Chapter 34: My Child

"Punish the girl, husband," Synestra said with an icy glare.

"This insolence cannot be tolerated!"

Avaryss kept her head low; she was currently before her master and his family.

The young Sith frowned.

This would have gone better had she met with her master in private, but that had not happened.

The girl suppressed an irritated sigh.

If only she had gotten back to Dromund Kaas sooner.

Her ship barely touched down when she had gotten her master's orders to return. It seemed that something…interesting had happened in her absence.

It was not unforeseeable she thought, she should have though, given what had happened.

Before she left the ship, she received a holo transmission from one of those loyal to House Fehl, her new steward, Ludo Hysh. In keeping with tradition, the man had gone to Darth Feer and informed her master that they, through his apprentice, who was their new master, were now allies of House Feer.

You should kill the man for his stupidity, the dark voice within her whispered.

It was a tempting thought, but now…meaningless.

Feer already knew; death of an underling would not change that.

What would be the point of killing him now, she realized, Feer already knew what had happened, and besides, the man was only following the dictates of Sith tradition.

If anyone was to blame, it was her. She should have sworn her new followers to silence, insisted on it.

Instead, here she was, facing her master and his family.

She needed to be cautious.

Fortunately, she had had enough of a warning that she had had a chance to prepare. She came to her master alone, a penitent look on her face. Her clothing showing off her best features, her pale shoulders were left bare, the low cut top and corset she wore showing off her curvy form.

She wanted to show her master that she came before him with nothing to hide. Plus, looking a bit more attractive could not hurt; Lady Synestra would already be calling for her head. She had no desire for Bael to add his smarmy voice to the mix.

If how she looked distracted him, it was so much the better.

The only decorative item she wore was a small sliver amulet, the center of it emblazoned with the Sith glyph that was the family crest of House Feer.

My master must have no reason to doubt my loyalty. We are so close now, so close to absolute victory.

I cannot let such a…misunderstanding distract him from that goal.

We are so close.

It fell to her to sooth her master's rage if that was even possible.

It would be a trial in and of itself.

Lord Feer was glaring down at her; he seemed mostly recovered from his recent injuries. A few red scars were visible on his neck and hands, but beyond that, he looked his old self.

That might work to her advantage; a pained and injured Feer might be more apt to punish her. If he was feeling better, his temper might not be as sharp.

Nothing was more dangerous than a predator when it was in pain, it tended to lash out even without cause, and she feared she had given her master ample cause to lash out at her today.

She needed to be careful, yes.

She needed to be very careful indeed.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, girl," he demanded, "Give me one reason that you should not suffer for your little rebellion."

"Punish her father," Bael jeered, "Make her suffer for her impotence!"

Avaryss resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She assumed the young master meant, impudent, but she did not bother to correct him.

Lord Feer did roll his eyes.

Let Feer see that I'm far smarter than his born heir.

It would go farther in softening the blow that was about to fall.

Though she did not move, her mind was working at light speed; she was trying to figure out how best to deal with this situation.

Defiance? Anger? No, she dismissed both such emotions. Her master was looking for an excuse, any excuse to punish her.

She would not give him any reason to do that.

Tell him what he wants to hear, the darkness whispered, be subservient, loyal, stop just short of being a boot-lick. Her master would respond to that. From the very beginning, he had wanted her fidelity; he wanted her to be in awe of him. She found herself thinking back to their first meeting on Korriban, he had hoped that she would come to see herself as his child, his daughter; he wanted her to both respect and to love him.

Give him what he wants, or at least…seem to.

Only by doing that, could she avoid the blade that now hung so low over her head.

"I meant no rebellion, my lord;" she said bowing her head even lower, "All that I've done in recent days has been for the good of our family."

"Our family?" Synestra said with a sneer, "You are not one of us. You were nothing when my lord husband found you. You were a nobody from nowhere. He took you in, let you find a place within the Sith Order, and how do you pay him back? You offer betrayal."

The dark lord's wife snorted.

"My husband would be well within in his rights to end you girl, here and now."

Darth Feer smiled ruthlessly.

It may come to that wife, but for now…let's let Avaryss try and explain herself."

The lady of the house smirked.

"As you say, husband," she said nodding, "As you say."

Feer returned his attention back to Avaryss; his expression was as cold as an ice moon.

"Explain yourself, apprentice," he ordered, "Why have you forgotten your place?"

He sneered.

"Why did you try and betray me?"

Be cautious, the dark voice within her said.

You are going to have to talk fast, fast yet carefully.

Right now he is looking for any excuse to punish you.

Give him no reason to.

She could already feel a slight tingle in the back of her head, it was a sensation she remembered, and prayed not to feel again.

Her master could be quite harsh when he wanted to be. She had felt his whip once, and desired never to do so again.

She would not be punished by him, she thought…

…Never again.

IOI

During the first few weeks of her apprenticeship, her master had provoked her to anger. They had been sparring, and he had wanted to see just how far she would go if he pushed her. He had spoken ill of her family, of Fehl, of everything she had sacrificed on the path to get here. Despite everything she knew to be true, she tried to attack him, truly attack him, striking to kill, and for a moment, she had thought she had him, that her anger had finally given her the edge she needed.

He showed her that day how wrong she had truly been.

He lashed out at her with a Sith spell, and she had fallen into darkness.

For almost four days she had lain on the floor of the training room, her eyes rolled back in her head as she wandered through a world of pure and unrelenting torment. She travelled from one nightmare to another, an unceasing tour of all her mistakes, all the reasons that she should not have survived and reached this point.

She truly could not say how she found her way back, but she had managed. On the fourth day, her eyes finally opened, her body was weak, her thoughts confused. The servants that her master had left to tend to her if she awoke, or dispose of the body if she did not came for her.

In her weakened state, Avaryss lashed out the only way she could. She summoned a death field, both to restore her strength, and try to punish the one who had left her to die. The servants collapsed, their bodies turning to dust in mere moments. Their life energy did much to restore her, but at the same time left her feeling dirty.

These were not brave men and women. They were barely worth her notice.

Their life energy was weak and flaccid.

Darth Feer came to her then, and in that moment she knew to fear him, both for what he had done to her, and because of the lives bubbling inside of her.

Her master had sneered.

"You should be careful how you use that power, apprentice," he had warned her, "Draining the lives of others may restore you, but at the same time, if you are not careful, it could leave you with nothing, your body could collapse leaving you as nothing more than a breach in the Force."

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

"You do not want to end up like Darth Nilhilus do you?"

She knew the name of course, an extremely powerful Sith from some three centuries ago. He had grown so strong that he had been able to conjure a death field so powerful that it could drain the life of entire planets. Yet, that power overwhelmed him, destroying his physical form, leaving him nothing but a tangible shadow, with an eternal hunger for life and the Force.

Though she admired his power, she did not wish to become like that. Avaryss intended to spend her days enjoying all of life's pleasures. She had no desire to follow the fallen Sith Lord's path, no matter how powerful his gift had made him.

Lord Feer had been right to remind her of that, and so she learned not to rely so heavily on life drain and death field, and of course to fear her master.

It was with both those lessons in mind that she confronted her master now.

She would not make the same mistake again.

IOI

"I did not betray you master," she said keeping her head low, "Everything I've sought has been to make me stronger, to become more useful in your eyes; so that I can fulfilled your desires."

She risked a look up, flashing him a weak smile.

"I wanted to prove what a good Sith I was. I…I wanted to make you proud. I wanted you to see what kind of lord I could be."

He snorted dismissively.

"Lord? You?" Bael cackled, "You think you are something special don't you? You are no better than all the others father has taken to apprentice, one day you will be…"

"BAEL," his mother hissed, "BE SILENT!"

Feer was glaring at his son, the boy cowed under that harsh gaze; he seemed to diminish, shrinking down beneath it. Feer's fury bubbled up, but now it was not directed at his apprentice.

Avaryss just suppressed a smile.

And there we are, she thought, she had known her master had taken other apprentices before her, but no one here had ever mentioned them, not once.

Bael's slip up was proof that she likely would never get what she wanted from Feer, that he would never make her a lord in his service. It was likely that her apprenticeship would end with her death, before she could grow too powerful that is.

I will need to learn to hide my strength, wait for the right opportunity.

We will see who dies first.

For now she hid those thoughts as best she could, her master returned his gaze to her, his eyes cold and disapproving.

Again she dropped her head, offering no resistance.

Let him think that I'm his and his always, at least until the time is right.

Then we will see who is stronger.

"You were under orders," he reminded her, "We were trying to keep our business secret, to stay one step ahead of our rivals, and what do you do? You hand over all that we gained to Darth Baras. You have given him what he needs to catch up, and it cost him nothing…nothing."

Her master frowned.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

In truth, she had thought about what would happen. It was clear that Baras knew about the conspiracy, likely for quite a while, and he had done nothing to stop it. He had his reasons, no doubt. Darth Baras did not strike her as a man who did things without thinking them through.

No, Baras struck her as the type of Sith who would try to turn the conspiracy to his advantage, maybe even subtly pointing the finger at his rivals, making sure the conspiracy affected them first. She figured that he was trying to do such a thing by sending her against Lord Kanis. Perhaps Kanis threatened his plans in some way, and Baras wanted him removed…

If so he had gotten what he wanted, and at the same time aided her. Now, he likely wanted Lord Feer to punish her, maybe even try to kill her.

She needed to make sure that that did not happen.

"I will not deny that I took what Baras offered," she admitted, "But at the same time, we should not fall into his trap, my master. We should not do his work for him."

"And what work is that, my dear?" her master asked, his voice both sweet and at the same time, venomous.

Baras clearly seeks to drive a wedge between us. We cannot allow that, especially when we are so close to our final victory over the Jedi and their Republic pawns."

Her master snorted and shook his head, clearly she was not the only one who had thought that one of the rival lord's motivations, now she had to drive the point home, drive it home, and save herself.

"If Baras had truly sought the same prize we do, he could have taken it at any time. He has the ear of Lord Vengean, as soon as the dark council gets involved, this conspiracy will end, but he does not. He had a use for it I think; by fighting amongst ourselves all we are doing is allowing him more time to use the conspiracy to serve his ends, to grow stronger."

She shook her head.

"Should we not take that away from him? Would that not serve our house best?"

"It is not just Baras that we have to worry about now, you little fool," Synestra spat, "Your actions have garnered the attention of other lords. Darth Thanaton contacted us, saying that you now have access to certain texts, texts that he had trusted Lord Kanis to hold onto, texts that must remain secure. No sooner had he ended the transmission, we received one from Lord Zash, requesting those very texts. Those are just two of the lords whose attention you have drawn, and no doubt there will be others, with all the power plays going on right now, the dark council is more likely to come down hard on your little scheme. They can't touch the higher lords, but you…they can choose to make an example of you. They can punish this house for your bungling."

"As I said, I did it to make me stronger, to make myself more useful to you," Avaryss repeated, those words to her master, barely acknowledging his lord wife.

It was Feer she needed to please, not the lady of the house.

"Have I ever failed you, my master," she asked.

"That business on the wreck," Synestra brought up.

Avaryss frowned.

She needed to get away from Synestra and Bael; she could feel that she was making progress with her master, progress that was being slowed by his family.

"Master, may we please speak in private, what I have to say is for your ears alone. Your loyal pupil wishes an audience."

He sneered at her, but after a few moments, agreed.

"Guards leave us," he ordered, "You as well, my love, take our son."

Feer grinned.

I will see to Avaryss'…correction in private.

"Feer," Synestra said, "My sweet…I…"

"Have your own duties to attend to, I'm sure, including our son's training."

He gave her a cold smile.

"As I said, leave us."

The lady obeyed, begrudgingly, Bael looked disappointed that he would not get to see Avaryss suffer. He left with a sullen look on his face, glancing back at Avaryss and her low cut robes.

She sighed.

Finally.

Now I can make some real progress.

Her master said nothing until they were alone, he continued to glare down on her, she did not move, not until he ordered her to do so.

Finally, her master sighed.

"Did you honestly think you were fooling me, apprentice? Me?"

Master I…"

"You think that I've not been watching you? You think that I would be so foolish to send you out into the galaxy without making sure that I knew what you were up to?"

He shook his head.

"As always, I'm two steps ahead of you, my child. I know about the alchemist you snatched from Darth Terrog. I know about your seduction of Baron Dresco's daughter. I know that you have been using the missions that I've sent you on to gather both resources, and disciples."

He sneered.

"Did you honestly think you had me fooled?"

She shrugged.

The fact that he knew about Taya did not surprise her. Given their history, it should have come as no surprise that the two girls' had…renewed their relationship.

And yet, his information was no perfect, he seemed to know nothing about her arrangement with TCS, and he seemed to know nothing about Quenya.

Perhaps his sources were not as good as he liked to think.

"Did you honestly think you had me fooled, apprentice?"

"Fooling you was never the plan, my lord. I did what I could to improve myself. A Sith cannot survive without a powerbase. I needed to make sure that I had one. If I had not made the attempt, then you would have all the evidence you would need that I was a flawed apprentice, and unworthy of your training."

She made his cold gaze with one of her own.

"I do not apologize for being Sith. I was simply following my nature; securing power is part of that.

I make no excuses."

Her master pursed her lips, his hand went to his chin; he scratched it thoughtfully. Avaryss tried not to flinch, if he did decide to punish her, it would likely be worse than before.

She drew on the Force, and her will, to try and shield her mind; she would not be such easy prey this time. She…

Her master chuckled.

"Well done, my child," he said warmly.

"Well done indeed."

Avaryss blinked.

What?

"Master? I…I don't understand?"

He smiled.

"You…you are not mad at me?" she asked.

"I am angry with you, yes," he admitted, "But not for the reason that you think."

He shook his head.

"You should have ordered your followers to hold their tongues. You should have waited until we were victorious before revealing your new holdings. You forced my hand; I had to call you in here, for Synestra's benefit, if for nothing else."

Avaryss frowned.

"You want the lady to think our relationship is strained?"

He nodded.

"There are many eyes upon on us now, my dear. No one is completely above suspicion, not even my darling wife."

Avaryss nodded.

He wanted her to think that they were at odds, but if they weren't…?

"You believe Lady Synestra is spying on us?"

"I believe that she will go to any length to ensure that Bael becomes Lord Feer one day, even if that means seeking out the aid of our rivals. I have no proof mind you, but the suspicion remains.

"You think she had a hand in Darth Terrog's attack?"

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, "Regardless, we must be cautious. Too many are watching us now; we can give them no reason to interfere."

He gestured for her to rise and follow him. She obeyed and followed him out onto a balcony overlooking the Feer Family estate. Her master pulled out a small device from his robe, and pressed a button on its side. The door behind them slid shut. Avaryss winced; there was a slight buzzing in her sonic bafflers.

"I think it is time to bring you fully into my confidence," he said, "Your choices prove that you have what it takes to lead House Feer one day."

And what of young master Bael?" she asked.

"We will see if he has the wisdom and skill to survive the coming months. He maybe mine, but…I question his worthiness sometimes. I suppose that is not very fatherly of me, but…I'm Sith, I need to look out for the interests of our house."

Of course, my master," Avaryss said.

"I could not agree more."

"He nodded grimly.

"Then it is time for you to hear the next phase of my plan. Being that you will be the tip of my spear, it is necessary that you understand what is at stake."

She nodded, but tried not to appear overly eager.

She did not wish to make him question the wisdom of sharing this with her.

"What you said about Baras trying to manipulate the conspiracy, I think you are right. Baras is no fool, he is Darth Vengean's apprentice, and he is therefore only one heartbeat away from a seat on the dark council. Baras is not above going after his own master, not when such a prize hangs in the balance."

"And what about us," she asked, "What prize are we seeking/"

Feer grinned hungrily.

"More than most people realize. I have gone to great lengths to ensure that the dark council thinks me only interested in Darth Terrog's holdings. Everything that I've done up to this point has been to convince them that that is my sole motivation."

"But it is not?"

"No apprentice," Darth Feer said flashing a cunning smile.

"I have a much larger appetite."

The two of them looked out over the compound, and what it took to maintain holdings here on Dromund Kaas."

"You wish a seat on the dark council/" she said, "Bringing the conspiracy to light, and ending it would go a long way towards accomplishing that goal."

"True," he said, "But again, you are thinking too small apprentice. Remember back to the gathering we attended, and the role our dear Emperor played in it."

She snorted.

"He did not play any role," she said, "He did not even show up. We couldn't…"

She blinked, and looked at her master with new eyes.

He grinned hungrily.

"Do you understand now, apprentice?"

She blinked.

"We should not even be discussing this," she said, "It could be construed as treason."

"Is it treason to acknowledge that the Empire needs strong leadership," he asked, "should we sit idly by and do nothing while the Empire burns around us?"

"It is risky," she said, "Are you sure it is worth the risk?"

"I think we both know the answer to that question."

She shook her head.

She was ambitious, but this…this…

It could blow up in their faces.

"No one has seen the Emperor in months. His voice has not addressed us in all that time. His wrath has not been seen, and his hands remain hidden, reaching for nothing."

Her master shook his head.

"The one, who ends the conspiracy, will be seen as a hero of the Empire, just as the Emperor himself was millennia ago when he saved us from the Sith Holocaust. The dark council does what they can to maintain things, but without a singular grand vision, how can the Empire hope to grow and prosper?"

"It takes an emperor to rule an empire," she said.

"Quite right, my child, quite right."

She gave him a sly smile.

"I doubt the Emperor will just step aside for you."

He does not have to, the longer he remains in the shadows, the less weight his words carry. There are plenty of ambitious Sith out there, just waiting for someone to unify them."

"I suppose there are," she agreed, "but still those ambitious Sith will be hesitant to try and follow anyone against the old regime."

This is why I must show them my strength, and the strength of those under my command."

He smiled at her.

"That is where you come in, my child."

She nodded. She was not sure about this, but if her master could pull this off…

…who knew what rewards might await them.

"And what is to be my part in all this?"

"A great leader cannot stand alone; he needs hands to reach out for him, a voice to speak for him, and a wrath to slay for him.

Feer put an arm around her shoulder.

"Imagine it my dear, he Empire ours to do with as we see fit."

She shivered the thought of it, the challenges and prizes that awaited them at the royal court.

"It is a beautiful vision, master, but we must always remember, that no one can rule forever. Someone must be always ready to take up the reins when the ruler is no longer able to maintain his position."

"It is so," he agreed.

She laughed.

"As you said, 'it takes an emperor to rule an empire, or…an Empress."

Now Feer laughed.

"You are ambitious, aren't you my child?"

"I am what you made me my lord," she said, slipping out of his arm, and leaning on the railing. Her expression changed becoming almost dreamy.

He painted a pretty picture, and at the same time offered her an excellent opportunity.

He had given her a chance to make him believe that she was completely and utterly loyal, she would not waste that. This plan of his was ambitious, perhaps even insane, but it did have its uses.

She sighed.

"Back on Oridanna, I use to imagine that I was more than what I was, that I could be more than Andur Lylos' bargaining chip."

She turned to him, her burning eyes looking fondly upon her master.

"I loved Andur Lylos, but he never understood me the way that you do, master. He never offered me what you have…"

She dropped to one knee.

"I will stand with you, and make you proud, this I swear…

She looked up with the warmest of smiles she could manage.

"Father." she murmured.

Darth Feer smiled.

"So it has finally happened," he said, "You have finally given up your hate."

"I've directed it at our enemies;" she said, "That hates keeps me strong, and will serve me well in bringing our plan to fruition."

"Well said, my daughter," he said, "Very well said."

She rose from her knee; her eyes were both hungry and cruel.

"How do we start, my lord," she asked, "How do we find our way to the throne?"

"We start with your next target," he said, "Today, we end the conspiracy."

"And tomorrow…the Empire itself will be ours."

"As you say, my master," she said bowing her head, "I will make sure that you get everything you deserve."

"We shall both get what we deserve," he said.

Avaryss almost laughed. He truly had no idea, but he would learn.

Taking a throne for life did not guarantee that you would live long.

She was determined to see that he learned that lesson, and then…and then…

That Empire itself would learn what it meant to have a ruler that loved the Empire.

They would learn, and bow…

…or else.