Bentre cast a sidelong glance in the direction of the orange-skinned Twi'lek girl as she meditated quietly. Today would have to be a different sort of lesson for his apprentice. Closing his eyes, the Sith ran quickly through the sequence of events. The history had proved to be an interesting one. He did not want to stray from the record more than necessary.

"I have shared many bits of wisdom with you over our weeks and months of training, Lav'anre. The one tale I have not related is actually one than has driven me these months. Today, I will tell you the tale of Darth Ferus." A minor tremor echoed through the Force in that moment. His words had been meant with confusion.

"Who?"

"Darth Ferus was a mighty Sith of old. He operated in the darkness, striking only when it was necessary. While others fought wars with Jedi with ancient machines or flashy shows of power, Ferus was a more cunning creature. While others marched to war, he led them from the rear. And then, during the age of Darth Bane, Ferus fled out to Wild Space. There he had constructed a shelter within a cave on a planet akin to Kashyyyk. Inside he had constructed holocrons, battle droids, tomes and all manner of tools. That was not the thing that truly set him apart from the likes of his contemporaries however."

"What do you mean, master?" Her tone was curious, but the girl's attention was already beginning to slip.

"According to the journals I have found, a few of which I believe are authentically his, though perhaps archival copies." Bentre shook his head without opening his eye. "Either way it does not really matter though. It holds many common threads with the whispers I heard of this Sith Lord long before finding them. For you see, Ferus was a wild man. Though, I suppose that calling him a man may have been a stretch. Whatever he was, he had an unbelievable appetite. He sought knowledge and power like a man stranded in the desert seeks water. More than that, he was ravenous. I am sure you have heard of someone being 'eaten up' by an obstacle or an opponent?"

The girl was silent.

"He really did it. For that man, it was no hyperbole. More than that, he seemed to assimilate knowledge more than learn it. By absorbing the strength and knowledge of his victims, Darth Ferus became a force to be reckoned with. Given enough time, the Sith Lord would have challenged even the strongest Force Users of his day."

"I have never heard the name of Ferus before today. How can that be?"

Bentre chuckled. "The really big thing that I have realized as I have garnered my own strength is probably the same reason that he is unknown to you, my apprentice. For you see, Darth Ferus feared loss. Darth Ferus hid himself away out of a selfishness that outweighed mere secrecy. Unlike the others, he feared he could not keep his secrets to himself. He was said to have possessed untouched youth, strength to rival a rancor, a mastery of the Force that would have caused a Jedi Grand Master to blush and a ferocity to rival a rabid wookie. He was a monster, pure and simple."

"What would bring down the likes of a Sith Lord of that nature?"

"The thing that brought about his failure is a common thread among many Sith of old. He trusted. Ferus trusted his apprentice a portion of his secrets. A young girl served as his right hand. The girl became impatient with the machinations of the Sith. She made it up in her mind that she was done with playing the subservient role. She struck her master at the one point that all sentients are weak- while he was at rest. She stabbed the monster to death with his own weapon while he laid in his bed."

"So, even the strong eventually fail?" Lav'anre was starting to piece together his lessons more quickly at this point in their training. It pleased Bentre to see her reason one without awaiting explanation. "Is the lesson here one about pride in one's own abilities?" Sometimes she was wrong, but there was something to be gained from failure.

"The lesson in the tale of Darth Ferus is quite simple. He assumed that by hiding he would be spared the ultimate fate that becomes all beings. While he grasped great power, he assumed that he was untouchable. Like so many Sith before him, Ferus came to believe that he would live forever. So, yes in a way it had to deal with his pride. But more so, he lost sight of reality while held in the thralls of power."

The apprentice nodded slowly without speaking. After several moments, Bentre opened his eyes and watched her out of the corner of his eyes for another few moments before he let out a sigh. "Do you have a question weighing on your mind, my student? I want no secrets between us."

The Twi'lek opened her mouth, though remaining momentarily silent. "You have never been one to tell stories just to make a point, master. There is always something that you want me to take away to apply on a practical level. Is that correct here as well?"

"You *are* picking up more quickly. Feel free to speculate. What do you believe is the lesson here?"

The girl nodded slowly, considering her next words. "Well, it almost seems like the lesson is to watch my own pride. I could also argue that Ferus' inaction was his undoing. If I were to examine the parallels between you and I versus Ferus and his apprentice, I could almost say that you are warning me against attacking you?"

Bentre had to suppress a laugh at this. He shook his head, his mouth twisted in amusement. "This Sith of old had a great deal of power at his hands. The lesson is less in what was done by the apprentice. Ferus proved a fool by failing to act. His desire to preserve that which would fail, his very life by the nature of the Sith being ultimately forfeit, he showed his greatest weakness. His apprentice killed him, and in an attempt to keep his own secrets many abilities were lost to antiquity with his passing. No, my young one, there are two things that you really need to understand."

"Oh?"

"Firstly, you need to ensure you are not destroying a tool or a legacy if you decide to take that path." Bentre let out a snort. "Also, if you plan to try and take me out, I caution you not to assume it would be half as easy as killing off any other Sith. If you are lucky my wife would be absent when you did the deed. Force help you when she catches wind of what happened though. No, rather you need to be sure that you are always the most direct-indirect cause of your master's demise if you decide to take such a path."

The girl raised a hand as though to protest. Stahoes shook his head, and continued. "The apprentice fell to those whose ambitions were greater than yours. This applies to more than Sith secrets so keep in mind this simple truth. Regardless of your path to power, never take on more than you can handle at the time, my student. Ambition is good, but even we of the Dark Side must show some measure of temperance. Think on the things I have told you, and in a few hours we will discuss your observations further. In the mean time, continue your meditations down here."

Without looking back, Bentre unfolded his legs to stand upon stiff legs. He had a lot to do yet and only so much sunlight in which to do it. Things were coming to a head in the Brotherhood. The Clan had to prepare for the storm that was to come. If not, there might not be anybody left who cared to plunder the gathered secrets, and perhaps Bentre too would fade into obscurity like many a Sith of old.

Bentre shifted his stance, being careful not to lose his careful hold as he did so. With a foot, he pulled t he elevated child seat toward himself. In his hands, he balanced two plate with portion of fresh vegetables arrayed on each.

"Come over here with her, Tash'. I will have to grab Lyna's food from the kitchen, but we are almost ready to eat."

There was a simple pleasure in this simple domestic task. Stahoes had been so busy over the last few months, that he felt he was more familiar with the faceplate of his datapad than he was with his wife's face. As he watched Tasha'Vel cuddling their daughter, Bentre realized again how much he missed his wife. She was now going to serve with the Ragnosian Summit, so she would be closer to home. Maybe he would be able to visit with both the ladies of his life more often now. He somehow doubted it. Sepros may not be that far away from Tarthos but it seemed like fate conspired to keep the couple apart.

Upon returning with the plate, the Battlelord let out a short sigh. This drew the attention of his Twi'leki spouse. There was a concern in the woman's eyes. Her face silently asked if there was something wrong. Bentre shook his head, as though dispelling a wayward thought. He couldn't ignore the possibility forever, though.

"Tasha'Vel, at what point?"

His wife looked up, genuine confusion drawing her lips together briefly. "What do you mean?"

"At what point do we tell the Clan to go to hell for once?"

The Versea Matriarch paused for several seconds, carefully considering her husband's expression. "Why would we tell Sang to go to hell, exactly? What are you saying, Bentre?"

"I am saying I am getting tired." Before he realized what he was doing, Stahoes was up on his feet, his hands balled up in arger. "Because," his voice rose, "I am barely able to see either my wife or my daughter without planning around some ten other tasks. Because every time that we are looking at a chance to get away, every time that we consider taking a break, every time that things seem to be getting **too** nice, something has always come up." Tasha'Vel dropped her eyes to the table's surface, deep in thought and Bentre continued. "Tasha, I want to be able to raise our daughter **together** and as it is I barely see you between the estate on Ryloth and your work with Marka Ragnos."

Lyna'Vel began to fuss, prompting her mother to pick her up and rock her gently. Stahoes glared from his daughter to his wife, his frustration coiling his anger up in his gut. He felt like a compressed string, ready to fly off at any moment. After a few minutes, their daughter had calmed. The Versea Matriarch held the child as she studied her husband's expression.

"So Bentre, what would you like us to do? We can't exactly run away. Besides, from what you said it sounds like Sanguinius needs you here."

"He doesn't need me. He has things under better control right now than I could have expected all things considered." The man could hear the bitterness in his voice, but he shrugged away any guilt he felt for it. He liked the Consul, immensely considering just how different the two of them were. "Besides, I wasn't meaning that, exactly. It's just all so-" he let the word trail off as he watched his daughter throw a piece of soft fruit across the table in front of her child seat.

"stressful?" Tasha'Vel finished his sentence, her tone hopeful. "You knew what you were getting into when you accepted the appointment, didn't you love?"

Bentre shook his head even as he let a smile slip. "Guilty as charged, I guess." He nodded twice, recalling the work duties that remained for the rest of the week. "Well, I will tell you what. We will plan a vacation to Naboo in a couple weeks. We will take the Iron Wolf II, pack a couple of days of food and just have a nice camping trip or something."

"That would give us a chance to get away from the Clan for a little bit." Tasha'Vel agreed. Let's make it a date." Smiling in earnest, Tasha'Vel picked her daughter up, brushing some of the now-squished fruit from the front of the young Twi'lek's bib. "Then Mommy, Daddy and Lyna can all have a nice time, huh?" She spoke in a slightly higher tone as she spoke to her daughter, shooting a knowing smile at the now-slightly-relaxed Bentre.

Stahoes' smile faded as he reflected on the events of the last few years since he had joined the Brotherhood. The likes of the vermin on Nar Shadda seemed so distant a memory. They were but a relic of another life. The living that Bentre and Tasha'Vel carved out together had been as rough-hewn as the rivalry had been in the beginning, when her husband had planted a vibroknife into one of her lekku in an attempt to debilitate her. Even since then, the two of the- three with Lyna'Vel- had made even more of a life for themselves in spite of the danger of the Brotherhood in it's current state.

It was going to be hard. It always had been. They would make it through things together. If things got to be too stressful, the two of them would serve as an anchor to each other. They had began their relationship as little more than rivals in training, and had moved to friendly rivals, and eventually to spouses. It was a thing to behold.

Bentre withdrew from the dining room with a slight grimace, returning after about five seconds with a brown-green bottle of liquid. Twisting the bottle's top with his left hand, the man threw the plastic stopper away. Bringing the container to his lips, Bentre began to quickly drain the bottle. Once emptied, the Sadowan Proconsul placed the now-empty bottle upon the dining room table.

"You have a deal, Tash'. We will get a three day holiday, recharge our batteries. After that, we can evaluate if we need to do anything different. Besides, between the Clan Summit and your work with your team, we might find ourselves a lot busier than we expect. We might not a lot of time to dwell on what could be. " Offering a smile he didn't feel, Bentre tried to put away his thoughts and feeling of unease. Sometimes, it was really just better to try and pretend.

Why did I ever agree to this? Tusken Raiders are about as pleasant as Ewoks, but at least with Ewoks you can fit them into your nearest overhead luggage compartment on a standard shuttle.

I stifled a chuckle as I peered through my macrobinoculars. I was growing painfully stiff by this point, but I struggled to remain as still as possible. I know that I could have trusted that the holoshroud would have kept me cloaked if I moved, but that felt lazy. It was easy to slip up when you didn't practice discipline. I wish that I could instill that truth in the likes of my apprentice and some of my Clan fellows, but I guess it didn't really matter that much in the end.

I could feel my throat drying again, but I had to resist the urge to reach for my canteen again. I had to wait until the sun went down before I could scrounge up some vegetation for moisture. It wasn't the most efficient way of getting water, but I found that the constant thirst kept my mind focused on the task at hand. I just had to keep lying to myself. Laying prone on the ground didn't make it any easier.

Just a little longer.

I could see movement from the Tusken camp. It looked like they were assembling a hunting party. I tried to scour my brain for what they could be hunting on Tatooine. Nothing came to mind though. I turned my head a bit, trying to focus on the large bantha that bore one of the Tusken Raiders. There was a solemnity as they gathered. There was a purpose. The Raider on the large Bantha seemed to be rallying or leading his fellows. Well, at least I think it was a he.

As I considered the scene, a feeling of unease settled in my stomach. There was one possibility that I really did not want to consider. I was too far from the *Iron Wolf II* to make a free run back to the freighter. Was it possible that I had been detected? I dared to turn my head to look off to my left. The sand stretched out in that direction, offering little in the way of cover. There was little in the other direction to consider either.

More potential complications arose in my head as I considered my limited resources. My intent had been to go undiscovered to report back. It was looking less possible, which left two options. I could either run, or I could start shooting. I dropped one hand from my macrobinoculars and fingered my security pistol on my belt. I could take out five, maybe ten if I took my time. That assumed I wouldn't get noticed. I slowly pulled the weapon from my belt. Fingers slipped from the weapon as the muzzle snagged on my belt.

I was an idiot. I could have gone slower. As the weapon hit the ground, the blaster discharged. A bolt flew over the heads of the Tuskens. They began looking about from the source of the disturbance. I could feel their eyes rolling over me as they searched. I knew they didn't necessarily notice me yet. That could change very quickly though.

I would have to make a break for it. If I turned back enough to fire a couple of times I might scare them a bit. Or I might piss them off. I wasn't sure and concentrating was getting harder. Force help me, I really should have brought a lightsaber with me or something. This was going to be sticky.