Chapter Seven
"State your name for the record, Human," asked the Pa'un member of the Council, a man Hyperion would learn was called Darth Imperius.
"My name is Hyperion Corialanus Algethii, son of Caius Julius Algethii II, grandson of Julius Crassus Algethii III. Former prince of the planet Algethiius and ex-mercenary for hire to the Sith Empire," Hyperion said.
"You stated you were an 'ex-mercenary'. What changed?" Jadus interjected. Hyperion knew that the cunning Darth Jadus never spoke things as simply as they appeared. This was a man who had ambitions to lead the Empire someday and perhaps would even succeed in not only restoring it to a time of prominence but perhaps topple the Republic. Hyperion took the thought into consideration before then admitting what it was that he had done to earn the title.
"On an assassination mission that went horribly awry, I was partnered with a Trandoshan named Drak," Hyperion began. After a moment to compose his words that he might speak them, he continued by saying, "When the mission went to hell, Drak found himself at my mercy holding on for dear life to a piece of railing that preceding an abyss. Figuring on ending the rivalry we'd developed, I smashed his good hand until he let go despite the fact he would inevitably come back for me a while later. We later had to work once more to defeat a mutual enemy in Clyde Rev the smuggler but that is irrelevant."
"So you think that because you betrayed a necessary ally among the Sith, somehow, you are no longer an ally of the Sith? You had the audacity to perform the deed and the cunning to avoid getting caught for it: you reveal weakness in believing that confessing would make us respect you more. It is a good thing that we had deemed it best to test you before we let you come into the ranks of the Sith. Our current instructor may yet have no difficulty eliminating you," Jadus said.
"Then I challenge your Emperor's Wrath. Among my more recent murder victims were the Brothers Bane of Dromund Kaas, an enemy the Wrath couldn't kill. I hold with me one of their lightsabers which, if I recall correctly, could only be pried from their cold dead hands," Hyperion snapped, bringing out the yellow-bladed lightsaber he carried with him, levitating it for any that might recognize the hilt. There were whispers of dissent amongst the Councilmen with some agreeing with Hyperion's proposal while others were unsure.
"You have made a bold proclamation and presented proof that you can yet support it. Do you still wish to follow through with your challenge to the Emperor's Wrath?" Jadus asked, sounding intrigued by the possibilities. Hyperion nodded and the Emperor's Wrath was summoned, a slightly smaller man than his challenger which told Hyperion several things off the bat. With his armor, he was slightly taller and would likely use the added bulk of said armor to augment his Form V usage but his reliance would be on the forms of speed, agility, and precision. The psychopathic glare in his eyes told Hyperion he would be aggressive in his tactics, perhaps relying on Juyo, Makashi, and Ataru predominantly with some Shien and Niman.
He didn't have a sturdy tank-like build that would have allowed him to use Djem So but that never stopped Humans from using the form successfully before. Since Shii-Cho was the most basic, there was no reason to believe he would make significant use of it beyond remembering his fatality zones and perhaps the odd slash to set him off guard. As could be expected of the Sith, Soresu would likely be his weakest form even if Form III would still see some expertise from him. Unless provided an opportunity, he would also never use Jar'Kai with only one lightsaber immediately visible and Hyperion intent on using both of his. This would eliminate any chance he had of also using saberstaff combat unless his weapon was one.
But when Hyperion saw a hilt the size of the traditional blade, he knew he could safely eliminate when he unclipped and ignited both of his own, readying himself for action. As he saluted with purple and yellow blades, letting his opponent present a salute with his single blood-red one in return, the Council approved the start of the duel when they were ready. "May the best man win," Vowrawn said. Hyperion eyeballed his opponent just as he had done with the Havoc Squad soldier, albeit with more limitations since his opponent was also Force-sensitive.
His advantages: his aggression, his experience in combat, his training in the forms, and any unknown Force powers he might be reserving. My advantages: my superior age, superior experience, my environmental Force powers, and my shield. Use the first joust to find out his leanings then counter accordingly Hyperion told himself silently. So for the first flurry, he countered with one blade and defended with another one, alternating the purposes of his blades so that he could keep on the edge. In doing this, he used his Makashi with both blades and twirls of Niman to unsettle as well as some of Ataru's acrobatics to truly unsettle the man.
He also alternated between using this combination and shutting off one blade to use Soresu then counter with Juyo. When the pair of dueling Sith finally gave distance between each other, it was because Hyperion had thrown the yellow blade with saber throw then used Force Push when it was deflected. In the time the Wrath was flying from it and rolling back to his feet, Hyperion recovered and reignited his yellow blade, using Force Leap once he did so to half the width of the gap between them. Before he could charge in, the Wrath forced him to stop by shooting volts of blue Force Lightning that Hyperion was forced to reflect with his blades before he could attack. "Impressive, rogue: you have survived my first attack," said the Wrath.
"My compliments to you as you. You're stronger than I expected of a victim of the Brothers Bane," Hyperion replied, putting the slightest hint of emotional suggestion into his voice, augmenting that suggestion with the Force where he could. He saw it take effect with the Emperor's Wrath snarling slightly but Hyperion knew how he was going to defeat this man now. Just then, Crassus interjected, pausing everything around Hyperion and emerging before his eyes.
I can help you squash this gnat and earn yourself the position of Emperor's Wrath. You need only let me take the briefest moment of control Crassus offered. His mouth was moving but for whatever reason, it was just like if he was communicating to the elder specter telepathically. Even so, Hyperion didn't even need to think about how he was going to answer the offer his grandfather made.
"I will reserve your power for a legitimate threat. This one will fall because I was worthy of defeating him and besides, a wise Sith never reveals all his secrets immediately," Hyperion told him. Crassus vanished, time resumed, and Hyperion was ready for the next onslaught as the Wrath leapt forward with what looked like a Falling Avalanche launched from his shoulder. So he then surprised him by bringing up his shield, unfolding it so that the strike could be intercepted in full with a swing that allowed him to push the Wrath off him. As soon as the blade was swung over to the side, Hyperion jabbed the shield into Hyperion's face but the Wrath dodged with a back flip though Hyperion soon caught him with a Force Choke.
The Wrath stopped him from finishing the job with another volley of Force Lightning, a clever move even if he was ultimately doomed to fail. For Hyperion now knew the man's more habitual tendencies when fighting, knew how to use the Force to counter him, and that unorthodox defenses like the shield threw him off. So after reflecting the Force lightning with his purple blade, he threw the yellow one ahead of him then leapt with the Force to help him cover the distance. Once the blade had been swatted aside, he used the acrobatics of Ataru, the stabs of Makashi, the slashes of Juyo, and the Force attacks of Niman predominantly. The Wrath's fate was sealed when Hyperion performed a variant of Niman's Pushing Slash where, rather than use a Force Push after slicing with the blade, he shot bolts of his own purple Force Lightning.
He kept the pressure on until he knew he'd softened up the Emperor's Wrath then let him go and successfully performed a Falling Avalanche the man could not fend off. That was, he couldn't defend against it without his blade falling out of his hand and sliding across the floor behind the Wrath's immediate reach. Hyperion sliced his face with an undercut strike and used the time between the strike and the Wrath sprawling on his back to call his yellow blade into his possession. Pointing both down upon reacquisition of his trophy from the Brothers Bane, he stabbed both lungs that collapsed the organs and caused the Wrath to permanently lose breath as the heat of the blades also boiled the blood that circulated into his throat. He was dead in a matter of moments when this strike was completed and Hyperion shut off both blades, returning them to where he usually clipped them on his belt.
When he returned to the center of the Council chambers, he knew he would now be subjugant to the Council's judgement of his abilities. "While I do not praise your usage of a metal shield, I appreciate the cunning and deception of using unorthodox tactics in conjunction to brutal techniques of aggression. I vote to have Hyperion Algethii replace the fallen Emperor's Wrath he killed in fair combat," Jadus declared.
"A shield and Jar'Kai can never substitute for misdirection and Dun möch but in the absence of skill in the latter, you have done well for yourself. You have my vote," said Lord Imperius. Ravage and Mortis also voted him in, securing majority support, as did his advocate Lord Vowrawn. Nox and Zavakon also placed in their votes, making support for the decision unanimous. Lord Jadus declared him the Emperor's Wrath on behalf of Darth Verrin, the Emperor of the Sith, the note of the meeting's adjournment after Hyperion's predecessor was cleaned up from the floor. Even Crassus congratulated his grandson on this pivotal victory before Hyperion returned to his quarters, which would change as soon as the old Wrath's body as given a proper funeral; a funeral that, like the duel, had been watched by another with her own eyes on the Dark Side's power.
Chapter Eight
Morgana watched the duel involving Hyperion, now the new Wrath of the Emperor, and the funeral for the fallen one rather intently. As soon as he had openly declared that his name was Hyperion, she knew that she had her ancient enemy in her sights now. It would seem as though it had been wise of me to infiltrate the ranks of the Sith Morgana thought silently. She had a contact in the Sith who would introduce her to the Council after Hyperion's feat as performed. When she learned he was the new Emperor's Wrath she knew the situation was going to get complicated but in a manner that she liked.
It put him in the perfect place for her to get her revenge without getting her hands dirty or directly facing him unless approved to do so by the rest of the Council. She could only think of one way that she could secure that kind of power for certain, one way in which she could secure the full extent of her revenge. If she challenged a Dark Council member to fair combat for their position, and she won, she could absorb all they possessed and declare a Kaggath on Hyperion. There was just one problem: once she declared a Kaggath, she would have to make due with the resources she had and could not rely on any outside help. This meant that before she could make her move, she had to call on favors she was owed within the Republic to summon paramilitary forces that could work for hire against Hyperion.
Of course, the problem with that course of action was that as mercenaries, in accordance with the rules of the Kaggath, they could argue that Hyperion offered better pay. They could also argue that Morgana had made her personal crusade her top priority as opposed to benefiting her new allies within the Sith Empire. More, she would have to live with the fact that Hyperion was a political equal to her and could garner some support from the members of the Council who felt the same way those hypothetical paramilitaries she'd hire could feel. She also had to remind herself that she wasn't the only one with favors as Hyperion had made more than his fair share of allies he could call upon, allies with the power to back him up with paramilitaries of his own. But of course, she always had an ace in the hole of calling upon the Devils of Mustafar to stop him once she had him pinned somewhere that would be of convenience to them.
More, even if she declared a Kaggath on him, she would only be limited to the resources allowed a member of the Dark Council. To seal Hyperion's doom for certain, she would have to either involve or overthrow the Emperor and take his mantle of power from him. Once she had the backing of the entire Empire, she could declare a Kaggath and have the loyalty of the entire Council and the resources beneath her command. Tempting though it was, she was going to have to bide her time and wait until she knew the scope of the Emperor's power for certain before she attacked him. Fortunately, not long after Hyperion left, her waiting came to an end when a purple and black Zabrak of more immense Dark Side energy than the entire Council combined entered.
"What is the meaning of letting my Wrath be killed by another warrior!?" asked the Zabrak asked at once.
"With due respect my lord," began Vowrawn, "the warrior who replaced him had already managed to kill the Brother's Bane of Dromund Kaas. One of them fell without Hyperion even using a lightsaber or so my spies have told me." Morgana didn't know how Vowrawn could've had spies that would have told him about Hyperion killing the Echani twins but she paid it no mind. In their need to survive, the Sith had probably planted sleeper agents that they activated when their power was broken by the Republic's use of Zakuul technology. It was the only way they could have any spies who could effectively transmit and receive information the Sith could use without the scrutiny of the Republic.
At any rate, she decided it best to settle for the role of a member of the Dark Council as soon as she sensed the Emperor's power. "With due respect to your choice in warriors, my lord, we need sword arms of great strength that the Jedi have chosen to reject. Your choice in Wrath was excellent in this regard but Hyperion was simply better," Darth Mortis agreed. Morgana looked over his way and she could tell he was well past his better days... maybe he would be the one who'd need to go and proving him weak should be easy enough.
"I will require that he be tested for his worth as the Emperor's Wrath position. Only when I have seen him for myself will I decide to keep him!" the Emperor declared.
"As you wish, Emperor Verrin. If he disposed of his predecessor as he did, passing your tests should be easy enough," Vowrawn declared. Careful that you not offend Emperor Verrin with your words Morgana silently taunted.
"At any rate, what other order of business did you want me here for?" asked the Emperor.
"My lord," began Lord Ravage, Morgana's advocate, "I have a candidate with the potential to become another member of the Dark Council as we might have made Hyperion. She is a sorceress who was trained by exiled Sith Lord, Darth Inferis. Of late, she has gone by the name she was given at birth but she may reclaim her old Darth title if she is elected as you know." The Emperor nodded and asked for the potential candidate to introduce herself and that was when Morgana stepped in.
"Greetings my liege, I am Morgana L'etoile Brilliante. I am the former head of the Brilliante Enterprise, a wealthy business on Taris and have since been using the money reaped from its liquidation to pursue my own goals," Morgana said. In respect, she knelt before the Emperor as soon as she knew she was in earshot of him while she spoke. He looked her over and she could feel him doing so with the power of a quiet storm, forever brewing and ready to rip the cosmos asunder with its lightning.
"Tell me Morgana, what were your ambitions?" he asked.
"Beyond overthrowing my Master and destroying Lord Inferis, I've been pursuing the man who raped my sister who committed suicide after giving birth to the child. I became a Sith Lady originally so that I might have the power to protect her but when she took her own life, I knew better than to dwell on anything except my vengeance to the man who ruined her," Morgana told him, the truth without revealing that Hyperion was the subject of her vengeance. Had Hyperion been there, he would have recognized her outright as the sister of Patricia especially once she sounded off her name as she had done. He might yet still recognize her if she were to introduce herself to him after this meeting was completed.
"I sense power within you, a simmering hatred waiting to feed on its subject. While I could ask you to reveal the identity of the individual behind your sister's troubles, I have no interest. As long as you forswear your ties to the past, I am prepared to let you be inducted into our ranks as a Lord," Verrin told her.
"May I ask, my liege, if that would mean forswearing my vengeance? The subject of my vengeance is within these walls and I would run him to the ground if I could," Morgana asked.
"Provided that your vengeance does not hinder the growth of the Empire as a whole, you will be allowed to pursue it. However, should you prove to be slowing down the return of the Empire to prominence in pursuing your revenge, you will find yourself wishing for a quick and painless death," Verrin said. Before Morgana could speak, she was bombarded by visions of more gruesome tortures than she could possibly imagine.
Needles with substances she'd never encountered before were injected into her, causing the burning of synox poison only a hundred thousand times worse. Chains yanked her limbs from side to side until she heard her joints pop and felt her flesh rip like flimsiplast. "Do you understand?" Emperor Verrin said at the end of it all. Morgana nodded quickly and visibly, so that the Zabrak Emperor of the Sith would perceive it. I will have to be much cleverer than I originally expected if I want to take over this man's position Morgana told herself, frightened.
"Then I hereby declare you a Dark Lord of the Sith, I recommend you reclaim the Darth name you once had under your tenure as Inferis' apprentice. Despite his radical opinions about the formation of the Sith, he was a powerful and respectable master of the Dark Side in life. For you to have killed him has earned you at least a prominent place amongst us. So do you want to have your Darth name back?" Verrin asked. Morgana needed only a moment to think back to the name she had given herself when first she had become Inferis' true apprentice.
"My name is Darth Minshuto, Lady Sorcerer of the Sith," she said. Verrin nodded and called for Darth Nox to be assigned to her as her Master. When he was asked why, he explained it was because Nox was the Keeper of Knowledge and he felt Morgana's talents would best be utilized in service to Nox. The Council ultimately voted agreement with the Emperor's decision as they would inevitably be forced to do with their power dwarfed by him. Morgana also sensed that among the Dark Council members, Nox was the only one of significant power and the relatively good physical health needed to appropriately use it.
Morgana's first task as the apprentice of the Knowledge Keeper was to help her with the compilation of data from parchment scans. The predominant purpose of this was to organize the scans in accordance with the pages of the parchment for which they were recorded then make them into a holographic book that could be read back to back. It was a tedious affair but in doing so, Morgana was proving her worth to the Sith Empire, an all too important step in exacting her revenge against Hyperion. Plus, her position allowed her the best opportunity she was ever going to have on bringing enough grime on Lord Mortis' part to justify his downfall to the Emperor.
