Chapter 52: The Trap

The sector on Nar Shadda, the area that the Jedi had chosen for their meeting had long been abandoned by the Hutts. Once it had been a thriving factory sector, a place of prosperity in a time of peace, producing goods and supplies to aid the Republic expansion effort as it continued to grow into the outer rim. The return of the Sith had ended that era of expansion. The factories might have been saved, converted into producing war material, but any chance of that ended with the Hutt's decision to remain neutral in the conflict. The companies that owned the factories went bankrupt, and the sector died a slow death, the once thriving businesses were now only empty shells, with only the most desperate or impoverished now hiding among the ruins.

Sy Dar Bynn had chosen his ground well. The old factories were a maze; a small group could operate, and then go into hiding for years with little chance of them being located. The Sith could have bombed the site from orbit, but that would be a violation of the treaty with the Hutt clans, and even if the bombings were approved, there was no guarantee that the Jedi would be killed, and if they survived, the conspiracy would continue to flourish.

Avaryss was determined not to let that happen.

As soon as the location was given, Major Forn and his men were informed. The commandos would do their best to locate the Jedi base of operation, and provide support for Avaryss and her people. The Jedi would be ready for a trap, but hopefully, the major and his men's arrival had gone unnoticed. Sy Dar Bynn would be expecting a full military response, what he got would be something quite different.

Subtly, at this point, it was key.

As for Avaryss, herself, it had taken a bit of time to prepare for her meeting with the rogue Jedi Master. She sat quietly in the back of the shuttle, preparing for the fight to come. She had spent the bulk of the journey down to the surface meditating, while Beric and Quenya brought the shuttle down in a nearby sector. They would need to make the journey from there, but it was safer than simply landing in an area with no idea of the enemy's location, or what his strength might be.

Not that Avaryss had been idle, oh no, she had cooked up a few surprises of her own, she did not trust Sy Dar Bynn, everything she had seen up to this point suggested that the man could not be trusted, her strategy depended heavily on that, indeed; the plan itself depended on it. At its core, the plan was quite simple, simple, but with a twist.

She hoped that the Jedi would appreciate her hard work.

As she gathered her strength, meditated on the fight to come, her perspective seemed to be in two places at once. Part of her was already down on the surface, contemplating what awaited them. The dark warrens and collapsed buildings of the old factory sector would provide its own challenges to be sure.

While at the same time, she was on the shuttle, Quenya at the controls, and Beric beside her. She had considered bringing Rink along, but had discarded the idea at the last moment.

The pilot had another role to play in her plan, and the plan was…

She felt a sense of vertigo; it took her a moment to regain her composure.

Whoa, she thought as her head started to spin, she took several deep breaths and centered herself.

Her head cleared…thankfully.

This is no time to be feeling out of it, she thought.

What happens within the next few hours will define me as a Sith.

I can ill-afford to be anything but at my best.

Before leaving the ship, she had returned briefly to her quarters, to consult the scrolls she had found back on Korriban. She had found reference to a spell in one of them that might prove quite useful. As she had read through the writings again, she came to realize that this was not the first time she had heard of this particular dark side ability. During her time in the academy, she had been allowed to use the holocron of one of the ancient lords, a long dead Dark Lord named Simus, during that experience she had absorbed how he had viewed the spell, and adapted to his own use. At the time she had not realized what it all meant, her time with the holocron had left her thoughts muddied, only now did they finally truly become clear, for this spell anyway.

She had grinned when she had that realization.

Between what she had learned from Lord Simus and the words of the long forgotten lord in the tomb, she had the means of the summoning up a little surprise for Sy Dar Bynn and any followers he might have brought with him.

Casting the spell had been easy enough, once she had all the necessary components, it had left her a little winded however, and she had needed a few moments to settle herself after the final casting. Well…perhaps not the final casting. That would take place only when the time was right, when she was in the exact place that she needed to be.

She could feel the darkness roiling around her, it was all she could do not to release that energy, but she could not.

It was not yet the time.

As she focused on the darkness within her, she found herself listening in on the conversation taking place between Beric and Quenya, her brother had strong feelings for…what was Quenya again? Her disciple…was that the right word, perhaps? Never the less her big brother did not hold back.

He had his own opinions about the Devish, and he was not afraid to let those opinions be known.

"We're about to face your former comrades," he said flatly, "How do you feel about that?"

"They are being no comrades of mine," she replied, "I am not being one of those that willingly violated the treaty."

"But they are Jedi," He reminded her, "You were training to be one of them were you not?"

"I was," she sighed, "There was being a time that I wished to be one of them, but I cannot be denying that what I've seen at Master Avaryss' side has left me shaken. I am being from a family of storied champions of the Force, Jedi all, but I am not being worthy of my legacy, perhaps I never was."

The Devish hissed.

"I am wondering how those other Mallocs would have acted had they discovered Master Sy's plan? Would they oppose it, or would they find themselves being willing to see it through, for the good of the Republic. I cannot say for sure."

Beric sniffed thoughtfully, Avaryss could imagine the look on his face, that one of contemplation and serious thought.

"You are not your ancestors," he said, "You can only stand on your own two feet, make your own way."

"But you are following in your own father's footsteps, yes? I heard that you are having a father who served your empire."

"That is true, but I did not choose the life of a common soldier. I found what worked best for me, and tried to excel. I think you owe it to yourself to try the same. What will you do once this is all over? When this Sy Dar Bynn has been stopped?"

There was a pause.

Finally, Quenya sighed.

"I am not being sure. I…I am not being dark side, not like Master Avaryss. I…I feel the call of what she is offering, but at the same time…"

…Another pause, and then…

"I am not knowing," Quenya finally said, "Perhaps, when this is being over…I shall try to find a place beyond the Empire, and beyond the Republic."

"I thought you wanted to be a hero?"

"I am starting to see that there is no such thing. My family, those men, they did their duties, but I…I am not sure I'm willing to go that far, perhaps it would be better if I left, if I sought out a life on a world outside of the Empire and the Republic. I am thinking that my skills could be useful. I'm thinking that I could build a life for myself, by my own rules."

"You could I suppose," Beric said, "But…just in case you choose not to, just in case you decide to pick a side in the next few moments, I want you to know something."

What?"

"I want you to know. If you try to pull a fast one on us, if you try to go running back to your fellow Jedi, to betray, Her Lordship, know this. You will be the first to die if I even suspect you have turned against us."

"I'm not being a traitor," Quenya said with a sniff.

"You betrayed your Jedi Master when we found you."

"That was not a betrayal, I was trying to…"

Quenya growled low.

"You would not be believing me anyway. I do not know why I am caring that you do."

'Just be aware of what could happen," her brother said coldly," I'm watching you."

Avaryss contemplated what she had heard.

It was most intriguing.

They both remained committed to hiding their familial bonds, in time Quenya or someone else would deduce the truth about them, but that was for another day, besides this was not about her and her brother, this was about Quenya.

Avaryss could not say she was pleased with what was going on.

She had thought, hoped, that Quenya would come to realize just how powerful the dark side was, she had hoped that the girl would come to accept it, to give herself over to its power.

That had not happened; the girl was still dragging her feet.

Avaryss found it annoying.

I've been too light on her, she thought; the fact that I'm not a full master is no excuse. I know what it takes to make someone give in and accept the dark. I needed that myself…once.

She found herself thinking back to Fury 9. Master Adaz and Master Phylon had put her in jeopardy to test her resolve. Her trial of blood had served her well, helped her move past her connection to the light, and her desire to remain in it.

I should have pushed Quenya, she realized, there were ways to lure someone down the path that they needed to go. She had let the girl's initial anger blind her to the weakness that was still a part of her.

She would need to remedy that, or at the very least make sure that the Devish did not return from this mission.

So many possible futures danced through her mind, her head swam with possibilities. Her head began to pound, but she drew on the Force and pushed that pain back.

It would stop if she let go, she knew, the spell she had cast needed to be completed, but it was not yet the time.

Soon, she thought, don't be weak.

Everything will make sense soon.

The shuttle continued down, she tried to reach out with the Force, get a sense of what awaited her.

She could feel a sense of menace, but nothing beyond that. She did not doubt in the least that Sy Dar Bynn thought he had some way to deal with her. Even if she did trust Jedi, she would never have trusted this particular one. If half what she had learned about him with true, he had compromised far too often, and he was clearly not above bloodying the hands of others to accomplish his goals, Sy Dar Bynn was far too cunning, that was for sure.

Yes, he no doubt had a trick up his sleeve, but that was okay.

She had one too.

IOI

Beric had brought the shuttle down on an unclaimed landing pad not far from the factory district. The tree of them had left the shuttle with no escort, and made quickly of the coordinates that the Jedi had provided. It did not take Avaryss long to figure out why the Jedi Master had chosen this place, and to reconsider her decision to meet with him here.

This entire sector had seen a lot during the last war and in the years since. Destruction and creation, pain and loss, hope and joy, and so many other conflicting emotions, the resulting chaos had created a place where the Force was no longer clearly defined by either light or dark, but instead had become a cold harsh grey. Even the most skilled of Force user would find it hard to sense another through such a haze. It was as if the very sector had been drowned in the Force.

The Emperor himself would have had a hard time penetrating such a morass.

Technology proved equally ineffective, most of the buildings here had been designed with industrial espionage in mind, they were constructed with shielding to baffle scanners, even military grade ones.

Beric's hand scanner was no more effective than the two Force user's abilities.

The group was effectively blind.

They had tried to contact Major Forn through a coded signal, but had gotten no response. If the Major's men were already within the sector they would not wish to give their location away still…

It was just another problem that made Avaryss question her choice of letting the confrontation take place here.

As they made their way down one of the abandoned streets they had caught glimpses of people that called this place home. Most avoided the three but occasionally someone would stop, and glance up quickly before hurrying on their way. The only one that seemed to ignore them was a large bipedal droid, carrying something large and bulky in his arms.

It could have been a body, Avaryss realized, which should have come to no surprise. Places like this were often used to dispose of unwanted…problems.

She suspected that many bodies had been buried here since the last war, and maybe a few even before that.

Her hand drifted to the lightsaber at her belt. She once again reached out with the Force, and sensed the same feeling of foreboding that had been building since they first entered the sector.

As they continued to advance she continued to feel more and more disoriented, the dark energies that she had taken into herself continued to build, they were almost screaming now for release.

Not yet, the darkness within continued to whisper, not yet.

She took a deep breath, fighting down a wave of nausea.

Soon, she thought…

…Very soon.

They had been moving for about ten minutes when the attack finally came. Beric had just mentioned that they might have been sent on a wild Bantha chase, when suddenly, he had been thrown hard against a collapsing wall; his scanner fell from his hands, shattering in a hail of sparks.

Avaryss and Quenya both drew their lightsabers.

The enemy fell upon them from both the front and behind.

Three Jedi led the attack, one in front two in back, to block their escape. The attack happened so fast that they barely had time to acknowledge what was going on. By the time she had crossed blades with the one in front, stun blasts rippled towards them from cover behind them. Normally, it would not have been difficult for her to dodge such an attack, but between the spell she was holding in reserve, and the sense of foreboding that surrounded this place, she had been completely caught off guard. Quenya was struck several times by stun blasts and went down. Avaryss managed to use her quickness to avoid the attack only to find herself crossing blades with a very familiar Jedi.

Despite the hood the girl was wearing. Avaryss recognized Sy Dar Bynn's Padawan. Xen Loor met her blade upon blade, pushing her back with both the Force and pure aggression. Her large eyes looked black in the cobalt blue light of her lightsaber blade.

"Remember me, Hutt spawn," the girl spat.

Avaryss snarled and pushed off; she spun her blade as she dropped into a Soresu guard.

A stun blast caught her low and in the back. She stumbled forward, and almost lost her head to Xen Loor, she moved in quickly, her style a blend of Makashi and Djem So.

Avaryss lost her blade; she tried to call it back, only to be Force pushed into the wall next to her, stars exploded before her eyes, as the galaxy seemed to bank hard to port.

The Force washed over her, stealing away both her speed and her confidence, she tried to find a way to escape only to be struck hard in the back by a jump kick from one of Xen's Jedi allies.

She went down hard, biting her tongue. She turned over to see Xen Loor standing over her, the point of her blue lightsaber a mere breath from the young Sith's throat.

She lay perfectly still, not wishing to the give the girl and excuse, not that she needed one.

Avaryss had been around enough killers to recognize one when she saw her.

Xen Loor…was a killer.

"This is for all the Jedi that you murdered, witch, and"she growled, "For all of us that died in the temple."

"Xen! NO!"

Another Jedi moved to the Padawan's side, she could not see his face under the hood, but the fact that he had green three fingered hand's suggested an alien origin.

"Master Sy wants the Sith alive."

Avaryss could feel the anger, boiling beneath the surface of the young Jedi girl. It felt like a ship's reactor on the verge of going critical. How the Jedi could not sense those emotions, boiling so close to the surface she could not even guess.

This one is never calm, she thought, she may appear calm, but that is all a mask.

This one is about to snap, she thought.

She wondered what it would take to do just that.

Xen growled low and in the back of her throat, she glared down at Avaryss, the one who had harassed her master over these many weeks.

"Stun her," she growled, "We will take this one before my master."

Avaryss snarled.

"I was to face your master in single combat," she spat, "I came here in good faith."

It was then that the girl did something that Avaryss did not expect.

She smiled. It was a cold and vicious thing.

It was a predator's smile.

Three stun blasts struck her, Avaryss cried out as they electrified her nervous system.

"There is what your "good faith" is worth, Sith," Xen Loor said, she spun on her heel and turned away.

"Bring her," she called out, "Her slaves too, my master is waiting."

The world began to fade away; Avaryss felt hands seize her by the arms.

She almost cried out, almost used the spell, but no…now was not yet the time. How she knew that, she could not say, but it was not yet the time.

Soon, she thought, soon enough.

The darkness rose up and she let herself slip beneath it.

She fell into darkness, and then…

…all was silent.

A/N: Happy Halloween everyone, sorry it took so long for this chapter, but don't worry, I will not keep this cliffhanger hanging for long, see you all soon, and have a good holiday!

DG