Chapter Thirty-Two

Shortly after the duel with Hyperion, Polydeuces had deactivated his lightsaber and decided to reevaluate how he was approaching this enigma of the Sith warrior. Here was a man clearly of the Dark Side who sought absolution for the things that he had done. A man who sought amnesty for the graveyards he filled, the families he destroyed, the animals he butchered. And worst of all, he was getting the absolution he so longed for in every single case just because there were worse men that he'd led the Jedi to!

He couldn't believe he was saying this but he needed help. His first mission as a Jedi Knight and he already needed help from outside sources. And as if sympathizing with his cause, the Force seemed to reward his desire to see Hyperion destroyed. Because a young human woman manifested with a Weequay bodyguard who, unlike other bodyguards, carried two lightsabers at his belt. "Hello young Jedi, I am Morgause daughter of Patricia Brilliante and Hyperion Algethii.

"Or rather I should say, the unwilling rape child of those two and just my luck that I am not Force-sensitive. This Weequay in my company is Seth al Ugolio, once a companion and ally to Hyperion who now seeks his destruction as I do," the woman said. Polydeuces regarded the woman with suspicion, why in the universe would she want to help a Jedi and a Dark Jedi destroy a fallen Sith Warrior? He sensed she wasn't of the Force which explained why she couldn't do it herself but why was it these people?

"You sound like you wish to offer me a place at your side, helping this Weequay destroy Hyperion. What do you gain from it?" Polydeuces asked.

"First off, my only aim for the moment is to capture my father so that I may interrogate him. Once I have what I need to know from him, I will kill him myself: slowly and painfully. Second, did you have a better idea in mind for defeating him? I imagine you weren't doing so well on your own or else you wouldn't be in this situation," Morgause replied. Polydeuces bit back what he was about to say when she observed that he wasn't doing the greatest job of fighting Hyperion on his own.

"I know where he's headed, I managed to splice into his ship's navicomputer for the coordinates to their next two destinations. It looks like Hyperion is booked only for as far as Ando Prime which is consistent with where my team originally found him," Polydeuces told her.

"Then that is where we will go. Seth, gather our forces and tell them we set for Ando Prime. My father will not escape me this time, he will be made to face up to what he did to my mother and denying my aunt Morgana her retribution. And we came prepared as well, our men are armed purely with slugthrowers so there's no chance he can deflect our fire with his lightsaber. We also have nets known to bind Jedi Masters and we even have darts that have been known to dull rancors within seconds. More, we have numbers on our side and therefore can cover more ground at the same distance Hyperion can, there'll be nowhere for him to hide," Morgause said.

"The troops will draw him out where we can confront him ourselves then ensure his capture from there. Nothing that a few explosives in the forests can't solve if push comes to shove. You coming with us?" Seth added. He bore the scars of his run-ins with Jedi and Sith alike, that much Polydeuces could tell. Chiefest among these scars were slash marks across the right side of his face from where he'd likely taken a saberstaff there.

He also bore a bulky mechanical left arm from where a lightsaber had severed the original appendage from his body. "Quit your gawking and answer my question, kid! Are you joining us or not?" the Weequay said after a moment.

"Yes, of course, sorry. Let's hope Master Octavian doesn't catch word of this," Polydeuces admitted.

"Master Octavian? Like Dantius Octavian?" Seth inquired.

"You know him? He was my master when I was a Padawan," Polydeuces asked.

"He cut off my arm in our first duel. How funny that his former Padawan should be fighting beside me against his brother, eh?" Seth replied before clapping his shoulder with his right hand. Then he whistled to some nearby mercenaries who at once materialized and secured the area for their employers. Polydeuces recognized the banner of these people, knew them for the killers they were famed for being the minute he saw them.

Morgause wasn't kidding when she said she had a plan for taking down her father, this much was clear. But what he had to wonder was if Hyperion was going to anticipate a group attack on his homeworld and prepare accordingly. On Ando Prime, Hyperion would have the home advantage with familiarity of the terrain and his experience taking down killers like these men. The moment they opened fire and revealed they were carrying slugthrowers, Polydeuces knew that he was going to be changing tactics to deal with it. Once he saw that Seth al Ugolio and Polydeuces were teaming up to take him down, tactics would change even more so that he could isolate them then destroy them.

But Polydeuces had a feeling that keeping things to himself would be of greater benefit to him than revealing it to Morgause. Besides, he didn't fully trust her or her caravan just yet so he needed to maintain some cards he could play on them in case she tried to dupe him at all. Plus, Seth was armed with a grudge more than fifteen years old and a pair of lightsabers that he had similar levels of experience wielding. If he could somehow use them to weaken Hyperion first then somehow take the credit for capturing him, his conduct would be considered less treasonous to the Jedi Order.

It would also prove he wasn't worthy of being demoted back to Padawan status by the will of the Council, that he could in fact function just fine without his old Master. That he could function without the aid even of the scared older Nautolan Inoy Llimetch who'd held him back on this mission. So as he boarded Morgause's transport, he decided it would be good to see if he could learn a little more about this most unusual character. She wasn't Force-sensitive yet she had the wealth and strategic ability to take the battle to any Force-sensitive she chose.

Additionally, she mentioned an aunt named Morgana which made him wonder if she was related to the Sith witch initially called Morgana before becoming Darth Minshuto. It lined up just right and the fact that Seth was carrying one of Darth Minshuto's lightsabers meant that he was either a participant in her death or had been involved in some way. He decided to finally take Inoy's advice about sizing up and researching an enemy before attacking in order that he might examine these ones rather than take their word that they were dependable. "Morgause, you said your aunt was Morgana... not by any chance the same Morgana who became the Dark Lady Darth Minshuto before the end of the war?" Polydeuces asked.

"The very one, why do you ask?" Morgause replied.

"Because I heard what was said about her death, that her own Dark Side power internalized and ripped her apart when she failed to perform a feat of alchemy. Is that the story you have known?" Polydeuces inquired.

"It was a feat of Sith alchemy meant to draw Hyperion's soul from his body wherever he was at in the galaxy. But it failed when a strike team of Jedi defeated Seth, bypassed the resources she had taken command of, and even defeated her most prized apprentice. When this said apprentice then fled for Imperial Space and Seth came back to Taris to retrieve me, they destroyed enough of the artifacts she'd amassed for her ritual that the power consumed her. Among the Jedi on the strike team were your former Master Dantius and his former lover Ashlynn Thorin as well as ex-Jedi Knight Coventry Despereaux. That is all you need know about what happened to my aunt for the time being, shall we jump into hyperspace for Mon Gazza then Ando Prime beyond?" she explained, making the order to jump with her ending question.

As the void of lightspeed consumed their view of the cosmos, Polydeuces thought carefully about what the girl had said. Where he was standing, she couldn't have been more than her early twenties but had far too much money to worry about legal guardians. Not when she had a bodyguard like Seth and mercenaries at her disposal amongst other servants. Yet there was still a hint of something guarded in her voice whenever she spoke of her aunt or any member of her family for that matter. Curious, he decided to find out just how successful she'd been in killing other Force-sensitives.

"Will Hyperion be your first Force-sensitive claim or have your men killed others before?" Polydeuces asked.

"The mercenaries here have all taken Jedi and Sith heads alike before, especially when the war escalated in the wake of Zakuul's destruction. Seth has killed Jedi, by and large, but he has had to claim the lives of a few Imperial Sith on occasion. Only I have never been against another Force-sensitive before," Morgause told him. Now, everything was beginning to add up: Seth and the mercenaries might have had experience in destroying Force-sensitives but she herself didn't. And he couldn't help but notice the slightest twinge of fear and uncertainty in her voice, despite her confidence in the victory that was to come from their alliance. Information he intended to exploit for his gain later on, if he had to but otherwise he filed away in his mind's depths.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Inoy knew he had to intercept Polydeuces once he heard the news that the young human had been in contact with the reclusive youthful financier Morgause and her company. Apparently, she had struck a deal where he would join her merry band which included a scarred Weequay with a left mechanical arm and in return, they would together ensure Hyperion's defeat. The Weequay was someone Inoy already knew from the description to be Seth al Ugolio, his nemesis from when he'd traveled the stars with Hyperion as a Padawan. If the Nautolan went back to Ando Prime, it would mean settling his old scores with the Weequay and dealing with whatever other perils awaited him.

He'd also read into Morgause's past, learning of her inheritance from her grandparents, mother, and her aunt. Worst of all, he'd also learned that her mother had produced her out of a rape and considering she was chasing Hyperion it was easy to see who the rapist was. It was also easy to see that she wanted revenge against Hyperion because of what happened to her mother. So it looked like all the remaining pieces of the Sith Warrior's old life were converging in one place and Polydeuces was at the center of it.

He reported as much back to the Grandmaster who had been hoping to speak with him on the matter of Menelaus and the nature of his connection to the Force. Even so, when these reports came back, the Grandmaster took what might have been considered extreme action with anyone else. "Jedi Knight Polydeuces is a traitor to the Order and to the Republic. He has chosen to forswear his obligation to peace and justice in favor of chasing a man whose record has now been completely cleaned. Therefore, he is to be brought in if possible or else he is to be killed in battle," said the Grandmaster.

The war was still fresh on the minds of the Jedi Order and any trace of the Dark Side that could be eliminated had to be. Therefore, Inoy knew what the job sometimes entailed before he even had to go to Ando Prime. "When I return, I still want to have that conversation about the boy I discovered on Bandomeer. I believe what I have uncovered about him may yet affect the Jedi Order in profound ways that we've yet to begin examining," Inoy told him.

The old Grandmaster nodded and assured Inoy that there would be time yet for that conversation that he had promised about Menelaus. "Although I must wonder why we couldn't have it over comm?" asked the old human.

"Let me give you a hint of what I suspect to be true. When I was looking at the illustrations and reading what little of the writing I understood, there was a name on the wall attributed to what I suspect is Menelaus. Lord Verrin had called his newborn son Surik, sound familiar?" Inoy replied.

"I believe it does but allow me some time to look it up in the archives in case I misunderstood you. It should take enough time for you to reach Ando Prime and complete your new mission," the Grandmaster reluctantly admitted. Inoy could sense a certain sadness wafting off him like he had expected great things of Polydeuces only to be so greatly disappointed by him. To be fair, Inoy couldn't blame him: they'd both seen the horrors the Sith were capable of and had hoped beyond hope that the end of the war would be the end of this sort of darkness. But as the Dark Side always lived on even when the Light had prevailed, neither could expect its influence to diminish too quickly.

"If I cannot bring him in, do I help Hyperion? This is assuming Polydeuces and his new friends have attacked Hyperion by this time," Inoy inquired.

"Yes, Hyperion's records have been cleared and if need be, he has our permission to kill the traitor. He will not be held liable for anything that happens to Polydeuces from this point forward, provided he doesn't interfere with the procurement of his body. If nothing else, we can bring it back to give Dantius closure on the subject of his former Padawan, should Polydeuces be killed," the Grandmaster replied, approving Inoy's request. The Nautolan nodded and thanked him for the news that he would be allowed to help Hyperion.

He was even more grateful that Hyperion finally been pardoned of his crimes against the Jedi Order. This meant he now had a completely cleaned record and could afford to start again once he drove off these lasts shards of his past deeds. So as Inoy watched the void of blue-white fire marking lightspeed swallow everything, he evaluated his situation. The mercenaries that accompanied Morgause typically wielded slugthrowers so that they could battle against Force-sensitives such as Hyperion and himself. This meant that he would have to rely on Hyperion's tactical knowledge of Ando Prime in order to be of any assistance.

As for lightsaber skills, Hyperion brought expertise (at minimum) in all seven of the forms. His specialties lied in Juyo, Makashi, and some elements of Soresu that allowed him to then counterattack in accordance with Djem So. Inoy on the other hand only really brought in mastery of Soresu, some skills in Shien and Makashi, with definite expertise in Jar'Kai and Niman. In truth, he didn't feel like he added much but that was until he realized that if there was a way for him to take to the water while Hyperion took to the surface, there could be an added advantage for them. If there was only some way to warn Hyperion of the onslaught that awaited him when he returned to Ando Prime, now.

Hyperspace communication wasn't the greatest so far and the technology was slow to develop. Instead, he would need to see if he could reach Mon Gazza and warn him of the onslaught before it arrived to Ando Prime, it could give him the time he needed to lend help. It was from there that he intended to see what he could do about reaching out to Polydeuces to warn him of what had been decided by the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. If he could use that leverage to persuade him to come back and face trial then he could prevent much of what he knew would happen before it could.

But something told him that Polydeuces was going to be too hard headed to be reasoned with. Too stubborn to listen, his slip into the Dark Side would be complete the more time he spent around Seth al Ugolio. That brought up another issue, how to divide Polydeuces from Seth al Ugolio so that Hyperion wasn't overwhelmed by their onslaught. Individually, both would fall before him but their combined skill (especially if he was slowed down by drugs or blaster bolts) could defeat him.

Once he arrived to Mon Gazza, he tried to reach Polydeuces via comlink to inform him of the Grandmaster's decision. But he suspected that Polydeuces' comlink was destroyed because he couldn't even raise the frequency, much less reach him. Most likely, he knew that he was about to become a traitor to the Republic and to the Jedi Order thus destroyed it. This meant that the signal couldn't be traced in the space that the Republic controlled unless he made a credit purchase. Combine that with his funds being limited and prone to being cut off when they were on the Republic payroll, all the worse for him.

Then he decided to reach out to Hyperion, to see if he could warn him about the incoming onslaught before him. He couldn't raise him either, making this an impossible situation for him whether he liked to admit it or not. So it was that he paid for his ship to be refueled for the short jumps to and from Ando then contemplated how he was going to find Hyperion. He could feel him in the Force, he'd been on the planet Mon Gazza recently and so he knew he wasn't far on his trail.

Unfortunately, he could also sense the combined presences of Polydeuces and Seth al Ugolio which meant that Morgause and her mercs weren't far behind. So time was short and if Inoy intended to be the help that Hyperion needed him to be, he needed to move and fast. He had barely paid for his fuel before he was on the move once more and headed for the cold tundra world that had seen this journey begin. And Inoy was going to be needing dry layers once he returned from any underwater endeavor he attempted to aid Hyperion in destroying his enemies.

He would also need to waterproof his lightsaber or make sure that it was sufficiently waterproofed already so that he could ignite it below their foes' feet. Otherwise, the tactic was doomed to failure from the start and Hyperion would be gunned down before Inoy could really help him. Then he himself would likely be killed for helping Hyperion and left in the cold to freeze as yet another corpse the world tended to hide.

He needed an alternative plan for getting out of that situation or if there was no water available for that kind of two-way attack that he knew would help Hyperion for certain. But that also meant he would have to be quick with any stratagem he had in mind once he was underwater. Seth wasn't going to just wait around and let him finish cutting the ice beneath his feet or something similar. Plus, there was still the matter of those forty mercenary troops that would be joining the two Force-sensitives in descending to that world.

And the matter of arresting Morgause when the time came for that to occur, as she was conducting a dangerous criminal activity that was highly illegal under Republic law. All in the name for revenge against the father who forced himself on her mother, conceiving the child in a fit of spiteful rage. Oh Hyperion, why did you have to be so lawless when you were my age? Look at what's happening now that you're older and you have sufficiently settled down for people to decide they want you dead the young Jedi thought as he plugged in the coordinates for the trip to Ando Prime.