Chapter One - Peace is a lie

Calista and Louise shared the bed that night. The two slept with their backs to each other peacefully until Siesta barged into the room with a basket of laundry and started singing happily and loudly, making a big nuisance of herself. Louise shot up in the bed and let out an irritated groan.

"Siesta, do you have to be so loud?"

"If I don't wake you up, you'll miss breakfast, and classes, we can't have that, can we? I thought you'd be grateful." she said cheerfully.

"There are no classes for second years today, you should have let me sleep in," moaned Louise.

Calista slowly sat up and started rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "A lowly servant wakes a Sith Lord from her peaceful slumber and expects gratitude? Truly this is the most backwards backwater planet in the universe," she said with a sarcastic and groggy tone.

Louise snapped her head towards Calista and glared at her furiously, "Don't ever call her that again! Especially not where I can hear it!"

Calista turned to Louise with a small smirk, "Or what?"

"Or I'll get really upset," she answered without a hint of fear.

Calista couldn't help but laugh, "That's adorable. Truly. I'm sure the Emperor himself is shivering in fear at the potential consequences of a little pink haired girl getting upset."

Louise snapped and grabbed two fistfulls of the gown she dressed Calista in the previous night, "You're not much bigger than me! Nobody talks about my friend that way! Nobody! Now apologize or else I'll let you go hungry today!"

Calista smiled sincerely, "I'm impressed. You got a lot of backbone. Now if you could only learn to comprehend sarcasm, then we'll be able to get along just fine."

"Louise, she really didn't mean it to insult me. Besides, you really don't have to get angry every time someone talks down to me. They're nobles, I'm a peasant, it's just reality. You were the same way before we met."

Louise sighed and let go of Calista before getting up out of the bed, "That doesn't make it right Siesta, you work harder than anyone else here, you deserve to be respected."

Siesta smiled at Louise before offering her a clean school uniform to wear which she accepted gratefully, "How long was it before you started thinking that way? You need to cut the world some slack Louise."

She then pulled out Calista's cloths from the basket and offered them to her neatly folded.

"Your cloths are made from very fine materials Miss Calista. They were a bit difficult to wash, I hope they are satisfactory?"

Calista took off her nightgown and inspected her clothing. "Yes, everything's just fine. You did all this washing after you left us last night, when did you have time to sleep?"

"Oh, it wasn't a big deal. I did the washing, and then I put them up to dry near a fireplace while I slept. When I woke up, they were ready to go."

Calista nodded, "And where's my armor?"

"Oh, I put it under the bed. Will you be wearing it?"

Louise snickered, "Yes, because this school is so dangerous you need body armor."

Siesta narrowed her eyes at Louise and gave her a sly smirk, "The way you blow things up Louise, she might."

Louise glared at Siesta in return, "Oh really? Maybe next time I'll blow up your house!"

Siesta got in Louise's face and barked back, "You couldn't find my house with a map and a guide!"

Calista smiled as the two friends traded insults, it took her back to a happier time.

Calista pulled on her white wrap around shirt and then her trousers, tied them off with a cloth string, then she pulled on her wrap around tunic and secured it all with a cloth sash that held everything in place. She sat down on the bed to pull on her boots, they were black leather that reached up to just below her knees. Then she sat up and picked up her stealth generator which went on over her belt and kept her Lightsaber clipped to it, then pulled her black robes over the whole thing to complete her look. She adjusted her long blood stained white hair which reached down to her lower back so that it would all flow over the front of her shoulders, fluffed out her bangs to conceal her eyes and then pulled up her hood, shrouding all her facial features in the shadow her hood and hair cast on her face.

Siesta was amazed at how quickly she went from wounded sickly looking girl to the very personification of terror with just a change of wardrobe. Seeing her dressed like that unconscious on the bed was one thing, but seeing her awake and alert in that outfit sent a chill down her spine. While Louise, in her school uniform with black cloak tried to compete by presenting an image of nobility, it failed miserably on account of the short skirt and thigh high stockings. The cute little black shoes didn't help her cause either. Louise eyed Calista up and down and felt very inadequate next to her, she contemplated pulling up her own hood but decided that would be pointless and sighed to herself.

"Well, let's go get breakfast," said Louise.

"You two enjoy yourselves. I'll clean up here and then attend to my other duties. Will I see you in the garden later Louise?"

Louise smiled at Siesta, "Of course you will!"

Louise and Calista arrived in the enormous dining hall, the students were all sorted according to what year they were in, Calista observed that each group of students had a different color cloak on, brown, black, and purple, brown being the youngest students, and purple being the oldest. Louise was in the middle group, and they sat near the end of the middle table where there were two seats available. Calista pulled back her hood and was about to take up her eating utensils when Louise gestured for her to wait.

"Before we eat, we say a prayer of thanks for the food. We don't start until after the headmaster leads the prayer," she said discreetly.

Calista turned her head to regard Louise with closed eyes when she heard hushed gossiping from around the table directed towards her and Louise, she silently observed the various students through the Force and her ears caught enough words to surmise what they were saying.

"Louise summoned that commoner? And she's letting her sit at the noble's table?"

"Unacceptable… she needs to be taught a lesson."

To anyone else, it would have gone unnoticed, but she could hear them perfectly thanks to the Force granting her hyper awareness.

Louise fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she knew that having Calista join her at breakfast might have caused a stir, she just didn't think anyone would be so indiscreet as to actually gossip about it at the table.

The headmaster called the room to order and began leading the prayer. Calista may have been mildly curious about what they were saying in their prayer, but her mind took her somewhere else…

Korriban, Sith Academy
Six years ago

"We do not waste food on the weak in this place boy! Be gone! Do not return until your academics improve sufficiently that we deem you worthy of feeding!"

Calista cringed in fear as the overseer evicted a younger Acolyte from the mess hall of the Sith Academy. It was her turn now to present herself to the Overseer and hope he finds her worthy. She presented a data card to him, a small droid floating over his shoulder scanned it and beeped in approval.

"Very well, you may eat today Acolyte. Do not take it for granted!"

She bowed to him in deference, "Yes my Lord," she said before going to pick up a tray.

She walked solemnly down the aisle where her tray was filled by droids serving barely palatable Imperial food pastes. Calista couldn't stand the food at first, but she quickly learned that nothing makes food taste better than hunger, and it had been days since she was allowed to eat.

She sat down at one of the many tables by herself and started eating, she noted her fellow students giving her dirty looks and heard their hushed whispers.

"That schutta killed Rosh, Jar-tan, and Oret…"

"Oret's father is a Grand Moff. I'm sure her days are numbered."

"She's kind of pretty though, maybe we should take her into one of the tombs and have some fun with her before they kill her. Be a shame to waste the opportunity."

"Why not? I hear she's so weak with her Force powers that she can barely lift a rock."

The group all laughed and started giving each other high fives.

Calista kept her gaze down and only regarded her meal, then she heard more hushed gossip about her from other groups of students.

"She finally got to eat huh? Too bad, it was funny hearing her stomach rumble all the time."

Calista couldn't stand it anymore, she picked up her tray and hurried out of the mess hall and went back to her room to finish her meal in peace. She seated herself at her desk and started eating in a hurry as if an Overseer would barge in and take it all away from her because she wasn't eating in the mess hall like she was suppose to.

"X2 = Worried / / Calista = Shouldn't be eating here" chirped her friend in a concerned tone.

Calista kept inhaling her food until it was all gone. "I don't care Extwo, I can't sit down there and listen to how they talk about me. I wish I was bigger and stronger, so I can make them all shut up with my fists! Damn it, why do I have to be so small?! It isn't fair!"

"Calista = Protected X2 from three Acolytes / / Calista = Should have more faith in herself"

Calista smiled to the Droid. "You're right Extwo. I should, and I will, I'll get stronger, and I'll shut them up!"

Calista forced her mind to focus on the present, the Force could grant disturbingly vivid images of the past, but for now, she needed to eat to recover strength, and strength is something no Sith ever wastes. The gossiping continued, but this time it was mostly drowned out by the conversations going on all around the dining hall until a flamboyant blonde boy holding a rose, had the audacity to throw discretion to the wind and addressed Louise on the matter...

"Louise, we're all happy that you finally managed to cast one spell right. But is it necessary for you to bring a lowly familiar to the table and show it off?"

Now that one of them had finally said something directly, another, decided to speak up as well, this one was a brown haired boy, "Yeah Louise, this table is only for nobles, and that familiar looks anything but. You need to get it out of here, it's stinking up the place."

Louise tried to ignore them, but Calista could see her hands clenching the silverware hard enough to bend the utensils. The room was starting to get tense, beside the boy who spoke up first a blonde girl was tugging at his sleeve and trying to gently encourage him to sit back down, but he wasn't having it.

Calista decided she wouldn't let this stand, she didn't care if they wanted to insult Louise, but talking about a Sith as if she was less than a person, that was unacceptable. They needed to learn very quickly where she drew the line.

She stopped using the Force to mask her powerful Dark Side aura and stood up furiously. She made sure to let the chair create as much noise as it could while scooting back along the stone floor and then slammed her fist into the table hard enough to crack the wood and ensure all attention would be focused solely on her.

With her eyes closed she allowed her awareness to expand, seeing the effect of allowing everyone to experience her aura.

"Why is it so cold all of a sudden," came a low fearful voice.

"We're all gonna die," said another who decided to cower under the table in tears.

Calista was pleased to note two people in the room who didn't seem to be affected, a small girl with blue hair who was reading a book with a bored expression on her face, and still nibbling on a piece of toast on top of that. And across the hall, one of the teachers held his staff at the ready in case things got out of hand.

"If any of you have the courage and strength to evict me from this table by force, then I invite you to try. If not, be silent and enjoy your meals," said Calista in a forceful yet polite tone. The Sith Lord then seated herself and started eating again as if nothing happened. Slowly, her aura faded as she started masking it again and the fear left the room as quickly as it came.

"How do you do that," asked a timid Louise.

Calista smirked, "Perhaps I'll tell you someday. For now, you need to eat. At the school I went to, if you weren't performing according to expectations, you went hungry until you improved or died of hunger."

Louise shuddered at the notion of not being fed because your grades were bad. She almost didn't believe such a thing was possible. But the way Calista had said it, she knew it to be true, and that Calista had probably almost died of hunger many times herself because of it.

After she issued her challenge, nobody dared to speak on the matter for the rest of breakfast. Calista ended up eating three servings of breakfast which earned her a lot of gawking stares.

"Where's she putting all that food?" someone asked quietly.

"Calista, how do you keep your figure while eating like this," asked Louise with wide eyes as she started on her fourth helping.

Calista chuckled at the question, "What can I say? I have a good metabolism. Also healing my injuries probably took a lot more out of me than I anticipated."

After breakfast Louise decided to take Calista on a tour of the Academy. They passed by the crashed Bloodmark fighter where Calista got an update on the repairs from the Droid, then she gave it a hug and a kiss to the top of its head and told it to keep working, it seemed happy if its tone was any indication.

"You and your golem seem to be very close."

"It's not a 'golem' whatever that is. It's a Droid, an Astromech. A Robot. A Machine. If you can grasp the concept of any of those things."

Louise nodded, "I can, but I've just never seen or even imagined a machine like that before."

Calista huffed in amusement, "You don't have to imagine it, you've just seen the real thing."

Louise guided them towards the girl's baths where they spent a few hours luxuriating and making small talk. Calista was relieved that the blood was coming out her hair rather easily as she washed.

Meanwhile many of the other female students couldn't help but cringe in disgust at the sight of Calista's naked and scarred body. Though her skin was clear and smooth where she wasn't injured quite a few of those spots were marred by the sight of black veins. She knew they were all looking at her, and she knew perfectly well why, she just didn't care. Nobody dared to ask about her injuries, and that was enough for her.

"Her hair though… I've never seen anything like it, it's like what you imagine an angel's hair would be like, it's beautiful," observed one of the other female students. She had said it loud enough to be heard all around, yet soft enough to maintain the illusion of discretion.

Louise thought that was a good point and decided to ask, "Uh, Calista, is that hair natural? I've never seen hair like that before, it's like snow."

Calista opened one of her sulfur eyes and looked at Louise, she decided to answer loud enough to be heard, but soft enough to seem like she was only addressing Louise, "It's because I'm only half human."

Louise didn't realize it, but Calista did, the whole bath house had gone silent and all eyes were on Calista. "Half human? How can that be?"

Calista closed her eye again and lay back in the bath water as she addressed the question. "My mother was an Echani. They're a race of people we call 'near-humans' but in fact, they're nothing like Humans. I know you're still curious, but I could spend months telling you about the Echani and you still wouldn't have any idea who they are or what they're like. They're a very complex people. Right now, all you need to know is, this human man met my mother, she let him charge up her loading ramp, and then nine months later, she got stuck with me until I was about five or six. Then my father took me away from her to be trained as a Sith."

Louise was in awe, this woman was half something completely alien to her and her entire world. "So then, what do you identify as? Human? Echani?"

Calista chuckled in amusement, "Ahh, that is a good question. I identify as Sith. That's what I was trained to be, and that's what I am."

Louise was perplexed, this was a new word, "What's a Sith?"

Calista laughed through her nose, "It's easy to forget this world seems to be isolated from the rest of the galaxy. The Sith are an order of Force empowered warriors who rule the Sith Empire. More than half the Galaxy is under the command of our Emperor."

This was all too much for Louise, she still couldn't grasp the concept of other worlds, so she kept quiet for the time being while she processed.

After the much needed bath, Calista and Louise headed to a sitting area which has been prepared outdoors for the day. Once they sat down Louise decided to start making conversation with Calista again, "Could you tell me more about the Sith?"

Calista considered it and didn't see the harm in educating the girl. "As I said, the Sith are warriors. Rulers and defenders of our Empire. Our primary task is to enforce the will of our emperor, and fight a war to destroy our enemies, the Jedi Knights who serve the Galactic Republic."

Louise nodded, "How did this war start?"

"We've been fighting each other for thousands upon thousands of years. In the end it's a war of ideologies. The Jedi preach a philosophy of total pacifism, yet when it comes to the Sith they show their hypocrisy and attempt to exterminate us. Twice before they've come close."

"What's the difference between a Sith and a Jedi?"

"The Jedi believe that one should suppress their own desires and emotions. Love is forbidden to them, possession is forbidden, seeking any form of personal gain is forbidden. The first of our kind, refused to follow this path. They believed that such a way of life goes against all the natural laws of the universe, and that no person could ever live such a life and find fulfillment. They wanted the right to live as they saw fit. They had the audacity to ask for freedom, and then it came to a war. The Jedi tried to exterminate them. A few survived and escaped the genocide, they traveled far across the galaxy until they found the planet Korriban. There, they met a race of Force sensitive beings called the Sith. The Sith worshiped these newcomers as gods. They took the name Sith for themselves and with the help of these people built an empire that followed their beliefs of personal freedom and expression. They built great big monuments, made great scientific developments, and crafted the greatest literature, music, and art in the galaxy."

"And that's when the Jedi came for them?"

"Indeed. The Jedi, by this time had become part of the Galactic Republic and claimed to serve as keepers of the peace. One day, Republic scouts stumbled upon the Sith Empire and were captured. My ancestors found evidence that an invasion was being planned and while they debated what to do about it, the Republic staged a rescue. One leader emerged from the chaos and rallied his people to preempt this invasion and ensure peace and stability for the Empire. After a long and bloody war, we were defeated and driven from our homes yet again. The Republic forces killed every man woman and child on Korriban. That's when our Emperor lead the survivors away to Dromund Kaas where we rebuilt to one day retake our homeworld and have revenge for the holocaust. It took a thousand years, but that war is happening even now as we speak."

"So that's what you were doing when I summoned you. I stole you away from your people, your cause, your friends, comrades, and brought you here. I don't even know how to apologize for that, I really didn't mean to steal you away from your life like this," said a dejected Louise.

"I understand that. Once my fighter is repaired, I should be able to return whenever I want to. So there's no harm done. Besides, I believe my being here now is the will of the Force. Until I know what is destined for me here, I shall stay," said Calista encouragingly.

Louise was relieved by her attitude towards the whole incident and decided to ask more questions, "Could you tell me a bit about the school you went to?"

Calista tensed up at the question, she wanted to lash out in anger, but she took a deep breath and reigned in that emotion, she considered that this world apparently had no real technology, therefore, no space travel and she knew nothing about the Sith, the Empire, or the Republic. She concluded that her ignorance wasn't her fault. "I'd, rather not talk about that," she said with a forced calm that Louise could clearly sense.

Louise quickly decided to change the subject, "So, uhh, what do you think of this place then?" Calista was silently grateful for how observant this girl was.

"It seems peaceful, but peace is a lie. I can sense there's a lot of conflict here, under the tables, hidden from plain sight, but it's there for anyone who can read between the lines to see as plain as day."

Louise nodded grimly, "You're very observant. It takes most new students weeks to catch on to that fact. Many students here are from different nations who are either at war with one another, or will be at war soon enough. Others are maybe from nations which have been subjugated by others. It creates a lot of tension. The rules here state that everyone must be treated equally and that outside conflicts should not be brought to the school. But that rule only applies where it can be enforced."

Calista brought her hand to her chin and contemplated the information, "At my school. It was more or less the same. Students were prohibited from attacking one another, but murder was a daily occurrence. I could hardly go a day without at least three attempts on my life. All rules only apply where they can be enforced, the only universal law is that might makes right."

Louise nodded, she didn't comment on the fact that Calista had just offered up information about the school she went to, she simply filed it away for later reference in case she reveals more in time. "Like at breakfast. When they wanted you out of the dining hall, the way you challenged them to try and force you out. Once you did that, they sat quietly."

Calista smirked, "Indeed."

Louise decided to ask about it again, "That wasn't the first time I felt that fear around you. How do you do it?"

Calista thought about it, trying to decide if she should explain, she saw no harm in it, also no gain from it, but since it would be harmless, she decided to educate the younger girl, but first, she needed to provide context.

"Tell me Louise, the divide between the nobility and the peasantry your friend mentioned, I take it that it's resultant from more than a wealth gap, am I correct?"

Louise nodded to her, "Yes. Some commoners have more money than some nobles, but all nobles are able to use magic, and commoners can't."

Calista nodded, "In the Empire. It's the same. It's called the Sith Empire because it is ruled by the Sith who have power. The strong rule, and the weak serve."

Louise leaned forward on the table resting on her elbows and gave Calista her undivided attention, "You're a Sith, like you said before. Is that what your people call Mages?"

Calista pondered that, "The Sith Order are a group of Force sensitive warriors as I said before. I'm not sure what a Mage is exactly. Would you mind explaining?"

"A mage is what we call someone who can use magic."

"And what empowers a mage?"

"The elements. Earth, Air, Water, and Fire." Louise said while gesturing to the pentagram engraved on the pendant holding up her cloak.

"There are five points on that though. You named four. What's the fifth point represent?"

"The element of void, but that power has been lost to us."

"I see. So these elements empower the magic used by the nobility?"

"Yes. Exactly right. So what's your element then if you're a mage?"

Calista huffed a laugh and smiled, "The Force."

"The Force?"

"The Force is what gives a Sith their power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and it penetrates us. It is omnipotent and omnipresent. It governs the destinies of all things, it has a will of its own, though whether or not it's actually sentient has been the subject of debate for longer than the recorded history of my people. A Sith takes this power and bends it to their will using it as a weapon to defeat our enemies, an adviser to guide our decisions, and a tool for knowledge and defense."

Louise's interest couldn't have piqued higher. This was completely fascinating her. "How does that work exactly?"

Calista smiled at her interest, "It's mostly a spiritual discipline. The power of the Force comes from within, one must master themselves before they can master the power of the Force. This is achieved through rigorous mental discipline. Academics and physical training. The body and the mind must be the strongest they can be. Your emotions also come into play, the destructive power of the Force is channeled through the use of powerful emotions like anger, fear or aggression. A Sith who allows their emotions to control them will fail and die, but a Sith who is the master of themselves, will become the master of all."

Louise was about to ask a question, but Calista held up a finger to indicate she wasn't finished yet, "To answer your question, all I did at breakfast, was stop masking the aura of my power so everyone could feel it."

Louise audibly gulped at the implications of that statement, "In our society. The Royals are the strongest mages by far. But in a society of people like you, just based off what I felt from your aura alone. What kind of being could give you marching orders?"

Calista smirked at Louise, "The Sith Emperor, is a being of such incomprehensible power that thousands upon thousands of worlds with hundreds upon hundreds of billions of people all serve his indomitable will. And above all of that, between him and his subjects, is an army of Sith like me in his service. If you can comprehend the size of his dominion, and then understand that I'm one of the Sith in the lower echelons of the Order, even with all my power, you can begin to imagine the difference between me and those above me, and finally, understand that the Emperor's power, is orders of magnitude above what you'd imagine their power to be. He has ruled the empire for over a thousand years, he is truly immortal. Whatever gods you worship, tremble in fear at the mention of him. The people of the Empire, don't dare even form an opinion of him. Such is their fear of his awesome power."

Louise shuddered, "I can't even imagine any of that. So I'll take your word for it. It sounds scary, but exciting. How many other worlds are there? Are they all just like this one?"

Calista smiled at the young girl's immense curiosity, "How many stars can you see in the night sky Louise?"

Louise blinked at her question, "So many that it's impossible to count them all?"

Calista nodded, "Around each and every one of those stars, are planets just like this one. Well, most of them anyway. Not all can support life, and of the ones that do, not all support intelligent life. And I suppose even then, it really depends on your definition of intelligence. I have a high standard for it myself, but, you see what I'm getting at. If you like, later we can go back to my fighter, Extwo can show you images of other planets and even the people native to those worlds."

Louise was ecstatic, "Really?!"

Calista smiled serenely, "Really."

Louise clapped her hands in joy, "I'd love that! But we should find Siesta first, I know she'd love to see it too!"

There was a loud noise, plates shattering and silverware clanging, Louise and Calista turned to see Siesta being harassed by one of the male students, the same boy who had annoyed Calista at breakfast. He'd knocked a serving tray out of her hands and was scolding her loudly. Beside him a blonde girl with her hair curled into tubes was scolding him for scolding the maid, and beside her a younger girl with brown hair and a brown cloak was also scolding him before they took turns slapping him and walked away in irritation. Calista shrugged but as she was turning back to Louise she saw that she'd already stood up and started walking over to the commotion.

"Guiche de Gramont! I already knew you were anything but a gentleman but for even you to stoop so low as to harass a woman for doing her job is beyond disgusting," yelled Louise as she got into Guiche's face threateningly.

Siesta didn't like confrontations but felt this one was inevitable, she put her hand on Louise's shoulder to try and calm her temper, "Louise, please, it's alright. There's no need for you to get involved, this is between me and him."

Calista meanwhile walked up to join a group of people who'd gathered to watch the unfolding drama and observed with interest.

"Because of this commoner, two noble ladies were crying. Because of how you spoil her and the rest of the staff, they're forgetting their place, it is my duty as a nobleman to remind them," said Guiche with a theatrical and outraged tone.

One student beside Calista, a tall darker skinned buxom redhead shouted to mock the boy, "They weren't crying Guiche, they were livid with you, get the story straight!" Then she laughed, and was joined in her laughter by the other students.

"What exactly took place here," asked Calista to the redhead.

She leaned down to the shorter Sith and addressed her question in a playful gossipy tone of voice, "Guiche was dating two girls, and they just found out about each other because the maid lead one of them here."

Calista blinked, "That can't be all. Did she do it on purpose?"

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "It's entirely possible. Louise and Guiche, the blonde boy with the rose, they have a bit of history. The first year girl was searching for him and the maid just pointed out where he was sitting while serving people."

"I foresee this incident is going to escalate out of control if something doesn't stop it soon. It could be entertaining," said Calista with a casual tone.

The redhead nodded, "Yes indeed. Oh, I'm Kirche by the way. Kirche Augusta Frederica Von Anhalt Zerbst." She turned to face the shorter girl fully and offered her hand out in greeting, "I'm a big of a fan of yours now, the way you shut everyone up at breakfast was amazing."

Calista smiled and breathed a laugh at the compliment, "It's nice to be appreciated. I'm... I'm Calista Zarkot."

As she introduced herself she felt there was something familiar about this girl, especially the way her hair covered half her face. But she quickly dismissed it. The two shook hands in a friendly manner, but before either could make anymore small talk a loud slap was heard.

Siesta had smacked Guiche across his face so hard his world was spinning. She was a girl used to manual labor and was perfectly capable of inflicting pain. "I don't care if you're a noble! You've hurt those two girls just like you hurt Louise and it's long past time you started paying what you owe!"

Guiche shook his head and gathered his wits, the anger was swelling in him and he slapped Siesta back hard enough to send her straight to the ground. Calista's attention then centered on Louise, her face was almost the same color as her hair while she stood protectively over her friend in front of Guiche.

"Fffff… I can feel her anger," stated Calista with a sultry tone, she was clearly enjoying the sensation.

"Yeah. No kidding? This is going to be brutal," said Kirche with a lick of her lips.

"How dare you Guiche?! She's right! I've owed you this for a long time," yelled Louise at the top of her lungs as she balled her fist.

She wound up her arm and punched Guiche in the nose, her petite frame didn't offer much in the way of a credible threat to boy in the form of physical violence, but she still managed to bloody his nose. Guiche responded by giving Louise a back handed slap which sent her falling over until she ended up on top of Siesta. Before the maid could try and hold Louise back, with one motion, she stood up and reached out with her hand, open palmed, the air visibly rippled from her hand outwards towards the boy and pushed him so hard that he took off and slammed into the castle wall a full six meters from where he was standing before.

Calista and Kirche both gasped at Louise, but for different reasons. Then Kirche yelled incredulously "How the hell did she do that?!"

Calista smirked happily. "Very interesting. It seems I've missed something important somewhere..."

Kirche looked down at Calista curiously but decided it'd have to wait, because Guiche was screaming in fury and waving his wand around, from the ground in front of him two brass golems appeared and they both carried swords, shields and were heavily armored.

"Now there's something you don't see every day. Where did those come from," asked Calista.

"You've really never seen a golem before?" asked Kirche.

"No. But I've seen much worse. So those are golems... Think Louise can handle them?"

Kirche shook her head, "Not a chance. She's going to die. If you can help her, you should. I've got my own history with Louise, but I don't want to see her killed."

Louise drew her wand and screamed furiously, "Really Guiche?! You don't even have the guts to come at me yourself, you send these things? Well I'm not the one who's going to die, you are!"

Louise pointed her wand at the golems, it was the first time she'd ever hoped for her spells to explode instead of work as intended. She took aim at the one on the left and cast a simple levitation spell on it, there was an explosion in front of it but it survived and kept coming at her. Louise started running away to gain distance so she could cast again, but the spell continued to have no effect. The twin Valkyries got serious with her under Guiche's direction, they surged forward with greater speed Louise tried to dodge a sword blow but it sliced into her shoulder sending her to the floor in pain, the golems then stood over her menacingly while Guiche started walking over to her.

Calista didn't want to intervene. Louise had picked a fight that she knew she wasn't equipped to see through to the end, she sealed her own fate. But something inside her compelled her, something she didn't understand filled her with a strong urge to protect Louise. Then she remembered the Force Bond she sensed. If Louise was killed, she'd die as well, even if she was suppressing the pain being shared. She picked up her Lightsaber hilt and bent her knees to lean forward, her Force assisted leap sent her flying a full ten meters, she activated her Lightsaber staff on both ends simultaneously, and when she landed she began an elaborate set of flips and spins to cut both of the much taller golems down into several chunks each before standing defensively in front of the pink haired girl.

Kirche gasped and yelled in shock, "What the hell was that?!"

Louise and Siesta were both stunned at the speed with which she cut the two golems down and their eyes, like everyone else's focused on the weapon she used. A staff made of red light that sliced the Valkyries like a hot knife through butter.

Calista looked to her left hand and the glowing runes there. "That's very interesting," she said to herself.

She didn't understand it yet, but the attack sequence she instinctively used, she knew all about even if she wasn't fully trained in it, it was an Ataru sequence. The ready stance she was keeping now, she realized was a Niman stance. A very brief search of her own mind revealed she was suddenly flooded with intimate knowledge of many new Lightsaber forms which she never practiced before beyond the basics. Siesta got up and ran as quickly as she could to Louise's side, she tore off her apron and pressed it down over a bleeding wound on her friend's shoulder.

Guiche was equally stumped and his solution was to summon more golems. He waved his rose wand releasing six petals and summoned six more, all with mixed armament, some with shields and swords, some with claymores, and others with polearms. He commanded them to attack, and they charged.

Calista made short work of them by jumping and flipping around them. The ones that she didn't cut down destroyed each other trying to hit her as she moved between them. Then she started walking towards Guiche, she opened her eyes to stare into his with a death glare. He felt as if the reaper himself was coming for him and waved his wand to drop another petal, his last one, it summoned a sword for him, a large two handed brass sword. He picked it up and rushed to meet the Sith head on. He tried to bring his sword down over the Sith's head but she only needed to casually step to the side while flourishing her staff around herself to slice the blade of his weapon clean off. Guiche was paralyzed in fear as his eyes locked on the remains of the sword in his hand.

Calista deactivated her staff and clipped it back on her belt as she walked over to Louise and Siesta and regarded them carefully, "Are you both alright?"

The two girls nodded to her speechlessly.

"How did you-" Guiche tried to ask but he was cut off when his windpipe suddenly and inexplicably became constricted.

Calista turned around and faced him, she extended her left hand to him with a pinching gesture with her thumb and index finger. "Be silent! The dead should not speak," she hissed at him.

By now, Kirche had approached the group, she realized that Guiche's current predicament was Calista's doing, "Cali, I get that he crossed the line, and that he's an annoying little shit who has too high an opinion of himself. But is it really necessary to kill him?" she asked cautiously before looking to Louise and Siesta for backup.

However, only Siesta spoke. Louise was still too angry with Guiche to be of any help, "Calista, she's right. You should let him go."

Calista sighed and dropped him. "He tried to murder Louise… Gah. Very well. But he still needs to be taught a valuable life lesson which I'm still not satisfied has sunk in for him yet."

Guiche confirmed Calista's point by speaking again, "You bitch! I'll kill you," he forced out of his sore throat while reaching for his wand which fell out onto the floor.

"Guiche! Where's your sense of self preservation?!" yelled Kirche incredulously.

Calista held out all the fingers of her left hand to Guiche and unleashed a stream of lightning as she walked closer to him. Guiche's body went limp and fell over, as the power surged through his body he flexed and contorted in unnatural ways that were just too painful for Kirche, or anyone to watch, even Louise looked away. But they could still hear his screams, they were ear piercing, followed closely by the stench of cooked flesh as the electrical energy burned him alive.

Louise finally couldn't stand it anymore, even her deep hatred of Guiche gave way to her sense of Humanity. "Calista! Please! Stop! You're killing him," she yelled as loud as she possibly could.

Calista cut off the flow of power, a few sparks shot out of Guiche as the energy dissipated from him. "As you wish," she said calmly as she walked away while tucking her hands into the sleeves of her robe and holding her arms under her breasts in a dignified and sagely manner.

"Why would she do that? There wasn't any need for it," asked Siesta.

Kirche looked at her solemnly, "Guiche dug his own hole. She just pushed him into it. Don't feel bad for him."

Kirche then turned to some of the male students and told them to take Guiche to the infirmary, which they did, in a hurry. Louise was stunned by what she just saw.

Siesta put her hands on her and tried to shake her out of it, "Louise? Are you alright?"

Louise looked at her without blinking, terror in her eyes like nothing Siesta had ever seen before,"I have a horrible feeling Siesta. Like the we're standing on the brink of something terrible. I've summoned something that was never meant for our world. God forgive me," she said with a shaky voice.

A/N: Chapter edited 6/6/2015

Corrected mechanical errors.