Chapter 20: Lieutenant Wilkes
"My father was chief peace keeper for almost five years. He spent a lot of time getting to know all the right people, and often I was at his side."
Ro chuckled.
"He didn't realize it, but he was preparing me for all this," the young lieutenant shook his head.
"I suppose I should be grateful for that."
Avaryss nodded.
Though she already knew most of this story, having grown up around Ro she had heard an abbreviated version many times, usually in the form of complaints from the boy that would become the man sitting next to her. Some people might have found her deception as cruel, but it wasn't, she was not motivated entirely by a desire to hurt her former friend.
It was necessary to hear it from Ro himself, both to hide who she was, and to get an idea of what was going on in his head, how he saw himself in this new Oridanna.
She needed to see if he belonged to anyone yet, Hissa said her could be trusted, but the Magistrate could have been deceived, she preferred to err on the side of caution. The game she was playing was a dangerous one.
She had no desire to get caught off guard.
The two were currently riding in a command speeder, heading out towards the settlement of Orid. Bleez and a small detachment of guards followed behind them. The decision to go to Orid had been a necessary one. It served as one of the main processing centers of spores and food stuffs on the planet, if the rebellion wished to continue hurting the Empire, it was there that they would likely choose to strike.
We need to remind the people that the Empire keeping them safe, Avaryss thought, both remind and warn them.
Resistance will not be tolerated.
Darth Sadi did not seem completely sold on the plan, but, as Inquisitor, the final choice fell to Avaryss.
She would make the journey, she needed to do her job, and…look into other matters.
The people need to see me, Avaryss thought, not the fiction that the Rebels had tried to create, but the true her. She could be dangerous if crossed, yes, but at the same time she could be a great ally to her friends and servants.
She wished for the people of Orid to be both.
Plus, it had a hard record storage for all its citizens, citizens like the Lylos family.
Avaryss nodded slightly.
Perhaps those hard files would reveal more about her mother's history, and why the need to erase so much about her past.
Why do you even care, the darkness within whispered, how does your mother's history effect your life as a Sith? How does it help your mission here?"
It affects it, she thought, because someone very high up decided that mother's history was worth their time to erase. Why go to all that trouble if it was not important? What if someone was trying to hide something?
What that something was, she could not say, but she was curious.
Knowledge was power, and this knowledge needed to be hers.
Who knew where it might lead?
She turned to Ro; he seemed distracted by their journey, the long grass blowing in the winter wind.
She sighed.
Did he miss what had been before? Did he miss the simplicity that had once been a way of life here? Darth Daverus had been a more hands off ruler than Darth Feer, the people had gotten to live their lives; as long as the quotas were met the Empire let the Oridannan people live their lives in isolation and a state of blissful ignorance.
Feer had changed that, and now the war was making him tighten his grip on this planet even more, the war and his desire to ascend to the now vacant throne.
She did not want to see Darth Feer as Emperor, but at the same time, his ascension would bring her closer to the throne than anyone else. If he seized the Sith throne, all she would have to do was reach out and take it when the time was right.
Was that not worth bowing and scraping to him for a little while longer?
Was that not worth the happiness of her homeworld?
She frowned.
She could grind Oridanna beneath her heel, she could crush any resistance to her master's rule, but in doing so she would prove herself to be the one thing that she did not wish to be. She would prove herself her master's puppet, his blade at his enemy's' throats.
She shook her head.
Why was this so hard?
Why did she feel so…conflicted?
Because you do not want to hurt our people, Keera reminded her, you dreamed of making this world a paradise once; you could do so, if you continue on your current path.
But…but the throne?
If you control the Empire's food supply, the spores that increase the effects of our medical supplies, you will not need Darth Feer; you will have the Empire by the throat.
They will have no choice.
They can either bow, or be destroyed.
She shivered both ideas had their merits.
What was she to do?
What would a true dark lord do?
"My lord?"
She looked over; Ro was looking at her, a concerned look on his face.
"Is something wrong? You seem…tense."
Avaryss shook her head.
"I'm fine," she said dismissively.
She did not wish to discuss this with him right now. Still, she was surprised that he picked up on her tension; she did not think she let things slip so easily.
She was usually not so foolish as to let a little thing like body language reveal her emotions.
Being back on Oridanna was changing her, she feared, but was she growing weaker or stronger?
It might have nothing to do with you, Keera suggested, it might just be Ro.
She dared another glance at him.
Maybe, she thought.
Ro is a seasoned investigator now, Keera reminded her; you should not be surprised.
Again Avaryss sighed.
She had not expected this to be so difficult.
It would have been easier if the past did not keep intruding on the present. Despite her past feelings, her desire to see the Wilkes pay for what had happened to her and her family, what she was feeling when she looked at Ro was confusing the issue.
It would have been easier if he did not radiate with a silent pain. She could sense his hurting, and it made the predator in her sit up and take notice.
Normally, such signals made her want to destroy someone, but this time…this time…
…she felt…something different.
She found herself remembering that picnic long ago, the feel of his arms around her, the smell of him, and the softness of his skin.
She shivered.
She could honestly say, this was probably the first time she felt any sort of attraction to a man who was not Force sensitive, and yes, she was willing to admit that it was attraction. The thought of being with a mundane had never really entered her mind before this.
What would it be like?
When two Force sensitives were together, it was a…experience to be sure. It was not just physical intimacy, but mental intimacy as well, and when two Force sensitives…chose to become truly intimate, it went beyond mere physical desire.
Through the Force the two became one in that one sweet indescribable moment, all that you were, was, and might be all became rolled up in a beautiful, spiritual, and physical experience, an experience that left you breathless…changed.
She frowned beneath her mask.
What would it be like to be with a mundane? Someone who could not share in such an experience?
The thought made her mouth go dry.
She was…curious to say the least.
Perhaps Keera was right, perhaps she needed to explore what had happened to Ro, how the last few years had been for him.
It might be the only way to make an informed decision on what came next.
"You seem very well connected," she said conversationally."
Ro shrugged.
"As I said, my father was an ambitious man," her old friend shook his head.
"Too ambitious maybe."
She looked over him, wondering what he meant by that.
"May I ask you what happened?"
Again Ro shrugged.
"I assume you are wondering how my father died? I'm guessing you read my file, you seem to be a very thorough Sith, my lord."
She nodded; she would not insult him by playing childish games.
Ro gave her a sad smile.
"After his friend was killed, my father was named overseer. There were people in our district that did not agree with his promotion. Those first few weeks of Darth Feer's rule were…chaotic to say the least."
She felt a ripple of pain go off of him. The part of her that was Keera wanted to reach out to him, but Avaryss held it in check.
"There was a riot, my father brought in the security volunteers, men and women that he trusted. He did not need to go, but he thought that it would help calm things down, most people still knew him as chief peacekeeper he thought his presence might help calm things down. One of the rioters had a vibro-blade, and…
Ro snorted.
He died when someone stabbed him in the throat. His men tried to get him to a medical facility, but the wound was too bad and too deep. Once he was gone, my mother took my siblings and left, they feared that our family would suffer reprisals for my father's failure to contain things…"
"But you stayed?"
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure that my father's death was not in vain, and…I had other reasons. The murder of my father's friend, the first overseer and his family…
"I…I wanted to bring them to justice."
Avaryss listened intently, surprised by what she had heard.
Had Ro not known what his father had done? Had he had not known that Golan Wilkes had made a deal with Darth Feer?
It…it did not feel like it, she sensed no deception in her old friend's words.
She reached out with the Force, in that moment Ro Wilkes emotions were raw; they betrayed him, as she suspected they would…
What she felt…surprised her.
"I sense…that there was more to the story…a…a girl?"
Ro winced.
"I was close to the previous overseer's family," he admitted to her, "Their daughter was…"
He shook his head.
"It doesn't matter now, she is dead, and the people that hurt her are too. I brought them all down for what they did. I can take pride in that."
Avaryss nodded.
Again, she felt no deception, and what Ro was thinking, what he was feeling.
It touched her deeply.
He is a mundane, the dark side reminded her, there is no value in letting him into your life, he is not Force sensitive, and would only serve to weaken your bloodline.
Maybe, Keera agreed, but it would be fun…bringing him in.
She shivered.
Keera was not wrong.
It would be…fun.
"What of you, my lord?" Ro asked.
"Me," she said with a tilt of her head.
"Hissa said you were from here, and I can certainly hear that in your accent."
He smiled slightly.
"What is your story?"
She was tempted to tell him, what he had said to her, what she felt through the Force, she wanted to bare her soul to him. She wanted to do it, and she almost did…
…almost.
She sighed.
"I was an orphan," she admitted, "The Imperial mission found me in…a weak moment. They recognized what I was and could become, and sent me off world, where I attended a Sith Academy."
She nodded grimly.
"They made me who I am."
Ro nodded, accepting her story, it was not a lie; in fact it was the truth, just not the whole true.
The investigator in him likely suspected that there was more to the story, but did not push her on it.
"I'm sorry," he said, "It is never easy leaving one's home."
She tried to respond dismissively, to further keep him off balance.
"I gained more than I lost that day. The dark side gave me much and allowed me to return as more than I was before. I can make a difference here now, more than anyone else realizes."
Ro laughed.
She gave him a cool look.
"You doubt me?"
"No," he said smirking, "I just didn't peg you for an idealist, most of the Sith I've spoken with are more concerned about their own power than making a difference."
He chuckled.
"Your boyfriend must love that about you."
She pursed her lips.
Boyfriend? Why would Ro ask about that?
Was he trying to see if she was with anyone on Dromund Kaas?
Again she felt her body warm.
"My work occupies most of my time," she confessed, "And with the war on there is little time for such…dalliances. I'm on my own."
"Really," he said innocently, suggesting that the comment was anything but.
"Why do you ask?" she inquired.
"Just making conversation," he replied.
"And what of you lieutenant, do your girlfriends admire your bravery for standing up and questioning a Sith in so direct a manner?"
She was interested in how he responded to that. Ro had had no shortage of female admirers, she wondered if he had ever given into one. The file she had read said he was unmarried, but that did not mean that he was unattached.
"Like you, my work is my main concern," he said, and again she felt no lie in his words.
Her heart beat a little faster, despite her wishing that it wouldn't.
"Why do you ask?" he said.
She shrugged.
"Just making conversation," she answered a hint of a smile on her face.
"Just like you…"
He grinned.
"Fair enough, my lord," he said.
"Fair enough."
IOI
The village of Orid was much as she remembered it, with the exception of an increased Sith military presence, the place had not changed much. The government building still stood, as to the security walls and collection of warehouses where the Empire stored the various goods it needed for transport.
As for the people, they seemed…curious about her arrival, a small crowd began to gather as her command speeder and its escort pulled up before the main government building. She sensed a mix of fear and hostility, but did not think much of it. Between what he master had been doing, and the rebels' disinformation campaign she had suspected that she would not be greeted with open arms, not by the common folk anyway. The mayor and his staff emerged to meet them, offering both welcome and the assurance that the people of Orid remained committed to life under the Empire, and that the rebels would find no allies here.
That remains to be seen, she thought to herself.
So far she had experienced nothing to suggest that Oridanna was the loyal place that she remembered.
She was determined to change that, to bring her people back from the brink…
…she would do it by any means necessary.
Whatever it took, she was prepared to do it.
This world would be brought to heel.
As was tradition, the mayor and his staff met with her privately within the building, to swear to her, their dark lord's representative, an oath of fealty and loyalty.
She let the meeting happen. She found the whole thing incredibly boring, but the niceties had to be observed. She sat in the chair as the imperials stood around her, kneeling and swearing their loyalty. Her mechanical fingers idly traced a circle on her leg as the mayor and his sycophants droned on and on.
Ro noticed what she was doing, and so she quickly stopped, she was not sure if he could tell that she was bored by all this or if he felt something else was going on. She looked away from him, down and to the right. She pretended that she had not noticed anything, that she had not noticed his eyes upon her.
It was better that than the alternative.
Once all the ceremony had been concluded, she summoned the mayor and his staff to make a full report of what they were doing to help combat the rebels. She wished to hear what plans these politicians and their drones had put in place.
Sadly, she was not pleased by what she heard.
The mayor felt it was safer not to antagonize the rebels, that by increasing the military presence here, he was only inviting problems to befall their little settlement.
Darth Feer had already strengthened the garrison here in Orid as he had done in many of the settlements throughout the planet. So far there had been no attacks in Orid or the surrounding towns. There had been a few issues involving the villages' young people, but those had been dealt with swiftly and decisively by Oridanna's security volunteers.
Ro had nodded, she could sense his pride at mayor's comment, and why not?
If the Empire could not trust its own local militia, who could it trust.
As for Ro, he continued to prove that what Hissa said about him was no lie. The mayor knew him on sight, and proclaimed him a loyal son of the empire.
Again, Avaryss found herself hoping that it was true.
She really needed an ally right now.
One thing she did notice was that she did not recognize the mayor or any of his senior staff. She suspected that her father's old friends and colleagues may have well met a similar fate to their overseer. Speaking of which she saw no sign of an overseer, he or she was simply not here.
She wondered what was the meaning of that.
What does it matter, at least the people here in Orid are taking the matter seriously, the garrison is on alert.
What else could you ask of them?
She decided to let matters play out as the mayor suggested, she did not like it, but he knew his people better than her. She did promise a squad of security droids for the processing centers and warehouses. The empire was still at war, and they needed to maintain their supply lines.
Those matters concluded; Avaryss dismissed the men and women to go about their business. She informed them that she wished to see the hard records room. She told them that she needed to see the files on how many items were passing through Orid and when was the highest yield, so the droids could be programmed to see to the safety of what they were protecting.
It was an excuse, but a good one, no one bothered to question a Sith about her choice. So, she left Ro with the mayor and headed down to the records room.
She was most eager to see what she would find there. Surely, there were files here detailing her family, and what her mother had offered to the Empire during her life.
The lack of information in the files in Danna City still bothered the young Sith Lord.
She was hoping to correct that oversight.
In the meantime, it allowed her to continue to gather information on Ro and the city leaders. She had left a listening device in the chair in the mayor's office, a toy that she had gotten from Holli, it would self-destruct in an hour, leaving no trace, but for a time she would be able to hear what Ro and the Mayor had to say, particularly about her and the Sith.
She smiled to herself as she hit the chin toggle inside her helmet, to switch the device on; it would be good back ground noise as she worked...
…And, if she happened to hear something incriminating, well…so much the better.
She would not have to go far to deliver justice to the criminal, and then the others would know just how dangerous their dark lord was to an enemy.
IOI
"Can she be trusted Ro?
"She has given me no reason to think otherwise, Mister Mayor. So far, everything that Hissa said about her appears to be genuine."
There was a brief pause; Avaryss could hear muttering in the background, likely one of the staff members she had seen earlier.
"How can we be sure that this girl is simply not another of Darth Sadi's puppets, we all saw the images that were broadcast…?"
"Images that were broadcast by insurgents, minister," Ro said interrupting the speaker, "We should not blame Lord Avaryss for something that was done when she was not here."
"Does she ever take off that mask," another voice asked, "It is most disturbing."
"I've never seen her without it," Ro replied, "Maybe she hides her features for a reason. She maybe scarred. She is missing her left arm, maybe her face was damaged in the same battle."
If she even lost an arm in battle," another of the mayor's staff said, "The games the dark lords play are vicious, maybe one of them…"
"Enough," Ro said quickly, "Lord Avaryss came here in good faith. We should at the very try to honor her for that."
The Dark Lord smiled.
So far, Ro was doing a fair job of playing her defender.
Maybe Hissa was right about him after all.
She was sitting at one of the information terminals in the records room. A single archive droid was working with her, accessing and bringing her the metal cases that contained the hard copy files the computer had pointed her to. She had briefly looked at what she had told the mayor she would be looking at, just in case he asked her about it later, but now she was focused on her main reason for coming here.
She had asked to see anything on Andur Lylos and his family, with a focus on his wife Mya, or any related files containing the name Mya Moritza.
She had hoped that something remained here.
As she continued to listen to Ro and the politicians upstairs, she had come to realize that she had been out maneuvered again. Though the hard copy files on her father remained, they contained little about his family, and even less about his wife.
She was not sure what to make of that.
True, Mya Lylos had mostly stayed on the farm with her children, but she had done business with other farmers, she had often left her eldest daughter Keera to look after her younger siblings when she had gone on these trips.
Sadly, the files here contained little record of those comings and goings, no images, no signatures, and very little in the way of evidence.
Avaryss shook her head.
It was as if her mother had never existed.
Why would someone do this" Keera asked her, what would someone have to gain from erasing mother from all public records?
"You are assuming that any records existed to begin with," Avaryss murmured to herself, "If what I'm seeing is accurate, and then the attempt to hide what mother was doing has been going on for years, if not decades."
There was virtually almost nothing in these files about Mya Lylos or a Mya Moritza.
Nothing.
Avaryss could not even find the record of her birth. She checked the medical records for the Orid medical center where she, Beric, and the rest of the Lylos children had been born, and she found nothing, only a numerical code that suggested that the medical droids had been used for some procedure, beyond that…there was nothing.
Avaryss' temper began to flare.
Part of her wanted to lash out, to destroy this place for denying her. The Empire ran on burocracy and data trails, and yet this one did not exist, or if it had it had been completely expunged.
She did not know what to make of that.
She continued to listen to Ro, he remained her champion, defending her against the Mayor's staff, reassuring them that she, a daughter of Oridanna, had returned, and seemed willing to listen to their pleas.
That was true, she thought, she wanted to be the champion of her people, but she also wanted to make sure that the rebellion here on Oridanna found no more traction.
It would be hard balancing such goals, but she was willing to try.
She was Sith.
The dark side could anything, and it served her will.
She would be successful.
She remained in the archives until the listening device finally burned out and stopped working, with a sigh, she ordered the droid to return the records cases to their original places and once that was done wipe any record of what she had been searching for here. Most people could not do that, but as a Sith her executive clearance made such a request possible.
The droid would obey her command.
Is that what happened to mother's records, Keera asked her, do you think some Sith came along and expunged her files?
Avaryss frowned.
It was possible, but again…why?
This erasure did not appear to be recent thing, if she was correct someone had been erasing mother's records for years, but why?
The thought made her head ache.
What was so important about an overseer's wife?
Why was her life so important that a Sith would need to make sure that no record of it remained?
She had no answer.
She sighed.
She was back to square one.
She tried not to dwell on that fact, to focus on Ro, and how well he had tried to defend her against the mayor and his staff.
She was pleased.
My brave knight, she thought.
I thought Fenn, was our brave knight, Keera said.
He is, but as you said yourself, Keera, he is not here.
Why should I limit myself to one brave defender, when I can have two?
Her thoughts drifted back to finding Ro in his quarters, how good he had looked laying there.
She shivered a mix of both excitement and desire.
Desire before duty, young Sith.
She smiled.
Ro had not been as involved in his father's schemes as she had thought, perhaps…she was wrong to have been angry with him all this time.
Maybe…this could be the start of a new beginning?
Maybe.
IOI
"My lord, I think we have a problem."
Avaryss paused before Bleez; the Warmaster was now standing in the main receiving room of the government building. Avaryss had only just arrived, having collected Ro Wilkes from the Mayor's office.
"Report, Warmaster," she said.
"What is going on?"
The trooper gestured to the closed doors before them.
"Listen," the Warmaster said, "You can hear them."
Avaryss did just that, she heard the sound of raised voices, angry voices outside; a lot of them.
She frowned.
Well, she thought.
Isn't this just special?
Through the monitors scattered around the room she could see what was happening outside, a large crowd had gathered at the government building's steps, chanting and shouting at the Sith soldiers that blocked their path.
Avaryss could feel their anger, their hostility towards not only the mayor but to her first and foremost.
She sighed.
Why did she always have to do things the hard way?
"Damn it," Ro grumbled shaking his head.
He turned to Avaryss.
"You should stay here, my lord. I will go out and speak to them, convince them to disperse."
"We shall both go," the dark lord replied, "I will not hide in here while I'm being threatened."
Ro frowned at that, clearly he did not agree.
"My lord, your presence out there would only make things worse. The people are scared and angry, and after the rebel's broadcast during your attempted speech."
"Your concern is noted," Avaryss said stopping him, "But it does not change the fact that I must face that crowd. These are my people, lieutenant. If I show fear before them now, they will see that as weakness, and a dark lord cannot afford to be weak, not if she wishes to continue her reign."
She shook her head.
"I shall stand beside you, and together we will convince this crowd to disperse."
Ro looked at her like she had gone mad, perhaps she had.
She could sense many things from the young lieutenant in that moment. He did not wish this to turn ugly, he feared for his people, but at the same time…
Avaryss smiled beneath her mask.
She felt Ro's concern, concern for her safety and well-being. He was afraid that the mob outside might hurt her, and that was not all she felt…
Her smile widened.
She sensed…interest in the young peacekeeper, even…attraction?
He has not even seen my face, and already he is curious about me, she thought, he…might even desire me.
That realization almost made her blush.
What would he say if she took off her mask? Would he remember her?
It might be something worth trying soon, but not now.
Right now, she needed to help him calm the citizens outside.
She had no desire to see this turn into a blood bath.
These people were her people.
She had no desire to harm them.
Standing beside Ro Wilkes, Darth Avaryss left the government building and stood on the steps overlooking the village of Orid. All around her the crowd had gathered; their voices so loud that it had drowned out the public address system.
Avaryss sighed when she looked at the massive holo projector.
It was in this very square that she had seen Darth Feer for the first time. It was here that her life had found its true path, and she had taken her first steps down the path to darkness, a path that might, if she was wise and mindful, could possibly lead to the Sith Throne.
She would not turn away from that path, not when it had brought her so close to absolute victory she needed to be smart.
The future was right there, all she had to do was gather enough strength to make it hers and take it.
She had come too far.
She would not stop now.
She let the crowd vent their anger for a few moments. Ro stood before her, his hands raised, trying to get the people to calm down and fall silent. The Sith troopers that barred the way radiated with both nervousness and grim determination.
They would act to defend their lord if they were needed, fortunately, Avaryss did not think that that would be a problem.
She stood with her hands behind her back, much as her father had once done when he had stood on these steps. It was from him that she now drew her confidence. If he could calm this rabble down, then so could she.
She would not let herself be slighted, not by the people of Orid.
They would learn their place.
"Good people, hear me," she called out using the Force to enhance her voice, once again it was Keera that she let speak, she wanted the crowd to hear her accent, to know that she had been born among them.
For once, her Dromund Kaas accent would not help her. It was Keera that was needed here, not Avaryss.
It was Keera that could save the day.
"I stand before you now," she continued, "Not just as a dark lord, but as a citizen of Oridanna. Once I stood in a place very much like this one. I listened to the lords' drone on about safety and security. I confess that I did not give it much thought back then, but now I do. Our people need to be kept safe, not just from the enemies beyond our borders, but from those that pretend to be one of us."
"It is for that reason that Darth Avaryss has come," Ro added quickly, "She knows what we face every day, and wishes to try and make our lives better."
She stepped before him, letting the Force guide her words.
"I know that you want what is best for your home, what is best for our people. That is what I desire too. No doubt, there are likely rebels among us right now, waiting for the chance to spread chaos and disorder.
She smiled.
"Such an enemy is most insidious. They would love nothing more than to start a riot, to force me and these brave men and women before you into defending themselves. They no doubt have rocks in hand, or perhaps even hold out blasters. Such people want nothing more than to divide us, to bring more people over to their side. It falls to us to deny them what they want, to remember that we are all imperials, that the Empire has never abandoned you, just as I will never abandon you."
Avaryss smiled then, her hand drifting to her belt, to the lightsaber she had clipped there.
"To those of you that would seek to see me cast down, I ask you one small question, one small piece of advice before I retire and return to my transport. If you want to hurt me, you will need to make the attempt, but if you do, realize one thing."
Her smile turned predatory, she let all hear the ice and venom in her voice.
"If you wish to attack me, then you will attack me, but if you do, answer one question for me. What happens to you...if you miss?"
She let the words hand over the heads of the people, she did not move, or issue any commands to her soldiers. She simply stood watch and waited…
The crowd before her began to part; some people left it all together, remembering at long last that they were imperials, and that they owed their lives to the Empire.
Ro looked upon her with a mix of fear and respect, and again she felt that small sensation of heat between them, that spark that had driven him to defend her, to offer to go out alone and deal with this crowd.
Ro had been a brave boy, and he had grown into a brave and handsome man, but more importantly, he knew his place. He was an imperial, a fact that she had just reminded the people in the crowd.
Imperials existed to serve the Sith.
They needed to remember that, the Empire was at war.
In a war the Empire only had allies or enemies.
Today, she took a large step in making sure that Oridanna fit in the ally category, because if they did not.
…there would be no help for them. There would be no hope for the Empire's enemies, no hope and…
…no mercy.
