The Ravager was a warship steeped in evil, but the personal cabins were surprisingly comfortable. I was in my meditation room, striving for the serenity that was the bane of my Master. He had tried every dark method at his disposal to rid me of what he saw as Jedi weakness. The best he could do was bring me to a calm coldness that even he could not match. I took satisfaction in that; I was obedient, but not broken.

Something told me that this was wrong. I tried to follow the thought to its source but it darted away, slipping through my awareness like fish through water. Shrugging, I concentrated on my meditations, letting the Force fill me with its glory.

The door slid open, and I rose to my feet. My Master strode in, his tall form tense with agitation. I bowed in respect, and waited.

“I have an assignment for you,” he said without returning my bow.

“As you command, Master,” I answered calmly.

“I have found the Exile,” his voice rasped. “You must go, and bring her to me. If you cannot, kill her.”

“I hear and obey,” I bowed out of the room.

On Darth Nihilous’ instructions, I found the Ebon Hawk and lay in wait for the Exile. I had heard much of her, and wondered if she was as strong as my Master says. I had never seen him frightened, and he was not when he spoke of her. But that was the closest emotion I could name. I briefly wondered if he had at last tired of my stubbornness and had sent me to my death. I did not think so, but my Sight does not always see true when it comes to myself.

At last, The Exile entered her ship, and I attacked. I marveled at her skill, and redoubled my efforts. I was not a trained assassin, but I knew that I could best most that I fought against. This one was strong in the Force, and I had only the brief moment of surprise to my advantage.

To my utter shock, she did not kill me, even when she should have. She offered me mercy, and a chance to turn away from my Master. I tried to fight it, but awed by her power and strength of forgiveness, I accepted.

My life, for hers.

I vowed to stay with her, and help mend the rip in the Force. The journey was long and arduous, and I felt the Light rekindle things I had thought dead in me. I gloried in redemption, and tried to temper that by being humble in the face of her greatness.

And now, we were here on Malachor V, and my mentor was missing. I stumbled through the uneven ground and fought off twisted monsters that should never have lived. She was out there, and I would find her. I was distressed that I could not See here.

I finally reached a building, and entered its still darkness. I recognized it as an academy for the Dark Side, and shivered as the power of it tried to take me. Steeling my will, I made my way through the deserted corridors.

At the very center of this place of evil, I found Kriea, calmly waiting for me. I approached with caution, scanning for Ladria.

“So little one, you have found me,” the Sith Lord actually smiled. “It is time to stop your pretense of Jedi morality and come home.”

“Where is Ladria?” I demanded, light saber at the ready.

“Here,” she said, a smile of triumph on her face. “She has at last realized her potential, and joined me.”

“You lie,” I said softly.

“Oh no,” she answered. “She knows now what she is, and embraces it.”

“She is a servant of the Light,” I said fiercely. “She would not fall for you!”

“See for yourself,” Darth Layra swept her hand, and Ladria came in.

She was clothed in the robe of a Dark Jedi master, her red hair glowing against the blackness. Her eyes, once a beautiful emerald green, were dark now and glittered in the dim light.

“No,” I breathed. “Not you. You, who taught me the ways of the Light, who brought me back to the Order. This cannot be! How did you corrupt her?” I spun toward Layra, my voice hard, eyes angry.

“Grow up, little one,” Ladria said, her honey and steel voice deceptively sweet. “I was born to the darkness. Darth Layra only showed me the weakness of the Jedi. There are no limitations on the Dark Side.”

“It is not too late, Ladria,” I pleaded. “You taught me that. This is madness.”

“Not madness,” she answered. “It is the only sane path there is. Why would I want to confine my talent to an outmoded ideal?”

“Outmoded. You blaspheme against the Force. I know the lure of the easy path, as do you. You must not give in.”

“It is not easy; nothing of worth ever is. But it does not restrict me to a set of rules enforced by frightened old men who are too cowardly to fully grasp the power they think they command. The Jedi are all but gone, the Dark Side has won anyway. I am grateful my Master has led me back home,” she said with a gracious nod to Layra.

“I cannot let you do this,” I warned.

“You bore me,” Ladria said caustically. “Join us, and come home.”

“Never,” I spat.

“I’m sorry to hear you say that,” Ladria said with a regretful frown, and ignited her ‘saber.

I met her now red blade with my own, and found myself at a disadvantage almost immediately. She was an excellent ‘saber wielder, and I fought to simply stay alive. We circled the room, and after what seemed like a year, she managed to disarm me. I stood, eyes blazing, and glared at Master and Apprentice.

“Not to sound too cliché,” Ladria said with a smile, “but join us…or die.”

“Kill me then,” I said with absolute sincerity.

“Pity,” she said, and just as the blade was about to strike, I heard a voice.

“Visas.”

I looked around, confused. I knew that voice. Another joined it.

“Visas, come back.”

“Who are you?” I called, oblivious to the blade about to strike me down. I looked wildly about.

“It’s only a dream, a nightmare. Come back; we want to help you.”

“Fight it, Seer, you’re stronger than this. Fight!”

“I can’t find you!” I shouted in despair, and bolted past Kriea and Ladria, searching for the voices. I knew who they were, but I couldn’t remember their names. Something was trying to escape my memory, something important.

“Follow our voices,” the male said urgently. “You can find us that way.”

“Let us help you,” came the female. “Come back, it’s only a trick, it’s not real.”

“Not real,” I whispered, stopping my mad flight. “Not real.”

I was suddenly relieved, and knew that this, my greatest fear, was the lie I had declared it. Ladria would never fall to the dark side again, and I would not ever have to right that wrong. Kriea had trapped me in my own mind, and I had fallen for it. I resisted the surge of anger I felt at the thought, and concentrated on finding my friends.

Disciple. Jennet. I knew their names now, and I closed my eyes tight to block out this world of my own creation, born of my fears. I felt myself still, and my familiar calm return. I opened my eyes.

I was being held firmly by Canderous, unable to move. Disciple and Jennet were hovering above me, worried looks on their faces.

“Do you want to talk about it? Are you okay?” Jennet asked, concern making her voice a little higher than usual. She touched my arm gently, and I tried reassure her.

“Not right now, no. And yes, thank you, I’m fine.” I looked around at Canderous, who hastily let me go, a faint flush on his craggy face. I smiled shakily at him as I stood.

“Thank you,” I said, understanding why he had held me down. I felt scratches on my arms and one on my face, and knew they had been self-inflicted.

“No problem,” He answered gravely.

I watched the three of them head toward the common room. I needed a moment to gather myself before I followed. I took a few deep, cleansing breaths, trying to banish the memory of Kriea’s mind trick. Although my Seer talent told me that Ladria would not fall, and Mira would find her, I knew much of what I had seen in the nightmare was real. My sisters had a hard road ahead, and I could not help or follow. I loathed being helpless, and again resisted the urge to curse my visions.

I repeated the Jedi Code to myself, the mantra that never fails to center me. Finding calm again, I joined my friends in the common room.