I opened my eyes, and blinked, not quite in the mind of where I was. I tried to speak, but no sound came from my lips. I looked around, and blinked as I saw that the ship was in relative ruin around me.

I took a deeper breath, and felt pain rocket through my abdomen, as though something had pierced through me. I gave a cry of pain, and slowly rolled onto one side, feeling a wetness upon my back. I weakly tore one of my gloves off and felt my back.

A hole had been torn in the mesh, and I could now see that a small pointed rod had cut through the floor, almost half an inch more and it would have likely impaled me through my liver. However, it seemed to have only bruised my back and sliced the flesh enough to cause me to bleed.

I tried to get up again, but felt darkness quickly overcome me as pain shot through my body again.

--------------------

Understanding the precaution, the Master blinked, willing a force around the air about his body so that he became shielded from the lack of atmosphere. He stepped through the portal and turned to watch it close. He stood for a moment, taking in the ambience of absolute silence, broken only by his own slow breathing and heartbeat.

Smiling, he recalled the interior of the fighter and opened his own portal into it.

He stepped through, entering into the cockpit. Rykounagin sat slumped on the floor.

“Greetings, Rykounagin,” said the Master. “Can you hear me? Are you seriously injured?”

I sighed, feeling that same sharp ache pierce through my abdomen. "Or it just hurts a lot, and someone found a way to bring you back to life like the witch..."

--------------------

The Master moved closer to Rykounagin and sat in the mostly intact pilot’s seat.

“I must admit, I admire your fortitude. I know very few who would have survived a crash such as this, let alone be left with the willpower to carry on such a blood-felt hatred for someone. I myself hate no-one, but that is neither here nor there.”

The Master settled back, the chair groaning but not giving way.

"So... is there a cost for you healing me in death? Or are dead people really really charitable? Because if that's the case, I don't think I'm going to fit in..." He groaned again from the pain.

--------------------

“No, I do not believe that people become more charitable after death. The ones I knew were just as vile and nasty as they were in life. Some even worse. It all depends on where they end up, really.”

The Master brushed back his hair from his forehead and let it fall forward again.

“I also am not very nice. But let it be said also that I hold no contempt for you, Rykounagin. While others may look upon you with scorn and amuse themselves by playing you the fool, I on the other hand see you as an individual with a past that has led you down the wrong road too many times. You want respect, yes. You want power, yes. With one comes the other, no? Not always, lad. Not always. You are far too volatile to garnish respect in the ways you have sought it.”

But it definately meant I was well on my way to being so. I finally finished righting myself, and settled myself to sit on the console, feeling something hot and wet in the back of my throat. "And what is that then? What do I know?"

I asked, turning my head to spit something rather dark that tasted nothing like common saliva. Ah yes, that definately confirmed it. I was dying.

"Go ahead and ask, I have nothing to lose from you speaking."

--------------------

The Master shifted forward in his seat.

“But my role was different. I was to be the one embracing the darkness. I was to ride the stormcloud and the night, not her. I was to be the one in perfect balance!”

The Master inhaled deeply, then eased back into the chair and folded his hands across his waist.

“But that is neither here nor here, either. For it is you I wish to focus on, Rykounagin. I know of your adoption, first by the Dark Lord Aelvedaar. That adoption, I’m afraid, was proven false with the exposure of the doppelganger. Which leads us to the next adoption by the former Dark Lord Roan. That is another path in which we cross, for that particular soul was my, shall we say, business partner. It is not easy being the only flesh being in the ruling court of the Darker Realms, and I accepted his assistance. Ah, you guessed it, another piece in the con.”

The Master paused, watching a bead of blood trickle from Rykounagin’s mouth.

“But back to you. I have my doubts, my lad, as to the authenticity of that adoption as well. There are certain observations which escaped me at the time, but now that I have had the time to reflect, it was before me all along. I do not believe that being was in fact Roan. I am sorry to say this, and would be happy to expound on my suspicions, but you seem a bit pressed and I would hate to tarry about needlessly.”

The Master watched another bit of blood escape from Rykounagin’s lips.

"Yes... that would be appriciated." I closed my eyes, feeling my innards twist. Obviously the mere act of trying to get up and speak was draining my energy quickly.

--------------------

When he was done, the Master slid deeper into the chair, very tired.

“There,” he said. “Your body will know what to do. The immediate threat of death has passed, and given a few hours you shall be feeling whole once again. In body, anyway. I sense a great turmoil in your spirit, lad. I have never been one to interfere with the mind directly, though, so I fear my aid cannot encompass such problems.

“The fear of imminent death purged, perhaps we may continue our conversation. Accepting the postulate that your adoptive father is in fact not Lord Roan, it brings about many questions to my mind. The first of which, if it is not Lord Roan, then who is it? Then, of course, where is Lord Roan? And the third question which springs to mind is why this impersonation?”

The Master paused, allowing Rykounagin to draw a deep breath. Still pale, the boy struggled to maintain consciousness.

“Is what I am saying making any sense to you? One thing I hate to be considered a blathering idiot, and I am not adverse to repeating myself for the sake of clarity. But I see you are in fact weary and in a great deal of pain. Do not fear the pain, welcome it as I do. It is the one certain thing that separates us from the dead. I will surely miss it when my time comes.”

The Master paused again, then added:

"She had her follow me through the city, and I am rather sure intended for her to either stalk and report on me or keep me from finding my love... speaking of which, for whom I am now worried..." It crossed my mind that she might be rather furious now that I had failed to kill her mother at this moment.

"Though, aside from a shared wish for each other's deaths, why do you say she will kill me, this witch?"

--------------------

“Your love?” he asked. “I shall expound on my reasoning about the Dark Lady’s wish for your death, but would you mind indulging me for a moment or two on this love of which you speak? I assume, of course, you mean ShaRhylla.”

The Master sat forward on his seat, a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

"Would you die for someone as I chose to do before your son intercepted me? Would you persue that relationship and that love even when the one you love would gladly cast you from a cliff into the depths of hell? Would you face their fury if only to hear their voice?"

I smiled. "Our love has its twists and turns, and perhaps she does not love me as I do her... but yes, if what I feel for her has a name, it is love. Albeit, not the most romantic. But then again, romance has little place in a galaxy like this."

--------------------

“How terrible it must be for you,” he said. “To feel this sort of love. There is an ancient story, hardly ever told anymore, of a servant boy who loved his mistress dearly, but she was a tyrant and beat him. Yet those moments were the most savory for him, for in her fury her entire attention was upon him, and that is really all he wanted. He hoped and prayed to the gods for the day she would see what he had done for her, and come around to the love he knew was in her. It ended poorly, though, for one day she beat him so badly he died. It was only then she realized how much she would miss him. Tragic, really, which is probably why it is not told much anymore.”

He folded his arms across his chest and shifted.

“Oddly enough, you seem to share something in common with my son. He, as you know, has become quite smitten with ‘the witch’, and in fact is downright in love with her. Pity for him, though, that she is all balanced dark and light now, and can no longer be bothered with such things as love for him. I think he knows this in his head, but his heart won’t accept it until he sees for himself. I don’t envy him the heartbreak, but perhaps it will clear his head and we can get down to the business of saving the galaxy.”

The Master sat upright once more, looking closely at Rykounagin.

I did not want to even consider that my love could be flawed. As fanciful and interesting story as it was, it was not what I wanted to hear, and as I often did, I put it out of my mind. "What threat could break this galaxy assunder that those who can wield the all as you do could not merely send away? Open conflict is rare now, so you'll forgive me if I'll tell you something about the wider universe that you inhabit. The sith aren't a superpower anymore. Massive fleets control every system, soldiers march off to command and conquer planet to planet, and those they do not own are strong enough on their own."

I smiled, not realizing my own ignorance in how truely deadly that which came was. "What could possibly threaten this galaxy so much that you would fear them?"

--------------------

The Master frowned.

I gave a sigh. "You'll also have to forgive me for asking, but how long do you intend to imprison me on this wreck?"

--------------------

“I am not holding you prisoner here,” he said. “I have no intentions at all of keeping you against your will. Quite the contrary, in fact. What I hope to do is explain to you our situation – yours, mine, everyone’s – and hope that you see how imperative it is you join us.”

The Master straightened, his face softening and his chin resting on his hand.

“I shall be honest with you, and forgive me if I seem too blunt, or perhaps even brutal. I have observed you, and heard of your actions from others, and it seems consistent. You tend to jump to the side of, well, malevolence when dealing with others. Take the recent encounter with Phalomir, for example. Yes, he surprised you, but your immediate reaction was to try to take his life. This is a pattern, and goes a long way in explaining why he set the ship to crash here. You have been used, and abused. I wish you well in finding your happiness, and sincerely hope your love is repaid. But you will need to trust, and be trusted.”

He leaned back once more.

“Now, as for me, I would like to trust you, but it must be earned. And it goes both ways, of course, for you certainly have no reason to trust me. Nobody does. I was under the influence of the darkness for so long, I sometimes second-guess my own feelings. But I am sure of one thing, and that is that the beings of this galaxy shall one day be facing extinction if we are not prepared. The Sith were not present during the last invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong, and the Vong shall not be expecting us. But unless we are at our full power it will mean little.”

The Master then leaned forward once again, an intense look in his eyes.

I sighed. "You say you wont force me, but that's like saying 'join me or jump off a cliff'. You technically have a choice, just one is a lot more desirable than the other. I suppose the only question I can ask is when you intend to release me."

I spoke not of my physical containment here, but of the unspoken contract that now forced me into rather specific parameters on what I could do without risking agony.

--------------------

“So intent upon your freedom?” he asked. “Again, not to be blunt, but look around you. Look at your life, what has happened to you while you were ‘free’. Abused and betrayed, used and cast aside. Then when you have the power of the Dark Lords in your grasp, you lose it through your own lust for more. While you struggle through your decisions, it seems that you truly are at your best when you have direction and purpose. And that, my lad, would come best from being in the employ of a Dark Lord.”

The Master shrugged.

“But, alas, I am not in the power to either free or command you. That is why I come to you, beseeching you to listen and make your own decision. I could ask my son to put you to this task, but I would rather have to wish for it.”

He smiled slightly and drew in closer, his eyes clear and focused on the young man’s own.

Something wicked slid through my mind however. But I would save that thought for later... Father might just be able to do it...

--------------------

“There is something playing in your mind, lad,” he said. “I can see the wheels turning, the plans trying to come forward. Why do you cling to your ways?”

He sighed and shrugged.

"No one needs that filthy thing. Absolutely no one. Let it rot in hell with him, it does no one any good." I growled. "That thing plays everyone who uses it. Every time I've picked it up, all it does is whisper to me that it's been waiting to use my potential, that I could be its greatest wielder over any other."

I smirked. "Let me guess, it says the same thing to you all the time?"

--------------------

The Master blinked away a faraway look.

“The Black Hall is gone, the Tower with it. Now the channeller is as it was before it was stolen from me, and how I wish it back. The future of the galaxy depends on it.”

The Master leaned back, his arms crossing over his chest.

I closed my eyes. How was I going to do this anyway?

--------------------