Chapter 61: War Council

I feel like a dog on a leash.

Avaryss followed in her master's wake as they approached her ship. She found herself surrounded not only by her master's family and advisors, but his bodyguards as well. Twelve fully trained Sith warriors from his holdings in the Zahn system. These men were a mix of marauders and assassins, their skill alone was enough to give her pause, not that she would act so foolishly. In fact, she had been slightly insulted when he informed her that his guards would be accompanying them.

Does he not trust me anymore? It is not like I would get him on board and…as soon as we were safely away…shove him out the nearest airlock.

The thought, though ridiculous, did make her smile.

On second thought, perhaps, Lord Feer is right not to board my ship alone. It would have presented her with an excellent opportunity.

Still…there would be another time, a better one.

Her time would come.

Since he had reestablished his dominance over her, Lord Feer had reclaimed pretty much everything that she had brought back with her, both her supplies and her people, he had even commandeered her interceptor, he saw the ship as a safer alternative to taking a shuttle up to The Terror, the dreadnaught had just arrived in the Dromund system.

So be it, she thought, still…it would have been better had she been consulted on this plan. Her crew was not the spit and polish imperials that her master was used to.

She would have preferred that he not get any ideas when it came to her peoples capabilities, those capabilities might prove invaluable on the day she finally staged her coup.

I have nothing to worry about; the others are smart enough to hide their special…talents. The only thing she was concerned about was Beric, given that he now knew what had happened to the rest of their family…

No, Beric Lylos was Imperial navy; he knew how to act around a dark lord. She would have preferred to speak to the others first prepared them for this change in leadership. It would have made things…easier.

Unfortunately, she had had no choice; Lord Feer had not given her one. For the first time in months, their house was once again unified.

He had no intention of splitting up again, not when total war was so close.

Lord Terrog had proclaimed himself both the voice and will of the Force, and by doing so, he had all but claimed dominion over both the Sith and the Jedi. She had no idea how the Jedi would respond to the mad cyborg's demands, but the Sith at least were prepared to do what was necessary.

Terrog's madness could not be allowed to continue.

The mad fool needed to die.

Lord Marr was in charge of the operation, but given the history between Feer and Terrog, her master was now the councilor's first and greatest advisor. Feer was eager to prove himself, and see his old rival finally brought low.

Her master's eagerness surprised her. After what Terrog had done to Fydon and their estate, it was clear that he was more dangerous than they had ever given him credit for.

Feer only saw the opportunity that presented itself, the chance to secure Terrog's holdings for himself.

We can't afford to look past Terrog, Avaryss knew, the prize is not within reach yet, not until the cyborg was gone.

She hoped her master understood that.

She stood to his right while Warmaster Feore was at his left. The old pure blood had said nothing to her since their reunion, there had been a time that she had considered the old man a possible ally, now she was not so sure, she still remembered their conversation from when she had been on Nal Hutta, and she still smarted from the rebuke he had given her.

The man's loyalty to her master left her unsure of his final fate.

Lady Synestra and Bael were also here, with the destruction of the Feer estate, her master thought it a good idea to transfer their house flag to his dreadnaught, the survivors of that attack were already aboard, ready to serve their master, and to aid him in his revenge against his hated rival.

Avaryss could feel her ladyship's eyes burning into her back. She had surprised the other woman with her strength back at the citadel. The Lady had always underestimated her and had almost paid the price for that, had her husband not intervened, she might have died then and there. After they had been out of earshot of the other dark lords, she had voiced her displeasure to her husband about his choice, about his decision not to punish his apprentice for her actions.

"She would have killed me, husband," Synestra reminded him.

"She might have, yes," he agreed dryly.

She gave him a look of pure shock, appalled by his lack of concern.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Feer chuckled.

"I will not break one of my best blades the day before we go to war. I need Avaryss right now, and she has been reminded of her place."

Avaryss said nothing to that, yes, she had been reminded of her place, and reminded of the fact that she needed to be patient.

There would be a better time to deal with Synestra Feer.

"She has disobeyed me at every turn," the lady had reminded her husband, "She refused a direct order to return to Dromund Kaas. You named me the head of our family in your absence, and she chose to ignore that."

"She did," he agreed, "And in doing so completed the mission I sent her on. We have gained great prestige with the dark council for her actions. The Jedi conspiracy against the Empire is no more."

Feer gave his wife a sardonic smile.

"You could have contacted me, my love…when Avaryss disobeyed. I might have aided you, contacted Avaryss myself, she would have listened. Instead, my darling, you chose to act on your own, to try and get a death order signed against young Avaryss."

He sneered.

"How did you think she would react when she found out? How would you have reacted?"

The Lady had no response to that.

"She disobeyed me," she said sullenly.

"And I've disciplined her for it, but now is not the time to squabble amongst ourselves. Terrog has shown himself to be not only a threat to us, but to the Empire as a whole."

Feer grinned triumphantly.

"The council knows of my relationship with Terrog, how I've been preparing to deal with him. My preparations make our house the best suited to deal with this threat. Lord Marr understands that, we must put our best foot forward now, and push on; we must continue to impress the dark council.

He turned to both Avaryss and his wife.

"There will be no infighting or bickering from this point on. We have a real enemy to deal with. I expect you both to keep that in mind and work towards seeing our star continue to rise both during and after this crisis. AM I clear?

Avaryss nodded, she kept her expression neutral.

Synestra hesitated, but eventually did nod sullenly. It was clear to Avaryss that the lady was not done with her.

Fine, Avaryss thought.

I'm not done with her either.

"This is most exciting father," Bael Feer said, "I've long looked forward for a chance to test myself against the cyborg's pawns."

Avaryss almost rolled her eyes at the statement.

Bael had grown up quite a bit since their last meeting. Gone was cringing little rodent that had haunted her chambers and in his place stood a proper young man, physically anyway, it appeared that the young master had had his final growth spurt, and had shot up to his full height. Though he bore the features of his father, he stood taller, and was far more broad shouldered. He had grown into a handsome young man, but that did not change what Avaryss sensed through the Force, nor changed the boy's actions back at the estate.

He had hid with his mother and the rest of the survivors. It was a smart move perhaps, but not one that one would expect from a young Sith looking to take over his father's holdings one day. As always, she could feel his regard, his eyes crawling over her body.

It was enough to make her shudder.

He might not look it anymore, but he was still the little rodent she remembered.

She also noticed that he was wearing a lightsaber now. She was not sure where he had gotten it from but…

Had he chosen to engage Fehl, or rather thing that had been Fehl, he would have fallen for sure outside the estate, a shame that that battle had not taken place. She was not sure if Bael would be joining them on this mission, or if his father would decide the time had finally come to send him off to Korriban. It would likely be for the best.

If he did, she hoped her master was smart enough to take the blade away. If Bael thought wearing a lightsaber on Korriban would make him more feared he was gravely mistaken. The blade would be the equivalent of putting a target on his back. Every senior student in the academy would be eager to take him down, to prove their superiority.

Of course, if that did happen, it would be in her best interests to say nothing. Bael being gone would move her plans forward, and it would definitely distract Lady Synestra.

No, she would keep quiet, if Bael was that stupid, then he deserved his fate.

The life of a Sith acolyte was not easy, nor should it be; only the strong survived.

It would be interesting to see just how strong the young master was.

Her crew waiting outside when they arrived, Avaryss' heart skipped a beat when her master regarded her people, wondering how he would react.

He smiled.

"You have all served House Feer well," he called out, "Your work on the behalf of my apprentice has been most appreciated, you will all find that me most generous in the days to come. I know how to reward good service."

Avaryss said nothing. If her master was trying to turn her crew to his side, then he had gravely misread the situation.

She had fought beside these people, bled with them.

It would take more than the promise of mere rewards to sway them from her side now.

He barely acknowledged Ensign Holli, and why would he? The changeling girl had already been in his service when Avaryss had first been given the ship.

She doubted her master had any idea how talented the young engineer was.

He passed Rink with the barest of nods. Feer likely thought the young man was used up, and was now simply a plaything of his apprentice, once again, not true. The Force continued to flow strangely around the former street rat, Avaryss was most eager to see how that would finally manifest itself.

Beric stood at attention, in full combat gear and helmet, on the surface he was the perfect soldier. When he had first entered their service, she had wisely chosen to list only Beric's operating number in her report to her master. If he had done any digging her would have discovered that he was her brother, but she did not think Feer would have bothered. Beric was not Force sensitive, and in her master's eyes, that meant that he was simply a tool to be used and then discarded when the time was right.

That belief served his apprentice well; she would do nothing to discourage it.

Her master stayed before her brother a bit longer than Holli, but finally nodded and moved on. She could feel his attention shifting fully to the last three members of her crew.

These ones were what truly interested him.

HK stood silently as her master inspected him. She had ordered the droid to say nothing in the presence of her master, to speak only when spoken to, and not to inform her master of his "Meatbag" status, no matter how much the droid longed to do so.

She doubted that her master would very understand about such a thing.

It was then that her master's eyes fell on her two apprentices. Xen and Quenya kneeled as he approached; the two could sense the power that her master wielded.

They were wise to do so.

Feer sneered and turned to her.

"It seems that you have upgraded your arsenal since we last spoke, apprentice. Introduce me to these young ladies."

"As you will, master," she replied, "Darth Feer, may I present Xen Loor and Quenya Sai Malloc, both formerly of the Jedi Order."

Ladies," he said bowing his head in greetings.

"Apprentices," she said to the two, "This is my master, Darth Feer, Dark Lord, and master of the Zahn and Itae systems."

"Greetings, my lord," they said in unison, nothing was out of place, neither radiated anything but submission.

Avaryss was pleased.

"Apprentices," Lady Synestra sneered as she regarded the two, "And who is your master?"

"Master Avaryss, my lord," Quenya responded.

"She is our master, and teacher," Xen added.

Synestra rolled her eyes.

"The girls are both fools to think that you are worthy of teaching them anything."

Avaryss said nothing, though her hand did clench into a fist.

You have no idea what I'm capable of witch, she thought.

If my master was not here…

"Synestra be civil," Feer said dismissively, "I can sense the loyalty of these two; they trust our young Avaryss, that and their desire to know more about the dark side."

He turned to his apprentice with a pleased smile.

"You have grown since our first meeting on Korriban. The Force is strong with you, and now you are learning how to bring others into your service, I'm most pleased with your progress."

He turned back to Xen and Quenya.

"You will serve your master well, just as she serves me well. The Houses of Feer and Avaryss are allies; I look forward to seeing your skills in defending that alliance."

"We are being ready, my lord," Quenya said bowing her head.

"We are eager to serve," Xen responded, her voice a sensual purr.

Bael grinned hungrily as he took in Xen for the first time. Unlike Quenya who had chosen a simple black body suit and cloak. Xen's outfit was more…provocative. Skin tight leggings, a hooded top with a plunging neck line, the former Jedi was only just learning to revel in her emotions and those of others. It seemed that she has chosen lust to be one of the first, inspiring it.

The outfit had the expected result on Bael, he was practically drooling.

Boys, Avaryss thought with a shake of her head.

"You do have good taste, Avaryss," Bael said, reaching out and raising Xen's chin, her features were all but hidden by the cowl, she wore, her yellow Sith eyes shone beneath it.

"Lovely," the boy murmured, he let his finger drift up the girl's face. "Enchanting…I…"

Xen's hand shot out, she seized his fingers and twisted them.

Bael gasped but did not cry out; he glared down at Xen, who glared right back. Synestra Feer's eyes widened but she did not move.

Xen sneered at Bael, his eyes wide with surprise

When she spoke again, her voice was iron.

"I was NOT making an offer, BOY." She spat.

She released his hand. Bael pulled it back quickly, his glare never leaving Xen's face.

Avaryss waited for the tantrum, for Bael to go crying to his mother, surprisingly, it did not come. He shook his wounded hand, and then…

…He smiled wickedly.

"You're spirited," he said, leaning in close to her, Avaryss had needed the Force to hear what he said next.

"I like you."

Avaryss rolled her eyes.

Really, she thought.

Bael continued to watch Xen as he returned to his mother's side; Avaryss did not think that she had heard her son's final words. She radiated worry, but Bael shrugged her off.

Clearly the boy was smitten, or at least in lust with their new arrival.

Avaryss was almost tempted to let the confrontation happen, it would be worth watching, worth buying tickets for. Bael was far too confident, or perhaps…arrogant, it would be good to see him…humbled.

Xen will need to be careful, she thought, the former Jedi could take care of herself, but…

It would not do to provoke Synestra's wrath so quickly. If her darling boy was harmed…?

On the other hand, at least Bael had another to lust over, perhaps now he would finally leave her be.

Perhaps she would be able to rest without worrying about finding a killer in her quarters.

She would warn her apprentice about the boy'…nocturnal games, who knew what he would find on a warship. Who knew what he would like to watch her kill given the opportunity.

"Come my friends," Darth Feer said gesturing toward the waiting ship; eager to get underway, their warship was in orbit, the sooner they arrived, the sooner they would get underway...

War awaits.

IOI

Hours later Avaryss found herself in the officer's ready room behind the bridge. Darth Feer was speaking with Lord Marr over the hyper-comm.

Both Sith Lords seemed eager to begin.

"My fleet will arrive at the rally point within the hour, Lord Marr," Feer promised the councilor.

"Then…we shall begin."

"We are waiting," Marr informed him, "The first of our recon ships have returned from the coordinates that Terrog mentioned in his grand announcement.

The masked lord shook his head.

"The traitor is ready for us."

Though Avaryss had not heard the message herself, she did know its contents. Terrog had rejected his place within the Empire, declaring himself above and beyond every other Force user in the galaxy. The message had included coordinates for what he referred to as his…Temple of Life. It was from here that he would rule over the Force, both the light and the dark. Both Jedi and Sith were welcome, so long as they were prepared to bow, and accept their place within the new regime.

Any enemies would be destroyed utterly.

Both Marr and Feer intended to test that theory.

The hologram of Lord Marr changed, showing images that had been recorded during the recon ship's flyby of Terrog's new base.

The images were not promising.

The Temple of Life as Terrog had called it was no mere temple at all, but a space station, a large spherical habitat, with four long pylons rising up from its center. The station itself appeared to be floating on the edge of a nebula, red and orange gasses swirled around it as electrical discharges crackled throughout the cloud.

Avaryss' eyes narrowed.

The stationed looked…familiar. She had seen it somewhere before or maybe pictures of such a place.

The recon ships had not been able to get very close, a small armada now patrolled the space around the nebula, these were Terrog's ships, no doubt, the forces that he had kept to defend his holdings. Lord Feer had observed them leaving their assigned patrol stations while he himself had patrolled the border between his holdings, and Lord Terrog's.

"I did not realize that Terrog had so many ships in his service," Darth Feer said as he inspected the holo.

"He did not before this," Marr's voice over said, "We believe that they belong to Sith that wish to support Terrog's new position, that they are willing to accept his new role as the Will of the Force."

"Then they will die with him," Feer said, he moved closer to the hologram, trying to get a closer look at the station.

"How did Terrog build such a thing without anyone knowing about it?" he asked.

"We do not believe he did," Marr's voice answered, "We believe he discovered it, or rather his agents did. The design suggests it is Rakata in origin."

Avaryss nodded.

Of course, she thought, she had seen sketches and holos taken from the time of Darth Revan and Darth Malak.

The station resembled the one the two rogue Jedi had found back then, the so called Star Forge. There were similarities to this place and that one, but this one appeared different, smaller somehow.

"Do we have any idea what the Rakata used this station for?" Avaryss asked. She had not expected Marr to answer; it had been more for herself than anything else.

"Our analysts believe that this place was a type of medical station, perhaps a place for the Rakata to bring their wounded during their many conquests."

"I see," Feer said with a sneer, "And a medical station would have lab facilities, viral containment; the perfect place for a man like Terrog to build a new bio-weapon."

"That would make sense," Marr agreed, his image once again replacing the image of the Terrog's base. "The station is drawing power from the nebula. It is collecting the electrical discharges; that may work to our advantage when the attack begins."

Feer sat back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.

"Do we have the ships and troops we need to secure such a station? Terrog is not simply going to give up his toy to us now. We will lose a great number of soldiers if we are to make this weapon of his ours."

"Our combined fleets should be a match Terrog's forces, and I've already sent word to Mandalore, he is sending some ships as well. As for securing the station, that is not our goal."

"It isn't," Feer asked.

The councilor shook his head.

"The council has already decided. Once we have dealt with the traitor and acquired a sample of the vaccine he had created. The station itself is to be destroyed; the virus and all research material related to its creation will be erased from existence."

Feer's eyes widened.

"Lord Marr are…are you sure? This virus could be valuable to us. The Jedi…"

"Our forces are already superior to the Jedi, we cannot risk the Republic gaining access to this weapon; it is too dangerous. It threatens the Force itself, and the very fiber of what we are."

"Lord Marr is right, master," Avaryss added, "What happened in the past is all the proof we need of why this…abomination needs to be destroyed."

"Does it," Feer said with a sneer, "What exactly does history say about destroying a weapon that could eliminate the Jedi's connection to the Force? What does history say about us being able to win any possible future war with one swift stroke?"

Avaryss frowned, her master might not agree, but Lord Marr was right.

"History says that the Rakata Empire fell because their people lost their connection to the dark side. What if that was not some natural evolution? What if one of their scientists had created something similar to what Terrog has. What if the virus escaped and they had been unable to cure or stop it."

Avaryss sighed.

"If the Sith Empire is too survive, than this virus must end here. We cannot take the chance of Jedi or any other enemy getting ahold of it. We must protect our connection to the Force at all costs."

The future is ours to take. This weapon might give our enemies hope, we cannot allow that.

"It must die here. It is for both for the Empire, and for the good of all Sith."

The holo of Darth Marr nodded.

"The council has reached the same conclusion that your apprentice has, Lord Feer. The virus must be destroyed. Our power must not be threatened again."

Darth Feer radiated anger, perhaps he had hoped to be one to seize the virus first, maybe even use it to further his own advancement.

He did not give up.

"Has the Emperor been informed of this? Clearly HE would have an opinion?"

"The council has not spoken with the Emperor," Marr informed him, "But we have heard from members of the Emperor's Hand. They have decided to leave this matter up to the council. We shall, and I'm quoting the hand now, serve as the fist that punishes the traitor for his arrogance."

"And what of the Emperor's Wrath," Feer said, "He is the Emperor's justice after all. Why is he not here, why is he not leading our fleet?"

"Lord Scourge is busy with other matters," Marr informed him, "This task is for us to deal with, and us alone."

Avaryss considered what she was hearing.

Lord Scourge, she thought, she had never heard the Wrath being mentioned by name before. It was said that he was both a pure blood, and had been made immortal by the Emperor himself.

His presence would have gone a long way to ensuring that no one got any ideas about stabbing them in the back.

For that was the real threat here.

Marr and Feer were handling this matter themselves, with few other dark lords in attendance. Lords Ravage, Vengean, and the others had returned to Korriban, to make sure that no one got any ideas about supporting Terrog there. Lords Angral and Malgus had brought their mutual fleets back to the Dromund System, to ensure the loyalty of the other lords.

The fewer actual Sith involved the better, it was less likely that they would betrayed if they kept he number of actual Sith here low.

Opportunity could be a threat if the wrong person embraced it.

Marr turned to Avaryss; she stood at attention as he held her with his cool regard.

"If Thanaton is correct, and you are immune to Terrog's toy, it may fall to you to deal with this matter. If this operation is like others that Terrog has commanded, we should all expect the unexpected."

"I'm ready, my lord," Avaryss said bowing, "Terrog will bleed for what he has done, his betrayal will be dealt with, along with any foolish enough to follow him."

"My apprentice is ready," Feer promised, "As am I. Together we shall sweep away Terrog and his sycophants. Today will be a glorious day for the empire."

"Excuse me, my lord," Avaryss said addressing Lord Marr, "I've heard that Terrog sent his message to the Republic as well, to the Jedi."

"Do we have any idea what their response to all this is? What kind of response they have prepared?"

Marr sighed.

"Before they returned, our recon ships did pick Republic signals; a force is amassing several parsecs away. Valor and hammerhead class warships. The Jedi may be trying to seize the vaccine as well."

"Then we must beat them to it," Feer said.

"It may also be wise to allow the Jedi the first strike against Terrog," Marr suggested, "If they can draw off Terrog's defenses. It will make things easier; infiltrating the station will not be as difficult if the Jedi are keeping Terrog busy."

"And if he destroys several hundred Jedi," Feer said with a chuckle, "all the better."

"Exactly." Marr agreed.

Avaryss considered this, the plan sounded good, but if the cyborg had planned for this, maybe he had also planned for the Empire and the Republic to do his work for him.

The thought that they might enraged her.

She knew of at least one Jedi that would want Terrog's head. The beast girl, Shyra would be the first off of whatever transport that managed to infiltrate Terrog's base, perhaps even Jas Dar Bynn as well…

…and where Jas went, would not Fenn be right behind?

That thought did not please her.

She wanted to a part of this attack; she owed Terrog for what he had done to Fehl, and to make sure that Fehl answered for becoming Terrog's creature.

She did not want Fenn in danger, if he was, and she could do something to prevent it, to protect him.

Should she not try?

Terrog was a threat to them all, surely both the Jedi and the Sith could understand that.

"Has there been any attempt to contact the Republics," she asked.

Both Marr and Feer looked at her.

"Why would we do that, apprentice?" her master asked.

Careful, the dark voice within her warned.

You are a very slippery slope here.

She shrugged dismissively. She tried not to think about Fenn, his touch, the sound of his voice.

It doesn't matter, she thought, he doesn't matter.

Yet in a distant corner of her mind another voice spoke up, one that had its opinion, a single word.

Liar.

She tried not to think of him, to focus on the mission and what was good for the empire.

"If we were able to coordinate our attack with theirs, would that not increase the chance of success? We both want the same thing, the virus destroyed and the vaccine in our hands."

"You would deliver the vaccine into the hands of our enemy?' Marr's voice was cold, he was not happy.

"I would seek to preserve the balance, lord councilor," she answered, "At least until we are ready to make an end of it. We will destroy the Jedi in due time."

"Why not use them to aid in our success? Why not use them as our fist, right now?"

Feer chuckled dismissively; clearly he saw no value in the idea.

Lord Marr was…

Well, Avaryss could not say what Lord Marr was in that moment. She could not sense his emotions.

He was too skilled for that.

Was he considering what she had said?

"You must forgive my apprentice, Lord Marr," Feer said, "She has…unusual ideas sometimes."

Marr sighed.

"Perhaps this is the time for unusual ideas, we will see."

"We will speak again when you reach the rally point, Lord Feer."

"As you wish, Lord Marr," her master said with a bow.

"Marr out."

The holographic image vanished, leaving Avaryss alone with her master.

He rose from his chair, and walked up to her.

It took all her self-control not to step back.

He pinned her with his cold gaze, she could feel the fires of ambition burning within him, that and the rage that was the source of power for all Sith.

Did he suspect the reason she had suggested to Marr was lie? Did he know about Fenn?

How could he?

That was something she hid above all else.

Fen was her greatest secret.

She would be damned before she let anyone take it from her.

If he suspected her reason he did not show it, he nodded, she felt a wave of determination wash over him.

"Ready yourself, my child," he said as he moved passed.

"The time of Feer and Avaryss has come."

She let him walk past, wondering what he had thought of her idea, and what was about to happen.

The Force swirled around them; it clouded all vision of the future.

Anything could happen in the next few hours, anything.

"I'm ready my lord," she promised him.

"For the Empire."