Chapter 36: Dark Victory

"All systems show battle ready, my lord. The task force is online and checking in."

"Very good, admiral," Darth Avaryss said with a hint of a smile, "Proceed with the countdown."

Admiral Kannady offered her a crisp military bow, and turned to confer with the captain, and the rest of the task force commanders.

The dark lord said no more, her eyes were focused on the prize, a small red light in the distance.

Zraii'chaa.

The Reckoning drifted far off from their distant target, the other ships of their task force spreading out around them. They had fielded a relatively small fleet, three Terminus destroyers each with four Bantoon heavy escorts as support ships. Fifteen in all with one of her dreadnaughts standing by should the weapon's test fail, and a real battle break out.

Expect the best, but prepared for the worst.

They had sufficient firepower to contain their new holdings, but it would not be necessary.

Death Knell would make sure that it wasn't necessary…

…but…if it failed.

Avaryss shook her head.

No.

The time for second-guessing was passed.

There was NO turning back.

She dismissed her worries.

She was not concerned; the test WOULD be successful. This world would fall to the power of the dark side, and Death Knell.

A warm feeling suffused her, she was most eager to begin.

So long had she waited…and now…

…the wait was over.

The commencement of this victory left her feeling giddy. So many possibilities were about to become reality.

She had seen the data collected by their probes. Each droid providing census data of her soon to be holding. There were somewhere between 2.3 billion and 2.6 billion Raii'chaa down on that world right now.

Two billion new soldiers, tools to be used in the coming war.

If all worked as she believed, conventional war would be a thing of the past. Battle would still need to happen on occasion. Conflict was necessary for a Sith to keep her teeth sharp, but the level of conflict would change. The Sith would no longer be tied down fighting their old enemies. The Republic and Jedi would be a thing of the past, and the Zakuul would not even be a footnote in history. The dark side would be free to seek out other prizes, worlds hidden deep in the unknown regions, and who knew…

…perhaps outside the galaxy as well.

It would be a test of her power, and a symbol of her strength, she would lead the Sith Order into a new and glorious future.

One day…she would be spoken of with the same reverence as the great King Adas and Darth Vitiate.

Avaryss' name would be carved into the very history of the galaxy!

A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine.

All things were about to change, and with it a new era was being born.

The era of Avaryss…the day of the Sith…

A shiver of excitement ran down her spine.

At long last…vengeance!

She raised her hand to the viewport, the distant world was so small, it was covered by just her thumb. As they engaged it would become larger, but would still easily be ensnared by her power.

She took a deep and cleansing breath.

There was no more time for speculation…

…it was time…to begin.

She tried not to hurry as she made her way down the Reckoning's command walkway, the crewers at their stations didn't look up, they were all committed to the coming operation. As Sith soldiers, they welcomed battle and a coming conquest.

After three years of waiting, they were all eager to get back to what they truly were, conquerors of all they surveyed.

She paused only briefly to regard Kannady and Reckoning's captain, listening in as the Admiral gave his final orders, the commands that she had given him hours earlier. Their sister ships would approach on attack vectors around Zraii'chaa, drawing out its defenders, fighter screens would be used to keep the Raii ships back as Reckoning moved into position. Avaryss would then offer the world a place in her new empire, further drawing out the world's protectors, ensuring they had no more surprises. They would refuse of course, it was their nature, and then…then…

…she would unleash the weapon, and if all worked as Darth Hecaetus had claimed in his writings. The world would be hers. Death Knell would bring it completely under her spell.

The two officers stood at attention as she stopped before them.

"We will be on station in six minutes, my lord," Kannady assured her.

"And I will be ready when we are, admiral."

The man nodded, and turned to his fellow officer.

"Is my flagship ready, captain?"

"The Reckoning is fully at your command Admiral, and yours as well, My Lord."

Avaryss nodded, pleased.

"Then let us start the show, gentlemen. Good hunting, and to victory."

"All hail, Avaryss," the captain said with a slight military bow.

A hint of a smile played on her lips as she turned, with a snap of her fingers the two royal guards on the bridge fell in step behind her.

She turned away, eager to reach her meditation chamber. Rain would already be there.

Today we conquer a world with the power of the dark side.

She was most eager to see the result.

The journey down the turbolift and through the halls of the destroyer were a time of giddy contemplation. She had waited so long for this moment, and now that it was here…

…the excitement was nearly overwhelming.

She could barely contain her excitement to keep from running, to accept the pace of her royal guards as they made their way down the ship towards her chambers.

Crewers and trooper rushed to get out of her way, some bowing as she passed.

As they should, she was the master here after all.

It was just a shame that the rest of the Sith Order failed to accept that.

I will show them all, she promised herself.

They will see. They will ALL see!

She thought of Acina and the rest of her fellow dark council members, those that dismissed her as a common thug.

Soon all those misguided fools would understand…

Avaryss was more than they believed…far more, and when they learned…

She paused, her expression turned thoughtful.

A new thought had just occurred to her.

Why did the other Sith have to learn anything?

Maybe…just maybe…it would be better if they were no longer around to learn anything at all.

It was rare that the dark lord thought on the past anymore, not when the future was so exciting, still…she came to realize something important.

Perhaps she had been looking at this victory all wrong.

The guards stopped, awaiting her continued move to her chambers, but for that one brief moment, she reflected on what had come to pass, what had brought her here.

The past was gone, best forgotten, but sometimes the lessons that had been picked up along the way should be considered.

She frowned.

For the first time in years, she thought about a girl name Keera Lylos, and what had happened to her.

Keera had first embraced the dark side out of a desire for revenge. She had wanted to destroy Darth Feer for harming her family, and ending the life of simplicity that she had enjoyed.

Keera had been naïve. She had been an idealistic, over-patriotic farm girl. She had believed all that had been spouted over the information network. All that the dark lords and their imperial mouth pieces told the free citizens of the empire.

She had been…very foolish.

She had believed what the imperial mission had told her. She had been blinded by her desire for revenge, and the propaganda of the empire. She had truly believed that the Sith were a pure meritocracy, that her success would be accepted, because she was powerful, and that she HAD succeeded.

That belief…had not been entirely accurate.

As Keera had continued down the dark path, she had changed. She had grown in strength, and left the angry young farm girl behind. She had ceased to be Keera Lylos and became Darth Avaryss.

Avaryss had been a new creature, unshackled by the past, but…had she?

Keera had been an indoctrinated fool! She had had clung to her beliefs about the empire, and passed those beliefs on to Avaryss. She had believed in the meritocracy, that through power she could succeed. That by playing the game she could achieve anything in the empire. That she could have…everything.

Those beliefs had become a chain of sorts too. She could see that now.

Chains that the other dark lords that had stood above her had pulled eagerly.

Phylon, Feer, Baras, Vengean, Marr, and so many others had used her naivety, they had manipulated her to get what she wanted, and she had been too blind to see it. Only now, that they all lay dead and broken could she see through the lies and find the truth.

Avaryss sneered.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

Maybe, with today's success it would be time to break that last chain!

She had what she needed to kill a world, Death Knell phase one still existed, it didn't just enslave, but liquified its targets. She intended to use the keys to spread it over the throne world of the Zakuul. Every man, woman and child that bowed to the Eternal Throne would die melting away like a snowman on a hot day. Arcann and his kin would be gone, and she would be free to secure the Eternal Fleet and its army of Sky trooper droids for herself.

She had intended to bring that army back into the empire, proof of her superiority, and the reason why the throne was hers. Her mother had been a Child of the Emperor! She was by right his granddaughter, the true heir to the throne. Acina would be cast down and all that had looked down their noses at her would fall to their knees or lose their heads!

That is what she had wanted, but now, as she thought about it…

…maybe it was better that the Sith became a much smaller order.

Maybe Dromund Kaas deserved the same lesson that she would give the Zakuul?

Death Knell would sweep over every world in the Empire, destroying all the other Sith. She would leave only those loyal to her. The order would be reshaped in her image. She would walk the path of her grandfather! She would be the god of the new Sith Order. She would…

She shook her head.

No.

That…that was lay madness!

Despite her anger and rage, she NEEDED her rivals. They kept her careful, and on her guard. The challenge of holding them at bay kept her sane, and strong!

To crave power was the corner stone of the Sith Order, and it was tempting to be the only Sith, to wield all the power of the dark side alone, but she feared that was a trap.

Being Sith was not just about wielding power, but accepting the challenge of holding it. That is why a master chose and apprentice. Not just to ensure the survival of the Sith teachings, but to have a rival close by, one who knew the master intimately. The one person who could truly test a master's mettle. If the master succeeded, then they had proved their strength, and would choose a new student. If they fell…well…the fact that they had trained a Sith powerful enough to replace them was the proof of their teachings. To die by the hands of an apprentice was not a failure, but the ultimate proof of the Sith Lord's success.

So few Sith understood that. They played games to hold onto their power. They kept inferiors at their side and called them apprentices, or they trained multiple apprentices and kept those students fighting among themselves. She had played the latter game herself, and had come to see the futility of it. Training multiple apprentices at one time was a foolish endeavor, yes it kept the master's teeth sharp, but it took the risk of lesser apprentices banding together, and overthrowing the master, and in the end, the next Sith Lord would be weaker than the previous one.

No.

A single apprentice was the way to go, someone to learn everything, and stand at the master's side against her rivals, until the time was right for the apprentice to become the ultimate rival.

Yes, she thought with a nod.

That was how it had to be.

She turned away from the idea of using Death Knell on the empire, for now. If examples needed to be made when she came to power, she would do it, but the empire would stay intact.

Besides, what was the point of attaining victory if she could not gloat over holding it? Let her rivals see what she had, and know that they were not strong enough to take it from her.

Avaryss proceeded on, her guards following in her wake.

The future of Death Knell was just that, the future.

She needed to focus on the present.

She still needed to take Zraii'chaa.

It was time to do just that!

She had been patient, prepared for this day, and now… the time had come.

She was ready.

The Darkside's will be done.

IOI

She entered her meditation chamber to find Rain waiting, her apprentice was in deep meditation gathering her strength for today's test.

Avaryss smiled.

The girl blazed with the dark side.

She could feel Rain's anger and hate. Surprisingly, that hate was not directed at her master, it was directed inward.

It was directed at herself.

Rain's path to power had always been different than her masters. Guilt and self-loathing had defined the younger Sith. Avaryss could sense that as she stood before her student.

She blamed herself for her failure to bring Temmin into their service, she also blamed herself for the death of Calin. Avaryss sensed fear as well, no doubt the girl was worried how Taya and her mother would react.

The dark lord understood those fears, and was pleased to see that her student had not been crippled by them, she turned that fear into rage and hate against Temmin and his allies. While at the same time holding onto it, letting it fuel her strength for today's test.

Her master was pleased.

She knew how powerful self-loathing could be. It had driven Taya to become Darth Agony, though she had since rejected that pain, the power she had briefly achieved was proof of its value.

Avaryss looked down at her student.

"Are you ready to begin, my dear?"

Rain opened her eyes, her green eyes.

Avaryss was surprised to see that. The younger girl's eyes had been yellow more often than not these days.

She looked up at her master.

"I am ready, my lord. I await only your…word."

Avaryss paused.

The girl's voice lacked its usual fire and confidence. She wondered briefly if she had broken her will with her recent punishment.

A heart drinker was by no means a simple slap on the wrist.

The spell, one of many she had found in the scrolls she had taken from the lost tomb during her final trials as an acolyte, was not done much these days, if at all.

One of the many secrets that had been lost when Darth Vitiate had remade the empire, and rediscovered by her, offered up by the spirit of the female dark lord that had been buried in that ancient tomb.

A heart drinker was reserved only for an agent that still had use despite a failure. The scroll's writer had believed that to break one's tool for one failure was a foolish waste. Avaryss had come to agree with that philosophy.

It was for that reason that she had sought out the spell when Rain had contacted them after her flight from Temmin and his allies.

It had seemed a fitting punishment for the girl's mistake, but had it been too harsh?

Rain was her heir after all, she had no desire to crush her will, she would need it, and her fire, to one day rise to challenge her master.

Avaryss frowned.

"Are you prepared to do what is needed, Rain?"

The girl nodded.

"All will be as you demand, my master, and there will be no failure."

Her voice remained cool, and submissive.

That worried the older Sith.

Had she been too harsh?

Of course not, something within her whispered, to achieve its full potential, a racing beast must have its spirit broken, only then can it rebuild that spirit, and become a champion…

…remember how Feer broke you during your last day on Korriban.

Avaryss shivered at the memory.

She…she remembered that very well.

How she had been a shadow of her former self for months, basically an organic droid who obeyed Feer's every whim, before regaining her pride and putting her confidence back together again.

Rain would need to do that now, but if she was strong enough, she would succeed.

Her master was confident of that.

"I'm fine," Rain said with a hint of her old fire, her green eyes flashing like two cold emeralds.

"Let us do this thing."

Nodding, Avaryss accepted the girl's reassurance, though she would be watching her.

She sat down across from her apprentice, and using the Force activated the holo displays around them. Ship systems appeared behind Rain, and the girl would be able to see the same displays behind her master.

At that moment, they felt the sudden jolt as the Reckoning left hyperspace. The screen above Rain's right shoulder showed that the Reckoning task force was in position.

The dark lord took a deep breath.

It was time to begin.

"Bridge to Darth Avaryss?"

"I'm here, Admiral. Report?"

"We are in communication range of Zraii'chaa."

"Very good, open a channel to the planet."

"Channel open, my lord."

Avaryss heard a click, and knew that her voice would be broadcast to the planet below them.

She began.

"Attention, leadership of Zraii'chaa, this is Darth Avaryss of the Sith Order. Your world is now a member of the Sith Empire, and a protectorate of House Avaryss. You will lower your shields and surrender your military forces to us. We await your response."

Avaryss disconnected the transmission and waited.

She doubted they would have to wait long.

Rain looked at her, the girl arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Do you really think that is going to work, Master?"

"Of course not, but we do have to be civil about this, apprentice. Niceties have to be observed."

She glanced at the tactical display over Rain's head. The Reckoning had received no verbal signal, but the planet did respond.

Multiple contacts had risen from the Zraii'chaa's atmosphere. The natives were sending up attack ships. They were on an attack vector, heading right for Reckoning.

As Avaryss had predicted.

Tactical screens also showed the other destroyers of her attack force. Warcry was in position, but about to fall under attack. Deathstroke had deployed its fighter screen, yet was under fire from one of the Raii'chaa's moon bases.

Avaryss remained unconcerned.

The thrust ships used by the natives were no match for Sith military vessels, their particle cannons could not get through Sith shields, but they did have low grade atomic weapons, those weapons could do damage if enough detonated at once, and the fighters the Sith had deployed would have no defense against those.

So far, no atomic were in the air, none that Reckoning could detect, and Raii'chaa were not calling for help, not that they would.

The natives despised outsiders, even if they were outmatched by a superior force, they would go down fighting.

Avaryss was determined to not let that happen.

This world would be hers, and the keys would make it so.

"Be ready, Admiral," she said over the comms, "The test is beginning."

"As ordered, my lord."

Avaryss nodded, and took a deep breath, she looked at her apprentice.

"It is time, my dear. Let's begin."

"As you say, master."

The two Sith closed their eyes and opened themselves up to the dark side. A wall panel to the right of Avaryss opened up, and the case containing the keys of Hecaetus slid out, a simple twist in the Force was all it took to open that case, and then…the keys, singing in both the real world and the Force, emerged, emerged, levitated into the air, and began to orbit the master and apprentice.

Avaryss began the chant described in Darth Hecaetus' notes, while at the same time reaching out into the Reckoning, finding the supply of Death Knell they had onboard, as well as activating other systems that were needed.

Through the Force, she came to know the poison intimately, down to the atomic level, that knowledge would be needed.

Rain was deep in the Force as well, reaching out with her battle meditation, finding her master's mind, and those of the Raii'chaa that opposed them.

They had practiced this with a single key back on Sanctuary Base, using prisoners as test subjects. Those tests had proved successful, but this was far more.

This was an entire world, an entire species.

It would be…more difficult.

"Numbers don't matter," Avaryss whispered, "Worlds don't matter. Size means nothing to the Force!"

Rain breathed in and out quickly, focusing her strength. She had no time for words, not now.

All that mattered was success!

The chant continued the two Sith's voices became a single monotone chant, their breathing synchronized, as did their heartbeats.

Avaryss ceased to exist. Rain ceased to exist, their presence became one with the dark side, and the dark side was tied up in the song of the keys, tied up, and growing louder, louder, and more insistent.

Master and apprentice, past and future, they had all become intertwined in the now. Avaryss was the past of her house, Rain was its future, as they became one, they became more, they became a doorway, and the keys were opening that lock.

The two made one looked with their eyes, and they saw it, a great dark space, thousands of glowing paths of light, and at the end of each of those paths, a door to another moment, another life, every single being tied together in this one mystical, and impossible place.

The world between world.

In the physical realm, the keys began to rotate faster, they spun and spun, spinning so fast that they almost appeared to be one, like the Sith being around which they orbited.

The song vibrated off the walls of the meditation chamber, vibrated and spread out, directed by the mind of the Sith being.

It had been shaped as the Grand Temple on Bantoon was being shaped, smaller, but capable of the same effect.

Within the Sith-being what had once been known as Rain sorted out the paths before them, finding the individual Raii'chaa. The creature drew its strength from what had once been Avaryss, focusing its power. Two had become one, for that one moment.

Two…were enough.

The realm of the world between worlds began to shift. Drawing all the moments of the Raii'chaa's lives together, into a single defining moment.

Somewhere beyond space and time, the three mortis gods felt the change, but were powerless to stop it. Father and daughter were left dizzied, while the son exalted…

…and even more distantly, the slumbering shape of another, a mother stirred, stirred and fell back asleep.

Chaos was not the purpose of this change. The purpose was order.

The order of the Sith!

The Sith being that had been the master and apprentice regarded the many drawn into one, the many paths forced into one.

Mundane animals, nameless unpersons, it thought.

Feel the power of the dark side!

With that the two Sith unleased Death Knell into the Raii'chaa, every male, female and youngling. It filled their lungs and their bloodstreams, it was a part of them, as if it had always been a part of them.

They…

UGH!

The Sith-Being gasped.

The dark side was infinite, and forever.

They…were not.

Minds and wills fell like a child's toy soldiers, but resistance remained, resistance and…

"Be gone, Sith!" an old man's voice called out through the world beyond world. A voice of pure balance and order.

"Be gone shadow!" a young woman's voice roared a cry like an angry predator bird.

The key's song reached its crescendo.

The Sith-being collapsed.

The one became two once more, and the two…

Fell into darkness.

IOI

She had no idea how much time had passed. Time had no meaning.

She was a young girl again, groaning crawling out of bed, going off to check the collection towers. She was…

"Darth Avaryss?!"

She blinked and came back to the waking world.

"UGH!"

The dark lord grimaced, being back in her own body felt strange. She blinked, unsure of where she was, what had happened.

Who was Avaryss, she wondered.

"My Lord, Darth Avaryss. This is Admiral Kannady, can you hear me?"

She sat up, who she was slowly coming back to her, after the glory of the world between worlds.

This existence felt…small, and painful. She…

"Yes," she gasped, "I'm…I'm here, Admiral."

"Praise the Emperor," the old man said over the comm.

The dark lord shook her head.

For that one brief moment, she had not been Avaryss, she had been Keera and…

"Ow."

Rain rose from where she had fallen, the girl ran her good hand through her nest of blonde hair.

Avaryss looked up, remembering where she was, and what they had just done.

"Rain?" she asked, "Are you okay?"

The younger girl groaned.

"Did someone get the number of the air speeder that just ran me over."

Avaryss shook her head, her mind clearing, and with it, purpose.

"Report Admiral."

The Reckoning shook underneath them, a weapon explosion?"

The dark lord's eyes narrowed.

"Report, Admiral."

"We are under attack, my lord. The Raii'chaa are trying to ram us. I've called in the Empress' Wisdom for support."

Avaryss frowned.

Attack.

Had they failed?

"How many Raii'chaa vessels are engaging us?"

"Four, but our allies are keeping them at bay."

Avaryss blinked.

"Allies?"

"Yes, my lord," the Admiral replied, sounding pleased.

"Twenty Raii'chaa ships have joined us, and are attacking their fellows. We are also picking up transmissions from the surface. High-Nest members offering their flocks to our banner, and requesting aid in dealing with the heretics that have rejected your protection."

Avaryss digested what she was hearing, the thrill of victory burning away the last bits of her confusion.

She smiled.

It had worked…mostly.

Zraii'chaa was hers!

Rain groaned, and ran her hand through her hair, her face was slick with sweat, and she had a bloody nose.

Avaryss tasted her own blood, her own nose was bleeding.

"We did it, apprentice," she cackled, "We did it."

"Rain hissed in pain; she had hit her ruined hand as she had fallen.

"We didn't get them all, master. You heard the Admiral; some still resist us."

"I did," the dark lord agreed, "But such resistance will not be repeated, not when we have the Grand Temple to project our power through."

Rain coughed and nodded.

"What about those…people we saw, the old man and girl?"

"What of them?"

Rain snorted.

"They stopped us, master. What if they try to come after us!"

Avaryss smirked.

"Let them try, in the grand temple, our power will be absolute."

She groaned as she came to her feet. The keys lay glowing at their feet, their power drained by the ritual, drained, but replenishing slowly.

Avaryss caught her reflection in the floor of the chamber, her black hair was even more streaked with white than it was before, her yellow eyes had sunk deeper into her head, but she didn't care.

She had done it.

"Admiral Kannady," she called out, " Inform the task force to engage any renegade Raii'chaa vessels, and order General Bej to prepare his troops for ground assault. We move as one and help our allies secure the planet.

"Understood, my lord, and congratulations on your victory."

"It is the empire's victory," she said, "Make sure the crew realize that, and thank them for their service."

"Understood, my lord, Kannady out."

Avaryss sighed in relief.

She had done it.

The weapon worked.

The galaxy was hers.

The Reckoning shook around them. Rain coughed as she stumbled to her feet.

The dark lord regarded her apprentice.

"Are you feeling well enough to direct our forces?"

Rain grinned.

"I can draw strength from our new pawns, they were part of us for just long enough. I can use their strength."

The apprentice giggled.

"Shall we finish taking a world together, my lord?"

Avaryss laughed.

"Indeed, Lord Rain."

The girl blinked.

"Lord?"

Avaryss nodded.

"You have earned it today, continue on this path, and I will remove the heart drinker from your body. You WILL be free again."

The girl nodded.

"I'd better get to work then?"

She knelt down again, drinking in the pain from her bad foot, but also savoring the dark side energy they had unleased by briefly reshaping the world beyond world.

Avaryss grinned.

They shifted the Force together, tipped it deeper into the darkness.

Now they needed to take advantage.

She left the chamber eager to lead her troops into battle.

The world below had not completely submitted ,but that was not a problem.

Any resistance was about to be crushed.

Battle would wash away any who had not accepted her gift, and when the battle was over, she would return to a completed great temple, and then…

…the galaxy was hers.

She resisted the urge to run, to rush into battle.

Today, Zraii'chaa, tomorrow…

…everything else.

I've done it, she thought.

I've won.