Chapter 9: Allies
"MASTER!"
Avaryss raised her hand, stopping both Zay or Agony from intervening.
There was no need, despite the dire look of things, she was in no real danger, the one threatening her however…well…
She smiled wickedly.
The tables could turn…so quickly.
"STOP IT!" Zay shouted, Temmin and Agony held her back, otherwise the girl might have jumped in front of her mistress.
"LEAVE MY MASTER ALONE!"
The girl's loyalty touched her, but it was really unnecessary. She had not expected everyone to be happy with the alliance of Jedi and Sith.
She just hadn't thought it would fall apart so quickly.
Oh well, life is what happened when you made plans.
She glanced over at her slave.
"It is okay," Avaryss murmured.
"Everything…is fine."
The blaster currently pointed at the Dark Lord's face was a standard issue Republic side arm, she had seen them many times in the years she had served the Empire. The soldier pointing it at her stood less than five steps away, his emotions blazing through the Force, a desire for both blood and retribution.
Such rage, she thought, such vengefulness.
She almost laughed.
A shame this man was not Force sensitive.
He could have been very useful.
IOI
She had only just descended the boarding ramp when she had found her life threatened. The rest of their journey had been…uneventful. No Eternal Fleet or Sith battleships had tried to bar their way.
When they had finally come out of hyperspace it was over a world that Avaryss didn't recognize. A green world with a few inland seas, and several large mountain ranges.
An attractive world, she had to admit.
When she reached out with the Force, she sensed nothing in the way of real civilization. The world felt…young in the Force, like it had only just decided in the last few centuries that it would support sentient life.
A primordial world, no real use to anyone just yet, too young to be exploited for resources, and life only just beginning to crawl across its surface.
A hideaway if she had ever seen one.
The perfect place to go unnoticed, the rapid changes in the developing world would shield them from most Force-wielders, provided they didn't know exactly where to look.
Tara Valenthyne brought the ship down through the grey clouds and soon the Stolen Heart was cruising over a large grassy plain.
The sight stirred something in Avaryss, a sense of…familiarity…bordering on homesickness.
Oridanna…
The dark lord shook her head, silencing the thought with a snarl.
That thought was weakness, it was a "Keera" thought, and Keera Lylos was no more. She had been expunged; her body laid to rest on Korriban.
There was no Keera, only Avaryss, or Avy to those who knew her well.
Avaryss had no time for thoughts of home, the galaxy was her home now…
…and soon she would claim it.
The ship made for a lone rock formation in the middle of the plains, at first glance, it didn't seem like much, but as they drew closer, Avaryss realized that this place was not quite what it seemed. A large section of the grassy plain had been burned away by years of extreme heat, ships coming and going she supposed, and the rock formation, though it appeared solid from the air, seemed to open up at its base, likely leading to a network of caves underground.
A terrorist's hideaway, Avaryss thought, that is how the Sith military would look at such a place, but now…she couldn't afford to have such sweeping judgments.
After all, she would be classified by a terrorist soon by Acina, if she wasn't already, to Acina and any other Sith Lord that chose to lick the boots of Arcann.
That realization didn't bother her.
If I must play the villain to save my people, so be it, Avaryss thought, in time they would understand that all she had done was for the greater good, a new age of order and security throughout the Empire, and if she played it right…
…few imperial citizens would die.
The ship touched down lightly, proof of the skill of Captain Valenthyne. Avaryss and her party joined Fenn and his padawan at the boarding ramp, a single man emerged from the caves to greet them, a greying fierce looking officer, clad in the combat suit of a commando.
It had taken him only a minute to notice Avaryss, recognize her…she had just opened her mouth to greet him when he shoved a blaster in her face.
…and now…here they were.
Most…amusing.
IOI
The soldier didn't back down, if Avaryss was to guess, she would say the man was in his mid to late forties, perhaps almost fifty. Yet, despite his age, he retained the strength of a soldier, his eyes were cold and hard, eyes that had seen much, far more than most eyes see in one lifetime.
Avaryss was familiar with such eyes, Andur Lylos had looked on his daughter with such eyes once. Eyes that spoke of harsh deeds, and a hope that his child, his sweet little blossom, would never see such deeds herself.
A hope that had been dashed years ago; a fate she had come to accept.
It had all been for the best.
This man was like Andur Lylos, he knew war, and had seen it in all its terrible glory. A warrior for the Republic, no doubt…
…and he knows me, so much so that he wants to kill me?
She found the urge to giggle.
She was not sure if she should be pleased or frightened.
So here they stood, soldier and Sith Lord, both on the verge of setting off a bloodletting that could end all that Avaryss desired before it even started.
Could she kill him, sure, she knew many ways to deal death, hundreds of sweet fruity flavors of murder.
She stayed her hand.
It would not do to kill an ally on the first day.
Sadly, the soldier didn't share such an idea.
He continued to glare daggers at her.
"I ought to kill you right now," the man snarled, his finger never leaving the firing stud, his grip on the weapon steady, this man was used to killing in close quarters, no hesitation, and no doubt.
A soldier born and bred, a necessary thing in these uncertain times.
The Dark Lord said nothing, not wanting to provoke him, yet. She still knew so little about him.
She was curious.
The air was thick with tension. It almost smelled of murder.
Zay and Temmin watched, almost awe struck. Agony stood ready, her hand on her weapon.
Fenn, being Fenn, tried to intervene.
"What are you doing Colonel?"
He now stood at her side, almost shielding her from his ally. He was shocked by their reception, an unexpected welcome to be sure.
Her dream friend would defend her if he needed to, but didn't want to harm someone he knew, and respected, if Avaryss was reading his emotions right
So much for safety, she thought dryly, staring down the barrel of the Republic soldier's blaster.
Her golden eyes never left the soldier's he watched her with a sense of lethal intent.
The colonel glared at Fenn.
"I see why Master Jas didn't tell me which Sith we were bringing in. He knows what this woman did."
Fenn didn't answer, Avaryss knew he would protect her if it came to that, but…
For the moment, he seemed content to sit back and watch, perhaps he had faith that the man wouldn't pull the firing stud.
Avaryss…she was not so sure.
Anger had a way of getting what it desired.
"I won't miss at this range, Sith," he promised her, "and this weapon can take your kriffin' head off before you can bring any of your dark side tricks to bear."
Such language, Avaryss thought with a sneer of distaste, much like the blaster itself. In the years she had spent in the Sith Order she had come to see all blaster weapons for the clumsy and inelegant things that they truly were, useful, perhaps, but they could not hold a candle to the lightsaber, which offered so many amusing and savage ways to end lives.
The dark lord felt Agony's fury as she watched the display, her hand on the hilt of her double-bladed saber ready to bring the weapon up and around.
"You harm her," Avaryss' friend and ally hissed, "and you will be dead before the echo of that blaster shot fades."
She felt the soldier tense, ready to roll back after firing, maybe, or maybe to pull a grenade or some other mundane trick.
"Fear not, Lord Agony," Avaryss said in a soothing voice, "This will not escalate any further…not unless I wish it."
She gave the soldier a wicked smile.
"Threatening the life of a dark lord is a killing offense, sir, but I'm willing to let it slide, this time. We are all here for the same reason…is that not true…Colonel?"
The man didn't waver, he remained committed.
Fenn moved to his side.
"Krys," he murmured, careful not to provoke the other man, "Put the weapon down. You knew that we were bringing in Sith allies today…"
Fenn's expression turned cold.
"We can't afford to be stopped by past grudges."
From the way the soldier was glaring, Avaryss could tell this went far beyond a mere grudge.
This was about blood.
The Colonel wanted her blood.
The man ground his teeth.
"Izzy Drogan," he said flatly.
"Who?" Avaryss said batting her eyes innocently.
"Izzy Drogan, she was a trooper under my command, and you murdered her, Sith."
"Can you be more specific; I've killed so many Republic troops."
Anger flashed in the colonel's eyes, but he held it in check.
Fenn gave her a confused look, likely not understanding why she was provoking the man.
He wouldn't understand.
"Avy," Fenn cautioned.
Agony giggled.
"THE SHADOW'S EMBRACE!" the colonel snarled, "She was the trooper that stayed behind, she triggered the explosive that blew that nightmare ship straight to hell…"
The man's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You should have gone with it. I don't know how you escaped, but…"
Avaryss' smirk turned predatory.
The Shadow's Embrace…?
AH!
Now I know what this is all about, and who was pointing the blaster.
"Colonel Krys Capistan, I presume?"
The man didn't respond, he didn't need too.
She knew his name, in her research into Fenn, Jas Dar Bynn and their allies, Capistan's name had come up several times.
A dangerous man, a man not to be trifled with, but Avaryss had been so bored living in hiding all these months.
She was eager to cause some trouble, and if it resulted in the death of a troublemaker, so be it.
He started this after all, even Fenn could not deny it.
She would happily finish it.
"Krys Capistan," she repeated, "Leader of the Republic's so called…Survivor squad. Insurgent, saboteur, and terrorist."
She bowed her head respectfully.
"A pleasure to meet you."
If Colonel Capistan was insulted, or pleased, he didn't show it.
Again, the blaster didn't waver.
"Terrorist," he growled, "That is funny considering the horrors that were being bred on that ship of yours."
Avaryss shrugged.
She didn't deny it.
The Shadow's Embrace was a research vessel, a military research vessel, and she had been the Sith put in charge of the main project being conducted there.
Project Death Knell.
"Izzy Drogan," she said thoughtfully, "That was the trooper's name, the one who had been exposed? The one you left behind."
The blaster didn't waver, in the man's hand.
Yet, he did nod.
"She lost everything before the end, she was dying, and had barely any will left; she was only just able to complete the mission. All she could do was obey, be led around, and follow orders."
"That is what Death Knell was designed for," Avaryss said dismissively. "We had hoped to find a way to give all people access to the power of the dark side, but such things are not easily accomplished, Death Knell was flawed, it brought obedience and a quick death, but little else."
She shrugged.
"What do you want from me Colonel, an apology for doing my duty?"
"I want to drag you before the courts for War Crimes, Sith, and I want to watch them sentence you to death!"
She shouldn't have provoked him, but she couldn't help herself.
She smiled widely.
"I don't recognize the law of your Republic, I will never accept the verdict of your courts, and even if I did, am I truly to blame for what happened? You could have shot the girl yourself, ended her pain, but no, you chose to make use of her. You chose to abandon her while you and your fellows ran away."
"Avy," Fenn said looking back and forth between them, the soldier and the Sith Lord.
He could likely sense what was coming.
She certainly could.
"Stop."
She ignored his request. She was angry now, how dare this mundane challenge her, HER!
She could have stop, tried to defuse the situation, but she simply didn't feel like it.
This was the most fun she had had in months.
She wanted to hurt him.
She NEEDED to hurt him.
"You left her behind, you ABANDONED her. You did. The poor, poor girl, you left her to die at the mercy of your enemies. You chose to use her one last time, in a way that only a Sith would be proud of, you left her behind to try and murder me, and you nearly succeeded. I escaped with some difficulty; I assure you…still…well done…"
Avaryss clapped.
"Props for you."
Capistan hissed, he was almost there…almost.
Avaryss decided to twist the blade, push him over the edge.
She no longer cared about keeping things civil.
She wanted blood!
She reached out with the Force, the man's emotions were so close to the surface, easy prey.
She gestured with her left hand.
The glamour she wore reconfigured, she appeared not as herself, but as the Republic soldier, as the doomed girl, Izzy Drogan, how she looked in the Colonel's nightmares.
Her skin deathly pale and sweaty as she continued to dissolve from the inside out, her eyes as yellow as anyone deep in the dark side.
"For the Republic," the false Izzy said in a dead monotone, "For you Colonel."
Capistan had heard enough.
He pressed the firing stud.
Time seemed to slow down, everyone stood frozen in that one perfect moment.
Avaryss grinned from ear to ear.
Finally, she thought.
Someone with some balls!
The blaster didn't fire. It couldn't.
The Force was with her.
She held the firing stud frozen in place.
Capistan's eyes widened in disbelief, he tried to fire again and again, nothing.
Avaryss giggled.
"Frustrating, isn't it?"
"Impossible," he murmured.
"No," she said shaking her head, "My master once did something similar to me, he froze my lightsaber, I had it pointed at his heart, and he wouldn't let me activate the blade."
Avaryss took a step back.
"Here," she said, "Let me help."
She reached out with the Force and yanked the blaster from the Colonel's hand. It flew into her hand, she took aim. Inelegant things, she knew, but useful, and so…poetic.
"Tell Izzy I said hello!"
She fired the weapon.
BAM!
Avaryss cried out in pain.
The blaster pooped like a balloon as her shot was spoiled, a sniper bolt from the rocky outcropping, destroying it. The blast went wide hitting nothing.
The ruined weapon fell from her hand as the dark lord's rage exploded, it had been held in check for too long.
Now…it was out.
Dead men, she thought.
I'm surrounded by dead men!
She pirouetted around and drew her lightsaber with an angry snarl, its blade flashing into existence with an evil hiss.
Capistan fell back drawing a wicked looking combat knife.
Dead man.
The dark lord snarled like an angry Tukata!
"PUB DOG!" I'LL…"
"ENOUGH!"
The voice was loud enough to shock everyone out of the spell that the potential violence had woven. Even the two Sith jumped.
Avaryss whirled ready to meet this new threat.
Capistan spun as well.
"Master Jas," he called out, "This witch…"
"ENOUGH!"
Again, the Jedi Master called out, his voice booming like thunder, enhanced through the Force.
Avaryss paused.
About time, she thought, part glad, and part disappointed.
She would have enjoyed killing the foolish soldier, reveling in his failure to avenge his fallen ally.
Still, that wasn't part of the plan, she could be patient, she could wait.
She deactivated her lightsaber, doing her best to push down the bloodlust that tried to spring up.
Avaryss took a deep breath, and smiled.
"Master Jas," she said bowing respectfully.
"It has been sometime."
Jas Dar Bynn stood before the entry way, at his side a greying woman holding a sniper rifle, the one who had saved Capistan from feeling the justice of the Sith.
Avaryss tried not to think on that, there would be time to settle accounts, later.
Besides, she would not challenge Jas Dar Bynn until she was ready.
On her terms, not his.
The Jedi hadn't changed much, dressed in his black pants and shirt, the same old nerf hide jacket she remembered from their previous adventures. The Force radiating with his disappointment.
He shook his head, and pinned the Republic Colonel with a disapproving gaze.
"You know better than that Krys," he said, "You are not some green Ensign anymore."
The soldier took the rebuke in stride, he took a shuddering breath, blowing out his anger.
He met the older Jedi with a morose look.
"My apologies, Jas. I…"
It was not the Jedi that responded, but the woman.
She gave the Colonel a sympathetic look.
"Izzy's death wasn't your fault, Krys."
She shot Avaryss a disapproving gaze.
"Consider yourself lucky that I only shot the blaster, Sith. I could have taken your hand."
"You would have tried," Avaryss purred, "But ask yourself…what if you missed? I would have…"
"STOP IT!"
Fenn finally got between Avaryss and his comrades.
He was glaring at her. His anger flowing outward through their connection and into her.
It stopped her in her tracks. Silencing her from saying anything else.
Fenn…I…"
"Not another word."
Her mouth snapped shut.
Fenn sighed and shook his head.
"So, this is how it is going to be? We're going to do the Zakuul's work for them, now? Are you content with letting Arcann rule over your Empire, Avy? Is that how the mighty Sith Empire wants to survive?"
Avaryss didn't answer. She was surprised by the sudden show of power, the anger that was in his voice.
It excited her, even as she felt stung from his rebuke.
She didn't like being talked down to, but…this was Fenn, so…
She had no problem with male authority, especially when it was one, she desired.
She bowed respectfully.
"My…my apologies, Fenn," she said, "I…I let my temper get the better of me. I'm far too passionate sometimes. I shouldn't have."
She looked at both the Jedi and the soldier.
"I offer my apologies to you as well, Master Jas, and to you Colonel."
She lowered her eyes sympathetically.
"I should not have pushed the Colonel. Arcann is my enemy, not any of you."
Fenn nodded, she sensed he believed her.
Master Jas, the sniper, and the Colonel, not so much.
We will need to work on this, she thought.
As Fenn said, the galaxy was as stake.
They needed to focus on that.
Jas nodded, he seemed willing to let any further matters between them lie, for now.
He turned to Fenn and Captain Valenthyne.
"Did you have any trouble on the way back?"
"We encountered a rogue Sith dreadnaught," Captain Valenthyne informed him, "And a Zakuul patrol, nothing we couldn't handle, Uncle Jas."
The Jedi Master then turned to Avaryss.
"Are you hurt?"
She looked down at her hand, it stung and was a little red from the blaster bolt, but was otherwise fine.
She turned to the sniper and smiled.
"An excellent shot."
"Thanks," the woman said nodding, Avaryss noticed she was wearing a Sith officer's cap, one with a blaster burn through the top.
"Sunner doesn't miss," Capistan said.
Avaryss blinked.
"Sunner?"
"Major Galadriel Locke," the sniper said, "Republic fleet."
Avaryss nodded.
Ah.
Another name she had heard of, another survivor squad veteran.
It seemed that Jas Dar Bynn had not wasted any time in drawing his old allies into this.
Good.
They would need all the help they could get if they were to survive, and complete their mission…
…or rather…HER mission.
The Dark Lord turned to Master Jas.
"Beniko said you had a plan," she asked.
"The beginnings of one," he admitted, "Zakuul has us outnumbered and outgunned…"
"That didn't stop us when the Sith came knocking," Major Locke said, giving Avaryss a cool look.
"Desperation can sometimes breed brilliance," Avaryss said, "And I think few of you will doubt that we are desperate. Zakuul…if left unchecked will destroy everything we have spent our whole lives fighting for."
"Arcann is not invincible," Fenn said, "The fact that we are able to gather here is proof of that."
Capistan nodded.
"This war isn't over," he agreed, "it hasn't even started yet."
"Bold sentiment, Colonel," Agony said, finally adding her opinion, "But that is all it is for the moment, sentiment."
Avaryss chuckled.
Trust her best friend to give her the opening she was waiting for.
"We need something more…yes? Something to inspire those that would stand up to Arcann, show them that the fight isn't done?"
"I take it you have an idea or two on that subject, Sith?"
"I do indeed, Colonel Capistan," she answered with a cruel smile.
She laughed lightly.
"It is funny, isn't it? A few moments ago, we were ready to kill each other, and now…here we are…me ready to betray my people for the chance to save them, and you…to let someone you see as a murderer help you save yours.
Avaryss shook her head.
"War does make strange bedfellows, doesn't it?"
"Witch!"
The word came almost as a bark from the shadows, a very familiar cry.
Avaryss paused, the Force shifted, revealing a very familiar presence.
She frowned.
Great, she thought narrowing her eyes.
Her…I should have known.
Another Jedi rose from the hidden base, a Jedi that Avaryss knew very well.
Some might have mistaken her for a Cathar or a Were woman from Uvena, but in truth the Jedi was nothing of the sort, she was a failed Sith experiment, and an enemy that Avaryss desired to destroy above all else.
She hadn't changed over the years, the same large dark eyes, the thin fuzz like fur, that covered her body, and the huge paws and feet that marked her monstrous nature.
Of course, Avaryss thought, why wouldn't she be here.
She always turned up where she wasn't wanted, or needed.
"Shyra Viel," Avaryss said bowing with mock sweetness in her voice, "It has been a long time, hasn't it, mongrel."
The former Sith experiment turned Jedi growled.
"That it has, witch," she spat, "that it has."
Avaryss might have let things end there, but she had no desire to see her hated rival have the last word.
She turned Jas Dar Bynn, their de-facto leader she supposed.
"My party and I are tired, Master Jas, if your allies would be so kind to show Agony and Zay to our quarters, you and I have a matter to discuss."
"I see," the Jedi said, "And what might those be?"
"Something to prove my value, of course."
She gave Colonel Capistan a venomous look.
"We are allies after all, aren't we?"
Jas, Fenn, Shyra, and Locke all looked at the Colonel.
He shifted uncomfortably, but finally nodded.
"Yes," he said, "We're allies, and…we welcome your aid, Sith."
"Please, Colonel," she smirked, "Call me, Avy."
He didn't, the memory of his dead trooper still stood between them, but that was fine.
Jas was letting her in, what she offered was valuable.
He could not refuse.
"So," the Dark Lord said, "Our first mission, consider it a test of my loyalty. You won't regret it."
She turned to her new allies, her pawns.
She batted her eyes innocently.
"Trust me."