controls, and I was torn between chasing the bastard down or staying to face my fury-filled friend.

I watched him leave, impotent, and as the door swished closed I heard the ominous snap-hiss of a lightsaber activating behind me.

xXx