A/N: Happy New Year Everyone! Happy Anniversary SWTOR: A NEW SITH! Avy's journey began a year ago. Hope you enjoyed the ride and will stay with me as this chapter concludes and another begins. Well without further ado…let's continue!

Chapter 68: Connection

They had managed to find a turbolift.

Avaryss reached out with the Force, trying to get a sense of what might be waiting on the upper levels of the station. All the walk ways and balconies all seemed to lead to his point, a single shaft that seemed to lead out of the spherical center of the station and up into the towers above. A master control deck for the station, perhaps?

She was not sure if it that was the case, but if it was…they were drawing closer to their quarry.

If Terrog and his apprentice were anywhere, they would be there.

She took a deep breath and tried to center herself anew. The fighting had only grown more intense since leaving the Control and Communications room behind. Terrog had to know they were here now. He had to know they were coming for him.

That thought excited her.

Do you know what is coming, traitor? Do you know what will happen when we reach you, or are you too blinded by your desires? Do you only see yourself as the Living Will of the Force?

However he saw himself, it would not save him.

Her blade would find its mark.

Terrog's guards had not been able to hold them back, with the exception of the augmented assassins they had fought on the way up, most of these had been traditional troopers. It had been these that had unleashed the various…creatures that they had faced. These unfinished experiments had slowed them, but had not prevented their advance. They had been diverting, but nothing more.

Avaryss found herself a bit…disappointed by the response they had received, surely Terrog must know by now the quality of his enemy. Yet he still seemed unwilling or unable to face them directly, to halt their advance in anyway with the exception of sending his puppets.

A mistake on the dark lord's part, she thought.

She would make sure that he did not live to regret it.

The three of them said nothing as the turbolift rose, the control for the lift only had a single button, where ever it led, they would likely have company as soon as the doors opened.

She could feel her Jedi companions gathering the Force to them. She did the same, playing the mental games she used to focus her rage and bring her powers to full bloom.

The dark side aura of this place made that even easier. Avaryss welcomed its aid. Whatever awaited them would be far more challenging than the response they had faced up to this point.

It was best to be ready.

It was best to be prepared to draw blood.

She could sense Shyra Viel's excitement through the Force. The beast girl was eager to confront her maker. She kept her emotions in check…mostly, but she could not completely hide her desires. Avaryss had seen those desires during her their time together on the Wreck. The mongrel had been disappointed that Terrog had not come himself to try to stop her.

A strange thought occurred to her.

What will you be once Darth Terrog is dead Shyra Viel? What will you be when you no longer have him to focus your darker impulses? The connection she felt to her creator was strong.

What would happen to the creation when the creator was finally dead; when that link was finally broken?

Would she stay true to the Jedi code, or would she realize just how powerful that anger could make her?

It would be interesting to see what came out of all this, not that the Jedi had a free pass to the traitor. Avaryss desired his death too.

She was not the type to be denied, but, she suspected, neither was the beast girl.

The Sith recognized that she would likely have competition when it came to killing her master's rival, that did not worry her, despite his treason, Terrog was still a Darth.

A Darth did not die easy. The beast girl Jedi would learn that soon enough. If she failed, Avaryss hoped that she would at least wound the dark lord. She was not above taking such an advantage.

As long as Terrog did not survive their next meeting, she would be happy.

Fenn's presence continued to bolster both her power and her desire to see this through. She could sense her dream friend's worry, he was not a fool and no doubt understood what was about to happen.

It does not matter, Avaryss thought.

We've come too far to stop now.

She would have preferred that he had not followed her up here. Terrog and Fehl were her problem.

Plus, she was not sure how Fenn would react when he met Fehl for the first time. It sounded kind of stupid, but…she did not want Fenn to judge her for what had happened back on Korriban between her and Fehl, especially considering the state that Terrog had left her former lover in.

I would have preferred to face Fehl alone, she thought, but that was not what the Force had in mind. Besides, she had gotten a taste of his skills back at the Feer estate. Fehl would not fall easy.

It would be useful to have an ally or two at her side. If anything their presence here would keep her centered, keep her from letting her emotions run completely wild.

Such a release could lead to great power, but given the enhancements and skills that Fehl possessed, some restraint might prove useful.

She took a deep breath and let it out quickly.

She had no desire to die because she came at Fehl and his master with only fire and no ice. Passion made a Sith superior, but sometimes it needed to be tempered with skill and patience.

You needed to know just where to center those emotions, to use them for maximum effect.

Avaryss thought that she could do that. She had come so far in the last few months.

She was no longer the girl that had left Korriban with her master.

She had grown strong, and now she had the chance to prove it.

The turbo lift slowed and came to a stop, the two Jedi and the Sith readied themselves for what came next.

The door hissed open revealing another large room, this one filled with more lab equipment and row after row of birthing tanks. These machines were large table like structures with one large central vat on top, and ringed with twenty smaller ones. Some of these containers were the size of a full grown person, the others smaller, perfect for the holding of infant subjects.

Both the sight of the place and the way it felt in the Force only further fueled Avaryss' anger. Not at what the Dark Lord had done here, but what he had failed to do, what he could have done.

There had been no reason to raise Fehl in his fallen body, no reason to leave him as a monster, she thought, Terrog could have grown him a new body, a perfect body.

Of course, if he had done that, then it was far more likely that Fehl would have rebelled against him, went off in search of her. Fehls' cybernetic parts limited him, made him a more pliable weapon.

Terrog had not wanted an apprentice; he wanted Fehl to be a weapon, a blunt instrument in his service.

It wasn't right!

It was sacrilege!

You must kill him, the darkness whispered, not just because he is Terrog's creature, but because he has become an insult to all that he had been before.

You must free him from his chains.

The machines hummed as they stepped out of the lift and out into the lab.

The Sith girded herself for battle.

Let us end this then.

Let us see what the traitor is made of.

She was about to take the lead when the mongrel pushed past her with an angry growl. Avaryss could feel the anger radiating off of her, the rage she felt being in a place like this.

No…not just rage she realized, Shyra Viel was not merely angry…she was scared.

Old memories, Avaryss wondered, did being in this place bring back anything to the beast girl?

She thought of teasing her rival again.

No, not now, not when they all needed to stay focused.

They were too close to their real enemy.

What had Shyra expected when she chose to follow Avaryss up here? She claimed that she wanted her creator's blood, but was that only part of the equation? Did she want more? Did she want to understand exactly what had motivated Terrog to make her all those years ago?

What would be the point, the Sith wondered, after all this time…who really cared?

If Shyra had come here looking for answers, Avaryss did not suspect that Terrog would give them up easily, if at all. Best to forget about such things and focus on ending this threat; that is what she intended to do.

For the empire.

She and Fenn followed after her, slowly reaching out with the Force trying to sense what threats awaited them up ahead.

They did not have to wait long.

Nine crimson armored warriors leapt out of their hiding place, their weapons were a collection of vibro-pikes, lightsabers, and electro staves.

Avaryss sneered at the sight.

What were these supposed to be, Terrog's royal guard? For someone who had supposedly risen above Sith politics and power games, he still liked to using symbols of power that only a Sith could truly appreciate.

You are nothing to me, she thought as she looked at the defenders. You are just obstacle in path.

She smiled hungrily.

Now…it is time to move you.

Before she could take the lead and attack Shyra let out a terrifying howl and lunged at the closest guardsman. He tried to bring up his lightsaber, but was too slow.

The beast girl did not even bother with her lightsaber. Her thick claws racked through the thick fabric that only partially protected the guard's neck. He spun around his head only barely attached, likely only held together by a bit of skin bone, and what was left of his armor.

Shyra did not let him fall; she Force pushed the body into the two closest guardsmen they went down in a tumble of weapons, armor and limbs.

She spun her blade around and moved in for the kill.

The remaining soldiers tried to surround her and close the kill box. It might have worked had the mongrel been alone.

Fenn and Avaryss did not let it happen; they joined the fight, the Force singing within them both. What followed was a dance, both chaotic and beautiful. It was a dance of life and death.

The young Sith reveled in it. She was eager to test these soldiers. Typically, crimson armor on a guard signified that these were the best of the best.

I don't believe it, she thought to herself.

Let's put it to the test.

The three that came for her tried to cut her off from her allies, they tried to surround her. One was wielding a lightsaber, the other two wielding vibro-pikes.

Avaryss snarled; she spun her bladed daring her enemy to try and close in. The two with pikes tried to pin her in place while the third moved to engage her blade upon blade.

The saber wielders attacks were fast, but…predictable. This warrior used only the basics of Shii-Cho; she could have overpowered him easily.

Disappointing.

She had no wish to play with him, not when she had so many toys that she could use.

She reached out with the Force and found one of the birthing tanks, she tore the power cables from it, and pulled them to her, ensnaring the saber wielder, the power flowing through it must have been intense because he was electrocuted in a matter of seconds. His burning corpse fell at her feet, twitching from the voltage.

Avaryss smiled.

One down…two to go.

She dodged as one of the pike wielders tried to run her through. She spun around him, driving her elbow into his back sending him stumbling forward, when his ally tried to take advantage, she caught the guard in a Force grip and sent him flying back, crashing into one of the growth tanks, it shattered spilling both fluid and whatever it was had been growing inside, the still-born the creature flopped around on the floor. The guard found himself impaled on a chunk of the broken tank, despite this, it still tried to fight, pull itself free.

She had little time to admire her work; the first attacker was back once again jabbing with his weapon, trying to catch her with its point. She parried his attack; the pike withstood her lightsaber, its bladed edge causing her to back up a few steps.

Her enemy whirled his weapon trying to find a way past her guard. Avaryss back pedaled and once again, drawing him in closer. Then she reached out for the damaged tank. She tore it from its moorings and sent it rolling towards her opponent. The smaller growth vats shattered as the machine turned into a giant death wheel.

The guard only had mere seconds to recognize the danger and react.

He managed a vertical leap that saved him from being crushed, but a severed oxygen line hooked his foot. The guard came down hard on the broken machine, his armor getting caught on the shattered smaller vats. The machine continued on its journey. It rolled over and over, crushing the injured pike man, his armor held for a few rolls, but it did not last beyond that.

The machine rolled into the wall, and broke up burying both of the guardsmen beneath the wreckage. Their presences in the Force finally winked out.

Avaryss grinned triumphantly.

Three down…zero to go, she thought, I win!

Something sparked within the wreckage…

…the machine exploded, violently.

She was flung back hard.

She reached out with her powers. Time slowed, but even then she barely had enough time to shield herself, to cocoon herself in the Force.

She collided with yet another tank, rupturing it, and covering herself in broken glass and amniotic fluid. Unlike the two guards, her armor held, saving her.

The young Sith found herself briefly submerged as the contents of the vat emptied on the floor.

By the Emperor she thought what a stench!

Disgusting!

Avaryss spit and sputtered, she stank of chemicals as pure oxygen blew into her face from a broken air hose.

She found herself eye to eye with the vat's occupant, a half formed creature that looked almost human.

As she tried to rise, the thing woke up; it looked at her with angry eyes…Sith eyes!

Its fingers reached out and seized her…grasping her by the throat!

It attacked her, started choking her, trying to either crush her neck or shove her head down into the chemicals within the vat, trying to drown her.

She struggled, but to no avail…

…even though they were only half formed those hands had a grip like iron.

No, Avaryss tried to gasp.

LET GO!

The thing let out a gurgling cry, part sob part angry snarl, it had no idea where it was; it had not been ready to have been born yet.

Avaryss grabbed its arms, trying to pull it away. Spots danced before her eyes as its fingers tightened more and more. It…

VMMMMM!

A blade of blue fire flashed before her face, it momentarily blinded Avaryss causing her to gasp and look away.

The grip around her neck was gone; the body sank back into the tank, its hands clawing at the empty air.

Avaryss coughed and looked up.

Fenn stood over her, his blade lit. He had saved her once again, beheading the…abomination.

She did not thank him, not with words, through their connection to the Force…he knew.

He always knew.

He nodded.

My hero, she thought.

My shining knight.

She wiped at her eyes, trying to clear her vision.

"Is…is that it?" she coughed.

"Is there anymore?"

The area around the turbolift was a broken mess, small fires, machines turned over, the stench of amniotic fluid from the broken tanks mixing with the smell of burn metal and plastic.

Avaryss looked around as Fenn pulled her out of the damaged machine. Glass snapped as she rose back to her feet, its jagged points were both sharp and lethal. Had she had managed to shield herself with the Force at the last moment?

Had she not…the broken glass likely would have skewered her.

She…they had all been fortunate.

No more guards remained standing.

They had won.

She found her feet with Fenn's help. Fires flickered from damaged tanks whose emergency lights blinked on and off.

What had been growing inside those tanks was either dead or dying.

It was not a pleasant sight to see.

They found Shyra kneeling over a small shape, a half formed beastling that had ended up on the floor of the chamber when its growing vat had been broken. Not yet fully grown, the creature seemed unable to survive out of its artificial womb.

The creature whimpered weakly, its features morphing as they watched, just as Shyra's did when she was angry. The Jedi reached out with the Force, comforting the dying creature.

"It is okay," the Jedi girl cooed, running her large fingers over the things misshapen head.

"It will be over soon," she said the words with tears in her eyes.

"It…it will be over soon."

The creature tried to rise, to crawl, but it fell back, a weak whimpering cry escaped its tiny mouth, it cried, gurgled, convulsed, and then it fell silent.

Avaryss sensed its presence wink out in the Force.

It was gone.

The Sith nodded.

Good riddance, she thought.

The beast girl sighed and shook her head.

She tried to close the things eyes, but could not do it.

She bowed her head and whimpered.

Neither Avaryss nor Fenn said anything.

What could they say?

Shyra finally looked up; her eyes finding Avaryss.

She growled a low feral growl from the back of her throat. The Sith had to control the urge to take a step back. The Jedi's anger was so potent in that moment it almost took her breath away.

"Damn you Sith," she spat.

"Damn your entire race!"

She rose and got up in Avaryss' face, her eyes flashing, her nostrils flaring.

Avaryss sneered down at her.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked dryly.

Fenn went to them, stepped between.

"Shyra," he said, "Calm down."

"Calm down," she hissed, "Calm down! Look around you Fenn, do you see any reason that I should calm down?!"

"Remember your teachings, Jedi," Avaryss said mockingly.

"Anger is the path to the dark side."

Another animalistic growl emerged low and menacing from the beast girl. Her eyes never leaving Avaryss, The potential for violence burned between them.

Avaryss kept her hand on her lightsaber.

"This is all your fault," Shyra snapped, "You and your foul Empire!"

"You are no better than Terrog."

"I've come to stop him," Avaryss reminded her, "Just like you."

"That is not fair, Shyra," Fenn said, still trying to get between the two, trying to stop this from going any further.

"Keera is not our enemy," he said, "She came to help."

Shyra looked up at him, her eyes wide and full of surprise.

"Really," she asked, "REALLY? You honestly believe that?!"

She turned back to Avaryss her eyes cold and merciless.

"Keera," she spat the name like it was a curse, like it was something detestable, "Why don't you call this thing by its real name. Keera is the name for a person, a person worthy of redemption. This thing's name is Avaryss…she is a Sith Lord remember?"

The Jedi girl radiated disdain, but she looked on her friend with both worry and fear.

"What is going on," she demanded.

"Nothing is going on," Fenn replied.

Avaryss gave her a sly smile.

What do you think is going on, mongrel? She thought.

Use your imagination.

The girl was not even looking at her now, her focus, her concern was all for her fellow Jedi.

"This…this witch is doing something to you," Shyra said, "Fenn…can't you feel it. She is using some kind of trick on you. She is trying to change you."

"That is not my power," Avaryss said, "I never had a talent for mind tricks."

"Silence, witch, the beast girl spat.

Avaryss shrugged.

Whatever, she thought.

She will never understand, what Fenn shared with Avaryss was something special, something that could not be quantified.

He is mine, she thought, and you can't have him mongrel.

You will never have him.

"Nothing is going on, Shyra," her dream friend said, trying to sooth his fellow Jedi, "Keera…Avaryss and I…we have known each other for years. We have been connected through the Force for…"

"She is using you."

"She isn't.

"She is," Shyra growled at Avaryss her eyes narrowing; her teeth showing as her muzzle began to stretch out.

"You may have known this Keera for years, but she is not Avaryss, she never was."

"Fenn…do you not know why the Sith take new names? Why they separate themselves from the people they were. They do it because they are afraid of their pasts, they do it to let go of anything that may hold them back as they pursue greater power. Any reminder of that past is eliminated, friends, family, anything that could remind them of who they once were."

Shyra reached out and touched her friend's arm.

"She cares nothing for you, only what you can give her. There is nothing left in her but lies and deceit. I can feel it radiating off of her, why can't you?"

Avaryss frowned.

The girl knew nothing about her.

Her opinions on the Sith showed both her ignorance and her naiveté. The Sith did not hide what they were, they did not take new names to run from the past. They let go of the past, and embraced the full power of the dark side.

A Sith could not let what they were restrain them, the chains of the past were strong, but through power and sacrifice they could be cast aside.

Through victory, my chains are broken, the Force shall free me.

Those words were not empty.

That being said, the passions of a Sith should not be underestimated.

You are wrong about me, mongrel she thought.

Dead wrong.

"You have no idea who I truly am, Shyra Viel," she said, "You have no idea how I feel."

For a moment she thought that the little Jedi might try to attack her. She thought that beast girl might try to protect Fenn by killing her. It would be a foolish gesture, but…

How would Fenn respond to such an attempt, would he protect the girl he had known his whole life, or would he side with his fellow Jedi?

One day, she would need to answer that question.

One day, but not now.

Avaryss sighed.

"Now is not the time for this, she reminded the two Jedi. We can settle our own affairs later, once Terrog has been stopped."

The Sith smiled.

"That is why we are all here, yes?"

Shyra remained silent, from the look in her eyes she considered Avaryss as great a threat as Terrog.

Was her concern for Fenn merely a Jedi's concern for one of their fellows, or was her concern that of a young woman who desired a man?

Did the mongrel consider her a rival for Fenn's affection?

If that was the case, she would lose.

Fenn was Avaryss.'

And he always would be.

"Keera is not wrong, Shyra," Fenn said, we cannot afford to be fighting each other while our real enemy is still free."

Again the beast girl growled, but this time Avaryss felt her stepping back from her anger, her Jedi training taking over again.

"First Terrog," she said grimly, "Then…Avaryss and I finish this."

The Sith laughed lightly.

"If that is what you want," she said

Shyra Viel said nothing more; she pulled away from her allies and took the lead again. Avaryss could hear her sniffing the air, perhaps looking for a way out of the lab.

Fenn stayed at her side; through their connection she could feel his concern, not just for his fellow Jedi, but for Avaryss as well.

It was sweet of him to worry, but in the end irrelevant.

She and the beast girl were on a collision course.

One day, they would collide, and only one would walk away.

Such was the way of things.

"Are you okay?" Fenn asked her.

"Fine," Avaryss said dismissively, wiping idly at the amniotic slime that now stained her cloak and robes.

She followed after Shyra. Reaching out with the Force she tried to sense Terrog, trying to follow his dark presence to where ever it was he was hiding.

One battle at a time Avaryss thought...

First Terrog…and then it would be the mongrel's turn.

She found herself looking forward to the encounter. Almost as much as…

Avaryss stopped her eyes narrowing.

She felt a familiar echo through the Force, a presence that was both desired and despised.

Finally, she thought.

I wondered what I had to do to draw you out of hiding.

She quickened her pace, Fenn followed behind them acting as a rear guard.

Avaryss did not even try to mask her presence; there was no longer any need.

If they wanted Terrog, they would need to get through his apprentice first, his tool.

Fehl.

The Sith's hands curled into angry fists.

It is time, my love, she thought.

She found herself feeling both excited and sad at the same time. This would be the last time they would be together, one way or the other.

She steeled herself for battle, gathering her anger…turning it to hatred.

Fehl's face danced before her eyes, both how he had been when they had been lovers and how it was now. Long had she anticipated this meeting, one last battle.

She ignited her lightsaber, bathing both herself and the chamber in crimson light.

I'm ready, she thought.

One last dance.