Light in the Darkness

Chapter 1: New Arrival and Prisoner Interrogation

Hey guys. This is my first attempt at a Star Wars fanfic. A little background to this. This will follow the story line of the Light Side male Sith Warrior. From what I have seen, there aren't many stories like this out there. I will deviate slightly from the story in certain parts but I will do my best to keep the basic plot the same. I do not own Star Wars or Star Wars: The Old Republic. R&R and Enjoy.

As the Imperial shuttle docked at the landing pad, the acolyte stood up and walked towards the exit ramp. As it opened, he could sense the the vast expanse of desert and mountains that surrounded the Vally of the Dark Lords through the Force. Imperial guards gave the man curious looks as he exited the shuttle. Why would an overseer ask for a blind acolyte? Nevertheless, they bowed to the man as he passed and entered the docking bay.

"You there! Slave! Come over here and get in formation!" yelled a disgruntled human.

Turning, the acolyte faced the owner of the voice. "Why the hell Lord Zash would ask for a blind slave, I'll never know. Now do as I say or face the consequences!"

"That is enough, Harkun." said a new voice. Harkun turned and saw Overseer Tremel making his way towards the two.

"My apologies, acolyte. Your arrival seems to be poorly timed at the exact moment of a slave shipment." Tremel said to the acolyte before turning his attention back to Harkun. "I'll have you know that I am displeased at your insult at my guest. I know you hate your job but I would expect you to know that this is no ordinary blind man. This is a Miraluka."

Overseer Harkun sneered at the acolyte before replying. "And what makes him a big fucking deal?"

"Though he may not have eyes, he can see through the force and is a master of the blade, unlike your new batch of slaves." Tremel answered, glaring at the slave overseer.

"Fine. Have fun with your new play thing. I, unlike you, have a real challenge ahead of me." Harkun said before heading over to the line of slaves.

"He seems real cheery." the acolyte said, turning to Overseer Tremel.

"Don't mind him. He hates his job and all the aliens he has to train. Again, I apologize for his rudeness." Tremel replied.

"I've been called much worse, I promise you." the acolyte said, adjusting the metal plates over his eye sockets.

"Where are my manners? I am Overseer Tremel. I was the one that arranged your early arrival."

"Asher Marr." the acolyte said, holding out his hand and shaking it with Tremel.

"Good, good. Now that introductions are out of the way, we must continue. There is so much to do and so little time." Tremel said, inspecting the acolyte.

Asher was of average size and build. He had a fair skin complexion. His hair shoulder length and untidy. The robes he wore were plain and simple and the blade he carried was that of any other new acolyte.

"First things first. We must get you a new weapon. That sword you have is not adequate for the training I have planned for you."

"Where might I find a more suitable blade?" Asher asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Outside this docking bay is a path that will lead you to the entrance of the Tomb of Ajunta Pall. Inside, you will have to fight your way through looters and Klor slugs. Your objective is to find the armory and take from it a Sith Warblade. That should serve you well for later tasks."

"I will not fail you, Overseer." Asher said, bowing to Tremel.

"Once you have found the blade, get some practice with it before meeting me in my office inside the academy." Tremel said before making his way to his personal speeder.

Watching his new master disappear, Asher sighed before making his way towards the tomb. From the looks of things, many new acolytes and slaves were entering the tomb by the blood trail leading to the entrance. Inside, he could see many bodies lying on the floor, human, alien, and beastly. The halls rang with battle cries, blaster fire, and blood curtailing screams. Suddenly, the ground before him began to quake. Asher readied his blade. Out of the ground came what he could only assume was a Klor slug. The creature's maw was filled with serrated teeth and its appendages were clawed. It scuttled towards him, gnashing its teeth. Energizing his blade, Asher rushed the beast, managing to cleave the head off. The body writhed for a moment before collapsing.

"One down, a thousand more to go." Asher mused as he powered down his blade. Progress through the tomb was slow. It seemed as though every five steps he took, another Klor slug popped up. If it wasn't a slug, then it was a band of looters. They were able to at least keep Asher on his toes but were no match for his skill. After half an hour of, Asher finally made it to the entrance of the armory. He could sense that many acolytes before him had attempted to claim one of the many warblades in this room and had failed miserably. Reaching a weapon's rack, he selected one that felt balanced in his hands.

Right as he finished attaching it to his back sheathe, he heard a mechanical clicking. Turning back towards the entrance, Asher saw half a dozen ancient battle droids powering up and making their way towards him.

"Time to see what this blade can do." Asher said before sprinting towards the closest pair of droids. Before they could even pull out their blasters, Asher stabbed the chassis of the first droid before pulling his blade out and cutting of the head of the second. As they fell, the remaining droids began firing. Asher put up a force shield and began planing out his next move. Concentrating, he leapt towards the second pair of droids. With the momentum he built up, he was able to slice through one droid from shoulder to waist before grabbing the second droid and using it as a shield to protect from the incoming blaster fire. As the droid in his hands began to smoke, Asher tossed it towards the final pair of droids before leaping for cover. Seconds later, there was a small explosion, sending droid limbs and parts flying every which way. Looking from behind the cover, Asher saw that the explosion had dispatched the last of the droids.

"Well, it appears that Tremel was right about this new blade." Asher said, grinning down at his new weapon.

After another thirty minutes of fighting through the tomb, the Miraluka finally exited the tomb and entered the Sith Academy. The inside was dark and foreboding. Several Sith were kneeling before the giant obelisk in the center of the main hall while others were discussing in hushed tones. As he made his way towards Tremel's office, he was stopped by two acolytes.

"You there, sightless. Come over here." the smaller of the two called.

"Seems as though Tremel has found a new pet." the thin man said, earning a chuckle from the larger one.

"Who might you two be?" Asher asked, unimpressed with their attempts at intimidation.

"I am Vemrin and this fine gentleman is Dolgis. We just wanted to make sure that you knew who is your better around here."

"I don't quite understand your animosity. There is plenty of room on Korriban for the both of us." Asher replied, standing his ground.

"Maybe but I prefer to be the only star pupil in this academy."

"Let me end him, Vemrin. It shouldn't be too difficult to kill a blind man." Dolgis said menacingly.

"You assume much. Whoever said I was blind?" Asher said, smirking at the two. This angered Dolgis who threw a punch at Asher. Before the punch could connect with his face, however, Asher blocked the punch and quickly pulled the large man into a strangle hold.

"What the fuck is going on? How cold you possibly see that coming?" Dolgis choked out.

Releasing him, Asher replied, "The Force gives me sight, and from what I can see, you are not too pleased to be shown up by me."

"Impressive." Vemrin said, putting a hand on Dolgis' shoulder to keep him at bay. "But you'll have to do better than that to have a chance at beating me. Now run along to Tremel."

With that, Vemrin walked past Asher.

"You better watch you back, freak. Acolytes may not be able to kill each other, but that doesn't mean accidents don't happen." Dolgis growled before catching up to Vemrin.

Sighing, Asher entered the office of Overseer Tremel to see him talking with another acolyte.

"I can't believe you, father! You take on a new acolyte and immediately send him off to get a new warblade? Do you know how long I had to wait and train until I was allowed to get mine?" the girl yelled at Tremel.

"Eskella, please. I don't have time to listen to your wining." Tremel answered, looking over to Asher. "Now leave us and don't breath a word of this to anybody."

"Yes, father." Eskella said before turning on her heels and exiting the office.

"You will have to forgive my daughter. She has a fiery temper."

"My apologies for interrupting." Asher said, bowing before Tremel.

"No need. She may complain but she will always remain loyal to me." he replied. "I see you acquired your new blade. Tell me, how was it against the beasts and the thieves?"

"Better than I expected." the Miraluka said.

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe you ran into Vemrin before entering my office."

"Yes. He seems quite full of himself but nothing I can't handle."

"Good. He will be your rival here at the academy." Tremel said before he began pacing about. "I have overseen the trials at this academy for many years. I have seen hundreds rise to the mantle of power and thousands more suffer crushing defeats. Now it seems that scum like Vemrin are allowed to enter this academy. I will not have it."

"What make Vemrin unworthy of becoming Sith?" Asher asked.

"He does not come from a Sith bloodline. He simply has force sensitivity." Tremel answered, a look of disgust on his face.

Asher remained quiet. He was unsure of his own bloodline. He had heard stories and tales of great forces users in his family but had never investigated further.

"Worry not, acolyte. You are one of the few remaining bloodline that still holds a strong connection to the force. Now, Vemrin is currently trying to win favor with Darth Baras to become his new apprentice. This cannot happen."

"I will do my best to ensure that it doesn't, Overseer." Asher assured.

"Good. Now we must concentrate on your second task. Head over to the prison. There, Jailer Knash will get you started on your interrogation of three prisoners. Question them, learn all you can, then decide their fate. Traditionally, they are either executed or are given a trial by combat. Do with them as you see fit."

"As you wish." Asher said before heading towards the prison. As he entered the prison, he saw a man with a remote in his hand glaring at a female Twi'lek in one of the cells.

"One more peep out of you, little bird, and I'll give you another shock."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp." the Twi'lek teased before she tensed up from the shock coming from the collar around her neck.

"Fuck! Grow a sense of humor, why don't you. If you don't like that, I got several more animals I can imitate. Frog-dog, Manka- cat, Kowakian monkey- lizard."

"Can you do a varactyl?" Asher asked, an amused smile on his face. The girl gave a sly grin towards Asher before giving an accurate varactyl call.

"Bravo, bravo!" Asher said, giving the twi'lek applause.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week." she said, taking a bow.

"Glad you find her so amusing. She's been bugging the hell out of me ever since she came her." Jailer Knash said, turning to the acolyte. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"I'm a Miraluka. I can see through the Force so my species doesn't need eyes." Asher replied. It was a response he had given many times before but it never got any easier of less annoying.

"Whatever. So Overseer Tremel has brought in three prisoners for you. Normally, acolytes would go off planet for their interrogation but it seems he sees something special in you."

Nodding, Asher followed the jailer to the first of the three prisoners. Inside was a women who looked like she had taken quite the beating. Despite the several bruises and cuts across her body, she still seemed defiant.

"The fuck do you want?" the woman spat, glaring at Asher.

"Pleasure to meet you." Asher responded, earning a snicker from the Twi'lek.

"This one was imprisoned for executing an Imperial spy on Yavin 4. She claims that she neither knows who hired her nor did she know that the person she killed was working for the Empire."

Asher looked long and hard at the woman, reading her body language and her alignment in the Force.

"You seem too valuable to execute. How about we send you to Imperial Intelligence?" Asher finally asked.

"Your offering me a job." the woman asked, stunned at the proposal.

"An assassin like you could be a powerful resource. You will be compensated and have the potential to rise in the ranks."

"Interesting. Never would have thought to do that." Knash said before leading Asher to the next cell. This one held a middle aged cyborg who was pacing his cell nervously.

"What is his story?" Asher asked, inspecting the prisoner.

"This worthless sack of shit is Devotek. He used to be a valuable member of the Sith planetary strike forces until he made a decision that caused the death of thousands of warriors and Imperial soldiers."

"Please, I beg you to allow me a trial by combat." Devotek pleaded.

"No. Granting you a trial by combat would be like a slap on the wrist to you. You will remain here. Maybe then you will find the strength you once knew."

"Damn you!" Devotek screamed, shaking the bars of his cage.

"And I thought death was the ultimate low." Knash chuckled before moving to the last cell. In it was a Neimoidian male.

"This one is a bit of a mystery. His name is Brehg. The charges are that he was supplying forged documents to the Republic."

"That is a lie." Brehg pleaded. "I know I have not been a model citizen but I can tell you with al honesty that I did not forge any documents, nor did I hand them over to the Republic."

Asher could sense that the prisoner was being sincere. "Is there any evidence to his guilt?"

"Not quite. Most of it is circumstantial." Knash replied.

"In that case, let him go." Asher said.

"Oh, thank you! You are most gracious, kind sir!" Brehg said.

"Well that's a first." Knash said in a surprised tone.

"Is that all?" Asher asked.

"That's it, kid. Head back to Tremel and he will go over your decisions with you."

As Asher made his way towards the door, he stopped in front of the cell with the Twi'lek.

"Thanks for giving me a warm welcome to this place. I'm sure that the prison could use a lot more of your humor."

The Twi'lek giggled. "Before you go, what is your name?" she asked.

"Asher. Your name?"

"Call me Vette." she replied.

"Well, Vette, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'll be sure to drop by when I have the time." Asher said, giving her a sly grin before exiting the prison.