Chapter 60

The slave quarters were clean, small and bleak. The entrance to the wing were boarded on both sides by the same slave statues that were on the outside edifice, ever the reminder of the slaves position in the great order of the Sith.

"I am Eltsac, Overseer of the Academy's slaves, while your masters are here you will serve the Academy needs along side your Masters needs. While you are here you will address them all as Lord. This deference does not extend to Acolytes. They are to be addressed as Master and then their names. I am to be addressed as Overseer. Is this understood?" The reedy-thin voice was gone instead was a stronger more dominate voice. His body was still bent and his legs still creaked with rheumatism, but he still had strength. A will that was unmistakable. As was his pride. There was an air of civility about the voice but that civility was only molecule thin, and under it something very very cold, and very evil.

Bindo and Onasi exchanged a look. The wiry old bastered knew how to play the long game it seemed.

"Of course Overseer." Jolee said.

Carth simply grunted and nodded his head. The Zabrak eyed him with a measure of internal contention of weather or not the young human was going to cause trouble for his Masters. There was one thing that Eltsac most certain of was that this bearded human had not been properly broken. Then again he served a Jedi not a Sith and the Jedi even the fallen Jedi were always soft of their 'servants.'

"Your life here is small. You may be owned by students but if you misstep even once any other student or teacher has the authority to instruct you up to and including if they feel the need necessary to take your miserable lives. Your masters will be compensated for the inconvenience should such an event occur. You'd do well to remember that.

"Never listen or react to conversation. The room should feel empty when you are in it. They don't even want to hear you breathe; you are quiet when you are serving. You hear nothing. You see nothing. You only serve. You have to look through their eyes to see what they want, see what it is they need. Anticipate. Bring a smile to the eyes of your principal. Don't expect acknowledgment or gratitude in return. You won't get them and you do not deserve them.

"You will not offer your opinion unless it is specifically asked for. Even still you will tell them only exactly what they want to hear, not what is in your heart. Your opinions on any given subject are none existent. You will not be political. We have no tolerance for politics at the Academy.

"The Masters and Students all vie for power. They play the Great Game. If you are to act on your Master's behest within the Game you will do so with subtlety or your Masters will suffer for your inadequacies." Eltsac looked to each of the humans faces with a bit of contempt "Come Juhani and Ravensong, your cell is here."

"Hang on my name isn't Juhani," Onasi held up his hand in protest. "My name is…."

"You will be called by your master's name. You have no name here." the Overseer said as if speaking to a particularly dim-witted child.

"Doesn't that cause a bit of confusion?" Jolee asked

"Only if addressed above in the chambers of the Academy proper. Here amongst the other slaves you are your Master's name, it tells all of us who you belong to. Your personal identity is meaningless. Remember that."

"Got it." Carth groused. He turned to the older man "So Ravensong shall we get settled? He looked at the small chamber he and Jolee were fated to share. In truth it was not unlike the quarters given to grunt soldiers aboard a starship. The room was three meters tall by three wide and four long. Cell indeed. The metal bunkbeds bolted to the wall had thin mattresses that offered no comfort and the pillows were little more than cloth bags stuffed with straw.

There were no chairs or desks within the quarters the only other furnishings were two wall mounted lights just above the headboards of the bunks and a small sink that included a shelf for personal hygiene kits. There were also two footlockers that ran parallel to the wall and bunk bed. There was no door at the room's threshold, not even a curtain that would allow for some privacy. Apparently such things were a luxury not afforded to the slaves.

"Remember do not get in the way or interfere with the training of the other students or your masters." Overseer Eltsac commanded, "The slave's mess hall is at the end of the hall. You will take your breakfast at 0400 hours and you will have fifteen minutes in which to take food and eat it and bus your own trays. You will be ready to serve our Masters at 0500 hours their morning meals. Lights out is 2200 hours unless your master decrees otherwise.

If you prowl the halls after curfew you will need to carry identification passes that grant you allowance to be there. Without the passes the patrolling guards have cart-blanche permission to execute you if they so choose. As before, upon your death compensation will be paid to your master for being inconvenienced."

"How gracious of the Sith dole out the credits for loss of life." Carth said sardonically frowning sorely.

Eltsac didn't seem to catch on to the sarcasm. "They are." Golden eyes narrowed at the holster at Carth's side. "You will refer to the datapads for duties required of you when not in service of your masters. You will carry these added duties out without hesitation or deliberation. Understood?"

Both men nodded.

Eltsac gritted his teeth: this was always the case with an acolyte's slave; they always believed themselves superior to the Academy's slaves. They would soon learn better.

"Juhani you are your master's bodyguard?" it was more of a demand than a question.

It took a moment for Carth to catch on to the fact he had been addressed. "You can say that."

"I just did. Your services in that regard will not be required. You will surrender your blasters, immediately. You too Ravensong."

"I don't carry blasters." Jolee said opening his arms wide to show off that he had no firearms strapped to his person. He was mindful to have hidden his lightsaber in the depths of his robes when he had first entered Dreshdae, it had remained there even during the confrontation with that snot-nosed punk Lashowe and her cronies as it had with Master Yuthura. For the most past he placed on the masque of a doddering old man and he had done so effectively, as effective as Eltsac's act has been while in the presence of Master Yuthura.

Jolee waited, his throat tightening. That coldness he had felt earlier was the Dark Side, Eltsac may not be a true Force user but he was most certainly Force sensitive. Like those within the Jedi Order who fail their Padawan trials or are not chosen by a Master are regulated to such division of the Jedi Service Corps. Within the Order the failed Padawans serve in one of four branches: the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, Educational or Exploration Corps. The Reassignment Council monitors the failed Jedi's career telling them they served in a long and noble tradition while upholding the principles of the Republic in important ways.

Amongst the Sith however a failed acolyte was more likely to be a dead acolyte than turned slave. Eltsac must be one of the very few and rare exceptions. Or the Zabrak had been a victim of this Great Game that had left him scarred and crippled as a result of this losing hand.

Or Eltsac had been clumsy in his play of the Game. Unauthorized murders...it was a descriptive used almost in jest for what occurs between rivalries between students that results in death. Frowned upon if caught or the murder found out too easily. The Sith alluded the Great Game if played well, if played sloppily then punishment is apportioned.

Whatever Eltsac's story was hopefully wouldn't play apart in what the Jedi's mission within the Academy, moving about without the old Zabak's eyes following them was going to prove challenge enough. The only saving grace that lay and Jolee and Carth's feet was if Revan and Juhani demanded their presence. That move however was a gamble as it would gain unneeded attention of the Sith Masters.

Of course this Great Game offered an abundance of opportunities. Opportunities that both the Jedi women needed to be made aware of so that they might take full advantage of them. So long as Revan continued on her path of 'making friends and influencing people' those opportunities were going to be more than plentiful. As it was, the Nagai had a handful of enemies already amassing and all of them more than willing to see her fall. Juhani too had made herself a target with that son of a bitch, Mical.

Eltsac turned away from Jolee seemingly content to allow the matter that the old human wasn't armed to be dropped. "Your weapons will be given to your master. If she requires you to accompany her within the Valley of the Sith Lords she may decide to arm you. That is her choice." he said evenly. "However you will not be so armed within these halls unless your master gains special dispensation from the Masters of the Academy. Also you will require passes to go to and from the Colony, if you do not have such; the guards will not allow you reentry. Remember that."

"Duly noted." Jolee said only because a response seemed to be required.

Eltsac merely grunted. "You had better see to your masters' quarters." The Zabrak said, then turned and left the humans to their own devices.

They waited for a full minute before both men let out a puff of held air of relief.

"We better let our 'masters' know." Jolee said consciously lest the room was bugged with listening devices. Servants and slaves had a habit of gossiping about all matter of subjects including their part in the Great Game, to the possible topics of sedition and rebellion against their enslavement. If true an Overseer of slaves would be eager to jump on such rumor and rebelliousness if only to uplift their own position with the Academy Masters and gain more privileges.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

The quarters belonging to the acolytes were only marginally better than those of the slaves. The bunk possessed thick mattresses that were not unlike the bunks in the Ebon Hawk. There was a desk, chair and lamp. Like the slave quarters were was a very small sink and a shelf that was for a hygiene kit, also to the side of this sink was a very small table, an automated tea kettle and a cup that was turned upside down lest dust accumulate on the inside. The students no doubt were required to supply their own caffa or teas should they want any. The rest of the room's furniture consisted of a small book shelf above the desk and a footlocker that lay at the bunk's footboard.

Their quarters were not meant to be comfortable, only functionary as much of the acolytes' time was either spent in training, in research or whatever labours the Masters deemed worthy of gaining that coveted commodity of prestige. Creature comforts were non-existent. In many ways the cells here resembled the Padawan cells back in the enclave and the Jedi Temple of Corrisant or even the shared quarters of enlisted grunts aboard military ships. Ironically the Jedi had more privacy here than they held aboard within the Hawk's dormitories, and at least here they didn't have to put up with the bulkhead shaking snores of a wookie.

"Well this is homey." Revan said testing out the comfort of the bed.

"I don't think it's meant to be." Juhani returned causing the Nagai to smirk The Cathar however did not return the smirk, indeed her features took on a far more serious expression. "For a desert planet this place feels cold. It reminds me of the grove back on the Khoonda Plains." Despite herself Juhani shivered.

"The Dark Side." Revan nodded. "There will be no getting away from it, not here." Revan rose from the bed and touched her r companion on the arm, "Look Juhani if you want to withdraw I won't blame you. You do not have to be here."

"Yes Revan I do. I am strong enough to resist the pull to the Dark Side. I must be. I owe that much to Bastila, to you. You are always supportive. Time and time again you watch me walk into danger and you always worry. But if I do not help you now when you need me the most, when Bastila's very soul is endangered what does that say about me? No, I will not retreat like some terrified cub, I will not withdraw.

"If only one of us is meant to gain the prestige great enough to gain the Master's trust then I will make it is you that passes their trials. Hopefully it will not take us months to do so."

"It won't happen within a day," Revan said "I fear that it will take a great deal longer than that."

"Does Bastila have that long?" Juhani whispered fearing the answer. When none came she closed her eyes. "May the Force be with her."

Revan's face remained impassive; her heart was anything but emotionless. Her worry and rage bit deep, but to show it here even in the privacy of her quarters with someone who had become a dear friend was not something that was affordable.

Juhani perhaps sensed Revan's inner turmoil over her beloved and placed a gentling hand upon her shoulder. "We will find her again." It was a promise, a vow, a hope. One Revan was desperate to believe.

"We had best not be seen together too often. The Sith hopefuls will see this as a weapon to use against us." The older woman commented.

"Something we cannot allow. However Sith are known to make alliances to better their own chance of success."

"True, alliances, but as disgruntled Jedi our alliance might be-no will be seen as Jedi conspiracy something these hopefuls don't have hanging over their dark little heads."

"So we are to achieve this much coveted prestige on our own merits." Juhani offered.

"Pretty much. However that does not preclude us from forming alliances with other would be hopefuls and if the opportunity presents itself to eliminate opposition."

"Eliminate?" Juhani frowned. "you don't mean to say we murder these youths?"

Reven grinned. "I don't necessarily mean we terminate their lives. But we need to eliminate them all the same. If they are not meant to be Sith we are doing a public service by sending those unsuitable away and we may very well be saving their lives by doing so."

Juhani shook her head. "You have an inimutable since of propriety, my friend. You know if you weren't so talented with the Force you might have considered a career in litigation."

Revan unrepentantly burst out laughing. "ME! A lawyer? I might have been a Dark Lord, Juhani but I was never that dark or rather willingly to be that dirty."

"I do not think lawyers are all dirty."

A careless shrug "There's a reason they are equated with leaches and sharks."

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Wandering the halls of the Academy Revan tried to push past the disjoined allegorical virtues of light and dark that cemented around her soul. It was not for herself she was facing this precipice but for Bastila and the abyss that waited her beloved.

In that dichotomy Revan also struggled to find the familiar and found her memories wanting. Nothing here was familiar. Not the heat from the Korriban sun or the taste of the acrid air. Not the intense cold of the Dark Side emanating from the Academy or its inhabitants. Not the voices or faces of either Yuthura Ban or Uthar. Nothing is familiar here. Not even the Dark Side. In that solitary moment Revan sorely wished she could at the very least find that familiar.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Was it was extraordinarily retched that Revan had wanted…something. There was a voice.

"Ah there you are my favorite prospect for the year." Yuthura purred as she approached Raven.

The Nagai's pencil thin eyebrow arched. "I'm your favorite prospect?"

"Absolutely. By my estimation you are far more likely to gain the prestige necessity to join the Sith than any of the others, including your Cathar companion." She smiled, but it was her lekku Revan kept her blue eyes upon. they twitched with interest and….yes...and if she wasn't mistake just a hint of desire. What was more dominate however was that the Twi'lek seemed to be telling the truth or at least as Yuthura understood the truth to be.

"As a matter of fact I am so certain of that I am willing to offer you an opportunity…of the …one in the life time variety." here the lekku coiled at the ends… indicating she was uncertain if what she was about to offer would not only be rejected but that it could be used against her. This above all intrigued the observant former Dark Lord. "Would you like to hear it?"

Revan looked cautiously around them and noticed a very distinct lack of other students or Masters roaming the halls. Using her most coy smile, Revan nodded. "I'd be a fool not to say yes."

This pleased the purple skinned Twi'lek." Good." she began walking in such a faction it was a very clear indication that Revan should follow. The main archive rooms were not far off from Yuthura's own personal chambers.

Fragments there were so many fragments. Fragments but no context

"Good." Yuthura said once they were alone. "I do so adore someone that is willing to take a chance. As I said in the hall, you no doubt are going to be the one Uthar chooses to become a Sith." She flashed a seductive sly smile. "With my help of course. Once that occurs he will take you into the Vally of the Dark Lords to the Tomb of Naga Sadow to administer the final trial. There you and I will be alone with him. The perfect time to, shall we say, arrange for a change in the Academy's leadership?

Naga Sadow? Revan's mind raced. "What's so important about that tomb, I mean other than belonging to a great Sith Lord?" Was it going to be this easy? Surely not!

"The Tomb is an ancient ruin on the surface that was visited years ago by Darths Revan and Malak. They discovered a star map there of great importance. Their discovery lead to the reformation of the Sith as it is today."

"Truly?" Well there it is. Naga Sadow. Damn they might not have linger in this place of darkness long. Now that they had the name of the tomb and full confirmation on the subject it was only a matte of gaining access to the tomb and entering its depths.

If the tomb was the final testing grounds no doubt the Masters had placed wards of some sort upon its entrances. If not wards than surely other security measures. Energy barriers could be spliced and the Ebon Hawke had two of the best splicers this side of the Outer Rim—a droid and a woman-child. Still no scout ever made dismissed a chance to gain more knowledge, to know all the possible avenues. She might in truth never have been a scout but the imprint was still there deeply engrained. Or maybe it was part of being the brilliant strategist that was once the Revanchist.

Let us play the Game then

"What can I say? I love tombs." The coy smile remained causing just a hint of confusion in Yuthura of whether or not the Nagai was being honest or sardonic.

"Reaching that map as they did is part of the final test. At any rate it is not the tomb that is important. That Uthar will be alone is what is important."

Oh Sunshine, that tomb is the only thing that is important. "Let me guess you wish for me to kill Uthar." Revan deliberately negated to used the man's honorific just as Yuthura had.

"Is that such a daunting prospect? It is not as if I am asking you to perform the task alone. Or as if you will get nothing out of it. Uthar cannot prevail against the both of us." A shrug both from shoulders and more importantly lekku. "That is all that there is to it." the hand waved to emphasize her point. "It is a very simple matter."

"It is. You have yet to tell me what your part in all of this is."

"My part in this is to help you gain enough prestige to make sure you get to that tomb, and to slow down the progress of the other hopefuls. I want you in that tomb when the time is ripe. We destroy Uthar together and I take his place, and you take your place at my side. A beautiful plan in its sheer simplicity."

Outwardly Revan gave a moment to seem to mull it over even though she had already made her decision. "Very well I agree."

"I am so pleased that you see it my way." Yuthura purred. She stepped closer and touched Revan on the cheek. "I will begin to make preparations for your final test. It will take some time. Your only worry now is to gain enough prestige to get there." The smile she had upon her lips turned artic. "Don't disappoint me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Revan lied. "I imagine you have some insight on gaining prestige, something more direct."

"I do. You would like to hear them then?"

"What I have asked if I had not, Master." The last word was added almost belatedly.

Yuthura smiled slightly. Oh she liked this one. "Come sit." Yuthura indicated to the second chair at the edge of the small round table. "You must impress Uthar. Go to him with news of your deeds or artifacts recovered from the tombs." She said not waiting for the other woman to take a seat. "The first and easiest way is for you to learn the Code of the Sith and speak it to him. I can teach you that if that is what you like."

"Please do." Prompted Revan.

"There are a few I can name at the top of my head. There are a group of students who refused an order by Master Uthar to execute a group of civilians in the colony. Uthar declared they were to be executed themselves but the students escaped and fled before the order could be carried out.

"We are certain they have not left Korriban. No doubt they have not gotten far and are simply in hiding. We just do not know where exactly." The last sentence was married with embarrassment. Yuthura's own perhaps? The tiny twitch of her lekkus ends indicated as much. "If you were to locate them and carry out Uttar's orders I am sure he would be most appreciative."

Revan once more flashed a coy smile. "No doubt."

"I also suggest talking to the other prospective Sith and find one you can gain an advantage of. I believe Lashowe would be an excellent choice. She is too trusting. Even with the events that occurred in Dreshdae I have little doubt you can talk her into letting you help somehow. Just make sure it is you that gains the advantage not her. She will seek to humiliate you for that little scene in the spaceport if she can.

"Be ruthless if you must. That is the only thing that will impress Uthar. The only other idea I can suggest to you is that you head into the Vally of the Dark Lords on the surface. There are ancient ruins there that can be explored. it is possible that you can find some artifacts or ancient knowledge or information in them that would please Uthar, it's difficult to say for certain."

"Duly noted, Master." Revan was mindful of the honorific usage, something that Yuthura noted as well. "Can you tell me about the Code of the Sith…its philosophy."

The Sith smirked. I can help you understand it.: Pease is a lie there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. They are more than simple words. Just as you said there is a much deeper philosophy behind them, yet many so easily misunderstand them.

"The Jedi would have you believe that peace is a desirable goal. That peace of the spirit is the way of the Force is mastered—that a lack of conflict betters man. We know different. It is our passion, our hate and our desire that fuels the Force. It is conflict that improves the lot of civilization and single being both."

"I understand. Without conflict there can be no creativity thus disrupting the socio-technological balance. All scientific advancement, artistic expression is due to intelligence overcoming and compensating limitations caused by conflict. Can't carry a load so invent the wheel and then the cart. Can't catch food so invent the spear. Limitation, conflict makes for advancement. No limitations, no conflict no advancement, no advancement culture stagnates.

"Works the other way too. Advancement before the cutlure is ready…disastrous. A culture uplifted before it has comprehended that the stars are not placed there by some god is asking for trouble." despite herself Revan was enjoying the philosophical edge the conversation had taken them.

Yuthura was grinning, excited that she finally had a student that comprehended the first tenant so very well. "Yes exactly! Conflict forces one to better one's self. As you stated it forces change, growth, adaptation, evolution or death. These are not our laws but the universes'. You said it exactly without conflict you have stagnation."

"Yet without respite from conflict there can be no reflection, no breath to take to create what the conflict inspired. Sometimes a little peace is good. Hell that's why there are breaks in music, otherwise it's just noise. The mind has to catch up to what it is hearing for the enjoyment of it." Revan pointed out. "I am not a parent myself or a teacher of younglings but I imagine there is no parent or teacher in creation that doesn't welcome the peace of the quite moments when the younglings are abed or away, and you just say 'thank the gods finally for just a little peace'."

Yuthura was forced to concede that last point. She even chuckled a little. "True. But you know as well as I do that is not what the tenant was indicating when the Code was created."

"Probably not. After all it doesn't say peace is a lie unless there's a teething baby nearby. Which brings us to the next part. Through passion I gain power. I doubt the passion it's talking is the act that sometimes ends in the creation of that teething baby."

"Most assuredly not." Yuthura was still smiling though only a hint of it remained behind. "What fuels your power through the Force but your passion? The stronger—darker emotions: anger, hatred, fear, these passions empower us."

"What of love?"

"Love is the most dangerous of all emotions. Love leads to anger and hared more often than not but it also leads to mercy, which is far worse." Yuthura's voice almost broke, wavered a little. "That however is a lesson for another time." She shook herself. "What keeps even the most rudimentary creature alive? The fear to run. Anger to fight. Without it a creature would most surely die. We are far more than them perhaps but in some ways we are little different.

"To think of us as creatures beyond the need of simple passion is a delusion. The Force gives us all power, even the Jedi. It is our mastery over our passions that gives us the strength they lack. It is our goal to be stronger, to achieve our true potential and not rest upon our laurels. We are the seekers, not the shepherds."

"You know that was always one aspect of the Jedi Code I never fully understood it was so contradictory. This goes back to the peace thing. The Jedi say there is no emotion there is only peace and at the same time almost in the same breath we are meant to stretch out with our feelings to touch the power of the Force. You can not do both—stretch out with your feelings and still deny your emotions.

"I can say that at the very least the Sith do not deny their emotions and are more than honest in displaying them and most certainly using them to fuel their connection to the Force. Which I suppose leads us to the next tenant about strength and power."

Yuthura tilted her head a little watching the other woman before offering her understanding of the passage. "The stronger you become you become in the Force the more power you will achieve. But all power comes at a price. And always must you fight for your power. Without strife your victory has no meaning. Without strife you do not advance. Without strife there is only stagnation."

"And here we are back again to the whole peace is a lie thing" Revan said more to herself than to the Twi'lek. "Though strength I gain victory."

"How many sorts of victories can you imagine? Peaceful victory? Victory by sacrifice—a truce? An achievement? Unless the victory is achieved by demonstrating that your power is superior it is only an illusion, temporary at best. We seek more."

"How about victory over chains being broken?" Revan poised.

"This has been argued over and often. The chains represent our restrictions both those placed upon us and those we place upon ourselves. Ultimately the goal of any Sith is to free herself from such restriction. In a way it is so we may do whatever we wish, but it is much more than that.

"One who has freed themselves from all restrictions has reached perfection, their potential fulfilled. Perfect strength, Perfect power. Imagine it. That is our ideal at any rate."

Yuthura's mind flashed back to the conversation she had with Uthar only hours ago. About the Sith'ari:

'Come now my pupil you must have felt what I have. Being near Ravensong is like being near the heart of the Force it self.'

Being this close to her, Yuthura found that statement was far more than true. Was Ravensong the prophesized one? The one that would transcend time, the one that would. She had to know, had to test. Did the Sith'ari know they were Sith'ari? Was it something you recognized without being told of it? Like a youngling discovering they could use the Force for the first time even as a babe but had no word for it in an infant's tongue. What Yuthura did know that was that she could feel the very vibrations of the Force pounding around Ravensong as heartbeat. Steady, strong so very strong and ever present.

"It is said in Sith legend that the Sith'ari—the perfect being will one day lead us but perhaps that is just a legend." She looked carefully at Revan or rather in her eyes Ravensong for any hint of recognition of this title.

"You do not believe in the Sith'ari?" Revan asked pretending this was the first time she had heard the term being floated about. If such a being did exist they could only be so if they followed Bendu—the way of the middle both light and dark, one that was utterly connected to the Living Force.

"I wonder what that being would be like. The legends say the Sith'ari will destroy us and make us stronger than ever before, but perhaps that is a legend. Perfection is a goal I think rather than a state of being. The Jedi would argue that no doubt." she waited, wondering what the Nagai would say to this.

"I argue it. Perfection seems bloody boring to me and it leads to your favorite word-stagnation. Perfect power, perfect strength, no strife, no conflict, no limitations, sounds peaceful doesn't it? But…peace is a lie, is it not?"

"You use the Code against itself." Yuthura seemed surprised.

"Just as I did with the Jedi Code. Yes. In my studies I discovered something beyond Sith and Jedi philosophies. I found more ancient terms, one I feel more of a kinship to. These teachings speak of the Force as Ashla, Bogan and Bendu.

The Light Side is Ashla, the Dark is Bogan and to me the more powerful, the more perfect path is that of the Gray—the Bendu. I believe...no I know I prefer the Bendu. Through Bendu you touch the Living Force, become one with it.

"As such I've found myself following a wholly different Code. Call it the Bendu Code or the Gray Code, whatever you wish to call it, you want to strive for perfection, then hear it.

There is no ignorance: there is knowledge.

There is no fear: there is power

I am the heart of the Force

I am the revealing fire of Light

I am the mystery of Darkness

In Balance with Chaos and Harmony

Immortal with the Force

"The perfect power is pure balance—the Bendu. Only by making yourself one with the Cosmic Force can you touch the Living Force and finally become one with it. It can only be reached through Bendu. Limiting yourself fully to the Bogan or solely to the Ashla then you are deliberately forging chains, limitations...stagnations to bind yourself in."

Yuthura opened her mouth but was it to argue or ask a question? Even she wasn't certain which it was. It was difficult to discern her eyes gave nothing way of the thoughts lying beneath her crown. "How is that you came to this conclusion?" She said at last. Was she hearing the words of the Sith'ari? If so...than Yuthura would pledge herself to this power, become one of Ravensong's first disciples. Was it any wonder that the Cathar, Ravensong had bested so easily followed her even to Korriban? Even if she wasn't the prophesized Sith'ari there was something unique—dare Yuthura admit it even in the privacy of her own thoughts that there was something very special about the Nagai who claimed to be one of the Nightsisters and walk the path of the Zeison Sha.

"I can boil it down to logic and physics. Or, I am following my passion, if you like. I'll explain it to you if you explain the last part of the Sith Code, the part of 'the Force shall set me free'. How do the Sith interpret this?"

"The Force is our servant, our master, our teacher, our companion, a weapon and a tool. Know it and you know the universe. Master it and you master the universe. Strive for perfection in the Force and it shall reward you. I suspect you already know this, as you speak of the Living Force as if it is something separate from the Cosmic Force.

"Tell me Ravensong, what your studies have told you, what discoveries have you made concerning the Living Force and the Cosmic Force? You said something of logic and physics that led you to Bendu. Did you learn this with the Zeison Sha or your time with the Jedi or Nightsisters?"

"A bit of all the above." Revan said. She slowly withdraws a small dagger that was tucked away within the folds of the armor's inner cloak. The blade was more a throwing knife than a true dagger. She lay the blade horizontal on the tip of her index finger—and for a moment it teetered from one side to the other then lay completely still. "Perfectly balanced," Revan said "as all things should be."

With her free hand she pointed to the tip of the knife. "Bogan." Pointing to the handle she said "Ashla." and to her fingertip she looked to Yuthura to answer.

"Bendu."

The Nagai nodded, a small smile teasing the corners of her mouth. "Bendu."

"Perfectly balanced as all things should be." Quoted Yuthura, her face in a particular thoughtful expression that was self-evidently reflected in the slight twitch of her lekku.

KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR

It was only a few moments after Revan had evacuated her own quarters that Juhani followed behind her. Like her counterpart she meant to gain her bearings. Master Uthar had said the first to return to him with the full understand of the Sith Code would gain prestige. Going to the Archives would result in an easy solution to this small challenge.

The other challenges of gaining enough prestige worried Juhani until she paused and realized that was not her task. Gaining prestige was a task that was up to Revan to handle. She'd be the one to impress upon the Sith Masters she was the optimal choice. Juhani's task was to see to it that Revan get there whilst still remembering who she was. The temptation to take the quicker most expedient way of the Dark Side in order to gain the last component of the Star Map to save Bastila was ever present.

Of course the other issue at hand was to find Carth Onasi's son. Perhaps if she aided the Commander in locating his child he would back off his badgering of Revan. The Nagai did not need this added burden on her shoulders compiled with everything else that was already there. Juhani took it upon herself to take this burden as her own.

Of course prowling the halls of with her supposed man servant / slave may raise some eyebrows but considering permission was granted those eyebrows might raise but they had not power they might have perceived to be theirs to hold over her.

A thought occurred to Juhani, she could summon Carth to her side…no not just summon. She could demand his presence and that would most surely evaporate some of the conjecture. Even if it didn't, a Sith didn't ask a slave-they demanded of them. Hate it however much as she did Juhani knew exactly how a slaver behaved, she was or rather had been a child slave as were both her parents on Taris. That was of course before the Jedi came and eradicated the Mandalorian presence. The scares of that time even for or especially for one so young as Juhani had been still remained. Xon's presence back on Mannon was evident of that fact.

It was only through the efforts of Revan that Juhani had even gained a measure of herself during and most especially after the incident with the slaver. Channeling that darkness of her past in conjunction with Juhani's own dalliances with turning to the Dark Side was enough to pass under the radar of Master Uthar. It worried her however that the taint of the Dark Side was still imprinted upon her soul. She supposed the story was the same for the amnesiac Revan, though in her case she didn't actually recall being a Dark Side practitioner.

Juhani pulled her mind back to current events, it was not wise to look too deeply into the past or gaze at the horizon and what was to come, especially now surrounded by enemies. Keeping her mind on where she was, the Cathar set out to find one of the Academy's slaves whose greater duties ran from general housekeeping to running menial tasks such as fetching some item or such from equipment sheds and store rooms to running errands back and forth from the colony. These slaves were very easy to spot in their sun-faded mustered yellow tunics spun from rough cotton.

"You, go to the slave quarters and tell my servant he is to report to me here in the grand hall. He is a human male wearing an orange coat, his name is Carth. Now go!" The Cathar tried to sound as fierce as possible though her voice was as sharp as if she were dressing down a youngling at the Enclave for being unruly. Not quite terrifying but affectively authoritative nonetheless.

The slave swiftly darted off to carry out the Cathar's bidding never pondering the lack of 'the or else threat' that typically spews out a student's mouth after giving an order. Scrambling to the slave quarters he swiftly located the young human male described to him.

Of course this was a whole other realm of hierarchy- the personal slaves of Sith students always rated higher than those that belonged to the Academy as a whole –well almost all. Eltsac, Overseer of the Academy's slaves was a breed apart and not because he was a Zabrak. He had far more authority not only over the body of the Academy's slaves and those to serving at Dreshdae but this even extended to the slaves belonging to the student body. Whilst he did not have the autonomy to execute any slave, he could order administrative corporal punishment - within reason, of course. Any task he would have given them would be superseded by any order the slaves received by the Masters and students such was the case here when Juhani had grabbed a young human male making his rounds and sent him to fetch Carth for her.

Within moments of sending the slave after Carth the Commander showed. "Did you know they call me Juhani in the slave quarters?" Carth's tone might have been construed as a grumble, but Juhani knew better. Carth wasn't happy unless he was complaining about something or another.

"That is not uncommon." Juhani said "At least you have that much. They could have simply given you a designation, even that is a step up from 'Hey you, Slave.'"

"Good point." Carth offered a forced smile. Come to think about it, it was a reasonable assimilation to call a slave by his master's name in a place that typically only used numeral designations at best when referring to the slave cast. At least this way he and Jolee were less likely to be abused or accosted by some random student or facility knowing they'd have to pay restitution to the owner, which of Eltsac had intoned previously.

"Juhani, look I know we have other priorities but if we could spend a little time trying to find Dustil…."

"I had already measured that need, Carth." Juhani said placing a tentative hand on the Commander's shoulder. "We will leave Rev…Skye to gaining the prestige necessary to gain the attention the Academy's Master." Juhani filled Onasi in on her plans of finding and extracting Dustil from the Academy and quite possibly other students that didn't quite belong here but felt they had no other alternative.

"We can not risk exposure by asking individual students if they have seen your son. Asking a slave were he is might be risky but it is an option, another is if you have something of his, anything of his I might be able to use the Force and locate him, considering however that he is enrolled in this Academy then that means your son is at the very least Force Sensitive and might pick up a disturbance through the Force that someone is trying to find him."

Carth's face became grim, his lips pulled tight into a thin frown. "The only thing I had of his was an ugly plush doggie he had when he was a youngling. He took that ratty thing everywhere with him." a sad soft wistful chuckle burbled out of the man. "He used to drag it behind him by its floppy ears. I tried to give him new stuffies but he'd never go for it, never traded up.

"I don't know how many times my wife patched that thing up or sewed on its button eyes back on. I think Fuzzy-Paws had more patches than original fur. I found it buried in the pile rubble of that was once our home on Telos. It's why I thought he was dead. Even when he was a teenager he had that thing tucked away in his room.

His frowned deepened and he shook his head. "I had it in my quarters on the Endar Spire. I have nothing of him left "

"That is not so Carth. You have that memory. I'll admit I am not as talented in Force powers such as this as Skye or Bastila, I possess is more on the physical end as I am a Guardian. Even still this memory might be enough for me to use, if you allow me to link into it. I suggest however if this is the course we take we return to my quarters least we are discovered."

"No offence Juhani but considering what the Jedi did to our friend I rather not have any Jedi, not even you touching my mind let alone my memories."

"I understand."

"Guess we pound leather then -good old fashioned detective work." Carth shrugged lopsidedly.

"Or we simply ask a slave designated for housekeeping duties where Dustil's quarters are. If your son is not present, we can stake out hall near his quarters and await his arrival."

."Or we could do that." agreed the man.

As it turned out the two neither needed to play detective or find a housekeeping slave. Carth might have called it luck, Juhani could claim it was the Force that gave them who they sought.

A much younger version of Carth Onasi stepped out of his chambers nearly plowing into Junhani. . Take a wrong turn somewhere, cat? The slave quarters are in a different wing."

Juhani bristled at the slur. If this had been anyone else other than Carth Onasi's son she would have most certainly given the boy a most harsh reprimand and considering she was pretending to be Sith, she could have sent him flying back into a wall or slammed him into the floor without much rancor or reprimand redirected at her.

"Dustil? Is that you?" Carth could scares believe his eyes. He pushed past the irritated Jedi to gain a much better look at his child. His little boy had grown into a man and he had missed it all.

"Oh lovely." The boy's face wrinkled in disgust. "It's Father, Figures you'd show up after all this time." the sneer became a permanent fixture on his tanned face. "How did you manage to get it?"

Reven would have answered smartly' Through the front doors, same as you.' Juhani however did not have her friends since of sardonic humor, and truth be told her fur was still a little ruffled from the slave comment. "We are here now. Does it matter how?"

"Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe Master Uthar would like to know what kind of company is present here."

"What makes you think he does not already know a Jedi has come here? I believe it a coup against the Order to corrupted such. That is not a bargaining chip you have in your arsenal youngling. It is best to stop pretending that you do have that advantage."

"Whatever." He rolled his contemptuous eyes, looked past Juhani to the older Onasi. "Just why are you here, Father? You're no fallen Jedi. You didn't come for me I hope. Couldn't you have gotten yourself blown up on some remote ship and spared us this reunion?"

Carth's deep brown eyes revealed his heartbreak and utter confusion. "Dustil, why are you talking like that? I…I…Thought you were dead."

"Of course you would think that." The lad sneered. "Did you really think I'd be happy to see you? Look everyone it's Father! Come to rescue me at long last! Sure he may have left my Mother and I to die on Telos, but that doesn't matter."

From around the corner were two passing guards both in the familiar bantha wool gray uniforms and caps. They looked at the two 'Sith students' and the single slave and continued to pass by on their way to where ever it was they were going.

They were scarily out of ear shot before Carth offered up his argument. "No! I didn't abandoned you. The task force arrived too late. Telos was in ruins….and your Mother…I held her while she was dying. I looked for you. I swear I looked everywhere for you."

"Aw save it." Dustil growled. "You abandoned us long before! We were alone all during the wars! And even once you came back you were never really there. You still didn't stay!" His voice becoming shriller, sharper gaining even more looks from other students making their way to and from their quarters.

"I didn't have a choice. I was needed at the Front."

"Yeah? You were needed at home to! You were needed when the bombs fell and I got captured." the voice lost its shrillness but not the edge nor coldness. "You know what it doesn't matter. Not anymore. I have a new family now, a family that is there, that cares about me. I don't need you."

"The Sith?!" Carth shook his head frantically. "You can't mean that! The Sith killed your mother. The Sith destroyed Telos."

"So. You're the soldier Father, how many mothers did you kill?"

"NO. You've been brainwashed. The son I knew would never..."

"You NEVER knew me!" Dustil roared. "You weren't even there to know me! So don't presume to tell me what I would or wouldn't do."

"I don't know what's been done to you, but you're coming out of here with me right now!" Carth made a move to grab his son's arm as if he was still a youngling.

Dustil snapped his arm way quickly before Carth could even get a hold of it and took a preventive step back his hand on the hilt of his training saber. "Touch me Old Man and I'll kill you." he waved his fist in the air as his own father had done a moment ago. "GET OUT! Get out of here before I tell the Sith that you are here!"

"Calm yourself, Dustil. Carth is only trying to protect you." Juhani tried.

"I don't need his protection. Not anymore. The Sith give me everything I need."

Carth took an angry step forward. "You can't mean that! The Sith are…are…they're evil!"

Juhani wished that Revan or even Jolee were here to calm the situation down. Both of them had a way with words especially Revan. she knew how to bend words to make it should like it was your idea all along. The Cathar felt very much out of her element but she if didn't calm things down the situation between father and son would escalate to an out and out battle.

"They are of the Dark Side. They took me away from you and your mother. They took your mother from us. They took you away from me."

"No. They are not evil. They are not! The Dark Side is superior. And you? You are at war long before the Sith became involved."

"The Sith war to conquer, to rule the helpless. I went to war for you Dustil, for your freedom, your future."

Dustil cocked out a sarcastic guffaw. "I don't believe you."

"If I failed you son Then it's…it's…my failure. Please don't add to it by becoming part of something evil."

"Prove it. Prove that the Sith are so evil and I'll think about it."

Juhani sighed, this was not going to be easy but she had to try. Maybe if she tried to think like the elvin eared Jedi she could at least sound like she knew what she was doing. "How can we prove something like that if you can not hear it for yourself in the training arena with the tortured screams of the slaves?"

"No one wears a collar that doesn't want one." Dustil dismissed the Cathar. "I won't tell anyone you're here for now. You find some proof and you bring it to me. If I hear you asking questions about me or do a single thing to jeopardized my position within the Sith, I swear I'll tell everyone what you're up to." He looked over Juhani's head to Carth. "You got that Father? You prove what you're saying is true. I'm not going anywhere otherwise."

Deflated Carth nodded. "I got it Dustil. I'll be back I swear it."

"Yeah we'll see, Old Man."

Down the hall Juhani turned to the human. "Do you want to talk about what…?"

"No." Carth's voice became irritable just as Dustil had been. "I want to find something, anything that will convince my son, we are telling the truth. " He shook his head. There has to be something in the Academy we can bring to him. Something that will show him what the Sith really are."