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Do Not Meddle

Summary:

Kayla'Alda-sha (Kayla daughter of Alda) is sent out into the galaxy to ascertain the maturity of the humanoid races. They are closing in on her home world, Sanctuary, and the Elders want to know if it is safe to allow for contact.
Kayla is Force Sensitive but not like any Force Sensitive the Sith or Jedi have ever know. When she is detected by a Sith and order to Korriban, she willingly goes to learn how to control the Force. However, she also wreaks havoc on the Imperial's perfectionist mindset.

Notes:

I own nothing. I have created upon the back of the genius of George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company.
This was written tongue in cheek so please do not take it seriously.

Chapter Text

Kayla’Alda-sha eased back into the shadows shrouding herself with insignificance; she forced herself to hunch over and cough wetly. She didn’t watch the squad of Imperial troopers pass; she felt them. She had learned quickly enough that if you feigned Sewer Rot, the soldiers ignored you even if they were checking papers in a sweep for traitors; the Republic soldiers did the same. Once the soldiers rounded the corner, she continued heading for the maintenance tunnels under Coronet City that the Selonians called home.

It was very hard for her, for her people, to feign subservience. It had taken her a while to perfect the dejected slouch of a defeated people.

The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself. She had a very bad habit of over reacting when confronted. She wondered why, of all The Watchers, The Blue had chosen her for this task. Undercover reconnaissance required a more even-tempered, diplomatic personality; that wasn’t her.

The Council of Seven had decided that with the encroachment of both the Republic and the Empire on their home world, they needed to know more about these two factions. She had traveled to a planet, Nar Shaddaa, from whence she started her journey. Her assignment was to travel as a citizen to the worlds of both factions and learn all she could about the development of the humanoid species.

On Nar Shaddaa, she had quickly figured out that the Force users, Jedi and Sith, could pick up on her innate power if she wasn’t careful. So she used that same power to hide from them. The ability to do that dated back aeons as a protective action.

When she was ready to leave Nar Shaddaa, she caught the first transport, which was headed for Corellia. Corellia sounded like a nice place to visit: peaceful, industrious, not one massive city like Nar Shaddaa. Her people liked open, green spaces. She arrived three days before the Empire arrived; their soldiers and Sith spilled off their ships and spread through the city like a flood. Apparently, members of Corellia’s council had invited them. No problem there except that Corellia was one of the Republic core worlds; the Republic didn’t take kindly to the arrival of the Empire. Now she was caught in a war zone.

She had been touring the Labor Valley district when the Empire bombarded the city in response to the arrival of the Republic Troops. She retreated into a crater that opened up to tunnels below. There she met the native species of Corellia, the Selonians.

At the opening of the tunnels into Selonian territory, her human form shimmered and changed to the form of the weasel-like race. She dropped to all fours and scampered into the dim-lit tunnels making her way to the den of this particular Selonian sept.

“Did you get it?” Shithta asked in the sibilant language.

Kayla nodded and from a haversack pulled out the ration cards. “Enough for the sept for a week. I also got some medicine for the injured.”

Shithta purred and gently bumped Kayla’s head in appreciation. She hurried off to distribute the medicine.

Kayla had quickly made friends among the Selonians. Due to her shape-changing ability, she could easily move among the humans of the surface. The Selonians knew she wasn’t one of them, but she did what she could to help the sept survive and defend their lair. It was beneficial to her and the sept.

“Kh-hayla,” she turned to face the speaker. It was hard for Selonians to get used to saying the hard “k” sound. A tall brawny male approached her. “Shithta said you got the ration cards.”

“Yes, I’ll go to the aid station tomorrow when it opens, Mrownr.”

“What is happening up there?” He adjusted his ammunitions bandoleer and rifle as if ready to fight.

She sighed and shook her head. “These Imperials are spreading their influence and not in a gentle manner. These Republics are responding in kind. I overheard a couple of Republic officers talking about approaching your people in hopes of using these tunnels to move unnoticed across the city. If you want my opinion, which you didn’t ask for, that would be bad. I feel it is best if you remain neutral.”

“Why do you say that?” Mrownr commanded the Selonian defense of this sept and counted on Kayla’s observations and galactic experience. The citizens of Corellia had always treated the native Selonians fairly and respectfully and vice versa; that was all he knew. He had never gone farther than the edge of Coronet City and never met a Republic or Imperial soldier. This Drae’kon had come from the edge of the galaxy through other worlds with other peoples and knew the ways of others.

“Well, if the Republic soldiers are allowed to use the tunnels, the Imperials will surely find out and follow. That would bring fighting, that endangers the sept.” She shook her head in dismay. “These Jedi and Sith, these force users, play at wielding the power of the universe but know little of the repercussions. They each claim to be righteous defenders of their people, yet both will kill any being that gets in the way of their version of righteousness.”

“Even the kits and the queen?” Mrownr was stunned by that idea.

She nodded sadly. “I have seen the human children and non-combatants fall victim to this blind adherence. At least the Sith are honest about their anger and fear. These Jedi lie to themselves and those who depend on them. They claim that there is only peace, no passion, yet they attack the Imperials without provocation. One does not kill wantonly when in a state of peace.”

“But you wield this force too.” Mrownr pointed out. “You could subdue them.”

It was hard to smile wryly in the musteline form, but Kayla managed it. “If I channel the force for anything other than staying hidden, I shall level the city.” She yawned. “I must rest before my foray tomorrow.” She left Mrownr watching the entrance to the den and headed for the nest she had made for herself.

Her nest was a small alcove away from the rest of the clan. They preferred to curl up together and keep each other warm. Kayla was very warm blooded and from a cold climate; she found that cuddling made her too warm for a good rest. After shedding her haversack, she dropped to all fours and paced in a circle until her body told her she was properly oriented to the magnetic poles that was most optimum for relaxation.

She lay down and with her amber eyes partially open, shifted into rest mode. Through the half-closed slits of her eyes, she would see anything that approached her. Her sensitive ears listened to the purrs and murmurs coming from the sept in the main chamber. Her olfactory nerve could identify the unique scent of each individual and by extent foreign intrusion. She would be instantly aware of any change that might indicate an incursion of any kind.

Her race tended to sleep very rarely and like these mustelines kept up their energy through short interim rests. When her race did fall asleep, it was deeply and for a very long time, for years in fact. Maybe that was why she was chosen; she had recently woken from her sleep.

She let her mind wander back to her home world, to her nest, to her Flight. She could see the towering glacial peaks and almost hear the conversations of her family. Though she was psychically connected to them, she was too far away to commune with them. She knew they missed her and worried about her because she missed them.

The voice that touched her was not of any living family member. Grandma Blashe had lived about 20,000 years ago. “What have you learned my child? Chalnak is curious.”

Mentally, Kayla relayed the same observations she had shared with Mrownr. “The humans have greatly advanced technologically since we fled beyond the rim,” she said. “But they have not advanced emotional or psychologically.”

“I shall relay what you have said to Chalnak. Any sign of the Rakatan?”

“No.” Kayla could sense Grandma Blashe’s relief. She asked her progenitor to send her family a message that she was well.

Here in the tunnels, there was no day or night and the Selonians were active all hours. Kayla heard the hunters return from another unsuccessful foray. The war topside had driven many of the animals the Selonians depended upon for sustenance from the city. That was why Kayla had gone after the ration cards.

Some tunnels ended beyond the city, but the open country was also crawling with soldiers from both sides, and they had driven the animals deep into the country side. The sept had sent a team to hunt those animals, but they never returned. Their fate was unknown and were feared dead.

Kayla stood and shook herself from head to claw. Her stomach growled. She was hungry, but the kits and queen came first. She ran her claws through the golden Selonian fur to remove debris, settled the haversack over her shoulder, and stepped into the main cavern.

“Shithta, I’m going to requisition some food,” she called.

Shithta looked up from the injured jack she was treating with the medicine Kayla had brought and nodded.

Kayla headed out of the cavern and followed the tunnels back to the surface. The opening to the tunnels had once been no more than a shed with stairs. A bomb had turned it into a gaping crater. She nodded at a squad of armed Selonians hiding in the shadows and watching the opening.

“Mrownr said we should allow none of the soldiers here. He said you told him they would be a danger,” the sergeant said.

“Yes,” she answered simply.

Her form shimmered, and she looked like a human with golden hair dressed in simple but gold-colored tunic and pants and boots. The gold fur, the gold hair and clothes reflected her natural complexion. She could feign having the sewer rot, but she could do next to nothing about her striking, preternatural complexion.

She stepped from the shadows into the sunlight, her second lids covered her eyes protecting them from the bright light. The sky was clear overhead; a perfect day for an air assault by someone or another. She shrouded herself in a veil of inconspicuousness and disease that would blind any but the strongest from her presence and made her way through the shattered city.

She had to climb over rubble and avoid land mines. She kept a sharp eye out for soldiers or Force sensitives. The soldiers she could identify by their uniforms. She could identify Force sensitives by their auras; though she couldn’t figure out how to tell whether they were Sith or Jedi until they did something.

A Force user was walking toward her. She intensified her veil, dipped her head, and shuffled along hoping he would pass her by.

“Greetings, citizen,” the Force user called and strolled up to her.

“Master,” she muttered not looking at him.

“Where are you headed?” he asked.

“The aid station,” she offered with a cough.

“Be mindful, child, the way is fraught with imperials and danger. Be well,” he put his hands together and bowed.

“May the Force be with you, Master,” she responded dutifully and shuffled off. ‘Idiot,’ she muttered to herself.

The aid station was sometimes in Republic held territory and sometimes in Imperial held territory. She wasn’t sure who held it today. It was run by Corellian citizens supposedly not affiliated with either faction.

Shooting up ahead told her that the aid station was in Imperial territory today. She sighed and reviewed the terrain looking for a way around the fire fight. Once there had been an opening to the tunnels near the aid station. A bombardment had collapsed that section of tunnel killing another sept of Selonians.

She started climbing over the crumpled walls of a collapsed building that flanked the combatants. From the top, she could look down on the battle as well as view the surrounding city. Off to the east she could see what trees remained in Axial Park. Beyond that the spires of the government sector still shone in the sunlight. It was there both factions had set up their headquarters to be close to the vacillating Corellian Council; it had been spared from the destruction of intense fighting. To the north she could see the city limits and the rolling hills beyond. To the south were the Industrial Islands, the corporate heart of Corellia; most of it was in ruins much like here in Labor Valley. To the west the blue ocean stretched to the horizon.

She sniffed the air. The smell of uxibeasts and dewbacks was carried to her on the easterly breeze from Axial Park. She had heard that many animals had escaped from the zoo during the recent fighting. Her stomach growled, and she decided that she too had to eat. Her mouth watered at the thought, but she would go to the aid station first. Besides, she had to come up with a plan to procure herself and the Selonians a substantial amount of meat without drawing attention to herself.

She started down the other side of the unstable rubble mountain. A couple of times, a piece of durasteel or plasticrete slipped under her foot and clattered down causing a small avalanche. She heaved a sigh when she touched solid ground.

“You, where do you think you are going?”

‘Oh, crap,’ she thought and bobbed her head not looking at the snarling woman. “I beg forgiveness, my lord, I am trying to reach the aid station. My children are hungry.”

“Sniveling rat; be on your way but know that I will keep an eye on you. One false move and I shall crush you like the bug you are,” the Sith snarled and fell into step beside her.

“Yes, my lord; as you wish, my lord.” She bolstered her veil and tried to look more dejected and oppressed.

“You Corellians don’t know what’s good for you. The Empire will bring peace and order and prosperity to Corellia.” This Sith was quite full of herself though her Force aura was not very strong. She was no more adept with the Force than the Jedi Kayla had passed early. Kayla had found those weaker in the Force tended to be the most arrogant.

“As you say, my lord.” Kayla figured Corellia had been very peaceful, orderly, and prosperous before all this fighting. “Your protection would be most welcomed.”

So far, this Sith hadn’t asked Kayla for any papers. If Kayla played her cards right, the woman would never think to. She projected an urge to be silent around the Sith; since she was bent on escorting Kayla to the aid station, there was no need for Kayla to listen to her rhetoric. It worked; the woman said no more.

One thing Kayla did admire about the Sith and Jedi was their ability to use the Force in small doses and with precision. Kayla’s race couldn’t do that, or at least, had never tried. When they used the Force, it was for large construction projects. In the ancient past, before the Unity, they used the Force in battle against opposing Flights for resources. Later, they fought using the Force to survive against a race seeking total domination of all races. In both cases, they used massive blasts of the Force to incapacitate and/or kill their enemies.

Kayla thought she would like the opportunity to try focusing a small amount as the Force users did, but she was honestly afraid she would mess up and draw attention to herself. That would be bad.

“There you go, you mewling spawn,” the Sith pointed at the aid station up ahead.

Kayla bobbed her head. “I thank you for your beneficence, my lord.” She hurried to join the queue.

She hesitated when she saw an Imperial lieutenant checking the papers of those asking the Corellian Relief Aid Program for help. She spun at a tap on her shoulder and faced a man of middle height and medium build; everything about him screamed innocuous. She immediately realized he was a Republic agent for their Strategic Information Services, the SIS.

“I’ve seen you come and go from the Selonian tunnels and assume you have a good relationship with them. Might I ask you to act as an intermediary for the Corellian Resistance in allowing us to pass unhindered through their tunnels?” His tone was gentle and imploring, just the right timbre to inspire sympathy.

She bit her tongue and stared into his eyes; she saw the gears in his head working on how the SIS might use the Selonians to their advantage. She felt anger welling up. Nothing irritated her more than people who used others with little regard to their wellbeing. She thinned her lips and her eyes in an effort to suppress her emotions.

She toyed with the idea of yelling out that he was a republic agent but that could result in a shootout with civilians getting hurt. Instead she pulled herself up to her full human height, over six feet and glared at him. “Go away,” she growled.

He took a step back, his eyes wide with fear and astonishment. Too late she realized that she had put too much power behind her words. He spun and bolted as if his ass was on fire.

She glanced around and saw that no one had been paying attention. Those in the queue were too intent on reaching the front and getting their allotment; the lieutenant was too intent upon ensuring all papers were in order.

She exhaled a long breath and sank into her role of a destitute refugee. She fell into the line behind a man holding the hand of a boy of five and cradling a girl of about three in his arms. His broad shoulders and massive hands indicated he was a manual laborer who had worked hard to support his family. Now however, hunger had eaten at his muscle mass and his tunic hung off his shoulders like dirty laundry. His children’s clothes were threadbare and filthy; their cheeks sunken and arms and legs bony and frail.

The little boy looked up at her with sunken hungry eyes. His eyes suddenly widened, and he smiled. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “What are you?”

‘Damn children, you couldn’t hide anything from them.’ She knelt to put herself at his eye level. “I am a visitor from far away trapped here by the war; not too unlike you.”

“Zen, don’t bother the lady,” his father chastised.

She stood. “That’s alright. I have a little one his age,” she told him, her voice filled with fondness; she missed her little son. She put her finger to her lips and winked at the boy. He smiled at being part of an important secret and mimicked her.

While she worked her way to the front of the line, she planned how to get past the attentive lieutenant. The ration tickets she carried had not been issued to her. She had taken them off an unfortunate victim of either a Sith’s or Jedi’s politics.

When the man in front of her reached the lieutenant, he had his hands full. She offered to take his daughter and immediately noticed she was fevered.

She cradled the sick girl and started humming and swaying weaving an aura of healing around her. By the time the father had gathered his rations and turned to take back his little girl, her eyes were open, and she was smiling and her face a little less flushed. It was all Kayla had time for.

He looked into Kayla’s eyes as he took the little girl back. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed. Silently, he slipped away.

“Your papers,” the lieutenant barked at Kayla.

“Please, lieutenant, my husband was killed, and my house destroyed in a bombing. My papers were lost.” Kayla slipped truth into her words and saw the lieutenant falter. She handed him the ration cards. “This is all I have left.”

Hesitantly, he took the cards and studied them. “They were issued to…”

“Toran Brin, my husband,” she finished. “We lived in the Summer Sun district.”

He nodded that she had correctly identified the owner of the cards and the address. “This is a lot for one person.”

“It’s not just me; it’s my children and my sisters, and my cousins, and my aunts. They are all working or watching the children.”

“Lieutenant, so many people are without these days. Don’t begrudge a widow from providing as she can for her displaced family.” The aid work was young and obviously from a family that had not suffered unduly from the occupation and war. She had an immediate effect on the love-struck officer.

He smiled warmly at the lovely blonde. “You are so right, Ziyena.” He handed the ration cards to her.

“Thank you Villem.” Ziyena hurried off to gather the supplies. “Can you carry all of this yourself? Do you need someone to help?” Ziyena asked when she returned with two huge bags of food stuffs.

“I’m stronger than I look,” Kayla assured and took the bags. She bobbed her head to Ziyena and Villem. “Thank you both for your largess.” She shuffled away, not too fast but not so slowly that someone felt the need to help her.

She again climbed the mountain of rubble to avoid the soldiers blocking the streets though the shooting was over. It was past mid-day when she returned to the main cavern and dropped the bags of supplies.

“Mrownr, when I was out, I could smell the animals from the Axial Park Zoo. I had heard they escaped their cages. I was thinking about going there to get fresh meat. What I brought is all well and good, but the kits and queen need fresh meat; and so do I.”

“What do you propose,” the guard captain asked.

“I will herd the beasts toward the tunnels, you and a hunting party can kill and strip them.”

Mrownr shrugged. “That sounds easy enough. Perhaps we can keep some alive and hidden in the tunnels. I am sure others might think of the same idea.”

She shook her head. “I’ve noticed that most humans have an aversion to eating red meat.”

Moments later, she and Mrownr and five of his guards were headed through the tunnels toward Axial Park. Along the way, she told him about the SIS agent and his thoughts that she had perceived.

“The Corellian people let us be; we lived in quiet harmony. These invaders would use us or move us out of their way.” Mrownr shook his head and bared his teeth. “You should have bitten him.”

“Humans don’t go around biting each other,” she explained.

He grinned a sharp, toothy grin. “But you aren’t human.”

She laughed. “But I have to pretend to be human,” she reminded. “Many millennia ago, my people left our home world to get as far away from the Rakata Infinite Empire as possible. At that time, most other sentient species were just emerging and easily oppressed by the technologically advanced Rakata. We recently learned humans had advanced enough to spread across the galaxy and are approaching our planet. We want to know how much they have learned in the intervening years.” She sighed.

“Apparently, they have not learned much,” Mrownr suggested.

She smiled. “Though they seem to have forgotten we exist. I think it would behoove us if they remain forever ignorant of us.”

“Then be careful in your hunting.” Mrownr indicated the tunnel opening into Axial Park. Mrownr chuckled when Kayla’s stomach growled. “Go before your temper worsens.”

As in Labor Valley, this was a gaping hole, perfect for herding beasts to their death. First, she had to get something to eat.

As Kayla climbed into the sunlight, her form changed to that of a nexu. There were soldiers scattered about, some with leashes attached to salky hounds or jaggalors they had managed to tame.

She sniffed the air and followed the scent to an uxibeast. She crouched, gathered herself, and sprung across the road landing on the beasts back. Her nexu claws dug into the animal’s hide and she bit into its neck. Blood, warm and salty, filled her mouth as she severed the beast’s jugular. The smell of blood drew other nexu, but she snarled and hissed putting power behind it. The others backed off and waited while she ate her fill.

Her appetite sated, it was time to chase several animals into the tunnel for the Selonians. She burped then licked her chops and smelled fear from both animals and soldiers.

She prowled around the park until she found a small group of nerfs. She moved around until they were between her and the tunnel then growled and rushed forward. The stupid beasts ran in a straight line away from her, toward the tunnels. Herding them was quite easy. As they entered the tunnel, the Selonians shot them.

Kayla shifted back into Selonian form and studied her handiwork.

“You smell of fresh kill,” Mrownr noticed sniffing the air around her.

She burped again. “It was delicious. These beasts and the supplies should feed the sept for a couple of weeks.”

Mrownr agreed, it had seemed ages since they had so much food. He froze and signaled his squad to do the same.

Kayla smelled the intruder too. Her form shimmered into her natural state and she let out a horrific roar; the one she would have used in the wild to declare her territory. She almost immediately returned to the Selonian form. The space was a little cramped for her natural self.

The ferocity and volume startled Mrownr and he stared at her. “Is that what you would normally sound like?”

“That was a declaration of my territory.” She bared her row of sharp teeth. “It worked; he’s leaving quickly.”

“We best be away from here.” Mrownr hurried his men up. “That one is leaving, but he might return with others to investigate what made the noise. So that is what you look like?”

“Yep; only a little larger.” She fell back to cover their flank. She had no concerns about the man coming back any time soon. She could smell the fear: fear from the humans and fear from the animals all over Axial Park and beyond.

Tomorrow she would wander through some of the remaining buildings and get a sense of things.

She used a tunnel access hallway for the Central Workforce Habitation area of Labor Valley. Most of the people here were displaced off-worlders or residents who had been unable to flee the occupation. It was obvious some were falling back on nefarious means to support themselves. She feigned looking more destitute than they, so they would leave her alone; except for…

Big hands grabbed her arms from behind and pushed her against the wall. He pressed his pelvis against her and breathed heavily into her ear. “I’ve been alone too long.” One hand moved to the waist of her pants while the other slid around to fondle her breasts.

Suddenly he flew back smashing into the wall behind him and fell in a heap to the floor. The shock wave had cleared the entire area within a 100-foot diameter.

She glared at everyone staring at her. “Anyone else want to try?” One thing she had absolutely no tolerance for was a male trying to force himself on her: any male, any species.

Slowly, faces turned away and people slithered into the shadows. They were certain she was a Force user in disguise and probably Sith by her violent reaction. Slink away; see nothing.

She stood over the still form. He was alive, a few broken bones but alive. She waited for him to regain consciousness. She squatted and put her face in his. “I have killed better males than you who have tried to take me against my will. I am feeling benevolent today.” She stood and walked away.

Now she had a choice: one side would take her into Republic territory, the other side would take her into Imperial territory. If she strode confidently toward the Imperial territory, the witnesses would assume she was a Sith and never speak of what they saw.

As she approached the south entry, she could see the line of armed Imperial soldiers behind plasticrete barriers watching the entry. It occurred to her how easy it could be to walk past them. She squared her shoulders, set a glaring expression, and exuded the Force.

They let her walk right by without a question. Once clear, she toned down the Force and shrouded herself once again in indigence. She continued to move south toward the Imperial war camp. She was willing to allow herself to be drafted into some menial work if it meant learning something about the status of things.

After begging a few of the officers for some work in exchange for a modicum of credits, she was picking up trash around the rocket tram station. Soldiers and civilians of importance were moving through, freely chatting about this or that. Much of it seemed to be how they missed home and their families. She could relate to that. She made note of a heavily armed company of soldiers who were hustled onto the tram for the Blastfield Shipyards.

“What do you mean you didn’t hear it?” she heard a soldier at the medical station ask a friend. “That roar yesterday was heard from the Incorporation Islands to the Government District. Whatever made that noise is… is… is huge and angry and still out there.”

“I swear, all I could hear were the animals around me screaming, squawking, and howling,” his friend responded.

“That’s because there is some monstrous predator in the tunnels probably thinking of them, and us, as its next meal. I don’t care what the colonel says, I ain’t going into those damned tunnels. The Selonian rats are welcome to them, if they’ve survived that creature.”

“The colonel says we go, we go,” his comrade persisted. “They want those rats cleared out of the tunnels. We need to be able to move about the city freely, and they are in our way.”

“That monster will do it for us.”

“You are healed and may return to duty,” the medical droid told them in a dead-pan voice.

“Did you report the creature?” That was the last she heard.

“Make way for Lord Mif’aria’trou.”

She glanced up to see two Force users headed her way. The herald was a human wearing modest robes with a modest Force aura. Behind him strode an erect woman with infra-red-vision eyes taking in everything; her skin was a dark shade of blue and her hair black. She wasn’t of a particularly robust build even in the heavy armor she wore but her Force aura crackled with immense power.

Kayla scuttled well away hoping this powerful woman wouldn’t notice her.

“You!” The woman barked stopping and staring at Kayla. “Come here.”

Kayla kept her head down and shuffled up to the Sith Lord. “My lord,” she bowed.

“You don’t fool me, Jedi!”

Kayla shot a glare at her. “I am not Jedi. I am not Sith.”

A false smile cracked the Chiss’ face. “So, you admit you are Force sensitive. I should kill you right now.”

“I admit nothing. I have done you no ill. Why would you feel the need to kill me?” Kayla had decided to drop all semblance of servitude.

“I sense the power in you. I sense your fear.”

That made Kayla laugh. “I fear no one and nothing… Okay I fear my mother when she’s angry with me.”

That blurt of honesty seemed to take the Sith aback, but she recovered quickly. “Anyone who is Force sensitive within the Empire must go to Korriban to be trained… or die.”

Kayla chewed the inside of her cheek and shifted her weight. “What’s Korriban?”

The Chiss blinked as some within hearing range gasped. “Korriban is site of the Sith Academy.”

Kayla perked up. “Is that where you learn to control the Force, where you learn to use it so precisely?” That place might have some merit. If she learned to control the Force as these Sith did, she could go home and teach the others. “That would be fun.”

“Fun?” the woman roared. “Korriban is not a playground, it is a crucible, a forge, a kiln where you are unmade and reshaped as a power to be reckoned with. On Korriban you succeed or die!”

“Are you saying you want me to go to this Force Academy on Korriban?”

“You have no choice; if you do not go, you are sentenced to death.”

“Okay, I’ll go. I just have to tell some friends, so they won’t worry about me. You wait right here; I’ll be right back.”

Before the Chiss Force user could speak, Kayla spun and ran off at remarkable speed. She was away and beyond reach before Lord Mif’aria’trou could Force seize her.