Chapter Twenty-Five
Hyperion received a signal over the comms he hacked into from the remaining brothers he had trained. "We're taking having fire over here, Slinky!" said one of the brothers. Hyperion wasn't sure which one because the transmission was partially tarnished by static. But as soon as he heard the voice, he knew what was going to happen next even as it unfolded before his eyes.
"I can't help you anymore than you could help me. Darth Imperius has us spread too thinly to help one another even if it was the Sith way to do so. You're on your own, Small-Fry!" said Slinky. Hyperion realized then what he had to do even as he chided himself for falling into this trap. Morgana had never intended to let him escape the Kaggaths of himself and the boys without consequence.
Even if she failed, she knew she could count on Imperius to somehow tarnish the reputation of the boys as well as his own. After all, if the princes couldn't conquer a member of the Dark Council without the aid of the Emperor's Wrath, how could they be worthy of the throne? But if Hyperion could somehow black out the surveillance of Imperius' ship and jam his communications before he could call for help? Then there would be uncertainty as to how he was defeated and perhaps, Imperius could be even disgraced by being made to forfeit the Kaggath. But then, how would Crassus be able to rise up in esteem in time to be of any help to Hyperion if he gave him the body of a man who would be disgraced to surrender the Kaggath?
Did he want Crassus to possess the political prestige that Imperius commanded in any case? If so, how would Crassus cover for Imperius' losses without losing any prestige (the risk of forfeiting the Kaggath) to begin with? I will say that the boys convinced me of their determination to fight to the last and that strategically, I would have fewer casualties to forfeit the Kaggath than to win it. With the news of Morgana's death undoubtedly reaching him by now, Imperius will be unsettled in any case and it isn't impossible for the Council to imagine that as his reaction Crassus told him. Suddenly, everything clicked together and Hyperion knew that Crassus was right, much as he hated to give him credit there.
Imperius would have heard about Morgana's death long before Hyperion could think to aid the princes. If so, he would be demoralized even as he pressed on with the attack and if the princes were somehow aided somewhat then they could convince him to surrender. That was when Hyperion decided that he would take his shuttle separate from his main force and have them bring up the rear of the princes so that Imperius would think a Dark Councilor was aiding the boys. It wouldn't have been unheard of for a member of the Dark Council member to send reinforcements from their own fleets in order to save political allies like the princes would be so that they may propel their own gains. So Hyperion did the unthinkable and had his forces restore the banner of Darth Zavakon's house, effectively framing the Sith Lord for reinforcing the boys against the rules of the Kaggath.
In his elder years, Zavakon was becoming known for only obeying the Sith rules that favored his gains. Therefore, framing him for reinforcing the princes in violation of the Kaggath wouldn't seem like a far-fetched move for him. Considering the ships being sent in were the same ships he himself used and his officials were familiar with the tactics he typically fancied, Hyperion could pull off a convincing job of framing him for this violation. He might even take credit before the Dark Council and thus be subjugant to the penalties that Jadus could prescribe as the Voice of the Emperor. It could potentially mean one less Dark Councilor to contend with if Zavakon was asked to joust with Imperius, imbued with Crassus' spirit, for honor's sake.
Effectively speaking, Hyperion saved the boys, rid himself of the Pau'an as a threat, and had an ally who could eliminate yet another rival from the equation. The only trouble was what consequences could be rendered upon the Jedi Order and the Republic once Crassus was resurrected. Yes, Crassus would be mortal and thus more vulnerable to death once again but what price would the champions have to pay to exploit that possibility? Would Dantius, his superiors, and even the Chancellor have to die to ensure the threat of the Sith never rose under Crassus' leadership, seeing as the old man had already ruled over an empire before? Would a reign of terror have to befall the Republic because of Hyperion's compassion for his three best trainees?
He supposed that the only way to know for certain was to take a chance. Ordering his shuttle ready, he again supplied himself with the arsenal he'd used in dealing with Morgana. The only difference was that the ship he was using now was bigger, enough to accommodate two-hundred passengers. So, rather than leave a confrontation with Imperius to chance, he asked all one-hundred and fifty subordinate Lords and Dark Lords to join him. He also asked twenty slicers and thirty combat automata with Zakuul shields and slugthrowers to join him too.
Once they knew that their main fleet was in position over Mandalore, where the princes transmissions had come from, Hyperion had the slicers on work against survey and comm. They confirmed they had comm channels down along with surveillance which left only on thing. It was time to board the ship and make sure those things stayed down for good via grenades to the necessary machines. Which became the first order of business for the droids once Hyperion's crew boarded the ship, the Lords and Dark Lords getting ahead to clear the way for the droids.
Fighting off soldiers to reach Imperius turned out to be the easy part, especially once Hyperion gave the order for his forces to engage, bulking up the brothers' rear and allowing them to join him as he had his lieutenant request of them. When Hyperion could secure that Imperius wouldn't have time to escape, due to the slicers going the extra mile to launch the escape pods before anyone could use them. Then he waited until the brothers could confirm that they were on board and on their way to the bridge, where Darth Imperius awaited for those who'd challenge him. Fortunately, Hyperion was prepared for virtually anything Imperius could throw their way, including his own caste of Lords and Dark Lords to counter the ones Hyperion and the princes brought with them.
Marching through the bridge entrance, the subordinates filed out to deal with Imperius' blade fodder, isolating him for Hyperion and the princes. "So, the Wrath would help the sons of Verrin to face me. You display impressive cunning in framing Zavakon by painting his banner on your ships but I know your deception now. Doubtless, you will join them in killing me?" Imperius asked. Hyperion surprised him with his response by shaking his head slowly, baffling the Pau'an Sith Lord and even Crassus.
"I believe they're more than a match for you on their own. And even if they're not, it only reflects on how effective I am as a teacher. It reflects no inherent weakness in me beyond the inability to train others in the arts of the Dark Side. A job not traditionally associated with an Emperor's Wrath in any case, would you not agree?" Hyperion replied. Imperius snarled under his breath, brandishing sharp fang-like teeth that didn't intimidate Hyperion but did put off the boys a little boy.
"Are you sure we're ready?" Slinky asked.
"Whether you are or not, this is your Kaggath. If you do not finish this yourselves, then you will be weak and deserving of your ends," Hyperion said. He did smirk and wink at them as he took a step back and even helped eliminate the subordinate guards with his non-lightsaber arsenal, using his shurikens, grenades, blasters, nets, spear, whip, ax, and shield instead. The entire time, he kept himself relatively strengthened by relying on some of Crassus' power to keep his potential for combat at its peak even as he used his bladed weapons. Crassus grumbled that Hyperion should use lightsabers to fell them but Hyperion pointed out that if the brothers failed, he needed the advantage of peak dueling form to bring down Imperius while he was still weak.
It was when they were finished and the Lords of both sides were too busy fighting among themselves to notice or care that Hyperion turned back to the boys. Blob fell early as Hyperion somewhat expected but Small-Fry and Slinky were holding pretty well against the Sith Lord. The only thing that seemed to give them any trouble was the fact that Imperius employed a shield as well. But Slinky convinced him to part with it when he deceived him by mock charging then halting and shooting him with Force Lightning when he raised up the cortosis shield.
Admittedly, Hyperion wasn't surprised to see them using such tactics but what concerned him was when Imperius turned out to improve without the shield rather than worsen. Almost as if he used the blade and shield combination to feel out his opponents than destroy them as soon as he had a strategy put together. Then he destroyed Slinky with a wave of even more potent Force Lightning than he had previously seen any other Councilor. Small-Fry was able to charge through a Force Push but at the expense of being two weak to stop Imperius from swatting his lightsaber out of his hand then impale him with his blade. Imperius then cut Small-Fry into five pieces to make sure the Zabrak stayed dead when Small-Fry continued to charge through even as he was impaled on the blade.
Imperius seemed somewhat strained, almost as if he hadn't quite been as powerful as he boasted and owed his seat to the fear his name caused. This proved somewhat promising but when Hyperion used Force Sight, the malevolent aura Imperius cast out in gigantic waves told him the panting was meant to be a front. "Quit trying to deceive your enemies, Pau'an. You may have won the Kaggath but you have failed in the greater war of the Sith," Hyperion told him. It was then and only then that Hyperion finally withdrew both of his lightsabers, purple and yellow blades hissing to life as he readied himself to kill yet another prominent Imperial official.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Imperius seemed to operate on deceiving his foes into believing a certain thing about him and once that belief was busted, he didn't seem an effective tactician. Hyperion observed that once Imperius knew the shield wasn't going to fool him, he didn't bother with it and more. The older alien seemed to need time in order to understand the kind of foe, he was up against, relying heavily upon Soresu to keep himself safe during a lightsaber duel in the meantime. Tactically speaking, this was the most brilliant combination of forms and maneuvers that Hyperion ever encountered even if it wasn't entirely "Sith" as the Council might have defined the term.
Even so, it was tactically practical in this situation even if there was always one inherent weakness with such people as him. Soresu could be countered by Makashi and Hyperion suspected that Imperius hadn't confronted too many instances of the style in his life before. So he switched to the second form, one of two forms he had mastered besides Juyo, in the hope of disarming him. Sure enough, he was able to land a slicing blow across the elder Sith Lord's thigh and with Makashi and a jab to his right shoulder, causing his arm to spasm uncontrollably. Then, at the last possible moment, Hyperion used the Sight to detect a surge of energy strong enough to mean only a storm of Force Lightning that he knew he couldn't barricade against.
So, despite Crassus' protestations to the contrary, Hyperion dodged and used the momentum of his sidestep to run across a nearby window. Getting in close while the lightning soared harmlessly past him, and destroyed the terminals in the room along with stunning the surviving Lords, then Hyperion prepared Crassus, signalling him to emerge with the power through what would normally be a Pushing Slash of Niman. The spirit of Crassus immediately readied itself, letting Hyperion pull off the speed to succeed in applying the slash then extending his hand out while Imperius' blade was still swatted to the side. Rather than channeling air currents into a push that would throw Imperius across the room, the air currents that were called upon instead bolstered Crassus' departure from Hyperion's body and into that of the Pau'an. "What are you...?" Imperius began before the soul shot into him with such velocity that it interrupted his words, pulling his consciousness toward oblivion while attempting to supplant his own in place of Imperius'.
Imperius was stunned except to drop his lightsaber and clutch his head, shaking with what normally would have been seizures in those not attuned to the Force. All the Lords and Dark Lords who had been fighting each other suddenly stopped, apprising the situation before them. Hyperion had cast out an ancient Dark Side soul from himself and let it attempt to possess a member of the Dark Council whose power was already marked by a couple rivals. Meanwhile, Hyperion deactivated both blades but kept them the hilts in his hands, standing in a ready position in case Crassus failed. The way he saw it, Crassus would either succeed and become mortal again or he would be dissipated in a manner that weakened Imperius enough for Hyperion to finish him off and end this debacle forever.
When the Dark Councilor's eyes finally fluttered back open and he gasped a massive gulp of air, Hyperion was at the ready to strike him down either way. "Not since I was alive last have I felt this much power," the Pau'an said, confirming what the Force compelled Hyperion to suspect. Crassus had officially managed to take over Imperius' body, obliterating his consciousness and becoming more powerful than he'd ever been before. Hyperion moved in but he was quickly Force-pulled away from the Pau'an before Crassus could even chance being struck down by his grandson.
"I have won my Kaggath but Lady Minshuto has lost hers. In light of his victory and the effort he has put into stopping me, I will seek a truce with the Emperor's Wrath. I will pursue no further violence against you if you will forgive my travesties against the Emperor's sons. In this darker age for the Empire, we must know when to let go of petty grievances and band together against the Jedi. Zavakon's forces, in alliance with the Wrath, have persuaded me as much... have they persuaded you, Wrath?" said Crassus through his new mouthpiece. Hyperion stated that he did accept the terms of the truce and did agree that he should not pursue vengeance for Emperor Verrin's sons for they had been too weak to save themselves even with his training.
Over the comm channels, they heard cheers that resounded across several cruisers, starfighters, and other spacecraft. With the war officially over, the Dark Council knew that another time would come when the Emperor could be chosen. For now, however, there was one central leader and two outside officials who could run things until a being that was clearly more powerful than the rest could ascend to the position. "What are you doing?" Hyperion asked, shortly after the comm channels had died.
"You wanted me to declare any fighting with you over once I took this body over and that is exactly what I have done. Granted, the only difference is that the brothers are already dead and Imperius' forces have already been destroyed, enough to where further fighting would be futile. If Imperius was persuaded to exercise a call to a truce before he lost anymore strength, it would look like he finally recognized that he must benefit the Empire even if it meant putting his more intimate ambitions on hold for a time. Or have you forgotten that that is sometimes how the Dark Side must operate?" Crassus replied. What... what the hell have I done? Hyperion thought glumly.
The next chance Hyperion acquired, he stepped into a private communications channel not associated with the Sith and commed Dantius' frequency. Someone else beside himself had to know what happened, someone who did not immediately stand to lose everything from Crassus' return. Hell, someone who (like him) might have even felt Crassus' resurrection ripple across the waters of time and space like a rock thrown into a still puddle. Sure enough, when he commed Dantius in the usual channels on Balmorra, his face suggested that he had sensed the old darkness returning from beyond to seek vengeance. Without wasting any time, Hyperion said to his brother, "I'm sorry Dantius... he is returned."
All Dantius said in reply was exactly what Hyperion expected, "Our worst fear is now realized. Flesh has been given once more to a man who doesn't know when to die already."
