Josie abandoned her spot in the hallway and quietly slipped back into her bedroom. She crawled into bed, not caring that she'd forgot to change clothes. With her face buried into the pillow, she cried in frustration. Since Emili was still awake in the bed next to hers, she tried not to sob too loudly. Her sister would be concerned and Josie didn't want to talk about it.

Everything in her life was out of her control! Worse yet, no one cared. No one wanted to help her. She was stuck with being the family disappointment. It didn't matter what kind of example she set for her siblings, they'd eventually leave her behind, and her parents would focus their attention on them.

The day had been long and Josie was worn out from all that she'd been through. With the recent conversations replaying in her head, she let her emotions flow until she was finally able to sleep.

When the sound of dishes from the kitchen woke her up in the morning, Josie lay in bed for a few minutes to collect herself. Although she had every right to be angry with Master Skywalker for keeping secrets from her, she knew that there would be no use in admitting to what she'd heard. Everyone seemed content to decide her life without her.

"Are you okay?" Emili asked, seeing that she was lying awake in bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied.

"Well, mom said we need to have a family meeting. So, you know what that means?"

"Gees…"

"Start packing."

After everything she'd heard the night before, Josie expected changes were forthcoming. She threw off the covers and met the others in the kitchen. It didn't surprise her when dad informed them that they were moving. However, it was interesting to find out that they would remain on Anaxes. That still wouldn't make it a more desirable transition.

It didn't take the kids very long to pack up their belongings. They'd gotten used to the frequent moves due to their dad's job in security. It sent him to different locations nearly every year. Long before lunch could be thought of, Josie and Emili had their room stripped bare and were given permission to walk to the park.

For a while, Josie indulged her sister by playing around. At the center of the park was a wooded structure designed like a castle. This had been their favorite place to run around. Not all planets they lived on provided her with such a resourceful getaway. They decided to play the hiding game. Emili began counting while Josie ran off to find some small area to wedge herself into and wait.

This was a good distraction from all the space junk her mind was trying to process. Her last two months at the Jedi Academy were a waste of everyone's time. The Grand Jedi Master had turned out to be lying to her. He'd found a way for her to use the force, he just never intended for her to have it. This made her seethe.

What was she supposed to do now? Go back to life as normal? Pretend that she wasn't different from her siblings? They'd go on to take Jedi training, leaving her the only non-Jedi of the family. It was depressing even to think about.

She sat on the cold ground and stared out of the wooden panes hiding her from sight. Autumn on this planet was beautiful. There were four seasons and the plant life at this stage was dying, the trees displaying bright colors before shedding their leaves. Her eyes focused in on what she thought was a shadow at first, but now she saw that it was someone wearing a long black cloak.

"Josie?" Her sister was close by, called out her name in barely more than a whisper.

"I'm down here."

Soft footsteps sounded above her and then Emili slid into the place she hid.

"What, you really couldn't find me?" Josie teased, wondering why her sister gave up so easily.

"No, but I saw something strange and now I don't feel right." Emili pointed straight towards where she could see the solitary person. "He showed up a minute ago and he's watching us."

There was no denying that he looked suspicious. He appeared to be dressed similar to the Jedi attire, but instead of using warm shades of brown and tan, he wore complete black.

"I don't have a good feeling about this. I think he's Sith. I can feel it." Emili looked at her, her usual relaxed and cheerful expression replaced with fear. "We need to get out of here."

As she said this, the man began walking their way.

"Did you bring a comlink?" Josie asked, forming a plan in her mind.

"Of course. But look, he's getting closer! We need to go!"

"You need to go." Before she could argue, Josie directed her out of their hiding place. "Com dad and tell him what you saw. I'll stay and try to stop him."

"He might kill you!"

"Emili, just shut up and run."

One day, Josie hoped that her sister could understand that she meant to protect her. Her own destiny was of no importance to anyone, but she knew that Emili would become a great Jedi someday. If this Sith meant to harm anyone, then she didn't want Emili to get caught up in it. Soon, her dad would come and find out what happened to her. She swallowed hard and met the mysterious man head on.

Several minutes passed by as the High Sith Lord remained partially obscured by a large tree. He revealed himself at last, grabbing the attention from both girls, who stopped playing their game. The one he was interested in kept an eye on him, though he could barely see where she sat in hiding. A moment later the younger one ran off while the other turned to face him.

He kept his face blank as his plan began to take shape. It was good that she was coming to him, she was curious to the point of taking risks.

"What do you want?" She called out, keeping her distance.

He knew that her hesitation was born out of fear of the Sith. She came from a home guided by Jedi morals. He was already familiar with people like this and knew that he had to choose his words carefully—especially with children. He needed to gain her trust.

"My name is Oomis, do you know who I am?"

"You're a Sith."

A warm smile spread across his face. Her answer was simple, so obvious that it amused him. He kindly corrected her, saying that he was the High Sith Lord, leader of all the Sith. She asked why he was there and Oomis could tell that she was calculating how much longer until someone came to her rescue.

"I'd like to extend an invitation to come train as a Sith."

His words humored her, and she let out a mirth of nervous laughter.

"I can't use the force."

"Why my help, you can."

Over the course of Josie's life, Darth Oomis had followed the rumors of her condition with interest. Ever since her mother lost the ability to use the force, he'd assumed she had as well. All of this was confirmed many years ago, it was what spurred him on with his experiments with midi-chlorians.

He'd put a lot of years into this one goal. It cost him a great deal of credits and relying on favors to get to the place he was now. Soon, it would be too late. The whole endeavor would fail if this last part did not work. He needed Josie young, when she felt vulnerable, hopeless, all so he could present her with the impossible.

"If I'm to understand this correctly, you attended the Jedi Academy for two months. Were they able to help you?"

The girl shook her head. He could sense her confusion and that his words only made her angry, but not at him.

"The Sith have a training academy of our own. We give you all the tools you need to properly harness your potential." He stared down his nose, her gaze darted from him to the trees behind. Although she was uncomfortable, she was listening and was interested in what he said. "I can give you the ability to use the force, manipulate it, and become more powerful than any Jedi. With that power, you can fulfill all your wildest dreams."

This wasn't the first time he'd given this speech to a young force-sensitive. He had Sith all over the galaxy searching for those who might benefit his order. Most younglings were unsure of what their mysterious powers were. They were all too eager to learn more.

"I'm willing to help you achieve greatness. I only ask that you give up any prejudices you have against the Sith."

"I'm not prejudiced against the Sith!" She countered.

Her outburst towards his acquisition was exactly what he anticipated from her, and he pointed out why her defense was wrong.

"Then why are you afraid of me? Your hands are sweating."

He watched her reaction. Josie balled her fists into her pockets and stood up straight with an air of confidence she obviously didn't have. She finally looked up at him, her brown eyes alight from the sun.

"I don't get why you're baiting me. It's impossible for me to use the force. I've tried to find a way and there is none. I'd do anything for it!"

Darth Oomis had an answer ready and explained the basics of the procedure, giving just enough details so Josie would understand, but not enough to frighten her. He told her of the broad research, dozens of tests and how he'd recently seen positive results. Now that he saw success in the recent, minor cases, he was ready to do work on a larger scale.

"So, why me? There must be hundreds of others in the galaxy that would pay for what you're offering to me."

"The Sith do not seek out wealth for selfish gain. Your pedigree is one that would serve you well as a Sith. I am confident that you would excel through Sith training. However, you would need to disregard the Jedi ethics you've become accustomed to."

That meant that she would have to leave behind everything she'd ever known. It wasn't just about disobeying her parents, it was betraying the very things they held dearly. If she wanted the force so badly as to take that first step to the dark side, he would have her wrapped right around his finger forever.

"I'm giving you the choice. Walk away and no one will ever know that we talked. Or you can come with me and see how vast the galaxy is as a Sith."

He watched Josie look down at her feet for a minute. What he was presenting her with was hard to swallow. Throughout his years, he'd observed that it was harder for the Jedi trainees to leave that life behind. Josie's mind was polluted with the "good" ways. There had never been a shadow of darkness in her life.

"I have no future with the Jedi, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to use the force. I want the force, it's just…"

"What are you afraid of?"

"The dark side. I've been told—"

"Forget what you've been told," he said as he cut her off. "The Sith use our emotions, even fear, to our advantage. It makes us stronger. Only the force will set you free."

"Then I want that." Josie looked back up at him. The hesitation was apparent in her uneasy features. "When would I start?"

"Right now. This is your first test." Darth Oomis pointed over her shoulder. She turned to see a speeder entering the park. "Your family is coming. You must tell them what you plan to do."

There was a good chance that Mattie was going to pass out from fright. When Emili ran into the room, completely out of breath from running, she could only gasp and exhale a few words.

"Sith…here…saw…Josie."

Owen moved at lightning speed, jumping over the dining room table and dashed into their bedroom. Mattie had to make herself move. With trembling hands she fetched Emili a cool glass of water and put a hand on her shoulder to sooth her. The distress Mattie felt pulsing through herself came to peak when Owen reappeared with his lightsaber in hand.

"Come on, we're getting our daughter back."

"Stay with Aaron, you'll be safe here." She told Emili.

It took every bit of strength within her to stay focused. As they flew down the street, pushing the speeder to its limits, Mattie was struggling not to fear the worst. Josie had a lot of her father in her, although shy, she was highly intelligent.

They drove into the park and immediately saw the two figures conversing. It was impossible for her to tell the identity of the Sith, the hood of his long cloak covered his face. On the other hand, Owen could sense him through the force.

"It's him." Owen said through gritted teeth.

"Oh no, Lord help us." Mattie covered her face with both hands, and then realized that she couldn't afford to be weak. The speeder hardly came to a stop before they were both out of their seats, ready for confrontation.

"What the Hell do you think you're trying to do here?" Owen walked right up to the Sith Lord. Mattie followed close behind. "I demand that you let our daughter go at once!"

"Perhaps you misunderstand the situation at hand." His voice was deep and with dark resolve. "Josie is not being forced against her will, in fact, she'd rather come with me than you."

"Honey, will you please listen to me?" Mattie watched her daughter reluctantly peer from behind Darth Oomis. "When I was pregnant with you, a Sith stabbed me with a poisoned blade. It almost killed us both. We barely survived, but that's why you can't use the force. The Sith poisoned you and tried to kill you."

"Ah, while we're revealing secrets." Oomis looked directly at Mattie, lowering his hood to show off his stark bald head and dark facial tattoos. "Let's not forget the era in which a young girl named Mattie Grant was tutored in the ways of the dark side."

"What?" Josie's question came out in a high pitch, and there was genuine shock in her wide eyes.

"Mattie loved keeping secrets from her family; always sneaking around to find time to study the dark side."

"Enough!"

With defeat, Mattie felt her eyes slowly close. A couple of tears came rolling down her warm cheeks. When she looked at her daughter again, she was glaring back at her in anger. Mattie knew that they should have told her these things a long time ago, and now it looked like they'd been hiding secrets from her. There were some things that couldn't be easily explained.

"If you try to leave this planet with my daughter, I will kill you." Owen threatened.

"Is that so?"

Mattie took a couple steps backwards, seeing that Owen was reaching for his lightsaber. If there was anything she could do to back him up, she would. In this case it was better to stay out of the way. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him publically use his lightsaber. Its blue blade shot forward, tilted towards the Sith, challenging him.

Don't do this! She wanted to warn Owen. This isn't an even match, you'll lose. He'll kill you. There was no way to tell him to lower his weapon. Darth Oomis let his cloak fall from his shoulders, his own red blade ignited. With a great clash, Mattie blinked and saw the sabers locked together.

Without realizing that she'd continued walking backwards, Mattie bumped into the speeder. This was a safe distance away from the action, but she still wished there was something she could do. Josie stood opposite her, staying behind Darth Oomis. Mattie waved her hands, catching Josie's attention, and then motioned her to come join her. Josie looked very afraid, but stood her ground and shook her head no.

"Stop!" Josie yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Don't fight!"

The action came to a pause, both sabers remained lit, but they listened to Josie. With a feeling of hope and relief, Mattie realized that Josie's outburst probably just saved Owen's life.

"I'm going with Darth Oomis to become a Sith. He's going to give me what I need to use the force. He wants me to have power, which is more than you've done for me."

"We've already tried everything." Owen reasoned.

"Stop lying to me!" Josie screamed, tears rolled down her face as she let her emotions get the better of her. "I've done things your way my whole life. I would've kept doing it if you hadn't hid so much from me. Now I can't trust you. I'm old enough to decide what I want."

Owen slowly lowered his lightsaber, then deactivated it and put it away. He carefully walked away from Darth Oomis and joined Mattie at the speeder. He put a comforting arm around her, knowing that there was nothing more they could do.

"I hope you understand what you're leaving behind, Josie. We will always love and accept you. However, when you want to come back home, you'll find the price of leaving the Sith to be greater than you can imagine."

Josie's stony expression was stuck in Mattie's mind as Owen motioned her into the speeder. They made their way back home, all the while Mattie wondered what Darth Oomis did to persuade her daughter.

They sat in the idle speeder for a few minutes, gathering their thoughts. Owen reached out for her hand and held it tenderly. Mattie felt a knot forming in her stomach, she knew what Josie was getting herself into, and it would take some time for her to discover that for herself.

"I think it would be best to tell the children the truth."

Mattie sat up straight. She hadn't even thought about the impact this would have on the whole family. Emili wasn't just losing a sister, she was losing her best friend. That was her greatest concern. Telling them the truth? How would they even have that conversation?

"I'm scared, Owen. What if she doesn't come back?"

"Josie is her mother's daughter, give it time and she'll come home."