Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlaying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of warships, the Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the planet of Naboo.

While the Senate of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, Supreme Chancellor Valorum secretly plans to dispatch two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.

Unknown to the Jedi they are about to receive help from a very unexpected ally. Frozen in carbonite for almost four millennia, the recently awoken Sith Lord, Darth Avarice must find her place in this new galaxy...

The research vessel Discovery descended into Coruscant's atmosphere returning from a very successful archaeological mission in the Unknown regions. The crew, who all worked for the University of Coruscant and lead by the Professor of Archaeology, Lara Palatine, now had proof that the Empire of Zakuual had indeed existed. Not only in the form artefacts but also living proof in the form of an Old Republic Jedi, or so the crew believed her to be.

The red-haired woman who sat looking out at Coruscant's skyline as the ship came into land, went by the name of Nathrrya Therin. While certainly a Force user, as evidenced by the lightsaber she had clipped to her utility belt, she was no Jedi. She had been trained as a Sith and once went by the title of Darth Avarice. The trouble was that now being Sith didn't mean much, other than the way she'd been trained the in Force. The galaxy Nathrrya had known had ceased to be. If she were honest with herself, she felt very lost and alone after so much time had passed.

Even Coruscant, jewel of the Core Worlds, bore no resemblance to the world she had once visited. She had arrived, disguised as a Jedi to surprise her cousin for his birthday. Smiling faintly at the memory, she had certainly succeeded in surprising her cousin, Casavir. Even Kira, his girlfriend and former Padawan had done a double take on seeing her dressed in heavy Jedi armour. It made her wonder what had become of her cousin's apartment here on Coruscant. Could she even find it or the area where it was once located? It would prove an interesting diversion when she had the time.

"Credit for your thoughts?" Lara asked, slightly concerned, bringing Nathrrya out of her reverie.

Nathrrya chuckled as she turned to face the woman sitting next to her, "I don't think they're worth that much."

"You'd be surprised, Nathrrya," the Professor of Archaeology replied, "After all you're a piece of living Republic history."

The Sith looked bemused. Perhaps but not in the way you think.

"What will you do now?" Lara asked as they felt the ship settle on the landing pad.

Nathrrya frowned, what would she do now? That was a very good question and in truth she didn't have much of an answer. There was no Sith Empire and no war. That's not to say she didn't have some direction, she just didn't know where the path would lead.

Both women stood and Nathrrya took one last look out the window. "I'll go to the Jedi Temple. So much time has passed that it is likely to be the only place that will be vaguely familiar to me," the Sith replied at last. The archaeologists believed her to be a Jedi so it wasn't too hard an act to pull off, and it certainly wasn't the first time she'd masqueraded as a Jedi.

Nathrrya looked up at the Jedi Temple, impressed by its grandeur, which she suspected was the point. The building made a statement; it was a beacon of light on the city planet of Coruscant. Or at least it was meant to be, as she could feel the darkness that was settling over the durasteel and duracrete world. This made the red-haired woman frown. She might be a Sith — a very time displaced Sith, Nathrrya reminded herself — but even to her, the darkness felt unnatural somehow.

The woman should have been dead. How she managed to survive three and a half thousand years encased in that carbonite prison without any form of life support was unfounded and unheard of. By all rights, she should be dead. But she wasn't. She had a theory as to how this all happened but the one entity she had yet to come in contact with since her emergence hadn't shown. When he does, her theory would be confirmed.

The archaeological team that unearthed her carbonite block were rather surprised to find the thing still working, and more shocked to find the life form inside still alive. They thought she was a Jedi and Nathrrya didn't bother to correct them. After she had recovered from a bout of hibernation sickness, Lara Palatine the head archaeologist had offered to take her to Coruscant. Palatine... now there was a name Nathrrya hadn't heard in a long time. It was also proof that much in the galaxy had changed. Lara was force blind which had shocked the Sith for the name Palatine had once belonged a very old and strong Sith bloodline.

During her three and a half thousand year slumber, Nathrrya felt that she had become more in tune with the Force. It had become a part of her and she could commune with it easier than when she had her old life during the time of the Cold War. There was no feeling of uncertainty when, in so many ways, the Force told her she needed to get to and speak with the Jedi High Council. What she was shown made her blood run cold. While she was a Sith and had her fair share of unpleasantries bestowed upon her as well as by her, she was still human. What she saw caused her stomach to churn and she had to, somehow, stop the vision from coming to pass.

The Force seemed almost amused that it was using a Sith from a time long past to stop the fall of the Republic and destruction of the Jedi.

Nathrrya didn't mind. She may have been a Sith, but she was also a servant of the Force. Most, if not all Sith would say that they were Masters of the Force, making the Force do their will, certainly not the other way around. And it was true, to some extent, as that was how the Sith gained their abilities. But this had never sat right with Nathrrya. Could she say it was her will alone that had led her to walk the path she had? Why, so long ago on Korriban, had she simply taken Overseer Tremel's hand and allowed the man to live, when she'd been ordered by Darth Baras, to kill him and take his hand as proof?

The answer was, simply, she couldn't. Nathrrya had suspected that the Force had guided her actions that day, and on many days since. That was why she considered herself a servant of the Force. And now, it was telling her to save the Jedi and the Republic, so whatever her personal feelings on the matter, that's what she'd do. As she gazed up at the Jedi Temple, she had to try and figure out a way to not only gain admittance but an audience with the Jedi High Council – both easier said than done.

While Nathrrya was pondering her options, she heard voices and she turned to see what she understood to be a Master and Padawan ascending the steps of the Temple.

"Do you have any idea why the Council wishes to see us so urgently, Master?" the younger of the two men asked.

"Master Windu did not go into specifics, but it seems that the Chancellor is concerned about a developing situation in the Mid-Rim," the older, bearded man replied.

Nathrrya smiled. Here was her way inside and the prodding she was getting from the Force all but confirmed it.

"Master Jedi, may I speak to you a moment?" Both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi heard an unusually accented female voice from behind them. Both men turned to face the source of the voice and couldn't help but stare.

Qui-Gon eyebrows rose at the woman's choice of clothing: a leather jacket with a tied bandana top with matching leather pants, boots and gloves with a utility belt that had many pouches, even a blaster holster, but the one thing that Jinn couldn't fail to notice was the lightsaber hilt.

For his part Obi-Wan Kenobi was trying not to stare at the red-haired, blue-eyed woman. Her choice in clothing certainly wasn't helping matters, he had thought that Siri Tachi was attractive but this woman was on another level entirely. The Padawan then mentally smacked himself for his thoughts. That's when he noticed the lightsaber hilt hanging from the woman's utility belt as well.

Obi-Wan looked up at his master but found Qui-Gon looking thoughtfully at the woman, stroking his beard as he did so. Obi-Wan returned his gaze to the woman and noticed she was smiling, as if amused by something, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. It was slightly unnerving to the Padawan.

Qui-Gon gently probed the mysterious woman's metal shields and found them to be quite strong, though they did seem to give a little, an indication that she was fully aware of what he was doing. If the smile on her face and the twinkle in her eye was anything to go by then it was clear that she was not upset by the Jedi master's gentle probe – almost as if she had expected such a thing to happen.

Nathrrya folded her arms over her chest and though her eyes were annoyed she had obvious amusement in her tone. "Are you quite done, Master Jedi?"

Obi-Wan felt his eyes grow slightly and he had the sudden urge to tug at his tunic's collar, as it felt suddenly too tight. What happened next shocked both Jedi.

Nathrrya chuckled. "Like what you see, young Padawan? I seem to recall that your Order had some outdated rule about attachments and such."

"What… how?" stammered Obi-Wan.

"I'd like to know how you did that as well," Qui-Gon said. "It's clear you're Force-sensitive, and have had training, as you carry a lightsaber. Yet something tells me you're not a Jedi."

"Telepathy isn't hard," she stated, waving one hand before resting it back on her other arm. "It merely requires a lot of practice. I find that training bonds make it easier, especially between master and apprentice. It's much like talking – once you learn it you can do it without difficulty." She smiled then, her eyes softening into a friendly look towards the men. "And you're right, I'm not a Jedi, but I serve the Force nonetheless, or at least I try to. I'd rather tell my story only once and to your High Council, which I believe is where you were going before I interrupted you."

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "You wish to speak to the Jedi Council?" He was unsure of what to make of the woman's request, but he sensed no deception from her though she was clearly hiding something. Her words intrigued him the most; she had said "your Order" and called herself a "servant of the Force".

It crossed his mind that this woman could have been an ex-Jedi – one of the many Jedi Masters who had voluntarily left the Order for whatever reason – or she could be a non-Jedi Force user, possibly a member of a small, obscure Force-using order from a distant part of the galaxy. There were plenty of rumours in that regard.

Nathrrya grinned and spoke with mirth. "I think telling them that a three and a half thousand year old Force-user wishes to speak to them should get their attention, don't you, Master Jedi?"

Obi-Wan's mouth fell open and he spoke before his mind had time to stop it. "Three... you don't look a day over thirty!" His mind did a mental facepalm considering it was somewhat rude to comment on a woman's age.

"Why thank you, Padawan," she replied. "You know just how to make a girl feel special." She gave the young Jedi a seductive smile and winked at him. For a woman in her early forties to be told she didn't look over thirty was very flattering. All Obi-Wan could do was blush in response.

Even Siri isn't this... bold, he thought warily.

Qui-Gon massaged his temples then, feeling only mildly perturbed by the woman's taunting towards the young man at his side. "Must you do that to my Padawan?" he asked.

Nathrrya nodded her head. "Of course! It's just the way I am and your Padawan is turning into such a fun tease. The fact you Jedi have that outdated no-attachment rule makes it more entertaining, to be honest."

"It is not outdated," Qui-Gon replied with a glare, "It's a key rule in our teachings." There had been many arguments like this over the years that he had with others. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to have another one.

The woman smirked. "Yes it's outdated. I never understood the reasoning behind it, and neither did my cousin or his Padawan! So there!" She poked her tongue out for good measure.

It felt good to act silly. Sure, it was childish behaviour, but when you've been asleep for three and a half thousand years and wake up in a completely different time with nothing left but your own self for companionship, she didn't give a womp rat's ass. Besides, seeing the shocked expressions on the two Jedi made it much more worth it.

She took a breath and regained her composure, becoming more serious. "Look, I wouldn't worry since they're both long dead. I doubt they were frozen in carbonite the way I was. Lucky me." The melancholy and sadness that was coming off the woman was almost overwhelming to the two Jedi.

She looked at the Padawan, her blue eyes piercing in her gaze, but soft at the same time. "Let me ask you this, Padawan: Have you ever been in love? Like, truly in love and not just some simple infatuation?"

Qui-Gon glanced at his Padawan, who looked decidedly uncomfortable under the woman's attention. Neither man knew how to answer. Obi-Wan had thoughts of Siri fly through his mind. He only stammered in response but nothing tangible came out.

The woman nodded. "Precisely my point," she said, "You're still at the beginning of your life… and if you're fortunate you'll find love at least once. However, the Jedi with their damnable sense of over-caution, would tell you love is something to avoid, to shun. Thankfully, anyone who's remotely alive knows that's not true."

Qui-Gon looked incredulously at the woman and crossed his own arms. "Love advice? You're giving the Jedi Order love advice?"

"And why not?" she replied. She moved her hands to her hips. "You Jedi surely need it. All this nonsense about avoiding love is so much bantha fodder... I shouldn't be the only one to realise it."

"Aren't you worried about the Dark Side at all?" Obi-Wan asked with curiosity and concern.

Nathrrya shook her head. "Not particularly. Is it something to be aware of? Yes, certainly. However, love doesn't lead to the Dark Side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled... but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love... that's what they should teach you. But love itself will save you... not condemn you." Her eyes became unfocused, seeing something only she could. "Love saved me, stopped me from making a truly terrible mistake."