It had been three days since Catra had become Vader's apprentice. So far she had done nothing but meditate. Drawing out the force to fill her, and letting it flow in and out of her.

It was incredibly boring.

Most of the time Vader would be in his ship. Either working on something, or in his sealed chambers. Oh yeah, he had a ship. It was once beautiful, that much Catra could tell, all soft curves and elegant lines. Now however it looked like it had been half torn apart, burned, and put together again with tape and wishful thinking.

Morai was a constant presence. She had taken to perching on Catra's head whenever she would meditate. It was weird having a bird that was more affectionate than most people in the horde. Surprisingly nice though, even if annoying at times.

Catra groaned and stood, dislodging the comfortable convor. She stretched, her back popping, emitting a sigh and purr in pleasure. The bruises and scratches from her fall were fading fast. By this point, she had mostly recovered. She only ever had a slight twinge in her back if she moved too suddenly.

Maybe Vader was waiting for her to recover. That would be different for Catra. In the horde, no one waited for anyone to recover. It was all go all the time. You had to be ready for anything.

She looked around the clearing. There wasn't much out here as almost everything she or Vader would need was on the ship. There was some metal piping that had been welded together, making a perch for Morai, but that was it.

Did she mention she was bored?

She marched onto the ship, intent on finding Vader. The interior decorations of the ship were a far cry from the state of the exterior. The floor was polished to a near mirror black finish. The walls an off-white trimmed with pale gold accents. The loading ramp led directly into the cargo hold, with a main hold to the right and a set of personal quarters to the left. Vader had told her to make herself comfortable there, as he occupied the larger quarters at the rear of the ship, just behind the cockpit.

She found Vader in the main hold, fiddling with some piece of tech that was supposed to be attached to the wall. Most of the time she found him doing that. Just standing or sitting, messing with something from the ship. On her second day, she had asked what he was doing. He had said he was relaxing. She had left it at that.

"Was there something you needed?" Vader said, never turning away from what he was doing.

"Just wanted to know when we were actually starting this whole apprentice thing?" Catra leaned against a table that sat to the side of the room. Her tail twitched with slight irritation, though she tried to keep it out of her voice. "So far all I've done is a whole lot of nothing."

"You have been recovering," Vader slotted the piece he was working back onto the wall. "As well as getting used to drawing upon the force. That is an important step in your training." He turned to face her, his hand slipping back beneath his cloak. "How has your meditation been progressing?"

She shrugged, "Fine I guess. It's getting easier to do actually."

"We will see if that's true," Vader spun on his heel, his cloak swirling around him. "Follow me."

Catra fell into step behind him as they made their way to the forward hold. Various boxes and cylinders lined the walls. A silver-grey skeletal droid, that's what Vader had called it, was propped up in a corner. Vader grabbed a small rectangular box and a metal sphere. He tucked the box beneath his cloak before heading down the loading ramp.

A quick flick of his wrist sent the sphere out into the air. It stayed there, bobbing like a cork in water. A quiet hum came from it, along with mechanical whirring as its two halves rotated separately from each other. As Vader continued his march past the sphere it followed behind him, darting through the air now.

"Now that you have had a taste of what the force feels like, it is important to be able to draw upon it when you need it," He glanced back at Catra as he spoke. "One of the first things you will learn to do properly is to immerse yourself in the force. That is what your meditation has been a part of." He stopped turning fully to face her. "And now you will take the next step."

Catra's ears perked forward as Vader held out the box he had grabbed. The top of the box opened revealing a metal cylinder laying in a velvet lining. One end was bulky with a sphere protruding from it. The other end had two protrusions that looked like leaves. The rest of the cylinder was bare metal with only a rectangular switch on one side.

"This is a lightsaber, it is a tool used by many," Vader floated the lightsaber out of its box and towards Catra. "Take it so we may begin this lesson."

She reached out her finger curling around the cool metal. It felt heavy in her hand, unlike the horde staffs, which were built to be light. Rolling it in her palm she thumbed the switch. With a snap-hiss, a blue beam erupted from the end of the cylinder. It hummed as the smell of burning ozone caused Catra's nose to twitch.

She gave it a few swings, testing how it felt. Unlike most of the weapons she knew of, this one had no other weight than what was in the hilt. The only indication of where the blade was, was the slight amount of push-back from the air as it moved through. And even that was barely noticeable.

"And I'm supposed to do what with this?" Catra questioned, giving Vader a flat look as the lightsaber dangled loosely in her hand.

"Defend yourself." With that Vader stepped aside. He flicked his hand at the hovering sphere. It seemed to zero in on Catra, the two halves spinning wildly.

A red bolt zoomed towards the unprepared cat-girl. Her eyes widened and she jumped out of the way. The sphere followed another red bolt flying out of it. It hit Catra while she was mid-air after her jump. She flew backward a few feet before landing back on the ground in a heap. Groaning, more from the landing than the bolt, Catra stood back up.

"Your reflexes betray you," Vader said as Catra stood, trying to dodge the red bolts, "Use the tools that you have been given."

"What tools?" Catra spat back after having found herself blasted back on the ground. The shots were starting to hurt now.

"The force, and that lightsaber," Vader only moved his head as he watched Catra try and dodge the blaster bolts. "While your reflexes are impressive for a non-force-sensitive, you are now more than that." Catra fell to the ground again, growling in frustration. "You will continue to fail if you do not realize that."

She snarled as she jumped to her feet swinging the saber in front of her. A blaster bolt caught the blade and was deflected away. As Catra processed what just happened, another bolt caught her in the shoulder, spinning her around and sending her to the ground once more.

Vader stood over her now. His black boots were in front of her as she struggled upwards. She felt his eyes on her as she got her feet under her once more. "This is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," Vader leaned down, bringing the eyes of his mask level with Catra's mismatched eyes. "You have yet to call upon the force. To let it flow through you, to strengthen you. The only reason this task seems impossible," He stood to his full height, hand flicking out to reactivate the sphere. "Is because you think it is."

The sphere hadn't started firing yet. At this moment Catra closed her eyes, letting the flames lose. The force filled her, much like when she was meditating, but something about it was different. She wasn't looking to immerse herself in the force, to get lost in it as she did usually. Instead, focusing it, concentrating on the sphere behind her as it bobbed and weaved.

A warning came and she was moving before she had time to think. Jumping and spinning away from the bolt of red. She brought the lightsaber up in a basic guard, deflecting the second bolt into the ground. A slight adjustment to her guard sent the third bolt flying back past the sphere. She jumped again, avoiding the fourth bolt, and landed on the other side of the sphere. Turning she deflected the last bolt back to the sphere, causing it to drop.

Catra opened her eyes. Her arms and legs trembled slightly from the sudden exertion. The force buzzed around her. She let her guard fall, once again holding the lightsaber loosely in her grip. After a moment she looked over to Vader, who gave her a single nod of his head.

"Again," He said, once more activating the sphere.

The next hour was spent doing the same thing over and over. Each time she would take the sphere down Vader would increase the pace it fired at Catra. She had two hands on the lightsaber now, her arms shaking from keeping the now lead-like hilt up. When she had started she had jumped and spun, avoiding just as many bolts as she deflected. Now though she could barely move, instead, keeping the lightsaber between her and the sphere.

"Enough," Vader said, deactivating the sphere and pulling it to him with the force. Catra sagged with exhaustion. She deactivated the lightsaber and dropped to the ground, chest heaving as she sucked in oxygen. "You did well."

It took a moment for Catra to draw in enough breath to formulate a response. She still had to pause to breathe, "Is... all our training... going to be...this intense?"

"No," Vader said as Catra's head lifted in hope, "It will be worse." With a groan, her head flopped back down. "Using the force is as much a physical discipline as it is a mental one. While the force has no limits, your body does."

"Great," She sat up, her limbs no longer roaring in pain. "Fantastic, wonderful."

"You will be fine."

"Says you," Catra grumbled to herself. She stood, her legs wobbling underneath her. Even during her training in the horde, she had never pushed herself this far. Though that was mostly because no one would push her that far. No one except for Adora.

She shook her head, trying to push back the thoughts of her past, and tried to hand the lightsaber back to Vader. He waved the weapon away as he spoke, "It is yours until you either build your own or find one that suits you better."

"Build my own?"

"Most lightsabers are built by their owners," Vader pulled his lightsaber from somewhere beneath his cloak. The black and silver hilt looked exceptionally brutal compared to the lightsaber she now held. It was bulky too, designed for Vader's large hands. He tucked it away again before gesturing to the lightsaber in her hand. "That one was built by my former apprentice."

Catra raised an eyebrow, "Former apprentice?"

"That is correct," He offered nothing more on the subject. "I believe we are done for the moment. I would suggest you spend some time meditating. It will help with the soreness of your limbs. I will return shortly and we will continue your training." With that, he stalked away, back into the depths of the ship.

Catra let out a sigh. She looked down at the lightsaber in her hands. It felt different now, after hearing who had owned it before her. Morai fluttered down from the trees, alighting upon the perch with a soft hoot.

"Don't suppose you know about this apprentice of his," Catra asked with a huff. A mourning creen came from the convor. "Yeah that's not ominous at all," Catra said as she lowered herself back down to the ground, crossing her legs as she did so. She placed the lightsaber on the grass in front of her before delving back into the force.

Her curiosity drove her forward. She wanted to know more about this apprentice and Vader seemed unlikely to share much more. Considering how much she was able to glean from the walls in the fright zone, she figured she could get something off the lightsaber.

She was unprepared for what that was.

Unlike the echoes in the fight zone, the visions the saber gave off were more potent. A torrent of emotions surrounded Catra, pulling her in. It sang a song to her.

A song of triumph, and heartbreak.

Of longing and betrayal.

Of victory and death.

Of a story, she had not written, etched into the heart of the weapon.

With a gasp, Catra ripped herself out of her trance. Morai sat opposite her letting out a soft cooing sound, trying her best to soothe the distressed girl.

"You did not prepare yourself correctly," Vader's deep voice sounded out from beside her. Catra jumped up, startled by the sudden appearance, Instinctively she put a fair amount of distance between her and her new master.

"I wasn't doing anything," She blurted out, her eyes darting to the lightsaber that was still lying in the grass.

"Do not lie to me," Vader's arms folded in front of his chest. "Especially when you have no reason. I am not displeased with your attempt at reading the lightsaber." He reached out and pulled the lightsaber to him.

"Well, you didn't seem to want to talk about it so…"

"It is difficult to talk about," Vader said as he cradled the lightsaber. "I have much to regret regarding my former apprentice."

Catra nodded her eyes locked on the lightsaber. She was still trying to process the visions it had produced, "Why was it so… intense."

Vader handed the lightsaber back to Catra before pulling out his own. "As I said before, a lightsaber is always constructed by a force sensitive. This is because of the crystal used in it's construction."

Parts of his lightsaber twisted and separated as it disassembled in midair. A blood-red crystal was revealed, buried deep in the mechanisms of the lightsaber. Now free from its casing, Catra could feel the pain and guilt resonating from it.

"It is bonded to the individual through the force," Slowly the parts came together again, sealing away the crystal. "It is why most build their own. So that the only imprint the saber has is their own."

The lightsaber suddenly felt heavy in Catra's hands, "So what I saw were flashes of what? Their life?"

"That is correct," Vader reattached his lightsaber to his belt.

Catra wavered, unsure if she should ask. Her curiosity won out, however, "What were they like?"

Vader looked away, his gaze drifting to some far-off vision. A long silence descended between the two of them, only broken by his mechanical breathing.

"Her name was Ahsoka Tano," Vader said, still looking off into the woods. "She was a good apprentice, if reckless at times. Strong-willed, and a quick tongue. She took my lessons well, eventually becoming far more than I had ever hoped, despite my many failures as her teacher."

Morai let out another mourning creen. The sound filled up the clearing, echoing around Catra and Vader. The lightsaber also seemed to react to his words, a calm warmth spreading from it into Catra's arms.

She tilted her head, another question forming, "How many apprentices have you had?"

"I have trained many, though… I only ever called two, before you, my apprentice."

"Only two?"

"That is correct."

"I don't know whether to feel privileged or concerned."

Vader crossed his arms as he spoke, "That is up for interpretation. I will say, both of my apprentices far exceeded my expectations for them."

Catra's tail twitched behind her as she tried to reign in her thoughts. He was obviously proud of these previous apprentices. She only hoped she would live up to them. She never could under Weaver. She would constantly compare Catra to Adora, and Catra could never measure up.

Vader placed a hand on Catra's shoulder, "Do not compare yourself to them. I trained them for specific roles. As a warrior and an assassin. Yet even they broke free of this, becoming more than those roles, and by extension, exceeding my training."

"So what am I training to be?" Catra asked, the words falling out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Vader's gaze remained locked with her as he spoke, "That has yet to be seen." He stepped back from Catra. "Come, let us continue."