Chapter 46: Growing Dark
First dusk was upon them.
Avaryss looked down over the desert, at the sand devils whirling across the dunes.
She took a deep breath, and let it out, drinking in the now cooling evening air.
She couldn't help it.
She enjoyed being back on Tatooine.
By the fading light of Tatoo 1 and Tatoo 2, with Darth Agony at her side, the two Sith stood, awaiting the call of either Fenn or Major Locke. If things became unstuck. the two were to board their speeder bikes and come to the rescue of the team now waiting in the deep canyon to the west, a place ironically called: Beggar's Canyon.
A fitting place to meet a Republic Senator on the run, she mused.
A creature clearly not worthy of the power and station he wielded, had he been…he would not be fleeing for his life, and the Survivors would not be needing to risk themselves to ensure his continued survival.
Her companion wrapped her tan cloak tighter around herself, her lips pursed with discomfort.
"So, we cook during the day, and now we will freeze after sunset," Agony complained.
"How can sentient creatures live like this? Who would want to live like this?"
Avaryss smirked.
Agony had toughened up a lot over the last few years, but at heart, she still remained the pampered Dromund Kaas princess she had been in her youth.
Avaryss was different, as was her opinion of this world.
Avaryss loved Tatooine. It was a microcosm for the galaxy as a whole, and the perfect place to indulge in the dark side. From the Jawas in their sand crawlers, hustling for deals and survival, to the Tusken Raiders roaming the plains, preying on the unwary, and the foolish, ending their lives with as sweep of a gaffi stick.
Plus, this world had always been lucky for the dark lord. It was here that her journey to wealth and power began, her first mission had been to destroy a Republic safehouse here. The second had seen her end the life of a troublesome inquisitor, an enemy who had dared block her path to power and glory.
Those memories flickered through her mind as they waited. Two of the defining moments of her life.
She wondered if she was about to experience a third?
That would depend entirely on the Survivors she supposed.
Avaryss had thought this mission not worth their trouble, and had voiced such concerns to Colonel Capistan.
She hoped, this time, that she was wrong.
IOI
Three days earlier, the group had been contacted by Senator Avar Teem, an old ally from their days of harassing the Sith during the Great Galactic War. The senator, always something of a firebrand, was known for speaking out against what he saw was injustice in his system, and considering that the Zakuul had moved in after the Republic's defeat. The man had had much to say. The invaders had ignored him, at first, but he, apparently, had finally gone too far. He had gotten on the bad side of the Zakuul invaders, and had needed to go on the run.
Given his history with the Survivors he had reached out to them for help, hoping they could help him disappear.
Colonel Capistan, and Jas Dar Bynn, being the heroes they thought they were, agreed to come to his aid.
Avaryss had been with the others when they had been told about this mission, for once…she was not the only voice of dissent.
"It is a bad idea, Krys," Major Locke had said after they had all heard the first outline of the plan.
"It is a bad idea, and you know it."
The colonel looked down at his former fiancé, and sighed.
"It is not ideal, I know that, but Senator Teem…"
"Got the same warning all of our old allies did. Speiro, the Torrag brothers, Effi the Ranat, and Tuffu Nadon, they were all warned that we couldn't help them if they got in trouble, the mission HAS to come first. They all know that Lenix Gul and the Zakuul are looking for us."
Gilly shook her head, removing her lucky cap, the one she had taken off a slain Sith Captain during the first war.
"Teem has the resources to vanish himself. Asking for our help is overkill, besides he should have vanished when Effi and Tuffu did, they've worked with him in the past. He KNEW it was a bad idea staying put…"
The Colonel nodded.
"Survivors don't leave people behind, Sunner. You know that too."
Gilly frowned, but stayed silent.
Avaryss didn't blame the sniper.
This whole affair smelled to her too.
"We have arranged some distractions for our Zakuul friends," the Colonel informed them, "The groups we have been working with have been making noise in last few hours. Letting the Zakuul contacts on their worlds hear that we are running operations in their systems. Gul has been pretty thorough in the last few months. He will need to divide his forces, look into those reports."
Avaryss nodded.
Misdirection could be a powerful ally. It could work, she supposed, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help.
"I have contacts on Tatooine, Colonel," she said, "I think I can arrange something for our Eternal Throne friends, something useful if things don't go the way we think they will."
Shyra growled from her place on the other side of the room.
"You trust these…contacts of yours?"
"They're not political," Avaryss said dismissively, "When I…replaced my master, they were some of the first to reach out to me, eager to be in with the new boss, and keep the credits flowing."
The dark lord chuckled.
"We should be able to use them, without them realizing exactly what they are doing for us."
Capistan nodded.
"We would appreciate that, Avy. I will speak to you after I confer with our off-world allies. SURVIVORS…DISMISSED!"
The group broke up, Avaryss glanced up at Major Locke, one of the few Survivors she could say she trusted.
The major didn't look happy, and the dark lord didn't blame her.
Gul might be misdirected in all this, but then again…if he had predicted, and hoped for the Survivors to jump this way.
Things could get really nasty.
The dark lord turned to her apprentice, motioning for her to follow her.
Zay hobbled quickly to her side, the two of them heading out of the base, out of earshot of the others of their little group.
"You will be staying here this time, apprentice. I have a special task for you."
"I was hoping to come, too," she said, "Temmin is…"
"Temmin has more combat experience than you. Plus, you have only been studying the blade for a few months, not this time, apprentice. Your day will come, but it is not today, am I understood?"
"As you say, my lord," Zay answered, "Though, I have been working hard with my studies, my abilities…"
"Are still too unpredictable," Avaryss said cutting her off, "I do not like repeating myself, Zay. You need more time to practice, and perfect your powers. This one has the chance to get nasty. Your time will come, young one, but not now."
Zay nodded; she knew better than to question her master on something like this.
Avaryss smiled.
"Besides, your own mission will be challenging enough. I need you to spend some time with Colonel Capistan. I want to see if you can get inside his head, plant a few seeds that might bear fruit later on."
Zay wrinkled her nose.
"You realize that he hates me, yes? He views my choice to join the Sith as a betrayal. That I should be grateful to the Republic that the Jedi and Survivors took us in, saved us from dying on Ambria."
"And what do you think about that?"
Zay sniffed; her scowl deepened.
"I think he believes that you manipulated me into joining the Sith. He doesn't understand."
"And what doesn't he understand?"
The girl smiled, a cruel wicked smile.
"That I despised the Jedi and the Republic long before we met, my lord. They will pay for abandoning my mother, and everyone else I grew up with, to slavery and death."
The dark lord nodded.
Zay had been Sith long before she had discovered her powers.
She was most pleased with their relationship.
"Never the less, my student. You will try to befriend the Colonel. Get into his head, or his heart, I leave the final choice to you. I'm still not entirely certain that I wish the Survivors destroyed when all is said and done. I don't like breaking such useful tools as these."
The girl nodded.
"I suppose that I could play the innocent victim. Say that the things you're having me learn are terrifying, that your lessons…"
"Let's not lay things on too thick, Zay," Avaryss warned, "I don't want the Jedi questioning my training methods, they might ask us to stop our journeys out to the plains, or start sending out watchers to spy on us. That would complicate things, and that will not do."
The girl nodded, she had a quick mind, and could see where such a problem might arise.
"Not fear, then…"
The girl lightly tapped her chin, chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Confusion might work."
"Confusion," Avaryss said, "Explain."
Zay's expression changed a mix of excitement and fear.
"Oh, Colonel, sir," she said, "The things that I'm learning now…amazing, but…but…"
"Speak on, child," Avaryss said, playing the role of a certain military officer.
Zay shivered.
"What she says will be expected of me as a Sith, as an imperial citizen. What…what will be asked of me. I…sir…I don't know. I just don't know…"
Avaryss grinned.
Not bad actually.
"Izzy Drogan," Avaryss murmured.
Zay gave her a confused look.
"Master?"
The Sith Lord smiled at her student.
"A silly girl who died trying to kill me, thinking it was her duty. She served under Capistan's command, and he blames me for her death."
Zay nodded.
"I remember, he tried to shoot you when we arrived, that was the girl's name? Izzy Drogan?
Avaryss nodded.
"He could not save her, but perhaps…he may wish to try and save you. I think that is your in, apprentice. His compassion and desire to save one when he couldn't save another will be his undoing."
Zay smirked.
"Sounds fun."
The Dark Lord chuckled.
"Do nothing to harm the colonel, just get him to like you, trust you, if you can. Let's see if we can't find any weaknesses to exploit.
She laid her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"This task may not sound dangerous, but it could be, proceed with caution, young one. Do not be blinded by your resent successes."
"As you say, master," the girl replied, "It will be done, my lord."
Avaryss nodded, pleased.
Good.
Very good.
IOI
The two Sith continued to watch the horizon, Agony with binocs, and Avaryss with the Force.
The fact that Major Locke had assigned the two Sith as back up was telling. After months of work, they had finally managed to gain the trust of the group, at least, as far as combat was concerned.
The dark lord was most pleased.
She had an earpiece in her left ear, connecting her to the Major and Fenn. Locke was up high, covering the group with her sniper rifle, while, Fenn, Temmin, Shyra, Xen, and a company of Survivor soldiers awaited the arrival of the senator's shuttle.
When the senator arrived, the Survivors were to take him into custody, from there, his shuttle would take off with one of his guards serving as a decoy, and, hopefully, draw away any prying eyes, eyes that sought to see the politician come to harm.
Meanwhile the Survivors would see him safely into hiding. Simple, perhaps, but still fraught with danger, the Zakuul were not easily fooled.
The chatter between the group was kept to a minimal, communications silence observed, they were not alone on Tatooine after all. The Zakuul did have a ship down in Mos Ila. The ship was being watched, but no one had disembarked for days, except for the crew, and then only going to the local cantina.
No sign of military hardware, no knights or sky trooper droids, and no Lenix Gul sniffing around.
It seemed that the plan had worked.
Perhaps they had thrown the enemy off the scent.
Avy looked at her friend, they wore tan and brown robes, easier to hide in this environment, though Avaryss didn't like it. They reminded her too much of Jedi robes.
Agony turned to her, still wearing a black eye patch.
"What did the doctor say about your eye," the dark lord asked, "She said that the damage wasn't permanent."
Agony shrugged.
"It is getting better, but…my vision is still a bit blurry. It has been throwing me off slightly in combat. I've been using the Force to compensate, but until my vision fully returns, it is safer just to keep the eye covered."
The blond Sith smiled.
"Besides, I don't need my eyes to fight. When I was ten, my mother locked me a chamber with three grown K'lor slugs, and no lights. She had hidden my training sword somewhere in the room, and I needed to find it before I was attacked. I succeeded, and killed the slugs before they even had a chance to touch me. It was my final test, you see, before she consented to send me to study on Korriban."
Avaryss nodded.
That did sound like something Lady Tazia would do, she was a fierce marauder, and a ruthless Sith.
She had made her eldest daughter quite powerful though, no one would deny that.
Still…
Avaryss frowned slightly.
She had noticed a change in Agony lately. Before, the pain from losing her family had been a driving force in the young woman's life. She had been feeding off that rage and pain almost constantly, now…Avaryss could not sense it.
The pain had become a dull ache in the Force for her old ally. She still hurt, and could still draw on it, the dark lord suspected, but it no longer drove her forward.
What had happened, Avy had to wonder.
What…had changed?
Agony pursed her lips as she continued to scan the empty desert.
"We should have brought the girl with us," she said, "I've been working with her. Her powers…"
"Are not ready yet, Agony."
The blonde turned to her friend.
"Even if she doesn't fully understand battle meditation, she had keen senses, I've noticed that during her drills, she anticipates far faster than most. She could have been useful here…"
"Maybe, but that talent is exactly why I didn't bring her along. Even as a novice, she impresses me, and you. Imagine how powerful she will be in a year's time, five years from now. I will not risk losing her until she is strong enough. The Sith don't throw mere hopefuls into full scale battles until they are ready. We don't ask them to face Jedi until there is a chance of success. I will not risk losing Zay because her fledging talents give me a slight advantage."
Agony nodded, she might not have totally agreed, but Avaryss was the girl's master, not her.
The two Sith went back to watching. Agony had seen a shuttle coming over the horizon, it seemed that their prize had arrived.
Avaryss began to ready herself, just in case. She played the mental games she always did, to bring the dark side to blossom within her.
Her commlink beeped, not the ear piece, but the one she carried on her belt.
Agony's did as well.
Both Sith looked at each other.
The chime identified the incoming signal, it was not used by the Survivors, but a Sith communication.
Avaryss was hesitant to answer, but the communicator kept beeping and beeping.
Finally, cursing under her breath. She answered.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering when you were going to pick up," a strong male voice said over the line.
Avaryss frowned.
She recognized it, even though they had never spoke before.
At that moment, her earpiece squealed with interference, a jamming signal. The dark lord ripped it out.
The man on the commlink spoke on.
"I offer you greetings," he continued, "It is Darth Avaryss that I am speaking with, yes? We didn't get a chance to speak on Nar Shadda. Forgive my breach in manners, and allow me to introduce myself. My name…is Lenix Gul."
"This IS Avaryss, and I know who you are, Knight of Zakuul," Avaryss responded, "May I ask, how did you get this frequency?"
"In his boundless wisdom, the Emperor Valkorion provided us with many secrets of your foul outland empires. Those secrets made it easy to deal with your pathetic forces on many worlds."
Avaryss sneered.
Of course, the so-called eternal emperor had given the Zakuul their transmit codes, as emperor of the Sith, he would have had access to all of them.
Vitiate's invasion of Sith space was s brilliant as it was deceitful.
Treacherous spirit, Avaryss thought.
Despised grandfather!
"So you know are comm frequencies, big deal. I no longer serve the empire, or the dark council."
"Yes, you have become a terrorist, odd for a Sith. Your people so dislike chaos, and prefer order. You must be a great disappointment to your masters."
"Speak plainly, Zakuul," Avaryss spat, "I have no time for your jibes."
"Actually, you have a lot of time, or will in the next few moments," Gul replied, "You see, our brief encounter on the smuggler's moon revealed something intriguing, your interest in certain artifacts that my master and his sister now covet."
Gul paused, Avaryss thought she heard him chuckle.
"Emperor Arcann has tasked me with bringing you back to the spire, and to him, he would like to converse with you about the crystal item we acquired on Nal Hutta."
Avaryss paused.
So, they had still not discovered the key in their hands was a fake.
Good, she could work with this.
"WHERE IS IT?" she hissed, letting her naked desire for power shine through.
"WHERE? IT IS MINE!"
"You will see it soon," he promised, "But for now, I would ask you leave this comm frequency open. My knights will be coming to collect you soon. Once they have dealt with your terrorist allies."
Avaryss smirked.
So, they had been right, this was all a trap, but she didn't see how they were going to spring it.
"Whatever you hope to do, it won't work. Any incoming signal will be picked up by my allies, and the business we are engaging in will be concluded in moments. We will be far from here before any of your knights arrive.
"You misunderstand, Sith. My forces don't need to go anywhere, we already know your allies are in beggar's canyon, my forces are standing by, and I don't need to give a signal to attack. That signal was keyed to this one, the moment you answered the attack begun."
In the distance the sky flashed in the canyon, the wind picked up and carried the sound of blaster fire.
Avaryss cursed.
"You can't save them, your pawns, and I don't think you would risk yourself if you could. Remain where you are, my men will be there to collect you shortly. Emperor Arcann is looking forward to meeting you, his sister as well, you will…
Avaryss destroyed the commlink and jumped on her speeder bike.
Agony joined her.
"What are we doing? Are we fleeing?"
Avaryss gunned the engine and shot forward…
…towards beggar's canyon.
She couldn't leave the others behind. The colonel would not accept that she and Agony alone had escaped the trap, and if he learned of Gul's call, he would assume she had had a hand in setting the Survivors up.
No, escape was not an option.
She would not lose the Survivors, not until they helped her complete her plan, not until she had all five keys.
Then they could die, if it came to that.
Then…they would die, by HER hand.
IOI
Senator Teem had been the first to die.
The shuttle ramp had lowered and he had just stepped down. He had seen Fenn and waved, and…
The shuttle had exploded, killing all on board.
Blaster fire raked down from the canyon walls, as the Survivor's spotters on those walls fell. Cutdown by Sky-trooper droids buried in the sand dunes. Hidden until this moment by some trick of the Force, and they were not alone.
Bile rose in Fenn's throat.
Two phalanxes of Zakuul knights with their plasma shields began to march towards the survivors, one in front, and one behind, and supporting both, four Zakuul combat walkers, firing their laser cannons.
Where the forces had been hidden, Fenn could not say, but now, with enemies in front, behind, and on the canyon walls.
The group was surrounded!
Rock and sand exploded as super-heated blasts filled the canyon. Lightsabers blazed to life, red, blue and green lights filled the coming night. Zakuul blue blades ignited in the front of each phalanx formation, the knights looking to push the Survivors deeper into a kill box.
BAM!
A sniper blast struck one of the knights, he went down on his knees, the man beside him moved up, keeping the formation, pushing the dying knight out of way.
Fenn's comm squealed in his ear, jamming signals blanketed all frequencies.
Though communication was not important at this point, all of the Survivors had feared a trap, and they had prepared accordingly.
"Survivors!" Fenn shouted, "Gizka hunt! GIZKA HUNT!"
It was an old command, one from the earliest days of the group's existence.
The command was simple, scatter, and meet up later at the assigned rendezvous points.
Right now, survival was what was important. The Senator was dead.
They had to make sure they didn't join him.
Shyra howled as she struck out with the Force. A wave of telekinetic energy struck the first line of Zakuul knights. They backed up, but didn't falter. They were combining their powers, bolstering their ranks, feeding off each other, strengthening each other like batteries.
The enemy continued to march.
Fenn, who had been put in command of the mission, pulled a remote detonator from his pocket, the Survivors had planted charges on the canyon walls, to bring down part of them if they needed to block off pursuit and help with an escape.
He pressed the button, and nothing happened.
Singal jammers, blocking all frequencies, not just communications, but any remote signals.
Fenn felt the first whisper of fear.
They…were in trouble.
A heavy cannon shot exploded the ground near Shyra and Xen, the two were flung into the air and came down hard. Temmin tried to help, but was pushed back by the energy blasts fired by the sky troopers.
One of them exploded, his head removed by a sniper shot from Sunner. So far, the Zakuul were not worried about her. They pushed forward, not concerned with their losses.
Their prey, were the main group of survivors.
Shyra took a blaster shot in the shoulder and went down. Nyly, one of their scouts was beheaded by a Zakuul lightsaber. Bobbs and Timmson also went down, shot from above by the droids supporting the knights.
"WIPE THEM OUT!" A voice over a loudspeaker exclaimed, "FOR THE EMPIRE AND THE DRAGON OF ZAKUUL!"
Fenn recognized the voice.
Lenix Gul.
So much for their grand distractions.
BAM!
Another sniper bolt felled a knight before he could end the life of some survivor private. It was then that the Zakuul finally took notice of what was happening.
One of the walkers whirled, its heavy cannon locking on to the location of where the blasts were coming from…finally.
Fenn felt a surge of fear from Major Locke. She would be moving now getting away, before.
KA-WHAM!
The heavy turret fired, exploding the perch where the major had been hiding.
Fenn felt a flash of pain and…
NO!
And still… the Zakuul marched on.
Fenn blocked blaster bolts, but the knights continued to draw closer, and the Survivors were pinned between a wall of enemies, and a burning shuttle, with even more enemies on the other side.
The kill box was getting smaller, and their back up was nowhere in sight.
Damn it, Avy, he thought, where are you!
Had she fled when she saw the fighting? Had she…?
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The scream echoed across the desert; it sounded like the shriek of the damned!
Fears and terror echoed through the minds of those who heard it, a Force scream of great power, even Fenn was affected.
The Zakuul in front of the Survivors blinked, some in the back of the line lowered their weapons, effected by the sound.
It was at that moment that Avaryss arrived.
It was at that moment that the enemy began to die.
She rode her bike between the legs of the closest walker. Slicing through the armor with her lightsaber. She whirled the bike around letting it float to the right on its repulsors, floating to safety, while she engaged the first line of knights. The ones at the back, those closest to scream, had been the most effected.
She swept low with her blade, cutting off their legs at the ankles before they could bring their shields around. The pained cries filled the air, as they stumbled into their comrades, breaking the formation.
Avaryss back flipped out of the way, and used the Force to push over the tottering damaged walker.
It fell on top of the crumbling phalanx and exploded, taking most of the knights with it.
The front line of enemies had collapsed into panic.
Avaryss whirled her lightsaber in the air.
"HERE IS YOUR CHANCE!" the Dark Lord shouted.
"RUN!"
On the canyon above more explosions. Darth Agony on her speeder bike, cutting into the sky trooper lines pinning down the remaining Survivors. Flashes of crimson light, followed by crackling blue violet Force lightning drew off the droids, giving Fenn and the others a chance, breather.
Fenn led his troops forward, into the disorganized line of enemies, escape to the desert was possible, for the moment at least.
Gul would have reinforcements standing by, he was sure.
Escape needed to happen now!
Several of the knights tried to engage Avaryss in combat, without their formation, they now found themselves easy prey, effected by the fear and despair of the dark lord's Force scream!
To Fenn's eyes, Avaryss had become a shadow, hewing off limbs and heads with equal measure. A line of four sky troopers dropped down from above, but hadn't had the chance to organize into a proper firing line.
They were struck by a flying plasma shield. Its edge used like both a blade and a battering ram.
It hit with such force that it cleaved the droids in two, their bodies split at the waist, toppling down into the sand.
Through the smoke and carnage, Fenn saw Avy's face, what he saw…shocked him.
Her skin was pulled tight against her skull, her black hair blew with both the wind, and crackled with blue lightning, her eyes and cheeks sunken in and dark, her yellow eyes were not just glowing, but filled with an eerie light. He could see no iris or pupil, only two yellow orbs."
"COME TO ME MY FOES," she shouted.
"DEATH HAS COME FOR YOU ALL!"
She smiled, not the smile he knew from their time together, but a large toothy grin.
The grin of a skull.
A death's head smile.
The girl he knew...she looked like a living corpse.
Even Fenn felt a sense of fear.
This was not the girl he had grown up with, or the one he knew as Avy, the young woman who came to his chambers, looking for comfort and affection.
No.
This was Darth Avaryss, a Dark Lord of the Sith. Death given physical form.
Darth Avaryss…could be terrifying.
"DARK LORD!"
The cry came from behind them, from the still intact Zakuul line.
The flames from the burning shuttle parted, pushed out of the way by the Force.
Lennix Gul, clad in the armor of a knight commander of Zakuul emerged, his cobalt blue saber glowing in the glowing carnage around him.
"FACE ME SITH! FACE THE POWER AND HONOR OF ZAKUUL!"
Avaryss turned, her smile widened, a hungry predator on the prowl.
She raised her blade, her face bathed in crimson light.
"So, the fool wishes to die," she cackled, a laugh that children feared, a laugh of the earliest nightmares.
If Gul was frightened, he didn't show it.
He held up his blade.
"My Emperor doesn't need you intact, only enough of you left to talk."
Avaryss advanced towards the advancing Zakuul line.
"AVY! NO!"
Fenn called out to her, both with his voice and through the Force.
They didn't have time, as he looked to opening of the canyon, he could see more flashes in the air, twenty or thirty more sky trooper droids arriving to support the knight and his men.
He let this vision fill his connection with her. Avaryss blinked, she glanced over her shoulder.
"COME ON!" Fenn shouted.
She hesitated, eager to engage the knight in single combat, eager for his blood.
Fenn knew that was a mistake.
They were out of time.
"AVY! WE ARE LEE-VING!"
The remaining Survivors scattered out of the canyon. Some making into the swoop bikes that that brought them here. Temmin helping Xen, to the speeder that would have carried the late senator.
Fenn didn't see Shyra Viel anywhere.
Avaryss remained where she was, she awaited the arrival of her enemy, Lenix Gul advanced, his phalanx of knights, walkers, and fresh sky trooper support moving in, ready to surround and trap the dark lord.
Avaryss…had other plans.
She laughed wickedly!
She shut down her lightsaber, and fired Force lightning from both her upraised hands.
The knights brought up their blades, ready to block the maelstrom.
Sadly, for them, they weren't the target.
Electricity crackled over the canyon walls, cracked, and ignited the detonators hidden by the Survivors before the senator's shuttle had arrived.
The charges went off, one after the other.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Rock and smoke-filled beggar's canyon!
One of the walkers went down, its cockpit crushed by a falling boulder.
Knights dropped their shields and raised their hands, seeking to stop the avalanche.
In their distraction, Fenn struck.
The golden flash of Force judgment crackled from his fingertips, light side lightning striking many of the knights in the front of the phalanx.
They lost their Force shields; the boulders came crashing down on them.
Only then did Avy turn and run. She made for her speeder bike. Fenn hot on her heels.
"COME BACK!" GUL shouted, "FACE ME, COWARD!"
Avaryss said nothing, she leapt onto the bike, behind her dream friend.
"GO!" she shouted; her arms wrapped around his waist.
Fenn gunned the engine, and the speeder took off like a blaster shot!
Zakuul weapons fired impotently behind them. In the sky above the, sky troopers tried to orient themselves for pursuit.
Avaryss raised her hand, and blasted the closest with Force lightning, slowing them, causing them to drop from the sky, or careen into their fellows, ending any further pursuit.
Behind them a cry of frustration rang out through air and the Force.
Lenix Gul, furious, roared to the heavens!
IOI
"COWARDLY SITH! The next we meet; I'll have your head!"
Avaryss leaned into Fenn, drawing comfort that he was still with her.
"You okay," Fenn shouted over the roar of the engine.
Avy nodded., she reached out with the Force, letting him know she was unhurt.
Far to their right, Agony was speeding across the desert. Several sky troopers in pursuit, but unlikely to catch her.
Avaryss frowned.
"COWARD!"
Lenix Gul's cries taunted her, but didn't motivate her to remain.
She was no fool.
This whole plan had been a mistake from the very beginning.
She pressed a button on her gauntlet, they should have been out of jamming range by now.
She glanced up in the sky, and watched.
A black dot appeared in the growing dark.
Fenn, who was connected to her through the Force sensed her amusement.
"What," he asked through their bond.
"What is that?"
"My contribution to our escape plan," she replied.
As they watched, the object coming down through the evening sky broke apart into ten smaller pieces. Broke apart and began to fall.
The dark lord reached out with the Force, she couldn't turn and watch, but she could sense what was about to happen.
She almost laughed.
As she had promised the colonel, she would make sure that any Zakuul trap would be answered tenfold.
The desert shook from the impact. Even the speeder bike was jostled.
Avaryss smirked.
1A-K3, Lackey, her loyal droid, and boss of Thunn Cyber Systems had come through again.
The droid freighter had launched from Anchorhead, launched and taken up orbit over Beggar's Canyon.
The freighter had just disengaged its storage compartments, ten containers loaded with low grade Tatooine ore had fallen with the strength of a dozen concussion missiles. The containers each half of the size of a Jawa sand crawler.
The destruction falling on the Zakuul was considerable.
Many of the invaders would die tonight.
The ore containers were pretty sturdy, they would survive, and be recovered by their owner, anyone unfortunate to be caught beneath them would not be so lucky.
Perhaps it is done, she thought.
Maybe Lenix Gul is dead.
A cheery thought, but not a certainty.
Gul was no fool, if he had retreated before the containers fell…
Damn.
Avaryss said nothing as Fenn continued to speed across the desert.
They would need to head to a rendezvous point, arrange for pick up off this world.
The Zakuul had won this round, but that was all it was, a single round in a much larger fight.
Avaryss' eyes narrowed.
Gul had hurt them. He would answer for that.
The next time she faced him, it would not be with Survivor soldiers and Jedi at her back.
She nodded to herself.
The last time Holli, as Beniko, had contacted them, she had sent a coded signal to her master. That signal, when translated by her data pad, had excited Avaryss.
Dr. Vrann was alive. She had arrived safely at Sanctuary base, and that was not all.
The Chiss had completed work on the first line of Avaryss' new royal guard.
The first twelve Knell trooper elites were ready for deployment, awaiting the orders of their empress.
Her orders.
Avaryss shivered in anticipation.
You fight well against mundanes and Jedi, Zakuul cur, she thought.
Let's see how you handle the pride of MY new empire. The iron fist of Darth Avaryss!
The elites had only been a dream during her final days as a dark council member, now…they were ready.
Avaryss could not wait to see them in action, especially their commander.
The dark lord was eager to introduce these new forces to the Survivors, especially Jas Dar Bynn.
He would be very surprised.
Fenn brough the speeder to a stop, in the distance smoke rose from the ruined entrance to beggar's canyon.
"Are you okay," he asked, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," she replied dismissively.
"You're trembling, are you sure you're, okay?"
She smiled.
"Just excitement," she said, it wasn't even a lie.
She looked at the smoke in the distance, thinking of Gul and his fools.
I hope you survived, dog, she thought.
The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky. I will see you die squealing!
The thought warmed her on this cool desert night.
It won't be long now.
Soon.