She woke up in mild confusion as to why she was face-down and still wearing her boots. She vaguely remembered losing consciousness on the planetary speeder back to the Sith Academy, and looking up to find two droids fussing over her. Then a hazy walk to the acolyte quarters.

Right. I passed out right away. Now I need to go see Overseer Tremel. I'm sure he's concerned.

Pushing herself up with a groan, she became painfully aware of exactly how sore she was. She tried to stretch away the aches, but it only felt like it was made worse by her machinations, and she grunted in dissatisfaction. She continued to stretch on her way to the refresher, knowing that the pain was temporary and she needed to push past it. She tried her best to make herself look as fresh as she could with the limited time and amenities available to her. She was disgusted to find that her clothes were stained with blood, and grabbed a fresh set of clothes from her assigned footlocker to change into. She couldn't help but notice the suspicious looks she received from the mostly-human population present in the group bunks, and again, she found herself wondering why.

Is this going to be a common theme in my life now? I thought this would change once I left Csilla. But I suppose any alien training to be a Sith that isn't a pure-blooded Sith is odd to these ignorant humans.

She figured that if she was a Jedi, she'd have to deal with less of the same stares as she had always received. At least Tremel treated her with enough respect to meet her eyes when they spoke, which she both appreciated, and found surprising, given his elitist attitude. She could deal with only one human not giving her a wide berth. Perhaps she could also use her exotic looks to influence others. She'd have to think on that.

Looking herself up and down as she re-pinned her hair, she was satisfied that she was mostly presentable, and nodded to her reflection. She didn't even so much as glance at a single person she knew was staring at and judging her, instead deciding that putting on an air of importance and completely ignoring them was the best intimidation tactic she had in her arsenal at the moment. She belonged there as much as any of them, so she would act like it.

On her way to Tremel's office, a pure-blooded Sith meditating at the base of the impressively large obelisk shot her a look and waved her over, clearly wanting to speak to her. Upon speaking with him, however, she realized that nothing of what he had to say had anything to do with her current task, but she listened anyway. He tasked her with scanning the Inquisitors and Overseers in the Academy with a holocron that could detect bloodlines, citing the need to determine how much actual Sith blood was in them. She understood the concern he felt, and was absolutely certain that if her own people began to interact more with the wider galaxy, they would be just as purist as the Sith before her. She accepted the holocron and proceeded to Tremel's office, scanning an Inquisitor along the way.

She felt his presence before she saw him. Dolgis, the human male lackey of Vemrin, was waiting for her, and rounded the corner before he began to speak.

Ugh, him again.

"Well, look who's here. Remember me?" he said.

"You need to move out of my way."

"I put myself in your way, buddy. On purpose."

Big mistake, that.

"Notice anything interesting? No witnesses. No witnesses means no rules. No more shortcuts. No more special treatment. You're just gonna be another dead failure on Korriban."

She grew more and more incensed by his words with every statement he made, and she put herself into a fighting stance as she noticed him moving to grab his practice saber. He had no idea what kinds of trials she had already faced in her life.

No witnesses means no rules? Hmmmm, I like the sound of that. Well, this will at least be fast, she thought with a wicked smile playing on her face.

She counted 146 seconds before Dolgis was down and bleeding, begging for his life. She rolled her eyes at his un-Sith-like behavior and decided to be equally un-Sith-like, granting him mercy. There were no witnesses, right? And the more debts she held the leash on, the better it was for her, and then, ultimately, the Empire.

"You will come when I call for you, Dolgis. Is that understood?"

His panicked nodding as she stood over him let her know that he truly understood that she was now his superior in all things.

Wonderful. My first debt accrued.

Carrying on, she entered Tremel's office. He seemed to be almost as panicked as Dolgis just was. He was virtually shoo-ing her out the door after explaining that Marka Ragnos's beast was a source of dark side energy on Korriban, and that killing it sent a tremor in the Force, one that Darth Baras sensed. The Darth now demanded her presence, by name, immediately. She wondered exactly how he learned her name when she was just supposed to be a rival of Vemrin's. Surely there was more than just her vying for the Darth's attention.

This kind of attention could either be good, or very, very bad. If this Darth is as cunning and manipulative as everyone says, I must tread carefully.

She felt as though she floated up to the second floor office of Darth Baras, unaware of her own feet moving, because she was deep in thought. Vemrin was likely to be there and she would now have to be careful in how she spoke to him, as he had been stated to be a favorite of Baras. She ran through all the retorts she could have to what she knew was going to be more threats, selecting a few, the ones least likely to get her killed on the spot, to paraphrase.

She was startled out of her train of thought once she rounded the corner for the hallway to Darth Baras's office, as four acolytes were blocking her path.

What now? Another feeble attempt at assassination by Vemrin? I'm going to need abrax soon if this keeps up.

She made a mental note to get some as soon as she was off-planet. The sweet bite of the alcohol always relaxed her.

She re-focused her attention on the four humans in front of her. The one that was spearheading their approach was rather large, but it was the girl who spoke first.

"There, Teeno. I believe that's the one."

"Really? All right," the hulk responded as he walked further towards her. "Hey, you!"

"Careful, Teeno," the girl cautioned.

The bulky human directly before her whined at both herself and the smaller girl that he was "itching for some action," and demanded to know if she had been summoned by Darth Baras himself.

"News sure does travel fast," Nikkitis sarcastically said, already ready for this interaction to be over.

The female apologized and offered hers, and her comrades', services to eliminate the threat that Vemrin posed to her. Not wanting others to die in her place, Nikkitis declined the offer.

What kind of leader would I be, what would I prove, if I delegated something like this to others? Better to deal with Vemrin myself.

The young female still pursued the idea of taking down Vemrin, offering to spar with her comrades against Nikkitis.

"Let us prove ourselves to you. Spar with us, then decide if we have the skills to benefit you in this endeavor."

"Alright. Let's see what you've got. But be warned, I will not hold back. There will be injuries."

Again, she found herself counting the seconds, counting only 93 seconds until all four of them were down. She had to restrain herself from sighing and rolling her eyes as the hallway was filled with the sounds of their groans.

And you thought you could take on Vemrin?

"You still took all four of us apart!" the young woman exclaimed, obviously shaken by the experience. "This changes everything. From what I hear, Vemrin's every bit your physical equal. If we can't even hold up sparring against you, we'll never be able to kill him."

Finally.

"I agree. You should steer clear of Vemrin."

"Well. This has been quite the...sobering experience. Thanks for setting us straight."

"I don't get it. Are we going to kill someone or not?" the brute asked the girl he dwarfed.

"No, Teeno. And I think we ought to reconsider this whole Sith training thing."

She watched them leave before proceeding to Baras's office. Five acolytes, including Vemrin, stood before a large humanoid Sith in armor who was sitting behind his desk giving them instructions for what she assumed was their latest trial. She couldn't tell which race he belonged to, but she was nearly as repulsed by him as she was by Lord Renning.

Whoa, there, Darth Bantha Burger. Lay off the snacks and walk a bit. It'll do you a world of good.

As he dismissed the acolytes before him, she was leaning against the opening of his office. Vemrin and another acolyte she didn't know approached her on their way out.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said the one she didn't recognize.

"You should. This is the end of the line for you, Klemral. Just make sure you stay out of my way," Vemrin snarled.

Ah, the ever-abrasive nature of Vemrin makes itself obvious once more!

"Look here, Vemrin. I see the upstart, but no sign of Dolgis," Klemral said, and Nikkitis assumed it was to deflect the attention away from himself.

"Klemral, Vemrin, you have been dismissed," the Sith behind the desk growled menacingly, standing up.

"Yes, master," Klemral responded before making his way out of the office.

"I underestimated you by sending Dolgis," Vemrin rumbled. "It will not happen again."

With that, Vemrin left. Darth Baras settled back into his chair, which disappointed Nikkitis slightly. She wanted to see if this man could even walk.

"Are you having trouble with acolyte Vemrin, supplicant?" he asked.

Oh ho, noooooo! Supplicant?! I will not beg, humble myself, nor pray for anything from you. I will, however, play the fool. Better to be suspicious of you now, fool you now, and be wary of every move you make. That wording choice was deliberate, and I will make you regret it one day.

"If he insists on getting in my face like that, he's going to have a problem with me," she responded coolly, not letting her thoughts play on her face or in the Force. She'd have to hide her every intention from him.

"He has been hardened into a lethal machine," he said.

She felt his slight push in the Force, trying to test her barriers and make her submit through the show of force, but she refused to back down and pushed back. When his attempt at intimidating her failed, he stood once more and began to pace.

It walks! Amazing!

"Vemrin has paid his dues. He's fought a deck stacked against him to get here. You on the other hand..." he had walked around his desk to stand in front of her, and she felt his eyes on her, sizing her up like a slave at sale. "Let me get a closer look at you. Yes, as I suspected. Overseer Tremel has done you and this Academy a great disservice."

She tried to keep her eyes up on his mask, but the way his belly jiggled when he moved was a distraction that she desperately wanted to laugh at. This was Baras? The one she'd read about attacking the Jedi Temple on Coruscant? This was who she was warned about? She took another look at him, and realized she only knew he was a human from her readings. He must have been manipulative to keep his power because she honestly couldn't imagine it was easy for him to fight, not in the shape he was in. She prepared herself to keep a long tally of the insults he clearly intended to throw her way.

"Your warblade came early, prisoners flown in for your convenience, even a beast here on Korriban instead of offworld in the wild. The pacing of the trials is deliberate. Only full immersion over time produces results. Your mind is soft, unhoned, undisciplined."

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Wow. You must be scared to result to this. Oh well.

"The first month of trials should be dedicated to philosophy, conceptual tactics, understanding of the Sith Code. Recite the Sith Code for me, acolyte, and explain its meaning in battle, war, and politics."

"I don't recall learning a Sith Code, my lord."

This was a lie, of course. She had been drilled with the Sith Code by her tutors on Csilla, but this was her first attempt at defiance against this human-shaped blubber heap, and she would take the opportunity to appear both dumb and compliant.

"Your ability is undeniable. But your readiness and understanding of the Sith way is woefully lacking."

Tick.

"I am your master now. Tremel was becoming lax before you ever arrived. His unwillingness to adapt to the evolving Sith paradigm has become a liability. These are the actions of a traitor. Traitors are executed. I grant you immunity from punishment. Kill Tremel and bring back his hand as proof."

"I do not like the idea of killing him, but I'll do it if I must," she said with a shake of her head.

"I do not make requests, supplicant."

Tick.

"Now, leave. I'm sure Tremel is still in his chambers. Don't return until you've killed him."