Author's Note: One Mathis, although she was quite passive, is down. Kirito is now tasked with defeating the brother, and soon the father! Can he do it? First he must rally the forces of the galaxy to his side!

Also, I do not own SAO or star Wars.


Chapter Thirty-Three - Prepare for Battle


"You are without a doubt the single most hated player in the Republic, and yet after killing the beloved faction leader, you're roaming free as a bird." Chrysheight smirked at the calm Kirito as they both waited alone inside a meditation chamber.

Kirito was still trying to reach the recently fallen Amanda Mathis's spirit through the Force System, similar to how he connected to Suguha Kirigaya. He needed severe concentration to contact the defeated Jedi Master, so having the Japanese ministry agent speaking through his thoughts did not seem to help. Much like it was always with the two of them.

"Kikuoka, sometimes I wonder who you're really working for." Kirito mumbled under his breath, but never made a care knowing Chrysheight still managed to hear his remark.

The blue Jedi Master chuckled, and continued leaning against the wall. "You'll find out soon enough...I can finally get back to my new project after I get you out of this mess of a game. Once I report my research from the Holocron units and the Force System to my agency, we can use them to help us..."

"What?" Kirito lowered his posture, and turned to give the avatar of Kikuoka his full attention. "What's your new project after this, anyway?"

His dark glasses still managed to make it into the galaxy far far away, but they were a shade bluer than his secretive black ones in the real world. Chrysheight shook his head very faintly. "I'll tell you when you're ready to hear it...now, about Amanda Mathis."

Kirito stood up, and dusted his grey trousers from the floor of the meditation chamber. "Amanda helped develop SAO, her brother worked on ALO, and Peter Mathis is known for funding most of the VR games that released after the launch of the NerveGear."

"I see." The Jedi sounded more intrigued. "I knew as much about Peter Mathis, but I had no idea the children had been so involved with Virtual Reality design outside their father's company."

Kirito sighed, and looked over to his friend. "He's having them fight each other in this world to see who is going to take his place. The mind control stuff all came from Lucas, though. I don't think Peter intended for any of it to affect his game, but he's probably not upset about what all it's caused. The Force System...the Holocron...they were all based on advanced medical technology meant to fully support a natural FullDive. The technology is so advanced, I just wonder if...why would Peter Mathis use that specific of medical technology to preserve the Force System? He's not a medical doctor or anything. "

"Yes...it's all quite strange." Chrysheight stood straight up too, and while the two players were off thinking about two totally different subjects, Kirito ended his thoughts, and carried on.

"I've gotten all the information I could out of Amanda Mathis. I'm going to find her brother, Lucas, and figure out the real truth."

Kikuoka Seijirou watched Kirito walk through the doors, but kept his thoughts to himself as he tried to evaluate both what Kirito had just said, and everything else that he had studied about the Old Republic Online so far.

"The Holocron's intricate Force System...this world may yet bring us one step closer to understanding the human soul after all."


The entire Republic council had decided to reconvene in the Senate chamber. As per the bargain made by Amun-din and Kirito, the bounty hunter, Lisbeth, was released of all charges. Despite her new found freedom, she decided to linger in the audience with Silica and Klein as the new Grand Master took the lead of the Jedi Order.

"Amun-din is gone." Master Agil told the rest of the remaining Republic players. "But we still have the upper hand. We still had the assault plans she left for us to take out her brother and the Sith Empire."

"Not anymore!" Yelled out an angry loyalist. "Your IRL friend saw the end to that!"

"Kirito's a Sith Lord!" Said another frantic voice. "Why are we letting him live after murdering our leader!? She was the only player capable of defeating the Sith Emperor!"

"Kirito wants to see an end to this game just as Amun-din did. He has every reason to challenge her brother and lead us to victory."

"You're the new Jedi Grand Master." Said a third voice calmly to his side. "What's say you and Master Chrysheight lead us to battle instead? Leave the boy here as Amun-din suggested."

"I will happily do that." He kept his eyes on Klein and the others. "But I cannot do it alone. I need the full support of this group. And we need Kirito on our side to do this."

"They're right, Agil."

The group turned to find Kirito and Chrysheight walking through the back doors of the Senate Chambers, and let them join Agil and the high command as the boy in grey carried on.

"You can lead us to the main assault. I will you help out anyway that I possible can."

Agil smiled, and nodded at his old friend from Aincrad. "Do we have a plan?"

"Yes." Chrysheight smirked, and slowly walked forward as he stationed himself at the center of the room, adjacent to a large holo-pad sitting in the central table of the room. He powered on a virtual image of the galaxy, and pulled the hologram inward to locate the Imperial capital system of Dromund Kaas. "The Sith Emperor's grand garrison from Korriban has rejoined him in defending Dromund Kaas. We know this because the main ship orbiting the capital planet matches signatures held by the Korriban fleet's flagship, the Mother's Rosario. They've pulled in all their primary resources, and left the galaxy open for our forces to advance."

"Why would they do that?" Silica boldly asked. "They just got done beating us at Alderaan, Tatooine, and Ilum."

Chrysheight nodded, but kept his enthusiasm firm to his face. "It's quite obvious, actually...they're defending something."

He zoomed into the capital city, and located a small sector underneath the grand palace of the Empire. "Beneath the citadel is the new super weapon of the Sith Empire. A planet killer. They had recently captured a device from Tatooine designed by the Republic, and planned to use it in order to secure the galaxy and win the game. The problem is, the only lab big enough for them to fully study and re-arm it is right below the grand palace."

Kirito felt like it was finally time for him to speak up. "It's called a Shock Drum. Jedi Master Leafa kept it turned on after finding it during the main mission for the Jedi Knight story line on Tatooine. When Asuna and I invaded the caves there to execute Darth Trentyn, she was ordered by Lusac to have the device delivered to Dromund Kaas immediately."

"So?" Klein wanted them to get to the point. "What does that have to do with them pulling all their available forces in to the capital?"

Agil stepped up, and leaned his hands on a railing over-looking the main floor. "It seems that they're trying to defend the planet Dromund Kaas, because if anyone were to go in and activate the Shock Drum while its sitting on their planet..."

"It'll take out Dromund Kaas, and everyone on its surface."

Kirito explained that final line before letting the wondrous and hope-filled faces of the Republic light up. He let their soft cheers calm down before finishing his point. "It's a ticking time bomb. We need to land of the surface, and activate the device without them knowing."

Chrysheight took it from there. "Once the device has been activated, a great pulse will take the ground like a small earthquake, then build until the very core of the planet is ruptured. From there the world would quickly implode on itself. The digital code used by the Shock Drum's system is like an admin command. It will slowly wipe out the script language making up the planet from the ground up. It'll take a long time for any damage to happen to the surface, so we will need the power of the Republic fleet to build a blockade around the atmosphere of Dromund Kaas to trap the escaping Sith players down on the surface."

Agil crossed his arms, and reassured his once weary comrades. "Earlier this council was worried that no Jedi apart from Amun-din was strong enough to defeat Emperor Lusac. Now, if we can trap him on his own planet, then we can take him out without confrontation."

Kirito looked away while most of the audience screamed with delight. He did not seem to enjoy that part of the plan.

"What about the planet teleporting technology that the Empire stole from us!?" The men around Klein, Silica, and Lisbeth yelled out, making the once-criminal bounty hunter fall lower into her chair.

Chrysheight wavered them back into their seats as well. "Very correct. We will need to deactivate the teleporting technology found within the Citadel's main laboratory. We will also need a small crew to invade the tower, and activate the Shock Drum from within. This strike team will need to be made up of an elite group, because once the weapon is activated, there won't be much time left for escape."

Kirito turned to the first row on the near side of the amphitheater. "I'm leading the ground crew, and I need an excellent smuggler with a ship that can cloak itself behind enemy lines."

He was looking at Silica. She had no way of knowing how to react at first, and felt even more worried once the entire Republic started looking at her. Lisbeth sat up, and looked down at her old friend, while Klein smirked and gave the rest of the men a shrug.

"Eh, she is the best smuggler we have."

Agil agreed, but looked back to Klein. "And you're the best pilot we have. We need you to lead one of the main fighter forces up in space. Master Crysheight will take command as the admiral of the assault."

"And Lis..." Kirito stared right at his old friend twisted by the Dark Side of the Force. Her eyes were still opened by confusion, but her attention was solely placed on him.

"I need you to join my assault group on the ground, and activate the Shock Drum."

Lisbeth the Sith Power Tech was even more confused than Silica, now. She was just being roasted by the Republic high command moments ago, then this weird Jedi/Sith boy stormed into her trial, fought for her life, and now he's asking for her help? She was the bounty hunter that captured him and delivered him to Darth Rosario...in her mind, most of Kirito's current imbalance with the Force was because of her.

"I'll do it."

Lisbeth, Kirito, and all the other people in the room looked on as Silica shot up out of her seat, and stood facing the command with a bold expression. "I'll fly Pina into Dromund Kaas, and help get you on the ground, Kirito."

The audience erupted with support. People were patting Silica on the shoulders from behind, Klein was high-fiving people to his right, and even now Lisbeth felt a small smile curving on her lips.

"Ah what the hell?" She finally leaned back, and regained that comfortable charisma all her friends loved her for back in the real world. "Maybe if we win, I'll get back my old memories of fighting with you guys IRL. Sign me up."

The room continued to roar with support, and as the soldiers of the Republic applauded the new volunteers for the assault squad on Dromund Kaas, Chrysheight turned to Kirito and smiled.

"Then it's settled. We give it everything we've got on this one battle. No holding back."

Kirito felt conflicted about certain parts of the plan, but he had no reason to relay any of that information over to his friends. "I guess so...May the Force be with us all."


Admiral Sinon was walking through the onyx hallways of a remote Sith temple hidden in the jungles of Dromund Kaas. This palace was used as the Emperor's exclusive retreat away from the capital citadel in Kaas City. She still noticed a fair amount of guards and higher up commanders walking the outer halls, but paid no mind to them as she kept marching to the temple's center chamber.

Two Sith death troopers flanked her on both sides as her personal escorts. She had taken full command over the Mother's Rosario after Darth Rosario had fallen in battle over the planet Ilum. Now, she was asked to return to Dromund Kaas for the next mission commanded by her Emperor.

A security droid slowly opened the golden doors that locked away the imperial throne room from the rest of the palace. The walls were still matte like buffed black rock, but the floors were solid and polished white. A deep red carpet led all the way across the chamber to a set of stairs, and this path was guarded on both sides by three elite imperial guards. Sith Warriors armored in black robes and hooded masks defended the room from all intruders, yet left no fear in the heart of the famous imperial sniper as she made her way closer to the middle.

Sitting in front of a large hanging crimson banner depicting the Sith seal, blue flames stood up on the royal plinth that housed the Sith throne. Just above her view, Sinon saw the great Emperor Lusac perched on his golden throne of the Empire, leaning forward out of the black leather cushion to ponder a thought.

She stood firmly after delivering a salute, then brought one knee down to rest on the floor. "What is thy bidding, Sir?"

Lusac smiled behind a balled-up fist resting in front of his face. His elbow sat on one knee, and finally he sat up, and acknowledged his guest. "A tremor in the Force...my sister, Master Amun-din, has been killed."

Sinon nodded. "Our informants have said they believe it was the grey player, Kirito. Also, we have not heard from Lisbeth ever since the attack on Ilum."

"She is of little concern to us now. You have new orders. Hold the Mother's Rosario with my defense frigates above the planet's orbit. We will keep our line firm above the skies of Kaas City, and wait for any intrusions on our operations."

Sinon nodded again, and finally looked up, keeping her place on the ground. "What about the rest of the Wrath's master garrison from Korriban?"

Lusac sat back in his chair. "Leave that to me. I have a plan ready for any Republic assault that tries to stop us on our front."

"And what of the Republic fleet massing over Coruscant?" She pointed out a rather interesting power move by the opposition on the far side of the galaxy. "They haven't formed a fleet this large ever since the first defense of Alderaan."

Lusac howled with a laugh. "I expect them to come at us with all their might. With any luck...he will be leading them right to our door step. If the boy Kirito finds his way to our atmosphere, let him pass down to me."

"Yes, sir." Sinon stood up, and delivered one final salute before turning around. She needed to get back to commanding her new fleet, but Sinon was truly disturbed the moment Lusac said the name 'Kiriro'. In all honesty, she needed the conversation to end before things grew even more confusing.

"Oh, one more thing." Lusac snapped to the right, and commanded a pair of royal officers to come through the door. "Your reward for helping my apprentice track down Kirito. This was meant for the girl, Lisbeth, but I think it's new owner is far better suited."

Sinon wavered for a short minute, and let a lump take her throat as she had no idea what to expect from the package. Asuna had promised her a reward for all of her work, but she never honestly expected Emperor Lusac to be the one to fulfill it. Her hands reached out to touch the digital package handed over from the officers, and once she spilled out the contents, her eyes grew wider than the rims of her glasses.

"Mandalorian Armor." Lusac smiled, and raised a hand with his delivery. "The fans of the Star Wars universe call it Beskar. It's made of the greatest steel in the entire galaxy. So powerful, it will even stop a lightsaber's blade or a blaster bolt."

Known as beskar'gam in the Mandalorian language of Mando'a—a name which meant "iron skin" when translated into the common tongue—Mandalorian armor was central to the warrior people of the planet Mandalore, and their radically religious way of life.

Sinon picked up a dark green and silver helmet, lined in the center with a t-shaped visor. The chest plate, arm gauntlets, greaves, and sabaton boots were each holding some plate of beskar steel. Painted deep green and trimmed with chrome, this color symbolized Duty in the ways of the Mandalorians.

"Your work here is finished, my friend. Fulfill your loyalty to the Empire, and defend its skies from enemy invasion. You are now the Supreme Leader of my fleet. I will wait here, and remotely monitor the research on the Shock Drum in Kaas City."

"I-I am happy to accept this gift..." Sinon almost quivered as she tried to gather her thoughts. "But am I truly the highest commanding officer left? ...What happened to Asuna?"

Lusac stayed reclined in his lofty chair, and allowed the hood of his robes to fall forward on his face. His smile filled the room with a bout of laughter, and his eyes remained hidden from his sniper admiral.

"Darth Rosario has received a special appointment from me. I feel she will serve the Empire far better in this new position under my direct command."


The Pina was drifting through hyperspace as blue rushes of stars flew all around its hull. Silica had finished the calculations to put the crew right above the atmosphere of Dromund Kaas. Once out of hyperspace, she would quickly activate the cloaking device and land on its surface.

Lisbeth acted as her co-pilot for the daring mission, and Kirito sat just behind them as they all three looked out the main windshield in anticipation.

"We'll arrive above Dromund Kaas in a little bit." Silica switched on some valves above, and checked her ship's speed as they slowed into their approach from space.

Lisbeth sighed, and spun around in her chair to analyze Kirito, who was now deep in thought. "So, any idea where this imperial lab is? I've been to Dromund Kaas so many times, but I've never felt the urge to go exploring there."

Kirito tried to narrow his vision, but provided her with an unexpected answer. "When we land, I'll have a secret weapon ready to help us into the lab. We'll find the entrance, and take out the teleportation machines first."

Lisbeth shrugged. "If you can get me into the labs, I'll be sure to locate the technology. It should look like some of the same panels I robbed back on Corscant on my first major mission."

"Do we think three people will be enough to take out the machines?" Silica pulled back on a lever with ease and turned to the others.

Kirito shrugged. "It's better than if we had too many. Our job is to get in and get out. We want to remain as unnoticed as possible."

The Pina shot out from the void of space, and very quickly, the planet Dromund Kaas took their view. Dark blue and green wisps made up the dreary planet's surface, and symbolized both a haunting natural side to the outer crust, and the oppressive metal sectors that marked the home of the Sith Empire.

"Cloak engaged." Silica spoke with nerves shaking her voice. "All our shields have been shut down, and the power has been converted over to stealth mode."

The crew of the Pina held their breaths as they passed by several large Harrower-class dreadnaughts of the Sith Empire, and just to the left of their flight course, the great Imperial Space Station of Dromund Kaas sat floating at the center of the large imposing fleet.

"There's the Rosario." Lisbeth pointed out the lead flagship of the grand Sith Armanda, as it sat just above the spaceport. The space station blocked her view from the remaining Sith cruisers. She was also forced to delete her entire friends' list to keep off their radars as they exited hyperspace. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Why?" Kirito chuckled and turned around in his chair as the Pina took its decent through fog and swampy canopies. "You were the one who defected the Sith to join us. You could have just waited back at Coruscant and let us do all the dying if you're that skeptical about everything."

"Don't make me regret my decision, Ass." Lisbeth turned and snapped at the boy walking away, all while Silica tried to hold down the cloaking device on the Pina while making their landing.

Kirito turned around, and walked backwards as he kept up his usual smile. "Hey, I asked you to join, but I never forced you to help us out. You want to see an end to this game just as much as we do."

"Okay?" Lisbeth raised an eyebrow and noticed Kirito opening a closet door at the back of the large cockpit. "and your point is...?"

"Well..." Kirito flipped on the light, and looked down at the object hiding in the closet. "Let's just say I find you lack of faith disturbing."

Kirito wheeled out a dormant T7 droid unit lined with silver and pink accents, and waited to place it at the center of the room once the feet of the Pina were up, and Silica had shut down the power.

"I hope that was the droid model you asked for." Silica asked awkwardly. "I had a hard time requesting the exact design on the GTS. Master Agil had to haggle the price down for me."

"It'll work perfectly, thanks Silica! Now I just need to take the file from her old model...and..."

The lights on the T7 flashed on, and a quick ding powered through the audio feed as a yellow light flashed from the scope on its front. Finally, a small purple hologram shot out from the front, and a tiny girl with long black hair gave the three members of the Pina a firm salute.

"T7-UE is back online! I'm here to help!"

"Sounds good, Yui. We'll need you to scan the surface of the planet for us, and locate the Sith's primary laboratories under Kaas City."

"Okay, daddy! Leave that to me!"


1. Kirito and Chrysheight have an interesting break-down of the Mathis Family. Why are they so obsessed with the Meticuboid...?

2. Ah, the classic Star Wars round-table war council before facing off against the big bad Empire...lot's of Return of the Jedi getting channeled in this half of the story!

3. Is this the way for Admiral Sinon? I noticed a comment or two asking about Mandalorian armor, and I was counting down the chapters to fulfill that request! I had a plan to insert it for one of the final battles when I first made this story, but after the release of the show this past fall I had to rewrite a few things. When I came up with my idea for it, I just had the Clone Wars/Rebels cartoons and the Fetts to base it off of. Don't worry! I'm not just stuffing it in here to reference the TV show(s). It will actually serve a purpose...I have spoken.

4. Yui is back, and the invasion of Dromund Kaas is underway. No Asuna this chapter. Very ominous...

Until Next Time!