Star Wars: Dissention of the Sith

Chapter 10

1 Week Later...

Cognus sat in her chambers, deep in thought. It had been a week since her return to Haruun Kal and she couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed in her apprentice. She closed her eyes, focusing on the force within her, and began to meditate.

As she delved deeper into her consciousness, a vision came to her. It was of herself, lying on the forest floor, her body cold and still. Blood pooled around her, staining the lush green leaves beneath her. A feeling of dread washed over her as she saw Millennial standing over her, his lightsaber in hand and a look of triumph on his face.

Cognus' eyes snapped open, her heart racing. She knew that she couldn't ignore this vision. The force had shown her something that was to come, and she must act upon it. Cognus rose from her seat and made her way to Millennial's chambers.

Inside, Millennial was deep in thought, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady. He was meditating just as she had been. Cognus approached him slowly, her hand instinctively reaching for her lightsaber. She knew that if her vision was to come true, then it would be here, in this moment, that it would begin.

"Millennial," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her apprentice's eyes opened, and for a moment, she saw the boy she had taken under her wing, the apprentice who had shown so much promise. But then, the darkness within him consumed him, and his eyes turned cold and calculating.

"Master?" he asked, his voice unable to hide his curiosity at her presence.

"We must talk," she said, her voice firm.

"About what?" Millennial asked, his tone betraying his true intentions.

"About your place in the Sith Order," Cognus began, "I believe it is time to prove your devotion to our cause. In doing so I must test if your training has seen you improve in the ways of the darkside or if you have remained stagnant. If you have, I have no further use for someone who cannot surpass me".

Millennial stood up, his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. Cognus stood in the doorway of his room, blocking his exit, her eyes closed as she reached out through the force. Suddenly, her lightsaber shot into her hand. Without hesitation, she ignited the weapon and assumed a defensive stance.

Millennial, her apprentice, stood at the other end of the room with his own lightsaber in hand. A mixture of Juyo and Ataru styles of lightsaber combat flowed through his movements as he began to approach her.

Cognus could sense the shift in her apprentice, as if he were hiding something from her. Of course, that was not uncommon among Sith to hide their true potential, both Bane and Zannah had done so and even she was in the process of keeping the knowledge of Darth Phobos secret from her apprentice. But she pushed the thoughts aside, unsure if her vision of herself laying murdered on the forest floor was true or false.

"You're not strong enough to betray me, Millennial," she said, her voice steady as she engaged him in combat.

"I would never think about betraying you. For that is not the way of the Sith, only the strong may lead, those who hide in the shadows are not worthy of the title Sith" Millennial countered, which caused Cognus to second guess her vision further, as she could not sense any sense that he did not believe those words.

The two clashed blades, the sound of their lightsabers humming filling the room. Millennial's strikes were strong and precise, but Cognus was able to counter them with her Djem So style.

As their blades collided with one another, mere inches from each other's faces, Cognus couldn't help but wonder if her vision was true or if she was just being paranoid. But one thing was for sure, her apprentice was becoming a formidable opponent.