Chapter 71: A Trial of Spirit

"Keera?"

She groaned, not wishing to come back from the void.

"Keera? Can you hear me?"

She could, but she didn't want to. For the first time in years…she had been dreaming. No nightmares haunted her, no fears of the past rose up to disturb her rest…

…in this one…singular moment…she was happy.

She was dreaming of home. She was dreaming of Oridanna. She had just gotten back from her chores, checking the spore collection towers, making sure they were all functioning at peak efficiency. She had finished and now returned home, a contented smile on her face.

They had once been so…tedious to her, her chores, but now, after everything she had seen and done. She realized what a simple pleasure they had been.

It was nice to be able to return to something simple.

Her fiancé was waiting for her. Fenn stood outside her family farm as she brought her swoop skidding to a halt before him. She had been trying to startle him a little, make him jump back, but he did not. He knew that she would never try to hurt him, but that did not mean he was above punishing her just a little bit for transgression.

He pulled her off her bike and spun her around. She giggled and struggled weakly in his arms. He ended those struggles by pulling her in for a deep and passionate kiss. Her heart pounded in her chest as he held her close awakening a flood of need and desire.

Hot she thought, he...he...

She sighed.

He makes me so hot!

A noise off to their left interrupted them, the sound of someone clearing their throat, loudly, her father was watching, frowning at the young man that had won his daughter's heart.

Keera sighed.

Dad did not like Fenn very much, what he had seen in the war made him leery of anyone who walked the Jedi path.

Wait?

What?

How could someone who walked the Jedi path move freely about the Empire?

The question and any possible answer faded quickly from her mind, of course Fenn was here, and he was her betrothed.

Why would he be anywhere else?

Her Father sighed, shook his head, and returned to the garage, to the machines that he still had some control over. Emperor knew, his eldest daughter no longer listened, at least, she suspected that he thought that now.

Mya Lylos emerged from the house; she chuckled to herself when she saw the nervous and embarrassed looks on the two lovers' faces.

She gave her daughter a supportive look, and a gentle smile.

"Pay him no mind Keera," her mother said, "You could have brought home the most eligible and wealthy bachelor in the Empire, and your father would still not be happy."

She smiled at her eldest daughter.

"You will always be his little blossom; it will take time for him to accept that he needs to let you go.

Both she and Fenn nodded, accepting her mother's words. Fenn kissed his future bride on the cheek and went down into the house; he had promised mother his aid in tending to certain matters for the party tonight.

Keera was left alone with her mother, the two of them basking in the sweet twilight of another Oridanna day.

"Mom," Keera asked, suddenly feeling a strange sensation in her gut, her left arm itched horribly all of a sudden, it felt like it was burning.

"What is going on?"

Mya Lylos gave her a sad smile.

"I'm sorry you never got to have this, Keera," she said, "I'm sorry the galaxy had to be so cruel."

Keera's brow furrowed.

Cruel?

She…she did not understand.

She did not want to understand.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Her mother came up to her and kissed her on the forehead, tears filled Keera's eyes, even though she didn't really understand why.

"You need to come home, Keera," she said, "She needs you now."

Her daughter blinked.

"Come home? I…I don't understand?"

Who needed her?

"You have not made your final choice yet," her mother repeated, "Come home daughter, come home."

Her mother walked away, humming the lullaby that she had sang to her children when they were small.

"MOM! WAIT!"

"Come home, Keera," Mya Lylos repeated as she went back down into the house.

"Come home."

IOI

Avaryss gasped and opened her eyes. Her heart was pounding. She was left feeling disoriented, the dream tried to hold onto her, tried to pull her back down.

Part of her wanted to let it do just that, just go back and lose herself in the sweet fantasy, but she could not, the Force called out to her, warning her.

She was Avaryss, a Lord of the Sith…

…and…she was in danger.

She woke to the smells of a medical bay, the sickeningly familiar stench of kolto and antiseptics. She lay quietly in the bed, trying to get her bearings.

Trying to figure out what was going on.

This place, she thought observing through slitted eyes, hoping that no one realized that she was awake. She was familiar with the design of medical bays. She had been in more than a few since joining the order. This place, the design of it was not familiar.

The pale white walls, the warm lightning, everything here seemed to suggest an aura of comfort, an attempt to put the wounded at ease. The Sith opinion on medical treatment was not like that, injuries were often seen a sign of weakness, in the Empire you were healed, but at the same time, you were meant to realize that any injury you had suffered was a lesson.

If you had been hurt, then you were not strong enough, you needed to reflect on that, and try harder. You needed to grow stronger.

What better lesson could an injury teach?

Scattered memories of what she had faced on Terrog's station returned. She remembered the journey up, her final confrontation with Fehl. She remembered standing with Fenn and Shyra when they confronted Darth Terrog, and…

She hissed softly.

She looked down and to her left.

The sight almost made her cry.

She had hoped that that part had been a dream.

Damn it…, she thought.

…So much for my vaunted skills with a blade.

Her left arm was indeed gone, removed just above the elbow. The medical droids had wrapped what remained in a kind of protective sleeve, a covering of some sort; she saw tubes leading into it, likely feeding kolto into the wound to aid with the healing process. The flesh that she could see looked red and irritated, she could see that several metal devices had been inserted close to the wound.

She had seen such components before, they were used to prepare and preserve the nerves in an appendage that had been severed. They were used to prepare someone to receive an artificial limb.

Several of her enemies over the years had needed such devices, the late and unlamented Hazen for example.

She never thought that she would need some. She had trusted her skills, but against a Darth…they had failed her.

Better to lose an arm than a head, the darkness whispered, in this, at least, you have a chance to recover, and grow stronger.

That was one way to look at this, to see something positive in what had happened, but that small vain part of her mind still almost sobbed.

Terrog had said she would kneel to him, that he would remake her with cybernetic devices.

His vision had not been totally correct. She had knelt before him, but only to drive her crystal blade into him. As for the cyborg parts…well…he had caused her to have those too…in end.

She whimpered.

She had been too slow, and Terrog had made her pay for it. She still remembered what had happened. She had been back pedaling, blocking his attacks with her lightsaber, and brought up her hand to blast him with Force lightning.

She remembered seeing the blade come down, a blood red beam of hungry death. She remembered being unable to pull her hand out of the way fast enough, and the sudden heat as the blade found her, seeing her sleeve burst into flame, and then looking up in horror as her arm tumbled away, sparks of lightning still flickering from her fingertips, and then…the cold…the horribly glacial cold!

You would think that a lightsaber wound would burn like a star, but it did not.

It hurt like the cold unforgiving void of space.

He might not have killed her, but he left her vulnerable.

It would take time to fully recover from this, if she even could.

Metal was poor substitute for flesh. She would never be able to generate force lightning with a metal hand. She might not even be able to…

Stop sniveling, the darkness whispered in the back of her mind.

You still draw breath, as long as that is so, your life is not over.

She tried to take solace in that. She tried to turn despair into anger, to direct her emotions into something other than self-pity.

Terrog had paid the price for her wound. Her suffering was temporary, fixed easily enough.

His would be for an eternity, a fitting punishment for his crimes against their Emperor and the Sith Order as a whole.

She had been the Empire's weapon, a tool of both justice and revenge.

Losing an arm was a minor sacrifice if it meant preserving the Empire.

She nodded, accepting that fact, her injury still horrified her, but at least now she was on the path to acceptance, and from there…she would be able to face recovery.

She had made her peace with it, in fact, as she lay there, she had an idea of how to make it better, to ensure that she would not lose as much as she feared, a way to preserve, and regain, some of what she had lost.

She tried to sit up, to call for the medical droids to attend her.

She found that she couldn't.

Her eyes narrowed.

She was strapped down to the bed. Her remaining hand and feet were shackled.

What is this, she wondered.

What in the Emperor's name was going on?!

She tried to break the restraints to free herself. She tried to call on the Force, but her connection to it was slippery, no doubt from whatever painkillers the medical droids had used, but that would not stop her.

She would focus, burn away the effect of the drugs, and then free herself. She would.

"Try to relax, witch," a familiar voice said gruffly.

"You are not in any danger."

Avaryss sighed and tilted her head. Shyra Viel sat in a chair near her bed. Clad in a hospital robe and gown, the Jedi Padawan appeared to have been watching over her, or perhaps…guarding her.

Avaryss frowned.

"Oh," she said, "It's you."

Shyra snorted, giving her a toothy grin.

"Hello to you too, witch. I would think you would be a little more grateful considering the fact that Fenn and I pulled you off that station before it went down."

She shook her head.

"We could have done as you asked and left you behind, remember that."

Avaryss closed her mouth; she glared at her rival, but did not insult her further.

She was right after all.

They could have left her behind.

She could be as dead as Terrog right now.

"What happened," she asked, "Where am I?"

"We're aboard the Recovery, a Republic medical ship. The fleet fell back into Republic space after the battle. I'm not sure of our exact location, but we are out of danger. We've taken up a holding positon near some gas giant. Our cruisers took a pounding from Terrog's ships, but we should be underway again once repairs have been completed."

Avaryss' frown deepened.

Republic ship.

Inside Republic space.

Neither of those facts was encouraging to her.

"The battle?" she asked "What happened?"

Shyra sighed, and rolled her eyes, but she did not keep Avaryss in suspense. They had shed blood together after all.

After that, answering a few questions did not cost that much.

According to the mongrel, The Republic fleet had moved in after the first Sith bombing run had been successful. Terrog's fleet had been occupied trying to hold back the Sith forces, and in doing so had been caught in a pincer. While the larger vessels had attacked the fleet, the smaller cruisers and corvettes had gone in to attack the station. They targeted its stabilizers and power systems that fed off the nebula. Even with the distraction it had been a tough fight, Terrog's remaining fighter craft had harassed the attackers, even managing to shoot down one of the corvettes causing it to crash into the station. The soldiers that survived managed to fight their way to the stations hangar bays, and secure several shuttles, they escaped just before the Republic fleet were able to deal a killing blow to Terrog's so called…"Temple of Life."

Losing its primary stabilizers had been the death knell for the place; it fell back into the nebula and was consumed by the electrical discharges from within. The last shuttle just managed to get clear when the place finally exploded.

"Fenn and I managed to get you to an escape pod," the beast girl informed her, "One of the retreating shuttles detected us. We took some damage from floating debris as we launched, our engines were damaged and we were starting to be pulled down in the nebula. The shuttle caught our pod in a tractor beam and pulled us back to the fleet. The Force was with us, we could just have easily gone down with the station."

Avaryss said nothing.

Perhaps it would have been better for her, if they had.

"What about my crew?" she asked, "Xen, Holli and the others, did you hear anything about them?"

"No," Shyra admitted, "The battle was fairly chaotic, but if it makes you feel any better, it is a safe bet that they made it to safety."

"Why do you say that?"

"We picked up Sith transmissions. That Dark Lord Marr was claiming victory, saying that the Sith had acquired a vaccine to Terrog's virus."

Avaryss nodded, happy to hear that at least.

Praise, the Emperor, she thought.

At least something of her plan had worked out.

She wondered if anyone realized that she had survived. Her apprentices might have sensed it, but she was smart enough to recognize that they would not be able to do much for her, not when she was on a ship in the middle of the Republic fleet.

No, if she was going to get out of this, she would need to come up with something herself.

Avaryss regarded the beast girl, despite the pounding she had taken; she seemed in fairly good shape.

"I'm guessing that I got the worst of the three of us," she said.

"You were in a bad way when you were brought aboard," Shyra informed her. "Though, I suppose we were all pretty beaten down at that point. Me…I heal fast, one of the gifts that I'm actually grateful for Terrog for. Fenn was…"

Avaryss' eyes widened.

"Fenn," she gasped, "Is he alright?"

Shyra gave her a suspicious look Avaryss could sense the emotions churning within her.

She leaned in closer to the young Sith.

"I don't know what your game is Sith, but I would advise you to stop it. Fenn has suffered enough because of your foul kind."

Avaryss pursed her lips.

The mongrel did not understand.

She would never understand.

Fenn Shadowstone was the one person that Avaryss would not lie to, the one Jedi that she did not desire to see dead.

She would no more hurt him than she would hurt herself.

He was part of her.

She would never harm him.

"Is he okay," she repeated, "Shyra…please?"

The girl sniffed.

"He is fine," she informed him, "He broke a few ribs during the fight, but it was nothing a few hours in a kolto tank couldn't heal."

Shyra growled.

"You've been unconscious for three days now; Fenn was at your side for most of that time. Master Jas convinced him to get some rest."

Again the beast girl leaned in closer. Whispering so that only Avaryss could hear her.

"People are starting to talk about you and him," she said, "They do not think he is motivated totally from the compassion of the Jedi. If you care at all for him, and his future, convince him not to behave so, it will go badly for him in the long run."

"You think that I don't know that," Avaryss murmured.

Does she actually think that we have a choice about this, Avaryss wondered. Our connection is strong, it always has been, and now that we have met, spent time in each other's company…

The Force seemed intent on pulling them together, like binary stars, both caught in the other's gravity.

Avaryss sighed.

"He is my destiny, and I'm his" she said, "We can't escape it."

"In your dreams, witch," Shyra spat.

Avaryss smirked; the cruelty that she usually held at bay came up.

"You have no chance with him, you know that, yes? Why would he want something like you when he and I have been…?"

Shyra Viel growled she raised her large paw; her claws seemed to extend, thick and sharp enough to tear out Avaryss' throat.

"SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTH WITCH!"

Avaryss held her breath.

One swipe of that paw and it was all over.

She felt the mongrel's anger, her desire to kill. The darkside was whispering in her ear, begging her to give in and kill her rival.

Shyra's eyes narrowed, she took a deep breath and let it out. Her anger went with it.

She lowered her hand.

Avaryss sighed, and laughed.

"Your master was right," she said, "We are very much alike. We both strive for the similar things, want what we want."

The Sith pursed her lips again.

"It is a shame, in another world we could have been friends, but now…

"We have a destiny to, I can sense it. One day, you and I will fight, and only one of us will walk away when it is over."

If the beast girl saw the same thing, she would not tell Avaryss, her eyes narrowed.

"When that day comes," she growled, "I will be ready, witch."

"As will I, mongrel," Avaryss promised.

The door hissed behind them, drawing their attention. Jas Dar Bynn, Vey Ilo, and four Republic troopers in full battle armor entered the room.

Avaryss shuddered slightly at the sight.

She had to admit, the Republic troopers did have an air of…menace about them. The bone white armor over the black body suits, the white bucket helmet with its skull like features and black empty lenses for eyes, no wonder the common imperial citizen was so intimidated.

Not that she was intimidated; her father had told her stories of killing such men. Despite the armor the man inside could be killed like any other.

She took solace in that.

"How are you feeling, Sith?" Jas Dar Bynn asked.

"Well enough, Master Jedi," she responded, "Though, I must wonder how long by good health will last."

Master Jas chuckled.

He gestured and an orderly entered pushing a hover chair.

"Come along, Avaryss," he said, "We are going for a walk."

IOI

She could feel the eyes on her as they passed.

Avaryss said nothing as she was pushed down the corridor, Republic soldiers and naval officers looked at her as they moved by.

She wondered how many of them had ever seen a Sith up close, not many she would wager, most common soldiers would not survive such a meeting, not on the battlefield anyway.

She found herself growing curious.

What were the Jedi up to now? She doubted that they would allow her to return to the Empire, treaty or not.

If they try to torture me, she thought, than they are just wasting their time.

I will tell them nothing.

She was surprised by the different species she saw represented here. Part of her had always thought that the Republic's rhetoric about equality was just that, rhetoric. She had believed that they allowed aliens into the Jedi just to keep the nonhuman population in line, to make them feel like they had a voice, while the corrupt Senators and Jedi council manipulated those worlds, convincing them to surrender the treasures of their various worlds.

They are no different than we are, this Republic, Avaryss thought.

We both want this galaxy, but we Sith are honest about it.

We do not hide behind lies and falsehoods.

They unite because they know fear, the darkness whispered, they fear the superiority of the dark side, and one day they will realize that even together they are no match for its full power.

One day. The Sith will rule, and order, true order, will come.

They will kneel, or they will fall!

The thought comforted her, even brought a smile to her face.

She noticed one alien officer watching her, a creature with a squid-like head. She could not remember the name of the species, but it was definitely watching her.

Take a good long look creature, she thought.

Behold one of your future overlords.

The alien officer said nothing as they passed, it simply returned to its work.

Interesting, she thought, she had felt a slight tremor in the Force, what that meant, she could not say.

Very interesting.

Jas Dar Bynn led them to a large briefing room, the door hissed open to reveal, five people communicating with the ship's captain by hyper-comm."

The one in the center of the gathering, a dark haired woman in the robes of the Jedi addressed them first.

"Master Jas," she said a strong, yet warm voice, "Is this the one you were telling us about?"

"It is indeed, Master Satele," he answered.

The Jedi hologram bowed slightly.

"Greeting Sith, I am Satele Shan."

Avaryss gave her an arched look.

Satele Shan, she thought, oh my.

The Jedi Grand Master at least that was the title she had heard when some referred to the Jedi Councilor in briefings.

Avaryss smirked.

"I will tell you nothing," she said flatly, "You might as well kill me right now."

A hint of a smile came to the Jedi woman's lips.

"You have courage that is clear."

She glanced up at Jas Dar Bynn.

"Master Jas said that you would not be cooperative."

Avaryss shrugged.

I'm being held prisoner by enemies of the Empire.

Why would I wish to cooperate with them?

The holograms to Satele Shan's left and right were also Jedi they identified themselves as Tol Braga, and Orgus Dinn. Braga was a member of an insectoid looking species that Avaryss did not recognize. Dinn was a tough looking older human; he looked ready for a fight even now.

Besides the two Jedi were two Republic officers, Generals if Avaryss' knowledge of the enemy military uniforms was correct. The first was a green skinned Mon Cala; he identified himself as Var Suthra. His companion was a grey haired human woman with cold and unforgiving eyes. Satele Shan said her name was Garza, a commanding officer in the Republic SIS.

That title got Avaryss' attention.

"So…you were the one that let Sy Dar Bynn play his little games," Avaryss said in a silky venomous voice.

Garza did not rise to the bait.

""If I may master Jedi," the woman said, "May I suggest that this woman be returned to Coruscant immediately. If she is who she says she is; she should be taken before the courts. She should answer for her many crimes"

"And what would be my crime, general?" Avaryss asked.

"Murder," she answered, "Our agents within the Empire have confirmed this one is responsible for countless SIS deaths. She has been on a killing spree for months."

"Have I," Avaryss said innocently, "My…I have been a bad girl haven't I?"

Her comment did not amuse the general.

"This thing is a evil heartless monster," she said, "Too many good men and women have died because of her actions."

Avaryss chuckled.

"Evil," she said, "It is merely a point of view. Is a Firaxa shark evil? Is a rancor evil? We Sith maybe predatory, but that does not make us evil."

"Predators kill to survive," Garza answered, "they do not kill for pleasure. They do not enjoy it."

"Why should we not enjoy our work?"

General Var Suthra huffed.

"So, we are just prey for you, Sith? Is that right?

Avaryss shrugged a cunning smile on her face.

"Someone has to be."

The Republic officers both glared at her. Avaryss did not give the Jedi a chance to intervene, to try and diffuse the situation.

She chose to strike out again.

As for your good men and women, I would respond that they were not good men and women, but criminals violating a treaty that my empire signed in good faith. You call me a murderer for hunting your operatives, well, let us look at it from another perspective, what would you have done? If the situation had been reversed, if you had found Sith agents working to destabilize the Republic, fomenting civil war within your ranks. Would you have shown them any mercy? Would you have hesitated in trying to remove them? Answer me that, question, generals, and I will be willing to cooperate in any way."

Both of the officer's fell silent, Avaryss felt she had scored a hit, but did not push it further.

It was clear that the Generals were not in charge here, it seemed that they were willing to defer to the Jedi on this matter.

She was curious to see exactly what that meant.

"The council will consider what you have said, General Garza," Orgus Dinn promised, "But first we need to see if our fellow Jedi's opinion of this girl warrants further examination."

"Indeed," Master Braga said, "If Master Jas is to be believed, this Sith has had dealing with high ranking members of the Empire, what she knows could be very valuable."

Avaryss sneered.

…and there it was. She thought.

They were only interested in what she knew, what they could take from her. She knew it, well…they weren't going to get anything out of her.

She would not give them anything to hurt her people.

She would not.

"Masters," Vey Ilo sang out in that musical voice of hers, ""It is more than information that should concern us here. Despite her words, this girl is not like other Sith that we have encountered. Yes, she serves the dark side, but as we fought together, I sensed something else, something more."

"And what would that be, old friend," Shan asked.

"Something that makes her more like us than she would admit, beneath her own ambitions, she holds great love for her Empire, a willingness to die to protect it. During the battle against Terrog's forces she showed compassion to her companions. She even allowed us to save one of them. Those actions are not of one completely lost to the dark side."

"What are you saying Vey?" Master Orgus asked.

"I'm asking for permission to bring her to the temple. I believe that we can help this girl. I believe that she can be redeemed."

Avaryss' jaw almost hit the floor.

What?!

NO!

NEVER!

She would never betray her people like that!

"I will not be corrupted," she spat at Vey Ilo, "I will NEVER fall to the light!"

He comment amused Tol Braga.

"Fall to the light," he said, "I never thought I would hear those words."

""I must protest, masters," General Garza said.

"I agreed," Var Suthra added, "This woman has proven herself a dangerous enemy of the Republic, rewarding her by making her a Jedi would be an insult to all the brave men and women that have died at her hands."

"All deserve a chance at redemption," Vey said, "With time and training, young Avaryss may come to regret her actions. She may come to understand why those that died did what they felt they had to do."

I know why they did what they had to do," Avaryss thought, "They hoped to destroy my home!

They wanted to bring down the Empire!

She would never stand with such filth!

NEVER!

"I will not turn," she hissed, "I will NEVER submit to you!"

She glared up at the Jedi on the holo.

"Any attempt to brainwash me will fail! All you will do is harden my resolve to free the galaxy of your taint."

She gave the Jedi a cruel smile.

"One day, your order will be hunted to extinction. This endless cycle of civil war in the Force will end. The Dark Lords of the Sith will avenge all those that perished in the Sith Holocaust, every slight you have ever levied against us. The Sith will rule the galaxy, and the people will know peace at last, the stability of Empire and power. You can't defeat us…"

She tried to rise from her chair, her anger growing.

"Submit to the inevitable, welcome extinction!"

Shyra Viel had been standing in the back; she had followed them into the calm room.

She leapt up and shoved Avaryss back down in her chair, the Sith hissed and glared hatefully at her.

"SILENCE WITCH!" she spat.

"Shyra!" Vey said sternly.

The Padawan looked up at her master, her expression morphing from one of anger to shame.

"I'm sorry master, but…I couldn't let her…"

Shyra shook her head.

"I'm sorry."

Var Suthra looked at Satele Shan.

"Do you still think this one is worth saving, Master Satele?"

Satele Shan sighed.

"The path to the light is never a straight one," she said, "Mercy for one such as this may seem ill-advised, but there have been Sith in the last eighteen years that have seen the error of their ways. They have come to the light, and helped us rebuild."

She gave Avaryss a compassionate look.

"I do not know what you suffered, child, but I'm willing to show you that we are not the demons you fear us to be."

"I fear nothing," Avaryss hissed.

"If that was so," Satele said, "You would not have fallen to the darkness."

Avaryss fell silent.

You know nothing about me, woman, she thought.

You know nothing.

The Jedi Grand Master nodded.

"It is rare that Vey Ilo advises us to help someone. She has been proven correct before, I'm willing to take this chance now."

She turned to Jas Dar Bynn.

"We shall ready quarters for this girl. You may bring her to the temple. We will do what we can for her."

Avaryss' rage at their arrogance continued to burn.

The arrogance, she thought.

The gall.

They can try to turn me, torture me, brainwash me, it will not work; the darkness will be my shield, my guide.

I will not turn, she thought.

I will not.

Let the Jedi play their games; let them try to turn me away from the true path, the true nature of the Force.

I know who I am, Avaryss thought.

I am Sith.

I'm Darth Avaryss!

I will not fail.

I will not fall!

I.

WIL!

NOT!