She was being . . . examined. Appraised.

You seek to become a Sith Master. To harness the power of the dark side.

I . . . I . . .

Vestara straightened to her full tall height atop Tikk’s back and deliberately banished her childish hesitancy.

Never mind that she had never before beheld a spacefaring vessel— never even seen the diagrams and schematics that were purported to rest inside the forbidden hull of the crashed Omen.She was of the Tribe, the daughter of a Sith Saber. She was exceptionally strong in the Force and knew it.

And the ship— Ship itself, not its pilot, she realized now it had no pilot, not

yet— was testing her. She

would not shrink before its probity.

I do. I shall. I am Vestara Khai, daughter of a proud heritage. I have what is necessary to command the dark side and bend it to my will. To use it for the good of the Tribe, and the People.

For the good of all Sith,Ship suggested.

She nodded automatically, though even as she did so she realized the vessel couldn’t see her.

Except somehow it could.Or rather, she realized, it could sense her agreement in the Force. She felt it ap-prove and then withdraw. Without the coldness of its presence in her mind, she somehow felt bereft, but she refrained from seeking it out again.

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John Jackson Miller

At that moment, as her gaze wandered from Ship to the throng of Sith crowding around it, in that sea of dark robes she saw a pale blond head turn in her direction. It was Lady Rhea, one of the members of the Sith Circle of Lords, and her blue eyes were fixed upon Vestara. Even from this height, Vestara could see that Lady Rhea’s eyes were narrowed, as if she was considering something.

Slowly, Vestara smiled.