Bavinyar was an unlikely place for the empress to make her first trip from Coruscant in months. Located in the Mid Rim far from major trade routes, it was sparsely populated by a mix of Cerean and human settlers who occupied the volcanic islands that dotted an otherwise watery surface. When he'd been asked to accompany Marasiah on her visit there, Ganner Krieg had known nothing of the planet, and he'd taken the time en route to brush himself up on its history, its government, and how likely- or unlikely- it was the bow to the empress' demands.

What he wasn't prepared for what how scenic the planet was. The oceans were stunningly blue. Each island was a verdant mountain rimmed by white-sand beaches. His first whiff of local air was pleasantly warm and slightly tanged with salty ocean breeze. It was, he thought, a planet the Mon Cals and Quarren might find haven on, if the current inhabitants obliged.

Bavinyar's capital and largest city was located on an island called Cephalia, and its primary spaceport was located on a smaller, separate island directly south called Maressa. The empress' scarlet shuttle set down in Maressa's most secure berth, and the delegation was met with a display of splendor from a mix of Cerean and human guards in brown and gold uniforms. They were then put onto a private airspeeder that carried them from Maressa over a channel two kilometers wide to Cephalia.

The Federation's delegation to Bavinyar included the empress herself and her aide Astraal Vao, plus four of her most veteran Imperial Knights. Aside from Ganner and Antares Draco, Azlyn Rae was in attendance, as was Sekh-Mad-Har, the Knights' sole Cerean. All six of them crammed into the white airspeeder's cabin and pressed against the window Ganner had a good view as they lifted off. As they drifted over the channel he saw a narrow, elevated umbilical connecting to the two islands, and he marked the moving glint as a mag-lev car ferrying passengers between spaceport and city.

This airspeeder ride, he understood, was part of the VIP treatment. The Bavinyari liked to keep Cephalia's airspace clear and clean, and he understood why as they banked low over the city. Draped across the ridges and peaks of the volcanic isle, it was a rare architectural hodgepodge that worked. White stone buildings, elegantly carved and domed, mixed with high glassy towers that reflected bright sunlight. The streets were a mix of narrow lanes and curving boulevards lined with green palms. It seemed a very pleasant world, comfortably aloof from the greater drama of galactic affairs. Ganner doubted its government would concede easily to Marasiah's request.

As their airspeeder banked toward the government district halfway up the main mountain, Ganner leaned over to Antares and whispered, "The empress picks excellent vacation spots."

His friend's face relaxed from its usual frown. "She truly does."

"We're set for three days here. Hopefully you two have scheduled some free time."

"We have. I think she'll need it. The Bavinyari are sure to put up a fuss."

"Then she'll just have to throw her weight around." And, Ganner thought, maybe a bit of the Force, just to make sure they were convinced.

"She'll appeal to their better natures," Antares said. "And their public image."

"You've learned a little politics." The man Ganner had trained with had always put niceties behind pursuit of the right cause as he'd seen it.

"I guess I have." To Ganner's surprise, his friend smiled. It was a weak, tired smile, but there it was.

He was glad to see it. Even before losing the Force, Antares had been wracked by guilt for his failing the emperor. If he was moving past his hurt in any small way, Ganner was grateful for the example to follow.

After the speeder set down on the landing pad, the four Imperial Knights disembarked first, followed by Marasiah and Astraal. A strong warm gust blew across the platform, stirring their ceremonial capes. Marasiah stepped ahead to speak with the assembled Bavinyari dignitaries. A few gave respectful bows, but Marasiah surprised them- and Ganner- by offering her hand to shake.

Ganner let his eyes slip to Antares, who very slightly mouthed the word: "Politics."

It wasn't politics as Marasiah's father would have done it, but then, neither was the new senate back on Coruscant. Ganner chose take it as a hopeful sign as he followed the empress inside.

-{}-

When Darth Havok finally arrived on Coruscant, he found everything had been prepared by the other Sith agents currently in the capital. He was provided with false identity documents, a personal bank account, even a modest furnished apartment in the Calocour Heights district. From here he could coordinate Sith activities on Coruscant and consult with Darth Nihl in the Outer Rim, both with equal ease.

What caught Havok's interest more than anything as he settled in was the news reports. Here on Coruscant you had access to just about every network in the Federation, and it was most enlightening to see what was getting the most airtime. The vote for speaker of the senate was just days away, and commentators reveled in endless speculation and arguments as to which of the four candidates would come out on top. Most agreed that the two so-called 'moderate' or 'pragmatic' candidates would split a centrist vote between them, leaving the real match-up between Bastion's Senator Eldon and Rhinnal's Senator Brighton- in short, between the stalwart Imperials and die-hard Alliance supporters. It all seemed to Havok a farce; he'd never been naïve enough to think that democracy was a sane way to run a galactic government and found himself disappointed the empress had weakened herself by allowing the senate at all. Her father, despite his many shortcomings, wouldn't have tolerated the chipping-away of his power.

As he watched the commentators babble on, Havok wondered what Elliah would have thought. She'd always been less authoritative than Roan, perhaps because the Hapan aristocracy she'd grown up in had been so corrupt and ineffectual. Perhaps Maraisah thought she was invoking her mother's wisdom with these democratic reforms. Havok couldn't be sure. Thinking on the old empress and how he'd killed her had once brought a swell of dark pride; now it made him uncomfortable.

The continued campaigns in the Outer Rim got far less airplay than Coruscant's elections. Even though it was the biggest fighting the galaxy had seen since Krayt's downfall, it still seemed impossibly distant to the denizens of the Core. In a way they were right; though Darth Nihl hadn't revealed his entire scheme to Havok, it was clear that the Nagai didn't have the resources to hold more than a few sectors. Likely, Nihl would carve out a secure enclave and hold it. Havok couldn't decide if creating a miniature replica of Krayt's Sith-led empire was an admirable goal or a pathetic one, but he didn't doubt Nihl could accomplish it. With the Force or without, the Dark Lord was formidable in his determination.

Both those topics were pushed aside by the news-nets when the empress paid visit to Bavinyar. Here was what Havok had really wanted to watch, and he spent hours at a time in his anonymous apartment, watching the broadcasts and awaiting the fruits of his efforts.

His communication with Pleshchai had been limited since leaving Vorzyd V. The Black Sun vigo had assured him that an assassination scheme was in place. The deed would be public, and the threat to Marasiah's life would be very real. He'd also assured that investigators would find credible evidence linking the assault to Senator Porat Derrol of Champala, a Brighton-supporting Alliance stalwart and former soldier in Gar Stazi's fleet. In short, everything was perfectly set up to rip the Federation apart at its seams.

Pleshchai had refrained from specifics, which meant Havok was literally on the edge of his seat during the broadcasts as he waited for the assassin to strike. He watched as the empress was carried via airspeeder from the spaceport to the main island of Cephalia, and he leaned close as aerial cameras captured her greet a delegation from the Bavinyari government.

The empress was dressed in stunning white, with a thin gold crown around her head. When he'd last seen Marasiah in person she'd been his prisoner in the Sith temple on Korriban. Despite his attempts to break her she'd been resilient; he'd pushed her to the edge but she'd drawn back from despair. Elliah's daughter had her mother's strong will.

Hanging behind Marasiah were her Imperial Knights in their scarlet splendor. The sight of that armor, which Eshkar Niin had once worn, usually filled Havok with derision, but his attention was drawn to the stolid face of Antares Draco. Niin's apprentice had also spent time as Havok's captive, and unlike his lover, Antares had broken to reveal the location of the hidden Jedi Temple at Taivas. He'd hoped during Antares' breaking that he might turn the young man to the dark side, as he'd always had a deep and righteous anger within him. Instead Antares had proven a disappointment, a weakling. He was amazed that Marasiah had agreed to take him as her consort.

Leaning close to the image, squinting at the details of Antares' face, he wondered what the man was thinking now. He wondered how his old apprentice had dealt with the sudden silence in the Force, whether it had broken him inside. He wondered whether Antares was now trudging through a life that was hollow and without purpose. It was a grim fate, he thought, but fitting for a man who'd continually disappointed.

Marasiah and her party followed the Bavinyari delegation inside, away from the holo-cams' view. Pleshchai had been insistent that the assassination attempt, when it came, would be very public, so Havok busied himself with other work while he waited. Five hours later, after some private talks with the local government, Marasiah appeared again, once more with her scarlet bodyguards. They stood with a group of Bavinyari on the steps of some white-stone government building, apparently before a modest crowd. It was the perfect setting for an assassination and Havok watched in anticipation as Bavinyar's prime minister spoke, then Marasiah.

"I'm proud to have worked with the Bavinyari government so far," she said, looking more regal and inspiring than her father ever had. "They have been accommodating to our requests and willing to help millions of refugees from Dac. They have agreed to help resettle parts of the Mon Cal and Quarren populations in Bavinyar's southern oceans. Over the next few days I'll be working closely with the Bavinyari to lay down a preliminary framework for mass population transfers. Rest assured we will work with the local government at every turn and do our best to make sure the Mon Calamari and Quarren are integrated into their new homes- politically, socially, and economically."

Havok was surprised she'd made so much progress so quickly. Perhaps she'd used the Force to nudge the Bavinyari where she wanted them to go. After Marasiah talked another Bavinyari official gave a speech reassuring the locals that the millions of refugees wouldn't upset their normal lives.

It was a momentous announcement wrapped in typical democratic platitudes. Havok wavered between boredom and impatience. When Marasiah and the others stepped back inside the building, he was downright angry. Rage without the dark side became distracting and he tampered it as best he could. The speech had looked like the perfect venue for an assassination, but Black Sun's agent knew the security on the ground better than he did. The time would come eventually; he had to be patient.

For the next two days Havok was effectively trapped by the news broadcasts. Boredom, impatience, and anger all brewed together as Marasiah's short, sporadic public appearances passed without incident. There was even word that she and her party had retreated to a private island for a half-day of recreation. Havok was appalled. He wanted to call Vigo Pleshchai, interrogate and threaten him and find out what the delay was. Without the attempt on Marasiah's life, Nihl's conquests in the Outer Rim would also be threatened.

When the news reported that talks had concluded and the empress was leaving Cephalia, Havok was almost bursting with rage. Before calling to berate Pleshchai he forced himself to sit and scour the news-nets for the last footage of Marasiah on Bavinyar. A few networks had already moved into commentary mode- one had Senator Gahan listing complaints about the government's lack of transparency- but the rest followed Marasiah and company as they boarded their white airspeeder, lifted off from Cephalia's government zone, and veered toward the channel and Maressa's spaceport.

Havok picked one channel, watched, and waited. A Sith Lord should have never been this helpless, but watching was all he could do.

-{}-

Late afternoon sunlight slanted over Cephalia, casting long shadows from the skyscrapers and turning the surrounding ocean white-gold. As their airspeeder cut across the channel between Cephalia and Maressa they ran parallel to the umbilical maglev train connecting capital and spaceport. It was a straight black line through gleam so bright Marasiah had to look away.

Her party of six sat two-by-two in the passenger compartment, with Marasiah and Astraal in front, Antares and Ganner in the back. Astraal was summarizing reports from her datapad, catching Marasiah up on the latest from the Outer Rim. General Jaeger and Admiral Slossar had staged their fleets and were ready for the Nagai's next move, she said, and recited a list of possible targets.

Astraal was only trying to be helpful, but Marasiah's attention drifted. The mission to Bavinyar had gone better than she'd hoped, with the government apparently ready to bow before public pressure to help settle Dac's refugees. They'd drawn some lines, namely restricting the total number of beings they'd take into their oceans, which meant several more worlds would be required to help. Marasiah hoped, with Bavinyar's example, they'd do just that. If not, she could always use this world to shame others into compliance.

That line of thought tired her, and her thoughts drifted further. Yesterday she'd delivered Antares the brief vacation she'd promised. They'd gotten a tiny island entirely to themselves and for once could enjoy themselves, free of the stress of politics and reminders of all they'd lost. She'd seen Antares' habitual moodiness slide off like a cloak and for one day they'd enjoyed each other as they once had, when she'd been merely a princess and he merely a Knight. She hoped she could recapture some of that magic on Coruscant and knew it wouldn't be easy.

As the speeder drew close to Maressa, the warm feeling inside her suddenly chilled. Marasiah looked around the cabin; the Knights behind her were undisturbed but Astraal had stopped her report.

"Majesty?" she asked. "Is there a problem?"

Something was wrong, but Marasiah had no idea what. The cold feeling inside her wasn't going away and she realized with a stab of dread that the Force itself was talking to her, warning her for a threat she couldn't see.

"Driver," she called, "How much longer to set-down?"

The reply came back promptly. "We're about one minute and thirty seconds out. Is something wrong, Majesty?"

Something was wrong, very wrong, but she had no idea what. The other Knights had noticed her distress and looked around, helpless and confused.

Then the airspeeder jerked violently. Slanting sunlight flashed in Marasiah's eyes and inertia slammed her into the bulkhead, cracking her head against the window. Blinded and dazed, she could still feel the speeder spiral out-of-control from the sky. An acrid scent assaulted her but she couldn't see any smoke.

Vision cleared long enough to see the sun-dappled channel coming on them fast. Marasiah reached out with the Force and strained to stop their crash. Her senses were addled and her heart raced in fear and it was so hard to call on the Force, and even in panic she realized how shameful it would be for one of the galaxy's last living Force-users to fail right when she needed her power the most.

For a second she connected, and through the Force touched the others in the car with her. She felt her longtime friend Astraal and Antares, who meant more to her than anyone. She felt Ganner Krieg and Azlyn Rae and Sekh-Mad-Har, loyal Knights she'd trusted for many years.

Marasiah couldn't let them down. Not for panic, not for shame.

She touched the Force, held on tight, and used its power to push against the speeder's violent plunge. She couldn't stop its falling but she could slow it, straighten it, so it might belly-slam into the channel. If she did that, they just might stay alive until rescue crews came-

Water hit them, so hard. She felt the speeder's underside slam into waves. Inertia smacked her head against the window. Sunlight flared gold like an exploding star, and then she knew only black.

-{}-

When the airspeeder collided with the channel its underside slammed into water first. For a moment Ganner, strapped tight to the back bench beside Antares, thought they might even keep from sinking. Then the speeder imbalanced and tilted violently to one side. He saw the empress's head hit the window and, worse, saw the panel behind her implode. Ocean water and shattered glass burst into the cabin, and Sekh-Mad-Har gave a panicked cry as shards cut into his tall head and drew blood.

"We have to get out of here!" Antares called as he unbuckled the restraint round his chest. "Get out now!"

Azlyn acted next. None of them had used their lightsabers at all on this mission, but she ignited her white blade and carved out the glass beside her. As the airspeeder titled toward its right side, the left bank of windows were still exposed to open air, and Ganner cut open his window as well.

"Armor off!" he called. "It'll just weigh us down!"

There was neither time nor space to properly remove their ceremonial plating, but they tried. As water continued to rush in Ganner popped off his chestplate and shoulder-pads. Antares helped him remove his cape. Azlyn took off what she could but she needed the respirator built into her chestpiece to survive, assuming it functioned at all.

"Can that work in water?" Ganner called to her.

Azlyn's response was a half-second stare. Then she jumped out of the speeder, into the channel. Sekh-Mad-Har, scalp bleeding from a dozen places, leaned over the back of Marasiah's seat and gathered the unconscious empress in both arms. As the Cerean followed Azlyn out the window, Antares was right behind him asking, "Is Sia hurt? How bad is it?"

"She's breathing, for now," Sekh-Mad-Har grunted. Cradling the empress in both arms he pushed away from the sinking speeder and kicked with both legs to stay afloat. Antares followed him outside, where Azlyn, Ganner, and Astraal were already treading water.

"Where's the driver?" asked Ganner. "Did he make it out?"

The others looked to the speeder hull as it quickly sank below the waves. Astraal said, "The windshield exploded on impact. I don't think he made it."

Kicking to stay afloat, Ganner did a complete spin to take in their surroundings. They were too far from Maressa to try swimming, further still from Cephalia. The maglev bridge was closest but it spanned high above, and the support pylons stabbing into the water didn't have anything to grab on to.

"Just hold on!" called Sekh-Mad-Har. Taller and stronger than a human, the Cerean was the only one who could have held Marasiah out of the water and kept himself afloat. "They must have seen us go down! They'll send help in a-"

His tall head burst apart. Time seemed to slow down and Ganner watched scorched flesh and skull fragments geyser into the air, each fleck visible against golden sunlight. Then Sekh-Mad-Har's body went limp and started to sink.

"Sia!" Antares screamed. He kicked through the water and grabbed her from the other Knight's arms as Sekh-Mad-Har slipped beneath the waves. Antares struggled to keep the weight of his body and hers afloat and Ganner paddled to help, but Azlyn called, "Wait! Ganner wait!"

Hot spray burst from the water right in front of his face. Ganner stopped swimming and watched another geyser explode, further from him and closer to the empress.

Realization struck him but Azlyn said it first. "Sniper! Draco, get down!"

Antares was still struggling to hold Marasiah's limp body in his arms; he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. Gathering her, he lifted her face from the water and held her close. Ganner started kicking toward him again and called out his name.

Time slowed down again. Too close but too far, Ganner watched the next blaster-shot come in from over Antares' shoulder, disappear, then burst out of his chest, right above the heart. His face went slack and his arms limp; Marasiah tumbled back into the water.

Instinct kicked in and Ganner grabbed the empress first. He kicked furiously to stay afloat while Azlyn tried to hold Antares from behind. Astraal Vao kicked forward, grabbed Marasiah's legs, and lifted them out of the water, as though they could make her float.

None of it would matter. They were all kicking hard and almost out of breath. Neither he nor Azlyn had the Force to draw on. Remembering the direction of the blast had taken Antares, Ganner looked to the west and saw the maglev bridge as a black streak against gold sky. The sniper was on it somewhere and there was no way they could hide.

Then he heard the roar of nearby airspeeder engines. Spray washed in his face and down-facing repulsors brushed the water. Another speeder swooped from the east and an inflating raft dropped from its belly.

Ganner had no breath to shout, but he waved an arm in the direction of the bridge, trying to warn them of the sniper. Rescue crews dropped from the speeder and swam toward them, dragging the raft. They went to Azlyn first, taking Antares, then moved Marasiah onto the raft. Finally they pulled Astraal, Azlyn, and Ganner out of the water.

His arms and legs ached for the strain and his oxygen-starved brain grasped for sense. Collapsed on his back and staring at the sky, Ganner tried to figure out why they were still alive. Maybe the sniper had seen the rescue speeder and fled. He couldn't think of any other reason.

When he found the strength he sat upright on the raft. Astraal was too weak to rise but Azlyn had crawled over to Marasiah, who was also attended by a pair of white-uniformed medics.

"Is she all right?" Ganner called. "Tell me she's all right!"

"The empress is unconscious but breathing," said one medic.

Relief lasted until he saw Antares lying on the other side of the raft. Another medic was bent over him, face grim.

"What about Antares?" asked Ganner, voice faltering. "Is he-"

The medic picked up her head and shook it. "The blaster shot took him through the heart. I'm sorry, sir."

All strength left him. Ganner collapsed on the raft and stared up at that beautiful Bavinyar sky, wishing this was all a dream and knowing that it wasn't, knowing that he'd remember the exact gold tint of this day's dying light as long as he lived.