Chapter 62: Unusual Strategies
The Mandalorians called this place…The Inferno.
The nebula cloud where Darth Terrog had made his base was in neither Republic nor Imperial space. It existed on fringes of what might be called Mandalorian territory, and was one of several places that had been the launching point for several attempted conquests by the clans over the many centuries. The Inferno nebula had long served the Mandalorians throughout their history of war and conquest. Its radiation masking the presence of attack fleets, while at the same time providing necessary minerals and gases when the warriors needed them, either to enhance their ships or their weapons.
It was unlikely that the children of Mandalore had ever known that there was a station here. Until recently the cloud had covered much of this sector, but all the conflicts in recent years had forced the warriors to beginning mining this area far more than they ever had in the past, the cloud had been shrinking for over a decade and a half, and as it had shrunk, the Rakatan medical station had been revealed again. How it had been swallowed by the nebula in the first place none could say, but now it stood revealed, and was in the hands of Darth Terrog.
He had claimed it as his own, calling it his Temple of Life, the new home of the living Will of the Force.
It was to this place that both his allies and enemies had gathered, either to swear fealty or to try and destroy the dark lord. The stage was set.
All that remained now was the spark to get things moving.
All that remained…was who would make the first move.
The Sith fleet held its position just inside of sensor range. They wanted Terrog to see them, to know the strength that was coming for him. A recon droid was sent in to gather numbers on the enemy fleet and to take readings of the station itself. The radiation in the nebula made things difficult for both communication and sensors, but the droid was able to get close enough to send back some information before it was destroyed.
They had a rough estimate of the stations size. Imperial records from the time of Revan confirmed that the station was likely of Rakata design, and was about half the size of what the Star Forge had been. The droid had not managed to get close enough to scan for any weapons, but it was a safe bet that it had been armed, if not by the builders than certainly by Terrog.
Not that the station needed any weapons, the fleet forming around it was large enough to repel most attacks.
Avaryss counted thirty ships of various classes, most were destroyers or smaller vessels, but she did see at least one dreadnaught. The problem would be the smaller vessels she did not recognize, they were likely mercenaries, but that did not mean that they could be underestimated.
Anything that was unknown, needed to be approached with caution.
The station sat on the very edge of the cloud, its capital ships protecting its vulnerable side, a ring of metallic debris surrounded both the station and the orbiting ships. The debris was too small to hinder any attacking ships, but it could spoil any long range fire from the Sith fleet, that ring would likely have to be either destroyed or simply moved past when the attack began in earnest.
What are you planning Terrog, Avaryss wondered, you have to know you are outnumbered and outgunned, yet you send out an open invitation to come here. You had to know how the Dark Council would respond. You may be crazy, but I never thought you were stupid.
Avaryss shook her head.
There was something they were not seeing here.
She had been standing beside her master when they received a transmission from Darth Terrog, apparently the comms on the station were not affected by the nebula, likely the Rakata had known how to compensate for the interference when they built this place so many millennia ago. Darth Marr had also received the transmission and chose to piggyback his response onto the Terror's systems, so that both he and Feer could share the communication link with the traitor.
The image of Darth Marr shivered and split, Darth Terrog appeared next to him. The cyborg looked as huge and intimidating as ever.
"You are threatening the Will of the Force, Marr," he said crossing his arms over his chest.
"You will withdraw your fleet, NOW!"
If the dark council member was intimidated he did not show it. When he spoke his voice was both calm and cold.
"Terrog of the Sith," he began, "In the name of the Emperor and the dark council, you have been named a rogue Sith and pronounced guilty of high treason against the Empire. You will surrender your weapons and station to us. Do this now and I promise you will be granted a swift and painless execution."
"You have one hour to comply."
Terrog made the laughing sound she remembered from the gathering, it was a creepy now as it had been then.
Clearly he did not think that they were able to carry out their threat.
"I have grown beyond your Empire and your council," he informed them, "I have embraced a higher calling now. I stand above the light and the dark. Even the Emperor can no longer dictate terms to me."
Heresy, Avaryss thought.
The Emperor was the greatest of them all.
How dare Terrog think to put himself above him!
"You should tell him that yourself," Marr suggested, "Hearing that might amuse him, at the very least, it may grant you a few extra minutes of life.
"Perhaps I would," Terrog replied, "If he bothered to remove himself from his seclusion.
What little was left of the cyborg's lips twisted, perhaps his version of a frown.
"Our empire has stagnated since the last war. While the Emperor cowers in his fortress, both the dark side and the empire suffers. We need a new direction, Marr; the dark side deserves new purpose.
The cyborg radiated with dark satisfaction.
"I am prepared to offer both the Sith and the Jedi both."
Darth Feer reminded silent during the conversation. Avaryss could almost hear the wheels in her master's head turning, waiting for the right opportunity to respond to his rival.
"The fleet is going nowhere Terrog," Marr said flatly, "If we attack; the ships you have protecting your station will not be enough to defend you, between Lord Feer and myself we out number you two to one, and even your collection of sycophants succeed in pushing us back, there is a Republic Fleet at the edge of the system, flanking you, what we do not finish, it is safe to say that they will."
"End this now," Marr demanded, "End it and accept your fate."
Terrog's synthetic eyes seemed to glow brighter. Anger radiated off the image of him.
Avaryss could only imagine what that might feel like in person.
"You think me trapped? You are a bigger fool than I took you for, Marr. Allow you to show you the extent of my power. Allow me to show you what happens to those that seek to oppose the living Will of the Force."
Terrog pressed a button on his gauntlet.
Suddenly warnings rang out from the communication's console on the Terror's bridge. Alarms blared.
Darth Terrog's lips twisted again, this time into an almost smile.
"Behold…my power."
Bridge Crewers aboard the Terror began shouting, calling out to the senior officers.
"We have enemy contact."
"One of our picket ships is under attack."
"We are receiving a distress call.
"They are reporting hull breaches on decks four through six!"
Feer spun away from the holo, his eyes found Captain Brandei and his first officer.
"WHAT IS GOING ON," he demanded, "REPORT!"
"The frigate Shadow is under attack, my lord," the Captain responded, "We are seeking to identify the enemy now."
Avaryss blinked.
How had Terrog gotten ships here so fast? The pickets should have picked them up.
"Have we identified the enemy," Brandei shouted to the man on the scanning console.
"How many ships?"
"We aren't detecting any ships, captain," the man answered, "The attackers are small, but extremely numerous. We are counting at least a hundred contacts."
"WHAT ARE THEY?" Feer spat, "BRANDEI, WHAT IS GOING ON?"
The images of Terrog and Marr vanished, replaced by an imperial captain, his eyes were wide and fearful, even from here Avaryss could sense his panic."
"Shadow to all loyal ships, we are under heavy assault. Probe droids have breached our shields and are cutting their way into the hull. We have lost contact with…"
There was a loud breaking sound, the captain turned away from the holo-cams; he drew his sidearm, but…"
Screams filled the background, and what looked like a cloud wrapped around the captain. He coughed and spun back to the holo.
They have released some kind of agent, my lords…we are…"
The man doubled over and wailed.
As they watched his body began to change, to twist in horrible ways, his arms stretched, the bones cracking and reforming, blood leaked from his eyes ears and mouth.
He let out one final wail before spinning away from the camera there was static and a long fatalistic tone.
The bridge of the Terror fell silent.
Both Feer and Avaryss stood there silently, staring at where the image had been. In the distance Avaryss could hear the bridge officers calling out, reporting the end of the Shadow and her crew.
The ship fell out of formation, it was rolling away, out of control, several escape pods had jettisoned only to be caught by the probe droids that cut their way into the frigate.
Avaryss reached out with the Force; even from here she could sense the fate of the crew.
It sent a chill down her spine.
Now she understood what had happened, and why Terrog had been so confident in extending his invitation.
The virus, she thought with a shudder, the Fydon virus.
Terrog had armed those probe droids with it. They had been small enough and slow enough to slip through the Shadow's shields. They had cut their way in through the frigate's weak points and released their viral payload.
The crew of the Shadow was gone, mutated or dying.
The images of Marr and Terrog reappeared over the holo tank.
The cyborg radiated with satisfaction.
"As you can see, Marr," he purred, "My followers and I are quite safe from your forces here."
The image shifted again, showing a fleet of probe droids moving against the void of space, there were hundreds of them, perhaps thousands.
"The builders of this station were quite inventive," Terrog's voice rang out over the image, "These droids were used as a means of getting medical supplies to sections of ships that had been cut off by battle damage, their processors designed to find weak spots, and breach them, all so that they could render…aid to those that needed it.
Terrog laughed.
"A few minor modifications have made them the perfect little soldiers; this station has the capability of producing hundreds of new droids every hour. They carry my greatest creation now. They are tools of evolution now. All will soon know them as they spread my gift throughout the galaxy."
Avaryss' eyes narrowed.
Clever, she thought, clever and ruthless.
What she had thought of as a debris cloud floating around the station was nothing of the sort; it was a fleet of Terrog's probe droids, thousands of them, maybe tens of thousands.
If the station produced them there was no limit to how quickly Terrog could deliver his plague? A few hundred probes could infect ships approaching a planet, or stow away aboard and deliver the plague to a planet's surface.
It was cruelly ingenious.
The image of the cyborg returned, he sneered at Lords Marr and Feer.
"I offer you the same term you gave me. You have one hour to withdrawal. Refuse this offer, and my droids will spread my gift among your fleet. The Republic and Jedi have already withdrawn; you will find no help there. Those few ships that escape my gift, will be easy prey for my followers, they will destroy the survivors easily."
Feer snarled and brought his fists down on the comm panel, he glared hatefully at his rival.
"YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS MADNESS, TERROG!"
"WE ARE NOT DONE!"
The cyborg made that laughing sound again.
"You no longer matter, Feer," he said, "I've outgrown you, and your petty desires."
He turned back to the holo of Darth Marr.
"You have one hour, Marr, the Will of the Force has spoken."
The hologram faded.
Darth Marr, Dark Lord of the Sith, and member of the Dark Council was silent, he stood as still as a statue.
"My lord," Darth Feer said, "We cannot let him get away with this. We must smash through his defenses! We will drown in blood, but we will reach the station, we will…"
Marr raised his hand.
Darth Feer fell silent.
The councilor sighed.
"Lord Feer," he said, "I need to contact the council, inform them of what has happened here."
He turned to Avaryss.
"All the apprentices will report to their ships. We will have need of them when the time comes."
"To attack?" Feer asked.
Again Marr ignored him.
"All of the apprentices, Feer," he repeated, "Including your own, I will update you after I've informed the council.
"Marr out."
The image faded.
Darth Feer growled like an angry predator.
He pounded his fist on the holo console.
Damn that man!" he shouted, "Damn Terrog and damn Marr!"
Avaryss said nothing; she stood silently, like a good apprentice.
"What are your orders, my lord?"
Feer hissed and shook his head.
"To your Fury, my child," he said, "We must await the council's wishes."
Avaryss nodded and turned. Once she was off the bridge she would contact her crew, and make sure that they were ready.
What they were going to do however, she could not say.
Even if they could fight their way through the probes, they would lose ships, too many ships. Whole decks would need to be sealed off to prevent infected crewers from stopping the advance. Those ships that made it through would be easy prey for Terrog's gunners.
The Sith fleet would die here, and Terrog's victory would only embolden those Sith that were, for the moment, content to sit on the sideline. Support for the cyborg would swell, his armies would grow, and they would advance with his plague carrying droids as their advance force.
She shook her head.
She feared that even the Emperor would be hard pressed to contain this threat.
We can't retreat, she thought, if we do, Terrog's power will only grow, right now his fleet is contained here; we need to end this matter now.
We need to destroy Terrog utterly, his followers too.
No prisoners.
No mercy.
But how do we do it? She wondered, how?
She could feel the sense of foreboding among the crew, the images of the end of the Shadow had been seen by most of the crew, and those that had not seen it would hear about it soon enough.
She could feel the morale of the men weakening. It sickened her. They were Sith; they were the conquerors of the galaxy.
This could not be how they ended, not at the hands of some cyborg with delusions of grandeur.
It could not end this way.
They needed to do something!
IOI
She returned to the hangar, where her ship waited. She saw Rink outside, checking something by the landing gear.
"Is everyone aboard," she asked.
"Yeah," he said, "I don't suppose you have a plan to get us out of this?"
"This?" she asked.
"I saw the holo from that frigate, nasty end."
Avaryss cursed under her breath.
She suspected that Terrog had allowed the other ships to see that, to spread fear and break morale.
It was a smart move.
Rink chuckled.
"Don't suppose you wanna switch sides?" he asked.
She glared at him.
"No offense meant, boss," he said raising his hands, "I just don't see a way out of this."
Her anger cooled almost immediately.
Rink was not wrong.
She did not see a way out of this, and they had less than forty minutes to comply.
Terrog looked to be holding the winning hand.
She boarded her ship without another word. She passed Holli and Beric, they both looked up at her but she silenced any conversation with a raised hand.
"I do not wish to be disturbed," she ordered, "Come to me only when we have heard from either Lord Marr or Lord Feer."
Avaryss closed the door to her cabin, as soon as she was out of sight of the others she snarled with barely restrained fury.
The dark side rose inside her, feeding off her rage.
What are we going to do?" she thought.
How do we get out of this?
She knelt beside her bed, and closed her eyes; she turned her focus inward, seeking out the dark heart of her power, the full might of the dark side.
As she slipped deeper into the darkness, she was suddenly pulled away. The sensation was so quick that it all but took her breath away.
One moment she was in her quarters and the next…
…She was somewhere else.
She smelled leather and the musky scent of unwashed alien bodies.
She blinked and looked around.
She was standing in the cockpit of a ship, not imperial, that was clear. No imperial would let their ship get in this condition. Plates were missing from the walls; a small plastic Twi'lek dancing girl shimmied on the top of the command console.
What? Avaryss thought.
What is going on?!
A young woman sat in the pilot's seat; she was dressed in overalls with a leather jacket draped over her shoulders.
Her co-pilot was of an alien species did not recognize. He had cream colored fur, with golden v-shaped markings down his back; his long snout was twisted in a grimace, showing sharp teeth. His violet eyes were narrowed in concentration.
Smugglers, she thought, but no…
…these two were not smugglers.
The Force was with them, both of them. Yet, they did not feel like Sith.
They were certainly not Jedi; she could feel their nervousness, their desire to be anywhere else.
"Stay frosty, Moxie," the dark haired captain said.
"I'm trying," the alien replied, his fur rippling, a sign of nervousness, perhaps.
"This is beyond insane," he said.
"We've done this trick before," the girl reminded him.
"Yeah, with a freighter, Tru," the alien said, "Not a blood Sith dreadnaught!"
Avaryss blinked.
A Sith…?
What?!
The door hissed behind her. She turned and saw Two Jedi enter.
Her breath caught in her throat.
She did not recognize the one on the left, a small female alien; she looked almost human, except for her milk-colored skin and pointed ears. Avaryss would have thought her a child, if not for the power she radiated, the calm.
This creature was old, she could sense the years on her, no not old…ageless.
A Jedi Master, she realized a powerful one.
Next to her stood the beast girl Shyra Viel, she could feel the girl's hunter instincts, her desire to lunge for her prey.
"Are we inside the Sith perimeter, yet," the small master said in a sweet musical voice.
"We just exited hyperspace," the alien said.
"I hope you are right about this, Master Vey," the captain said.
The alien smiled.
"Have faith in the Force, Tru Halcyon," the Jedi said.
The captain, Tru Halcyon laughed nervously.
"I lost my faith when the temple fell, master," she said.
The little Jedi laughed.
"If that was true, Tru, you would not be here."
Shyra growled as she peered out the viewport, beyond it, the void was filled with probe droids moving out of the way.
Avaryss' eyes widened.
Terrog's droids!
What the?!
The two Jedi left the cockpit, Avaryss followed after them floating above them apart from them, hidden from their vision.
How was this…?
The two Jedi entered a small lounge. Jas Dar Bynn sat at a table playing cards with Fenn Shadowstone. Avaryss could feel their connection, the slivery glow whenever they were connected.
"We are inside the monster's defenses," Vey informed them.
"Are you both ready?"
Jas Dar Bynn lowered his cards and sighed.
"As ready as I can be," he said.
The small Jedi master gave him an understanding look.
"Trust in the Force, my young Padawan," she said.
Jas laughed.
"You haven't called me that in a long time."
"Old habits," Vey said, "Plus when you get to be my age…"
"How old are you again," Fenn asked.
The master gave him a mock frown.
"Padawan, surely you know it is rude to ask a woman her age."
He blushed.
"Sorry, master, I was just…"
Shyra growled and began to pace.
"How much longer is this going to take," the beast girl said, "Terrog is so close."
"Peace, my student," Vey said, "I understand your desire to face your maker, but…"
The master frowned, her eyes narrowed.
"Master?" Jas Dar Bynn asked.
The little alien shook her head.
"We are not alone," she said, "I sense…"
It was at that moment that Fenn stood up; he blinked and looked in the direction of Avaryss…
He looked right at Avaryss.
"Keera?"
Avaryss' eyes widened.
SHIT!
IOI
Avaryss gasped as her eyes shot open. The disorientation she had felt from her connection to Fenn faded quickly, but not quickly enough.
She leapt to her feet; she triggered the door to her cabin, but still almost hit it when it did not open fast enough to let her through.
The Jedi have done it, the thought repeated over and over in her head.
They found a way to breach Terrog's perimeter!
Darth Marr had to be told!
She flew past Holli, the engineer was talking to Taya of all people, how her old ally had gotten here she did not know, but…
"You have a guest my lord," Holli said. "You…"
"NOT NOW," she shouted.
"Avy?" Taya called after her, "What is…?"
NOT NOW!"
She flew to the hyper-comm, and entered in the code that Darth Feer used for his direct line to Lord Marr.
She dropped to a knee and prepared to receive him. The Dark Lord might have been angry with this interruption, but it could not be helped.
The next five seconds passed like an eternity, finally, the image of Darth Marr appeared.
"Lord Avaryss," he said coldly, "What is the meaning of this?"
It was all she could do to keep from babbling, her excitement was so great.
"My lord," she said willing herself to be calm, "I've just senses a disturbance in the Force. I believe that a Jedi strike team has found a way to breach Terrog's defenses; I think they are inside his defensive perimeter right now! "
Marr crossed his arms.
"I see," he said.
Avaryss' eyes widened.
You see, she almost gasped.
Was that all he was going to say?!
"We must act quickly, my lord," she said, "This was not some random dream, I know it, the Jedi are almost aboard Terrog's station. We can use this distraction, turn it to our advantage."
She expected him to say that she should have informed her master, or that he would confer with the other council members, that they would consider this information into whatever plan they were hatching.
He said none of those things; his next words surprised her more than anything else.
"I know about the Jedi, Lord Avaryss. Everything is going according to plan."
She blinked.
"You know?"
Marr nodded.
"You are not the only one capable of coming up with unusual strategies, Lord Avaryss."
She blinked.
"You contacted the Jedi?"
"I made an offer of over an encrypted comm channel that the Republic cracked during the last war," he said, "What they chose to do with that information was entirely up them."
Avaryss grinned.
"Some on the council might call that treasonous, my lord."
Marr shrugged.
"It is only treason if we fail, and if we fail, we will likely all be dead."
Avaryss nodded.
He did make a good point.
Marr stood straighter.
"Now you have your own part to play," he informed her, "Are you aboard your ship?"
"I am."
"Good," he said with a nod.
"Are you ready to risk your life for the Empire, Lord Avaryss?"
"I'm ready, Lord Councilor," she said.
"Command me."
"Terrog wanted you to join him, back during his attack on the Feer estate; that is what it said in your report, and he offered you the chance to join him?"
"He did."
"Excellent," Marr said gesturing to someone off the screen, a sequence of numbers appeared on the holo table.
"I have just sent you the override code to the hangar where your ship is docked. You will use it to flee your master's ship, and make for Terrog's station. You will broadcast on an open channel that you wish to accept Terrog's offer, you wish to join him, and your beloved."
Avaryss shuddered.
The thought of Fehl and Fenn being in the same place made her nervousness.
Yet, Marr was not wrong, she realized, her beloved was on that station.
It just wasn't Fehl, not anymore!
"Lord Feer will not understand this, my lord," she said.
"I will inform him of the plan after you are aboard Terrog's station and engaging his forces. Your mission is to disable the probe droid screen, succeed, and our fleet will be free to do the rest."
Avaryss grinned.
"You are putting a lot of trust in me, Lord Councilor."
"I trust your ambition, Lord Avaryss. Am I wrong to do so?"
"Not at all, my lord," she said.
"Not at all."
She only just managed to suppress a girlish giggle.
She hated to admit it but she liked this plan.
It was insane, desperate, and utterly mad!
She loved it!
"If you fail," Marr reminded her, "If Terrog decides not to accept your coming; you and your crew will be attacked by his probes. Your people will be infected by the virus, and you will need to destroy them, and even if you survive you will find succor on neither side. You will be considered a traitor to both. Do you understand?"
She nodded.
There was a risk, but the reward if she succeeded?
She smiled.
No risk, no reward.
"I understand, my lord, and yet my duty is clear."
Marr nodded.
"Brave girl," he said, "If we both survive this crisis, we shall need to speak privately. The Empire needs to change as it moves forward, leaders will be needed. I have already approached a few."
She nodded again.
She was not sure what he was offering, but she was intrigued.
Leaders?
She remembered her vision of herself on the throne? Was this how that destiny began?
Was supporting Marr the smart move?
Was it the right move?
There was only one way to find out.
Something was happening, she knew.
If she survived, she was most interested to see where this all would go.
"I will leave immediately, my lord. For the Emperor and dark council..."
She stood at attention raised her fist.
For Sith Order! Long live the Empire!"
"Long live the Empire, Lord Avaryss, may the Force serve you well."
"May it serve you well, lord councilor."
Marr vanished without another word, Avaryss made for the bridge.
There was no time to waste.
"Avy?"
She looked up and smiled at Taya.
"What are you doing here?' she asked.
"Lord Goss sent me over with a message for Lord Feer, when I saw your ship, I thought I would stop in and say hello."
Avaryss laughed.
Only Taya would think to stop and chat while they were in the middle of a crisis, but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
"Rink," she called out, "Prepare for lift off, we have our orders."
"What is going on, boss," he asked from the pilot's seat.
"The higher ups finally have a plan?"
"They do," she said, "The same plan that you suggested."
Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
"We are about to switch sides."
Both Rink and Taya's eyes widened.
"Ah…boss," Rink said, "You know that I was kidding about that right?"
"Avy," Taya said, her eyes as wide as saucers, "You can't mean to…"
Avaryss laughed.
"Last chance, Tay," she said, "You can stay here and play it safe, or take the chance and be either a hero or a traitor."
The blonde swallowed hard, she looked around quickly, perhaps looking for an escape route.
Finally, she laughed nervously.
"No risk, no reward," she said.
Her old friend smiled.
Exactly.
"There is a code inside the hyper-comm," she informed Rink, "It will open the hangar for us, do not respond to hangar control, when we are clear open a channel to the station. I need to let Terrog know of our intentions to join him."
"We are joining Terrog?"
Avaryss turned to find Beric and Xen standing before her, both soldier and Sith apprentice looked confused.
"Marr has ordered me to do this. We need to breach the stations defenses. A Jedi strike team is already inside the perimeter, we must be there, and prepared to take advantage."
Beric nodded.
"We're going to have to time this right," he said, "It is insane, but…"
"Are we sure the Jedi are there?" Xen asked, "How does Lord Marr know this."
"I saw it," Avaryss said, "There was a ship; a smuggler vessel of some type, there was a girl and an alien at the helm. I heard the name Tru…something."
Xen grinned.
"It is the True Heart, it has to be," she said, "The pilot was Tru Halcyon, and the alien you saw was Mox Devrn'alya her Bothan co-pilot."
"You know these people?" Avaryss asked.
Xen grinned.
"Of course I do, they were Padawan Pack, like me. Mox and Tru left the order, turned to smuggling supplies for the order."
The Sith apprentice's eyes flashed hungrily.
"I wonder if Fenn is with them. It would be nice to see my old friends again, and kill them for their failures to save me from Master Sy."
Avaryss frowned.
"Terrog comes first, Xen," she warned the girl, "Can I trust you not to lose control?"
The girl bowed.
"You are my master; I would follow you into the darkest hell."
"You can trust me."
Avaryss snorted.
They would see.
"Get us out of here, Rink," she ordered.
"The chrono is ticking.
The pilot powered up the engines, he spun the ship around quickly; he turned off the comm when the hangar control tried to hail them.
Here we go, Avaryss thought.
One last mission.
She smiled gamely.
For the Empire.