She sensed conviction behind the words as
Darth Solipsis
spelled out why he believed they had triumphed in the schism of the Sith. He believed it was fear and weakness that had made the Sith he had challenged refuse to face him in Kaggath, that he and his followers had cleaved the Sith Empire in two and broke the fledgling state of the Worm from Korriban. She heard the satisfaction in his voice when he mentioned Tavlar, and she caught the brief flicker of his gaze as it moved pass to the city beyond. Yes, she had been right after all. And she gave him a small smile as he did say he would indulge her and the more important question of what she might want from him.
It wasn't nearly so simple as that.
"Before I get to the question of what I might want, I will indulge the educator's prerogative," she said in response. "You claim victory in the schism, and lay out your reasonings well for why you believe as such. Misguided reasonings, but reasonings nonetheless. I'll counter you point for point as any good debate should."
She held up one finger.
"Point number one, you believe that those who came to the Great Gathering refused your challenge out of fear or weakness. I would argue otherwise, and it is an argument that you likely won't find to your liking. The other prominent Sith of this current cycle don't view you as a credible challenger to the title. They see a fallen Jedi scrambling for glory and recognition by claiming the Sith title, someone they view as beneath them. Why would they bother with this upstart when more important work is needed doing. As an aside, you also would have violated the law of Kaggath as you manipulated the Mandalorians that served alongside the New Imperials to attack the gathering and did not use your own power base, but that's a minor quibble in this day and age."
She held a second finger.
Point number two, which does tie into your first point. Your attacks on Thule and Felucia that were successful, which would lend credence to your previous statement that the old orders were defeated. One could argue, in the case of Thule, that you were merely an opportunistic scavenger gliding off the back of a string of New Imperial victories as they pushed their way through Sith space. Felucia is a more clear victory, I'll give you that, but both victories have a major flaw in them. What major Sith Lords did you defeat in those battles? The only member of the Dark Council, post the split between the New Imperials and Sith Empire, that died in battle was Adrian Vandiir, and he was killed in a battle with the New Imperials."
She shifted her robes for a moment before continuing.
"By the time of your attack on Thule, many of the major Sith Lords knew the Empire was on the verge of collapse. We pulled our own forces back, secreted them away or defended more important planets such as Ziost. The bulk of the Sith-Imperial military that was left were not present on Thule and were already following orders from Carnifex to begin regrouping at designated rendezvous points for the inevitable end, and the Worm hadn't yet built a strong enough military to really be a major power when the attack fell on Felucia, which was also admittedly going through its own schism as Darth Vulcanus and his Graug waged war on the rest because we wouldn't just hand him the planet. So one could also argue you took advantage of that as well, but I digress."
A third finger.
"Point number three, more recent events. The battle at Korriban where you revitalized yourself and revealed the existence of a second superweapon, no doubt planning to use it to destroy the planet as part of the Maw's philosophy of burning down the old to make way for the new. Your ritual succeeded in giving you a new, younger body and I suspect that your forces pilfered some artifacts, and you did hold off your nephew and the Alliance forces present in the theater. I will give you that, but I will also add the Alliance forces in the Stygian Caldera were a spent force after the battles on Ziost and your nephew had also been repulsed from that world too. I should know because Ziost is mine. And I will certainly congratulate you on successfully assassinating Imperator Tavlar, but I would also argue you played your hand too soon. Your infiltrator there, I honestly forget the name, is no longer in position to either influence or cause trouble there. Now a new Imperator, one that is Force Sensitive and every bit as ruthless as his predecessor, has taken command."
She turned her attention back to the city.
"I will be perfectly blunt and say this, and I doubt you'll agree with it, but... you didn't win the schism. Even now, after all your victories in the Unknown Regions and your achievements here in the Alliance and the New Imperial Order, the other Sith, the ones you deride as weak or fearful, don't view you as legitimate. You're a distraction for the galaxy, an angry mob screaming and burning as it goes, while the rest of us continue our own work and plans. Consider this. Your New Sith Order does not have the teachers or masters it needed for those that claim their titles of Sith Lord. I was curious and went to Jakku when your forces attacked, just to observe, and I was very disappointed to see what passed as a strain of Sithspawn in your new order, and I've seen the reports of use of chrysalides." She sighed for dramatic effect. "Your alchemists are maybe on par with my second year students at the Sorzus Academy, maybe a third year with whoever created the chrysalides. But perhaps that is just my academic nature coming out. Regardless, this point stand as thus: Not a single major Sith Lord in this galaxy, anyone that could lend you some credibility to the others, to show your strength and ability to dominate or persuade them you are right, besides Kaine at Csilla, has joined your New Sith Order"
She finally turned back to give him a small smile again, one tinged with some sympathy, and said, "Perhaps a better question to ask, instead of what I want from you, is what do you want from me?"
