The tales of an apprentice (Lady Vader)

[SashaKovalev]

He had a slightly cocky grin on his face as he walked through the hallways. Life seemed to be going well for him at the moment. He had learned to fly a few months ago, under the tutelage of Javus Parr and a few of his pilots in the simulators aboard the Saiatah High Roller. And after that, Lady Vader had trusted him to take one of the ships for a spin on his own. He'd taken it to Tatooine that day, the day he'd seen Feliciana with the Jedi. He'd also seen his master, and he had been away from the castle since then, on a mission of sorts. Perhaps it was a way to distract him from the girl - perhaps it was a way to keep him focused. Either way, it had been some time away, and while he had enjoyed the trip, he was glad to be back in the castle.

The castle was home to him. And now that he was back, he was going in search of his master. He had much to tell her about the things he had learned. He didnt doubt that she had kept tabs on him, for she always seemed just a step ahead of him, but still, he was eager to see her.

His blaster rifle, that he carried for little reason other than sentimental value was slung across his back. He carried another blaster, not the one he'd owned since childhood, but the one he'd acquired on a training mission with Live Wire and Darth Krieg. He knew blasters were somewhat useless when it came right down to it, but having one had saved his life more than once, and he refused to part with carrying one.

And his lightsaber, the one given to him by Mu Satach, he carried with him as well. This had become his first choice of a weapon, besides quick thinking.

His light brown hair was tousled, and once again, a bit too long. He was in need of a haircut, but had been too distracted, too excited by other things to bother with the ten minutes it might have taken to get it cut. Instead he brushed it back impatiently from his violet eyes every now and then and ignored it.

He had never been to his masters chambers. It seemed that to visit her there would be an intrusion upon her personal space, upon her time to herself. So he grew a bit nervous as he got a bit closer. Not that she would be angry with him, but just because he respected her, and wasnt sure if he was risking being disrespectful. In the end, he decided she wouldnt really care, and if she did, she would send him away. And so he rapped lightly on her door. He knew she would likely sense his approach, so there was no need for a hearty knock.

[Lady Vader]

*LV was already moving towards the door when the knock came. IT wasn't hard to distinguish her apprentices presence from the other beings in the Palace. Reaching the door, and on Sasha's first knock, she opened it, greeting him with a smile.*

Hello, Sasha. I hope you had a successful trip.

*She gestured for him to enter into the living area of her chambers, sitting herself at a plush leather seat.*

Tell me about your ventures.

[SashaKovalev]

His face lit up upon seeing his master. His respect for her and his loyalty to her were boundless. He had not forgotten how harsh she could be when necessary, but he knew also that she was fair and could even be kind. She was also quite powerful and wise, and the many other thigns that he wished someday to be. He wasnt surprised that she had opened the door almost immediately, and a grin came to his features. It was boyish, but with a hint of wisdom and confidence, a hint of the man he would one day become.

At her request, he stepped into the living area of her chambers, and sat down after she had been seated herself. He sat across from her, and appeared to be relaxed. Before, when he hadnt known her as well, he had been a bit nervous around her, not wanting to make a mistake, but now he was relaxed, for he knew that mistakes were something he would only learn from.

He laughed softly as she requested he tell her of his adventures. There was much to tell, and while he had been gone, he had realized that there were many things he did not know about his master, and he hoped he might get the chance to ask her.

"I will tell you master, of everything. I thought about it most of the flight back to the castle and could hardly wait...but first I must tell you something else..." He features darkened slightly, and his expression became almost sullen.

"The ship you let me borrow....its a bit scratched...." He stated. There was more to the story, and he would tell her if she wished to know, but it had been on his mind, this scratch on the ship. It had happened the first day of his trip after he'd departed from Tatooine. He'd felt quite lucky to have been allowed a ship to use, and he'd taken particular care of it, with the exception of taking it through an asteroid field for fun, to hone his skils. But even there, not a scratch had been laid to the ship. It had been his intention to the return the ship good as new, but due to circumstances beyond his control, there had been minor damages - aesthetic damages only - but still, his eye caught them, and he was angered that it had happened at all.

[Lady Vader]

*LV smiled.*

Sasha... do you think I always bring home my ship without a minor scratch or two on it? Space debris can do that, you know.

But do tell me how you damaged the ship.

[SashaKovalev]

He smiled, only slightly under her almost teasing words. Perhaps a scratch in the ship didnt bother her, but it did bother him. And it wasnt just the scratch, it was the rest of the story that perhaps bothered him more.

"No..." He replied slowly in answer to her question. "I dont think you return it without any scratches at all, and I know its normal for there to be minor scratches and all...but this is...well its a little bigger than that. Its more like a five foot long gouge." His violet eyes narrowed slightly.

"And I didnt do it." The apprentice added with a bit of an emphasis on that face.

"This idiot at the spaceport was moving another ship and wasnt watching where he was going all that well - the wing of it put a good sized gouge into the Order's ship." As he explained, his expression darkened, his anger naturally recalled to him. Anger at the scratch and because he had not been able to make the man pay for his mistake.

"And I meant to teach the guy a lesson only one of the jedi sort of interrupted things...."

[Lady Vader]

Ah, yes, the ever medling Jedi. Somehow, that part of your story doesn't surprise me.

*She crossed her legs under her, sitting back into her seat, the leather creaking a bit.*

As to the gouge, it is fixable and without so much as a dent in the Order's pocket... no pun intended, of course.

But do continue with the story.

[SashaKovalev]

(ooc: here's the link to the thread where all of this is currently going on. ;)

http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22568 )

Sasha sighed softly.

"Well I saw the guy make the dent, and I went over to talk to him as he got out of the ship. And he seemed to think it wasnt such a big deal..."

He shrugged.

"I know its kind of pathetic that I chose to pick on a non force user, but the guy just didnt seemed to care about the damage he'd done.." For some reason, he'd felt the need to explain this. He wasnt normally one to seek confrontation, but after the mistake he'd made with the jedi...his anger had been bottled inside him, simmering and simmering until the first person gave him a reason to react.

"I dont know, I ignited my lightsaber and like I'd always heard they did....one of them - the jedi - appeared to save the day."

He lowered his eyes for a moment in disappointment with himself.

"I lowered my guard, I didnt even know there was another there." He admitted, shame heavy in his tone. He was hard on himself, but this was likely what would make him a powerful sith one day, for he would push and push and push himself until he got it right. Every time.

[Lady Vader]

I see...

*LV rested her chin on one hand, which itself was propped up by her elbow on the leather seats armrest.*

Failures in life are to be expected, Sasha. The trick is to learn frm them and not to commit the same one again.

And I'm pretty sure you learned that next time, you must always keep your guard up, no matter how easy the circumstance.

*She watched him for a moment. If thoughts and emotions could be put into physical form, there would have been a tiny storm brewing over her Apprentice's head. He was angry with himself, that much she could tell. But that was what would help him to learn.*

So, did you fight the Jedi?

[SashaKovalev]

The word failure did not sit well with him. He did not want to fail - ever. Mistakes, even, he did not want, for the biggest mistake so far had cost him his hand. He didnt want his life or the respect of his master to be next.

Still, he nodded in response, accepting her words. He would not be caught unaware again. At least - not what he could prevent.

When she asked if he had fought the jedi, a small smile appeared on his face and he nodded, perhaps a little proud of himself even for having held his own for the short time they had had to fight.

"I did. Until...." His eyes did not flicker to the floor as they sometimes did when he was ashamed or embarrassed. Instead, they looked straight to his master. He had nothing to hide.

"Until Xazor showed up." He added, finishing his sentence.

He violet eyes never left his master.

"Im no match for her yet." He stated truthfully. He had felt the strength in her saber as it had met his. And.... Yet ...this word hung in the air between he and his master for a moment. He still wasnt sure if he would have fought her at that moment had he been experienced enough. He knew he would if he had to. In defense of his bretheren, at the command of his master. But until that time came, if he didnt have to, he was content avoiding it.

"And I am not fool enough to think I could handle her and the other jedi," the apprentice added in his defense, though without the tone to suggest he was on the defensive. He was comfortable enough around his master to speak his mind to her most of the time, though never disrespectfully.

[Lady Vader]

*LV smiled.*

You did something intelligent, my Apprentice. You knew when it was time to depart, so as to fight another day.

There will come a time when your power will match that of the jedi xazor. I will see to that.

[SashaKovalev]

He blossomed under her praise. Since he had become her apprentice, his goal had been to become the powerful, wise Sith he wanted to be, and to make his master proud of him. To prove to her that the time she put into training and mentoring him was worth it.

There was an almost youthful expression of pride as she complimented his decision.

And when she mentioned to him that she would see to it that he was one day as powerful as Xazor...this was a heady feeling. This he wanted. He craved. Like any Sith. He smiled slightly, but it was more in his eyes than anywhere else, right there beside his determination.

"What were you like as an apprentice?" He ventured to ask her. It was hard to imagine that Lady Vader had once been an apprentice. He had thought of this many times over his travels, and he had wanted to ask her. He still had much to tell her about his trip, but her promise to him had reminded him of this question. Had she had a master promise these things to her once?

[Lady Vader]

*She laughed.*

So many years ago... so many years...

I was a rash and arrogant one in the beginning. Anxious, impatient, hard on myself to learn everythign at once.

There were times when i was scolded by my Master, and many a times I was praised. But each time, no matter what was said or what was learned, something new became a part of me. I became stronger, wiser, as I hope you will some day.

*She leaned forward, a genuine smile on her features.*

It has been a long time since I have had such a fine pupil as yourself, Sasha Kovalev. The last was Live Wire, and she grew in so many more ways than I thought possible. She has become powerful. And if what i did with her comes to fruitition in you, then you too will become one of the Order's finest and powerful Sith.

[SashaKovalev]

He liked hearing his master laugh. He couldnt help but smile in anticipation of what she was about to tell him. He leaned forward in his seat a bit, alert and curious.

The things she told him, he could believe. And though he never would have considered himself on level with his master, he was able to draw some parallels between them.

He wasnt arrogant. He was too grounded by his rather humble upbringing to have learned arrogance yet. It would come, likely, when he grew more powerful.

But he was impatient and anxious, and very hard on himself. And the things his master told him, he took to heart, making each lesson a part of him.

When she praised him, telling him wat a fine pupil she thought he was, mentioning that perhas one day, what had become of Live Wire through her teachings, might also become of him, he felt his pride, and perhaps his ego just a bit, grow.

This he wanted. Wanted it so badly that the waiting for it to happen almost left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He couldnt help but grin as his violet eyes looked to his master, and then this was replaced with a determined expression.

"I will be." He vowed softly, in answer to her words of him possibly becoming one of theorders finest and most powerful sith.

"Your time as my master would be wasted if I didnt make that come true." He added.

And then his face lit up again.

"I meant to tell you..." He began, his voice excited as he spoke.

"Gouyen and I have come to terms with our...well, with what happened before. And she showed me a new way of meditation and using it I was finally able to do more than just conduct the force lightning between my hands. I mean, it wasnt anything really powerful or anything and I know Im not supposed to use it, really as an apprentice but...." He stopped speaking for a moment, his chatter halted in mid thought.

"Why is that? Why am I not supposed to use that as an apprentice if Im caapble of it?" He questioned. His question wasnt a demand to know, but rather curiousity, andperhaps a bit of impatience at any sort of rule being put on him that might slow his progress.

[Lady Vader]

Because, that power in you can instantly become unstable and perhaps destroy you. I've seen it happen.

*She shifted her position to keep her foot from falling alseep.*

That's why young Sith have teachers. To show them step by step. You don't build a house with the roof first. You build with the ground layer and work your way up. Much is the same with learning.

*She grinned.*

But your close to getting the "roof" for your knowledge in place.

[SashaKovalev]

He accepted her explanation, looking perhaps a bit frustrated until she let him know that she felt he was almost there. This made him relax a bit, and made the explanation easier to swallow.

Someday, he would be completely capable of using this power, and without the threat of destroying himself. Hopefully.

In the meantime, he still had much to learn. And of these things, the dark jedi was certainly one of them.

"I'd like to think Im close...." He stated with a sigh, recalling a moment during his travels that had slightly unravelled him.

"Master, have you heard of the planet Vjun...?" His question was asked believing that she had, and that she would be able to tell him more about those that inhabited the bleak existence of gravel that some called a planet.

[Lady Vader]

*Her face went stoney for a moment.*

Yes, I know of Vjun. Shenraun's ancestors originated from there.

Why do you ask?

[SashaKovalev]

He noticed the change in her expression, and tread carefully.

"On my travels...I ended up there. The fuel guage of the ship had been tampered with, and rather than float out in space, I made the decision to risk landing on Vjun to seek assistance."

"It was there that I encountered a woman who claimed to be 'the banished one'. I've read all of the journals on the history of the order, but I know I never came across this story...."

His violet eyes studied her, guaging for a moment.

"Would you tell me of her? And those with whom she keeps company?"

She could, he was sure, feel his hesitation. He had seen this stoney expression on her face once before, the night he had lopped off his hand, and it was an expression of hers that he would never, never forget.

But he had done nothing wrong. This, he knew, and so he dared to ask of the dark jedi.

[Lady Vader]

*Her expression went from stoney to sour.*

De'Ville...

*She looked away for a moment, taking a breath before returning her gaze to rest on Sasha.*

Long ago she nearly destroyed the Order. As it was, the Palace you stand in now is not the same as before. The old Palace was destroyed, not by her hand, but her actions of nearly splitting the Order in two gave way for a sabatour to enter and destroy our home.

Since then, it has been rebuilt and fortified.

*Her lips set into a line.*

But I will never forget the disharmony and discord she struck into the heart of this Order.

[SashaKovalev]

De'Ville. Wargrave had said this name, and the sith knight had believed that it belonged to the banished one, but he hadnt known for sure. Now he did, and the memory of her face, and the new knowledge of her name he committed to memory. He did not doubt he would someday see her again. And when he did, he would not only understand her hatred of the Sith order, but he would feel his own hatred of her, of the one who had once sought to destroy what had become his home.

He could hear the bitterness of his masters words. She would never forgive this woman, De'Ville.

"Do you know anything of her now?" He asked.

"She seems to keep the company of other force users, though...I'm not sure I understand the connection between them..."

His head cocked slightly in curiousity.

"Except that they all seem to hate the Sith..."

He looked to his master, hoping she might be able to shed some light on this.

[Lady Vader]

*Again she spoke in a monotone sound.*

Dark Jedi. They are called Dark Jedi.

They are not like Sith in that they do not practice the Sith magiques. Instead, they merely use the Dark Side of the force.

And they tend not to like the Sith, as we tend not to like them.

*She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.*

As for me, I despise any creature that carries the word "Jedi" in their title, whether they be Light or Dark.

[SashaKovalev]

Dark Jedi.....yes, he had heard of them. Perhaps somewhere in all of the reading he had done. Later, he would go back to the library and see what else he could find, for it was clear his master did not like speaking of them.

He smiled, perhaps just a bit as his master finished by telling him she despised anything with the word jedi in it. He was not surprised by this statement.

He wanted to know more of the dark jedi, but he would save the questions until a later time. What he could not find out for himself, he would later ask her.

And so he changed the subject.

"Ladt Vader....can I ask you a personal question...? About..." He paused for a moment.

"Well about relationships within the order...."

His cheeks flushed a bit as he asked this, but she was the only person he knew to ask these things of.

[Lady Vader]

*The corner of her lip bent upwards into a half smile.*

What would you like to know, Sasha?

[SashaKovalev]

He saw her smile, and rolled his eyes, looking away for a moment, a sheepish grin on his face.

When he looked back to her, he still appeared perhaps a bit flustered, but he managed to speak.

He was going to ask hypothetically, but knew his master would easily pull the information from him if she chose to. Not to mention, he much preferred just being honest. It was much easier that way.

"Do you remember.....a while ago back on Tatooine...?"

"There was a new apprentice with the order...the one who was speaking with the..." He paused, then quickly stepped over the word that was to come, knowing all too well her dislike for them.

"With the jedi, and well now she's been with the order for a while and we...well she and I kind of..."

His cheeks flushed slightly. The two of them had not defined exactly what they were, and this, he was fine with.

He sighed softly.

"Is it ok for me to be seeing her?" He wasnt sure where the order came down on relationships among them. He knew of Lady Vader and Lord Vader - he had been at the ceremony - but they were masters, and the rules were perhaps a bit different for them than for a knight who still had much training to accomplish. Training that perhaps would be best with fewer distractions along the way.

[Lady Vader]

*The smile blossomed fully.*

It is not discouraged to have relationships within the Order, but we do try to keep the Apprentices on a one track mind to training.

Once they are Knights, they are more free to persue more personal things.

[SashaKovalev]

This was a smile he rarely saw. In fact, he wasnt sure he had ever seen her actually smile this way. A slightly impish expression appeared on his face, that quickly broke into a relieved grin.

He hadnt been sure what she would think of this. He knew what he had would have done had she disapproved. That had never been in question, for the order was his top priority, but he hadnt wanted to think about it.

If he had to, he would wait. He would back off and wait until Feliciana became a knight. It wouldnt be easy, particualrly with her living across the hall from him, but he would make every effort to not get in the way of her training.

"So do I have to wait until she's knighted?" He asked. He didnt look thrilled at this prospect, but if that was the wish of his master, he would obey.

"Or can we kind of...I wont get in the way of her training...." He added, somewhat pleading his case for not having to wait. Though he had been working on patience, it was still not something that came easily.

[Lady Vader]

*LV leaned forward.*

Sasha... you may see her. Just do not distract her from her duties as an Apprentice.

*The smile remained.*

There's nothing wrong with having a good comrade within the Order. That's means the family is closely knitt. And that's what we wish to accomplish here.

[SashaKovalev]

He nodded in understanding, trying to keep his grin under control. He would be sure he didnt interfere with anything. He was travelling so much now he was sure it wasnt going to be a problem - he wasnt around enough to get in the way.

Of course, the thought of travel reminded him of something he hadnt yet mentioned to his master. It wasnt anything he was hiding from her, it was just that he wasnt sure he was ready to talk about it with anyone just yet.

When he was, she would likely be the one he went to. His expression darkened slightly, for a moment as anger overcame his features.

On his travels he had been directed by Maester Wargrave to see a certain Grand Admiral Taylor Millard on Balmorra. It was on this trip to Balmorra that he learned the story of his family. Of the father he had never known. And the reason why he had never known him.

The young sith would have revenge one day. He had always thought that in learning who his father was he would have peace. Instead, he'd found more anger, and lately it had driven him to rather uncharacteristic acts - not for a sith, but for this sith in particular. He was not one to kill senselessly, but anger at times overwhelmed him, and he had used it to call upon the dark side more often lately than he had before.

Perhaps this was a good thing...perhaps it was to bring out the darkness that had lain dormant within him.

He looked to his master, and stood, having taken up enough of her time.

"If there's nothing else, my Lady...." He said, his violet eyes questioning.

[Lady Vader]

*LV smiled, also standing and walking up to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.*

No, there is nothing else, Sasha. Just remember my door is always open to you.

[SashaKovalev]

It was a small expression of her fondness for him, but because it was rare to see this from her, it felt very big to him. The gentle pressure of her touch made him smile and nod.

"I know..." He replied as she told him her door was always open to him. His violet eyes looked to her, a boyish grin still upon his face. Something in his expression indicated that he would be back, and it would not be before too long.

"Thanks..." He added as the door opened. And then he stepped through it, his steps eager as he made his way down the hall back to his room - the room across the hall from Feliciana Devano.