Prologue

I was dead - or dying, there was no mistaking that reality. My life was drained away by Darth Thanaton's Force incantation, and then the void consumed me. Sadly, I did not feel peace in that last moment, but loss and emptiness. Why things did not end there, I am not sure, but soon I found myself drifting through a nightmare. Ancient images of carnage caused by a blood-red lightsaber scything through waves of warriors on Chabosh as Tulak Hord cried out in savage joy, followed by a scene through another ghost's eyes of destruction on Deysum as Revan's Sith army crushed resistance. Scenes of memories I never experienced paraded past my mind's eye, with only flashes of intermittent reality breaking through as my consciousness managed to surface. A cold medical table and bright lights in my face, that was real, as was the panicked talking of Kaal and Corrin, Darth Zash's former apprentices.

Was I imagining a resurrection? Was there a life after death? My chaotic thoughts slowly tried to merge into something rational, but then another ghost appeared in my mind's eye, my ancestor's ghost. Rage and vengeance welled up within me.

Don't blame me for your failure, the ghost asserted harshly, having sensed my ire.

Really! I fumed internally, you're the exact reason I failed! You directed me to absorb ghosts and use their power. I trusted you!

The artless use of the power you possess is the cause of your failure, the ghost answered. I overestimated your skills.

Couldn't you warn me of Thanaton's abilities? Or maybe told me that there were Sith powers I was unaware of. Anything but letting me walk into a trap blind!

I am a ghost, not an omnipotent god. I could not know the capabilities of your enemy or your inexperience. You have the power to defeat him, that is what I sensed.

A lot of good it does me now.

You have been given a second chance - my descendant. We ghosts have anchored your soul to your body; in death, we have saved your life. Ironic and fortuitous, but your enemy will not make the same mistake twice. You must mature quickly, blood of my blood.

How am I to do that? I asked in frustration, but there was no answer - my ancestor's ghost was gone.

Dealing with Sith ghosts was a real pain, and I cursed the day that brought me into contact with my ancestor, the ghost of Aloysius Kallig. That experience I could blame on my former master, Darth Zash. I say 'former' because, in her effort to kill me and take my body, she caused her own demise instead. It was easy for me to hate her, having spent the past year traveling the galaxy dutifully collecting the artifacts that she would attempt to murder me with, but I also would not have passed the trials at Korriban or become a Sith if it were not for her intervention. Life was complex that way. I would not have made it to Korriban to become a Sith Acolyte if it were not for the burning hate I had in my soul toward my master on Ziost and his henchmen. Another twist of fate, I suppose. My existence seemed to be filled with juxtapositions - slave girl on Ziost born with Force powers, elevated to the Sith Academy and trained only as fodder to a Sith lord's selfish designs, killed but not dead because of demonic ghosts I had absorbed into my body.

If I managed to live through my second near-death experience, a fact still in the balance, then I would have to change the cycle of destructive events that kept dominating my life. I sensed deep down that I needed friends, despite my past experiences and reluctance to trust people. Too many people in my life turned out to be selfish monsters who wanted to use and destroy me. I also needed to get control of the darkness churning at the core of my soul and the ghosts who fed from it. My Force powers were tied to that darkness, and I had fed off of it in the past to stay alive, but there was a foreboding pall that covered my thoughts whenever I allowed it out; as if it wanted to consume me. While swimming in those thoughts my consciousness began to surface again, and I heard real sounds - the hum of the ship's engine, electronic noises from the medical equipment, and my shallow, rasping breath. A dryness in my throat made me cough softly, sending a shudder of pain through my body.

"I think she's coming to," Andronikos' voice registered in my ears. "Can you hear me?" His voice called as it grew near.

"Water," I croaked out as I opened my eyes. Everything was a bright blur and made my eyelids close again. As I came to full consciousness, the deep ache in my body made me moan. My arms barely responded to my brain when I urged them to move.

"Stay still," Andronikos urged. "We're getting you some water."

I did as he suggested to keep the waves of pain from knocking me back to unconsciousness.

"Didn't think I'd see you alive again," he added as I felt his hand touch my head. "Here, drink slowly."

A straw touched my lips, and I latched onto it, drawing water into my parched mouth. The first gulp stung my throat as I tried to swallow, and I couched it up, making my body flinch with pain again.

"I said slow, dammit," Andronikos hissed.

"She's awake," I heard Corrin exclaim from across the room.

"It's a miracle," Kaal added.

I heard shuffling as the apprentices drew closer, and I tried to open my eyes to look at them. The brightness was not as bad, but everything remained blurry. The straw was still at my lips, so I tried a smaller sip, managing to get the liquid down.

"How long has she been awake?" Kaal asked.

"Just now," Andronikos replied. "Go get the Dashade."

I heard shuffling as Kaal left. "How?" I managed to whisper out hoarsely. The last real memory I had was falling to the ground in Darth Thanaton's office.

"I don't know, to be honest." Andronikos' voice was colored with surprise and confusion. "The Dashade carried you into the ship . . . it looked like you were dead."

"Need to leave . . ." I whispered.

"We did," Corrin answered. "Three days ago."

"What?" I moaned as I tried to lift my head and look around. I was beginning to see blurry blobs that I assumed were Corrin and Andronikos. Three days? I wondered in surprise.

"Yeah," Andronikos added, "better keep your head down. You've been out for three days. We honestly didn't think you'd come back to the living."

I took another small sip of liquid and tried to roll to my side. It was then that I realized that I was hooked up to medical equipment.

"I told you to stay still," Andronikos grumbled.

"Where . . ." I began to ask.

The straw got pushed into my mouth. "Here, take another sip," he encouraged. "We're hiding out on the dark side of Teos. Seems to be working 'cause no one has tried to check on us."

That name was familiar, and in a moment my slow thoughts coalesced. Teos was the small outer moon of Dromund Kaas, the capital planet of the Empire and the place where I 'almost' died. A commotion occurred across the room and I heard a large form stomp close. "Little Sith awakens," Khem Val stated in his guttural voice. "Weak, as usual."

"Alive," I replied.

"Barely," he grunted.

"Not much help with Thanaton," I mumbled while trying to focus my eyes on the monster.

"I was forced to wait outside. Remember my warning?"

"What could I do?" I coughed in frustration, "he was my master . . . I had to obey."

"Maybe we should do this another time," Andronikos cut in. "We just got her back from the dead."

Khem Val grunted deep in his chest. "Cursed I am by my bond to you, for it would not let me leave you to die. Your life is chaos, little one. We must make better plans or you will be the end of us all."

I could not argue with his assessment. My life was a mess, but at least I still had life, even if tenuously. "Agreed," I whispered through my tight throat.

"Let's get you fully back to health before we start making plans," Corrin stated from across the room.

"Yeah," Kaal agreed. "We've played doctor and nurse to get you this far."

"Thanks," I answered. My eyes were beginning to make out their images better.

"Well," Kaal said as he stepped closer, "the ship's medical program did most of the work, to be honest."

Andronikos turned and looked at the medical console which was making chirping noises. "Speaking of the medical program," he interrupted, "it seems to be telling us to let the patient rest."

My companions filed out of the room and left me with the soft beeping and hum of equipment. I was back among the living - surprisingly - miraculously. It was another chance, possibly my last, so I needed to make it count. Darth Thanaton, one of the most powerful Sith in the Empire, was my enemy now and would stop at nothing to kill me once he found out I was still alive.