When an existence has no meaning

[Perth Levov]

Perth sat in the cockpit of her ship. Having defeated the opponent she had come to known as a Jedi, she had felt a distinct unease. Calling in a few favours, she had returned her star-fighter and uniform to her battalion and in return received a nondescript but entirely functional light freighter, civilian clothes and a credit chip. She had, through a balance of convincing and bluffing, agreed a working sabbatical – with an intent to review a potential Jedi off-shoot cult in the sector and understand what sort of a threat they posed.

Like many good lies, there was a lot of truth embedded. She was keen to investigate the Jedi and to understand their danger – but it was for her own personal gain. And she did not for one moment believe there was a Jedi sect operating here – but the lie was necessary to ensure she was given freedom to operate and to do so with impunity.

She’d spent the last few days reviewing the known databases for information about the Jedi, and the Force. And then the Sith and various other groups such as the Knights of Ren and the Nightsisters. She was armed with her usual twin vibroswords – something she wore even when piloting – but on her lap she cradled the weapon she’d plucked from the now-dead Jedi. A lightsaber.

She read a further account and scoffed. These Jedi were supposed to be the pinnacle of warriors in the galaxy yet she had bested one and so found such a boast improbable. She handled the hilt, testing it for weight and balance and she closed her eyes, replaying in her mind the final moments of the man whose weapon she now held.

“Turn away, it’s not too late,” he’d said just before she killed him. It meant no more now than it did then – and that troubled her. What did he know that she didn’t?

 

[Perth Levov]

They always say you should start with what you know. And one name, one reference stood out to her by way of a hook to start her search for answers. She instinctively knew the Jedi would not provide a solution. She had no idea why, but she saw them as the enemy. Not just because she’d fought one – but rather an innate feeling that set her opposed to them. She’d read widely on their philosophy and although honourable – and that appealed to her – they appeared weak.

Her upbringing had taught her that power was reflected in strength and should be exercised. The Jedi seemed passive by contrast and this felt alien to her. Not that the Sith fared much better in her analysis. There was a time – the Rule of Two – when their single-minded approach to subjugation of the galaxy seemed a strong approach, their history was littered with petty squabbles, in-fighting and a desire to put self ahead of the whole.

So she plotted a course. One that she hoped would teach her about a known Sith Master. One from the Rule of Two era. One that also used vibroblades.

 

[Perth Levov]

Fortunately, she had patience. The first three planets she visited yielded no clues – or at least none she could relate to as helpful in answering any of her questions.

So she headed for Cutric IV. It was the capital planet of the Ciutric Hegemony. Known for being a rather wet planet, it was largely uninteresting, unless you were fascinated by small shipyards. It was, she reflected, the sort of place you’d live if you were looking to remain anonymous. Which a famous Sith Lord had done, millennia ago. And she knew it was a place that the Huntress had visited.

As she left her vessel, she pulled up the hood of her cloak. She knew sudden storms were an almost nightly occurrence on Ciutric, particularly here in the lush forest on the outskirts of the capital city of Daplona. And nearby was the former mansion of a man known as Darth Bane – if it still existed.

She made steady progress until she spied the reason for her visit to the planet. Now in a state of disarray, she was still unsure what she might find after all this time, but she pressed on regardless.

In its day, it must have been an impressive mansion but now it was little more than a crumbling mess. Moving silently, she slipped into the grounds and was soon in the building itself. Faded remnants of luminous tapestries covered the walls and threadbare and tattered, once colourful, hand-woven rugs lined the corridors as she made her way past room after room, each empty, devoid of the trappings of wealth she was sure they once held. It took her a few minutes to traverse the length of the building and reach a back door that led out to the open-air grounds surrounding the estate.

Raising her hood again, she glanced down at the abstract mosaic of the stone courtyard barely illuminated by the dim light afforded by the twin moons that were currently being negated by the rain clouds.

A few dozen strides brought her to a small annex at the rear of the estate. The door was locked, she was it was sealed by a coded security system. More in hope than expectation, she gently pushed at the door. It remained locked.

This raised her hopes. Perhaps what was contained within remained intact? But how to access the room? The answer came to her without conscious thought. She felt the hilt of the saber in her palm and with a soft snap-hiss, the blade activated – its blue hue fizzing as drops of rain made contact with it and were immediately vapourised. She inserted the blade in the door and was amazed that it melted the metal. A few minutes later, she had cut a hold large enough to crawl through, so she kicked in the panel she’d made and heard it land inside with a loud clang.

A little ungainly, she stepped into the building that once served Bane as his private library.

 

[Perth Levov]

It took her a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The interior consisted of a single square room, five meters on each side, and was once lit by a single light hanging from the ceiling. The walls were lined by shelves. What they contained was now conjecture as now they were bare. In the centre of the room stood a large podium and a small pedestal. On the pedestal she assumed there was once something of value – extreme value. Now? It was as empty as the shelves that surrounded it.

Given her journey here was so long, she decided to return to the mansion. A further few hours of exploration was worthwhile as she knew she’d never return.

She was more systematic this time, dwelling in each area before moving on to the next. Finally, she found a room she’d not seen first time around. Once upon a time it was Bane’s personal study. Wires dangling from walls suggested this was once a hive of electronic devices. No doubt computers, monitors and holo devices abounded – as Bane looked to draw information from across the galaxy.

She was about to leave when she noticed, covered in dust to the point of being camouflaged, an old book lying in a corner. Quickly she blew the top layer of grime off and then wiped the remainder with her sleeve. There was old writing on the cover – no language she recognised, so she drew out a datapad and scanned it.

It was ancient Sith and she deduced it was something of a history book. Entirely worthless in its day no doubt but to someone thirsty for knowledge, a veritable oasis in the desert.

 

[Perth Levov]

The book gave accounts of the history of the Sith. From before Bane’s time, but interestingly it gave references to cults and groups she’d not heard of before. Armed with a full translation on her datapad, she dropped the book to the floor. One man’s junk was another man’s treasure – or so the saying had it. And how true that was. But it was no longer of use to her, it was the information it contained that she valued.

She’d not found the Iktotchi assassin or even a direct lead – but she’d found countless new leads to pursue and if she was nothing else, she was relentless.

Her knowledge of the Huntress was as complete as the galactic databases would allow. She knew she was alive in the years following the New Sith Wars and had made her name as an impeccable assassin and had even bested Darth Bane, imprisoning him on Doan.

But when they met again, she was unable to repeat her success and instead asked to become his apprentice, which is when she became Darth Cognus. She was unable to take up any formal training before Bane died at the hands of his first apprentice, Darth Zannah, who took the Iktochi to be her acolyte instead.

 

[Perth Levov]

Perth was heading for Ambria. Known as a dark-sided nexus and a place that Bane, Zannah and Cognus had visited – three people on her shortlist. It was, therefore, the next logical place to look for clues.

Much of what Cognus was capable of, Perth admired. But not all. The Huntress was accomplished with poisons and the Echani hated such tools. But she was a master with blades and this aspect impressed Perth.

Finally she reached Ambria and brought her small freighter in low over the desert wastelands that covered the majority of Ambria's surface. She felt a strange sensation as the planet’s surface came ever closer. Because she was, unknown to her, attuned to the Force, she could feel it rising up from the sun-baked dirt as her ship skimmed across the surface.

Thousands of years ago Ambria had been a world of verdant forests, brimming with life and the power of the Force. But the lush vegetation had been devastated when a Sith sorceress tried – and failed – to bend the entire planet to her will through a powerful ritual. Unable to control the violent energies of the dark side, she was destroyed by her own spell – along with the landscape of the entire planet.

For centuries the corruption of the failed ritual influenced all life on Ambria, transforming the once beautiful world into a nightmare of stunted, poisonous vegetation and twisted, mutated beasts. Eventually the dark side energies released by the Sith sorceress were trapped in a great lake near the planet's equator – which is where she was instinctively headed.

Perth landed, shut down the engines, and made her way from the climate-controlled comfort of her ship out into the dry, suffocating heat of Ambria's midday sun.

And once more she felt the power trapped within Ambria's surface – and yet again she could not understand what it was she was sensing. Realising it was way too hot to begin anything practical, Perth retreated back into her ship until nightfall.

 

[Perth Levov]

Night relieved her from the scorching heat of day. But unbeknown to her, it played into the hands of some of the planet’s predators who hunted under the moon – and especially loved unsuspecting travellers who underestimated just how dangerous the planet could be.

They tracked her with ease. Her Force aura – although not particularly strong – was unmistakeable. And she travelled without a care to concealment, which for the Hssiss was odd. Such bold behaviour was usually linked to those who were well trained and strong with the Force.

But they were creatures of habit and so set about capturing and eating their prey by a tried and tested method that date back millennia. It was either successful, and so they lived and repeated the process – or it failed and they did not live to share with future generations the folly of their approach. So one remained entirely visible whilst the other used its rudimentary control of the Force to become invisible.

They may have existed all around the galaxy but this planet – and this lake – was where they originated from. And given they were possessed by dark energies, they were oddly well disposed to kill dark-siders, whose Force aura drew them like a moth to a flame.

Visibly they were menacing, but then so were a lot of large reptiles. Three metres long, green scales from tip to tail and rows of spikes stretched up past their backs and onto their necks. Their key weapon was their fighting tactics but a close second was the poison they would share that paralysed their foe until they ripped them to shreds before devouring the corpse.

 

[Perth Levov]

Strange things were happening to Perth. Not that she consciously noted it. She was a warrior and her fighter’s instincts kicked in. Later would be the time for reflection but right now there was a battle to enter into – and in that regard she was in her element.

The first indication that something was different was not that she drew her twin swords. That was as a result of years of training. It was the reason she drew them that was at odds with her training. For, when she replayed the fight – as all good warriors did once the dust had settled, looking to improve upon what had transpired – she would note that she did not hear anything that alerted her to a risk. Nor did she see or smell anything. Rather she sensed the presence of the creature. But it was a sense outside of the usual five.

 

[Perth Levov]

Energy enhanced blades drawn, she rushed forwards. No doubt the predator was hoping to surprise her, so her only option to turn that on its head was now. For now she could possibly catch it unawares and engage it before it had the time to execute its planned opening move.

There were some weeds at the edge of the lake. Blackened and deformed, they barely lived, but in the way that life invariably finds a way, they had clung to an existence of sorts. But along with some rocks, that was all the two had to use by way of cover as the fight unfolded in the shallows of the water.

In times of conflict, Perth's senses slowed down, it was part of her training – albeit it was augmented by an ability she’d yet to know even existed, let alone understood. She took in everything in the immediate area in what felt like several long seconds but was more likely the blink of an eye. The terrain, the three-metre long lizard, its spines, its teeth and its claws. And the Hssiss stared at her, pausing for an instant when she moved towards it. But its face and demeanour was expressionless – showing no surprise or fear.

Real time snapped back for Perth and she anticipated the creature turning to its side to bring its tail into play. She moved forward to counterattack but did not anticipate that the creature would swing a claw at her, the move of the tail was a feint. Perth’s reflexes were fast enough so that she was able to spin and turn. She was slightly off-balance, but managed to retain her footing.

As was her way, Perth admired the creature. A perfect attack that blended deception with speed and strategy. Perth had initially underestimated her opponent. This would, in her opinion, be a worthy battle. One she would emerge from victorious of course, but none the less she would retell the battle with honour for her would-be fallen foe.

 

[Perth Levov]

It was Perth’s turn to feint a pass to the lizard's left and instead charged straight at hit. It did not respond to the feint but slashed with its right claws, then leaped high to the left to avoid Perth. It’s nimbleness surprised her and she quickly admonished herself for once again underestimating her opponent as a vibroblade whizzed through empty air where the Hssis had been.

This was going to be tougher than she’d thought. The creature repeated its first attack and ready for the feint, Perth moved accordingly. So it was no surprise that she spun off its whip-like tail in a dizzying circle, sending her flying into the water. She hit it with a loud splash and a thud as her head caught a rock in the shallows. She gained her feet quickly, but she was dazed.

Despite being outsmarted so far, she knew better than to give up the initiative, so with a slashing manoeuvre, she leaped forward and caught the creature flush on the head with one of her blades. Clearly it was the Hssiss’ turn to have underestimated her determination and speed. But to her dismay, the blade almost literally bounced off the creature’s thick hide. It was marked but she had not killed it, as was her intention.

Rethinking her tactics as she went along, she decided she either had to focus on one spot and repeatedly attack it – like any chink in an opponent’s armour – or she needed to find the gaps and her eyes fell to its eyes and open mouth.

Momentarily she felt anger rock her, not her typical reaction to a duel, and she took a second or two to accept and release it. They were trained to fight impassively. Anger would cloud their judgement she’d been taught from an early age.

 

[Perth Levov]

Perth circled the creature as it did the same – their dance unfolding as each looked for an opening. But Perth now had the edge – and she knew it. The Hssiss would only have so many tactics and although it was no doubt frustrated that it hadn’t finished her off, it had no Plan B, whereas she had them all the way through to Z.

Remembering how it fought previously, she looked to draw it into attacking her, feigning a stumble on the rocks. It led with the tail and she waited until the last possible moment to identify if this was a feint or a full on attack. It was the former and so she twisted her body to avoid the outstretched claws before leaping high and driving one of the blades deep into the creature’s eye. It slashed at her as she impaled it and a deep gash opened up on her right thigh – but it was worth losing that particular battle in order to win the war.

The creature was now thrashing wildly and she took a few more scratches, only avoiding its teeth that dripped its deadly poison. Finally it fought no longer and she removed her blade, cleaning it on her sleeve before sheathing it and its pair.

And yet, despite the fight having concluded, a sense of foreboding would not leave her. She scanned the immediate area, wondering what was out there that was keeping her on edge.

 

[Perth Levov]

Her eyes roved around the edge of the lake, waiting for a shadow to move and materialize into a foe.

But she was not prepared for how fast it struck, or how it attacked her from thin air. Its tail came out of nowhere. Instinctively she leaped forward, the vibrosword in her left hand already slashing downward. It collided with the tail and spun out of her hand, landing somewhere in the lake.

The tail curled back and struck again. Perth was prepared, stepping into a left-to-right sweep. The tail wrapped around her blade uncurling. The sword had made no impression on the tough hide but at least she’d held onto the blade this time around.

She could see it fully now. At least she could see the shape of its body. She could not see its eyes, although she knew approximately where they would be located. And once more anger welled inside her, looking to fuel her actions. And yet again she pushed the feeling aside, wishing to use cold dispassionate logic and tried and trusted manoeuvres to defeat her foe.

The water helped to track the lizard as it was largely still invisible. Only her extensive training and her earlier fight allowed her an insight as to where the creature was heading.

The tail moved again. Perth kept her remaining sword moving, twirling it in large circles to fend off the lethal appendage. All the while She pressed steadily forward. It had the advantage of reach and she needed to negate it.

Suddenly it snapped its neck – which she only appreciated as she sensed its head moving towards her. Simultaneously, the tail snaked out again and knocked the remaining sword from Perth’s hand. It splashed as it landed in the lake, the sound only obscured by the expletives that left Perth’s lips as it touched water. This time she chose not to subdue the feelings of anger and frustration that washed over her. Instead she readily accepted them and channelled them against her foe.

 

[Perth Levov]

She continued to move forwards, even though she had no weapons in her hands. At a distance, she stood no chance – it would inflict damage with its tail until she was an easy target to tear apart with its powerful jaws. The Hssiss realised her plan and sprang backwards, moving in a blurry haze to ensure it maintained a distance from her – and all the while it flicked out its tail, inflicting cuts and bruises all over her body, weakening her and increasing the rage that she felt.

Following a particularly painful blow to the ribs, she winced and knew that the cracking sound meant her mobility was going to suffer considerably and the outcome of the fight was becoming a foregone conclusion. She could only evade those poison-laden teeth for so long.

She aimed a sharp kick at the Hssiss, to hopefully keep it at bay but instead it whipped its tail around and removed her standing leg, depositing her in the shallows of the water and at the creature’s mercy.

Instinctively, she lashed out at the lizard as it loomed over her prone body. She didn't know how she did it; it wasn't even a conscious thought. She only knew she was angry. Angrier than she’d ever been – and the feeling was oddly good. Comforting almost.

The creature opened its mouth wide, issuing a terrible screech of triumph. But its sound was cut short as Perth snapped its neck with the Force. It immediately materialised in front of her and its eyes went wide in horror before they turned opaque and lifeless.

Panting as if she’d run a dozen kilometres, she propped herself onto an elbow. It was painful but she wanted to get moving. Who knew how many other creatures were around. But she was confused. How had the creature died? She knew somehow she was responsible but she had no idea what she had done.

As she pushed herself up to all fours, her face was only centimetres from the lake’s surface, which slowly calmed. Her skin had a number of lacerations on it, but that wasn’t what drew her attention. It was her eyes. Her irises – usually colourless – were the colour of sulphur and ringed blood red. As she stared, her anger ebbed and with it, her eyes returned to their natural colour. She realised the two things were linked – and connected to the death of the Hssiss.

She staggered to her feet and set off for her ship, desperate for answers.

 

[Perth Levov]

It did not take Perth long to identify the solution to her conundrum. In fact, she came across the answer very quickly. It was just that the text didn’t satisfy her in the way she expected.

It transpires that the eyes of some Force-sensitives changed colour when deeply immersed in the dark side of the Force. And to be more specific, the irises turned yellow and were rimmed with a fiery red.

Suddenly she was no longer searching for information about a group that she had an interest in, instead she was seeking answers about a group she was one of – even if she hadn’t known it before.

The good news was that there was no end of information about the dark side. The bad news was that there was no end of information about the dark side and she trawled databases for hours that turned into days before she’d read enough to be familiar – yet appreciating she’d only just scratched the surface.

She understood that the dark side of the Force, called Bogan or Boga by ancient Force-sensitives, was one aspect of the Force. Unlike the Jedi, who were famous for using the light side of the Force, darksiders drew power from raw emotions and feelings such as anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, fear, aggression, megalomania, and unrestrained passion. This explained how she’d been able to kill the Hssiss – or at least up to a point. It was only when she’d given into the anger she usually supressed that she was able to fight it effectively.

The difference between the dark and light sides appears to be in how they feel to those who are aware of them. The dark side was described as a roaring fire: obviously powerful, seductive, and potentially dangerous. Again, this coincided with what she felt at the lakeside. She read the dark side reflected individual passion and strength, which she could relate to. It was also written that the dark side is about change and evolution.

But the key difference she noted was that the light siders saw the Force as a power in itself, while dark siders believed it was a means to power.

Armed with greater knowledge than she arrived on the planet, Perth set the coordinates for the next planet in her travels, the next logical stopping point on her list.

 

[Perth Levov]

The ancient building was entirely unimposing. It looked like any other decrepit stone structure, once a site of worship, now a place for weeds to propagate and birds of carrion to find sanctuary.

But according to the entirely uninteresting but entirely useful text book she found back at Bane’s former mansion, this was once the home of an ancient cult that practiced the dark side. A cult that was in existence long before the Brotherhood. One that had never even heard of the Sith.

She advanced slowly on the structure, searching for any traps, seeking to sense the dark side of the Force. She’d practiced since she left Ambria which was six – no seven planets ago. Her progress had been slow and tedious and entirely unfruitful. But she was methodical and worked through her list, ticking off a cult or a site at a time. Accepting empty ruins when she found them and simply moving on to the next lead.

She now wore a black robe. It felt…right somehow. Underneath she wore her tight-fitting tunic and breeches, but there was a theatre to the cloak as it billowed behind her. And she found no strong sense of the Force. Not like on Ambria. Each planet was different and this was neutral. Neither Force strong nor a void. And this place was no hotspot, which suggested she was not going to find anything useful. But she was here and so she progressed.

 

[Perth Levov]

She wandered around. The walls had crumbled sufficiently that there were no intact rooms. It was, as she suspected, another dead end. She turned to return to her ship when she was aware of something. It was only there for a split second but it was as if someone had shouted in her ear, so deafening was the sensation. It was just as it was on Ambria, the seductive allure of the dark side – but so concentrated that it took her breath away. She closed her eyes and did her best to search for the feeling again. But to no avail. She paced up and down – her frustration growing. She knew she’d sensed it, but where was it now?

Her pace increased in tempo and her irritation grew to anger. Unknowingly, her irises slowly changed from transparent to yellow as she accessed the dark side of the Force. As she did, a low rumble issued from deep within the ground, growing from the faintest of sounds to a deafening roar in the space of a few seconds. The land beneath her quivered, and then shook.

In front of her the earth moved and she saw the stones moving, sliding sideways. The ground groaned and then cracked until a dark stairwell opened up, leading underneath the old building.

The former structure was nothing more than a landmark, the site of the cult’s activities was clearly underground and she wondered what she would find there. A shiver gripped her body for a moment as she realized that she may be the first person to view the opening for a decade. Or a millennia. Or a day! From the ground, the power of the Force was palpable.

The ground quieted, and silence fell upon the land once more. Perth did not delay and quickly headed down the stairs, her eyes growing accustomed to the darkness as she descended before she realised the walls were shedding a small amount of illumination. Not bright, but enough to see by.

 

[Perth Levov]

Perth stumbled a couple of times. Part due to the dim light and in no small way because she was descending quickly as if the ground would close before she reached the base.

The walls radiated a soft yellow light and black power radiated from its every stone. She sensed an ever increasing presence ahead. It felt as though it was challenging her. Measuring her perhaps? Deciding if she was worthy. This far it had let her enter, but what if it was simply allowing her in to trap her here indefinitely? The chill of dark side power caressed her, and she found the sensation at the same time frightening and exhilarating. She realized then that she had to prove herself, to demonstrate that she had the right to access whatever lay ahead.

She reached a plateau and slowed. The energy coalesced into a translucent shape. Perhaps a man – or at least a facsimile of a man. And then the energy wrapped itself around her and she felt it both propelling her forward and holding her back in equal measure.

Ahead, maybe ten metres away, she was aware of double doors. Or at least the outline of them, as red light escaped from the other side. It was funny how the word escaped fitted. Perhaps even light was afraid of what lay ahead.

 

[Perth Levov]

Ancient markings ran around the doors’ perimeter and along the seam in the middle. She could not read the meaning but was sure they were not Ancient Sith, given her limited understanding of the language and her knowledge of the cult that operated from this place. But although she couldn't read them, she knew instinctively that such engravings both warned intruders and in some way acted as an alarm.

She suspected that anyone who ventured past the doorway would at very least be tested, if not attacked. It was her last chance to turn back. But that option was not on her mind, she had come this far for this very reason. To turn tail now was counter to her motivation for being here. She could only hope that whatever lay beyond the portal would judge her worthy and not end her life there and then.

She slowly moved closer. She felt an energy spike and the hairs on her arms stood to attention as a result. This was an even more intense focus of dark-sided energy than back at the lake.

She edged towards the doors and they changed from what appeared to be solid stone to a semi-opaque material and finally they went transparent before disappearing altogether. She stepped forwards, swiftly, traversing the invisible barrier of energy she felt. It was an odd sensation – as if she were being scanned. And whatever evaluated her both allowed her to pass through and chose not to immediately strike her down.

She heard a faint sound, like someone had whispered far away. It repeated, louder and louder – yet never became any more audible than a breathed word. Finally she realised the words. They were her name.

“Perth Levov...”

Her body tensed, and she fought the urge to glance around to see who had spoken. Clearly this was no person and most likely some manifestation of the Force itself.

The voice continued, the words unintelligible. But she was aware that it spoke different languages – and each time she recognised her name – as if a sentence was being repeated over and over. Finally she understood the words.

“Perth Levov, you have entered the inner sanctum.” The voice hovered just above a whisper and she wondered if she was hearing it, or if it were being projected directly into her mind. “What do you seek?”

She was a warrior, and not easily intimidated. But this was different. She had no control, no understanding – and that was what kept her nerves jangling. “I have come for knowledge. To recognise the true power of the dark side. To learn how to use it and what purpose I serve once cognisant of the knowledge.”

 

[Perth Levov]

“You are not able to use the Force,” the voice said. It was a matter of fact statement and yet it held an undercurrent for Perth and raised questions.

Perth considered her response. She was in a position of weakness and held not one advantage – not a position even the fiercest of warriors would look to fight from. But surrender was not an option either, so she played the only card she had been dealt – honesty. “If by that you mean that I have not been trained, then you are correct. I have only recently become aware of my ability to connect with the Force. It was entirely out of my control but it is also fair to say that I could not deny it. I suspect I have accessed it before – but my warrior training has hitherto taught me to deny my emotions in combat – to supress anger. This time I embraced it and the feeling was…” She clearly struggled for an appropriate word. “Exhilarating.”

“I believe in the power of the Force and of the opportunities the dark side offers.” Her voice was low and calm and echoed around the vast room she was in. The light seemed to be around her, despite no visible source – and the walls of the room were beyond the spill of the light and therefore invisible to her. But she sensed they existed, somehow.

“I have come to begin my learning.” She left these final words as her own statement and awaited a response.

 

[Perth Levov]

Seconds passed and Perth wondered what would happen. But she held her nerve and remained as calm as she could and held her tongue, allowing whatever was communicating with her to speak next.

Finally, after perhaps half a minute, the whisper of a response came. “Why have you come ‘here’.” There was a definite inflection on the final word. And it was the voice’s turn to pause and force Perth to respond.

She did not rush into an answer. There was every likelihood the Force manifestation could read her mind. Or tell if she was lying. But nor was she about to share any weakness or confuse the voice with talk of the Sith, given it may not understand of their existence.

“I came across a Jedi.” She was sure that, having studied the timeline, the Jedi were known to the cult. “And this led me on a journey to understand the Force. I was compelled to, although I did not understand why at the time. I went to a planet – Ambria – following discovery of a history book that noted significant planets and sites known to be strong in the dark side. Which is why I am here. Your cult was one mentioned specifically. It was known to specialise in dark-sided magic and that stands it apart in history. This aspect is overlooked it seems by many who use the dark side. And I will readily admit that I seek knowledge. From any and every available source. But not blindly, I shall look to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each approach rather than follow one edict without question.” There was an element of risk in her response – she knew that – but by the same token, any false statements would soon be uncovered and her credibility as a student lost.