Sunlight had only begun to creep along the treetops above their heads, when Marius awoke. It was a habit of his, a legacy of spending a childhood on a farm, to be awake for the first sign of the morning.

His first sight, was to see the man he now called Master, already awake, and staring at the fire as if he wished to destroy it. His heavy cloak, that he usually wore all the time, was left discarded under a tree, and for the first time, Marius could see the bandages extended all across his arms and torso.

He didn't move, pretending to be asleep, and through narrowly opened eyes, took his first opportunity to study him.

He was wrapped, almost from head to toe, in black bandage tape. Wrapped neatly around his fingers, his torso, and even his face, they were left open enough for a tuff of hair on the left side of his head. The hair that grew out of that gap hung, straight and greasy, down to his chin.

The face was almost completely covered in the same bandages, wrapped straight around his nose, chin, cheeks and forehead. The only slits were wide enough for his eyes, the bottom of his nose, and a slit for his mouth.

The bandages were wrapped carefully around the face, enough that the jaw seemed to be able to move without impediment. The bandages went right around his fingertips, which looked undamaged despite the lightning he conjured from his fingers.

The only break from the monochrome was the small silver cylinder, the hilt of his apprentice's parting gift, the laser sword.

Marius frowned to himself. Half mumbling, he said "that's a terrible name."

Iniquitus' eyes opened wide. Though he didn't move, his eyes were instantly fixed on Marius, with the terrifying intensity that his eyes always seemed to have. Marius flinched, and stumbled backwards.

"Did you say something, child?" Iniquitus asked, with a hint of scorn.

"I..." Marius began, and faltered.

"A terrible name for what?" Iniquitus asked in response, sitting up easily. "What were you naming, in that mind of yours?"

Iniquitus paused, and looked down at his belt. He pointed at the metal cylinder at his belt. "That?"

Marius nodded, swallowing hard. "Laser sword sounds stupid"

Iniquitus chuckled softly. "It does. If you come up with a better name for it, let me know." He paused, and looked over at Beriven, who was still fast asleep. "Wake your friend. I have a task in mind."

Marius crawled over, and whispered "Beriven, wake up."

It took a few moments, but when Beriven's eyes opened, he immediately shot upright and looked over at Iniquitus. "Sorry, master. I must have overslept."

Iniquitus only scowled in response. "Before I found the two of you, I had in mind to return to Coruscant soon, after procuring a ship. However, I need to teach the two of you, and such things require time. I also need a certain amount of freedom, which requires resources. We will need to procure them, and establish ourselves well enough that we don't need to constantly worry over food."

"We also," Iniquitus added "need to keep a low profile. General Verre's former lieutenant can be trusted to keep quiet about my identity, but we should stay away from the cities for a time. There is a village just two hour's walk south. It will be your task to come up with a way to get us food, shelter, and some amount of money. Your plan should balance our need for resources, free time, and anonymity. We'll start packing now, so you have a little less than two hours to conspire."

"But master, two hours is how long it takes to walk there! There is no time to plan." Beriven exclaimed, indignant.

Iniquitus smiled, and said "you have two hours."

The boys sulked as they started packing, and muttered to each other as quietly as they could manage.

"What are we going to do?" Beriven asked.

Marius shrugged helplessly. He looked worried, as he stole a glance back at the former Emperor of Coruscant.

"I mean, I suppose we could find work, but that cuts into the whole 'free time' thing." Beriven said. "I don't think Master would put up with evenings and weekends."

"True." Marius agreed. He rolled the last of his sleeping bag into its small pack, and put it with the rest of his gear. "And living in the woods is out. Not enough resources for whatever he's going to teach us."

"Agreed." Beriven said. "Rob a moneylender, or a rich consortium?"

"Do you really want to steal?" Marius asked, quietly.

"No. But it does get us what we need quickly."

"It's also dangerous and attracts a lot of attention." Marius countered. "Not only could we get caught, but people would always be suspicious of where we got the money from."

"True." Beriven agreed.

"Shipping." Marius said, after a quiet moment.

"We need a ship." Beriven noted.

"We have one. Or at least, a working hyperdrive." Marius noted.

"True. We just need to procure the rest of a ship. But we don't have the skills for that." Beriven pointed out. "I suppose we could ask how badly damaged the ship is."

"You're thinking we could repair it?" Marius asked.

"It would be a lot simpler than getting a new one, and then trying to fit another ship's hyperdrive onto it." Beriven pointed out.

"True." Marius agreed. He scampered ahead slightly, until he was a step behind Iniquitus, who was just beginning to crest a small hill. "Master," he said.

"You wish to use my ship in some fashion, to procure funds?" Iniquitus asked.

"We do, Master."

"Selling the hyperdrive is off the table. There isn't anyone on this moon who has a true estimation of it's worth to a planet that does not have one."

"Not that, master. We wish to use the ship." Marius answered.

"Shipping drugs and other contraband substances isn't the low profile I had in mind." Iniquitus noted.

"Not contraband, Master. Legal trade." Marius said.

"Prudent, but often very far from lucrative." Iniquitus replied. "Did you have a particular product in mind?"

"A few things, Master. When Beriven and I were in Vos Ma'ar, we met in a grocer that had recently gone under. The owners were attempting to take the most lucrative foodstuffs, and fly off-world with it. Apparently, they were poised to make an enormous sum of money." Marius explained.

Iniquitus nodded solemnly. "Were I offering you a simpler life, I believe I would readily seize on this plan. However, the difficulty in this option lies in how many people you must satisfy. We may find, my young apprentice, that we are far busier than we might like."

"I see. We would fly at someone else's demands. This, Master, is why I believe it would work best in a small farming community, such as the one we are going to." Marius said. Beriven caught up, and panting slightly, added "We might make enough money in a month or two of work, to satisfy our needs for an entire year."

Iniquitus stopped, and turned his gaze on the two boys. His eyes held a glint of anger, and both boys found their knees shake a little as he regarded them. "A clever plan. Impossible, though, without some knowledge of hyperspace routes, and potential markets. Though I suspect you have heard something about possible destinations."

"Better, master." Beriven said. "The Don of Vos Ma'ar has a smuggler under employ, a Gothe Mortimer. He was a family friend of Marius'. He may be willing to point us in the right direction, so long as we don't present any direct competition."

"Clever." Iniquitus said. "And I must admit, surprising. I had conceived this lesson to humble you. Instead, you conquer." Iniquitus shook his head, clenching his fists. "Therran could not have thought this plan up. Not at your age, anyway."

"It helps being together in this, Master."

"It isn't that. If this were an idea only one of you could have come up with, only one of you would have. Instead, you grow ideas by leaping off each other's thoughts. What either one of you could eventually do, you together do in mere minutes." Iniquitus said, waving in front of him. "The town, after all, is still not in sight."

"When I say Therran could not have come up with this plan, I mean to say that if I had given him a year, it would not have occurred to him. That you lack his viciousness is plain, but that same cruelty seems, almost, to blind him to possibilities. I nurtured his strengths, I'll admit, without considering the limitations of his natural inclinations. He was cruel, often for the sake of cruel. Without purpose. There is little point in such things."

He turned to them, and his eyes still flint hard, said "I will do better, by the two of you. I was never cruel without purpose, never a tyrant without cause. There is only one thing that matters when you walk the path of conquest."

"The capacity to see how you can win, above and beyond all else." The boys spoke, in unison. "Every other strength is neutered without it,"

"And even the greatest of victories is a hollow, cheap failure." Iniquitus finished. "You learn well, both of you. I'm compelled to spout far more praise than I should."

"Thank you, Master." Beriven said, and Marius nodded in agreement.

Iniquitus wasn't listening, as his attention was caught by something neither boy could perceive. They turned to each other, sharing a confused, concerned moment, then turned back to Iniquitus.

"What is it, Master?" Marius asked.

"Can't you sense it?" Iniquitus asked in turn, pointing ahead.

"No, master." Marius admitted.

Beriven, however, hunched his shoulders and sat down, concentrating on that strange trick of his to look ahead. He focused himself as best he could, slowed his breathing, and let his thoughts settle on the distance ahead of him.

It took a few moments, before his sight left the limits of his eyes, and he felt the small, bright flares of people, still miles ahead. He couldn't sense a great deal, but there was a tinge of something surrounding them. It felt like pain.

"Pain, master, and screams." Beriven said.

"Well done, my young apprentice." He turned back to Marius. "Ahead of us, the village is under attack. This power that emanates through us is affected by such things. Their anguish, their pain, their deaths will linger in the village for a time. We may have to pick a different village."

"But Master," Marius began, then paused, as Iniquitus shot him a look of scorn. "Master, if we were to defeat those bandits, we might be able to negotiate with the village for what we want, from a position of strength."

Iniquitus let his scowl fade from what could be seen of his face, though it didn't leave his eyes. "Your motives are plain enough, Marius. You wished to help that village long before you spoke, or discovered a motive I might agree with."

He turned, and started walking ahead. "I am almost tempted to let that village burn, to spite your compassion. But I should teach you both, now, how I commanded armies and controlled civilizations."

"I'll teach this as we walk. We still have more than an hour until we reach the village." Iniquitus said, starting into a steady march. Both boys fell in behind him.

"Master, shouldn't we hurry?" Marius asked.

"Why?" Iniquitus asked. "The raiders want a cow for years of milk, rather than a week of steak. It's easier by far to live off another's work than your own."

"But people are sill dying, aren't they?" Marius asked.

"Irrelevant." Iniquitus said.

"But-" Marius began, but a quiet glance from Iniquitus stopped him.

"Marius, understand something. Your compassion is idiocy. If you run, you will only meet your enemy tired and unprepared. I won't yet condone this excessive concern for ethics, but there is no point in just making yourself another victim. Even your ethics should demand that you do as much as you can. Blindly charging forward is a cheap way to deny the responsibility you feel you have to those villagers. The best way to help them, if you do not have the power to do so yourself, is aid someone who does."

Marius swallowed hard. "I understand, Master."

They marched along in silence, both boys keeping pace a few steps behind Iniquitus, who seemed comfortable taking the lead.

"I was never unnecessarily cruel." Iniquitus said, as they crested another small hill. The village was now in sight, and both boys could see smoke rising from a few of the buildings. There was no sign of fighting, no flash of blaster fire, causing Marius to sigh in relief.

"I was never unnecessarily cruel." Iniqutus said again, quietly.

"Master?" Beriven asked.

"Every cruelty I visited on resisting enemies, or upon the people under my thumb, was a necessary one. Many years ago, during the conquest of the Confederacy, I did three very different things to three different cities. Itamius, Volshan and Tor'ol. Do any of those names ring a bell?"

"Itamius is the city that General Verre was from." Beriven noted.

"Tor'ol is a major spaceport now, isn't it?" Marius asked.

"Both are correct. Now, I would've been very surprised if either of you had heard of Volshan, because it doesn't exist anymore. Those three were my first targets when I invaded the confederacy."

"Was it the amount of resistance the cities showed?" Beriven asked.

"It couldn't have bee just that. You said that Itamius was the ninth city to fall, and it still exists. You wouldn't have found General Verre so remarkable if someone else had held out longer." Marius noted.

"Quite right, young master Altaire. It wasn't their resistance that mattered in of itself. Resistance is useful. The most rebellious, independent minded people rise up on those occasions, and if you kill them off in the inevitable conflict, the rest of the population is much more compliant.

Volshan was the first city that fell to my armies. Tor'ol was the second. Both fell within four days."

"What happened to them both?"

"Well, when I sent emissaries demanding they secede from the Confederacy and enter my Empire, Tor'ol sent them back in a shuttle with a suitable sum of money to purchase my consulate in the city, and informed me that they would be cutting off diplomatic relations for a year.

Volshan shot my messanger, and hung his body in the public square."

"Well, that was stupid." Marius said.

"Agreed." Beriven added.

"Indeed it was." Iniquitus smiled, without warmth. "When Tor'ol capitulated, I offered them a conditional surrender and invested the money they spent on my consulate to rebuilding some of the damage the invasion caused. The Senate, their governing body, remained in charge of local affairs and taxation remained relatively light.

Volshan, after I butchered their army, was bombarded for a week straight. Keep in mind, Aryan Maizer was only four years old then. There were no energy shields."

"You destroyed a whole city just because they hung your messenger?"

"Contempt is death. Your contempt blinds you to the potential of those you rule, be it what they could do on your behalf, or how dangerous enemies they could make. Your subject's contempt for you blinds them to the danger of your wrath, and inspires those who would overthrow you. Contemptible gestures, more than any sort of resistance, need to be made an example of." Iniquitus explained.

"After that week, I declared that there were no survivors. If any did, they would be obliged to find identities and lives elsewhere. If any claimed their heritage, they were obviously insane, and incarcerated for their own protection."

"Marius?" Iniquitus asked.

"Yes, Master?"

"Your fellow Apprentice can use this power already. He has learned to sense things though the currents that flow through it, and can discern some of their meanings. Can you?" Iniquitus asked, not turning his head.

"No, Master." Marius admitted, and then caught his breath.

As he finished speaking, he flinched, threw his hands around his head, and dove to the side. His shoulder had barely hit the dirt before Iniquitus' hand pointed to him, fingers outstretched, lightning crackled along his fingers.

Iniquitus still hadn't finished turning as he grit his teeth, and the lightning was already dancing between his fingertips as Marius forced himself as close to the ground as he could. Beriven, a few feet away, only had time to widen his eyes in shock, as lighting flew through the air above his friend.

"Master!" Beriven shrieked, his heart suddenly hammering.

Marius, staring intently, scrambled to his feet and dashed behind the nearest tree. He crouched, his eyes scanning wildly for a potential path for escape.

Iniquitus, his eyes wide and his brow furrowed beneath the bandages, rasped a strange noise almost under his breath. It took a moment for Beriven to realize his master was chuckling.

The chuckle turned into outright laughter, as Iniquitus let his hand fall to his side. Steadily, his laughing grew louder, and he turned his head to the sky and howled.

He turned his attention back to his apprentices, and though the laughter faded from the air, the feirce, predatory grin never left his face.

"No, my young apprentice." Iniquitus said to Marius, taking a few steps towards the tree the young boy cowered behind. "You can't use it as your brother does. But you saw, or you knew, just before it happened. You knew what I was going to do."

"You were testing him, Master?" Beriven exclaimed, indignant.

Beriven's bravery faltered as Iniquitus turned and glared at him. "Of course. You didn't think my training would be simple, would it?"

"But that could have k-killed him!" Beriven exclaimed, despite his fear.

"No. But it would have hurt. A lot." Iniquitus replied. "So, Marius, there is something about what you did that I don't understand yet. You're safe for now, you did well." Iniquitus said, holding his hands out in benediction.

"Master, was that really just a test?" Marius asked. His face was pale, and his hands shook. His voice, though clear, was quiet, and his eyes stared intently at the former Emperor of Courescant.

"Of course. I just told you that I am not unnecessarily cruel. Now, young master Altaire, what I want to know is, when you knew what I was going to do, did you see it happening before it happened, or did you just know?"

Marius gulped, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "I just knew."

"Master." Iniquitus said, in warning.

"Master, sorry." Marius apologized. "It definitely wasn't a vision."

"Now, your reaction. Did you 'know' that you would escape by ducking down like that?" Iniquitus asked, slowly.

"I knew it would get me out of the way, if I moved fast enough." Marius replied.

"But you didn't know if you could move fast enough, which would explain your fear." Iniquitus said. "This also means you didn't know until I took that last step before I turned. Is that correct?" Iniquitus asked.

"I think so, Master." Marius said.

"Now, your reaction. Why did you know that ducking down would work?" Iniquitus asked.

"I knew you'd be aiming at my chest, Master. I think..." Marius paused, thinking. "I think I also knew that it was focused in a kind of circle about this big." Marius held his hands, holding one hand at his belly-button, and the other at his nose. "I knew I needed to get out of that sort of area to avoid being hit."

"When you knew, did it come with a way to avoid being it?"

"No, Master. Not at all. I just hoped that dropping to the ground would work."

Iniquitus smiled to himself, and nodded. "This power manifests itself in strange ways, though I suspect you can learn and master what doesn't come to you naturally. I take it this isn't the first time you 'knew' something was about to happen."

Iniquitus turned, and beckoned the boys to follow. They fell into step, though a little further behind than before.

"Well?" Iniquitus asked.

"It isn't, Master." Marius admitted.

"Has it happened often?" Iniquitus asked.

"Only a few times, though much more lately." Marius replied, surprised by his answer. "It's happened a lot since we met you, master."

"Ever sense I taught you both to feel this power?" Iniquitus asked.

"Yes, Master. Ever since."

Iniquitus nodded, though the boys couldn't see the expression on his face. "Good, good. The power responds to your will and desires, and your will to survive has given you a very useful tool."

"But enough for now. I have to consider how best to approach our new problem." He said, pointing to the village. It was now close enough that the boys could make out which homes were burning, and could see some small shapes huddled in what looked like the middle of the town.

They made their way in silence for a few more minutes, Iniquitus lost in contemplation, and the boys too afraid to speak. They stole fearful glances at each other a few times, but otherwise resolutely stared at the grass and rocks that passed beneath them.

As they grew closer, they could see that many people, much of the village, was gathered at the square. A few bodies were visible, even from the distance, and the fires were beginning to die down as they ran out of fuel.

Iniquitus grinned, and turning to the boys, said "I have a task for each of you. Beriven, you will find out which way the bandits went, however you can. Marius, look for weapons, start among the dead. Once you have finished, join me."

"Where will you be, Master?" Beriven asked.

"Negotiating with that crowd of people. If anyone asks, I'm a war veteran from..." Here, Iniquitus paused. "Tor'ol. The ship looks too familiar to pass it off as something from further away."

"Why Tor'ol, Master?" Marius asked.

"It's a spaceport. I bought the ship with my retirement pension two years ago. The shield generator failed in low orbit, which is why we crashed." Iniquitus added.

The boys nodded, though Beriven looked pensive.

"What is it?" Iniquitus asked.

"Master, what do we say your name is? If someone asks."

"Just that you both call me Master. Use the truth, since it's easier to remember than a lie. Just remember to leave out anything that might hint at who I am." Iniquitus replied, quickening his pace as they reached the edge of town.

Marius and Beriven nodded to each other, and split up.

Beriven started towards what looked like the largest pillar of smoke he could find.

His hands shook, suddenly, as he rounded the first corner and saw someone sprawled along the dirt, one hand still clinging to a small piece of cloth. The cloth was ripped, scorched a little on the edges, but it still held the soft, plush yellow colour it must have worn proudly.

Swallowing hard, Beriven tore his eyes away from that little piece of cloth and started searching again. He saw a few bits of scorching, probably from blaster fire, but found his eyes wandering back to that bit of cloth.

He wandered next to the young man holding it, and felt the piece of cloth in his hands.

It was soft, similar to mazak fur. The yellow was stained, splotches of whitened colour littered the side of it Beriven could see, and the singes could barely hide how aged it had become.

Beriven heard something a moment later, and turned his head.

Inside the doorway, just out of sight, lay the rest of that cloth.

A yellow blanket, out of which stuck a small, fat hand with very short fingers.

Beriven stepped over, and knelt beside it.

The head sticking out of the blanket had only the smallest skiff of hair along its mushy looking head. The eyes were closed, the mouth set into a hint of smile, and the bundle expanded slightly, then contracted after a few moments.

Beriven's hands shook as he reached out to that small bundle, and slowly picked it up. It didn't stir, but slept on as he held it in his arms and looked down at the man holding that small piece of cloth.

The body had three large burns, the kind caused by energy blasters. One to the lower torso, one to the right side of the man's chest, and one in the back of the neck. The face, visible from where Beriven stared, was scrunched in something that looked like pain, and the eyes were shut tight.

Clutching the bundle, and using the blanket to wipe the tears in his eyes, Beriven turned and walked away, heading straight towards the town centre.

Marius, struggling hard, tried not to really look at the bodies he passed as he searched the ground for a blaster.

He tried not to see the rape that must have happened, to the girl barely a few years older than him, who lay slumped along the wall with a blaster burn to her head.

He tried not to look back as he passed two old men, riddled with the same burns.

He even succeeded in ignoring the small group of children, no more than eight years old, who lay sprawled together in a pile in the middle of the street.

He failed, however, to ignore the smell. People choose where they cast their sight, but smell come to the nose.

It was a bitter, sickening scent that lingered in the nose long after Marius passed the source of it. The smell carried with the smoke, and lingered in his clothes, his pores, and his hair. It smelled of burning flesh, singed hair, and the stink of what bodies normally carried.

Marius had emptied his stomach already, and the impulse to heave his stomach itself out with it still surged up every few steps. His gut wrenched with his heart, and distracted by the pain, Marius took a long time to notice something important.

He had yet to see the body of one of their attackers, and he had walked through most of the village.

The villagers ran, hid, boarded up their doors.

Not one of them died with a weapon in their hands, or had dropped one as they died. No blasters, nothing more primitive, not even a club or a plasma cutter.

They had not tried to fight back.

From the hillside, Marius had seen the better part of five hundred homes, all of them close to one another. It was a small place, but even a battalion would not have been a tenth of their numbers. If they had organized a defense, even a small group of people to watch for danger, and a few blasters, some simple bandits would have been easily driven off.

For a few moments, he hated every person in that village. For not protecting their children.

But he remembered, in a heartbeat, how he had hesitated when those thugs had attacked his friends. How he hadn't thrown himself at his enemies, not until Anita and Thug had. Without them, without their courage, he would have run away, he knew that. Run away and left his friends to whatever those monsters had wanted to do to them.

Whatever it took to be willing to fight, to kill if you had to, these villagers didn't have. They were too many, and the possibility of ambushing their attackers was too good for any real attempt to have failed.

If it was courage they needed, perhaps he and Beriven could offer it to them.

Giving up his task as hopeless, Marius hurried to the centre of the town.