Chapter Three
When Hyperion replenished his arsenal, he fully expected to find dozens of Mustafar Devils waiting for him. Soon as he found none, he knew there was more to this than Morgana might have wanted him to believe. "What treachery is this?" Hyperion asked, thinking aloud more than anything. With thermal detonators, a knife, two blaster rifles, a spear, nets, an ax, his lightsabers, wrist blades, and shurikens packed up in conjunction to his shield, he began his inquiry. Picking up the trail of the Devils of Mustafar was easy enough since their homeworld's volcanic environment made them expert at hiding in the dark but not very gifted at hiding in daylight snow.
In fact, Hyperion was beginning to think that the only reason they were so widely feared was because they used weapons capable of killing full-trained Jedi in the dark of night. That way, by morning, any traces of them that they might have left behind would be faded by the daylight and the factors it brought with it. Fighting in the actual daylight itself proved to be their disadvantage as well as what happened when someone who saw their weapons brought the shields that could deflect them better than lightsabers ever could. But when he saw absolutely no trace of their ships anywhere near the mountains, he was baffled by the sight. "There's no way Morgana simply gave up: if she found me here, she will hound me to the ends of the cosmos in trying to kill me," Hyperion thought aloud.
Something was wrong about this whole thing and he didn't even have the slightest clue how he would begin to find out. That was when he received a transmission at a frequency he'd never seen before in his life, one that was Republic in origin but restricted. Curious, he answered it in the off chance that maybe it was Morgana telling him what it was she decided to do. His disappointment would've been visible to anyone witnessing when it wasn't her voice that spoke.
"Hyperion Algethii, you have been selected for an off-the-books mission by the Jedi Order. Meet our ambassador on Nelvaan in three weeks' time if you're interested in learning more about the precise nature of the mission. Failure to attend will be taken as a sign of disinterest and content with a life on the run," said the man on the other side. Or at least, what sounded like a man after the modulation was accounted for but could very easily have been a woman's voice. Still, the last time he had heard a classified Republic frequency, it'd been the Jedi Council trying to recruit him for a classified mercenary mission.
It was also the best way to find out if Morgana had simply asked a contact in Republic military to send the message as a trap as well. So, with no alternative, he gathered his arsenal, packed a few necessary provisions, and booked himself a trip to Nelvaan (or as close as the pilot could go), leaving Ando for what he hoped would be the last time. Apart from having little reason left, he admittedly realized he didn't like to stay put in one place too long, understanding that now to be the reason for his disgruntlement about staying here, six years ago. He'd stayed, he understood, only because Menelaus knew nothing else and was perfectly content to have waited until he was much older to begin traveling. Now that his adopted Zabrak son was gone, Hyperion had no true reason to stay put anymore.
And as he traveled to Nelvaan, his thoughts sometimes went back to his son, went back to leaving him in the protection of the Jedi on Coruscant. Inoy was a Nautolan man of his word, Hyperion knew that even when they met during Inoy's tenure as a Jedi Padawan. He knew that if Inoy promised to protect Menelaus from Hyperion's enemies, he'd do so with his life. Hell, Inoy had technically committed treason in letting Hyperion go so that Menelaus could have a new home.
But something about the arrangement, something Hyperion couldn't quite explain, unsettled him. He had been able to move on well enough to continue to distract his enemies with himself as bait after he left his son in Inoy's care. But thinking about the fun times he had raising his son, the laughter and smiles the kid had shown during his infancy and toddler years... struck home with the former Sith. Parting with him, as Hyperion found out the closer he got to Nelvaan, had felt as painful in his heart as tearing a mechanical arm had been when he had needed to do so on Nar Shaddaa, following his duel with Seth and Lord Ishido. Growling under his breath at this epiphany, he chided himself for the sins of his youth as he knew they had been the reason this was even happening to him: he had nobody to blame for these feelings but himself.
Missing your son, aren't you? You weren't nearly this remorseful when you led me to your parents said a familiar voice. Then, after a moment, it continued by saying, You have grown weak in your exile, grandson. Hyperion clutched his head with his artificial limb, trying to rub out the voice as if it were a pain in his head.
"Get out of my head, grandfather. I am not yours to command anymore," Hyperion snarled.
Don't you remember, Hyperion? Your cousin destroyed me when I failed to transfer my consciousness into his body. In words you'd said while you were being chased by Morgana's mercenaries, I am not real taunted the specter. Hyperion knew the specter was right, knew that he has been right to say his grandfather had been destroyed when his cousin overcame him in a battle of wills.
In a last ditch effort to avert the prophecy of his fate, Lord Crassus had transferred his consciousness into his Hyperion's cousin, hoping to destroy him by taking over his body then conquering the galaxy. But when Christopher Algethii's will proved stronger than Crassus' the more ancient Sith Lord was no more. Hyperion could think of only one way, however, that Crassus might have prepared for his destruction and begin his return even from the oblivion usually promised to those who failed the process of essence transfer. If Crassus had somehow planted seedlings of his power within both Hyperion and Dantius, he could pick and choose which one he wanted to use to raise himself from the dead. It was similar to how Emperor Vitiate was alleged to have possessed a wide number of beings in his thirteen-hundred years of life before the Outlander (also the Hero of Tython) had destroyed him as Valkorion.
If Crassus was doing that, then Hyperion was determined to stop him from doing so until he knew he didn't need to worry anymore. At least until he knew his son was going to be safe no matter what happened to him, Hyperion would hold out and make sure Crassus didn't win. Do you wonder about this mission, why there might be a restricted code from a Republic channel? Why after all these years, the Republic is contacting you on a channel only top ranking military officials and the Jedi tend to use? Crassus taunted.
"There are a couple of reasons. One of them being that Morgana had a contact in the military with access to the frequency. In return for the bounty on my head, should they capture me, she'll finally have her revenge against me. Could also be a trap the Jedi are setting up to ensnare us," Hyperion said. Crassus chuckled, a sound that Hyperion hadn't heard since his childhood when Crassus would usually do that in prelude to torturing him for failure in training.
Oh ye of little faith in the galaxy and its inhabitants, Hyperion Corialanus Algethii, son of Caius Marcius Algethii II Crassus taunted. The last time that Hyperion had heard Crassus refer to him that way it had been because Hyperion had failed a critical mission. At that point, Crassus had been so angry that he tortured his grandson for nearly half a standard year before he calmed. Hearing it again, as Crassus probably intended in that moment, reminded Hyperion of that bygone agony and agitated him further.
"Never call me that again, grandfather! Or I will destroy you before you have a chance to take me over," Hyperion promised.
Such a big threat from someone who felt small without the Dark Side in his youth. Why do you think I am resurfacing in your life? Crassus asked.
"Because you would have me become the monster I once was so that I may better serve your purposes," Hyperion snarled.
Once again, you are of little faith in the will of the Force, Hyperion. In return for sparing me, I offer you the power to reshape your destiny however you wish Crassus thought.
"If you need me to spare you, how powerful can you truly make me?" Hyperion asked.
It's up to you to find out, my boy. We should be nearing Nelvaan in the next little while, I think you'll like it: it's less frigid than Ando but the natives have had more to eat Crassus told him.
"You speak as if you've been there," Hyperion inquired subtly.
Indeed I have, it was one of the first worlds I visited when I came into Known Space after the destruction of the Algethiius Empire in the Unknown Regions. I know how to speak the native tongue, thanks to my squalor there and can help you in that regard if you let me Crassus offered.
"I will let you aid me, provided you do me one favor," Hyperion finally decided, pondering the benefits of having this other personality within him. When the specter of his grandfather told him to speak, he did just that. "Leave me the kriffing hell alone whenever I ask for it, like now," Hyperion said.
Done, my boy Crassus said, growing silent with one last chuckle that sent ripples through Hyperion's mind. Then he was left behind just in time to hear the PA state that he had arrived.
Chapter Four
Hyperion arrived to Nelvaan and activated his comm so that he could access the coordinates of the meeting spot. Thankfully, he wasn't that far off from them as well as from a settlement where he could acquire supplies during any wait he might have before returning to the rest of the galaxy. The specter of Hyperion's grandfather had thankfully chosen to remain silent, perhaps honoring a bargain for the first time in his nearly two centuries of life. Hyperion was fully prepared for this cold, having learned a trick or two about ice planets from his tenure on Ando. Now, all there was to do was wait for whoever had commed him on that frequency he'd detected though he didn't hold much hope that it was anything other than an agent of Morgana's.
It seemed like the kind of thing she would do and though she'd been initially slow to do so, he knew enough about her to know that she would wise up when she failed again and again. Finding the coordinates, he realized, had been the easy part: watching the ship that transported him ascend and leave him behind was turning out to be the most surprising. But the most difficult part was keeping still, not knowing what predators were native to this land and what threats he could expect from the native Nelvaanians. But fortunately, he didn't have long to wait before he was commed again by the same frequency.
"Have you arrived?" asked the voice on the other side.
"See for yourself if you can," replied Hyperion. As soon as he terminated the transmission, he saw something that looked like a bird at first then became a ship as it edged its way closer. From what he could make of it, it couldn't have fit more than half a dozen personnel and the presence of a powerful Jedi on board was unmistakable. But there was also something familiar about this Jedi presence, a call from his past that he had all but forgotten in his exile on Ando. He wondered if the vision he'd had at on his homeworld was going to come to pass now, a plausibility at this point as much as not.
Sure enough, the transport shot at him as he had seen in the vision and he dodged it in accordance with the will of the Force described in the vision. When the ship landed, he readied his lightsabers, figuring they were the only weapons that would prove a match for whoever emerged from the transport. As his visions showed, a single figure emerged from the transport, hidden within the traditional brown cloak of the Jedi Order even if it was the only thing traditional about his attire. Beneath was a suit of armor that, for reasons he couldn't understand, reminded him of the armor Crassus used to wear when he ruled over Algethiius. As he ignited his purple and yellow blades, he cried out the most logical question that he could ask in this situation.
"Who are you!?" he shouted, his lightsabers at the ready should there be an attack. Instead, the man before him merely unclipped a lightsaber of his own and ignited a lime-green blade. Just as his visions predicted, he recognized the man before him as soon as the blade was ignited. The man's beard was somewhat greyed like his hair but otherwise it was black as the darkest night, his eyes as green as the blade, and his figure slightly taller than Hyperion's. "Didn't figure you for the type to spring traps, brother," Hyperion said, keeping his lightsabers ready in case there was going to be a fight.
Dantius chuckled at the remark and deactivated his own blade, clipping it to his belt as he began to speak. "I didn't necessarily set a trap but I needed to find out if your reflexes were dulled by the years in exile. Imagine how happy I must be that I see you haven't lost your knack for sensing danger," Dantius retorted. Hyperion deactivated his own blades and clipped them back to his belt, figuring he could reach the pistols long before Dantius could mount any kind of parry effort against him. Plus, they were slugthrowers so the court would be in Hyperion's favor as far as advantageous duel weapons were concerned.
"To what end? You usually took less initiative to kill me than I did you in our youth. Have you suddenly developed an appetite for my blood?" Hyperion snarled under his breath. Crassus' specter praised him telepathically for his words but Hyperion kept any comment he had on the subject of praise from his grandfather to himself. Dantius' answer, however, was a little more baffling than he had originally anticipated it being when he came here.
"The Republic won't approve an expedition to conquer the Sith remnants unless they can assure its citizens of a swift victory and quick destruction. On the Council Jedi Knight Inoy Llimetch vouched for having you act as a double-agent for us and frankly, I agree," Dantius explained.
"You lost me," Hyperion admitted. Actually, he hadn't but there was no need for Dantius to know that. He was simply hoping he could get more elaboration about the kind of game Dantius wanted to play with the last champions of the Dark Side.
"If a Jedi were to come and say they defected, they'd be regarded with more suspicion and would have to start at the bottom to prove themselves. By the time we got any valuable information, such personnel would be corrupted to the Dark Side and we would have to make an extraction mission with intent to purify the individual we sent. On the other hand, if we send someone already trained in the Dark Side and acquainted with the subtleties of Sith life, their integration into the chain of command is more feasible. Of course, for the sake of complete legality, the Jedi aren't allowed to oversee this mission: off the books, it's a mission of the Republic military though you will be in contact with me if you agree to the mission," Dantius explained.
Find out what you gain out of this if you agree to the mission. I can't imagine the rewards will be meager Crassus told his grandson.
The hell do you think I intend to ask him next? Hyperion retorted telepathically.
"Say I accept this mission, and say further that I survive it. What do I get out of it?" he asked aloud.
"To start with, Republic Law Enforcement has agreed to completely expunge any and all crimes committed within Republic space from your record. Considering they're the most numerous on your rap sheet out of any other type of crime, I suggest you accept that. By principle of there being no Empire when we're done, your crimes committed with the Sith will also be expunged: you're looking at a clean slate aside from what you did in neutral space. Furthermore, the Republic military has also agreed to mount a full-scale expedition to track down and cut down your most powerful enemies to size for you via a paramilitary force they will pay for at no cost to you. If need be, you will even be given a new identity and perhaps a chance to walk among the Jedi Order alongside me and have a chance to see your son again," Dantius answered.
"The Republic must truly want to see the Sith purged from this galaxy if they want to make me such an offer. What do you personally get out of it?" Hyperion inquired. This was the last important question and one that he was surprised to find Dantius could waste no more time on than the previous answers he gave.
"To start with, the Republic military will give me a payout I can either take or donate to reconstruction efforts for the Jedi Order. I already have asked that the funds of the mission, should it succeed, be donated to repairing the ancient temples of the Order be it on Dantooine or Coruscant. And it's a big enough payout to afford complete reconstruction efforts on both temples while I rely on the credits I gained from my foster family to survive my missions. Last but not least, I get to see what good Inoy saw in you when he technically committed treason in letting you go at Clyde Rev's final floating fortress," Dantius replied. Hyperion chuckled, pleased to find that his brother could still be superficial as ever though he didn't voice as much.
I wouldn't trust this offer, if I were you. Even if he honors his end of the bargain, I don't think we won't make an effort to see you destroyed beforehand Crassus warned.
How? If I'm parked on Dathomir or even Balmorra, there's no way Dantius could put the Sith on high alert to me without compromising the mission or himself to the Republic. And he loves the Republic and Jedi too much to do that, no he'll honor the offer without trying to see to it that he doesn't first. More important, the mission is off the books which means that the Jedi might not have approved Dantius to commit to it: if he's done it whilst the Council was deliberating what to do, he's taking a big risk in making the offer. But he knows that if the mission is a routing success, the Republic and the Jedi will have no choice but to recognize him as the man who ended the wars of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force forever. He has too much to gain from offering me this mission to risk losing everything, even with the deductions the Republic will make to reward me Hyperion told his grandfather's ethereal form.
"Dantius, I will accept the mission with all the entailed rewards of success provided you allow me to retire to a life of peace and comfort on a Republic world of my choice when we're done. Or is that already guaranteed as part of the package?" Hyperion told his brother aloud.
"We had a few ideas of worlds you could choose from for your retirement and any effort to recover your son can be made if you wish it so. You may be asked to turn your lightsabers over to the Jedi Order if you intend to do that, just so that you don't have them to your advantage should you decide to commit more crimes afterward. And I wouldn't recommend that path if I were you," Dantius told him.
"Then we have a bargain, you got a seat on your ship?" Hyperion asked. Dantius nodded.
