Chapter 4: The Escape
She stepped gingerly among the corpses as she made one final search of the ruined safe house. Reaching out with the Force she tried to sense any one left alive among the dead, either hiding or merely feigning death.
So far…she had found nothing.
Avaryss chuckled.
So far, this had been a most…diverting mission.
Her heart pounded and her blood raced. She was still feeding off the adrenalin, the excitement of the hunt through all three levels of this pub installation.
This…this feeling…this is what it meant to truly be Sith, she thought.
This…was what real power felt like.
She kept her blade at the ready as she came to yet another sealed door, she tried the control first, and the door slid open easily, revealing only an empty office.
She hissed with disappointment after reaching out with the Force and finding no one hiding inside.
She glanced down at the bodies scattered through the now silent hall. Including the four she had killed outside, twenty men and women had made this place their home. Now twenty corpses lay cooling in her wake. Some cut by her lightsaber, others destroyed by the power of the Force. The dark side radiated from the carnage, making her giddy as she continued her search.
They had fought bravely, these people, none had begged for mercy or tried to run. Most died trying to stop her advance, and those that had not had spent their last few moments trying to destroy the secrets of this place, to deny her any advantage of having cleared it. Neither had met with success, she had been moving too fast, she had swept over them like a sandstorm, their lives ending before they had a chance to complete their mission.
She smiled.
Brave men and women, yes, they had been, but in the end foolish.
Their feeble skills and training was no match for the power of the dark side. No match for the will of the Sith.
It was why the Empire would one day rule the entire galaxy, and then, at long last, security and order would reign throughout the stars.
The chrono on her wrist beeped, warning her that she had only five minutes left before the jammer she had planted finally ceased to function. If the pubs had had any automated distress call active, it would be heard as soon as her jamming signal stopped.
She was not sure if these people had any reinforcements close by, but why take chances?
Her eyes narrowed.
She no longer had time to revel in her success. The time had come to find her master's prize, this mysterious package.
It was time to get out of here.
She began her search on the lowest level of the facility. She found nothing but a generator system, and fuel storage for it.
Smiling, she opened up the fuel barrels with the Force, letting their contents spew out onto the floor, the smell was almost overpowering. She already had an idea of how to cover her tracks, and this would serve nicely.
She ascended a level and found several offices and a small armory. She took several detonators from the cache, plaining on using them to erase this place.
Next she came across what looked like a medical room, the machines used to monitor life signs were easy to spot, and next to them.
She paused.
Well, she thought, this was interesting.
Sitting against the far wall, just behind an operating table stood a large carbonite slab, the controls blinking softly in the dim light, and if she was not mistaken, inside the slab.
The features of a young man were barely visible, his face twisted in a look of pure agony!
The pain that he had endured washed over her like blast of icy water. It was a pain that she was quite familiar with, considering her own history.
Her brow furrowed.
Torture, she realized, these pubs had been torturing this man. She was stunned.
Pubs don't act like this, or at least they are not suppose too, their Jedi lap dogs would not approve.
Perhaps that is why there were no Jedi here to defend this place.
Perhaps the Jedi did not know? Maybe the Republic had been up to something here, something they did not wish their Jedi friends to know about.
Most intriguing.
Avaryss shuddered as she reached out to the frozen man with the Force. She could sense life signs, faint, but they were there, and underneath that.
She shook her head, confused.
"Whoa," she murmured.
"Who are you?"
Even in a state of hibernation, she could feel the Force swirling around this person. He was not Force sensitive, she would have recognized that right away, but still…the Force moved strangely around him, spinning like a hurricane.
She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly gone dry.
During her training she had heard of things called shatter points. People and events that served as levers in the Force, a person makes one choice and an entire civilization ends, they chose differently, and that same race goes on to conquer the entire galaxy. Such shatter points were rare; the Force did not seem willing to create something so powerful often.
She smiled slightly.
This boy, whoever he was, was one such shatter point.
She nodded.
She had found the mysterious package; this boy was her master's prize.
She reached out and touched the hard cold face.
"You are coming with me," she murmured.
"Let's go home."
The carbonite slab had already been rigged with a repulsor system. Once activated it would glide over the ground like any land speeder. While she searched for the control she found a computer terminal that the pubs had forgotten to erase, she pulled a data spike from her belt and downloaded all of the information it contained.
She paused briefly and read it as the date scrolled past.
What she was reading, it did not make sense.
According to the file, the young man's name was Thranton Rink. He was approximately nineteen years of age, and a citizen of Nar Shadda. He had no known family, and an arrest sheet that was quite extensive. Space ship thievery, air speeder thievery, possession of stolen goods, attempting to sell stolen goods, the list just went on and on.
She shook her head.
Though she had never been there, she had read about Nar Shadda during her training, it was said to be cesspit; gangs, spice, and criminality were said to rule the small moon.
She once again regarded the carbonite slab.
Not the kind of history one expected from a person that now found themselves as a shatter point in the Force.
It would be most interesting to hear what he had to say, once he had been properly broken, of course.
Her chrono beeped again, her two minute warning.
She frowned.
She was out of time.
She reached onto her belt and triggered her track and retrieval beacon. Somewhere on Tatooine, Lord Feer's ship would pick up the signal and move in to pick her up, her and her prize.
She activated the repulsor; it lifted off the ground, and turned horizontal. She began to push the slab towards the exit. She had damaged the turbolift system during her attack but that was no problem. The Force easily raised the slab out of the underground bunker, and she easily leapt up after it.
By now she could smell the fuel that she spilled seeping throughout the lower level of the safe house. All was in readiness, she thought.
She set the detonators she had taken with a ten minute delay. That would give her ride eight minutes to get here and for them to be gone, after the jammer shut down.
After that, this entire place would be a smoldering crater; any evidence of her being here would be gone.
Her master would be pleased.
As she entered the courtyard, she thought she could hear the distant sound of engines.
She blinked.
Could her ride be here already?
That was fast!
She used the Force to lift the slab out of the courtyard, and leapt after it.
She tossed her last detonator down; it bounced off one of bodies of the Republic agents and ended rolled back down into the bunker.
She nodded, pleased with her work.
At least I can offer you a funeral pyre; she thought thinking of the men and women who had died trying to resist her.
At least no animals will get your bodies, take solace in that.
As she began to move the package away from the doomed safe house, a ship roared past her overhead, roared past, and made a quick turn.
She smirked.
Beautiful she thought.
The ship was a Fury class interceptor, one of the most versatile vessels in the Sith Fleet. It was also a favorite among Sith apprentices, offering the maneuverability of a fighter with the firepower of much larger ship.
She was pleased; her master had made a most excellent choice. This ship…
She paused.
The ship landed and its ramp lowered. She waited; War Master Feore had told her the ship would flash its landing lights on a repeating pattern when it picked her up, so that she would know that the transport was hers.
So far, the interceptor had not done that, two Sith troopers emerged, motioning her forward, telling her to hurry.
Avaryss stopped, she reached out with the Force, what she sensed, she did not like.
She snarled, stepped in front of the prize, and activated her lightsaber.
The troopers did not hesitate, they opened fire.
Thieves, she realized, hijackers, come to steal her master's prize!
She blocked their bolts easily, switching quickly from Soresu to Shien. She used her lightsaber to send the blaster bolts back into those that fired them.
Both troopers fell without a sound.
She dropped into a fighting stance, her sword held before her, at the ready.
A single figure emerged, a dark skinned Sith in a red black combat suit.
He glared imperiously at her.
"My name is Ba'al," he called out, "I'm your death."
Avaryss' eyes narrowed.
"I'm not dead yet," she shouted back.
This Sith, this Ba'al, laughed.
"I will be fixing that soon enough, girl.
He drew his lightsaber the scarlet blade humming with lethal intent.
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
They did not have time for this!
The jammer had surely shut down by now.
If the pubs had any allies nearby, they would have company very soon, and then there was the matter of the detonators she had set.
She did not have time to duel this fool!
"How did you find this place?"
The other Sith sneered.
"My master knows much. He knew what that fool Feer had planned. Your master's scheme to distract him has failed, now the prize will be mine."
He shook his head.
"I must admit, I had thought that Feer would send one of his other apprentices one of the more experienced ones, not some little girl."
Avaryss snarled, but at the same time she took note of something Ba'al had said.
Other apprentices?
What other apprentices?
She could find out later, first she had to make sure that she made it out of here alive.
She smiled wickedly.
"Darth Terrog is about to lose a pawn," she said, "How sad for him."
"I do not serve that fool," Ba'al shot back sounding insulted, "He is nothing!"
"Ah," Avaryss laughed, "So you serve Lord Baras. Good to know."
Ba'al blinked, surprise quickly turned to anger at how she had just manipulated him.
Avaryss chuckled.
"You volunteer information far too easily Ba'al," she taunted, "Your master will not be pleased."
"Considering you are about to die, whelp; there will be no one left alive to tell him.
Ba'al leapt at her. Avaryss fell back dropping back into the slow deliberate style of Soresu. Ba'al's attacks were mostly Shii-Cho with a little Ataru thrown in for some flash.
She was not worried, she could take this fool, but at that moment her chrono beeped again, her jammer was now offline.
If the Republics had any contingency plan in place, it would now be active.
She did not have time for this.
She and Ba'al danced across the sand their lightsabers hissing and popping with every strike and parry. He tried to fling sand in her face, only to have her leap over him and nearly take his head. Again he lashed out viciously, pushing her back with fierce and heavy strikes.
It was then that she noticed what was happening with her prize. Two more of Ba'al's Sith Troopers had emerged and were pushing the slab towards their waiting ship.
"NO!" she snarled. She gestured, the dark side responding as she cast a spell.
The soldiers stopped in their tracks, they shrieked and ran, the nightmares she had unlocked in their tiny minds overwhelming their training. They…
Ba'al took advantage, he was on her again; the slight distraction was all he needed. His lightsaber burned into her shoulder the wound was not deep, but it was enough.
She staggered back, only just being able to hold onto her weapon.
Ba'al did not move in for the kill, she could feel the arrogance radiating off him. He was savoring this moment, enjoying it.
"The prize is mine, girl," he crowed, "Lord Baras will reward me well for both the prize and your head. I will.
Ba'al's ship rocked where it had landed, laser fire raked its upper hull.
The brightness of the blasts shocked Avaryss' light sensitive eyes, but at the same time threw Ba'al off balance, he did not have the chance to take advantage.
Avaryss blinked, but at the same time laughed.
A second Fury had joined the fight. Ba'al's ship had been caught flatfooted as the interceptor made another pass.
It seems that my ride is here, Avaryss thought.
It was about bloody time.
"Ba'al backed up, his sword up as he shrieked into a comlink on his shoulder.
"Get airborne," he shouted, "Bring down that ship! Do not…"
Avaryss did not attack, not with her lightsaber.
She used Ba'al brief moment of distraction to breach his weakened mental shields. He had been surprised by the arrival of her ship.
It was all the opportunity she needed.
She cast another spell.
Ba'al's eyes widened.
He cried out in horror!
Avaryss was not sure exactly what he was seeing, but it appeared that nightmare was centered on his lightsaber.
"GET AWAY!" he shouted, "GET AWAY!"
SNAKES!" he gasped, "SNAKES!"
Avaryss giggled.
"Snakes, Ba'al," she said getting his attention, "You don't like snakes?"
She opened her mouth moving her tongue in a snake like fashion.
In that briefest of moments she saw what he was experiencing.
His lightsaber had become a long red serpent, when he looked at her, her long hair had become a nest of serpents, her tongue a long pink hissing monster, its fangs dripping venom.
It was enough to make him retreat in horror from her.
She advanced, feeding off his terror.
Savoring it.
Glorious, she thought as she drank in his fear.
Delicious!
Ba'al fell back, caught in the imagined coils of the serpent that had once been his lightsaber. His own blade cut two small wounds in his face. Leaving an x shaped burn across his brow. Finally he managed to throw away his lightsaber. He lay whimpering at her feet, holding his burned face.
She stood over him, reveling in his suffering.
"Your master will not be pleased," she said grimly.
Then she kicked him hard between the legs. He groaned and lay in the sand whimpering in a fetal position.
She smirked.
"Say hello, to Darth Baras for me," she purred, "If you survive the explosion."
She left him where he lay; her chrono was beeping again, warning her that the charges she set were getting close to detonation.
She had played long enough.
Now she really had to get out of here!
Ba'al's ship was trying to take off but its repulsors had been hit, it spun like a drunken spacer on shore leave. Avaryss stood before the carbonite slab, waving her hands, trying to get her ship's attention.
The Fury broke off its attack run and clumsily made a quick and hard landing.
Avaryss eyes narrowed.
If the pilot had damaged her only way off this rock, he would answer.
The ramp lowered as the ship flashed the all-clear signal with its landing lights.
Finally, Avaryss thought.
Time to go!
She pushed the carbonite slab towards the waiting ramp.
Ba'al's ship opened fire; explosions tore up the sand behind her.
She willed the Force to give her burst of speed; she shot forward, just avoiding the lethal blasts from the other Fury.
She flew up the ramp, the carbonite slab slammed into the bulk head and she hit it hard, all the wind knocked from her body
She slumped down, but at the same time tried to rise, behind her the ramp was closing.
"Lift…off," she gasped, almost choking, trying to get her wind back.
"Lift…off!"
A female Imperial ran up to her, helping her to her feet. A pale skinned girl with a heavily freckled grease stained face and a tangled mass of bright frizzy red hair sticking out from beneath her cap.
"Are you okay," she said, "You hit…?"
Avaryss pushed her away; she found her feet and rushed to the bridge.
"LIFT OFF!" she shouted to the pilot.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!"
The Fury bucked beneath her as the engines fired, she staggered back as the acceleration picked up.
The ship shudder as a laser strike caught them.
Avaryss staggered but still managed to keep her feet.
She made her way to the bridge.
The Fury banked, a lone imperial pilot sat at the Fury's controls. Long of faced, skinny, with stringy brown hair, he brought the ship around and began a run at the second Fury which was even now climbing in pursuit.
"Welcome aboard, my lord," the pilot said not taking his eyes off the approaching ship. "I'm Captain Slynn. The pursuer will be neutralized shortly.
Avaryss growled under her breath.
Ba'al's ship did not matter! They had to get out of here, before…
The sky lit up as the safe house below exploded!
The fuel and the detonators combined nicely to make a nice boom!
Avaryss shielded her eyes as the other Fury was caught in shockwave and battered, their own ship bucked as the blast struck,
Captain Slynn wisely broke off his attack and started to climb, Avaryss was thrown against the navigation console, the galaxy map flickered as she hit.
She glared at the Imperial.
She did not approve of being thrown around like a piece of cargo. She…
She sighed heavily, the dark side wanted her to lash out violently at the man, but she held it in check.
She needed him to fly the ship.
She needed him to get them out of here.
They had the prize.
They needed to get it back to Dromund Kaas.
"Is the other ship still after us, Captain?"
"No pursuers on the scanner, my lord," he said, "It looks like we have made good our…"
The ship bucked as it was raked by laser fire.
Avaryss glared at him.
"No pursuers?" she asked coldly.
"They were not behind us," he said as his hands moved quickly over the controls, they were coming in from high orbit, they…"
Another blast struck, alarms wailed on the command console. As four fighters screamed past the Fury and began to circle around for another pass.
She hissed at the sight.
Republic fighters.
It seemed that the safe house did manage to get out some kind of distress call.
Now they were under attack.
"Take evasive action," Avaryss ordered, "Get us into hyperspace."
"Holli is working on that now, my lord," the Captain promised, "I've angled the deflector shields, we will be find until we make the jump to hyperspace."
The ship bucked beneath them again, another alarm went off, Slynn brought the ship into a spinning motion as a missile sped past the Fury and exploded off their port side.
She glared at the pilot.
"Get us into hyperspace…NOW!"
He pressed a button on the console.
"Holli," he said, "We need to jump now! You ready!
"I've just brought the drive back online," the female officer she had bumped into earlier said, "You may jump when ready."
Avaryss eyes widened.
They had not even had the hyper drive online when they picked her up?!
The fools!
They should have been prepared!
Slynn was oblivious to her anger, as he pulled the hyper drive handle down.
The star elongated as there was a brief pause in their forward momentum.
The ship shot forward into hyperspace!
Avaryss did not stop gripping the back of the pilot's chair until the ship was safely moving through the blue spinning tunnel of hyperspace.
She sighed heavily.
She had done it.
They were away.
Slynn leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"We are clear, my lord," he said.
"We are safe."
She nodded grimly, and left without another word.
She did not trust herself to keep from strangling the pilot.
His sloppiness had nearly gotten her killed. They had not been ready to pull her out when she called.
She was tempted to execute both the Imperials, but again they were lucky.
Avaryss did not know how to fly a starship.
They would get to keep their lives, for now.
She made her way back to the hold, to check on the prize.
She found the red haired officer securing it, while at the same time checking it over with some kind of medical scanner.
Avaryss let her finish, curious what the woman might find.
"Is it intact," she inquired, "Is he still alive?"
The officer startled, she blushed as red as her hair when she realized that Avaryss was standing there.
"Yes sir, I mean…my lady…um my lord, ma'am, he is alive, in hibernation but alive."
Avaryss nodded.
Good.
At least something had worked out with her escape.
It was then that the Imperial noticed her wounded arm, her green eyes widened.
"Oh! You're hurt! Let me get the medical kit."
Before Avaryss could tell her otherwise, the girl rushed off.
Avaryss sighed.
Eager to please, much, she thought.
Still the girl had done her duty without being told, that was a step up from some imperials she encountered.
The officer returned, and got to work on the lightsaber burn on Avaryss' arm.
"It is not bad," the Sith apprentice said.
"Sure,' but we don't want it getting infected. I don't think it would kill, but it would definitely make you grumpy."
The girl gave her an infectious smile.
"Nothing worse than a grumpy Sith Lord."
Avaryss snorted.
The girl had no idea.
"Are you a medical officer?" she asked.
"Oh no," the girl said standing at attention and saluting.
"Ensign Lujayne Holli, Imperial Engineering corps.
"Avaryss," the apprentice replied.
"Welcome aboard, my lord."
Holli went back to work on her arm.
Avaryss said nothing further as she worked.
"Why was the hyper drive offline when you came to get me?" she asked.
Holli coughed.
"Slynn wanted it checked, made sure that everything was ready before we were called, I don't think expected you to call so soon after dark."
Avaryss reached out with the Force, she felt no deception in the Engineer, which meant she was likely telling the truth, not simply trying to pass the blame.
Avaryss nodded grimly.
Bad timing on his part then, She thought, either that or stupidity.
She would need to watch him, just in case.
She said nothing more while the girl worked tending her burn.
"All done," she said, ending some kolto based sealant to the burn to prevent infection.
Avaryss nodded her approval.
It was not as good as med droid could do, but it was adequate.
"Inform the captain not to make a straight run to Dromund Kaas," she ordered the girl; "I don't want us being tracked by those pub dogs."
"Yes Milord," Holli said stepping back and saluting, her red eyes sparkling with an eagerness to please.
"How far are we out from Dromund Kaas," Avaryss asked.
"We should be there in about six hours, seven if you wish us to evade any possible pursuit."
"Do so," Avaryss said, "Now where are my quarters?"
"Down that corridor, my lord," Holli offered, "First cabin on the right, I take it that you will not wish us to disturb you until we reach home."
Avaryss nodded.
"If an emergency comes up, contact me, otherwise, unless we have word from home, I do not wish to be disturbed."
"Very well, my lord," Holli said saluting again, "Have a good rest, and congratulations on a successful mission."
The girl blinked.
"We…um…did succeed? Yes?"
"You are still alive, yes?" Avaryss asked.
"Yes."
Then we succeeded."
Holli nodded grinning brightly.
"That is good to know."
Avaryss said nothing more as she made her way to her cabin.
She considered her crew.
She was not sure what to make of them.
An odd pair she thought. Slynn did not strike her as entirely competent; she would need to evaluate his performance later. Holli was...
Avaryss blinked.
Wait a minute!
She thought back over her encounter with the engineer.
Hadn't the girl had green eyes when Avaryss had first met her? She remembered that, but then again, the girl's eyes had been crimson when she was dismissed.
Avaryss blinked.
Had her eyes been green or red?
You are imagining things; this mission has you seeing things that are not there.
Holli is just another imperial, they are nothing, disposable.
Avaryss nodded.
Yes, she must have been mistaken.
She had sensed no Force potential in Holli, in either of the two officers,
She must have imagined what she saw.
The imperial does not matter, the prize is yours.
Avaryss grinned.
She could return in triumph to her master.
She collapsed onto the bed with a final groan.
Force exhaustion finally got the best of her.
She was asleep in moments.
It was the dreamless sleep of the victorious, no nightmares, and no ghosts.
Tatooine was blissfully behind her now.
Hopefully her next assignment would be as successful.
She had found something in that safe house, a wondrous mystery.
She was eager to see where it led.
To the future, she thought.
To the future…and greatness!