Chapter 72: The Prisoner
"So…would either of you gentlemen like to be rich?"
Avaryss flashed her most winning smile. She tried to radiate both innocence and charm.
The two troopers standing guard outside her cell had not said two words to her since she had first been brought here. Word of her outburst in the comm room had gotten out, and it looked like the pubs were holding a grudge. At least, that is the impression she had gotten trying to speak with these two. Their white armor marked with red stripes seemed to command a great deal of respect with the other pubs here.
Perfect, she thought, just what I need.
She waited for them to respond, to ask the usual questions or statements: "How much?" or "You don't have enough credits."
Fortunately for her, she did, thanks to her TCS holdings.
She was pretty confident that she could buy anyone.
She waited for the soldiers to respond, they did not. They didn't even look at her.
Her smile faltered slightly, but at the same time, she knew she could not give up.
"I have credits, a secret account here in Republic space," she added quickly, "You would not believe how much, I would be most generous to the one who got me out of here, more than generous."
Still…the soldiers ignored her, she wished to reach out with the Force and snap their necks, but the Force was currently blocked to her, either by the drugs given her by the medical droids, or perhaps some foul Jedi sorcery.
It doesn't matter; I will not simply walk to my own execution.
I won't give in.
This would likely be the last time she would have a chance to get out of this. As soon as the Jedi took her to their hidden temple world, it would be all over.
Escape would be impossible.
I can't give up.
Her smile returned as bright as ever.
"Would you both not like to have a better life? Do you truly enjoy the drudgery of being a mere trooper? I can free you from that."
Credits were supposed to have more value in the Republic, was that not how it was with these people, how the Republic's officials were all for sale, with power changing hands almost daily, and all to the clink of credits. The larger the sum, the more important the person you could buy.
She hoped that these men would prove those stories true; if not…she was lost.
When they finally answered, it was not the answer she had hoped for.
"Silence Sith," the one of the right said, "Havoc Squad is not for sale."
"You're a trooper killer, you are lucky we don't blast you right here." the left one added, "Continue to speak, and you will be gagged again."
Avaryss' smile fell, morphing into a frown. She had no desire to be gagged, not again. The pubs had forced a bit into her mouth after her outburst in the comm room. Both the Jedi and the Republic Generals had not appreciated it, she could not imagine why.
She had only told them the truth.
They were only delaying the inevitable.
Couldn't be bought huh?
The mere thought of it made her remaining hand curl into an angry fist, filled her with a desire to hit something.
So much for getting one of these men on her side...
…She thought that at least one of them would be open to being bought.
So much for that idea, and here I thought that common soldiers would have a bit more…ambition.
She supposed that she had guessed wrong.
They might as well be droids; she thought miserably, she had been trying to get them to converse with her for the last hour, trying to find a weakness she could exploit. When they would not even talk to her, she started to panic. In desperation, she had turned to the idea of offering to bribe these men. Was it possible the stories were wrong, or had she had the unfortunate luck of meeting the only two honest soldiers in the Republic military? If so, the irony was not lost on her. In the empire, tales of the corruption within the Republic ranks was legendary. She had hoped to exploit that corruption. She still hoped to find a way out, to get out of here before the shuttle arrived to take her to where ever it was that the Jedi had built their new temple
So far she was having no luck. It was as frustrating as it was infuriating.
I have to get out of here, she thought.
My life can't end this way.
She began to pace, trying to think of something else. An uneaten meal tray sat near the front of the cell, she was not hungry; her anger and fear had overridden any thought of food.
She shook her head.
What am I going to do?
She tried to push back the fear, turn it into anger and hate as she had always done, sadly, without being able to touch the Force, all it did was remind her of her failure.
How it had been her own actions that had doomed her. Anyone else in the Empire would recognize that. It was for that reason that she could depend on no one but herself.
Emperor knew; no one else was coming to save her.
She doubted that anyone in the Empire would care that she was in Republic custody. Darth Marr was a realist; he would not see the value in freeing a single Sith, not if it tarnished their victory over Terrog in anyway. Lord Feer was likely pleased, no longer would he have to watch his back around her, perhaps he was even now searching the student roster of Korriban, looking for his next apprentice.
The thought angered her.
So much for my grand destiny…, she thought.
…So much for my rise to power.
She remembered her vision of sitting on the Imperial throne, of ruling over a vast Empire, with legions of soldiers at her command. That would never happen now, she would be lucky if she did not break under Jedi torture, and even if she did not she would likely be executed or spend the rest of her days in a Republic prison.
She had won a great victory, but in doing so traded a grand future of a crown, wealth, and finery for prison clothes.
Oh how sweet her reward was.
She looked down at the simple garments they had given her, grey legging and a matching shirt, far from the robes and armor that she had come to prefer in the last year.
Not that she would have any luck slipping into robes, she thought glumly. You never realized how useful it was to have two hands until you lost one. Simple things like eating, pulling up her hair, and working a data pad were not so easy when you only had one hand.
Even getting dressed was challenge now.
She could have used the Force, but the pubs were not stupid enough to let her have access to her abilities. If she had, she would not have needed to worry about bribing these troopers.
She simply would have crushed their necks and made her escape.
She sank down onto her bunk, and glared impotently at the soldiers, imagining what she would do if she had access to the Force.
Havoc Squad they had called themselves.
If she had had her powers, she would show them what real havoc was.
She was just starting to indulge in violent revenge fantasies when she sensed Fenn approaching. She was amazed how easy it was now. How quickly she picked him out, even with so many others onboard this vessel.
It seemed that their connection grew stronger the longer they were in close physical proximity. Who knew how strong it would become if they got…truly close.
She smiled.
She figured it was just how physical…their close physical proximity became.
It might have been exciting to explore that.
It would have been fun.
Fenn appeared before her, once again clad in his green Jedi robes. Despite some bruising to his face, he looked almost like his old self, and radiated with enough power to take her breath away. The troopers nodded respectfully as he approached; to them he was one of the heroes of the battle of Terrog Station, a role model.
The two of them had fought together, and yet she was seen as a monster for simply doing her duty?
Irony.
"I would like to speak with the prisoner alone," he said.
"Are you sure about that Master Jedi?" one of the troopers asked.
"You need to be careful around this one," the other warned, "she is getting desperate and…"
"I can sense her desperation," Fenn informed them, "You have nothing to fear, she is powerless here, and I can defend myself, please let me enter."
Powerless, Avaryss thought angrily, try not to sound so happy about that Fenn. Despite her affection for him, she was tempted to try and scare him, to provoke a reaction from the guards just to show him that she was not as powerless as he thought.
It would have been pointless though, a weak rebellion with little result, and it risked burning the one bridge that she gave a damn about, it risked alienating the one person that she had always trusted.
No, it was not worth it, not for such a tiny reward.
The soldiers looked at each other, clearly they did not think this was a good idea, but Fenn's new reputation was enough to sway them to obey.
Why had needed to convince them, she did not know. Why did he not simply use the Force to order them to leave?
Maybe he did not have that power?
Maybe they were more alike in the Force than she realized.
They lowered the door energy field, and let him pass.
"We will give you five minutes, ser," the left hand trooper said, "Shout if you need anything."
Fenn nodded as he entered her cell. The guards reactivated the energy shield and went into the hall, leaving Avaryss alone with him.
She shivered at the mere sensation of it.
Five minutes, she thought glumly.
That is not near enough time.
Not for what I truly want to do with him.
It would have been nice, to enjoy that comfort. It had been some time since she had been…intimate with someone.
She would have welcomed such intimacy, it would have been…soothing.
If Fenn picked up on her desire, he did not show it. He radiated only concern through the Force; no doubt he had heard what had happened in the comm room.
He sat down next to her.
"Hi," he said shyly.
"Hey," she responded, flashing him a weak smile.
"I don't suppose you could get me out of this, for old time's sake?"
Fenn sighed and shook his head.
"Embrace extinction," he said quoting her outburst to the general, "Did you really thing it was smart to say that?"
Avaryss shrugged.
"They made me mad. I wasn't thinking."
"That is clear enough," Fenn replied dryly.
Avaryss did not even have the strength to retort angrily at his last statement.
Fenn's concern only strengthened her concern, her worry about what awaited her on the Jedi world.
She did not meet his gaze; she did not want him to see her like this, so weak and vulnerable.
It was embarrassing.
"Your people can torture me, but I will not break," she warned him.
"I will tell them nothing."
Fenn winced.
"No one is going to torture you."
She looked up at him, pinning him with a cold look.
"Oh they won't call it torture, not the wise masters of the Jedi council. They will call starvation and dehydration, fasting. They will deny me sleep and say that I'm holding a vigil or some other poo doo like that."
She shook her head.
"They will call it conversion, trying to open my eyes to the light, but it will still be torture…
"…And I will still not break."
Fenn shifted uncomfortably next to her, perhaps recognizing that she was not wrong in her estimation of what was about to happen.
He leaned in close, so that only she could hear him.
"I won't let anyone touch you," he promised, "I won't let anyone hurt you."
His words were comforting, but she doubted that he would be able to truly do anything.
The Jedi believed that she had information that would aid them in the next battle with the Sith.
They would not let a mere Padawan's feelings get in the way of extracting that information.
Emperor knew, a Sith certainly wouldn't.
Looking around Fenn spotted the dinner tray on the floor. He gave her an appraising look.
"You should eat," he advised, "Try and regain your strength; you haven't eaten much since you got here."
"The Force sustains me," she said proudly, "And besides…I'm not hungry."
A growl from her stomach made those words lies. Fenn smiled, but did not call her on it.
Avaryss bowed her head and gave him a sheepish grin.
"Maybe I could eat… a little."
He nodded and went to pick up the tray; he once again sat down beside her, holding it out to her so that she could take it.
She did not try; with her missing arm she would likely have spilled it on the ground or on herself.
She cursed under breath.
Damn it, why did she have to appear so weak before him?
Why?
Fenn, recognizing what was going on, did not say anything about it, he allowed her to keep what dignity she still had.
He held onto the food tray with one hand and with the other helped feed her. He broke up the bread into smaller pieces that she could take with one hand, and steadied the soup bowl for her so that she could eat without fear of spilling.
She was grateful, but…
She shook her head.
"This is so embarrassing," she said.
"Why," he asked, "You needed aid, and I chose to offer it."
He gave her a gentle smile.
"There is nothing in embarrassing about needing help."
She worried her lower lip with her teeth.
She supposed he was right. She had not begged for help after all, his compassion might be his undoing one day, but for now it served her ends.
For now, it was simply wise to accept it. Who knew what awaited her at the end of her journey to the Jedi planet.
She would need to keep up her strength, to endure...
…To always endure.
As she ate her eyes wandered over him, trying to sense any damage from their battle with Terrog. He seemed okay, but her memory of his leaping at the Dark Lord his use of Force Judgement…
If what she had read back on Fury 9 and Korriban was right, the Jedi did not teach that ability, she wondered where he learned it from.
There was so much about him that she didn't know. As children it had not mattered, they had simply enjoyed each other's company, as adults…well…
She wanted more
She wanted to know him.
She wanted to understand.
"You told me a little about yourself when we were dreaming of Ambria," she said softly, hoping that the listening devices that were sure to be in this cell were not strong enough to pick up her words.
I've shared much about me. Yet, I find I know so little about you. Where you're from? What have you been doing these last few years…?"
Fenn chuckled.
"There is really not much to say about that," he replied, "I was born on Corellia, but have not been back in years. My parents gave me to the order as a baby, and I've been a Jedi ever since."
"Do you ever see them, your parents I mean?"
Fenn shook his head no.
"The Jedi discourage such attachments. Even storied families like the Da-Bodas and Dar Bynns rarely have contact with their Jedi children after their training begins. The Shadowstones, my parents, it is hard to say what they would think if I went to them now. I'm not even sure why they gave me to the order."
He shook his head.
"Would they be proud? Would they be afraid of me? Who could say?"
Avaryss said nothing, she knew how mundanes of the Empire viewed the Sith masters. Could it be that the citizens of the Republic were equally worried about the Jedi? Were they afraid of their protectors?
She filed the information away for now, it might become useful later.
"I've been training with Master Jas for years now, as you know. Beyond that, and helping to rebuild the order and temple, there has been little time for anything else."
She nodded. She understood what it was like being bound to a busy master's whims, but still…
"Was it he that taught you Force Judgment? Does Master Jas know light side lightning?"
Fenn winced at her mention of the Force power that she had seen.
Perhaps he had hoped she was too out of it to have noticed.
"You saw that huh?
"Yes."
Fenn ran his hand through his spiky blond hair.
"Master Jas did not teach me how to conjure Force lightning. I…I discovered how to do it during my time in Coruscant's lower levels, after we fled the temple."
Fenn pursed his lips.
"As I told you once, we do what we could to survive down there, things that we were neither proud of, nor wanted to speak of again."
Sounds familiar, Avaryss thought, after all she had manifested a death field for the first time with no training, it had just come into being, a byproduct of her pain and rage. It had saved her life from Feer's enforcer, but it had also left with many questions, questions that had taken years to answer, and still she was not entirely satisfied with the answers she had found.
When she thought about that night, she still felt that she was missing something. After that night she had never been able to conjure a death field with such ease again. Perhaps it was just how her Force powers had first manifested, or…maybe…
…Maybe it was something more.
Whatever it was, that night had changed her life forever.
Perhaps what had happened to Fenn in the underbelly of Coruscant had done the same.
Eventually she would get the whole story out of him.
Eventually.
The guards returned, informing Fenn that his time with the prisoner was up. He took the now empty tray from her lap, and patted her remaining hand with his.
"Do not be afraid," he said, "I won't let anything happen to you."
She gave him another sheepish grin. She thought he was being naïve, but chose to remain silent about that.
It was possible that she might be able to use Fenn to find a way out of this, a way to return to the Empire.
Maybe…if and when she did escape, he would agree to come with her.
She would have liked to show him the Empire through her eyes.
She would have liked for him to see that they were not simply enemies to be destroyed.
The Sith were a passionate people.
She would have liked to have shown him that.
He took the empty tray and left her, a few hours later a Republic officer came to inform her she was being transferred off of his vessel to a shuttle, from there she would be taken to the Jedi's new temple world.
She was set to leave in about ten hours.
The realization did little to improve her mood. She bounced between pacing and lying on her bunk, trying to come up with a plan, a way to get out of this mess.
Sadly, she could not come up with anything, with the exception of trying to end her own life; she saw little chance to get out of this.
She lay down and tried to sleep, but rest would not come, she was too worked up to sleep.
There has to be a way out of this.
She knew there was.
There had to be a way!
Once again she felt Fenn's presence; he arrived a few moments later with four fully armored Republic troopers and Shyra Viel.
The two Jedi Padawans had volunteered to see her safely back to the new Jedi temple. They would be he escorts on this journey.
Avaryss could guess why Fenn had asked. Shyra's motivation was not so clear cut.
She does not care about your reaching this planet, the dark side whispered within her, the mongrel cares only about Fenn.
Maybe she is nervous; maybe she fears that Fenn might do something foolish.
Whatever the reason, the mongrel was coming along for the ride.
Avaryss was so thrilled.
They locked her remaining arm to her side. Her hand was secured against making any gestures that might allow her to try and focus the dark side. To prevent her speaking any spells, she had once again had a bit shoved into her mouth.
Unlike others she had faced, it seemed that these Jedi did know how to contain a Sith Sorceress.
Once she was safely secured they began the journey to the hangar bay, Fenn to her right, Shyra to her left.
Soldiers and techs watched as they passed. The young Sith glared impotently at them, they looked at her like she was some monster, some grotesque thing brought out for their amusement.
If she had access to her powers, she would show them exactly how wrong they were.
She could feel Shyra's regard on her; the beast girl was so hungry for her to try something, anything.
No doubt she would have enjoyed bringing Avaryss low.
The Sith did not give her the satisfaction of trying.
All her thoughts were now focused on the future.
What would happen when she was locked away in a Jedi cell?
She recognized the shuttle type when they finally entered the hangar, it was one of the larger vessels of its type, a long range shuttle that meant the Jedi planet could be anywhere in this quarter of the galaxy, where ever here even was.
The two Republic pilots stood outside the entrance ramp waiting for them. One was a blue skinned humanoid, the other a squid-headed Quarren.
Avaryss frowned when she saw the shuttle's copilot. He looked…familiar.
Was this the same Quarren that had been watching her in the hall?
She could not say for certain. She did not know enough about the species to say this was the same one.
The lead trooper turned over some kind of data pad to the pilot, a transfer document or some such foolishness, she supposed. The other three troopers and the two Padawans escorted her up the boarding ramp, securing her in a passenger seat next to the shuttle's main hold. Fenn sat next to her while Shyra took a seat across from them, so she could watch Avaryss closely no doubt.
Go ahead and watch, Avaryss thought.
I won't give you the satisfaction of begging.
The troopers turned and left, leaving the Jedi alone with their prisoner. She saw a locked box had been loaded on board as well, when she reached out to it with the Force she sensed the presence of the crystal that held Terrog's soul within.
The sensation angered her.
Were the Jedi going to try to free Terrog's soul? It would be foolish to attempt such a feat. It was more likely that the crystal would end up in some Jedi archive or trophy room, left to collect dust.
That such a prize was to be locked away was a waste. The least the Jedi could do was return it to the Empire.
It would have been a fitting gift for the dark council.
Avaryss felt the shuttle rumble beneath her, she tried one last time to free herself, to break the restraints.
The Force barely whispered to her, she was unable to draw on enough of her emotions to find the power she needed. The Medical droid had given her an injection before she had left her cell; perhaps that was what was muddying her thoughts and keeping her calm.
Not that it really mattered, not now.
She was out of time.
She was on her way to the Jedi home base.
Who knew what awaited her when they arrived.
She felt the strange sensation one felt when they were on a ship that just entered hyperspace. Once they were away from the fleet, Fenn finally removed the bit from her mouth.
"Thank you," she mouthed.
In the seat across from them Shyra rolled her eyes.
Avaryss glared silently at her.
An awkward silence over took the three, Avaryss could feel the tension.
She decided to make things…interesting.
She sighed and laid her head on Fenn's shoulder.
Shyra took notice, her large brown eyes widened.
The beast girl growled in the back of her throat.
Fenn did nothing to show if he liked or disliked what she was doing,
The least he could do was put his arm around my shoulder, she thought.
Wouldn't that annoy the mongrel?
Fenn leaned in, she could feel his breath on the top of her head; gooseflesh crawled up her arms, her heartbeat quickened with excitement.
"I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised again.
She frowned.
"Whatever happens to me, you should do nothing," she advised.
"You should say nothing."
"Why," he murmured, "If I can help you…."
"It would go badly for you. I would not see you ruin your life for me."
She glanced up at him, seeing her reflection in his eyes. She might have been wrong, but she did not look as pale as she had in the past, and if she was not mistaken, she saw flecks of blue showing in her normally burning red eyes.
What that meant, she could not say.
She gave him a pained look.
"Think about yourself Fenn," she said, "Do not risk your future trying to help me. I…I have accepted my fate. Whatever comes, I will meet it as a Sith. That is what I want…that is my choice."
Fenn's eyes narrowed, she could see that he was not happy with that, but what else could she do.
She understood the whole selfless Jedi thing, but in this she did not want it.
Just this once, she wanted him to think about himself.
Fenn sighed and rested his head on hers, between the warmth of his body, and the gentle hum of light speed…it was too soothing.
Despite her worries, Avaryss found herself dosing off, sleep over took her before she had a chance to resist.
Good dreams this time, please, she thought, preferably those with Fenn in them.
It would be nice.
She wanted that, whatever came next, she could face it better with that one sweet release.
Let the bitterness come, she thought.
For the moment, she was at peace.
IOI
"Fenn!"
Avaryss startled, the sound of Shyra's voice waking her from a sound sleep.
She shifted, feeling a strange sense of vertigo, silence had filled the ship.
"Fenn," Shyra hissed again, "Wake up!"
Her dream friend startled and sat up.
"Huh? What?!"
Hush," Shyra growled; she was out of her seat with her weapon drawn.
Fenn blinked, and shook his head. Avaryss glanced around, unsure of what was going on.
"Shyra," Fenn said, "What is going on?"
The beast girl growled.
"We've come out of hyperspace," she informed him, "We seem to be floating dead in space."
Fenn rose from his chair. He was now reaching out with the Force, trying to get his bearing, get a sense of what was going on."
Avaryss sat silently in her chair, watching and waiting.
She was not sure what was happening, but this might be the opportunity she had been waiting for.
She would not let it slip away.
The two Jedi were both fully awake now, both hyper alert.
Fenn looked at Shyra.
"Go check on the pilots. See what is wrong, and what we can do to help."
She nodded and bounded forward. The cockpit was at the top of a short ladder. The entry hatch was open, but all was silent up there.
Shyra had her blade out, but did not activate it, not yet.
"Pilot, what is going on?" she called out.
No answer.
"Pilot?"
Shyra lit her weapon; the emerald blade lit the shadowy darkness.
"Pilot? What is going…?"
There was a loud banging below their feet. Avaryss looked down; the only thing on the deck was the shuttle's emergency lower hatch.
It sounded like another ship had just attached to them; that a boarding socket had locked on.
Shyra looked away from the hatch and growled.
It was all the distraction that the pilot needed.
Three rapid stun blasts flashed through the open hatch. Shyra had been too close to dodge, too close to leap forward, or get out of the way.
Three stun rings encircled her. She did not even have a chance to try to block.
The beast girl fell with a surprised yelp!
"NO!" Fenn leapt to his feet as the hatch began to sparks, he drew his blade and dropped into a fighting stance.
The young Jedi stood ready, ready to meet whatever threat faced him first.
The hatch blew inward.
HK-Sigma 3 leapt into the shuttle!
The assassin droid brought up his rifle only to have it sliced in half. He tried to fire his flamethrower, only to have Fenn dance out of the way.
"Angry Threat: Meatbag!" the assassin droid growled, "I will have you yet. I will…"
Fenn lunged as the droid tried to bring another weapon to bear. His lightsaber caught the droid in the neck right where the armor plates met, and through the power of the Force, Fenn managed to slip his blade between them.
HK's head came off in a shower of sparks. It bounced across the deck as the body toppled over.
"Systems failing, master," the droid head croaked with each bounce.
Finally, its optics went you.
The droid was still.
It was at that moment that the Quarren pilot dropped down from the cockpit, he fired three quick stun blasts at Fenn. Despite the close quarters, Fenn only just managed to avoid them. He stretched out his hand and flung the squid-head back with a strong Force push. The alien struck the bulk head hard, and went down without a sound.
The alien shook his head, clearly stunned.
"Lieutenant," Fenn shouted.
"WHY?!"
Avaryss said nothing, she merely watched.
A smile came to her face.
A small grease stain appeared on the Quarren's cheek, his jaw tentacles began to shrink flowing into a single jaw while bright red hair began to sprout from the top of his pointed, yet slowly rounding head.
"Ow," Ensign Holli said, her real voice asserting itself.
"That hurt."
Fenn blinked.
"What?!"
He did not have time to respond.
The hiss of activating lightsabers sounded below. A smoke grenade came up and exploded in midair, turning the ship's cargo bay into a misty night.
Fenn tried to close the hatch, to stop anyone else from boarding, but was stopped by Xen who must have leaped in just after the bomb went off.
Her cross guard blade met Fenn's as she pushed him back. Their weapons sparked with each strike.
"Hello, old friend," she said in a low sultry voice.
"Are you ready to die?"
Fenn engaged his former friend in battle the light of their weapons turning the smoke a deep purple.
Necris leapt up next, her red blade flaring against the cloud.
"Master?" the Devish called out.
"Are you being here?!"
"Here!" Avaryss shouted.
"I'm here!"
"Keera! NO!"
She heard Fenn, but did not acknowledge him.
She knew what she had to do.
she had to get out of here!
"Necris! I'm over here," she called out.
"Free me from this chair!
"Get me out of this!"
"HELP ME, APPRENTICE!"
"HELP ME!"