The Dark Apprentice
Chapter 2
With a snap-hiss, the top of the bacta tank opened, and swivelled off. Harry opened his eyes, as he was lifted out of the liquid that had miraculously healed him of all his ailments. His skin had more colour, now. He had a slight amount more muscle and his bones didn't show too much. The five year-old Harry Potter giggled as he floated across the room to the drying towel.
After being rubbed off completely, he sat and stared at the man who'd saved him. Tall and dark-haired, the young boy was pleased to see someone who wasn't his Uncle Vernon. He stood rather shakily after being in a state of suspension for a week. Speaking of:
"Excuse me, mister? Where's the loo? I've gotta poo!"
"Uhh- the refresher is just there." The Apprentice pointed to a door marked with a brown band about head-height. Harry ran over and nearly dropped his bomb when the door moved- seemingly- of its own accord. Looking for reassurance, the strange man just gestured to the 'fresher.
After Harry had finished his business, the Apprentice sat him down and decided to ascertain why he had been in the cupboard under the stairs.
"So, why were you locked in that cupboard?"
"I was locked in my room because I'd done a bad thing." The Apprentice frowned. What necessitated that kind of punishment in someone so long, outside of Sith culture?
"What bad thing?" He asked.
"I… I was running away from Dudley and his friends and then I appeared on top of a roof. They had to call the Fire Service to get me down." Harry looked ashamed at that, although the Apprentice was confused. Appeared? Maybe just a memory lapse, however uncommon in one so young.
"I fail to see what is wrong with that. By the sounds of it, they meant you harm, and you escaped. I do not think you deserved that treatment. But, that is in the past now. You live with me, now. You-" The Apprentice stuttered here. He was suddenly unsure. What was a Sith Apprentice doing, adopting a hard-done-by 5-year-old child from an unknown world? He knew, but he didn't want to admit it. He wanted this child to have what he didn't. What he could never have.
"You'll have a good childhood, but one where you will try your honest hardest to do as well as possible, is that clear?" If he was going to hell, he may as well go all the way.
Harry nodded affirmative, "Yes, mister! I'll try my very hardest! I… I won't get beaten for doing good, will I? Mister?" So that's why the boy was a bit weird- he'd been punished for doing both good, and bad.
"No, you will only be punished if you break a promise, or if you do not do as I say, when I say. Understand?" He didn't say he wouldn't hurt him, best to leave that hanging over his head. He didn't exactly want a problem child, did he?
What did he want?
Harry was happy with that. He nodded his understanding.
"Good, now, what's your name?"
"Harry Potter! I used to be called Boy, or Freak, but Miss. MacKenzie told me I was called 'Harry'." The Apprentice began to make mental notes on just what the boy's previous guardians had done and not done for the boy.
"Well, Harry, I want you to meet someone; his name is PROXY. He's droid. I don't know if you know what that is, but he's made of metal and he can make himself look like other people. Come, he'll be teaching you from now on. You'll like him, I'm sure. By the way, my name's- uh, Galen. Galen Marek."
"PROXY, this is Harry. I picked him up on that planet I felt the Force Disturbance on. Turns out it was him. You're to teach him how to write, read, all the things he'll need to get by. No combat, though, alright?"
"Of course, Master. Will you be teaching him like your Master taught you?"
Galen, as he now had to call himself, hesitated. "No. I will teach him as Master Rahm did." With that said, he turned and left the room. Only a week previously, he had been a staunch loyalist to Lord Vader. He could feel the Dark Side thrumming in his veins with every step, with every kill he rejoiced in the passion, the chaos, and the hate that it brought. Now, he could still feel his connection to Dark Side, but he no longer sought to serve Lord Vader. Not even to usurp Lord Sidius. He sought only to… help the boy.
PROXY sat at the table, data-slate in hand whilst trying to get Harry to understand the letters and numbers of Galactic Basic. It seemed impossible. Maybe another approach would be necessary.
"Young Master, perhaps if you showed me the numbers of your own language, I could show you how they relate to this task."
Harry looked at the droid, completely happy with being asked to show what he knew- he knew so much more than he was allowed to show at home!
"Sure! We have one, two, three..."
The child continued, whilst the droid was restraining itself from showing too much amazement- they were, after all, trying to emulate Master Kota in their style of teaching. The child knew an entire alphabet and numerical system, so the only thing the droid had to do was show him how they related to his own system. Good thing AIs could understand things pretty fast. It seemed as if Harry liked teaching, or at least at this early stage, showing what he knew already.
Harry's rudimentary education flew by- with none of the restrictions of Earthly education, he learnt the ins and outs of mathematics, art, science, language, and religion. PROXY took short breaks from teaching Harry to collect more data on his Earthly scholastic subjects- Galen had a feeling that Harry was needed here, and would need to be as prepared as possible. The boy progressed in leaps and bounds- whatever PROXY attempted to teach him, he devoured with such readiness it seemed as if he already knew half of the matter.
PROXY did not just teach Harry about Earthly things, but also about things found out in the Galaxy. The thousands of races, the Galaxy's history, and the Jedi. Not just them, but the Sith, too. He told the small, green-eyed boy about the various creeds of the two factions, one seeking peace and stability, the other seeking (originally) nature's balance and passion. The droid was careful not to lean either way, or to force the boy to see one as better than the other. They were merely viewpoints.
There were three things that the ever-faithful PROXY did not mention just yet- combat, the Force, and lightsabers. That was his Master's job, and his decision when the boy would learn about them. He was taking a very Kota-like approach to teach Harry. Standoffish and brooding even on a good day, Galen orchestrated Harry's progress like a master conductor- when the boy came to him telling him all he knew, he asked questions designed to lead the boy into avenues of research and learning in his own time, ones to make him think and use his knowledge. Because with only knowledge, there could be no wisdom. But to use your knowledge, now that is wise.
It was approaching a year since Harry had been saved from the Dursleys' household. Galen was inwardly pleased with how well Harry was learning. His food had, of course, been supplemented to ensure maximum muscle and bone growth, not to mention brain food in the form of Dianoga tentacles (i.e. almost solid protein). Galen was sure that Harry was ready to start on his combat training, but he had to make sure. He didn't want him to go down the road that would lead to the Dark Side to the exclusion of all else. He had to train him to use his abilities for himself- other people only betrayed- no. He would not interfere with Harry like that. He'd let the boy make his own way.
Galen sighed, and then pushed off the wall he was leaning on while watching the boy read through some advanced text on states of matter.
"Harry, what is that you're reading there?" The young boy looked up, after finishing his sentence. Not even needing to put his finger on the page, to know his place.
"Nuclear and Particle Physics by B.R. Martin. This chapter's about plasma! Did you know, that plasma can conduct electricity? And that it makes up every single star?"
Galen laughed, the boy was so eager to learn! He hated to take that away from him, if only a little bit. "Harry, I have something to show you, and a few new lessons for you to take per week. What do you say?"
"Yes!" Harry practically jumped up and down, he was getting bored with his current subjects. He was reading so far ahead that PROXY was basically camping out on Earth now.
"Then let's go. I'll show you a new area of the ship- one of the ones you weren't allowed in." Harry sat, eyes wide open. It may as well have been Christmas for the boy, being allowed somewhere new. "Well, come on!
The training room on the Rogue Shadow was large, and circular. The bays on the wall held combat-purposed PROXY droids, and the ceiling held moving targets. Harry wondered at what this room was for, with all the teachers and metal doors.
"This, Harry, is the Training Room. From now on, from seven until nine, you will train with me in here, building up stamina, strength and agility. Once you are at a level I deem acceptable, you will start on your first project. Want to know what it is?" Galen couldn't help but make the boy wonder, his eyes scanned the room fitfully, unaware that his target was hanging on his protector's waist.
The Clone pulled his cloak aside, just enough for Harry to see the two metal cylinders hanging from his belt. The boy's eyes bugged, but then he frowned. He had no idea what they were.
"Shall I show you what you have to look forward to, Harry?" Galen smirked. He must be psychic.
"Yes, please! Please show!" Harry nearly screamed in excitement.
"Alright, alright, modulate your voice, please." The boy clamped his mouth shut, chastised.
Galen slowly drew his lightsabers, holding them his traditionally unique way- the Jar'Kai grip, as it was called. The blade emitters point up past his back, and the gleaming metal cylinders grasped tightly in his hands. Thumbing the activation studs, the blades leapt out of the hilts with an almost-silent snap-hisss. He'd take the liberty to change the blade crystals to some of those kept by Starkiller when he was travelling with Kota for a time. He'd decided to use the black-core, white aura crystals, he'd feel like he'd betray the Jedi name just by using the blue ones, let alone Starkiller's aqua crystal sets. The sibilant hum of the blades was barely audible as he remained perfectly still. Suddenly swinging his right hand around, he began to move through the beginner Shii-Cho forms. The wide arcs of the blades in his reverse grip made it look like a deadly dance- which is just what he wanted Harry to think. Emphasis on deadly.
The boy sat in the centre of the Training Room as Galen slowly amped up his show of lightsaber combat. Moving from Shii-Cho to Makashi, the ex-Apprentice began deliberately exaggerating his movements, emphasising his footwork and precise strikes against imaginary foes. It carried on through the Seven Forms, to Soresu with its constant blade-movement and subtle dodges, Ataru's acrobatics seemingly defying physics and strikes appearing from any which direction; Shien and Djem So with their over-bearing attacks and steadfast defence, with wide and powerful power strikes and sweeps. Niman, with its jack-of-all-trades inclusion of the others, giving no ground but taking none in turn. Galen's Jar'Kai skills came to the forefront then, using both lightsabers like they were but part of his arms; he slowed down as he reeled himself back in.
And yet, a small voice in his mind couldn't help but comment: What about Juyo? What about Vaapad? Show him the darker sides to the beauty, Galen… Should he? Should he tempt him, or scare him away from them? Hell, the boy should know what he's getting into, Galen told himself.
The man changed posture faster than a cobra striking. He slashed, he stabbed, he cut and carved and swept with his sabers until he even he was breaking a sweat. He drew on his darkest thoughts, the ones he'd kept locked inside since he'd met the happy little boy. Vaapad. Using the rage of the enemy and your own internal darkness. Invented by Grand Master Mace Windu before his death at the hands of Darth Sidious. Wrenching his thoughts from the pit, he swung the sabers around, humming them so close to young Harry, he felt the heat.
Awed at the show of acrobatics, swordsmanship and mastery, Harry was too frozen to clap, let alone flinch at how close the last swing had come to him. He knew, he knew that Galen was showing him everything- everything he had to look forward to, and what to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
"These, Harry, are called 'lightsabers'. They don't use light, but plasma, to form a complete, single cutting edge. It can cut through almost anything- there are some very rare ores and compounds that confound it. Now, I am not a Jedi, nor am I Sith. I… used to be Sith. Since meeting you, I have seen the error of my ways, and have been brought back from teetering on the edge as I was. You will construct your own training saber before you can use a proper one. I won't have you lopping off and arm or a leg- especially not your head!"
Harry's eyes were so big, you'd think they should have popped out long ago.
"But, you can't use your hands; only your mind, and the Force. Do you know what that is?"
Harry's brows furrowed. He'd read of the term, somewhere… Something about Force-users. Galen continued.
"The Force is what people on your world would call 'magic'-" Harry flinched slightly, which did not go unnoticed by Galen. "Harry? Are you OK?"
"I- my relatives would not allow that word to be spoken, that's all. That, and… every time I did something that couldn't be explained, they… beat me. Is that what this is, the… Force?"
"Well, what did you do? Jump extra high, run too fast? Something like that?"
"I- no, I was running away from my cousin and his friends, and appeared on a roof I sometimes climbed to for safety. They saw me disappear, which is why the Dursleys found out."
Galen was stumped- no one could do that, as far as he knew. Sure, Terror Troopers could move damnably fast, but not appear nearly twenty feet in the air a split second later.
"Were there any other occasions like that?"
"Well, I heal really fast- I would've been fine by the morning, night you found me. My hair grows whenever Aunt Petunia cuts it really short and badly. I turned my teacher's wig blue because she ripped up my art work because it was better than Dudley's. I… can speak to snakes, too." Harry was very hesitant about the last part- maybe snakes were feared or frowned upon on Earth.
"Well… I haven't heard of any of these skills in terms of Force-use, but maybe… I'll do some reading, I never really learned a lot about the old Jedi Order, they may have had something like this. Anyway, the Force can be used in various ways- you can Pull, Push or Grip things or people, you can Jump, heck, you can Levitate if you're strong enough and have more focus than a laser. Some of the old Jedi Order could use Battle-Meditation to change the course of a battle, some could speak to the dead. Some Sith can use Force Lightning to attack their opponents, but this uses a great deal of power and rage to do it right (and you were right, plasma is conductive). It mostly depends on what your intent is. You can build up the pressure of some, and release it all at once. You can even alter the minds of the very weak-minded, although most notice it after a while of being affected. That's the basic overview, there are hundreds of different techniques. Any questions before I continue, Harry?"
The boy sat in thought for a minute, churning and cataloguing all he'd been told. He had several, but all but one could wait.
"When do I start learning to use the Force?" Galen laughed at his readiness, so soon!
"Not for a while yet, you need to be able to control yourself to the extreme- the old Jedi Order attempted to force their members to refuse all emotion, but I find this inadequate. In the absence of emotion, there is only apathy. It is better to think things through logically, balancing all arguments, and relying on instinct and the Force when time is short. Do you understand that?" Harry nodded.
"Right. As I said, first you'll be learning control, balance and stamina. Besides your current studies in the mornings, you will now spend the latter half of the day alternating between building up to using the Force, and learning how to make a lightsaber. I have tonnes of parts in the hold, so don't hold back in getting to know the pieces- they're individual, so if you find something that you have a kind of 'attachment' to, save it and keep it safe until you're better at building it. For now, we'll start with meditation and finding the Force within you. You see, in every cell in your body, there are things called 'midi-chlorians'…"
Galen and Harry sat in the Training Room from noon until nine every day, switching subjects until they began to blend together. Galen had expected years, as it had been with him- and he'd been learning under the swift-as-a-river Sith regime. Harry took merely two weeks to control his emotions enough to not psych out when he was allowed to hold and test the weight of one of Galen's lightsabers. His physical training came to the fore then, when he didn't drop the weight straight away. The snap-hisss made him smile slightly, the black-white light illuminating his young face.
Harry had taken to meditating at night until the early hours of the morning, working through his life and coming to terms with the terrible abuse he'd suffered at home. He didn't know it, but small items such as pens and parts of lightsabers began to float as he became used to meditating and letting the Force flow through him.
Galen kept him busy during their lessons, throwing Harry into physical exercise so hard the poor boy almost considered it a punishment. However, it didn't take him long to figure it out- the harder it was now, the easier it would be later. He knew that if Galen set the challenge, it meant he thought that Harry could overcome it.
Galen, conversely, kept throwing ever-harder challenges at Harry, attempting to test his mettle and ways of coping with failure. The boy just kept beating them. Assault courses were left behind in the dust, the boy was so fast. Finding Force-infused objects in a room of Blank objects was too easy, and the boy meditated through sudden, non-lethal attacks from PROXY. He was indomitable, at only six and a half years. What would he be like later in life?
It took Harry another two weeks to begin to consciously use the Force with hand-gestures. Half-meditating was the key- he was calm, but not emotionless. He could guide things through hoops, throw things ever-increasing distances, and infuse his muscles with the Force for short periods of time.
Finally, though, Harry could build his training saber.
Galen sat meditating in his quarters one night, when he slipped deeper into trance than he usually did. He could feel the waves of the Force crashing over him, some pulling him down, others lifting him up. His mind remained afloat amidst the waves, until he felt another presence. Something dark. Twisted. Broken. He reached out, sure in his strength. The presence was barely registering in the deep oceans of the Force, it couldn't harm him.
Images spewed from a rift shaped like a lightning bolt. A young boy, pointing a stick at a man so obviously his father. Green light. A slightly older boy, the same one, pointing the same stick at a girl with bunches of hair on either side of her face. The boy, now a young man, stick in hand, a creepily made-up woman writhing on the floor. Green light. A dirty old man, lying drunk in a bush. Green light. A young, attractive woman, green light. This time, hissing could be heard in the background. A young farmer, hoe in hand, green light. A baby, with bright green eyes, a mother with the same eyes and beautiful, red-gold hair, green light, screams, a lightning bolt scar. One almost exactly the same as Harry's… This man had tried to kill Harry. The green light… some kind of death-causing ray? A lot like the Death Star that Galen remembered from his namesake.
The images stopped, as the entity weakened. It called to Galen's inner darkness. He almost laughed! Couldn't it tell, he now had light inside, too? He refused its call, felt the rage and fear simultaneously. Conjuring up his lightsabers, he soared forwards though the waves of the Force, and set about dismembering the parasitic link he could feel to Harry's mind.
It happened late one night while Harry was meditating. Opening his eyes, he saw the parts he felt an affinity to floating past his eyes. Reaching out with the Force for the first time without using his limbs (he'd used his feet on occasion, when tasked to), he grasped the small emitter in front of his eyes with his mind, and scouted about for where he could feel the activation stud. After gathering the other pieces, amongst them the diatium power cell and the flux aperture, with the stabilisation nozzle fitted over it. He began to work at it like a puzzle, fitting and clipping the pieces that fit together, both in the Force and in life. He continued on, not even aware that Galen had felt his shift into conscious, gesture-less use. The man stood amazed, a six-year old using the Force to make his first training saber. Usually, eleven year olds would have trouble with this.
It could have something to do with his combating the thing leeching off of the boy's mind. Perhaps he should mention it. But not now. Not when the boy was so close!
Harry went to PROXY's lessons as normal, from five until twelve every day. He delved into some of the newer, more advanced forms of science and mathematics that the Galaxy had made. Plasma blades, high-energy batteries, even force-fields, an item of science-fiction at home. He learned and remembered all. PROXY was finding it hard to find anything from Earth that Harry should learn to be the best he ever could, until he stumbled across a curious sight.
Disguised as he was (an old man with a stick, walking slowly through a field- don't ask), PROXY stumbled across a young girl flying on what could only be described as a branch. She must have been only a year younger than Harry, and yet she looked so at home on that flying branch, the droid cogitated the fact that she was used to it. The droid also made the hypothesis that it was Force-related, as an adult stepped out on the side of small field, and started yelling all sorts at the girl for being so reckless. Shooting a jet of light at a strange twenty-foot high hoop, which suddenly sprung branches and leaves, hiding the hoop from sight. "Seen by Muggles" was heard by PROXY's sensitive speech-input devices several times, as was 'Hogwarts', 'magic' and 'Harry Potter'. He needed to return to his master. He had news to relay.