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Chapter Text

The Force that can be told is not the eternal Force.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.

 - Jedi Master Lao Tzu, as translated from the original Dai Bendu holy texts.

Nemsis, 33 BBY

The cloaked shadow drifted through an acrid, yellow cloud, traversing a barren wasteland of jagged black volcanic rock. Ancient, crumbling ramparts and towers loomed above a narrowing canyon ahead, threatening in their stature and cold in their death. The shadow paused, reaching out its senses to feel the pulsating rage emanating from the canyon deep below. The rage flared in awareness of his approach – an awareness of an intruder, uncertain of its worthiness. The shadow forged ahead toward the jagged cavity at the base of the castle, confident in his worth and prepared for the test.

               He entered the cavity, passing into a darkened cave. He removed the black cylinder from a belt hidden beneath his cloak, and with his long, smooth, grey fingers, activated the weapon. A red slash of light erupted, casting a red glow across the black creases and crevices of the cave. His senses unfurled toward a great cavern ahead, and he felt malice looming, its hunger terrible to behold, waiting to challenge his intentions.

               A hundred meters later, the cave opened into a broad cavern with a towering ceiling. At the far end of the cavern, a storm of dark energy raged, with black energy intertwined with streaks of red and purple swirling into a vortex of death. Beneath his breathing mask, the shadow felt the corners of his mouth twist upward under his flattened nose, his cold skin crinkling into something approximating a smile. Finally, after decades of searching, he had found it – a vortex of energy so great and so powerful that its wielder would grow in power beyond anything the galaxy had ever known.

               A dozen creatures fluttered down from the shadows in the roof of the cavern, detaching from stalactites as they settled into a semi-circular arc barring the shadow’s forward movement toward the vortex. Their wings fluttered from their backs, silver-white. Their bodies were encased in a glittering black exoskeleton, and their mouths hissed and panted, revealing jagged fangs dripping with a clear liquid. Their kaleidoscopic eyes radiated a cold hatred, and the shadow’s sense of the creatures suggested a unified will with an aching hunger.

               A piercing, cackling shriek erupted from the twelve beasts in unison, and they rushed toward the shadow, their will intent on murder. The shadow clipped his weapon to his belt and reached both of his hands forward. With a jolt of his own rage, cascades of red lightning erupted from his fingertips. The lightning entwined around the beasts, each of whom writhed and twitched in midair, immobilized by his attack. When the shadow was satisfied that the message had been delivered, he relented in his attack, and the creatures collapsed to the ground, twitching and smoking from the electrical storm.

               Who dares enter this place?

               The voice boomed as if from the walls, and as it spoke, the creatures gathered themselves back to their clawed feet, reforming the semi-circular arc barring the approach to the vortex.

               “It is I, Darth Plagueis, Master of the Sith and architect of the doom of the Jedi,” the shadow spoke, his voice amplified through his breathing mask.

               The Sith? The voice asked.

               “Masters of the darkness,” Plagueis replied. “I hail from beyond the Great Boundary.”

               The boundary of Erys?

               “Indeed,” Plagueis affirmed.

               How did you pass?

               “The old fool never dared to dream that somebody other than him could discover the secrets. The arrogance of the light is its belief that it will always prevail. Never does it consider that the darkness existed first, and that it would exist long after the light is extinguished.” Plagueis declared.

               Verily, the voice affirmed. A pause followed, after which the voice asked, And what would you ask of the Nemsis?

               “A deal,” Plagueis offered.

               What do you offer?

               “A great apocalypse shall soon befall the guardians of light beyond the barrier, leaving the galaxy ripe,” Plagueis affirmed. “I know that your hunger gnaws at you, with fresh prey always out of reach. With the old man’s vulnerability exposed, together, we could shred the boundaries, opening the galaxy to the might of the Nemsis.”

               And for you, Sith?

               Plagueis smiled again, and he nodded his head toward the vortex swirling beyond the dozen creatures standing sentinel. A deep, booming laugh followed, echoing throughout the cavern and trailing into dark silence.

               I see. Perhaps you think you actually have the power to wield it.

               “Not just wield it,” Plagueis smiled.

               We are intrigued. You will die in the attempt. Fresh meat for our children, at the very least. We will allow you to make the attempt. If you fail, we feast. If you succeed, we will consider it a promise.

               “It will take time,” Plagueis warned.

               Succeed, and time will cease to matter.

               Plagueis nodded, and the twelve beasts parted, allowing a passage through them toward the vortex. Plagueis stepped forward, noticing the small twinge of fear growing below his cold certainty. A lifetime of searching, learning, scheming, plotting, and planning. What if he should fail? The plan his apprentice prepared to carry out would succeed, undoubtedly, and perhaps one day his apprentice might discover the final piece to complete the puzzle. Or not. Perhaps the endless cycle would persist for many more thousands of years. But as he walked toward the vortex, he acknowledged to himself that the choice had been made long ago, and that there was no turning back.

               He paused at the foot of the vortex, which swirled angrily, sparking electric discharge as it roiled within its vast cavity. He felt the terrible power permeating him, penetrating him, and suffusing him. He extended his long, bony finger, and he felt a tendril of darkness separate from the vortex and entwine around his finger. He opened himself to the energy, drawing it toward him, and more tendrils emerged, wrapping around his arms, his waste, his neck, and his legs. As the darkness was about to enclosed him completely, he reached into the Force and unleashed his rage, sending a torrent of red lightning into the heart of the vortex. The darkness around his body gripped him, squeezing the air out of his lungs and crushing his muscles. He persisted in his attack, maintaining a singular will on sustaining the electric discharge. As pain tore through his body, he took in the pain, embracing and savoring it, allowing it to fuel his power. As the darkness strengthened, so did his attack.

As the pressure reached its peak, the darkness parted like curtains flung open in the morning. His body fell away, collapsing on the ground, lifeless. His essence remained, floating in the air, his form red and pulsating in time with the swirling tendrils of the vortex. A suggestion formed in his mind, and he opened his arms. Particles of red energy drifted away from his chest toward the swirling heart of the vortex. When he had released about half of the particles, they coalesced in the center of the vortex, congealing into a viscous red substance bound to the energy swirling around it. Charges and flashes of red and purple lightning erupted, and in a blinding flash of light, all went dark.

Consciousness returned minutes – hours? Days? Ages? He could not be certain – later. His body ached with stiffness and a burning sensation. He rolled over in an attempt to pull himself to his feet, and he felt a crippling weakness in his limbs. Glancing down at his fingers, he saw that the smooth, gray skin was now cracked and dull, its vitality and elasticity gone. With a colossal effort, he rose to his feet, swaying as he fought to maintain his balance. Ahead, the creatures began to crackle and hiss, although the sounds did not feel like a threat.

Well done, Sith.

As Darth Plagueis examined his cracked, diseased fingers, he felt a curious disconnect with his body. Beyond his body, he felt the expanse of the dark side spreading around him, deeper and more present than he had ever felt it before. The veil that had always hung between him and its source, the very thing he had devoted his life to penetrating, was gone.

Fulfill your bargain. Eagerly, do we await the feast.

                                                                                          ***

The modest, unmarked shuttle soared across the nearly vacant industrial sector of Coruscant’s central city under the crimson light of a blood-red sunset. The shuttle deftly dodged plumes of smoke belched from a wilderness of powerplants and factories as it soared toward a cylindrical tower awash in the red glow of the setting sun. The ship slowed upon approaching a jaw-like portal that opened at the ship’s approach, and after passing through, the ship settled to the ground with a gentle bump and a hiss of steam.

               The shuttle’s boarding ramp descended into a cloud of steam, and a cloaked figure walked purposefully down the ramp across the polished floor toward a grand double door atop a flight of stairs. The hood of his black cloak obscured his eyes and cast a shadow over his nose and chin, and he moved with a sense of grim expectation, even excitement, as he crossed the room. The culmination of decades of planning approached, and soon, the first moves in the grand revenge against the Jedi would commence. And with that commencement, he began to sense his own ascension approaching, as well.

He ascended the stairs and reached the doors, pausing for a moment to mute his excitement, lest his emotions reveal any of his true intention. With the emotion settled and stored away, he opened the doors and passed into a grand hall with a vaulted ceiling 30 meters high. Dim lights revealed little of the darkened walls, although he could sense a few hooded men scurrying about experiments in the shadows. Ignoring their inconsequential scurrying’s, the man strode forward with singular purpose to a dais crowned by a carved, stone throne. As he approached, he could see the figure of a Muun, old and withered, slouching in his seat. The Muun’s presence radiated eagerness, and as the man approached, he deduced that the Muun sought news of his pupil’s actions in the Galactic Senate.

Upon reaching the base of the dais, the man slowed, then walked steadily up the steps. Upon reaching the platform before the throne, the man knelt on one knee with his head bowed. Sidious suppressed a frown as the Muun upon the throne waited for a moment, diminished unexpectedly from his former vigor. His Master’s raspy, quavering voice whispered into the cavernous gloom, “Rise, Lord Sidious.”

Darth Sidious rose to his feet and settled into a stance of calm attention. His master appraised him momentarily, then spoke again. “What news do you bring?”

“My Master, the Queen of Naboo has called for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor Vallorum. A vote will be set immediately to determine the next Chancellor,” Sidious reported, his deep voice measured and cold.

“And I expect Senator Palpatine will be among the candidates?” the Muun asked, his raspy voice barely a whisper.

“Indeed,” Sidious acknowledged gravely.

“Very good, my Lord Sidious,” Darth Plagueis praised, and as he continued to appraise his apprentice, he became aware that this was not the only news Sidious wished to convey. “There’s more you wish to say.”

“Indeed, my Master,” Sidious replied, and he continued, saying, “The Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn has appeared before the Jedi Council claiming to have found the ‘Chosen One.’ I was able to obtain the child’s blood report, and it shows an unprecedented level of midichlorians.”

Darth Plagueis leaned forward, his eagerness mounting. “Intriguing.” Then, he whispered softly, “What do you make of this, Lord Sidious?”

“This boy could prove a powerful enemy,” Sidious concluded his assessment, emphasizing the word enemy to underscore his concern of a threat rising within the Jedi.

“His parentage?” Sidious asked in a whisper.

“The Master Jinn relayed that the mother was a slave on a desert planet. He claims there was no father,” Sidious concluded.

An old suspicion awoke in him as he remembered the experiments of nearly a decade ago where Sidious and Plagueis plumbed the deepest mysteries of the Dark Side in their attempt to conquer death. During some of those experiments he experienced what felt like resistance in the Force, as if the Force itself did not wish for them to succeed. The only plausible explanation Sidious could find was that the child was a manifestation of the Force, which seemed to him an ominous sign. “My Master, I wonder whether this child could be a warning.”

Plagueis sat back in his chair and remained silent for a long time. The silence extended for so long that Sidious became concerned that his master had fallen asleep. Despite his master’s decades of experimentation with the Dark Side of the Force to create and sustain life, it appeared that age had caught up with him suddenly and aggressively.

Plagueis responded, saying, “I have no doubt he is a warning. The Force resists us, as it always will.”

“Then what to make of this boy?” Sidious asked.

“Humans are particularly susceptible to the dark side. He could be a powerful ally,” Plagueis suggested.

Sidious understood the suggestion and implication within it. Should their plan succeed, the boy would become a man subject to passions and desires. He would be famous, and with fame could bring ego - and power. Such a man would indeed prove susceptible.

Sidious allowed his imagination to wander further. Within the past three months, his master had deteriorated from a vibrant, if aging intellect to the withered old fool who sat before him. Sidious sequestered the disdain and disgust he felt toward his master, even as the inevitable conclusion rose to the surface: I have no need for you any longer. Sidious felt a touch of disappointment at making the conclusion, as the coming war would mean a pause in discovering the final secrets in their quest to conquer death. Then again, the quest had languished for years with little progress until Sidious was forced to conclude that his Master, for all his power and wisdom, had reached the limits of his intellect – limits which he, Sidious, would surely transcend in time – perhaps even with the boy as his apprentice.

“This boy – what is he called?” Plagueis asked, still distant.

“Skywalker,” Sidious responded.

Plagueis did not speak further of the child, and he instead took an abrupt turn in the conversation. Meeting his apprentice’s eyes, he smiled a cold, withered smile, and then said, “You have done well, Lord Sidious. The board is set. The pieces are in place. And the Jedi have no idea that the game has begun. Everything is laid out before you. You have become a powerful Sith, and soon, we shall rule the galaxy together as Master and Apprentice.”

Sidious smiled his own cold smile, and he nodded deferentially. “Yes, my Master.”

                                                                                          ***

That night, Sidious waited until the early hours of the morning. He sat in meditation, waiting for his master’s awareness to fade into drowsiness and sleep. Slowly, his master’s awareness faded, and when it devolved into shapeless unconsciousness, Sidious knew that it was time to act. He crept carefully and slowly up the stairs to his master’s chambers, pausing occasionally to sense any change in his master’s awareness. When no change came, Sidious reached out through the Force to trigger the mechanism to unlock and open the door to his master’s chambers. The door slid open silently, and Sidious, still hooded and cloaked, glided in, equally silent.

               He reached the foot of his Master’s bed and regarded the withered old fool lost in sleep and scheming dreams. Registering his Master’s complete vulnerability, Sidious withdrew his lightsaber. Walking slowly and silently around to the edge of the bed, Sidious pointed the opening of the lightsaber toward his master’s chest. Then, with the blade aimed directly at Darth Plagueis’s heart, Sidious spoke, “Awake, my Master.”

               The Muun’s eyes fluttered open, and he turned his head to gaze at Sidious through a haze of confusion and sleep. Sidious activated his lightsaber, and the blade erupted, piercing Plagueis’s chest and causing the Muun to gasp in shock and pain. Sidious held the blade in place as Plagueis struggled feebly. The struggle subsided quickly, and Sidious watched with satisfaction as the light left his Master’s eyes.

               To Sidious’s surprise, once the light faded from his master’s eyes, the body did not grow still and cold. Instead, the body disintegrated into gray ash, spilling out of the bed and onto the floor. Sidious recoiled in horror, but as he watched, nothing more happened. He extinguished his lightsaber and prodded the shallow pile of ash in the bed. Nothing happened except for the ash displacing where his lightsaber had touched it. His master was now truly gone, and Sidious took the moment as his ascension. Dismissing the sudden shock of the body’s disintegration, Sidious reared back his head to laugh a cold, cackling laugh.

               When the laugh subsided, Sidious took a deep breath to quell his excitement over his triumph. In the silence, he felt a cold presence sweep through the room, and in a distant corner of his mind, he was certain he could hear a separate laughter not his own that trailed off into echoing silence.

Chapter Text

Coruscant, 26 A.B.Y.

For countless ages, the planet Coruscant sat at the center of galactic affairs, the flawed and tarnished gem of the known galaxy. Civilizations, governments, and religions came and went, many long forgotten by the modern historians and philosophers who tended to look only as far back as the most recent dark age. Steel plate by steel plate, the myriad beings of the galaxy’s Capitol constructed their planet-sized city upon the graves of the previous civilization, burying the planet’s ancient surface further and further beneath the tombs of eons past. Whether democracy, autocracy, or anarchy reigned, the galaxy could rest assured, for good and for ill, that Coruscant’s chaos, corruption, and considerable influence would persist, as enduring as the Force and as seemingly eternal as the stars themselves.

Coruscant Defense Director Valeria Sniy stared down at the planet’s surface, musing on its chaotic predictability. The surface shone with intricately laced lights and traffic lanes, and Sniy allowed herself a moment’s relief at escaping the planet, however briefly, for the relative tranquility of the Republic’s Central Defense Command. She had joined the bridge of the Starhawk-class battleship, Mon Mothma, upon receipt of a series of incoming transmissions provided by the Millennium Falcon. The same messages had transmitted to thousands of recipients throughout the Republic military, the Republic government, the media outlets covering events throughout the Core Worlds, and media outlets beyond the Core. The ensuing uproar had captivated the attention of the entire galaxy.

On the bridge display, the Central Galactic News Network ran live footage of the Chancellor’s Residence encircled by a contingency of Republic Security forces. The reporter breathlessly recounted recent updates in the unfolding story, saying, “Our latest intelligence indicates that Republic Security has surrounded the Chancellor’s residence demanding his immediate surrender. There is no confirmation on whether the Chancellor is holding hostages at this time, and our sources report that security teams are seeking a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Acting Secretary of Security Welsin has ordered the Chancellor’s arrest following the recent revelations of treason in cooperating with the mysterious paramilitary force known as the Order of Ren. . .”

               The reporter paused momentarily, concentrating on something unseen before resuming his report. “I have just received a report that forces from the paramilitary group known as the Resistance; the 1^st and the 2^nd Republic fleets commanded by Admiral Vax Antilles, and the Chiss Ascendancy flagship have just concluded a major skirmish on the outskirts of the uninhabited Cophrigin system. I am told that the Republic Fleet opened fire on the Resistance’s base on the planet Cophrigin V, leading to a space battle. The Chiss flagship turned on the Republic, destroying half of the 1^st and 2^nd Fleet plus a significant percentage of Resistance Forces before suddenly standing down. We do not have confirmation on the status of Admiral Antilles, Secretary Specks, or former Senator Akeyla Ismaren at this time.”

               As the news report returned to the stand-off at the Chancellor’s Residence, Director Sniy turned to the commanding officer and requested, “Commander, report on status of the 1^st and 2^nd Fleets.”

               “I’ve received communication from First Officer Morvinae confirming the reports. Half of both fleets are lost, Admiral Antilles has been critically wounded, and the Chiss indeed turned on the Republic before abruptly stopping their attack,” the Commander reported.

“Is there any report on why the Chiss turned on the Republic?” Sniy asked, confused at the sudden about-face of their allies.

 “The report indicated that the vast majority of Chiss personnel had been operating under a neurological governance system that was partially controlling their actions in service of the Order of Ren. The Chiss soldiers appear to have commandeered the ship and supplanted their commanders with the aid of the Resistance agent known as Jax,” the officer concluded.

               Damnit, Director Sniy swore to herself before directing her attention back to the screen where footage of the standoff at the Chancellor’s residence continued to play. Drones circled above the Chancellor’s Residence, and security vehicles and armed personnel held their positions, ostensibly attempting to negotiate a surrender. Everything from the past nine months that Republic Intelligence and Command had denied and obfuscated was now proving true, and each claim made by Leia Organa and her Resistance appeared to be verifying rapidly before her eyes. And if that was the case, it was only a matter of time before Leia’s predicted onslaught from the Order of Ren would begin.

She scanned the bridge and noted the distraction among her crew members, and in her brisk, commanding voice, she barked, “Commander, signal to Coruscant Defense to transition to red alert, full protocol for impending invasion!”

               A moment of stunned silence followed as the crew turned their attention toward her. She had the sense that every member of the crew was belatedly constructing the same understanding she had just arrived at, albeit reluctantly out of dread.

To spur them out of their shocked inaction, she bellowed, “NOW!”

               Her command initiated a furious flurry of activity as klaxons blared and red lights replaced the normally crisp, white lighting on the bridge. Commander Sniy scanned her display to see the Golan III platforms slowly going online along with the 5^th and 8^th Fleets transitioning to defensive formations. Too slow, she thought, but her thoughts screeched to a horrifying halt by the report from an ensign monitoring inbound traffic.

               “Commander, advanced scanning indicates the approach of a massive fleet arriving within the minute!” he shouted, fear evident in his voice.

               “Approximate number of ships?” Commander Sniy responded, her voice a picture of forced calm in the hopes of assuaging some of the anxiety she felt building among her crew.

               “Several thousand, Commander,” replied the ensign, “At least nine of the ships are roughly the size of Imperial Super Star Destroyers, and one is larger than anything we’ve seen since the Death Star!”

               Every face in the room turned toward the Commander, and she saw the shock and horror reflected in each expression. She swallowed, forcing down her own terror, and she called out, “Inform Coruscant of impending assault.”

               The ensign began his report, but mid-sentence, the massive fleet dropped out of hyperspace above Coruscant’s primary quadrant. Several of the ships were indeed equivalent in size to Super Star Destroyers, with thousands of ships apparently equivalent to or larger than standard frigates and destroyers. Her scanner did not register the make or model of most of the ships, suggesting origin outside the known galaxy. As she began to take a reading of the tactical display to plan her counterstrategy, she noted the rough formation of three distinct units with the massive, city-sized battleship at its head. The two wing formations spread outward on intercept for the Golan III battle stations repositioning from their orbits on the planet’s far-side. As she compared the size of her available forces, it quickly became apparent that they were outnumbered 20 to 1.

               “Ensign, hail the flagship,” ordered the Director.

               The Ensign triggered commands on his console, and a channel opened with the Order of Ren flagship. There was no visual from the other end, but she could hear noises indicating that an audio connection existed.

               “Unidentified fleet, this is Director Valeria Sniy of Coruscant Defense. We have activated our defense forces and are prepared for counterassault. Please stand down and state your intentions,” she said, willing every bit of steel and determination she could muster into the command.

               There was no response for nearly a minute when the Order of Ren flagship’s constellation of turbolaser batteries opened fire. Thousands of lines of supercharged energy lanced across space, cutting through Coruscant’s chaotic mélange of interstellar traffic as it traveled directly toward the bridge of the Mon Mothma. The bridge erupted into fiery vapor, consuming Commander Sniy and her entire crew instantaneously.

                                                                                          ***

“Full engagement, with focus on the Golan III’s first, single ships after,” called the mechanically modulated voice of a multi-limbed droid occupying a central position on the bridge. The crew – a medley of Grysk technicians, Nemsian hybrids, and droids – responded immediately in a flurry of action that preceded a spectacular barrage of turbolaser batteries from the three arrayed fleets. Hundreds of transport, cargo, and responding Republic military forces in the crossfire erupted into flames as the shields surrounding the Golans began to glow. The Golans had begun responding with heavy fire of their own, and the Grysk cruisers at the vanguard began to sustain damage.

Ren sat in silence, his expression obscured behind his skull-like mask as he watched the first movement in his decade’s long orchestration of destruction in the first moments of the Eternal Night, a long-awaited reckoning where darkness would reign supreme and the old forms would die. Coruscant, the corrupt, fetid cancer in the heart of the galaxy, would be the first casualty. The Senate, the Republic, the Jedi themselves would all fall in unison, and Ren, the architect of their destruction, would dance before the pyre on which the rotting corpses of democracy and the Jedi Order burned.

A robotic voice from the multi-appendaged command droid called out, “Shield integrity across all five battle stations within spectrum of 42-53%.”

               Although the mask shielded the gesture, Ren smiled at the efficiency of the onslaught. Within moments, he watched as the first of the shields fell. The Golan III orbital platforms had been designed to sustain heavy turbolaser barrages even without their shields, but the now vulnerable station erupted from multiple points under the onslaught of thousands of blasts. Moments later, the first station exploded, followed by the collapse of shields on two additional battle stations. The segment of the fleet focusing on the now destroyed battle station shifted fire to the other two stations whose shields had collapsed, and within minutes, both of those stations were destroyed. Within fifteen minutes, all five stations had succumbed to the onslaught, leaving only the Republic capital fleets to defend the planet.

               “Well done,” Ren acknowledged. “Grysk forces at the vanguard, engage Republic fleets in Sectors 17, 29, and 44. The remainder of the fleet, concentrate all firepower on generation points for the planetary shield. Do not relent until the shield has collapsed.”

                                                                                          ***

Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis slithered to the curving windows overlooking Coruscant’s city center and gazed to the sky. Massive explosions had signaled the destruction of the orbital battle stations, and now the shield encircling the planet – normally transparent except under the clearest of conditions – had begun to glow and fracture. Myriad explosions suggested the destruction of additional ships, satellites, and other interstellar structures caught in the crossfire. Oppo Rancisis clutched his hand to his heart, staving off collapse as the Force reverberated with the terror and pain of millions of sudden deaths occurring in the sky above. But beyond those deaths, Master Rancisis felt the cruel, dark presence of a power of intensity and malice of which he had never witnessed.

               Master Rancisis, the voice spoke, and Master Rancisis could hear the voice from within him and without him. His body collapsed to the ground as pain lanced through his nervous system. As his mind fought to maintain consciousness, he felt through the Force the Jedi Masters in the Jedi Council Chamber also collapsing and writhing on the floor.

               The voice continued, reverberating through the Force and through their minds, saying Resist if you will. The Jedi Order ends today.

               The voice fell silent and the onslaught of psychic and physical pain ebbed. Master Rancisis fought against the weakness in his aged arms as he struggled to an erect posture. As he recovered some sense of control over his body, he spoke, his voice weak from pain and fear, “Muster all available Jedi. Prepare to defend the temple!”

                                                                                          ***

A hornet’s nest of activity erupted over the shielded atmospheric boundary of Coruscant as countless sorties and dogfights erupted between Republic defense forces and encroaching Order of Ren fighters. The beleaguered shields continued to glow and fracture as the Order of Ren flagship and the nine massive battlecruisers concentrated their fire on the various generation points in the extraorbital shield system that surrounded a secondary shield generated from the planet’s surface. The Republic Fleets, comprised of a dozen task forces containing Starhawk-class battlecruisers, Mon Cala cruisers, and a motley array of frigates, cruisers, corvettes, and freighters disgorged their full deployments of X-wings, A-wings, Y-wings, B-wings, and Z-95 fighters. Transport ships, civilian cruisers, satellites, and other private craft caught in the crossfire erupted in flames as the Republic fleet, vastly outnumbered and outgunned, engaged the approaching Chiss fleet and Grysk fleet. The two fleets remained separate, working around from the flanks of the primary fleet composed of hundreds of jet-black cruisers reminiscent of giant hornets.

Meanwhile, the command ships of the assaulting fleet continued their relentless barrage of fire on the external shields. The external shields shuddered, blinked, and then dissipated as several of the shield generation points erupted in flame. There was no pause in the relentless turbolaser barrage, which began impacting upon the planet’s internal shield system. As the moments spun past after the fall of the outer shield, a dozen other Republic capitol ships disintegrated.

A proximity light on Ren’s display indicated the approach of another task force. Almost lazily, Ren commanded, “Commander, incoming Republic task force in sector 19. Divert two dozen cruisers from the Nemsian wing to intercept.”

Ren watched as the incoming fleet dropped out of hyperspace into an immediate barrage of purple turbolaser fire erupting from the two-dozen hornet-shaped cruisers lying in wait. Within minutes, the incoming Republic force was gone. Ren directed his focus back to the battle against the last line of Republic defenses engaging the Chiss and the Grysk components of the triad, and he watched as the last of the Starhawks succumbed before the fleets turned their attention to the smaller craft. He scanned the readout on the battle’s statistics: 472 Republic ships frigate size and above destroyed, five orbital battle stations destroyed. Number of small craft and civilian craft unaccounted. On his side only 27 ships Frigate size and above had been lost out of a fleet of nearly 5,000. Good, he thought to himself, taking a cruel satisfaction in the efficiency of the overwhelming assault.

“Commander, report on shield integrity,” Ren ordered.

“Planetary shield integrity at 42%,” the multi-armed droid reported.

“Good,” Ren responded. “Prepare my shuttle for departure to the planet’s surface. Order surface bombardment of priority targets outside the city center, but do not fire on the city center itself.”

“Affirmative, my Lord,” the droid replied.

Ren rose from his seat, and the half-dozen Acronemses positioned in the shadows of the bridge moved in formation to follow as he left the bridge.

                                                                                          ***

Chancellor Bolsko moved to his window and watched the explosions blossoming in the sky like the great wildflower fields of the Kuati deserts following the monsoon. The betrayal had been utter and complete. The pounding on his door continued despite the apocalypse unfolding above. He scanned the room at the handful of aids, most of whom curled on the floor in a blind panic. Bolsko felt his own panic mounting, and in his terror, he reached for his communications console, keying in the first of the secret commands he had been taught to use whenever there were urgent communications to be made.

               “Specks!” Bolsko cried into the recorder for his console.

               No response followed despite several subsequent desperate attempts to reach his former subordinate. He keyed a new code; although the dark Jedi had been absent for months he thought it was worth a try for an explanation on the sudden betrayal.

               “Veryx?!” Bolsko shouted, his desperation mounting.

               No reply came from this attempt, and Bolsko fumbled for the last code. It was one he was forbidden to use except in the event that one of their priority targets had been apprehended. He keyed the code, and within moments, the masked face of nightmares appeared on his screen.

               A moment of silence followed, when the Sith Lord on the other side of the communication spoke in slithery mockery. “Ah, Chancellor. Enjoying the show?”

               “What is this!” Bolsko demanded. “You promised me. . .”

               “I did promise you, didn’t I?” Ren said, amusement in his voice.

               “You told me that when all was said and done, I could disappear to my own private planet,” Bolsko said, his fear childlike.

               “And you were foolish enough to believe it,” Ren replied, and his voice icy. “Long have you sought a meeting this past year. Please stay put. I look forward to making your acquaintance.”

               The communication severed, and Bolsko shouted, “No!” as he scrambled to re-establish the connection to continue his pleading.

An echoing boom rattled the windows, and Bolsko scrambled to his feet. Looking out the window of his residence, he watched the planetary shield collapse as a turbolser beam cut through the shield and struck the primary shield generator in the heart of the industrial sector. The hazy sheen arcing across the sky collapsed, and Bolsko watched as hundreds of Republic planetary defense forces – fighters, freighters, corvettes, and other small craft – launched into the Coruscanti sky. The sun set red as smoke from countless explosions became entrained in the tropospheric winds, dispersing the ash and detritus of the destroyed Republic defense forces across the sky. As the sun set into Coruscant’s far horizon, the realization dawned in Bolsko’s mind – there was nowhere left to hide.

                                                                                          ***

Screams and shouting resonated through the Senate halls as a crush of staff, aides, and dignitaries pushed their way down to the exit. Many lost their footing, and the hordes hoping to escape trampled countless creatures. In the higher levels of the Senate tower, Senators rushed to their aerial transports to flee the City Center for a hiding spot deep within Coruscant. As the first transports left their docks, Order of Ren fighters descended to the surface, disintegrating the fleeing speeders and shuttles before they gained momentum. Those on the ground watched in horror as hundreds of shuttles settled at the edge of the Senate Plaza, disgorging thousands of Grysk soldiers. The hulking, bestial warriors garbed in copper-hued armor with cruel scythes and heavy blasters disembarked, forming lines to fire and advance upon the Senate. Helmets obscured their cruel, jagged teeth, their pallid skin stretched over skull-like faces. In the distance, multi-hued beams of energy rained down from the heavens, and fireballs blossomed into the air across every corner of the horizon.

The crush of people pushed back into the Senate building as security forces took defensive positions around the perimeter of the Senate. As the security forces opened fire on the Grysk, dozens of Grysk fighters soared past, strafing the defensive positions. Grysk soldiers opened fire, their blasters cutting through defensive embankments in an overwhelming salvo. The superior numbers of the Grysk left the security forces pinned down, and the Grysk advanced as the resistance collapsed. The fighters circled back for another round of strafing, carving a breach in the defensive line. A dozen Acronemses fluttered into the breach, activating their lightsabers and cutting through the defenses from within their line.

               As the breach widened, the Grysk advanced toward the Senate building, firing up into the balconies and verandas around the building. Fighters continued to gun down escaping shuttles until those attempting to flee by air abandoned their flight to remain sequestered within their chambers. The remaining defense forces not overrun by the Acronemses and Grysk broke formation and retreated into the Senate building, firing behind them as they fled. The Grysk pushed onward, reaching the Senate steps. Several rockets soared through the air, slamming into the main entrance of the Senate building, blowing open a massive hole. As the flame and smoke settled, the Grysk forged ahead, entering the building, cutting down anybody in their path.

               Once inside, the Grysk forces separated, driven by their own specific directives. An Acronemsis apiece entrained into individual squadrons, which moved up to the Senatorial offices. After cutting through the dwindling resistance from the now depleted security forces, the squadrons pushed through the Senate halls on their way to the Senatorial offices. With strict instructions on whom to capture, the strike teams murdered aides, guards, and translators; they destroyed protocol droids; they blasted through the ornate halls, leaving devastation in their wake.

Soldiers clad in gleaming copper armor dragged Senators out, many of whom kicked, screamed, pleaded for mercy, or dissolved into panic. Each Senator was brought down to the Senate building’s main hall where a squadron of Grysk executioners separated the Senators into two groups. Senators from core worlds such as Chandrila, Kuat, Corelia, Hosnian Prime and many others were sequestered in one group, while a larger group of mid-galaxy and Outer Rim Senators lined up against the walls. The executioners stepped forward, opening fire on the larger group of senators, leaving hundreds dead to the horror and terror of the Core World Senators.

                                                                                          ***

The floor of the Jedi Council building rocked as a blast from the skies above leveled an office tower a mile away. The shockwave blew out the windows of the Council Chamber, and an acrid wind smelling of smoke and death blew into the room. Master Oppo Rancisis and the rest of the Jedi Masters watched as the tower collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris. A Padawan learner burst into the chamber shouting that the Order of Ren was at the gates and had started attacking the Jedi defending the Temple’s main halls. The Masters looked to Master Rancisis, and in his weak, wheezing voice, he said, “We must fight. Move down to the temple floor. . .”

               His sentence died in his mouth as an unseen force pulled him from the center of the room and out the window. Several masters ran to the window and watched as Master Rancisis fell. A winged, insectoid creature swooped past, catching the aged Jedi Master and carrying him away toward the Senate Plaza. A shuttle approached the Council Chamber, and each Master backed away toward the door. The shuttle slowed its approach, spinning slowly so that its nose pointed away. A ramp lowered on the back, and a human figure, cloaked and masked, stepped purposefully down the ramp. He leapt the short distance from the ramp to the open chamber window. He stood surveying the Jedi Masters, each of which felt his malevolent presence boring into their psyches. The Master’s ignited their lightsabers and raised them in defensive positions.

               For a long moment, Ren stood and regarded the Jedi Masters before raising his hands outward. The Jedi tensed, sensing the attack. Their anticipation did little to aid their defense; Ren unleashed a multi-chained volley of black lightning, which entwined most of the masters, bringing them to the ground in agony. The few Masters who managed to block the lightning fell back under the force of the blast, and Ren pulled them toward him with the Force, sending them careening through the Council Chamber window and down to the grounds below; no Acronemsis waited to catch their bodies, and the muffled thuds of their impacts were lost in the explosion and chaos from the city below. Some of the Jedi struggled back to their feet to fight back, and Ren ignited his lightsaber, cutting through the remaining Jedi in several deft movements.

With the chamber devoid of all life but for that of his own, Ren surveyed the carnage with satisfaction. Skywalker’s Jedi order – destroyed in a matter of minutes. The screams from outside the chamber echoed as the chamber door swung open. A Padawan entered – no older than a teenager, running away from the carnage in the corridor leading to the chamber. He turned to face Ren, igniting his lightsaber. Ren reached out and choked the Padawan, draining his life until the body went limp. The Padawan collapsed to the ground, dead. Beyond the Padawan, a dozen Jedi continued to fend off the incurring Acronemses. One of them turned and shouted something indistinct. Five of the Jedi turned as well, and they rushed forward to attack Ren, lightsabers ignited.

Ren engaged all five at once, dodging and weaving their blows. Two of the Jedi, Padawans by the look of their short hair, died almost immediately as his counterattacks cut them down. He threw a third Jedi back into his compatriots down the corridor, who were still fending off the Acronemses. The incoming Jedi knocked three of his compatriots down, and the Acronemses swarmed to finish them off. While Ren watched in satisfaction, a burning pain seared into his shoulder, sending a cascade of fiery agony through his arm. Ren turned and unleashed a volley of lightning into the attacking Jedi’s chest, sending him through the door, into the chamber, and out the broken window to the ground hundreds of feet below. Ren twirled, slashing his lightsaber through the last Jedi.

The Acronemses down the hall had killed the last resistor, and the hallway grew eerily silent. Ren looked down at the wound on his shoulder, and a sense of curiosity stole over him. He was unsure whether he would feel pain or whether he could be wounded. As the burn on his arm throbbed with pain, he realized that both were true.

Death, on the other hand, was another matter altogether.

Chapter Text

Coruscant, 26 A.B.Y.

Prisoners lined up in the center of the vast open space of the Senate Plaza, kneeling on the ground with their heads to the plaza’s smooth stone surface. Grysk soldiers stood guard as the Acronemses prowled, menacing the prisoners. A quartet of Acronemses marched Chancellor Bolsko toward the assembled prisoners and threw him to the ground unceremoniously; Bolsko squealed as he hit the ground hard, blood spilling from his nose to sully his ornate robes. Fires burned in the city surrounding the plaza, but the Senate Tower remained standing.  Another explosion shook the ground, and the prisoners looked up to watch a fireball blossoming into the sky where the Jedi Temple had once stood.

               A shuttle drifted toward the Senate Plaza and landed 100 meters away from the assembled prisoners. The ramp lowered, and Ren exited, walking alone toward the center of the Senate Plaza where the prisoners awaited. The Grysk forces snapped into formation, watching as their Lord strode across the plaza as smoke obscured the skies. A platoon of Dichonemses soldiers marched a camera crew from the Central Galactic News Network roughly toward the center of the square, and the crew set up their cameras for filming. Ren stopped directly in front of the camera, and when the red light indicated that a live feed had commenced, he addressed the galaxy.

               “Citizens of the galaxy,” spoke Ren through his mask, his voice modulated and thick with menace. “I am Ren, master of the Grysk, the Chiss, and the Nemsis; orchestrator of the downfall of the Galactic Republic.”

Ren paused, allowing a moment for his audience to process and digest the significance of his self-proclaimed titles before continuing. “I stand now at the Senate Square. Around me, Coruscant burns. The corrupt, decrepit Senate purports to pursue peace, justice, and equality with their words, while with their actions they hoard the wealth of the galaxy, leaving nothing for the peoples they pretend to govern. Here on Coruscant, the corrupt, festering heart of this sham democracy, the Republic dies today.”

               Ren reached out a hand, and Chancellor Bolsko rose from the ground, struggling against an unseen grip around his neck. He gasped and spluttered for breath, his eyes bulging in their sockets as his feet kicked feebly. Ren closed his fist as Bolsko began to asphyxiate. His feet kicked wildly as his hands tried in vain to pull the unseen pressure away from his throat. Moments later, he gasped a death rattle and fell limp in the air. Ren relinquished his grip, and Bolsko fell to the ground, dead. Murmurs and gasps erupted from the assembled prisoners, and one Grysk soldier kicked the Senator from Bilbringi down when she stood up to protest.

               Ren turned back to the camera to address the galaxy again, saying, “Chancellor Bolsko struck a deal with corrupt agents for his own personal benefit. He allowed systems to be destroyed, civil war to unfold, and laws to be overturned to further his political ambitions.” Ren turned toward the Senators kneeling on the ground, and dozens of Acronemses stepped forward, uniting their lightsaber blades in unison. “The Senators kneeling before me represent the Core Worlds – systems who have kept the wealth of the galaxy to themselves at the expense of the people. While they legislated their way into riches and power, they left the people of the galaxy behind to starvation and enslavement as the dregs of the Outer Rim preyed on the helpless.”

               Ren raised his hand, and in unison, the Acronemses raised their blades. Whimpers and cries rang out from the prisoners as they sensed their deaths approaching. Master Rancisis’s snakelike body writhed against an unseen force holding him in place. Ren closed his fist, and the Acronemses brought their blades down, severing dozens of heads at once. Cries erupted from the surviving Senators who survived the first execution. A second volley followed, with a third volley following shortly thereafter. After the third and final volley, the assembled representative leadership of dozens of core systems lay dead in the heart of the Senate Plaza.

               Ren returned his focus back to the cameras and stepped forward to ensure that his head filled the frame. “I speak now directly to you, Kira Palpatine – the failed experiment of Emperor Palpatine’s vanity. You have fought to stave off this inevitability for nine months, lied to by those who claimed to care, protecting those who hated and resented you. Come to me now. Face the destiny that awaits you and abandon your pathetic resistance.”

               Ren paused, allowing his entreaty to the girl to linger before he finished. “I have no doubt that many in the so-called Resistance will choose to keep fighting. Many in the galaxy may be thinking of joining their cause. For all watching, formulating their plans to fight back and take on the might of my Order, witness the fate of Coruscant.”

               Ren raised his hand, and the camera moved of its own accord upward to the sky. A shadow passed over the Senate Plaza as the massive Order of Ren flagship descended into the atmosphere. It paused at the edge of the planet’s troposphere, and a vast cavity at the base of the ship opened. An orange glow radiated from within, and the air surrounding the cavity began to swirl inward. A yellow gas began to flow outward, mixing into the destabilizing atmosphere.

               Ren turned the camera back toward himself, and he continued his address. “What you are witnessing is an atmosphere destabilization device that was used on the planets Savareen, Jedha, and Rakata Prime among others. Within one week, the atmosphere of Coruscant will become toxic to all beings aside from the Nemsian forces, who thrive in this type of atmosphere. I will allow a small contingent of satellites and reporters to remain here unharmed to ensure all can witness what happens next. Citizens of Coruscant may attempt to hide, but eventually my forces will hunt them down, or they will run out of oxygen. All life on this planet will cease, and this rotten hive of corruption will be extinguished forever.”

               “This is the fate that awaits all systems that resist. Surrender and submit to my rule, and your planet will be spared. I will allow the galaxy one week to watch as Coruscant dies. We will hunt those still committed to resistance down, and we offer no quarter. If Kira and the Resistance do not surrender, the slaughter will be indiscriminate.”

               Ren pointed the camera to the sky once more as tens of thousands of Nemsian beings swarmed from the holds of the massive spaceship above. They drifted down to the sky like a plague of death, dispersing outward toward the various quadrants of Coruscant. The camera pointed back down to Ren, and before reaching out to crush the camera with the Force, he proclaimed, “Let the feast. . . begin!”

                                                                        ***

Cophrigin V, 26 A.B.Y.

Akeyla Ismaren stood before the holonet projector on the bridge of Home Two, her hand held over her mouth in horror as she watched the Acronemses execute her old colleagues, many of them friends and close collaborators over decades of legislating and leadership. In a matter of hours, nearly the entirety of the Republic Government, the Jedi Order, and much of the Republic Fleet had been wiped from existence. She did not yet know what remained of the galactic order she had worked so hard to help build, but now in the face of a superior military force the size and power of which had not been seen in millennia, the Republic no longer existed, and the Resistance, itself a shell of what it was only a day ago, was the only organized force standing in the way of complete and utter domination. She retraced the steps that brought them here – the revelation of Leia’s parentage, the dissolution of their efforts to reform the Republic, the seizure of power by an inept, corrupt oligarch, and nine months of cold conflict culminating in Leia’s death and a catastrophic conflict between friends and relatives.

               Horror flooded her as she considered how the past year had opened the door to the fall of Coruscant, and as the horror consumed her, she sank to the floor. Around her, she heard sobs and gasps from the crew, all of whom consumed the same images she was witnessing. Ren had begun addressing Kira, and Akeyla turned to see Kira standing still as a statue, her face inscrutable and her fists clenched.

               I speak now directly to you, Kira Palpatine – the great failed experiment of Emperor Palpatine’s vanity. You have fought to stave off this inevitability for a year, lied to by those who claimed to care, protecting those who hated and resented you. Come to me now. Face the destiny that awaits you and abandon your foolish notions of resistance. Many of the crew turned toward her, and Akeyla wondered inwardly what they were thinking. The Republic crew members had been part of a prolonged manhunt seeking Kira and Leia, and they only recently had learned that they had been deceived. Had they even been able to process the information thoroughly, and did they still see Kira as a threat?

Realizing that she could not afford to fall apart right now, Akeyla took a steadying breath and rose to her feet. As Ren continued his speech, threatening anybody who resisted with annihilation, Akeyla walked toward Kira and took her hand. The young woman turned toward Akeyla with a lost expression, and Akeyla noted the white shock of hair that now hung across her forehead where her black hair had been. What did she have to go through to get here? Akeyla wondered to herself before reminding herself that the explanations would have to come later. Now was the time for action.

Kit Antilles rushed into the bridge and skidded to a halt as she watched the Order of Ren flagship begin its assault on Coruscant’s atmosphere. The crew watched thousands of black insectoid beings descending on Coruscant, punctuated by Ren’s pronouncement, “Let the feast. . . begin!”

A full minute of silence fell as the feed became scrambled. A Twi’lek technician was the first to break the silence, saying, “The feast?”

Kit spoke without looking at the technician, her voice hollow as she explained, “They prey on humanoids. Like a plague.”

The technician fell back into her chair, sickened at the idea that billions on Coruscant were about to be consumed.

Akeyla, sensing that the crew was approaching panic, called out in the most commanding voice she could muster, saying, “Commander Morvinae, full report.”

Akeyla’s voice snapped the crew back into focus, and recognizing that authority had been asserted, they reverted to their roles. Morvinae pulled up the data and recited, “Several task forces destroyed; the enemy fleet numbered in the thousands, and no force we have can face them directly. Calculations show that within one week, as Ren said, the atmosphere of Coruscant will be unbreathable.”

The authority and confidence in her voice growing as she took action, Akeyla responded, “And status of the remaining task forces?”

“Most task forces report that they are on route to Coruscant now,” Morvinae said, a look of worry on his alien face.

“Re-route all military forces away from Coruscant. I wish we could help, but there’s nothing we can do.” Akeyla said, and Kit imagined she could see Akeyla staving off the guilt of not coming to the aid of billions of people.

“Where shall I re-direct?” Morvinae asked.

“Pull up the file for Omega Base, authorization code Breha. Send the coordinates to the entire fleet and order their muster at those coordinates,” Akeyla commanded.

“What system is that?” Kit asked, frowning.

“Leia did not give me a name. She told me to go here if all else fails,” Akeyla admitted, and Kira looked at Akeyla with a frown.

“When did she say that?” Kira asked.

Akeyla turned toward Kira, and Kira thought she saw a shadow of concern cross Akeyla’s face as she said, “Before you left for Nal Hutta.”

Kira’s face darkened as she recalled Leia’s opacity before their failed operation at Nal Hutta. She had been preoccupied with something, and she had refused to relay the full truth, leaving Kira with more questions than answers.

Akeyla returned her focus back to the crew and ordered, “In the meantime, Commander Morvinae, kindly order the immediate evacuation of all forces to Omega base, effective immediately.”

Kit interjected before Morvinae could affirm, saying, “But there are still people out there!”

Akeyla swallowed hard, saying, “The Order of Ren knows where we are. They could be here any moment. You saw what they did to Coruscant. If we linger, all of us will die.”

Kit began to protest, but the protest died stillborn as a long-range observation officer called out, “Incoming signals through hyperspace lane B-5398! Estimated arrival time in one minute!”

Horror flooded Akyela’s face, but her resolve hardened, “Now, Morvinae!”

                                                                           ***

The Republic and Resistance shuttles and emergency vehicles immediately turned away from their assignments, jetting back to the remaining ships at full speed. Commander Kenlo watched as the rescue shuttle that was nearly at his cruiser had turned away moments after receiving the warning that enemy ships were incoming. They’re leaving us to die, Kenlo thought to himself, and he saw the realization reflected on each of his remaining crew. His cruiser, the Alabaster, had sustained critical damage. Half of his crew was already dead. Another 25% were critically injured, and the remaining crew were working to dig out anybody else who might have been buried under the rubble from the partial collapse of the aft hull.

               Captain Kenlo turned to his First Officer and asked, “What’s the status of our flight drive?”

               “Sublight engines offline, firing systems offline, shields down,” the Officer reported grimly.

               “And the hyperdrive?” Captain Kenlo asked.

               “The motivators are fractured. The drive computer is disconnected, and if we attempt to jump, it will ignite the core,” the officer reported.

               We’re already dead, Kenlo thought to himself. He watched as the undamaged or partially damaged ships began to turn toward the jump point away from their location, followed closely by the Chiss cruiser that had abruptly turned on the Republic and had just as abruptly stopped. A readout on his terminal indicated that it had slaved its navigation systems to Home Two and was itself preparing to jump to Omega Base.

               “Captain, enemy ships in Sector 14!” called his First Officer. Kenlo turned toward the viewport to watch 25 massive ships, each the size of a Star Destroyer, appear out of hyperspace before them. Each of the ships had twin forward structures extending away from a pyramidal superstructure; the forks culminated in a jagged point, giving the impression of daggers.  A quick glance at the tactical display showed the Alabaster between the newcomers and the fleeing Republic fleet. Hundreds of fighters disgorged from the newly arrived ships; the gray-copper colored fighters swarmed, each the shape of a right triangle, bristling with guns and sharp edges. Kenlo calculated the speed of the Republic fleet as it looked to clear the planetary gravity well, and the math proved the Republic would not make it in time. Meanwhile, the cruisers approached, but so far, none of them appeared to take any interest in the Alabaster or any of the partially destroyed cruisers and frigates still drifting in orbit above Cophrigin V.

               “Commander, theoretically, could we attempt to jump to hyperspace without the nav computer?” Kenlo asked, warding away the dread of their imminent deaths.

               “Technically, yes. But we’d have to trigger it manually,” the First Officer affirmed.

               Kenlo surveyed the bridge. Half of his officer corps was dead, and half of the survivors were wounded. His officers looked toward them with fear and determination, and knowing that he owed it to them to offer a choice, he said, “Any officer or crewman who wishes to abandon ship should do so now.”

               To his pride and honor, none of the crewmen or officers budged. Instead, they stood taller, a fierce determination shining in their faces.

               “You have the con,” Kenlo said, nodding to his First Officer, and he swept toward the door. He paused, looking back to his crew, saying, “May the Force be with you all,” before he left the bridge.

                                                                                          ***

“We aren’t going to make it!” Morvinae called, as each ship in the fleet nudged their sublight drives to maximum capacity.

               “Enemy fighters approaching!” called out the observation tech, and Kit watched hundreds of ships approaching on the tactical display. They seemed to be ignoring the damaged ships while maneuvering to intercept the Republic fleet.

               “More ships incoming!” called a separate tech, and a pair of Interdictor cruisers arrived, coming out of lightspeed on both sides of the sequestered and partially damaged ships that the Grysk fleet was rapidly approaching. Kit was curious at why the Grysk were not firing yet, and she imagined that they would simply wait to destroy the Resistance before finishing off the damaged ships. As she speculated, one of the partially damaged Starhawks in the damage zone opened fire on the lead Grysk ship, and the response was instantaneous; the five Grysk cruisers in the vanguard opened fire, and the Starhawk exploded in a ball of gas and vapor.

               Kit turned back to the observation screen and noted one heavily damaged cruiser flashing its running lights. She squinted at the ship, attempting to understand what it was doing. Realization dawned on her as the pattern emerged, and she called out to Morvinae, “Commander, how long till we can jump?”

               “We’re out of the planet’s range now, but the Interdictors extended it!” he called. Kit could hear the fear in his voice, and she knew it was all he could do to sequester the panic. Kit determined that based on the vector and intensity of the Grysk firing on the Starhawk, that they would be within range in moments. Every ship in the fleet was damaged, and some did not even have shields activated.

               “Prepare to jump!” Kit called out.

               “What?!” cried out Morvinae in disbelief. “We can’t.”

               Kit walked over to the hyperdrive con, brushing the operating officer aside. The Elomin officer stumbled away, confused and a touch angry. “Sorry,” Kit muttered.

               “Kit, what are you doing!” Akeyla cried, fearing that Kit was about to incinerate their ship by attempting to jump within the gravity well.

               Kit flipped a switch on the tactical to address the entire fleet. “Attention Republic and Chiss Fleet, be prepared to jump to hyperspace on my mark. Ten. . . Nine. . . Eight. . .”

               “What are you doing!?!?” Morvinae cried out as he left the commander’s chair and stalked toward Kit, preparing to physically remove her from the controls.

                                                                                          ***

Kenlo looked at the portable tactical display he had lugged down to the hyperdrive well and noted that the fleet was preparing to jump even though he calculated that they were still in the gravity well produced by the Interdictors. The massive, cumbersome ships lumbered ahead slowly, but not so slowly that the fleet could outrun the approaching Grysk fleet. Aside from the destruction of the Starhawk ten miles to their flank, the Grysk had continued to ignore the damaged ships and were now surrounding them on all sides.

               Inwardly asking the Force for forgiveness for what he was about to do to his crew, he closed his eyes as his hand enclosed around the lever activating the hyperdrive. He whispered to himself, “Long live the Rebellion,” before he pulled the lever down.

               The hyperdrive began to engage, but with the crack in its motivators, it quickly showed signs of overheating. As massive amounts of energy flooded through the motivators, the lack of capacitory control shunted the energy back into the system, which then penetrated the drive. The ship’s core drive was now receiving an exponentially increasing flow of energy that destabilized the fuel source containment. Any moment now, Kenlo thought to himself before a blinding flash snuffed out his awareness.

                                                                                          ***

The bridge crew of Home Two threw their arms up to shield their eyes in unison as a blinding flash erupted from within the heart of the Grysk formation. The flash subsided, and an expanding shock wave rippled outward, consuming the Grysk fleet and the Interdictors. Kit glanced at the tactical again, and the gravity well produced by the Interdictors flashed out. The tactical display lagged the shockwave, still showing the existing Grysk fleet. Judging by the brilliance of the flash and the rate of expanse of the shockwave, Kit thought it would be a miracle if anything within a fifty miles had survived.

               “Now!” Kit bellowed into the comm as she pulled the hyperdrive lever back. The stars ahead of the viewport stretched into lines, and with a roaring shudder, Home Two, the Eventide, and the remainder of the Republic and Resistance fleets jumped into hyperspace.

Chapter Text

Cophrigin, 26 A.B.Y.

Jax watched from the bridge in horror at the approaching Grysk fleet, and he listened as numerous officers spoke frantically in Cheunh about the approach of their mortal enemies. The Eventide was now too far away to counterattack, and its drive had been slaved to Home Two, rendering the ship effectively helpless. Captain Ashik had explained to Jax that Chiss ships did not utilize the same navigation systems as the Republic ships did. Instead of relying on navigation computers, the Chiss relied on female children with Force sensitivity to navigate through lanes that were not already marked by beacons; and in this part of the galaxy, there were no beacons. The Chiss girl, the Ozyly-esehembo, navigating this ship had proclaimed loyalty to the Aristocra, which now sat imprisoned in the brig below. The girl had refused to help, instead resisting her arrest. She subsequently killed one officer and wounded four others, leading to her death as Chiss security officers attempted to subdue her. In time, Jax knew he could discover how to navigate the ship, but right now, with the Grysk bearing down on them, time was a resource that he no longer possessed.

               Kit’s voice came over the ship’s intercom, counting down. Jax wondered at her intentions, knowing that the Interdictors were still functioning. Wonder supplanted his confusion as a brilliant flash consumed his vision temporarily, leading to a rapidly expanding shockwave.

He heard Kit’s voice call out “Now!” as the Eventide jumped into hyperspace.

               “What happened?” Jax asked the nearest officers.

               “It appears as if a damaged Republic ship detonated its core in the middle of the Grysk fleet. The explosion appears to have disabled or destroyed the Interdictors,” the blue-skinned officer dressed in a pristine white uniform with a blue sash explained.

Jax knew that the blue sash signified freedom from Order of Ren control, as many of the newly liberated Chiss had experienced a flash of blue in the moment when Jax disabled their governing chips. While assisting with rescue operations, the Chiss had set to removing the chips with remarkable efficiency, and now 75% of the crew had already had their chips removed with the remainder set for full removal within the hour.

               “Neat trick,” Panga Meesh said. She had been standing behind Jax; her mask was off, and her young, painfully experienced face showed evident relief.

With the ship now safe in hyperspace, Jax allowed himself to exhale. As relief flooded his body, releasing the tension from the impending attack, Jax recognized that Kira and Akeyla Ismaren would not be here any time soon to begin interrogating their prisoners – something he had been dying to do as soon as the dust settled from the battle. His display indicated a jump time of 12 hours to Omega Base – whatever that was – and with plenty of time ahead of them, he stood from his chair. The Chiss crew stood as well, recognizing their newly appointed commander.

His discomfort surged again at the sudden display of deference, and remembering what he had observed from Resistance Captains like Kenlo and Rogers, he said, “At ease.”

He could feel Panga smirking again at his discomfort in his sudden role as figurehead of the Eventide. He had wanted no part in it, but as the crew attributed their newfound freedom to him, he felt he had little say in the matter. After a year of experiencing suspicion of his ability and motivations from most in the Resistance, coupled with his recent failure at Bespin and pervasive self-doubt, he could not shake the feeling that he was an impostor.

As his anxiety rose, he turned to Panga, saying, “Panga, I’m going to my quarters. Can you help with getting the command structure situated until I get back?”

Panga raised an eyebrow skeptically. Her glance lingered on him, but she remained silent as he turned and left the bridge.

Outside the bridge, he bounded toward an information console. He keyed in an information request for the location of the brig, and the console displayed directions to the ship’s detention center. His fight against his anxiety subsided as a new emotion – rage – filled him. He had learned that the Order of Ren, led by a Grysk named Mowskwa, had taken him from his home, killed his wife, abducted his daughter, and slaughtered his village. His mind drifted back to a moment with Panga where she had said, “My parents were murdered in front of my eyes by the Empire. I hid in a cellar for weeks before the Hutts found me. Not a day goes by when I don’t wish my parents would find me.”

He recalled the report that Captain Ashik had presented to him shortly after the Battle of Cophrigin. He had learned, or perhaps recovered the knowledge lost during his enslavement to the Order of Ren, that his daughter had been Force-sensitive, one of the navigators for the fleet. He imagined that she held value to the Order of Ren. If that was the case, she might still be alive – in what condition, he could not know. But still, as Panga had said, “If there’s a chance she’s alive, you can’t give up.”

As his sense of purpose returned, his focus became clear.

                                                                           ***

He reached the brig 15 minutes later, where two guards saluted him.

He returned the salute and said, “I wish to speak with the Grysk.”

The guards regarded him uncertainly, but recognizing his authority, they allowed him to pass. Jax passed through the door into a chamber. The door behind him sealed shut, and a timer counted down to allow him entrance into Mowskwa’s cell. The timer hit zero, and the door slid open. Inside, Mowskwa was bound to the wall by an electric chain connecting to a steel cuff around his leg. The Grysk had been stripped of armor, revealing his ridged forehead, glittering black eyes, and needle-like teeth. He snarled as Jax entered the room, getting to his feet and preparing to lunge for Jax.

As Mowskwa lunged, Jax held his hand up, sending Mowskwa backwards, hard into the wall. The Grysk winced upon hitting the wall, and he struggled and writhed against the unseen, immovable force holding him in place.

Jax walked forward, holding Mowskwa in place. There was something about his anger that was fueling his powers in a way he had not experienced before. As a memory of the Grysk dragging his daughter away surfaced in his mind, Jax’s anger spiked, and the Force emanating from him pushed Mowskwa harder into the wall. The Grysk grunted in pain as his limbs ground into the steel wall behind him. The electronic chain had dug into his thigh, and he grunted and panted as the pain seared through his leg.

“What did you do with her?” Jax growled.

The Grysk spat despite the pain. Jax responded by clenching his fist, and the Grysk slammed hard into the ground, writhing in pain. Jax released his grip, and the Grysk collapsed. Jax approached closer, watching with twisted satisfaction as the Grysk twitched in pain.

“Tell me!” he roared, and the spike of rage and pain made Mowskwa flinch.

The Grysk spoke, but Jax could not understand. Then, as a memory arose in his mind of the day he met Skywalker, he remembered that a Jedi could bridge their mind to another’s mind. He had opened himself up to Skywalker willingly, but he wondered to himself – could it be done when the other was unwilling?

He raised his hand to the Grysk, and Mowskwa’s struggling began anew, increasing as Jax attempted to bore into its mind. Jax felt the psychological resistance, but he found that the Grysk’s mind was weaker than he expected, leaving Jax to wonder if Mowskwa had spent so long in a position of power that he had become lax with mental defenses. He pushed, probing into its memories, seeing horrible moments of abuse and torture. His concentration deepened as he sifted through images of violence, torture, and dominance, seeking deeper memories of conquests long ago. Abruptly, the memory he sought appeared, and he saw himself lying on the ground, bloodied, watching as a young girl, blue-skinned with long, black-blue hair was carried away, screaming for her father to help.

Jax continued pushing, and he saw Mowskwa surrendering his daughter and six other girls to an aged man on a throne. Behind the man, a swirling vortex of darkness shot through with a pulsating, red substance like a wound writhed and twisted. The old man lifted his head with an effort, smiling with a lurid grin at the Grysk.

“Where is this?” Jax shouted. Mowskwa’s mind went blank as pain and terror disabled his psyche. “WHERE!” Jax roared, his face contorted beyond recognition as his red eyes burned.

“What are you doing?!” called a female voice.

Jax released his grip, and Mowskwa slumped to the ground, unconscious. Jax spun around, his chest heaving and his eyes wide with rage. Panga stood before him, her helmet removed. The look of shock and terror on her face drained Jax’s rage, and a powerful flood of shame filled him in its place.

“He knows where my daughter is,” Jax explained after fighting through the shame and attempting to steady himself.

“What did you do to him?” Panga asked, her brow pinched in fear and concern as she looked down at the unconscious Grysk.

“His memories,” Jax explained, his voice hollow with disgust at himself. “I found her there.”

Panga looked at him as if having never looked at him before. Jax couldn’t meet her gaze. Looking for a way to explain himself, he said, “You said – don’t give up until you find her.”

Panga shook her head, her face grim. Empathy arose in her, supplanting her fear of Jax as she recognized that she two would have gone beyond her own limits to find her parents again. Painful memories arose of going to similar lengths to enact revenge on the people who killed her parents, which brought her neither peace nor closure. She closed her eyes, warding off her own rising shame. When she opened them again, she responded, her voice soft with understanding and warning, “Not like this, Jax. Trust me – that path brings nothing but suffering.”

“How else am I supposed to find her?” Jax implored, his expression pained and confused.

“I don’t know,” Panga said, “but I promise that if we survive this, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

Jax remained silent, looking back at Mowskwa’s unconscious form and feeling his shame surging again. He looked back to Panga, her face etched with empathy and understanding as she gestured back toward the door. He turned from Mowskwa and followed her out of the cell.

                                                                           ***

Kira felt the collective exhalation across the bridge as the fleet jumped into hyperspace. Akeyla had remained still, her head bowed over the railing as she stood before the viewscreen. Kit conferred quietly, but rapidly with Morvinae, and Kira’s sense from their body language was of an urgent discussion on strategy and tactics. Kira’s own relief was evident, and as her fear ebbed, a question occurred to her: what exactly was Omega Base?

               Akeyla raised her head and looked to Kit. Kira watched her steel herself before saying, “Kit, could you accompany me to medical?”

               Kit looked up from her discussion with Morvinae, and shifting gears from her intense conversation with the First Officer, said, “Be right down.”

               Akeyla turned to Kira and nodded, and Kira understood that Akeyla wanted her to join her. Akeyla walked to the door, and Kira turned to follow. They passed through the corridor in silence until reaching the elevator down to Home Two’s medical center. As soon as the door closed, Akeyla turned to Kira and said, “I need to know if Ben Solo can be trusted.”

               Kira swallowed as the memories of facing Ren emerged. They were still raw and terrifying, and she quelled their fierceness with a quick calming technique. “I don’t know. Ben saw everything the Republic saw, and he seemed convinced. But then he went to sleep, and we haven’t spoken since.”

               Akeyla looked down, thinking something through. Kira could feel a raw, visceral fear radiating from her, mingled with something that felt like hopelessness. Akeyla put her hand to the wall of the elevator and leaned into it. Kira placed her hand on her shoulder, allowing the Force to flow through. Akeyla looked to her, surprised at the gesture and the sudden relief. Kira could sense that she was on the verge of hopelessness.

Hoping to bolster Akeyla’s resolve, Kira said, not fully believing it herself, “Leia had hope. She would not give up, and if she believed there’s a way, so should we.”

               Tears came to Akeyla’s eyes, and in fear of being unable to contain her emotion if she spoke, she simply nodded. The elevator stopped, and the door slid open. Down the hallway leading toward the medical center, dozens of makeshift beds occupied with wounded crew lined the corridor. Many of them were badly injured, and to aid the scant medical crew, uninjured crew members did what little they could to assuage the suffering – applying bacta to wounds that were too serious for bacta, administering painkilling medications, or in the worst cases, simply consoling a wounded, dying comrade. Kira’s horror mounted as she realized that many of the wounded here would not receive treatment. Many would die as the overwhelmed medical staff attempted to triage cases that were even worse than this.

               They pushed ahead through the ghastly assortment of injured crew, and Kira braced herself against the onslaught of agony pressing in around her. They reached the door, and Akeyla showed her identification. The guard droid allowed her to pass through and directed her to a private room beyond the main working space of the medical center. Doctors, nurses, and droids scrambled frenetically in a desperate attempt to save crew members and officers, many of whom were clinging more precipitously to life than those outside in the corridor. Akeyla and Kira passed unnoticed until reaching a second droid who, after checking Akeyla’s credentials, allowed them both through. The sudden quiet of the room where both Admiral Antilles and Ben Solo remained in induced comas while receiving bacta treatments was shocking, and the lone B-1G unit overseeing their treatment appeared surprised to see them enter.

               “I’m sorry,” the droid said, “This space is set aside for priority patients. I cannot. . .”

               “Akeyla Ismaren, leader of the Resistance and now de facto leader of the Republic,” Akeyla indicated. The droid paused, and Kira wondered whether Akeyla was correct in assuming that mantle.

               “I. . .” the droid began uncertainly, but Akeyla cut it off.

               “I request a full update on the conditions of Admiral Antilles and the Jedi Ben Solo,” she said, command and confidence evident in her voice.

               The droid considered Akeyla, then turned to Kira. Recognizing her, the droid nodded. Moments later, the door to the room slid open, and Kit, slightly breathless, entered.

               “Your report?” Akeyla repeated firmly after B-1G appeared ready to ask for Kit’s qualifications. The droid turned back to Akeyla and proceeded with his report.

               “Ben Solo will be fully healed from his injuries within the next standard day. There will be no lasting damage.” The droid explained, and Akeyla closed her eyes to savor the first bit of good news they had received since the Grysk appeared. There was a pause, and the droid continued, “However, it remains to be seen whether his ability to manipulate the Force will return.”

               A weight in Kira’s stomach sank, and Kit exclaimed, “What?!”

               “His midichlorian count remains subthreshold for Force sensitivity. We had anticipated a recovery, but only trace amounts have returned. We do not have sufficient information on Jedi physiology to compute probability. We are not optimistic about his recovery,” the droid explained in his mechanical drawl.

               The droid waited a respectful moment as the three women grappled with shock before continuing, saying, “As for the Admiral, his condition is more precarious. He sustained numerous external and internal injuries from an unspecified electrical discharge. In his youth, the injuries would have been moderate, but at his advanced age, the damage was nearly catastrophic. We do not have a concrete prognosis, but he may require more than a week’s worth of treatment.”

               At this report, both Akeyla and Kit seemed to deflate. Kira had watched Kit struggle over the past year with her anger, ambivalence, and betrayal toward her uncle’s treatment of her, and Kira had long suspected that he had been manipulated. Kit, who maintained skepticism toward all things Jedi-related, had held him responsible, but now Kira could see that she was devastated.

               “Thank you,” Akeyla said, nodding respectfully to the droid. Akeyla turned to Kira and Kit and said, “This complicates things further.”

               “How so?” Kit asked.

               “Without the admiral, there is no clear choice for leading a counter-offensive. Morvinae is a capable officer, but his personality profiles as a supporter, not a leader,” Akeyla explained. Kira noticed that Kit initially appeared angry, but her anger quickly subsided into something subtler that Kira could not pinpoint.

               Akeyla continued, saying, “As for Ben Solo, he was appointed as the Jedi Liaison to the Chancellor, and now that the entirety of the Executive Branch and Senate is dead. . .”

               “Wait,” Kit interrupted. “Are you saying Ben Solo is now the highest-ranking official in the Republic?”

               “Yes. By order of succession, he’s the Chancellor now,” Akeyla acknowledged.

               “Is that why you asked if he could be trusted?” Kira asked.

               “Yes,” said Akeyla, “If we are to build a coalition to respond to the Order of Ren, we will need his cooperation. As for our military response, we will need an experienced commander capable of devising a strategy to take on a superior force.” Akeyla paused, then looked toward Kit, saying, “Kit, you comported yourself well at Cophrigin, but please understand that the magnitude of this threat may be beyond you.”

               “I agree,” Kit said, and Kira was inwardly pleased to note her humility. Kira made a mental note to ask what happened to her while she was stranded on Erys.

Kit added, “But who can we turn to?”

               Akeyla glanced at Kit, and Kira thought she saw a shadow of dread cross the ex-Senator’s face. But before Akeyla could respond, a notification rang on Akeyla’s wrist device. She looked down and said, “It’s something I will have to consider. For now, we all need to rest before what’s to come.”

               Akeyla turned, and Kit followed. Kira lingered, her gaze on Ben’s unconscious body floating in the clear, bubbling bacta. He drifted peacefully, and although she was aware that Ben knew the full truth now, she wondered, Now that he knows the truth, what will he do with it?

Chapter Text

Omega Base, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira slept fitfully, wandering through shapeless dreamscapes of blackened corridors and acrid clouds of yellow smoke, a sense of abandonment and aimlessness gnawing at her mind. After startling awake from her nightmares for a third time, she abandoned her attempts at sleep and made her way back to the bridge in time to watch Home Two come out of hyperspace above Omega Base. Several crew members noticed Kira’s arrival, and Kira felt the ripple of apprehension and mistrust pass through the bridge. Brushing the discomfort aside, she approached the observation deck to survey their mysterious destination. Ahead lay a small planet, green in some spots but swirled throughout by what Kira imagined was a deep and persistent cloud cover.

Hovering above the planet were the remnants of the Republic Fleet, joined by the Eventide, three additional Republic fleets that re-routed from Coruscant, and at least a hundred individual ships congregated in a loose formation around the main Republic formations. Off in a separate sector sat a fleet of star cruisers that she had to look up on a computer console to identify as Mandalorian. By the number of ships, it appeared as if most, if not the entirety of the Mandalorian fleet had also joined them, and she counted two-dozen cruisers, about three times as many frigates and support ships, and an unknown number of fighters. Kira noted that, in normal times, the combined fleet would be impressive, especially when placing the Chiss cruiser, Eventide, at the head. But after what she witnessed on Coruscant, Kira knew this fleet would fall quickly to any serious attack by the Order of Ren’s fleet.

               As she regarded the marshaled forces, an awareness tugged at the back of her mind. Her attention shifted to the planet, and as she focused on it, the rich presence of the Force, familiar in a way she could not identify, pervaded her senses. It was not as profound as what she felt on Erys, but it matched a similar intensity to what she had experienced at planets like Yavin and Kashyyyk. She knew both planets had a wellspring in the Force similar to, but far smaller than the one found on Erys. She wondered to herself whether the same was true of this planet, and whether the richness of the Force explained why Leia chose this place as their last resort.

               As she wondered to herself, something in the presence of the Force became more insistent. She opened herself to it, and although the insistence did not take any verbal or emotional shape, the meaning was clear. The planet appeared to be beckoning to her.

               Kira turned to see Akeyla conferring with Morvinae and Kit. She approached the trio, and after excusing her interruption, asked, “Akeyla, what planet is this?”

               “I don’t know,” Akeyla admitted. “I was not given a name.”

               “Given?” Kira asked, the word piquing her curiosity.

               “Yes,” Akeyla said, and she tilted her head slightly in her own curiosity. “Leia shared the coordinates the day before she died.”

               “Did she say why?” Kira asked, an uncomfortable feeling of doubt growing in a remote corner of her mind.

               “No,” Akeyla admitted, and Kira thought she saw apprehension flash across Akeyla’s face.

Kira frowned slightly, but deciding to shelve the concern for now, she said, “I’m going down there.”

Akeyla was surprised, and both Kit and Morvinae looked up from the charts they were studying to convey their surprise. “Kira, we’re set to confer with the Chiss and the Mandalorians in three hours.”

“I know,” Kira said, “Something down there is calling to me.”

“There’s nothing down there but swamps and clouds,” Kit said irritably.

“Maybe,” Kira acknowledged, then added, “But I can hear something calling to me as clear as day. It seems important.”

Kit rolled her eyes and turned back to her charts, impatient with the Jedi tendency to play mad hunches and investigate invisible clues. Akeyla appeared anxious, and Morvinae looked uncertain. Kira attempted to reassure them, saying,  “I need to know what the Force is trying to tell me. I promise I’ll be back in time for the conference.”

Without waiting for their consent, Kira swept from the bridge and strode toward the hangar bay where the Aldera waited.

                                                                           ***

Panga Meesh looked around at her unlikely companions. An assortment of Chiss crewmen and officers sat with her and Jax in the hold of the sleek Chiss transport, which shot silently through space toward Home Two. She watched Jax, his face set in a frown, his leg bouncing incessantly, and his hands clasped tightly together, and her concern for him grew. The other Chiss in the hold, themselves aware of their newly appointed commander’s tension, were an unusual bunch. Few of them had been commanding officers, but after a quick, unvetted selection process, Jax chose them to represent the Chiss in negotiations with the Resistance, the Republic, and the Mandalorians. Picking up on their commander’s cues, they also seemed nervous, distracted, and inexperienced. This should be fun, she thought to herself, but the irony did little to cheer her mood.

               The shuttle entered Home Two’s spacious hangar bay, coming to a rest near the Harpy; the Antilles girl had not wrecked it after all, Panga thought to herself in relief. The shuttle’s passengers rose and filed out behind Jax. When Panga reached the bottom of the boarding ramp, she saw Akeyla Ismaren standing at the head of a handful of Resistance officers with Kit by her side. An aggravated looking Republic General stood at the head of a formation of Republic officers, whom Panga noted seemed unwilling to mix into the Resistance ranks. Standing off to the side was a contingent of Mandalorians, all of whom watched the approaching Chiss, their expression inscrutable beneath their masks. One female Mandalorian in brightly colored armor tilted her head in curiosity toward Panga as she approached.

The Chiss lined up, and Jax strode forward. For the first time since they had infiltrated the Eventide, Jax smiled as, decorum abandoned, he stepped forward to embrace Kit. She was equally pleased to see him, but Panga noted that the rest of the Republic appeared suspicious at the display of affection from two people whom they had only hours before pursued as enemies of the state. The Republic officers seemed equally tense and distrustful toward both the Chiss and the Mandalorians, leaving Panga with a growing sense of uncertainty.

               Akeyla cleared her throat, and Kit released Jax, who stepped back to the front of the Chiss delegation. Panga could not help but notice strain in Akeyla’s face, and a quick glance at the expressions on Republic officers gave her the sense that they were not pleased at Akeyla filling the role of leader.

Akeyla proclaimed to all assembled in a crisp, but hoarse voice, “Citizens of the Chiss Ascendency, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Akeyla Ismaren, former Senator of New Alderaan and chief advisor to Leia Organa before her death. I welcome you to the Republic flagship, where we welcome a productive dialog of cooperation and support.”

               “Thank you, Madame Ismaren,” Jax said, and Panga noted the uncertainty in his voice. At least he remembered to call her Madame, she thought.

               Ismaren turned toward the Mandalorian delegation, and she introduced them next, “I also wish to introduce Edo Talli, acting-leader of free Mandalore.” Panga surveyed the Mandalorians, noticing that their body language appeared stiff and defensive. The posture was unsurprising given that the Republic had spent the past months pressuring Mandalore into acquiescing to Republic rule, culminating in armed conflict after the leader of the Mandalorians, Din Djarin, had vanished under mysterious circumstances. Talli inclined his head, and a few of the Mandalorians looked toward the Republic, their shielded regard evoking uncertainty and scrutiny.

As the uncomfortable silence mounted, Jax stepped forward, frowning, and asked, “Where’s Kira?”

               “Kira went to investigate the planet below. She will return in time for our conference,” Akeyla explained.

               “What?” Jax said, “I need to speak with her.”

               “I’m sorry,” Akeyla said, frowning at his break from decorum during formal introductions. “She will be here shortly.”

               “I’m afraid it can’t wait,” Jax said. He turned toward a female officer, whom Panga recognized as Captain Ashik, who had shared the information on Jax’s family and planet of origin, and said, “Please see to it that our people are cared for. I am going down to the planet to find Kira.”

               Akeyla stepped forward, calling after him, “Jax, there isn’t time.”

               But Jax turned and strode away from the delegations, ignoring her call. The rest of the Republic looked suspicious and confused. The Mandalorians remained inscrutable. Kit appeared anxious. Panga removed her helmet, noting a shift in the body language of the Mandalorians, and she made eye contact with Kit. She put as much meaning into the gaze as she could to communicate: We need to talk.

                                                                                          ***

Guided by the same insistent urging in the Force, Kira piloted her ship down to the surface of the planet, passing through a dense cloud deck before reaching a thick canopy of jungle foliage. The Force was indeed very strong here, and she listened to its urgings, allowing it to guide her navigation. She reached a point that felt right to her, and finding a clearing in the canopy, she set the Aldera down in the middle of a swamp.

               Kira walked down the ship’s ramp and set foot onto the soft, muddy surface of the swamp. Pools of fetid water lay partially obscured by heavy mist, which floated about in tendrils through a twisted forest of moss-strewn trees entangled in hanging vines. The place had a familiar feeling to it, and Kira was certain she had been here before, even if she could not remember when.

Ahead, Kira could see the dilapidated ruins of a hut partially swallowed by encroaching vines. She walked forward warily, testing the ground’s surface for stability. She reached the foundations of the hut and knelt, sifting through the rubble. At first, all she could find was some broken pottery and a moldy blanket. But with a nudge from the Force, she turned over a pile of decaying adobe and found a two-foot-long box. She picked up the box and pried it open, discovering a data disc inside its velvet-lined interior. She picked up the disc and put the box down, examining the disc with curiosity as she rose to her feet. She sifted through the rubble for another 15 minutes but remembering the time constraints and sensing there was nothing else to find, she returned to the Aldera.

               Once onboard, she inserted the disc into the ship’s projector. The projected image of Leia Organa appeared, and Kira felt a conflicting surge of hope and grief as she anticipated some measure of wisdom, reassurance, or help.

               Leia smiled sadly, then began to speak. “Dearest Kira. As I record this, I have just initiated the order to meet with the Hutts,” Leia paused, her expression going distant. She recovered, smiling, as she said, “While I am certain it will be a miserable experience, I am hopeful that this final effort will yield what we seek. I record this in the hopes that you will never have to see it. If you have found this recording, which I am sending to Dagobah, the planet where Master Yoda trained my brother, it means that my worst fears have come to pass.”

               Leia took a breath as if to steady herself. “This past week, you have asked me about the contents of my dream, which I have so far declined to share despite my promise to be truthful to you. As you know, the future is always in motion, yet my dream spoke of a moment where all hope would seem lost, our bulwarks against evil will have failed, and you will be left standing in the eye of the storm, the last bastion against the gathering darkness. The dream unveiled an unlikely path, one of which I have seen glimpses of throughout my life. On the night of my dream, this vision coalesced into an image of endless night, albeit one with a lingering hope of triumph and balance.”

               Leia paused again, appearing to weigh her words before continuing her explanation. She resumed, saying, “Some of the choices I may now have to make will seem catastrophic, even foolish. Many will be angry, even furious, as we consider turning to help in the most unlikely of places. Yet, even as I fear the ramifications and ward off my doubts, I know that those choices are guided by the Force, and the Force alone. I fear that there will soon come a time where neither I nor Luke will be there to guide you. You may find yourself standing, alone, between all that we have fought for and unspeakable evil. But you must know – this is of the utmost importance – as long as the Force is with you, so will I be, too.”

Leia smiled, appearing reassured, if still somewhat haunted, as she continued. “If what I fear comes to pass, there may still be one who can help. Years ago, Master Tano brought me to the One in the Middle on Atollon. He is old, possibly as old as the galaxy, and his wisdom is deep. Find him. He will help you to hear the will of the Force as he helped me.”

               Leia paused and looked to her right as if interrupted. She continued, smiling wistfully as she said, “We are to depart immediately. Wherever your journey takes you, know that my pride and love for you has found no limit. May the Force be with you.”

               The transmission ceased unexpectedly, leaving Kira with a deep, empty pit in her stomach and a gnawing confusion. Tears filled her eyes, and for several minutes, she allowed them to flow, feeling the grief flood her senses even as the warmth of the Force around her soothed her pain. When the flow of grief subsided, she wiped her eyes and went back to the recording. She rewound to the middle of the message to the mention of Atollon and the One in the Middle. The promise of somebody who could help sparked hope, but after three more views, she found no explanation for whom the “One in the Middle” was, nor where Atollon was located. She ran a scan on Atollon and found nothing. She did not even bother running a scan on “The One in the Middle,” as she was sure that nobody in the galaxy had such a given name.

Her anger rose at Leia’s unhelpfulness. The memory of Leia awaking from a nightmare and issuing the baffling directive to go to Nal Hutta arose in her mind, and her frustration grew. If she had seen this potential future, why did she walk into a trap that led to her death, leaving Kira scared and alone against an overwhelming force? As her frustration mounted toward her mentor, another memory before Nal Hutta emerged. Leia had made a point of teaching Kira an old strategy game that she used to play as a kid. The game itself had been interesting as a passing diversion in the rare moments when they had nothing to do during hyperspace jumps. Leia had been gifted at it, often using the Force to see several moves ahead. Leia spoke cryptically about understanding what purpose each piece held and how myriad possibilities emerged with every move. Whenever Kira became confused at the purpose of their forays into the game or the cryptic directives she gave, Leia would say, “If the Force wills it, it is so.”

Kira had assumed that the lessons were building to something important, even if Kira could not see what that might be – and then, suddenly, shockingly, Leia was dead. Sadness and loss crept through her psyche, threatening to subsume her, but a sudden shift in the Force snapped her out of her grief, and sensing a familiar presence nearby, her tears ceased as she rose to her feet. Somewhere nearby, somebody carried their own sense of grief, fear, and – as Kira got a clearer sense – a terrible rage. Her sense coalesced into an identifiable presence, and she reached out again: Jax?

Chapter Text

Dagobah, 26 A.B.Y.

As formal introductions concluded, Akeyla dismissed the disparate groups in Home Two’s hold – Republic, Resistance, Mandalorian, and Chiss – indicating that they would convene at the ship’s primary strategy room in one hour’s time. Panga watched as each group turned and went its own separate way, with protocol droids leading the Chiss and the Mandalorians to separate waiting rooms. Kit hung back, her head bowed as she read something on a data pad. Panga approached her, and she looked up as Panga neared.

               “Thanks for not wrecking my ship, Antilles,” Panga said with a grin.

               Kit snapped out of her preoccupation, and she smiled in return. “It’s good to see you, too,” she replied.

Panga glanced down at the data pad, and noting Kit’s distraction, she asked, “That bad?”

Kit nodded her head, appearing to sequester a powerful emotion. Her voice strained, she explained, “We estimate that 17 billion beings of Coruscant’s total population have already died. The atmosphere has become toxic, and it will be unbreathable in four days.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Panga asked, horrified at the massive number of casualties.

“Nothing,” Kit said, appearing to hold back tears. Her voice was raw as she explained, “The Order of Ren has blocked all space traffic going in or going out. In four days, 97% of the population – one trillion people – will be dead. The rest will be living on borrowed time until their oxygen runs out. In the meantime, there are reports of the creatures the Chiss call the Nemsis hunting down the survivors and. . .” Kit stopped as if the last bit of information was too terrible to say out loud.

“Right,” Panga said, understanding the implication. Feeling the same horror as Kit, Panga stepped forward and put a hand on Kit’s shoulder. To Panga’s surprise, Kit grasped Panga’s hand, old animosities forgotten. The gesture allowed Kit’s emotions to flow, and tears soon followed. Panga stepped forward to embrace Kit as her shoulders shook with grief.

Kit’s anguish gradually subsided, and as she pulled away, wiping her eyes, she smiled again at Panga, saying, “I’m sorry I was such a. . .”

“Forget it,” Panga said.

“Thank you. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and Jax,” Kit acknowledged, and Panga was touched by her gratitude. But the mention of Jax’s name stirred something. Panga looked around the hangar, noting that there were still too many people around to talk freely. As she scanned the hangar, she saw the Mandalorian in the colorful armor, hanging back, watching them. She was leaning against a maintenance skiff, and her posture suggested scrutiny. Panga nodded, but the Mandalorian did not return the gesture. Panga held the gaze, and the Mandalorian turned to leave. With the Mandalorian gone, Panga realized that she and Kit were alone aside from the teams of mechanics immersed in repairs on some damaged Republic starfighters.

“We gotta talk,” Panga said, and Kit’s brow furrowed. Panga added, “Our blue friend is having some issues. . .”

“Still can’t do the mind trick?” Kit asked, confused.

“Oh, he figured that out,” Panga said, then added, “A little too well.”

“What do you mean?” Kit asked, concern mixing with her confusion.

“I found him torturing a prisoner – nearly to death,” Panga explained.

“What?!” Kit said, her shock evident.

“He said he was trying to find his daughter,” Panga explained further.

“He has a daughter?!” Kit replied, her shock growing.

“Yes, he was torturing the prisoner for information. He’s obsessed with finding her,” Panga said, completing her explanation.

“Huh. So why was he so intent on finding Kira?” Kit mused, her gaze distant as she struggled to put the pieces together.

“No idea,” Panga said, then added, “But I hope when he finds her that she can bring him back to his senses.”

Kit stood silently, noticing the bad feeling rising. She had registered the apprehension of the Republic toward Jax, and even some in the Resistance still seemed to hold him responsible for Leia’s death. A volatile, grief-struck, half-trained Jedi at the head of a powerful force seemed like the last thing they needed, and Kit felt a spark of empathy for the task awaiting Akeyla.

Kit swallowed, and said, “He’s gonna need all of us,” then as her comm pinged, she looked down at her wrist device and said, “C’mon. Akeyla wants to walk through the plan. We better go.”

                                                                           ***

Jax’s shuttle entered the atmosphere and passed through the thick cloud deck. He stretched out his senses, marveling at the rich tapestry of life nourishing the living Force, a feeling he had nearly forgotten since the Republic showed up at Cophrigin. Remembering his purpose, he pushed his focus past the richness of the Force, seeking Kira but struggling to connect with her. He tried to ping her ship, but the ship responded, saying she was indisposed. He requested her coordinates transmitted, but as he approached the canopy, the connection became garbled. Frustrated, he banged on his transmitter, but that did little to clear up the interference. Something in his sense suggested she might be near and, spying an opening in the jungle’s canopy through the heavy shroud of surface mist, he set the shuttle down in a clearing.

He stepped out of the ship into the warm, humid air. Despite the warmth, he felt a curious cold nearby, and a shiver ran up his spine as he surveyed his surroundings. He could see no sign of Kira or her ship; instead, he saw a deceased tree covered in noxious-looking fungi that partially obscured the entrance to a cave. Something about the cave seemed to whisper to him, sending a shiver down his spine. He had a fleeting memory of Ben Kenobi telling him to heed the call of the Force. The whisper in the Force seemed to offer knowledge and understanding, even if the cold of the place left him feeling unsettled and uncertain. Gritting his teeth against the cold, he walked toward the cave and entered.

The feeling of cold intensified as he entered, and he activated a flashlight to illuminate his way over twisted roots and puddles of standing water. As he reached the center of the cave, the chill in the air surged, and Jax sensed that another presence had joined him. He turned around slowly, holding his breath. There, on the opposite side of the cave stood a young girl with blue skin and red eyes. She seemed to be standing in a different world, and tendrils of yellow vapor floated around her. A massive organism, part parasite, part brain pulsated in the background; it felt familiar, as if he had met it before. But how could that be? He thought to himself. The girl wore a breathing mask over her mouth and nose, and the usually vivid red glow of Chiss eyes appeared muted and strained. He recognized her instantly as his daughter, but she seemed older – nearly a woman.

Her name, which he had been struggling to recall, came back to him at once. He spoke into the icy darkness, “Vaeka?”

The girl removed a black cylinder, which ignited in a black-purple glow. Jax reached for his own lightsaber, but then remembered that he had lost his on Mustafar. The girl strode forward, raising the blade. . .

“Jax? Is that you?” spoke a female voice.

As Jax heard the voice, the vision vanished just as his daughter’s lightsaber was about to connect. Jax turned, adrenaline thundering through his blood, and he pushed outward with the Force in self-defense. The woman, illuminated by a golden glow, fell backward, tripping over a root and coming down hard on her shoulder.

The woman sprang back, reigniting a golden lightsaber as she prepared to defend herself. Recognition dawned in Jax, and his knees buckled as he sank to the ground into a puddle.

“Kira!” he gasped.

“What was that about?” she asked, her guard still up from his unexpected attack.

“Didn’t you see?” he asked, perplexed.

“See what?” she asked in confusion. As she registered his fear and confusion, she softened toward him, lowering her blade.  He remained silent, lost for words, and she looked around at the cave, illuminated by the golden light of her lightsaber, and added, “This place is strong with the dark side of the Force. We should leave.”

Jax snapped out of his confusion and followed her out of the cave. When they emerged outside, the sudden warmth was a balm, and Jax felt as if he could breathe freely. He collapsed to the ground in relief, and Kira squatted next to him.

“It’s good to see you,” she said with a warm smile, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Jax looked up and tried to reciprocate the smile. It felt tired and forced, despite his gratitude at finding her.

Her smile turned to a frown at his expression, and she stated, “You saw something.”

“My daughter,” Jax whispered, looking down.

 Shock silenced Kira as her brain pieced together the information. Jax looked up with tears welling in his eyes, and Kira recovered, saying, “Sorry. Your daughter - I didn’t know.”

“They took her from me when I was captured. She was taken to Veryx,” Jax said, his voice heavy with anger.

“She was Force-sensitive?” Kira asked to confirm her deduction.

“Yes, some Chiss girls are Force sensitive,” he explained, then added, “Chiss ships don’t use computers to navigate. We rely on Force-sensitive children to navigate the dangers of space. They’re always girls, and always young.” He paused, then another thought occurred to him. Allowing himself a slight smile, he said, “We call them ozyly-esehembo. Ironically, it translates to ‘Sky-walker.’”

“When you saw her, what was she like?” Kira asked, her curiosity piqued.

“She was on another planet. She was dark; strange. She wore a breathing mask, and the air had a yellow tinge. There was a giant organism that I’m sure I’ve seen before,” he explained as the memories swam through his mind. The fresh air and absence of darkness reinvigorated him. He got to his feet, and Kira stood with him as he said, his voice pressured with determination, “I have to find her.”

Kira replied, a dark expression on her face, “You can’t.”

“What do you mean?” Jax responded, irritated.

“The planet you saw is called Nemsis. I was just there. I almost died. It’s. . .” she explained, a haunted quality in her voice.

Jax interrupted, saying, “We have to go there!”

“I just said. . .” Kira said, agitated, “It’s suicide!”

“But if my daughter is there, prisoner,” Jax began, and in his agitation, he moved to his shuttle. “You’ll tell me how to get there?”

Kira remained rooted to the spot. Jax turned back, a look of desperation on his face that said clearly that there was no time to lose. Kira looked down, saddened by her friend’s plight. When she looked back up, she said, “Jax, if we try to go there, we will die before we reach the surface.”

“There’s got to be a way,” he said hurriedly, again moving toward his shuttle.

“Jax, your people need you. We might have to go there eventually, but if we leave now, who is going to lead your people?” she said.

“Ashik,” Jax said, waving dismissively.

He was surprised when Kira bristled, saying, “No, Jax. When people look to you for guidance, the last thing you should do is abandon them!”

Before Jax could respond, both of their intercoms pinged. They looked down in unison and saw the call to return to the fleet immediately. Jax fought against his desire to go straight to Nemsis, recognizing the responsibility that had been placed on him. He looked at Kira and said, “We’ll talk about this later,” before turning abruptly and jogging to his ship.

Wrestling with doubt and alarm over Jax’s adamance and unsettled behavior, Kira retraced her steps back to her ship and set off to return to the fleet.

                                                                                          ***

Rain spattered against the stained-glass windows, heralding the arrival of the summer rains. He looked through the window, attempting to discern the sharp cirques and crags of the distant peaks through the clouds. A deep sadness filled him as his eyes scanned the horizon; the emotion evolved to fear as the peaks became obscured by an acrid deck of yellow-gray clouds. A movement caught his attention, and he turned away from the window. A young girl sat across a table set with a Shah-Tezh board. On the other side of the table sat a shadowy figure, indiscernible, yet terribly familiar.

The girl looked up sadly as she removed a piece from the board, saying, “This isn’t the life I wanted for you.”

               Ben awoke with a jump, his senses struggling to orient to the darkness and the quiet around him. Adrenaline surging, he felt his heart thundering and could hear his blood rushing through his veins. Slowly, his brain recognized the hospital setting, and his body began to relax. A half-dozen bodies floated on the opposite side of the room within cylindrical bacta tanks, and he felt a thin, synthetic hospital gown covering his body. His limbs were heavy and stiff from lack of use, leading him to wonder how long he had been asleep. As wakefulness dawned, memories rushed in, and the image of him surrendering to unconsciousness with Kira holding his hand emerged, followed by a rapid succession of images: the Falcon fleeing a massive fleet; agony coursing through his veins; an ancient human disintegrating; his sense of the Force lost; his grandfather’s handsome face marred by cruelty and aberration.

               Through the darkness, Ben located a panel on the wall with a dimmer switch for the lights. Tentatively, he reached out his hand, attempting to connect with the Force. He strained and searched, but the Force remained elusive and obscure. He knew it was there, but it was as if a wall had arisen between him and the old, familiar energy he had known his entire life. He strained to reconnect with the energy field binding everything together, but nothing happened. The room remained dark, and the horrible realization that the Force was not with him surged, renewing his panic.

               “There he is,” spoke a gravelly voice heavy with sleep.

               Ben jumped, shocked that he had not registered the presence of another human close by. He turned in the direction of the voice and heard a click as its speaker activated a light nearby. The small lamp illuminated the tired, grim features of Lando Calrissian.

               “Lando?” Ben asked, uncertain. He could see Lando with his own eyes, but he had no sense of the man’s presence.

               “That’s right,” Lando acknowledged with a nod. Without smiling, Lando added, “It’s good to see you in one piece, Ben.”

               “Where are we?” Ben asked, gazing out the small window adjacent to his bed to view the gray-green planet below.

               “Dagobah,” Lando affirmed.

               Ben turned abruptly toward Lando, tweaking a nerve in his neck. Massaging the sore spot, he asked, “You mean the place where Yoda trained my uncle?”

               “That’s the one,” Lando confirmed. “You’ve been asleep for three days. You’ve missed a lot.”

               “Tell me,” Ben said, his apprehension rising. He remembered the fleet that appeared and the emergence of the strange, wraith-like Ren, claiming to be a long-dead Sith Lord, as it merged with his grandfather’s body.

               Lando sighed, then began to explain, “Two days ago, a massive fleet attacked Coruscant. The Jedi, the Executive Branch, and the Senate were all killed. The Order of Ren then initiated a device that began to destroy the planet’s atmosphere. As of now, most of the planet’s population is dead or dying. Some of it’s from asphyxiation. Some of it’s from the creatures that our blue-skinned friends call the Nemsis.”

               Horror flooded Ben. The Jedi, dead? The Republic, destroyed? Coruscant, dying? Afraid that each new piece of information would deepen his horror, but determined to know the full truth, Ben asked, “What happened here?”

               “The Resistance was hidden on Cophrigin V. We came here after we talked on Mustafar.” Lando looked away as he wrestled briefly with something painful. Regaining his composure, he continued in a flat, hollow voice.  “The Order of Ren implanted a chip in my spine. Once we arrived, they activated it, and they found us. The Republic attacked us, and the Chiss helped. When we got the message from you, the Republic stopped attacking, but then the Chiss attacked all of us. Jax shut down the inhibitor chips of the entire Chiss crew, and we ran once the Order of Ren showed up.”

               Ben felt the walls closing in on him as he listened to Lando’s account. He glanced at Lando, and there was still something agonizing in his expression. A question bubbled up from his mind, and he asked, “What happened to you?

               “They arrested me, but not before I shot and killed Admiral Ackbar.” Ben could see the shame play across Lando’s face, mingled with his own horror. “I had no control. They removed the chip immediately, and I was just released last night. I’ve been here since.”

               Ben’s gratitude surged at Lando’s companionship, but his horror quickly returned. “It’s my fault,” Ben said, an overwhelming sense of shame blossoming within him.

               That Lando did not immediately jump to his defense left Ben feeling more certain of his culpability. Measuring his words, Lando said, “Ben, you made mistakes. Some of them had grave consequences. This is gonna be hard for you, son. But that’s why I’m here.”

               Ben looked away, unable to meet Lando’s eye. Lando had tried to warn him; tried to persuade him. Had he listened, they might have avoided this. How many people were now dead because of him? Millions? Billions?

               “Ben, don’t sink into that,” Lando said, noting Ben’s withdrawal.

               “I thought I could do it on my own,” Ben said, tears beginning to well.

               “I know you did,” Lando said. “I get it. I’ve been there before.”

               “No you haven’t,” Ben said, his shame fueling his anger.

               “Son, you’re going to need to put it aside. With any luck, you can blame yourself later. The Republic, the Mandalorians, and the Chiss are about to meet, and they’ll decide what we do next.” Lando smiled, and Ben could tell that the smile held distinct traces of bitterness. “Right now, it doesn’t look like anybody wants to listen to anybody else. They’re gonna need you.”

               “Who cares what I have to say after all this?” Ben said, his voice bitter as he lacerated himself with shame.

               “Well,” Lando said, and a twinkle in his eye appeared as he appreciated the intersection of unusual events, “As far as anybody can tell, you are the highest-ranking survivor in the Republic Government.”

               “What?!” Ben said, snapping out of his self-blame. Lando shrugged with a slight grin. Ben looked back out the port, catching a glimpse of the fleet outside. He thought through the ramifications. If that was his position, and if there was anybody willing to lend it any credibility whatsoever, he would have a lot of say over what happened next. At that thought, another wave of shame emerged as he thought of his mother, also dead because of him. As the memory of her body vanishing before his eyes swam through his mind he added, “I don’t know how to do any of this. Everything I’ve tried to do has led to failure. I. . . I can’t be my mother.”

               Lando smiled and leaned forward. Grabbing the young man’s hand, he squeezed, as he replied, “My dear boy. All these years you put so much stock in being a Skywalker. But don’t forget that you’re also a Solo.”

               Ben looked up, tears streaming his cheeks, “But how is that supposed to help me?”

               “You think your father would have run away from a fight? He would’ve run straight into it,” Lando said, and with a grin, he added, “And he wouldn’t have given a damn what the odds were.”

               Ben looked away again, but not out of shame. In their own ways, most of the adults he idolized in his life had let him down. His mother had lied, although that held little sting anymore considering his actions and the consequences that now stared back at him. Luke had held him back, but Ben now recognized that he needed to be held back. Anakin had turned out to be as much of a villain as a hero. But his father; toiling away to clean up the galaxy; turning up unexpectedly at Yavin to visit; bantering about the Falcon and showing him the galaxy along with Chewie and Lando. . .

               He looked down at his metallic hand then to the other hand that had failed to summon the Force. The Force was gone. His heroes were gone. All he had left was his name, and the example his father had set. He looked up to Lando, who raised his eyebrows. Ben sat upright, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

His face brightening for the first time, he said, “Let’s go.”

               Lando’s eyebrows rose higher as he looked at Ben’s hospital gown. Ben laughed, and said, “Oh yeah!” before reaching for his clothes.

Chapter Text

Dagobah, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira entered Home Two’s strategic command center moments before the conference commenced. Jax had entered with her, carrying with him the fear, anger, and confusion from his vision on Dagobah. Doubt and resentment stemming from Leia’s message buzzed in the back of her mind. Scrutiny from officers in the contingency added to her discomfort, and she settled at the back of the room hoping to evade further notice. Jax drifted over to the Chiss contingency, which sat sequestered from the other groups. Scanning the circular room, Kira saw a dozen Mandalorians conferring quietly together across the strategic holonet display from several Republic generals and officials. A sense of apprehension emerged as she saw that, aside from Commander Morvinae and Panga Meesh talking quietly with Kit and Akeyla, each group continued to maintain distance from each other. Kira reached out her senses, feeling tension growing in the room. As she glanced at the Republic contingency, Kira noticed an older, human, a Republic General, eyeing her suspiciously. He whispered something to a Sullustun to his right, who also shifted nervously in her direction.

               Akeyla Ismaren stepped forward, and the buzz of chatter died down. The holonet whirled into life, displaying a list of statistics on the status of Coruscant, the Republic Fleet, and other recent events. At the center sat the projected image of the Order of Ren Fleet, 85% of which remained above Coruscant to block escape or outside rescue.

               “Greetings, friends. To the newly freed citizens of the Chiss Ascendancy, the leaders of free Mandalore, and the military command of the Republic military, I bid you welcome. We meet today to discuss the potential for a unified response to the Order of Ren’s assault on Coruscant,” Akeyla said, her voice grim but firm.

Akeyla nodded to Kit, who keyed a command highlighting recent data on Coruscant. Kit launched into an explanation, her voice clear and loud. “In the past three hours, an estimated 4.57 billion Coruscanti citizens have succumbed to asphyxiation or assault. Short of a miracle, Coruscant is lost,” Kit explained. She remained silent after her initial proclamation as she sequestered her despair. Kira felt a collective ripple of horror from the room mingling with her own.

With an obvious effort, Kit continued, “A portion of the Order of Ren fleet broke away yesterday morning, and we’ve since received scouting reports of their arrival at Mandalore, incursions into Hutt space, and an attempted, but failed ambush of the Republic’s 9^th Fleet at Corellia. With General Telvin’s assistance, we’ve sent word to every remaining Republic vessel to join us here. We estimate that another 148 ships shall arrive within the next two days, bringing our assembled forces to 413 Republic ships across eight reorganized fleets, 47 ships from the Mandalorian fleet, 58 ships of the Resistance fleet, and a single ship from the Chiss Ascendancy – the Eventide.”

               Kit keyed a command on the holonet’s control panel, and the Order of Ren fleet illuminated while the data dimmed. She continued, explaining, “Our official count of the Order of Ren’s forces show them outnumbering us four to one, and that’s not accounting for the size and sheer power of the flagship, which matches the entirety of our fleet in firepower. We believe that the crews of the Chiss forces and several captured ships from a host of different forces lie under the same governing system that enslaved the crew of the Eventide.”

               Kit stepped back, yielding the floor to Akeyla. Akeyla remained silent as the assembled beings whispered between themselves over the enormity of the data. When the whispers tapered off, Akeyla continued. “We meet now to decide our course of action. Our assembled forces are too small to mount a direct assault. But as we learned from the Rebellion, smaller does not necessarily mean inferior.” Akeyla nodded deferentially toward General Telvin before adding, “And there are additional issues of command, leadership, and. . .” Akeyla hesitated, searching for the most diplomatic word she could muster, “probity to debate.”

               Edo Talli arose from his seat and walked to the edge of the projector. Kira could sense tension among the Republic officers as Talli removed his helmet and looked directly toward General Telvin, saying, “After the past year, we also look forward to assurances of probity. Let’s begin with a goodwill discussion about releasing Din Djarin and returning the Darksaber to Mandalorian custody.”

               Kira shifted uncomfortably, mirroring the assembled Republic officials shifting in their seats irritably. General Telvin stood, and added, “Djarin’s location was privy only to the Chancellor, who is now headless in the Senate Plaza. I am afraid that we can offer no such assurance.”

               A second Mandalorian, one in colorful orange and blue armor stood up and walked to Talli’s side, saying, “Then give us one reason why we should tolerate your insinuations that Mandalore is untrustworthy, especially after your own role in the blockade of Mandalore.”

               “Republic military actions aside, I might remind you that there are several questions lingering about Mandalore’s role in undermining Republic commercial and industrial activity,” retorted Telvin, bristling from the accusatory tone.

               Talli shot back, “We’ll be happy to discuss that once you’ve provided a full account of your attempts to overthrow Mandalore’s rightful government. As the ranking General, I assume you can explain the Republic’s unlawful actions against a sovereign system.” Talli did not give the General time to respond, and he instead turned toward the Chiss, adding, “And the Mandalorians would like to discuss accountability with the Chiss Ascendancy, as well.”

               General Telvin’s retort died in his throat as the focus shifted toward the Chiss contingency. As their de facto leader, Jax stood up and approached the holonet. The Republic delegates stiffened, watching apprehensively as the man they had hunted for a full year addressed the group. Jax scanned the room uncertainly, then, visibly steeling himself, said, “My name is Sheth’raw’nuru, although non-Chiss know me as Jax.” He nodded toward Captain Ashik, and she stepped forward and emptied a bag of governing chips onto the surface of the holonet projector for all to see.

Jax continued, saying, “Six years ago, our leadership made a covert agreement with the Order of Ren allowing them to enslave our people.” He held up a chip displaying it to the assembly, and added, “Every Chiss individual except for our leaders contains a governing chip operated from a central source. We have been an unwilling instrument of the Order of Ren.”

The woman in the colorful beskar armor spoke in response, saying, “I fought against your kind when Grand Admiral Thrawn resurfaced. He and his cronies killed thousands of Mandalorians and nearly collapsed the Galactic Republic. We accept that you’ve been enslaved, but how do we know there’s not another Thrawn in waiting who can upend any plan we make?”

Captain Ashik nodded deferentially toward the woman, saying, “The Chiss recognize your concerns regarding Mitth'raw'nuruodo. All should know that he was exiled from Chiss society for pursuing pre-emptive aggression toward our enemies. He does not represent the views of the Chiss people.”

The woman in the colorful armor did not respond, and in the silence, Jax added, “In recognition of the Resistance’s aid, we pledge our support.”

General Telvin responded to Jax’s statement, saying coolly, “And should we take the word of a known fugitive as assurance of your. . . probity? Some of us fought against Thrawn, and we won’t soon forget.”

“Many of us would also be space dust right now if Jax hadn’t liberated the Eventide,” Panga Meesh shot back. Akeyla shifted uncomfortably as Panga spoke out-of-turn.

General Telvin bristled at being addressed this way by a civilian, whom he quickly sized up as an unsavory element. “And you are?”

“Somebody with a whole lot more sense than a Republic General,” Panga shot back. Akeyla raised her hand, and Panga stepped back, recognizing that she had crossed a line. The Republic contingency grumbled at the comment, and Telvin puffed up his chest, outraged.           

“I will not be insulted by some bounty hunter scum!” Telvin bellowed, his anger rising. He turned toward the Chiss, saying, “Regardless of their account, we have our own concerns. We demand to know who will be leading this operation. Former Senator Ismaren carries no authority in the Republic. And the question of military leadership…”

“The Republic government is destroyed,” Kit interrupted, her pique rising at Telvin’s belligerence. “And if you’re looking for a leader. . .”

General Telvin cut across her saying, “Respect your uncle though I do, you are also speaking out of turn.”

Kit bristled, ready for a fight, but a look from Akeyla silenced her. Kira noticed the sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched the conversation unfold. The Mandalorians bristled toward the Republic and remained hesitant toward the Chiss. The defensive attitude of the Republic General rattled everyone, and the Chiss, cool and moderated as they were, appeared insulted by Telvin’s implication that they were untrustworthy despite their evidence.

Edo Talli spoke up across the growing cross-talk, saying, “With all due respect. . .” Kira noted the strain in his voice, as if his patience was waning, “. . . the Resistance, under Leia Organa, showed the most initiative and the clearest view of the Order of Ren. If Senator Ismaren is Leia’s handpicked successor. . .”

Another Republic officer stood, saying, “Leia Organa was a liar, and she is not Chancellor.”

Kit fired back before Akeyla could stop her, shouting, “You have the guts to talk about liars after what you did at Mandalore? At Kashyyyk??”

Uproar erupted from the Republic contingency, and Kira had the sense as she stretched out in the Force that their pride and their defensiveness were becoming more entrenched. She could not discern the words from the shouting, but the babel suffocated her hope for cooperation.

Akeyla shouted above the chaos, trying to be heard, but the Republic officials began to direct their ire at her. Kira was on the verge of standing up and speaking, when a male voice boomed from the entrance of the room, “General Telvin!”

The room fell silent as all eyes turned to the entrance. Ben Solo stood just within the entrance, flanked by Lando Calrissian. As the room fell silent with apprehension, Ben stalked around the perimeter of the conference room. He made eye contact with Kira but quickly looked away. Many in the Resistance shifted defensively, and Kira noticed that Jax was livid.

Ben walked down the steps toward the holonet, and he announced, “Officials and Commanders of the Republic, I was appointed as Jedi Liaison to the Chancellor, a Senate-confirmed post. Considering the events on Coruscant, I am now the highest-ranking official in the Republic, which by line of succession…”

“No way,” called out Kit Antilles, as the shock over Ben’s claim rippled through the room. A few Republic officials whispered together. The Resistance continued to regard Ben with stony silence, and Jax continued to seethe. Kira noted that Ben looked across the room toward Lando, and she watched him nod reassuringly toward Ben, who continued speaking before the uproar could begin again.

“I wish to address the Resistance first,” Ben said as he turned toward their contingency. “I was wrong.”

The weight of the words and the frank honesty with which he said it quelled the protest from the Resistance. “My feelings got in the way, and I made awful mistakes. I didn’t kill my mother myself, but my actions led to her death.” Ben swallowed, and Kira could tell he was fighting down grief. He continued, his voice ragged, saying, “I am sorry for what I’ve done and for how you have suffered.” Ben looked toward Jax and Kit in turn, and said, “And I am sorry for refusing to listen.”

General Telvin began to shout toward Ben, but Ben held his hand up. The General, recognizing Ben’s authority but still resenting it, fell reluctantly silent. Ben said, “As my first – and last – act as Chancellor of the Republic, I bestow all authority of Chancellor upon Akeyla Ismaren. My mother trusted her, and had we all trusted my mother, we’d be in a very different place right now.”

 “This is ridiculous!” called out General Telvin, but as Akeyla nodded toward Ben in acceptance, the General strained against his ire, recognizing that Akeyla now had both formal authority and moral authority. Kira noticed that the posture of the Mandalorians appeared less tense, as did the Chiss, although Jax continued to glare angrily at Ben. Ben glanced toward Kira again, and again Kira had noted his discomfort. Ben held his gaze, and etched clearly within his expression, she could see his regret and desire to make amends.

Nobody spoke for a full minute as the sudden turn of events solidified Akeyla’s authority. Akeyla turned toward the Mandalorian delegation, saying, “I will direct whatever resources we have available toward finding and releasing Din Djarin as well as any other Mandalorian freedom fighters still imprisoned. To the Chiss, we welcome your aid.”

Telvin dismissed Akeyla’s pronouncement with a wave of his hand, saying, “That’s all well and good, but who will craft a counter-offensive? What’s Admiral Antilles’s condition?” asked General Telvin, eager to stem further discussion about Republic culpability.

“His condition is critical. He will require extensive time in bacta treatment to heal the numerous external and internal injuries he sustained,” Akeyla reported.

“Then who?” General Telvin asked, scanning both the Chiss and the Mandalorians. The Chiss delegation looked to Jax, but even they seemed apprehensive toward selecting him to lead their overall strategy. The Mandalorians, many of them battle-hardened and experienced, shifted nervously, lacking a clear choice as a military commander to lead the response. Akeyla shifted nervously, and Kira had the sense that she was grappling with something difficult. Nobody else seemed to notice it yet, and Kira found herself bracing for shock as Akeyla stepped forward and spoke into the silence.

“There is one option we have not considered,” she said, her constricted voice carrying over the silence.

Every eye in the room turned toward her in curiosity and apprehension. Akeyla took a deep breath, closing her eyes to center herself before saying, “Prior to the operation on Nal Hutta, Leia disclosed a handful of unknown facts. The first was the location of this hidden planet as a refuge. The second was the knowledge of a military commander many here have assumed died long ago. He survives, and there’s a possibility that he might be persuaded to aid our cause.”

“Great!” Kit said brightly, attempting to bolster Akeyla against the uncertainty settling across the four delegations. “Who is it?”

Akeyla looked toward Kit, appearing even more strained than ever, and said, “Grand Admiral Thrawn.”

A Republic officer gasped audibly, and Kira felt a palpable ripple of shock and confusion engulf the room. Whispers broke out within the separate delegations, and the female Mandalorian in the blue and orange armor stepped forward, saying, “That’s impossible. He died on Coruscant. Along with Ezra Bridger.”

“Indeed,” acknowledged Akeyla. “However, according to Leia, that was. . .” Akeyla hesitated, then with an effort, said, “a lie.”

“What is the meaning of this?” the female Mandalorian shouted, her voice thick with barely suppressed fury. Kit was also livid with shock and rage. She glared at Akeyla as if ready to attack.

General Telvin stood up again, bellowing, “Thousands of Republic servicemen died at Thrawn’s hands. The military’s directive was death or accountability! What is this?”

At General Telvin’s uproar, angry conversation and crosstalk emerged, and it took Akeyla a full minute to quiet the group enough to explain. Kira could hear her shout over the argument, “Please, if you will allow me to explain.”

As the chatter subsided, Akeyla spoke. “I hear your anger, and I recognize the betrayal. Until a week ago, I did not know either. I was as angry and shocked as you, and I refused to entertain the idea. But, given the events of the last few days. . .”

“You’re not seriously considering asking Thrawn to help us,” Kit said, her voice ripe with contempt. “He’s a murderer.” Kira knew it was only Kit’s respect for Akeyla that caused her to hold back what she really wanted to say. She herself felt anger surging; here again was another secret from Leia – another opaque revelation with no explanation and no rationalization.

“He is,” Akeyla acknowledged. “And he also brought the Republic to its knees.”

“After killing millions, including Mandalorians who joined the effort to stop him on the condition that Thrawn would face justice,” the female Mandalorian retorted, and she seemed as furious as Kit did. Her fury mounted, and she shouted, “And what of Ezra? Did Leia explained what happened to him?!”

“I am sorry, Madame Wren, but Leia did not explain what befell Ezra Bridger,” Akeyla said, raising her voice to be heard against the growing dissent. “If you will hear me out. . .”

“Mandalore wants no part in this,” said Edo Talli, and Kira felt her stomach drop as the Mandalorians all rose in unison, preparing to leave. “We’ll face this threat on our own.”

As chatter erupted again, Kira caught a snippet of a Republic official saying, “. . . about what I’d expect from a Mandalorian.” The voice was loud enough that it carried over the din, and Sabine Wren stepped forward, bristling.

“Excuse me?!” she said coldly, and the Republic official, recognizing the challenge, also stood.

Kira saw Sabine’s hand twitch as if instinctively reaching for her blaster. The gesture was not lost on the Republic, and several Republic guards shifted into a ready position. Kira noted that Kit was still seething toward Akeyla, and she had launched into a quiet, but rapid tirade at the Chancellor. Jax had settled into his seat, looking distant. Kira remembered the rumor that the Republic had put out that Jax was Thrawn’s son. Jax had not paid much mind to it over their year together, believing that Thrawn had been dead for a long time. They had all assumed it was an effort to discredit him, but the knowledge that Thrawn was still alive seemed to disquiet him. The rest of the Chiss appeared confused and disturbed by the tension mounting between the Republic and the Mandalorians.

A shouting match had erupted, with accusations flying back and forth between the Mandalorians and the Republic. Akeyla tried in vain to quell the argument, shouting down the Republic while attempting to appease the Mandalorians. Her efforts were not working, and Kira could feel the anger threatening to subsume the entire operation. Ben had joined her, attempting to persuade the Republic officials to back off. Jax had gotten to his feet and was moving toward Ben Solo, his nostrils flared and his eyes wide. A mental image of their nascent alliance fracturing into dust and a few dozen Resistance ships squaring off against the Order of Ren while trillions of beings died passed through Kira’s mind, followed by a distant, acidic laughter that seemed to come from outside her.

The Mandalorians were about to turn and leave, and the Chiss delegation was rising as if to leave as well. General Telvin continued to bellow accusations at Akeyla and Edo Talli, and Panga had stepped between Sabine Wren and the Republic official who had derided the Mandalorians. Kira watched the coalition falling apart, knowing full well that, divided, they would all die. She wondered to herself what Leia might do in this moment, before realizing that Leia’s choices were tearing the coalition apart. Her anger surged at Leia, and she indulged it, thinking savagely that the woman she loved and respected had turned out to be a reckless fool. She saw herself facing Ren, alone, hopelessly outnumbered and cornered, the terrible destiny of the galaxy that the Prime Jedi had warned her about coming to pass. A twinge of guilt awoke an awful sense of responsibility, and a quiet voice in her mind said, Who are you to judge? You’ve been a reckless fool, yourself.

Suddenly, the lights in the conference room went out, leaving only the strategic display to cast dim light across the assembled delegations. An arc of electric discharge radiated above the assembly, cascading in a contained fashion across the ceiling. The argument died instantly as everyone fell back into their benches, stunned by the sudden eruption of electricity. All eyes turned toward Kira, whose hands continued to discharge electricity. Confident that she had everyone’s attention, she lowered her hands. The lights came on, although the smell of ozone lingered from the electric discharge. Every eye in the room looked toward her in terror, and Kira had a sense that even the Mandalorians were frightened.

Kira allowed the silence to linger, and she felt her inner conflict grow louder in the silence before committing, recklessly, she thought, to the only path she knew remained.

She spoke, her voice even and controlled. “Three days ago, I stood before Ren. He had defeated and injured Ben. He defeated me. He defeated Luke Skywalker. He barely broke a sweat. In a few hours, his forces cut out the Republic’s heart and killed billions.” She paused, allowing the group to process her statement before continuing. “If we abandon our common purpose now, regardless of how egregious the past is, we all die. Our future dies. Any hope of freedom dies.”

General Telvin stood and began to speak, but Kira cut him off, “Before you speak, listen. When I vanished, I met somebody who told me how little there was holding back darkness as it sought to devour our galaxy. Now, even that is gone. There’s nowhere we can go where he won’t hunt us down. If we don’t work together and stop him, that’s it. Everything – maybe even the Force itself – will die.”

Silence followed Kira’s proclamation, as everybody appeared to sit with the weight of her words. General Telvin retreated, fearful of Kira after digesting a year’s worth of propaganda that she was the Emperor’s daughter. The Mandalorians also remained quiet as they contemplated Kira’s words, and the female Mandalorian tilted her head to the side as she considered Kira.

Jax stood and stepped forward, saying, “Kira’s right. The Chiss know what the Order of Ren is capable of. We don’t stand a chance if we’re divided.”

“What if Thrawn won’t cooperate?” Edo Talli asked.

“Then he faces justice from the Mandalorians,” Akeyla said, nodding respectfully.

“We coerce him?” General Telvin asked suspiciously.

Akeyla turned toward the Chiss and said, “It is my understanding that Thrawn fought the Chiss doctrine of non-aggression to protect his people. Even after defeating them at Namadii, he claimed that the Galaxy still faced the threat of the Grysk, who are now here. He reportedly joined the Empire in part to protect the Chiss. Is this true?” Akeyla asked.

“It is true,” spoke Captain Ashik.

“Then perhaps it need not be coercion,” Akeyla said, nodding toward the Chiss in recognition of their suffering from a decade of coercion. “Perhaps it can be a choice. An opportunity to redeem his cruelty.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” somebody from the Resistance said, and Kira had the impression that Kit was doing everything in her power not to explode at Akeyla.

“Absolutely not,” Sabine Wren shouted. But nobody jumped in to back her up.

“I don’t like it either, but it’s the best option we have” Kira said, setting aside her own misgivings. “And, if Thrawn tries to betray us, he will answer to me,” she added as a flicker of electrical discharge danced across her fingertips.

               Every being in the room watched as the lightning danced through Kira’s fingertips, each witnessing her resolve and determination as they sat silently, contemplating their misgivings.

               “Then, as far as the Republic is concerned, it is settled,” Akeyla said. Nobody in the Resistance or the Republic seemed happy with this proclamation, and Kit stood up and walked out of the room in disgust.

Edo Talli quietly conferred with the Mandalorian woman who had spoken out against Thrawn, and when they pulled apart, Talli added, “The Mandalorians agree to this. . . on the condition that Thrawn is handed over to us for judgment – assuming we survive.”

               Akeyla Ismaren turned toward Jax, who seemed deep in thought. The rest of the Chiss looked toward him, waiting for his choice and giving the impression that they would follow his lead. Finally, Jax looked up and said, “The Chiss are in agreement.” 

 Akeyla concluded the meeting, saying, “Each delegation shall then appoint a leader and select their teams. The leaders shall return after a 15 minute recess to debate our strategy.”

Chapter Text

Dagobah, 26 A.B.Y.

Nobody mingled after Akeyla’s adjournment, and Kira watched each group file out separately as the tension lingered over the room like mist on the Dagobah swamp. Ben hung back, lingering uncertainly, and few people acknowledged him as they passed. Jax whispered to Captain Ashik while occasionally stealing resentful glances toward Ben. Captain Ashik nodded and departed, and Jax lingered, looking expectantly toward Kira. After the last Republic officer left, Ben started across the room toward Kira and tested out a smile. Moved by his gesture toward making amends, Kira returned her own tentative smile.

               “Nice speech,” he said as he approached.

               She nodded, studying the apprehension and uncertainty in his face. He looked toward an auxiliary room that Akeyla had departed to, and he frowned as an elevated voice drifted from the room into the conference area – the evidence of a heated argument. As she studied Ben’s concerned face, Kira could not quite place what she felt toward him.

Against the persistent throb of misgivings born from a year of his invasive obstinance, she decided to suspend her misgivings for the time being, saying, “Thank you, Ben. For everything you just did.”

               Ben appeared relieved, but still troubled. Looking down, he said, “I am so sorry, Kira.”

               Before Kira could respond, she felt a ripple in the Force as Jax approached, and she sensed his anger and his desire for confrontation. As Jax neared, Ben tensed. Before Jax could reach Ben, Ben spoke, saying, “Jax, I am sorry for what happened. I know my mother meant a lot to you, and I know her loss hit you hard.”

               Jax stopped short, and he appeared off-kilter at the pre-emptive apology and expression of empathy. Before Jax could speak, Ben unclipped a lightsaber from his belt and held it out toward Jax. “This was my mother’s,” he said, looking down sadly as he turned the weapon over in his hands. “I want you to have it. I think she’d be happy to know that it was in your hands.”

Jax reached out tentatively and took the lightsaber. He looked down at it, his expression distant, before looking back up at Ben. The argument that Jax was building in his mind never reached his lips.

Confused, he instead asked, “But, what will you use?”

               “I can’t use the Force anymore,” Ben said, struggling to get the words out while sequestering his sadness.

               Kit’s voice erupted again, and before Ben and Jax could continue their conversation, Akeyla walked back into the conference room, followed closely by Kit. Kit was mid-tirade, and although Ben, Kira, and Jax had missed the beginning of the argument, they quickly understood the gist as she shouted, “Do you mean to tell me that Leia spared his life, shielded him from trial, and locked him away on some unknown hellhole?!”

               Akeyla turned to reply, her demeanor steely. “Actually, it’s not unknown. It’s the Citadel.”

               “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Kit bellowed, her face red and her nostrils flaring. “Leia said they closed that torture chamber years ago! Are you seriously telling me Leia locked Thrawn up there without trial?!”

               “Yes, I am seriously telling you that,” Akeyla responded, her patience wearing thin. Kit began to mount her counter-argument, but Akeyla held her hand up, saying, “I know, Kit. I know what Thrawn did to your father, to so many others. We don’t have a choice.”

               Kit’s mouth open and closed, then turning toward Kira, she shouted, “Are you okay with this?”

               “Honestly, no,” Kira said, “But like I said, we’re dead if we don’t find a way to fight back.”

               Kit turned to Ben, scoffed in disdain, and then turned to Jax. She pleaded, “Back me up on this, Jax.” Kit’s frustration swelled further when Jax gave a noncommittal shrug as he turned his focus back on the weapon Ben had given him.

               Turning back to Akeyla, she continued to plead, “Akeyla. . .”

               “Madame Chancellor,” Akeyla interjected firmly, hoping to squash the argument.

               Before Kit could continue her argument, two separate doors opened, and from opposite sides of the room, the Mandalorian woman in colorful armor entered, followed on the opposite side of the room by the Sullustan officer who had been sitting with General Telvin. Sensing that Kit wanted to continue the argument, Akeyla whispered a sharp, “Later,” before turning to the new arrivals.

               “Introductions are in order,” Akeyla said. Gesturing to the approaching Sullustan, she said, “Commander Voolin Voosh, Republic Special Forces.” Turning to the Mandalorian, she added, “Sabine Wren, special aid to Din Djarin.”

               Sabine removed her helmet, revealing the lined face of a middle-aged woman with close-cropped purple hair. Kira’s curiosity piqued. Ahsoka had mentioned Sabine Wren numerous times throughout their training, speaking with admiration about the Mandalorian warrior. Sabine looked at Kira with a similar curiosity, and Kira nodded respectfully – a gesture Wren returned.

               “We must discuss our strategy,” Akeyla said to the collected representatives.

               “Why did she do it?” Sabine Wren interjected, his nostrils flaring and her face alight with anger.

               “I don’t know, Madame Wren,” Akeyla said, steeling herself.

               “She told us Thrawn and Ezra killed each other,” Sabine said, her voice rising. “What happened to Ezra?!”

               “I do not know,” Akeyla said, her voice soft as she hoped to appease.

               “That’s it, then? Leia tells you she stashed Thrawn at the Citadel, and she gave you no explanation of what happened?” Sabine exclaimed in disbelief.

               “I empathize with your anger, and I know Ezra Bridger meant a great deal to you. Please understand that I can answer none of these questions. All I can do is attempt to solve the challenge in front of us. We have no military commander, and Thrawn is the most capable option we have,” Akeyla explained, hoping to appease Sabine’s anger.

               “And the most dangerous,” Kit said, her anger rising along with Sabine’s.

               Sabine gestured to Kit, then added, “There has to be another way.”

               “If you have ideas, I will be happy to hear them,” Akeyla said, her voice going slightly cooler.

               Sabine opened her mouth to object, but as no ideas formed, she closed it again. She seethed, her anger smoldering, but without any legitimate object to vent it on, she turned away, hands on her hips.

               Kit interjected quickly bitterly, saying “Anyway, we’re just wasting our time with this. Nobody can break into the Citadel.”

               “Actually,” Ben interjected, and Kit glared daggers at him. He hesitated, then added, “My grandfather led a rescue mission there during the Clone Wars. Luke recovered the records of the battle, including a map that Artoo created.”

               “But Ben, Artoo is lost on Erys,” Kira explained, fighting back a pang of sadness at leaving Artoo and BD-1 behind on the planet before she had crossed the mysterious star bridge to Nemsis.

               “Yes, but his map isn’t. Luke recovered a lot of Artoo’s old memory files from when Anakin owned him. I have it on the Falcon,” Ben explained.

               Excitement arose suddenly in Kira, and she asked, “Does that include the location of the planet Atollon?”

               “Atollon?” Sabine Wren frowned. “Why do you want to know about Atollon?”

               Kira hesitated, unsure of how much she wanted to share. She settled for sparse details, replying, “Leia told me there’s somebody there who can help. She told me to find it, but so far, it seems like the planet doesn’t exist.”

               “Oh, it exists, alright,” Sabine said. “But trust me. You don’t want to go there. Some old friends told me about the creature that nearly killed everyone – Rebels, Empire, even Thrawn.”

               “Wait – Thrawn was on Atollon?” Kira asked, her excitement mounting.

               “Kira, please,” Akeyla interjected. “We have little time.”

               “Right,” Kit responded, apparently impatient with Kira after she showed excitement at the mention of Thrawn. “Even with a map, we’ve got winds, acid lakes, Sentry droids, and a whole bunch of miserable traps to fight against. It’s hard to get in, and even harder to get out.”

               “Wasn’t a problem for me,” called a voice that nobody could place. Everybody looked around trying to identify the speaker, and Kira unhooked her lightsaber, suspecting an ambush. After a moment, the air around a point at the back of the room shimmered, and Panga Meesh materialized before their eyes.

               “How did you do that?” gasped Sabine Wren.

               “Panga, I told you about that,” Kit retorted in exasperation.

               Panga waved off Kit’s irritation, then explained to Sabine, “Chameleon tech. My own design.” She turned back to the group and added, “I did a job there once. Our mutual friend, Bolsko, had his people hire me.”

               “Bolsko?” Akeyla asked incredulously.

               “Are you really surprised? You think he was above farming out his problems to the Hutts from time to time?” Panga asked, irony dripping from each word.

               “What job was this?” Sabine asked, her arms crossed. “And who the hell are you anyway?”

               “A Mandalorian,” Panga shot back, lifting her gauntlet up and displaying her identification. “My parents died after the Night of a Thousand Tears.” Panga held Sabine’s gaze, daring her to comment.

               “And the job?” Sabine asked.

               “What if I told you we could kill two womprats with one stone?” Panga asked, steeling herself.

               “If we’re talking about killing Thrawn, I’m all ears,” Sabine said. “But why do I feel like I’m about to throttle you?”

               “Din Djarin is also at the Citadel,” Panga admitted.

               “Unbelievable,” Sabine roared.

               “She was a slave, Sabine,” Kira said. “She had no more choice in her actions than the Chiss did.”

               “And now I’m offering to help recover him,” Panga explained.

               The group paused, silently awaiting Sabine’s response. She continued to seethe, her anger ferocious and impotent. Finally, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling, then said, “Get on with it.”

               Kira spoke quickly before Sabine could change her mind, asking, “You know how to get in?”

               “I got some ideas,” Panga explained nonchalantly.

               Sabine continued to eye Panga, and Commander Voosh, the Republic officer who had remained silent through Sabine’s outburst, asked through his translator, “We’re letting a bounty hunter plan this operation?”

               “You’re letting the only one who’s broken into the Citadel before plan this operation,” Panga corrected.

               Before anybody else could protest, Akeyla asserted, “Alright, time is short. Ben, get your map and everything else Skywalker had on the Citadel. Sabine, Jax, and Commander Voosh; select your teams. Kit and Kira, go down to the hangar to select your ships.”

“Let’s get to it,” Kira added definitively.

                                                                                          ***       

Approaching Lola Sayu, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira gazed out the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as countdown timer ticked closer to their arrival on Lola Sayu. She had scanned the report on the system, learning that the decaying planet was volatile and treacherous to the point of being virtually uninhabitable, save for the Citadel itself. Ben had been quiet through the journey, and as the planet approached, she could feel tension from the ship’s galley. Kira felt similar tension pulsing from the Aldera and the Harpy, which soared in tandem behind the Falcon through the hyperspace lane.

The timer hit zero, and the planet appeared before them as Ben pulled back the hyperdrive lever. The southern third of the planet had been blown away in a massive explosion millions of years ago, and the intact northern hemisphere was laced with yellow rivers and lakes of superheated sulphuric acid coursing through a purple-hued wilderness of volcanic rock. Kira checked her instruments and reported to the three ships, saying, “No shields, no sign of defense forces. Just the Citadel itself.”

“That’s more than enough,” Panga replied from her captain’s chair aboard the Harpy, and the three ships began their descent toward the planet’s equator.

They passed through the atmosphere, the Falcon rattling violently as stratospheric winds shook the ship. The winds barely abated as the entered the troposphere, and after passing through a yellow cloud that triggered a wave of fear as it reminded Kira of Nemsis, the Falcon charted a course above a canyon leading to the base of the Citadel’s volcanic plateau. Ben deftly held the ship’s course against the violent winds, and within minutes, they slowed to a halt above a rocky flat at the outlet of a deep canyon.  

Kira felt a tendril of apprehension as she observed the prison rising from a shelf above a lake of sulphuric acid. Ben checked an instrument on the Falcon’s dash and spoke into his commlink, “The wind is bad over the lake, but the cliff on the right seems to block out the worst of it. It should give you at least some cover as you approach the command tower.”

“Copy that,” Panga spoke back as the Harpy and the Aldera settled to the ground.

The Falcon touched down moments afterward, and the assembled Republic troops in the galley began to file out. Kira and Ben followed, finding the Mandalorian, Chiss, and Republic forces assembled on a rocky flat shielded by the three parked ships.

Panga stepped forward, and the group closed in around her. Nobody spoke, as the plan had been rehashed and rehearsed dozens of times during the 12-hour hyperspace jump. “Alright,” Panga said, “Everyone knows what to do,” and she turned to Kira, asking, “What’s that thing the Jedi always say?”

“May the Force be with you,” Kira replied, and then added, “And in this case, let’s also hope for a bit of luck.”

A pair of Mandalorians hoisted jet packs onto Kira and Jax, and they took a couple of helmets from nearby Republic soldiers. The jet packs kicked on, and the trio rocketed into the sky. A fierce wind whipped at them, blowing them off course until they were able to correct and move slowly toward the sheltering cliff. Panga switched into chameleon mode, and Kira saw her beacon moving ahead toward the Citadel, which loomed menacingly above the rim of the plateau. Panga lifted away from the shelter of the cliff and jetted forward to land lightly on the edge of the plateau. Jax and Kira followed behind, settling onto a ledge just below the cliff’s edge to ensure they would not be detected.

As Panga landed, she killed her jet pack and settled to the ground, invisible to anybody who was not watching closely. Panga scanned the area around the base of the Citadel, and she saw no sign of any patrol or sentry droids. She was not surprised at the scant exterior defenses, given that nearly everybody in the galaxy had assumed the Citadel had shut down decades ago. Her viewscreen shifted to a different setting, highlighting a climbing course leading to the control tower. She activated the static grips on her gloves, helping her cling to the wall as she began to climb.

Minutes later after a fast hundred-meter climb, Panga stood on an exposed platform whipped by the planet’s violent winds. A shielded door blocked entry into the tower, and Panga set to work on the electrical panel next to the door. Before disabling the door, she toggled the view through her mask to scan the interior of the Citadel’s control room, noting the four guard droids in standby mode and an operator droid at the control panel. None of them were near the entry way, and gambling that the door’s opening would go unseen, she deactivated the alarm. She held her breath as the door slid open with a hiss, and she slipped in before the door closed seconds later, gaining access to a corridor leading to the control room.

She crept through the corridor, passing unnoticed into the main room. An upgraded T-Series tactical droid monitored the systems while four N-5 Sentry Droids stood silently at the edges of the room in standby mode. None of the droids noticed as she entered, and smiling to herself beneath her mask, she shifted her viewscreen into another mode, which scanned through the various systems showing up on the control deck’s consoles. Uncertain whether her vital signs would register if she attempted to pass through the room, she activated a tiny drone from her wrist gauntlet, and the insect-sized drone whirred to life and slowly drifted along the floor toward the command droid. Her viewscreen inside her helmet showed the drone’s view, and she guided it toward the command deck and then up the side of the consoles. The T-1H turned to its right, assessing the current functioning of a system, and Panga paused the drone. The droid’s gaze lingered as if sensing something, but it eventually turned its focus back to its instruments. With the droid’s scrutiny directed elsewhere, Panga nudged the drone forward, directing it to the control panel for the defense system shut-off. The drone landed on the switch, and a sudden wooshing thump signaled that the systems had deactivated.

The T-1H bent forward, scanning the screen to assess the sudden shutdown, and the N-5’s sprang to life. As the N-5’s rushed toward the windows scanning for external threats, Panga receded into the corridor and whispered, “Go time.”

Panga heard the affirmative in her ear, and she knew that Jax and Kira had blasted off. She bowed forward, aiming her wrist rocket toward the window where the N-5’s stood, and as they closed in on the window, she fired. The rocket soared through the corridor and into the command center, slamming into the windows and exploding. Two of the droids exploded along with the windows. The explosion blew outward, but the sudden inrush of wind sent the glass and flame back into the main room, sending the other N-5’s cartwheeling backward. The T-1H clamped down on the command console and began to punch commands to notify the Republic of the incursion. Kira and Jax soared through the flaming window, lightsabers activated. Kira flew straight toward the T-1H, decapitating it with a clean swipe. Jax quickly took down the remaining N-5’s, Leia’s purple blade slashing through the dim light of the command center. He looked down at the smoking rubble of the droids, then back to the lightsaber, which he regarded with appreciation. Panga switched off chameleon mode and jogged into the command center.

“Nice work,” Kira said, deactivating her lightsabers.

Panga nodded as she punched in a set of commands, saying, “We’ve got a few minutes before the rest of the droid’s in the facility figure out we’re here.”

Panga began muttering “come on” to herself as she cycled through a series of screens before saying, “Last time I was here, there was no hint of Thrawn here. You sure this is right?” she asked as his name failed to register.

“Akeyla told me he’d be under another name,” Kira said.

“And that is?” Panga asked.

“Morai Onat,” Kira said.

Panga scrolled through the roster then exclaimed, “This says he's dead.”

"What?" Kira asked, leaning over to take a look.

"But still occupying a cell?" Panga asked, confused.

"Did you know anybody else was here when you brought Din Djarin?" Kira asked.

"No," Panga shrugged.

"Maybe Leia obscured his presence, just in case," Jax suggested.

“Must be the case. Where do we go?” Kira asked.

Panga did not respond immediately, and Kira sensed her shock. Jax also noticed the hesitation and looked toward Panga, saying, “What is it?”

“I found Thrawn, and I found Din Djarin, but. . .” Panga paused, adding, “They’re not the only one here.”

“Who else?” Kira asked, frowning as she jogged over to Panga’s side. She looked down on the screen and saw the names: Senator Tarrful of Kashyyyk, dozens of Mandalorian dissidents and. . .

“Taila Zevala?!” Kira called out. Jax jogged over and bent over the screen next to Panga. There on the screen he saw the same names Kira saw, plus Taila Zevala’s name and the names of three other Padawans who had gone missing after breaking from the Jedi Order. Taila Zevala had led Jax’s training when she joined the Resistance after the Battle of Nal-Hef, having left the Jedi Order at the same time as Luke. She had been captured by the Republic on Kowak.

“I can’t believe it!” Jax exclaimed in excitement.

She pulled up the locations of each prisoner. Thrawn was held in isolation in a cell on the top levels, while the rest were down below. Speaking into her comm, Panga said, “Sabine, we got a change of plan. In addition to Din Djarin, there are about 15 Mandalorian dissidents along with Tarfful and a few exiled Jedi are down below. We’re going to be cutting it close, but we know where they are and where their armor is stashed.”

“Are you serious?” Sabine said.

“Like a rathtar attack,” Panga responded. “We’re going after Thrawn. You’re gonna meet a lot of droids down there, but we wanted to give you a chance to get your people. Systems are down, so you better move.”

“Copy,” Sabine responded, and Kira could see their beacons begin to move en masse into the cavern entrance Anakin Skywalker had carved out decades ago.
               Panga jogged out of the command center into the corridor, with Kira and Jax following close behind. She reached the exit and switched back into chameleon mode. The door opened, and she passed into another corridor. A quartet of N-5 droids noticed the door open, but not seeing anybody there, they walked forward to investigate in single file. Kira reached out through the Force, and the droids flew forward down the corridor, and a blaze of purple light cut through the droids as they flew through the door and past Jax.

“We’re clear from here,” Panga said, and the trio charged down the corridor, following a map projected from Panga’s wrist gauntlet. Kira checked her own display and saw that the Mandalorians had paused, and as she tuned into their transmission, she heard a vicious firefight as the Mandalorians, Chiss, and Republic soldiers engaged the N-5 guards protecting the lower levels.

Moments later, they reached a single door cut into a rocky wall. Panga went to work on the control panel while Kira and Jax hung back with ignited lightsabers, each watching a corridor leading away from their location. Panga worked through the lock, and the door sprang open. Jax hung back, watching the corridors while Panga and Kira entered.

The room was dark except for a ray shield that buzzed across the middle of the room. Kira tapped it with her lightsaber, and her lightsaber bounced back.

“It’s separate from the main defenses,” Panga said. “Give me a minute.” She scurried away to another panel inside the room and set to work on disabling the shield.

Kira stepped forward, peering into the shadows on the other side of the shield. She had the sense of a being there, and she sensed his alertness but could not see him. She stopped at the edge of the shield and spoke tentatively into the darkness, “Grand Admiral Thrawn?”

The sound of a blaster erupted as Jax’s lightsaber whirred into life. Kira heard Panga curse as she struggled with the ray shield, and Jax called back, “We got company!”

Kira repeated her inquiry, saying, “Grand Admiral Thrawn, can you hear me?”

A burst of static erupted in her ears, and she heard Ben’s voice saying, “Kira, Sabine. A quartet of star cruisers just appeared above the planet. Technical readouts suggest that they’re Grysk.”

“Great!” shouted Panga in exasperation as she doubled her efforts on disabling the ray shield.

Kira turned back toward the ray shield and watched as a figure emerged from the shadows. A pale sliver of light from the doorway hit his face, which glowed an eerie purple through the ray shield. His hair was long, the blue-black strands shot through with streaks of gray. His eyes glowed red, illuminated by the ray shield, and his face was cunning, with a half-smile stretched across his dark blue lips. He regarded Kira silently for a moment, and she returned his gaze, unflinching.

“Ah,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper above the buzz of the ray shields. “So you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about.”

Chapter Text

Lola Sayu, 26 A.B.Y.

A Mandalorian rocket screamed through the darkened corridor, slamming into a rock wall. The fireball ejected fragments of volcanic rock outward into the advancing squadron of N-5 Sentry droids, throwing several of the N-5’s back and knocking their systems offline. The droids in the front continued to advance in four columns, firing methodically on the squadrons of Mandalorians, Chiss, and Republic soldiers. The hail of blaster fire struck a Republic soldier, and as another blast ricocheted off of a Mandalorian’s armor, a Chiss soldier collapsed in agony, a burning hole gouged into his shoulder.

               Sabine Wren shouted over the chaotic din of blaster fire, “The cells are just beyond that line! Take them out.”

               Another rocket soared through the corridor, this time scoring a direct hit on one of the advancing columns, which collapsed in a ball of flame. Using the cover of the explosion, Sabine lobbed a thermal detonator down the corridor. Moments later, an explosion erupted within the advancing columns, destroying a dozen droids and disabling several others. The few droids still standing fell after  the Republic and the Chiss opened fire. The Mandalorians forged ahead, finishing the work that the rockets and the detonators began by firing into the half-disabled droids still attempting to fight back.

               As the dust settled, Sabine jogged toward a large, double blast door which her map identified as the main holding chambers for prisoners. The Chiss and Republic soldiers fanned out on either side, watching for droids approaching from corridors leading to the left and to the right. Several of the Mandalorians diverged toward a storage room where they suspected the prisoners’ effects might be held. Sabine went to work on opening the blast doors, tearing into the wiring on the control panel and attempting to hotwire an override past the main circuit.

               One of the Mandalorians jogged up to Sabine and said, “Bad news. Ben Solo just reported that several Grysk cruisers just popped out of hyperspace.”

               “What?!” called out the Republic commander, an Abednedo. He turned on the Chiss and shouted, “We’ve been betrayed!”

               Sabine broke away from her work on the control panel, shouting, “Stand down, Commander! We have to focus on opening the door.”

               “It won’t matter if we’ve been set up!” the Commander shouted back.

               The Chiss lead officer countered, “By now, Ren will have found out who is held here. They’re not here for us.”

               A volley of blaster fire from the hallway to the right cut the conversation short, and the Chiss soldiers pivoted to return fire. Several Republic officers broke away from their flank to lay down cover fire, and Sabine Wren dove back into hotwiring the control panel. She pulled the primary power line out from its socket, plugged it into a separate channel, and then sparked the phase conducer. The blast doors sprung open, and Sabine and several Mandalorians rushed into the holding cells as the Chiss and Republic fell back to lay down cover fire.

               Sabine jogged through to the corridor between the rows of cells, each guarded by ray shields, until she reached the end. Another Mandalorian had broken off to a separate control panel and had begun to rewire the controls to the prison doors after she failed to enter the correct password. Sabine reached the end to find Din Djarin, alert and on his feet, inside his cell.

               “Sabine?” Din said, eyes wide in surprise.

               “It’s good to see you,” she said, pulling off her helmet to reveal a relieved smile. “We’ll have you out in a minute.”

               “How did you find us?” he asked, still shaking off his shock at her sudden appearance.

               “We came for Thrawn. Didn’t know you were here,” she explained.

“Thrawn?” Djarin blurted in shock.

“Long story. Don’t ask,” Sabine growled as she worked at the ray shield’s control panel.

The ray shield between the two went down, and Sabine stepped forward, offering a cursory hug to her friend. Din Djarin stepped out, and dozens of unarmored Mandalorians left their cells along with a towering, elderly Wookie and a quartet of Jedi. The oldest of the Jedi, the exiled former-Master, Taila Zevala, rushed forward from her cell as the sounds of explosions rocked the corridors outside the cell. A fireball erupted beyond the doorway, and several Chiss and Republic soldiers fell back. Taila reached the door, and reaching out with the Force, she pulled something away from the Mandalorians who were busy moving the stashed armor and weapons out of the adjacent storage facility. Something silver landed in her hand, and a brilliant green light erupted. The Jedi stepped past the retreating Chiss and Republic soldiers, each calling out to their lightsabers.

               In the corridor, Taila and the three Padawans fanned out, igniting their own recovered lightsabers. Beyond the N-5’s, a lumbering T-4 turret droid rumbled up the corridor, scraping the roof of the hallway as it opened fire on the Jedi. Their lightsabers whirred into action, deflecting blasts back into the columns of approaching droids. The Mandalorians who had been busy collecting the armor took advantage of the diversion, and they pulled their haul of armor, helmets, and weapons behind them into the prison. The remaining Mandalorian soldiers rushed past, opening fire on the Turret droid while the Taila methodically took out the approaching Sentry droids.

               An explosion erupted behind their flank as another squadron of droids approached from the right corridor. The remaining Chiss and Republic soldiers turned, opening fire on the approaching droids. The heavy return fire took down several Republic soldiers, but a volley of rockets streaked through the air toward the approaching column, which blew apart in a shower of sparks. The remaining droids charged ahead as a Mandalorian clad in silver armor stepped forward. He withdrew a weapon from his side, and a black blade crackling with energy emerged. Din Djarin lunged forward toward the approaching droids, cutting them down with the Darksaber.

               Moments later, the Jedi killed the last of the droids in the left hallway, and a sudden silence settled over the corridors. Sabine stepped out into the hallway, which was hazy with acrid smoke drifting up from the destroyed droids. “The Grysk are here. We better get back to the ships before we have more company.”

               “Let’s go,” commanded Din Djarin.

                                                                                          ***

“Any day now, Panga,” Kira called behind her to Panga, who worked to disable the ray shields. Jax held his position in the hallway against approaching droids, but he called back into the room, shouting, “There’s too many of them!” Panga stepped away from the control panel and joined Jax, firing down the corridor at the approaching Sentry droids.

               “What an interesting turn of events,” Thrawn said coolly, indifferent to the approach of deadly battle droids.

The ray shielding crackled between them, and Kira, growing impatient with the persistent barrier, barked at Panga, saying, “Step aside, Panga.”

Panga looked up toward Kira and saw her hand outstretched, and remembering what Kira had done to her former Master, Rotta the Hutt, she jumped aside. With Panga out of the way, Kira unleashed a volley of blue lightning into the panel. The ray shield flickered, then collapsed, leaving Thrawn free from his containment. The Chiss wore brown prison fatigues, which sagged over his aged body. Despite his advanced age, his red eyes glowed fiercely, suggesting he had lost none of his intellectual cunning.

               “So, it is true,” Thrawn said in muted astonishment.

               “Grand Admiral Thrawn, I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but we need your help,” Kira said breathlessly.

               “Indeed?” Thrawn asked coolly. “Surely your Jedi powers will overwhelm the approaching droids.”

               Jax poked his head back in the room and shouted, “C’mon, Kira! We have an opening!”

               Thrawn’s eyes went wide, and his cool stoicism melted at the sight of Jax. Thrawn turned back to Kira, his indifference and coolness now supplanted by a subtle eagerness. Kira responded to his sudden interest, saying, “We’ve liberated a Chiss battlecruiser; the rest of the Chiss people are under control of the Order of Ren. They’re fighting alongside the Grysk, and they’ve destroyed the Republic, the Jedi, and the planet Coruscant.”

               Thrawn remained silent, and Kira had the impression that he was calculating something complex. He broke his silence a moment later, saying, “Surely, your Admiral Antilles or your Admiral Ackbar will have devised a strategy.”

               “Ackbar is dead, and Antilles is incapacitated,” Kira explained hurriedly as Thrawn frowned. “Leia Organa told us you were here before she died, and we’re here to ask for your help.”

               Jax joined her side, and Panga rushed back in. Thrawn regarded Jax, his eyes lingering on the ignited purple lightsaber as he said quietly to himself, “Fascinating.” He turned back to Kira, saying, “So, you thought you would come here and ask for my help to save the Republic.”

               “The Republic is gone,” Jax countered. “There are millions of Chiss enslaved by the Order of Ren. We need to free them.”

               “We don’t have time for this. Tranq him, and let’s go,” Panga said impatiently.

               Thrawn ignored Panga’s comment, staying rooted to the spot. He regarded Kira, a smile emerging on his face as he said, “The great and honorable Leia Organa left me here to rot. I find no compelling reason to take a part in whatever game she is playing.”

               “I don’t know why Leia did this,” she acknowledged, working to conceal her misgivings and frustrations. “All I know is that trillions of beings – Chiss included - will die if we don’t do something.”

               “Hmm. And you, daughter of the Emperor, what are you prepared to do?” Thrawn asked cryptically.

               “What are you talking about?” Kira replied, as the comment caught her off guard.

               “The Emperor was capricious and egotistical. He ignored my counsel as he sank his resources into foolish battle stations. How am I to know you won’t be similarly foolish?” Thrawn said.

               “I’m not my father, and I’m not Leia,” Kira said, glaring angrily. Another blast erupted outside, and Jax rushed back out to hold off the incoming Sentry droids. “You can come with us, or you can stay here and die. The Grysk are coming, and they will kill you on sight. What’s it going to be?”

               Thrawn smiled cryptically again, and inclining his head in a gesture of respect, a gesture which Kira was unsure whether to interpret as authentic, he stepped forward.

                                                                                          ***

Ben Solo watched the scanner as the quintet of Grysk cruisers took up positions. Looking at the rocks around him, he felt reasonably confident that they would be shielded from anything other than a direct scan. He watched on the scanner as several shuttles disembarked from the cruisers and shot toward the surface of the planet. Based on the size of the shuttles, Ben estimated that there could be as many as 100-150 Grysk soldiers held within. Several fighters flanked the shuttles, and Ben calculated the odds that they could defeat them head on at a very low ratio.

               “What do you think?” called Kit’s voice over the intercom. He could see her strapped into the Harpy’s cockpit, ready to take off at a moment’s notice.

               “We’re dead if we intercept them, and we’re dead if they reach the surface,” Ben said.

               “I will call for backup,” Commander Voosh said through his translator.

               “They’ll know we’re here if you do,” Ben retorted.

               “You said we’d be dead either way,” Voosh’s translator replied.

               “Fair enough,” Ben said, “Kit, alert the fleet that we’ve got company. Tell them we found Thrawn, but also Djarin and dozens of others.”

               Ben watched his scanners as the message went out, and as Ben expected, the shuttles altered course as they picked up the outbound transmission. The ship’s computer reported an active scan from the cruisers above, and Ben guessed that they were as good as spotted.

               He keyed a separate channel on his intercom and said, “Kira, the Grysk know we’re here. Backup is incoming, but the Grysk will get to us before you do. We need to get in the air and get closer. Can you get to the front gate?”

               “Not much cover there,” Kira called back over the intercom. Ben could hear laser blasts and the buzz of her lightsabers.

               “We just need to get everyone on the Falcon, and then we’re out. The fleet is sending backup,” Ben said.

               “Copy,” Kira shouted, as she cut her transmission.

                                                                                          ***

“Change of plans!” Kira barked into her comms. “The Grysk know we’re here, and they’re headed for the ships. We need to get to the front gate before the Grysk do.”

               Jax, Panga, and Kira rushed forward, with Thrawn trailing close behind. Another Sentry droid emerged, and Jax pulled it toward him, slashing it in two as it approached. Thrawn appraised him curiously, saying, “I thought only female Chiss could manipulate the Force.”

               “Mystery to everyone,” Jax called back, deflecting a volley of blaster bolts.

               “Impressive,” Thrawn said, too softly for Panga and Kira to hear.

               The trio forged ahead, reaching the edge of the corridor. Panga fell back immediately, as crossfire from Mandalorians on the other end of the corridor slammed into the ceiling above her.

               “The Mandos are down the corridor; turret droid in the middle,” Panga shouted over the din.

               Kira stepped forward, and she clipped her lightsabers to her belt before reaching outward. Ahead, the droid froze, and its turrets swiveled upward. Fire from the Mandalorians ahead suddenly ceased as Panga shouted, “Hold your fire!”

The droid began to shake violently as its ray shielding sputtered and failed. The droid began imploding upon itself, sparks erupting from its joints. As it crumpled from the unseen external pressure, Jax stepped forward, throwing his lightsaber down the hall. The blade ignited, swiping through the droid’s steering systems. The lightsaber continued past the droid, stopping in mid-air before zooming back toward Jax. The droid collapsed on the ground, leaving a clear path between Kira and the rest of the group. Kira, Jax, and Panga jogged ahead with Thrawn in their wake. Taila Zevala stepped forward from the group, nodding toward Kira and then toward Jax. Jax rushed forward to embrace her, relieved to see him Master again. Tarfful spotted Kira, and he growled a greeting in gratitude.

               “It is good to see you both, my old friends,” Taila said with a smile on her scarred face, lined with age. Kira smiled as well, and Jax rushed forward to hug her.

               Panga stepped past, addressing Sabine Wren and Din Djarin. “The Grysk are on their way. We need to get to the front gate to meet the Falcon before they get down here. We called for backup, but it’s gonna take time.”

               Sabine’s map projected from her beskar gauntlet, and she studied it for a moment. With a gesture, she pointed down the corridor behind them. A quartet of Mandalorian soldiers fell back, taking their place around Thrawn to simultaneously shield him and prevent his escape. Kira, Jax, and Taila took position in the front alongside Sabine and Din Djarin as they pushed through to the main gate.

               The group met little resistance, with only a few lingering N-5’s standing guard at the corridor leading to the main gate. They pushed their way to the entrance, keying in the code to open the gates, which slowly slid apart, revealing a landing pad above a boiling, acidic lake surrounded by jagged purple cliffs. A trio of running lights approached low over the lake, and Kira discerned it as the Falcon, Aldera, and the Harpy. Looking around, Kira saw the surrounding cliffs through a shimmering haze of vapor, and she had no sense of any approaching creatures – at least not yet. Looking up into the sky, she saw ships higher in the atmosphere descending toward their position. Ben and Kit would reach them before the Grysk, but it would be close. The rescued prisoners and the guards banded together, clearing space for the ships to land.

               The Falcon got there first, followed by the Harpy. Both ships slowed and began to set down at the landing area, with the Aldera trailing behind, still midway across the lake. A brilliant blaze of red fire arced across the lake, slamming into the Aldera. The ship’s aft section erupted in flames. The nose tilted downward, slamming into the lake’s surface, sending a wave of sulphuric acid surging forward across the lake.

               “No!” Kira shouted, as a Grysk fighter soared over the lake and veering right to circle back toward them. Another quartet of fighters joined it, and they turned toward the Falcon and the Harpy and began to lay down fire.

               Kira closed her eyes and reached out her hand. Closing her mind off to the fear and destruction around her, she stretched out her feelings, and an image of the Falcon’s dorsal gun controls emerged in her mind. She held the image of the firing control in her mind, and with a suggestion from her thoughts, the guns switched on and swiveled. Through the Force, she made another suggestion, and the dorsal gun erupted in a furious barrage. Three of the five Grysk fighters exploded as Kira’s pinpoint blasts took them down. One of the fighters cartwheeled out of control into another fighter that had dodged the blast, and that fighter swerved, only to smash into the cliffside. A rocket streaked from a Mandalorian across the lake and slammed into the surviving fighter, which also exploded.

               The moment of elation subsided instantly as dozens of Grysk soldiers appeared on the rim of the cliffs surrounding the acid lake. They trained their weapons on the gathered Republic, Chiss, Wookie, and Mandalorian forces, and Kira knew then that they were surrounded. Feeling like she was out of tricks and dreading a firefight, she spoke over her shoulder, “Any ideas, Panga?”

               When no response came, Kira turned around, and saw Panga was gone.

               “Panga?!”

Chapter Text

“Where’s Panga?” Kira called to Sabine Wren.

Sabine looked around, finding no sign of Panga anywhere. The Mandalorians had stepped forward, creating a perimeter around the rest of the prisoners and the remaining Chiss and Republic guards in the hopes that their armor could help shield from fire. Taila, Jax, and the three Padawans ignited their lightsabers, also prepared to defend the group. They were too far away from the Falcon and the Harpy, and Kira knew they would be gunned down if they attempted to run for it.

               The Grysk assumed firing positions, but they seemed to be waiting for a command before firing. A heavily armored freighter with two wicked looking forward prongs bristling with armament drifted down from above the Falcon and swiveled into firing position. It hovered above the lake as its weapon systems locked onto its targets. It fired a blast, taking out the Falcon’s dorsal quad gun in a shower of sparks. A robotic voice, heavily amplified, spoke from above, saying, “Surrender, intruders. We are here to collect the Jedi prisoners. Hand them over now, and your deaths will be painless.”

               With the dorsal guns out, Kira had no other angle left to take out the freighter. Extinguishing her lightsabers, she closed her eyes and reached out with the Force once again. The freighter began to shudder violently and list to its side. Kira strained, attempting to pull it down into the lake. The Grysk above opened fire, and a small explosion knocked Kira back, breaking her concentration.

The Grysk freighter righted itself, and the voice spoke again. “This is your final warning. Surrender now, or die slowly.”

“Just keep them distracted a little longer,” came a staticky voice in Kira’s ear.

“Panga?” Kira asked, surprised.

“That’s right. Just a little longer,” she whispered.

Kira stepped forward, and her voice projected, said, “The Grysk have no business here. Go back to your master and tell him that Kira, Daughter of Sidious, is coming for him. And when I find him, he will beg for death.”

A guttural laughter echoed across the cliffs, and Kira knew that the Grysk were amused by her bold and – by their reaction – baseless assertion.

“Cute,” Panga’s voice whispered before saying, “Be ready to fire.”

“When?” Kira whispered.

“You’ll see,” Panga whispered back.

Kira stepped back, raising her lightsabers. Calling out to the dozens of soldiers behind her, she said, “Weapons ready! Pick your targets on my mark!”

Suddenly, a dozen explosions erupted in unison below the edges of the cliffs. Showers of rock splashed down along the margins of the lake, as the cliffs collapsed in a cascade of dust and rubble, pulling the assembled Grysk soldiers down with them as debris slid into the lake. A small figure jetted over the surface of the lake, and Kira understood that Panga, her suit blending into the cliffs, had placed a dozen explosions below the cliffs’ edges undetected. As the bulk of the Grysk forces slid into the lake, the Mandalorian and Chiss soldiers opened fire on the freighter as it rose into the air to escape. A blast hit the group’s flank, sending several Chiss soldiers backward. Kira reached out with the Force again, taking the ship in her grip. She felt Taila’s and Jax’s presences next to her as they too reached out toward the ship. Enclosed in the grip of an unseen Force, the ship began to list again, its guns firing uselessly into the sky. The three Padawans closed ranks, joining together as the combined Jedi pulled the freighter down into the lake. As the drive hit the lake, the back of the ship exploded, and the forward section of the ship sank into the boiling sulphuric acid.

Several people let out a whoop of excitement behind them, and Sabine ran forward toward the Falcon and the Harpy with the prisoners, the remaining soldiers, and the Jedi trailing behind them. Kira lingered behind with Taila to cover their flanks from the sporadic fire emerging from the destroyed cliffs above. Kira saw Panga streaking toward their position, firing sporadically toward the few remaining Grysk as they attempted to assume new firing positions. A second freighter swooped down from above, and another blast hit the Falcon near its communication’s array. The freighter pivoted above the lake, and Kira, noting that all of the Jedi except for her and Taila were within the ships.

“Taila, get in the ship!” Kira shouted.

“No, we have to come back out and stop it,” Taila responded.

“There’s no time!” Kira shouted, and she rushed out from below the Falcon, leaping to the ship’s roof. Despite her demands and Taila’s compliance, she felt Jax’s presence rush out of the Falcon. She turned toward the freighter, which was locking its guns into position. She reached out, attempting to touch the pilot’s mind. Its psyche was hard, cruel, and violent, and she recoiled slightly at what she felt. Upon her attempts to connect, it pushed back, and while Kira knew it was not using the Force, there was still a force of will there that she had only felt with species like the Hutts.

The ship was on the verge of firing when Kira sent a volley of lightning toward the ship. The lightning wrapped around the cockpit, but with the distance between her and the ship, it did little damage beyond briefly scrambling its firing circuits. When the lightning subsided, the ship quickly came back online. The ship pivoted slightly; its guns trained on her.

A line of fire streaked across the sky and slammed into the cockpit. Kira felt the pilot’s conscience disconnect abruptly, and she knew the creature was dead. The ship listed and tilted, nudging toward the Falcon. Kira reacted immediately, using the Force to nudge the ship onto a different trajectory. Her efforts forced it off its collision course, and it careened into the cliffs, sending another cascade of rocks down into the lake.

Kira looked up to see Panga streaking toward her, and Kira could feel her triumph as she soared across the surface of the lake. Kira’s heart stopped as a line of green light flashed across the lake from behind them, hitting Panga’s jetpack, which exploded into a ball of flame. Panga tumbled down from the air, hurtling toward the surface of the lake. Kira reacted instinctively, pulling Panga toward her. The extra momentum sent her past the bank of the lake, but as a result Panga came down hard, slamming into the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Panga!” Jax cried, as he raced over to her crumpled body. Kira rushed ahead to join them, even though she could hear somebody behind them shouting that they needed to go. Jax collapsed to the ground, cradling Panga’s head. Her helmet shield lifted, revealing her face. A trickle of blood streamed from the corner of her mouth, and she coughed painfully. When the coughing fit subsided, she smiled at Jax. Kira reached Jax, kneeling beside him to steady him.

Panga’s eyes met Jax’s, and her smile broadened. She whispered softly to him, “Find your girl.” The words had barely left her lips when her eyes glazed over. A ragged exhale followed, and Panga stared into infinity, her life cut short. Kira felt her spark go out, and Jax grabbed her hand, gasping in pain, saying, “Panga! No!”

Another blast sent a shower of sparks off the side of the Harpy, and Kira knew they had to go. She tugged at Jax, but he wouldn’t let go. She shouted, “Jax, we have to get her onto the ship!”

Fighting through tears, Jax reached down, scooping her body up, which was lighter than he expected despite the armor. They jogged back to the Falcon, and Jax set off toward the Harpy with her body.

Once inside the Falcon, Kira shouted, “Go!”

She felt the ship shudder as it lifted off. She raced into the cockpit, settling herself into the co-pilot seat while Ben nudged the ship forward. The Harpy lifted off alongside them, and together, they rocketed off into space.            

The quintet of Grysk cruisers appeared above them in space, and Kira calculated their trajectory toward an intercept point. The ships appeared large and lumbering, and guessing that they could use their size to their advantage, Kira said, “Change course, 180-degrees.”

“Good idea,” Ben called, and the Falcon turned on a wide arc with the Harpy following close behind. As expected, the Grysk cruisers were slow to respond, lumbering on a wide course-correction that would give the Falcon and Harpy time to reach their jump points.

“Fighters incoming!” they heard Kit call through the com, and looking up they saw several squadrons of wasp-like fighters streak toward them from the crown of the planet’s northern hemisphere.

“Take evasive action,” Ben called, as the Falcon swerved off course away from the Harpy. Both ships swerved away from the cruisers, and having separated, Kira expected the Grysk fighters to separate as well. To their surprise, the undivided group of Grysk fighters remained hot on the Falcon’s tail.

The ship shuddered as blasts deflected off of its shields, and Kira, barked, “Please tell me you didn’t inherit your dad’s hang up on Corellian parts.”

Ben grunted a noncommittal response as the Falcon swerved and wove, keeping barely ahead of the Grysk assault. The Falcon seemed to be holding together well, but the sheer number of fighters behind them would quickly overwhelm their shields if the bulk of the fighters got closer. Despite the ships’ reputation as the fastest ship in the galaxy, Kira was dismayed to note that the Grysk fighters were slowly gaining on them.

“If I may make a suggestion,” spoke a cool voice from behind them. Kira turned to see Thrawn settling into a chair, strapping himself in.

“Help yourself,” Kira barked back through gritted teeth as she began to re-route power from the quad gun back into the shield. Before Thrawn could speak, an impulse arose within her, and she nudged the ship’s steering against her will. The Falcon dove as Ben swore in surprise, and a rocket exploded where the ship had been only seconds before.

“Once the Grysk have deduced a target is a superior threat, they will not split their forces. They will instead devote everything they have, picking their enemies off, one-by-one.” Thrawn explained, his voice calm and unruffled.

“And how’s that supposed to help?” Ben asked, his voice tense as he sent the Falcon into a barrel roll toward the edge of the planet’s atmosphere.

“It means they are currently ignoring the other ship,” Thrawn explained. “They expect the other ship to flee based on their limited knowledge of human psychology.”

“Yeah, we want them to get out of here,” Kira shot back.

“That’s precisely why you should tell the Harpy to turn back.” Thrawn explained. He paused, then added after looking over a readout on the ship’s hyperdrive, “Also, direct your ship toward these coordinates.”

“But that will bring us closer to their cruisers!” Ben shot back.

“Precisely,” Thrawn replied coolly.

Kira looked at the coordinates, and she saw it was their original jump coordinates. The Grysk ships were moving away from that position, but it would not take much redirection for them to course correct.

The Force sparked a flash of insight in Kira’s mind, and she said, “He’s right, Ben. Go!”

Confused, but compliant, Ben turned the Falcon onto the prescribed course. Predictably, the Grysk cruisers altered course in response. The shuddering from the incoming blasts subsided somewhat, and Kira looked out her cockpit to see the Harpy shoot by after taking out half a dozen Grysk fighters.

The Grysk were slow to react to the Harpy, and by the time they realized that the Harpy had rejoined the sortie, Kit had steered the ship back around for another volley. The Falcon’s remaining quad gun fired on their pursuers, and between the Harpy’s second pass and the Falcon’s unusually accurate firing – Kira deduced that Taila was on the guns now – their back was cleared.

“Should we turn to jump?” Ben asked.

“Hold your course,” Thrawn ordered, his voice soft and moderated.

“This is crazy!” Ben barked back, but another Grysk cruiser appeared where their previous course was leading. Kira understood that the Grysk had sent another cruiser to intercept, only now their intercept point was a meaningless patch of open space.

“You forget,” Thrawn responded. “I’ve fought the Grysk before. I know their psychology.”

“And what do you propose to do about that?” Ben asked exasperatedly, pointing at the Grysk Cruisers now racing toward their projected coordinates.

“Nothing,” Thrawn said. “Stay on course.”

“No way!” Ben shot back as he realized that the Grysk cruisers had an angle to beat them to their coordinates, by which point they would be caught in their tractor beams.

“Kira, ensure the ship remains on course,” Thrawn requested coolly.

Ben turned toward Thrawn and shouted, “What?!”

Before Kira could act, the Grysk cruisers had closed in, and the Falcon began to shudder as the tractor beam caught them.

“Steady,” Thrawn muttered as the Grysk ships, reaching their projected point, began to turn toward the approaching ships, their backs to the Falcon’s destination. Kira knew that they would never make it past the Grysk cruisers, and she knew their escape was now practically hopeless.

As Ben turned around, prepared to throttle the impossibly calm being, a quartet of Mandalorian cruisers appeared out of hyperspace followed by the massive form of the Eventide. All five ships opened fire on the Grysk ships, and the grip of the tractor beam broke. The lead Grysk ship erupted in flame as a massive barrage from the Eventide tore through its shields. The remaining Grysk cruisers appeared confused between the sudden arrival of the Resistance ships and the directive to pursue their quarry, and taking advantage of their momentary indecisiveness, the Falcon and the Harpy shot forward past the burning Grysk cruiser that had nearly ensnared them.

The Mandalorian and Chiss cruisers rained fire on the Grysk, but Thrawn leaned forward to Ben, saying, “Order them to disengage and jump into hyperspace immediately.”

“But, we have the advantage,” Ben objected.

“No, you don’t,” Thrawn replied as another pair of Grysk cruisers emerged from hyperspace. The cruiser that had appeared on the Falcon’s original trajectory was closing in, and the newly arrived pair would also be here soon. Their window to jump was limited, Kira saw, and she shouted into her comm, “Everybody jump! Now!”

In unison, the Mandalorian cruisers and the Eventide jumped into hyperspace. Moments later, the Harpy and the Falcon both streaked ahead, shooting into their hyperspace lane, leaving the Grysk fleet behind.

As the Falcon shot forward into hyperspace, Ben turned toward Thrawn, who looked back coolly and appraisingly. Ben was breathing heavily, angry at their near death.

“We almost died!” Ben shouted at Thrawn.

“Did you, now?” Thrawn responded sardonically.

“Ben,” Kira said appeasingly, and Ben looked at her, his face tight with frustration. He stood up and stormed out of the cockpit, leaving Thrawn and Kira alone.

“Always understand your enemy’s weaknesses,” Thrawn said. “The Grysk are cruel, cunning, and powerful, but they – like all species – have their blind spots.”

Kira looked toward the seat where Ben had sat, noting his heated disagreement and adamance toward maintaining their course against Thrawn’s directions. Ben’s adamance would have killed them all, a trait she had observed all too often over the past year. Grudgingly, Kira acknowledged inwardly that Thrawn’s manipulation of the Grysk had saved their lives, even as it flew in the face of Ben’s certainty. During the engagement, Kira could feel the Force pulling her in the same direction as Thrawn’s insight, and the experience had startled her, leaving her to feel that the Force encouraged her to leave too much to chance. She felt a shiver up her spine as she remembered Leia vanishing in Ben’s arms, herself having claimed to follow the Force while leaving much to change. She wondered, was that meant to happen? She stretched out her senses, but the Force revealed no answer.

As she turned her focus back to Thrawn, she could sense his burgeoning respect. Even without the Force, Thrawn foresaw signs and potentialities in a similar manner to the way Leia had when she preached heeding the whisperings of the Force, however counterintuitive they appeared.

Thrawn watched her piecing together her internal conclusions, and he asked, “I have the sense that you knew his actions could result in our death, as well?”

“I could feel the Force warning against his actions,” she said, frowning slightly as her memory struggled to reconstruct the intuitions and sensations she had felt.

“The Force gave both Vader and the Emperor a powerful prescience. As I recall, Leia Organa experienced the same phenomenon.” Thrawn replied. “She was particularly adept at viewing the dynamics of the galaxy as a game of Shah Tezh, much like the Emperor.”

“I know that game,” Kira said, but her mood darkened at Thrawn correlating Leia’s qualities with those of the Emperor. She recalled Leia teaching her the game during their rare moments of quiet, and again she wondered at Leia’s purpose. “Leia taught me.”

“Indeed. One must wonder what design she pursued there, and in many other domains,” Thrawn mused.

Kira felt a flash of anger at Thrawn, but the flash was tempered by her resentment toward Leia as she recalled the tragic consequences of Leia’s final move on Nal Hutta. Thrawn seemed to sense her conflict, but he did not press or mock her as she wrestled with the assertion.

Kira looked back up at Thrawn, who scrutinized her closely. He broke the silence when he said, “You have earned my respect.”

He paused, watching the complex emotions flashing across her face, seeming to wait for her reaction. When no reaction came, he said, “May we both play the game to a victorious end,” and he nodded respectfully before turning back into the galley, leaving Kira’s emotions in turmoil as she pondered the image of Leia pulling the strings in a grand contest of wits in which she and everyone else she loved were a tool toward a larger design.

Chapter Text

Hyperspace on route to Dagobah, 26 A.B.Y.

Kit pulled off her headset and leaned back in the pilot’s chair, letting out the tension from their brush with disaster as the Harpy hurtled through hyperspace. Another plan shot to hell; another catastrophe barely averted. Relief clashed against anger as she considered Thrawn roaming at large within the Millennium Falcon. On the other hand, they had rescued several Jedi to aid their cause, and she felt heartened for the Mandalorians knowing they had found their leader once again. Even Tarfful was a welcome sight, and she made a mental note to let Chewbacca know, assuming she could reach him from his hiding place in the depths of Kashyyyk.

               As her tension ebbed, she became aware of the silence from the ship behind her. She stood from the pilot’s chair, making her way quietly from the cockpit into the galley. There, huddled around the body of Panga Meesh, stood the Mandalorians. Jax knelt by the girl’s side. He shed no tears, but Kit could see him wrestling with a powerful grief. Kit found herself surprised at the extent to which she mirrored his grief, although her grief mingled with gratitude at Panga’s sacrifice. She had been a sarcastic pain in the neck, but where would they be without her now?

               As Kit looked down, she was again shocked to see how young Panga was. No more than 15 years old, she had spent most of her young life in service of the Hutts, performing brutal acts on their behalf. Kira had inadvertently freed her when she killed Rotta the Hutt, and in the few shorts days where Panga had lived free, she had helped save the Resistance while masterminding their mission to Lola Sayu. Kit smiled slightly to herself as she imagined Panga making sure everybody knew exactly who deserved the credit.

               “Was she truly Mandalorian?” Din Djarin asked Jax.

               Jax maintained his silent vigil as words failed him. Kit stepped forward, and her voice soft, said, “Her parents were killed by an Imperial remnant. The Hutts found her and took her into slavery. She told me she found her mother’s armor and made it her own.”

               Sabine Wren knelt over the body and examined the armor. “And she designed the modifications?”

               “Yes,” said Kit. “Her ship’s, too.”

               “When we return to Dagobah, we will conduct the kote kyr’am. Her actions honored the Mandalorian people. For now, encase her in carbonite for the journey home.” Din Djarin said.

               Four Mandalorians picked up Panga and carried her into the ship’s lower decks where she kept a carbonite chamber for her bounties. Jax stood, staring down at her helmet. The rest of the Mandalorians drifted away, leaving Jax alone. Kit was about to go to him, but he turned and drifted toward the back of the ship. Sensing that Jax was in pain, Kit followed him.

               She found Jax in Panga’s quarters, sitting on the edge of Panga’s bed, holding a small figurine of a Jedi that Panga had welded from bits of scrap. Kit sat down on the bed and put her arm around Jax. They remained quiet for a long time as Jax continued to turn the Jedi figurine over in his hand.

               “When we were on Mustafar, I was ready to give up. I had caused nothing but trouble, and I knew nobody trusted me.” Jax explained solemnly. “We were talking about my wife and child, and she told me, ‘if there’s a chance they’re alive, you can’t give up.’ The last thing she said before she died was ‘Go find your girl.”

               Kit embraced Jax more tightly as, thinking of the loss of her own father, her empathy for Panga grew.

               “Kira knows where she is,” Jax said, his voice hollow and haunted.

               “Where who is?” Kit responded, her brow furrowed.

               “My daughter. Vaeka.” Jax replied, his voice still solemn.

               “How?” Kit asked. She reached for his hand, and Jax put the figurine down on a nightstand next to the bed in Panga’s cramped quarters.

               “Nemsis. She’s a prisoner of Ren’s. I asked to go there, but Kira says it’s impossible,” Jax said.

               “The intel says it’s heavily defended. . .” Kit began, but Jax cut her off.

               “I don’t care what the intel says,” he snapped, standing to his feet.

               “Jax. . .” Kit began, feeling hurt and bewildered at his sudden anger, but Jax had started for the door. She called his name again, but he did not turn back. As her confusion and hurt surged, Kit felt tears welling in her eyes. Worry for Jax surged as she recalled Panga’s comments about Jax’s volatility. As she began to ruminate, the thought of Thrawn roaming free floated through her mind, and dread settled in her stomach.

She turned toward Panga’s nightstand and saw the figurine of the Jedi. Looking back to the door where Jax had just left, she turned back, picking up the figurine and placing it into her pocket.

                                                                                          ***

Kira had helped Taila tend to the last of the wounded soldiers. Knowing that Taila had more skill in healing, and seeing that the easy fixes had been attended to, Kira retired to the cockpit, joining Ben where he sat in the pilot’s seat, leg up on the dash as he gazed into the monotonous blue of hyperspace.

               “What’s your read on our new friend?” Ben asked as he stared out the cockpit.

               “Difficult to tell. It’s like talking to a droid,” Kira explained.

               “A super-genius droid with a murderous streak,” Ben said snorted cynically, his gaze still distant. “I don’t like it.”

               Kira leaned over and looked back into the galley. There was no sign of Thrawn, who had retired into the main quarters to rest following his exertion. Taila had insisted; Thrawn was still strong for his age, but he was old by Chiss standards, and fifteen years of imprisonment at the Citadel had granted his health few benefits.

               “I don’t get why my mother spared him,” Ben continued.

               Kira fell silent as she brooded on Ben’s disbelief. As her body relaxed following the tension of their escape, a whirlwind of thoughts rushed in. Leia had promised she was done keeping secrets, yet here was a secret kept that felt even worse than the secret of her parentage. Hundreds of worlds sought justice for Thrawn’s atrocities, but as far as Kira could tell, Leia had locked him away without trial or without explanation. It was exceptionally unlike Leia, who had always fought for justice and fairness in the law.

               “Maybe she saw something – something in the Force – and she believed he still had a purpose,” Kira offered. The suggestion did not quell her misgivings. Instead, her resentment surged as she wondered why Leia would not have told her.

               “If that’s the case, why wouldn’t she say anything?” Ben asked, his gaze distant as if watched the hyperspace mottling whirl by. He shifted uncomfortably, then added, “I know I was wrong to hold so much animosity against her, but this. . .” He trailed off, sequestering a wave of anger.

               Kira considered this point, but as she did, a sudden wave of nausea tore through her stomach. She bent forward involuntarily, feeling as if she would vomit, and Ben snapped out of his distant stare.

               “Kira?” Ben said, concerned. “Are you ok?”

               Before Kira could respond, her vision went black. A sensation of cold swept over her, and an excruciating pain seared through every nerve, giving her the sensation that she was burning from the inside out. She fell out of her seat and collapsed onto the floor of the Falcon, writhing, and as she lost her sense of where she was, a voice spoke.

               You stole what is mine, the voice said, and every word cut through her nervous system like a lightsaber. Kira fought against the pain, struggling to push the intruding consciousness out of her mind. It felt like pushing a Star Destroyer out of space dock.

               I’ve known your mind since you were a child. Do you really think you can escape me? The voice spoke again, relishing her agony. The presence’s familiarity twisted a knife into her stomach as she realized he had found her.

               Yes, the voice said slowly. You thought you could hide from me? Foolish child.

               The pain intensified, and Kira had the sensation that the presence was working its way through her memory. She saw flashes of memories that she was powerless to control. She saw Thrawn’s face flash through her mind, and she knew instantly that Ren understood what he was and why his memory was there.

               Clever, but it won’t work. Thrawn has one care, and one care only – and it is not your precious Resistance. Ren continued sifting through memories, passing the memory of Ben apologizing in the strategic conference room. Kira felt Ren’s laughter as he witnessed Ben’s contrition before moving on to memories of Kira sending lightning across the conference room to stem any argument. The memory shifted to the Aldera, where she watched Leia speaking to her from the past. The word Dagobah registered in her memory, followed by the word Atollon.

               Fascinating, the voice said. Tell me more about Dagobah.

               LEAVE ME ALONE, Kira thought to the voice, but the voice only laughed.

               It seems important, and the presence seemed to rewind the memory, homing in on Leia’s words: If you have found this recording, which I am sending to Dagobah, the planet where Master Yoda trained my brother, it means that my worst fears have come to pass.

               So that’s where you’re hiding, the voice said, apparently satisfied. Ren added as an aside, I always wondered what hole Yoda had crawled into. You will tell me where it is.

               No! Kira thought back, and this time her fear and love for her friends helped her push harder against the incursion. For a moment, she had the sense of the Falcon’s cockpit around her, with Ben and Taila looking down at her in fear. Ren pushed harder, and her defenses sagged.

               No matter, Ren said. I will pull Skywalker out of his hibernation and torture the location from him. I’ll make sure you feel the whole thing.

               The memory seemed to rewind again, and Ren focused on another moment of the memory of Leia’s explanation: Years ago, Master Tano brought me to the One in the Middle on Atollon. He is old, possibly as old as the galaxy itself, and his wisdom is deep. Find him. He will help you to hear the will of the Force as he helped me.

               The one in the middle? Ren asked, and this time Kira responded directly, saying Your guess is as good as mine.

               And Atollon? Ren asked, and the pain increased to nearly unbearable levels. Kira sank deep into her own connection with the Force, allaying the pain. No, child. That is not how we play this game.

               Nobody knows, Kira thought back, and to her immense relief, Ren withdrew slightly as if he was searching through his own memory. In his momentary distraction, Kira walled off the knowledge that Thrawn knew, constructing a barrier that she hoped would hold.

               When Ren’s full attention returned, he said, So, Organa sent you to find somebody she wouldn’t name on a planet nobody can find. She did not explain anything about imprisoning Thrawn, and here you are, the last of the Jedi facing impossible odds. How do you feel about your precious mother now?

               Kira’s emotions surged as her memories about Leia’s secrecy and Luke’s unhelpfulness swam to the surface.

               Ahhhh. Yes. You are doubting your purpose. And why not? Surely know you cannot defeat me, Ren taunted, cruelly amplifying her pain as he cycled through various memories of Kira struggling to rationalize Leia’s secrecy. Poor child – created as a tool, raised as a weapon, and led to slaughter with no explanation. You must feel so. . . used.

               LEAVE ME ALONE, Kira said, and in her rage, she pushed back harder. Ren did not appear to anticipate it, so intent he was on torturing her emotionally. Instead of blocking her counter-incursion, Kira found him curiously unprepared. In her rage and hatred, she pushed harder, cutting through memories of the attack on Coruscant, through a memory of soaking in a bacta tank while nurturing an injury to his shoulder, and beyond to an old man standing before the swirling, black vortex and dark energy at the heart of the Well of Nemsis. The old man reached his rotting hand out, and darkness flowed from the well to his fingers, restoring his corrupted flesh. The pulsating red wound throbbed and enlarged, and Kira had a sense of Ren’s disgust, fear, and. . . was it vulnerability?

               Ren began to push back, although he flailed as his fear rose within him. Kira had the sense that he had spent so much of his life violating others that he had never defended himself against a similar intrusion. Kira pushed deeper into the memories, arriving at an image of a skeletally thin alien being, cloaked in black, standing before the same wellspring. There was no wound, but the vortex swirled chaotically. The being discharged a cascade of red lightning, which entrained within the vortex. Red vapor flowed from his body, entwining within the vortex. When the vapor finished flowing, the being appeared withered and old – on the brink of death.

               ENOUGH! The voice called, and in a flash, the vision was gone. She came into full consciousness lying face up on the floor of the Falcon’s cockpit. Taila’s hand was on her forehead, and she whispered feverishly. Ben fretted anxiously from the pilot’s chair, and Kira had the sense there were others looking on from outside the cockpit. A sense of embarrassment stole over her, but as her consciousness fully returned, she felt no trace of Ren’s presence.

               “Kira!” Taila said, removing her hand and looking down with deep concern.

               “It was him,” Kira said, pushing herself onto her elbows. She looked toward Ben and said, “He invaded my mind.”

               “What did he see?” Taila asked.

               “He saw Thrawn. He knows why we went to the Citadel,” Kira closed her eyes as she attempted to reconstruct the exchange. It was like hanging onto the evaporating tendrils of a dream. “He went through my memories and. . . and. .”

               She got to her feet, and Taila pulled herself away in alarm, saying, “Kira, you should rest!”

               Kira sat down in the co-pilot’s seat and ticked on the intercom, saying, “Omega Base, come in. This is Kira. I repeat, this is Kira!”

               A burst of static followed, and a female voice answered. “Falcon, this is Omega Base. We read you, copy.”

               “Tell the Chancellor we need to evacuate immediately. The Order of Ren knows about Dagobah. They don’t know the location, but it’s a matter of time. I repeat. Evacuate immediately!” Kira said urgently.

               A long pause followed, and the confused voice on the other end of the intercom said, “How do you know?”

               “There’s no time! Give the message to the Chancellor now and get out of there immediately!”

               “But where?” the communications officer asked.

               “Pick a coordinate in deep space and send it to us. No known planet,” Kira replied.

               “Copy, Falcon. Contacting the Chancellor now,” the voice said as the connection cut out.

               She sat back into the chair, exhausted. Ben had punched in a command to the Harpy and both ships, the Mandalorian cruisers, and the Eventide dropped out of hyperspace.

               Kit’s voice called over the intercom, saying, “What’s going on, Falcon?”

               “The Order of Ren knows about Dagobah. I told the Resistance to abandon the base,” Kira said, her voice barely a whisper as exhaustion threatened to subsume her.

               “What else did he see?” Cere Junda asked.

               “Atollon,” Kira said, then added to herself in a whisper, “But he doesn’t know either.”

               “What’s Atollon?” Ben asked.

               “Something Leia told me to find,” Kira replied. Exhaustion had nearly overwhelmed her, but one final memory arose, as clear as daylight on Tatooine. With her last bit of strength, she opened her eyes and looked at Ben.

               “I know how Ren survived,” Kira whispered.

As the last words left her lips, she fell unconscious, collapsing onto the floor. Taila caught her with the Force, and together with Ben, they carried her into the back of the galley, laying her into an unoccupied bunk. Ben pulled a blanket over her and watched her sink deeper into sleep as he tried to shake off his own terror at recalling Nemsis. He felt his hands shaking with fear, and Taila noticed as well. Her warm hand touched his shoulder, and Ben had the sense of something soothing and warm coursing through his body. His breathing became less constricted, although his legs still felt weak.

               Taila led him back to the Falcon’s cockpit and looked out toward the other ships floating silently in deep space. The Mandalorian cruisers and the Eventide had joined them where they were, and Ben nudged the Falcon slowly toward the nearest Mandalorian cruiser, hoping to dock and rest from the exhaustion fueled by his own rising horror. Ben sank into the pilot’s chair and pulled up a star chart. They were not far from Dagobah, and the nearest system showing was Crait.

               “Know anything about Crait?” Ben asked Taila. The Jedi Master closed her eyes as she went through her own memories.

               “Only vague memories. A mining planet; uninhabited.” She said.

               “That’ll do,” Ben said, and he opened the fleet-wide comm channel, saying, “This is Ben Solo. The Order of Ren has discovered that we are at Dagobah. They do not know where it is yet, but it’s a matter of time. I am re-routing us to a point in deep space one parsec outside of the Crait system.”      

               He keyed in a code, and the text channel showed acknowledgement from each ship. He sent a duplicate message to the fleet, hoping that they could rendezvous in a few hours. He received a prompt text reply from Morvinae that read, “We’re on our way out now.”

               As he exhaled, he keyed the coordinates into the nav computer as both the Falcon and the Harpy drifted gently into the Mandalorian cruiser’s hangar bay. Minutes later, the task force jumped into hyperspace, en route for the unknown.  

Chapter Text

Deep Space, 26 A.B.Y.

A series of images flashed through Kira’s mind, and she saw a massive black ship above a planet swirling with acrid clouds of sulphuric acid; Ren’s form stalked toward a swirling vortex; a carbonite encasement illuminated from within. Luke Skywalker hung, suspended in air between a pair of insectoid beings with glistening black exoskeletons and cruel, fanged mouths. They held him in place as he writhed under the onslaught of an unseen force, screaming in agony. A voice spoke, resonating through the fabric of time and space, as it said “DO NOT LIE TO ME, SKYWALKER. YOU WILL TELL ME HOW TO FIND ATOLLON.”

               Skywalker’s struggling subsided as the unseen pressure upon him eased. Gasping for breath, he said, “I told you. I never went there. It was my sister. The records are on the Aldera.”

               “THE ALDERA WAS DESTROYED,” the voice said echoing through the Force.

               “Looks like you’re out of luck then,” Skywalker said, summoning defiance despite the agony he felt. Ren doubled his onslaught and Luke screamed anew.

               “AND DAGOBAH?” the voice asked again as Luke’s struggling subsided.

               “It won’t do you any good. They’ll be gone by now.” Luke said, and as his breathing eased, he said, “It’s along the Rimma Trade Route halfway between Bith and Elrood.”

               Luke winced as if the presence was searching through his memories. Luke went limp, unconscious from the strain, and the voice spoke, “RETURN HIM TO THE CARBONITE AFTER PREPARING HIS SAMPLE.”

                                                                                          ***

Kira sat bolt upright with a start as she awoke from the vision. The image of Luke suspended between two Acronemses, writhing from an agony that Kira could feel in her own body, remained imprinted on her mind. As she took in her surroundings, slowing her breathing and recognizing the safety of a cramped sleeping compartment, likely on a Republic ship. She flipped on her light switch and saw that she had been changed into a gown. Her body felt heavy and stiff, leaving her with the impression that she had been asleep for a long time. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and dressed back into her clothes.

               She exited the compartment, surveying the corridor decorated in Republic blue and gold. She walked to a window and saw hundreds of ships clustered around the Eventide – a refugee city of military craft floating in deep space. Remembering back to Luke’s interrogation, she felt some satisfaction knowing that the Republic had at least escaped Dagobah before Ren was able to determine its location. She walked down the hall to a terminal and read the ship’s designation: Home Two.

               After finding a transport lift, she made her way to the bridge, where she found Commander Morvinae in the Admiral’s chair, reading through a data pad. She made her way toward him, but before reaching his chair, she saw Thrawn standing silently in a shadowy alcove on the far side of the bridge. The lights in the alcove had been dimmed, and he regarded a series of holographic art pieces in elaborate geometric, triangular forms. He appeared so still that Kira wondered if he had fallen asleep standing up.

               She reached Morvinae in his chair, and the Mirialan officer looked up from his study, saying, “Ah, you’ve recovered. How do you feel?”

               “I’m alright,” Kira reported. Then, turning toward Thrawn, she asked, “What’s up with him?”

               Morvinae frowned at Thrawn. The crew seemed to be avoiding the alcove where he was deep in thought, and nobody seemed keen to look in that direction. He said quietly, “He says he’s studying, but what, I have no clue.”

               Kira watched Thrawn as he remained motionless, his hands behind his back. A more pressing concern came back to her, and she turned back to Morvinae, saying, “Commander, can you run through the confidential records to see if there’s anything on the planet Atollon?”

               “Sure,” said Morvinae. He punched in a command into his datapad, and a series of reports came up. Morvinae scanned the reports then said, “Battle reports from an engagement between the Rebellion and Empire during 2 BBY. The Grand Admiral himself laid siege to a Rebel base, and the ground attack was. . .”

               Kira had been gazing at Thrawn again, and when Morvinae paused, she turned back toward him. “Was what?” she asked, frowning slightly.

               “A major lightning storm occurred, destroying vast amounts of Imperial hardware and Rebel hardware, alike,” Morvinae read directly from the report. “There are several quotes here describing the storm as being sentient.”

               “As if it were a living being?” Kira asked.

               “Exactly,” Morvinae confirmed. He completed scanning the brief records and came up with little else. “That’s it.”

               “No location?” Kira said, frowning. It was unusual for a known planet with a recent history to have no location data stored in the records.”

               “Nothing,” Morvinae confirmed.

               Kira’s frowned deeper as she pondered the curious lack of location data, then asked, “Do you have access to Leia Organa’s personal records?”

               “You’d have to go to the Chancellor for that,” Morvinae responded.

               Kira frowned down at the reports. According to what Luke had said in her vision, Leia had been the one to visit, and the records were destroyed with the Aldera on Lola Sayu. Could the records also be stored somewhere in Leia’s confidential records from her Chancellorship?

               “I am wondering,” spoke a quiet, cool voice from behind them. “What is your interest in Atollon?”

               Kira turned to see Thrawn standing a meter behind her. She had been so absorbed in this mystery that she had not noticed his approach. A corner of her mind wondered whether it was his seeming lack of emotionality that enabled him to approach her so stealthily, or whether she had just been distracted. His glowing red eyes bored into her as if he was attempting to read her soul.

She turned to face him directly and said, “You were there, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” said Thrawn, although he did not offer any additional information.

“Our reports speak of a lightning storm,” Kira said. “What do you recall?”

“It was not a storm,” Thrawn acknowledged. “It was an attack by a being of an unknown species, and it was quite strong in the Force – perhaps more powerful than the Emperor himself. We wounded him, but he disappeared before I could kill him.”

Kira frowned. Of course the Empire would seek to kill him, whoever “him” was, she thought to herself. Thrawn tilted his head to the side, a gesture that registered as an inquiry.

“Can you tell me how to find this place?” Kira asked.

“Perhaps,” Thrawn said, noncommittally. “Although I warn you: if you go here seeking aid, you will find nothing but death and destruction.”

Kira surveyed him, attempting to appraise his underlying motivates and feelings and finding that they were as opaque as ever. Thrawn smiled slightly, saying, “Your attempts to read me will not work. I spent too much time in the service of the Emperor.”

“Fair enough,” Kira said, and she settled on honesty as the best approach. “Can I speak to you in private, then?”

Morvinae looked at her, frowning. The Mirialan glanced at Thrawn suspiciously, but Thrawn ignored him, instead gesturing toward the artwork. He turned and walked toward the alcove, and Kira followed. Upon reaching the alcove, Kira took a closer look at the artwork. It was rigid, precise, and heavily geometric. It evoked no emotion in her except for a curious anxiety, induced by the artificiality of the rigid order. She found herself counting from the pinnacle of a sculpture, noticing that it expanded outward into a flourishing base composed of myriad crystalline components.

“Muunish artwork,” Thrawn explained. “The sculpture you are regarding, The Trinitarian, is considered one of its masterworks. The original, housed on Scipio, was constructed of a rare form of Mygeetan diamond. It expands exponentially by threes to its base, where it reaches its fullest expression.”

Kira circled around the work, marveling at its cold, inaccessible brilliance. She turned next to another sculpture, and again saw the theme of threes repeated.

“A lesser work,” Thrawn explained, “But no less informative. This piece belonged to a Magister of the Banking Clan named Hego Damask. It was recovered from his residence on Coruscant following his death around the time that Sheev Palpatine became Chancellor of the New Republic.”

Kira turned sharply back to Thrawn, saying, “Palpatine?”

“Yes. I recall it from his private office,” Thrawn nodded. “It is not known whether the two were acquainted, but Palpatine issued an order to have the work added to his private collection. Upon liberating Coruscant, the Republic returned it to Scipio, where it remains housed with the Trinitarian.”

               “Fascinating,” said Kira, and she turned away from the artwork toward Thrawn, asking, “But what does it have to do with defeating Ren?”

               Thrawn’s mouth stretched into a half-smile, and he turned as the lesser work that Palpatine had taken upon the death of Damask disappeared. In its place, a battle diagram depicting the Order of Ren fleet appeared.

               “What do you notice?” Thrawn asked.

               Kira studied the diagram closely, noticing three separate fleets arrayed with the massive Order of Ren flagship at the head. Each fleet had three control ships, coupled with numerous cruisers and frigates. She counted the number of cruisers, and. . .

               “The hierarchies occur by orders of 3,” Kira acknowledged.

               “Which tells you what?” Thrawn asked, his smile widening slightly.

               Kira noticed a stray memory pass through her mind of a skeletally tall figure standing before the Nemsis wellspring. She reached forward and keyed a command, and the image of Muun, thin, tall, and with an elongated head, emerged in the corner of a display.

               “But that can’t be. . .” Kira said absently to himself.

               “Can it not?” Thrawn replied with a question.

               “When I faced him, he was inhabiting the body of Anakin Skywalker, but. . .” Kira paused, considering the memory.

               “Alas, I am not as well-versed in the mysteries of the Force,” Thrawn acknowledged. “But I can tell you with certainty that the arrayed fleets reflect Muunish art, and therefore the species’ psychology.”

               Kira looked away from the display toward Thrawn. Studying his cool inscrutable expression, she felt as if she was teetering on a precipice. Without a read on his emotion, she had no sense of his motivations. As such, she had no sense his trustworthiness, as his lack of emotion made him unpredictable. However, Leia had left him alive, presumably for a reason, and here he was considering their enemy to an end of which Kira was unsure.

His brows furrowed, and he said softly, almost tenderly, “So young to carry such burdens.”

               Kira straightened up, as if unwilling to show signs of strain. Recognizing that there was nothing to gain from Thrawn by keeping certain elements secret, she said, “Ren invaded my mind on the Falcon. During the invasion, I pushed back, and I found myself in his memories. I saw a thin figure conduct a ritual before a powerful source of dark energy on Nemsis. I did not see his face, but when the ritual was done, he was old. Decrepit – as if he lost some essential part of himself.”

               “Curious,” Thrawn replied. He keyed another code, which pulled up a file on Hego Damask. He relayed the various facts contained within, saying, “After the Civil War, Republic intelligence reviewed old Imperial records and learned that the Banking Clan had funded both the Separatist and the Republic armies. With funding that had been funneled through unknown channels, a Jedi Master ordered the creation of the Clone Army that later killed the Jedi. There was no concrete evidence, but the correlative, anecdotal data points toward Damask. The vast wealth accumulated within his holding company vanished shortly before his death and was never found. It was a minor scandal, but one overshadowed by events on Naboo and Palpatine’s assumption of the Chancellorship.”

               Thrawn walked toward the display showing the Order of Ren fleet along with the Damask file. “I speculate that our adversary knew Palpatine and perhaps even collaborated with him on the fall of the Republic. His fingerprints also appear to be all over the Battle of Coruscant, as evidenced by the connection between the formations and Muunish artwork.”

               “But what does this tell us about how to defeat him,” Kira asked.

               “What indeed?” Thrawn asked thoughtfully as he stroked his chin in silence.

               Kira allowed Thrawn to remain silent for several minutes, but her interest in the question around Ren’s origins became less interesting as the other matter of urgency tugged at her attention.

               “Excuse me, Admiral,” she said.

               Thrawn did not turn his gaze toward her, but she sensed through his shift in body language suggesting that he was listening.

               “Can you tell me where Atollon is?” Kira asked.

               “I must again ask what purpose your interest serves,” Thrawn responded, continuing to gaze at the display.

               Kira again hesitated but deciding that she could not avoid sharing some of what troubled her as a means of persuading him, she said, “While we were on Dagobah, I found a message recorded by Leia Organa. She told me to go to Atollon and find ‘The One in the Middle.’ She said it was critical that I find him.”

               “The creature he refers to is powerful and dangerous. He attacked Rebels and Imperials alike. He will not help you,” Thrawn said.

               “I think I may have to try,” Kira admitted, although her misgivings continued to grow.

               “And why is that, if I may?” Thrawn inquired.

               “Because,” Kira said, hesitating to admit what had been gnawing at her in the rare moments when she was quiet, before continuing, “Because no matter what we do as a military, I may be the only one who can stop Ren.” She paused, then added, “If this creature knows anything about this, I have to ask.” She paused again, noting Thrawn’s intense scrutiny, before adding, “He may hold the answers to defeating him.”

               “And if you leave the alliance now? I suspect your presence may be key to its cohesion,” Thrawn said.

               “Our survival won’t matter if Ren continues to threaten it,” Kira replied.

               Thrawn scrutinized her for a long moment, and she had a sense that he was attempting to ascertain her weaknesses and blind spots in doing so. Several time he appeared on the verge of speaking, but he held back. Finally, he turned toward a secondary display and brought up the Lothal system along with some ancient Lothali artwork.

               “The ancient Lothali star charts suggested the existence of a mysterious planet. Their artwork venerates a great deity believed to reside there. From the star charts, one can deduce that. . .” Thrawn paused as he keyed in another command. The star chart flashed, and a pair of vectors intersected at a point a quarter parsec outside the Lothal system. Kira keyed her own command, and the computer gave a read on the gravitational characteristics of the area, which suggested – “There’s a planet there?” Kira asked.

               “Atollon,” Thrawn acknowledged.

               Kira turned to Thrawn, and she had the sense that he was still scrutinizing her. He appeared on the verge of dissuading her, when they both noticed a pair of humans walking toward them.

               Kira turned to see Akeyla Ismaren and Kit Antilles approaching. Knowing that her private exchange with Thrawn was at an end, she turned to face the approaching Chancellor. Thrawn turned as well, and Kira noticed that the display depicting Hego Damask had changed back to Muunish artwork.

               “Grand Admiral Thrawn,” Chancellor Ismaren said, inclining her head.

               “No longer,” Thrawn said. “For now, you may simply call me Thrawn.”

               “Very well,” Akeyla said. Kit stood beside her, and Kira had a sense of her anger as she scrutinized Thrawn. Thrawn glanced at her, smiling slightly. The gesture was not lost on Kit, and Kira could sense her jaw clenching more tightly.

               “Commander Morvinae told me you have been deep in study. I would like to know what strategy you may be devising,” the Chancellor said. Kira could sense her emotions were under tight control, but knowing Akeyla as she did, she knew there was skepticism and scrutiny lying beneath her polished exterior.

               “Yes,” said Thrawn, as he turned toward the display of the Order of Ren’s fleet. “I have deduced that Ren is of Muunish origin, which points to certain psychological weaknesses: rigidity, obsession with form, and greed. Note the patterns embedded in the fleet’s structure, which Kira here has so deftly deduced. What do you notice, Madame Antilles?”

               Kit winced at Thrawn speaking her name, but fighting back her anger, she stepped forward and scanned the display. She glanced over the artwork and considered it for a moment.

               “A pattern of threes repeating exponentially,” Kit responded through clenched jaw.

               “Very good,” Thrawn said, and Kira thought she sensed a subtle patronizing tone in his response.

               “I’m assuming we didn’t rescue you from the Citadel to give us an art lesson,” Kit shot back sarcastically.

               “No, but it would serve you well to observe it anyway,” Thrawn replied, his patronizing tone hardening. “The Order of Ren attacks Coruscant, the center of Galactic power and affairs. In destroying it, Ren takes the crown jewel, then threatens subsequent attacks.”

               “He said ‘attack,” and he didn’t give us any clue as to where,” Kit said, clearly impatient that Thrawn was repeating what they already knew.

               “Again, observe the artwork,” Thrawn said as he approached the Trinitarian to point at the first order of three. “Here, you see the second layer of the hierarchy expressed in a trinity.”

               “You think he will attack three planets instead of one?” the Chancellor asked, horrified.

               “Yes, and not just any planets,” Thrawn acknowledged. “Madame Antilles, in your esteemed opinion, what three planets contain the most influence after Coruscant.”

               Kit glared daggers, but recognizing the import of the question, she concentrated. Kira considered the question as well, and the image of the Muunish figure coupled with his connections to the banking clan arose in her mind. As Kit thought it through, Kira responded, “Scipio could be one. It’s the seat of the galaxy’s financial institutions through the Banking Clans.”

               “Very good,” Thrawn said. “The Republic’s wealth, the private sector’s wealth, and ancient fortunes are all managed through Scipio."

               Despite her animosity toward Thrawn, Kit brightened, and Kira had a sense that her love of solving a mystery was trumping her hatred for the Chiss commander. She blurted out, “Kuat!”

               “Excellent, Thrawn said, and Kira noted slightly less patronization in his approval. “The Kuat Driveyards produced the might of the Imperial Forces during the height of the Empire, and despite Republic preference for Mon Cala ingenuity and Corellian affordability, Kuat remains the primary producer of Republic military might.”

               “Which leaves. . .” Kira said speculatively, but she was unable to deduce the third planet in the trinity.

               “Chandrila,” spoke Akeyla, and there was a look of horror on her face.

               “Indeed,” Thrawn said with a respectful nod. “Wealth and might are important to any government, but a government that disperses authority only does so when not rooted in base instincts. And what overrules base instincts?”

               “Ethical principles,” Kira said, remembering her Jedi training on principles and values being the true landmarks delineating the narrow path.

               “Precisely,” Thrawn said. “Chandrila, one of the oldest of the Core civilizations and a seat of philosophic thought predating the High Republic. Also home to Mon Mothma, and seat of Republic power before the overthrow of Coruscant. It’s now the de facto seat of Republic power – such as it is.”

               Kit keyed a command on a panel, and the three planets emerged before them, including read-outs on their defenses. Each planet had powerful planetary shields, but so had Coruscant. Each planet had extensive fleets, but Kuat’s was currently the strongest with its own private forces mingling with several of its own orbital platforms.

               Kira sensed another group of beings approaching, and she turned to see Ben, Jax, Din Djarin, and Sabine Wren approaching. As Sabine approached, Kira could read powerful dislike emanating from her, although it was somewhat lesser from Djarin. Jax appeared conflicted, and she noted a curious, almost eager longing mixed with grief and guilt. Kira made a note to herself to speak to Jax about the emotion later.

               “Well?” Sabine Wren said acidly as she arrived.

               Thrawn had a patronizing smile for her as well, but after acknowledging both Jax and Din Djarin while ignoring Ben, he explained, “My strategy begins to take shape. Adjourn in two hours-time, and I will present my recommendations.” Thrawn turned to Akeyla Ismaren and nodded, saying, “In the meantime, I will excuse myself to meditate.”

               They watched Thrawn walk away, leaving the bridge. Heads turned as he walked, and Kira had a palpable sense of mistrust from the crew. She looked to Jax, whose frown suggested he had noticed the mistrust as well.

               “What a freak,” Sabine said in disgust under her breath, although the comment was not so quiet that Jax did not hear it. He shot her a look of resentment.

               “Yeah, I don’t like it either,” Kit said, but without heat. She stared at the display of the three planets along with the floating holograms of Muunish art. “But you have to admit that he’s got a point.”

               “Being?” Din Djarin asked skeptically.

               Kit began to launch into her understanding of what Thrawn had been explaining, and having heard it all already, Kira drifted away. Ben noticed her drifting away from the group, and he frowned as she walked to the exit of the bridge. He listened for another moment to Kit’s breakdown, but something about Kira walking away from a strategy session struck an ominous chord. Excusing himself, he followed her off the bridge.

Chapter Text

Deep Space, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira scooped up the sparse belongings scattered within her tiny sleeping compartment into a bag before slipping away to the main hangar. Upon reaching the hangar, she took stock of the available ships. The Millennium Falcon caught her eye, but as it belonged to Ben, she did not feel comfortable taking it without his permission. She settled her gaze on a standard Republic freighter in the corner of the hangar, unmonitored and unattended. She set straight across the hangar, looking here and there at the technicians bustling around her. Nobody paid her any notice as she passed, and she reached the freighter without interference or questions. She activated the ship’s loading ramp, which dropped in a hiss of steam. Stepping through the steam, she walked through the galley toward the cockpit – and stopped dead in her tracks.

               “Where are you going?” asked a male voice.

               Kira turned to see Ben Solo sitting in a darkened corner of the galley. He was watching her with concern, and although she knew he could not read her sense through the Force, he seemed to be looking straight through her. Kira dropped her bag and settled into a posture of defensiveness, but Ben held his hand up in a gesture of appeasement.

               “I’m sorry, Kira.” Ben said, and with a slight smile, he added, “It’s predictable.”

               She rolled her eyes impatiently and said, “Get off the ship, Ben.”

               “No,” Ben said firmly. Kira saw the obstinate expression on his face, which increased her impatience.

               “Ben, please don’t make me do this,” Kira said irritably as she held her hand up, threatening a Jedi mind trick.

               “What are the rules on taking advantage of non-Force users?” Ben ased, smiling mischievously.

               “I don’t have time for this. . .” Kira started, but Ben interrupted her.

               “Whatever you’re planning to do; I don’t want you going alone,” Ben said as he rose to his feet. He approached her and added, “You’re going to need help.”

               “It’s too dangerous,” Kira said.

               Ben shrugged, and he glanced down the open loading ramp. An expression of sadness crossed his face, and he said, “I don’t have any place here. So much of this is on me – I want to do whatever I can to help you.”

               Kira was touched by his devotion. She had spent little time with him since he awoke aside from their journey on the Falcon, but as she considered his offer to join her, she had the sense that he really was trying to make amends.

               Ben did not give her a chance to respond, instead interjecting as he gestured at the Republic freighter’s cockpit, “Besides, you’ll need something faster than this piece of garbage.”

                                                                                          ***

Thrawn stood in his cramped quarters, gazing out the portal toward the assembled fleet. He watched as the Millennium Falcon drifted out of the hangar and moved to a position outside the fleet. Minutes later, the ship vanished into hyperspace. He considered the arrayed forces and noted that – beyond the ships, personnel, and officers - the girl was their most powerful asset. From what he had deduced so far, she held the coalition together through sheer force of will. The Chancellor was a capable politician with integrity and gravitas, and Din Djarin spurred loyalty among his people. Yet none of them were equipped to lead a meaningful counteroffensive. His own curiosity at Leia’s decision to leave him alive awoke again, and he wondered at the prescience of Jedi foresight. His wonder yielded to a malicious smile; for all of Organa’s prescience, she seemed to have banked on his change of heart in her calculus. Thrawn smiled at the show of faith in the gravity of conscience, a trait for which the Skywalker family had proved particularly susceptible to.

               A buzzer sounded, stirring him from his meditations, and he turned away from the portal. He approached the door to his compartment, which slid open at his command. On the other side of the door stood Jax, who appeared curious and slightly eager. Thrawn felt his own curiosity mount as he noted the overt displays of emotionality from one of his kind. Thrawn wondered whether his time spent within the Resistance and the attachments he had formed with humans had brought out a side that the Chiss seldom showed outside their personal relationships.

               “You requested me?” Jax said.

               “Yes,” Thrawn replied. “I believe your given name is Sheth’raw’nuru?”

               “Yes,” Jax said, and Thrawn had the sense that he was struggling with something internally.

               “I am Mitth'raw'nuruodo,” Thrawn said, and he held his fist over his heart in a gesture that Jax returned tentatively. Thrawn smiled slightly, saying, “I can see it has taken some time to reacquaint yourself with our ways?”

               “Memories come back in stops and starts,” Jax explained.

               “Yes, I understand you have suffered greatly,” Thrawn acknowledged. He regarded the younger Chiss, noting his internal struggle as the man stood uncertainly in the doorway. Despite his apprehensiveness, he projected great wells of untapped potential that were mitigated by his trauma, a potential which intrigued Thrawn. “Please, come in,” Thrawn added, gesturing to the interior of his quarters.

               Thrawn directed him to sit in the room’s single chair while Thrawn stood beside the window. Thrawn observed Jax gazing out the window with an air of preoccupation, and he added, “I just observed the Millennium Falcon jumping into hyperspace.”

               Jax’s face fell, and he reported, “Kira has persuaded the Chancellor to allow her to embark on a mission of great import.”

               “Against my urgings,” Thrawn asked as he read Jax’s disappointment.

               “I don’t understand why she did it,” Jax agreed , and Thrawn had the impression that Jax was both disappointed and frustrated that Kira had not shared confidence with him. Thrawn pieced this observation into other observations about Jax’s role within the Chiss, where others with a deeper sense of history and military competency were his subordinate, as well as within the hierarchy of powers where the Chiss, who held the most power in a single ship, seemed to be afterthoughts in planning.

               “She seeks the aid of an ancient being, one who could just as easily kill her as help her,” Thrawn explained.

               “I wish she would have told me,” Jax said, then added, “I could have helped.”

               “It would have been a waste of your talents,” Thrawn said sympathetically. “Besides, with the Republic’s reluctance to trust us, it would harm our efforts to help our people.”

               Jax frowned when Thrawn said trust, and when Thrawn finished speaking, he said, with a trace of bitterness in his voice, “Yes, they’ve mistrusted me since they found me – even Kit,”

               “Understandable,” Thrawn said, and Jax looked up surprised. “I was responsible for her father’s death.”

               “Why did you do it?” Jax asked, and Thrawn saw skepticism mingling with his uncertainty.

               “The Chiss had known of the Grysk threat for many years. The Grysk Hegemony sought to undermine the Ascendancy as a means of invading Republic space. Their power grew as the Aristocra failed to act. I attacked a Grysk task force, destroyed it, and revealed their intention to sabotage our civilization. For this, I was banished,” Thrawn explained.

               Thrawn walked away from the window and took a seat across from Jax as he continued to speak. “I passed through the Gap seeking allies against the Grysk. The Old Republic was a weak and feckless body - incapable of action. The Empire, cruel and capricious though it was, had the might to help our people. I persuaded the Emperor to create a massive defense response. However. . .”

               “Skywalker. The Rebellion.” Jax said, partially to himself, and Thrawn had the impression he was putting the pieces together. Good, he thought.

               “I was lost before the Death Star was destroyed, and I remained lost for years until I worked my way back . Organa thwarted my attempt to build a strong government that could protect the galaxy against the very threat we now face. She threw me in prison without trial , ignoring my warnings ,” Thrawn said, turning back to Jax.

               “Why are you helping them now?” Jax asked, confused.

               “Them?” Thrawn said, allowing a note of indignation to enter his voice. Jax frowned in response to the indignation, but Thrawn had the sense it was not disapproval. He continued, “When I saw you, I knew who my true allies were. What I do know, I do for the Chiss.”

               Jax was about to respond when the memory of Kira and Kit’s adamance that rescuing his daughter was suicidal arose. He closed his mouth, then looked out the window, doubts gathering in his mind like storm clouds.

               “What thoughts ail you?” Thrawn asked, taking a seat across from Jax.

               “My daughter,” Jax said, continuing to look through the window.

               “Yes, I reviewed your file. I understand she was Ozyly-esehembo?” Thrawn asked sympathetically.

               “Captured by the Grysk and taken to Ren,” Jax added, his gaze still distant.

               “And how do you know where to find her?” Thrawn asked.

               “Kira knows where she is. I asked for her help to free her, but now she’s gone,” Jax said, and he added, looking to Thrawn.

               Thrawn felt a subtle click within his psyche, as if a critical piece had snapped into place. Liberation. . .yes. Thrawn replied, “It so happens, I have a plan for that.”

               “What’s the plan?” Jax said, his voice pressured. He rose to his feet and faced Thrawn, excitement plain in his face.

               “All in good time, my friend. Tomorrow’s council will reveal much,” Thrawn explained. “I will say that I share the same concern that a direct attack is quite dangerous. However, there are other ways to draw Ren out. As the first male Ozyly-esehembo, you would do great honor to our people by destroying the threat once and for all.”

Thrawn paused, inclining his head slightly. To his delight, he saw a cascade of emotion wash over Jax, and his practiced observation detected pride, ambition, and a fierce determination. Thrawn tried out an expression of empathy, and Jax appeared slightly confused, but also expectant. Reading the other’s body language, Thrawn said, “There is one other thing I wish to ask.”

               “Which is?” Jax asked, his excitement barely concealed.

               “A rumor has come to my attention,” Thrawn explained slowly and coolly, but Jax interrupted.

               “The rumor that you’re my father?” Jax asked, hopeful.

               “Yes,” Thrawn said. “Initially, I dismissed it as an attack on your credibility. Then, upon learning your given name - Sheth’raw’nuru.” Thrawn allowed a distant expression of sadness to play across his face, noting the strangeness of demonstrating the emotion. “Before I was exiled, there was one - Anath'ar'iameps. A beautiful name: ‘Angel of Song,’” Thrawn hesitated, allowing his gaze to go distant.

               “Was she?” Jax asked as he looked down, attempting to put the pieces together once again.

               “Perhaps,” Thrawn acknowledged.

               Understanding passed between the two of them as Jax felt a strange stirring. In all the time he worried over his daughter, he had forgotten about his own parentage. Jax took a tentative step forward, and Thrawn did not retract. Jax took another step forward, and then tentatively, hesitantly, approached Thrawn to embrace him.

                                                                                          ***

“Alright,” Ben said as he walked back into the Falcon’s galley. “We’ll arrive at Lothal in four hours, and from there we can construct our route to Atollon.”

               Kira nodded without looking up as she continued to fiddle with the Falcon’s nav computer.

               “Everything ok?” Ben asked.

               “Before we went to Nal-Hef,” Kira explained, “Leia had bridged my ship with the Falcon, and I got messages from her. I’m running through the diagnostics to see if I can find the Amaya.”

               “Where did you leave it?” Ben asked as he sat down in the chair next to her and looked over her shoulder.

               “Erys,” Kira said absently.

               “Is that where you came from before you showed up on. . .” Ben hesitated, as he was unwilling to say the name of the planet where so much trauma had occurred.

               “Yes,” Kira said. “I never found out how I got there, and there was something about the planet that interfered with my comms. But if the Falcon can just. . .” Kira paused her statement, plugging in a last array of complicated commands. The computer squawked back disparagingly, and Kira concluded that there was no connection. She sat back, deflated, then admitted, “Nothing.”

               Kira’s deflation seemed disproportionate to the loss of her ship, and as she stood up and slumped away to her bunk, Ben stood up and followed, asking, “I don’t understand. Why are you so upset?”

               Kira appeared to be on the verge of speaking, but the words never reached her lips. He hesitated to move toward her, and she sensed his desire to help. She rolled over, her back facing him, and she pulled her blanket up over her body and appeared to go to sleep. Ben watched her, feeling helpless and unnecessary.

He waited for an hour, sitting in the cockpit, before he was sure he was sleeping, and then he turned on the recorder. “Amaya, this is the Millennium Falcon. If you can hear us, we have gone to the planet Atollon. I’m sending the coordinates along with this message,” Ben said before switching off the recorder. He entered a command, and the nav computer sent the message off, its red light blinking to show that the transfer was in progress.

                                                                                          ***

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

Snowflakes fell from a white sky, drifting gently on an imperceptible breeze. The flakes floated down through the bows of towering trees, some catching in the bows and others drifting down to the forest floor below. The flakes tumbled and danced like icy songbirds of crystalline nothingness until reaching a dome-shaped mound rising from a thick blanket of snow.

               The soft, fresh snow shifted and shook as an antenna punctured the icy blanket from below. The antenna’s dish curved this way and that, scanning for life forms. It paused, quivering in anticipation as something rustled the branches of a shrub. A small cloud of displaced snow cascaded down a bank as a white canid creature emerged, a small rodent clasped in its jaws. Without any other sign of life nearby, the antenna dropped back into the snow.

               A small, birdlike droid walked up to the rounded mound, occasionally sinking into the soft snow. It clucked worriedly, tilting its head in a curiously human expression of anxiety at the hole left in the snow from the antenna’s extrusion. No response from below came, and the droid began to dig frantically with its two legs. After several minutes of displacing snow, the droid struck the silver and blue metallic dome of an R2 astromech droid. The smaller droid continued to dig until it found the droid’s eye, which was dark and still. Out of power, the small droid concluded.

It climbed awkwardly out of the hole it had dug and looked toward the cave. The R2 droid had sat here for months – or was it merely days? The droid could not be sure, as its temporal systems appeared to be malfunctioning. The R2 droid had watched and waited for any sign that its master might return, and ever since the strange doorway had closed, there had been no sign of anything other than forest creatures and snow. The little droid had hassled and harangued the R2 droid endlessly, but the R2 unit stoically ignored every plea.

When it did respond, the response was always the same: I have to be here for Master Luke.

When the little droid had retreated to the ship to recharge, it puzzled over the droid’s insistence on waiting for his master. It attempted to send message after message, but none of the messages could penetrate the interference that encircled this strange, mercurial planet. The signature of the interference was unlike anything in the droid’s or the ship’s archives, and the closest deduction the droid had been able to make was that its radiant frequencies matched the massive energy source in the valley below.

The droid scuttled about the ship, running its daily diagnostic. When not fussing over the Artoo droid, it had spent much of its time maintaining the ship’s functionality while also shuttling batteries back and forth from the ship to prevent the R2 droid from going into long-term shutdown. The droid grabbed another battery from the rack, but unlike the dozens of times it had already done this, it hesitated. Next to the batteries sat a closed compartment. Tentatively, the droid opened the compartment and shuddered slightly as its sensors registered the presence of a pair of restraining bolts. Hesitating, the droid grabbed a restraining bold and its governing device, stashing them in its small holding compartment.

After leaving the ship, the droid crossed the snowy forest floor, displacing a large ursine creature who regarded the small droid with apprehension. The creature bounded away as the little droid trudged through the snow on the well-worn path to the Artoo unit. It reached the Artoo unit, which stood motionless beneath its blanket of snow. It spat out the battery and the restraining bolt, then hesitated over the two objects lying side by side. Its claw extension reached for the battery, then paused. Abruptly, the claw extended toward the restraining bolt, which the droid gripped in its claw before slapping on the astromech droid’s dome. The R2 droid remained inactive as the little droid dropped down and attached the battery.

Artoo whirred back into life and immediately began to protest violently. The protest shook away the accumulated snow, leaving its dome and half of its cylindrical centrifuge exposed. The little droid removed the governing unit and entered a command. On command, Artoo rattled and shook, followed by a soft roaring noise. The droid rose into the air, hovering above the rapidly melting snow as a pair of blue jets of flame held it aloft. The little droid gripped the governing unit with its claw extension and trudged back to the ship with the Artoo unit drifting along behind it, protesting and squawking noisily as birds and several canid creatures fled in fear.

The little droid led the Artoo unit back into the ship, and the Artoo unit’s jets died, dropping the unit roughly onto the deck. It wobbled, then fell forward, where it continued to shriek and protest.

REMOVE THE BOLT, squawked the Artoo unit.

The little droid ignored the Artoo unit as it initiated the ship’s startup. The Artoo unit began to shriek more insistently, and the little droid computed its beeps as, I CANNOT LEAVE MY MASTER BEHIND.

They’re not coming back, the little droid beeped back.

The Artoo droid let out a pitiful wail, then launched into a rapid tirade of remarks mostly consisting of REMOVE THE RESTRAINING BOLT THIS INSTANT! which the little droid ignored. The droid jogged up to the cockpit, and its separate extension began ticking off switches to prepare the Amaya’s sublight drive.

The Amaya rose as accumulated snow slid off its surfaces. It lifted away from the ground and nudged forward, drifting through the towering columns of massive conifers. After clearing the forest canopy, the little droid nudged the drive forward, shooting directly toward the atmospheric boundary and open space beyond. It recorded the phenomena of pulses arcing across the sky in colorful constellations as the magnetic energy bombarding the planet from its nearby suns deflected off the atmosphere. As the ship shot toward the atmospheric boundary, the droid slowed its approach. The ship shuttered violently, and a proximity light began to flash. The little droid pulled back, fearing the atmospheric boundary’s potentially destructive effects.

For the next four hours, the little droid nudged the Amaya at maximum sublight speed along the boundary of the atmosphere, risking damage every time it tested the boundary. And for four hours, the droid had found nowhere in the boundary that seemed weak enough or diffuse enough to allow passage. Meanwhile, the Artoo unit continued to shriek and wail indignantly about its master and his directives.

Suddenly, the little droid’s antenna went up as the ship’s comm system issued a notification. The droid clicked on the comm and a snatch of a woman’s voice spoke: Amaya, this is Kira. I am aboard Home Two with the… before dissolving into static. BD-1 grew excited, realizing that the message from outside had somehow penetrated the planet’s strange interference. The droid turned the ship back to the window in the boundary, where it picked up a second message, in which a man’s voice said: Amaya, this is the Millennium Falcon. If you can hear us, we have gone to the planet Atollon. I’m sending the coordinates along with this message.

The little droid slowed the ship to a halt and backed up to the coordinates where it heard the message. It ran a sensor diagnostic and noticed a small gap in the atmospheric barrier. The measure of the barrier was slightly larger than the Amaya, and the little droid began to twitter and bleep excitedly. It bounced back into the galley where the Artoo unit continued to shake indignantly.

I FOUND A WAY! The little droid beeped excitedly.

The Artoo unit froze, then launched into its own fusillade of beeps.

Yes, yes, the little droid responded. But you have to promise.

Promise what? The Artoo unit asked.

That you’ll help me get out of here and find her, the little droid responded.

Master Luke. . . The Artoo unit protested sadly.

He’s not coming back, but there’s somebody who still could. . . the little droid countered.

Artoo sat still for a moment, swiveling his head in anguish. He uttered a dejected series of beeps acknowledging the truth. BD-1 approached with the restraining bolt control and punched in a command. The restraining bolt fell off, and Artoo began to rock back and forth as it issued a series of mournful beeps and squawks.

               The little droid beeped empathetically, reaching its extension to pat the Artoo unit’s head awkwardly. Artoo squawked indignantly, and the little droid bounded away to the cockpit, with Artoo following close behind. Together, the two droids carefully navigated the Amaya through the opening. The little droid paused just after they reached the other side of the boundary with open space before them. BD-1 ran a reading and noted that the opening was widening, albeit imperceptibly. Curious, it thought. It brushed the unexplained phenomenon aside as it entered the coordinates provided by the Falcon.

               Moments later, the stars stretched into lines, and the Amaya left Erys behind.

Chapter Text

Deep Space, 26 A.B.Y.

“Bad news,” spoke a voice in hushed tones.

               Kit looked up from her data pad, from which she read the latest statistics on Coruscant, to see Commander Morvinae walking toward where she stood on the bridge’s observation deck. He spoke softly, hoping not to be overheard, as he said, “The Chancellor approved Kira’s request to leave the fleet. Looks like she may be gone for whatever Thrawn is cooking up.”

               “Seriously?!” Kit said in surprise. The memory of the Dagobah Council nearly devolving into open combat flashed before her eyes. Kit had not realized it, but she had been counting on Kira’s influence to keep Thrawn, not to mention the Republic generals, in check. “Awful timing, don’t you think?”

               “Akeyla was miserable about it,” Morvinae agreed.

               “Yeah, with that sociopath roaming free. . . “ Kit swallowed the rest of the sentence as Thrawn entered the observation deck along with Jax and a handful of other Chiss officers. Jax walked just to the right of Thrawn, and something in his body language left Kit feeling uneasy.

               Thrawn crossed the observation deck, and before he reached Kit and Morvinae, the Mandalorian delegation led by Din Djarin and Sabine Wren entered, followed shortly by the Republic generals and officers with Akeyla at the lead. Kit’s bad feeling devolved into dread as she considered another round of debate without Kira to moderate.

Akeyla nodded respectfully to Thrawn, saying, “Shall we begin?”

“At your pleasure, Chancellor,” Thrawn said coolly, and he gestured deferentially for the Chancellor to lead the way into the conference room. The rest of the delegations followed, and Kit lingered behind with Morvinae until everyone else had filed into the room. She followed the last Republic officer in, and the door slid shut behind her. She walked down the steps to the tactical display, taking a seat next to Akeyla.

Once everybody had been seated, Thrawn stepped forward and keyed in a command, and the display sprang to life. Kit saw Coruscant depicted, and as she had read from the latest data, Ren’s fleet was beginning to break up.

Thrawn spoke without preamble, and the room fell silent as his audience strained to hear his quiet voice. “Our latest intelligence indicates that the Order of Ren forces above Coruscant are dispersing in preparation for their next assault. I have determined that Ren will next target three separate systems.” Thrawn keyed another command and the display of Coruscant shifted to a trio of planets. Thrawn continued, saying, “I believe Ren will target Scipio, Chandrila, and Kuat for the next phase of his operation. These attacks will occur simultaneously using the three components of the fleet delineated in his original formation.”

The tactical display shifted, displaying the three main fleets. The first fleet consisted entirely of Grysk ships, and the second fleet consisted of a mixture of captured Republic vessels interspersed with Nemsian ships. The third fleet was entirely Chiss. “Based on my analysis of our adversary, I have concluded that the Chiss fleet, the largest and most advanced of the three fleets, will be arrayed against Kuat. The Grysk will move against Chandrila, and the remainder will move against Scipio.”

General Telvin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, grunting his displeasure. Thrawn paused from his report and shifted his focus on the General, saying, “General, do you wish to share your objections?”

General Telvin rose to his feet and retorted, “And how exactly did you come by this notion?”

“Art,” said Thrawn simply, and he began to move on to the next phase of his discussion.

Telvin was not content with the explanation, and before Thrawn could speak, he interjected, “Are you telling me you are basing your entire strategy on artwork?”

“No, I am basing it on deductions from artwork,” said Thrawn coldly and with a note of impatience. Before Telvin could respond, Thrawn added, “For instance, I know from your personal collection that you are given to impulsive decisions unless checked by superiors, most of whom are now dead. It would be laughably easy to anticipate your strategies.”

Telvin turned a brilliant shade of crimson at the insult, and as he spluttered indignantly, Thrawn resumed articulation of his battle plan. “We know that Chiss forces are governed by inhibitor chips. We know that we lack the forces to defend all three planets at once. And we know that a direct assault on Nemsis would be similarly doomed with the report of Ren’s flagship having returned.”

“I propose,” Thrawn said, pausing momentarily to allow the room a chance to redirect its focus as Telvin struggled to overcome his anger. “That we focus our efforts here, at Kuat. I have devised a plan to disable their governing systems, which will liberate the entirety of the Chiss fleet. They can then join our ranks, doubling our forces while undermining the perception of Ren’s omnipotence.”

The tactical display’s coloration of the Chiss fleet shifted from red to blue, and the Chiss forces moved from the combined Order of Ren forces to the combined Resistance forces. The balance at the end was still in Ren’s favor, especially since the flagship conveyed more power than the combined Resistance fleet. However, the odds suddenly looked more reasonable, at least to Kit’s cursory examination. Damn him, she thought to herself. His genius was undeniable, and she hated him even more for it.

Akeyla Ismaren approached the display and switched back to the display of Scipio, Kuat, and Chandrila. Scipio and Chandrila appeared unaffected by the plan, and Akeyla said, “What will become of Chandrila and Scipio?”

“We do not have the numbers to intervene on three planets at once. We will need all of our forces down to the last ship to liberate the Chiss while ensuring minimal casualties. Diluting our forces would be suicidal,” Thrawn acknowledged.

“So we let those planets die, then?” Kit said, and Thrawn turned toward her. Kit was not sure, but she thought she had noticed a brief spark of malice before his customary cold neutrality resumed. Kit was further disquieted to note Jax’s look of disapproval.

“While the Grysk and Nemsian forces focus on their respective targets, we will have free reign to liberate the Chiss forces,” Thrawn acknowledged.

“You’re using billions of people as bait,” Kit retorted, and there was some sympathetic grumbling from the Republic officers.

“I’m using our enemy’s blind spots against him, just as he would use your blindspots against you,” Thrawn replied coldly.

“Are you calling my desire not to let two planets die so in exchange for a fleet a blindspot?!” Kit shot back angrily.

“Against impossible odds and near certain defeat, yes,” Thrawn countered. “Your sentiment about saving innocents makes you vulnerable to a counterattack that could scuttle your entire Resistance. A lack of discipline against emotion is your species’ key weakness.”

“And it’s our key strength. We don’t just abandon those we care about to die,” Kit shot back.

“Only your enemies,” Thrawn retorted coldly.

Akeyla stood up and gestured for Kit to take a seat. Kit longed to shoot back about his species’ weaknesses, especially the sociopathic tendency Thrawn displayed in his planning. Jax’s face was set in cold anger, and her disquiet grew further. She sat down, opting to switch gears as she said, “Okay, then. How do you plan to shut down their governing system? We can’t repeat the stunt we pulled at Cophrigin since the master ships are Nemsian.”

“Ah,” Thrawn said didactically. He switched a set of commands into the tactical display and a single Chiss freighter emerged on the screen. “This is the SC-1450, a Chiss freighter used primarily for transport and light cargo – not unlike the Correllian YT series. One of the primary differentiations between Chiss ships and Republic craft is that we do not utilize computers for navigation.”

“Right,” Kit said impatiently while gesturing for him to get to the point.

“Which means that Chiss ships do not have a failsafe mechanism that prevents them from jumping to hyperspace directly into a large celestial body,” Thrawn said, and he waited for a moment as if testing to see whether Kit could put the pieces together.

Kit walked to the tactical display, keyed a command, and the Chiss force came up. She switched another command and arrayed it against the planet Kuat, which emerged with its formidable defenses, including several fleets, Golan III platforms, and a planetary shield. She moved the Chiss freighter, which was nothing but a speck against the vast Chiss forces governed by a massive Nemsian battlecruiser. She considered its positioning and placed it directly below the battlecruiser. Thrawn then keyed a command, and the freighter shot straight through the battlecruiser’s superstructure, dispersing debris far and wide.

The room was silent for a moment before Din Djarin spoke, “If it’s that simple, why don’t we just use three of these freighters to take out each battlecruiser?”

“We require an individual with Force sensitivity to maneuver the ship into the correct position,” Thrawn indicated.

“Great,” Kit said, adding, “I’m sure Taila and the Padawans will be more than capable of directing the other two freighters.”

“Unfortunately,” Thrawn said, and Kit did not get the sense that the word carried little regret. “Simply disarming the control ship’s governing systems will still leave two battlecruisers operational, we need their help to coordinate the tertiary attacks.”

A lone whistle emerged from the Republic staff, and Thrawn turned toward him. The staffer blanched, but recovered shortly after, saying, “That’s some complicated maneuvering. How do you plan to carry out that kind of timing?”

Thrawn nodded toward Jax, who stepped forward to say, “The old Resistance tactic.”

Kit began to understand where they were going with this, and she interjected, “The Zevala maneuver?”

“The what?” barked General Telvin.

Taila Zevala stepped forward and explained, “Leia Organa and I devised a means of communicating through the Force to enable precision timing to disrupt the Republic’s ability to predict our movements. We used this tactic to escape and disrupt the Republic’s attempts to interdict us.”

General Telvin bristled, but he kept his retort to himself as he considered the answer to a long-standing mystery that had circulated through Republic command over the past year as the Resistance successfully evaded their traps time and again.

“Perfect,” Kit said raising her hand toward Taila. “You’ve got the right woman for the job.”

               “With all due respect to Master Zevala,” Thrawn said silkily, “I believe Sheth’raw’nuru is best suited for command. Master Zevala shall remain with the fleet for the secondary strike.”

               “Are you sure that’s wise?” questioned Sabine Wren, stepping forward. Kit saw Jax’s complexion lighten in anger as he regarded her intrusion. “We’re familiar with that particular trick, and it requires significant mastery to communicate across time and space.” Kit felt dread emerging as she watched Jax’s response, while recognizing that she and nearly everyone else in the room felt the same reservations as Sabine.

               “I won’t have any trouble,” Jax replied, and Kit could not help but notice his defensiveness.

               “Really?” spoke up a Resistance officer. “We were given the same assurance before Nal Hutta.”

               This time Jax became visibly angry, and he turned on the officer, saying, “Different circumstances, Major. Things have changed.”

               The officer looked like he was ready to argue, but something in Jax’s cold, hard stare backed him down. Thrawn let the tension linger a moment longer before interjecting, “In this case, it is not simply a matter of mastery of the Force. The Chiss will respond differently to one of their own rallying them to liberation. Master Zevala’s skill will be necessary to orchestrate the secondary strike, which will include orchestrating a timed jump across our combined forces.” Thrawn then turned to Taila and nodded deferentially, saying, “I assume your Padawans have sufficient skill to aid in this timing operation?”

               “Yes,” said Taila, but Kit thought she sensed misgivings on the ex-Jedi’s part. She had overseen part of Jax’s training before her capture, and Kit knew that his training had been difficult – often blocked by psychological damage incurred during his time with the Order of Ren. Kit knew something had shifted with Jax since then, but would it be enough to mastermind the operation?

               Thrawn appeared to be running out of patience for debate, and he interjected himself once again, saying in a firmer, more forceful voice, “So, in summary.” He paused to allow the room to settle again, “I propose that we disable the governing ship commanding the Chiss forces. Our secondary attack will disable or destroy any attending ships while buying time for the Chiss fleet to escape. We will then depart the battle, rendezvousing here to regroup for our next steps. Jax will lead the initial assault on the governor ship, and Master Zevala shall time the secondary assault.”

               Thrawn fell silent, as did the rest of the room. Kit had a sense that everyone in the room was going through the same internal debate. Thrawn’s plan was logical and well-considered, save for one glaring component: they would be allowing billions of beings to die as a diversion.

Kit reached her conclusion earlier than the rest, and she spoke up. “It’s a brilliant plan.” Thrawn inclined his head slightly in a patronizing gesture. “I still don’t understand is why we can’t time a similar operation to at least disrupt the assaults on Chandrila and Scipio.”

Thrawn tensed in annoyance before issuing a coolly modulated response. “Because, Commander Antilles, we require Jedi to time the assaults so as not to squander our own forces. And we do not have the requisite Jedi to expand our efforts. Had Kira consulted me before her ill-advised decision to depart the fleet. . . ”

“But a few more Chiss freighters? Possibly some volunteers?” Kit responded, feeling the opportunity slipping away.

Thrawn turned to Jax, who stepped forward, saying, “The Chiss have determined that we do not have additional ships to spare. Also, we will not be sacrificing any of our own beyond what we already pledge.”

Kit was struck by his icy demeanor toward her. He gazed at her, seemingly affronted by her combative posture toward Thrawn. His proclamation felt immutable, and although she had a dozen counterarguments rising in her mind, she swallowed them down as she felt the uncertainty toward challenging Jax as well. She understood that they needed the Chiss on their side for all of this, but she had assumed that Jax would remain a friendly intermediary to mitigate Thrawn’s influence.

Thrawn’s last words broke the silence between them as he said, “This is my strategy. If you accept it, we will begin our plans. We anticipate the assaults on Scipio, Chandrila, and Kuat will occur in 36 hours-time. We have little time to spare.”

The room remained silent as the assembly sat with the awareness that they would be dooming billions to die. Akeyla stood after nearly a full minute, and her voice hoarse and ragged, said, “The Republic agrees to this plan.”

All eyes turned toward the Mandalorians. Din Djarin and Sabine Wren continued to confer quietly together, with Sabine quietly but urgently gesturing her displeasure. Finally, they broke apart, and Djarin rose to his feet, announcing, “We have our misgivings, but we don’t see another way. We agree to support.”

Kit watched Din Djarin sit down again. She half expected Sabine to begin entreating Djarin against the decision, but instead Kit found that Sabine was staring directly at her. Kit frowned, but Sabine’s expression remained obscured by her helmet.

“Let us begin,” said Thrawn, and the tactical display shifted toward the Republic fleet, which Thrawn began to partition into separate strike forces in alignment against Ren’s formation of Chiss ships.

                                                                                          ***

Kit left the room and stalked away to her chambers. She kept the longing to punch a wall in check as she stormed off, the last taunts from Thrawn and Jax’s cold anger toward her still rattling through her mind. Despite Thrawn’s adamance that there was only one way to conduct the operation, she struggled to accept the truth of that assertion. Her disgust grew as she saw the willingness of many in the Republic to commit to the plan. The Mandalorians were inscrutable, and the Resistance, committed to throwing their lot behind Akeyla seemed uncomfortable, but resigned.

               Kit reached her quarters, and she keyed in the code to open the door. She froze midstep as a voice behind her spoke. “You’re not buying it, are you?”

               Kit whirled around, her blaster raised. She could not see anybody behind her, and she stepped backward into her room not knowing who was there. The air rippled in front of her, revealing a female figure clad in colorful Mandalorian armor.

               “Chuba di noya!” Kit exclaimed in aggravation. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

               “Clever tech,” Sabine said appreciatively, looking down at the device now attached to her wrist. “Simple to apply; even simpler to reverse engineer.”

               Sabine looked up and down the hallway, and when she was sure nobody could hear them, she said, “I don’t trust him. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s doing this for the Chiss. We gotta do something of our own.”

               “Like what?” Kit said apprehensively as an image of Jax swam through her mind.

               “He doesn’t know everything the Mandalorians have on hand. There’s no reason why we can’t let a few freighters slip away under camouflage and then rig them to go boom at Chandrila and Scipio,” Sabine explained.

               “But the hyperdrive problem?” Kit objected. “And who’s gonna fly a suicide mission?”

               “I got some ideas on that,” Sabine said, and Kit had the sense she was smiling beneath her mask.

               Just as Sabine was about to speak, the sound of heavy footsteps moving down the corridor toward them caused both women to pause. Kit turned to see Jax approaching, with Thrawn waiting at the far end of the corner. She turned to him, trying to mask her dread against his grim expression.

               “Jax,” she said, attempting to suffuse the word with a friendliness she could not quite muster.

               Jax stopped short, regarding Sabine briefly before turning to Kit, saying, “Whatever you’re planning, you need to stop.”

               “Jax, what are you talking about?” Kit said, wounded.

               “You know what I’m talking about,” Jax retorted. “Every time something doesn’t go your way, you take matters into your own hands. If you’re thinking of going against the plan, you better stop and think about Cophrigin.”

               Kit took a step back, feeling as if he had just punched her in the stomach. Sabine turned to face him head on, and as Kit reeled from Jax’s comment, Sabine said, “And if you get too comfortable thinking Thrawn’s some great hero, you better go read the old Rebellion battle reports from Lothal.”

               Jax turned to Sabine, seething. It took him a moment to master his anger before he said, “Whatever he was then, he isn’t now.”

               “Do you think somebody comes back from murdering innocent civilians?” Sabine asked, and Kit thought her tone was more aggressive than she felt comfortable with.

Jax’s expression hardened as he said, “I did.”

As Sabine’s defiance faltered. Jax added, “Don’t jeopardize this just because you’ve all got an axe to grind.”

“An axe to grind?” Sabine shot back, this time with naked anger. “He’s a mass murderer! Gundarks don’t suddenly become taun tauns.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Jax spat derisively, and as his rage bubbled, he turned away from Sabine and back to Kit, saying, “Kit, do us all a favor and stay out of it.”

“But Jax,” Kit began, but he cut her off.

“Stay out of it!” he said, his voice raised nearly to the point of shouting. He glared at her, holding her gaze for several seconds, before turning abruptly and stalking away. Jax left the corridor at the head of the Chiss entourage, and Kit watched as Thrawn hung back. From the far end of the corridor, he surveyed Kit and Sabine imperiously, before also turning to go.

Kit felt a surge of rage toward Thrawn, and as she seethed, she heard Sabine say, “He’s up to something.”

“You think?” Kit agreed, still furious.

“I know your friend wants you to sit this one out, but you gotta ask yourself: what will be worse? The guilt of betraying a friend who’s being manipulated, or the guilt of allowing billions to die?” Sabine asked.

Kit turned to her sharply, caught between anger and horror. Kit looked at Sabine as she wrestled furiously with her misgivings. She turned again to look down the corridor where Jax had stood only moments before.

Steeling herself, she said, “Let’s get to work.”

Chapter Text

Hyperspace approaching Atollon, 26 A.B.Y.

The Falcon hurtled through hyperspace as Kira’s psyche wandered through a confused, distorted dreamscape of vortexes, disembodied voices, pain, and suffering. None of the elements of her dream took distinct form, although there was a feeling of something significant, even critical, lingering at the margins. The familiar darkened corridor with flashing red lights materialized within the dreamscape, and she rushed forward, hoping to find an answer waiting at the end. Moments before reaching what she was sure would be an answer, a separate awareness, one suffering from its own nightmares, penetrated the confusing labyrinth of her scrambled memories, pulling her out of sleep.

Shaking off her frustration at not consummating the dream, she sat up from her bunk within the galley. Moaning and grunting drifted from the ship’s main cabin, stirring her concern and curiosity. As her senses recovered from the haze of sleep, she sensed Ben thrashing about in his bed in terror, trapped in his own dream. She rose from her bed and moved quietly through the corridor to his cabin, where Ben flailed in his sleep, entangled in his blankets, his tunic soaked through with sweat. She stood at the doorway, listening to his indistinct muttering, before crossing the room to the side of his bed.

“Ben?” she asked, tentatively.

               Ben continued to thrash about, oblivious to her presence. Kira reached her hand out to his forehead, which was slick with sweat. Reaching out through the Force, she had a sense of the nightmare images vacillating through Ben’s mind as his dreams relived the trauma of facing Ren. She sent a tendril of soothing energy through the Force, and his body became still. Moments later he awoke, shifting out of sleep with his eyes still shut and his voice heavy with grogginess.

               “What’re you doing?” he grumbled, his voice ragged and gravelly.

               “You were having a nightmare,” she explained.

               Ben sat up and did not respond immediately. He looked around the room, noting the darkness of the ship’s simulated night. As he labored to orient himself to his surroundings, he said, “Where are we?”

               “Nearly to Atollon,” Kira said gently.

               “We’d better get ready,” Ben said, and he began to pull himself to the edge of the bed.

               “Wait,” Kira said. Ben froze, feeling apprehensive at the potential of Kira asking about his dream. He tensed as she held her hand out. “I can help,” she said quietly.

               “No,” Ben said thickly. “I deserve this.”

               “It’s time to let your guilt go,” Kira said gently. “It’s not going to help anything.”

               Ben turned away, ashamed. She reached her hand out slowly, and Ben receded slightly, but without rejecting her approach. She touched his forehead, which was still slick with sweat. He closed his eyes as he braced himself. Kira reached out gently through the Force, entering his mind and quickly finding the images of the nightmare. Ben tensed further, gripping the blankets on his bed as the memories surfaced. Kira let the Force flow through her into Ben’s mind, and the images began to cycle rapidly. She saw Ben floating above the floor in Nemsis, his essence pulled from his body; she saw Veryx on the verge of murdering him; she saw Darth Vader standing motionless as rocks slammed into Ben’s body; she saw Ferrer Melso’s body, headless on the ground; she saw him alone, confused, grieving, and attempting to nullify his emotions in the courtyard of the Jedi temple; she saw Ben cradling his father in his arms; and finally, she saw Leia standing in front of Ben, reaching out with her hand to touch his cheek moments before disappearing. As each memory cycled through, Kira could sense Ben’s body relinquishing some of the anguish connected to these memories.

               Satisfied that Kira had triggered the dissipation process for the pertinent traumas of the weeks, she began to withdraw from his mind. Before she disconnected, something flickered deep within Ben’s mind, sparking her curiosity. She felt his curiosity pique as well, and she sensed his permission to remain connected. From deep within his psyche, the memory of Leia vanishing resurfaced, only this time it was different. Kira could see the memory where Leia had touched Ben’s face, and Kira had the sense of Nal Hutta behind her and the glow of Melso’s lightsaber. However, instead of vanishing, she turned, as if facing Kira.

               “Kira,” Leia’s voice spoke, echoing and distant.  She smiled, conveying warmth and pride. “The last hope travels the narrowest of paths. Only by remaining true to the Force can you prevail. Find him. He can help you. . .”

               Leia then turned to Ben, saying, “Don’t forget, dear one. Whatever path Kira walks, the Skywalker family still has one last part to play.”

               The vision vanished abruptly, and Kira withdrew from Ben’s mind. They sat across from each other the edge of the bed, staring at each other in shock and confusion.

               “She didn’t say any of that,” Ben said, his face molded into a frown.

               As Kira puzzled over the strange message, the Falcon’s indicator alert began to flash, signifying that they were about to reach their destination. The indicator interrupted her desire to piece together this latest opaque clue, and Ben sat across from her, wondering at the same meanings. The indicator continued to flash, and Ben sat up, throwing his jacket over his tunic before getting to his feet.

               “We better get ready,” he said as he strode from the room, leaving Kira to linger behind, puzzling over yet another cryptic clue. Kira thought to herself resentfully. Why couldn’t you have just explained it while you were alive? Kira thought, half to herself, but half to Leia. The lack of response sparked a new wave of grief, and finding it unbearable to sit with the grief, confusion, and resentment, she got to her feet to prepare for landing.

                                                                                          ***

The Falcon soared through Atollon’s arid atmosphere, passing over miles of twilit sands punctuated by massive coral formations, the skeletons of ancient seas still standing after millennia of drought. The sinking sun bathed towering dunes in golden light, casting purple shadows across orange sands. Ben piloted the ship across the sky as Kira sat silently in meditation, eyes closed.

               Her eyes opened, and she said, “There’s definitely something here, but I can’t get a sense of location yet.”

               Ben keyed a command into the console, and after a brief scan, the Falcon reported a scattered debris field on the planet’s southern hemisphere. Ben turned the ship hard to the right and soared across the planet’s equator toward the indicated coordinates. An hour later, the Falcon soared over the burnt-out remains of an old base surrounded by the wreckage of Imperial walkers, half-buried in the sands. Ben turned the ship toward a trail of debris scattered over hundreds of miles – the apparent trail of a pursuit littered with casualties.

               Kira again closed her eyes, reaching out with the Force as she attempted to connect with the lifeform that she knew was here, but whom she could not place. She sensed other lifeforms concentrated in a nearby area, although they were too diffuse – possibly alien and non-intelligent – for her to get a clear read.

               “Life form scan,” she muttered from her meditation, and Ben ran a scan.

               “There’s a concentration of alien beings fifty miles to our south,” Ben said, and he banked the ship in that direction. Minutes later, they flew over a circular depression rimmed by more of the towering coral formations. The center of the depression was empty, but the areas around the depression, likely underground, sent back lifeform readings.

               “Here,” Kira said abruptly, sure that they were at the right place.

               Ben piloted the Falcon down to a barren patch of sand, and the ship settled onto the ground, its repulsor thrust displacing copious amounts of fine sand. Kira opened her eyes as the ship powered down, and, her gaze distant, she said, “Something’s here. It’s waking from a deep sleep. We must move slowly.”

               Ben looked out the window at the hazy, backlit view of the corals, which towered overhead. His sense of dread emerged as Kira’s demeanor became strange and distant. He knew that she was connecting with a powerful presence, but without any sense of the Force, he could not feel it. It was like being blind.

               Ben replied skeptically, “Well, whatever it is, I hope it’s worth the trouble.”

               Kira left her seat and crossed the galley to the boarding ramp, which dropped in a hiss of steam. Ben followed her, strapping his father’s belt and blaster to his waist. Kira turned back and said, “No. Leave it.”

               “But you’re bringing your lightsabers, right?” Ben asked as he hesitantly unbuckled the belt.

               “No,” she said. “That won’t help us here.”

               “Kira,” Ben said sternly, and she frowned in return.

               “We’re not here for a fight,” Kira replied impatiently.

               “Will you please?” Ben implored, suddenly anxious.

               Kira opened her mouth to protest, but the anxious expression on her face softened her aggravation toward him. As she studied him, she connected his anxiety in this moment to his fear of facing a potentially powerful Force user, and she realized that he was finding the vulnerability intolerable.

               Swallowing her misgivings, Kira left her lightsabers hooked to her belt, and she turned to leave the ship with Ben following. The sun was hot, and the atmosphere bitterly dry. He followed Kira across the soft sand as she made her way to the tallest ring of corals surrounding the depression they had spotted from above. Minutes later, they arrived at the rim of the depression, and Ben followed Kira down to a sandy shelf above the center. Kira sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. Ben stood uncertainly, glancing around the depression. He spotted several tunnels leading into the planet’s surface, and he suspected the alien lifeforms that the ship had registered resided there. Kira tugged at his pant leg, and he, too, settled to the ground, cross-legged, beside her.

               For nearly an hour, they meditated together in the shade of the corals. Ben could feel nothing, and the meditation was a frustrating exercise in disorientation as the Force remained obscure. As Ben was on the verge of getting up and walking back to the Falcon to get out of the heat, a distant, echoing voice startled him, and his eyes flew open searching for the source.

               “You bring great turmoil to my quiet world,” alleged a deep, booming voice. Ben rose to his feet, looking around for the speaker. After a moment, the voice added, “And great danger.”

               Kira remained seated, her eyes closed. She waited a moment, then replied to the voice, “Are you the One in the Middle?”

               There was no response at first, but after several seconds, the voice replied, “I am. And who might you be?”

               “I am Kira, daughter of the late Emperor Palpatine, and this is Ben Solo, son of Leia Organa,” Kira explained. Kira reached her hand out again and tugged on Ben’s pant leg, and he reluctantly sank to his knees in the sand.

               “The Jedi Organa once did me a great kindness,” the Bendu replied. “She carried great burdens. And terrible choices.”

               Kira could feel the ground rumbling, and she saw the sand vibrating below her knees. She could feel the being’s anger, and she sensed the depth of his power and his rage. “Please,” Kira said, her eyes opening, “Leia was my friend and my mentor. She helped train me in the ways of the Jedi.”

               “Ah,” the Bendu barked, a sound that fell halfway between laughter and accusation. “Skywalker was foolish to resurrect the Jedi.”

               Kira’s impatience surfaced, and she could feel desperation lurking below. She rose to her feet, looking around the depression, and added, “I’m not a Jedi. I never passed the trial, and they excommunicated me afterward.”

               The Bendu was silent for a long time. As Kira’s impatience began to emerge, he said, “Organa came to me, seeking counsel. I watched from afar as she set aside her faith in dogma, in reason. She heard the will of the Force. I wonder if you hear it as well?”

               “I try. Sometimes I don’t know,” Kira admitted, frowning.

               The air rippled around the center of the depression, and a massive being materialized in the empty space. The creature rose greater in height than a rancor, with a hard shell on its back covered in corals similar to those ringing the depression. He had a beard and milky eyes, and he lay on his side, his breathing labored. He appeared gravely injured, but Kira’s sense of his pain was muted.

               “No Jedi, even one so gifted as Organa, could fully grasp the importance of a child born between the light and to the dark,” the Bendu explained, disdain in his voice. “The Jedi Order’s fundamental flaw: when things are seen as good, evil is created.”

               “The Jedi fight for peace and justice,” Ben interjected, his ire rising at the mysterious being’s antagonism toward his code.

               “And their light casts the shadow of the dark side,” the One in the Middle retorted.

               “The Jedi Code instructs us to face fear, to face darkness,” Ben shot back, his frustration evident.

               “And how has the Jedi code served you, Ben Solo?” the Bendu asked. Ben felt a flush of anger and shame, and he felt Kira place a hand on his shoulder to quell his protest.

               “I’m not here to litigate the merits of the Jedi Order,” Kira said, her determination cutting through her frustration and despair. “Leia told me to find you. She said you could help me. I need guidance in stopping Ren.”

               “I know not of this Ren,” the Bendu added, his eyes growing heavy as his breathing remained labored. “I long to sleep. . .”

               “Surely you’ve felt the disturbance. Under Ren, the darkness grows and spreads,” Kira explained.

               “The darkness comes; the darkness goes. It is of no concern to me,” the Bendu yawned. “I take no part.”

               Kira frowned as he said, “take no part,” and she felt her anger rising. Leia had intimated that this being held answers, yet he remained as opaque and unhelpful as the rest of Leia’s scant clues and hints. Even now, the Resistance might be on the verge of engaging the Order of Ren, and her absence would be felt. Her friends might soon be dying in her absence, and her patience at the Bendu’s obtuseness was growing thin.

               Kira raised her voice as she took a step toward the prone creature, saying, “That’s fine for you. You can sit here on your hidden planet and find your balance. Meanwhile, billions of people have died, and Ren has bound himself to the Well of Nemsis. From what pathetically little Leia has left me, I’m the only one standing between him and the Eternal Night. . .”

               The being’s eyes flew open, and he propped himself up on his elbow to gaze at Kira intently. “The Well of Nemsis?” he interrupted, and Kira could hear alarm in his voice.

               “You know it?” Kira asked, her anger subsiding as curiosity emerged.

               “Lost it is. As is Erys,” the Bendu said.

               “Ren resides on Nemsis. He bound his life to the place,” Kira explained.

               “Impossible,” the Bendu retorted, disbelievingly.

               “No it isn’t. I’ve been to both,” Kira replied.

               “Show me,” the Bendu commanded, and Kira could sense his skepticism.

               Kira closed her eyes and opened her mind to the Bendu. She felt his awareness rush in, powerful and deep despite his fatigue and injury. She let her mind drift back to her time on Erys, the threats of the Prime Jedi, Luke’s strange exile, and the mysterious appearance of the cave. Aware that the Bendu’s mind had joined her, she remembered passing across the star bridge, her arm entwined in warm gold and silver light, and her emergence in the hellish confines of Ren’s throne room, backdropped by the swirling vortex of dark side energy shot through with a pulsating wound.

               Kira had the sense of the Bendu withdrawing from her mind, and she could feel his deep, inscrutable emotions shift. He remained silent, staring deep into Kira’s eyes as if seeing her again for the first time. He did not speak, but Kira had the sense of him opening to her. It felt like an invitation, and as he opened herself further, she could hear his voice, distant, saying in her mind, Child of light and darkness; what became of the guardian of Erys?

               Dead, Kira thought back to the voice.

               A great opportunity arises, the Bendu’s voice thought, more to himself than to Kira.

               “Uh, Kira?”

               Kira could hear Ben’s voice from outside of her, but as she sank into the Force, she could sense vistas about to open before her. She spoke aloud, “It’s ok, Ben. Return to the ship. This may take a while.”

               “Umm,” Ben said, uncertain. But when Kira did not respond, he turned and left.

               What happened to the son of Organa? The Bendu’s voice asked in Kira’s mind.

               Ren took his essence and bound his spirit to the cloned body of Anakin Skywalker, Kira explained.

               Skywalker? The vergence corrupted by Sidious? Grown as an empty vessel? the Bendu thought back, wondering to himself. For a full minute, the Bendu seemed to contemplate this, his thoughts briefly disconnected from her. Kira still had the sense of vistas and visions just beyond her awareness, withheld from her by the Bendu.

As her impatience began to rise again, the Bendu thought to her, There is something I wish you to see, Child of Light and Darkness.

Kira sank deeper into her meditation, and with the Bendu’s guidance, she felt her awareness expand across time and space, as myriad images flashed through her mind of long-forgotten moments woven into the fabric of the Force.

Yes, the Force has memories, too, she heard the Bendu say in her mind.

The images flashed back beyond anything she could recall through the galaxy’s history. Civilizations came and went, and systems blossomed and died as stars exploded and were born again. Kira had a sense that they had passed through the beginnings of known time to an age that transcended history. The final image settled on a creature very much like the Bendu, lighter in complexion and lacking the beard – perhaps a female, perched on a promontory overlooking an endless sea. Kira could sense the aura radiating around her, and she knew instinctively that, in this moment, the creature had discovered its true nature reflected in the Force.

The first moment of awareness. The first dawn.

               Kira became aware of two additional presences. One was much larger than the fair-skinned creature, with dark skin, a braided beard, and red eyes. It, too, radiated an aura, albeit one much darker. Beside the darker creature stood the Bendu, itself much younger and smaller, with a shorter beard and grey-silver skin and shell. It lacked the corals that now graced its shell, giving Kira the impression that it had adapted them for camouflage later in life.

               Long we lived in harmony, the first children of the Force. Each era of dawn and nightfall existed as a mere day for us, although an age to the ephemeral beings who followed. Long we lived in harmony, my brother and my sister, Nemsis and Erys, balancing each other and nurturing seeds of the opposite within. Deeply we saw, recognizing all beings as the Force itself, deep in play as it hid from itself and delighted in its discovery.

Space travel commenced. Force sensitive beings found us and worshiped us. Some strove to emulate Erys, while others strove to emulate Nemsis. These younger creatures had no sense of balance, and few lingered to heed my words. As my siblings’ power rose, I was forgotten. I retreated into solitude, meditating on the Great Change taking place. My sister and brother took sides, disowning the seeds of their opposites within. The Ashla and Boggan arose; the Force divided into light and dark.

Jealousy grew. Rivalry emerged. And before long, the first war of light and dark began, each side claiming to own truth and righteousness; the old harmony forgotten and misunderstood. I watched as my brother and sister destroyed each other. The great rift tore the galaxy in two – the darkness contained behind great interstellar storms stretching across the galaxy.

The soldiers of light and dark rose and fell with the rhythm of the galaxy; regimes of light replaced regimes of darkness, just as life begets death and death begets life. And as I waited, I listened to Force’s longing for balance; I watched as the ancestors of the Jedi and Sith nurtured the divide through their wars, their dogmas, their creeds.

You, young Kira, walk in the light and the dark. Child of Palpatine, adopted by the Skywalkers. You wield both the Ashla and the Boggan, yet are beholden to neither. Are you, too, prepared to yield to the Will of the Force?

               Kira came out of the vision with a gasp, and in catching her breath, she looked across at the Bendu, his head resting on sand, his eyes closed. She waited for her breathing to subside as the shock of coming back to the heat of Atollon wore off before saying, “What must I do?”

               “Do you not already know?” she heard the Bendu’s voice say, even though he did not speak aloud.

               Kira closed her eyes recalled her passage through the star bridge, leading to Nemsis. As she thought it through, her imagination stopped once she got to Ren’s throne room, which was certain to be teeming with defenses. Once past the defenses, she could not imagine how she could sever his life from the wellspring.

               Do not think of it that way. Erys and Nemsis were never meant to be separated. A part of each other, they are. Through the right aperture, balance may rise again.

               “Aperture?” Kira asked, befuddled. She looked to the Bendu, but during the time when she had closed her eyes, he had vanished.

Chapter Text

Deep Space, 26 A.B.Y.

Thrawn smiled tightly to himself as the Chiss shuttle conveyed him, Jax, and their attending Chiss officers from the Republic flagship to the Eventide. The Republic had accepted his proposition, to the chagrin of many in the Resistance, and in particular the Antilles girl. As he watched Jax, his knee bouncing up and down as he preoccupied himself with the echoes of his disagreement with the Antilles girl, Thrawn once again found it curious to see a Chiss so governed by his feelings. He had proven as malleable, perhaps even more so, than the average human, and Thrawn satisfaction grew as he saw the path unfolding before them.

The shuttle settled into the Eventide’s bay, and the attending officers stood, leaving the ship. Jax was slow to move, and Thrawn lingered, waiting until the others left before saying, “Something troubles you, son.”

Jax’s leg stopped bouncing, but he did not look up. He remained silent for a moment, then replied, “I don’t trust that Kit won’t try something.”

Thrawn allowed the assertion to linger for a moment before responding, “Yes, I read the report from Cophrigin. Her actions were indeed rash.”

“She says she’s learned, but. . .” Jax did not complete the sentence, but Thrawn understood what was left unsaid quite clearly.

“She does not trust me,” Thrawn replied.

“None of them do,” Jax said. “It feels like Kira was the only one I could really count on, and she’s gone.”

Thrawn allowed the silence to linger again, and when he spoke, his abrupt shift in tone snapped Jax out of his ruminations. “Do not trouble yourself, my son. Our strategy will prove effective, regardless of your friends’ impulsivities. I will see to it, and I am confident that you will comport yourself with honor.”

Jax smiled, and he felt awkward at doing so, not having smiled in a long time. He rose to his feet, and, his smile growing more comfortable, he nodded to Thrawn as he left the shuttle. Thrawn sat a moment longer, his own smile emerging. He arose from his seat and drifted away from the hangar toward a corridor that had been cordoned off. He had noted the corridor when running the ship’s diagnostics, quickly deducing what it was, and as Jax toddled off to play at Commander, he accessed a lift at the end of the corridor, which took him higher into the ship’s superstructure.

               The lift reached the top level, and the doors opened to reveal a darkened corridor. Thrawn stepped forward, his hands folded behind his back as he approached a closed door. He keyed a command on a panel to the right of the door, and the door slid open, revealing a darkened room. He closed the door behind himself and strode forward to a holoprojector set in the middle of the room. He activated the unit, and as it whirred into life, he browsed through the directory, stopping at a private, encrypted channel and entering a code. For several minutes, there was nothing on the other end, until, without warning, a masked figure radiating terrible menace appeared, larger than life.

               “Thrawn?” the voice asked after a brief pause.

               “Indeed, Lord Ren,” Thrawn responded.

               “You call from the Eventide. The Resistance will know,” Ren said, his voice dripping with malice.

               “They are consumed with other matters,” Thrawn replied unconcernedly. “I wish to bargain with you.”

               Ren laughed deeply and heartily, and when his laughter subsided, he said, still chuckling, “You’re a puppet dancing on the Resistance’s desperate strings. What do you possibly have to offer me?”

               “Many things,” Thrawn said, “But since I know there’s a full three minutes remaining before you triangulate my position, I will gladly step aside if you are not interested.”

               “I can take what I want,” Ren said.

               “You forget. I served your apprentice for many years. I did not survive that long without learning how to keep secrets,” Thrawn replied. “I would die before you learned anything useful.”

               Ren paused, considering the entreaty, then said, “What do you propose?”

                                                                                          ***

Jax sat in his quarters watching the hyperspace timer tick down to arrival at planet Kuat – 20 minutes remaining. In his anger toward Kit, he had momentarily forgotten his anxiety at becoming the focal point of the Resistance’s counter-offensive, but as the timer waned, his anxiety had returned in full force. A buzzer sounded, indicating that somebody was at the door to his room. Jax stood up and crossed his quarters, keying the command to open the door. The door slid open with a shhhh, and Jax saw Thrawn standing on the other side of the doorway, his Chiss uniform immaculate, and his hair neatly groomed. Jax felt abashed at his own appearance, which he knew was less than immaculate, and he tried to surreptitiously smooth out a wrinkle in his tunic.

               “May I have a word?” Thrawn asked quietly.

               “Uhh. . . sure,” said Jax, and he gestured for Thrawn to enter.

               Thrawn entered, taking stock of the room. In Jax’s anxiety, he had not maintained the usual level of tidiness he was accustomed to, and he felt embarrassment wash over him as he moved a data pad aside from the spare chair, allowing Thrawn to sit.

               “That won’t be necessary,” Thrawn said. “Please. At ease.”

               Jax relaxed slightly, although Thrawn’s reassurance seemed to have little impact on his nerves. Thrawn looked him over cursorily, and then said, “I take it this is your first military command?”

               “Not exactly,” Jax said. “I was given command of a frigate tasked with disrupting an interdictor cruiser.”

               “What was the outcome?” Thrawn asked evenly.

               “I mistimed the jump, and our objective was lost,” Jax said, feeling shame rise within him as he admitted the truth. Thrawn had shown great confidence in him so far. Would he abandon his certainty that Jax was the correct figure for the job and instead go with a more experienced Jedi Master?

               “When I was newly appointed to command decades ago, I lost half of my task force to Grysk marauders on a remote system. I underestimated their weaponry and their tactics, and dozens of my men died,” Thrawn said sympathetically, although his voice still remained cool and detached. “I reviewed the battle report where the Phoenix was downed. They placed a great responsibility on you without preparing you adequately.”

               “I guess so,” Jax said as he hung his head.

               “This time, I will be by your side. I will limit the distraction. More importantly,” Thrawn said, and he paused to open the door. A Chiss officer dressed in a medical uniform entered carrying a small satchel. Thrawn invited the doctor in, and the doctor began to unpack the satchel, revealing a small vial of powder. Thrawn continued, saying, “Today marks a first in Chiss history; an adult male will utilize the Third Sight to lead the Chiss to a glorious victory. The ship’s medical officer has prepared a compound that will enhance your abilities.”

               Jax watched as the doctor mixed the compound from a powder into a rose-colored liquid tincture. Once the compound was mixed, it was placed into a syringe. The doctor then held up the syringe and said, “Please roll up your sleeve.”

               Jax looked up at Thrawn, who nodded gravely, and Jax followed the instruction. After sanitizing the skin on his forearm, the doctor pierced his skin and injected the substance into his veins. At first, Jax felt nothing, but within moments, his awareness of the room began to expand, and he felt as if his spirit was on the verge of leaving his body. Tentatively, he reached out through the Force, and in his mind’s eye, he could see the entirety of the fleet moving in parallel hyperspace lanes. He could feel Taila Zevala in meditation, and his consciousness brushed hers, sparking surprise. Beyond that, he felt great currents of light and dark. And suddenly, radiating from their target ahead, he had a sense of panic and alarm, and an insight emerged unbidden that Kuat was already under attack.

               “What do you see?” Thrawn asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.

               “Kuat is under attack. The people are scared,” Jax said, and in speaking, he was able to return to the room. He saw Thrawn plainly before him, but a faint aura radiated from him, as well as from the doctor. It was as if he could see their imprints on the Force with his naked eye.

               “This is amazing,” Jax said as he looked down at his hands, radiating Force energy.

               “And not to be abused,” Thrawn said. “It is kept under strict control for hyperspace travel, lest the Ozyly-esehembo lose themselves completely within the effects.”

               The doctor packed up his satchel, and Thrawn said, “Now, my son, you have everything you need. Third Sight opens your mind to the entirety of the galaxy. You have me by your side. Nothing shall stop us now.”

He paused, gesturing to the door, “To our peoples’ liberation.”

                                                                                          ***

Jax sat in the Commander’s chair of the Eventide, feeling the galaxy expanding around him through the profound openness bestowed by the psychoactive substance coursing through his body. After ten minutes time, which felt both like a life-age and mere seconds to Jax, the Eventide came out of hyperspace outside of the Kuat system beyond the range of the Order of Ren’s sensors. Jax saw fifty additional cruisers and frigates surrounding him, the primary thrust of their assault on the governing ship. Jax knew the other four portioned elements of their forces awaited his command from equidistant positions a quarter-lightyear from Kuat, each with a Force sensitive being awaiting his order to jump into hyperspace in unison.

               “Sir, our scouts report a massive fleet above Kuat. They’ve begun their assault. Kuati defenses are holding, but not for long,” reported Captain Ashik.

               “Bring up the tactical display,” Jax ordered.

               At his order, the display shifted to a video camera of a freighter’s cockpit. The freighter drifted among a dozen other ships in a holding pattern outside Kuat’s main transport lanes. Traffic had frozen to a standstill as the Order of Ren had commenced its attack, and many of the ships around the shuttle maneuvered to leave orbit immediately. Jax waited for the ships to depart, and as his ship continued to drift in its prescribed orbit, he read the coordinates and found he was nearly in-place. Jax reached out through the Force, the mind-altering substance opening his awareness and deepening his connection with the controls. He nudged a lever back, which caused the shuttle to stop. With a few subtle shifts, he nudged the ship in line to a path aimed directly at the massive command ship. His intuition told him clearly that the trajectory would send the freighter through the command ship’s super-structure, and the debris field would extend briefly at a speed greater than light into the battlecruiser protecting the command ship’s forward section. Checking against the arrayed Chiss fleet, Jax smiled, recognizing that everything Thrawn had predicted had come to pass.

               “Well done, son,” Thrawn said quietly. Jax felt his presence beside him, and through the Force he steadied the freighter, locking it into its path. Thrawn said quietly, “On my mark.”

               The pause that followed felt like an eternity, especially as the crew of the Eventide and every other ship in the fleet watched as a Kuati Golan III battle station erupted in flames while the planetary shields fell to a fraction of their former power.

               “Now!” commanded Thrawn, and reaching out through the Force, Jax nudged the hyperdrive throttle forward.

               The freighter shot forward, vanishing in a flash. Instantaneously, the command ship fractured in jagged cracks of blinding light as a vast debris field shot forward, sheering the command ship’s superstructure into fragments and tearing through the battlecruiser that lay in the path of the hypersonic debris field. Beneath the cheer from the Chiss crew members, Jax closed his eyes and muttered, “Now, Taila.”

                                                                                                         ***

Akeyla Ismaren watched as Commander Morvinae nudged the hyperdrive lever on Home Two forward following the command from Taila Zevala. Taila came out of her meditation and reported that the other three Padawans had also received the message, and that all forces were progressing. The jump lasted less than a minute, and when it was over, the Resistance fleet emerged directly above a Nemsian battlecruiser, black with red and yellow running lights, raining fire down on the Kuati forces. Its response remained delayed as the debris field continued to expand away from and above the Chiss fleet below, which had stopped firing altogether.

                                                                                          ***

Jax activated the commlink on the Commander’s chair, and a holorecorder sprang into life in front of him. When the light went read, he said, “Fellow citizens of the Ascendancy. I am Sheth’raw’nuru, and we have come to liberate you from your bondage. The governing units controlling your actions, feelings, and thoughts have been deactivated. The Grysk, Nemsis, and Chiss Aristocra on your ships have betrayed you. Kill them. Free yourself and join us!”

                                                                                          ***

Knowing that the Chiss fleet only had moments before the Nemsian ships adjusted tactics and began to fire on the now vulnerable Chiss fleet, Morvinae cried out, “All ships open fire!”

               In unison, thousands of turbolasers and ion cannons open fired at once, blanketing the Nemsian flagship in a withering barrage of concentrated energy. The ship’s firing faltered, but hordes of fighters began to eject from its belly, signaling the oncoming approach of small-ship assault.

               Seconds later, another Republic task force jumped out of hyperspace, immediately blanketed the ventral section of the ship in turbocharged energy. Many of the Nemsian fighters were caught in the crossfire. Several squadrons of A-wings and X-wings shot below the relentless barrage of turbolaser fire aiming straight for the remaining Nemsian fighters, which swerved out of formation in disarray. The A-wings and X-wings broke formation as each pilot tracked individual targets while the second arriving fleet shifted its fire to the battlecruiser.

               Akeyla watched the tactical display as the Eventide and fifty other Republic ships arrived out of hyperspace from their short jump out of their original position. Seconds later, they pounded the command ship from above, inflicting massive amounts of damage on its forward firing batteries. The fire from the assaulting ships had all but ceased, save for sporadic fire from the battlecruiser targeted by the Mandalorian and Resistance quadrants of their force on the Nemsian fleet’s starboard side. Akeyla saw the two additional quadrants of their divided forces opening fire on the starboard battlecruiser, although it was succumbing more slowly than the ship that Morvinae’s fleet had targeted.

                                                                                          ***

Chandrila, 26 A.B.Y.

Kit sat aboard the Harpy, following the readout of the attack on Kuat while her ship floated in chameleon mode above the planet Chandrila. She had remained reluctant and hesitant following the confrontation with Jax, but upon discovering that Sabine had found a way to engineer a Mandalorian freighter’s hyperspace computer to bypass its gravity well controls, she had found the temptation to mount a simultaneous counterattack at Chandrila too great to resist. Misgiving and fear shook her, and as she strove to quell her anxiety, she again reminded herself that the prospect of saving billions was worth the likely wrath she would incur. Sabine had assured her that, with the Harpy’s tech and her modifications, they could be in and out before the Grysk even knew they were there. As a precaution, Sabine had authorized four Mandalorian cruisers to break away from the main fleet and remain on standby, just in case.

“That’s the word,” Sabine said, and Kit switched the Harpy’s tactical display over to the remote control for the battered old Mandalorian bulk freighter now floating high above the unfolding battle above Chandrila. Kit took a deep breath, her misgivings born from her parting argument with Jax ringing in her ears as she watched Chandrilan defenses absorbing a tremendous amount of firepower. She felt confident of their success, but knowing that Jax had forbidden her taking this action, would he take it as a betrayal anyway?

               “Steady,” Sabine implored, pulling Kit out of her ruminations.

She turned her focus back to the display and watched as a battered old Mandalorian freighter slowly drifted into a path aiming straight into the command ship. Kit clenched her jaw as she watched a Mandalorian pilot the ship via remote control onto a vector that would send a hypercharged field of debris straight into the Grysk fleet, potentially wiping out as much as half of the fleet while damaging at least as many more. She allowed her clenched jaw to relax into a tight smile. Just a little bit further. . .

               When the ship reached the right vector, the Mandalorian triggered the remote control to activate the ship’s hyperdrive. The ship stretched into the characteristic light bending that occurred during a hyperspace jump. A sudden blast behind the ship filled her with horror as the freighter’s vector went wildly off course. The freighter shot forward, and its new vector sent it harmlessly past the Grysk fleet into deep space.

               “What the!?” Kit exclaimed, and looking out the viewport, she saw a quartet of Grysk frigates moving into position around them. Kit knew that they could not see her yet since the Harpy was switched to chameleon mode. However, the ship was still emitting frequencies to remotely control the freighter, leaving a subtle radar signature. Kit knew it would be a matter of time before they were found.

               “We’ve been betrayed,” said Sabine, who pounded the Harpy’s dash with her fist.

               “How?” Kit said in disbelief.

               “How do you think?” Sabine shot back, her voice dripping with anger.

Thinking fast, Kit keyed in the commlink and barked, “Cruiser Sendari, come in! It’s Kit. We’ve been spotted, and we’re gonna need an assist!”

“Copy, Commander!” called the filtered voice on the other end of the comm.

Moments later, a quintet of Mandalorian cruisers emerged from hyperspace and opened fire on the rearmost Grysk cruiser. The cruiser took the fire, losing its shields in moments before bursting into flames. With an opening secure, Kit dropped the Harpy’s chameleon shield and turned the ship toward the space where the Grysk cruiser had been moments before sinking toward the planet’s gravity in a flaming mass of debris. The Mandalorian cruisers shot forward into hyperspace, and just as another Grysk cruiser maneuvered into position, aiming to intercept. Kit pulled the drive lever back, sending the Harpy forward into lightspeed.

                                                                           ***

Thrawn observed the battle, watching with satisfaction as the Republic quadrants quickly disabled the portside battlecruiser. The Nemsian ship was listing, its firing systems off-line and its steering controls damaged. The Chiss fleet cruised toward the opening, although the starboard battlecruiser still harassed the Chiss rearguard with sporadic fire. Thrawn keyed a separate tactical display and ran a diagnostic on the upper quadrant tasked with taking out the starboard battlecruiser’s turbolasers. As he had expected, the task force was missing several Mandalorian cruisers. They had departed from the formation during the jump, he suspected. Thrawn’s face hardened as his prediction came to pass; they had gone to aid in the Antilles girl’s foolish errand.

               The battlecruiser’s remaining batteries fired on the rearmost Chiss cruisers, taking out the thrusters on three of the ships still in range. The three ships stalled as their drives failed, and a swarm of Nemsian fighters surrounded the Chiss ships, laying down a barrage of rockets, turbolasers, and bombs. One of the Chiss cruisers erupted in flames, eliciting an audible gasp from the crew on the Eventide. Knowing that the other two Chiss ships would soon be destroyed and recognizing that the remainder of the fleet had escaped, Thrawn reached for his commlink and said, “All ships, abandon the attack. Kuati defense can clean up the remains. Retreat to our prescribed destination.”

               The ensuing confirmations flooded in, and Jax watched as the last two Chiss cruisers that had stalled also burst into flames. His mind still opened by the drug Thrawn provided him, he felt their terror and agony before their lives extinguished. He gasped, clutching his chest as his head ached against the overwhelming sense of loss and fear. As the stars stretched into lines, he slid from his chair, collapsing to the ground.

He felt an arm lift him back into the Commander’s chair, and a cool voice whispered, “Now is not the time for grief.” Jax came back to his awareness of the moment, and putting his horror aside, he issued the command to jump to lightspeed. Moments later, the Eventide jumped into hyperspace, leaving the chaos above Kuat far behind.

               Silence reigned on the bridge of the Eventide, and Jax could see the image of the cruisers burning in his mind’s eye as the tactical display was replaced by the mottled blue of hyperspace.

               “What happened?” Jax muttered in shock.

               “The Antilles girl went against my directive,” Thrawn said.

               “What? How?” Jax said, turning to Thrawn with mingled anger and confusion.

               “It’s a predictable flaw in their species. They cannot accept sacrifices for the greater good. They place their beliefs and their values above the needs of others, leading to reckless decisions that endanger many. You see it across their history. Even the Jedi, Skywalker included, would risk everything to save what’s within their circle.” Thrawn explained, his voice quiet and icy.

               “I don’t understand,” Jax said, still confused.

               “She redirected four of the Mandalorian cruisers slotted to fire on that section of the battlecruiser’s turbolasers to standby for her own attack – I presume at Chandrila, given the Republic’s obsession with ideology. I assume that the Mandalorian Sabine Wren helped her do it.” Thrawn explained.

               Captain Ashik walked forward, and saluting both Thrawn and Jax briskly, said, “Commander, we’ve received a report that a separate attack occurred and failed above Chandrila. The planet’s defenses are currently falling.”

               “Then our people have died for nothing,” Thrawn said quietly, and Jax felt his own anger grow in concert with his father’s.

               Jax looked at the tactical display showing the number of escaped cruisers. Yes, the number of liberated Chiss was in the millions. However, tens of thousands died who would have survived had Kit not veered away from the plan.

Seething in anger, he stood and called across the bridge, “Prepare my shuttle. As soon as we reach our destination, take me to Home Two.”

                                                                                                         ***

“Chandrila and Scipio are both overrun,” reported Commander Morvinae, his grave tone masking his horror.

Akeyla bowed her head to ward off the grief that was threatening to consume her. Although the horror did not match what she felt upon learning that Alderaan had been destroyed, the knowledge that two more planets were about to die the same slow death as Coruscant was in some ways worse. Yes, there was relief that the Chiss forces had escaped, along with gratitude that billions of innocent Kuatis would survive – but at what cost? She had reluctantly accepted Thrawn’s assertion that such an efficient and effective defeat at the hands of inferior forces would erode the belief in Ren’s omnipotence, thus spurring more widespread rebellion against his rule. But how would the Resistance be perceived after abandoning billions of people to die while saving a planet that had fought tooth and nail against every democratic reform that the Republic had attempted to install from the moment the Emperor had died?

               “Chancellor, a priority message from Commander Antilles,” said Morvinae, his own voice somber with grief and regret.

               Akeyla patched in the incoming communication, and said, “This is the Chancellor.”

               “Akeyla, we just left Chandrila. We couldn’t stop it,” Kit said.

               “What were you doing on Chandrila?” Akeyla asked, ignoring Kit’s informal use of her name. “You know what Thrawn said about needing every last ship.”

               “Yeah, I know,” Kit said, impatiently as if trying to get the lecture out of the way for more important considerations.

               “We received report that three Chiss ships were lost due to a gap in turbolaser coverage,” Akeyla said.

               Kit paused, wincing at the news. She plowed ahead, attempting to brush the lecture to the side, saying, “They knew we were coming on Chandrila.”

               “What?!” Akeyla said, startled. “How?”

               “I don’t know, but I know it wasn’t one of us. I need you to go back through the logs and tell me if there have been any unauthorized communiques out of the fleet over the past 48 hours,” Kit said.

               “Kit, what are you implying,” Akeyla asked, her voice hardening.

               “Please, Chancellor,” Kit implored.

               Akeyla nodded to Morvinae, who pulled up the file. Morvinae scanned the list and said, “One transmission, encrypted from unknown source. Origin: Eventide to unknown destination.”

               “I KNEW IT!” Kit bellowed, and Akeyla winced. “That son of a blurg must have sent a warning. And if that’s part of the warning, then. . .”

               “Kit, what is it?” Akeyla asked, freezing as she noted the fear in Kit’s voice.

               “Kira!” Kit snapped. “She’s gonna have company!”

Chapter Text

Atollon, 26 A.B.Y.

Ben read through the incoming data and exhaled a breath he had not realized he had been holding. The Republic had left Kuat with the nearly intact Chiss fleet while suffering minimal casualties. Suddenly, the suspicion, confusion, and anger toward his mother transformed into gratitude, and Ben had started to recognize that, using Jedi foresight, she had left Thrawn alive precisely for this. Now, with their forces doubled, they stood a chance, and the last vestiges of guilt and shame leftover from Kira’s healing use of the Alderaan Protocol began to recede.

               He got to his feet and paced the galley excitedly, wondering whether he should tell Kira. If the operation had gone off without a hitch, that meant that Taila, Jax, and everyone else had pulled off the operation of the century, facing nearly impossible odds and walking away with barely a scratch. Criminal though Thrawn might be, Ben reluctantly allowed himself to admire his genius. Finding that his excitement was too great to contain, he left the ship to share the news with Kira. She had been meditating for hours in the heat, and if nothing else, she could probably use some water. He grabbed a canteen and jogged out the ship, pausing at the dejarik table where he had left his blaster belt and wrist commlink behind.

As he left, the Falcon’s computer pinged a warning letting him know about not one, but two incoming messages. In his excitement, Ben did not hear the notifications and continued into the heat of the desert.  With Ben gone, the Falcon attempted to send the message to Ben’s wrist commlink, only to hear it rattling atop the dejarik table unattended. Humans, the ship computed to itself in irritation as it processed the two incoming messages. In response, the ship activated its systems and prepared for an immediate lift-off in case the threats suggested in the message came to pass.

                                                                                                         ***

Kira’s meditations brought her further through space and time as she considered the various strands where the two polarities of the Force wove through each other, one supplanting the other temporarily until the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. The most recent strand brought her to Anakin Skywalker’s self-sacrifice, one of many such moments scattered across the galaxy’s history where light and dark briefly cancelled each other out before the imbalance quickly resumed. In each moment, there was some great sacrifice or some great crossing of boundaries, but in her explorations, she saw no clear sign of what she was to do or where she was to go.

Do all wise beings have to be so opaque? she thought to herself in frustration.

               A stray emotional thread drifted through a corner of her consciousness, and she registered Ben’s approach. Confusion and mingled excitement clouded around him, and recognizing he would have some news for her, she pulled herself out of her meditation. She looked around but saw no sign of the Bendu. Moments later, Ben entered the depression carrying a canteen. He reached her after a few quick strides and handed over the water, from which she drank greedily.

               “Thanks,” she said, wiping her mouth dry as she finished drinking.

               “Any brain waves?” Ben asked.

               “Kind of,” Kira said. “I know I need to heed the will of the Force, and I know that the Force always seeks balance. However, I’m no closer to understanding how to do that than I am to killing Ren.”

               “He’s an odd sort of creature,” Ben whispered, although Kira was sure that the Bendu would be able to hear what they were saying.

               “He’s been around forever, and he’s suffered greatly - alone,” Kira said, although she also wondered if she could truly empathize with the feelings of a being who might have been millions of years old.

               “Too bad for him,” Ben said, trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He looked toward the center of the depression where the Bendu had been, and then shaking away his frustration, he said, “The Kuati gambit worked. They got out of there with the entire Chiss fleet; almost no casualties except for a couple of Chiss cruisers.”

               “That’s fantastic,” Kit said brightening. “What about Chandrila and Scipio?”

               Ben’s expression darkened, and as she saw his expression change, her newly awoken sense touched on a great wave of terror emanating from another corner of the galaxy. Without Ben saying a word, she understood that Scipio and Chandrila were currently suffering the same fate as Coruscant.

               “Do you think we’ve got enough firepower to go straight at Nemsis?” Ben asked.

               “He’ll know right away,” Kira said, “And he’ll be on top of us with the entirety of his fleet.” She paused, thinking it through, then added, “But even that won’t stop the cycle.”

“Cycle,” Ben protested.

Kira thought to herself, trying to remember exactly how the Bendu had put it. Recalling the words, she said, “Something the Bendu told me. When people see things as good, evil is born. He said as long as that remains true, there will never truly be balance.”

“Well, that makes zero sense,” Ben said.

Kira shrugged, then added, “The Force doesn’t exactly speak Basic.” She thought through what the Bendu had shown her, then added, “When I crossed over, I heard a voice telling me that balance lies in the middle. I touched a light, and it entwined around me. In that moment, Nemsis and Erys were bridged. It let me through to find you.” 

“How do we get to Nemsis though without Ren destroying us first?” Ben said, still uncertain of what Kira was talking about but rolling with it to try to craft a plan.

“There’s got to be a way. I was never supposed to be there - the Prime Jedi said so,” Kira explained. She became quiet again as she made sense of her thoughts, then added, “He was shocked I was there. He said it wasn’t possible. It’s almost like. . .”

“Like what?” Ben said, perplexed.

“Like the Force wanted me to find it. It wanted the barriers to break down,” Kira became simultaneously terrified and excited as a wave of awareness and recognition crashed over her. She turned to Ben with great seriousness and said, “It wanted the Eternal Night to fall.”

“Why would the Force want that?” Ben asked.

Kira looked away from him toward the depression where the Bendu sat. Suddenly, the answer came to her, and she stared into infinity. “In order for balance to occur, it has to wipe the slate clean. No Jedi. No Republic. No Empire. No Sith.” She turned to Ben and said, “Just me and. . .”

The last word failed to leave her mouth as a horribly familiar sensation stole over her. She winced as she remembered pain of the torture she had endured. She rose to her feet and looked to the sky. Above them emerged a massive black battle cruiser larger than a city, bristling with armaments and looming menacingly above the planet. Kira traced a streak of light emerging from the planet’s shadow side approaching their position. The presence within the streak of light spoke loud and clear on who was approaching.

“It’s him,” Kira said.

“Get to ship,” Ben replied, his voice hollow with fear.

Ben turned to run, but Kira remained. She called out, “Bendu!”

No response came, and she called his name several more times, hoping to see him reappear. He had said his death approached, and she hoped beyond hope that his death had not already happened. The feeling of selfishness hit her hard as she reconsidered that thought, but then again, if she was to follow the will of the Force, was that not also true of the Bendu? Or was she, once again, alone to face the approaching darkness.

I will not help, called the Bendu’s voice, although she could not see him. I do not take sides.

“Well, fat lot of good that’ll do if Ren kills me,” she called out. No response came, and in frustration she turned away from the spot and raced toward the Falcon. She reached the ship moments later and ran inside. Ben was furiously working to get the ship ready for flight. Kira stretched out her senses, and she felt him closing in.

“We aren’t going to make it,” Kira said.

“We can outrun them,” Ben called back. The ship stuttered into life. Its drive faltered, but Ben slammed his fist into the console, and the drive came back online. “Damn Corellian parts,” Ben muttered to himself.

“Ben,” Kira said as she approached him. He froze, noting her stoic demeanor. She had picked up her lightsabers, and approaching him, she put a hand on his shoulder. Leaning in, she kissed him on the cheek. As she pulled back, she said, “Get the ship in the air. Gun him down if you get a clear shot.”

“He can’t die,” Ben said.

“No, but he can be injured,” Kira replied.

“But. . .” Ben started to protest, but he froze when he heard a shuttle speeding by overhead.

“Get the ship in the air,” Kira said, as she turned to exit the Falcon. She walked away from the ship, which lifted off behind her. In the distance, a black shuttle had settled on the open sands. As the Falcon drifted away, Kira could identify a shape moving across the desert, its formed blurred and distorted by waves of heat radiating from the fiery sands. She walked into the open and stood waiting. Her breathing was ragged and fierce but remembering how the Force had guided her to Erys, she resolved to trust the Force to whatever end it led her.

The Bendu’s voice echoed in her mind, saying If the Force wills the Eternal Night, who are we to stop it? Shortly after, she thought she could hear the Prime Jedi saying, If you wish to die trying to hold back the onset of night, that is your choice.

There it was: choice. Whatever Leia had envisioned; whatever Leia intended with her machinations, here was the incontrovertible truth. What happened next was her choice, and as that realization hit her, she realized that she had made her choice when she crossed into Nemsis from Erys in the hopes of saving Ben. With a deep, steadying breath she stood still, waiting as Ren approached.

               Silently, Ren marched across the burning sands, nearing enough for her to see the engravings on his helmet. He came to a stop 10 meters away from her, his long shadow cast by the crepuscular rays of Atollon’s star. For a moment, he simply regarded her, and Kira had a fleeting sense of his respect for her before she felt the cruel, cynical malice return.

               “Well, met, Emperor’s daughter,” he said malevolently.

               She nodded deferentially but did not speak.

               “Your experiment with Thrawn has failed. He told me where to find you, and he told me of your attempt to help Chandrila. So predictable that the Resistance would try to save the fetid, limp ideals of a failed government,” Ren said, malice dripping from every word.

               Kira smiled, realizing that Ren did not yet know. “And what of Kuat?”

               “What of it?” Ren said, and his malice calcified.

               “Thrawn fooled you, too,” she said, still smiling. Her memory of Kit’s rashness rose briefly, and her smile widened. “Chandrila was never the objective. Thrawn destroyed your forces on Kuat and took the entire Chiss fleet.”

               “What?!” Ren said, and Kira could feel rage radiating from him. He tilted his head as if listening to a report. He straightened up, and Kira could hear a sharp intake of air that reminded her of a reptilian hiss.

               “Clever,” Ren said at last as he seemed to regain his composure. “He played us both. Once I’ve killed you and slaughtered the dregs of the Republic, I will kill him and every Chiss that dares oppose me.”

               Kira nodded her head again, and she tensed as she sensed the attack building. Ren’s rage was peaking, but she sensed his curiosity holding the attack at bay. Ren turned his head and gazed toward the towering coral formations surrounding the depression where she had meditated and asked, “Why did you come here?”

               “Quiet planet. Clear my head,” Kira said nonchalantly.

               Ren turned his head and gazed toward the corals. “I sense something. Something ancient. Something powerful.”

               “Fresh air does me a lot of good, too,” Kira said, hoping to throw him off track.

               “Don’t toy with me, girl,” Ren retorted, his voice modulated by his mask. He strolled casually toward the corals and spoke into his commlink, “Commander, prepare a sampling team for the planet’s surface.”

               “More trophies?” Kira mocked, hoping to taunt him. Ren continued to stroll, but he turned his attention back to her.

               Gesturing down to his body, he said, “Not you, certainly.” He paused and smiled before adding, “I have no need for you. No, whatever’s here might be of great value one day.”

               “Thrawn was right,” Kira said, and Ren stopped, looking at her. “Greed is your weakness, as is your faith in your own will.”

               “Your faith in the Force is yours. Organa’s doing, no doubt. If only she could see the full depths of her failure,” Ren said. He stopped and removed his lightsaber. Igniting the blade, he assumed a ready position.

               Kira unhooked both of her blades and activated them, casting pools of golden and silver light across the sand as the failing sun sank into the horizon. The planet’s two moons cast purple light over the landscape, creating an ethereal purple twilight punctuated by the red glow of Ren’s blade. Ren walked casually forward but stopped suddenly as a streak of light arced across the sky. The light slammed into Ren’s shuttle in the distance, and the fireball cast a bright, but fleeting flash of light across the sands. The Falcon roared past overhead, its ventral cannon ablaze as it fired on Ren.

               Ren danced and dodged the blasts but could not entirely avoid the onslaught. His robes caught fire, and the flames licked up his shoulders, cracking and scorching his helmet. As Ren struggled with his robe, Kira lunged forward, slashing aggressively with her blades. Ren blocked her swipe, but as he continued to struggle with his flaming clothes, Kira stepped back and unleashed a volley of electricity into his body. The blast caught Ren in the chest and threw him backwards into a coral formation. Kira unleashed another blast, but Ren rolled away to dodge it. Freed from the robe, he unleashed a torrent of black energy. Kira leapt out of the way, the barrage missing her by inches. When she landed, she saw a red blade flying toward her, and she held out her hand to freeze it in midair. The blade pushed against her will, and another cascade of black lightning arced across the sand. She brought up her free hand to deflect it, a branch of the electricity grazed her forearm, causing her to wince in agony. Ren’s blade slashed toward her, and she deflected it aside with her lightsaber.

               The Falcon came around for another pass, but seeing the ship’s approach, Ren lifted his hand, sending a massive chunk of coral on a collision course with the ship. The coral smashed into the ship’s ventral side, knocking out the cannon and taking the ship’s main weapon offline. The Falcon veered away as the sound of approaching fighters emerged.

Ren returned to his feet and recovered his lightsaber, stalking toward Kira, who crouched into a defensive posture, ready and waiting for his attack. He lunged forward, slashing at her with prodigious speed. She matched his speed, parrying his blows as she sank deeper into her awareness of the Force. With the clarity that had come from touching on the deep well of history and memory held by the Force, she had a sense of his attacks more clearly than she had ever had in a duel, and she was able to match his speed and pace. She sensed his frustration, and in his anger as his attacks became more aggressive. When Ren overreached on an attempted slash at her head, she lunged forward, slicing into his bicep. Ren fell back, howling through the distorted filter of his mask in pain.

As he staggered back, he gathered his pain and roared in rage. Another cascade of black electricity launched forward, and Kira brought her blades up in an “X” shape to deflect. She managed to hold back the energy with her lightsabers, but the sheer force of the attack pushed her backward into a coral formation. The lightning relented, and Ren flew forward, swiping at her head with his blade. She ducked, and the blade passed through the coral, which fell toward her. Ren spun and pulled the coral down, seeking to crush her She hooked her blades to her belt and threw her hands up to slow the coral from crashing down on her. Ren lunged at her again, but she rolled away, bringing the coral down with her. The coral tumbled toward Ren, who rolled away on the opposite side. He leapt up and over the coral as Kira, guided by instinct, ran away toward the open desert at full speed. She could feel Ren following, and as she turned, she saw him charging toward him, lightsaber blazing, a mere fifty meters away.

A massive roar filled her ears, and Ren paused in surprise. He turned to see the Millennium Falcon barreling down on him. He paused, reaching out with the Force to slow the ship, which screamed toward him, trailing smoke while the fighters behind it continue to blast away at its shields. Realizing that their leader was in their path, the fighters peeled away. As Ren threw his full might against the ship’s momentum, Kira unleashed another blast of lightning, which caught Ren from the side. He rose into the air from the force of it just as the Falcon slammed into the ground before him, displacing a tidal wave of sand as it slammed into Ren’s floating body.

Chapter Text

Atollon, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira rushed toward the shattered transparasteel of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit. The body of the ship had crumpled, with smoke billowing out of various shattered points in the hull. Ben was slumped over in the pilot’s chair, unconscious, blood spilling down his forehead. She cut through the transparasteel with her lightsaber and leaned in to pull Ben’s unconscious body from the cockpit. The acrid smell of smoke and burning fluids filled her lungs, and she coughed back the toxic fumes as she pulled him to safety.

               The quartet of fighters that had been pursuing the Falcon circled back around, and recognizing that she could not reach the corals in time to find safety, she lowered Ben to the ground and turned to face them. They screamed toward the wreckage of the Falcon, showering their path with blaster fire. Kira sensed the consciousnesses of the pilots and recognized the strange consciousness she had felt while fighting the Acronemses. She reached out with her senses, touching the identical minds of the pilots. As she touched the minds, her consciousness intruded further into their minds than she had ever been able to accomplish with the more powerful Acronemses, and she unleashed waves of blinding pain into their psyches. She bored deeper into their minds and came across a familiar sensation that she recalled from Nemsis, as if she was touching on the very heart – or was it the very mind? – behind each of the creatures. The ships lost their bearings and spun out of control, crashing into the desert beyond. Kira knelt to the ground again and hoisted Ben’s body, but a premonition froze her where she knelt.

               She turned back to the smoking wreckage of the Falcon, and she saw a figure staggering forward from the smoke. He limped and sagged, his body badly injured. As he cleared the smoke, she could see his helmet partially shorn away and his face burned. His clothing was torn and scorched, and his skin beneath was bleeding. He limped on a leg that twisted at an odd angle, and called out to her,  “How dare you!”

               “Come closer and let me finish the job,” Kira called out as she ignited her lightsabers and stepped toward him.

               “You know you can’t kill me,” Ren said, and his steps faltered. He knelt to the ground, and sensing his vulnerability, Kira gambled.

               “So certain,” Kira snarled, raising her lightsabers.

               Ren faltered, and Kira had a momentary sense of his horrible terror. The terror quickly extinguished as anger surged in its place. Ren coughed and spat blood onto the sand, then said, “You know nothing.”

               “Don’t I?” Kira taunted. “Do I know nothing about you binding yourself to the Well of Nemsis? Do I know nothing about your terror that somebody might one day sever the bond, leaving you weak and mortal once more?”

               “Silence!” Ren roared, and Kira had a sense of his terror again.

She lunged forward, raising her lightsabers to strike. She made it several steps toward him before she froze. Ren had reached his hand out, and the waves of pain burned through her nervous system. She collapsed to her knees, screaming and retching from the pain as Ren tortured her. Ren slowly rose to his feet and shuffled toward her, wincing at the pain in his shattered leg. Kira had curled into a fetal position to fend off the pain, and he doubled his attack. She writhed and twisted on the ground as Ren’s power bored through every nerve ending in her body. Waves of blackness passed through her mind as she struggled to maintain a grip on her consciousness. When the waves ceased, she looked up through tears in her eyes to see Ren standing over her.

               He had removed his helmet, and Anakin Skywalker’s handsome features were burned and blackened. The hair was gone, and one of the eyes had gone milky from injury. With his uninjured hand, he held his lightsaber and pointed it toward her face.

“Years of preparation for this body, gone,” he spat, and Kira felt another wave of agony course through her body. “You will suffer for this,” he said as another wave of blinding pain coursed through her body again.

She reached the edge of unconsciousness but fought it off knowing that she was truly dead if she gave in. In the interval where he ceased his attack while wincing from pain, she attempted to shoot a feeble bolt of lightning at his face, but he deflected it back into her body, causing her to convulse.

“I will suffer no rival,” Ren said, his voice cold with finality.

He raised his lightsaber into the air and gazed down at her as she whimpered with pain in the sand. He brought the weapon down, but to Kira’s shock, it stopped inches from her face. She blinked away the tears and saw Ren struggling against an unseen force, trying desperately to cut through her neck and end her life. Using the distraction to her advantage, she crawled backwards, dragging her protesting legs through the sand. There to the right, the Bendu had materialized. He lay in the sand, his hand raised. Ren turned to see the Bendu reclined on the sand, and he turned his blade toward the beast. He unleashed a torrent of black lightning, which dissipated harmlessly in the air.

“You have brought great strife to my quiet world!” boomed the Bendu’s voice.

Ren rounded on the Bendu, allowing Kira to crawl away toward Ben. Ren ignited his lightsaber and began to shuffle toward the Bendu, his weapon raised. He pointed the weapon directly between the Bendu’s eyes and said, “And you are?”

“The One in the Middle,” the Bendu said. “Brother of Nemsis and Erys of old; last of the children of the Force.”

Ren scoffed at the lofty titles and smiled, saying, “Fascinating. You will make a useful addition to my collection. Once I murder the girl, of course.”

Kira looked up to the sky to see a transport escorted by a quartet of Nemsian fighters approaching their position. The formation swooped forward, landing alongside the wreckage of the Millennium Falcon. The Bendu slumped to the ground, weakened by the effort he had expended. Ren laughed, seeing the creature’s weakness.

He stepped forward and ran a finger down the creature’s nose, saying, “How mighty you must have once been.” Ren looked down at his damaged hand, the exposed skin burnt and charred. He winced in agony and said, “Perhaps I was foolish to choose a human form.”

“Your experiment was foolishness in its essence,” the Bendu replied, and Kira had a sense that the effort was draining him.

A team of Dichonemses soldiers evacuated the back of the transport followed by a slender Kaminoan. A medical pod trailed after him, and Kira understood that Ren was about to kill the Bendu and collect a sample of his body for later cloning experimentations. She shuddered as she considered Ren’s spirit inhabiting the Bendu’s body as an empty vessel. She struggled to get to her feet, but weakness and pain still subsumed her. Ahead, Ben stirred from his own unconsciousness.

The soldiers reached Ren’s side, and the Kaminoan began to examine Ren’s damaged body. Ren waved it away, directing it toward the Bendu. Another blast of Force power sent the Kaminoan and the Dichonemses backwards into the sand, but in doing so, the Bendu slumped further. Ren lunged forward with his lightsaber, plunging it into the Bendu’s forehead. The Bendu roared in pain, but his milky eyes dulled and faded as his body collapsed into the sand.

The Kaminoan returned to its feet and began to work from a medical pod around the Bendu’s body. Ren regarded the dead beast for a moment before turning his attention back to Kira. Kira continued to pull herself back to Ben, who had awoken, but remained disoriented from the crash. He lifted his head up, and Kira could feel his anguish as he looked at the wreckage of the Falcon burning beneath the desert moons. Ren limped toward them, and Kira struggled to her feet, her lightsabers in her hands. Ren paused, watching Kira swaying on the spot, fighting hard to keep her balance.

               Ren laughed derisively, and when the laughter subsided, he said, “You’ve fought well, child.” He paused, and his smile faded into a cruel leer, as he added, “Now, you will die.”

               Ren raised his uninjured hand and prepared to summon dark side energy. But before unleashing his full might, he paused, turning his head to the side as if attempting to ascertain the source of an annoying buzz. The Dichonemsian soldiers appeared to hear it, too, and they paused their efforts in preparing the Kaminoan’s materials. The quartet of fighters rose from the ground and began to angle toward the east. Kira could hear the whine of an approaching star craft. The sound was familiar to her, although she struggled to place the sonic signature in her memory, so strained and battered was her psyche.

               Before she could place the sound, two of the Nemsian fighters erupted in flames, their shattered hulls careening backward into the shuttle, which also exploded. The other two fighters tore away, but they subsequently erupted in flame as they cartwheeled into a towering coral formation. The roar of a sublight engine rose in pitch, and the Amaya shot across the desert above their head. The Dichonemses fired uselessly at it, and the ship arced around to take another pass.

               Feeling hope rising inside her, Kira unleashed a blast of Force lightning, which caught Ren in the chest, knocking him back thirty meters. The Amaya soared overhead, coming to a halt above their position. It opened fire on the Dichonemses, and Ren rolled away to take shelter in the corals. The blasts tore through the medical pod, which exploded in the Kaminoan’s face. Kira winced as the explosion burned the Bendu, but she was surprised to see its body vanish moments later. The Amaya settled down to the sand, and Kira stumbled forward to pull Ben to his feet. The ship’s landing skid lowered as Ben and Kira staggered in. The ship was in the air before they were even fully inside the galley, and it shot forward as the boarding ramp closed. 

               To Kira’s chagrin, the ship’s forward progress halted as she felt an unseen force pulling at it. She stumbled up to the cockpit to find BD-1 manning the controls with Artoo plugged into a port. BD-1 twittered excitedly while Artoo bleeped a happy welcome. She smiled and collapsed into the pilot’s chair, taking the controls away from her droid. She relinquished the drive, allowing the ship to drift backward toward Ren. She turned the ship around and trained her guns on him. She unleashed a blast into the coral that Ren hid beneath, which shattered into fiery fragments. His hold relinquished, she nudged the throttle forward, and the Amaya shot across the desert sands away from Ren and the smoking rubble of the Falcon.

               Kira glanced at the scanner and saw several waves of Nemsian fighters launching from the massive ship above. “Calculate an escape route that will get me as close to a hyperspace jump as possible.”

               Artoo twittered an affirmative, and seconds later, a course came up on the scope. Kira banked hard left to track onto the course and opened up the sublight drive to full capacity. She cut the shields to 20%, rerouting all the power into the drive as she streaked toward the edge of the atmosphere with the Nemsian fighters screaming after her in pursuit. The edge of the atmosphere approached, and throwing caution to the wind, she dropped the shields entirely, re-routing all power into the drives as the fighters closed in. A blast erupted off her flank, telling her that the Nemsian fighters were nearly in range.

               “Come on, mama. Come on,” she muttered to the ship through gritted teeth.

               Finally, the ship crossed the atmospheric threshold and Artoo beeped madly in warning. She reached forward, pulling the hyperdrive lever back and watched as the stars stretched into infinite lines while the Amaya jumped into hyperspace.

                                                                                                         ***

Ren gazed into the sky as the fighters chased the craft into space. Around him, his troops and his shuttle burned, and his prize had vanished. The girl had proved far more powerful and adept than he had anticipated – a true rival, one who knew his secret. He cursed himself for focusing on the Bendu in the moment when he could have killed her, and now, she fled, soon to regroup. With rage building in his heart, he staggered forward toward the wreck of the Falcon, wincing in pain as he limped along. Something about the ship called to him, and he pulled himself into a gaping hole in the ship’s fuselage. Once inside, he worked through the twisted wreckage of the ship’s galley, coughing and gagging against the acrid chemical smoke. As his lungs revolted against the toxic air, he felt pain surge through his shattered ankle. The girl’s interference would cost him a long soak in a bacta tank followed by more genetic treatments. A week, perhaps more, he thought bitterly, where he would lick his wounds in meditation while seeking a new strategy to replace his perfectly balanced, brilliantly contrived plan.

The infernal girl - when he found her, and he knew he would, he would kill her, and cruelly. Even as he had the thought, he felt as if he could hear his own apprentice laughing from some distant corner in the Force, mocking his failure. No matter, he thought. His resources were endless, and with the rift between Thrawn and the Resistance, both forces would succumb in a matter of time.

Ren stumbled forward to the ship’s nav computer, and he noted a red indicator light flashing. Curious, he pressed a button to play the message back. A holograph of a blue-white astromech droid emerged, and its frantic beeping moved too quickly for Ren to understand.

“Computer, translate,” Ren said.

The profanity that poured from the ship’s computer surprised Ren, and knowing that the ship would not cooperate, Ren instead recorded the playback on his wrist comm. Save it for the engineers, he thought. Scanning the rest of the ship and seeing nothing of value in the wreckage, he stumbled out as another shuttle streaked toward his location. He collapsed to his knees as the ship landed and teams of medics streamed out to treat his wounds. 

                                                                                          ***

Kira collapsed back into her chair in exhaustion and let out a massive exhale. BD-1 hopped up onto the dash and scanned her body to assess her condition. She waved him away saying, “Go to Ben. He needs it more.”

               The droid hopped off the dashboard and ran back into the galley, and Kira could hear the droid clucking away worriedly as it rummaged through her stores for a bacta pack for Ben’s head. Kira looked down at Artoo who had disengaged from the plug and turned toward her. She reached out an exhausted hand and let it rest on his dome, smiling in relief that they had found her.

               “How on earth did you find us?” she asked, smiling as her aching bones began their slow recovery from the psychic onslaught Ren had subjected her to.

               Artoo beeped a long string of explanations, and the ship’s computer repeated back a monotone translation: “BD-1 attempted to leave Erys, and circling the atmosphere, he came across a window. We received Ben’s message and tracked you here.”

               “Oh bless him,” Kira said, fighting off the urge to sleep.

               Artoo beeped again, and the ship translated once more: “We received your message and followed you here. We let the Falcon know we were coming, and we shared the coordinates for Erys.”

               Kira’s exhaustion vanished in a rush of adrenaline. She shot forward and snapped, “You did what?!”

               Artoo trilled a confused query and shrank back, apparently surprised and disappointed that Kira was not pleased with his actions.

               “The coordinates for Erys are on the Falcon’s computer?” Kira asked in disbelief.

               Artoo affirmed her question, and Kira fell back into the chair, suddenly very weary. Artoo beeped another query, and Kira responded, “Ren has the Falcon now. It’s only a matter of time before he finds Erys.”

               Artoo beeped mournfully and appeared agitated. Kira leaned forward, staving off sleep that she knew she couldn’t avoid. She pressed the commlink button and said, “Kit, Akeyla – it’s Kira. This is a top priority message.”

Chapter Text

Crait, 26 A.B.Y.

Kit returned to the bridge of Home Two after her detachment of Mandalorian cruisers rejoined the fleet above Crait, a knot of dread ensconced in her stomach. As she passed through the bridge, the officers regarded her with resentment and frustration etched on their faces. The Republic officers had yet to witness her insubordination, and she could tell they were taking it much worse than the Resistance officers, who had long ago arrived at a resentful tolerance of her rash actions. She kept her eyes down and her hands in her pockets, hoping to avoid eye contact as she worked her way to a console to get the full report on the battle above Kuat. As she thrust her hands into her pockets, she felt the sharp edge of twisted metal. She reached down and pulled the object from her pocket. Her fingers removed a hand-twisted Jedi made from metal scrap – the toy of a child, twisted by a young Panga Meesh. In all the conflict since that moment with Jax after Lola Sayu, she had forgotten it was still in her jacket.

               “Commander, the Chiss shuttle is approaching,” called one of the Ensigns to Commander Morvinae. Morvinae turned toward Kit and raised his eyebrows, as if asking, When are you going to learn?

               Akeyla turned to see the Chancellor walking toward her console, her faced lined with fury. When she arrived, she spoke in an acidic whisper that made Akeyla wince. “What were you thinking?”

               Kit looked around and saw that everyone was staring openly at her. As Akeyla stood waiting, expecting an explanation, she turned to all of them and said, “Thrawn betrayed us.”

               Whatever Akeyla was expecting her to say, Thrawn betrayed us was not it. She stepped backward, her hand to her chest. Kit could hear whispering around the room, and Morvnae’s eyes went wide.

“When we got to Chandrila, everything was in place. We could have taken out the whole fleet. Except the Grysk were there waiting for us,” Kit explained. “Threepio, what are the odds on the Grysk being prepared for us without prior knowledge?

The golden droid stepped forward anxiously from the alcove he had been lurking in and said, “18,490,000 to 1,” before awkwardly shrinking back into the arrayed crewmen.

“The Chiss are here,” Morvinae said as he checked him comm.

Akeyla took a deep breath and said, “Kit, for once. Please keep your mouth shut.”

Kit swallowed and looked toward the door as Morvinae keyed the command to allow entry. Moments later, the door slid open, and Jax strode into the room, followed behind by Thrawn, Ashika, and a handful of other Chiss officers. Jax crossed the distance at a purposeful, aggressive pace, and he stopped a meter away from Kit. He stared her in the eye, his brow furrowed, his breathing barely controlled.

“Why did you do it?” he demanded, his voice a controlled growl.

“Jax, we had a clean shot at the entire Grysk fleet. We had to take it,” Kit said. And, with some of her own conviction rising, she added, “You know that’s the backbone of Ren’s force.”

“17,463!” Jax shouted, and Kit jumped slightly at the sudden change in the tenor of his voice. Several others nearby flinched reflexively.

“Jax, somebody set us. . .” Kit began, but Jax shouted over her.

“All dead!” Jax shouted, and a speck of spittle flew out of his mouth. He stared at her a moment longer, and Kit felt her heart pounding and breaking at the same time.

“I believe what our commander is trying to say...” spoke a cool voice as Thrawn stepped forward. Jax receded, but he did not take his eyes off Kit. “Is that the Chiss are extremely disappointed in the rashness of Commander Antilles, which has now led to thousands of deaths. I seem to recall saying that it was imperative that every ship be present?”

Kit opened her mouth, but a swift glance from Akeyla closed it before she could respond. Akeyla turned toward Thrawn, and her own voice coolly moderated, said, “Thrawn, I wish to express our deepest regrets for the actions leading to the deaths of your people. I’ve heard the Commander explain her actions, and she would have been wise to present them to all parties to avoid any potential loss of life.”

“Your words are well-taken,” Thrawn responded. “Yet your insistence on allowing her to occupy a place of authority is not. She and the Mandalorian risked a critical operation. Her lack of discipline makes her unfit for anything more than sanitary duty.” Thrawn turned toward Kit and glared. As he did so, Kit could feel something burning inside her. Akeyla turned to her, the command to remain quiet implicit in her gaze. Somehow, Kit managed to keep her mouth closed, and she settled for glaring turbolasers at Thrawn.

“Yes, it would seem that there have been many errors in my judgment of late,” Akeyla acceded, and for the briefest of moments, Thrawn appeared taken aback. 

He recovered quickly, saying, “Chancellor, do take care.” Kit noticed Jax stepping forward to take Thrawn’s right-hand side. Kit’s anger flared at Jax’s glare toward Akeyla, the woman who had consistently vouched for him, supported him, even comforted him in the year since he had joined the Resistance. Her protectiveness surged as she studied his posture; Jax could rage at her all he liked, she thought, but not Akeyla.

“Commander Jax,” Akeyla said turning to him and looking him directly in the eyes. Akeyla continued, “We would be grateful if you could ask Captain Ashika to run a decrypt on a transmission sent 27 hours ago from the Eventide.” She reached out a data disk toward Jax, and he received it tentatively, confusion evident on his face. “We did not wish to assume that you were aware that somebody was broadcasting from an encrypted signal on your ship. We felt it critical to inform you.”

Jax took the disc and turned to Captain Ashik. He handed her the disc and nodded. Thrawn smiled, and said lightly, “You see, my son. The intrigue that begins to unfold?”

Captain Ashik paused at the door and turned back, curious to hear Thrawn’s explanation. Jax turned to Thrawn, his expression midway between confusion and anger. Thrawn continued, “They see me as a tool to apply in their war, just as Organa intended. I helped them succeed beyond their wildest dreams, and now that they have what they want, they seek to discard me.”

“A very well-considered theory,” Akeyla responded, and she shifted her posture in a way that suggested challenge. The crew shifted unconsciously, suddenly mirroring her growing suspicions.

“Is that not why Organa stashed me away on Lola Sayu?” Thrawn said, not breaking eye contact with Akeyla.

“I was not privy to the Chancellor’s decision until over a week ago, so I don’t know. Quite frankly, I had assumed she was operating under the premise that the internment might appeal to your better nature,” Akeyla said, and Kit turned toward Jax, allowing herself to show her vulnerability.

“Jax, I thought the sooner we could get rid of the Grysk, the sooner we could go to Nemsis and find your daughter,” Kit said.

Jax was taken aback, and Kit had the impression that he had not thought about his daughter in a while. He withdrew his gaze, looking away. Thrawn interjected, saying to Kit, “And yet, you’ve made it that much harder to go to Nemsis now. Ren has already withdrawn a considerable percentage of his forces back to Nemsis.”

“That would have happened anyway,” Kit said, her anger rising. Surely Thrawn could not be that stupid. “He will keep killing people until we surrender. You oughta know. Isn’t that how you did it for the Empire?”

“Careful, girl,” Thrawn growled, and Kit was alarmed to see how anger had changed his face. He had been intimidating before, but he now appeared downright dangerous, despite his age. She flinched reflexively at the threat conveyed in his glance, her hand twitching toward her blaster. She looked up in shame at Jax as he noticed the gesture. Jax stepped forward, his eyes boring into her face in warning.

Throwing caution to the wind, Kit shouted, “No, I will not be careful!” Akeyla turned to her and hissed angrily, “Kit. . .”

Kit continued, unwilling to back down. “Your plan worked. We rescued the Chiss, and for your people, believe me, I am both grateful and sorry.” She turned toward the crew and stepped away from Jax and Thrawn, and elevating her voice, said, “Everybody here needs to know that we were ready to pull the trigger. We would have destroyed hundreds of their ships. Everything was in line, and they had no idea we were there. Suddenly, a Grysk task force shows up, and we’d be dead except for the Mandalorians. The odds are nearly impossible that they would have guessed.” Kit turned back to Thrawn and spat venomously, “So, Grand Admiral, tell us what’s in the recording, and please share any insight you have into why Kira is not responding anymore.”

“Kira?” Jax said, and suddenly, Kit had a momentary glimpse of the quiet, reserved man who had struggled to learn to use the Force and was seeking Kira out for guidance peeking through his hardened exterior.

Kit noted the shift and she forged ahead, saying, “Kira went to Atollon with Ben. We suspected something after Chandrila, and we called her. Nobody has responded, and the Falcon’s computer reported that a Nemsis warship appeared in orbit.”

“That can’t be,” Jax said disbelievingly, turning toward Thrawn.

“I believe when we decrypt that recording we will find that Thrawn told Ren where to find them!” Kit shouted, and Jax appeared hurt and confused.

“An interesting theory,” Thrawn responded. Then he added, “How then do you explain why I would betray Ren by attacking his fleet after offering him that information? Surely you know he will come after me as well.”

“I’m pretty sure he will,” Kit said, and she stepped forward. Thrawn tensed, and the reaction caused Kit to flinch as well. She reached for her blaster again, managing to pause the action with her hand enclosed around the grip, and in that second Jax reacted instantaneously. A purple blade erupted between Thrawn and Kit. Both stepped back as Jax stepped forward. Several Republic officers also drew their weapons, prompting similar responses from the Chiss officers. The tension held as Kit glared at Thrawn, who gazed back at her with a look of detached triumph.

               Kit turned to Jax and said, “Jax? I’m sorry.”

               She pulled her hand away from the blaster and raised them into the air as Thrawn stepped backward and slightly behind Jax. Jax stepped forward facing her. He gazed around the bridge at the officers with raised weapons. Thick tension settled on the bridge as Jax held their gaze. He lowered his blade, keeping it ignited, as he turned back to Kit.

               “Jax, please. Hear what I have to say,” Kit started, but Jax cut her off.

               “My father’s right. I told you to think of Cophrigin, and what did you do?” he accused, and Kit was crushed by the disappointment and anger burning in his crimson eyes. He turned back toward the officers and said, his voice resonant, “The Chiss will fight Ren on our own terms. We will defeat him on our own terms. We are no longer going to allow ourselves to be the tools of the Resistance.”

               Jax paused, then scanned the bridge, making eye contact with as many officers as he could. His gaze drifted past Akeyla without settling before returning to Kit. “Stand in our way, and we will not hesitate.” Jax said, his jaw set.

Thrawn smiled, and added, “Let us return to the Eventide, son.”

               Jax spared one last fiery look at Kit, then turned, leading the Chiss delegation with them.

               “Jax, wait!” Kit called. Jax paused and turned to face her, his face still hard and his eyes blazing. With her hands up she slowly approached him. Jax tensed in anticipation, but he allowed her approach. Kit said, “Jax, I’m putting my hands in my pocket to give you something. I think Panga would have wanted you to have this.”

               Kit slowly placed her hand in her pocket and removed the childishly constructed figurine of a Jedi. She held it out to Jax. He reached his hand out, his face contorting in a mixture of anger, confusion, and grief. Just before reaching the figurine, he withdrew his hand and turned away, leading his people out of the bridge. Thrawn followed and did not look back when he left the bridge.

Kit watched them go in heartbroken silence. She scanned the room, and many of the officers had returned to their tasks. She turned toward Akeyla, whose face was ashen and gray, and she felt the urge to run from the room.

She was about to turn to go when a communications officer reported an incoming transmission. She froze, as Kira’s face appeared on the screen. She was exhausted, haggard, and there were cuts on her face. She looked like she had just fought to the death.

“Kit, Akeyla – it’s Kira. This is a top priority message,” Kira said, her voice ragged.

               “Patch her through,” Akeyla said, her face going paler still.

               “Akeyla, thank god,” Kira said, and for a moment it looked as if she was going to vomit. She steeled herself and said, “Ren found us on Atollon. He nearly killed us. We hurt him pretty bad, but there’s something much worse.”

               “What is it?” Akeyla asked, stepping forward and ready to act.

               “After Nal Hutta, I ended up on a planet called Erys. It’s one of the primary sources of the Force in the galaxy. It’s uncharted, and nearly impossible to find. I found Luke Skywalker there, and before I left, I crossed over to Nemsis. That’s where we came from when we appeared above Cophrigin,” Kira explained.

               Kira continued. “I left the Amaya behind, but my droid found me. He has the coordinates, which means I can go to Erys, cross to Nemsis, and destroy whatever is keeping Ren alive.”

               “Kira, that’s wonderful news!” Akeyla said, the color returning to her face.

               Kira closed her eyes, and Kit had the sense she was angry with herself. She opened her eyes again and said, “Yes, but my droids also sent the coordinates to the Falcon, and Ren has the Falcon now.”

               Akeyla shrank back as Kira finished, saying, “He’s going to come after Erys, next. And if he goes there and uses that atmosphere device, who knows what it will do to the Force. For all we know, it might end life in the galaxy as we know it.”

               Kira and Akeyla looked at each other, both struck dumb with horror. The rest of the crew appeared disquieted and scared, even if they didn’t fully understand the ramifications of destroying a planet that gave birth to the Force.

               “We have to stop him,” Kira said. “Tell Jax, I’ve found a way to bring his girl back.”

               Kit stepped forward, and Kira turned toward her. Her face fell as Kit said, “The Chiss left. I screwed up, and a lot of Chiss died because of it. He took the Chiss fleet with him.”

               Kira was horrified as she muttered a soft, “No.”

               After a silence, Akeyla stepped forward and said, “Kira, can you tell us where this planet is?”

               “Yes, we have to bring everything we have. Every last ship. We have to protect it at all costs,” Kira said. “Otherwise, he may rule the galaxy forever.”

               Akeyla straightened up, and she called to Morvinae, “Send an all call to the fleet: rendezvous immediately at the coordinates for the planet Erys. Signal that an imminent invasion of a critical target will be underway, and it is imperative that all willing forces join us there in preparation for its defense. Signal that I will provide all details as requested. Please send the same message to the Chiss. Tell them it’s a chance to stop Ren once and for all.”

               “Actually,” spoke a quiet voice from the back of the bridge, and the crew turned to see Lando Calrissian step forward. “There’s a good chance that Jax won’t get that message.”

               “Acknowledged, Lando,” said Akeyla, who turned toward him, her hands folded at her waist. “What do you propose?”

               “If we’re going to persuade him, it will have to be directly, from somebody he knows,” Lando said.

               “You heard them,” Kit interjected. “They’ll shoot you the second you show up?”

               “Unless Jax still blames himself for what happened to my people at Bespin,” Lando shot back, and Kit felt another wave of shame hit her as Jax’s parting words echoed in her mind again. “He might hesitate long enough for me to relay the message.”

               “It’s an awful risk, Lando,” Akeyla said, her voice soft.

               “It seems like all we have left is awful risks,” Lando said, nodding respectfully.

               “Very well,” said Akeyla. “Find them, and let Jax know that we are going to attempt to go to Nemsis.”

               “And in the meantime,” spoke a quiet, tired voice. Kit turned to see her uncle, frail, hooked up to a breathing tube, sitting uncomfortably in a hovering chair, “Order all commanders to convene on Home Two upon our arrival per Admiral Antilles’s orders.”

               “Uncle!” Kit cried, although her excitement at seeing him alive was muted by the tragedy of the moment and her fear of his frailty. He looked like he could use at least another two weeks in the bacta tank.

               “You’re still supposed to be in treatment,” Kit shot back.

               “I persuaded the droid to tell me what was happening,” Admiral Antilles said. “I figured I’d do more good here than in a fish tank,” he said irritably. The crew straightened up perceptibly, heartened by the Admiral’ return.

               “Uncle, I’m so sorry,” Kit began, but the Admiral held his hand up.

               He leaned forward and said softly, “As always, you were doing what you thought was right. Yes, you paid a heavy price for your miscalculation. Your plan was good, but Thrawn. . .”

               Akeyla smiled as she stepped forward. She placed her hand on the Admiral’s shoulder, and he gripped hers as an old friend. “It’s good to have you back, Admiral,” she said.

               “I’m sorry it took me so long,” he smiled sadly.

               Akeyla turned toward Morvinae and said, “Set course for Erys, Commander.”

Chapter Text

Hyperspace on route to Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

The Amaya hurtled through hyperspace following the lane prescribed by Artoo. BD-1 maintained the course as Kira continued to attend to Ben’s wounds, the worst of which was a concussion and a debilitating headache. He had regained consciousness, but because of the blinding pain from his head injury, she kept him sedated as she applied bacta to the affected areas. A long soak in a tank was what he really needed, but she felt confident enough that he would be stabilized until they reached one of the Republic medical frigates. With a trace of dread and irony, Kira thought to herself that safety was relative now that the imminent arrival of Ren’s fleet would make anywhere that a Resistance fighter stood one of the deadliest spots in the galaxy.

               A proximity indicator pinged, and she rose from her seat next to Ben’s cot. As she walked to the cockpit, her muscles, nerves, and bones ached and burned from the battle with Ren, and she herself wondered what she might be capable of in a coming fight as she struggled against an oppressive wave of fatigue. As the countdown timer zeroed out, she pulled the hyperdrive lever back, bringing the Amaya out of hyperspace. There, transposed against the infinite blackness of space, sat the entirety of the Resistance fleet accompanied by the smaller Mandalorian fleet. Dozens of ships that she did not recognize had joined the two forces, and even as Kira approached, she saw more ships coming out of hyperspace in one’s, two’s, and three’s, indicating that individuals and smaller forces were now joining the fight. Not only did the Republic and Mandalorian fleets amass here, but it appeared that additional forces from across the galaxy were beginning to trickle in.

               What Kira did not see was a planet. The fleet hovered in what appeared to be the dead of space. Her sensors registered a gravity well, but it was the overwhelming sense of energy and power radiating from the heart of the gravity well that told her that Erys was near. Kira had been unable to send communications out of the planet while she was here, and BD-1 had explained that the two droids needed to circle the planet for hours before finding a weakness in a planetary boundary. Whatever the boundary appeared to be from the inside of the atmosphere, from the outside, the boundary masked the planet’s visual appearance, if not its footprint in the Force.

               “Welcome home, Amaya,” spoke a familiar voice, and Kira keyed her comm unit to see the hologram of Commander Morvinae emerge.

               “Good to see you, too, Commander,” Kira said, although her excitement and enthusiasm were muted.

               “The Chancellor, the Mandalorian contingency, and Resistance Command have already departed for the planet’s surface. They requested that I direct you to the planet’s surface upon your arrival,” Morvinae replied.

               “Thanks, Commander. Ben’s on board, and he’s wounded pretty bad. I may need to stop at a medical frigate to drop him off,” Kira acknowledged.

               “There’s a medical unit already down there. The planet – I don’t understand it, but it’s. . . well, you’ll see,” Morvinae said.

               Kira’s memory flashed back to the massive presence of the Force on the planet, and she wondered at its effects on non-Force users. “Copy, Commander. Beginning my descent,” Kira acknowledged.

               She nudged the Amaya onto the prescribed course, marveling at the planet’s rich presence in the Force. Her sensors read its gravitational pull, as well as a strange electro-magnetic barrier encircling the outer atmosphere. As she piloted the ship closer to the precise coordinates that Morvinae provided, she saw a small window little larger than a corvette. Through the opening she saw golden, radiant light through a window in space illuminated by the glow of the planet’s atmosphere.

She piloted the Amaya through the window, and the brilliance of Erys’s atmosphere overwhelmed her senses. Green, purple, and blue arcs of energy washed across the electro-magnetic barrier, which repelled solar radiation, dispersing it across the boundaries of the atmosphere. The golden glow of the planet’s sun illuminated an intricate landscape of mountains yielding to a vast sea. Kira soared toward the mountains, allowing the Force to guide her as the presence of the Wellspring filled her awareness like light filling a room at dawn. 

The Amaya cut across the sky, soaring between snow-capped peaks as Kira oriented the ship toward a deep valley radiating light from a caldera at its heart. From the sky, the valley was even more beautiful than she had remembered it, and her heart ached to be close to the wellspring again. Her scanners picked up a Resistance beacon near the wellspring, and she piloted to a clearing. She set the Amaya down in the clearing and switched systems to standby. Grabbing her lightsabers, she moved toward the exit. A groan from behind her signaled that Ben was awake. She paused and turned back, and she saw him pulling himself to a sitting position. He appeared disoriented, but a look of wonder dawned on his face.

He turned toward her and said, his eyes wide, “The Force. . . I can feel it.”

Kira watched as he reached his hand out toward the lightsaber on her belt. Ben strained in concentration, and the lightsaber twitched. Ben doubled his efforts, but the lightsaber did not budge again. Exhausted from the effort, Ben nearly collapsed. Kira rushed over to him, and helped him up to his feet, his arm draped over her shoulder as she helped him walk.

They descended the ship’s landing platform and saw a small group of Mandalorians accompanied by Akeyla and a Republic medical officer. The medical officer rushed forward and helped Kira steady Ben on his feet. Ben looked up and saw white energy dancing from the caldera just beyond a copse of towering conifers, and he gazed in wonder upon the sight as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“Welcome to Erys,” Akeyla said. “Under different circumstances. . .” Her thought trailed away as she noted a flock of massive raptors soaring across the sky.

“Ben needs help. Do you have a team?” Kira asked the medical officer.

“Yeah, we’re set up by the caldera. It’s having an unusual effect on healing processes. We don’t think he’ll be down for long,” he explained. He looked Kira over and added, “And you’d better get yourself looked over as well.”

“Follow us,” said a Mandalorian officer, and she turned to follow a newly cut path into the copse of trees. They walked for five minutes through the towering forest, which echoed with birdsong through its cavernous boughs. Streams trickled through fern-strewn banks, and brilliantly colored rodents scurried over moss-covered boulders. Kira felt the Force flowing through her, nearly overwhelming her with its purity and clarity. Moments later, they passed the eaves of the forest and came face to face with the wellspring. The massive cavity emitted light that danced like lava from a boiling volcano, illuminating the rocky cliff behind it where she had once spied Luke Skywalker in meditation. She shuddered as the memory segued into a memory of the Prime Jedi threatening to kill her lest she abandon the planet for good. A grim feeling floated through her stomach as she wondered what the Prime Jedi would have to say if she could see the planet now. Kira turned toward the wellspring and saw the silhouettes of Taila Zevala and the three Padawans meditating before the wellspring. Turning away from Akeyla, Kit, and the Mandalorians, she crossed the  ground between the eaves and the Wellspring and approached the former Jedi.

As she approached, Taila rose to her feet and turned to Kira. Taila appeared more blissful and relaxed than Kira had ever seen her, and Kira had the sense that the Force had touched something deep within her. She smiled, holding out her arms to embrace Kira, saying, “I’m so grateful you made it back.”

“Thanks,” Kira said, and she turned toward the Wellspring with Taila’s arm around her shoulders. She noted in wonder that the aches and pains wracking her body were subsiding, filling her with a newfound strength as the Force flowed freely through her.

“Not a bad place to make a last stand,” Taila said smiling toward the wellspring. “It’s been a long time since I felt so much peace and contentment.” Taila’s face became more serious as she added, “We will defend it with our lives.”

Kira nodded, saying, “I wish Leia could have seen this.”

“See this?” Taila said, and Kira tuned to her frowning. Taila squeezed her around and shoulder and said, “My dear child, she is this.”

Kira closed her eyes against the moment of grief that had arisen, but the memory of the old words returned, and she responded, “Luminous beings are we,” to which Taila beamed before turning back to the light.

Loud voices distracted Kira from her communion with Taila, and she turned in the direction of the voices. A group of Mandalorians worked at constructing a large device which appeared nearly in place. She disentangled herself from Taila’s partial embrace and excused herself as she approached the device they were constructing. As she approached, she saw Sabine Wren and another Mandalorian wiring the device from cables leading into the wellspring.

Sabine pulled herself up from a crouch and watched Kira approach. She removed her helmet and smiled, her purple hair framing her chiseled features. “Some place, huh?” she called to Kira.

“What are you guys doing?” Kira asked curiously.

“This,” Sabine said, gesturing toward the device that several Mandalorians were putting the finishing touches on, “Is a shield generator. I’m routing its power source into this caldera, which is emitting more power than all the powerplants on Coruscant ten times over.”

As she said so, a male voice call out, and the Mandalorians climbed off the device. Sabine stepped away from the power cables, and she pulled Kira along with her. Sabine called over her shoulder, saying, “Alright Chancellor, here’s the test.”

She punched a button on a handheld device, and the shield generator roared into life, static dancing between its whirling cylinders and gyrators. The light from the caldera shuddered briefly as a beam of light shot from an aperture at the top of the generator. The light reached a height of 3000 meters before thousands of tendrils spread outward in a dome that drifted down over the valley, merging into the canyon walls.

Once the shield had reached boundaries across the rim of the valley, Sabine called into her comm, “Alright, give it a go.”

Dozens of laser blasts erupted from the skies above, and they splashed harmlessly into the shield generator, which showed no effect from the impacts.

“Not bad,” Sabine called, then she spoke into her comm, “Alright, shut it down. We’ll switch it back on when the bugs arrive.”

Taila joined Kira’s side and explained, “Telvin’s tentative plan is to station a company of Mandalorians, the remaining Jedi, and a Republic platoon to defend the Wellspring. Admiral Antilles and Kit are working out the battle plan now.”

“Admiral Antilles?” Kit asked in confusion. “I thought he was incapacitated.”

Taila turned once again to the Wellspring and said, smiling broadly, “The Force is with us, Kira.”

Kira frowned, finding that Taila’s confidence did not resonate with her. Taila sensed her uncertainty, and she raised an eyebrow. Kira said, “The trouble is, it’s with Ren, too.”

                                                                           ***

Kira soon discovered that the makeshift medical center was much more than just a medical outpost; the compound was also a hastily constructed command center, mess, and headquarters for the Republic defense. She passed the medical component and watched as a droid and several technicians applied bacta treatments to Ben. From Kira’s sense of him, his pain was diminishing rapidly, and secure that he was recovering, she hurried ahead toward the command center. She passed through the flaps of the tented room and saw several Mandalorians, including Din Djarin, around a tactical display along with Kit, Akeyla, and General Telvin. The display above showed the planet and the fleet arrayed around it. The group turned toward her as she approached, and Admiral Antilles rose to his feet, no longer bound by his floating chair.

               Kit rushed forward, embracing Kira. Kira enveloped her in a hug as Kit said, “Thank the Force you’re safe.” Kira smiled in gratitude back to her, and they approached the tactical display together.

               “Uncle, shall we run our plan by Kira?” Kit called, and Admiral Antilles stepped forward, holding his hand out to Kira.

Kira accepted it as Admiral Antilles said, “Please accept my apologies for my actions over the last year.”

               “Thank you, Admiral. Welcome back,” she said, smiling cordially.

               As Kira turned toward the tactical display, Kit said, “Right now, the window in the planetary boundary is only large enough for corvette-class ships and smaller. We’ve sent most of our ships under that classification beneath the barrier surface, where we will position them to fire on any Order of Ren ship attempting to enter the atmosphere.”

               “Meanwhile,” spoke Admiral Antilles, “We have converted a large number of siege munitions into ionic disruption devices, which we have layered in several sprawling fields at the Order of Ren’s suspected approach point. The operation is nearly complete, and at that time, we will withdraw all capitol and support ships to points outside of the planetary sensor range.”

               “Why do that?” Kira asked.

               “We plan to ionically disrupt their fleet and ambush it when their defenses are down,” Kit replied. “We don’t know how long we’ll be able to hold them once that happens, but we hope to cause as much damage as possible before they recover. Maybe we’ll have a fair fight at that point.”

               Kit nodded appreciatively, but her appreciation jarred when General Telvin interjected, “Pity our Chiss friends abandoned us, or else I’d say we have a fighting chance.”

               “And if a Kowakian monkey lizard had wings, it wouldn’t scrape its ass when it climbed,” Kit shot back in disdain for the General.

               Before the General could reply, Admiral Antilles interjected, smiling toward his niece, as he said, “General Telvin, please review our ground defenses.”

               The General huffed momentarily, then turned to the display, which switched toward the valley. “We’ve mapped out this region of the continent, and it appears that the opening of this valley, which leads to the sea, will be a prime approach vector for their ground troops. We’re working with the Wookies to lay siege weapons out to slow them down.”

               “The Wookies are here?” Kira said brightly, and a bellow from behind the tent caused her to turn around. Entering the tent she saw Tarfful accompanied by Chewbacca.

               “Chewie!” she cried, and she raced forward to the Wookie, who embraced her in an enveloping, furry hug.

               General Telvin receded as Chewbacca, Tarfful, and Kira returned to the tactical display. Din Djarin stepped forward and added, “Sabine’s shield should displace all but the most concentrated turbolaser barrage from space, and we will hold out for longer if our space forces are successful in slowing the Order of Ren fleet.”

               “Which leads us to you,” Admiral Antilles said to Kira. Kira hesitated, unsure what the Admiral was referring to. He noticed her confusion and added, “Akeyla explained to me that you might have a way to cross over to the planet Nemsis from this planet?”

               Kira settled her rising anxiety and stepped forward to the tactical display. She selected a portion of the valley’s walls leading to the spot where the Amaya had mysteriously landed after her flight from the Republic on Nal Hutta. “Yes. When I came here before, I followed this path down to the valley, where I met Luke Skywalker. When I returned to my ship to leave, I followed a path to this point,” she enlarged a segment of the map showing the cave gouged into the cliff. “A gateway appeared, and I entered. This led me across a bridge that ended at Nemsis. Ren’s headquarters lay at the other side.”

               “What will you need to do there?” asked Din Djarin.

               “I am not certain,” Kira admitted, “There’s another wellspring on that planet – a dark one – and Ren appears to have bound his life force to it, which prevents him from dying.”

               “There’s more,” spoke a male voice, and Kira turned to see Ben Solo walking into the room. Ben stopped briefly to embrace Chewie before approaching the edge of the tactical display. He turned toward Kira and said, “Kira, do you remember the presence you felt on Nemsis before you faced Ren?”

               “Yes,” Kira said, and the wheels in her mind began to turn.

               “And do you remember how you disrupted the neural activity of that Acronemsis we faced on Xarthax?” Ben asked, and Kira recalled not just that but how the Dichonemses became disoriented when she fought them on Atollon.

               “I’ve been able to disrupt their neural functioning multiple times now. I suspect that they share a common mind,” she said.

               “And the atmospheric concentration on Nemsis suggests a perfect habitat for the Nemsian species. I believe that their hive, and whatever consciousness controls them, is here,” Ben explained.

               “So if we were to destroy the hive. . .” Din Djarin began.

               “We destroy the Nemsis,” Ben confirmed.

               “If that’s the case,” Djarin replied, “I will recruit a team of Mandalorians to lead an incursion on Nemsis in support of Kira. Kira, if you can take out Ren’s connection to the wellspring, we will focus on destroying the hive.”

               “Indeed,” said General Telvin, before adding skeptically, “Assuming that Kira can open this bridge again.”

               Kira blanched as she heard Telvin voice her own doubts out loud. Ben responded, his voice edgy, saying, “If anyone can do this, it’s Kira.”

               “If that’s the case,” replied Telvin, “I can spare two squadrons of elite Republic special forces.”

               Djarin replied, “Don’t bother. Better to keep them here. The Mandalorians have more body armor, more fire power, more breathing support. . .”
               “And,” Kira interjected. “Ren has captured dozens of Jedi throughout the years and has kept them encased in carbonite for experiments. If we can free these Jedi. . .”

               “They’ll have hibernation sickness,” Telvin shot back.

               “Yes, but even Luke Skywalker with hibernation sickness is a formidable foe,” Ben responded, and Kira was heartened to hear the note of pride as Ben vouched for his uncle.

               “Very good,” said Admiral Antilles. “Madame Chancellor? Your thoughts?”

               “It’s the best plan we have,” she admitted. “I, too, wish the Chiss were here, as it increases our odds of survival significantly. However, with what we have available, I cannot see a better option.”

               “Alright, then,” called Kit. “Let’s get to work!”

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

Kira remained with the tactical planning group to debrief command on Erys’s peculiarities while also taking a moment to catch up with Chewbacca. As she did so, she watched the fleet disperse on the tactical display save for four Interdictor cruisers. Judging by their location, they were near the area Kira observed on the approach to the planet where the smaller support ships had been bustling about. As Chewbacca rumbled on about events on Kashyyyk, Kit approached, putting a hand on Kira’s shoulder. Kira looked over to the display at the four interdictor cruisers.

               “Why haven’t they jumped?” Kira asked.

               “Oh that? That’s a little welcome gift from the fleet. Sabine Wren helped us make some modifications to the Interdictors’ drives. Should be quite exciting,” Kit said, smiling broadly.

               Kira smiled back, then turned to hug Chewbacca goodbye. He stalked off with Tarfful and General Telvin to finish ground assault preparations. Kit turned to her, and the two women stood in silence with too many things to relay to each other.

               “I lost Jax,” Kit said, breaking the silence, and she hung her head in shame.

               “I heard about Chandrila,” Kira said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. If I had been. . .”

               “Or if Leia had been. . . or if Luke had been. . .,” Kit responded, without much bitterness.

               “Story of the past two weeks,” Kira said, failing to keep her own bitterness out of her response.

               Kit looked at her searchingly, and Kira had the sense Kit was trying to find some secret reassurance that would tell her that this was all going to turn out okay. Kira smiled wistfully, realizing there was no such assurance to give.

               “This was part of the plan, right?” Kit asked, her eyes searching and eager.

               Kira exhaled as she returned Kit’s pained, frightened glance. Realizing she did not have a good answer for that, she tried to deflect, saying, “I thought you didn’t care for those ‘crazy Jedi things.’”

               “You know what I mean,” Kit replied, rolling her eyes. “Leia. She had a plan, didn’t she?”

               “I wish I knew the answer to that,” Kira acknowledged sadly.

               “Well, doesn’t matter now, does it?” Kit asked, then, brightening somewhat with her characteristic determination, said, “One way or the other, we’re going to make them pay for every inch.”

               “Every inch,” Kira affirmed, as Kit’s determination bolstered her own.  

               “Hey, you come back in one piece alright?” Kit said, her eyes brimming with tears.

               “I’ll do my best,” Kira said grimly.

She reached forward to embrace Kit, and as Kit squeezed her hard, she said, “I’ve already lost enough friends this week.”

               “I’ll see if I can reach Jax before we go in,” Kira said, rubbing Kit’s back. She withdrew from the embrace, holding Kit’s shoulders as Kit wiped her tears away. Kira smiled, saying, “Good luck up there,” and with a last look at the tactical, she turned and walked away. Kit watched Kira walk away, a lonely, sad emotion threatening to spill over. She exhaled, the turned to bustle off to the other side of the tent to a shuttle that would take her back to the Harpy, where she could help direct the battle.

               Kira left the tent and walked back out to the rim of the wellspring. As she had experienced before, it was difficult not to get lost in it, and she suspected that under happier times, she could have spent years in meditation at this spot. She reached her hand out, and the tangible Force energy flowed over and around her outstretched arm as a sensation of warmth stole over her. It was pure and unadulterated; unlike anything she had ever felt before. She smiled as she imagined her mother and Leia lingering on as a part of the living Force radiating from this spot.

               A ripple in the Force told her of somebody approaching, and she turned to see Din Djarin and Sabine Wren walking toward her. Djarin had a sack over his right shoulder, and he trailed behind Sabine. Kira turned to receive them, and Djarin dropped the sack onto the ground gently, its contents rattling metallically.

               “We’ve put together our team, and we’re ready to depart,”  Djarin said.

               “Thank you for your help. I’m glad I won’t be facing this alone,” Kira said.

               “Skywalker once saved my life and the life of someone very dear to me,” Djarin said. “The Jedi have been a friend to the Mandalorians ever since.”

               “Ahsoka was also a friend. She told me about you when she began training you,” Sabine said. “It will be an honor to fight beside you.”

               Kira’s smile radiated gratitude toward the two, and she looked down at the sack. “What’s in the bag?” she asked.

               Djarin knelt and reached into the bag. He pulled out a Mandalorian helmet which caused Kira to gasp.

               “Is that Panga’s?” Kira asked.

               “Yes,” Sabine said. “It’s not customary to dress outsiders in beskar. But these circumstances are anything but customary.”

               Djarin handed the helmet to Kira, and she accepted it tentatively. She looked back up at Djarin, unsure of whether to place it on her head. He nodded encouragingly, saying, “Go on.”

               She placed the helmet over her head, and immediately the breathing apparatus kicked in as the viewscreen activated. Sabine handed over her gauntlets, and she said, “I took the liberty of reverse engineering and fabricating her chameleon tech. We’re all going in with the same gear. The beskar will protect you from lightsaber blows.”

               Kira looked at the gauntlet and held it up, moved beyond words. “I don’t know what to say,” she said.

               “Then save it for the bugs,” Sabine said, and she handed Panga’s breastplate over.

               Minutes later, Kira had been fully outfitted, with Sabine making the adjustments to fine tune the fit. When she was fully dressed, Sabine and Djarin walked away with the promise to depart in ten minutes. The armor was surprisingly light, and she activated her lightsabers, working through a brief warm up to get a feel for how it would affect her dexterity. To her delight, the beskar had minimal effect, with no impairment to her flexibility. She shut down her lightsabers, clipping them to her belt before she removed the gloves they had placed over her hands and shot a blast of lightning into the sky.

               “Too bad you didn’t have that on Atollon. Ren would be a bag of body parts right now,” she heard a male voice say from behind her. She turned to see Ben standing behind her, smiling appreciatively.

               “That’s gross,” Kira smiled, and she tossed the gloves to Ben. He caught them and stuffed them in his pocket. She removed her helmet and stepped forward. As she approached, Ben’s smile faded, and worry replaced his good humor.

               They stood facing each other for a silent minute, volumes of unspoken thoughts and emotions passing between them. Kira could feel Ben’s regret, as well as a steely resignation toward the grave sacrifices might ensue. His eyes spoke of determination, as well as longing and sadness.  

“You come back, now. You hear?” he said, and Kira, abandoning their old rule of not reading his emotions, felt the wave of his grief crash through his psyche. He had lost his mother, his father, and his uncle, and it was clear he was not sure he’d be able to handle another loss.

               “Don’t you worry,” she smiled, projecting a confidence she did not feel. “In and out, and back in time to clean up the leftovers.”

               “Kira, I. . .” Ben began, and Kira had the sense of a conflicted, confused flurry of emotions jockeying for supremacy in his mind.

               She stepped forward, squeezing his hand as she put her own unspoken thoughts and feelings into the gesture. Leaning in, she imparted a kiss on his cheek. As she pulled away, it still appeared that he wanted to say something, but, remembering the times when Leia had done it to both of them, she put her finger to his lips, shushing him. She stepped backwards, holding his gaze for a few steps before saying, “May the Force be with you, Ben Solo.”

Ben nodded somberly as she jogged off to join the Mandalorians.
                                                                                          ***

Kit sat aboard the Harpy, watching from the newly installed tactical scanner as the fleet arrived at its various jump points. The stragglers from around the galaxy, including forces of varying sizes from Mon Cala, Kuat, Corellia, and dozens of other systems were folding into the primary fleets under her uncle’s guidance from Home Two, and now Kit waited, watching for the Order of Ren to arrive. All that remained of their capitol ships above the planet were the quartet of Interdictor cruisers. Each ship had been evacuated and left with all systems running, and despite her state of high anxiety, Kit felt a current of excitement at seeing how that particular plan would shake out. 

               “How’s it looking, Kit?” called her uncle’s voice. She was relieved to hear the old crispness and precision returning, and again she marveled at the healing power of the wellspring on the planet below.

               “Quiet,” Kit responded. “Sensors showing anything yet?”

               “We’ve picked up reports of a fleet massing in the Rakata Prime sector, but that was 20 minutes ago. They may already be on the move,” Admiral Antilles explained.

               “Copy,” Kit acknowledged before switching over her channel. “Erys base, no sign of our guests yet. Are the ships in position?”

               “Copy, Harpy,” replied Ben Solo. “All ships in position.”

               Kit took a deep, steadying breath, knowing it could be the last full, uninhibited breath she might take. As she exhaled, the proximity warning on the Harpy’s console began to flash.

               “We got incoming!” Kit called across all channels, then she switched her comms onto standby to avoid receiving any incoming messages that would give away her position.

                                                                                          ***

The Grysk flagship hurtled through hyperspace on route to the coordinates recently provided by their master, with the crew on high alert in preparation for the assault. Commander Rykshnash surveyed his crew on the bridge, bathed in diffused red light that cast deep pools of shadow over the masked Grysk officers working at their terminals in preparation for the final, glorious victory. Ren had spoken to them about this battle breaking the spine of the Resistance, which would leave the galaxy vulnerable to a swift invasion. Soon, thought Rykshnash, the Grysk would be unleashed on the galaxy, free to swarm and maraud as they saw fit – provided they grant the requisite spoils as necessary tribute to their master.

               The proximity alert sounded on the bridge, signaling the end of their run in twenty seconds. Fifteen seconds after the proximity alert sounded, Rykshnash nearly fell from his chair as the ship screeched to a halt. His tactical display indicated five seconds remaining in their jump, yet the jump had ended prematurely. As the rest of the crew regained its balance and footing, Rykshnash furrowed his ridged brow at the sight before him. In the distance, four Republic Interdictor cruisers sat in containment formation without any support ships to protect them. Adding to his confusion, the planet they were expecting to see was not there – at least visually. The scanners suggested the presence of a massive gravitational well, yet there was no visual at the coordinates.

               Stealing himself, he hailed Ren, whose ship remained in transit, waiting for the all-clear from the Grysk that the Resistance fleet was either pacified or in retreat. Moments later, Ren’s skull-like helmet filled the viewscreen of the bridge.

               “What is it, Commander?” Ren’s modulated voice said, carrying a hint of threat and displeasure.

               Rykshnash spoke, his voice conveying a guttural, scraping quality as he reported in halting Basic. “We reach planet, only no planet. No fleet; only four Interdictor.”

               Ren paused as he gazed into the distance momentarily. He turned back and said, “The planet is shielded by the Force. Eliminate the Resistance ships but be wary of an ambush. Report back as ordered.”

               “As you wish,” Rykshnash responded as Ren’s face vanished.

                                                                                          ***

Kit watched as hundreds of jagged, angular Grysk cruisers and frigates materialized out of hyperspace at the gravity well boundary projected by the four Interdictor cruisers. From Kit’s distant vantage, they were tiny points of light, but she knew they were only a 15-minute sublight run from the firing range on the planet. Kit watched from the tactical display as the fleet began to reorganize into defensive formations, as they adjusted from coming out of hyperspace earlier than anticipated. Hmm, she thought to herself. Only Grysk, so far. I wonder where the command ship and battlecruisers are?

Once the defensive formations were set, Kit triggered the pre-recorded message that hailed the incoming fleet. She listened as her uncle’s voice said, “Incoming fleet. Welcome to Erys. This is Admiral Vax Antilles, commander of the United Resistance forces. We give you this opportunity to leave now, lest death and destruction rain upon your people. We will give you five minutes to stand down your defenses, after which point, we can discuss your immediate surrender.”

Kit smiled tightly, knowing that the incoming fleet would disregard the message. No response came, and instead the fleet forged ahead. Kit held her breath in the hope that they would just get a little closer before firing on the Interdictors. The front vanguard of the fleet came within firing range of the Interdictors, and they opened fire. The Interdictors absorbed the first few blasts, but moments later, all hell broke loose. Kit threw her arm over her face to protect her eyes from the blinding flash as all four Interdictors blew up at once. 

As the brilliant white flash dissipated, Kit watched as four concurrent shockwaves radiated outward. The leading edges of the shockwaves tore into the vanguard of the Grysk fleet, and the closest ships were torn apart by the blast. Moments later, the Harpy began to shake violently as the shockwave reached her position. Her ship weathered the blast without damage, as she had positioned herself outside the radius. Her chameleon tech and communications briefly blanked out before recovering from the system shock. Kit checked her scanners as the chaos from the explosions seemed to have distracted the incoming fleet. As the tactical display came back online, she counted 37 Grysk ships destroyed and 43 disabled. 487 ships remained.

Damnit! Kit cursed to herself. If only they had held off a little longer. And without the Nemsian command ships and battlecruisers on hand, the Grysk ships represented only a portion of the Order of Ren’s might.

Kit watched as the shock waves dissipated, and the Grysk fleet began to push forward toward the atmospheric boundary. They moved quickly, covering a considerable amount of distance within minutes. As they reached what appeared to be their prescribed siege location, the cruisers settled into formation. There was a brief pause, and Kit imagined their commanders taking a read of the planet’s atmospheric anomalies and attempting to make sense of them. That pause came to an end as the Grysk formation opened fire. Kit watched with mingled dread and curiosity as hundreds of ships opened fire in unison on the opaque, mysterious atmospheric boundary. Thousands of turbolaser blasts slammed into the boundary, and as each hit, the energy splashed against the boundary, radiating outward along the perimeter in a dazzling display of light. The Grysk fleet continued to fire for nearly 15 minutes, and the perimeter held solid, with light splashing and flashing across the boundary, deflected away instead of absorbed.

The bombardment stopped, and Kit scanned her passive sensor data. The only significant change in the boundary appeared that the window into the planet’s atmosphere had enlarged imperceptibly - still too small for frigates and cruisers, but perhaps large enough for transports. The Grysk fleet’s silence suggested that they were puzzling over the lack of damage, and after two minutes of inactivity, a Grysk frigate dispatched from the formation and headed straight toward the window. Kit found herself holding her breath as the frigate closed in, and as it reached the window, a brilliant flash of light followed by a cloud of debris showed that the edges of the atmospheric window had sheared away most of the ship’s flank and its superstructure. Only a small portion of its heavily damaged fuselage was able to pass through.

Well, that’s one way to find out, Kit thought to herself as flame and debris rippled around the edge of the window.

                                                                           ***

Ben Solo looked through his binoculars toward the atmospheric window hundreds of kilometers out above the ocean. A burst of flame erupted through the window, and moments later, the flaming fuselage of a ship, virtually unidentifiable from the damage, tumbled down to the ocean below. Moments later, it hit the water, accompanied by a massive splash. Knowing that the Grysk fleet had figured out how the boundary worked by now, Ben called into his comms, saying, “All fighters, stand by. Lock S-foils in attack positions.”

                                                                                          ***

Kit leaned over the tactical display and watched as hundreds of signals emerged from the hangar bays of the Grysk ships. The tactical display calculated the number of emerging ships, indicating an escalating count of more than a thousand fighters, hundreds of shuttles and transports, and hundreds of freighters. The small craft coalesced into a column that aimed straight at the window, and as hoped, they appeared ready to push through in single-file. Kit kept her comms silent still, assuming that Solo had seen the frigate fall through in flames and that he was. As the first fighters in the column approached the window, she held her breath.

                                                                                          ***

“Here they come!” Ben called. “All units prepare to fire. Stagger your fire to preserve your batteries. Backup, standby! Supply ships, standby!”

                                                                                          ***

Commander Wex Antilles settled into his seat, noting the incoming signals approaching the window. From his forward position in the alpha triangle, he spearheaded the front wave of defensive fire with several other X-wings and A-wings from Black and Orange squadrons. He glanced at the other two columns, which had been arrayed in off-set triangular formations to eliminate the potential for crossfire. He watched on his scanner as the first ships approached the window. Any second now. . .

               “All squadrons prepare to fire on my mark!” called Commander Antilles, as several Grysk fighters shot through the window and into the planet’s atmosphere.

“Fire!” Commander Antilles cried.

On his command, the assembled squadrons of Republic fighters, Resistance fighters, Mandalorian starfighters, Wookie fighters, and myriad individual craft opened fire, their laser blasts forming a deadly web of supercharged energy. The first dozen ships vaporized instantaneously, and waves of Grysk fighters in two’s and three’s began to funnel through the bottleneck created by the window. As planned, the Resistance forces staggered their fire to avoid overheating their turbolaser batteries, and as the current of Grysk fighters flowed through the window to their awaiting deaths, the first ships from the vanguard retreated from the front line to allow their turbolasers to recharge. Reserve units drifted into position and resumed fire, creating a nearly unbroken chain of fire trained on the incoming fighters as the vanguard maneuvered into the back of the line to maintain a continuous loop of fresh ships.

The Grysk forces continued with their single-minded attempt to break through the window, but the Resistance fire had remained so consistent that not a single ship had made it more than a kilometer below the atmospheric boundary. After five minutes of persistent waves of fighters attempting to break through, the waves of fighters stopped as the Grysk became aware that they were continuing to send their forces through a meat grinder. Wex eased off his firing control as a premonition of dread settled on him.

“All ships high alert! Fall back half a kilometer from your current position in case of. . .” Wex called.

Several gravity bombs passed through the window, and as they descended through the column of retreating fighters, they erupted in sonic blasts. Shockwaves radiated out from a dozen points, tearing into fighters in the front of the column. Several more gravity bombs passed through the window, and this time most of the remaining forces had gained enough distance to clear the blast radius. Several more shockwaves erupted, tearing through a handful of stragglers. Moments after the second blasts, the second wave of Grysk fighters shot through, and Wex called out, “Reform the line!”

As the Resistance fighters moved back toward their positions, the Grysk fighters tore through the boundary, disrupting the attempt to reorganize. The Grysk opened fire, and several Resistance fighters erupted in flame. Some of the Grysk fighters tore away from the window, streaking away from the columns.

“Orange Squadron, Teal squadron, pursuit!” Wex called, and two squadrons of A-wing fighters peeled away from the columns and tore off after the escaping Grysk fighters.

Shuttles had begun to join the fighters as the Grysk took advantage of the deteriorating defenses. The lower reaches held, but with the upper reaches of the columns in disarray, more ships broke through the lines. Outgoing fire became progressively less effective, and Wex watched as an X-wing in the column opposite took friendly fire, erupting into a ball of flame.

“Upper columns, take evasive action! Lower columns reconfigure!” Wex cried as he nudged his X-wing into a dive after a Grysk shuttle accompanied by a pair of Grysk fighters.

Wex tore after the freighter, laying into it with his blasters. The blasts tore through the shuttle, and the Grysk fighters peeled away, coming around to flank him. Wex broke after the starboard fighter, and as he did so, an A-wing shot past, trailing smoke. The A-wing managed to squeeze off a volley, taking out the portside fighter, and Wex squeezed off several more shots, which blew through the fighter he was pursuing.

“All squadrons, engage at will,” Wex heard Ben Solo call, and he watched as the column dispersed into a hornet’s nest of activity as Resistance fighters engaged the encroaching Grysk ships one-on-one.

                                                                           ***

Ben Solo watched his tactical display as the columns had broken apart near the window. They had taken out nearly 250 fighters before the Grysk had shifted tactics, and they had lost 57 ships once the Grysk had shifted to gravity charges to disperse the columns. Countless dogfights broke out in the skies above the ocean, and their radar tracker showed several Grysk ships breaking away from the combat to approach the valley.

               “Is Kira away?” Ben called.

               “The defense perimeter encloses the bridge, so it doesn’t matter,” replied General Telvin. “Now’s the time,” he said.

               “All ground forces and air defense forces, prepare for incoming assault,” Ben called. Then he turned toward a Mandalorian standing near the control panel for the shield and said, “Activate shields!”

               The energy dancing within the Wellspring flickered, and the boundary above the planet also flickered briefly as the shield activated. A beam of light shot two kilometers into the sky and then spread outward in a dome of energy. Ben could see through the descending haze of the energy as it settled to the ridges of the canyon above, and he hoped beyond hope that Kira was out of range.

               Defensive fire erupted up and down the valley as breakaway Grysk ships pursued by Resistance fighters streaked toward Ben’s position. Several of the Grysk fighters erupted, but one shuttle appeared to make it through the barrage of anti-aircraft fire unscathed. It streaked toward their position, aiming straight for the Wellspring. As soon as it reached the boundary of the shield, the energy field vaporized the shuttle, sending debris flying forward into the walls of the valley behind the wellspring. As more and more Grysk fighters and shuttles broke through, Ben watched as hundreds of anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the approaching ships while the Resistance fighters scattered across the hemisphere, either pursued or in pursuit of the enemy.

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

As the Mandalorian company lifted off the ground, Kira engaged her own jetpack and rose uncertainly into the air. Sabine Wren hovered nearby, waiting to see if Kira would steady herself before offering help. Kira grounded herself in the Force and felt the countervailing pressures acting on her body, and with an intuitive adjustment, she righted herself, finding the equilibrium from the Force of the jet pack against the planet’s gravity. Sabine nodded before shooting off toward the rim of the valley, and Kira followed suit, soaring away from the Wellspring and the Resistance command center below.

               Moments later, the company reached the rim of the valley next to the ancient uneti tree overlooking the valley a kilometer below. Kira looked to the sky and watched as turbolaser fire slammed into the atmospheric boundary, dispersing harmlessly into splashes of color that arced across the sky. She could barely make out the columns of Resistance fighters lying in wait below the window. The numerous anti-aircraft batteries on the rim of the valley and in the valley below lay obscured by camouflage and forest, and in the silence and stillness of the moment, Kira inhaled what she felt could be her last free breath before the storm surge arrived.              

               She turned back to the assembled Mandalorians and nodded to Din Djarin, who stepped aside for Kira to lead the way toward the entrance to the cave. Kira stepped forward, retracing what she remembered of the route between the tree and the cave over melting snow. After a couple of wrong turns, she found the spot where the gateway between the two worlds had appeared. An echoing boom rolled across the landscape, and through a gap in the trees, Kira could see the first puffs of smoke and explosions signifying that the Resistance fighters were engaging the incoming Grysk ships.

               Kira took a deep breath and settled herself against her rising anxiety for her friends. Reaching deep into the Force, she felt the powerful presence of the wellspring nearby, and the familiar, welcome sense of life proliferating throughout the planet. The urgency of combat distorted the flow of the Force, and the turmoil radiated through the planet’s creatures, both sentient and otherwise. Although her connection to the Force deepened, the barrier remained steady, and she sensed the Mandalorians behind her shifting nervously.

               She took another deep breath, and raising her hand, she verbalized through her mind: I am here to follow the will of the Force. For nearly a full minute, nothing happened. But as Kira stretched out her feelings deeper toward the gate, she had a sense of something opening. Her senses entwined around the opening in the Force, and with her gentle encouragement, it grew. She felt the Mandalorians around her shift from impatience to surprise as she saw the gateway materialize in front of them.

As the gateway materialized, she opened her eyes to see that the cave had deepened, resolving into darkness beyond. She could feel the Force urging her onward, contrasting against a visceral jolt of fear at knowing what lay beyond. She hesitated as her thoughts drifted back to Jax. By now, he would be lightyears away, perhaps on the other end of the galaxy, returning to his home planet at the head of the Chiss armada. She reached out her senses, allowing the strength of the planet’s Wellspring to amplify her search, and within moments, she felt her consciousness graze his. Jax, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you need to know that Thrawn betrayed me. Ren found us on Atollon, and Thrawn was the only one who knew where to find it. We are about to enter Nemsis. I’m going to stop this, once and for all. If I can, I will bring your daughter back. I know we’ve hurt you, but please, we need you now.

               Jax issued no response, and she sighed, feeling disappointed. Deeply saddened, she turned toward the Mandalorians and said, “Follow me. Stay in a single-file column; do not stray from the bridge.”

               As before, darkness fell quickly as she entered the cave. The Mandalorians behind her activated flashlights, which illuminated the cave’s rocky floor. Kira ignited one of her lightsabers, and she led the way through the cave with the golden glow of her saber illuminating the damp stone walls and ceiling. They pushed ahead for several minutes when a Mandalorian uttered through his comm, “What the?”

               The dank stone walls of the cave had vanished, and in their place was a transparent bridge arcing across an infinite field of stars. Kira heard the subtle whispers resonating and echoing through the Force, although she could not discern their meaning nor isolate any particular voice.

Sensing anxiety from the Mandalorians behind her, she said, “You will not fall. Stay in single file behind me, and do not deviate.”

               Kira turned back to the path ahead of her, and as before, she saw a distant light swirling in pursuit of a shadow. She approached cautiously, watching as the light swirled and chased a sinuous tendril of shadow, locked in an eternal dance. At times, the light grew, and at other times, the shadow nearly overcame it. She stood before it, dimly aware of the fear and wonder radiating from the Mandalorians behind her as she reached out her hand to touch it. As it had the first time she had been here, the light and shadow ceased their dance, instead entwining around her arm all the way up to her shoulder, encasing her arm in a warm, enveloping sensation. The light and shadow shimmered and rippled at first until merging into golden light shot through with streaks of silver.

               The chorus of indistinct whispers rose in intensity and fervor as Kira whispered, “Balance lies in the middle.”

               As the words left her lips, she felt the shift in the Force as a gateway appeared before her. The outline of the gateway grew distinct through red and purple lines, outlining the entrance to a new cave that she suspected would lead straight to the Well of Nemsis.

               “Activate chameleon tech,” she heard Din Djarin’s voice say through the comms, and she activated her own tech. As the gateway solidified and opened to the other world, a sense of warning and caution emerged in her consciousness. Her sense through the Force revealed over a dozen malicious, cruel creatures fluttering just beyond the gateway.

               Whispering into her commlink, she said, “The Acronemses hunt by sensing emotion. Allow yourself to feel fear and anger – as much as you can muster without succumbing to panic. Hold those emotions as long as you can.”

               She felt the wave of confusion at the order, but as the Mandalorians acknowledged the instructions, she felt the stirring of anger, frustration, and fear radiating from behind her. The anger was palpable - almost overwhelming - and it spoke to the decades of suffering the Manadlorians had suffered at the hands of the Seperatists, the Empire, the Republic, and now the Order of Ren. From beyond the gateway, Kira felt a sense of excitement mounting, and she knew the Acronemses on the other side anticipated slaughter and feasting. Kira centered herself, opening herself up to the overwhelming power of the Nemsian wellspring nearly surging amidst the sense of the malevolence of the Acronemses ahead. She allowed the darkness to pass through her as well, refusing to struggle with the emotions that flared up briefly, only to quickly wither and die as she allowed them to move on their way. She brought her focus solely to bear on the Acronemses, who grew more excited still. As her emotions to settled and quieted, she stepped forward, walking slowly and deliberately.

               She reached the verge of the cave and had the sense of the Acronemses swarming around her. She stopped now and again, careful to avoid inadvertently bumping into one of the monstrous creatures. At times, she had to dance in unison with an Acronemsis settling into position, allowing the Force to guide her movements and actions to avoid the swarm. Her mind noted 20 distinct creatures, each tied to a central mind.

               She had reached the rearguard of the creatures, and she turned. The Mandalorians approached the entrance of the cave, and although the Acronemses could not see them visually, she had the sense that they could sense them. They remained determined not to venture out of the cave, and as they swarmed in excitement, waiting for the Mandalorians to approach, Kira muttered, “Now.”

               As she did so, the Acronemses in the rear guard turned in shock just as Kira unleashed a volley of electric energy. The energy tore through the rearguard just as the Mandalorian weapons erupted in a devastating barrage. Kira unleashed another barrage, and the Acronemses rushing in her direction writhed in agony as they hung suspended between lightning and laser blasts. Kira rolled to the side as a rocket soared through the formation, and with a gentle nudge from the Force, Kira sent the rocket screaming into a cluster of Acronemses huddling against the wall of the cave. Kira leapt forward with both lightsabers blazing, and she cut through the remaining beasts who had activated their lightsabers to deflect the incoming fire. The last standing Acronemsis turned to intercept her, blocking her assault with its own blades. Moments later, the beast crumpled to the ground as several blasts tore through its abdomen.

               “Nice shooting,” Kira said as she beckoned the Mandalorians into the entrance of the cave and beyond into the main cavern. They tiptoed around the smoking bodies of the Acronemses into the main chamber. The cavernous chamber remained as Kira remembered it, save for Ren’s absence. Shadows obscured the high-arching ceiling, and the walls lining the chamber held the carbonite sarcophaguses of more than two dozen beings. The polished basaltic floor led to a dais, which held a jagged throne. Behind the dais, a vortex of black energy swirled angrily as a red wound pulsated across it. The wound appeared bigger to Kira than before, and she wondered what kind of impact Ren’s actions were having on the wound now. As she wondered, the question entered her mind: Great, you found your way back. Now what do you do?”

               “What next?” Sabine asked, mirroring Kira’s own doubts, and she turned to see the Mandalorians gathered around her. Some had encircled behind her waiting for a potential emerging threat to approach them from their rear. Kira stretched out her senses, and once again she could feel a massive, malevolent presence from below. She turned toward the cave behind the gateway, and she saw a passageway that appeared to lead away from the cavern and down. Stretching out her senses, she gained an awareness that creatures were down there, perhaps waiting to ambush.

               “There are creatures down that passage, and they may be waiting to ambush. If you have lifeform sensors, activate them,” Kira said.

               “And what do we do about that?” Din Djarin asked, pointing toward the Wellspring.

               “I’m working on it,” Kira said, uncertain of how to actually work on a problem so massive and opaque.

She looked up at the line of sarcophaguses along the wall, and she spotted a familiar form frozen in agony. Setting aside the questions of what to do, she rushed ahead toward the body and saw the frozen form of Luke Skywalker. She searched the sarcophagus for the controls, but unlike the typical sarcophagi commonly used by the galaxy’s bounty hunters, there did not appear to be any external controls.

               “Everyone you see here is a Jedi. If we can find a way to unfreeze them and lead them back to Erys, they will recover from their hibernation sickness and aid in the fight. Spread out and see if you can find the control panel.” Kira said.

               As Kira relayed the order, a strange sensation rippled down her spine, and she turned instinctively toward the throne. Several adjacent Mandalorians picked up on her sudden shift, and they turned as well, bringing their weapons to bear. Kira winced as a wave of cackling laughter rolled through the room like thunder, rising in pitch and intensity before trailing off in an echo that Kira felt rattling through her psyche. The Mandalorians also winced, although not as deeply as Kira, who felt the wave of pain and rage through the Force as clear as a lightsaber cutting through sinew. As the laughter trailed off, the air before Ren’s throne rippled and shimmered, and the figure of a man, robed and hooded, coalesced slowly before the throne.

               Kira watched in dread as the figure materialized, and she could sense the Mandalorians backing away. A door on the other side of the dais opened, and a cloaked, hooded figure passed into the chamber, radiating a powerful hatred. The Mandalorians raised their weapons, preparing to fire, but the figure stood and waited as the figure on the dais finished coalescing. There, before Ren’s throne and in the shadow of the Well of Nemsis, tinged in a red aura and radiating a vicious hatred, stood the image of Darth Sidious. Sidious raised his hand and pointed directly at Kira, and once again, the Emperor’s laughter reverberated throughout the chamber. Kira felt an ancient, rising panic threatening to awake and rise within her, and her knees nearly gave out as the cloaked figure circled around the dais, climbing the stairs to stand by the Emperor’s side. Kira could sense something horribly familiar about the figure, despite being unable to see its face.

               “What do we do?” Kira heard Din Djarin’s voice in her earpiece. His voice sounded hollow and distant, as if fighting against a suffocating cloud of fear that had settled over Kira’s brain. The sound of the voice brought her back to her awareness of why she was here, and the images of dimly lit corridors that threatened to overwhelm Kira’s mind subsided as she heard Sabine say, “Prepare to fire!”

               “Wait!” Kira called, and she righted herself. The Mandalorians kept their weapons ready, but did not fire and advance. “This isn’t your fight. Find the Nemsis and take it out. If you can release the Jedi, do it.”

               “What about you? We can cover you,” Sabine said as the dark presence began to step forward.

               The Emperor cackled maliciously in response. The cloaked figure raised its hands and sent torrents of red lightning toward the assembled Mandalorians. Kira reacted immediately, her instincts supplanting her fear. Her twin golden blades erupted, and she spread her arms out, catching the lightning as it danced around her blades before dissipating harmlessly.

               “Go!” Kira commanded, and the Mandalorians backed away slowly before the rearguard turned and jogged toward the door that Kira had indicated upon their arrival.

               Sabine lingered by her side, and Kira waived her hand backwards, sending Sabine sliding after the company of Mandalorians. She muttered into her comm, “I’ll find you when I’m finished here.”

               Sabine cursed into her intercom, but Kira had the sense that Sabine had trailed after the rest of the company in search of the Nemsis.

               The Emperor laughed again, lifting his arms, palms up, in a gesture of malicious mirth. “My girl,” the Emperor growled.

               “You can’t hurt me. You died at Endor,” Kira spat back, settling into a defensive posture as the cloaked figure removed its lightsaber. The figure did not ignite it, but it appeared ready to spring at any moment.

               “Oh, yes,” the Emperor replied, “But the Sith – we are eternal.”

               “I’m here to end this,” Kira shot back, eyeing the cloaked figure, anticipating the strike.

               The Emperor smiled beneath his hood, and said, “You believe the Force’s will guides you? Only one thing guides the planet. It suffers no weakness. Is suffers no balance. All that matters is power.”

               Kira hesitated, her retort about balance dying in her mouth. She knew that the cloaked figure refrained from attacking only as long as the Emperor spoke, and feeling her resolve wavering, she grasped for a way to keep him talking.

She shot back, “Let me guess. . .”

               “No, let me show you,” the Emperor replied. And with his reply, Kira’s vision went black as her lightsabers extinguished. Her awareness of where she was subsided, and she saw herself standing on Erys. Ren’s body lay before her, smoking slightly from her final, victorious assault. She felt waves of power and rage radiating from her, and all around her stood in awe. She saw her friends, safe and protected. Erys and Nemsis remained bridged, and the darkness flowed out of Nemsis while the light flowed out of Erys. 

               You can’t survive this fight, the Emperor’s voice echoed through her mind. Destroy Ren, that foul corrupter who has plagued the Force, weakening the foundations of the galaxy. Return to this place; set things right, and rule the galaxy with might and righteousness.

               Kira saw herself sitting on Ren’s throne, which had been smoothed down. Akeyla Ismaren, Din Djarin, and Jax bowed before her. She felt a palpable sense of order restored. And there, walking through the center of an assemblage of Chiss, Resistance officers, and Mandalorians, walked a woman clad in a flowing white tunic, radiating light.

               With this power, you can make much right again.

               Next the woman, Leia Organa appeared, followed by Luke. Ben was there, whole, healthy, and smiling. The woman stepped forward, reaching her arms out to embrace Kira.

               “Mother?” Kira whispered.

               Yes, the Emperor purred. Unlimited power. Take my side, and all can be restored. Turn away, and as I promised you when you failed your trial, you will be the ruin of all.

               The vision vanished, and Kira saw herself, dead on the ground, with the cloaked figure standing above her, crimson blade ignited. She saw Erys, bathed in yellow clouds, its towering trees charred, skeletal husks. Flaming ships streaked through the fetid atmosphere, crashing into a boiling sea. In the middle, the Wellspring had gone out, its light extinguished. In its place, a void, empty and dark. Littered around the Wellspring lay the bodies of her friends: Ben, Akeyla, Chewbacca, Kit, and Taila.

               Kira’s vision swam back into focus, although the image still remained imprinted in her mind. The Emperor raised his arms and cackled, and the figure next to him stood patiently, waiting for its moment. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath amidst her fear at the terrible choice before her. The images of her friends, dead, cycled through her mind as the Emperor waited, smiling gleefully.

               Her mind settled on Ben’s face, vacant and staring. A quiet voice inside her mind knew that the vision could be a lie, although as she considered the odds against their successful defense of Erys, she knew that the lie could easily become prophecy. Ren could already be approaching the Wellspring, with little to stop him. She heard Ben’s voice in her head saying, “You come back now, you hear?” She understood that there would be no coming back, one way or another. She glanced at the cloaked figure, who remained primed to attack, and the Emperor, still smiling. She pulled herself away from the brink and made her choice.

               She kneeled, slowly, bowing toward the Emperor, her mind blank and her heart racing. She heard his cackle echo through the chamber. As the cackle trailed off, Kira thrust her hands forward, ejecting torrents of blue-white lightning through the Emperor’s ghost. The ghost vanished, and the lightning caught around a crimson blade.

               The figure had ignited its blade and stood looking down at Kira, its face still shrouded. As Kira’s lightning dissipated, the figure raised its free hand to lower the hood, leaving Kira to stare into her own face, her eyes shot through with yellow and red, her skin pallid and psoriatic – a mirror image, corrupted by the rot of Nemsis.      

                                                                                          ***

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sabine Wren grumbled to Din Djarin as they led their way down a stone corridor. Their masks filtered out the rotten stench of sulphur as their atmospheric sensors indicated that the atmosphere was now only marginally breathable. With their masks able to provide a steady supply of oxygen for hours, they had little concern about running out of air. But with the growing signature of a massive set of lifeforms ahead, Din Djarin noted a similar apprehension about the odds his people faced. He had long believed, with a lifetime of experience to back it up, that one Mandalorian was worth a hundred shock troopers. However, the horrors they had just faced upon entering this hellhole would have been more than most Mandalorians could cope with, and who knew what nightmares awaited below.

               Din stepped forward, leading the way cautiously as the Mandalorians behind him followed, their weapons at the ready. Din had removed the Darksaber from his belt, and he felt its comfortable weight in his hands, knowing that the blade would spring to life eagerly, ready to strike down his foes. A light ahead suggested the end of the passageway, and as he neared, he held his hand up, signaling for the others to stop. Peering around a corner where the passageway bent to the left, he activated a small drone, which flitted up from his wrist gauntlet and hovered into the air. His field of vision switched over within his helmet from the passageway ahead of him to the drone’s point of view. Using a touchpad on his wrist device, he sent the drone through the opening, and the drone turned to reveal a horrifying sight.

               At the heart of the sprawling cavern sat a massive organism, purple and pulsating as if throbbing from its own heartbeat. It sank thousands of slimy tendrils into the ground around it like roots drinking from the sulphureous rivers of acid and the dark energy radiating from the place. Djarin had the sense that it was ancient, and it had established itself here a long, long time ago. Surrounding the massive creature were dozens more of the Acronemses creatures along with scores of other variations of the same species that held blaster rifles and wore body armor. Din could see seven smaller figures seated before the massive being, and he had the sense that, despite their masks and body armor, they were a separate species from the insectoid beings surrounding the Nemsis.

               “That just went from bad to worse,” Din said. “We’ve got dozens more of those bug Jedis, hundreds of troops, and seven beings I can’t identify. And that’s all before you get to the hive mind creature, whatever it is.”

               “What are you thinking?” Sabine asked.

               “That I’d be a whole lot more comfortable in a defensive position rather than charging out into the open,” Din acknowledged.

               “Any cover?” Sabine asked.

               “There’s enough cover for us along our side of the cavern,” Din responded as the drone turned to the left and right to scan the cavern. “I suppose if we create a big enough diversion, we can take cover. But once we do, we’re not coming back out again.”

               “I wasn’t expecting to come back out again,” Sabine said, and Din turned, getting a sense of her tension and – was it sadness? She shifted a bandolier of explosives across her chest and nodded gravely to her leader. Din nodded back, his own unspoken sadness and regret palpable in his chest. Sabine had guided and supported him for over a decade now, and she was the closest friend he had. Well, the closest human friend, he thought.

               Din’s thoughts drifted back to the kid, still precocious, barely verbal, but strong in the Force. He had hoped that, once they made it out of this, he would be able to see him again and turn him over to Kira to resume his training. He removed a small metal ball from his hip pocket and held it in his hand, feeling the comfortable familiarity of its weight. Although the kid remained in hiding and would likely be safe for a while at least, he knew that nothing short of destroying the horrible creature at the heart of the cavern would protect Grogu for good. 

               He tucked the ball back into his hip pocket and said, “This is the way.”

Aiming his wrist gauntlet toward the ceiling, and holding his left hand up, he signaled for the Mandalorians behind him to standby. He counted internally as the drone drifted back to its socket, and when his count reached one, he unleashed a barrage of rocket fire into the ceiling of the cavern above the Acronemses. The rockets swirled and danced, arcing toward the ceiling and erupting in a cluster of explosions. A shower of stone rained down, sending the Acronemses and Dichonemses scrambling for cover. Using the diversion, Din and Sabine charged forward, laying down fire from their blasters as the rest of the Mandalorians disgorged from the passageway. Return fire erupted, and the blasts slammed into the rocks they dove behind. As the dust settled, Din had a clear view of their enemy regrouping. He and Sabine jumped to the side just as a volley of laser blasts soared over his head, slamming into the wall behind him.

               Taking cover, he said through his comm, “I want half of you to lay down cover fire. The other half, train your rockets on the hive mind. On my mark!”

               Djarin gave the signal, and a barrage of blaster fire erupted from the Mandalorians, scattering the Dichonemses and Acronemses. The Acronemses flittered into the air, their lightsabers ignited. Some of the blasts shot back toward the Mandalorians, and Djarin heard the metallic ping of energy bouncing off beskar armor. One Mandalorian screamed in pain as a blast found a weak spot. Djarin watched a dozen rockets soar across the cavern screaming toward the hive mind. Moments before reaching the hive mind, the rockets froze in midair as if held by some unseen force. Slowly, the rockets turned around in unison, and Din realized in slow-motion horror that they were all aimed directly back at them.

               “Get out of here!” Din shouted, and he kicked on his jet pack in unison with the  other Mandalorians as the rockets flew back toward their position. The rockets erupted in a burst of shattered rock and fire, leveling the sparse cover they had hidden behind. As the Mandalorians flew into the air, they came under heavy fire. Acronemses flew forward, their blades blazing, and Din Djarin ignited the Darksaber, rushing forward to meet the onslaught.

Chapter Text

Nal-Hef, 26 A.B.Y.

Jax stood in silence on the observation deck of the Eventide, feeling the last tendrils of effect from the drug he used to navigate the Chiss fleet to the planet Nal-Hef mingling with the cocktail of drugs Thrawn had provided to negate the withdrawal symptoms. The Zanthodine Maelstroms, a nearly impenetrable barrier of cosmic storms and nebulae lay before the fleet, swirling and clashing at a cosmic scale. Jax knew that the Chiss home worlds lay beyond the maelstroms, places vaguely remembered from a life prior to his servitude within the Order of Ren. As he thought of his old home, a half-remembered planet on a lightly inhabited colony world within Chiss space, the image of his daughter, haunted and deranged, floated into his mind. His desire to find her had dimmed since learning that Thrawn was his father, and now with his last searing conflict with Kit Antilles, and particularly the image of Panga’s childish Jedi figurine still fresh in his mind, a sense of regret blossomed as the mind-altering drug that opened the universe to him tapered off.

               As he remembered Kit, he recalled the pained look on her face as she held out the figurine. The scornful looks of the Republic crew supplanted the image in his mind, and the feeling of unwelcome and disdain rose within him. As the feeling grew, he nurtured it to stave off his growing regret. His mind reached for the assurances his father had offered as they left the Resistance.  The Resistance had never wanted him there. They had never really trusted him. He never belonged. This – this was where he belonged; here with his father, leading the Chiss to a glorious new future safe from the dangers of the Grysk, the Republic, and Ren. He repeated these thoughts to himself like a mantra, trying desperately to mute the unwelcome remorse threatening to emerge.

               The come down from the drug was difficult. A painful hollowness followed the elation of the high, and after two doses, Jax had learned that a period of depression and irritability would follow. He unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and set it on a platform protruding from a wall framing the observation window. He looked down at the weapon, remembering Leia’s kindness and Ben’s generosity. He put his hands on the rail before the observation window and leaned forward, his head hung in confusion and uncertainty. A shift in the Force warned him that somebody was approaching, and despite a part of him welcoming the counsel, inwardly he tensed, remembering how unconcerned Thrawn had appeared at the mention that Kira had stopped responding when she went to Atollon. He was not seriously considering Kit’s assertion that Thrawn had betrayed Kira, but his lack of concern over her well-being – no, his blame toward her for putting herself in that position at the expense of the fleet, still did not sit well with him.

               “It is nearly time, my son,” spoke Thrawn’s voice, barely more than a whisper.

               Jax nodded but did not turn. He instead looked back out toward the Maelstrom. With his naked eye, he could make out “the Gap,” a maintained opening through the Maelstroms that the Chiss had sustained using sophisticated technology. He had learned along the voyage from Crait that the Chiss flagship could expand the size of the gap through a sophisticated system of beacons and gravity well projectors to fit the entirety of the fleet through. The fleet was now slaved to the Eventide, which could follow the beacons within the Gap and through to the other side. From there, another network of beacons, each rigged together and controlled remotely from the Eventide, would guide them back to Csilla, the Chiss home world, at which point they could assess the damage to their civilization and begin the reconstruction.

               “You are troubled,” Thrawn said, moving to Jax’s side. It was an observation, not a question.            

               “Kira,” Jax said, maintaining his gaze out the window.

               “Yes,” Thrawn said, his voice cool, but more sympathetic than before. “My regret as well. Had she remained with us, events might have unfolded differently.” Thrawn was silent for a moment before adding, “Then again, her insistence on leaving the fleet at its moment of need was rash and foolish.”

               “She was one of the few who always treated me as an equal. She never looked down on me. She always tried to help,” Jax said, his voice thick with regret.

               “Indeed,” Thrawn said. He did not elaborate further, and Jax had the impression that Thrawn was impatient to discuss something else. Reading the subtle emotions from his father, he turned toward him. Thrawn appeared to be waiting, barely patient, for Jax to stir himself out of his regretful reverie.

Upon securing Jax’s full attention, Thrawn said, “Our engineers have rigged the beacons within the Gap to explode once we have found our way home. This will trap Ren within Republic space. Without our technology or guidance, he cannot find his way back. We can rebuild the Chiss Ascendancy beyond its former glory without concern of the threat of Ren or the Grysk.”

Jax nodded. Once through the Gap, there would be no returning – even if it meant dooming Kira. Jax looked away again, and Thrawn shifted impatiently.

“Son, if you are to lead our people, you must set aside the sentiment and attachment you’ve adopted from the humans,” Thrawn admonished.

Jax nodded, feeling a deep reluctance. Thrawn noted his lack of response and added, “I can’t help it. She was my friend.”

Thrawn began to speak again, but an alert from Jax’s commlink interrupted him. Jax spoke into the comm. “Yes, Captain?”

Captain Ashik’s voice spoke through the comm, saying, “Commander, our scanners indicate an approaching freighter, unidentified.”

Thrawn cut across Jax, saying, “Captain, alert the Eventide’s firing command to track the ship and prepare for intercept.”

Jax felt a surge of annoyance at Thrawn cutting across his command but recognizing that it was Thrawn’s brilliance who delivered the Chiss as much as Jax’s skill, he pushed away the annoyance, not wishing to create disharmony.

A second ping cut through the fresh silence, and Jax said, “Yes, Captain?”

“Commander, the ship identifies itself as the Lady Luck. The captain calls himself Lando Calrissian, and he says he’s a friend of yours,” Captain Ashik responded.

“Lando?” Jax said, brightening slightly despite his reluctance and confusion.

“Captain, instruct the intruder to return to the Resistance Fleet. Warn him that if he approaches, he will be fired upon,” Thrawn said, his silky whisper carrying a note of irritation.

“What?!” Jax responded in indignation. “He’s a friend.”

 “My son, you must learn that once a threat is made, one cannot unmake it. Your enemies will perceive it as weakness,” Thrawn admonished coldly.

“Lando isn’t an enemy,” Jax countered, frowning.

“He’s part of the Resistance, which has now crossed the line we drew,” Thrawn shot back, his voice growing colder and harder.

“But shouldn’t we hear what he has to say?” Jax asked.

“If the Resistance had something important to say, they would have notified us,” Thrawn replied as he grew more irritated.

“Why would he fly all the way out here instead of call us?” Jax asked, frowning in confusion. Thrawn began to talk, but Jax turned away from the observation deck and stalked away. Thrawn called after him, but Jax ignored him, instead making his way down the stairs to the bridge where Captain Ashik stood near the Commander’s chair, waiting patiently as the display went on standby. He could hear Thrawn calling after him, but something deep inside him – a voice he had learned to heed long ago at Ben Kenobi’s urging – told him not to turn back.

“Patch him through,” Jax said to Captain Ashik, and she keyed in the command for the viewscreen. Jax could feel Thrawn coming down the stairs, his anger rising. Jax ignored his father’s anger and instead focused on the screen, where Lando’s tired, haggard face emerged.

“Hello, Commander Sheth’raw’nuru,” Lando said, and Jax nodded appreciatively at Lando’s correct usage and pronunciation of his Chiss name.

Despite his regretful state of mind, Jax smiled in return. “It’s good to see you, Lando,” Jax said, and as his smile faded, he could feel Thrawn approaching the bridge. Jax added, “I’m afraid now is not a good time.”

“No, it is not,” Lando said, and he watched as Thrawn approached the bridge. Knowing that his time was short, Lando launched into his explanation, saying, “I came to tell you that the Resistance is defending the planet Erys, and we’ve found a way to attack Nemsis from there. Kira is leading a team to kill the Nemsis, destroy Ren, and find your daughter.”

“Excuse me,” Thrawn said curtly, cutting across Jax. Lando turned toward the former Grand Admiral as Thrawn said, “We warned the Resistance against attempting to interfere. You will leave immediately, or we will open fire.”

“Belay that,” Jax said aloud, knowing that the crew behind him would hear his order and respect his authority despite Thrawn’s stature.

“Are you contradicting me, son?” Thrawn’s voice was hard, and a note of menace lingered around the edges of the question.

Jax turned toward Thrawn, and his own irritability rising, he said, “Did you hear what he said?”

“I heard another attempt to steer us away from our goal. The Resistance has already proven its duplicity. I will not entertain Captain Calrissian further,” Thrawn said, and he turned toward the officer, saying, “Open fire on my command.”

“Wait, no!” Lando shouted, but the screen went blank.

“Hold your fire,” Jax cried. He turned toward the communications officer and shouted, “Nethmu, bring him back.”

He looked for Ensign Nethmu at his usual post at the communications switchboard, but instead, an older figure with a arrogantly chiseled cheekbones and an expression of disdain looked up, regarding him indifferently.

“Who are you?” Jax asked, his suspicions rising.

“My son,” said Thrawn’s cold voice. “Our command crew was proving inexperienced. I took the liberty of bringing up more seasoned commanders.” Thrawn turned to Captain Ashik and said, “Which reminds me; Captain Ashik, you are relieved.”

“No, she’s not,” Jax said incredulously toward Captain Ashik, who appeared as confused and shocked as he did.

“Son, the next phase of our reconstruction is too important to trust to common Chiss. It will take experience and wisdom to rebuild our empire. The crew has served well, but they belong with the commoners.” Thrawn explained.

“I didn’t authorize any of this,” Jax retorted. He looked down on the scanner and saw that the Lady Luck was still there, and it continued to attempt to hail the Eventide, which continued ignoring its communication requests.

“It is not for you to authorize, my son,” Thrawn replied, and Jax’s insides turned hot as he realized what Thrawn was saying.

Suddenly, Jax had the sense that, despite everything he had done for the Chiss people in guiding them, Thrawn too harbored doubts about his experience and wisdom, perhaps even his emotionality, and Thrawn had made changes while he had been otherwise preoccupied, leaving him and those he trusted on the outside of a new chain of command. Thrawn smiled, and Jax felt the heat rising inside him turn suddenly icy as Thrawn said, “You too, are relieved. We shall call upon you when the need arises.”

As his anger and fear rose, a second sensation stole over him. It was one of the Force surging from across the galaxy. A voice called out, familiar and warm, and he recognized the light touch of Kira’s mind against his. His vision swam before him, and he swayed, steadying himself on the commander’s chair. He heard her voice reverberate through the Force from far away, saying, Jax, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you need to know that Thrawn betrayed me. Ren found us on Atollon, and Thrawn was the only one who knows where it is. We are about to enter Nemsis. I’m going to try to stop this, once and for all. If I can, I will bring your daughter back. I know we’ve hurt you, but please, we need you now.

Jax came out of the vision and looked around. None of the faces around him appeared concerned, and Thrawn appeared remote and imperious, disdainful of his Jax’s sudden display of weakness.

“It was Kira,” Jax said, looking up while still leaning against the chair for support.

Thrawn’s blue skin went slightly pale, but he recovered quickly. Straightening up, Thrawn said, “I am relieved to hear she survived,” although Jax suddenly had the sense that he was not relieved at all. For the first time, he could feel a current of emotion within his father, which stirred his suspicions further.

Jax straightened up and looked around the bridge at the assembled crew. There was no warmth or recognition in any of their faces, and as Jax scanned each one, he realized that he did not know any of them. There had not been time to get to know each of his bridge crew personally since the ship’s liberation, but he had spent enough time to recognize them by sight. Aside from Ashik, who was being led away to the bridge entrance, he did not recognize anybody but Thrawn.

“Who are you?” Jax said, addressing the crew. Nobody responded, and in the silence, Jax raised his voice, shouting, “Answer me!”

“Careful, son,” spoke Thrawn, his silky voice conveying a threat. “As you are relieved of your command, you will address the crew in more respectful tones.”

Jax looked at Thrawn with an appraising glance and then back at the crew. They were all older, and they had a much more aristocratic, arrogant appearance than the crew who operated the ship before. Realization began to settle in, and knowing that time was short before they opened fire on Lando, Jax reached out through the Force, keeping his face set in an expression of anger. Searching the command console near him through his mind, he found what he was looking for. With one psychic nudge, he could feel the imperceptible, inaudible click.

“What did you do to the crew?” Jax said, looking at Thrawn and allowing anger to seep into his voice to steer Thrawn’s awareness away from what he had just done.

“As I said, the old bridge crew was too, common. I’ve since liberated the Aristocra to aid us in restoring the government and bringing us home,” Thrawn admitted.

“The same Aristocra that sold our people out?” Jax said, his agitation now truly rising.

“The same Aristocra that made a calculated sacrifice to save the Chiss people. It was either join Ren, or everybody dies,” Thrawn explained, irritated, and Jax saw one of the crewmen nodding in agreement.

“We would have fought,” Jax shot back. A vision of the battle in his village swam to mind, and he saw Mowskwa killing Chiss villagers indiscriminately. “We did fight.”

“There was no winning that fight,” Thrawn said, his voice hard. “Just as there is no winning the Resistance’s fight. We leave the Resistance behind to plague Ren with partisan warfare for the next century while we rise up, stronger than before, and take back our home.”

“Do you really think Ren is going to let that happen? Once he’s done with the Republic, he will come for us,” Jax said.

“I think not,” Thrawn said. “You see, our enemy has one singular  weakness, and that is his greed for collecting certain individuals. He was indeed very angry when I betrayed his fleet, but when I agreed never to move against him, he agreed to set aside the transgression – on one condition.”

Jax’s insides grew colder as he processed Thrawn’s words. “Let me guess,” Jax said. “Me.”

“You, and any other Chiss child carrying the ability to use the Force. My service in the Empire taught me a few things, one of which is never to rely on the Force when science can do it better. Every Force sensitive child shall go to him from now on, and in that balance, our people shall thrive in peace.” Thrawn explained, and a cruel smile played across his face.

“How could you do this to me? I’m your son!” Jax cried out, anger rising within him.

“My son?” Thrawn laughed. “The Aristocra’s clever ruse. Your name isn’t Sheth’raw’nuru. Your name is lost to record. I saw a weak, needy child looking for a father, and I exploited it.” Thrawn’s voice grew hard and disdainful, and Jax felt fear and anger rising in him as several Aristocra officers withdrew their weapons and trained them on him. Jax’s hand reached down instinctively for his lightsaber, but it was not clipped to his belt.

“Yes, you will have a hard time fighting us off without this,” Thrawn said, and he held Leia’s lightsaber in his hand. He turned to the officers, and his voice cruel, said, “Seize him.”

Before the officers could take two steps, a slow, rhythmic pounding began on the bridge door. The officers turned toward the sound in fright. With each pound, a small dent began to appear on the bridge door as a blunt object collided with the barrier. Thrawn keyed a command on the commander’s chair, and the video feed from the hallway outside the bridge displayed on the observation window. Dozens of crewmen pounded on the door with a battering ram, and Captain Ashik was in the background, shouting instructions. Another Boom followed, and the dent in the door grew larger. With Thrawn momentarily distracted by the crowd outside the door, Jax closed his eyes again, searching through the Force for another switch. His awareness found the switch, and with a suggestion from his mind, the switch flipped.

“Captain, order the guards to storm the hallway. Prepare to defend the bridge,” Thrawn said. He turned toward the ensign and ordered, “Navigate the fleet into the Gap.”

“Sir, the Gap!” cried the Ensign, a look of horror on his face. “It’s collapsing!”

“No!” Thrawn said, his cold callousness transforming into naked fear.

“The button pushed of its own accord,” the crewman shot back.

Thrawn turned back toward Jax, who still stood before him, arms raised and eyes closed. “Not of its own.” Thrawn raised the blaster to a point at a spot between Jax’s eyes and whispered contemptuously, “Farewell, Jax.”

Jax opened his eyes, but rather than saying a prayer for death, he felt the Force flow through him, rich and pure as it had become ever since the moment he faced and defeated Mowskwa. Through the Force, he thought he could hear Leia’s distant voice encouraging him as she had when he was learning to marshal and focus his abilities. Knowing there was only a split-second left, he turned his hand and saw the lightsaber turn in Thrawn’s hand at the same time. Reaching out through his senses, he activated the blade, which plunged through Thrawn’s thigh. Thrawn cried out in pain, lowering his blaster as he collapsed to the ground. The lightsaber clattered out of Thrawn’s hand on to the ground, and as Thrawn brought his blaster back up to strike a killing blow, Jax ducked. The blaster bolt flew into the ceiling, and Jax called his saber to him. The weapon landed comfortably in his hand, and he ignited the blade, bringing it up and through Thrawn’s chest.

“No!” cried he Aristocra first officer, turning away from the firing controls to level his blaster onto Jax. Jax spun, deflecting the incoming blaster bolts directly into the Commander’s chest. He flew backward into one of the other officers crouching behind a console. Jax lunged forward, leaping up to the deck with Leia’s blade ignited. In a blur of purple, he swung through several of the officers before they could turn to defend themselves. Several turned toward him, prepared to fire. He deflected a handful of blasts just as the door to the bridge caved in. Captain Ashik and several other officers stormed in, firing on the Aristocra. Moments later, with Jax swinging Leia’s weapon with precision and with Ashik’s people cutting down the rest, the bridge grew silent.

Jax rushed over the comm and keyed in a command, saying, “Call of all guards heading for the bridge!”

“Don’t worry,” said Ashik, as she pulled the slumped corpse of an aged Chiss oligarch off a console. “They heard the whole thing, too.” She smiled, and added, “Clever move.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner,” Jax said, his jaw set.

He turned and walked back down to the Command chair and knelt next to Thrawn. Thrawn was still breathing, his body starting to shake as he tried to hold himself in a crouching position, staving off collapse. Jax could see the red light in his eyes beginning to fade. Jax looked deep into the man’s eyes and said, “Captain Ashik, prepare the fleet for the journey to Erys.”

Thrawn collapsed and rolled onto his back, looking at Jax with a helpless rage as he spluttered. The wound to his heart slowly  overtook him, and the light faded from his eyes. Jax looked at his motionless face with a sense of anger, pain, sadness, and regret. He pulled away with an effort, and he keyed the commlink. Lando’s face appeared on the display looking anxious and frantic.

“Lando,” Jax said. “The Chiss fleet is at the Resistance’s disposal. Please open your nav system to allow our fleet to sync our system to yours.”

“Music to my ears,” said Lando, whose face relaxed in relief.

The display went blank, and Jax turned to Captain Ashik, who stood looking down at Thrawn with a muted look of disgust. “Captain, please prepare a shuttle for me.”

“What? Why?” Ashik said, looking away from Thrawn’s body in alarm.

“I’m promoting you to fleet Commander,” Jax said. “I want you to follow Calrissian. Do everything you can to help the fleet at Erys. We never should have left.”

“But where will you go?” Ashik asked, her face lined with concern.

“Nemsis,” Jax said. “Kira and the Mandalorians will need help.” Jax paused, looking up toward the crew coming back to their posts as they cleared away the bodies of the Aristocra. “It’s time to bring the rest of us home.”

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

Anti-aircraft batteries barked and clapped as thousands of flashes and blasts laced the sky above the valley of the wellspring. Incoming fighters sizzled and burned as they caught in the web of turbolaser blasts. Occasionally, a fighter would break through, strafing the ground defenses before a pursuing A-wing or X-wing would gun it down. Ben watched the chaos unfolding above before rushing back into the command center to assess how much the situation in the air had changed over the last few minutes. The intercept columns below the window had broken down completely, and countless dogfights transpired across the skies of Erys. A steady stream of Grysk fighters, bombers, and shuttles assaulted the valley, but so far the anti-aircraft fire kept the incoming assault at bay. The shuttles hovered out of reach, and Ben watched as two X-wing squadrons broke away from the dogfights and reformed, bearing down on the shuttles. Grysk fighters rose to intercept, and the squadrons broke apart to pursue their individual targets. Several of the Grysk shuttles caught fire as X-wings broke through the Grysk interceptors, and a secondary wave of fire from a group of Wookie gunboats skimming the ocean’s surface took out several more shuttles.

               “Not bad,” Ben said toward Akeyla, who watched the battle unfold, her head bowed and her mouth pressed into her closed hand.

“Their numbers are going to catch up with us eventually,” Telvin said, unimpressed. He then barked into his comm saying, “North ridge, watch for the line of bombers coming up from behind that mountain range.”

Ben followed the progression of a squadron of red arrows on the tactical display signifying the enemy’s approach. Every third anti-aircraft battery on the north ridge swiveled and opened fire, but seconds later, several batteries blinked out as the Grysk bombers found their targets. Half of the bombers soared away, only to get caught in the fire from the south ridge, while the other half took fire from the north, sending the ships careening down into the walls of the valley to the west of the Wellspring.

“No sign of their main fleet,” Akeyla remarked, maintaining her tense, statue-like vigil.

“They’re softening us up,” Telvin said in disgust before his eyes widened. “Forward firing positions, train west. Incoming shuttles!”

                                                                           *** 

Chewbacca sat within his pill box watching streaks of light arc across the sky from the rim of the valley out over open ocean. So far, the Wookie gun boats on the water had been able to keep the sky clear of incoming landing shuttles, but breakaway groups of bombers continued to run suicide missions into the valley’s anti-aircraft positions. A Wookie soldier stepped out from cover and fired a portable rocket launcher at a trio of approaching shuttles, and the rocket tore through the lead shuttle, which sheered apart into the other two craft, sending them careening into the water.

               “Forward firing positions, train west. Incoming shuttles!” came the call from the general in the command center, and in response, Chewbacca roared a battle cry. Several Wookies emerged as a line of shuttles approached the marshy delta emptying into the sea. With the guns on the valley’s rim funneling incoming craft toward the beachhead, Chewbacca and General Telvin had concluded that the valley’s delta was the ideal spot to set up forward defense. Whatever craft would make it past surface-to-air fire would likely get bogged down in the marsh, making them easy targets for the snipers nested in the cliffs above.

               Chewbacca found himself holding his breath as the line of shuttles grew, and he discerned their jagged, hulking shapes flanked by fighters on all sides. X-wings swooped down to intercept, but the escorting fighters peeled off to engage the oncoming craft. Several more Wookies stepped forward and hoisted rocket launchers over their shoulders as they waited for the shuttles to reach firing range. Moments later, dozens of rockets fired from their position, streaking out over the ocean to meet the incoming craft. Several of the missiles hit their targets, but not enough to stop the approach. Chewbacca looked through his binoculars, and he saw more shuttles filtering down through a corridor of open airspace that the Grysk had secured. That river of incoming shuttles flowed toward their position, indicating imminent ground assault.

               Chewbacca roared again, and several Wookie battalions mingling with Republic fighters trained their weapons on the incoming shuttles. As the Wookies reloaded their rocket launchers, the first dozen ships reached the beachhead. Several rockets tore across the marsh, blowing the ships apart before they could disgorge their cargo of soldiers. A rocket arced across the beachhead and over the marsh, slamming into one of the Resistance pillboxes, killing several Wookies. Chewbacca roared in anger, and hoisting his own rocket launcher, he aimed at an incoming shuttle. He fired, and his rocket caught the shuttle on the flank, sending it hurtling into the forest behind their position. The explosion shook the ground, and Chewbacca watched the fireball rise above the forest’s canopy. He grumbled apprehensively, hoping that the downed craft had missed their fallback defenses.

               He turned back to the beachhead to see hundreds of Grysk soldiers, clad in armor and firing indiscriminately ahead of them. Sniper fire from the cliffs above rained down, cutting through the Grysk as they staggered through the mud in the marsh. The fire held the Grysk advance back, but with the hundreds, possibly thousands of incoming shuttles, Chewie knew it was only a matter of time before they would be overrun.

                                                                                          ***

“My Lord,” Rykshnash said into his commlink, “Our fighters have penetrated planet. Our bombers assault air defenses. Shuttles land at beachhead.”

               “Good,” said Ren, his voice distant as he appeared distracted by something internal. After a moment’s pause, he replied, “Prepare for the fleet’s arrival.”

                                                                                          ***

Kit watched as more waves of Grysk fighters and shuttles departed from the bellies of the hundreds of Grysk cruisers arrayed above the planet. Nearly the entire fleet was within range of the trap they had set, but she clenched her fists as if to stave off the urge to spring the trap prematurely. She glanced down at her scope and saw the signals for incoming ships. There were not many ships – perhaps a dozen in total. Here we go, Kit said to herself as she exhaled. Her hand switched on her commlink as she waited.

               Seconds passed as Kit kept her eyes glued to her scope. Suddenly, six black battlecruisers, each the size of an Imperial super Star Destroyer, and two even larger command ships emerged out of hyperspace. These smaller ships, while imposing on their own, merely heralded the arrival of Ren’s massive flagship. Kit had studied the specs and readouts and knew to expect something enormous, but the intel failed to prepare her for the enormity of the ship. Black wingtip to black wingtip, it stretched over a hundred kilometers, and the countless guns in its forward batteries shifted and locked into position as it disembarked half a dozen destroyers from ports on its ventral side. Kit wondered morbidly at how many troops the ship held within its guts. Hundreds of thousands? Millions? So far, she had no indication that Grysk ground forces were making headway, but should the Nemsian forces, including countless Acronemses, make it to the ground, Kit knew the Resistance defenses could not hold for long.

For what felt like the dozenth time, Kit muttered to herself, “Come on, Kira. Don’t let me down.”

               Knowing that the main thrust of the fleet was here, she switched on her commlink, risking the single transmission. “Home Two, this is the Harpy. The rest of the fleet has arrived. Copy acknowledgement and jump time.”

               “Harpy, this is Home Two. We will jump in five, four, three, two, one. . .” called her uncle’s voice from the other end of the comm.

               Kit set off the countdown timer for 15 seconds. As it reached 3, her hand hovered over the detonator.

3, 2, 1. . .

               Kit’s hand slammed down on the trigger, and a torrent of electronic charges erupted and rippled through the Grysk fleet and the adjacent battlecruisers and flagship, ensnaring them in a massive web of static charges. Tens of thousands of ionic charges, invisible to Grysk scanners due to their tiny size, erupted in unison, enveloping nearly the entire fleet in a blanket of crippling ionic discharge.

               Seconds later, hundreds of Republic ships, as well as the full Mandalorian fleet, several Mon Cala task forces, several Sullustan cruisers, and a motley array of private craft ranging from aging Dreadnaught cruisers to single-pilot fighters emerged out of hyperspace on all sides of the Order of Ren’s fleet. In unison, every ship in the fleet opened fire on the defenseless Order of Ren ships, with a significant amount of fire trained on the super structures of the Nemsian ships that had just arrived. Kit knew they had a minute at most before the ship systems would come back online, but within the first twenty seconds, the withering barrage of fire had already taken out the superstructures of two battlecruisers while disabling or destroying fifty Grysk cruisers. Kit clenched her jaw as the flagship took the punishment without seeming to sustain anything more than superficial damage. While one of the destroyers that had disgorged from the command ship’s belly had erupted in flame, the flagship itself appeared unscathed, save for some fires erupting on the side of the towering superstructure.

               The ionic discharge dwindled, and slowly, the Grysk and Nemsian ships came back online, even as the Resistance fleet continued its deadly barrage of turbolaser fire. Damn it, Thrawn, she thought to herself as she considered how much more damage the Chiss fleet would have inflicted, potentially evening the odds or even taking out the flagship. She gritted her teeth, putting the anger, sadness, and resentment out of her mind. Not gonna do you any good now, she thought to herself as she watched the Grysk cruisers reorienting themselves to face the newly arrived Resistance fleet.

               Two of the battlecruisers had begun to list harmlessly to the side, their superstructure in flames as the Republic attack disabled them. The remaining battlecruisers had all taken fairly significant damage, but having recovered their core systems function, they pushed forward and began to train their fire on the window. The flagship continued forward as well, and it too opened fire. Kit’s jaw dropped in horror as thousands of blasts in unison slammed into the planetary boundary. Hairline fractures splintered across the planetary boundary as the fire hit the window, and Kit knew that any sustained bombardment would eventually wear through the planetary boundary that stood between the ground forces and annihilation.

               “Sector 3, sector 6 group, focus all firepower on the command ship’s superstructure!” called her uncle’s voice over the comm. Kit watched as two sector groups pivoted and opened fire on the superstructure. The turbolaser blasts bounced harmlessly off the shields, and Kit knew it would take at least an hour of sustained fire to penetrate.

                                                                                          ***

Dozens of Wookies roared as blaster fire lanced through the marsh, cutting down more of the growing legions of Grysk soldiers. Return fire from the shuttles pinned down some of the Wookie and Republic forces, and Chewbacca watched as soldiers firing from the cover of their shuttles picked off the snipers on the cliffs. A bomber shot below the anti-aircraft batteries, training on their positions. Chewbacca aimed his rocket launcher again, keeping the bomber in his sights. He fired, and the rocket clipped the incoming craft, which cartwheeled into one of the pillboxes containing a platoon of Republic fighters. Their fire went silent as the pillbox erupted in flames.

               A massive explosion in the sky above the beachhead knocked Chewbacca and several other fighters to the ground. Fiery debris slammed into the cliffs as the remains of a Republic X-wing slammed into the cliffs, sending a cascade of rubble down into the clearing. As the dust settled, another dozen shuttles landed, disgorging their troops. Their fire grew heavier, making it difficult to move from cover. Chewbacca roared a Wookie retreat cry and opened fire with his rocket launcher on the advancing forces. The explosion bought some cover for soldiers in the adjacent pillboxes to pull out and retreat to the fallback point.

               Chewie waited for the last soldier to pass him, noting that their forces had diminished significantly before he turned to follow the soldiers into the woods. The pursuing forces continued to fire, but the towering trees provided cover. Most of the soldiers had already reached the arrayed speeder bikers set up for their retreat before Chewie got there, and he saw six other Wookies waiting for him. He hopped onto his bike, and the Wookies shot off into the woods.

               Chewbacca chanced a glance behind him, glimpsing a glittering black insectoid being flying through the trees behind him. He bellowed to the other Wookies, who swerved away from the river they were following in the hopes of gaining more cover from the trees. Chewbacca looked up and saw another Acronemsis swoop down from the trees, its blade missing his head by inches. The creature slammed into the Wookie on the nearest speeder, knocking the Wookie off and sending the speeder bike careening into the trunk of the tree. Another Acronemsis took another pass, this time slamming two speeder bikes into each other, sending his Wookie companions tumbling into the river’s rapids. Chewbacca looked back to see two more Acronemses gaining on him, and he pushed the throttle forward as far as it would go, shooting ahead into the woods with the last two Wookies behind him.

               Up ahead, Chewbacca spied a large clearing, and he urged the speeder forward to the clearing at maximum velocity. He shot out of the trees and looked back to see four Acronemses pursuing him. Chewbacca heard the whine of a Grysk fighter approaching from over the trees, and it opened fire. One of the blasts sent burning debris into his shoulder, and he bellowed in pain. As Chewbacca crossed the halfway point of the clearing, a barrage of blaster fire erupted on the opposite side, arcing over Chewbacca’s head and slamming into the unprepared Acronemses. All four of the creatures fell into the river, struck by blaster fire. A rocket arced across the meadow, slamming into the Grysk fighter, which erupted in flame, showering the meadow with fiery debris.

               Chewbacca reached the other side of the clearing, where he slowed his bike to a halt. A Republic Colonel approached, and Chewbacca grunted gratefully before jogging to the medic for a quick bacta application for the wound on his shoulder. As the medic treated the wound, he overheard the Colonel say, “Beachhead is overrun, and we’re at the fallback position.”

               Chewbacca looked up at the walls of the valley towering thousands of feet above. Waterfalls cascaded over the rims of the cliff, the mist sparkling in the sunlight. Rockets and laser blasts continued to arc across the sky, and higher above, Chewbacca could see desperate dogfights where Resistance forces struggled bravely to keep the encroaching ships at bay. More blaster fire and rocket fire erupted from the front of the Resistance line as the defenses spotted more incoming targets. Troops transports shot over the trees on the opposite side of the clearing, and rocket blasts took the transports down. After that wave, it became quiet until the Colonel called out, “They’re coming in from the woods!”

                                                                                          ***

From Kit’s vantage on the margins of the melee, the battle had turned from bad to worse. She had been instructed to remain in chameleon mode to coordinate incoming craft and maintain communications. However, no more craft were incoming, and her hopes that Lando would be able to succeed in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the Chiss were all but dead. Recognizing that there was nothing to be gained from watching on the side lines, she rolled the Harpy over and dove after a trio of Grysk ships pursuing a Republic A-wing. With several bursts of fire, she cleaned the pursuers off the back of the A-wing, then turned the ship around in pursuit of other prey. A massive explosion jarred her off-course, and the momentary flash blinded her temporarily. When the flash subsided, she watched as one of the Republic Starhawks, beleaguered by a quintet of Grysk cruisers, broke apart in fragments.

               Kit changed course and wove through the ship’s massive fragments, and she moved into the center of the Grysk cruisers. She released five ionic charges, which magnetized as they found their way toward the Grysk cruisers. After latching onto the ships, Kit hit the detonator, and she watched as the Grysk ships firing stopped while their superstructures became engulfed in static.

               “Republic ships in Sector 7, concentrate fire at the formation!” Kit barked into the comm, and she watched as another pair of Starhawks opened fire on the Grysk ships. Four of the five erupted in flame, and the fifth listed to its side, drifting down toward the nose of the nearest battlecruiser. As the planet’s gravity caught the ship, it sheered straight through the battlecruiser’s nose, ejecting flame and debris down toward the planet’s atmospheric boundary.

               Small victories, Kit thought to herself. She watched as a seemingly endless line of shuttles streamed from the bellies of the remaining battlecruisers and from the command ship. She quickly lost visual count, instead noting the scanner’s read as it climbed into the thousands. She returned to visual scanning and saw one shuttle standing out among the rest in size and armament. Hmm. . . she thought to herself as she steered toward the window in the atmospheric boundary, hoping to follow the craft. An explosion knocked her off course, and she turned to see a Mon Calamari cruiser erupt in flames under a barrage from a dozen Grysk cruisers surrounding it. The Resistance had responded, with her uncle marshalling his remaining fighters to intercept and take out the Grysk ships. Looking at the numbers, Kit’s mind spit out a ballpark estimate that they could keep this up for little more than a few hours before Ren’s fleet overwhelmed them.

               Kit regained a visual on the shuttle that seemed different from the rest, flying in formation with several fighters she had never seen before. The fighters were black, sleek, and insectoid, glistening with weaponry and heavily armored. The shuttle itself was large, red, and screamed “Very Important Person.” Kit called into her commlink, saying, “Hey, Wex, we got a VIP coming into the planetary atmosphere. Red shuttle, accompanied by some ugly looking black fighters.”

               Through a burst of static, her cousin called back, “Copy, Commander. Setting for intercept.

                                                                                          ***

Wex Antilles veered his X-wing away from his pursuit and radioed to the remainder of his group, “Black group, report in.” Wex felt a pit in his stomach as only four of the original 12 called back. The others were either dead or too far away to get the shortwave message.

               “We got a VIP incoming,” Wex called, and he added, “Look for a big red shuttle escorted by several black fighters.”

               “You mean like that one?” asked Black 4, and Wex turned to see the reported ships shoot through the window. As it shot down toward the surface, Wex put his X-wing into a dive and shot after it with the remainder of his group in pursuit. As they closed in, several Grysk fighters peeled off to intercept, and Wex adjusted his course to take them out. He caught three of the four fighters before his wingman took out the last.

               The shuttle and its escort moved at speed down to the mouth of the valley. Wex was further disquieted to see that the anti-air fire had died down considerably at the mouth of the valley, and he knew that the incoming ship had a clean runway now. He gunned his X-wing to top sublight, wishing to himself that he was in one of the faster A-wings. He got within range of the rear black ship and opened fire. To his dismay, his blasts bounced off the ship’s shield, inflicting minimal damage. It peeled away, looping around to intercept. Wex changed vectors, drawing the ship’s pursuit. It was faster than he had expected, and it caught up to him quickly. It squeezed off a round of blaster fire, which sizzled past the cockpit as Wex dove down to the surface. As the fighter closed in, the remainder of Black Group shot past him, firing directly into the ship’s cockpit. It erupted in flames as the ship’s fuselage sheered apart, raining debris down to the ocean below.

               In the momentary relief of watching the fighter blow up, Wex lost track of the shuttle. He picked it up visually once again and muttered in frustration as it was well out of range and nearly to the beachhead.

                “Command, we tracked a shuttle down to the surface. Heavily armored and guarded. Could be Ren. Watch for incoming!” Wex called into his comm before steering back into the fray to find more targets to pursue.

                                                                                          ***

The shuttle set down on the soft ground, and he rose to his feet before limping toward the off-ramp with lightsaber in hand. The ramp lowered, and he hobbled toward a speeder that had been set out in anticipation of his arrival. Four Acronemses fluttered to positions alongside him as he mounted the speeder. He triggered the ignition and shot forward, following the river at top speed with the four Acronemses behind him.

               He shot forward across the calm, clear water, marveling for a moment at the purity despite the ongoing battle around him. Even amidst his singular intention, he felt a twinge of appreciation for the astounding power of the Force on this planet, which he could feel radiating from every plant, tree, creature, rock, and stream. Such a pity, he thought to himself before recommitting to his purpose. If the planet persisted, it would only produce rivals, of which he would suffer not.  

               After three minutes, he reached the clearing, and heavy fire erupted from the other side. Ren dodged the fire deftly, effortlessly maneuvering between blasts as he anticipated their terminuses. He felt a stab of fear in the Force and knew that one of his escorts had been taken out by blaster fire, but he dismissed the import knowing that they would be unnecessary in the end.

               Attack the positions, he thought through the Force, and he felt the remaining Acronemses veer away, their lightsabers ignited as they prepared to sacrifice themselves to ensure his safe passage. He shot past the clearing, back into the trees as he raced along the surface of the river. Ahead, he could feel the growing sense of power and light preceding the wellspring of Erys, long sought and long coveted, and now only moments away, finally within his grasp.

               He slowed his speeder to a crawl as he reached an indistinct haze where the river sizzled and smoked. His speeder stopped, and he dismounted, not willing to risk contact with the makeshift shield the scum had erected to stop his advance. As he put his full weight on his still-injured foot, he cringed, feeling the pain shoot from his ankle to his knee.

               “Freeze!” called a male voice from the trees.

               Ren turned to see soldiers on both sides of him partially sheltered in the woods on either side of the river. He reached both hands out, and cascades of black lightning entwined around the soldiers. One soldier fired his blaster uselessly into the sky as he writhed on the ground in agony. Seconds later they were all still.

               He ignited his lightsaber and hobbled forward toward the shield. He tapped the saber against the boundary, which repelled the blade. He looked through the boundary and saw three Jedi, Padawan probably, standing around an aged woman who sat cross-legged on the ground in meditation. The three Padawan ignited their lightsabers, although they looked unsure of what to do with them. Knowing that he would have to wait only a little longer for the mysterious planetary shell to crack, he settled himself into a cross-legged posture and entered his own meditations.

               Well met, Master Zevala, he said through the Force to the woman who sat in meditation on the opposite side of the barrier.

               Ren, came her terse acknowledgment.

               A worthy adversary. I look forward to adding you to my collection, Ren said.

               And I look forward to the moment you meet your death, Taila replied, her voice weaker and smaller in his mind that his was in hers.

               Ah, perhaps you refer to the girl’s ill-advised assault on Nemsis? Ren said. He could feel a wave of anxiety ripple outward from the Jedi, who must have been foolish enough to believe that he would not know. Oh yes, we have many surprises waiting for her.

Chapter Text

Nemsis, 26 A.B.Y.

A thunderous boom rocked the cavern, showering dust and ash over a squadron of Dichonemses soldiers. The shorter, squatter kin of the Acronemses ceased firing as the debris buried and crushed their exoskeletons. Hovering in the air with her jetpack ignited, Sabine smiled to herself at the success of her rocket attack, but the smile vanished moments later as an Acronemsis swooped out of the darkness, bearing down on her with its purple-black lightsaber ignited. The beast collided with her, and Sabine held her gauntlets across her face to block the attack. The force of the blow sent her tumbling backward, and she hit the ground hard, skittering across the smooth basalt surface into a jagged rock outcrop. Her vision went black, and in her momentary dizziness, her consciousness swam out of focus.

As she recovered her vision, she saw the Acronemsis land ten meters in front of her. It slowly stalked toward her, its lightsaber held by its side, ready for attack. She aimed her wrist gauntlet at the beast and unleashed a torrent of flame. The beast waved the flame aside using the Force, and with its other claw reached out in a pincher grip. Sabine felt her body lift into the air as a vice grip closed around her throat. Gasping for breath, her legs writhed as she twisted in the air, held by an unseen force. Her vision swam back out of focus, when suddenly, the grip released, and she crashed to the ground.

               Looking up, she saw the Acronemsis frozen in stunned horror, a black blade protruding from its chest. The blade vanished, and the Acronemsis collapsed onto the ground. Din Djarin stood on the other side of the creature, and he rushed forward to help Sabine, pulling her back to her feet. Another boom rocked the cavern, and they both turned to see another explosion blossoming from the wall. The explosion took out a few more Dichonemses, but as they watched from their momentarily safe spot, they took a quick count of Mandalorian bodies littering the floor, estimating that less than half of their forces remained. A rocket soared across the cavern directly toward the pulsating, pink-black mass that the Dichonemses and Acronemses continued to protect. The rocket swerved away at the last moment before slamming harmlessly into the cavern wall.

               “That thing is swatting away everything we’re throwing at it,” Djarin said as he pulled Sabine up to her feet.

               “Our only chance is getting close enough to set off these detonators,” Sabine shot back, rattling the bandolier of explosives draped across her chest.

               “What are you thinking?” Djarin asked, apprehension growing at what his friend might be planning.

               “You don’t want to know,” Sabine retorted. “Just give me a clear lane.”

               “Mandalorians, rally to me,” Djarin said into his commlink, setting aside his misgivings. “Push toward the hive mind.” He turned toward Sabine and placed his hand on her shoulder armor. She turned to him, squeezing his hand with hers as understanding passed between them.

               Three dozen Mandalorians swooped forward and landed beside Djarin and Sabine, and as they settled into a formation, they pushed forward, firing ahead at the Nemsian forces, which took cover under the onslaught. Djarin fired several more rounds of rockets from his wrists, which cut down a dozen of the Dichonemses, and another rocket slammed into a crag that an Acronemsis sheltered behind. Sabine felt a flicker of hope emerge as they pushed forward to the hive mind. As the hope grew, she watched seven humanoid figures emerge from behind the hive mind and settle in a line in front of it. Each figure wore a black mask with white and purple body armor. She could not identify what species they were, but judging by their stature and figure, they were all female, and they were all humanoid. As they formed their line, each figure unhooked and ignited its own lightsaber, from which erupted a black-purple blade.

               “We could really use a Jedi right about now,” Din said, igniting the dark saber in preparation for battle.

               Sabine grunted an affirmative, and raising her blaster, she fired. The figure in the front deflected the blast back into the Mandalorian formation, striking one of her comrades in the leg at an exposed spot. He collapsed to the ground in pain, and as he did so, the Dichonemses opened fire again. The Mandalorians on the flanks countered fire while Djarin and the Mandalorians in the center opened fire on the humanoids with the lightsabers. They reacted instantly, effortlessly deflecting the blasts back into the Mandalorians.

               “This isn’t working,” Sabine called back to Djarin.

               Djarin was nearly out of ammunition for his array of weapons, aside from his blaster and the Darksaber. An explosion on their flank dispersed the formation, leaving Din exposed in the center with Sabine at his side. The humanoid in the front stepped forward and twirled her blade before settling into a challenge position. Din raised the dark saber and prepared to duel. The humanoid rushed forward, swiping at Din was surprising speed. He blocked the attack, but the force of the impact sent him stumbling backward, and he crashed to the ground. Sabine fired twice at the figure, which blocked the blasts back into her mask, knocking her backward to the ground. The humanoid walked toward Din and stood over him, preparing to cut him down.

                                                                                          ***

Kira gazed at her mirror image in horror as the clone circled slowly, holding her red blade loosely at her side. She heard an echo of Ren’s voice in her mind saying, “I have no use for you,” and she understood that, somehow, Ren had obtained a sample of her. As she thought of Ren obtaining the sample, she recalled the strange, terrifying scientist during her childhood abduction to the planet Weyland. He had taken her blood – lots of it.

               Kira glanced at the wellspring, which swirled violently around the red, pulsating wound entwined across it. Her clone watched her in anticipation, and deciding she had to take the risk, Kira shot another volley of lightning at the wellspring. The clone rushed forward instantly, attacking Kira with her blade. Kira released her lightning attack and ducked, sending the clone rushing past her. She rose upright, reigniting her lightsabers as the clone circled back. They traded vicious slashes and parries, and the clone knocked Kira’s lightsabers aside far enough to land a clean kick to the chest. Kira stumbled backward and came down hard on the ground.

               To Kira’s surprise, the clone did not lunge forward. Instead, it stood, waiting silently, its face frozen in vacant rage. The Emperor’s voice echoed through the cavern, saying, You didn’t think Ren would leave this place undefended, did you?

Kira felt the Force stirring, and as she raised herself back up to a standing position, four more figures emerged from doorways adjacent to the Wellspring. They were all cloaked, but of different species and builds. Kira sensed dark power and sinister intent radiating from them. All four of the beings walked toward Kira’s clone and stood by her side. Kira saw that they all had lightsabers, but instead of raising their weapons, they all reached forward with their hands and shot simultaneous volleys of lightning at her.

               Kira ignited both of her blades, crossing them in an “X” to deflect the blasts. Her lightsabers caught the lightning, but she winced as the stray currents of energy washed over her skin. The force of the blasts pushed her backward, and she slid slowly toward the bridge as the five clones attacked her in unison, each walking forward together as they sought to push her back. Another current of lightning danced off her blade toward her facemask. She turned her face away instinctively, but in doing so lost concentration. A full torrent of lightning struck her in the chest, and her lightsabers clattered to the floor as she shouted in pain. The other four currents of lightning joined the first blast, and she was lifted into the air, encircled and encased in burning cascades of energy swirling around her and penetrating her muscles down to her nerves and her bones. Her bones burned in agony, and she screamed in pain, feeling that at any moment she might black out. She looked toward the wellspring, which lay hopelessly out of reach, swirling ever faster in the face of the vicious onslaught, and she knew she had lost. As the intensity of the lightning peaked, Kira’s vision went black, and her consciousness slipped away.

                                                                                          ***

At first, there was darkness.

As the seconds lingered for eternities, the darkness unfurled across time and space, endless and immutable. But as eternities drifted by, a pulse flickered, and time slowed. The pulse grew, sending tendrils of light through the darkness, and the splintering tendrils composed a vast web encompassing the universe.

               Bird song trilled through cold mist, which muted the melodious sound and softened the cavernous reverb as the soundwaves bounced off towering white pillars. A small female child walked through the mist and placed her hand on the soft, spongey surface of the pillar, which she recognized as a tree. She gazed up to see how high it went, but the mist obscured the crown standing hundreds of meters in the air. Water trickled nearby, and the girl turned away from the tree toward a stream where crystalline water gurgled and sang its multi-timbered song. She knelt to the ground and drank deeply, feeling the cold water wash down her parched, burning throat. Invigoration flowed through her, easing her weariness and opening her heart to the wonders around her. When she rose again, she looked deeper into her surroundings. The plants were all white, though not from snow. It was as if all color had been leeched out, leaving behind ghosts. Her feet sank into a lush carpet of moss, and she touched the fronds of a giant fern, scattering dew drops across the velvety forest floor.

               A new sensation trickled through her awareness, and turning her body, she glimpsed a brilliant light shining beyond the trees. As she became aware of it, she felt longing rise within her, even though some sense deep within her told her that once she touched it, she would never be able to return to this place. The thought filled her with a profound sadness, and feeling the inevitability of leaving this place she had found, she sank to her knees and began to sob.

               The warm, soft weight of a hand settled on her shoulder – a familiar sensation remembered from a moment of terrible grief. She remembered her mother’s dead, vacant eyes as her nightmarish home burned. The grief subsided as she remembered the light touch of another mind carrying gentleness and compassion. Surprised by the sensation, the girl’s weeping ceased, and she turned. Kneeling on the ground next to her, cloaked in white robes and radiating brilliant white light, sat Leia Organa.

               “Leia?” Kira said, and she was surprised by how childish her voice sounded.

               “Dear one,” Leia said, smiling warmly and radiating pride and love.

               “Where am I?” Kira said, looking back toward the light forest. She added in wonder and confusion, “How are you here?”

               “I never left,” Leia said gently, smiling, her heart flooded with pride, her eyes sparkling in the light.

               “But,” she said, her voice distant with confusion, “But I was on Nemsis?”

               “You still are,” Leia said reassuringly, although she appeared sad. Leia’s sadness was unbearable to Kira, and she sought to reassure her.

               “Leia, are you ok?” Kira asked, her voice rich with concern.

               “No,” Leia acknowledged sadly. “This wasn’t the life I wished for you.”

               Kira’s awareness shifted, and she remembered. Only moments ago, although it felt like a lifetime, she had been consumed by anger, rage, and hatred, which burned through her body and mind, threatening to tear her apart. But it was not her anger. It was not her rage. That rage was a vicious, burning hatred that, even as she touched it again with her mind, seemed to be longing for a wholeness of its own. She turned back to the light and felt the same yearning for wholeness there as well. Kira turned back toward the darkness, noticing the shadow of her body floating before the darkness, entwined in crackling black tendrils of jagged energy. The darkness flickered, moving imperceptibly as it danced around the body – her body.

               “I’m about to die, aren’t I?” Kira asked.

She was surprised at how calm she felt about it. Death had loomed over her for months, but really she had been running from it as fast as she could all her life. Death closing in on her patiently, confidently, almost lazily. Now that it had finally caught her, it felt like an old friend. She had the sense that she needed only to walk toward the light, touch it, and then she would become it.

               “From a certain point of view,” spoke a male voice, and she turned to see the venerable, illuminated figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi standing before a tree, his hands held at his waist as a sly smile stretched across his face.

               “Obi-wan!” Kira cried in surprise, and as she did so, she became aware of several more presences. Anakin Skywalker leaned against a tree, cocky and smiling confidently. Ahsoka Tano stood next to Anakin, holding her hands behind her back, beaming at Kira. Kira rose to her feet in surprise, and as she turned to her right, she saw the wizened form of Yoda, radiating brilliantly, perched on a tree stump, leaning into his branch. He chuckled mischievously.

               “Long, we have waited. Welcome, you are,” Yoda said warmly, and Kira watched as a bearded man with long, flowing hair coalesced beside Yoda.

The man spoke, and the echoing voice of Qui Gon Jinn said, “We are here to guide you on your next steps.”

               “My next steps?” Kira asked, suddenly feeling anxious.

               “In moments, your body will break, and your essence will become a part of the Force,” Ahsoka explained.

               “Like that?” Kira asked, gesturing toward the glowing light beyond the forest.

               Anakin chuckled and said, “You already are that.”

               Kira frowned, confused, and Yoda added, “The Jedi death rites, remember them do you?

               She closed her eyes, concentrating deeply to recall the words that seemed to belong to another lifetime in another universe. As the memory surfaced, she said, “From the Force, I arrived. Through me, the Force flowed. To the Force, I return. Luminous beings are we.”

“Yes!” Yoda exclaimed encouragingly. “Luminous beings are we. You, the forest, the light. The Force pretending to be human, you were.”

               Kira smiled, excitement filling her at the prospect of becoming one with the Force. Could it really be that she could spend eternity with her friends and mentors, laughing, at peace? But with the thought of her friends, she saw Ben’s face swim into her vision, followed by Kit’s, Akeyla’s, Sabine’s – even Jax’s.

               “But. . . my friends,” Kira said, a hollow sadness filling her.

               “Even now they suffer as they fight to survive,” Obi-wan said, as his smile faded.

               “I have to help them,” Kira said, her anxiety rising.

               “Help them, you will,” Yoda said, gesturing toward the light beyond the forest.

               “Reach out,” Qui-Gon said, “Feel the Force yearning for wholeness.”

               Kira reached out her hand, and tendrils of light flowed across the forest clearing, drifting toward her fingers. As she did so, she turned toward the darkness, and she could feel it yearning to meet and merge with the light as if aware for the first time in the Living Force’s memory, the boundary that kept them apart was about to break. She reached her other hand toward the darkness, and tendrils of darkness began to drift toward her. The light entwined around her right arm, encircling her with its warmth. The darkness entwined around her left arm, embracing her with its cold. Where the light and dark met, she felt a quiver of anticipation before light and dark disappeared, becoming gold with streaks of silver.

               “Feel the balance, you do?” Yoda asked, his eyes wide in wonder.

               “I do,” Kira said.

               “No light, no dark. Just the Force, in perfect, pure balance,” Anakin said, smiling proudly.

               Leia stepped forward, touching Kira’s cheek with her luminous fingers. She was smiling and crying at the same time, and Kira had a sense of love and compassion mingled with sadness and grief. Kira smiled back, hoping to reassure Leia. Kira, prepared to take her last step, faltered. As she held Leia’s gaze, something dark fluttered in her heart.

               “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kira asked.

               “If I had told you, could you have continued?” Leia replied compassionately, tears welling in her eyes.

               Kira considered Leia’s words, uncertain whether she would have had the courage. “But, the Eternal Night, Coruscant, Scipio, Chandrila,” Kira recited, her own bewilderment growing that Leia could have risked so much.

               “Do you remember? The great game? We could have tried to save everyone, and in trying to save everyone, all would have fallen. Our adversary would have used our compassion against us. We lost every battle, but now we have a chance to win the war,” Leia explained.

               “So much death,” Kira said, hardly believing Leia could have been so calculated. The memory emerged in her mind of the Bendu saying Leia had more in common with the Emperor than she cared to admit.

               “Yes, but less than there would be,” Leia acknowledged. “My faith was tested every second at the end. But where the Force speaks, we must listen. Hear it calling you, revealing the final moves.” Leia paused, smiling, and then she gestured around her at the Jedi gathered around them, beaming with pride. Beyond them, the light radiated brilliantly, as the beautiful, white landscape unfurled into infinity. Leia’s smile broadened, saying, “Besides, is death really all that bad after all?”

               Kira looked toward her body, and she felt a flicker of apprehension at returning to a moment of agony and torture. The golden light encircling her seemed to encourage her, and sparing one last look at Leia, she smiled. She smiled in gratitude toward the rest – her Master and friend, Ahsoka; Anakin, who reminded her to turn to her attachment instead of fleeing it. Yoda nodded reassuringly, and Obi-wan seemed happy, eager to laugh. Qui-Gon smiled, nodding respectfully. Nodding to them all, she turned and stepped forward.

                                                                                          ***

Ren sat in silence, even as the battle raged all around him. Through the Force, he sensed the might of the Nemsian forces closing in, destroying every obstacle that this pathetic Resistance had laid in his path. He could feel the chaos of the battle in the skies above, and he felt the despair and death of the Resistance pilots as the Grysk overwhelmed them. And in the battle above the planet, he felt the same despair and chaos as the Resistance fleet began to succumb to the might of his combined forces. Beyond that awareness, he sensed the powerful well of light before him roiling and churning, vibrating as if aware that its end was nearing. Already, the strange, beautiful shell encasing the planet was cracking and collapsing. Soon, the battlecruisers could train their firepower on this spot, destroying the shield and clearing the way for Ren to destroy the greatest source of light in the galaxy.

               A subtle shift emerged in the Force; it was infinitesimal at first, but it grew. The Force was receding, but it did not feel to him as if it were about to diminish. Instead, it felt like the deep breath before a colossal eruption.

                                                                                          ***

Ben Solo rushed out of the command center and froze in his tracks. The wellspring had receded, much as the tides recede before a tsunami. There was a deep rumbling, followed by a moment of impossible silence before the massive cavity disgorged a blinding column of light and energy hundreds of miles into the sky, cutting through formations Grysk fighters that had been too slow to react before colliding with the cracked, disintegrating planetary shell. The light tore through the shell, ejecting into space and slamming through a squadron of Grysk ships. Ben saw the light stream bend and arc toward the rim of the valley, and the entirety of the beam plunged into the cave where Kira and the Mandalorians had vanished.

***

Agony flooded through Kira’s nerves as her essence returned to her body. The lightning danced around her, penetrating her muscles and burning her bones. She could see her skeleton beneath her skin, glowing with the radiation. The same sense of the light and dark entwined around her remained, and as her awareness touched that sensation, the pain suddenly vanished. The darkened cavern, glowing from the electricity encasing her suddenly illuminated in a brilliant, blinding flash. A torrent of light rushed from the cave and slammed into her, raising her higher above the ground.

The frightened clones attempted to break off their connection to her, but the lightning entwined around their hands, spreading up the arms and wrapping around their bodies. White light coursed along the electricity, merging to become torrents of golden-silver light entwining the clones. Kira felt the full brunt of the well of Erys flowing into her, and channeling the overwhelming power, she opened her heart and let it flow through her body. She felt the agony and terror of the five clones as the Force burned through their bodies, melting their flesh and disintegrating their bones into ash. The light splintered into the two-dozen carbonite sarcophaguses lining the walls of the cavern, as the carbonite began to glow and melt.

Kira looked forward at the Well of Nemsis, and she could sense the pulsating wound struggling as if attempting to break free and flee despite being bound to the darkness. The light arced across the cavern, touching the tendrils of darkness drifting out of the Well of Nemsis. Where the light and dark touched, the energy became golden, and as the gold entwined around the pulsating wound, Kira had the sense of it was screaming in agony and fear. Moments later, the wound dissipated and the light coursing through her stopped. She fell to the floor hard, feeling the damaged bones in her legs break. She looked up through the pain in her broken body, and where the black, swirling vortex of the Well of Nemsis had been, she saw a pool of golden light, streaked through with silver.

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

Ren staggered forward in pain and rage as he felt the bond tying him to the well of Nemsis severing. He collapsed to the ground, curled into a ball as he tried in vain to ward off the pain. When the pain subsided, he knew that the bond he had created was dead. The darkness, the beautiful, terrible darkness he had worshiped and harnessed, was gone. His sense of the Force had changed, and he had never felt anything like it before. Gone was the shadow. Gone was the light. Flowing through him, he felt the Force, balanced in its purity and wholeness.

               As the pain subsided, he rose to his feet and looked toward the wellspring. The great eruption  had subsided, and in place of the white light radiating from the well, he saw golden light dancing off the cliffs surrounding the Wellspring. The girl - the infernal meddling girl – somehow she had overcome the obstacles her set for her; the echo of her father, the clones, the Acronemses. His Eternal Night, cherished and nurtured for decades, had become perpetual dawn.

But no matter, he thought. What was undone could be redone. Smiling to himself, he ignited his lightsaber and thrust it forward into the space where the shield had been, and the blade passed through without any resistance. His brow furrowed with a sense of sinister purpose as he staggered beyond the boundary toward the rim of the wellspring. The three Padawan and the ex-Jedi all rose to their feet, and Ren watched Ben Solo rush back into the command center to evacuate whoever had been foolish enough to remain behind. Removing his helmet to feel the radiant glow of the Wellspring on his blackened, cracked face, he staggered forward on his injured foot, raising his lightsaber to attack.

               For a moment, Ren and the Jedi stood motionless, assessing the threat that each posed, still rocked by the sudden shift in the Force. One of the Padawans, seemingly unable to tolerate the tension, rushed forward, his lightsaber raised in attack. Ren smiled derisively, lazily blasting him away with a torrent of lightning. The force of the blast sent the young man backward, and his body arced through the air toward the edge of the wellspring. His momentum carried him forward, and he disappeared over the side.

               “Wait!” Taila cried as the other two Padawan appeared ready to lunge forward. The two Padawan turned toward Taila, who nodded deliberately, and they fanned out to either side. Ren staggered forward, holding his lightsaber at his side. As the Padawan fanned out, he launched a volley of lightning directly at Taila. She deflected the lightning, and the two Padawan rushed forward, hoping to take advantage of his preoccupation. He relinquished the blast and swiped his blade with lightning speed, cutting through both Padawans before they could land a blow. Their bodies crumpled to the ground, leaving him face-to-face with Taila as he winced with pain from the swift movements.

               As Ren recovered, the two began to circle each other, and Ren limped toward the edge of the wellspring. He reached his hand out and drew the golden light toward him. The light radiated upward, encircling his hand. He looked down in wonder as the light danced around his hand, healing the burns there.

               “Marvelous, isn’t it?” Ren said, not looking toward Taila as he allowed the Force to dance around his hands. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible. Clearly, I underestimated the girl.”

               “I’m sure that’s just the beginning of what you underestimated,” Taila said stoically, continuing to circle apprehensively, wary of any sudden moves.

               “Come now,” Ren said laughing. He stepped forward, allowing the Force to wash over him. He closed his eyes in pleasure and relief as the Force flowed over his burnt and damaged skin. He could feel his ankle bones mending as the burns on his body heeled. Looking over his hands, he felt whole, powerful, restored. Turning to Taila, he let the tendrils of golden light dance through his fingers, as he said, “You see? There’s nothing she’s undone that can’t be redone.”

               “You will die before you get the chance,” Taila said, her face set as she prepared to attack.

               Ren turned, laughing derisively. “At your pleasure, Madame Zevala.”

               Ren rushed forward, locking blades with Taila. The force of his attack sent her backward several steps, but she countered deftly, causing Ren to duck and roll backward to avoid being cut down by her lightsaber. They traded blows and slashes, with Ren allowing her to attack as he gauged her strength. She was old, weakened by time, but she was also cunning and undeterred. His respect grew, knowing how much she had survived. She had survived the Purge. She had survived Vader. She would die valiantly.

               Ren lunged forward, throwing his full power into his attacks. She matched him evenly at first, but his sheer strength, power, and speed overwhelmed her. He knocked her blade aside, then unleashed a bolt of lightning into her chest. She rose into the air, engulfed in electricity, and he lunged forward, plunging his blade through her heart.

               As she collapsed to the ground, Ren felt a surge in the Force as he anticipated a volley of blaster fire. He turned, raising his hand. The blaster bolts froze in the air, crackling as the contained energy sputtered and sparked. Ren reached his other hand out, and the blaster held in Ben Solo’s hand fell apart into its individual components. The energy from the blaster bolts evaporated, and Ren turned toward Ben, who stood alone, weaponless, but defiant.

               “Master Solo!” Ren said derisively. “How fitting that you would join me here at the end.” Ren smiled in mock courtesy, saying, “Come. You will enjoy this.” He reached out with the Force, pulling Ben toward him. Ben floated through the air, helpless to resist. He tried to speak, but Ren held his hand up, and Ben fell dumb.

               “To the end of all things: The Jedi. The Republic. The Resistance. To the foolish notion that the galaxy can live free without falling into decay and corruption.” Ren gestured up to the sky and then toward the wellspring, and as his face split into a lurid grin, he laughed a deep, cackling laugh of mirthless hatred. Holding Ben aloft with his left hand, he raised his right hand toward the Wellspring as a torrent of black energy surged into the golden light.

                                                                                          ***

“The planetary boundary is gone!” Kit cried into her commlink as the mysterious boundary withered like paper consumed in a blaze. The planet below became visible, and she knew there was now nothing between the forces above the planet and the forces below. A quick glance at her scanner told her that while a third of Ren’s fleet had been destroyed, nearly 60% of their ships were also gone. Three of the six battlecruisers were still fighting despite significant damage, and the massive flagship continued to pound Resistance forces with a withering barrage of turbolaser blasts. Those blasts suddenly ceased firing toward the Resistance fleet, and Kit had the horrible sense that it was about to target the planet’s surface.

               “Ben, you’ve got incoming fire! All forces take cover!” Kit called into her comm.

                                                                                          ***

Chewbacca unleashed a volley of blaster fire across the clearing, which cut through a line of soldiers charging through the open meadow. Gunships streaked across the valley, and several rockets streaked through the air and slammed into a Resistance anti-aircraft gun. A blast from behind shook the ground, and Chewie charged away from his position to scan the rear guard. Several Grysk shuttles had slipped over the rim of the valley and landed behind their position, and the soldiers disgorging from the shuttles were opening fire on them from behind. Pinned down on both sides, Chewie slung his crossbow back from over his shoulder and took aim. A half-dozen Mandalorians jogged up to his side and began to open fire, which the Grysk returned from their positions through the woods. Another blast rocked the walls of the valley above, sending an avalanche of rock and debris thousands of feet down into the eaves of the forest to his right.

                                                                                          ***

“All forces, train your fire on the command ship! Don’t let it reach the planet’s atmosphere!” Admiral Antilles barked. He watched the fleet shift their targeting as three more Starhawks succumbed to fire from the nearest battlecruiser.

               “Admiral, our shields are nearly down!” called Commander Morvinae, and an explosion rocked the ship, knocking the officer down to the ground along with a dozen other crewmen. Admiral Antilles gripped his chair to stop from being thrown to the ground as well.

               “One more direct hit, and we’re done for!” called the shield officer.

               Admiral Antilles looked at the tactical display and watched as another Mon Calamari cruiser vanished, consumed in flame from the enemy’s attack. A quick mental calculation told him that their forces would survive another 30 minutes maximum, at which point they would be overwhelmed and annihilated down to the last man.

               The Admiral straightened his shoulders, lifting his head high. As his crew got back to their feet, he had the sense that they were all looking toward him. He gazed past them through the viewfinder toward the foremost battlecruiser, which had sustained the least damage and seemed to be inflicting the most casualties.

               “Commander, give me the con,” Admiral Antilles commanded. Morvinae nodded and keyed in the code. “Our shields are nearly gone, and the fleet will not survive. If anyone wishes to abandon ship, now is the time.”

               Nobody on the bridge budged, and Admiral Antilles felt a surge of pride in seeing his men committed to going down with the ship. He turned to the comm and initiated the holoprojector. Kit’s face, slick with sweat and fierce concentration emerged. He waited a moment until her face relaxed slightly and said, “Kit, you are the commander now.”

               “Uncle, what?! What are you doing?” Kit’s asked.

Admiral Antilles looked at her with a mixture of sadness and regret. If only, he thought to himself, as the last year flashed before his eyes. Gazing back into her pained eyes, he felt pride stirring. Ever the maverick, she had never rested if there was truth to be uncovered. She had done far more than he had ever hoped, and as he thought of his brother, he smiled at the knowledge that he too would be moved by how hard Kit had fought to protect the galaxy.

“You’re in command now, Katraine,” he said, smiling as tears began to well in his eyes.

“Uncle, no!” Kit began, and he could see her panic rising.

“Your father would have been proud,” he said as he killed the holoprojector. He glanced back at his crew, all prepared to meet their fate. Nudging the throttle to maximum, he guided the Republic flagship directly toward the battlecruiser in front of them.

                                                                                          ***

Home Two streaked forward, steadily gaining momentum even as it trailed flames. Kit watched as the Nemsian battlecruiser attempted to adjust, but its firing adjustments moved slowly, missing their target as its blasts trailed uselessly into space. The cruiser reached a terminal velocity moments before a blinding flash of light caused Kit to pull her hands up to her eyes. As the light subsided, Kit saw vast jet of flame erupting from the center of the battlecruiser, which began to list to the side as its fire died off. A series of chain reactions ran along the hull of the battlecruiser, racing toward the ship’s drive. A second blinding flash erupted, and the ship detonated in a spectacular fireball swallowing dozens of Grysk cruisers. The Harpy shuddered as the shockwave passed, and Kit pulled the ship into a dive, setting off after another set of Nemsian fighters. She blinked away tears as she fired, funneling her anger and grief into the blasts. The ships erupted, clearing the tail of a Resistance X-wing.

               With the coast clear, Kit said into her comm, “Resistance fleet, this is Kit Antilles. Admiral Antilles is gone. Put everything you have into that command ship. Ram it if you have to! This is our last chance!”

               She pushed the Harpy toward a Starhawk, which ejected torrents of flaming plasma from its flank. A turbolaser blast sheered the ship in two, and she dropped below the uppermost half, her ship rattling as debris bounced off her shields. As she cleared the Starhawk, she found herself face-to-face with a large, regrouped cluster of Grysk cruisers bearing down on her. With no cover and no backup, she realized that she was starring directly into her death.

               Her sensors registered that the foremost cruisers were preparing to open fire, and she closed her eyes, thinking that at least she would be able to see her father and uncle again. Through her eyes, she could see light blaze, and believing the light to be a volley of turbolaser blasts aimed directly toward her, she exhaled her last breath. When no burst of fire and heat came, she opened her eyes again to see a fireball blossoming as the lead Grysk ship erupted in flames.

               Kit looked around to see where the blast had come from, and as she turned to her left, she could see hundreds of sleek, white ships trimmed with blue and black in a sprawling formation. The fleet of ships began to open fire, slowly subsuming the Grysk ships in front of her, which were turning desperately but far too slowly into position to counterattack. One-by-one, the ships blinked out, with brief blossoms of flame erupting and dying across her field of vision.

               “Commander Antilles, this is Commander Vishn’ashik’onara of the Chiss Ascendancy. We are here to assist,” spoke a cool, female voice through the intercom.

               “Yes!” Kit cried in triumph and relief, then remembering that she was commanding a battle, she said, “Half of your fleet, fire at will on the Grysk and Nemsian cruisers. The rest, open fire on that command ship. We can’t let it get to the atmosphere!”

                                                                                          ***

Din Djarin’s vision went black as a blow struck the side of his head, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. He stumbled back to his feet, dazed and disoriented. Looking around, he watched an Acronemsis backing a Mandalorian into a corner, hacking at the man’s defenses with its blades. The beast landed a clean blow, slicing through the Mandalorian’s arms, after which the beast cleaved the man’s head from his body. Djarin took aim, pulling the trigger on his blaster. No fire came, and he realized his weapon was empty. He reached for the Darksaber attached to his belt and stumbled forward, igniting his weapon. The Acronemsis turned toward him, readying its attack. It lunged, swiping at Djarin, who just managed to bring his weapon up. The force of the blow sent him backward, and the beast pressed on, swinging and slashing at Din’s failing defenses, sapping his strength and knocking him backward. The beast landed a kick to his chest, which sent Din sprawling backward as the Darksaber skittered away. He came down hard on his back, and in his exhaustion struggled to raise himself up. The beast called the Darksaber to it and ignited the weapon before stalking menacingly toward Din. It pointed the weapon into Djarin’s face, allowing Djarin a moment to understand that he was about to die by his own weapon.

               Djarin closed his eyes, waiting or the blow to come. He opened them again to watch the Darksaber rise into the air and then come swiftly crashing down. A brilliant purple glow thrust forward, catching the Darksaber in mid-air. Djarin could not read the beast’s expression, but its body language clearly communicated surprise. The purple blade slashed through the beast’s neck, and its body crashed to the floor, followed by its head. Djarin turned toward the being wielding the weapon, and he saw a humanoid wielding the lightsaber clad in white-blue armor trimmed with black. The figure held his hand out and helped lift Djarin back to his feet. He nodded before rushing off, swiping his lightsaber like a man possessed as he cut through several soldiers, some of which were bearing down on Sabine.

               Din thought he was hallucinating or perhaps still dazed from the blow to the head, but as his focus came back, he connected the purple blade with its own. Jax!

               “Everyone, rally to Jax! Follow his lead!” Din called into his commlink.

               But even as the remaining Mandalorians pushed forward to join Jax, Djarin saw that Jax had stopped. He stood before one of the female dark Jedis who had been pushing the Mandalorians back. Jax was reaching out to the Jedi, which gave Djarin the sense that he was pleading. The female appeared to hesitate, but the hesitation passed quickly. She lunged forward, attacking Jax, who began to defend himself against her vicious attacks.

               Jax fell back on his heels, attempting to defend against the vicious attacks. The female Jedi was aggressive, measured, and controlled, and Jax soon found himself locked in furious concentration to fend her blows off. He countered, and with a kick to her shoulder, she flew backward, skidding to a halt and coming up in a defensive position.

               “Vaeka, no!” Jax called, and the girl hesitated. She cocked her head to the side, and although Djarin could not see her face below her mask, he had the impression that the girl had not heard the word ‘Vaeka’ in so long that it felt as if it belonged to another person during another lifetime. Her pause lasted a moment longer until an echoing boom rocked the chamber again as another Mandalorian rocket slammed into the ceiling, sending a shower of debris down to the floor. The explosion jarred the girl out of her momentary distraction, and she launched herself forward.

                                                                                          ***       

A ringing sound echoed through his ears as his eyes adjusted to the brilliant golden light suffusing everything around him. His body ached from being still for so long, but as his awareness fluttered into being, he felt strength returning to him as his connection to the Force surged. His sense of himself, long confused through icy dreams, torture, and the darkness suffusing everything around him, began to awake, and the pure power of the Force flowed through him like a tidal wave. It was like nothing he had ever felt before – no light. No darkness. Only pure, unadulterated energy surging through every fiber in his being.

He rose to his feet and looked down at his mechanical hand, which flexed and stretched. He ran his fingers through the long beard draped over his rough robes, remembering why it had grown so long. Echoes of isolation and delusion rippled through his mind, followed by the memory of a child, desperate and pleading. He looked up toward the swirling well of golden light and recognized the throne room. The darkness of the Well of Nemsis was gone, and in its place the Force burned with piercing intensity. As his eyes acclimated, he looked around at two dozen other beings, all of whom appeared to be disoriented by their sudden awareness and wakefulness after untold years encased in carbonite. He allowed himself a slight smile, recognizing that he and his fellow Jedi had been liberated. But as he looked around, he saw a body clad in Mandalorian armor lying on the floor, motionless. Something about the body felt familiar, and as his senses stretched out toward the body, he recognized who it was.

“No,” he muttered breathlessly, as he rushed toward the body, kneeling beside it.

He probed his fingers around her neck and found a faint pulse. He pulled the helmet off the woman’s head and saw Kira’s face, her eyes distant and  barely alert, a look of wonder and agony on her face. Her eyes flickered toward his, and he saw a fragile smile stretch across her mouth.

               “Luke,” she whispered, and the smile widened slightly.

               “Kira,” Luke said as tears began to streak down his cheeks and into his beard.

               “I found them,” she said, smiling wider still, but as the effort to smile exhausted her, she began to cough, her body convulsing. Luke pulled her into his arms and ran his hands through her hair, attempting to soothe her. He had watched Leia do it countless times, and Kira closed her eyes in pleasure. Her eyes flew open, and she seemed suddenly alert. She whispered, “Ben. . .”

               And with that word, the light behind her eyes faded, and her body went still. Luke looked down, a horrible dread rising. To his relief, her body vanished, leaving the armor encasing her to tumble out of his arms and clatter onto the floor.

               When Luke looked up, he saw the Jedi gathered around him. Luke rose to his feet and turned toward the gateway that remained open on the other end of the cavern. Beyond, Luke could see the stars, and he knew the gateway would take him to Erys. He closed his eyes again, feeling a surge of grief as Kira became a part of the Force. He had hoped that it could have been avoided; that she could have lived out her years, attaining mastery and possibly even finding happiness and contentment. He had found a way through his challenges with Vader, the Emperor, Thrawn, and rebuilding the Jedi, and despite the tragedies of the past year, he had lived a life fulfilled. It was a cruel fate to know she had given everything after so much suffering. The part of him that had known that there was no avoiding one’s destiny grasped the cold finality.

               An echo of the battle beyond rippled through the air, followed by a surge of anger brought him back to the room. Looking around at the Jedi, he said, “The final battle against the Sith rages. Long have we slept. Much has been missed. I go forward to fight the darkness. Who is with me?”

               The Jedi around him all straightened up. Two dozen “ayes” echoed through the silence of the cavern, while the rest nodded. The Jedi dispersed, each going to their sarcophagus and removing their lightsabers from the side compartments. Several Jedis walked over to the robes of the disintegrated clones, bending down to pick up their lightsabers. Luke leaned down, picking up Kira’s weapons. He handed one to a Jedi next to him, and he clipped the other to his belt.

               “To the gateway,” Luke said, and the Jedi walked forward together.

               Luke stood, saving one last moment with Kira’s robes in the hopes of saying goodbye. He reached down, armor, saying, “Until we meet again.”

               “Skywalker?” spoke a deep, male voice.

               Luke straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Jedi Master Mace Windu. Windu was much older than Veryx had been, and while Veryx had both hands, Windu only had one. Windu looked down at his injured hand and back up to Luke. Luke could see Veryx’s lightsaber clipped to his belt and Veryx’s helmet cradled in his uninjured hand.

               “It is an honor, Master Windu. Master Yoda speaks most highly of you,” Luke responded.

               “Yoda?” Windu said, as if remembering something long gone. He looked deep into Luke’s eyes in concentration, as if attempting to fit dozens of puzzle pieces together at once.

               “Will you come with us?” Luke said, gesturing his robotic hand toward the Jedi waiting at the gateway.

               Master Windu looked at the Jedi, then turned away toward the distance. As he did, Luke had the sense of conflict and strife nearby. Windu looked back at Luke and shook his head.

               “My destiny lies elsewhere,” Windu said, and as he gave Luke another appraising look, he added, “Perhaps we shall meet again.”

               “If the Force wills it,” Luke said.

               Windu placed Veryx’s mask on his head, and Luke felt a jolt as he remembered his brush with death at the rogue Jedi’s hands. Windu nodded before walking purposefully toward a side door leading to the cavern below. Luke watched him go, then turned toward the Jedi. When he reached the boundary, he looked to his fellow Jedi and said, “The Force is with us. Onward!”

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

Ben struggled against the force holding him in the air, watching as Ren continued to stream a torrent of black energy into the golden depths of the Wellspring. A rumbling sound filled the air as the ground began to shake. A jet of golden light blasted out of the Wellspring, knocking Ren backward. Ben collapsed to the ground as Ren’s grip relinquished, and as Ren struggled to find his footing, Ben scrambled over to Taila Zevala’s body and grabbed her lightsaber. He ignited the weapon and dashed forward toward Ren, who was still rising to his feet. Ren ignited his lightsaber a split second before Ben could strike, blocking the blow. Ben swung wildly, attempting to cut Ren down, but Ren deflected the attack easily, knocking the lightsaber away. Ren pointed the blade directly at Ben’s chest as Anakin’s handsome features twisted into a snarl.

               “Step aside!” Ren snarled, but Ben leapt to the side toward the lightsaber, determined to continue his attack. Ren blasted the lightsaber with a current of dark energy, and the weapon exploded as the electricity hit the power supply. Ben rolled over on his back, propping himself up on his elbows as Ren walked toward him.

               “Enough, child,” Ren snarled. “You’ve lost!”

               A massive explosion several kilometers above made both men flinch. Ren looked up into the sky, watching as pieces of the great Nemsian battlecruiser that had been sheered in two by Home Two’s collision entered the atmosphere, the debris burning as it streaked across the sky toward the ocean. Ben watched as Ren’s gaze went distant, and he understood that something far away was communicating with him through the Force. Ben rolled away, attempting to reach another blaster, but the blaster shot across the clearing, flying into the Wellspring.

               “Move the command ship into position, and initiate the device,” Ren said aloud into his commlink.

               A voice spoke from the comm saying, “My Lord, that will kill our forces, too.”

               “Do it!” Ren shouted.

               Ben looked up and watched as the massive command ship drifted down toward the surface. Hundreds of cruisers fired upon the ship, but the damage did not appear to slow the command ship down. As the ship reached the edge of the atmosphere, a circular port on the ship’s ventral side opened and began to glow with a white light. A vortex quickly emerged below the port, and debris drifting at the planet’s atmospheric boundary entrained in the whirlwind.

               Ren turned back to Ben and said, “Soon, the oxygen in the atmosphere will diminish. The air will become toxic for all but the Nemsis. I had hoped to allow you to die slowly as the sulphur burns your lungs from the inside, but. . .” Ren ignited his lightsaber again and turned to face Ben directly. Ben rose to his feet and stood to face his death.

               “The galaxy is never going to stop resisting. You win here, and another dozen Resistances will pop up,” Ben said, mustering his courage as he faced his death.

               Ren laughed a mirthless laugh, and said, “Goodbye, Ben Solo.”

               Ren raised his lightsaber and brought it down with a roar. Ben closed his eyes and turned his head away, preparing to feel the blinding pain as the lightsaber burned through skin, muscle, and bone.

               “What?!” Ren’s voice said, thick with fear and rage.

               Ben opened his eyes. Before him stood Kira, translucent and radiating golden light. Her hand gripped Ren’s lightsaber, its energy crackling and sparking against her translucent fingers. Ren pushed the blade forward with all his strength, but the weapon did not move. He looked into the girl’s eyes, and her fierce gaze flashed and burned.

               Ren extinguished his weapon and stepped backward. He felt the wellspring rumble again, and in its turmoil, it sent sparks of light across the air above him. Five golden lights appeared around Ben, and slowly, they coalesced into form. Ren looked at each being in turn, recognizing the forms of Obi-wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Yoda, Leia Organa, and Qui-Gon Jinn standing around Ben, each radiating golden light, and each gazing toward him with fierceness and determination.

               Ren raised his hands and sent torrents of black energy through the assembled ghosts, and the energy passed harmlessly through each one while arcing away from Ben. The six ghosts became blurry and indistinct, and Ren watched as they disintegrated into beams of light. The beams shot toward Ben, lifting him into the air and encasing him. The light shone through his eyes, his mouth, his nose, and his skin, and slowly, the light began to fade as he drifted down to the ground. Ben looked down at his robotic hand in wonder, his breath heavy and ragged. Moved by an inspiration, he reached his hand out toward a lightsaber lying next to the body of one of the Padawans that Ren had murdered. The lightsaber quivered eagerly before shooting across the clearing into Ben’s outstretched hand.

               Ben ignited the lightsaber and turned toward Ren, his eyes glowing with radiant light. He raised his weapon, the Force with him once again, and he lunged forward to attack.

                                                                                                         ***

Jax swung Leia’s lightsaber, weaving and dodging furious slashes as his daughter assaulted him mercilessly.

               “Vaeka, please!” he called, but her attacks continued as she pushed forward ruthlessly. Jax had a sense of some distant conflict within her, but the conflict seemed to fuel fear and anger, which in turn fueled the ferocity of her attacks. Another explosion rocked the cavern, and Jax turned momentarily to see the Mandalorians in full retreat as the other six ozyly-esehembo pursued them. Several Mandalorians fell as lightsabers cut through parts of their bodies not protected by beskar. Jax lunged forward to counter-attack, hoping to catch his daughter off-guard to disarm her. She was ready, and she blocked his attack and then Force-pushed him. He flew backward and came down hard. She stalked forward, her lightsaber at her side as she prepared to kill.

               “Vaeka, it’s me! Your father,” Jax shouted through his helmet. The girl continued forward, covering the distance she had created when she pushed him. Jax felt a surge of despair as nothing he said seemed to register with her.

               With nowhere to run and nothing left to do, he reached up for his helmet and pulled it off. Immediately, the foul, acrid smell of sulphur flooded his nostrils, burning his throat as he attempted to breath. He gasped, and a rush of acidic air flooded his lungs, which burned and stung as his muscles began to seize.

               “It’s me. Your Da,” he croaked as his lungs burned. She stood before him, looking down as she held her lightsaber toward him. She paused, seemingly unable to strike while watching him asphyxiate before her eyes. Suddenly, her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground as her lightsaber extinguished. She lunged forward for the helmet Jax had removed and placed it on his head. Oxygen flooded back into his lungs, and his vision returned. She held both hands on either side of the mask, kneeling over him as he recovered his breath.

               “Da?” her modulated voice said, ripe with confusion and wonder.

               Jax gasped in relief and joy as oxygen filled his lungs. She lunged forward, throwing her arms around him.

                                                                                          ***

Luke Skywalker walked across a bridge of stars, marveling at the infinity unfurling around him and straining to discern the whispers echoing across the bridge. He passed the two streaks of gold and silver light, entwined together in perfect balance, and he continued past them toward the sounds of battle, two dozen Jedi at his back. A warning surged in the Force, and he quickened his pace, fearing that a counterattack was approaching. He reached the threshold of the cave and stepped out into the chaos of the Battle of Erys. Debris from the battlecruiser streaked across the sky, and the command ship had settled into its orbit, its atmospheric weapon activated. He took a deep breath and already felt a hint of strain in his lungs, and he knew that time was limited. He stretched out his senses, feeling the difference in the nature of the Force. He could not see the wellspring, but he felt its volatility. He had a sense of Ren’s dark presence and something else – something he could not quite place.

               Before Luke could place the presence, he felt a surge of malice, and looking ahead, he saw a swarm of Acronemses flying through the forest, weaving through the trees, toward his position.

               “Jedi!” Luke called, and the Jedi stepped forward. They ignited their sabers in unison, and Luke felt the warmth of Kira’s golden blade in his hands. The Acronemses surged forward, and the Jedi rushed forward to meet them. The two forces collided, their sabers locked in combat.

                                                                                          ***

“That’s impossible,” Ren said, stepping backward as Ben looked down at the weapon in his hand. Ben did not respond. Instead, he strode toward Ren, raising his lightsaber. Ren crouched, preparing to defend himself. Ben struck, and the force of the blow knocked Ren backward.

               End here, this evil will, spoke a wizened voice, which echoed through the Force in Ren’s mind.

               Ren tried to wave the distraction away, and Ben charged forward. Ben’s blow came down hard against Ren’s lightsaber, and Ren fell to the ground, the impact jolting through his spine as he winced in pain.

               The galaxy has suffered enough, a woman’s voice said, and Ren recognized it as Leia Organa.

               The abyss awaits you, said a male voice whom Ren could not place.

               Ben swung downward, and Ren rolled to the side as Ben’s blade slashed into the ground. Ren leapt to his feet and countered, but Ben was ready. They traded blows, Ren fighting furiously and desperately as Ben matched his intensity. Ren leapt backward, somersaulting through the air and landing lightly on his feet. As Ben charged forward, Ren unleashed another volley of black energy, and a light erupted from Ben’s chest. Kira’s ghost appeared, and she touched the black light, which transmuted to silver light before arcing back toward Ren. Ren felt the force of it knock him back, and a searing pain tore through his muscles as the silver lightning rebounded upon him. Kira’s ghost merged back into Ben’s body as Ben stepped forward, looking to continue the attack.

Ren retreated backward, blocking Ben’s furious blows. He called into his commlink, “Fire on the wellspring!”

Ben heard a tinny voice call back, “My Lord?!”
               “Do it!” Ren shouted.

                                                                           ***

Chewbacca fired into the forest as the Grysk soldiers darted behind the trees looking to take cover. An explosion rocked the towering tree above, cutting through the trunk and sending the top half of the trunk tumbling down perilously to the ground. Chewie leapt aside, narrowly avoiding being crushed, although the Mandalorians next to him were not so lucky. He pulled himself to his knees and continued to fire, when a massive turbolaser blast tore through the sky, sending a mushroom cloud into the air as the fallback position vanished in a storm of fire. Chewie turned to run from the approaching shockwave, but pain tore through his chest, causing him to collapse to the ground as his lungs gasped for air.

                                                                           ***

Kit watched as another Nemsian battlecruiser erupted in flames. The Resistance and Chiss ships maneuvered away from the massive explosion, although the Grysk were not quite as lucky as the fireball swallowed a dozen cruisers.

With the Grysk and Nemsian resistance subsiding, Kit shouted, “Reroute ships from sector 7, 9, and 12 to join in the assault on that command ship. The rest, clear your targets and fire everything you got on that command ship!” she ordered into her comm.

She turned the Harpy over into a dive, and she took out two Nemsian fighters pursuing a pair of A-wings. Most of the Chiss ships had shifted their firing on the command ship, which continued to absorb an astonishing amount of damage. Her scanners still registered that its shields were functional and deflecting the worst of the damage. Some parts of the ship were ejecting spouts of flame, and she began to understand that the ship had rerouted its shields to protect its crucial infrastructure.

“Antilles!” called a male voice that she recognized as General Telvin’s. “It’s getting hard to breath down here,” he gasped, and looking down to the planet’s surface, she could see explosions ballooning across the landscape as the command ship continued to fire. The bulk of her forces were now firing on the command ship, their fire dispersed.

“Concentrate all fire on the command structure and the power generators!” she called, and there was a momentary lull in firing as the fleet reoriented its fire. The firing resumed, and the blasts continued to slam into the ship’s shield, doing minimal damage.

“It’s too strong!” an unidentified voice called through the general channel, and Kit bit her cheek as she agreed that the voice was probably right. Hundreds of ships fired every weapon in their arsenal, yet nothing could get through.

                                                                                          ***

Luke swung and parried, swiping at an Acronemsis that had pinned down a younger Jedi. The beast turned toward him, hissing through its mask. Luke could feel his breathing becoming more labored as he reached out to hold the creature in an invisible grip. The creature struggled and strained, and a younger Jedi cut it in half as Luke held it. Luke nodded at the younger Jedi, and they both rejoined the fray where the Jedi continued to engage the Acronemses as fire rained down from the sky.

               Luke felt a memory surge within him as his mind drifted back to the year he had spent in the valley below, which still felt like an eternity within eternities ago. He could almost hear Yoda’s voice, but before the voice became distinct, he raised his blade to defend himself once again. He swung his blade to counter, and the Acronemsis hissed and screamed its challenge. The beast fluttered into the air, raising its claws and blade to strike.

               Protect them, you can. The Prime Jedi, you will become, Yoda’s voice echoed in his ears. He shook his head, remembering that it was not Yoda who had said that, but the Prime Jedi, manipulating him into believing his destiny was passivity and isolation in service of an endless cycle of death and rebirth.

               The Acronemsis flew toward him, and Luke ducked, allowing the creature to pass. It soared ahead, and Luke lunged after it, pursuing it through the forest as it streaked away. Luke could feel the battle raging behind him, but as he was about to turn to rejoin the fray, he felt something pulling at him. He turned, and there, silhouetted against the smoke and flame rising from the valley below, stood an ancient uneti tree.

               A pair of Acronemses swooped forward, positioning themselves between Luke and the tree. They ignited their lightsabers and assumed a defensive posture, intent on stopping Luke from reaching it. Luke ignited Kira’s blade again and raised it, prepared to strike.

                                                                                          ***

Jax embraced his daughter, and felt her body shaking as her realization cut through her rage and hatred, stirring a deep well of sorrow, longing, fear, and love. Jax released her as another explosion erupted. The Mandalorians were falling back as a fresh wave of fighters surged forward, beating their advances back.

               “We have to kill it,” Vaeka said, pointing toward the pulsating, cancerous entity that remained unscathed in the depths of the cavern.

               “How?” Jax asked, and they watched as another Mandalorian rocket streaked toward the hive mind, only to swerve away into the cavern walls. Only a dozen Mandalorians remained, circled together in a last stand.

               “Come on!” Jax called, and together, he and Vaeka rushed forward, slicing through the unsuspecting Acronemses and creating a corridor for the Mandalorians to escape.

               Sabine Wren rushed forward, saying, “Can you get me close to it?”

               Jax looked down at the bandolier filled with explosions draped across her chest, and he turned to Vaeka and said, “What do you think?”

               Vaeka did not speak, and instead she stared at the entrance to the cavern, frozen in fear. She reached her hand out and pointed at a cloaked figure wearing a cracked black and purple helmet. The figure walked across the cavern, and the Acronemses swerved away, forming a corridor through which the figure walked. Jax recognized him as Veryx, but he could not believe his eyes given that he had learned Veryx had died.

               “No,” he said, and he rushed forward. An invisible wall struck him, and he fell backward, stumbling to his knees. Sabine rushed forward, but she, too, hit the invisible wall. Her bandolier flew from her body and drifted across the cavern to rest in Veryx’s hand. Several Mandalorians fired on him, but the fire stopped in mid-air, sizzling and sparking as an unseen force held it in place. The Acronemses closed ranks around him, deflecting the fire to protect one of the only two masters they had ever served.

               Veryx continued forward, flanked by the Acronemses. He walked to the base of the hive mind and kneeled, laying the bandolier before it. The massive growth throbbed and pulsated, and the Acronemses appeared to grow excited.

               Jax felt a shift in the Force, and in his mind’s eye, he saw Veryx’s hand twitch. The detonators activated, and he felt a wave of horror and desperation wash across the cavern.                A moment of silence preceded a massive chain of explosions that swallowed Veryx in a flash before tearing through the hive mind. The blast cut into the organism in a torrent of flame and heat. As the flame and smoke cleared, they saw a massive, bleeding hole, and from its ruined body spilled a flood of acidic green blood that Jax and Vaeka leapt over to reach the safety of high ground. The hive mind no longer pulsed, and from his perch overlooking the dying mind, Jax felt a surge of hatred that vanished into silence.

                                                                                          ***

Luke swung to block a vicious swipe from one of the Acronenemses, and he reached his hand out to push the other beast’s attack back with the Force. He held them there, straining through the Force to stop them from breaking through his defenses as fatigue from a long period frozen in carbonite began to sink in. The beasts pushed in on him, cackling and hissing.

               A wave of hatred washed through the Force, and suddenly the pressure from the two creatures relaxed. Their bodies convulsed and shivered, and they fell to the floor, lifeless. Luke could feel the surprise ripple through the Jedi locked in combat with the beasts, and he knew that their foes had died just as suddenly. Luke looked to the sky as countless fighters hurtled toward the ground, out of control as their pilots died suddenly. He watched one streak into a high peak on the opposite side of the valley, and hundreds more Nemsian fighters tumbled from the skies to crash into the seas and the forests.

                                                                                          ***

A blast blew Ben backward, and a wall of flame rushed toward him. He could feel the presences within him leave his body, and in front of him, he saw the forms of Kira, his mother, Yoda, Obi-wan, Ahsoka, and Qui-Gon pushing back against the wall of flame threatening to consume him. The flame died down, and Ben looked across the clearing toward Ren. His clothes had caught fire, and his skin burned. He screamed in agony, but he still stood. He turned to see Ben rising to his feet, the Force ghosts all separated from his body. He rushed forward, flames trailing behind him, rage etched into his face.

               He was mere meters away when he stopped as if slamming into an invisible wall. Ben saw the rage in Ren’s eyes vanish, replaced by fear and pain. Next to Ren, a seventh golden light began to glow, and it coalesced into the form of his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. Ben looked from the glowing form of Anakin’s ghost to the burned figure of his cloned body. Anakin’s ghost became a golden blur, and it plunged into Ren’s chest. Ren uttered a shocked and surprised, “Oh!” as confusion spread across his face. Ben felt a force pull him backward as a shockwave of black energy exploded from Ren’s body, washing across the clearing. The rage swirled helplessly, and even with his connection to the Force severed once again as the Force ghosts held back the explosion, Ben could feel the impotent rage and hatred.

               The black energy subsided into a whisp of smoke, and suddenly the clearing was silent. He looked toward the cloned body of Anakin Skywalker, and to Ben’s surprise the clone was awake and alert. The expression on the handsome face had lost its rage and cruelty, and its place was an expression of wonder and surprise. As the golden light of the wellspring washed over the figure, cleansing its burns and healing its wounds, the figure looked toward Ben and smiled widely, and Ben felt a sudden recognition dawning as he stared into the face – and essence – of Anakin Skywalker.

                                                                                          ***

Luke stepped forward to the base of the tree, running his fingers over the bark. He had felt the wave of rage and hatred dissipate, and he knew that Ren was no more. He looked up into the sky, and despite knowing that the Nemsis was also no more, he saw the command ship above, continuing to eject its toxic mix of chemicals into Erys’s pristine atmosphere. The ships above continued to train their weapons on the command ship, which burned and smoked while continuing to destroy the atmosphere.

               Luke brought his focus back to the tree, and he ran his hand toward the cavity on the front of the tree’s trunk. He grabbed onto a groove in the tree, and pulled himself up, hoisting himself into the cavity. He settled himself into a cross-legged position and closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force. After a moment of silence, the ground began to shake, and Luke could feel something warm enclosing his body. Surrendering his body to the tree, he felt his essence merge with the deep current of energy flowing from the planet’s core.

                                                                                          ***

Akeyla stumbled out of the command center to find Ben kneeling on all fours, gasping for breath. She felt the air burning through her lungs, and she staggered toward Ben, who stood before the man who had moments later been attempting to kill him. She fell hard to her knees and looked up at the command ship, choking on the poisonous air filling her lungs. The ship took each punishing blow, and no attack, no blast, and no suicide run was able to disrupt its terrible weapon, which continued to destabilize the atmosphere.

               Ben looked up, feeling the urge to vomit, and through the blinding haze of pain in his muscles and lungs, he saw a shimmering figure radiating golden light appear next to the cloned body of Anakin Skywalker on the precipice of the wellspring. Both Anakin and the figure raised their arms, and a massive torrent of light rose into the air. The light coalesced into a vast, turbulent cloud, which spread across the sky. The ground rumbled and shook, the shaking reaching a furious pitch.

               A massive blast of silver lightning erupted from the Wellspring, and it shot into the sky, crackling and rippling through squadrons of Grysk ships before colliding with the underside of the command ship. The bolt of lightning spread across the surface of the ship, which buckled and shattered. The lightning intensified, and as the intensity surged, the ship broke apart, fragments of debris drifting away as they entrained in the upper atmosphere’s winds. Pulses of light flashed, glowing brilliantly as the lightning consumed the ship. The intensity peaked, and a massive explosion tore across the sky as the ship’s core detonated. The shockwave traced the planet’s atmospheric boundary, streaking toward the fleeing Resistance fighters soaring away from the explosion.

                                                                                          ***

Chewbacca looked to the sky and watched as the shockwave slowed to a halt and then, inexplicably, began to recede. Debris floated up around him, and Chewie saw the craft, bodies, and weapons of the enemy rising into the air. An intact Grysk speeder pulled away from the ground as it attempted to flee, and it drifted upward into the sky. Its pilot fell from the saddle of the speeder, dropping twenty feet before rising back up into the air.

                                                                                          ***

Wex Antilles turned his X-wing around as his scanners picked up the shockwave’s sudden contraction. As he swung the craft around, he watched a Grysk fighter tumble past, cartwheeling toward the explosion.

               “All craft clear the perimeter!” he shouted into his comm, and he watched as the remaining fighters streaked away from the golden light into which the Grysk and Nemsian forces were being sucked.

                                                                                          ***

Kit Antilles watched as the last battlecruiser broke apart, its massive debris field streaking toward he planet’s surface. The fleet appeared to be imploding, and several more pieces of debris shot by, swerving around her ship toward the core of the implosion. The light at the core of the implosion brightened, and a massive burst of light erupted, blasting through space. As the light dissipated, Kit looked down and saw that the enemy fleet had vanished. The battlecruisers, the debris, the fighters, the cruisers – all had vanished, sucked into the implosion that now lingered only as a shimmering bright spot; a temporary star marking the demise of the Order of Ren.

Chapter Text

Erys, 26 A.B.Y.

The fiery torrent of lightning arced back toward the ground, the energy surging into the great cavity where the wellspring shimmered and glowed. Ben felt the ground vibrate followed by a brilliant flash of light. Then suddenly, as all went still, the Force glowed golden, its energy dancing gently against the rocky walls of the deep well. In the silence, Ben could hear a bird singing, a sudden, shocking sound that cut surreally through the silence where the chaos of battle had raged moments before.

               Ben breathed deeply, feeling cool, fresh oxygen filling his lungs. He took Akeyla’s hand and helped her back to her feet. She too was breathing deeply, and she appeared unhurt. She laughed in relief, and Ben smiled. Satisfied that Akeyla was ok, Ben turned back toward the spot where his grandfather’s cloned body stood next to the shimmering figure that had appeared moments before the wellspring erupted, destroying the Order of Ren’s flagship. The two faced each other, silhouetted by the glow radiating from the Wellspring. Ben stepped forward tentatively, and as he approached, the two figures turned toward him. Anakin’s clone was examining his hand, which was whole and uninjured. Standing next to him, his hair and beard shorter, and his eyes sparkling with relief and joy, stood the shimmering figure of his uncle, Luke Skywalker.

               “Grandson,” Anakin Skywalker said, smiling broadly and stunned to find himself inhabiting his own body again. He stepped forward, arms spread wide, and he embraced Ben.

               Ben was lost for words, stunned as the man who had nearly killed him now embraced him. He winced slightly as Anakin approached, but when the embrace remained safe, he returned it. Lost in his own confusion, he pulled back and said, “How can this be?”

               “I drove Ren’s essence out of my body; I was probably the only one who could.” Anakin looked down at his hands, both of which were whole, and laughed, “And now here I am.”

               Ben laughed in relief and surprise, astonished to see his boyhood idol before him. Luke also smiled, marveling at the unexpected change.

Luke said, “Of course, if you prefer to remain a ghost. . .”

               “You know,” Anakin said, smiling even more broadly, “It might be nice to have a second chance. Make some of this right?”

               “Does that mean?” Ben said, stopping short.

               “That Anakin Skywalker has returned to help the galaxy rebuild,” spoke a woman’s voice, and another golden light shimmered, revealing his mother.

               “Mom,” Ben said, choking back sudden tears. He could not touch her, but her warm smile was everything he could have hoped for. As he gazed at her, basking in her love and gratitude, the rest of the ghosts rematerialized, beginning with Kira, followed by Yoda, Ahsoka, Obi-wan, and Qui-Gon. Moments later, another figure materialized, and after a brief start spurred by recollections of the nearly fatal battle on Mustafar, Ben recognized the figure of Jedi Master Mace Windu joining the group.

               “Done well, you have, young Solo,” Yoda said gravely, nodding his head in respect.

               “For the first time in many ages, the Force is balanced, once and for all,” said Qui-Gon Jinn, who stood next to a smiling Obi-wan Kenobi.

               “And all that’s left to decide is what path you wish to walk,” Ahsoka added, her own smile warm and full of respect.

               “What path?” Ben said, confused.

               “That’s right,” Luke said. “If you choose, you could remain as you are and set out for a life of peace, free from the demands of the Force.”

               “Or, if you’d like,” Anakin added, “We could help build something together.”

               “Rebuild the Jedi?” Ben asked, a surge of apprehension growing.

               “Gone, the Jedi are,” Yoda said. “Return, we did. Set right, things are. But at an end, that era is.”

               “There now exists an opportunity: Build a new order, one free of dogma and guided solely by the Will of the Force,” Qui-Gon explained.

               “But the dark side?” Ben asked, concerned about the sudden loss of strictures and dogmas in protecting adepts.

               “That too no longer exists. Now, it is just the Force,” Obi-wan said.

               “And the Sith?” Ben asked.

               “The last of their kind died moments ago, destroyed by Anakin,” Ahsoka said, smiling fondly at her former master.

               Ben looked toward Anakin, who stood smiling and expectant. Ben appeared confused, and Anakin’s smile faltered somewhat. He said, “Of course, if you wish to pursue a quiet life. . .”

               “No!,” Ben said. “I just don’t understand how I’m to gain the Force again.”

               “Ah,” Kira said, raising a hand and smiling radiantly at Ben. “Leave that to us.”

               The Force ghosts fanned out around Ben, surrounding him in a loose circle. Each raised their hand, and Ben could feel a quiet tremor in the ground below. Tendrils of Force energy drifted into the air, passing through each of the ghosts and transmuting into a golden light. The light passed from their outstretched hands and encircled Ben, whose body glowed as the Force flowed through him. He rose into the air, feeling the sudden surge of power and awareness penetrating every atom of his body. Moments later, the light dwindled, and he floated gently back to the ground. Tentatively, he stretched his hand outward to Ren’s lightsaber, which lay on the ground near the spot where Anakin had released his essence. In his mind, an unspoken suggestion formed, and he felt the Force flow through him. The weapon arced across the air, landing in his outstretched hand. Anakin stepped forward, clapping him on his shoulder, smiling broadly. Ben returned the smile, the Force with him once again.

                                                                                          ***

The Harpy soared through the skies above Erys, leading a parade of shuttles, fighters, freighters, and corvettes hailing from countless corners of the galaxy toward the surface. Chiss shuttles and fighters mingled within the Resistance, forming a train of small craft descending from the stationary cruisers, destroyers, and large warships hovering above the planet. Kit looked to the side to see an X-wing flying in tandem, and she recognized her cousin, Wex Antilles, flying alongside her. He saluted respectfully before pulling his X-wing into a dive. Kit followed suit, turning the Harpy over, and the hundreds of ships following her kept the same course heading toward a large plateau overlooking the Valley of the Wellspring not far from where Kira had opened the bridge to Nemsis and where Luke had become one with the ancient uneti tree.

               The procession streaked across the skies, hurtling toward the vast plain whose perimeter had been illuminated by landing lights. Kit slowed the Harpy and eased it down to the landing area not far from where a delegation of Resistance figures waited at the edge of the forest to receive them.

               With the Harpy settled, Kit jogged out of the ship, grinning ear-to-ear as she stepped into the cool evening breeze blowing across the grassy steppes above the valley. She jogged through the tall grass toward the procession, and she spotted Akeyla Ismaren and Ben Solo at the head. Next to Ben, she could see several glowing figures, and as she neared, she recognized Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Kira Palpatine waiting alongside Ben and Akeyla. Chewbacca was behind Ben, his arm bandaged, and dozens of Mandalorians mingled among Republic soldiers and officers, their helmets removed while they smiled, laughed, and commiserated.

               Kit ran to Akeyla and gazed at Kira and Leia in wonder. Leia drifted forward through the tall grass, followed by Kira. Kit shook her head as if trying to ward off a hallucination, and Kira laughed, saying, “It’s a crazy Jedi thing.”

               Kit frowned and asked, “Does this mean that you’re dead?
               “Yes. And no,” Kira said, laughing again at Kit’s confusion.

Akeyla stepped forward to embrace Kit, tears of joy streaming down her face. A murmur of conversation followed by a cheer caused Kit to pull away from Akeyla, and looking to her left, she watched as a cluster of Mandalorians led by Din Djarin and Sabine walked toward their prcoession. Jax was with them, accompanied by a young girl who looked scared and out of place. Six other Chiss women followed them, each looking apprehensive and uncertain. Jax took the girl’s hand, and she looked up at him, reassured as they moved toward Akeyla, Leia, and Kit.

               When Jax arrived, Kit stepped forward, and her gaze became momentarily stony. Jax did not wait for her to respond, instead introducing the girl whose hand he held. “Kit Antilles, meet my daughter, Vaeka. Vaeka, Kit Antilles, who saved me from the Order of Ren and helped me find my place in the galaxy.”

               Kit stared at Vaeka in shock, and she felt some of her tension ebbing away as she whispered, “You found her.”

               Jax smiled broadly, his stoicism forgotten, “I lost my way for a bit there, but thanks to you, Lando, and Kira, I found my way back.”

               Jax turned toward Kira, and he rushed over to introduce his daughter to her. As he did so, the Resistance pilots, officers, and techs merged with the Mandalorians, Chiss, and assorted beings from across the galaxy. Pilots swapped stories while officers abandoned their military poise and hugged each other. Chewbacca roared in pleasure and rushed forward to embrace several Wookie pilots Kit did not recognize. Sabine Wren shook hands with Akeyla, and Lando Calrissian stood deep in conversation with the ghost of Leia Organa. Din Djarin spoke with Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, gesturing toward a cruiser up above while Luke nodded enthusiastically.

               Kit stood in silence, watching everyone celebrating together until people slowly drifted toward bonfires that had sprung up near their encampment, heralds of a celebratory feast that was set to begin. Kit sat on a boulder, watching the sun setting over the valley as golden light illuminated the tall grass waving in the breeze. As the remainder of the procession moved on, she looked up to see Akeyla Ismaren approaching her with Leia Organa drifting along by her side. Kit shifted to the side of her boulder, allowing Akeyla a spot to sit down. Leia walked around the boulder through the tall grass to stand beside Kit.

               “I’m sorry about your uncle,” Leia said, seemingly reading Kit’s mind and deducing the reason for her reluctance to join the celebration.

               Kit looked down, feeling the sting of tears welling in her eyes. She felt Akeyla take her hand, and as the tears flowed, she said, “He died protecting the galaxy. He finally found his way back.”

               “Indeed, we all did,” Leia said.

               Akeyla turned toward Leia and asked, “Did you know it would go this way?”

               “Not exactly,” Leia said, her smile fading as she gazed into the sunset. “The future never settles into a clear picture. I listened to the Force, and I made the moves it dictated. But at a certain point, all I had was faith.”

               “Where do we go from here, then?” Kit asked, her own gaze drifting toward the sunset. The sun was nearly to the horizon, and its light illuminated streaks of billowing clouds in a fiery blend of pastels and bloody oranges and reds.

               “The past 50 years have exposed the limitations of the Republic, the Jedi – indeed all of the old institutions,” Leia said as the sun began to sink into the horizon.

               “And, the balance of power has shifted,” Akeyla added. “The Chiss cannot reach their ancestral home. They will remain here, and I have begun conversations with Commander Ashik about settlement on Nal-Hef.”

               “In my brief visit with Jax, I sensed openness for a coalition,” Leia said.

               “Then that’s where we begin,” Akeyla said. “We form a coalition and chart a new path.”

               “But how will we know that it won’t fail?” Kit asked, still apprehensive and nervous.

               “We won’t,” Leia answered. “We never will. All we can do is put our faith in each other and in the Force.”

               “Will you be here to help?” Kit asked.

               “Always,” Leia said, and the three women, the leaders of the Resistance, the Alderaanian diaspora, and the closest of friends, watched as the sun disappeared into the Erysian sea while the clouds exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors.

                                                                                          ***

Two weeks later. . .

Ben walked through the cool forests of Erys, Anakin by his side. They had wandered for many hours, sometimes in conversation, sometimes in quiet contemplation, and sometimes deliberating on the future that awaited beings who wielded the Force. Luke, Anakin, and Ben had all agreed on abandoning both the Jedi code and the Jedi title, but there had been no agreement on what the new order might become. Ben enjoyed watching his grandfather reconnect with his body as he leapt through the trees to test his strength and agility. Ben settled on the ground to watch as his grandfather test his body and his abilities, occasionally looking closer afoot at the wonders around him. Ben closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force to feel the brilliant tapestry of light and life around him. He could feel Luke at work, healing the planet from the damage inflicted by Ren and his hordes of beasts. The planet was nearly healed, and Ben could feel the Force growing as wounds closed, animals re-awoke, and life began to thrive once again.

               Anakin landed in a nearby grassy tussock with a soft thump, a grin playing across his face. He laughed from the sheer joy of movement, the Force flowing through him, and Ben smiled broadly in return. Anakin’s smile faltered, and he strained his ears to listen to a growing whine approaching from across the sea.

               “Sounds like a starship,” Ben added, and Anakin jogged over to a clearing to track the sound as it approached. A small starfighter streaked across the valley, and Anakin whooped in glee.

               “Wizard! I haven’t seen one of those in 50 years!” he said, thrilled at the sight.

               “What is it?” Ben asked as he watched the fighter streak toward the Wellspring.

               “A Naboo N-1,” Anakin answered excitedly. “Come on! Let’s check it out,” as he jogged ahead on a forest path through sparkling pools shaded by towering trees and an understory of giant ferns. Ben took off after him, and the two raced through the forest, reaching the clearing moments later.

               The N-1 had parked 50 meters away from the Wellspring, and a Mandalorian stood near the ship, deep in conversation with Luke. The Mandalorian held something in his arms, and Ben and Anakin jogged forward to see. Ben recognized the Mandalorian as Din Djarin, and when they reached the man, Din turned to them. Ben looked down to see what he was holding, and to his surprise, saw a small, green creature who looked much like Yoda, only as a child.

               “No way!” Anakin said, joy erupting on his face. “Is that Grogu?!”

               Grogu recoiled at the sight Anakin, and Luke said appeasingly, “It’s okay, Grogu. He’s not going to hurt you.”

               Anakin’s smile faltered, and he stepped back. Luke looked at Ben and said, “Nephew, Din Djarin has brought the foundling, Grogu, here to complete his training. He started his training with me 17 years before but decided to remain with the Mandalorian.”

               “Will he still have to abide by the rules of the Jedi?” Din Djarin asked.

               “No,” Ben said. “The Jedi are no more.”

               “But how will he learn to use his powers?” Djarin asked, confused that the Jedi were gone despite the appearance of Luke, Ben Solo, and Anakin Skywalker.

               Anakin knelt toward Grogu, holding his hand out. Grogu hesitated, still alarmed at Anakin. Anakin knew that Grogu’s last memory of him had been when he stormed the Jedi Temple moments before he had been kidnapped, and even with Luke’s reassurance, he still seemed frightened. The air rippled next to Anakin, and Grogu stepped back, surprised. A golden light materialized into Master Yoda’s form, and Grogu brightened with a delighted squeal.

               “Yes, young one,” Yoda said, smiling. “Trust him, you can.”

Ben saw Grogu look toward Anakin, and he tilted his head, his face reflecting concentration. From his sense of the Force, Ben understood that Anakin was explaining everything to Grogu. Grogu’s hesitation waned, and he toddled forward for Anakin to pick him up. Anakin lifted Grogu up, smiling broadly as they continued their silent communion.

               “We will train him. He will live for a long time, one of the first of a new order of Force wielders who will lead the way in protecting peace and justice in the galaxy,” Luke explained. “I also recognize that he will lead Mandalore to its future, as well. He may move between both worlds as he pleases. We will guide, but never direct.”

               The three Skywalkers looked at each other and then turned their heads to hear dozens of lightsabers buzzing as numerous beings sparred congenially in combat training. Some were former Jedi liberated from their carbonite prisons on Nemsis. Several of the trainees had blue skin and long, black-blue hair. Din recognized Jax among them, and he guided a Chiss woman, a young Wookie, and a human teenager through drills. One of the female Chiss ran over and said, “Master Skywalker, it appears that Sister Vaeka has determined another vergeance, this time on the planet Mygeeto!”

               Luke smiled at Vaeka and said, “Very good! Bring me to her.” He turned to follow her, looking back at Anakin, Ben, and Djarin, smiling broadly as he said, “Ben, please provide our guest with refreshment and see to it that he’s comfortable.”

               Djarin watched Luke drift away, and he turned toward Ben. Anakin was still communing with Grogu, and he had carried him to the edge of the Wellspring, where both gazed in awe at the Force flowing from within.

               “But if he’s not a Jedi. . .” Djarin began, still uncertain. “What is he then?”

               Ben turned toward Djarin, reading the uncertainty below his mask. He looked back toward the new Force users honing their skills, and a learner leapt into the air, appearing to walk across the sky. Ben smiled, remembering the Chiss name for Force users. After hours of debate, the answer had appeared of its own accord. The doing had been done without doing. Smiling as the moment ended the lengthy debate with his uncle and his grandfather, he turned to Djarin and said:

               “A Sky Walker.”