Chapter 68: No Survivors
Ruin and death.
That is all he felt in that moment, lost in shadow and pain. He saw what was to come, the future that he had helped make…
The Force showed him all, it held nothing back in that moment, why would it? Why shouldn't someone's sins be laid bare in their final moments.
He looked down upon a world he had never set foot on, but knew immediately what it was. The spire, the seat of the Zakuul, Arcann's transmissions of retribution had come from this world, images of his throne room beamed across the holonet.
That throne room…was broken now. Bones lined the walkway leading to the Eternal Throne, below the seat of power, bones and carrion eaters were all that remained of the people of this world. Head mounted on pikes served as decorations leading to the throne. He…
Fenn Shadowstone pulled away.
No.
NO!
This couldn't be!
NO!
He tried to flee, to find somewhere, anywhere to escape what had happened, what WOULD happen.
HE found himself looking down upon Coruscant. Death had come to this world as well, the sky lanes once so filled with traffic were empty, only the sound of winds echoing through the vacant towers.
The center of the galaxy, its beating heart, had been stopped. The great towers now filled with corpses The great Senate Rotunda still stood, but the boxes that once housed the delegations that governed the galaxy were now yet more grim trophies, heads on pikes, warning off any who dared enter this place, to believe that this world could rise again, and serve as a counter to the dark.
Fenn shivered; the sight chilled his blood.
No life, he realized.
No hope.
He moved again, this time…to Dromund Kaas. The Sith Throne was not much better than Coruscant. Some life remained, but most has been snuffed out, the estates now graveyards, the towers fallen and overgrown with vegetation.
Why, he wondered.
The dark side was in ascendance, why would the home of the Sith be so ravaged?
It is what they deserve, a familiar and beautiful voice echoed in his head.
It is what ALL deserve.
So many worlds rushed past his vision places he knew, or had at least seen. Some were as dead as Coruscant others existed in a state of perpetual fear. Parents silenced children who dared ask why? Mentors reported to Sith advisors, men and women that informed them what the true history of the galaxy was.
No deviation was tolerated.
No question.
No resistance.
No hope.
Only once did he see a spark, a young man arguing against how things should be. It wasn't a cry to revolt, merely a question of how and why things were like this.
SHE heard him.
Through the Force, SHE KNEW!
A foul mist filled the lungs of the boys' parents. The air they breathed turned to Death Knell toxin within their bodies. Their eyes turned yellow and cold, as the Force whispered her orders, what needed to happen.
In that moment, they only served…HER.
The parents tore the child apart, they called him traitor and tore him to pieces with their bare hands, even as they shed tears for what they were doing…unable to stop it.
Fenn cried out, demanded that they stop, but they couldn't hear him.
He was no longer real; he was simply an echo of what had been.
Finally, he found himself on a beautiful tropical world. The black heart of a broken galaxy. A massive temple rose from a rocky island. A dread citadel that was a weapon, a palace, and a place of worship all rolled into one horrific nightmare.
His gaze rose skyward, he found himself in a throne room, looking out at the stars, a single being sat upon the throne, an emperor with no pity or mercy.
As he watched the dark days seemed to roll back, he watched the ruler age in reverse growing younger and younger until he was replaced by another. Son to father, father to grandfather, grandfather to grandmother, and so on, and so on.
A dynasty of darkness, a family of evil, and it had all begun here…here…
Fenn's Sith eyes widened.
It began…with them.
He saw himself, older and harder, his blonde hair streaked with gray, his pale skin ravaged by the dark side, his purple lips pulled back into a sneer.
He stood next to the throne, and on it…sat Avy.
His lover sighed contently, gently touching her growing belly, their child stirring within. The latest in a long line of children…
The dark Fenn smiled down at his wife, and empress.
"You did as you promised, Avy," he purred, "The galaxy is at peace."
"I always keep my promises, love," the empress replied with an evil smirk. She reached out and stroked her lover's arm.
"All this is because of you, my darling," she said.
"All…for you."
Fenn's past-self, roared. The death…the destruction…all of it.
All for him.
ALL FOR HIM!
NO!
NO!
AVY!
NOOOOOO!
"All your doing," her voice echoed in his head.
Your fault.
Your fault!
NOOOOO!
IOI
"NO!"
Fenn sat up, his heart pounding in his ears. He looked around finding only shadows, shadows and the cold metal of a ship's deck.
The room was large, and totally black, he could hear the echo of his breathing, a ship's hold, perhaps, a large one.
He reached out with the Force. He…he needed to find her!
Avy!
She…she had to stop this!
She…she couldn't seriously believe this was the way to go!
She…
"I'm here, Fenn."
He turned. As a single light flicked on, revealing her.
Darth Avaryss smiled down at him. She sat upon a black throne, dressed in the robes and armor of a full Sith Darth. Those robes were as white a freshly falling snow, only the silver and crimson of the Sith shoulder plates marred the pale purity.
Avy, she still looked down upon him with Tru Halcyon's eyes. Tru's features twisted by the effects of dark side necrosis. Her yellow eyes were red rimmed ,her pale cheeks sunken in, her lips so purple they were almost black.
Fenn frowned.
Her true face, he realized, no pun intended.
No more glamours.
No more deceptions.
She laughed lightly, the amusement of a skilled politician…or tyrant.
"I saw it," she said, "Through our bond, I saw your vision. The galaxy…perfected."
She leaned back in her chair, sighing with relief.
"We are going to do it, my love. We are going to change…everything."
Fenn stumbled to his feet, he still was dressed in his Survivor jump suit, his lightsaber still on his belt.
"Avy," he gasped, "Ho…How can you think what you saw was perfect?"
"Wasn't it?" she asked, sounding confused, "It is exactly what I promised you and the Survivors. The Zakuul gone, and a galaxy without war, no longer divided by the stigma of light and dark. A galaxy in a state of total security, and perfect peace…perfect…order."
She shrugged.
"What more could you possibly want?"
Fenn's head spun.
What was this?!
Was she truly that mad?
He shook his head.
"Avy…we…we can't!"
"Why not?"
So…so much death."
"Creatures die all the time, we will simply be accelerating the process, a small price to pay for going down in history."
"It…this is insane. It is evil!"
Again she laughed.
"Evil is only a point of view, Fenn. You must understand that, as we move forward."
He fell to his knees, still not believing what he was hearing.
How, he wondered.
How could he have been so completely wrong?!
He had believed in her, thought he was giving her a chance to make the empire better, to put someone he could trust in a place of power, to make the Sith Empire better…more…humane."
"You are mad," he murmured.
"I'm actually feeling quite chipper right now," she answered.
Her expression was that of a gentle mother, trying to make a confused child understand.
"If you mean to ask if I'm insane, well…sure. I went insane years ago, thanks to Darth Feer and his machinations."
Her smile soured.
"Feer," she spat, " He was simply a symptom of a greater sickness. The infection of choice and free will. How many times did the empire suffer from the choices of the Dark Lords. Sy Dar Bynn nearly destroyed us using the concept. He played on our ambitions, and nearly brought the entire empire down."
Her smile returned.
"I will make sure that that will never happen, Fenn. Our galaxy will be pure, and perfect."
He glared at her.
He…he had never seen this side of her, she had always hidden it, until now.
He didn't like it.
It sickened him.
"You will lose, Avy," he said.
She blinked.
"How?"
You will be stopped!"
"By whom?"
"Any that can, the Jedi, the remaining survivors…"
She giggled.
"The Survivors?" she cackled, "Oh, Fenn! You…oh my! You really need to see this."
She pressed a button on her throne.
A holo screen appeared before them, sent down from some projector high above.
Fenn blinked, he recognized what he was seeing, it was Survivor base, seen through the image of a high-flying probe droid. He could see the great rock, the landing pads, the scorched ground from where the battle had been raged against Avy's Sith forces.
Yet, he saw no wreckage, no bodies. He saw motion, the camera pulled in, a close-up revealing them to be several of Master Onno's battle droids. He saw soldiers as well, forming up around the great rock, readying for battle.
He then saw the enemy, the Zakuul shuttles, five appeared out of nowhere, three troop carriers and two armor transports, dropping Zakuul walkers. Sky-troopers launched from the bays of two of the ships as the third touched down, deploying a full company of Zakuul knights, they formed up in a phalanx, ready to engage the Survivors.
Fenn glanced at Avy.
"Knell troopers," she informed him, "dressed in Survivor garb. It is necessary to sell the deception, what is about to come."
"What deception?" he asked, "What did you…"
The image of the base vanished in a blinding flash!
Fenn looked away, but turned back quickly watching in horror as Survivor base vanished in a mushroom cloud. The great rock, all the names of the fallen erased in seconds. Fire rolled across the plains.
He could only look on in horror.
"By the Force," he gasped.
Avy laughed.
"A low-grade atomic, effective, if a bit dirty."
She dismissed the image, drawing Fenn's attention back to her.
"As far as the Zakuul are concerned, Survivor Squad, and their allies among the Sith and Jedi are dead. If they suspected that the keys still existed, they likely think them destroyed in that blast."
She gave him a proud look.
"Darth Avaryss, and the keys of Hecaetus are now extinct, at least, that is how it shall be until I'm ready to strike. We will hit them from the shadows, and they will be caught completely unprepared. We shall move, to end the Zakuul threat, to erase the mongrel empire Vitiate built in secret. We will strike, and destroy every man, woman, and child in Zakuul space."
She leaned back and sighed contently.
"We shall end the war in one swift stroke, my love.
"The galaxy…will thank us."
IOI
She watched him closely, both through the Force and with his eyes.
She hated to admit it, but what she was seeing was turning her on.
His rage was boiling, the hate swelling within him. She had guided him gently down the dark path, offering him physical rewards as she found his aggression and used it.
He was so close now…
…So…VERY…close.
This was a bit of a risk, she didn't deny that, the line between love and hate was a fine one, especially for one committed to the dark side. She remembered well how things had begun with Fehl. Their budding love could have easily ended that first night with one of them murdering the other.
He needs to accept what he is now. He needs to let go of the limitations that he placed on himself, and those taught him by the Jedi.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strength I gain power.
He had found his passions; she and Taya had done everything to stoke those passions since Tatooine. He was ready.
He now needed to accept that she was the only way, that no one else would have him now, but her, her and the Sith.
He had to accept what she offered him. Even if he tried to attack her in rage, that would be useful, she would easily beat him down, and make him accept that she was the only thing he had left.
It might seem cruel, but that was how the game was played.
This was how Fenn Shadowstone became a Sith.
He was breathing hard, furious.
"How could you?!" he hissed.
"We need to disappear for a time, Fenn. The Survivor Base, and all that remained, its destruction, was the best way to sell that disappearance."
"And what of the others," he demanded, "Roxxi? Shyra? Temm?"
The dark lord shrugged.
"I'm not sure how deep those tunnels beneath Survivor base went, or if they had a way to block the explosion, and the radiation. I didn't sense anymore death, but by that point, the land around the base was roiling in death and despair."
She smirked.
"Besides, if you care so much about the other Survivors, you would not have helped me."
Fenn's hands curled into fists.
"What does Zay think of all this?" he demanded.
"She is young," she replied, "She will adapt."
You murder her friends, people that she cared about."
"You think she cared that much for them, really? She is a better actress than you realize."
"Was she acting with Temm? You felt how she felt for him."
"As I said she is young, she will recover, if he is gone."
"She will hate you for this!"
Avaryss nodded.
Yes, but that was needed too.
She had felt…a twinge of resentment between her and her student, Zay masked it well, but…she would not act on that, she was smart enough to know that it was not yet time, that she didn't have the power to harm her master.
But it was a start, a red check in the ledger between them, there would be many more before the girl's training was complete. The desire to balance that ledger was part of Rain's training.
She had to want to kill her master when the time came, just as Avaryss had wanted to kill Feer. It was part of the dance between master and apprentice.
Unlike Feer, Avaryss understood it, and was not trying to use sentiment to cloud the issue.
One day, she and Rain would fight, and only one would walk away, the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Such was the way of the dark side.
Fenn needed to learn that as well.
He needed to accept.
"We took you in, when your own empire had turned against you.
"Yes, and I'm grateful for that," she said.
"The survivors were most useful pawns."
That got his attention.
His temper spiked anew.
"Pawns?"
She didn't speak, she merely smiled.
That annoyed him even more.
"YOU WERE our ALLY!"
"They were a necessary evil, despite the respect that grew between us, and make no mistake, I DID respect them, all of them. As for allies, well, if anyone was my ally, it was you. In fact, we were more than just allies, I think you can agree with me on that."
Fenn took a deep breath, trying to control his temper.
No, she realized, that wouldn't do.
She twisted the blade again.
The holo screen returned.
Fenn looked up, and saw himself in those images. A recording taken from Survivor base, him murdering the guards and arming Avaryss' Sith allies.
"Holli?" he hissed.
"Who else," the dark lord replied, "these images will be distributed to my various contacts, and from there, find their way into the hands of any Republic agent, or Jedi that we can find. The destruction of Survivor Squad must be public, if it is to serve my needs. Plus, the few Survivors that CHOSE to join me, will sell the tale of your defection to my cause. They will say that you aided me in my final victory, and in the destruction of Survivor Squad."
She grinned triumphantly.
"I leave nothing to chance this time, my love. There is no backing out this time, you can't step away from your destiny, your place at my side."
She leaned back steepling her fingers before her.
"I won't allow it."
He paled, realizing the full scope of what she had done, some would call it betrayal.
She called it…teaching.
"Why?" he gasped, "Why are you doing this?"
To destroy your hope, she thought, resistance, rebellion, it always began with a flicker of hope. People had to believe that their resistance could succeed. They had to believe that the dawn would come in the darkest night.
Fenn needed to realize that that would not come. That she was the only way. Only she would accept him now, forgive him. He would be a pariah to everything he once held dear. Jedi would hunt him. The Republic would curse him.
Only at her side, and in her arms, would he find acceptance.
The mere thought excited her, all the possibilities she was sensing now through the Force.
She had left him no other options.
She…WAS the way!
She didn't say this to him, not yet, he would still not understand, think her cruel, or crazed.
She decided to move her plan forward.
"Why? Because I thought it a proper wedding gift."
He blinked, still not fully comprehending, perhaps.
"Wedding?"
She rose from her throne and did a quick pirouette, showing off her robes.
"I am all in white after all," she giggled, "Though I think we can agree, any chance of me being an innocent bride was lost long ago."
He swallowed, in that moment, she felt none of the desire that had defined their relationship these past few months.
She felt rage, hate.
Again, good.
He was almost there.
Only a few more steps.
"You murder my friends, destroy someone I knew and respected, and wear her body like it is some new suit, and…and you think that…that I would…?"
"What other options have you?"
He took a shuddering breath.
"Is the thought really so repellant now?" she demanded, "You know what was happening with the Survivors, how they were coming to feel about you. I felt it too, through our connection. They didn't trust you, after Jas died. They were plotting against you, don't believe that they weren't. They didn't trust you. They were not willing to accept you as the heir to Jas Dar Bynn's authority and power."
He shook his head, in this, he understood, he knew the truth.
"They…they didn't understand," Fenn said.
"They didn't trust you, not like I do. You are pissed about how I chose to proceed? How I decided to end my relationship with the Survivors, that is fair. Yet, ask yourself, were you truly committed to their goals? Didn't you think that maybe, just maybe, my way was better? Cleaner? You considered just giving me the keys, I know that, because I felt you wrestling with that decision. As for ending them group, well, I didn't want their deaths, Fenn. I was not lying about that. I respected the Survivors, they saved my life, more than once, but they were unwilling to stand with me. I offered them the chance, and they CHOSE betrayal and death. That was on them. They should be aboard this destroyer right now, preparing to use the resources that I have to continue our little guerilla war against Zakuul."
Avy sat back down on the throne.
"They chose death over me. They chose…"
Her expression turned cold.
"Now…you must choose. The power and prestige to save the galaxy, or a life of loneliness, and fear, hunted by both sides."
She gave him a hopeful look, reached out with one pale hand.
"Choose wisely, my love, my Fenn…"
Take it, she thought, please…take it….
Don't leave me alone, too.
"Please," she almost begged.
"Please."
IOI
He watched her, his eyes betraying nothing.
He…he still couldn't believe it!
She truly was insane!
"Not much of a proposal," he said dryly.
She pulled her hand away, he could sense…hurt, anger that he was pulling back.
"We live in strange times, my love."
He almost sneered at that.
Love?
Did she truly understand what that word meant?
How did she think he would react?
How did she thing he would look at her when he saw her wearing Tru's face?
Avy sniffed, likely picking up what he was feeling through their bond.
"I have cooled our passions, have I? Not surprising, marriage is more than simply lust and desire, there is a political side too, a most valuable side."
She stood proudly, looking down upon him, not as his lover, but as a Sith Lord.
"You fear what I'm going to do? Then stay with me, and check my power, stay my hand, if you can. You fear I lack compassion for the rabble, then be my conscience, be there to remind me of the worth of those under us."
Her expression turned softer.
"And I offer something else, as well. A chance to have more than any Jedi, a chance to be part of something…"
"An empire?" he asked, " A dynasty?"
"A family," she clarified, "I offer that more than anything else. I…I want you at my side, Fenn. We belong together, we have been a part of each other since we were children, my first real memories are of you, and our bond."
"I can offer you so much. The galaxy will be mine, but I…will be yours, and if that is not enough to tempt you, think of the young ones. Blyss is already so fond of you, sees you as a father figure, you could be that father. You could guide her down a gentler path. Jeer…well…I fear he may already have a head full of bad wiring, you could help with that, a father's love with a firm hand. You could guide him, teach him to be more than what he is now. You…you could give my dynasty a chance to be more than any Sith House. Your will could influence emperors and empresses for the next thousand years. Our blood and knowledge bound together. We will make the future our own, a brave new galaxy."
She held out her hand again.
"You can still stop me. You can still SAVE me."
She smiled shyly.
"Come with me, please."
Fenn took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He could hear it so clearly now, the dark side of the Force.
The light side…it had fallen silent.
It offered so much; it offered what Avy offered.
He could be the conscience of the empire, and if he didn't like what she was doing, he could always kill and replace her when the time came. He could guide the empire, make it over any way he wanted. None would oppose him…none.
He took another shuddering breath.
He wanted that, he realized to his shame.
He wanted that…so very much, and it could all start here.
All he needed to do, was take Avy's hand.
He would fall, and become a Sith.
Perhaps one of the greatest Sith in the galaxy.
He would play her game and bide his time. He would give her children, and they would be together, and he would watch, and he would wait.
One day, revenge would be his. HE would pay her back for all the harm she caused.
As she slew Darth Feer, he would slay her, and take the empire in a new direction. He…
His hands curled into fists.
Now, he understood.
This was the trap that destroyed his dream friend, that destroyed Keera Lylos. She had believed that the dark side was the path to justice for her family, and a chance to save her world.
It had lied to her, as it was lying to him, twisting what he wanted to serve the needs of the dark side.
He would become…an agent of evil.
It was the same darkness that called to him in the lower levels of Coruscant. It had stayed with him long after, even after Master Jas had taught him to resist his rage, to look at it, and move beyond it.
He could take her hand, and become what she wished him to become, or…he could do something else, something unexpected.
The right thing.
Avy's expression changed slightly, perhaps she picked up on what he was thinking.
"Don't be foolish," she warned, she sat down again on her throne, and pressed a series of buttons.
More lights clicked on behind him.
He turned and stifled a gasp.
NO!
They had been laid in state, inside refrigerated containers, seven of them in all.
He shook his head.
It…it was horrible.
The bodies of those that refused to turn.
He saw Krys Capistan, his face cold and blue from the chemicals. He saw Master Onno, his tongue lolling from his head, a head kept separate from his body, just in case.
He turned to Avaryss, an unspoken demand on his face.
She shrugged.
"I told you. I respected them, and I respect you. I thought you might want to see them laid to rest as proper. I had no desire to pile and burn them like so much trash."
She looked down at the arm of her throne, there was a book there, Fenn recognized from his time among the Survivors.
It was Krys', it was Krys Capistan's drawing book. The place where he kept the names and faces of all the Survivors, the one outlet for the artist he had dreamed of being, before his father had forced him to choose the life of a soldier, a life that had always disappointed the old man, a life he could never succeed in because of his weaknesses, and in his resentment struck out at his son, forced Krys down a warrior's path.
Avaryss flipped idly through the book.
"The Colonel was quite talented," she said.
She looked up at him and smiled.
"There are even drawings of you and I in here, he truly accepted us, he did not understand what we truly were."
She laughed lightly.
"Quite a few of Gilly in here, some going back years, some…quite…oh my…these are most intimate drawings."
She turned the page upside down.
"I wouldn't have thought the human body could…bend that way. The major was more flexible in her youth than I, that is for certain."
He didn't answer.
He didn't like Avy having that book, making so light of it. It was personal, it was how the colonel expressed himself. All that remained of his innocence, and hope.
Now, it was all that was left him, besides his deeds.
Gilly was in it more than anyone else, why not? They had been so close to being one…once.
Fenn wasn't surprised. Krys had loved Gilly, he had even reached out to her again recently, Fenn knew, the Major had told him.
They had spoken about getting back together, perhaps…even trying married life, once the Zakuul threat had ended.
That would not happen now, Avy had stolen that chance.
She had stolen it, when she watched Zay murder Krys.
Now she mocked him, and all those that he had known and cared for.
The flames in his heart burned hotter.
Avy looked up at him, seemingly, unbothered by his growing anger.
"He was really quite good," she repeated, "And he should be thanking me, everyone knows, a true artist is only appreciated for their talent after their dead. Of course, his family might want these back, that is counterproductive, I think. I shall send assassins for them, his siblings and mother, if she still is living. We wouldn't want them messing up his legacy. I think he would be proud of that. He…
Fenn had heard enough.
She wasn't joking, she would do it.
Kill Krys family, to feed her twisted sense of respect.
Fenn knew what he had to do.
He didn't hesitate.
One moment he was standing by the dead, and the next, he leapt forward, his blade in hand, the blue light falling on Avy's neck.
It never reached her.
A crimson blade blocked its lethal arc.
He looked up, unsurprised to see Taya there, he had not sensed her until now, but she must have been close by.
She pushed him back and whirled her blade aggressively.
Their lightsabers kissed and kissed again, almost too fast for the human eye to see.
Behind them, Avaryss cackled like a witch in some child's story.
Lightsabers hummed and spat as they clashed again and again.
IOI
Avaryss watched with supreme pleasure.
Yes, Fenn, she thought, discarding the dead Colonel's book of scribbles. Its contents forgotten.
The rage was upon Fenn again, and now…he would see its true power.
She shifted in her seat, uncomfortably.
Her stomach was twisting again, painfully so.
She cursed under her breath.
What the bloody hell was wrong with her.
She refused to worry about it. She would not be distracted.
She was most eager to see this duel, and the result.
The time was finally here, Fenn's final choice.
She was most eager to watch him make it, and come what may…
…she was ready to do what had to be done.