Chapter 32: Rage and Deception

It is singing.

Fenn looked down at the crystalline object in his hand. The Sith artifact had been glowing brighter and brighter since they had left the planet.

He ran his fingers over its surface. It had a smooth…oily feel to it. He had switched hands twice, checking for moisture, but they were dry, the sensation was not entirely pleasant.

He frowned.

Plus, it remained cold, no matter how tightly he gripped it, the warmth of his hands didn't affect it, if anything it was getting colder.

His eyes narrowed.

And…

It was singing.

Through the Force he could hear it. Music that he could not put into words. Yet, strangely familiar, he had heard the melody before.

A long time ago, down in the dark of Coruscant, as a child, hiding from the Sith, he had heard this song.

It didn't please him, hearing it again…

…if anything, it was making him angry.

His thoughts drifted back to what had happened, of the betrayal they had suffered, and what had happened after.

He should have felt shamed for what had happened to Jossef, the man had died horribly, he had heard everything while Avaryss and Teryn dealt with the man.

As a Jedi, as a person, he should have been horrified, but he was not.

That…made him angry too.

He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, trying to banish the anger with it, but more remained, it seemed to be flowing into him.

He intended to confront Captain Cooper on their return. The man had sent them into danger with a traitor in their midst.

Perhaps they should have brought Jossef back with them, so that he could answer to the employer he betrayed. That would have been the right thing to do, but…

What would have been the point? Captain Cooper would have executed the man anyway. Besides, Teryn had deserved recompense of the death of his father, it may not have been the Jedi way, but…

"That thing should be locked up."

Fenn blinked, and looked down. He stood behind Tara Valenthyne, the Survivor pilot had been quiet since their jump into hyperspace. Holli and Avy were sleeping in their quarters, and Teryn was in the medical bay, the md droid was checking him over.

"Fenn," Tara said, "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," he nodded, still looking down at the key, lost in the melody that was echoing out through the Force.

So, familiar he though.

So…very familiar.

"You shouldn't be holding onto that thing," Tara advised, "Who knows what it is capable of."

"It is just a crystal," he replied.

Tara gave him a questioning look.

"Fenn, one of those "crystals" burned or flash froze and entire colony. Avaryss claims that they allow someone to travel through time."

Her brow furrowed nervously.

"Underestimating that thing is the last thing we should do."

Fenn shook his head. He wanted to say he could handle it, that he wasn't worried, and everything was fine.

But…

He licked his lips.

But.

The key flashed in his hands, and a new wave of anger came over him, he….

NO!

Fenn turned and opened up a storage case that Tara had brought along with them. He thrust the key inside, thrust it in, and slammed the lid.

He stepped back, he could still hear the music, but it was muted now that he wasn't holding it.

He took another deep breath.

He could still feel anger at Jossef, Cooper, and the past, but…

He took another breath.

It was…better now.

The anger was still there, it would always be there, but its flames were low, manageable.

He swallowed.

He felt…better.

What is this thing, he couldn't help but wonder. He knew what Avy had told them. But still…

Avy, he murmured into the Force.

What are you trying to unleash?!

IOI

"Um…are…are you alright, my lord?"

Holli shifted in the bunk, the changeling was once again back in her own clothes, her entire being radiating anxiety.

Avaryss acknowledged that, but in that moment, she couldn't care less.

This feeling…it…it was…she…she had no words.

She smiled a wide toothy smile, a predator's grin.

This…it…it felt amazing!

She took a deep breath, basking in the warmth of pure undeniable rage!

It…it was…

…intoxicating.

She could still hear the screams, the dying merc had suffered gloriously before Teryn had ended him, yet in that moment, the Force had sung with pure, and unfettered, emotion.

Wonderous.

And all because of Hecaetus' creation.

It was…beautiful!

Avaryss had woke the key, and it rewarded her with so much. This…this feeling, it was not like what she felt when she activated the first one on that doomed colony.

Of course, she had been worried about Zay then, the girl's ordeal had soured that particular glass of milk.

What she was feeling now, it was without doubt or limit.

She could feel the energies that the key drew upon, passing through her, but more than that…they were changing her as well. They offered strength for her new body; it would soon surpass the old one in what it could absorb when it came to dark side energy.

The key was not only victory…it was change, a change that would soon spread to the entire galaxy.

She would change, then…she would change everything else.

She took another deep breath.

Perfection!

She couldn't wait to share this with Zay and Agony.

"My lord?" Holli repeated.

Avaryss turned to her friend and ally, and in that moment the rage almost overwhelmed her.

Jossef's screams, they had not been enough. She wanted more. She NEEDED more!

She almost gave in, almost used the Force to pin Holli against the bulk head and hurt her in ways that would have made the cruelest of the Sith Inquisitors flinch.

It would have been glorious.

It would have been FUN!

Yet, she didn't do it, she would NOT do it.

She was the rightful Dark Lord of the Sith, the heir to the Empire.

She didn't destroy useful allies simply to feed a desire to sate her bloodlust, and besides, she and Holli were friends.

She would not give in…

…other victims would present themselves soon enough.

"I'm…I'm fine…Holli," she said in a husky voice, barely controlling what wanted to rage out from inside of her.

A sadistic giggle escaped her lips.

"I feel," she said stretching out her arms, they were all a tingle, her blood was racing wonderfully through her veins.

It was like…a fine wine, or maybe spice…only better!

Rage in its purest form.

Glorious!

"I feel…great!"

The changeling nodded, on some level, she likely could sense the menace coming off the Dark Lord, how hard it was for Avaryss to simply keep it together, but that was okay.

An ally should have a bit of fear from their Sith Master.

Yet, it was not only fear that Avaryss was sensing, the changeling radiated with a sense of distaste, distaste and annoyance.

Despite knowing her place, the dark lord could see it in the other woman's eyes.

Her smile fades slightly.

"What?"

"It is nothing, my lord."

"It clearly is NOT nothing. Go ahead, Lujayne, if you have something to say, please say it."

Holli shook her head.

"It is not my place to question."

"Yet, I am asking you to question," Avaryss reminded her.

"We are alone here, Lujayne. There is no one here to listen to our conversation, if you have a concern, please speak it now. There will be no reprisal, I promise you that, simply…say what is bothering you."

Holli pursed her lips, for a moment it seemed that she was not going to respond, but finally she did.

Before she could begin, the dark lord raised a single finger, silencing her. Then she reached out with the Force, murmuring a spell under her breath.

It took only moments for the cloaking spell to take effect. Now, if anyone looked on this room with a holo-cam they would see only two women sleeping inside, all they would hear was the sounds of deep sleep.

Avaryss grinned and gestured for her friend to continue.

Holli nodded.

"So," she said, "we have found the second piece to this weapon you are building."

The Sith nodded.

"It is not the weapon itself, but a tool that will make everything proceed as I've foreseen," she said, her smile returning.

"This is not simply another super weapon, Lujayne. It is the means to reshape the galaxy as a whole. It's true purpose is not to destroy, but to create. I shall use it not only to defeat the invaders, but restore the Empire to its proper place. No one shall oppose us once all five keys are in our hands."

"But the keys are not in your hands, my lord. You have given them to the Jedi."

"For now, yes."

For the first time that she had known her, Avaryss saw real anger in Holli's eyes, her flesh seemed to ripple as that emotion touched every fiber of her being.

Interesting, Avaryss thought.

Perhaps the key's reach was farther and stronger than she realized…

…maybe…it was affecting Holli too.

Again…intriguing.

Holli had hidden her anger at her master well, but it had been there for a while. Holli had once desired Beric, he had only seen her as a friend, but…

That didn't mean that the changeling had forgiven the Sith for what she had done to him. She understood why, and knew that, considering the change, her brother was beyond saving.

Yet, the heart and the head were not always together.

The dark lord didn't blame the other woman, her anger was useful, and it kept her motivated, all Avaryss had to do was suggest that they might be able to help restore Beric, and that was enough.

It had always been enough.

Still, Holli was not happy that she had to wait.

Avaryss' friend glared at her.

"More games," she hissed, "More deceptions and tricks."

The dark lord nodded.

Deception and trickery were all weapons of the dark side. Most Sith preferred blind rage, and overwhelming force, but Avaryss was starting to understand that some situations required for more subtle means.

The deceptions were necessary…

…they were part of the plan.

"What would you have me do?" she asked.

"We should not have involved the Jedi," Holli answered, "We should not have involved any outsiders. If these keys were so important, we should have sought them out ourselves. You, me, and Rink, we saved the Empire when Sy Dar Bynn and Darth Terrog threatened it, and we could have done so again. We could have taken the Fury out, and found these keys ourselves, and we would have had no need for playing games with our enemies."

Avaryss nodded.

She could see the appeal.

"One last adventure for our crew," she said, "One more triumph."

"We could have done it."

The dark lord shook her head.

No, she thought.

They couldn't.

She gave her friend a sad and knowing look.

"I can't deny that I see the appeal in what you are saying, and, in truth, I miss those days. Us against the galaxy. You, me, Rink…and…Beric, it felt like we could accomplish anything. We were the heroes of the Empire."

"Exactly," Holli nodded, "We could…"

"Sweet dreams, but childish ones. WE couldn't see the truth, Holli. Everyone told us we were heroes, but the reality was something far more…much…darker."

Avaryss frowned.

"We weren't heroes, Holli," Avaryss continued, "We were pawns in the emperor's game. He kept us all flying around, and fighting battles that didn't truly matter because they were all distractions. The emperor had his own agenda, he needed time to prepare his final ritual. If not for his death, we would all be destroyed by now, absorbed into the very Emperor we thought had our best interest at heart."

Avaryss' eyes narrowed, their golden glow increased, for the briefest of moments, she allowed the key to fill her with its rage, to give voice to the righteous truth, a truth tinged by rage.

"WE were all lied to, Holli. I was lied to. The Emperor, Lord Feer, even Darth Marr…they all lied to us to feed their agendas, to make the empire they desired."

Holli frowned.

"I thought you respected, Lord Marr. He elevated you…"

"Only to feed his own interests," the dark lord spat, "He ruined my plans to keep Feer complacent, slowing down my own advance. He could have used me to solidify power after the emperor died, I was the most well-known Sith on the council, and new enough that I would have been accepted as Empress, even as a figure head."

The Dark Lord hissed; the memory of Marr's masked visage burned in her mind.

"Who knows," she added, "Feer might have even told him about my sickness, he might have been biding his time, waiting for me to weaken and die so he could claim all that I built."

The mere thought of that filled Avaryss with almost an unreasoning fury.

No one steals from me, she thought.

NO ONE!

"I thought winning my master's seat would give me what I wanted. I finally avenged myself upon him. I was free, at last, free to make the galaxy into what I desired, but the rest of the council would not let that happen. My fellow Sith looked at me, Holli, but they didn't see a sister, or equal. They saw a peasant, a bumpkin from the outskirts of the empire. The saw someone unworthy of the height they had climbed to. They saw someone, they could manipulate. They never forgot my origins. I was always just the farm girl from Oridanna. I was expendable. My fellow councilors proved that by blocking my moves on the dark council, and again when they refused to send re-enforcements when Pholus was attack. When Arcann and his brother nearly killed me!"

Her blood raced as rage turned to hatred, she thought of her fellow councilors with disdain.

What was coming, what she was about to bring down upon the galaxy…

…they deserved it.

They deserved…EVERYTHING!

"Marr could have helped me, but he didn't. Perhaps he understood what Darth Hecaetus desired, what he inspired those that followed his path to do. He might have taken me under his wing just to prevent me from becoming what I have now. To block the rise of the heir of Hecaetus, the rightful heir of the Empire."

Avaryss' hands clenched into fists.

Had Marr been there, at that moment, she would have attacked him without hesitation.

How dare he stand in the way, but then again, he wasn't in the way anymore, was he?

He was dead, the madness beyond death had claimed him, as it did all Sith who failed and died.

Avaryss would never know that fate, she would not let it take her.

No.

She…would never fail.

"You ask why I need the Jedi? Because they will not try to alter my plans to suit them, they know what I want, and they will try to stop me, when the time comes, but they will be doomed because they have no real understanding of the dark side, and what it asks of me. They, like the invaders, cannot grasp the true scope of my plans, and how I've drawn them into them."

Avaryss chuckled. Dark cunning flashed in her golden eyes.

"The Survivors are useful, as you have seen. They know how to halt the advance of a larger force, they held back Sith ambitions for years during the first war. Now they will help me hold back the Zakuul, and outsmart my fellow lords. Their deceptions work well with mine, at least…for now."

A nervous cackled escaped the dark lord's lips, one tinged with madness.

They get to know me, and I'm getting to know them. When the time is right, I will know all their weaknesses and exploit them. I will leave the Survivors in ash. I will claim Fenn as my own, and his former allies will be dust beneath our feet."

"I'm not sure it will be that easy," the changeling said.

Avaryss shrugged.

"It won't be, but it must be done, so I WILL do it."

Holli nodded then, grudgingly perhaps, but she did nod. She was willing to give her leader and friend the benefit of the doubt, as the dark lord knew she would.

"So, I need to go back into the roles you have put me in," she said "I must continue to play the parts you asked of me."

"Only you CAN do it," Avaryss reminded her, "You have done so well to this point, the Jedi suspect nothing. Hell, even a Jedi Master like Jas Dar Bynn doesn't realize he is being fooled."

Avaryss rosed and walked over to her friend, placing her hand on her shoulder.

"There are only three keys left to find, Holli. When that is done, we will be able to leave all this behind. We can finally go to Sanctuary Base and began our true work. The restoration of the Empire, and the defeat of our enemies, ALL our enemies.

Holli nodded, she had trusted her friend to this point, even though it bothered her, not that Avaryss was surprised.

Holli had always been happy serving as an engineer, she had not really used her changeling gifts until Avaryss had discovered them, and had asked her to do so.

The woman sighed.

"I'm eager to get back to my old life, my lord. To be a humble engineer in the service of the Empire again."

"When we are through, you will be able to be whatever, or whoever you wish, I promise you."

Holli nodded, and smiled.

"You know, when you asked me to contact my sister, to ask her to pretend to be me within Imperial service, I was not sure how well it would work."

The Sith smiled.

That had been one of her better ideas.

"How is Inge doing, had there been any problems?"

"None that she has told me about," Holli replied, "They have her, me, running an Imperial supply depot. Demeaning work for a skilled engineer, but we both expected as much when Acina tried to move everyone close to you into positions where we could cause her no harm."

Unsurprising, Avaryss thought.

Few outside her inner circle knew Holli's true nature. The changeling had not advertised what she was, and Avaryss had made sure to silence anyone within the Empire who could have told them Holli's secret. Beric knew, but he would not tell Acina or anyone else, his programming prevented it, even if he decided to try to use it against his sister.

The dark lord had made good use of the woman's abilities, but had needed to make sure that Holli wouldn't be missed within the imperial navy, to that end, she had hired the girl's sister Inge.

Inge Holli looked exactly like her sister, naturally. When the Holli's had first discovered Lujayne, she had been only a toddler, a toddler who mimicked the form of their daughter perfectly. The family of travelling engineers had taken the girl in, and the rest was history.

Avaryss had paid Inge well, more than enough to purchase her own ship, if she decided to go out on her own, or to replace the freighter her family lived on two times over.

All the woman had to do was pretend to be her changeling sister. File reports in her name, and keep the imperial navy clueless to the fact that Lujanye had left their service.

So far, over the last year, the plan had worked flawlessly.

Holli sighed, and began to change shape. As Avaryss watched the red-haired engineer vanished and was replaced with a slender attractive blond-haired woman, a woman with golden Sith eyes.

"I still can't believe that they haven't figured it out yet," Holli said speaking in the voice of Lana Beniko.

"I contacted the Survivors on your behalf, got them to organize and go after the invaders. I've spoken with both Master Jas, and Colonel Capistan dozens of times, and none of them are the wiser."

Avaryss smirked.

"More proof of your value, my friend."

Holli, as Beniko, laughed.

The dark lord was pleased.

She had heard rumors of Beniko attempting to build a coalition to oppose the invaders. It had not been hard for Holli to use her shape and form to recruit Fenn and his allies over to her side, even if they didn't realize it.

A beautiful deception.

There was a danger that the real Lana Beniko would discover them, but it had been worth the risk. Plus, Avaryss had dispatched Sith assassins to find the real Lana and silence her.

Once that was done, Holli would be able to take over the woman's life completely, all her contacts and allies would belong to her master.

Avaryss wished her killers well in their endeavors.

She could use Beniko's contacts; they would make her rise even easier.

Holli transformed again, this time into a form that Avaryss knew well, the form she saw in the mirror, or would if she chose to abandon her glamour.

The face of the Jedi woman that Avaryss had taken as her new body.

The familiar face frowned slightly.

"Have you heard anything off from the survivors," she asked, "Do they suspect anything wrong in my portrayal of this one."

"Nothing so far," the Sith reassured her.

The Jedi' brow furrowed, a look of concern that Avaryss recognized from her mirror, despite the change, she wore that same look every now and then.

The transfer had worked, but the dark lord was coming to realize that some of what the former owner of this body was now remained a part of her.

It was something that she was learning to accept, but that didn't mean that she was happy with it.

Holli, wearing the face of a dead woman, who refused to completely die, frowned.

"I'm worried about you, my lord. Are you sure that these keys, that this boy, Fenn is worth the trouble?"

Avaryss nodded, that was one thing she knew for certain.

Fenn.

The keys.

They were worth it.

They were worth anything.

"No risk, no reward, Lujayne," she said idly touching the choker that hid her true face.

She smiled coldly.

No risk, no reward.