Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hyperion arrived on Taris, the first stop on the journey home, with an empty belly and plenty of credits with which to buy sustenance. Since he no longer had a child to care for and he would likely not be free to hunt his own game for some time, he figured he may as well gorge himself for once. He had a taste of all the good foods that he had never tasted in nearly fifteen years from the sweetest desert to the spiciest meat. When he board his ship once more, he knew he would be full and satisfied for more than a little while. But in all that time, the stirring never left him, never left his mind and in fact haunted him more grotesquely now than it had before he had arrived.
Taris was a place of more than a few memories for him, he knew this much to be true. But even so, Patricia may have been born here but she moved to Coruscant in the years after graduating high school. Was he now sensing the presence of Morgana or perhaps even his daughter, having discovered a gift in the Force of her own? Indeed, she would have been of the age where she would be discovering her own powers and perhaps even using them.
He knew that only time would tell and time was short. Time was always short for men like him, men who killed, tortured, raped, and plundered to their delight. Men like him who debased and perverted everything of beauty or joyfulness in the galaxy because they had the power to do so. The only time they had was the time they could buy in the carnage of battle and with Hyperion's training in the ways of the Dark Side, even more so.
He only regretted now that he couldn't have told Menelaus everything about who he was. In time, he would come to know Hyperion for the monster he once was in his youth perhaps even finally come to revile him. Being safe and protected within the deepest bounds of the Republic would do that to most people who'd left the Outer Rim and enjoyed the opportunities it offered. As long as he never had to cross paths with him again, he would live with that having done his part as a father and saved the child he raised for eleven years from the evils of his past.
Menelaus was largely silent during the trip to Coruscant with Inoy breaking the silence with the occasional question. Largely to know superficial things like what Menelaus enjoyed hunting after the most on Ando Prime, what chores he did around the house, etc. He even asked about somethings Hyperion did in order to get them supplies while they were trapped in Ando Prime's greater forest. Menelaus mostly answered with laconic sentences with no more than three or four words.
It didn't take having the Force to sense that Menelaus was upset about Hyperion putting him up for adoption. Inoy knew then that there was no way Hyperion could have held him captive, not when there was no way that Menelaus couldn't have remembered his mother. "Should I tell you the story of how I met your father? It's got lots of action, lots of lightsaber clashes, and it's the reason I respect him," offered the Jedi Knight.
Menelaus lit up quite a bit more when he heard this remark and took the Nautolan on his offer. "It began after I was forced to say goodbye to Dantius at the Vornu Jedi temple, when he needed to make a journey of self-discovery. His travels took him to Voss and a couple other worlds, relating them in a fashion that persuaded the Council of the time to Knight him. I, meanwhile stayed until a being that ate Force-sensitives for nutrition came, forcing the planet under quarantine," Inoy began.
"So it ate people like you for its nutrition? Gross!" Menelaus replied, suddenly becoming as interested as any other child.
"Yes, well, I was separated from the main evacuation force and ended up in the Outer Rim. My travels took me to a world called Oba Diah, which was the capital of the Pyke Syndicate at the time. I was about to board a shuttle that would hopefully take me back to the Core Worlds after the rest of my group failed to even make it. The ship was crashed by the Pykes when they came looking for me and for the price that had been recently put on Hyperion's head. There was also a Weequay named Seth al Ugolio who was a reluctant companion to Hyperion at the time and would turn on him later on but that's a whole other story. After we were downed, we fought our way back up and I even got captured during the chaos," Inoy continued.
He loved the look on Menelaus' face as he explained the story of how he had met Hyperion and why he thought him a good man. "It should've ended right there and by the will of the Force, it would have if Hyperion had not felt a bit of remorse and decided to rescue me. He even fought an Imperial Inquisitor whilst Seth fought off his two apprentices and when it was done, I was safe. But Seth made things worse by killing the leader of the Pyke Syndicate, whose son then vowed revenge on us and placed a bounty on all our heads," he added, a moment later. Clearing his throat and drinking the kind of saltwater that nourished him on his homeworld before continuing.
"When we arrived to Nar Shaddaa, we were attacked by all manner of bounty hunters until we finally met a rival of the Inquisitor Hyperion had killed. We fought him but he made an offer before fighting us: Hyperion and Seth could join him upon killing me or they would both die. Hyperion refused and even fought the two of them single-handedly. Seth was defeated, the Sith Lord was killed, and I met my former Master Aria Tethys. Hyperion even taught me a few martial arts moves in the Echani style which reminds me, he'd probably want me to teach them to you too if he were here," Inoy offered.
If Menelaus was lit up before, he was exploding with excitement now and begged for the chance to learn the Echani martial arts he'd seen his foster father use on the Twi'lek Havoc Squad soldier. So Inoy asked him to try and punch him so that he could demonstrate one of the first moves that Hyperion ever taught him when training him in martial arts. When Menelaus was finally willing to punch him, Inoy swiped a hand across and twisted it so that he could then demonstrate the next move. He pretended to press his palm so that he slammed into the boy's chest and throat with his hand, even going as far as to say "pop" when he made the blow.
"That was one of the very first tactics your father ever showed me for a basic punch. He showed me one for knives, blaster pistols, even for dealing with guys in the kind of armor you saw that soldier wearing when he attacked your dad at your house. Pretty neat, huh?" Inoy asked. The pilot soon let him know that they were nearing Coruscant's atmosphere and that he would be entering the clearance code they were given by the Council before they left Dantooine. From there, the Nautolan thanked him and then offered to continue teaching him martial arts.
"Just tell me why you even care. Hyperion is a Sith Warrior, one of the sworn enemies of your Order. Under any other circumstances, you two would have been crossing blades with each other," Menelaus asked. Inoy took a heavy breath and thought about that carefully before speaking.
"If I tell you the answer, can you promise me one thing?" Inoy asked the young Zabrak. Menelaus nodded and asked for him to explain what it was he wanted the boy to promise him before he spoke.
"Be good to the foster mother that I'm taking you to. She's a great technician and mathematical genius but she needs a strong pair of hands for some of her tech. Think you could promise me to do that, Menelaus? I know this transition to the life of Coruscant is going to be shocking and maybe even overwhelming beyond comprehension. But just like how you lost your father and everything you've known, she's lost her husband and daughter along with almost everything she's ever known, you two have a lot of common ground you can bond over," Inoy told him.
Menelaus thought it over and decided he would finally accept the promise that Inoy was asking him to make. "Does she... does she help people like me a lot?" Menelaus asked.
"She's had about three or four other foster children since she had her sight surgically restored by Dantius. He paid for the operation in return for the work her husband had done for him as his Jedi Master on Vornu, it was truly a touching story to hear. Bottom line is, she's worked with kids like you who have known nothing, have had nothing, and raised some upstanding citizens before. I think you're going to like her as she will undoubtedly like you when you two meet," Inoy explained.
"And I did sometimes admit to Hyperion that I did wish I had a mother to call my own. My real one was dead when I was about a standard month old so I've never known what it's like to have someone to call mom. Thank you, Inoy. For everything," Menelaus said, finally letting the tears he'd been holding back flow forth.
The Nautolan Jedi took him into a warm embrace and held his head against his chest while he sobbed. This is exactly what the work of the Jedi is all about. Helping the needy and holding sobbing children close while they unburden themselves Inoy thought silently. When they arrived, Menelaus was finished and just in time because Inoy commed Asya to let her know that they had arrived to Coruscant.
They would also be landing in her private landing pad in her technological castle estate of machines, and other gadgets. When they arrived, Asya K'tani was very excited to see them both.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"You must be Menelaus, the Zabrak that Inoy was telling me about. It is such a delight to meet you, why don't I show you around my house and let you see where your room is?" offered Asya. Menelaus was much too taken aback by the sights of Coruscant to really debate her, though he was thankful he had visited Dantooine first and seen the cities there before he came here. Inoy followed behind and it wasn't long before Asya figured out that he wanted to talk to her about some serious business related to the Order.
"Okay, your friend has some business with me so how about I just introduce you to the main hall and the dining room. Then I'll take you up to your room and you can get settled in while he and I discuss whatever's on his mind," Asya offered after a moment. Menelaus couldn't wait to see anything and everything there was to see in this residence, having never been around so much luxury in his life before. He really is from an ice world to be so excited at all this material wealth I've accumulated from my inheritance Asya observed grimly. After about another hour or so, she showed him to his quarters and then stepped into a private chamber where Inoy waited for her.
She extended him a cup of saltwater which he gladly took, having deprived himself since leaving Dantooine. "You got something on your mind, old friend?" Asya asked as she sat down with a cup of tea as well.
"Yes, it is about the boy I'm entrusting into your care. Before I begin, how much did your husband tell you about Revan and the one known to history as the Jedi Exile?" Inoy asked to start things off. Asya thought about it carefully as she finished the cup of tea in her hands before replying to his question. Setting down the cup and the saucer, she then looked at the Nautolan and made her most honest reply.
"Mathes used to prattle on and on about Revan, his admiration for the man, and the stratagems he used to win battles," she admitted.
"Did he ever speak of the woman who became known to the public records as the Jedi Exile and her exploits against the Sith Triumvirate? Or was that something he never knew about when he was one of Revan's lieutenants in his old life?" Inoy asked. Mathes had actually been born in the decades before the Mandalorian Wars to a family of prestige but had been frozen in carbonite by a Dark Jedi enemy of his that he managed to mortally wound beforehand. Unthawed in another century, Mathes had adjusted as best he could and offered his insights about anything and everything of context to the life of Revan.
Fortunately for Inoy, as he was about to find out, this did include more than a mouthful or so about the Jedi Exile known then as Meetra Surik. "He did mention that she always shadowed Revan that she felt whole whenever she was with him. It wasn't a romantic love she felt for him, more like an older brother letting his sister take part in something grander than both of them. I know that when he left, she had been cut off from the Force and exiled for a time before it was revealed her power actually manifested as a wound in the Force. But that is all I can really tell you about the one that history calls the Jedi Exile," Asya admitted to him.
"I ask you this question because I have reason to believe that Menelaus may have been born a wound in the Force, like the kind she was. You and the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order will be the only ones to know and the information cannot be mass distributed until I know for sure. But when we went to Dathomir, before I fought the Sith acolytes that attacked us, there was a painting on the wall where I saw what looked like Darth Verrin's concubine giving birth to a void in the Force itself. Knowing the nature of such power, it's possible that the reason Menelaus' potential has never been discovered is because he has never been given a chance to feed off the Force itself," Inoy said.
"But Meetra never consciously fed on it where Nihilus needed to do it to survive, Mathes told me as much. Both were wounds in the Force that could siphon the energy of living things to survive or grow strong but Meetra was never dependent on it as Nihilus was," Asya pointed out.
"If the Force be willing, Menelaus will turn out to be the same way but it is possible that this connection is why Verrin so adamantly pursued his son. He didn't cast him out or anything similar but rather, intended to turn his son into the same kind of weapon that Nihilus had been. That or learn the power for himself so that he could defeat the Jedi Order and live forever, only further study of the mural I found could reveal the answer. I'll also need to return to the Jedi Temple to request an alphabet of the ancient Sith language so deciphering can be made possible. So if I should return to take the boy to the temple in the next little while, that will be why I have come, just wanted you to understand," Inoy said.
Asya let her head fall in thought, on the one hand glad she might actually have a Force-sensitive in tow. But on the other, the fact he was potentially a wound in the Force meant that catastrophic results awaited the galaxy if he was made aware of his gift prematurely. "Let's say that your suspicion is correct, wouldn't Verrin have tried to stop his mother when she fled with him? For that matter, do you think she might have been on her way to turn him over to the Jedi when she died?" Asya inquired.
"It's not unlikely. In fact, it's my primary suspicion for why Verrin shot down her ship: he figured a weapon falling into enemy hands such as that was a weapon best destroyed. The only thing I can't understand about it is how Menelaus' powers couldn't manifest if he is one," Inoy said.
"Unless the energy he did siphon as a baby was how he survived long enough for Hyperion to find him," Asya suggested. Inoy nodded, believing that to be the most sensible possibility when he thought about it a bit more. Then he thanked her for her time, made sure Menelaus would never hear about what he possibly was before it was known for sure, then left. He had much to think about before he returned to Dantooine, presumably to deliver the same speech to the Grandmaster that he had given to Asya.
The Nautolan also had to ponder what to do if Verrin came for him because if Inoy suspected this much, odds were the Sith Lord would begin to think so as well if he still remained in this plane of existence. Something also told him that he hadn't heard the last of the Sith disciples like the ones who'd attacked him and Menelaus. It was when he thought about the attack that he wondered if Menelaus had to be told his power to draw upon dead Force-sensitives. Was it possible that his power only manifested with knowledge of its existence which would explain how Inoy hadn't sensed him using the ability of Force drain?
He also had to make a call to Polydeuces, informing him that he had been officially recommended for return to Padawan status. Since the two of them had separated, he hadn't been able to get a hold of him with Polydeuces fuming about being left out of the mission. Havoc Squad was also somewhat livid but they knew the legalities of the system they worked for and knew better than to contend with the wishes of their own superiors. He would also need to capture him if he had continued to search for Hyperion even with being recommended to return to Dantius' apprenticeship.
Worst of all, it might be necessary to trade lightsaber blows with him in order to bring him down, should he be so entranced with this mission that he can't otherwise be stopped. But his first order of business was to first return to Dantooine and inform the Grandmaster of his revelation about Menelaus' power. He needed to persuade him to let him study the writing of the Sith so that he could decipher the message on the walls he saw so that he could confirm what he suspected in the illustrations. Because he knew that if he could persuade the Grandmaster of the magnitude of having someone born a wound in the Force, he knew the Jedi might have the greatest weapon for eliminating the Sith that they'd ever found.
If he could be trained to use his power against the wielders of the Dark Side, they also had an intimidation method for discouraging pursuit into the Dark Side. Though he hated the idea of Menelaus being used for this fashion, there were some things the Council had already ordered done which were far more questionable than his own ideas. If Menelaus truly was a wound, all Inoy wanted was for him to be the reason the Jedi could bargain with the Sith from a position of strength. There was, of course, just one problem with his plan if it turned out that Menelaus could wield the Force in like fashion.
The very moment Menelaus' ability was used for the first time, Verrin would more than likely sense it. How in the universe was he going to protect Menelaus once Verrin knew that his biological son had manifested powers? On top of that, wouldn't Hyperion also sense it and decide to do something about it, given that he raised Menelaus for eleven years? So many questions and not quite enough time to find out the answers to all of them, not even the ones about whether or not Menelaus was truly a wound in the Force.
And there was something else, when Meetra Surik was alive, the Council had been fortunate that she was willing to look for another chance when her connection returned. Had she been interested in revenge, she would've been little better than Darth Nihilus himself. What was to stop Menelaus from becoming another Nihilus when he realized his power? And why did Inoy sense now that the Prison Ring no longer held a specter within it? Too many questions and not enough time to start answering them before the answers would destroy the Jedi Order.
