On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter LXXI

"Master?"

"Yes, my apprentice?"

"Why are there so many more records of the Jedi when compared to the Sith? I know that since Darth Bane there have been very few Sith, but shouldn't there be more records? The Jedi kept records from the great wars with the Sith until they were wiped out. Why haven't the Sith done the same? We hardly know anything about the Sith that have led from Darth Bane to us. We don't even know the Sith's side of the story for most of the Clone Wars. Isn't that dangerous?" Luna asked as she opened the head casing of a droid. She had been reading through many records for a self study project—what could she say, wars were interesting—and with Vader's blessing had managed to get access to many restricted documents and other usually off limit information. The Sith apprentice had been surprised that there had been so many holos and datafiles straight from the Jedi themselves while the Sith at best had the fact of the matter that Palpatine was pulling at strings the entire time though no true information on what that meant, only the resulting outcomes.

"Dangerous in what way?" Vader had questioned as he began replacing a few parts, humoring her for the moment—he didn't usually like it when the Clone Wars became part of the conversation, so the girl usually steered well clear of the topic. But when they were working on droids, he was usually more open on such things, or at least willing to discuss them.

"Well, if history isn't properly shared and recorded, aren't we doomed to repeat it? What worked for us during the Clone Wars? What failed? We don't even know what we were up to before the Clone Wars started or the lineage of the Sith after Darth Zannah, why is that, Master? We know of Maul and Tyranus, but no one before them save the Emperor."

"Darth Plaguis was the Emperor's Master."

"And how and when did he die? Who was Plaguis's master? In tradition the Sith were meant to duel each other so should the apprentice be stronger than the master, only then would they become Master themselves. How many times has it been done in that way? How many times has it been done with poison instead? We are Sith, we have a right to know our own history, and it isn't fair that it's the Jedi who's always recording slanted outcomes."

"....I do see your point, little one," Vader responded after a moment, pausing in his work to run a caring hand over her head as though to calm her, "but I am afraid my own Master has not seen fit to enlighten me with such information."

"Do you think he even has it?"

"Undoubtedly."

"And do you think he'll ever share it?"

"No. He will not share anything he deems unnecessary, which is unfortunate considering he seems to have very little to teach in the first place."

"Then by those rights, shouldn't we be preparing...."

"Not until you are nearly a master yourself, my apprentice. I will need you, if I am to succeed.... Presuming of course you don't take matters into your own hands." The words may have been implying something rather serious, but his tone had an undercurrent of teasing. He knew as well as she did where her heart and loyalties lay.

Perhaps it was a gift they knew so little about the Sith before, so little about the numerous apprentices who had betrayed their masters in a short moment of weakness, weakening the Sith themselves in the process. Or the Sith apprentices who had trained secret apprentices, only to kill them when the true master discovered.

Because, perhaps then Palpatine wouldn't be the only master who had a distrustful apprentice.

"I'd never, Master," Luna had answered with a smile.