Standing as one of the greatest structures of Coruscant next to the Imperial palace and Prince Xizor's palace. Unlike them Vader's castle hardly has luxuery. No holographic images as Vader doesn't like to be reminded of the past he has endured.

The palace has a hyperbaric chamber similar to the one aboard the Executor where Vader can meditate and cultivate the Dark Side in an attempt to heal his damaged lungs temporarily, an exercise he frequented. He can also often spar against melee combat programmed droids to keep his lightsaber skills sharp.

The castle is a reflection of Darth Vader himself as it is an original stone structure but with modifications.

The castle is heavily guarded. All who enter here come at their own risk and should not expect a warm welcome.

Finally arriving at Coruscant, Kalin was used to land in Westport, the spaceport he usually landed his ship. But this time, he had to confront Vader himself. From an earlier message Vader wasn't in his flagship, or anywhere in the palace of the Emperor where he usually would be or in the mysterious spacestation they are building, the Death Star.

Now Kalin never set foot on this space station, but he was very curious about it. The landing platforms of Vader's castle themselves were located at the east side of the castle. The castle always had a creepy feeling whoever tried to come near it. What it exactly was...nobody knew...was it just the look of it, which can only be described as darkness itself...not even the Imperial Palace gave such a dark vibe to whoever passed or entered it.

Kalin and Ayanna left the Thranta and headed for the large gate. This gate was just ancient...as the castle itself. At least it looked that way. The structure of the building was mainly made from greel wood, crimson coloured. It had a dull feeling to it as there were no decorations to the palace at all.

Walking through the corridors of the castle strook fear to Kalin, and it came from the castle itself, but also Vader, who was probably waiting for Kalin in his medidation chamber. Kalin turned around and watched as Ayanna followed him. She was still not recovered from the experience they endured on Cophrigin 5. He couldn't blame her. It freaked him out himself. Whatever happened there was not to blame on himself. He was sure of that, but how could she know or understand. She didn't feel what he felt, She didn't see what he saw and it was totally different from reality.

Kalin didn't want to say anything cause he tried to give her some peace. Maybe it was better to say something to make her feel more comfortable. The castle itself surely wasn't helping her for that matter. Was it Vader's intention to make it so uncomfortable to strike fear to every guest that entered here? Probably so...but it was bad timing for the relationship Kalin and Ayanna had. They just became like friends, so he thought, but now things were different and he wondered if things would ever be the same again.

Ayanna continued to follow Kalin as she gazed around at the castle. She was worried about meeting Vader face to face, and worse if he would read her clearly, seeing what her intentions had been. She tried to stay focused and strong, but inside she was shaking. Not only because of Vader, but because of the situation between her and Kalin. She did not know how to approach it, and instead left Kalin to deal with this matter with Vader in peace.

Kalin and Ayanna entered the room which was very pale looking. The only thing noticable was the meditation chamber, which opened up with steam blazing from the ground. Vader sat in it staring at Kalin. Kalin himself gave a slight bow and hinted at Ayanna to do the same.

"What's the matter, Kalin, you seem a little uptight...I could sense your fear even when you just entered my palace..."

Kalin stuttered a bit cause he was afraid Vader would see through him about the events with Jin-Ho.

"It were just stressful times, my Lord...the events with that rebel...and I had a very rebellious acolyte on Korriban...I didn't know how to handle him...He was promoted to Dark Jedi but due to his actions on Alderaan we had to demote him which only made him more rebellious...all the other teachers don't know either what do with him and I fear a plot to kill him when I only wanted to protect him...."

Vader paused, he kept staring trying to sense something off Kalin and Ayanna. He knew they were hiding something, but what exactly he didn't know. But he didn't really care much, now other matters were at hand.

"Whatever stresses you Kalin...I can't allow my apprentice to be....'weakened' by such issues...if they present a problem, then fix it! If they truly try to kill that Acolyte of yours, then so be it...you have other things to think of...you are my assassin! You work for me...and now I have another task for you..."

Kalin stood firm and replied in a very polite manner,

"Whatever you wish my Lord!"

"You can leave that behaviour behind Kalin...I know you're not like that...not anyway as those big-headed officers I have to deal with every day...they consider themselves as soldiers....they do not what a real warrior is...but I tried to shape you...and you will do just fine in this task...There is another Jedi nest on Nar Shaddaa...our spies have not tracked it down yet...I have heard from reliable sources though there were several confrontations with these Jedi in the Correlian sector..."

Kalin still stood firm, but he held his hand in a fist in determination,

"I will find that nest, My Lord, and they will all fall under your name!!!"

Vader didn't react to Kalin's words, he turned his head and kept staring at Ayanna...He sensed something familair about her.

Ayanna finally looked up to Vader, having kept her head low the whole time. Her eyes were burning like violet infernos. She couldn't stop herself from returning the stare, though it was not necessarily deliberate, she could not stop herself. Finally seeing him in person. She felt the hate swelling inside her, almost like a burst of excitement, or the feeling of joy an thousand times magnified, but that left a bitter taste behind it.

After realising her actions she returned her stare to the floor, still standing firmly as before.

"Interesting Kalin...this individual you bring before me...", He said with a little sinister tone

Kalin asked in curiostiy, "What about her my Lord?!"

Vader stared back at Kalin,

"Are you sure, you know this girl enough so that you can trust her...do you 'really' know who and 'what' she is?'

Vader turned back to Ayanna,

"I know who you are looking for...and I wouldn't do it....Ayanna...you're too weak...your skills in the Dark Side are promissing, but you're no match for him...and Kalin...well...we'll see about that...were you planning to use Kalin?! Is that what you were after by joining the Dark Side!?"

Vader kept staring at her, while Kalin himself wondered too about what Vader said. He didn't fully understand it, but what he said about Li and using 'him' was all too clear...but was it true?

Ayanna looked sharply to him,

"I admitt, when I realised that Kalin could give me the opportunities I needed to get...... To my objective...... I did take advantage of it...... Who wouldn't........ But..." She thought carefully about what she was about to say, cause though she did not want to insult Kalin with these words, she did not want to reveal more than was necessary, "But my objectives have changed slightly...... I still want to take my revenge...... When I'm ready...... But afterwards, I will not forget how I achieved it and who go me there......" She continued to stare straight into Vader.

Vader felt amused at her words. Though the fact Kalin allowed himself to be used angered him a little...as his assassin he should have known better.

"I'm impressed how you shaped this girl, Kalin....but the question remains if you should have taken her in your care in the first place...as my assassin I expect to be wary of these...issues..."

Kalin didn't want to dissapoint his master, so he bowed in respect.

"My lord...I only saw a worthy ally in her...whatever her objectives were...I thought I could help her as she could help me too in my objectives...she will be a great help to kill the remaining Jedi!"

Vader didn't speak. From a certain point of view he agreed with Kalin, though he didn't want to admit it. He just stared back at Ayanna who was still staring at him...

"When you are ready...he will be waiting..."

Then the medidation chamber closed, leaving both Ayanna and Kalin in questions, but whatever these were, there next goal was to reach Nar Shaddaa to find the Jedi, Vader talked about...

Ayanna and Kalin began to walk as they left. She remained silent for a moment, she was annoyed that she had to speak the way she did.

"Kalin..... You know it is true that we both used eachother to achieve our own gains..... But it's not why I stay..... I want you to know that....... I appeciate your teachings very much........ Although I'm not sure if it can help me...... I admitt I'm impatient to find him, but I do try to pace myself......... I know you're probably angry with me..... Don't worry, it's likely Li will finish what he started years ago and kill me anyway..... So you won't have long to not trust me for...." She gave laugh to hide her insecurity,

"No I'm not angry Ayanna...I understood your reasons...Vader didn't thinks so...well he underestimates me...I stand with what I said...I think I can help you aswell as you can help me...if we help each other, then there is no reason to feel guilty about it, you help me with doing my job, I'll help you to kill Li....there is no reason to dwell on it...now let's get out of this cursed castle! I hate it here..."

They passed a statue of Vader himself which stood like 30 feet tall.

"He sure thinks big of himself..."

As they walked outside they quickly moved back inside the Thranta. Lightning started to strike and the clouds grew. The weather on Coruscant got unstable and the traffic was forces to move back inside or outside the atmosphere. A broadcast was made which ordered all the ships to remain on Coruscant until the weather stabilized.

"Great...now we'll have to wait..."

After passing Westport Kalin landed the Thranta once more on the landing platforms near Vader's castle. Once again they passed through the gate and walking through the corridors of the castle gave them the chills one more...it was an effect that could not be missed walking through this castle. That is exactly what Vader wanted you to feel like if you passed through his castle.

Eventually they met up again with Vader where he sat in his meditation chamber where he sat the first time Kalin and Vader met in his castle. His chair turned around facing Kalin and Ayanna who were waiting for him to speak, but it was Kalin who had to speak first cause he just stared waiting for Kalin to say what he had to say.

"I did as you ordered my Lord, the Jedi won't be any problem anymore on Nar Shaddaa!"

Vader's breathing became louder as he replied,

"Don't be too sure about that Kalin, I have my suspicions there might be more hide-outs, but until I have some proof we shall remain in the shadows once again as we always do!"

"Like we always do, my lord? So what was that on the holonet? Do you call that 'remaining in the shadows'!?" Kalin asked boldly, not caring where this question would result in.

"You've got some nerve Kalin, I know what you're thinking...What you saw on the holonet was not my doing...We all live to serve the Emperor and these were his wishes...We can't let the people know we have a hidden assassin who happens to serve the Sith amongst ourselves..."

Vader watched Ayanna's face which was still bruised from the violence the Jedi showed towards her on Nar Shaddaa.

"I see you had some trouble...of course you did...otherwise you wouldn't have called for my legion to assist you! So care to explain what happened?!"

It was Ayanna who stepped forward to speak, she didn't like that she always remained in Kalin's shadow when he faced Vader.

"Isn't it plainly obvious? Those Jedi thought they could bash my pride by bashing my face..... How naieve they are..... And yet how funny it was..... To see them dismiss their own rules and order, just to get the thrill of hurting the ones they..... Hate...... A shame we had to kill them, though they would never have admitted it, they would have made great Dark Jedi!" She laughed a little at the irony of it.

Vader looked back at Kalin wondering what he had to say about this matter.

"Yes...these Jedi are not the same, they were a lot more violent as the Jedi during the Old Republic. They don't care a lot about the Jedi Code. They wanted blood and revenge."

Vader just stared forward for a while, but you could see he was thinking about something. Maybe the past?

"I sense there is more to this case than you are telling me...one of you two is hiding something..."

Neither Kalin or Ayanna knew what he was talking about. Vader should know everything by now what happened on that criminal planet. But it was not long after that Vader saw through Ayanna...what she was feeling.

"Your thoughts betray you Ayanna...Your mother...You look so much like her...yet in another way you don't...I'm not sure you'll find what you're looking for on Ryloth, Ayanna...you might find some information there, but what you are looking for is far deeper...darker..."

Vader was talking in strange words. What he said was very vague, though it was aparent that he seemed to know what she was looking for, and more than that, it was possible that he actually knew exactly where to look.

"You speak as though you know what I'm looking for..... Care to enlighten me?" She said in a serious tone, stepping forward ever so slightly towards him.

"All I will say is that it may be better for your sake to keep what is hidden on Ryloth a mystery, rather than exploiting it....." Vader turned back to Kalin, "That is all for now..... After your exhibition on Ryloth.... Return back to me...... And I might enlighten what you are looking for more clearly..... But now is not the time......" Vader's chair turned around and the meditation chamber closed.

Ayanna and Kalin turned around and left the castle, heading back for the Thranta.

As they walked back to Vader's castle, she remembered the last time she had been there with Kalin. Didn't seem so long ago but it was probably morej than half a year, amazing how time flies. She always found the castle creepy, this planet unsettled her anyway without it's plantlife, and Vader's castle was old with a technological twist to it, no life to be seen apart from her and him as they walked towards it. They had trained hard during their journey, and from it she realized how easy Kalin had been with her in training. Vader barely gave her time to breathe, to digest what she had been taught, they were always moving onto the next thing.

As further as the training continued, the harder it became. Kalin was going to be easier defeated if he wasn't Exar Kun as Vader lied about him. But he still was Anakin Skywalker, so was Kalin as strong as him. From a biological point of view he wasn't as his body probably didn't have the same midi-chlorian count as Anakin Skywalker had.

Still he could not underestimate Kalin. He didn't choose Kalin as his apprentice out of nothing. But he was sure in his case to choose Ayanna as his apprentice now. He tried to teach Ayanna revenge and constantly fed her the word that Exar Kun killed Kalin. If it was not for him, she wouldn't have been attacked by Kalin and he wouldn't now lie in a coma if Exar Kun didn't overtake his body. She was constantly told to believe Exar Kun really killed him in cold flesh and he hoped that would make her hate strong enough to kill his own self.

Ironically, all the training was awaking inside her a hate that had long since been buried, one that she had been taught to feel since she lay in the womb. She knew that she was to believe Kalin was taken over by Exar Kun, but she hid her real knowledge of who it was, but still fed off the hate. Anakin Skywalker...... Anakin Skywalker...... The kin of Skywalker must die.... They must be made to suffer...... All of the old words she had heard from her mother had been reawakened. She took every word from Vader and translated it for herself..... Anakin had taken over Kalin, and it was because of Anakin that he attacked her....... And because of Anakin that Kalin was now in a coma. It did it's job in infuriating her as she pushed herself to be fiercer and tougher. Each day she watched her skin grow paler and paler, it was now as white as Asajj Ventress and faintly the traces of dark purple veins could be seen across her face as she became more consumed by her hatred. Her eyes had long since surpassed the even extreme colour of purple, but were now a jet black..... With the whites of her eyes completely covered..... She only remembered seeing her mother with the same eyes once, but she could not recall the event that had caused it. She never slept, and instead used her exhaustion to fuel her continuously. She could feel hatred running through her blood, she would find herself sometimes standing alone in the darkness, crushing her hands into tight fists with the intensity that ran through her. She would scream as it consumed her more and more.

Vader was proud of Ayanna in how her training proceeded. What other's learned in months, she had learned in days. Though he still wasn't sure she would be as strong as his former self, he though her to be ready. Her hate was truly strong enough, though he had no idea how her hate had grown, not for Exar Kun, but for Anakin Skywalker. Maybe she even hated Kalin himself, but he couldn't know. Vader walked with her through a corridor in the castle and talked to her about the task she had to fulfill.

Vader spoke: "You realize now which task is lying ahead? You know that it is now your destiny to kill the man who killed Kalin... He is a threat not only to you but to the Empire and he must be destroyed. Your hate has made you powerful, Ayanna. You have learned much more beyond my expectations. You are ready...."

She walked next to him as she was a living corpse. Her transformation could not be compared to that of any Sith. She didn't posses the burning eyes he had, but they had turned pitch black. Though her skin grew paler, Vader wasn't familiar with the purple veins that could be seen through her skin. But he could feel her hatred which had made her double as strong as she was before she entered his castle.

"Your transport is awaiting you and you will bring back Kalin's body for me!"

"It will be done, my Master....." She said as she walked ahead into the transport, immediately setting the coordinates to take her back to Alderaan. Her mind was a blank, she almost didn't recognize herself as Ayanna Nyx anymore. The name showed no meaning for her, even in such little time. But she had come to call herself Zaria. The ship ascended to the skies, immediately shooting into Hyperspace.

"Yes, my Master." Ayanna said very seriously as she tried to keep up the act, but she felt very scared with this whole idea; She worried if Vader would see her thoughts but misunderstand that she was indeed going to try to kill him, when she wasn't. Or was Kalin going to sneakily tell Vader? She had no idea which way it was going to go. All she knew was that this was the tile that she was most reluctant of. Vader scared her more than Vlasta any day. Though being in his presence was awesome for her. And he had reacted to her positively in the past, so she tried to focus on that and not on the negative too much.

"What do you wish of me once we are with Lord Vader?" She asked him seriously, which was in fact a genuine question.

"Well you'll have to wait at first. He asked me to meet him face to face. Meaning he doesn't want to see anyone else besides me, meaning you'll have to wait outside a while Ayanna."

This was all a lie in actuality. Lord Vader didn't even know Kalin was coming to meet him. But Kalin had to find an excuse how Ayanna could find herself in a situation alone with the Dark Lord. If he went on some fake mission while she waited in his palace it would give him the oppertunity to meet Prince Xizor alone, while Yuli Vlasta would think Ayanna would go on with the mission they had laid on her. It was a tricky plan, but it was a risk they had to take.

Ayanna nodded, her face awash with worries and concern. Either way this plan was going to go, she wasn't going to like it. She watched as Kalin went to meet with Lord Vader alone, while she kicked around outside. She had no idea what the specific plan was that Kalin had thought up, but she knew no matter what, she wasn't going to like any of it. It all made her nervous, but there was little she could do about it now but wait. At least Vlasta would now know that she was on Coruscant, and not still faffing around on Naboo. Made her situation not so much better but having the Viggo lay off her a bit was only a good thing. She only hoped that Kalin knew what he was doing.

Before Kalin went inside Vader's meditation chamber, he took a deep breathe hoping this deception would work. Once inside the meditation chamber opened up where the Dark Lord sat in deep meditation. Suddenly his chair turned around and Kalin could see his cold mask again, which struck fear through his heart.

The dark lord spoke, "Why are you here, now Kalin. I have not heard from you for a long time. What have you been doing all this time. Why do you suddenly turn up right here in my castle while I have not called for you."

Fear did not stop Kalin from speaking and he could only pray that his lie would not be detected by Vader.

"My Lord. My apprentice and myself have been constant pursuit with Li. Once more he has escaped my grasp. But I think I know why. It's Ayanna. Her connection with Li always gives him a step ahead. That is why I ask you to keep her under surveillance here. I must face Li alone so he won't detect that I'm on his trail."

Vader did not speak for a few seconds. But those seconds seemed like a lifetime while he was waiting for his master to respond.

"I see your point, Kalin. I sincerely hope you make the right decision in leaving her here. But what you just spoke of, that's not the only reason you want her here in my castle, is it."

Kalin gulped hoping once more his master would not detect he was lying.
"No master. Besides the fact that Li can sense her from miles coming. I think she might still have feelings for him and block me in my mission to assassinate him. Her emotional bond with him might jeopardize my mission.

Vader still wondered if Kalin was hiding more. But he did not detect any danger in leaving Ayanna here in the castle.

"Very well, Kalin. Leave your apprentice here. I will have my men keep an eye on her while you continue your pursuit.

Kalin could finally leave the room. He now had a good reason to keep Ayanna in the castle just as he wanted. How he was going to get her out of this castle with him 'failing' his mission was another question.

Ayanna watched as Kalin emerged from speaking with Vader, she immediately spoke out, "What was it that Lord Vader wanted with you, my Master...." She asked, but that was not her real question,

"What's going to happen? Did you tell him what was going on? Do I have to stay here? What are you going to do?"

All of these questions seemed to flood to him at once as she was thinking of them all at the same moment, simply because she was afraid of the outcome of all of this.

"What's going to happen?"

She asked again, though on the outside she still looked rather calm and collected.

Once more Kalin gave Ayanna a real and fake reply. He firstly spoke up so the comlink would pick up where Kalin was going. Or where he wanted Black Sun to think he was going.

"I'm sorry, Ayanna. But Vader wants me to pursuit Li again and this time alone. He thinks you are an obstacle and might get in my way. That's why you'll have to stay here and wait for me."

Then through the Force he informed Ayanna what truly was going to happen,

"I'm sorry but I had to come up with an excuse so you would be able to stay here, so Yuli Vlasta won't detect I'm meeting the Prince. If you stay here, I can deal with Prince Xizor myself without bringing ourselves in danger by the treacherous comlink you're wearing."

Ayanna first responded for the comlink, a habit she was getting sick of, "What?! If you are going after Li then I must go with you! He is my brother Kalin!" She also said this in the semi-hope that Vader would overhear also, making the story that Kalin had given, more believable, "I can't believe you're going to leave me here to waste my time while you go chasing down something that is MY responsibility 'Master'..." She said in an angry tone.

She then gave her genuine response,

"I'm afraid of Vader, what if he sees right through me. Learns of the plot, you will probably end up in more trouble than I am already in. I hope you know what you're doing Kalin.... I mean Master... Be careful with Xizor, I've heard terrible stories. But promise me one thing, that we can take out Vlasta together....."

"You'll have to do your best to hide your emotions. Vader will of course sense you are afraid, but he will think you fear for Li's life."

That is what Kalin hoped after the lies he told Vader that Ayanna still had an emotional bond with Li. Now it was up to her to prove that wrong.

"To get you out of Vader's grip you will have to stay close to him. Keep contact with Yuli Vlasta when you're not in his presence. But once in his presence you must convince Vader that you do not have any emotional bond anymore with Li, otherwise our next issue is Vader himself."

Now for the lie the comlink he said the following words.

"I'm sorry, but Li is a threat to the Empire. He has to die. I don't have a choice and neither do you..."

Ayanna watched as he left, pretending to be annoyed but in actuality she was terrified as she walked in to greet Vader. She could see him standing, like a walking shadow of darkness. She lowered herself onto one knee, bowing out of respect,

"Lord Vader, Master Thalis has instructed me that I am to stay here under your supervision, I humbly thank you but I don't see it as necessary. I should be the one to deal with Li my own way...." She said through gritted teeth, using her real frustration and anger. Not just concerning Li, but aiding what had happened on Naboo with Alluria Starfire to help her.

Vader stood still before her and no emotion could be seen on that cold mask of his on the contrary to Ayanna where lots of emotions on her face sprung to life. He could sense 'fear', 'anger', 'frustration'. But he still doubted the reasons why she was feeling this.

"You won't leave this castle. If Kalin has a chance of killing your brother you are not to leave this place, is that understood? You should consider yourself lucky you're not considered a traitor. One might think you are still protecting your brother. But now you're saying you want to deal with him yourself. That is not what I have heard. Otherwise you wouldn't have to stay inside my castle in the first place Ayanna..."

"Master Thalis is being too cautious. There was a time when I faltered concerning him, but I have learned from it. That is the best I can do is it not? if I cannot kill him myself then I have lost that chance to prove my worth, don't you agree, my Lord? If I am to understand the true nature of the Dark Side, then I have to feel the suffering and the pain, as well as the enjoyment. And there is no perfect way than me riding Li myself. If Kalin succeeds, then my chance is lost!!" She shouted the last sentence, and did feel genuine anger, "Kalin, I mean Master Thalis, he holds me back too much sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I think he is a wonderful teacher but, this would have been a perfect opportunity for me, rather than waisting your time as well as my own standing here and doing nothing...." She felt scared to be speaking so bluntly, but she had to learn to not be so afraid anymore.

"Stop wasting my time with your weak words, Ayanna. I know you might have desires to kill your brother. I don't claim you're lying, but you are not capable. If Kalin had trained you better. Maybe you would have been. Maybe yes, he is indeed holding you back, which is one of the reasons he is to kill Li and not you. You must continue your training while he continues his mission. There are enough places to train in my castle while you stay here. I still wonder what your master teaches you. By now you should have become a fully capable Dark Jedi to serve your Emperor...."

"Perhaps.... If I am not too bold to ask, you would aid me with my lightsaber skills. They could use a good polishing, and I've not encountered any Jedi to practice on unfortunately. Though I bet there are many out there I would love to...." Her thoughts flashed on Alluria for a time but then she tried not to think on it, as for once she was beginning to think vengeful thoughts about that Jedi, which made her scared that Vader would sense it, "I know I am not your pupil, and I don't ask you to teach me anything that you don't want, but perhaps even just for a little sport?" She smiled as she grabbed to her lightsaber, "I will be ready to serve the Emperor. I already am in my heart and in my body."

Vader did not have time to train just some random acolyte, but Ayanna's behaviour intrigued him. There was something she was hiding and he certainly wanted to find out what.

"I won't fight you Ayanna, to teach you. But show me what you are capable of with a lightsaber and I might aid you by my knowledge how you can perfect your skills."

She smiled, feeling a genuine sense of pride and excitement to be fighting a figure such as Lord Vader. She removed her black cloak and threw it onto the ground as she flipped her lightsaber in her, then igniting it as the purple lightsaber blade reflected beautifully off of Vader's mask. She knew that she had to fight as Sith, so she did not wait for any formalities and instead charged at him, raising her blade in the air as she jumped, twisting slightly as she tried to deflect behind her, as she knew that this being the best lightsaber swordsman in the galaxy, he would strike her immediately.

Vader at first fought like he was still a padawan, as Ayanna was not very capable with a lightsaber. At least not compared to his skills. Vader felt slightly bothered he was fighthing a woman, wielding the lightsaber of the Dark Woman who left a scar inside Vader because of what she said on Cophrigin V. Watching the purple blade bothered him too. All Dark Jedi were requested to wield a crimson blade. The blade even slightly reminded him of Master Windu, who was famous as one of the few who wielded a purple ligthsaber. It brough back a lot of memories where he took the fatal decision to become a Sith, when he helped his master to kill Master Windu. It almost seems that what was left of Vader's humanity felt some remorse of what happened. But he soon forgot about it and started to fight more fierce.
"Focus Ayanna. Use your mind to anticipate your opponent's next move. Tap in the Dark Side to give you the strength to disarm me."

Ayanna intensified her concentration, twirling her blade around in a flash and tricking at him hard and fast as she refused to give up. In her mind she could not help but see Alluria Starfire. She smiled at the thought of slicing her down, she almost wished that she didn't but she couldn't help it. She let out a horrific shriek of anger as she then continued to clash her lightsaber towards him, and then stretching out her hand she deflected his attack with the Force, sending a giant pulse of energy towards him, but she did not hesitate, she struck at him again. She felt the need to prove that she was capable, that she was better than 'just' an acolyte. She had held herself back in truth for so long, her fear of embracing the Dark Side, but suddenly it did not scare her anymore. It excited her, flowing over her like warm water that tingled on her skin. She flipped back wards as she then reached for a bulky metal chair during her midair flip, and sent it crashing towards Lord Vader before she could land on her feet. She wondered if she was going too far, but then again wasn't that the point? She always tried to stop herself before, but now she was trying to expand.

Vader was more impressed with the Dark Side she possessed and her fighting skills were not so weak as he presumed. He underestimated her, but still compared to him, she was still a novice. He started to fight more intense, throwing small objects towards her. She was able to dodge a few of them. Some of them she wasn't able to dodge. Vader thought she should consider herself lucky he only threw small objects and not large ones as he normally would do in a lightsaber duel.

"Impressive... You have embraced more of the Dark Side than I presumed. But you're still holding back. You can't master it, until you fully embrace it, Ayanna. Do not fear it. The Dark Side is a tool. If you control it there is no reason to fear it." He said with his dark deep voice that sounded so cold. Then he choked her with the Force, holding his hand in a fist.

"Use your anger... Use your hatred to release yourself... Only then will you be able to defeat me!"

She clasped at her throat as he choked her, it reminded her of the time on Kashyyyk that Kalin had choked her, but she had been defenseless. For a moment she weakened thinking of it, but she focused herself again, thinking of everything that had happened recently, everything with Li, and also with the Jedi. Imagining that not Vader, but Starfire was choking her, and with that her face twisted in anger as she clenched her fists together before throwing her hand forward along with an enormous Force Push that she conjured from the pit of hatred in her stomach. She fell to the ground from the Force Choke, getting up as quickly as she could, but she could not help but rub to her neck before she recovered her lightsaber.

She stared back at Vader more intensely now, her eyes arched upwards looking at him while her head was more lowered. She seemed to be stalling, but then struck out again as their lightsabers clashed together with a teeth rattling squeal of energy. She tried not to hold herself back like her said she was doing, and instead tried to act completely on instinct, and on the moment. She flicked her body to the side, spinning around with her lightsaber above her as she deflected her front and back as she spun before landing on her feet to the right of Vader. With the Force she threw another object that smashed off his hand as she tried to disarm him as he had pushed her into doing.

"Good, your hate has made you powerful..."

Vader was only toying with her. Her Force Push could have been easily deflected and he could still have hold her in his grip. If this was a serious fight he would just have crushed her throat in a blink of an eye. Though this was just practice, but Vader knew this was one of the most intensive fights Ayanna endured.

Force choking her was one thing, but Force grasp was one step further and he wondered if she would be able to release herself from that. Once again he raised his hand, lifting Ayanna up in the air, clasping her by the throat more intense as he had done before.

"Feel the Dark Side. Free yourself...."

Ayanna flailed around desperately trying to get out of this grasp, the power of it was intense. She tried to use the same trick as before but it was not effective. She kicked her feet around as she levitated there out of Vader's will. She was getting weaker, but also with it angrier. Suddenly from her frustration she shoulder out,

"STOOOOP!!!!!"

With this burst of energy she was not able to release herself from her Vader's grip, but she was able to send her lightsaber soaring out of her hand as she threw her hand, sending it up to one of the beams above Vader's head. The metal of it was sliced like a butter to knife as it then began to topple to the ground.

Kalin arrived back at the castle and heard the strange cry out to stop. Once he arrived in the meditation chamber he saw Ayanna levitating in the air under Vader's grasp. He felt shocked but he couldn't stand up against Vader. Luckily with seeing Kalin, Vader slowly made Ayanna descend back to the floor and released her from his grasp.

"Why back so soon Kalin....."

"I have good reasons, my lord. Ayanna could you leave the room for a moment. There's something I want to discuss with my master."

Ayanna nodded and left the meditation chamber. Once she had left Kalin spoke up again, "The reason I'm back is that I have reason to believe Li is back on Coruscant. If that is true I want to use Ayanna as bait. Li always escaped from every planet because he was able to sense her presence. But if he is truly here on Coruscant he won't flee, cause then it is obvious he is here for her."

Vader didn't respond immediately, thinking of Ayanna's improvements in the Dark Side. "Very well Kalin, just don't fail me...."

Luckily Vader thought Ayanna's stay in the castle wasn't completely pointless. She learned much and improved her skills in the Dark Side. Maybe she would prove to be a valuable Dark Jedi after all.

Kalin left the meditation chamber and explained everything what happened at Xizor's palace. Still he was curious what happened in the castle during his audience with the leader of Black Sun. It was something they could discuss on their way to Yuli Vlasta as it was finally time to confront her and take care of her once and for all.

Once Kalin and Ayanna arrived back on Corsucant, Kalin didn't bother landing in Westport with their prisoner. He landed the ship straightly in the landing bay of Darth Vader's castle. He checked out the cargo bay where Ayanna was guarding Li. Kalin could tell that both had some sort of dispute during the journey. It was all written on Li's face, though Ayanna seemed to be calm.

"Ready to leave this karking bastard in Vader's hands?" He asked Ayanna, turning to Li he continued "Boy do I hate to be in your shoes right now..."

Li sneered at Kalin, but that didn't change the situation. They both took him down the ramp and entered the castle, hoping that their success in capturing Li would please the Dark Lord.

As always the corridors of the castle were very dark and you could hear the sound of heavy machinery. But for a change Vader wasn't in his meditation chamber. The guards informed them he was trying to improve his lightsaber skills. It would be interesting for Kalin to see Vader fight in real combat so he could compare his own skills to his. Inside the training area Vader was fighting five droids at the same times. He managed to knock out three more before Ayanna and Kalin arrived.

His skills were impressive. Still Kalin wondered if he could match up with his skills. Would it be impossible, no. Difficult... Maybe. Vader saw the duo arrive with their prisoner and he stopped the training program.

"I see you finally managed to capture this menace, though I would have preferred if you just brought me his head instead." The Dark Lord said panting through his helmet.

Kalin grinned, "Well my lord, you just have to give the order and..."

Vader interrupted Kalin, "No we'll just put him where he belongs." Then he looked to Ayanna and asked a particular question as if he didn't trust Kalin, "Ayanna, I want you to give me a brief report on this!"

This made Kalin nervous. Ayanna had to realize she had to lie about this, since he was not captured on Coruscant, since he was never on Coruscant at all. Kalin was barely able to hide his lies, so he worried if she could...

Ayanna was not feeling too comfortable as she was still dressed as a two star hooker, she could not help but wish she had quickly changed before they came to meet with Vader, but still she spoke,

"What, on him? Pft, where do I begin..... Once Kalin got word on the slimeball being on Coruscant, we followed up on the lead. Sure enough they were right, looks like he had only just got here as well, mixed up in gambling debts and by the sounds of it far messier things too." She laughed slightly in confidence as she continued to twirl up a reasonable story to save Kalin's hide, "Though his slimey friends gave him wind to our presence and he was able to escape in a starfighter, but not too soon for Master Thalis to throw a homing device onto the hull of the ship. Just as well as this bastard had busted my arm during his escape, I admit I was caught off guard for a moment, but I learned from it. After then though, it was easy, we returned to Kalin's ship and tracked him down to Nar Shaddaa. Just typical he would go there to satisfy his gambling lust. But due to our presence being spotted so easily when we were here, we decided to go in disguise. Hence my attire I'm wearing now, my apologies Lord Vader, I swear this is not permanent!" She said half serious half jokey hoping he would somehow see the funny side of the state she was in.

"THEN, we found him in the Red Sector, sipping some Gold Wine in a Casino, the nerve! Anyway, he ran like a big girl when he saw us again, but we were able to stop him and incapacitate him until we brought him before you, My Lord." She smiled bowing slightly.

She then stepped forward kicking the back of Li's leg as he stood there afraid of what was going to happen to him,

"Isn't that right 'brother'?" She grinned.

Li said nothing, too afraid to in the presence of Lord Vader. Ayanna looked to Kalin and then back to Vader again to see what his opinion was on all of this.