During the early stages of the battle for Hapes, the defending fleet had been savaged by Davek's super star destroyer. They seemed to have at last learned their lesson. Instead of attacking Invincible head-on, the Hapans did their best to slip past the rim of its range of fire and attack the smaller destroyers and support ships nestled closer to the planet. The Battle Dragons largely stayed on the edge of the combat zone and let the swifter Nova cruisers carry out assaults with the help of Miy'til fighters and bombers. Though some Battle Dragons were in position to do so, none seemed to be launching ships down to the planet to help defend the Chume'Dan. Either Queen Serissa's seat was repulsing the invaders on its own, or the attack hadn't begun in full yet. The battle was garbling Invincible's sensors and crippling its ability to communicate with the ground teams, but best Davek could tell, his sons hadn't engaged the enemy yet.

That moment was coming soon, and he prayed they'd stay safe when it came. While planning this campaign and forcing it ahead over the objections of many senior officers, he'd been forced to bury myriad doubts behind authoritative bluster. Hallis and Vennefara were right about the limited intelligence, the war-weary fleet, the confused messaging, and the unpredictable political fallout, but what had bothered Davek the most was the thought that this last battle might cost him Marasiah or his sons. It would be unspeakably cruel to lose them now, after they'd survived eight years of conflict with the Restorationists.

He'd agreed to this campaign for all the lofty reasons he'd given in his public broadcast. Personal motives always ran beneath political, often deep but sometimes near the surface. Here they nearly breached into the open. He was doing this to honor his mother's dying wish, and to piece together his family. He'd been forced to break it apart; he'd not wanted to, but he'd done it. Maybe that damage was irreversible, but on Zonama Sekot it hadn't felt so, and on leaving that strange, mystic world he'd been more sure than ever that he'd have to try.

"Your Majesty, look at that," Briggs said, calling his attention to activity on the tactical holo.

Davek noticed that a trio of Battle Dragons were moving to engage a pair of Pellaeon-class destroyers located far past Invincible's stern. It would be a close match, favoring the Imperials, but he saw that the Battle Dragons were launching fresh wings of bombers that could tip the balance. As a firefight erupted around the five ships, he scanned the rest of the battlefield and made a decision.

"General, we've been sitting in the middle of this fight long enough. Let's put some fear into them."

"With our positioning, it will be difficult to engage them directly."

"Then hail Captain Korak. Tell him to bring Nightwatch around to help with those Battle Dragons. We'll push forward and engage the ships he was fighting."

Briggs looked over the tactical holo. Equivocally he said, "That should stir things up, sir."

"Then stir them. We brought Veers' monstrosity here to use it. We just need to stay in a position to help our people on the surface if they need it."

"As you command, Majesty."

Before Briggs slipped away Davek asked, "Any news from our people on the ground?"

"Still nothing, sir. The battle's interfering with our sensors and there seems to be localized jamming on the surface."

"All right. Keep me informed if anything changes."

"Of course, Majesty."

Being ignorant of his sons' status was as bad as being unable to help. Davek reminded himself that they'd both fought, been injured, been captured, and survived. They'd do their part down there, while he did his where he could. For emperors, princes, knights, and common soldiers, some duties were the same.

-{}-

Fel's people had indeed wiped the old executive clearance codes from Invincible's security systems, but that merely slowed Korosh Vull and his Oathkeepers. It did not stop them. As they walked through the corridors hardly any of the officers and troopers they passed spared them a second glance. If they'd looked closely they might have noticed the wear on their old uniforms, the dirt and small cuts some had taken during the escape from the frigate, but none did. Vull knew from experience that in times of battle you automatically trusted every man and woman on your ship. You had to, when an outside enemy was after your life.

Vull had no idea what the state of the fight outside was. He knew from experience that even a ship this large could be rocked violently by missile barrages and turbolaser volleys, but nothing came. Perhaps the Hapans were holding back and waiting for reinforcements. Perhaps Fel's ground teams had already succeeded in neutralizing the queen, though Darth Kroan was in the Fountain Palace with her, and something told Vull that scarred black-cloaked Sith could give the best Imperial Knights a good fight.

As he navigated corridors and lift tubes that seemed increasingly familiar, Vull was tempted to detour and find a place to observe the battle, but he resisted. The goal was to reach the bridge, nothing else. What happened to Kroan and the Hapans didn't concern him. He did keep alert for a weapons locker, and as they moved up toward the command section he wracked his memory, trying to recall the ones closest to the bridge.

He stopped his people nine levels below the bridge and directed them down a series of corridors he'd walked before. They were getting slightly-longer looks from passers-by here; two men in lieutenant's bars, one corporal, and five ensigns made for an unlikely combination, and Vull was sure some people noticed the wear of their uniforms.

That made this stop-by risky but also imperative. Memory had served him correctly: this room contained both lockers for weapons and lockers for armor. At the moment is was also gracefully deserted.

"Okay," Vull whispered, "Zaydis, Kolum, you've got the worst uniforms. Get yourself in whites. Get yourself weapons."

"What about us?" Nair waved his pistol.

"No. Only the stormies get rifles. If we've got anything but standard-issue sidearms we'll draw attention."

Zaydis and Kolum got out of their uniforms as fast as possible. Nair anxiously stood by the entrance and kept glancing down the hall, but no one came their way. Putting on stormtrooper armor wasn't an easy process, and the other Oathkeepers helped their two comrades get dressed as quickly as possible. Once they threw their helmets on, there was nothing to distinguish them from all the other stormies on Invincible.

That was a powerful weapon. Even when they'd known there was an intruder aboard this ship, the Restorationists had been unable to stop him from bringing Fel's fleet down on Kovix-589. When this was all over, Vull hoped someone would spare a second to appreciate the irony in all this.

"Stick your uniforms in the laundry chute," Vull said. "And Kolum, swap your rank badge with Nair's."

The corporal frowned but plucked off his badge and replaced it with the ensign's. "Why the demotion?"

"We've got one lieutenant, two stormies, and five ensigns now. Nothing unusual about that."

As Kolum and Zaydis armed themselves with blaster rifles a tremor took the chamber.

"Finally," Vull breathed. "I was wondering if the battle was ever going to restart."

"Will this make it easier or harder?" asked Nair.

"That depends how chaotic it is on the bridge. We want to get up there without drawing attention and get close enough to Fel. Wait until you're within four meters and be absolutely sure you can make the shot."

"Four meters?" Zaydis tapped his rifle-barrel. "That's cutting it pretty close."

"With everything else going on they should barely notice us. If you fire and miss, we're all wrecked. Four meters. Be certain. If you can get that, then you can fire when ready."

"Understood, sir," Kolum nodded eagerly.

Vull looked the seven men gathered around him. He'd been aboard their ship less than two weeks and he'd only known some of these men for a few hours. Their trust in him and each other, their selfless bravery, made him feel like a defender of the Empire again. It had been a long time since he'd felt that, and he'd forgotten how good it was.

"Gentlemen," he said, "It's been a privilege. Now let's get going."

-{}-

Darth Kroan hadn't come this far just to end up a prisoner. He'd chafed at being forced to stay on Hapes during the battle, but had consoled himself that once Vull and his people got aboard Invincible, he'd be free to escape on his own ship, even if he had to fight his way through a squadron of Hapan guards. The arrival of Darth Maleth and four more Sith had changed that situation.

They'd come without Kroan being warned, though Darth Saydel had been expecting them. Most of the One Sith were gathered to defend Shedu Maad but Darth Wyyrlok hadn't abandoned Saydel after she'd helped in purging the traitors. Darth Maleth was prodigiously skilled at battle mediation and could drain fear and hesitation from the minds of the crew in the Hapan fleet. The four younger Sith had been sent to protect Maleth if the enemy breached the inside of the Fountain Palace.

Saydel had arranged to keep Kroan separate from Maleth's Sith, but that wasn't enough to keep him protected from the old, powerful Lord's senses. Kroan had to consciously shield his Force aura from the others, and if he had to engage in battle with Saydel's guards he'd surely give himself away.

So he was trapped, forced to watch the battle via a private holo-link while Saydel, Maleth, and the other Sith gathered to observe from the command-and-communications hub located beneath the Palace. He gave Saydel credit where it was due; the quarters he was all but sealed in were almost as luxurious as the ones he'd used to keep on Kuat. Shimmersilk curtains and tapestried carpets weren't consolation when his fate was frustratingly out of his own hands.

He'd at least been able to watch as Oathkeeper, using the false ID code Vull had secured, staged its own destruction and launched its escape pods for Invincible to pick up. There was no telling how long it would take for Vull to reach Fel and there wasn't any guarantee of his success, but at least things were in motion.

A drawback of shielding his presence in the Force was that it hindered his ability to sense others. He marked Darth Saydel's arrival only when the door, which he'd kept locked, slid open without warning.

"I thought you were reigning in the C-in-C," Kroan said coolly. She was certainly dressed the part of regal overseer, wearing a high-necked gold and black dress that managed to look elegant and martial at once. Her lightsaber wasn't visible, but he was sure she kept it in the skirt's layered folds.

"Darth Maleth and Admiral Vahl had the situation well in hand," Saydel said.

"You call that well in hand?" He gestured to the holo-display, where Invincible and its task force were still holding strong against the Hapans. "I thought Maleth was supposed to make your minions fearless. Why aren't they throwing themselves at the enemy?"

"Maybe they're waiting for your minions to do their job. Once Fel is dead the Imperials will be confused. Then we will attack in full. In the meantime I'm not going to throw Battle Dragons at Invincible to be destroyed. Even I have limited resources. I'm not going to waste my entire fleet."

"Speaking of fleets, how is yours faring at Shedu Maad?

"They've blocked off most of the Imperials in the Throat. Some Jedi seem to have gotten through."

Kroan had more or less expected that. He glanced back at the display of the battle over Hapes. "I've done all I can. My people are aboard Invincible now and they'll succeed or fail on their own."

"How encouraging," Saydel said drolly.

"Perhaps I could have helped them more, if I weren't trapped here."

"Perhaps. But I'm not letting you go. That ship of yours is too valuable an escape ticket."

Of course it was. He couldn't tell if she was planning to hand him over to Maleth once this was over but he wouldn't be surprised. His still had his lightsabers: his own and the one he'd taken from Darth Heyd back at Orelon. If he really had to fight with them he would.

He wished he could tell what Saydel was planning. He wished he could open himself in the Force and read her mind. Instead he was left wondering and helpless, the exact fate he'd wished to avoid.

"I will return to the C-and-C now," Saydel announced. "Please enjoy yourself, Lord Kroan."

He didn't need the Force to sense her mockery. Even after she left he struggled to restrain his indignation; anger alone might betray his presence to Maleth. His only choice was to remain where he was, docile beneath the threats of other Sith Lords.

For now, he told himself. Only for now.

-{}-

The Hapans had prepared to defend their capital, and Imperials had prepared to take it. The Imperial aquatic transports pushed through the ocean depths, merely bothered by the concussive depth charges being dropped into the water by Miy'til fighters far above. When they got within three kilometers of the shore they were forced to break their maintained formation and avoid the hundreds of mines that dangled from surface-level buoys to block their path. The transports had heavy cannons for underwater fire but more capable of precise de-mining were the starfighter-sized Shark-class submarine attack craft that weaved carefully around the dangling explosives, picking them off one-by-one with precise laser blasts so the transports could continue on. This process necessitated a slowdown and made the transport more vulnerable to depth charges, and by the time they closed on the coast three ships packed with seatroopers and stormtroopers had been hit and sunk.

The greatest obstacle to reaching the Chume'dan and the Fountain Palace was the massive stone cliffs that met the sea. Allana had no idea how to storm it, but she'd correctly assumed that the well-calibrated Imperial war machine would have a way around that obstacle. Once they'd cleared the minefield the surviving transports divided into teams, with the bulk of the attack force vectoring south, away from the cliffs, for the nearest beaches from which they could deploy stormtroopers and walkers to take the city.

Three transports, including Allana's, went straight for the cliffs on which the Fountain Palace perched. Two were packed full of soldiers and knights; the third exclusively contained a half-dozen boxy, compact airspeeders. The speeder carrier rose to the surface first and as soon as it breached the water, the armor plates on its back retracted and the speeders took to the air. As they engaged the Miy'tils flying overhead, the other two transports also surfaced and armed their anti-air laser canons. They weren't guaranteed to ward off the Miy'tils, especially if the Hapans decided to start lobbing torpedoes or concussion missiles, but Allana was hoping the pilots would hesitate to fire on targets so close to the Palace.

The right-side bulkhead of each transport swung out from bottom-braced hinges and created flat platforms over the water. Allana followed Tanith's platoon of exile commandos out onto the platform and gazed at the towering cliffs. The Jedi and Imperial Knights were right behind her.

"Do you see the entry point?" shouted Vitor. The salty air was thick with the sounds of shrill laserfire and waves crashing into cliffs.

"Give me a minute," Allana called, and took the macrobinoculars Tanith handed her.

Back in her day the Palace had kept several hidden hangar bays with mouths on these cliff-sides. Elliah confirmed that was still be case, but Allana wasn't used to seeing those hangars from the outside. The great metal doors that sealed them were carefully sculpted to blend in with the rock. Her search wasn't helped by dull light from the overcast sky, nor the platform's constant wave-top sway, nor the shrieking of Miy'tils and airspeeders dogfighting overhead.

Vitor brought out his own set of binoculars and searched. Just when Allana was getting frustrated he announced, "I see something. Look two hundred meters up, twenty degrees to your right."

Allana did her best to track it. "What is it?"

"I'm seeing a discolored section of rock. It's rectangular and regular and just the right size for a mid-sized hangar mouth."

Allana finally spotted it. "I think you're right. Let's get in close to deploy."

Vitor gave the order over his commlink, and the transport nudged closer to the cliff. Allana dared looked up and spotted at least three Miy'tils and two Imperial speeders still dueling tight circles directly above them. At any second a slab of debris might drop and kill them all, or a laser-volley or a torpedo. The inside of the Fountain Palace would be an unfamiliar and deadly maze but she'd still feel less vulnerable.

When they were in position directly beneath the hangar, Vitor and Marin took the first step. They raised their grappled guns with two hands, aimed, and fired almost straight upward. Allana could feel them tug on the Force to direct their magnetic clamps to the faux-stone hangar portal. Two figures in scarlet armor- Imperial plasteel and Mandalorian beskar- were reeled upward on their fiberchord cables. Allana squinted and watched as they ignited their lightsabers and cut a portal big enough to fit both of them through.

"All right, they're in!" Roan reported. "Let's start moving people up!"

"Tell them to carve a wider hole," Tanith said.

By the time Roan relayed the order, Tanith's commandos had aimed their own hooks and let fly. Allana looked around anxiously as the first set of women were pulled through the now-widened portal by Marin and Vitor. There were almost a hundred people on this transport- Jedi, Imperial Knights, stormtroopers, Hapan volunteers- and she didn't know how long they could safely sit here. The second transports had pulled alongside their and its cargo of stormtroopers were beginning the same maneuver.

Tanith and a dazed-looking Elliah went up with the second batch of commandos and Allana was prepared to join the third, but Roan grabbed her arm and said, "Hold up. There's reports of a fight inside the hangar."

"How bad?"

"I'm not sure." Roan took his hand off his earpiece. "Hold here. Wait until Vitor gives the clear."

He barely got the words out when she caught the roar of a Miy'til doing a dive-bomb. She turned her head just in time to spot a volley of lasers fall like rain onto the back of the second surfaced transport. The shields held against the lasers but not the single proton torpedo the Miy'til dropped before pulling steeply away.

Someone threw Allana to the ground and covered her body right before the torp went off. She still felt a wash of heat and her ears popped from the pressure-change. When Nat Skywalker let got of her, she half-rose off the platform and looked back to see a great black pillar rising from the transport's sinking wreckage.

"We have to get up there now!" Allana shouted.

"Agreed," Roan grunted. "Your Majesty, with me!"

Roan and Nat took her on either shoulders and half-pulled her to the side of the platform. The three of them armed their grapplers, aimed, fired, and used the Force to land their clamps true. Then she was rising fast, the gun rattling in her hands as it recoiled lines of fibercable. Wind flashed hair in her face and the cliff-face skirted inches from her nose and finally, suddenly, she stopped.

She used the Force to pull herself the rest of the way, over the lip of the hangar mouth. She rolled over the edge right after Roan, with Nat behind her, and when she scrambled to her feet she saw the chaos of a hangar filled with smoke and laser-blasts and whipping lightsabers.

It was a hell of way to come home again.

"Majesty, stay back!" Roan barked and used the Force to knock her two steps away. As her shoulders tapped against a closed section of the hangar gate, Roan and Nat ignited their lightsabers and stepped into the fray with the brave determination of the young.

When they saw their queen had arrived safely, a few of Tanith's commandos dropped back to cover her. From what Allana could tell, Serissa's guards were already badly outnumbered and losing fast. More Imperial Knights and stormtroopers pulled themselves up from the transport and joined the fight. Allana counted as one, two, three black-armored Hapan guards dropped, mostly from blasterfire.

Just as the last one fell and the fight finally died, a great thundering boom sounded outside. Allana crouched by the cut-open portal and looked down, already knowing what she'd find. The transport they'd come on was sinking fast and casting a second black smoke-pillar into the sky.

"How many did we get off?" she looked at the nearest stormtrooper. She knew Tanith had gotten all her people off first, and she was glad, but the Imperials hadn't had time to offload all their people.

The stormtrooper offered his count after a minute. "Sixty-two total, Ma'am."

"You mean everyone?"

"That's right, total. Both transports."

There'd been over two hundred on those ships combined. They thought they'd need two hundred, at least, to properly storm the Fountain Palace. They hadn't even gotten a third of that, but Allana felt tentative hope as she looked around and counted the survivors: Tanith and her commandos, Marin and Nat, all the Imperial Knights.

And then, finally, she took stock of the ship sitting in the middle of the hangar. It was a broad flying wing with a smooth hull made of some nonreflective black metal. Tanith and Vitor were already inspecting the strange craft, clearly impressed, and Allana barked, "Don't touch it!"

Tanith had been about to do just that. She lowered her gloved hand but remained beneath the wing. "Do you know this ship?"

"I've seen its kind before, maybe this exact one. It's Sith."

Marin stepped in beside Vitor. "I remember my parents talking about something like this, but that was a long time ago. Do you think it's the same one?"

"I don't know. I just know we're going to leave that thing alone until we take care of its owners."

"The guards were here when we cut in, like they were watching the ship," said Vitor. "Odds are they alerted people we're here."

"Are you sure there's no one inside?" Tanith glanced at the black wing warily.

"I don't sense anyone," said Allana, "But we can't leave it unattended. Tanith, set at least four people to guard it."

Tanith didn't like the idea of leaving four commandos when they were already undermanned; neither did Allana. The younger woman nodded anyway. Allana added, "Have them set demolitions charges at structural weak points. We should be ready to collapse the hangar if we have to."

Tanith didn't like that either, but again she nodded. Four Hapan commandos, no matter how trained, probably wouldn't stop a determined Sith Lord. Destroying the hangar, and the ship with it, would be a last resort to prevent a Sith escape.

As Tanith gathered her team and gave orders, more people gathered around Allana: Vitor and Marin, Nat, Elliah, Roan, Treis Sinde and Mohrgan Valtor. Vitor asked her, "Do you remember your way inside the Palace from here?"

"That depends where we need to go."

"I'm feeling a Force presence, a bad one," said Nat. "It's… some ways away."

Allana closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She did feel something, as he'd said: a dark mind in furious concentration, though it didn't seem to be paying attention to her. Maybe it was Serissa, maybe someone else; either way, it needed to be taken out.

"I'll try to guide us the best I can to the source," Allana said. "But I'll need help. Elliah, can you get us that?"

All eyes shifted to the girl. She was no commandos and no Jedi. The fight she'd just been through and narrowly survived had left her visibly overwhelmed. Nonetheless, she met Allana's eyes and focus came. "Yes, Your Majesty. I can do it."

Allana heard the doubt behind feigned assurance. She favored Elliah with a smile and said, "No. We'll do it together."

-{}-

Passage through the Fountain Palace was a recreation of childhood memory and a desecration. As they pushed through the elegant marble hallways and worked their way up spiraling stairs, everything Elliah had barely remembered for seven years was resurrected in detail vivid and horrifying. Queen Serissa's guards arrived in batches, using laserfire and even grenades to try and stop their advance. Whenever a battle sparked the elegant hallways would become choked with smoke and ash and the sickening smell of blaster-scorched flesh. Stormtroopers, commandos, and lightsaber-wielding knights would work in cooperation, gunning and cutting down enemy after enemy while taking losses of their own. With an hour even two Imperial Knights were felled, though thankfully not Roan or his friends. The stormtroopers and commandos took worse losses. Bodies that fell, friend and foe alike, were left to clog the halls. There was no time to mourn.

The Jedi used the Force to sense approaching squadrons. Elliah used her memory of the Palace, which grew more detailed by the minute, to help them evade fights in possible. Once she recalled a passage behind the bedroom mirror of an empty guest suite. Another time she led them to the base of a staircase hidden behind a wall just as Serissa's guards started firing. Childhood hide-and-seek games with Hogrum had become horribly serious. When there was no choice but to fight, every effort was made to shield the guide and the queen. Elliah was grateful for protection and ashamed of her own fear. Allana Djo rankled. Queen though she was, old thought she was, she clearly itched to draw her lightsaber and join the Jedi and Knights- her family- in the fray. She was very different from scheming Queen Demia that Elliah had grown up under, to say nothing of Serissa.

The smoke was still clearing from their fifth all-out engagement and the stormtroopers were counting their dead when Vitor Fel announced, "We're very close. I can feel it."

"I do too," said the long-haired teenage Jedi, Nat. "I think there's more than one."

"Elliah, do you know where we are now?" asked Roan. Sweat-smeared ash stuck to his face and the burn of a near-miss laserblast streaked over his right cheekbone.

Her own dirty face twisted in a frown. "We've moved out of the area I was allowed to go in. I think we're in some secure zone."

"I know where we are," Allana announced as she came up behind them with her commando chief, Tanith. "We're almost at the Command-and-Control center. You can bet those Sith are there."

"Serissa too?" asked Marin. She stood right behind Vitor, and Elliah thought she saw the older Fel prince shudder slightly at the name.

Allana shook her head. "I don't know her Force aura. I've never even met her."

"Then we'll just have to find out," Roan said firmly. "How do we get there?"

Allana scanned the three-way intersection they'd encountered the guards at. "I think that way or that way will work. We need to time it so we take both entrances at once."

"If you know the Sith are in there, won't they know you're coming?" asked Elliah.

"You can bet they will," said Roan. "The reason they aren't attacking right now is probably because they're waiting. And I've been getting this… feeling, when we face the enemy."

"They're fearless," Allana agreed. "Way beyond normal soldiers."

"Serissa's elite are fanatics," Elliah reminded.

"It's more than that," Vitor agreed. "Some form of mind control? A battle meld?"

"There's only one way to find out." Roan gripped his lightsaber hard.

"All right," Allana breathed out and looked over the assembled troops. "Vitor, take your stormtroopers and Knights. Take the left branch. I'll go with Tanith and her team. Elliah, stay with us, please."

"I'll go with Vitor's team," Marin said.

That took Allana by surprise; Nat too. The teenager said, "We need more Force-users with the Hapans."

"Go with Marin," said Roan. "Treis, Mohrgan, with me. We'll protect Elliah and the queen."

It was a counter-intuitive swap, but no one objected. With that decided they moved quickly. As the Hapan commandos pressed forward down the right branch Roan sidled next to Elliah and said, "Stay out of the command room until it's clear. Unless someone comes at you from behind."

"I know. I'll be careful."

He looked like he wants to say more, but instead he nodded and skirted along the hallway's edge to the front of the line, joining his red-armored friends. Allana was in the middle of the commando line, protected but clearly ready and willing to get into the fight if possible. Elliah was stunned by the fearlessness of these Jedi and Imperial Knights. It went beyond soldiers' valor and it wasn't fanaticism either. This Force power they'd learned to wield had imbued them not just with special powers but a special character, as though this so-called Light Side they pledged themselves to seeped some of its light into them. There was something almost sublime that made them terrifying to watch. Elliah could understand how the venal Hapan nobles of old had cowered from their glow and spitefully recast them as monsters.

They reached the end of the hallway. They crowded at the blast door and the Hapan commandos set charges, but there were no comm signals or countdowns marking the time to fire. The Knights handled that as well. Elliah could feel, just faintly, the stirring of a mind that must have been Roan's. He was reaching out to his brother at the other entrance, a stronger and deeper connection that Elliah had with Hogrum, and when their minds found communion Roan barked, "Now!"

The charge went off. Elliah's ears popped from the pressure and smoke filled the hall. Blasters tanged and lightsabers buzzed to life and the battle was on.

-{}-

When Vitor plunged into the command center, Marin was right behind him. Nat came next and then and the stormtroopers. The chamber was a three-tiered bowl with a big tactical holo representing the orbital fight blazing in the center, but Marin's eyes were immediately drawn to the man sitting cross-legged beneath the holo. Electric glow cast across a pale face lined by vertical black tattoos. Long hair, straight and white, fell to the shoulders of his black robe. His eyes were closed, like he hadn't noticed them at all, but Marin knew he was the source of the power they'd chased.

Around him, like sentinels, stood four more black-robed figures. Lightsabers sprung to life in their hands, single-bladed sabers, not like the double-blade Vitor said Serissa would wield. Maybe the queen wasn't here; maybe she wasn't in the Palace at all.

Just in time Marin noticed the twenty-odd black-armored Hapan guards lined up on different tiers, half facing Marin and Vitor, the others facing the second entrance just blown through. Laserfire came at them like a torrent. Three lightsabers spun and danced to deflect the attacks but there were too many blasts and three knights couldn't provide enough cover for the stormtroopers. Marin caught one stormie drop in the corner of her eye; she felt another die. A third one, right behind Vitor, wound his hand back and hurled a grenade all the way across the chamber. It exploded on impact with the uppermost tier, shaking the room and filling it with smoke.

There was a tiny pause in the enemy's fire. Marin knew what to do; Ninet's beskar would protect her like no one else's armor could. She jumped onto the railing at the edge of her tier and jumped again, using the Force to propel her all the way to the smoky crater on the far side. She kept her lightsaber up to protect her face and stray lasers panged against her red plates. One shot scorched through unprotected fabric on her right flank but didn't burn through skin. She forgot any pain as soon as she landed in the wreckage. She danced among the Hapan guards, weaving her lightsaber through rifle-barrels and limbs, dropping one woman after another. They were regrouping fast and she could sense that Sith Lord in the middle urging them to throw themselves at her.

She felt the heat of a laser blast nearly miss her head. She cut through the wrist of the guard in front of her, spun around to take her next attacker, and barely blocked the next shot before it took her in the face. Then another red-armored figure fell through the air and pounded boots-first into Marin's attacker. Vitor bounded off her and cut down another enemy before backing away. More guards were coming at them from both sides, forcing them to close formation as they batted back blaserfire.

"Dammit, I'm trying to keep you alive!" Marin snarled as her shoulders knocked against his.

"I'm not going to die here," he said, so damned certain.

A hail of well-placed laserfire from across the chamber cut down some of their attackers. Marin looked and saw that the stormtroopers were now spread out on all three tiers, as were the Hapan commandos. The four Sith with lightsabers were also springing to action, and she spotted one cutting his way through several stormtroopers on his way to Nat.

Marin wasn't going to let Vitor die and she damned well wasn't letting Nat die either. She summoned the Force to knock the guards in front of her off their feet, then sent Vitor a simple command: jump.

They jumped as one, all the way across the chamber. The stormtroopers immediately let loose with everything they had, cutting down more guards who'd been distracted by the two knights. Marin and Vitor landed on the second tier, blocking the Sith who was trying to get up to Nat. It was a bald-headed human, face turned savage by red and black tattoos. When Marin saw his gold eyes she realized with a start this was the first Sith she'd ever faced.

Not so Vitor. He attacked from the right with a series of fast feints that forced the Sith to leave his other flank open. Marin swung but the Sith was nimble. He backflipped over the railing, down to the lower tier.

You first, Vitor sent Marin, and she jumped with her saber held high overhead. She left herself open and the Sith attacked on instinct. When his lightsaber hit her beskar-plated torso it felt like someone had smacked her across the chest with a pike, but that was all. The Sith lost a half-second in surprise and that was what killed him. Vitor was already down on his other side and he thrust his blade deep into the Sith's side. The gold light in his eyes seemed to go out as he collapsed.

Good work, she sent Vitor as they looked around the chamber. The big tactical holo had been knocked out, making the whole place darker. The stormtroopers and commandos seemed to have gotten the upper hand on Serissa's guards as the groups exchanged fire across the upper two tiers of the bowl. As for the lower level, it was a flurry of blazing lightsabers. Marin spotted one red blade battling two white ones on the far side. Nat was jumping off the second tier to help Vitor's brother, who was locking sabers with another Sith.

Still sitting on the platform in the middle of the chamber, not even budged, was that white-haired Sith Lord. The moment Marin looked at him she felt his mind touch hers. She felt abject, absolute dread at the very sight of him, and the overpowering need to run and get as far away as possible if she wanted to keep her life.

His mind trick failed the moment she saw Vitor charge ahead. One bound took him onto the platform and he lifted his saber high for a fast killing blow. The Sith's right hand flashed up out of nowhere and Vitor charged into a burst of Force-lighting. The blast knocked him off the platform entirely and Marin bounded toward him, only for another Sith to jump in front of her. She barely caught his red lightsaber with her own. This one was a Gran, not tattooed but still ugly, with all three eyes maliciously gold.

This one was smarter than the last one. He knew she had beskar on and was making precise jabs at the points where armor didn't protect her. He went for her sides beneath the ribs, her wrists, the backs of her legs. He was so quick it was hard to defend and Marin almost forget she had one last surprise for him. She batted his blade from her ribs, her waist, then counterattacked with a thrust that left her extended too far forward. The Sith saw his opening and swung down for her wrists. She tipped her body forward just a little more, and instead of shearing off her hands, his blade crashed into the cortosis buckler strapped over her forearm. The Sith's red blade crackled, then shrunk to nothing in his hands.

His fine-toothed jaw dropped in shock. Marin didn't hesitate. Without waiting to fix her balance she swung and took the Sith right below the shoulders, all the way through. He collapsed in two pieces to the ground.

She'd killed a Sith. She hadn't killed him with rage or darkness like she had to Kaynar Auchs. She'd done it survive; to complete this mission; to liberate Hapes; to protect Vitor. It was a good kill, a clean kill. She told herself that and hoped it was true.

She heard the crackle of another burst of Force lightning just before it reached her. She barely got her lightsaber up and searing, painful energy tore across her face and chest and hands. Not even beskar could block it. The white-haired Sith was on his feet now, arms spread wide like a cross. Lightning flashed out of both hands and seemed to spread in all directions. Marin saw Nat and Roan struggle to deflect it. Vitor was catching some on his lightsaber but the sheer power of it was forcing him to his knees. At the same time she felt the entire chamber rattle and heard it groan, like metal was being ripped apart. It was being torn; this Sith was about to shred every console, every wall, every piece of equipment in this chamber. His power was immense; Marin tried to shoulder the pain and stagger toward him but an invisible hand was pushing her back, just like it was pushing back all the other Jedi and shoving aside the rifles of all the commandos and soldiers trying to train a gun on him.

His raw, dark power had rendered the entire room helpless. She'd never met a Jedi with this strength and never imagined she'd face such a Sith. And she could feel his mind again, filling hers with absolute dread, the kind that turned to ice in her stomach and made her already-buckling legs go.

And then, almost softly, something small and round arced through the air and fell into the nexus of this Dark Side storm. It hit the platform in front of the Sith Lord and bounced.

He saw it. He picked it up with his mind, not slacking his attack on the others. It rose fast in front of him, but Marin used the tiny necessary strength to find the deadman trigger on the thermal detonator, tap it, and release.

A globe of blinding light flared in the middle of the chamber. It was gone in an instant, and when the red-white blur faded from Marin's eyes she saw the Sith was gone too. All the Sith were gone; she counted four black-robed bodies on the lowest tier. Of the last one there was no trace at all.

She noticed the Hapan guards were no longer firing. She looked at the upper tiers and saw stormtroopers and Tanith's commandos spread out across the bowl, mostly checking bodies but also forcing prisoners to their knees.

Relief bloomed inside her. She could feel it spread like a cool breeze across all the Jedi, even Allana and Elliah as they emerged from the blown-open doorway on the third tier.

"We're clear, Your Majesty," a panting Tanith said.

"Who lobbed that detonator?" Marin called.

"I did," said Tanith. "Did you trigger it?"

"That's right." She smiled a very tired smile. "Nice teamwork."

"I knew one of you would take care of it."

"This is the C-and-C," Allana reminded them. "Is any of this equipment salvageable?"

"We'll figure out right away," said Tanith, suddenly serious.

As the stormtroopers and commandos began searching the chamber, the Jedi and Imperial Knights gathered in the center. Marin was relieved to find that no one had taken serious injuries, but her mirth disappeared when she looked at Vitor. He was still glowing, but just seeing him was too much the reminder that this wasn't over yet.

"This was good, but what about Serissa?" asked Roan. "She's still out there? Can anyone sense her?"

Allana closed her eyes. So did Vitor. They searched for the same woman, thinking they'd find her for different reasons. It was Allana who said, eyes still closed, "I sense at least one more Sith. I think it's… moving away."

"I feel it too," Vitor muttered, barely audible. "It's… angry… but frightened."

"We can't stop here," Roan said. "We need to chase her."

"No." Vitor's eyes popped open. When he put his hands on his brother's shoulders Marin felt a chill run through her. "We need someone to man the C-and-C. They might still try to retake it."

"Someone needs to stop Serissa."

"We'll stop her," Allana said firmly.

Tanith appeared behind her. "Your Majesty, I must insist-"

"You can come with me. But I'm going after Serissa."

"So am I," Vitor said. Marin's mouth opened to protest but she froze. She didn't know what to say and nothing would swerve him if she did.

Roan wasn't happy either, but Vitor said firmly, "Get this place fixed up. Find a way to work the transmitter. Call Father. Tell him what we've done. We might even be able to command the Hapans to surrender. Stay here. Save lives. Let me take care of Serissa."

Marin could tell he was using all his older-brother authority to compel Roan. The younger prince nodded reluctantly. "All right. I'll stay here. But take Treis and Mohrgan with you."

"Do you need a guide?" asked Elliah. The young woman had been hanging on the edge of the circle, uncertain where she belonged.

"I think you've done enough," Allana said gently. "Thank you. I can find them from here."

Elliah started to object, but relented. Like Roan, like Marin herself, she knew her protests wold only cost important time.

"Your Majesty, I'm going with you," Marin said. "Nat, stay with Roan and Elliah. See if you can get news from Shedu Maad."

"I'll try."

Marin patted him on the back but her eyes were on Vitor. He risked a tiny glance at her but looked away fast, almost ashamed. He faced his brother again and she could tell he struggled for something to say. He'd claimed he'd taken every step to prepare for his death but he stumbled on these last, fleeting moments. Anyone would.

"Get in touch with Father," he said. "Do what you can to end this and so will I."

Roan nodded. "May the Force be with you."

Vitor couldn't find words for that. When his brother's face scrunched in concern Marin said, "It'll be with you too, Roan. Right?"

Vitor swallowed and squeezed his brother's shoulders one last time. "You're already a magnificent Knight. I'm sure you'll grow even greater."

Roan looked away in a rare show of embarrassment. Allana cleared her throat. Maybe she'd gotten a hint of what had just happened, maybe not. She said, soft but firm, "Serissa's getting away. We have to go now."

She was right. They climbed up two tiers to the blown-open door and followed Allana out. Marin stayed right behind Vitor, and she noted that, once he stepped away from Roan, he did not risk another look at his brother before leaving the chamber.

-{}-

The turbolaser batteries spread across an eight-kilometer stretch of Invincible's starboard hull lanced out and converged on a single point. To Davek it looked like a triangle of emerald destruction, and at the apex was the double-disc of a Battle Dragon whose shields shuddered and died before his eyes. With its shields gone it tried to pull back, but one of Davek's smaller star destroyers had taken its opposite flank and pinned it too close to Invincible's arc of fire. Like a balloon popping under pressure, the Hapan warship seemed for a second to collapse, then explode outward in a burst of flame and debris.

Davek wasn't a man who rejoiced in thousands of lost lives, but it was a sign of the battle's exhausting grind that the fireball gave him a surge of confident energy. With Invincible he still had overwhelming firepower, and the Hapans were doing their best to avoid a direct confrontation with his super star destroyer. Instead their Nova cruisers, Miy'tils, and now Battle Dragons were engaging in careful dances with Davek's other star destroyers, striking and doing damage but retreating before Invincible could bring its guns to bear. The fight had drawn on for hours with so sign of a tipping point. He was starting to doubt whether Serissa's ships would surrender even if she were captured or killed. By the end Invincible might be the only ship left at all.

Davek turned his attention back to the tactical holo and began evaluating where Invincible might be able to trap another Battle Dragon. Just as he was starting to get ideas Briggs announced, "Your Majesty, we've got a signal from the ground!"

Davek hurried over to the comm station. "What's the source? One of our transports?"

"Actually, sir, it seems to be coming from the Fountain Palace itself. It probably has the only transmitter that could punch through all the jamming and distortion."

"Open the link. Let me speak to them."

The comm lieutenant flicked a switch and said, "This is Invincible."

"Is the Emperor present?" The voice was marred by static but clearly his younger son's.

Davek hunched over the console. "I'm here, Roan. Do I understand you're broadcasting from the Fountain Palace?"

"That's correct. We've secured the command and communications center."

"What about the queen?"

"Not yet. Allana and Vitor are pursuing her now. I stayed behind to keep the C-and-C secure." He didn't sound triumphant like he deserved to.

"You're doing fine work, Roan, thank you. Do the Hapans know that you've taken the Palace? Can you try broadcasting a surrender signal?"

"We're about to try, but I don't think the fleet will accept anything without Serissa's authorization."

"You're probably right, but please try."

"We will. Father, if you knock out the Hapan flagship it might have a better effect. It's called Black Majesty."

"I'm sorry, we've been unable to identify their command vessel."

"This C-and-C tracks and identifies every Hapan ship up there. We can send the data up to you."

"Excellent. Do it."

"I can send it as soon as I finish this message."

"Good." Time to sign off. "You did fine work, Roan. Thank you."

After a tiny pause, Roan said, "Thank you, Father. C-and-C out."

The link closed. Davek stepped back from the console. The lieutenant reported, "We're receiving a data package now."

"Can you route it to the tactical station?"

"Of course."

Davek and Briggs hurried across the deck to Tactical. "Lieutenant," Briggs said, "Are you receiving data from the comm station?"

"Yes, sir, it just came in."

"It should contain trackers and identifiers for every Hapan ship. Can you pinpoint the Battle Dragon called Black Majesty and mark it on the display?"

"One moment." The lieutenant's brows drew together. With a few taps to her console, a red circle appeared around one Battle Dragon currently hanging outside the edge of the combat zone but relatively close to Nightwatch.

Davek crossed his arms over his chest. "Get us a line to Captain Korak's ship. Let's see if we can't box in that Dragon."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

It was such a small bit of information, but combined with the taking of the Fountain Palace it just might be enough to end this battle. He had his sons to thank for that, and he was glad but not surprised. They'd never once let him down. When this was all over he'd make sure they knew how grateful he was, and how proud.

-{}-

When he saw the broad, open portal to the command deck at the far end of the corridor, Korosh Vull nearly stumbled. No one except the seven Oathkeepers behind him noticed and he recovered quickly. He approached with long straight steps, back stiff, hands to the sides, close to the sidearm holstered at his hip but not touching it. With every step that portal grew closer and closer. Once he went through, he would never come out.

His heart was beating fast. His palms were sweating. It took effort to breathe at a steady pace. This was what his life had been building toward. He'd never expected it until it was upon him, but he could see it now. Destiny, he discovered, was only found in retrospect.

It all went back to Voidwalker, for him and Davek Fel. His squad had been lucky to find a place there after Shieldbreaker was destroyed. When the attrition was over he'd been the only Breaker pilot alive. That had felt like luck too, and a curse. Heroism and, perhaps, guilt had impelled him upward. When the next crisis came he'd picked a side and did his duty to Veers. For a small twist it could have been different. For a tiny one he could have died with Shieldbreaker a quarter-century ago.

Yes. Fate was only seen in retrospect.

At least he wasn't dying in a fireball or freezing in the void. This death was an achievement. This death was a choice. Vull couldn't do much better.

He kept on walking, straight and stiff and smooth, until he was nearly at the portal. Only then did a pair of stormtroopers step in from either side to block his passage.

"Do you have business on the bridge?" one asked. Less confrontational, more curious. That could change fast. Even the fraternity of shipmates in battle didn't last forever.

"Yes, I need to deliver a message right away."

"A message for who?" asked the other trooper. He seemed to be examining the men behind Vull. Having a party of officers and stormies made you look authoritative and warned off questions when you were walking down the hall, but in front of guards it raises suspicions.

"These are my escorts. I have an urgent message," Vull insisted. He scanned past their white domes and spotted Davek Fel. He was eleven or twelve meters away, examining the tactical holo. He didn't have the regal silk robes he liked to parade in, but he was recognizable for the gold embroidery on his admiral's uniform and the streak of white through his hair. He had his back to Vull but he was facing another man in conversation. Vull caught his rank bars and added, "The general needs to see this very badly."

The troopers exchanged uncertain looks. One said, "Stay here. I'll go get the general."

As he turned to go Vull said, "There's really no time for this. Please, let me."

He slipped in between the troopers and trotted ahead. One called out for him, but he didn't look back. He crossed ten meters in a long, short instant. By the time he got to Fel and the general both men had turned in surprise.

Vull heard the trooper coming up behind him. He skidded to a halt two meters from Fel, put his hands in his sides, and snapped a formal bow.

"It's an honor to meet you, your Majesty. I have a message."

The trooper's footsteps slowed.

Vull raised up from his bow. Hands at his sides. Heart beating fast. He locked eyes with Emperor Fel and saw a vague recognition, then uncertainty.

One little ship, so many destinies. Two to end here.

His right hand came up and pulled the sidearm with it. He snapped his wrist and shot from the hip. Two red blasts into Fel's stomach. He twitched his wrist. A third blast, to the chest. Then the stormtrooper behind him, too late, hefted his rifle and pumped a barrage into his back. Vull toppled forward. Fel slouched to one side, then crumpled. The general at his side caught and lowered him.

No one reached out for Vull. He knew when he hit the deck but didn't feel anything. He was aware of a blurred, faint light that seemed high above and well past reach. The light faded quickly and left nothing behind.

-{}-

Davek wasn't in pain. He was surprised by that. When the first two shots had hit him a flash of agony had washed across his body, but he'd not even felt the third one take him. He didn't feel the deck slip out beneath his powerless legs and he didn't feel Briggs catch him and lower him to the deck. He saw Briggs' mouth moving and saw the laser blasts that took down his attacker, but he heard nothing either. There was only a white noise drowning out everything.

That face, those eyes. For a second he'd almost remembered them. Now he couldn't. He didn't know why. There were a thousand reasons. So many people died, even in a just war. Sometimes the survivors were unlucky ones. A thousand reasons. It didn't matter which.

There was some feeling left; little needles in the hands and feet. His head rolled to one side and he saw his fingers. He tried to move them and failed. The tingling went away. Everything went away, even light.

Blurred vision saw dimmed slowly to black. People shifted around him, a gathered crowd. He knew no faces. No Marasiah. No Roan, no Vitor. No Arlen. Not his father, not his mother. His mother was alive in the Force, so they said. Marasiah and Roan and Vitor and Arlen too, he hoped, but not his father. Not him. That was why he'd try so hard to do what he could with what he had. He'd never expected to endure.

That was the way of it. Everything went away. Year on year, century on century. Every ambition, every value, every dream. Honors and duties. Victories and defeats. Empires and emperors.

Everything went away.