Chapter 5: The Gathering

Wonder.

It was not an emotion that Avaryss had had much experience with lately. Her duties as Lord Feer's apprentice had consumed her; pretty much everything in her life was now dedicated to serving his interests and her own dark ambitions, but that did not mean that she was now incapable of feeling more than her lust for power.

Wonder, like innocence, was pointless. She was still capable of feeling it, but it seemed more like foolish sentiment than a necessary part of her life. Wonder was something a child or a young girl might feel; it had no place in the life of a Sith Apprentice.

Accompanying Lord Feer tonight, looking down on the world below, it made her realize that she was still a young girl, and still capable of being impressed.

As the air speeder made its way towards Kaas City, the young Sith found her breath taken away, the capital glittered like a sea of diamonds, great spotlights illuminated the crimson banners emblazoned with the symbol of the Empire. The whole city was alight this evening, and with it the imagination of a young woman was inspired.

She stared down upon it all in awe her eyes as wide as saucers.

Normally, when she visited the capital, it was from the back of an armored speeder, with her master issuing orders to her the entire time. During those trips, she had never had a chance to simply look down and see Kaas City for the amazing place that it truly was. Those journeys had been all about work, business, with their security and privacy being of paramount importance.

Tonight, however, was not about secrecy, the lords of the Empire were gathering. Tonight was about being seen, and showing off your strength and power to your peers.

She did not know how the gathering had gotten started. Perhaps it marked some great victory long forgotten; perhaps it was the day of their great Emperor's birth. Whatever the reason tonight the Sith Lords would gather at the Citadel and show off both the prestige and power of the Empire.

Tonight the strength of the Sith would be on full display, for allies and enemies a like. Let them look upon that strength, and either revel or despair.

That was the whole point of the gathering. It was about impressing your allies, and intimidating your rivals, and tonight would be Avaryss' first gathering, her first chance to stand before the rest of the Sith as one of them.

It was enough to give any apprentice reason to pause.

Given her recent victory on Tatooine, Lord Feer had decided that it should be she that would be on his arm tonight. Lady Feer would be in attendance of course, but she would be escorted in by her son, not her lord husband.

"The Lady Synestra will not be happy about this, my master," Avaryss had said when she first heard this.

Her master had snorted, amused by her comment.

"You will find apprentice, that my darling wife is rarely happy about anything. The gathering is about the order, about masters and apprentices. My son is my wife's apprentice; it should fall to him to accompany her."

Feer smiled then.

"You won a great victory for me, you acquired my prize and did so in the face of both our enemies and our fellow Sith; such an act deserves to be rewarded. Tonight, you will stand with me and I will introduce you to the order. One day, Emperor willing, you will stand among these lords as a peer, if not a superior.

"It is time that you got to know them."

His words sent a shudder down her spine, not of fear, but excitement.

Up to this point, her role as apprentice had basically been that of a glorified courier. Yes, she had had to enforce her master's will on occasion, but those acts had been carried out on people who already knelt to Lord Feer, or functioned under his patronage.

Now she found herself sitting at his side, wearing dress robes that likely cost more credits than the farm house that she had grown up in. It was a heady feeling, realizing how far she had come.

It only gets better from here, she thought. You are just starting your journey down the path to power. You must grow use to the trapping of wealth, and the responsibility of wielding power.

It is the only true way to excel.

Though a powerful Darth, Lord Feer was one of many within the empire, with the Dark Council standing above him, and the Emperor above them. Her place at her master's side was useful, but it was limited by the fact that she had not yet had a chance to interact with her fellow Sith.

Tonight that would change.

She was eager to meet them, but at the same time, a thought occurred to her, that perhaps this was not the best of ideas.

"What if they already know me," she had asked, "That…that business on Korriban, I doubt I made many allies with my choices."

"You refer to the incident involving that pure blood boy, the one who seduced you?"

Avaryss nodded.

Yes, Fehl had seduced her, but it had been more than that. They…they had actually fallen in love.

His death…his poisoning at the hands of a former ally, It still pained her, but more importantly, it had angered many high ranked masters, men and women interested in taking Fehl as their apprentice.

Avaryss did not doubt that at least a few of them still desired revenge upon her, blaming her for his death.

After all, she certainly did.

If her master was concerned, he did not show it, her worries brought a sneer to his face.

"You need not worry about that. Yes, some may still hold a grudge, but for the most part, my fellow lords are far more practical than they appear. The boy had talent, no one doubts that, but the manner of his death also proved his weakness. If he could be destroyed so easily, then he certainly was not worthy of taking his place among us. I don't need to remind you that you nearly died during that incident, but in spite of the best efforts of your enemies, you not only survived, but grew stronger. The fact that you excelled is the whole point, apprentice. The boy is dead and gone, forgotten. You are still here and growing stronger with each passing day."

Feer placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You should be proud, my child. By surviving such and ordeal, you have proved your worthiness, you deserve to be here. You must never forget that."

His words warmed her, and in spite of herself, she felt a slight glow of affection, his comment was appreciated.

Never forget, the part of that still held a grudge against him, murmured. Do not fall for his tricks. He murdered your family; he must still answer for that one day.

She had not forgotten, or forgiven, but for now it was wise to say nothing, she still needed to build her power base; he was finally offering her a chance to do that.

She smiled at him.

"You flatter me," she said.

"Flattery is cheap," he replied, "I'm simply stating a fact."

Avaryss accepted his words for what they were.

Let him continue to look fondly on me, let his affection grow, it will only make it easier to remove him when the time comes.

They fell silent again, as the air speeder finally brought them to the gates of the Citadel in Kaas City. Once it landed, two guards approached, opening the door, Lord Feer stepped out first, before offering his hand to Avaryss. He helped her out, and the two walked arm in arm, into the gathering. They passed by a crowd of workers and free citizens watching the affair from behind a wall of guards and security barriers.

They came to see us, Avaryss realized, to get a glimpse of their masters, their gods.

The thought excited her.

They were disciples of the dark side, masters of the galaxy.

Did they not deserve to be worshipped?

They arrived to find the gathering in full swing. The main atrium of the citadel was buzzing with activity. Sith from across the Empire had gathered for this event. Servants wove in and out of the crowd as the masters of the Empire mingled and broke off to discuss business with their allies in private.

More than a few eyes looked up as the herald at the door announced the presence of Darth Feer and his apprentice. Avaryss felt a moment of self-consciousness; the greatest Sith in the galaxy were here. How did she even rank among them?

Give it time, her confidence murmured, they will all see your value soon enough.

She reached out with the Force, trying to get a sense of what this gathering truly meant. When the eyes of their fellows had first fallen on her and her master, she had sensed a mix of emotions. There were many here that envied anyone who held the rank of Darth. There were also those who people who looked upon her and thought her unworthy of her master, or were jealous that he had such a woman at his side.

It was not the first time she had experienced those emotions from others. There were those people who looked upon her and did not see an apprentice, they saw only a pretty young girl; they thought her Feer's toy, his paramour that she had been taken by the dark lord simply because they shared more than a master and apprentice relationship. That he expected more than simply her loyalty and prowess on the battlefield.

Lord Feer said nothing to discourage such thoughts. It serves our purpose if they don't see you as a threat, my child, he had told her once.

On a personal level, such reactions disgusted her. Like she would ever soil herself by allowing Lord Feer to take such liberties? She had taken a lover once, one who had truly been worthy of her, since his end she felt no need to take another.

After knowing the love of a man like Fehl, fantasizing had been enough to slake any physical desires that she felt.

Yes, she could feel the emotions of their peers, Sith did little to hide their feelings, but there was more; a simmering sensation that burned beneath all the surface emotions so brightly on display. It…it felt like a fire about to explode.

The sensation almost took her breath away.

It was resentment in its purest form, a disdain that seemed to blanket the gathering. Many of the lords gathered here looked up and saw enemies sharing the room with them this night. The desire to strike out at those enemies, to feed that animosity was strong. All it would take was one little push and the neutrality of the gathering would be abandoned.

She shivered.

In that moment, the greatest lords of the Empire would rip themselves apart in a frenzy of fire and retribution. If that happened, the Empire itself might end this night.

That realization, how close the Sith danced to the edge of their own destruction caught the young Sith completely off guard.

Foolish, she thought, we have real enemies, the Republic, the Jedi; we should be focusing our destructive energies on them, not directing them at our fellows. Power games happened in the Empire, everyone knows that, but the animosity; that must be held in check.

How can we master the galaxy if we cannot master ourselves?

We must be strong, and willing to put the Empire's needs ahead of our own, for all our sakes, at least until the Jedi and the Republic is defeated…

…then we can turn our attention to who is the strongest here. It will come in time, but not now, not right now.

We must remember that we are all Sith.

She shook her head.

It was easier said than done.

As the two made their way into the gathering, Avaryss' eyes wandered over the various lords in attendance. Some she knew on sight, having acted as go-between with them, and her master, others she knew by reputation only. She spotted several dark council members surrounded by their entourages; the lesser lords flocked around them like moths drawn to a flame.

She shook her head.

It seemed that the entire empire was here, that the full might of the Sith order was on display…

…all save one.

In the center of a high walkway, overlooking the proceedings, sat a high backed empty throne. Impossible to reach from this level the two connected walkways were protected by two pairs of guards in crimson armor and helms, force pikes held at the ready if anyone proved foolish enough to attempt to make their way towards the vacant throne.

Avaryss pursed her lips.

In the six months she had lived here, she had never gotten a chance to see the Emperor, not even in passing. Many times she had looked up at that walkway while running errands here for her master, and always the throne had sat vacant.

She had hoped the gathering would have been enough to draw the master of them all out of seclusion. It was said that no one had seen the Sith Emperor in years.

The fear of him remained strong, you could feel it whenever someone looked up and saw that throne, but at the same time, the fact that it remained empty also fueled ambitions. Sith were nothing if not opportunistic.

A vacant throne was just waiting for someone to sit in it. It gave people ideas.

She could not help it. She found herself imagining what it would be like to be up there. How it would feel to sit up there, and look down on the lords of the Sith, and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she stood above them all.

An Empire cannot survive on its own, the dark side whispered, it cannot live by council rule alone, it takes an Emperor to rule an Empire…

…or, perhaps, an Empress.

"Does the throne suit you, apprentice," Lord Feer asked dryly, "Does the crown fit just right on your regal head?"

Avaryss blushed and looked away, a wave of fear washed over her.

Technically what she had just done was commit treason. To even imagine taking the Emperor's place…

"Master, forgive me," she said bowing her head in shame, "I didn't mean…"

Darth Feer laughed.

"Relax, Apprentice, our master does not send the Emperor's Wrath to behead apprentices who imagine what it would like to be him. If he did, there would be very few Sith Lords."

The dark lord smirked.

"We've all imagined what it would be like to sit up there, to ride in the saddle of our great Empire."

"But the Emperor is beyond us," she said, "He is immortal, and all knowing."

"So it is said," Feer agreed, "But at the same time, he is also absent, and has been absent for quite some time. Even his voice has fallen silent; we have not had an Emperor's Voice address us in quite some time."

Avaryss nodded, she had heard of the Voice of the Emperor, it was a title passed to a Sith who was chosen to speak for the Emperor in all things, but as Lord Feer had said, the title had remained vacant, or at the very least, the Voice had not stood in their presence for a long time.

Darth Feer shook his head.

"The Emperor guided us well for over thirteen hundred years, but, in the end, he could not deliver the Republic into our hands, and now, he has fallen silent, and that silence has left a vacuum. It is a vacuum that we all feel, nature abhors a vacuum. It is only a matter of time until someone steps up and tries to fill it."

Avaryss thought about that. She had been raised a patriot, to love the Empire and the Emperor that ruled over them all. As both an overseer's daughter, and a free citizen of the Empire, she had been taught to love the Emperor and the Empire since the cradle.

The thought of opposing him, much less trying to replace him, it went against everything she had ever been taught!

You are not that simple girl anymore, the dark side whispered, you are Sith; it is your duty to rise. If those above you show weakness, you must be ready to strike them down. If they have weakness, then they are not worthy of leadership.

It is your duty to try and replace them, no matter how high they sit…even if they sit on the Imperial Throne.

It was a frightening thought, but at the same time, intriguing.

As she contemplated her future, she looked up and saw other lords approaching them. She recognized a few of them from holo-communications that her master had had in the last few months.

He put a hand on her arm, and squeezed it tightly.

"Say nothing of Tatooine," he murmured, "Or what you recovered there."

Avaryss nodded.

Yes, it would be wise to keep such a thing secret, at least until they knew exactly what they had. War Master Feore was working to thaw the prisoner, and begin his interrogation, not an easy thing apparently; the pubs had been vicious in trying to extract their own answers. The boy's heart has stopped twice after his removal from the carbonite.

They needed to be careful.

They could not afford to lose what they had gained.

"FEER!"

The Sith that had called out did nothing to hide his contempt. He said her master's name like it was a curse. She started to move in front of him, ready to defend him with her lightsaber if she needed to.

Feer stopped her with a gentle touch on the arm, he stepped forward grinning.

"Lord Terrog," he said, "How nice to see you again. It has been far too long."

Darth Terrog stepped up and glared down upon her master.

Avaryss felt a twinge of fear.

She had not seen Lord Terrog until this moment. She knew he ruled a system neighboring Lord Feer's holdings, and that he was supposedly an expert in both Sith Alchemy, and cybernetics.

Seeing him for the first time, it made her question her master's wisdom of opposing such a…a brute.

It was the only word she could think of to describe the monstrous dark lord.

He stood head and shoulders over the tallest Sith in the room. He had both massive shoulders and a thick neck. Muscles bulged in his arms beneath his Sith robes.

He looks more like a warrior or a marauder than a scientist, she thought. Of course, knowing what she knew of Sith Alchemy, it was possible that his physique was more the result of his experiments than actual work. The dark side had been used to turn even the smallest and most gentle creature into ravening monsters, maybe that is what had happened to Lord Terrog.

The dark lord's face was mostly hidden by a hood, but what she could see horrified her. His lips were mostly gone, cybernetic wires and implants ran up his forehead and down his jaw. His eyes had been replaced with two optics that resembled two large silver coins. If you looked just right, you could see your distorted reflection looking back at you from those eyes.

She shuddered.

The spoils of war, she thought, many Sith on Dromund Kaas had become more machine than man thanks to the last battle with the Republic, replaced limbs, eyes and ears were quite common among the members of the order. In seeking to survive, most Sith had eagerly accepted the change, even though it did leave them looking quite…unusual.

We do what we must to survive, she thought, are you really so different from anyone here?

Avaryss' hand went to her ears, she wore sonic bafflers in them to help compensate for her over-sensitivity to loud sounds, the result of surviving a Sith Interrogation on Korriban. The medical droids had offered to remove her ears and replace them with cybernetics, but she had refused.

Call it vanity, perhaps, but she unleashed wanted to try and stay human.

Terrog, apparently, did not have that desire.

Her master continued to smile as he looked up at the dark lord. Though his face showed little emotion, she could feel the anger and dislike radiating off the massive cyborg.

Terrog crossed his arms over his massive chest.

"You sicced Darth Baras on me," he growled, "that was unwise of you, unwise and dishonorable."

"Did I" Lord Feer said innocently, "Oh I have been a busy boy haven't I."

He laughed dismissively.

""We both have our desires Terrog. Mine is to oversee the glory of our empire. Yours is to find bigger and better bugs to kill our enemies with. You speak of honor, but I see little honor in creating a virus and then using it to kill every living thing on a planet."

Terrog's interest in viral weaponry was well known. Avaryss had heard stories from her master.

Not the way she would choose to fight, but you went with what worked, didn't you?

If Terrog took offense, he did not show it.

He stood taller.

"My children do not simply kill, they help evolve. What is strong enough to survive is left change, and more dangerous than what it was before. Life exists to serve the will the Sith, what I do is merely take that idea to its next logical step."

It was then that his eyes, or rather his optics fell upon Avaryss. She did her best not to quail under his strange regard.

"So…this is your new apprentice, tiny thing, isn't she?"

"Great power can be held in small packages," Feer countered.

Terrog made a sound that might have been a laugh.

"I see no power," he replied, "Only raw potential, Korriban does not go far enough in preparing our acolytes for what comes next. True apprentices are not simply trained, they are created. The dark side offers many gifts, we should insist that our young people accept them."

"Yes," Feer said nodding, "I can see the gifts the dark side has given you, old man. Yet, I see no apprentice at your side. What is the matter having trouble finding one?"

Again Terrog made the laughing sound.

"My new apprentice is not quite ready," he admitted, "He is still…evolving, when I do unleash him, the entire Empire will finally see the value of my work. They will see it, and they will tremble."

Terrog took a step forward.

"You would be wise to stay out of my way Feer. What is mine will never be yours. I'm not weak like that fool Daverus."

His large hand began to drift to his belt, to the lightsaber hanging there.

"Perhaps you need a demonstration, a reminder of your place."

Darth Feer began to reach for his own weapon, Avaryss stood back unsure of what to do, her hand drifted to her own blade, just in case.

She need not have worried.

The tension between the two rivals had more than drawn attention, the crowd parted for three Dark Lords, three council members.

They made straight for them.

"TERROG! FEER! YOU WILL STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

Avaryss' eyes fell on the speaker, a tall dark lord wearing a full mask and heavy cloak, he radiated the power of the dark side, power that she had only experienced in her most dizzy of day dreams.

Her master smiled as he regarded the newcomer.

"Hello, Lord Marr, pay us no mind, we were simply…conversing.

Darth Marr sighed, Avaryss could not see his face, but she did not need to, she could sense his anger at these two lords that had almost caused a disruption of the gathering.

"We all agreed to neutrality this night," Marr reminded him, "We are all here as a show of unified strength."

He took step towards both of them.

"Your rivalry can keep until tomorrow, for now, honor the truce, or face the consequences."

Both Terrog and Feer looked at one another, you could feel the tension that still remained, but finally, both men nodded and stood down.

"I honor the truce," Terrog said bowing slightly.

"As do I," Feer replied.

Darth Marr nodded.

Avaryss felt satisfaction, but also a slight sense of disappointment, clearly Lord Marr would have preferred to punish one or both of the offenders. He…

His eyes fell on Avaryss.

For the first time, she felt the full attention of a dark council member.

It was…unnerving.

"I know you girl," he said, "Or of your, at least, you are the one from Korriban, the poisoner."

He crossed his arms, she could sense the glare beneath that mask.

"By what right do you think yourself worthy to stand among us?"

Avaryss winced.

All eyes were upon her now, not just Lord Terrog and Lord Feer, but many of the others in attendance as well.

Not how she planned to make the acquaintance of a member of the Dark Council.

No, this was not good at all.

She took deep breath.

Hopefully, this would not be…unpleasant.