The Sith Code

“This,” said Overseer Harkun as he motioned to the room he and the acolytes were in, is one of the many meditation rooms located on the academy grounds. “is the acolyte meditation room. This is where you all will be able to meditate on the Force and delve deep into the power of the dark side of the Force,” explained the Overseer as he paced around his students, whom he would take great joy in training. “Tell me, who of you know where the Sith came from?” he asked the group.

“Oh, that’s easy, Overseer!” exclaimed Rassa. “The Sith people are from here, Korriban. The Sith ideology came from when a group of ex-Jedi fled Republic space after a war with the Jedi. They found the ancient Sith, and realized they were strong in the Dark Side of the Force. Realizing the natives had a strong connection to the Force as well as the beginnings of Sith alchemy, the Jedi interbred with them and made the Sith Order to counter the Jedi Order. In fact, our Sith Code is the antithesis of the Jedi Code,” said the young woman, a smile beamed from her face.

“Very good. Quite thorough and correct. Now, you mentioned the Sith Code. Does someone other than Rassa know the Code?” asked Overseer Harkun.

“Peace is a lie. There is only Passion,” started Tamil.

“Through Passion I gain Strength!” roared Rusel.

“Through Strength I gain Power,” said another acolyte in the back.

“Through Power I gain Victory,” said another cute female human acolyte.

“Through Victory my chains are Broken,” said Wes.

“The Force shall free me!” the class said in unison.

“Excellent. But do any of you know what it means?” asked the Overseer. Everyone looked around, none sure about the answer.

“Pathetic,” Harkun said as he let out a quick zap of force lightning to shock his acolytes. The group let out a yelp of pain. The shock was rather mild and not overly debilitating. “That was a weak application of force lightning. From now on, when any of your perform less than satisfactory I shall punish you. So, now I must explain the very basics of the Code to you lot. For shame, your parents should have already told you this.”

“I’m sorry to have failed you master,” Rusel apologized in a clear attempt to suck up to Overseer Harkun. This was met with more force lightning.

“I will not tolerate such feeble attempts to gain my favors. You want to become my favorite? Then prove it by showing yourself a true Sith!” bellowed Overseer Harkun, to which the acolytes silently just nodded.

“Now, let us begin,” started Harkun as he prepared himself to explain the Sith Code in more detail. “PEACE IS A LIE. THERE IS ONLY PASSION. The Jedi would have you believe that peace is a desirable goal, that peace of the spirit is the way the Force is mastered, that a lack of conflict betters man. We know different. It is our passion, our hate, and our desire that fuels the Force. It is conflict
that improves the lot of civilization and the single being both. Conflict forces one to better oneself. It forces change, growth, adaptation, evolution, or death. These are not our laws, but the universe's. Without conflict, you have only stagnation. Do you understand that?” asked Harkun. The group once again silently nodded their understanding to their master.

“Good. Onto the next line. THROUGH PASSION, I GAIN STRENGTH. What fuels your power with the Force but your passion? The stronger, darker emotions: anger, hatred, fear. These passions empower us. What about love? Love is more dangerous than all of those things. Love leads to anger and hatred more often than not, but it also leads to mercy, which is far worse. That, however, is a lesson for
another time. What keeps the most rudimentary creature alive? Fear to run, anger to fight... without it, a creature would most surely die. We are far more than them, perhaps, but in some ways we are little different. To think us creatures beyond the need of simple passions is a delusion. The Jedi say the opposite. How can both be right? The Force gives us all power, even the Jedi. It is our mastery of our passion that gives us the strength they lack. It is our goal to be stronger, to achieve our potential and not rest on our laurels. We are the seekers not the shepherds. Explain this to me Rissa!” ordered Overseer Harkun.

“Yes, my lord. What you are saying is that it is our base emotions that we gain our strength from. This is a fact that the Jedi refuse to acknowledge. They would have Force users cut themselves off from their emotions and thus weaken themselves. As for love, love can make you slaughter a whole group of people who dare harm someone you love but at the same time, your love for someone could prevent you from striking down a clear threat to the Empire and the Emperor,” replied the beautiful Sith girl.

“That is correct. Very good, Rissa. You see, Rusel, that is how you gain my favor,” chuckled Harkun, as he slowly picked his favorites from this group. “Now, onto the next line. THROUGH STRENGTH, I GAIN POWER. The stronger you become in the Force, the more power you will achieve. But always, you must fight for your power. Without strife, your victory has no meaning. Without strife, you do not advance. Without strife, there is only stagnation. Rusel, what does that mean?” asked the strict teacher.

“Yessir. It means that our strength, our power, means nothing if we aren’t fighting worthy opponents, we aren’t properly using our power,” muttered out Rusel, who was clearly not sure if his answer was correct or not.

“You are correct,” Overseer Harkun said in a monotone voice. Rusel let a small smile appear on his lips as he was relieved he was right. It was at this point that Harkun let loose a wave of force lightning to shock the young acolyte.

“ARGH! But why?” cried out Rusel as he struggled to stand.

“A true Sith is always confident. Do not hesitate. That is weakness and I will not tolerate it!” he informed the now weakened Rusel.

“Y-yes master. I shall remember you lesson,” he said as he slowly worked himself back to his feet as he had collapsed to his knees.

“Now, the next line. THROUGH POWER, I GAIN VICTORY. How many sorts of victories can you imagine? Peaceful victory, victory by sacrifice, a truce, an achievement? Unless the victory is achieved by demonstrating that your power is superior, it is only an illusion. Temporary at best. We seek more. Tamil, explain,” ordered Overseer Harkun.

“Of course, my lord. Victory is only truly achieved when your opponents have no will left to fight back. Anything else and your former opponents can regroup and eventually attack you because they think you lack the power to fully and completely destroy them. So we must make sure that our opponents are beaten in such a way they will never question our strength,” the Sith Pureblood finished, confidence poured from her words, a lesson she clearly learned from Rusel’s failure.

“Excellent. You see, Rusel? That is how you answer. With clear confidence. Perhaps you could learn from the girl,” Harkun said, in a mocking tone to the Pureblooded Sith, who struggled to hold back his anger. “So far, the girls here seem to be far better at understanding the nature of the Force than you boys. For shame,” Harkun said as he shook his head. “But let us continue. The next two lines will be combined for their explanation. THROUGH VICTORY, I GAIN FREEDOM. THROUGH FREEDOM, MY CHAINS ARE BROKEN. This has been argued over, and often. The chains represent our restrictions, both those placed upon us and those we place upon ourselves. Ultimately, the goal of any Sith is to free oneself from such restrictions. In a way, it is so we may do whatever we wish... but it is much more than that. One who has freed themselves from all restrictions has reached perfection. Their potential fulfilled. Perfect strength. Perfect power. Perfect destiny. Imagine it. That is our ideal at any rate. It is said in the Sith legends that the "Sith'ari," the perfect being will one day lead us. The legends say the "Sith'ari" will destroy us... and make us stronger than ever. Perfection is a goal, I think, rather than a state of being. The Jedi would argue that, no doubt. Who should I have explain this one?” Harkun pondered to himself as he walked around the group. “Hmm. Perhaps I’ll have you explain it, Wes,”

“Of course, Overseer. Society and ourselves place artificial chains on us that hold us down. It is only through our understanding of the Force and the power that comes with it, that we can free ourselves from this artificial restrictions. When these restrictions are lifted, our true potential can be achieved. With that potential achieved, we have become true Sith. However, I believe that if there is a Sith’ari, it would clearly be our Emperor, who has sat on his throne for 1,200 years and is leading us to victory in this war against the Republic and Jedi,” answered Wes.

“Hmm, very interesting. I agree, on all accounts. My follow up question was going to be if any of you thought there was a Sith’ari but you have answered that question as well. But yes, the common consensus is that the Emperor is a Sith’ari, who will lead us to salvation,” replied Overseer Harkun.

“But, if he is the Sith’ari, doesn’t he have to destroy us before he can make us stronger?” asked Rissa.

“Ah yes, that is part of the legend, isn’t it? Well legends are just that, legends. They may come to pass or they may be off. We will only know when the time comes. Now for the final line. THE FORCE SHALL FREE ME. The Force is our servant and our master, our teacher and our companion, a weapon and a tool. Know it and you know the universe. Master it and you master the universe. Strive for perfection and the Force shall reward you. That is quite simple and I’m sure you all understand it. Now, let us test your skills with the Force,” ordered Overseer Harkun as the acolytes lined up to be tested.