Tatooine: Acceptance.

"Oh," the girl sighed heavily, peeling her stone-like body from the cold floor.

She ran her hand over her face, pausing at her eyes to rub them thoroughly after the prolonged sleep. She seemed to have slept for a very long time. When her vision cleared somewhat, Sev'rance noticed a large black cloak draped over her. The item lovingly covered her female form, protecting her from the cold. The material was indeed very soft, so the deep hood, which had slipped off her long dark hair, served well as a versatile substitute for a pillow.

Her teacher had shown her a bit of care, but did she need it? More likely yes than no. Memories of yesterday wouldn't disappear, but it was also important not to forget the act of kindness. Sith always walked on the edge of madness. Emotions gave not only great power but also a curse that could drive one insane.

The sanity of a user of the Dark Side of the Force was incredibly fragile, which eventually resulted in a suicidal attack on her teacher. Without a harsh approach, she probably wouldn't have been able to come to her senses. Her fingers touched her forearm where the bone had protruded earlier, dripping thick blood. Whatever Hassan had done, his method had proven incredibly effective.

She considered healing to be the domain of the Jedi, but apparently, even here, the teacher had achieved significant success. In other words, he had touched not only the Dark Side of the Force but also the Light. It was unlikely he could find a bacta chamber in the Tatooine desert. To rehabilitate and recover from such injuries, she would need a lot of strength and time. However, she had no trouble moving her limbs now.

The familiar sense of the invisible returned to her. She felt the connection with the Force, a connection that had plunged Sev'rance into despair when it was severed. The Force was not only a source of power for her but also a sign of being chosen; a sign that she was already better than the others. Tann closed her eyes. The Force responded to her call, so she was now certain that she was completely healed physically... Of course, this had nothing to do with her mental state.

She didn't want to meet him. Her heart pounded wildly at the mere thought of approaching him. Her body, which had not yet forgotten all that pain, began to tremble. There was no other way. If she hid in the farthest corner now, she would only anger her teacher even more. As long as there was even a slim chance of forgiveness, Sev'rance would grit her teeth to the point of tension and face her fear.

They say fear turns into hatred, but there was no hatred here. There was only fear, deeply rooted in the mind of the apprentice, who was now unlikely to raise a hand against her teacher anytime soon. Dooku was both feared and respected by Tann, as he was the one who had taught her everything she knew. Fear, the thirst for power, and the respect that gradually atrophied into something unnatural, pushing the apprentice to kill the mentor – all of this was an integral part of any Sith.

With a lethargic gait, the girl left the hut. The sun instantly blinded her eyes, tired from a long sleep, causing her to shield them from the scorching rays of the celestial luminary with her hand. Focusing her gaze, she surveyed the surroundings in search of her teacher, who was nowhere to be seen. Unable to think of anything better, Tann headed towards the gravicyle behind a row of dilapidated houses, where she eventually found him.

He was dressed in a bluish mercenary suit and somehow managed to recline on the gravicyle, one leg thrown over the other. Hassan, or Raphael, turned his head toward the guest and promptly assumed a sitting position, leaning his elbows on his knees. Instead of the intimidating shattered mirror mask, he now looked at her with a helmet featuring red lenses. In some way, she was glad to have found her teacher in this particular appearance.

Sev'rance, biting her lip, fell to her knees before him, shyly bowing her head. She needed to beg for forgiveness; otherwise, she would never achieve the desired power. If she needed to humiliate herself or endure even more pain now, she would do it submissively. And she was certain that she would now experience the Dark Side of the Force on herself. Siths were bloodthirsty by nature. Even Dooku, who looked like a composed old man, didn't spare energy for Force Lightning.

"Forgive me, Master... I couldn't overcome the Dark Side," Sev'rance murmured.

Tann didn't dare to raise her head until she received a direct order, so she helplessly stared at the clean golden sand, sitting on her knees. The shadow of the mentor began to gradually grow, indicating that he had gotten off the gravicyle and was approaching her. What would he do? Hit her? Grab her by the throat? Or brand her with fire? The left side of her face began to twitch, recalling the excruciating sensations of the real branding.

"Hey there," Raphael sat down in front of her and gently touched the female cheek, suffering from phantom pain. "It's alright," he pressed his palm firmly against her face, which began to calm the suffering nerves. "Let's just forget about this misunderstanding, alright? Just don't do this again. And if you want to fight, let me know in advance, okay? Training sparring has never been canceled."

The velvety voice calmed the frightened girl. He lifted her face and looked at the relaxed expression on Sev'rann's face. She couldn't believe that Hassan had forgiven her so easily, but she didn't want to reject those words. On the contrary, she wanted to believe in them. A huge weight seemed to have lifted off her feminine shoulders. Her muscles relaxed, and she sat on the ground with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Master," the apprentice said humbly.

"Oh, come on," he waved his hand, "let's move on. You'd better eat," a flash of light on his palm revealed a wrapped package. "Here."

Sev'rance didn't even think about it. She quickly took the package and unwrapped it, trying to be obedient, at least for now. Inside was a sandwich made of flat meat with some vegetables. There was no time to doubt or examine it, so the first bite came quickly... This sandwich turned out to be very delicious! She especially liked the slightly tangy sauce.

A warm feeling appeared in her stomach. It seemed she was indeed hungry, but due to stress and worry, she had completely forgotten about it. Did Hassan really care about her? If he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have brought her a soft and warm cloak. He didn't even forget about breakfast for his pupil. Dooku would never stoop to that...

On the other hand, Tann understood that this was a display of weakness. To win, you needed to exploit others' weaknesses, but such tricks probably wouldn't work on him. Raphael was extremely strong, which was probably why he could afford to show his vulnerable side. Sev'rance wasn't his equal yet. 

This situation frustrated her, but at the moment, there was nothing she could do about it. This was the reality where the strong did as they pleased with the weak. This time, she was lucky that Hassan decided to show mercy rather than demonstrate his power again. Someday, she would approach his level of power, and then he would have to reckon with her. No, the entire universe would tremble before her. Until then, she couldn't allow her emotions to control her. Otherwise, she wouldn't live to see her rise to power.

"It's delicious," Sev'rance said, smiling slightly after finishing her meal. "Did you eat, Master?" The question slipped out spontaneously.

"I did, don't worry," his soft voice, which had once infuriated her, now seemed like heavenly manna. "Please read what's written on the datapad again," he said, holding the mentioned item in his hand.

Whatever this Force technique was called, it seemed very useful to her. Of course, she probably couldn't kill anyone with it, but it could be a tactical advantage in real combat. An opponent would never suspect what was hidden up your sleeve. Only a fool would reject a tactical advantage that could be gained through this ability.

Sev'rance obediently took the datapad, unlocked it with a swipe of her finger, and found the relevant file for the assignment.

"We need to collect a debt from Ol'g Orka, the owner of a refueling station. His location is in Bestine. According to the data on the datapad, he owes three thousand credits to Jabba, and this debt keeps growing with each passing month."

"Why did Jabba decide to assign this task to us?" Hassan asked aloud. "Doesn't he have enforcers or collectors for this kind of job?"

"I find it strange as well," Tann agreed with her teacher. "The first thing that comes to mind is that he has means to protect himself from Hutt's retaliation. Think about it; Jabba can't send HIS people, so he's giving this job to unknown mercenaries."

"Yes, but then why did Jabba ask for the debt to be personally delivered?"

"Perhaps because of his reputation... A persistent debtor personally crawling on his knees to pay off the debt..." She said thoughtfully.

"This smells fishy, but we don't have a choice. We'll have to visit Ol'g."

"What are your instructions, Master?" She knew she couldn't afford to anger Hassan anytime soon.

"Pose as a mercenary, no hint of using the Force. Just blasters."

"Understood," Sev'rance nodded.

"For the rest, we'll play it by ear."

"Master, if you wish, I can handle this matter myself," she tried to offer her assistance.

"No, we'll go together, my dear apprentice," Raphael casually patted her shoulder, leaving her deeply puzzled. "Get used to the fact that I'm a special Sith."

"I... I understand."

Perhaps Hassan was right when he said yesterday that she was incredibly lucky to meet him. Regardless, her new teacher had enough power to put Dooku in his place, so now he just had to build his strength further. Perhaps that's why he came to Jabba.

Their first joint operation was about to begin!

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