Prologue
From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo, 40.5 ABY
The Imperial Remnant was the first to fall. A quarter of their fleet, led by my friend Admiral Gilad Pallaeon, was called to face five ships. They all died without taking out a single enemy capital ship. The Imperial governors surrendered within the hour that followed.
The Jedi Coalition was next. Five major battles were fought, all were lost. Tycho Celchu, Gavin Darklighter, Face Loran. Rogue Squadron. Keyan Farlander. Madurrin. Tresina Lobi. Alema Rar. Valin Horn. Rosh Penin. Twenty eight Jedi in total. Thousands of loyal soldiers and pilots. Half of the fleet was decimated before the withdrawal order was completed. Wedge took the other half, pulled out of every sector with as many resources and people as they could carry, destroyed every factory and shipyard he could, and retreated. Nobody knows where the fleet ended up. My best guess is Chiss Space or somewhere else in the Unknown Regions. Every planet that has supported the Jedi is now largely undefended, not that our defenses amounted to anything. Kashyyyk and Dac are expected to be hit first. There is nothing we can do. The Mon Calamari, Quarren and Wookiees are already evacuating to anywhere they can. They figure if they aren't home, their home won't get destroyed. I can only hope that's true.
I don't know the fate of the Jedi Temple. There was a battle... Uncle Luke is still alive, and I know he was there. Jaina, mom and dad were at the battle, too. I...I didn't feel anyone die through the Force, so I know they escaped. I suspect they are going to Corellia, the last safe house solar system in the galaxy protected by the gravity well generator of Centrepoint station, and that's where I'm going, too.
Hapes has been lost, too. I can see it now. I don't know how I missed it. The whole plot to remove Tenel Ka from the crown was part of the plan to take over the Consortium without firing a shot. I should have caved. I should've gone along with it and let Carys give up the throne and get Tenel Ka back and just left with my family. The entire cluster was destroyed and Carys was killed because I fought back. Their blood is on my hands. They used chemical weapons, orbital bombardments, legions of shock troops...the entire Hapan fleet was wiped out fighting to the last man and woman, and every planet's population was systematically massacred without remorse while escaping ships were slaughtered by the blockade. Tenel Ka and I were at Reef Fortress when Hapes was hit. We barely escaped with our lives and the contents of our memorial to the Jedi using the Solo Quest's cloaking device to get past the blockade. I don't think I have any food on board except the emergency rations. We had to leave that quickly. I don't know if many Hapans escaped, but Isolder was on diplomatic business with the Chiss. I hope he's safe.
The Black Vornskrs are the only ones who have held their own, if just barely. Eriana was prepared to keep her fleets mobile and fade away at any signs of hostility. She has set up safe houses around the galaxy, but mobility and the guise of piracy are keeping the Vornskrs alive. By now she should have her base set up in the Maw. It is the one place that they'll never be able to attack – their ships are too big to fit through the black holes, or the defenses are too great for smaller ships. Eriana has turned the Maw into the best defended location in the galaxy. I almost wish they would attack there. If I can't find Jaina on Corellia, that's where I'll go next.
As far as I know there are less than thirty Jedi left, not including the younglings. Luke Skywalker. Cilghal. Kenth Hamner. Tionne Solusar. Kam Solusar. Kyp Durron. Octa Ramis. Lowbacca. Streen. Corran Horn. Kirana Ti. Kyle Katarn. Mara Jade Skywalker. Jaden Korr. Tesar Sebatyne. Jaina Solo. Tyria Sarken Tainer. Tresk Im'nel. Markre Medjev. Tekli. Chitter. Doran Tainer. Jysella Horn. Tiu Zax. Leia Organa Solo. Nelani Dinn. Sanola Ti. Eriana Fostenon. And me.
I can't even count Tenel Ka in that list. Ta'a Chume broke her. It will be a long time before she is able to fight again. Danni Quee, while not a Jedi, is still on Zonoma Sekot helping us as she can. Looking at the days ahead, we'll need all the help we can get.
They call themselves the Bogan Empire. Their ships are unstoppable, their warriors are on par with the Jedi, and there are many more of them than us. I don't know much of what happened or why, but I do know one thing: Darth Krayt must pay for his crimes.
A/N: Again, I own nothing (though I did create Eriana).
Welcome to another exciting chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it. For those of you just tuning in, this is part 7 of my series. Please take a look at my profile for links to all of the others. This might stand on it's own, but you'll be fairly lost without having read some of the other content on any of the OC/Black Vornskrs stuff. Guys...in this one, all hell is breaking loose. As you read above, there have been losses, and there will be many more to come. I'll be exploring some very real themes in this story, and I'll be the first to say that what you see is not always what you think it is. I've put a lot of thought into this story and there are things I wrote in The Greater Sin that were shaped as I started writing and planning The Invisible Hand.
Again, I thank my faithful fans for sticking with me over the years, and I hope you all don't track down my IP address and kill me in my sleep for this one :)
P.S. The Invisible Hand is an economic metaphor conceived by Adam Smith in the 1700s that an economy will always strive towards a natural state of equilibrium through self-regulating tendencies of market forces. What this means in the context of this story is...Darth Krayt got his MBA while nobody was looking and I'll let him explain it for me.