IV: Apprentice

The individual who was appointed to train Saffra was a Krish man who went by the name of Master Ravaln.  He was particularly skeptical of her at first, not bothering to hide it on his face as Lord Kamak introduced them.  Saffra didn’t think much of him either.  They would get along swimmingly with their collective low expectations of each other.  She wouldn’t think that the alien with his sloping, rigid brow, harsh underbite, and diminutive eyes would be the sort to delve into Sith teachings.  He looked more as if he would be at home as a brutish criminal ring enforcer.

When Lord Kamak departed to let them get to know each other a little better, Master Ravaln dropped his mask of politeness.  He turned a probing set of eyes upon her as he had her take a seat on one of the cushions in the room by a low table.

    “What do you know of the Sith, Child?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back and standing before her.

Saffra lowered herself on the cushion, picking over her words carefully.  She knew enough to know that most of the galaxy saw the Sith as bad.  Her people didn’t see much use for splitting the Force into factions.  It was all the same.  They simply applied different labels to it and how one manipulated it.  She met Master Ravaln’s eyes after some musing, lifting her brows.

“I know that the galaxy and the Jedi fear you,” she said. “But you fear the Jedi more so that you would go into hiding rather than face them head on.”

The corners of Master Ravaln’s mouth twitched before he sat himself down fluidly on the other side of the table.  He moved his hands to tend to the tea things set out.

“A comment like that would have earned you a firm scolding from any other Master.”

“You find it amusing,” Saffra observed.

“I find it true,” he corrected, pouring hot water into a small cup. “We have been in hiding for far too long, but we do as Lord Kamak instructs us, no matter if we agree with what he dictates or not.”

“Do you believe that there’s an alternative route?” Saffra inquired, watching him fill the second cup. “I know it would be foolish to step out into the galaxy and declare war on the Jedi with how vast and powerful they–”

“Powerful?” Master Ravaln snorted.

The contempt in his voice was so strong it caused Saffra to jump.  

    “My young, naive Apprentice,” Master Ravaln sighed, setting the pot down with a harsh clack. “Power has nothing to do with it.  If we were measuring power between the Sith and the Jedi, we are the ones with more of it.  They choose to hold back, and therefore they doom themselves in the end.  Granted, I do not fully agree with Lord Kamak’s decision to remain underground with our tails tucked between our legs, but he has a fair point.  There are more of them than there are of us, and it is harder for a Sith to seek out our kind when the Jedi are so ready to flush us out and exterminate every last one of us.

    “The one thing that you must realize about the Jedi is that they are not, as you put it, powerful.  They do not open themselves up to the full extent of what the Force has to offer.  Just because there are more of them and they are the ones who the Republic sees as their allies does not mean that they will triumph in the end.  They might be the ones who hold their influence for now, but in time, we will be able to step away from the shadows and take our rightful place as masters of the galaxy.  It is their own folly that will be their undoing.”

    Saffra cocked her head to the side.

“You imply there are more Sith then, more than the ones here.”

    Master Ravaln’s eyes narrowed, his mouth forming the approximation of a smile.

“Yes, there are more of us.  There might be far more than we surmise even.  But we have to keep our distance.  The Jedi hope to find one enclave and connect it to the rest, like a beaded rope.  We long ago agreed that for the survival of our sect, we needed to remain isolated and apart.  We will know when it will be safe to come out of hiding, but I don’t believe it will be for a while yet, not with the chokehold the Jedi have on the Republic.  Now, back to my question: what can you tell me about the Sith?  That was a very good tangent, but I would prefer to return to the topic at hand.”

    It was Saffra’s turn to smile.  She was beginning to think she would like this Master Ravaln.

    “You manipulate the part of the Force that is referred to as “The Dark Side.”  You go by the credo of power and use that to subjugate others, but the one that caught my interest with my research was that you answer to no one.  You are your own masters, aside from having a structure to dictate how things are run within your order.  Is this a test, Master?”

    Saffra took a sip as the Krish lifted his drink with a thumb and forefinger around the rim.  He chuckled.  It was a good sign.

    “More of a test for me.  I need to see how low the bar is to determine where I need to begin.  You have basic knowledge, but it’s more than what I can say for most who seek us out.”

    “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“As you should.  So what is it you wish to learn from me, My Apprentice?  What made you so interested in a people that the galaxy would sooner wipe out?”

    Saffra’s fingernails clicked against the small cup in her hands as she watched the dark liquid inside ripple out against its confines.  Honestly, she had come here to die.  Master Ravaln must have known that much from the account the other Sith surely had given him of Saffra’s arrival.  Maybe it was the Force guiding her without her realizing it though.  The Sith held solutions to her problems that had plagued her for decades.  She didn’t want anyone walking all over her again, or coercing her into being a person who was compliant, quiet, acquiescing to whatever they told her to do.

    She looked up to meet Master Ravaln’s red gaze, a steely look in her own.

“You stamp on the bruised backs of others and cut down anyone who opposes you.

I want the sort of power so people would sooner cower than look at me and believe they could twist me into something to their liking.”

    Master Ravaln nodded, sipping his drink.

“An excellent starting point.  I will endeavor to do my best to teach you then, My Apprentice.”

    “Thank you, Master.  I don't doubt you will."