Chapter Nine
Hyperion had been summoned to the chambers of the Emperor, shortly after the funeral arrangements of his predecessor had been made and executed. "How may I serve my lord?" Hyperion asked when he arrived to the Emperor's chambers. Out of respect, he knelt before the Emperor and tossed his deactivated lightsabers to his chair that he might be unable to use them in time to save himself if he tried to fight him. The guards initially pointed their pikes his way but when they saw him disarming himself, they relaxed.
"I have but one simple test to determine if you are even fit to call yourself my Wrath. In the training chambers on the first floor or eight Zabrak children, all of whom are my children by other concubines. I need to see that you are capable of turning them into fighting warriors before their training is complete. Be ruthless in your methods, be merciless in your words, torture with the Force if you must but ignite within them the potential to be true heirs to my legacy," the Emperor commanded. Hyperion nodded and when he was permitted to do so, he raised his gaze up to the man he would be serving.
"May I inquire if it is possible to bring your sons here while I am still unarmed? I intend not only to prove my worth in your own sanctuary but to do so with nothing more than my words, my bare hands, and my powers," Hyperion told him. Crassus warned him along the line of playing a dangerous game but Hyperion ignored it. As a double-agent of the Republic, he was already playing a dangerous game simply by even being here and attempting to hinder the interests of the Sith for the sake of the Republic and his son, Menelaus.
Yes, he was staring at the man whose seed had conceived Menelaus but he knew better than to believe this truly made Verrin the boy's father especially when Hyperion was the one who raised him. But as Verrin smiled hungrily and nodded his approval, calling on guards to bring his sons to the throne room, Hyperion couldn't help but begin to feel embittered to be in this man's presence. Here was the man who had literally conceived his son yet here he was treating the other children he had by other women as expendable grunts in his army. When the boys finally came, Hyperion was angry enough that he could probably get away with appearing like he was drilling them and have it be sincere.
So he began with something very direct and simple where his obligations to Verrin were concerned. "Listen up maggots," he began, "I am the new Emperor's Wrath and your father has asked me to test the lot of you. To make you into the deadliest fighting machines in this Empire's history. I don't like any of you and I know that you aren't going to like me: you will hate me, you will spite me, you will even want to kill me before the training is done. But the more you hate me, the more you try to resist me, the more you will learn from me!"
You hold his interest, perhaps it is time to begin showing examples of what you mean by what you say Crassus suggested. Hyperion mentally scoffed at doing it just yet, the thought having already come across him in the moments past. "From now on, and until you complete training, you are not the Emperor's sons you are not special princes destined to succeed your daddy when you're in my presence. You're not even fracking Zabraks, you are globbing pieces of amphibian poodoo! You are scum, you are the most disgusting piece of poodoo to ever walk the cosmos!
"I don't look down on color, height, sex, or even Force-sensitivity: with me you're equally useless. When I call on you, you will be called maggots and when you address me, the first and last word of every sentence you speak will be sir. You maggots understand?" Hyperion declared, sensing a spark in Verrin when he spoke those words.
"Sir, yes sir!" said the eight in unison.
"Bantha fodder, I can't hear you!" Hyperion replied, sensing intrigue and even approval from Verrin.
"Sir, yes sir!" said the eight, even louder than before.
"Bantha fodder, I still can't hear you!" Hyperion shouted, even more commanding than before.
"Is this Satele Shan? Is this me?" said one of the sons.
"Who said that!? Who the hell said that!?" Hyperion snapped, even angrier than before. "Who's the no good piece of bantha fodder that just signed his damned death warrant! Nobody, huh? Did the kriffin' fairy godmother speak up just now? If no one speaks up, I'll have you all PT until you kriffing die!" Hyperion roared. He looked at one of Verrin's smaller sons and marched over to him.
"Was it you who said that, you no good fracking pile of bantha fodder!?" boomed the bald human.
"Sir, negative sir!" said the short son.
"I'll bet it was you," Hyperion snarled.
"Sir, I said it sir," said a slightly taller Zabrak with orange and brown patterns. Hyperion walked over to him and decided to address him as a bully might address his target.
"Prince Joker, I admire your honesty. Hell, you can come over to my quarters and shag my mother," Hyperion sarcastically replied before backhanding the Zabrak. "You had best unfrack yourself real fast or I will rip off your skull and shavit down your throat!" he added a moment later. He turned to another one after that and asked him, "What's your excuse?"
"Sir, excuse for what, sir?" replied the prince.
"I'm asking the fracking questions around here. You understand?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Well thank you very much, highness, can I be in charge for a fracking while?"
"Sir yes sir!"
"Are you nervous, prince?"
"Sir, I am sir!"
"Do I make you nervous?"
"Sir..."
"Sir what, are you about to call me a Shik?"
"Sir no sir!"
"How tall are you, highness?"
"Sir, 1.79 meters sir!"
"1.79? I didn't know they stacked shavit that high! You trying to squeeze another inch on me?"
"Sir negative sir!"
"Bantha fodder, you look like the best part of you ran down your mother's anus and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress! I think you've been cheated," Hyperion said. If Verrin wasn't sufficiently impressed before, he most certainly was now and Hyperion fed on it. He ended his spiel with a taller but somewhat fat son that he had noticed smiling like an idiot.
"Your mother have any children that lived?" he asked the man.
"Sir yes sir!"
"I bet she regrets that, you're so ugly you could be a modern Mon Cala sculpture! What's your name, glob?" Hyperion commanded.
"Sir, Tyberian sir!"
"I don't like Tyberian, that name sounds snobbish. Are you snobbish, prince?" Hyperion demanded.
"Sir, no sir!" said Tyberian.
"Do you lick Choobies?" Hyperion commanded.
"Sir, no sir!"
"Poodoo, I bet you could like the chocolate ice cream off a waffle cone in one go!" Hyperion exclaimed. Verrin chuckled for what was probably the first time he found humor in anything other than torture.
"Sir, no sir!"
"I don't like the name Tyberian, only faggots and pirates are called Tyberian! From now on, your name is Blob!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"You think I'm pretty? Do you find yourself in love with me?"
"Sir, no sir!"
"Then wipe that pathetic grin of your face!" Hyperion ordered, having noticed his smile even at the start. The man tried his best but couldn't quite remove the grin completely but Hyperion didn't relent. "Any fracking time, honey!" he added, a moment later.
"Sir I'm trying sir."
"Private Blob, I'm going to give you exactly three seconds to wipe that disgusting grin off your face or I will gouge out your eyeballs and skull rape you! One, two, three!" Hyperion yelled at the top of his deep, growling voice. At that point, Hyperion grasped him in a Force Choke to see if that helped him remove the smile. "You done there, Blob?"
"Sir, yes sir," the prince managed to say, if strained. The entire time, Verrin watched with the hunger and excitement of an anooba anticipating a kill.
"Fracking bantha fodder, I can't hear you!" Hyperion said, slightly increasing the pressure.
"Sir, yes sir!" the prince shouted even more desperately. His brothers made as if to help him but the Imperial Guard readied themselves at Verrin's orders.
"Bantha fodder, sound off like you got testicles!" Hyperion told him. The prince did so and Hyperion let him go, allowing him to catch his breath before speaking again, firstly ordering him on his feet. "Prince Blob, you had best square up and start shooting out gold brick choobies or I will fracking annihilate you!" added the Human.
"Sir yes sir!" said the prince when he'd recovered in full. The hate and anger was simmering in them all, feeding off Hyperion's own agitation and in turn giving it strength. Hyperion turned briefly to Verrin, curious to see if he had gained the Emperor's approval and when the Emperor grinned maniacally while nodding his acceptance, Hyperion dismissed the lot. As they left, he sensed the Emperor's resentment at the idea and when they were out of earshot, their father spoke up.
"Why did you dismiss them?" Verrin asked.
"I pressed my point. Why did I need to go on?" Hyperion replied.
"Was my approval that obvious?" Verrin inquired. Hyperion nodded, figuring that was the polite way to reply. Even if he wanted to say it was more obvious than the lies of a Twi'lek whore, he kept that to himself. The Zabrak Emperor laughed and levitated Hyperion's lightsabers back into his hands before speaking again. "You are more than worthy of the title. I sensed sincere rage and hatred boiling within you, like a seasoned soup that has been left to heat too long in a cauldron," Verrin told him.
"I'm the Emperor's Wrath, aren't I? What is the Wrath if not the embodiment of the Emperor's rage?" Hyperion replied.
"Well spoken, Hyperion. Your predecessor couldn't even get a fire going during the three years he trained them and yet you riled them up in less than fifteen standard minutes," Verrin replied.
"Then it was fortunate that I exorcised the Sith of his weakness rather than allowed it to continue," Hyperion retorted. The Zabrak smiled and chuckled, the latter an unsettling sound that Hyperion hoped never to hear again if it could be helped. Even so, he was pleased about the end result, that of securing the support of the Emperor in the Council's decision to appoint Hyperion as the Emperor's Wrath in the wake of the death of the predecessor.
Soon as he was finished being humored, the Emperor stated, "From here on, I expect you to be even harder on my sons. If I should happen to drop by, I want to hear that you ran my weaker heirs to the ground if that is what it takes for successful training. You are dismissed if you understand this." Hyperion bowed and thanked his liege before turning to leave with the Imperial Guards watching his back as he exited. Like he would be foolish enough to squander this grand opportunity. Instead, he knew that rather than stay, he had a call to make to his brother about his mission status and what he had learned, what he had done, and what he planned to do.
Chapter Ten
As soon as Hyperion was able, he left the Imperial Palace to find an independent channel on which to call Dantius. Finding a channel that was virtually untraceable to the Sith and the Jedi, he commed his brother's frequency. "Hyperion, I wasn't expecting news for at least another standard month! What do you have for me?" Dantius exclaimed.
"For starters, the Sith are in a terribly desperate spot. I've challenged and killed the Emperor's Wrath, earning his place as a direct result. Hell, the Emperor already has me training his sons in the ways of the Dark Side as proof that I am worthy of the position. More, it seems like they have good strong fortifications here and Balmorra with their spare armaments being sent to Dathomir in order to bolster its defenses," Hyperion said, having learned of the Dathomir shipments during his second day of residence among the Sith.
An errand boy and double-agent of the Jedi? You have truly fallen far to be agreeing to the role of messenger and mole for your brother Crassus replied. Hyperion winced at the reply, encouraging Dantius to ask what was wrong with his older brother.
"Nothing I can't overcome at the moment, don't you worry. But I do feel the pull of the Dark Side whilst being here. It's not as strong as it would be for a Jedi Knight like yourself but it's there all the same," Hyperion told him. Crassus was probably saying something about himself growing stronger with every day that Hyperion acknowledged or even tried to fight him. However, Hyperion ignored this and continued with the report he had to give Dantius and the Republic military.
"Any weaknesses? Structural, military, anything that we can use?" Dantius continued.
"It seems that in order to destroy their armaments, you're gonna need a three-pronged attack on both worlds. You'll need space to be one prong, land another, and underwater the third in order to fully catch them off guard enough to defeat them. I recommend full-scale fleets for the space battle while a full-scale invasion force takes both of the other prongs. That's if you want to make absolutely sure that there isn't a high chance the Sith will survive to haunt the galaxy again and even then, a few may still escape to rebuild, a few always do," Hyperion said.
"You said you had become the Emperor's Wrath and you're training the Emperor's sons by his concubines. What do you suggest would be the best strategy if we're to expunge the galaxy of as many Sith as possible?" Dantius asked. Nearly fifteen years ago, Dantius had captured Hyperion in the Hapes Cluster and held him under interrogation at Vornu about the movements of General Nobunaga, Crassus' most indispensable servant. Back then, Hyperion had not been cooperative and even made threats to the effect of destroying Dantius' then-current love affair, Ashlynn Thorin. This time, Hyperion intended to do right when Dantius asked him questions about the Sith, no matter their grandfather's protestations.
"Allow me to demonize the Republic to any and every pupil I train. Permit to fill their heads with lies about its military, the Jedi, and much more until they're certain it's kill or be killed when you arrive. You'll have all your authorization to kill as many as you can without having actually goaded them to that end. More, when news of our victory are broadcast on the HoloNet, any potential Sith sympathizers would be hard-pressed to remain so loyal," Hyperion said. Dantius mulled that possibility over, debating whether or not to let that fly what with this mission already being off the kinds of channels the Jedi normally had access to.
"Yet if they gain any traction at all, they'll stop at nothing to eliminate every trace of the Republic and the Jedi Order that they possibly. Your propaganda could be what spells the doom of the Light Side of the Force if this goes to hell," Dantius said after several moments of thought.
"Yet if I should be caught relaying information to the Jedi, I could always argue that I was relaying false information provided me by the Emperor himself. More, I could say that whether or not I was a traitor, my superiors couldn't argue with the kind of warriors I produce. In addition, if you intercept any Sith force sent to Mandalore, they won't gain that kind of traction," Hyperion explained.
"Mandalore?"
"Among the Emperor's intended steps towards reinvigorating the Sith is to reunify the Mandalorian tribes whether that means putting up a puppet or taking the helmet himself. Unfortunately, either way, Shae Vizsla isn't about to give up the title of Mandalore without a fight and the mask hasn't been seen since Mandalore the Preserver. The only way the Emperor is going to get Mandalore back under Sith rule is to honor its customs and hope he has a warrior strong enough to pull the job off," Hyperion replied.
"But if he succeeds in getting Mandalore's tribes back under his thumb, it'll accelerate his plans for a return to prominence in the galaxy by centuries. You were right to tell me, I'll have military forces dispatched there at once and I'll send someone after the mask of Mandalore. In case the Sith bypass the Jedi I intend to send to Mandalore to intercept the Emperor's chosen disciple," Dantius told Hyperion. The older Human nodded and then informed his brother that he should be returning soon. Curfew was about to start in a standard hour and he would need to be up to train the Emperor's sons near dawn.
Dantius nodded and informed him to call again in three months' time if he could. "Three months is too early to tell if my regimen will have the desired effect. I need at least half a standard year before I could even think of having significant results for you. But work on mustering a force now, using the intel that I've provided you so that the Emperor knows the Republic will meet his every attempt to reignite an alliance with Mandalore. On this end, you're my only hope," Hyperion begged.
"Alright, you have seven standard months to place your training regimen and inform me of the effects. Doubtless, even if it's effective, the Emperor will still need at least another year before he is ready to launch any kind of attack," Dantius.
"Don't be so sure of that. He's been stockading on this world since the Empire fell from prominence, eleven years ago. Even with those seven months noted, he may be ready sooner than you expect to begin flex his muscles. He'll have to if he wants to keep his place long enough to name an heir to replace him in the event of his death by old age or assassination," Hyperion stated.
"Good point, I didn't think of that. Even so, keep me informed of the latest developments you're able to find. I want political machinations every month where possible and I want those military ones by a minimum of seven months. This information will help me determine when the right time to strike will be and give me information I can proudly present to the Chancellor," Dantius said.
"The Chancellor?" Hyperion asked.
"Of course, who else has the power to expunge your records at a command? Who else would have approved this mission and kept it incognito? The Chancellor's seal of confidentiality is illegal for the Jedi to breach without probable cause to believe a mission treasonous. And this one is the furthest thing from," his brother answered. He cut transmission before Hyperion had time to ask him why the Chancellor would be in on this despite what might have been a breach in trust for the Senate if this mission came to light.
A mission as confidential as this could never have been introduced to the Senate as a bill needing approval. If it did, it would indicate that the Republic had done a sloppy job of eradicating the Sith and was asking its people to approve them funding another war. Another war meant more bonds, more loans dispensed, and more money for the Intergalactic Banking Clan to get their thin, hairless, Muun hands on. Such things would not be approved by the vast majority of the Republic, too tired and broken down by the war that came to willingly invite another one.
Whoever the Chancellor was in this cycle, they were putting their political career and their personal lives at risk in condoning this mission whether Dantius' idea or not. If this failed and the Republic learned of it, the Chancellor would be impeached for treason and the Vice Chancellor instilled just in time for the kind of full-scale war their predecessor hoped to stop. More, once said war was started, it would be uncertain whether or not the wearied Republic could win even with formerly Zakuulan technology on their side.
Hyperion realized now that the Sith were gaining ground faster than he might be able to stop them. What's more, aside from stolen Zakuulan technology, weaponry, and other items, Hyperion was giving the Sith the very tools they needed to destroy the Republic. If this backfired, he was going to give them enough anger, hate, and vengeance to bring Coruscant to ruins as Malgus had brought the Jedi Temple there to its foundations. It was a tumultuous time to be alive and making these risky tactical decisions for someone like Hyperion.
You have a perfect chance to rebuild yourself to the Dark Side, grandson. A chance to rise from the decadence of your exile and rise straight to the top of the Sith food chain Crassus told him as they journeyed back to the Citadel. Hyperion did his best to ignore his grandfather's command that he take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. But when the nagging became to incessant to bear, Hyperion had to point out that in biding their time, they would be able to see what the Force will them. By the time he arrived to his bedroom in the Citadel, he had only time for two hours of meditation and fortunately, that was all he needed anyway.
