The Dark Abyss Chapter 4 (incomplete)

Deep in the cargo hold of his ship, Darth Abyss stood, staring at the unconscious body of Alara Keth. His brow was furrowed, and his mind bristled with questions. Why did I spare her? He wondered. Why do I continue to let her live?

He had been raised, ever since the day he was created, by Darth Sidious who had trained him to be a merciless and an utterly unrelenting killer. Yet, when he had gotten the chance to kill a Jedi, the people who he had had drilled into his head as being his mortal enemy, Darth Abyss couldn't bring himself to kill her. And now she lay in front of him, her very existence mocking everything he had been raised to believe.

Alara began moaning groggily. Darth Abyss quickly snapped out of his thoughts and forced his face to contort into a menacing glare. Alara pushed herself partly up with one arm, as the other rubbed the lump on her head where Abyss had struck her. She let out an incoherent groan and looked up at the Sith apprentice. Her grey eyes fluttered as they adjusted to the light.

"Why am I still alive?" She grumbled.

Darth Abyss was struck by the question, mainly because he was wondering the same thing too, but he reined in his emotions and hoped that she hadn't sensed his turmoil. He projected an aura of hatred and let his voice drop menacingly low as he replied.

"You have information that needs to be extracted." He let the last word hang in the air to allow the implied threat to since in.

Alara slumped back against the wall and shook her head casually. "No, that's not it. If you were supposed to torture me then I wouldn't be locked up in your spar room." She collected her feet towards her body and sat in a standard meditation position. She then collected two clumps of her hair and began to braid it as if she were in no danger what-so-ever. "You were supposed to kill me, weren't you?"

Darth Abyss felt anger build up in him as this blasted Jedi sat their, a prisoner to one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy, and acted as if this were just a casual encounter. He took that anger and let it fill the air with dread. It was a subtle use of the Force, but it was a part of the discipline that Sidious had taught him called Dun Moch. Any user of Dun Moch instantly became a master of intimidation, and Sidious had made sure Abyss knew how to employ it well.

Alara hardly seemed to notice; she finished braiding her strand of hair but with nothing available to hold the braid in place she was forced to run her fingers through her hair, undoing the braid entirely. She looked up at Darth Abyss with visible perplexion. "So, what is the real reason that I am alive?"

"Do not assume to know my mind." Darth Abyss warned her, evading the question entirely.

"You might be the apprentice to the Emperor of all the known galaxy, and one of the most powerful people alive, but you are is still a person, and people are easy to read." Alara looked up at Abyss and smiled. "I can read that you are evading my question."

Darth Abyss let his anger mount inside of him, and then let it leak out into the air to thicken the cloud of terror that he was already projecting. Even as he did so, he felt an odd sense of serenity swelling up inside of him, almost as if he were seeing an old friend. He was careful not to let this show in his voice or the Force. "You are the one who is MY prisoner."

Alara burst out chuckling. "And yet you are the one who is hiding your true feelings. You mask your emotions well in the Force, but I can see the turmoil in your eyes. What is bothering you? The worst thing you can do is to keep it bottled up inside. That only causes damage, and prevents you from healing."

Darth Abyss opened his mouth fully prepared to make up another lie in order to dodge the question, but as he looked into this Jedi's eyes he felt strangely at ease. The longer he looked into her eyes, the more serine he felt, and he wondered if she was using Dun Moch against him. He struggled to find his rage once more but failed. Finally he gave in. "I don't know."

"Come. Sit." Alara said with a warm smile and gestured to the spot on the floor in front of her. Darth Abyss hesitated for a second, but then accepted her offer. He sat on the floor in front of her in the same cross-legged position. "What is your name?" She asked.

"Darth Abyss." He answered instinctively.

"No, I mean your real name."

"I am a clone. I was created to be a warrior and a Sith. I was never given a name beyond Darth Abyss."

"Thats horrible!" Alara remarked with genuine sadness in her eyes, "You were never given the chance at a normal life, instead the dark side was forced on you. Do you know who you are a clone of?"

"My Master always told me that it didn't matter who's gene I carry, all that matters is the Force."

"In a way your Master was right." Alara said, sounding wise beyond her years. "The Force transcends the physical body, it unites you with the very power that holds the galaxy together. Next to that power your physical body means nothing, but your Master was talking about the dark side, rather than light. Still, he was wrong to withhold that information from you."

"This is all wrong." Darth Abyss said. "I should have killed you back on Nal Hutta. I shouldn't be here talking casually to you, and..." His voice trailed off.

"And what?" Alara asked, not at all bothered by Darth Abyss talking of taking her life.

"And I shouldn't feel so at ease with you. You are supposed to be my sworn enemy, and yet I can't help feeling as if..."

"As if you are an old friend?" Alara cut him off. "Yes, I sense that strange connection too. Your face seems familier, and your Force signature, even though it is dark, is soothing." For the first time in the entire encounter Alara looked unsure, and uneasy.