Cementing Power
"By order of the Dark Council, you are now Darth Nox, head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge and Secrets." Darth Marr's voice echoed clearly throughout the Dark Council chamber, even as Sharilia relaxed into her new chair. While the other lords appeared content to continue on with business, Darth Ravage kept glancing in her direction. Of all the other Lords on the Dark Council, Ravage was the only one voicing an objection to her appointment as Thanaton's replacement. Whether that had been because she was – had been, she corrected herself – a "Lord" instead of a "Darth" or for some other reason, was debatable. Not that it mattered; she had quickly been given her rightful title as Darth upon her ascent to the Dark Council regardless of Ravage's objections. The Zabrak woman could already tell he was going to be a constant pain in her side.
The Council's discussion was interrupted by another Sith striding into the room. "It appears you'll have your first official Dark Council meeting after all," Darth Marr addressed Sharilia, before turning his attention to the man, "What is it you want this time, Baras?"
"You would do well to address the Voice of the Emperor with the proper respect, Marr," Baras replied. Sweeping his gaze around the room, he locked gazes with her, clearly not expecting to see her occupying the Council seat. Whether that concerned the other Sith Lord was impossible to tell through the helmet he wore. Pacing the length of the room, he continued, "The Emperor has spoken to me; ordained me as his Voice within the Empire." As new as Sharilia was to the politics of the Sith, even she could tell there was something wrong with this claim. With no one to contradict him, Sharilia supposed they didn't have much choice but to believe him.
"And you expect us to," three figures barged into the Dark Council chambers, cutting off Marr in mid-sentence. One was a human female, the other was a male Pureblood and, leading them, was a female Pureblood. Even from her seat, Sharilia could feel the power radiating off the female Pureblood.
"I am Lord Varilia, the Emperor's Wrath, and Baras is not the Voice!" the female Pureblood challenged. Sharilia couldn't help the smirk which spread across her face. Things were finally getting interesting.
"Listen to the truth, my fellow lords," the male Pureblood spoke up, moving to one of the Council seats. "Do not be victims of a deceitful power grab."
"Vowrawn, for whatever reason, you continue to hide behind your delusions and refuse the truth," Baras countered. Was Sharilia imagining things, or was that worry creeping into his voice? It was always hard to tell through voice synthesizers. "I call upon the Dark Council to aid me in dealing with this pretender to our Emperor's Wrath."
"Do not hide behind others, coward!" Varilia growled, drawing her twin lightsabers and igniting them.
"Enough with this pointless bickering! Let's swat this gnat and move on," Ravage chimed in.
"No." Marr's voice cut through the chatter like a lightsaber through durasteel. "One claims to be the Voice, the other to be the Wrath, both claim to speak for the Emperor. Fight, and whoever wins, speaks the truth."
"Fine, I shall deal with this myself." Baras drew his lightsaber. "The Emperor calls for your death, child." Varilia didn't bother with a response, merely reversing the grip on her lightsabers, crossing them behind her back and lowering into a crouch. Sharilia leaned back in her seat, resting her chin on a fist, intending to enjoy what was about to happen.
Varilia attacked first, leaping at her opponent and bringing her lightsabers to bear. The female Sith spun and twisted, attacking with a fierceness that Sharilia had come to expect from Sith Warriors. For his part, Baras kept up with the attacks, defending himself. Baras was smart, though, Sharilia could sense his power building in the background, ready to be unleashed at the right moment; whereas Varilia continuously poured her power into each attack, hoping to overwhelm Baras. Of course, if it didn't work, even Sharilia knew that Varilia would burn out long before Baras did unless … what was that?
One of Varilia's lightsabers grazed Baras' leg; the other nicked his arm, and Varilia's power spiked. Was the female Pureblood feeding off the pain of her opponent? Well now, that changed things, didn't it? Varilia spun to deflect an attack, and in the same motion swiped the other blade across Baras' face. Bellowing in rage, Baras removed the now ruined helmet, revealing a face withered and worn by wrinkles. Backing up several steps, the enraged Sith unleashed a torrent of lightning from his free hand. Varilia crossed her lightsabers in front of her, easily blocking the attack.
"Have you had enough, child?" Baras taunted, and even Sharilia could hear the desperation in his voice. "Why do you continue to struggle? Give up and embrace your death!"
"I'm not the one dying today, Baras," Varilia growled. With a flick of her wrists, the female Sith redirected Baras' own lightning back at him.
Not willing to let her opponent catch his breath, Varilia charged him, attacking with all the rage and power within her. Baras barely defended himself from the onslaught; it was clear that the elder Sith was going to lose. Varilia's lightsabers continued to nick and slash at Baras' body, and each time, Baras screamed in rage. Sharilia could sense Baras' power fading even as Varilia's power increased. It was clear to Sharilia that the female Pureblood was drawing out her opponent's pain and suffering for as long as she could. Finally, Varilia cut Baras' lightsaber in half, causing the old man to stumble away from her.
"Dark Council!" Baras raged, "In the name of the Emperor, end this fool!" When none answered him, he stormed over to Sharilia, "YOU! Defend the Voice of the Emperor and strike!" Perhaps he wanted to use her newness to the Council in his favor. Not that Sharilia was fool enough to do as he said.
Sharilia gazed past the desperate man and locked eyes with Varilia. There was a darkness within those crimson orbs that few people possessed, and Sharilia swore she could see the Dark Side visibly swirl around the Pureblood woman. Certainly there was no doubt as to the power that Varilia wielded, and perhaps the Sith woman truly was touched by the Sith Emperor. Sharilia leaned further back in her chair, smirking as she replied "Is it the Emperor's wish, or your own? It's so hard to tell right now."
"You fools think you can silence the true Voice of the Emperor!" Baras continued to rage, even as Varilia stalked up behind him. "I cannot die, and vengeance will be mine!"
Varilia lifted the older Sith into the air by his neck. "I will enjoy every second of your death," Varilia hissed, her words echoing around the chamber. The Pureblood Sith plunged her lightsaber into Baras' stomach, slowly drawing the blade up his chest. The elder Sith howled in pain even as threats continued to spill from his mouth. Eventually Baras fell still, Varilia threw the corpse off to the side. Sheathing her lightsabers, she strode back to the middle of the room.
"Splendid!" Vowrawn exclaimed. "I believe Lord Varilia has proven that she is indeed the Emperor's Wrath. Wouldn't you say so, my fellow lords?"
"You are acknowledged, Lord Wrath." Darth Marr answered. "Your actions will not be challenged so long as they do not contradict our own, and you are answerable only to the Sith Emperor himself." Marr rose to his feet, the other Dark Council members following suit. "With this, our business is done here. You will all be summoned the next time the Dark Council congregates."
The other members of the Dark Council filed out of the chambers, though Sharilia remained behind. Walking over to the female Pureblood, Sharilia stated, "That was certainly impressive, Lord Varilia."
The other woman didn't even bother to look at Sharilia as she answered, "If you're trying to garner favor, don't bother. Any who stand in the Emperor's way will perish."
Sharilia chuckled lightly; there was something oddly refreshing about Varilia's bluntness. "Are you the Emperor's Wrath?" Sharilia inquired.
"You doubt my claim?" Varilia demanded, finally turning her gaze to the other woman. Those crimson eyes narrowed as the other woman stared down the Zabrak woman.
Sharilia could feel the female Pureblood draw on her power, the room feeling as if the gravity had been increased tenfold. Sharilia answered in kind, drawing on her own vast power, lightning crackling and arcing along her body. "It's just the two of us now, and as head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge and Secrets, surely you can tell me."
A long silence stretched as the two women continued to stare at each other, nether one willing to back down and appear weak. "Fine," Varilia grunted, crossing her arms across her chest. "It doesn't really matter what you believe. The truth remains that the Emperor chose me as his Wrath."
"We're a lot alike, you and I." Sharilia chuckled, "We're both new to our respective positions." Holding out her hand, the Zabrak Sith continued, "Here's to a long time of working together."
It was a long minute before Varilia clasped her hand, inclining her head slightly in agreement. "Very well, so long as your personal gains do not interfere with the Emperor's wishes."
Sharilia smirked in response, "I'd expect nothing less." Sharilia turned on her heel and left, exiting the Council chambers and making her way back to her ship. It was time to return to Dromund Kaas and take stock of her newly acquired power base.
This short one-shot has actually been at the back of my mind for a long time now. I always liked the idea that the story mode for each character could intersect, and this seemed like these two seemed like the best ones to use.
As always, I hope you enjoyed!