Chapter 3: The Game Begins

Author's Notes: So, the last chapter ended with Tremel pulling aside our MC for a little chat. Here we get to find out what he has in store for him. Also, finally figured out a name that I liked enough to use for our story's protagonist. Probably should have done that when I first started writing this but hey, better late than never. After this chapter, we're going to be getting unto the campaign storyline so things will start to pick up from here and characters from this storyline and others will begin to pop up.

Of course, there's also the usual disclaimer of how I don't own star wars or the old republic and it is instead owned by Lucasfilm and Bioware.

Chapter 3: The Game Begins

"Acolyte Laavak is dead"

With those four little words, Overseer Tremel had landed a strike more devastating than anything that I had experienced before. A shaky "H-how?" was the only the only thing that I managed to say. After seeing the damage that had been inflicted to him during our latest bout, I knew death had been a real possibility for him. With a combination of a few weeks' worth of bacta treatment and other stupidly advanced technology available to this galaxy, there was a chance for him to come pretty close to a full recovery.

Don't get me wrong, Laavak and I weren't friends by any definition of the word. Hell, the two of us could barely stand each other and in the few times we did speak, it always ended with us constantly insulting each other. What with him thinking that the entire universe revolved around him because of just how rare force sensitivity was among the Chiss. That being said, finding out that your actions were responsible for killing a sentient being will cut straight to your soul.

Tremel gave me a look that basically screamed are you kidding me? and the incredulity I sensed from him would have been downright comical had it not been for the seriousness of the topic we were discussing. "I think you and I both know the answer to that question acolyte" He placed both hands on the table and raised himself so his eyes looked down on mine. "But that isn't what I'm interested in. What I am interested in, is you." He said as he pulled out a datapad and began to read.

"No records of you exist prior to your arrival on Nar Shadaa at a war refugee center at twelve and even then you rarely stayed long enough for anyone to get a name. Eventually, you would become a mercenary operating out of a beat up XS stock light freighter under the name Niko Trebir, an alias that has been used ever since your first collected bounty at a mere fifteen standard years old. You've even had a brief stint as a tomb raider, taking holocrons and other artifacts from ancient Jedi and Sith fortresses. During one of these trips, you stole an artifact from a ruin on a world owned by Overseer Mirai leading him to lure you to Korriban with the promise of more powerful artifacts. A trap that resulted in the death of twelve acolytes as well as your capture and subsequent admittance into this academy under yet another alias".

Each word Overseer Tremel spoke sent a chill down my spine. The point of his speech wasn't that he knew almost everything there was about me, it was the lengths that he or Imperial Intelligence must have gone to get said information. Not to mention, if they could get that information on me, who knows what information they could get on former friends and allies and they would more than likely suffer a "tragic accident" sometime later. Thankfully, they hadn't managed to trace my life prior to Nar Shadaa or who knows what horrors Valkorian would unleash on me. The man locked up his own daughter on a force dead world he created simply because she was more powerful than him.

Who knows what he would do to a son that had managed to escape his grasps for over a decade.

This was blackmail, that much was obvious.

But for what?

He paused, walking around the desk to where we were now face to face with each other "and now you, Jason Atradus or whatever your real name is, have blatantly murdered a fellow acolyte with dozens of witnesses, blatantly disregarding the only rule this academy holds sacred. Care to tell me why?" shoving the datapad towards me as he finished his monologue.

He was right. In my haste to end my rivalry with Laavak, I had forgotten the single rule that the academy held sacred above all others.

Whatever you do, don't get caught.

Students here could get away with just about anything. Whether it be for something like sabotaging another student all the way up to murder was legal in these halls. Just so long as you didn't get caught. In most cases, those that did were never seen again. A sharp reminder for everyone here not to repeat the same mistakes. Yet despite all the hours spent training with Mirai, attending classes on what it meant to be Sith (yes Korriban had actual classes), and all the late nights I had spent in the archives, I had failed to keep that central rule in mind. There were around thirty witnesses who could confirm that my actions directly lead to the death of another acolyte.

One of which was an Overseer.

Tremel needed me for something and was willing to blackmail me into doing it. So why was he making me jump through all these hoops?

I needed to the way out

There was a way out and that way out involved finding the right answer to this twisted version of twenty questions or whatever this was. If there wasn't I'd have been executed as soon as Tremel had found me. No pomp, no circumstance. Just a body for other students to discover and piece the puzzle together. I must have stood silently longer than I thought because Overseer Tremel gave me an expectant look and asked "Well, acolyte. Is there anything you'd like to say for yourself?".

"I didn't mean to kill him" I weakly managed to get out. Clearing my throat at the overseer's unimpressed face, I continued "Death was a last resort. Crippling him to the point where he would never even dream of challenging me again was the goal. I fully intended for him to recover from today's duel but I wanted him to be left with a reminder of what would happen if he were to challenge me again."

Tremel seemed to be satisfied with my answer as even though he might not have outwardly reacted, approval radiated from him with each word I spoke. Still, I had a feeling that there was still some ways to go before I could consider myself home free. My suspicions were confirmed moments later. "Prior to your admittance, you showed remarkable skill with a lightsaber taking down a dozen acolytes on your own. While this could have been learned from some of the many holocrons you stole over the years, you managed to fend off Overseer Mirai, one of the finest lightsaber combatants here, for several minutes before he captured you. The kind of skill more suitable for a fully trained Jedi Knight than a wannabe tomb raider."

"Is there a legitimate question here overseer or do you enjoy pulling conspiracies theory out of your ass?" I regrated saying the words as soon as I spoke them. You know the saying if looks could kill? Judging by the glare the middle-aged man was sending me, if that saying was true then no amount of force shenanigans would have been able to save me.

Why did I have to mouth off to people who held my fate in their hands?!

"Where did you get your training? Was it from the Jedi? Your reasoning behind the death of Acolyte Laavak was in line with the basic understanding of Sith philosophy taught during the first year of an acolyte's training. Still, the overseers have the impression from you that there is still a reluctance to fully accept the lessons of Korriban as if you're desperate to hold on to a sense of morality and naivety a newly knighted Jedi would have."

Overseer Tremel, for all his paranoia in his latest monologue, had a valid concern. Jedi Shadows had a history of hunting down Sith artifacts. Some even infiltrated the Sith order to try and turn or kill certain targets. If I remember correctly, that was what got Darth Baras so worked up over Nomen Karr in the first place. Still, the notion that I was some sort of Jedi spy was ridiculous.

"Me? A Jedi?" I couldn't help but scoff at the notion. Sure, as a kid I thought that they were the undisputed good guys and the Sith were pure evil but as I got older and I learned more about the two organizations my view began to shift away from that belief. Objectively, yes they were better than the Sith, but there were aspects of both philosophies that I disagreed with. Honestly, I would have preferred to stay neutral and not pick any sides but that wasn't an option right now.

"Please. If I were a Jedi, they would have had the perfect opportunity to recruit me five years ago when one of theirs discovered that my… friend was force sensitive. Since I was able to work as a mercenary during those five years instead of trying to join them, they clearly haven't sunk their teeth into me yet."

While they weren't gone completely, I could sense that the overseer's suspicions about me being a Jedi spy were beginning to fade away. "One last question acolyte. What is your name? I don't want another alias. I want your real name." I sighed. "Jason Atradus is my real name"

It wasn't.

Obviously.

Still, it was the one I had been using it for the past month and during that time, memories from two separate lifetimes started to merge into one. I still clearly remembered both lives, one as the runaway prince of Zakuul and another as just another twenty something star wars fan. The name Jason Atradus was one that I had given to Overseer Mirai on my first day here seemed to have started the slow process of merging the two lives into one. If what happened when the subject of Kira Carsen was indirectly brought up was any indication, strong emotions during major events seemed less foreign than they were a month ago.

Accepting that name as the one I would be using going forward seems to have completed that process.

"Then I suppose we can tell our Chiss allies that this was simply a case of a petty grudge between two acolytes going too far instead of a blatant disregard for the academy's rules"

What!?

A well respected acolyte, one who (if you believed the rumors) had been personally escorted to Korriban by Chiss aristocracy. Now he was dead in front of a full class of witnesses and an overseer who apparently held a grudge against me. That's saying nothing of how the Chiss ascendency would react to hearing the news. They were practically the only willing ally that the Empire had during this point in time. If the rumors of Laavak's importance to them were true, then there were no words in any language to describe the outrage the Chiss Ascendency would experience if word of this got out to them. Hell, things might even get to the point where outright war between the two groups would break out!

"I doubt that the Chiss Ascendency would see it that way Overseer" I replied numbly, still trying to think about what Overseer Tremel was planning. "What they think about is none of your concern acolyte. Provided of course, you do something for me."

And here comes the catch.

"Over the course of your stay here, you've become quite the powerhouse thanks to your studies under Overseer Mirai and the exorbitant amount of time you've spent digging around our archives but there is still quite some ways for you to go. Do as I say for the foreseeable future, and not only will this blight on your record be expunged but I will make you the most powerful acolyte here"

"and if I refuse?" I asked. Being someone's puppet was never a good thing especially in this universe. More often than not it got the individual killed and the plans of the puppeteer went off without a hitch. There were some examples that came to mind. Palpatine playing Anakin, Dooku, and god knows how many others for well over a decade. Not to mention that the only reason why the Sith stayed hidden for a thousand years was due to Bane and Zhannah manipulating the Jedi Order into thinking that they had killed the Sith so they could hide for a thousand years.

In both cases, the ones who had been used as puppets ended up dying or go on to live a life of continued subservience in constant agony.

Tremel seemed to be of the mindset of the former as instead of saying anything, he simply ignited his lightsaber. Reflexively, I backed up, hands in front of me ready to do something anything to try and defend myself. There was no warning from the force that he was going to attack and seemed to be a threat instead of anything else.

Cautiously, I lowered my hands.

"What is it you need me to do Overseer?" I asked.

Tremel extinguished the blade. "For decades, I've administered the trials that prove who is and is not worthy to join the Sith Order. The trials are a chance to weed out the weak. Those that face them either become Sith or die." This much I had already gathered. Life as a Sith wasn't for the faint of heart and the trials were just as dangerous, if not more so.

Overseer Tremel continued. "Today they will serve a different purpose as they will be acting as your judge, jury, and should it come to it executioner. If you pass these trials with flying colors, then you will be cleared of all charges. Should you fail well, I doubt I have to explain to you what would happen then."

He didn't. That point had already been made perfectly clear.

"The trials themselves are difficult enough but they are hardly the greatest threat you face. There's an acolyte here named Vemrin. He's your enemy and he will try to kill you. We must prepare you." I frowned at that. After finding out about Laavak's death, being forced to kill so soon was something I wasn't looking forward to. There had to be another option.

"Surely this Vemrin can be reasoned with" I asked. Everyone had something that motivated them and failing that, there was something they wanted. I wasn't too familiar with Vemrin but if he had something that he desired or a goal he was working towards, perhaps helping him could get him off my back.

Maybe I could even get out of this situation entirely.

The middle aged man scowled. "Vemrin is an abomination. There is no reasoning with the likes of him". He practically snarled like a wild animal at that. I wonder what Vemrin did to piss him off, he was barely a footnote in the MMO. Answers would have to wait for another time.

There were more pressing matters that needed to be tended to.

"You mentioned that these trials have had the reputation of killing those who take them. I take it I'll be receiving a new weapon?" Surely Overseer Tremel would give me at least a chance to defend myself instead of leaving his new favorite toy to die at the hands of the wolves. "Yes but it will not be the same training staff that you so carelessly threw into the Valley of the Dark Lords. It is the weapon of lesser acolytes and for these trials you'll need a dominating weapon"

"I had a lightsaber. Overseer Mirai took it from me." I growled out. "But please, do tell me what weapon you think could possibly be more dominating than that".

Ever since its first appearance on the big screen in 1977, the lightsaber has been one of the most iconic weapons in all of sci fi. Hardly anything had matched it since. Since then, kids have played with plastic versions for hours and die hard nerds would spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars trying to get replicas of lightsabers that were as close to the real deal as possible. I might not have spent that kind of money on my own collection, but if there was a new relatively cheap lightsaber that came out you can be damn sure that I would try and get it. There were weapons that were similar to the lightsaber sure, but none quite matched the popularity of the original.

This universe was no different only if you had the credits to pay for it, you could buy a lightsaber knockoff known as the lightfoil. While it might not be as dangerous or iconic as the original, it was far closer and deadlier than the plastic blades I played with as a kid. There were rumors that nobility on certain worlds still used them in honor duels. Not even the Jedi and the Sith were immune to wanting to make their lightsabers as elaborate as possible as some were more than willing to spare no expense when it came time to build their own.

"That particular weapon will be returned to you when you're not on trial for murder" Tremel paused before continuing. "In the meantime, there's an old armory in the tomb of Ajunta Pall. An old Sith war blade awaits you there. We don't have much time so be speedy but remain cautious. The tomb is filled with K'lor'slugs and they have been known to be the end of many an acolyte".

"Do make sure you spend some time bloodying your new blade acolyte. I'd hate for your chance to clear your name because you weren't familiar with your weapon." With that Tremel dismissed me and I began the long walk to the tombs of Korriban.