The small ship had just dropped out of hyperspace with a satisfying hum. Ahsoka punched a couple of buttons on the console in front of her, putting her ship on automatic pilot. She'd looked forward to seeing the massive gas giant since Vader had ordered her to Yavin 4. Ahsoka had seen several different worlds in her lifetime, first with Master Plo Koon when she left her homeworld of Shili, then by Anakin's side through the Clone War, and lately on her own while running from the Empire. Nothing compared to the crimson majesty of Yavin, however. It was like an enormous ruby storm in the sky, its turbulent atmosphere roiling and churning as it had since time immemorial. Ahsoka had never seen the like before, and took a moment to take it all in. Enuma was equally enthralled, her eyes wider than normal. Enuma smiled beatifically, and the majesty of Yavin reflected in her brilliant purple eyes. Ahsoka wasn't sure what made her happier; the glory of Yavin or the joy Enuma practically radiated in seeing it for the first time.

Ahsoka turned the ship about and set course for Yavin 4, a nearby moon that had once sustained an entire Sith civilization. She didn't know much about the Sith on Yavin 4, but that was hardly surprising, as any information about the Sith was hard to come by, thanks to the Jedi. As they descended through the atmosphere, they saw beneath them an endless sea of green, thanks to the massive rain forests that covered Yavin 4. It made it an ideal place to hide out, as only the most massive structures were even visible above the jungle canopy. There were some incredibly massive structures that Ahsoka could see as they approached the coordinates she'd been given. The largest of them all was their destination: the great Sith temple.

The enormous stone ziggurat loomed so high over the jungle canopy that from their distance, the massive trees looked like blades of grass next to it. Ahsoka could scarcely believe that such a monstrous construct could even exist, much less be built by the hands of mortals. Nevertheless, there it stood, on the horizon, calling to her through the power of the Dark Side. She could feel the pull, in the darkest recesses of her mind, leading her to her destiny.

Enuma also could not take her eyes off the monolithic structure, but for an entirely different reason. She was clearly afraid, muttering to herself in the Twi'lek's native language. Ahsoka wasn't terribly proficient in Ryl, but what little fragments she could make out were protestations of not wanting to go near that horrible place. Ahsoka understood Enuma's fears; Twi'leks could be intensely superstitious, and the temple practically radiated power. Ahsoka could feel its distortions in the Force even from their distance. Ahsoka did her best to calm the nervous Twi'lek, but Enuma remained nervous, despite her assurances that she would be alright.

The small ship, that had once belonged to one of Jabba's servants, set down at the edge of the temple's clearing. Ahsoka could feel the power of this place more intensely than before, and it disoriented her at first. She'd never felt such power before, and to be fair, she believed no Jedi ever had either. Only Sith had been here, that she could tell, and the power of the Dark Side was a palpable thing in this place.

Ahsoka gathered up a few items: her lightsabers, a few bits of rations should she be in there a while, a cloak. The rain had started to fall here shortly before they had landed, and she was in no mood to deal with wet clothes in addition to her nerves being frayed as they were. Though she didn't feel the desire to shun the power of the Dark Side, she still found herself unnerved by it, and she'd never felt it so strongly before. She pulled the hood of the cloak over her montrals, and went to exit the ship.

"Ahsoka, please, do not go there. It is a bad place, Ahsoka. I can feel it." Enuma looked genuinely worried, as if she knew she'd never see Ahsoka again. Ahsoka couldn't help but think that she might be right. After all, she was coming here following a dream, or vision, of her master who had fallen to the Dark Side and become Sith, and then gravely wounded, only to be reborn as a cyborg. There was no logic to this; it was all gut instinct.

Very much like the Sith themselves, Ahsoka thought to herself.

"Enuma, I know you're worried. It's alright, things will be fine. We're supposed to be here. I'm meeting an...old friend."

"Ahsoka, this place is filled with darkness! Can't you feel it? I thought all those who could feel the Force could feel these things!"

Ahsoka found herself stopping in her tracks. Was Enuma Force-sensitive? This may prove interesting, seeing how they managed to meet. She would have to remember to discuss this with Vader...assuming he was actually there.

"Enuma, please. I can handle it. You just stay here, alright? Seal the hatch, and nothing will bother you. I'll have a comlink with me, so call me if you need something." Ahsoka smiled at Enuma. "I'll be back soon, alright? Get some rest."

Despite Enuma's protests, Ahsoka disembarked from the ship and made her way to the temple proper. She could see that at one time, massive stone and iron doors had blocked the way in to the sanctuary, but they had long since been knocked off their hinges. Fragments of what she was certain were the doors lay scattered about, each the size of a respectable boulder. Everything about this place was massive. Whoever had designed and built it definitely had intimidation in mind.

She went inside the temple, and as she walked closer and closer to the center of the ziggurat, the light from outside seemed to grow dimmer. Perhaps a conceit of the architect, intended to symbolize the growing power of the Dark Side? Ahsoka could hardly find the words for what she beheld here, in this most ancient of places.

Her footsteps echoed from distant walls, and because of the darkness within, she could not get an accurate read on how massive this chamber was. All she could hear was her footfalls...and breathing.

Mechanical breathing, in a regular pattern. He was here.

"You have come." The deep voice of Darth Vader echoed throughout the chamber. It sounded like a voice welling up from the bowels of Yavin 4 itself. Ahsoka could see the small blinking lights on the control panel mounted on Vader's chest. She walked over to him, anxious to prove that he was real, and that he was here. She was nervous, more so than she'd ever been, at being in the physical presence of her first, and current, master.

"Yes, Master." Ahsoka fell to one knee before Vader, her head bowed and her eyes averted. "You asked me to come, and I have come. I come to serve, and to be trained by you."

Vader stood, inscrutable, with only the sound of his respirator being heard in the monstrous temple. It felt like minutes had passed before he spoke again, but when he did, it was with the force of a thunderstorm. "You have felt the power of the Dark Side, and embraced it, but you are not Sith. Not yet. Since time long gone, the Sith have had a tradition. There shall only ever be two: a master, and an apprentice. If we are to deal with the Emperor, we must proceed from the assumption that he is not to be considered the master any longer. As for the apprentice..."

Vader turned, gesturing towards the dark walls of the temple. "Within this chamber, there is a trial you must pass. If you succeed, I will train you as my apprentice, and together, we will make preparations for a better galaxy, a galaxy ruled by us. Should you fail...you will die."

The words hit Ahsoka like a sledgehammer. She knew the Sith were severe, but she didn't think that Vader would willingly risk her life. No, she thought, Anakin might not have, but Darth Vader certainly will. I must not forget that he is not the same person he was when he trained me before. Ahsoka rose to her feet, and bowed her head to Vader. "As you command, my master."

Ahsoka detached her cloak's clasp, letting the cloth fall to the ground. Her hands instinctively went to where her lightsabers hung, assuring her that they were there and at the ready. She clenched her jaw, and swallowed hard. She walked in the direction Vader had indicated, and found herself lost in the darkness.

She refrained from thrashing her arms about before her, choosing instead to let the Force see for her, and with these augmented senses, she found a massive doorway, leading down into even deeper darkness. She felt fear like a physical sensation, and she was mindful of it. She reminded herself that her emotions could give her strength, but could also be a fatal weakness if she allowed them to control her. She knew she had to be her own master here, or she would never emerge again. She walked through the doorway, not knowing at all what to expect.

As she passed through the doorway, the air grew cold, and an odd mist started to form, hovering just over the floor. She could still feel that the floor was stone, but it was wet as well, and her feet occasionally splashed as she walked forward.

"Ahsoka..." A familiar voice, a voice from her past, spoke in a harsh whisper.

"Lux?" Ahsoka found herself speaking out loud, the sudden change in volume almost startling her. She knew the voice, but it wasn't possible for Lux Bonteri to be there, for surely he was still serving in the Senate, back on Coruscant. She'd known him briefly during a turbulent period on Onderon, and fought side-by-side with him to free his world from the grip of Count Dooku's Separatists. She'd had several close calls where she'd almost allowed herself to have feelings for the young man, but, being the loyal Jedi, she denied herself even that small indulgence.

"Ahsoka, why did you not tell me how you felt?"

"Where are you, Lux?"

"I'm here, nearby. Just follow my voice."

Ahsoka continued along the rough corridor, following the sound of Lux's voice. Her heart beat rapidly now, but Ahsoka wasn't sure if it was out of fear, or out of the repressed desires she'd hidden from everyone, especially Lux himself. "How can you be here, Lux?"

"I am here because you are here." The voice was right next to her. Sure enough, as she turned rapidly to face the source of the sound, she saw the young face of Lux Bonteri, his eyes almost filled with tears. "I have missed you, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka, abandoning all pretense of stoicism, threw her arms around the young man and embraced him tightly. He returned the gesture, his smile almost warming the room around them. "I've thought about you a lot over the years." She felt such inexplicable joy at this meeting, but in the back of her mind, she knew that it couldn't possibly be real. Her logical mind, the mind of a Jedi, told her not to allow herself to be wrapped up in her passions.

She no longer cared about what the Jedi would have wanted. She wasn't a Jedi any longer. All she knew is she felt such strong emotions for the young man, and strong emotions needed strong action.

She pulled her head back slightly, to look him in his eyes, and they hovered there for a moment. It felt as if the time of decision had come, and Ahsoka had to make her choice. For Ahsoka Tano, in that moment, in that place, there was only one choice she could possibly make.

She kissed him with such passion, such desire, that she thought she might swallow him whole.

Her arms found now only empty air, and her lips were untouched. Lux Bonteri wasn't there. Maybe he'd never been there, and she'd probably never know. She did know, however, that for that one moment, that one perfect moment, she'd taken what she wanted, and ceased to deny herself and her passions, and she'd touched him. She'd kissed him, and nothing could ever take that away from her. However, at his vanishing, she felt welling up within her an equally potent rage, one that demanded he be returned to her, and that this was cruel to do to her. She kept her voice silent, though the anger still boiled away just beneath the surface. Remembering what Vader had told her before, back on Praxigor VI, she stoked the fires of her rage, and kept them burning. She knew that she would need it.