Good afternoon, all of my friends and associates within the fanfcition community! How are you doing on the warm day of June 6, 2018? I'm doing well, as I don't have to come into work today due to a lull in the theater, which gives me plenty of time to start writing my next chapter. What have you all been up to since I last heard from you? I've read a bit more of The Reagan Diaries, and I should be done with it later today. In addition, I've purchased Injustice 2 #27, and I enjoyed the beginning of the arc that, hopefully, begins the redemption of Hal Jordan. And, I've just read MandoCommandeer's final chapter of Star Wars: Rebels: World at War, and it was excellent. I look forward to whatever he comes up with next in his amazing saga. So, when we last left our heroes and villains, T'Ra Saa had been incapacitated by a psychic assault by Grand Inquisitor Halmere, Vader had been given the Relentless in order to capture the Ghost, which contained the mysterious Jedi Temple Guard, C1-10P, and Sagoro and Reymet Autem, and the final Imperial assault against the Shadow Alliance had begun. How it will go down is anyone's guess, and it will be one to remember for the history records. Well, I've rambled on long enough. It's time to start writing the actual chapter. May the Force and Iluvatar be with me.

(June 7, 2018 Addendum) Hello, everyone. How are you doing on this warm day? I'm doing pretty well, as I've bought the Blu-Ray edition of 12 Strong today, and I look forward to watching it again sometime soon. In addition, I've begun reading Warhammer 40k: Sisters of Battle, and I must say that what I've read so far is interesting, and I look forward to what comes next. Well, I'd better get back to writing, as I've only got one day left until volunteering and work comes around. Wish me luck.

Five Minutes Later

Fourteen Hours and Forty-Seven Minutes Until Admiral Libel's Arrival

Within the Gil-Gilad

Vesse Mallory could sense the trauma that Jedi Master T'Ra Saa had underwent from Grand Inquisitor Halmere, and she knew what she had to do, which was why she was within the troop carrier with her father, Jane Mallory, and her stepmother, Niwen Mallory, in order to heal the Neti's wounds.

She walked up to medical wing that contained the bacta tank that was healing T'Ra, and she found K'Kruhk monitoring her vital signs alongside a 2-1B medical droid.

The Whiphid Jedi Master noticed the Humna/Tholothian hybrid staring at T'Ra, and suspiciously said to Vesse, "Vesse, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping prepare the rest of the wounded for evacuation?"

"I felt Master Saa calling for help through the Force, and Niwen and I are the only ones who can save her mind before it's too late." Vesse cryptically replied before she and the Dúnedain walked up to the bacta tank, and sat in a meditative position in order to prepare to reach out to the Neti's mind.

"What are you doing?" K'Kruhk asked as he prepared to escort them out of the room in order to give Master Saa the space to recuperate, only to be impeded by Captain Jane Mallory.

"Master K'Kruhk, you need to trust me here, these two can save Master Saa's mind. They have a… unique connection to the Force that is different from anyone else's in the galaxy. But, they need to concentrate in order to help Master Saa." Jane tried to explain to the conscious Jedi Master, which confused the man before he felt the two women begin to chant in a foreign language, while extending their connection with the Force to reach out for T'Ra's mind, and beginning to gently healing the nerve damage that Halmere had inflicted on her.

"This is most unusual, Master Jedi. The patient is showing improved neurological activity across the board." The 2-1B curiously responded, earning a look of amazement from K'Kruhk.

"How is this possible?" K'Kruhk wondrously asked the former Stormtrooper captain as he saw T'Ra eyes beginning to open, and he felt her presence in the Force be healed of her rapidly fading injuries.

"My daughter gained many unique abilities when she was resurrected from death by Iluvatar, and Niwen has access to many healing techniques that her people have preserved over the millennia." Jane explained to K'Kruhk.

Before he could utter a single word of shock over the claim of Vesse being brought back from the Netherworld of the Force, K'Kruhk heard the telepathic voice of T'Ra speak to him, with the Neti asking, K'Kruhk? How long have I been in this bacta tank, and how are we faring against the Empire?

Knowing that this was T'Ra due to her serene calm in the Force, and not an imposter seeking to trick him into revealing crucial information on the Shadow Alliance, he said, "You've been in the Gil-Gilad's medical bay for about an hour, and we're holding steady, T'Ra, but the Empire is steadily gaining ground against us."

Then I need to return to my meditations, old friend. T'Ra resolutely said as she began to focus her energies for the reach of Battle Meditation to extend to the entire Lah'mu System.

"T'Ra…" K'Kruhk worriedly said, fearful that his friend and fellow Jedi would kill herself with her overextending her strength, before he realized what he had to do, and purposefully said, "Then I will help you by lending you my strength for this endeavor."

Your help would be greatly appreciated, old friend. T'Ra gratefully replied as she, Vesse, Niwen, and K'Kruhk prepared to aid the Shadow Alliance win this battle.

Meanwhile, 1,000 Kilometers From Lah'mu

Within the CEC VCX-100 Light Freighter Ghost

"Reymet, You've got two TIEs coming in from seven o'clock!" Sagoro shouted to his son from his position on the main gun turret as he blasted away at a V-Wing that ventured too close to the Ghost for comfort.

"Got 'em, Dad!" Reymet shouted back from the Phantom's dorsal guns as he quickly shot both TIE Fighters into oblivion.

Chopper suddenly rolled to the ladder that led to Sagoro's gun turret, and warned him in Droidspeak that Vader was approaching their position.

The news of the imminent arrival of the fallen Jedi who murdered Imperial Captain Jace Dallin for just speaking out in defense of the Jedi a measly two weeks after the Empire rose, and butchered his old Senate Guard partner, Isaru Omin, caused a volcano of rage to erupt within Sagoro, and he growled out, "Bring him on."

"Whoa, Dad. We can't hope to match Skywalker in a space battle. We need to stick to the plan if we're going to deliver our package, and survive this skirmish against the Imps." Reymet said, being a rare voice of reason in his father's rants of fury.

Sagoro immediately calmed down, and said, "Right. Sorry, Reymet." He then called Agent Nomi, and said, "Is the package ready for drop-off, boss?"

"It's ready, but we need to get closer to the Star Destroyer if we're going to get a direct hit." Nomi called back as she bobbed and weaved through the laser fire that nearly punched through the shields of the Ghost before Nomi diverted power from the hyperdrive to the shields and engines, restoring the former to full power, while giving the latter a much-needed boost to gain some distance from the Imperial fighters.

"Well, we'd better get moving, because we need to get into the fight after we destroy that Star Destroyer with our bomb." Reymet replied.

Once the conversation ended, Nomi reared the thrusters to maximum power, and charged straight at the Relentless.

Simultaneously, on the Relentless's Bridge

Captain Kassius Konstantine was grateful to get away from the battle that was raging around the planet of Lah'mu, due to his desire to salvage something of his military and political career from this near-disaster under Darth Vader's poor leadership, and capturing a rogue Jedi would do well for him in the Emperor's eyes.

His second-in-command, Commander Woldar, interrupted him from his thoughts of a much-deserved promotion by urgently saying, "Sir, our scans have picked up a large amount of Rhydonium coming from the enemy freighter!"

That snapped the captain out of his dreams of climbing through the Empire's ranks, and, remembering the Carida Incident from the Clone War over four years ago, he quickly said, "Well, then, shoot it down before it rams into us!"

"We're trying, but it's just too fast for our ion cannons and tractor beams, not to mention that a rogue Venerator is attacking us, forcing us to divert our focus." Woldar replied, before he quietly asked, "Should we order an evacuation of the Relentless, Sir?"

"Are you mad, Commander?" Kassius incredulously replied, before he angrily, but quietly, said, "If we order an evacuation of the ship now, we'll all be at the Emperor's mercies, even if we manage to survive the battle." He then said to the bridge's crew in a louder tone, "The first one to bring down the Ghost will get a special commendation on their record."

That incentive forced the commanding crew of the Relentless to redouble their efforts to capture the Ghost before it detonated and took out the Star Destroyer and all adjacent ships.

Instantaneously, on the Tenacious

""You've got a what now on your ship?!" Dalin shockingly asked the unknown Jedi who commanded the VCX-100 light freighter that seemed to be on a collision course with the Relentless.

"We need cover for a bombing run on the Star Destroyer that's right in front of us." Agent Nomi stated as the sounds of ion cannons and starfighter lasers that were being heard in the background.

"And you expect me to just allow you to throw away the lives of you and my men for a suicide run with a Rhydonium bomb?!" Dalin countered before he heard the voice of an old friend of his from the Siege of Saleucami, Sagoro Autem.

"You have to trust us, Dalin." Sagoro imploringly said to his old Clone War comrade before he kept speaking, saying, "We just need a fighter cover in order to give us an opening. Once we're clear, you and the Tenacious can get clear of the blast range."

Dalin, not wanting to let a friend die a pointless death at Vader's hands, grudgingly said to his ship's comms-officer, "Inform the Skorp-Ion, Slave I, and Talon Squadron to intercept Vader and his fighters in order to give the Ghost their opening. Tell them to draw away the starfighters, and then get clear of the blast range."

"At once, sir!" The comms-officer replied as they gave orders to the reinforcements that would aid the Ghost in their all-but suicide run.

Vader sensed the presences of Quinlan Vos, Boba Fett, and a squadron of Clone Pilots nearing his position, and said to the sixteen remaining TIE Fighters that were his escort, "Continue pursuit of the rebel ship, and draw them to the Relentless's tractor beams. I will deal with these interlopers personally."

Before he could hear the sounds of acknowledgement come from his escort, he diverted course to intercept the Skorp-Ion and Slave I, and said into his comms, "You should never have come here, traitors. Now you will die for betraying the Empire, and I will destroy all that you love and cherish."

"You'll have to beat us first, Anakin." Quinlan retorted in a flippant manner, which only served to infuriate the Sith Lord even further, and he accelerated his course to the fourteen ships that were heading his way, only to find that seven of the Clone V-Wings broke off to head for the TIE Fighters pursuing the Ghost.

As he opened fire on a V-Wing that stayed with Quinlan and Boba's ships, the Starfighter was vaporized instantly by the blast, and Vader took delight in feeling the traitorous clone's last feelings of terror and despair.

He then nimbly swerved out of the way to avoid the Skorp-Ion's blasts, only to run into the Slave I's laser cannons, which gave Vader's TIE prototype a beating, knocking out thirty percent of the starfighter's shields.

He then gripped his ship's controls even tighter, and, in his rage of making such an idiotic mistake, gripped an enemy V-Wing with the Force, and threw it at another V-Wing, causing both ships to explode from the collision.

He then sensed the two remaining V-Wings break off in order to aid the rest of their squad in protecting the Ghost from the Imperials, leaving only Vader, the Slave I, and the Skorp-Ion, in this skirmish.

He could feel the presences of several others within the two enemy ships that each pilot held dear to their hearts. It was then when he realized that Quinlan must have brought his wife, the former Confederate spy Khaleen Hentz, along with their child, who Vader realized was a son, to this slaughter, while Boba Fett had brought his wife, Sintas Vel to aid him and his crew.

This new realization sent shivers of blinding fury within the cyborg's soul, and he felt an overwhelming urge to make these two pay for finding happiness when he had to suffer for failing to save his wife from her failed childbirth.

Concurrently, Within the Ghost

"Chopper, is the package ready for drop-off?" Nomi shouted to the cantankerous astromech droid, who warbled in confirmation that the Rhydonium bomb was armed and loaded for dispersal at the Star Destroyer that was growing closer and closer to the small freighter.

"Good." Nomi grimly said as she readied herself to avenge the Jedi Order in her own way by taking out an Imperial Star Destroyer, and said to the Autem's, "Get ready to see some big explosions, guys!"

With the nine V-Wings drawing all but four of the sixteen TIE Fighters away from the Ghost, it had a clear shot at the Relentless, and charged ahead to the bridge, where it would drop off the powerful explosive they acquired from Senator Organa's contacts before coming to the Lah'mu System.

The Ghost, now within firing range of the Relentless, fired two salvos of proton torpedoes at the Star Destroyer's bridge in order to open a miniscule gap in the ship's shields for the Rhydonium, which was released from the Ghost's cargo hold by Chopper, who chuckled at imagining the horrified face on the captain of the now-doomed Star Destroyer.

Onboard the Relentless's Bridge

"What are they doing?" Kassius incredulously said as he saw the Ghost fly right past the bridge of the Relentless. Before he could question Commander Woldar on the enemy's intentions, he saw a large package heading straight for the ship's bridge, and he immediately realized how he had been outplayed by the Shadow Alliance at the cost of his own life, he shouted to the bridge's crew, "ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON SHI-"

He could not even finish his second sentence, for the Rhydonium detonated as it hit the transparisteel windows of the Relentless's bridge, and began a chain reaction that would quickly spread throughout the entire Star Destroyer, causing it to explode in a handful of minutes, killing the entire crew of the capital ship.

Vader could not comprehend how the deceased Konstantine could possibly be so incompetent as to allow a single freighter to bring down such a potent symbol of Imperial might across the galaxy.

Upon realizing that he and the ten remaining TIE Fighters could no longer maintain the offensive against the Shadow Alliance's task force, he, with terrible reluctance, said into his ship's comlink, "All ships are ordered to retreat to the Retribution at once."

With the disgraceful order given, the TIE Fighters made a hasty retreat to Trachta's Star Destroyer, where Vader expected that he would likely take the blame for Konstantine's idiotic errors in judgment.

Meanwhile, On the Retribution

"How, just how, I ask each and every one of you, could a single freighter and less than fifteen fighters, possibly take down an Imperial Star Destroyer?!" Trachta snarled out in rage over seeing the Relentless explode from a Rhydonium bomb.

In order to prevent himself from truly expressing amazement over the innovativeness of the Shadow Alliance, he made a quick exit to the tactical room of the Destroyer's bridge, and smashed his cybernetic fists on a nearby monitor as he bellowed a scream of unadulterated fury.

Once he finished venting his rage on the now-destroyed security monitor, he calmed down enough to say in a collected manner to the room's crew, "Open a line to Colonel Yularen, Commodore Thrawn, Admiral Tennant, Grand Inquisitor Halmere, and Lord Vader, then leave the room once it has been done."

The tactical room's crew did so with hastened efficiency, and quickly brought up the holograms of each leader of the Imperial fleet, who each shared looks of fury and disgust on their faces over the gross idiocy of the now-dead Kassius Konstantine.

"Well, thanks to the lunacy of our own subordinates, we've lost the entire complement of the Relentless." Nils growled out to no one in particular, before he regained control of his emotions, and said, "We've managed to break through the Commenor Underground and Atrivis Resistance Group's flank, and are pushing them back, but they're making us pay for every inch. What I don't understand, though, is the unprecedented level of coordination between the bulk of the Shadow Alliance's forces."

Nils then turned to face Halmere, and said, "Grand Inquisitor, I thought that you said that you had incapacitated the Jedi who was coordinating their efforts, yet they are even more united now than before."

Halmere then hesitatingly said to everyone, "I don't understand myself, for the wounds that I inflicted in her psyche should have kept her bedridden for months, if not a year. Yet, I felt her presence in the Force grow even stronger than before, and several other Jedi are supporting her in her meditations. All I was able to discern from my meditations was that a young Tholothian and human woman that healed her mental scars, and how the Whiphid Jedi K'Kruhk is now aiding them in their battle meditation."

"Well, that doesn't solve anything on this enigma, but, unless your other ideas work, Commodore Thrawn, I would recommend a full-scale retreat at once in order to avoid any further Imperial casualties." Wullf advised the Chiss commodore, who nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree, Colonel Yularen." Thrawn concurred, surprising both Nils, Halmere, and Vader, but impressing Trachta and Wullf with how he was not willing to throw away good soldiers' lives in an effort to save face with the Emperor. He then resumed speaking, "That is why I have ordered an evacuation of all naval and ground forces in preparation for a full retreat out of the system."

"You can't be serious, Commodore!" Nils horrifically said, not willing to accept defeat so soon after his promotion to Director of Naval Intelligence. "We can't let the Shadow Alliance escape this system, or it could undo the Empire from the inside out."

"Perhaps not, Admiral Tennant." Thrawn cryptically said before he elaborated, saying, "While the Inquisitors provided a distraction with their assault, Grand Moff Trachta and I had Vader's bounty hunters, Bane and Kravous, search for a list of the Shadow Alliance's unknown and potential allies, including their Imperial Senate supporters. And, not even five minutes ago, they reported to me that they had acquired the list while infiltrating the camp that the representatives from Remnant were reported to be in. Although it has been encrypted with technology that is currently beyond our capabilities, it should be able to, at the very least, put us on the hunt for the Shadow Alliance's collaborators."

"Excellent work, Commodore!" Wullf praised the younger officer in his initiative, and knew that his two fellow double agents would find a way to protect the Shadow Alliance from any true damage being done to it.

"That… is an acceptable alternative, Commodore." Nils reluctantly said, appeased that the Shadow Alliance's clandestine allies in the Imperial Senate would not be able to escape justice for too long, while impressed with how quickly Thrawn had familiarized himself with the usage of his new positon.

"Agreed." Halmere pleasingly said, while Vader looked as if he would choke everyone with the Force for their acceptance of a retreat from their position, even with their numbers diminished significantly.

"Then it's decided. We'll begin a fighting retreat in order to give Bane and Kravous time to return to the Retribution, and then head straight to Imperial Center to await the Emperor's return." Trachta declared before he spoke specifically to Halmere, and said to the Grand Inquisitor, "Order your Inquisitors to lead the evacuation of our troops to their carriers, and be sure that none of them rebel against the orders."

After Halmere nodded his head in agreement, Trachta then looked at Colonel Yularen, and asked him, "How goes the elimination of the Shadowfeed relays, Colonel?"

"We've taken out all but ten percent of the relays, sir, and expect the final relays to be deactivated within, at most, the next two hours." Wullf reported, earning a nod of approval from Trachta.

Two Hours and Thirty-Five Minutes Later

Twelve Hours Until Admiral Libel's Arrival

The last of the Imperial fleet's Star Destroyers had just jumped to lightspeed in order to escape their more numerous and powerful enemies, earning cheers of jubilation from the Shadow Alliance members all across the system.

After approximately thirty hours of fighting in the Lah'mu System, the casualty reports came in, and the Shadow Alliance had suffered the lighter of the two organizations' losses.

The Empire had, among the fifty Imperial-class Star Destroyers, thirty Victory-class Star Destroyers, twenty Venerator-class Star Destroyers, ten Acclamator-class assault ships, and forty-five Imperial Light Cruisers that invaded the system, lost thirty Imperial-class Star Destroyers, twelve Victory-class Star Destroyers, eight Venerator-class Star Destroyers, seven Acclamator-class assault ships, and thirty-seven Imperial Light Cruisers. In the form of its ground forces, it had lost four of its ten battalions, eleven of its Inquisitors, the Emperor's Hand Jeng Droga, and the capture of Grand Moff Tarkin.

The Shadow Alliance, on the other hand, had, lost five hundred starfighters, one Venerator-class Star Destroyer, two of the Yuuzhan Vong's Miid ro'ik, a Remnant tank-like capital ship, and the Empire destroyed the majority of the Partisans, the Christophsis resistance, the Commenor Underground, and the Atrivis Resistance Group's ships. However, it had captured three Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the Devastator, Obliterator, and Sovereign, each ship the flagship of Darth Vader, the Emperor, and Grand Moff Tarkin, respectively.

Now the Shadow Alliance had the difficult task of picking up the pieces of their deceased, and prepare to scatter their fleet in order to avoid being destroyed by another Imperial attack.

Well, that ends the Siege of Lah'mu! I must say that when I didn't start this chapter, I didn't see ending the battle there, but I felt like it was dragging on, as Thrawn and Tracha weren't glory-seekers among the Imperials, and they knew when they had lost, and would thus organize a retreat of their remainder forces in order to save their lives for the next battle. So, this battle was a complete disaster for the Imperials, and the galaxy saw enough of it to guess that they lost a major engagement against a new enemy. This will no doubt set the Shadow Alliance's cause on fire, and rally many people and groups to their side. As for the list that Bane and Kravous found, don't worry, it won't be decoded for at least a couple of years. I just needed them to find something that would keep the Emperor from killing everyone involved in the Siege of Lah'mu, and a complete, if heavily encrypted list of the Shadow Alliance's allies would be enough to placate the Emperor. Now then, I expect this story to be concluded soon, as the Shadow Alliance has survived its trial by fire, and will soon spread like wildfire across the galaxy. Don't fret, though, as I'll start a new story that will take place not long after this one ends. Now then, happy birthday, Master Skywalker 121. I hope that you enjoy it with your family, and I hope to hear from you later on. So, what are you all doing on the day of June 8, 2018? I'll be going to work in a little over an hour, so I'll post this chapter later tonight after I get home. Well, I guess that that's it for this update. May the Force and Iluvatar be with you all, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!