Part XX
~Current Day, Coruscant, Core Worlds, Republic Space~
The low-light glowed dimly in the darkened office, a lone half-dressed figure sat hunched over a large stack of seemingly ancient Sith texts. The single source of light in the room emanating from the small desk lamp built into the wall monitor. It was another late night for Ava, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sanguine, trying to uncover her past if for nothing more than personal edification. Though Ava knew, as a learned student of history, secrets of the past can lead to victories in the future. Her readings had her completely engrossed. The Dark Lord and Empress of the new Sith, or rather, Sanguine, Empire, quite literally translated as Empire of Blood, was half-sitting in the high-backed office chair, her raven-colored hair falling over her face, her half-naked form in a pair of armorweave leggings and nothing else, disheveled as a Mandalorian, as she started to read a revelation. For decades since her birth on her native Echan, and her subsequent involuntary "rebirth" of sorts on Korriban, she had no idea of her true parentage or origins in terms of her ancestral history. Now, thanks to contacts in the Sith Academy, and Sith Intelligence, she had managed to infiltrate the Academy Library on Korriban, she had access to the complete records, data files, and photographical evidence, usually under the purview of Sith Intelligence, of her entire family dating back to the First Great Schism and the exile of the first Dark Jedi Lords to Sith Space. Records from High General Ajunta Pall confirmed that Ava's direct-ancestor was a minor Lord in Pall's exiled retinue in the early days of the formation of the Sith Empire. This meant, above all, she was not a true, pure, Echani. Sith Intelligence was, of course, a hollow shell of its designed functional predecessor. The organization was steadily being infiltrated and usurped covertly by its Sanguine counterpart, especially in the aftermath of Darth Marr's death. Ava stood abruptly, knocking over the chair she had been in, "what..." She muttered in quiet exclamation. Ava knocked her beverage over in the process, though she did not care. Her dark bangs fell over her piercing white eyes as she continued to read, catching the glint of the old-fashioned looking fireplace. It was actually quite high-tech but her Mistress and lover did appreciate the classical aesthetic. Ava could not find fault with her logic; it was beautiful though her mind was steadily preoccupied as of late. She reread the passages several more times to be sure but there was no denying it. Long ago, during the infamous Mandalorian Wars, the Republic armies and navies were led by the rogue Jedi Commander and later Sith Lord, Revan.
What many did not know, nor did Ava until now, is that there were, among the active Republic military, several elite battalions of Echani Special Forces. Several of these battalions, roughly eighty percent, followed Revan loyally into the Unknown Regions, meeting the real, true Sith Empire, after the Mandalorians were defeated. They remained loyal to Revan even after he had been turned to the Dark Side by Emperor Vitiate. These Echani became Revan's new collective right-hand in Special Operations against the Republic. Most could not feel the Force, as such they were unaffected by its applications. Whenever Revan ordered missions against the Jedi or missions that involved Jedi leadership, or even operations with sensitive intelligence, or subject matter, the Legions of the Shadow Goddess were called upon. Fierce, brutal, deadly assassins trained since birth to be unstoppable, clad in white armorweave, and wielding elaborate native-forged ritual blades, few could match their prowess in combat. Ava was directly descended from their legions. After the Jedi Civil War, with Revan departing once again for the Sith Empire, notably Dromund Kaas, many of the Legion of the Shadow Goddess secretly accompanied him, largely upon the request of his wife, Bastila Shan. Once in Imperial Space, reports are scattered but most seem to agree that the Legion of the Shadow Goddess waited for Revan in orbit, but were discovered by the Sith navy. They went to ground on Dromund Kaas, giving up on finding Revan. Soon, they began meeting Pureblood Sith, passing as Imperial citizens, intermarrying, and subsequently interbreeding into the Empire. Several of these mixed Echani-Sith families eventually became members of Sith Nobility, "...back when meritocracy actually mattered." Ava muttered under her breath. The former Legion members swore allegiance to the Sith Empire throughout the centuries, and that allegiance had never been broken. Until Ava'kra. Ava's family could be traced back to a minor noble House that was largely wiped out, and the remnants absorbed by a larger House, while the survivors fled back to Echan. The more Ava read, the more things came to light. Ava found that she could trace her direct matrilineal bloodline to the executive officer of the 13th Shadow Legion, first of the Galactic Republic, then and most notably of the Revanite Sith Empire, Her ancestor, unfortunately unnamed in these texts, led the charge that broke the Republic line on Balmorra, and shattered the Republic's 160th Grenadiers with unseen savagery, likewise the 165th Republican Guards, a heavy armor detachment. She led the assault against the Republic defense of Ryloth that brought the planet under Revan's auspices. Her ancestor further developed and executed the crippling strikes at Corellia, Kuat Drive Yards, Rhen Var, and Eriadu on the Outer Rim, plus countless others for the Dark Lord. Ava's history was one of blood. The military exploits of Ava's ancestors had been largely forgotten, along with many others as the Sith Empire, under the Vaiken doctrine, prepared their war machine to march on the Galactic Republic, which Revan was supposed to have paved the way for. Ava's family had, regardless, lived on as loyal soldiers of the Empire, through the centuries until one young girl, having been born in exile on her ancestral homeworld of Echan, discovered her Force affinity, and was taken home to Korriban to live, train, and suffer at the Sith Academy.
