Chapter 10: Chapter 10 - Revenge
"It would seem that a powerful warrior has emerged." Noah said calmly as he looked at Darth Zash.
"I can feel it through the force. I suppose you aren't the only one." Darth Zash said as she looked at him.
"Are you going to look for this warrior?" Noah asked the woman calmly.
"No. I have already found a powerful warrior of my own." Zash said to him as she looked at him.
"Then what shall I do now?" Noah asked her as he looked at her.
"We shall return to the academy." Zash said to him as she walked past him.
Noah followed behind her as he didn't feel any need to defy her, not when he could gain more power and guidance from her. The two of them got out of the tomb and then made their way to the academy.
"What is your name acolyte?" Darth Zash asked him as she walked.
"Noah." Noah said to her simply.
"Noah. From this moment on you are my apprentice." Darth Zash said to him as they approached the academy.
"Of course, Master." Noah said curtly as they walked.
As they entered the academy, they saw a large blue skinned man wearing Sith armor standing beside Tremel while another acolyte is standing beside them.
The Sith Lord caught sight of Zash and Noah alongside Tremel as they looked at the pair as the acolyte also turned around to look at them.
"It would appear that you have chosen an apprentice for yourself, Darth Zash." Baras said as he looked at the two.
"And I see that you have also chosen an apprentice as well." Zash said as she looked at the acolyte.
"Yes. He has promise. And what about yours?" Baras said politely as he looked at her.
"My apprentice is quite talented as well." Zash said to him politely as well.
"Then I will wait to see how your apprentice shall grow." Baras said to her as he looked at Noah.
"We shall see. Apprentice, follow me." Zash said before she walked as Noah followed her.
Zash led her newly acquired apprentice to a room that she had been given due to her status before she turned to look at him seriously.
"You shall accompany me today and I will teach you as my apprentice. You must follow all my teachings. Understood?" Zash said to him seriously.
"Of course, as you wish Master." Noah said as he nodded at her.
Zash smiled briefly at that before she composed herself and looked at him seriously.
"Go back to your room and take your valuables. He ready for the departure from this planet, as I shall inform you at the time." Zash said to him as he nodded to her.
"I shall." Noah said obediently before he left her room.
He went to his own room as he passed by some of the people in the academy. After he reached his room, he packed his essentials in a satchel as he looked at his warblade strapped to the left side of his hip and the lightsaber on his right.
'Would I have to give up the lightsaber?' Noah thought to himself as he knew that Sith created their own lightsabers.
He didn't think much of it, as even if they wanted it back, he still has the warblade that he can use which is a pretty good and capable substitute for a lightsaber.
But he didn't think of that as he walked out of his room, though he did feel a sense of nostalgia as this room was where he had been living since he came to the academia and he felt a sense of familiarity with it.
But then he felt the life of someone disappear due to the force, and his eyes widened when he realised that it was the life of Tremel. He quickly made his way to the dueling area where he had felt the life disappear.
He reached the place and saw Darth Baras, watching his newly claimed apprentice standing over the dead body of Tremel. He also saw Eskella, the man's daughter, looking at the scene in horror.
"Father!" Eskella cried out in shock and fear as she ran to her father.
She knelt beside him and cradled his head in her arms as she looked at him in shock, horror, fear, worry and a flurry of other emotions as she held him with tears in her eyes.
"You have done well my apprentice. You have proved that you are ready." Darth Baras said to his student as he nodded.
"Thank you Master." The apprentice said with a nod.
"You bastard! He was your teacher!" Eskella cried as she glared at the apprentice.
"And he has served his purpose. This is the way of the Sith." The apprentice said to her coldly as Baras smiled at the sight.
"Come now my apprentice. We need to get ready to leave." Baras said as he walked away, followed by the apprentice.
Noah watched the exchange with a calm face, as he had expected something like this from the Sith Lord and his apprentice. He looked at Eskella who was crying while cradling her father's body and he felt for the girl as he knew that she truly loved her father.
He silently watched her cry as the minutes ticked by, until she stopped crying and let out a few sobs before she stopped. Then she opened her eyes with anger in them as she placed the head on her father on the floor and stood up.
She gripped her lightsaber tightly in her grasp before she walked in the direction of her father's killer, fury in her eyes as she walked with purpose.
Of course, as she entered the hallway she was slammed onto the wall to her right, causing her to gasp and drop her lightsaber in surprise.
"And where do you think you're going?" Noah asked as he appeared before her with his right hand open, showing that he was the one who did that.
"To get revenge for my father." Eskella said in anger as she glared at him as her back was on the wall.
She tried to use the force to repel his hold, but she was unsuccessful as he just forced his way through his as she groaned in pain from the force he exerted on her being.
"Do you really believe that you will be able to avenge your father with the weak power that you wield?" Noah asked her in an amused tone.
"I will get my revenge. He will pay for killing my father." Eskella said to him as she growled.
"No. Your father was an even better warrior than you were. If he was defeated by him, then what hope do you have against him?" Noah asked as he looked at her.
"I..." Eskella said as doubt appeared in her eyes as she understood his words.
"You're weak, pathetic, inconsequential in front of your father's killer. The only thing you will gain from pursuing him is your death." Noah said as he slammed her three times when he insulted her before he let go of her as she fell on the ground and coughed.
"I-I will defeat him. I vow it." Eskella said, but her voice faltered, something which she and him both understood.
"No you won't. You're far too weak to challenge him." Noah said as he kneeled in front of her and grabbed her chin and made her look at him.
"What are you trying to say? That I should just stop?" Eskella asked as she looked at him, her eyes unfocused due to her grief and anger.
"No. But if you want, I can train you." Noah said to her with a blank face.
"What?" Eskella asked in surprise.
"Not as an apprentice. But if you vow to serve me faithfully and without question, then I will teach you and help you become stronger. After that, you can get your revenge and do whatever you want." Noah said to her calmly.
Eskella went silent at his words, her initial words were going to be denial. But she stopped herself as she thought about his words. She knew that he is a powerful warrior, evidenced by the fact that he was able to defeat her easily in their duels.
She also had seen the fight between her father and the apprentice and knew that she has a high chance of death if she were to fight him with her current strength as she looked down in contemplation as he had let go of her chin.
It was silent for a few moments as she thought about his words while Noah watched her curiously and in anticipation of her decision. She looked at him after a few moments with a look of determination.
"Fine. I will serve you, and you must make me strong enough to avenge my father." Eskella said to him seriously with a glare as she grabbed her lightsaber.
"That is fine. After you have completed your revenge, you can decide what you want to do." Noah said to her as she nodded to him.
'Perhaps I will be able to make her into a perfect servant by using her goal.' Noah thought to himself as he looked at Eskella.
Darth Zash who was watching this secretly couldn't help the amused smile that appeared on her face at the actions of her apprentice.
'Well, it will be interesting.' Zash thought to herself as she watched them.