Chapter 12: Lessons

Ruby lights danced as Avaryss worked through her lightsaber drills. She slipped deeper and deeper into the dark side until the blade was nothing less than an extension of her hand. The moves that she had learned back on Fury 9 were almost second nature at this point, and now, driven by the power of the dark side, the three lightsaber forms she had studied were as devastating as they were perfect.

Her blade hummed and hissed as a light drizzle fell gently over the Feer compound, steam rose from her lightsaber blade with every drop that found it. Storms were always a threat on a jungle world, but in that moment rain and wind meant nothing to the apprentice of Darth Feer. She was nothing less than an extension of the dark side, her blade and will were one…

…And in that moment, her will wanted nothing more than to begin her next mission.

The House of Feer was on lockdown, nothing in or out. Warmaster Feore continued his research into what they had learned about the secret program that was hidden within the droids of the Empire. He continued to have droids brought into the compound, likely…borrowed from other houses and businesses. According to him, six out of every ten of the droids he had examined had the hidden program. It was safe to say the Empire had been breached.

"Only our war droids seemed unaffected," he had noted, "Of course, a war droids programing is gone over far more than a protocol or serving model. No soldier wants to take the field with a droid who might go psychotic because of a programming glitch."

Avaryss acknowledged that, but also recognized that it was more than that. War droids were generally not allowed in the homes of High Lords of the Empire.

Whoever was behind this was targeting the Sith Lords directly. Everything about this plan suggested that the whole point of it was to destabilize the leadership of the Empire.

If this was so, then it made sense that those responsible would not try to infect the Empire's war droids. If their plan continued they would not need to worry about the Imperial army.

The Empire would implode on its own.

As she continued to work through her battle drills, Avaryss let her mind wander, let the dark side carry it wherever it would.

She had no doubt that the Republic was involved in this, or at the very least, members of Republic intelligence. What had occurred at the SIS safe house on Tatooine had all but cemented that opinion in her mind; it felt right, right and undeniable.

Now the only question was: How far would the Republic SIS go to defend their little project? She did not doubt that she would face them again once her master finally gave her the go ahead to start this mission.

They would do what they could to try and stop her, but would they go so far to try to bring the Jedi into this little plan of theirs.

That thought excited her more than any other.

She had faced a fallen Padawan back on Butcher's Clearing, fought and defeated him, or at the very least drove him to commit suicide.

Facing a Jedi, one as dedicated to his order as she was to hers, would be a challenge.

It was a challenge that she was eager to meet.

In that moment her mind's eye focused on the alien Padawan, a Nautolan he had been called, an amphibious creature…

Her red eyes widened, a thought occurred to her, one that she had not considered until that moment.

She remembered that battle; it had been one of the defining moments of her training. She remembered what the alien had said about being part of some plan to bring down the Empire. How some mysterious master would bring the Empire crashing down around her?

She put one and one together.

Could the Padawan have been part of this? Could this droid scheme be part of a much larger plan? Could the Jedi Order be involved? Were they directing this from afar?

It was possible. From her readings she knew that all Jedi were liars. They craved power, but they hid it behind some false sense of self-righteousness. They claimed to be defenders while the whole time cozying up the Republic Senate and military. They showed no initiative. They could have made the Republic a paradise, but instead chose to allow corrupt politicians to shape the destiny of the Republic. They allowed those politicians to run wild without any true oversight, and as a result, made themselves appear invaluable to the Republic. They courted chaos so that they could leap into the fray that they were responsible for, and claim that they were protecting the weak and the innocent.

On one hand, such cunning should have been admired, but considering what they did to preserve their power, it was clear why their order had to be destroyed.

The Jedi, she had heard, considered themselves guardians of the peace; it was their greatest lie and failure.

Peace was a lie, but order was attainable, if one was strong enough to bring it into being. A true Sith, with his or her passions to guide her, would be able to achieve that order. It was the duty of the strong to rule, and for the weak to follow. Most of the Sith's allies understood that, the Mandaloreans understood that, that is why they followed the Sith as allies. The mysterious Chiss understood, so much in fact that they continued to send their sons and daughters to serve in Imperial ranks. The Hutts claimed neutrality, but in time, once the Republic was defeated, they would bow as well, it was inevitable. As for the common people of the galaxy, Avaryss had no problem with them; there was no need to make them suffer without cause. The truly innocent, those who understood their place were safe. As for those that reached too far, the corrupt and arrogant, the politicians and bureaucrats that dared question Sith rule, they needed to understand fear. Terror would keep them honest, and in line, then there would be no reason to allow the spread of chaos as the Jedi did.

At least we Sith are honest, she thought, we don't pretend or coddle the weak, we come to bring order and security, we don't hide behind a shield of false friendship and compassion.

Of course, the Sith were not perfect, she had to admit that. Darth Feer had proven that with the death of her family. A wise ruler would have spoken with the overseers first, gaged their reaction to his rule. Had he done that, he would have realized that there were those within his former adversary's holdings that were worth saving.

Andur Lylos would have served her master well, given the chance. Of course, if he had been, she would not be here, would she?

The Force truly moved in mysterious ways.

I must remember these lessons as I move forward, Avaryss thought. I must become better than Lord Feer. When I finally come into my inheritance, when I finally possess all that was once my master's, I will show the Empire how a true Sith aristocrat rules. I will bring justice, order, and security to my holdings. My people will both love me for my strong hand, and stalwart protection, and fear my wrath when it is awakened. I will bring true order to my small corner of the chaotic galaxy, and in time, all will bow to me in humble gratitude.

It was a pleasant dream, but for now that was all it was, a dream.

That is for the future, her conscience chided, focus on the now.

She nodded, and returned her attention to her drills, speculation on the future right now was a waste of time. The mission was what was important; she needed to find answers to the many questions she had discovered since returning from Nar Shadda.

She would be able to seek her answers soon enough, just as soon as her master dispatched her.

Just pick a target already, she thought.

I'm ready for action!

Her interceptor and crew were on stand-by at the Kaas City spaceport. Both Rink and Holli would be ready to go at a moment's notice. As soon as they had a target, they would be off to deal with it. Mister Rink had sent her a few messages; he had had some ideas to enhance the performance of their ship. After clearing them through Holli she had agreed to several of them. Speaking of Holli, Avaryss had recently dropped an interesting challenge into the young engineer's lap.

Her newly purchased HK droid had finally arrived from Tatooine. The Jawas' has been true to their word, and now Avaryss had a chance to add a dangerous new weapon to her arsenal.

Provided that Holli could get it to work, the engineer was not too optimistic about her chances. She thought the droid an old HK-50 model, parts were not readily available for such an old machine, and it would take some work adapting modern materials to the old droid.

Avaryss insisted that she try anyway. She had faith, if the engineer could not do it, so be it, but if she could…

…the droid might prove quite useful.

Avaryss took her drills to the next level, she called on the Force and used it to increase her speed, to the unenlightened; it would have looked like she had become a blur, a shadow mixed with a strange whirling red light.

It was not difficult to find the heart of darkness, to go to the place that made such a feat possible. Her frustration of not being able to start her mission, her feelings towards her master and his family, these all brought her closer and closer to the true pulsing power of the dark side.

She welcomed its cold embrace. It left her hungry, hungry and scoured clean. She felt the weakness of the light retreat when she found that cold dark center, she welcomed these moments, the freedom of them.

Once again, she tried to reach out to her fallen lover. Fehl's death remained one of the true great tragedies of her life, but it was also a tragedy that she could remedy, provided she could find a way to bring his spirit back to her.

Avaryss reached out, trying to sense him, trying to find what had once been Fehl and pull it to her.

Again, she was met with failure.

The anger of that failure only deepened her connection, feeding it.

Where are you, she wanted to scream, I know you remain close to me.

SHOW YOURSELF!

She hated this, back on Korriban; it had been Fehl's spirit that had finally given her the strength to break through the mental barriers that had cut her off from her powers for a time. She had sensed it, felt his power, his hungry desire for her.

That desire…it should have been enough to bring him back to her.

Her connection to Darth Feer had allowed her access too many hidden or forgotten texts, she had learned much since her coming to Dromund Kaas; among them were ancient scrolls and manuscripts discussing the art of essence transfer. Avaryss had come to believe that she could use that power to have her lover back, to restore him to true life. All she would require would be his spirit, and a male body that was both strong in the Force, and physically appealing to her. Once she had all those elements, she would draw Fehl's spirit out of the madness beyond death, and place it within a new strong body, and then reunited once more; they would build a new future for themselves, and the empire.

The thought made her smile.

She told no one of her plans; she doubted that they would understand. Few Sith would risk bringing back one as powerful as Fehl, especially one who had been gone so long. It was said, that in death, a Sith's unbound spirit could be lost within the dark side itself, that it could be consumed by an unending madness, but at the same time, this place was near the heart of the dark side. Who knew what secrets that Fehl's spirit had been exposed to, who knew what secrets he would bring back with him when she finally returned him to the world of the living.

We will be invincible, she thought, we will be indomitable, and no one in the galaxy will be able to stop us.

The thought held great appeal to her, she welcomed their reunion, but at the same time she recognized the need for caution.

She needed to find just the right body. Fehl deserved nothing less than the best.

She would have to tread very carefully, once she had found his spirit of course, and then the real work could begin.

It might have worked better had she known what had happened to his body, but sadly, there were no records, all she had was a few trinkets of their time together and so far, that had not been enough.

I need to grow stronger, she realized, only then will I have the power to save my beloved and return him to my arms.

Through power I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

The code of the Sith told her all she needed to know.

She would see that they all came to pass.

A small chime signaled on her wrist, she looked down, the small chrono she was wearing was beeping in alarm; her allotted training time had ended.

She sighed and lowered her weapon, deactivating her lightsaber and returning it to her belt.

It had seemed like hardly any time had passed at all, but in truth she had been out here for almost two hours. Her face was dripping with sweat, her arms burned from exertion, but for the most part, she still felt strong.

The dark side did much to restore its disciples; she probably could have gone another hour without feeling the effects.

She grinned.

I am growing stronger, she thought. One day, I will finally be strong enough to face and replace my master.

She would welcome that day with open arms.

She returned to the estate, no doubt her master would wish to speak with her soon, hopefully he would have good news.

Hopefully, Warmaster Feore would have a target for her.

She was not sure how much longer she could stand climbing the walls in this place.

She needed action.

She was more than ready to begin.

IOI

As she sought out her master, the hum of training sabers caught Avaryss' attention; she paused in her search and followed; eager to see what was going on. She was drawn to a small terrace off the main receiving area; it was there that the battle was taking place.

Avaryss watched as Lady Synestra and Bael sparred with each other, clad in training suits similar to those worn on Korriban, mother and son fought back and forth. The low powered training blades spat and hissed as her master's son lunged in again and again, trying to break through his mother's defenses. Synestra gave ground, letting her son try and take advantage, though, to Avaryss' trained eye, it was clear that she had not been forced to duel for her life in a while.

The young Sith shook her head.

Master Adaz, Avaryss' first teacher and true mentor, had been a true blade master, in a way; she had loved and respected the vicious old Kath Hound. He had inspired not only her drive to excel in swordplay, but also filled her with a desire to evaluate and understand the nuances of lightsaber combat. Many a time she had stood at his side during her short stint as squad leader on Fury 9, watched and helped evaluate the skill of incoming hopefuls.

What she saw out of Bael did not impress her.

It was rare that she got to face Darth Feer blade upon blade, the few times that they had, he had beaten her easily. When she did have a chance to spar, her master usually had her face off with two of his own training droids; wicked things armed with lightsabers and cudgels. They could be quite lethal to the uneducated. She found those duels interesting, but had not really ever felt in danger. Master Adaz had trained her well, prepared her to meet such challenges, only another Force user could likely challenge her now.

That knowledge only made her want to be off on her mission even more. She longed to test herself against a true enemy.

As she watched she became aware of a shift in the Force. She bowed her head respectfully.

"My master," she murmured.

Darth Feer came up beside her. The dark lord said nothing, merely joined her in watching Lady Synestra and Bael's duel.

He sighed.

"What do you think, my child," he said, "Will my son lead a Sith army into battle one day?"

Avaryss was not sure how best to respond. Surely her master must be able to see the truth.

She worried her lower lip with her teeth.

"It is not my place to speak out against your family, my master," she said respectfully.

"True," he agreed, "But you are expected to give an honest answer when your master asks you a question. So, by all means, speak your mind."

Avaryss sighed.

This would not end well, she feared.

"His understanding of Shi-Cho is that of an amateur," she said, "His moves are sloppy. He seems to have some understanding of Ataru, but without the basics, he will be more of a danger to himself than his enemy."

Feer nodded. He had made no comment on her opinion, so perhaps he had given what she had said credence.

"Synestra," he called out.

The lady motioned for her son to lower his blade, just as she lowered hers.

"Yes, husband," she said.

Feer gave her a sly look.

"Give Avaryss your training blade," he ordered, "I want to see how Bael handles himself against my apprentice."

Both Avaryss and Synestra's eyes widened.

Bael looked back and forth between his mother and his father's apprentice; a hungry smile came to the boy's face. Avaryss knew that he had wanted to dominate her for so long, he was clearly eager to take this chance.

His mother was not so excited.

""My darling," she said to her husband, "Perhaps this is not…"

"A good idea," Feer said smiling, "Perhaps, perhaps not, never the less, I wish to see what my boy can do. Both of them have been training today, I will see which is the better student, my son, or my little stray as you have called her in the past."

Synestra snorted, she looked more than unhappy with this.

Bael, however, looked ecstatic!

"I will do as you command, father," he said sneering confidently, "You will see how strong mother has made me."

"I'm sure I will," Feer agreed nodding.

Lady Synestra said nothing, but from the cold glare that she was giving Avaryss, what she was thinking was quite clear, the unspoken warning as plain as day.

Hurt my son and you will suffer.

Avaryss frowned.

She did not see any way that she could make this work to her advantage. If she let Bael win, she was sure that her master would know and he would punish her. If she was victorious, Lady Feer would insist that she be punished, and in the interest of peace within the family, Lord Feer would do just that.

Her eyes narrowed.

She saw no way to win this.

Feer turned away from his family for a moment as Avaryss began to make her way down to face Bael. Lord Feer briefly stopped her, his hand gently touching her arm, restraining her.

"Do no permanent damage," he ordered her, "I wish my son humiliated, not crippled."

Avaryss nodded.

She could do that...

…Though she suspected that it would not matter to Lady Feer.

It would be yet another reason that her master's wife would hate her.

Synestra said nothing as she handed Avaryss her training blade. Again the lady flashed a cold look. No doubt already planning what punishment the apprentice would endure if her son was seriously injured.

Avaryss looked at Bael as she might look at anything she found distasteful.

He grinned manically at her.

"Hold nothing back," he said, "For I will not."

She gave him a weak smile.

"As you say; young master."

Avaryss dropped into a Makashi guard, Bael; the double handed grip of Ataru.

She activated the blade on its lowest setting.

She did not think this would take very long.

Bael lunged at her.

She deflected his attack, and struck back with one of her own. Somehow, he managed just enough precognition with the Force to keep from being caught on the leg during their first exchange.

Bael fell back as she advanced he tried to strike at her again. She parried, but this time he attempted something fancy, switching quickly between Ataru and Djem-So, he brought his blade up and around hard.

It was a move she could have blocked after only her first month at Fury 9. Even without the Force she could have seen it coming from a kilometer away.

She sighed.

For someone who had been training in the dark side since he was a toddler, she expected…well more.

She dared a look at Darth Feer and Lady Synestra, they stood at each other's side, watching as the two apprentices broke off and prepared to engage again.

Her master was unreadable, even through the Force.

Bael came at her again, this time trying to cut her legs out from beneath her. She again parried his attack, and using the finesse of Makashi drove him back easily.

She saw an opening to end their duel but did not take it. She got the feeling that the boy had showed her that opening, hoping that she would bite. Despite his lack of skill, he was still her master's son.

Feer could be deviously clever, Bael might not have possessed his father's intellect, but he was cunning enough to bait a simple trap.

Avaryss was determined not to fall into it.

Even the dumbest of predators could be dangerous, she knew, Bael might not be skilled or smart, but he had enough killer instinct to surprise her if she was not mindful.

Again he broke off his attack, this time she did not lunge in; she stayed back, evaluating his next move.

Her muscles were still sore from her own workout; this fight was doing little to let them recover.

Bael grinned at her.

"Tired already Avaryss," he taunted, "I'm just starting to get warmed up."

She said nothing.

She had no desire to engage him in witty banter. Her master said to humiliate him.

That is exactly what she intended to do.

He stepped in again on the left, weary of this, she moved in, ready end it.

Bael stepped away and…

Avaryss gasped.

As she closed in, Bael bounded away again, but this time he reached out with the Force, and seized one of the room lights, it shifted on its axis.

The light shone right into Avaryss' eyes.

She yelped in both pain and surprise!

She staggered back, shielding her eyes with her off hand. She almost lost her training blade, when…

"AHHHHH!"

She cried out as Bael struck her in the shoulder with his weapon, her sword arm burned and started to go dead. She was still half blind, and been unable to block.

She heard her master's son laugh.

"VICTORY!" he shouted, cackling!

"I've beaten you! I've-URK!"

Avaryss roared. Fury flashed in her crimson eyes.

She had had enough!

Though her sword arm was failing her, her rage still gave her enough strength for one last attack.

She tore the training blade from the little rodent's hands. As he reached out to call it back, she brought her own training blade down across his wrist; he attempted a Force push, with his other hand so she chopped her blade down on that one as well.

Bael cried out in agony, as she dropped to his knees, wailing and whimpering.

She seized him in a Force grip, stopping his whimpering. She started to wrap the Force around his throat like a garrote.

Filthy, perverted, little…!

"AVARYSS!"

Her master's voice was like the crack of a whip! It pulled her back from the red haze of rage and vengeance!

She stopped, panting, unable to lift her right arm. She stood still as her nerveless fingers released the training blade.

Darth Feer moved to her side. His expression was…amused.

"Mother!" Bael cried, "Mother!"

Synestra rushed around, trying to reach her son.

"LEAVE HIM!"

Darth Feer's command stopped her; she glared angrily at both her husband and his apprentice.

Feer remained where he was, unmoved.

"Our son," Synestra hissed venomously, "Our poor boy…"

"Is not permanently damaged," Feer said back with equal coldness. "His hands are paralyzed, and will be for an hour or so. He will recover."

Feer looked down at Bael still whimpering, he shook his hands, trying to get them to work.

Lord Feer did not look pleased.

"Stop your sniveling," he growled, "You are my son. You will act like it."

Bael looked up anger flashing in his eyes. He sniffled but was silent.

His father nodded pleased.

"This was not a contest of the Force," he reminded his son, "Yet, your gambit was nearly successful. Avaryss was blinded, left vulnerable. Had you struck at her neck or ribs, she would have been disabled, unable to resist you."

Lord Feer sneered.

"Yet you chose to strike at her weapon arm, it was foolish to try to cripple a superior opponent, when you could have achieved true victory with a better placed strike. If I had not stepped in she might have done worse than simply paralyzing your hands."

Bael said nothing, he with breathing hard; looking angrier than Avaryss had ever seen him. His eyes shone with angry tears, but he did not cry.

He glared at the girl who had injured him.

Avaryss glared right back.

He was lucky that his father was here.

He was damn lucky.

Feer turned to her.

"You should not have toyed with him," He said, "Your experience gave you an edge, but you did not take advantage of it, and it nearly cost you victory."

He gave her a disapproving look.

"Your rage proved stronger, this time, but you could just have easily lost had he struck better. You were a fool not to end it when you saw an opportunity."

Avaryss said nothing.

She was in no shape to argue, angry at herself for falling for such a basic gambit.

She was ashamed.

Bael had made her look foolish in front of her master.

It was degrading.

Lord Feer stepped in, she could feel the disgust radiating off of him.

"You are better trained than Bael, and he nearly defeated you with a simple trick! Pathetic!

She winced; his words might have well been a strike from a whip, or a clenched fist.

He leaned in close, so that only she could hear him.

"You were almost defeated by my idiot son. You are not even remotely ready to challenge me. Remember this, my child."

She nodded, angry at his rebuke, but acknowledging the truth in it.

She had let herself be lulled by his lack of skill. She had thought her victory assured, or perhaps had looked past her master's son, to the mission she was so eager to undertake.

Her master was right.

It was pathetic.

She had underestimated Bael, and he had embarrassed her.

She would not make that mistake again.

Synestra was at her son's side, soothing him with soft words, holding up his paralyzed hands, trying to rub feeling back into them with her own.

Avaryss said nothing, only just resisting the urge to sneer at the two.

And Lord Feer dares call me pathetic, she thought.

Feer addressed both Avaryss and his son.

"Do not let your anger blind you to the lesson of this," he advised, "You both still have much to learn. There is still much room for improvement, for the both of you."

He looked down at his wife.

"Our boy needs to focus more on his lightsaber drills. See to it that he is up every morning practicing the Shi-Cho. I will not have him embarrassing this house when he begins his training on Korriban."

Synestra glared at Avaryss, but she did acknowledge her husband's orders.

"It will be done, my love," she said grudgingly.

"Good," Feer said smiling.

It was at that moment that Warmaster Feore finally joined them; he whispered something into Lord Feer's ear.

The dark lord smiled hungrily.

"See to our son," he told Synestra, who would have done so without her husband's orders.

He turned to Avaryss, who was still nursing her paralyzed arm.

"Come with me, Apprentice. It is time for you to go."

She smiled, despite the lack of feeling in her arm, the slight burning sensation of short circuited nerves.

They had a target, she thought.

Finally!

Praise the Emperor!

"As you say, my master," she said bowing her head respectfully.

Feer laughed coldly.

"You have a mission to complete. Redeem yourself in both my eyes and yours, do not hesitate, and show no mercy."

She dared one final look at Bael and Lady Synestra, they were both glaring daggers at her; if looks could kill she would have been dead at that moment.

Let them glare, she thought, I can use some time away from this place, and in my master's service, I will win back some prestige in his eyes.

"It will be done, my lord," she promised.

"It will be…my pleasure."