Chapter 30: The Game

"So how do you turn a Jedi to the dark side?"

Avaryss chuckled. Holli's question was to be expected from a mundane, to someone who had never felt the Force rushing through them, to feel its power lift you up and grant you gifts far beyond what should have been possible.

Bringing someone over into the darkness was not something so easily…quantified.

"According to Darth Hecaetus, turning someone depends entirely on them, their desires, hopes, and dreams. A true Sith is able to understand those desires, understand them, and know how best to offer them to another, to show them the…advantages of turning from the light and embracing true power."

"And are you a true Sith?" Holli asked.

Avaryss laughed.

She liked to think so.

It was not all desire of course, but that was a big part of it. It was also about understanding a person's limits; you needed to know how to turn pride into arrogance, and insecurity into fear.

In short, you needed to find their breaking point, not an easy thing to be sure.

"This will work, Ensign," she promised, "Trust me."

Holli nodded, if she believed, Avaryss could not say, all that she did know was that being Sith was a choice.

Now…she had to convince her prey to make that choice.

IOI

She had spent the last few days watching hour after hour of recorded video of the Jedi Master's and their Padawans, now…she thought she had found the perfect person to let them into the Jedi Enclave. Captain Torve and his men were on standby, when things started to happen they would happen fast.

If the Force was with them, this operation should be over in a matter of days.

All Sith troopers stationed on this world were being recalled to their safe house, a small warehouse just outside the foundry district, when they did begin to move, it would need to be a lightning strike, a dagger straight into the heart of the Jedi Enclave.

She hoped that Torve and his men were up to the task.

In the meantime, she had the Captain and his men continue to monitor the Enclave. They needed to know when the Jedi that she had chosen was away from her fellows, this first step would work best if the girl was alone.

It was the least the soldiers could do, they were fairly useless for anything else, at least until she had found a way inside.

As for the turning itself, Avaryss trusted only her crew. Holli would handle slicing into the Jedi's comms, Rink had gotten her the various props she had needed to sell her deception, and Beric, he got to put on the finishing touches, all in all, she thought he had been most pleased to do his part, once he got over the shock of what she was asking him to do.

The two of them went off alone, this was not something for the others to see, and certainly not the common soldiers that served on this miserable rock. She could sense Beric curiosity, but also his military calm, you could say what you wanted about him, but he was a good soldier.

That is why she knew she could count on him for what came next.

"You have to hit me," she had said, "I have to look like I've been hunted and on the run for days, and that I've survived several rough scrapes."

Her brother's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure that this is what you need to do?" he asked, "You are certain that this is going to work?"

"Nothing is certain," she shrugged, "But from what I've seen of these Padawans, this will be the best way to sell the story."

Still…Beric did not look convinced.

"I'm not comfortable with this?" he complained.

Avaryss rolled her eyes.

Perhaps she should not have been surprised, a Sith soldier was trained and drilled for two purposes, one to kill the enemy, and the other was to defend their Sith Masters. Add into it that they were family on top of that, no wonder Beric Lylos hesitated.

"Would you rather that I do this myself? Would you rather that I hurt myself? I will, but…given your training you know how to hurt without leaving any lasting damage, I cannot say the same. I just need to look battered and bruised, I think that you can do that, yes?"

Her brother sighed.

"Yeah," he admitted reluctantly, "I can."

Avaryss smiled she leaned in slightly.

"Then do it," she said, "You have my permission, feel free to mess me up. I'm sure, after everything that has happened; the idea is not entirely repellant."

He stood there, watching her coldly. Clearly he did not like the idea of striking his little sister.

"You know what you want," she reminded him, "It can only be yours when this mission is completed. Hitting me is only another step on that path. Do it, brother, hit me; hit the witch that is hiding the truth from you. Strike me for denying what is yours by right. Do not be weak, father would not have hesitated, by holding back you are disappointing him, and embarrassing me. You are unfit to be a member of our family. You are..."

"Sister," he said.

"Yeah?"

"What is that?" he asked, pointing.

She turned her head slightly.

His fist struck her hard across the face; she staggered into an empty shipping crate, but did not fall.

She looked up angrily, fury building in her eyes; she felt warmth on her lips, the salty taste of a bloody nose."

Anger quickly faded, replaced by amusement.

Corruption was not that hard, not even when you did it to your own family.

She grinned.

"See, I knew you could do it," she laughed, "I thought you would enjoy that."

He shrugged.

"It was…therapeutic."

"Again," she ordered.

"Are you going to tell me what happened on Oridanna?"

"No."

He struck her again, this time, he did very little to pull his punch. Again she staggered back.

She laughed openly.

"You hit like a girl, come on!"

She smiled at him through bloody lips.

"Let's see what you can really do."

He struck her again and again.

She finally fell back coughing, she spat blood on the floor, but she barely felt the pain. She had been nearly tortured to death once, and survived her master's special brand of punishment.

Compared to that, a few shots to face were nothing, they were not truly pain.

There was no pain where the power lies.

She was Sith, a servant of the dark side.

Pain was an ally.

Her brother paused, she could see the conflict in his eyes, the concern for his little sister, and the anger at the Sith sorceress that kept things from him.

She found the conflict…delicious.

"That's…that's better," she said touching her bruised cheek.

"You wanted it to look real," he reminded her.

"That I did," she said, now bruised and bloody. Most people would think her some sort of victim, which was the whole point.

What did a Jedi do, if not aid a victim?

"Anything else sister?

Yes," she said sweetly.

"One more time."

IOI

By the time that they were ready to reach out to their little pawn, Avaryss looked like the perfect mess. The clothes that Rink had found for her were ratty and dirty. They looked like she had spent the last week sleeping in one of the alley ways near the foundry, which was, of course, what she wanted. Add into that the bruising on her face, the split lip, the bloody nose; Avaryss looked quite the pathetic little waif.

Which was…of course, exactly what she wanted.

She only permitted her own crew to see her this way. She did not want to give Captain Torve or any of his men the idea that she was weak. Whenever she would meet with them, she wore her mask, heavy robes, and hooded cloak.

Rink glanced up from the pad he had been reading when she and Beric entered the room.

"You look like poo-doo, boss."

She laughed.

"Thank you, Rink," she said dryly, "I'm sure you say that to all the girls."

Holli looked up at her with a concerned frown.

"Are you okay, my lord?"

She waved the engineer off.

"I will be fine, once this matter is concluded."

She turned to Holli.

"Have we isolated the Padawans comm frequency?"

"I believe so, my lord," Holli said, "It matches the signal that the Captain provided us, as long as he is not pulling something, we should be ready to make contact."

"Excellent," Avaryss said.

She turned to her brother.

"Are you ready lieutenant?"

"Ready and able, my lord," he said with a satisfied grin.

Good, she thought.

Then we are ready!

It is time to start the show. "Holli approached her, holding up a data pad, the grainy image of one of the Jedi students flashed on the screen.

"Remember, the Padawan we are targeting is Quenya Sai Malloc," Holli began.

"Of course I remember," Avaryss said confidently.

"I chose her didn't I?"

She stared down at the image of the Jedi; Quenya Sai Malloc was a Devish female from Devaron system. The Devish were an…interesting looking people, the males were mostly bald with pointed ears, short stubby horns, and teeth that could either be razor sharp, or flat like a human. Their females lacked the horns but did have small round spots on their head where their horns would be; they had same reddish skin, and pointed ears but, on a whole, were more attractive than their male counterparts.

This particular Devish had a rather interesting history, or rather, her family did. According to Torve's recordings, the Sai Malloc line was quite storied among the Jedi Order, several of its number achieving great fame and prestige. The girl's uncle Vilmar Sai Malloc had been a hero during the battle of Alderaan, he had died defending a pass from Sith troopers, a sacrifice that had allowed Republic reinforcements the time they needed to catch up with the Sith main body and help decimate it, saving Alderaan from falling under Sith control. Then there had been the girl's great uncle Ardu Sai Malloc, who had single handedly, bested a Hutt crime lord in the Commenor, saving several villages there and breaking an attempt by the Hutt Cartel to establish a foot hold in the Correllian System. There were several other famous family members as well, but Torve's recordings made no mention of their names.

Not that it mattered, Avaryss had her foothold. Now she would exploit it.

Yes, the girl was heir to a great Jedi Legacy, and from what Avaryss had seen and heard on the recordings was a poor excuse for an heir indeed.

Both Master Pondar, and the girl's own master, a Jedi named Darzu pushed the girl very hard, she was proud of her legacy, but at the same time seemed to be struggling with it, as well.

As Avaryss had watched the recordings she had counted no less than four instances where the girl seemed resentful of the two Jedi masters. She tried to carry her legacy, but lived in the constant shadow of it. The master's had said things like: A Malloc should know better," or "Your great uncle would not make such a base mistake."

Avaryss had grinned as she watched the training sessions.

The girl had skill, she could see that. Her understanding of both Makashi and Shien were good, not as good as Avaryss' perhaps, but that could not be faulted.

She got the feeling that the masters did not understand their young charge, the pressure that she was under, the desire to live up to such a storied bloodline. Her place in that bloodline made her both arrogant and at times, caused her to think herself better than the masters and her fellow students. That arrogance got in the way of her training, she showed up late to training sessions, and had on occasion spoken down to her fellow Padawans. She was not well liked, that was clear.

In short the girl was not a perfect Jedi candidate, but she was, possibly, a very useful pawn.

Avaryss would see just how valuable soon enough.

Her comlink beeped, when she answered it, Torve informed her that the girl was now outside the Jedi Enclave. She had been sent on an errand by Master Pondar.

Avaryss thanked him, and dismissed the Captain quickly.

It was time to start the show.

"Get out of sight," she ordered her crew, "The girl must think me alone."

She waited until they were well hidden, and well out of line of sight for the small holo communicator, and while she did, she slipped into character. Her posture became hunched and nervous, her eyes wide and darting, her hair both messy and dirty. She had seen fear on the face enough of her enemies to mimic it for this gambit.

She took a deep breath and centered herself, reaching out to the dark side, invoking its strength.

Now is the time, she thought.

Here we go.

She activated her communicator.

The game began.

It took several seconds for the device to find the right frequency, but then the tiny image took shape, forming into the shape of the Devish Padawan.

"Yes master," she said quickly, "Do you…"

The girl paused; she stared into Avaryss' face.

"What? Who are you? How did you get this frequency?"

Avaryss looked around her, like she expected some enemy to jump her any second.

"Are…are you her?" she said in a small timid voice, "Are you Malloc, Quenya Sai Malloc?"

"I…I'm she, who is this?"

"Praise the Force," Avaryss said with a nervous laugh, "I had hoped the frequency I stole would enable me to reach you, but…I…I almost lost hope."

Avaryss brought the holo-comm closer; she wanted the girl to see the fear in her eyes, the desperation.

"You must help me, please, I…I have nowhere else to turn, I'm being hunted. You must help me! Please you must!"

The alien girl blinked, she was clearly caught off guard; it was likely that no one had ever come to her begging for help.

"Of…of course, a Jedi would never turn away someone in need. Who are you? Who is after to you?"

Forgive me, great Jedi," she said bowing her head, "My…my name is Avaryss, I'm…I'm a Sith apprentice, and…and I need your help. Please…please don't disconnect! Please don't go!"

"You're a Sith," the girl's expression turned cold, cold and distrustful, "I…whatever game you're playing it won't work."

"I'm playing no game. I…I'm being hunted. My master…I…I failed him on my last mission. He…he said my life was forfeit, that my connection to the light makes me weak! He…he is going to kill me! Please, I…I have nowhere else to turn!"

Behind her Beric let a heavy crate fall, the sound was loud enough to be heard even on the hyper comm. A frightened cry escaped Avaryss lips; she spun around almost dropping the communicator.

"What was that," The Jedi said, Avaryss could hear the concern in voice, despite the fact that she had identified herself as an enemy.

"The hunters are getting close," Avaryss gasped, " I…I have no more time, please Master Jedi, you must help me, no one else will, please, please, please!"

Quenya Sai Malloc looked confused, on one the person begging for help was an enemy, on the other, and it was another person begging for help.

Avaryss understood that confusion; it was, after all, a part of her plan.

"You need help, why come to me? Why not contact Master Pondar or Darzu?"

"I…I did not know them, but…but I did know you, your name…it…it carries great weight in the Sith Empire."

"It…it does?" the girl said, surprise showing on her Devish face.

"Oh Yes," Avaryss said quickly, "My master fought on Alderaan during the war, he told me tales of your uncle, how his power held the Empire's advance in check. He…he was a true champion of the light. I…I hoped that you were the same, only a true Jedi can protect me, I can trust no one else."

Despite the size of the hologram, Avaryss could see the girl was thinking about what she was hearing, weighing the risk, trying to decide if the pleas of her enemy were genuine.

She had flattered the girl; stroke her ego, now she had to offer her something more, she had to fatten the prize a bit.

"My…my master is a Darth, he…he is planning something, something big, I managed to take one of his datapads when I fled. I can't…can't break the encryption, but it is big, he made that quite clear."

Avaryss smiled nervously.

"It should serve your order well, not to mention be quite a prize for one such as you. It is yours if you help me. I offer it freely, that and myself. I…I want asylum, to learn the ways of the light. I'm told that your order does not fear it, that they might be able to teach me."

"It…it is a Jedi's duty to instruct others on the ways of the light. I…I could help you, and a datapad you say? Do…do you have it with you?"

Again Avaryss had to resist the urge to smile; she could hear the hunger in the girl's voice, the ambition.

If she brought back secret war plans to her masters, who could say how they would reward her.

Avaryss wanted her focusing on that alone, that advancement.

It would blind her to anything else.

"I hid it," Avaryss said quickly, "I…I will bring it to you, if…if you agree to meet with me. I will surrender myself to you and you alone."

"Yes," the girl said, "I could…"

She hesitated, perhaps having received a warning from the Force.

She looked right at Avaryss.

"Perhaps, perhaps I should bring Master Pondar into this, he is a great Jedi, he could…"

"NO!" Avaryss shouted.

"Sith?"

"I said NO. I've…I heard my master talking about spies within the Jedi Order, particularly on this moon. If one gets word that I'm here, I'm dead, and many others as well, my master is ruthless. He…he would destroy half this city if it meant killing me. You…you can say nothing to no one, it…it is not safe. N the name of all that is good, say nothing, please, I beg you. I…"

"I think I saw something," Beric shouted, his voice was loud enough for the Devish Jedi to hear.

Again Avaryss looked over her shoulder, she whimpered with mock fear.

"I…I can't stay here any longer. I must move on!"

"Wait," the Jedi girl said, "Send me your coordinates, I…I can help you."

"There she is," Beric shouted.

"Open fire," Rink called out.

They fired their blasters over Avaryss' head, she drew her lightsaber.

"I will send word," she shouted into the communicator, "please master Jedi, HELP ME!"

Avaryss let the communicator fall. The Devish girl's image wavered but came back.

"Sith? Sith?! What is going on?! Can you…"

Beric jumped out and stepped on the communicator, destroying it, on the other end, the girl would have seen only a man in Sith armor pursuing the one she had been speaking to.

Avaryss said nothing more until she was sure the comm unit was destroyed. Only then did she stand upright and dust herself off.

She smiled at her brother and Mister Rink.

"Well done, gentlemen," she purred, "Very well done indeed."

Rink chuckled.

"You are not a bad actor, boss," Rink acknowledged, "Who knows, if this whole Lord of the Sith thing doesn't work out you could try your hand at drama on Alderaan."

"It is something to think about Mister Rink," She replied, "She turned to her brother.

"What do you think? Do you think she bought it?"

Beric shrugged.

"You have laid out the bait, now we will see if she bites."

The young Sith nodded thoughtfully.

She had laid things on a little thick, she acknowledged that, but at the same time, she had needed to. She had played both to the girl's ego, and her desire for advancement.

If the recording of her had been correct, the girl hungered for the chance to prove herself, to prove that she was better than what her master's thought, to justify her pride in herself.

Avaryss had just given her that opportunity.

She would wait a day or two, let the girl think about what she had said; make her worry that the opportunity that she had discovered was lost.

Then...she would receive word over a private channel, a location somewhere not far from the enclave, close enough that the girl would feel safe, but isolated enough that Avaryss would be able to work her magic.

The young Sith shivered with anticipation.

Destroying an enemy with a lightsaber was fun, but this…this had its charms too.

Deception, cunning and trickery, they were part of the dark side, weapons that were just as valuable as a lightsaber.

She would now get a chance to see how well she wielded them.

If the girl did as she asked and came alone, things would as they should be, if she did not come or brought back up…well.

Avaryss smiled hungrily.

If the girl did not come, she was back to square one, but if she brought back up, that could be useful too.

At the very least they would be able to get their hands on an access code. If they could take a prisoner alive that could useful too.

Quenya Sai Malloc was not the only Jedi that could turn to the darkness.

Who knew, they might just get their hands on someone better, someone stronger in the Force. In the meantime though, they simply had to wait.

The game was on.

Now…they had to wait for the next move.

What would the Jedi do?

"Your move Padawan, she thought to herself.

"Your move."