Chapter 17: Not a Monster

"Is this your first time on Oridanna, my lord?"

Avaryss eyes narrowed.

Now that she had finally gotten over the initial shock of seeing Roan Wilkes again, her temper and self-control had both reasserted themselves.

He has no right to be here, she thought angrily, no right!

He's talking to you, Keera reminded her.

You need to answer him.

She suppressed a sigh.

She still could not believe that he was here.

IOI

She had been in shock when she saw him, but perhaps she should not have been. The Force moved you in ways that could be most unexpected.

She should have anticipated something like this.

Hissa, not knowing who she was and her history with the Wilkes family would not have understood what she had been feeling at that moment. How could he?

Who else could possibly understand?

Ro, being Ro, had tried to play the charming card; he had always been good at that. She remembered how the girls in his class had always giggled when he played the gentleman.

Air headed fools, she thought.

Not a one had been deserving of him.

She had not fallen for his act, she knew him too well.

When he reached out to take her hand and kiss it, she offered him her mechanical hand. That had…thrown him off his game.

He wasn't sure what to do when he took it, she remembered with a hint of a smile. Even to someone that was not Force sensitive, her new hand could be disturbing, the crystals built into it were designed to focus dark side energy, so that she could still use her powers despite her loss.

She had been told that some people found touching her artificial hand troubling, they could sense the dark side energies contained within.

It had had the desired effect, for the moment.

Ro had…politely withdrawn.

That experience had shut her old friend up, for a while at least; now, it appeared that he was trying again.

How special.

IOI

My lord," he repeated, "Have you been here before?"

Maybe he thought she had not heard him.

She felt her fingers clenching into an angry fist.

How would she play this now? Tell him what he wanted, or simply ignore him.

Tell him nothing, the dark side within her whispered, he is far beneath you now…

you don't owe him anything.

"No," she said flatly, without expanding on it any more than that.

Ro waited for her to respond further, when she did not he coughed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

He fell silent again, realizing that it was a good idea for him to remain quiet around her.

Lucky him.

He did not understand.

He had been summoned to be her guide, and now she was resisting his every attempt at an advance.

She knew it was a foolish move on her part, but her emotions allowed for nothing else.

The past between them was too strong.

What else could she possibly do?

They were currently seated across from each other in one of the Empire's large wheeled military transports. The winds of Oridanna winters made using speeders difficult especially if a surprise storm came up. The wide based armored transports were not easily effected, it took a lot to blow them off course, their heaviness making them perfect for operations here on Oridanna.

Being aboard one made Avaryss…a little nervous, the last time she had seen one of these transports it had been outside her family farm, having transported the men and women that had killed her family.

Do not think about that now, she thought angrily, all that had happened in the past, it had no relevance on what was happening now. I'm no longer some scared fifteen year old farm girl.

I'm a Dark Lord of the Sith, and I will not be denied.

We need to move forward then, Keera inquired.

Of course, but…

Then why are you being such a shutta to Ro? Talk to him, we requested him after all, use him?

Avaryss cursed under her breath, grateful for the privacy mode on her helmet.

She had requested an Oridannan to work with her.

She needed to make the best of it.

Damn it.

As for Ro, she was not sure how useful he would be to her, Magistrate Hissa said he was both well-known and trusted by the people here. Yet, when she looked at him, she could only see the son of the man who had betrayed her father, the man who had tried to have her delivered to his son as a trophy, something pretty to make their power grab seem that much more legitimate.

Avaryss had no words to describe what she was feeling in that moment.

She did not know how much Hissa had told him about her. Only that he was likely her best bet to win the hearts and the minds of the people, or so the Magistrate had claimed. She decided that when she did have to speak to him, she would be using only her Dromund Kaas accent; she would not reveal her origins to him, not yet.

She could sense her former friend's discomfort, his confusion, she had summoned him, but now she pushed him away.

He does not realize that it is me, she thought, when he looks at me all he sees is another masked and armored Sith.

Perhaps that is for the best, perhaps Ro should not know who she truly was?

She frowned slightly.

That knowledge would likely lead to further complications.

When she had first reached out with the Force, when she touched Ro Wilkes' mind, all she felt was fear, fear and distrust.

She did not blame him, after everything that her master had done, she would not have been willing to accept her either; they would need to work on that. If he was going to help her

Of course, that would mean winning his trust, which meant she would have to open up to him, give him at least an idea of who and what she was now.

She was not sure if she could do that.

Then we have failed before we even had a chance to begin, Keera reminded her.

If you cannot gain Ro's trust, what is the point of trying with anyone else?

Keera's defense of Ro was surprising.

Avaryss did not understand the fear she was sensing, why was Ro Wilkes afraid? Had his father not risen to the rank of overseer because of Darth Feer? Why would he be fearful or distrustful of the motives of someone who had proved so valuable in the past?

It made little sense, as did Keera's response to all of this.

Avaryss' other half should have been screaming for Ro's blood, but instead, she was speaking up for him, defending him.

Why?

Why would she do that?

In fact, she seemed downright intrigued by what Hissa and the Force had dropped into her lap.

You have questions about what happened that night, she offered Avaryss, why not ask them and be done with it. Ro is sitting right here.

You want to know the truth about what his father did? Well, why not ask him now?

Avaryss shook her head no.

There was no reason to dig up the past. The dead were in their graves…

…let them rest.

But you are not dead, Keera reminded her, and neither is Ro. You need him, and you are stupidly holding a grudge. If the past is dead, then let it die, let go of your grudge and use him.

She could feel Keera's desire to look upon the boy who had been her friend all those years ago.

Mm, Keera purred softly, he still looks good doesn't he?

A shiver ran down Avaryss' spine.

Maybe you should take a closer look.

Avaryss dared a glance up, truly looking at her old friend, her former friend.

Ro noticed; he looked up at her prompting her to look away quickly.

"My lord?" he asked.

"It is nothing," Avaryss said quickly, perhaps too quickly.

Damn it.

She swallowed hard, despite her anger about the past; she could not deny the truth about one thing that Keera had said…

…Ro…he did look good.

The last time they had seen each other, Roan Wilkes had only just turned seventeen. He would be…twenty one now by her estimation. His dark hair was cut in proper military fashion, short, but by no means buzzed like some raw recruits. He was still broad shouldered with bright green eyes. He had just a hint of stubble on his face, giving him a more…rugged look. His security volunteer's uniform fit him snuggly showing off his muscular physique.

Ro had always cut an impressive figure, he had been a handsome young farm boy, and had now grown into a handsome young peacekeeper. The kind of man her father might have approved of.

Avaryss shook her head.

What was she doing?

What she was thinking, what she was looking at?

It was beyond inappropriate.

Why are you ogling him? Avaryss asked Keera.

Her response came back with amusement.

Aren't you?

Keera had first really got to know him shortly after she had turned ten, he was about twelve then and their fathers, recently returned from the war with the Republic, had been working closely in those days, getting used to their new positions. Andur was an overseer, and Golan Wilkes was chief peacekeeper.

As a twelve year old, Roan Wilkes had been a torment to little Keera, he had seemed to enjoy making things…uncomfortable for her. Teasing her about how she ran and how skinny and coltish she had been. At first she had tried to ignore him, but he had not let it happen, he just stayed close and kept at it, and she had been stuck listening to him. As the years had rolled by, they slowly but surely found a rapport, until one day they had looked up and realized that their relationship had…changed.

At fifteen she had grown into a curvy and athletic young girl, Ro had noticed that, and, now looking back, she realized that he had been trying to gain her attention, that what she had been experiencing up to this point had been a game of sorts, the goal, to interest the young daughter of the overseer.

Golan Wilkes, Ro's father, had tried to convince his old army buddy that his son should marry his friend's eldest daughter. Andur Lylos had never said yes to the match, but she suspected that he had considered it.

Looking back, Avaryss wondered what Keera's response would have been had her father chosen to take his old friend up on the offer?

Would she have resisted the match?

Avaryss could not say for certain.

Meanwhile, her mother had had her own ideas, and those had colored father's feelings on the matter.

That was why the deal had never really been sealed she supposed.

Mya Lylos had done her best to discourage her husband, at least, that is what Avaryss believed had happened. Looking back she realized all the times that her mother had suggested to her father that Keera be matched with the son of one of the rich landowners in the southern provinces, that such a marriage would be better for their family in the long run.

Avaryss shook her head.

How times had changed.

Mya and Andur Lylos were dead. The southern landowners had been all but destroyed. Their property now owned by her master, and she and Ro Wilkes now found themselves riding in a transport together, both in service of the man who had destroyed her family.

Irony.

Had things happened a little differently, had Mya Lylos managed to find her daughter a match in the southern provinces then it was highly likely she be dead by now. Either killed by her master's enforcers or forced to live in one of the many squatter camps that were now scattered about the plains.

The Force had saved her from that fate. It had given Keera Lylos a chance to be more than what she had ever thought possible.

She had become Avaryss, and Avaryss still had a chance to avenge her family.

But was Ro part of that revenge? Was he an enemy or an ally?

She simply did not know.

IOI

The transport was now several kilometers outside of Danna City, moving out across the plains. Despite the martial law and lock down issued by both Darth Sadi and Moff Galek trouble still plagued the various settlements that had heard the rebel's call to arms.

A full Sith legion had been deployed to prevent any further uprising. Sith Walkers now protected the various granaries and spore processing centers that helped drive the Oridanna economy.

Avaryss along with Enforcer Gnar, Warmaster Bleez, Xen, and Ro Wilkes were on their way to investigate two trouble spots that had sprung up in the last hour.

Gnar's young Tukata dozed at their master's feet, from what she had observed the beasts did nothing without their master's order. It was an impressive display to say the least. Avaryss had been surprised that the slim pureblood had managed to master the beasts.

"I served as an enforcer on Korriban for a time, my lord," he informed her, "I protected the reclamation service's people, made sure that they did not get overwhelmed by the local wildlife.

The pureblood cackled.

"I've always had a talent for mastering beasts; I think I prefer them over most people."

Avaryss nodded, she had heard of the Force offering such gifts.

Though she was surprised to find that Gnar was a mere enforcer, surely a pureblood, so strong in the Force should have risen higher in the Sith ranks.

"Were you ever a student on Korriban?" she asked.

"No," he confessed, "I didn't have the temperament for it. I came up through the academy on Fury 2. From there I found myself recruited into the army, served with the marauders for a time."

The admission did not sit well with enforcer; she felt that he was waiting for her to make some snide remark about being trained at one of the Furies. She did not do that.

Avaryss smiled.

"I trained at Fury 9. It may have been a blasted rock, but I learned much there. "

His golden eyes widened slightly.

"You came up from Fury 9?"

"It was not easily," she admitted proudly, "I had to fight twice as hard to earn twice as much prestige, but success is possible. After all…we are both here are we not? None could doubt that accomplishment."

The pure blood nodded, she sensed that his perception of her had changed.

He knows now that I'm not simply some pampered rich girl from Dromund Kaas.

That perception could prove useful.

She still did not know how tight of a control that Darth Sadi had over the enforcers. She needed to determine that as she moved forward. Technically they were under her direct command, but who could say where their loyalties truly lay.

From speaking with Gnar, from probing him with various questions, she had been able to determine two things, number one, both he and twins were more in Sadi's pocket than they were willing to admit, comments that he had made, and several harsh looks at her criticism of the dark lord had confirmed that, and two: that the Twi'lek enforcer known as Chylde was a bit of a wild card.

Sadi chose to keep the girl close, but that did not mean loyalty. According to Gnar, the lord of the Itae system had mentioned several times that she would not be disappointed if the Twi'lek did not return when she was sent out on mission.

Avaryss filed that knowledge for later use.

Could the alien girl be an ally?

She would need to speak with her, not to mention evaluate her performance more before she could be sure.

As for her own team, Avaryss had advised them all to be cautious around Darth Sadi and the enforcers. Bleez maintained the distance that Avaryss had come to expect from the Warmaster while Xen was…well…Xen.

Avaryss watched her apprentice closely

She was still not sure if she trusted Xen and Beric's relationship, despite what she had seen up this point. She also did not fail to notice how the former Jedi was now looking at Ro, evaluating him, perhaps even undressing him with her eyes, trying to draw her old friend's attention.

Avaryss was not pleased with that.

She had warned Xen about moving on from Beric, of getting bored and looking for someone new to play with. Avaryss needed Ro where he was, and she did not wish to have Beric distracted if his girl suddenly started looking at other men and causing problems.

Plus, it is Ro, Keera reminded her, Xen would be wise to keep her hands to herself, at least where Ro was concerned.

Avaryss nodded slightly.

Indeed, she thought.

In this, she and Keera were in agreement.

Ro was off limits.

She would make sure that Xen understood that.

The transport continued to rumble down the road, the pilots in the front alerted Avaryss and company that they were approaching their first destination.

The dark lord nodded.

The rebels had stolen her first attempt to introduce herself to the Oridannan people.

Now, she intended to correct that.

She had spent enough time on the defensive, giving the rebels free shots at her and her holdings.

That ended now.

One step at a time, she thought to herself...

…One step at a time.

IOI

Their first stop had been a small family owned refueling station outside of Danna City. An hour after the rebel broadcast, a small command speeder carrying six Sith Troopers and been ambushed here. As the troopers had been refueling their transport they had come under fire from tall grass across from the station. The speeder had pulled away from the station and swung around to shield the troopers only to have it be destroyed a few moments later by an explosion of unknown origin. The explosion had killed two of the troopers, and the others had responded by hurling grenades into the tall grass, prompting those firing into revealing their position, the troopers had pursued these troublemakers only to be cut down a few seconds later by a secondary ambush, more enemy fighters hidden from view.

Avaryss shook her head, as she examined the bodies lain out on the road.

As ambushes went, this one had not been fairly well planned out.

Gnar was currently searching where the attackers had been hiding, he and his beasts looking for clues. Bleez and Xen remained at her side, while Ro questioned the owner of the station and his family.

Her eyes turned to the refueling station, and the family that maintained it.

Now the question was: if the people that lived here knew about the ambush and if so how could she turn the matter to her advantage?

The owners of the station were currently standing outside of it under guard. The man introduced himself as Ogden Makk, his wife and two sons were at his side. She estimated that the boys were between ten and eleven, and seemed more interested in the soldiers than what had happened here.

The youngest one had even saluted when he saw Bleez, being the good soldier; the Warmaster had returned that salute.

It was kind of cute. Avaryss was pleased that at least some of the next generation held the Empire in their hearts. It gave her hope for what she was trying to accomplish.

Avaryss said nothing as Ro interacted with the man and his family. He called the man by name, and she could sense…familiarity between them.

Strange, she thought, they were a long way from Orid, which is where Ro should have been stationed.

It was odd that he would have a relationship with people so close to the capital.

You are going to have to talk to him and find out, Keera reminded her; you can't use a resource if you don't understand it.

That was true, still…she was hesitant.

It was still Ro, after all.

Finally the station's owner turned his attention to her. He had told the same story over and over since they had arrived, he had known nothing about the ambush, with the winds being what they were this time of year he had heard nothing until the explosions and shooting had begun.

The man clasped his hand before him; she could feel his fear, his concern for his family.

"I swear…we knew nothing of this attack, please have mercy, my lord."

Avaryss' eyes narrowed.

Those who ask for mercy are not worthy of it, that was the Sith way. Still, a little mercy now might buy her more cooperation later.

Plus, she sensed no duplicity from the man. These families were simple people, they did not care about the games the dark lords played.

"We will need to investigate this matter," she said using her Oridannan accent, which surprised both Ogden and Ro.

She turned to the boys, they were not afraid, in fact they seemed eager to be around the soldiers, wanting to get a closer look at the transport.

She smiled.

She had an idea.

"In the meantime, your sons will be spending the night in the capital. I wish them to understand what we are doing to protect them from the criminals that have done this heinous crime."

Avaryss leaned in closer. She wanted the boys' undivided attention

"Would you like that?" she asked them "Would you like to see what the inside of a military transport looks like?"

She sensed excitement from the children; they looked almost giddy as they accepted her offer. They squealed happily, asking their parents if they could go.

They did not really understand what she was doing. Ro looked aghast, and the parents were clearly afraid.

Avaryss sighed.

They had no reason to be afraid.

"We will see them safely back tomorrow," she promised, "You have my word."

The parents now had no recourse, a Sith had given her word.

They would be wise to accept her offer.

Avaryss turned to Warmaster Bleez.

"Make our young friends comfortable, will you Warmaster?"

Bleez nodded, it was not the usual order that Avaryss gave, but it would be obeyed.

The children pulled away from their parents, both looked horrified, and through the Force she could sense their terror.

"Fear not," Avaryss promised them in a low voice, a voice that the boys would not hear, "You are a family of loyal imperials."

She chuckled.

"Loyal imperials have nothing to fear from me."

The mother and father nodded nervously, they knew better to question a Sith when her mind was made up.

She turned her cape swishing behind her in the winter wind. Ro followed after her, as her troopers, began to return to the transport, preparing to move out. Gnar's beasts had found nothing to aid them in the search for the rebels that did this, but that was fine, for now.

It would not be so easy to set up a similar ambush in the future.

A pair of security droids would be left behind to tend to the dead troopers and make sure that no one interfered with the crime scene. Hissa's people would arrive shortly to clean up what was left.

Avaryss had done what was expected of her, now she returned to her transport, Ro followed closely in her wake.

"Permission to speak, my lord," he whispered to her.

"Granted," she replied, trying to keep a civil tongue.

"Are those boys safe?' he asked, "their parents are…"

"They have nothing to worry about," Avaryss assured him, "I meant what I said, they will be returned unharmed tomorrow, and they will have a few exciting stories to tell their little friends."

"And the parents," Ro asked.

Avaryss smiled beneath her mask.

"I'm sure they got my point. I could have just has easily taken their children forever, conscripted them, executed them…done whatever I wanted, but I won't."

She glanced over at Ro.

"I'm not a monster, lieutenant, despite what the rebels think."

Ro Wilkes nodded.

"You are also from here," he said, for the first time he was not acting, he was not playing the charming boy, or the good little soldier, for the first time, she was talking to Ro Wilkes again.

She found it…gratifying.

"Magistrate Hissa told me, but I did not believe it."

Avaryss shrugged.

"There are many things about me that you would not believe, Lieutenant."

She laughed lightly.

"Be here long enough, you might just get to know all of them."

He laughed, for the first time she felt no fear, only amusement…

…That…and interest?

Avaryss blushed under her helmet.

She had not thought her last comment suggestive, but perhaps it was.

Damn.

IOI

The transport continued on, they had one more stop to make before returning to Danna City.

The two boys, Alif and Rytan were intrigued by everything around them. Avaryss had ordered that the boys be subjected to nothing negative on this journey. She wanted them to return from the capital with nothing but good things to say about their new inquisitor.

A long journey started with a single step, it may have seemed like a small thing, winning the trust of two young boys, but it was necessary

She was not a monster.

She wanted the people to see that.

She asked Bleez to keep an eye on them, make sure that they touched nothing that they were not supposed to. The Warmaster seemed to have no problem playing babysitter; in fact the trooper seemed both eager and proud to share what the Imperial army had to offer a young man.

Bleez is a proud Sith soldier. Avaryss may not have known the whole story, but that was clear.

Bleez owed much to the Empire, and was not afraid to share what the Empire had to give.

Alif, the younger one, was curious about Gnar's tukata, but was advised his distance, the Sith hounds were no mere pets. The beasts would not attack without their master's order, but that did not mean that they were not dangerous if surprised.

The enforcer wisely kept them back.

Their next stop was a granary that had been raided after the rebel broadcast. The troopers stationed there had been driven off by a superior force; the food stuffs stored their burned.

Avaryss was eager to hear the troopers' explanation.

They arrived to find the place a shambles, harvesters destroyed, and the storage barns burnt to the ground.

Avaryss frowned when she saw the war droids that had been stationed here, they lay broken inside their recharge sockets; they had not even been online when the attack began.

She shook her head.

Fools, she thought.

Stupid, irresponsible fools!

The six men trusted to guard this place stood at attention in front of the barracks. According to them, as they had been settling in for the night, the enemy had attacked. A large cargo transport backed up by at least a dozen enemy fighters on speeder bikes. The droids had been taken out first before the troopers had had a chance to respond. The enemy followed up by striking at the buildings with firebombs and grenades.

The troopers had had no choice but to flee, and return with a larger force, or so they claimed.

Avaryss frowned.

She would have made a different call.

The barracks here was a hard reinforced building. The troopers could have fallen back there, held out for an hour or two at least. It would have been long enough for reinforcements to arrive from one of the nearby settlements.

They had not done that however, they had run, and now she had little to go on but wreckage and a destroyed food shipment that was vital to the off world war effort.

She was not pleased.

"I fear that many of our storage facilities are at risk," Ro said speaking quietly enough so that only she could hear.

"Darth Sadi removed all of the Oridanna security volunteers from these sites. She did not trust us, thinking that we might be working with these criminals."

"Is it possible that the rebels have infiltrated your ranks?" she asked.

"Possibly, but I would still say there are more loyal Imperials among the volunteers than rebels. The troops that Lord Sadi is providing are not the best. All the best troopers are deployed on the front lines."

Avaryss nodded, Ro was not wrong in that assessment.

She sighed.

The men had fled without even trying to hold back the enemy tide. The rebels had even had time to erase the computer systems here, the security feeds were blank, no pictures or audio data that would have helped identify the ones who had done this.

She was not happy about that, she was not happy at all.

These men had got caught with their trousers down, and the Empire had paid the price.

She hissed angrily.

She could not just let this slide.

She asked Ro to go back into the transport and contact the magistrate. She intended to use her authority as Inquisitor to get the local security force for their holdings reinstated. After he had left to fulfill her orders she had pulled Xen aside and whispered orders into the girl's ear.

Her apprentice smiled when she heard them, no doubt approving of what was about to happen.

As for the men here, Avaryss ordered them to return to their barracks. She would be sending reinforcements soon, and a crew to repair the damage done, and get things up and running again.

The men did not question her orders, why would they, they likely thought they were getting off light. She had held her temper and not executed any of them.

They thought they were safe.

She was willing to let them believe that…

…for now.

Avaryss ordered her men back to the transport while the failed guards returned to their barracks as ordered.

She said nothing more until they were back on the road, when they were out of ear and eye shot of the destroyed granary.

She called the transport to a halt.

It slid to a stop idly in the middle of the road.

Avaryss smiled.

It was time to finish her business.

"Xen did we have a weapon's test scheduled for today?" she called out.

We did master," her apprentice replied, looking as innocent as she could, "The targets are programed and locked into the weapons console, as you ordered."

Avaryss nodded.

Good.

Ro looked up at her, he could not see her face, but she was smiling.

She had one final point to make.

He would be an excellent witness for what came next

The transport pulled off the road as its weapons systems came online; the trooper at the weapon's console gave up his seat to the dark lord.

She wanted to make sure that everything was in readiness.

"We should test the onboard missile system," she said.

Her attention turned to their two young guests.

She grinned.

"Alif, Rytan," she called out, "I'm about to blow up some targets with the long range weapons system."

She smirked beneath her mask.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

The boys squealed and leapt forward; Avaryss rose from her seat and motioned them forward. The older boy took the chair while his brother stood behind him, he whined a bit about that, but Avaryss assured him that he would be able to have a turn.

They would both get to fire the weapons, she promised.

There were enough targets for all.

She showed the boys how to bring up the preprogramed targets, how to lock weapons and to fire. The first two targets were easy, wrecked equipment left over from when Darth Feer took over five years ago.

The third target was a barracks at a now damaged granary.

Ro looked over her shoulder as the boys set up the next shot, talking excitedly, and eager to tell their friends about this.

Ro gave her a look, to which she shrugged.

She had wanted to give the boys a fun story, but at the same time her duty compelled her to punish those who failed her.

She was do both with a single shot.

Alif, now sitting at firing control laughed as the computer gave a steady tone declaring target lock.

"Fire," Avaryss ordered in her sweetest voice.

The boy pressed the button.

The missile flew from the launcher above them. The transport shook as it went.

A few moments later, the barracks exploded. The high yield missile struck tearing through the reinforced armor.

For those inside, there had been no escape.

The boys cheered.

Behind them, Avaryss sensed the emotions of her own troopers, it had taken them a bit but they had just realized what it was she had been doing. What the so called weapon's test really was.

She sensed a tide of conflicting emotions.

She felt acceptance for the killing of the cowardly troopers, shock at how it was done, anger at the fact that she had let the boys do it for her.

Xen grinned hungrily, enjoying the little game they had set up.

Avaryss smiled.

The boys remained oblivious to what they had just done, they had been occupied aboard the transport when it had stopped at the granary; they had not even seen the place, so how would they have recognized it?

No, they had done their duty to the Empire, and their Inquisitor.

Avaryss was most pleased.

Ro swallowed hard as he looked down at the deck. He glanced up at her, realizing for the first time how…complicated she was.

She was not a monster, no, but that did not mean that she went light on enemies and those who failed the empire.

She understood what the empire asked of her.

She would not let it down.

"I got it," Alif crowed, "I hit it!"

"Nice one, Alif," his brother said patting him on the shoulder.

"Good job, brother."

Avaryss laughed lightly, the sound mostly muffled by her mask.

"Indeed young one," she said nodding respectfully.

"Well struck."