As always, thank you for all your support. Saber explored the towers that now called home. Many of these Sith lived in them, metal structures that dotted the calm waters of a lake named Porlou. V'reenda said that the twin towers she'd taken were about five hundred years old. She felt the cold breeze blow through the open windows, chilling her body. But the chilliest parts were the sides of her head where she'd shaved most of her hair off. At first she was upset, but she quickly realised that The Master was right. Vanity is a weakness. And the Sith, and the Jedi as well, must never be weak. They must always be strong. Saber stopped her exploration when she saw her Mistress, V'reenda, standing on one of the balconies, her eyes closed. She was wearing the same outfit that she wore when she helped her escape from custody. V'reenda always wore clothing that covered all but her head and hands. The ride in the stolen aircab with V'reenda's droid, DR-18, was the only time she'd seen her not fully dressed. Saber touched her face where her Mistress had slapped her. As she silently stepped through the door, V'reenda's eyes snapped opened. "Is there something you need?" "I was wondering about your clothes," The apprentice said. "Why do you wear so much? Even when it's warm, you are always fully dressed." "Well, you'll find out anyway, so I might as well tell you. I wear these clothes because they are specially made. You see, my body produces very strong pheromones that cause sexual arousal in most Humanoids who come near me. That's what caused you to do what you did when I liberated you." "I was wondering why I did that." Saber said in a low voice. "I've never felt desire for another female before," The young woman's eyes widened. "What's wrong?" V'reenda asked. "That's why you're so fast and so strong." She smiled at her mistress. "Do you have a small hole in the back of your head?" The Sith's eyes narrowed. "How would you know such a thing?" "Because I know where you're from." "I'll tell you where I'm from," V'reenda said as she crossed her arms. "Darth Payne and my mother, Darth Benda, found me when I was a baby, in an ancient ship, in suspended animation. About fifteen years ago. That's where I'm from." "You're only about fifteen?" "Yes," V'reenda said with a shrug. "Evidently my people age quickly." "Have you ever heard of the Wookiee Wrestler?" "Everyone with a holonet connection is familiar with this Ambassador Kirk. I've seen him in action myself," The Sith described Matt Corzo's arrest outside the Starfarer Club. "Now how would you know some of these things about me?" "From Kirk. He was one of the three who captured me. He was telling Ateia about his people. And I actually saw him insert some kind of cable into the back of his head, and plugged the other end into a datapad. He had also killed three droidekas with a blaster." "Considering those things have shilds, the only way to destroy one is to be right on it, and pushing your blaster through," A shadow flitted across the water. V'reenda glanced up. "There's DR-18. I'll be gone overnight, so you'll have the run of the place. If you need to go somewhere, there are two swoopbikes in the top floor of this tower," V'reenda then thrust a finger at her apprentice. "But you are not to go into the top floor room in the other tower. That is my bedroom. And under no circumstances are you to enter the lowest level! That is my personal training chamber. The droids in there are set to fight me. Anyone else entering will be met with deadly force." "Yes, Mistress V'reenda," Saber acknowledged. "We will continue this talk tomorrow. Until then, do the task I gave you. We've got to teach you to hide your Force Presence. The doctor did a good job of altering your face. But we'll be on Coruscant from time to time, and you must be able to walk among Jedi without being detected." Saber nodded as she stepped aside. A pair of dark eyes watched V'reenda pull away in her speeder. That just left her apprentice. This would be no problem. She would kill her and be off the planet with the holocron before anyone knew what had happened. The One True Master would be most pleased. The day of reckoning for these heretics was drawing near. Saber was standing at a window on the third floor when she heard the scrape of metal on metal. The Force immediately screamed a warning: drop! She fell to one knee just as a light saber blade ignited and passed over her head. The apprentice kicked her leg out and caught the intruder across the back of the legs, throwing her to the floor. With the other, she smashed her foot into the hand wielding the weapon, sending it flying across the room, and out onto the walkway to the other tower. Drawing the leg back again, she caught her opponent across the mouth. The woman, pale skinned with dead black, souless eyes, lay stunned for a second. She hadn't expected a new apprentice to be this good. And it was obvious where she'd learned her skills: from a Jedi. She grinned as she jumped up from the floor, as did the younger woman. She felt the girl begin to pull her saber to her hand. Nobody touched her weapon and lived. She quickly drew the Force to herself. Saber felt the woman drawing on the Force, and knew what she was going to do: Force Lightning! The former Jedi forgot the lightsaber and jumped down through the elevator shaft to the floor below. She'd been on the recieving end of that damnable energy when she and Ateia fought a fallen Jedi and his Padawan. And Saber was not in the mood to take it again. She landed in a crouch, ready to jump in any direction. The ghostly invader could be heard moving about on the floor above. Saber knew her only chance to live was to get to one of the swoops on the top floor. A sudden burst of Force Lightning enveloped the apprentice, dropping her to her knees. When it stopped, a lightsaber blade appeared just inches from her face. "You've done very well, apprentice," The unknown attacker said in a voice as dead as her eyes. "You are the first to ever strike me. So that is why I will take your head home to Korriban. You deserve the honor of having your skull sitting on the control panel of my ship. But first, you will tell me where Darth V'reenda keeps the Arcoud holocron," But Saber did something the intruder did not expect. With a swift movement, she brought her arm up to the laghtsaber's blade. But instead of cutting through the flesh and bone, the plasma beam flickered and died. She wore cortosis wrist bands under the leather! Saber took advantage of the other's momentary confusion and jumped up and kicked her hard in the ribs. She felt the bones crack. But instead of falling, the woman spun about with incredible speed, and again, Saber found herself writhing under the attack of the lightning. "I have changed my mind," She whispered when she stopped. "I am going to take you back to Korriban with me. Your suffering will be the stuff of legend. As will your death. But first, you will tell me where your mistress keeps the Arcoud holocron." "She keeps it in the lowest level of the other tower," Saber said in a shaking voice. Once more the woman hit her with the blue energy. When she finished she stood over the girl in triumph. "Stay here while I, Darth Katar, chief assassin to the One True Master, retrieve this device. Then we shall be on our way," With a leap, the spectral assassin was back on the floor above, running across the catwalk that connected the two durasteel towers. After a couple minutes, Saber heard the woman's screams of agony as she found V'reenda's combat training droids. But she was quickly silenced. She smiled slightly. "Oops," Saber muttered before darkness took her.