Chapter Three
When Morgause left, having learned how and when to call upon her aunt to help her in their revenge bid against Hyperion, Crassus turned to his other designs. The journey for Nogatan was still yet to begin because he hadn't yet calculated a destination the Sith could turn to once the ceremony was completed. It was on thinking about this that he also realized that the if he indeed went through with the ritual, he might be the only Sith left standing unless he sent a division to settle on a distant planet before Crassus consumed Nogatan. That was when he realized that he stood to gain a lot more than he originally anticipated in the duel between Morgause and Hyperion.
For as long as he had been alive, he had prided himself on satisfying a number of goals with as few moves toward them as possible. In fact, he felt that the greatest Sith owed their success to fulfilling a number of goals with one set of movements for political and Force power. It was how Lord Malgus had done, how Darth Vitiate had done it when he consumed Nathema, and how the most revered Sith had usually tended to rule through fear, power, and cunning. So it was in this case when he realized that he had something indeed to gain from the outcome of Morgause's attempt on Hyperion's life.
If Hyperion succeeded in destroying her, even with Morgana called upon to help her, he would prove he had been restored to the Sith fold. Should Hyperion lose, Morgause would prove herself worthy of aiding Crassus in the restoration of the Empire, following the ritual's performance. But if Hyperion should win, only to spare Morgause and not even think to destroy her, then he would prove himself even worse than if he had lost fairly to her in a joust. Morgause would win the task of helping him begin the restoration of the Empire, based on the plans Crassus had already concocted for the aftermath of the ceremony, by mere default. Either way, he would have the worthiest Sith up to the task of helping him rebuild the Sith upon the completion of the duel and the ritual on Nogatan.
On the one hand, Hyperion had years of experience as a Sith Warrior, had successfully trained Verrin's sons to become powerful Sith worthy of respect in the Empire. He was skilled in all seven of the traditional forms of lightsaber combat in addition to Jar'Kai and the arsenal of weapons not traditionally associated with bearers of the Force. But on the other, Morgause had guile, cunning, subtlety, was also trained in the lightsaber forms, the potential for training as a Sith enchantress, and was young enough to live to the potential that her expertise implied. More, Morgause was hungry for the power of the Dark Side and vengeful for the wrongs performed upon her mother and her family by her father and his. In contrast, Hyperion was bitter and regretful of the consequences of his actions whilst under the influence of the Dark Side.
By having them fight to destroy each other, no matter the outcome, Crassus would know whose loyalty he could count on. And, despite the Republic sure to close in on his only two worlds soon enough, he had no choice but to wait until Morgause had made her move before he could initiate the plans that would need initiation. Plans that, despite his confidence in the ceremony, had been designed so that they could be executed even in the unlikely event that he failed to complete the ritual and was obliterated by the backlash. He knew that the Sith would need centralized leadership, regardless of the outcome of the ceremony, and he realized one other thing about Morgause. If Morgause was permitted to survive by Hyperion and also permitted to help him with his plans, she had the education and credentials to be an effective politician.
Her cunning, her aunt's wealth, and the family connections meant that she could effectively govern during the early stages of recovery. Not to mention, the Sith would be too desolated by the war and violence to even think about coups whether or not Crassus succeeded in the ritual. Therefore, she could convince the survivors that her appointment of an heir was the most effective choice and that the Sith would be led on the right path if her heir's appointment came to pass. It was a pity that Lord Scourge was considered a traitor who would be destroyed if he were ever seen upon Sith property again or else Crassus would've asked him to lead the Sith back to a time of purity.
The only way that Scourge could be allowed to return to the Empire for certain was if he challenged Morgause for the position and attained it in fair combat, something that his birth as a Pureblood permitted him. That was an idea came to him, one that would ensure the Sith had the best leadership possible in addition to the assurance of an immortal watching over them in the early stages of their recovery. More, Scourge was nowhere near the power levels of Vitiate which meant that he might be immortal but he was far from invulnerable compared to the one the Zakuulans had called Valkorion. Thus, Crassus put out an anonymous comm, asking that Lord Scourge meet with Darth Imperius within three days time on the planet Korriban if he was still alive. He was told that a proposition would be made that Scourge would be interested in hearing, given that he was no lover of the Republic despite his allegiance to it.
No matter what happened, Crassus wanted to ensure that even if he were to somehow fail in the ritual, the Sith would have the strongest leader possible. It would be the only way for sure that the Sith could hope to heal to a point of prowess where the Republic would not be able to overcome them. Most important, he would come prepared with the plans with which he intended to rebuild the Sith most especially with the ritual ensuring his immortality and greater power. Unlike Vitiate, Crassus would know that there were more important enemies and obstacles to conquer during the next little while. Obstacles that would ensure that the Republic was too weak to stop the Sith upon their return from the fringes of Known Space.
He was hoping to impress Lord Scourge into accepting that the Sith needed an experienced leader to help rebuild the Empire. Most of all, he would need to convince Scourge to watch the inevitable battle at Nogatan unfold and act only in accordance with the outcome of the battle and nothing more. Like Crassus, Scourge was a patient man and was likely biding his time for the perfect chance to take back the Empire for himself now that Vitiate was dead. And despite his own desire to hold onto power, Crassus had to admit that he had to dangle that chance in front of Scourge in order to convince him to help. It was a game of chess that Crassus intended to win, even if he was destined to die in the battle at Nogatan, trying to complete the ritual.