Marin had travelled a lot of the galaxy, and on a few occasions she'd made stops at Bakura. Located where the Outer Rim met the Unknown Regions, it was far from any major trade routes but nonetheless industrialized and productive, with a lucrative corner on the repulsorlift market. She hadn't been to the world in decades but she remembered it fondly for its lush nature and cites that felt big and busy without being overwhelming.

She was therefore unprepared when they descended into its atmosphere and banked over the smoldering ruins of Salis D'aar. The metropolis of her memory had been reduced to stretching miles of black debris, and the destruction was so wholesale that it could only have been delivered via orbital bombardment.

Nihl's conquerors had never done this kind of damage to an occupied world before, as it would only make potential targets fight harder. Something had made the Sith change his mind.

As they flew over the wreckage she noticed that select portions of the city had been spared destruction. That included the government district, where stately pyramids and broad green lawns rested in surreal contrast to the surrounding devastation. Her stomach twisted even more when she realized the bombardment must have happened after the planet's conquest, not before.

It was the brutality of the Sith unleashed, more proof than ever that they didn't need the dark side to wreak untold death and agony. She looked around at the others inside the cockpit of Yaga Auchs' shuttle. Ania and Liem's faces were twisted in horror, and though Yaga and Sora Auchs had their helmets on and faces covered, they emanated revulsion in the Force.

"We have to stop him here," Ania whispered.

"That's still the plan," said Sora. Seated at the controls, she guided the shuttle onto what looked like a small private landing pad jutting out from the base of a large pyramid.

Marin looked at Auchs. "Any idea where exactly we're being taken?"

"None."

"Great," muttered Ania.

Sora lowered the shuttle onto the pad. There was a small greeting party gathered to meet them, and while Marin had been expecting Nagai or even other Sith, it seemed to consist of six red-scaled saurians. They looked to be well over two meters tall and more than twice the size of a human, even a big man like Auchs. She'd never seen Ssi-ruuk before, only P'w'eck on her long-ago visits to Bakura. There was something more fierce about them than their former servant race. She was sure they'd be harder to kill and hoped they wouldn't have to fight them when the time came.

The ship was secure on the ground, but none of them moved to exit. They all knew that once they stepped outside the shuttle there was a strong chance they wouldn't come back. After some debate with Auchs, they'd agreed that a total of four armored Mandalorians would be realistic escort for one high-price prisoner. Any more might raise Nihl's suspicions, and any less might not be enough to handle the Sith Lord. Auchs seemed to only trust his daughter; Marin had already promised to go with Ania and Liem had volunteered his services. The young man was brave and a good fighter, and unlike Hondo Karr or Tes Vevec, she trusted her nephew not to shoot the Mand'alor in the back. She prayed he got through this.

"Sor'ika, are we transmitting to the frigate?" asked Auchs. His personal warship was sitting in orbit, lonely amongst the massive, ovoid Ssi-ruuvi cruisers.

"Yes, buir. And they've still got a link with Stazi."

"Did they send him our data?" asked Marin.

"He knows everything they've got in orbit."

"Good. Hope the admiral's timely," grunted Auchs. "Once we get Nihl alone, we go at him right away."

"What if those lizards down there don't leave us alone?" asked Liem.

"Then we fight them too. We're all armed." He turned his visored face to Marin. "The few times I've met Nihl, he's had his lightsaber with him. It's a long-handled thing, not like a typical saber, but I imagine it cuts all the same."

Marin hadn't wielded any lightsaber since she'd given up her own forty years ago. She didn't even know if she could wield the thing safely, but she knew it was better in her hands than Nihl's. "I'll get it away from him. Then you can attack."

Auchs nodded. Silence filled the cockpit. Softly, Ania said, "Is that it? Do we have a plan?"

"We do," said Auchs. "Let's get some stun cuffs on your wrists. We'll lock them for authenticity. When the fighting starts, duck low."

"That was the plan," Ania said, though she was looking at her mother.

Marin had been consistently surprised by Ania's devotion and bravery. She had to make sure her daughter survived. Memory tugged on her, reminding her of people she'd loved and failed to save even as a Jedi. This time would be different, she told herself. This time, at long last, she would do it right, or die trying.

-{}-

When the hail came from Yaga Auchs explaining the prize he'd captured, Nihl had been surprised and skeptical. The Mandalore had explained that his men had gotten into a scrape with the famous fringer Ania Solo while pacifying Bespin's Cloud City, a notorious gathering-point for lowlifes and scoundrels. They'd recognized her, captured her, and were bringing the prize present to Bakura for Nihl's personal satisfaction. The story sounded plausible in itself, though it rankled to think that a band of Mandalorian thugs could succeed where the Sith had so disastrously failed.

Still, Nihl was on edge. Auchs' sudden arrival was unusual, but more it was the Solo woman. They said she was blind to the Force and always had been, but in her tangling with the One Sith and the rogue Darth Wredd she'd betrayed an uncanny luck. Even now the Force might be working through her in subtle, dangerous ways.

He'd chosen to meet the prisoner in President Recado's office. Since watching the blazing destruction of Salis D'aar through these windows he'd become fond of the room. Even now it looked out on a compelling contrast of stately white buildings and blackened wreckage. From this angle, deep within the undamaged government district, it seemed like a bleak and perfect balance.

A buzzer announced the arrival of the prisoner. Nihl tapped a button on the president's desk and the door opened. A unique procession entered: first a red-scaled Ssi-ruu warrior, followed by two Mandalorians in gray and red, then a prisoner with hands shackled. Behind her were two more Mandalorians, including the green-armored figure he knew to be Yaga Auchs. Finally, one more Ssi-ruu stepped into the office, leaving four more in the hallway outside.

Stepping ahead of the others, Auchs said, "We've got the prisoner for you."

Two Mandalorians stepped aside so Nihl could look down on Ania Solo. She was outwardly unremarkable, shorter than average for a human, with a plain round face and messy hair. Her posture was a defeated slump and she didn't strain the stun cuffs attached to her wrists.

Nihl grabbed her chin and tilted her head toward his. A little angry defiance sparked in her eyes, and he knew this was the woman who'd done the One Sith so much harm.

"You are impressive, Mandalore," he told Auchs. "I'll make sure you're paid a handsome bonus for this."

"I'd like to talk about just how handsome."

"Of course you would." Just like a vermin mercenary to take the glow off every triumph. "One hundred thousand credits."

"For this dal'ika I want more. Three hundred."

Nihl snorted. "You're getting too brazen, Auchs. That's more than we paid you to kill your own Mandalore."

Auchs froze for a second, probably surprised to be reminded of him crime in front of an audience. Nihl had intended exactly that; the vermin needed to be reminded of his place.

Finally Auchs said, "I needed Ordo out of the way so I could be in charge. That was part of my reward. I couldn't care if this Solo woman lives or dies."

"Then you should take one hundred thousand and be happy."

"I'm giving her to you because I know you want her. I could have just let her go. This is a sign of friendship."

"An expensive one. All right, two hundred and fifty thousand."

"Done." He could hear Auchs' smile.

"You'll get your money shortly." Nihl tugged the Solo woman forward by the chin. She squirmed but didn't cry out. "Thank you for the prize, Mandalore. Your services are appreciated, as always. You can go now."

Auchs didn't move. Neither did the Mandalorians. Nihl raised a brow. "Well? Is there something else to discuss?"

A heartbeat passed. Auchs said, "Just one other thing."

"And what is that?"

As he spoke, Nihl felt a sudden tug at his waist, on the opposite side of his body as the Solo woman. He looked down and saw this long-bodied lightsaber jerking forward, as though grabbed by an invisible hand and straining at the latch connecting it to his belt.

That was impossible. He slapped his free hand down and the weapon ceased to tremble. He looked up at the two Ssi-ruuk and four Mandalorians, all staring at him blankly, and he wondered if he'd somehow imagined it.

Then the control panel to the office door burst in a flash of sparks. An invisible punch threw him off his feet, away from the Solo woman and onto the back of the president's desk. Nihl skidded off it, rolled, landed on both feet and ignited his lightsaber just in time to catch the first volley of laser blasts.

-{}-

They should have known it wouldn't go to plan. The damned Ssi-ruuk just wouldn't go away and Nihl had no inclination to dismiss them, but they'd come here expressly for this and couldn't walk away.

Marin Skirata must have used the Force to blow the door controls and seal them inside. It would buy them some time, maybe enough. If only they could have gotten Nihl's lightsaber away.

There was no time for regrets. When everything burst to action, Sora and Liem pivoted to fire on the Ssi-ruuk guards while Yaga and Marin opened on Nihl. The Sith rolled off the desk, landed nimbly on his feet, and batted away their first volleys with his saber expertly, like he still had the Force. Then he reared back on one leg and slammed the other boot into the desk, tipping it over and giving himself a little bit more cover.

At the same time, Sora and Liem pumped barrages of laserfire into the closest Ssi-ruu. By taking it together their blasts managed to punch through its thick scarlet scales, and the alien released an awful pained wail as it collapsed on the floor. The second, however, got off a burst from its paddle-beamer weapon that caught Sora square in the chest. The energy discharge flashed against her beskar and its kinetic energy picked her off her feet and threw her into the opposite wall.

Against himself, Yaga panicked. He spun from Nihl, called his daughter's name, and raised his blaster to fire on the Ssi-ruu. The alien turned on him with impressive speed and fired another shot from the strange weapon. Yaga knew a moment of sizzling pain as he was thrown off his feet and send skidding across the carpet. Those weapons were designed to stun, he knew, and his beskar must have deflected some of the energy, but not all.

He was stuck on the ground, unable to rise as tingling shot through his limbs and made them shake uncontrollably. His vision swam and he barely registered it when Liem pumped several shots into the back of the Ssi-ruu's head and felled the saurian. When it cleared Yaga saw his blaster had fallen from his hands and lay a half-meter out of reach.

He also saw that Nihl had grabbed hold of Ania Solo. The Sith had wrenched the woman, still in stun-cuffs, to her feet and pinned her body against his. He was still a full head taller than her but he used her to shield all his torso. His red lightsaber blazed beneath her jaw, centimeters from her neck.

Nihl wasn't paying any attention to Yaga, who lay strewn and helpless to the side. The Sith was using his hostage to edge closer to the door, which the Ssi-ruuk were pounding on as they tried to gain entry. Marin and Liem, the only two left standing, had their weapons trained but hesitated to shoot. Nihl could cut into Ania's neck with just the tiniest movement, and Marin seemed unwilling to risk using the Force.

Yaga forced himself onto one elbow. Nihl didn't notice. He remembered his second blaster, the hold-out still stored in the compartment beneath this right wrist. Keeping his hand on the floor, hidden from Nihl's view, Yaga ejected it into his hand.

He had his shot, a headshot from the flank. The only issue was Ania. He whispered into his helmet's comlink, just loud enough for the others to hear: "Grab the saber. Now."

Still propped on his left elbow, he snapped his right arm up and squeezed his trigger. A shot flashed just over Ania's head, singing black hair a millisecond before it vanished into Darth Nihl's temple. A millisecond later the laser burst out the other side of his skull and impacted on the opposite wall.

Nihl's body wavered on its feet. With her invisible Force grip, Marin wrenched the lightsaber from his limp hand and tossed it inert to the floor.

Face frozen in slack surprise, the Sith toppled to one side and Ania half-fell the other way. Her mother was there to grab her in both arms. Yaga pushed himself a fully upright and saw his own daughter struggling to her feet. On the floor, two red Ssi-ruuk and one black-and-white Nagai lay still, never to rise again.

Still dazed from the paddle-beamer, Yaga felt a moment of lightheaded triumph. Then he reminded himself the job was just starting. Marin separated herself from her daughter, walked over to Yaga, and extended an open hand.

"Thank you," she said.

Yaga stared at the hand, the red-armored figure bending low in supplication instead of threat. After a moment of instinctive fear he reached out, took it, and let Marin help him to his feet. Once upright, he wavered on unsteady legs. The Ssi-ruuk outside were still pounding on the door, and they'd break through sooner instead of later. Maybe a distraction would slow them down.

Liem asked, "Can you send the message to your ship?"

"I've got it." He changed the freq on his helmet's transmitter and mouthed a simple message: "Stage One accomplished. Proceed to Stage Two. Mand'alor, out."

-{}-

Five minutes and twenty seconds after jumping to lightspeed from the staging area outside the Bakura System, Alliance dropped from hyperspace into the planet's gravity well. The command deck shuddered and Gar Stazi braced himself against the back of the tactical lieutenant's chair as the verdant planet exploded into view. He looked at the display holo, which had already been calibrated to show the Ssi-ruuvi cruisers in orbit as relayed by Yaga Auchs' ship, and felt a felt a small glow of triumph when Alliance's sensors confirmed the information as accurate.

The display holo grew brighter with added lights marking the Alliance and Imperial warships that had just entered Bakura's orbit. They'd decanted at positions informed by Auchs' data and half of them were immediately placed within firing range of the nearest Ssi-ruuvi warships. The large ovoid cruisers pivoted to bring their forward weapons to bear but struggled under the surprise attacks.

It was a good start, but there was more at stake than just Bakura. Stazi turned to Jhoram Bey, whom he'd tasked with coordinating actions in the Javin sector and beyond. The real test of this plan's success would come in minutes.

"Slossar and Jaeger have engaged the enemy," Bey told him. "They're currently broadcasting Auchs' signal to the Mandalorian ships."

"In all combat zones?"

"That's right. Jaeger's staging a counterattack on Javin itself. Slossar is at Lutrillia. They report Mando ships spread out at both locations, alongside the Nagai and Ssi-ruuk."

"Taking part in combat?"

"Yes, sir. As hostiles." Bey swallowed. "Their turnaround wouldn't look convincing otherwise, would it?"

It certainly would not. Back at Botajef all those years ago, the Mandalorians had suddenly switched sides because of their leader's murder. Now the murderer was orchestrating a precise, deliberate act of backstabbing that reversed his previous one. Auchs had called it poetic; to Stazi it was a more unpleasant kind of irony, but if it worked, he wouldn't complain.

As Bey monitored reports from the Javin sector, Stazi looked back at Bakura. Space around the planet was lighting up with joined battles, and unlike Geonosis, Alliance wasn't holding itself back from the fray. The destroyer's broad gray wedge was angled at an ovoid Ssi-ruuvi cruiser that had turned its forward guns to face them. From Alliance's bridge it looked like an angry insectoid face spitting bright-red venom.

The droid starfighters were coming out in force, and this time Stazi had ordered his ships to emulate the tactics of Captain Bovark and the other Imperials. Instead of trying to draw the droids away with Crossfires, the capital ships all raised shields to full and allowed the battle droids to unleash punishing attacks. As Alliance opened fire on the Ssi-ruuvi cruiser its batteries washed across the battle droid swarms, annihilating many. Other droids began throwing themselves like missiles into the destroyer's shields. For now, defenses held.

"New report from Lutrillia," Bey said. "Slossar reports the Mandos are switching sides."

Alliance shook under the Ssi-ruuvi assault, but Stazi felt relief flood his body. Against all expectation, Auchs was a man of his word. "Give me details, Jhoram. How are the Ssi-ruuk and Nagai reacting?"

"Undetermined. The Mandos took them by surprise and seem to be targeting Nagai ships especially, but they haven't withdrawn yet."

"What about Javin? Anything from Jaeger?"

Bey shook his head. "I'll try to contact them directly."

While the Weequay worked, Stazi turned attention back to the immediate fight. Alliance was trembling with repeated barrages and the forward shields had turned bright with energy scatter. He looked at the tactical holo and saw two Mon Cal cruisers approaching the Ssi-ruuvi ship from its flank. They'd bring necessary relief.

As he watched, Captain Antilles approached. "Admiral, we've worn away at least thirty percent of their droid starfighters. I was planning to launch our Crossfires."

Rogue Squadron and the other units had been sitting tight in the hangar, waiting to deploy. "I'll leave it to you, Captain."

"Thank you, sir. You should also know we've been scanning Bakura's surface. The results are… unsettling."

"In what way?"

"The major cities were all subjected to heavy orbital bombardment before we arrived. We can't even guess at the causalities."

That was a grim surprise; these conquerors had generally been lenient toward their newly-seized worlds. "Do we have any new contact with Auchs?"

"We received a brief message a few minutes ago. He reports his team has taken refuge in the president's building in the capital. They're requesting backup as soon as we can send it."

"Did they confirm Darth Nihl is dead?"

"They did, sir." Antilles almost cracked a smile.

Stazi openly grinned. "Excellent. Press closer to the planet and look for openings to begin sending down troops."

"We don't know how many Ssi-ruuk are on the surface."

"It doesn't matter. They'll have to be forced out if they don't surrender." An obvious idea occurred. "Begin broadcasting on open channels. Tell everything- I mean everyone- that Relik K'sharn is dead. Also tell them the Mandalorians have switches sides. Fix up a translation to Ssi-ruuvi as soon as you can."

"Right away, sir."

Stazi turned back to the tactical station. The holo showed the Ssi-ruuvi cruiser sustaining withering attacks on its right flank while Alliance pulled ahead to attack its left. Squeezed on either side, the ship wouldn't last long. Elsewhere, Captain Bovark's Imperials had taken out another Ssi-ruuvi ship, and another was ringed on all sides by Alliance vessels. Federation ships were still taking heavy losses, mostly to those droid fighters; the Geonosian Council of Hives had only been of limited help in devising counterattacks.

Nonetheless, the battle had clearly turned in their favor. He only hoped news of Nihl's death and the Mandalorians' treason would break the Ssi-ruuk's spirit and send them retreating. He didn't take it for granted; these saurians were a fanatic people, and Bakura in particular had long been an object of their desire. There could still be a long bloody fight to secure this planet, or what was left of it.

"Admiral," Bey called, "News from Javin. The Imperials confirm the Mandos have switched sides. Several Ssi-ruuvi cruisers have been damaged and the Nagai flagship is destroyed."

"Excellent news. We've just gotten confirmation Darth Nihl is dead."

"Even better," Bey grinned. "Auchs came through?"

"It seems he did. It seems like we've got what we've paid for. Captain Antilles is putting together a broadcast in Ssi-ruuvi announcing the Mandos' actions and Nihl's death. Once she's done, you should transmit it to all our allies and have them share the news with our foes."

"Do you think that will get them to withdraw?"

"It may give them the nudge we need."

As Alliance pushed past the burning Ssi-ruuvi cruiser, it began deploying Crossfires and landing ships. There were still battle droids that continued to harass, but the Alliance forces were able to push into the atmosphere. They were soon joined by a group of Imperial vectoring toward the capital. Stazi saw with satisfaction that the remaining Ssi-ruuvi cruisers were withdrawing from direct battle, but none had yet pulled out of Bakura's orbit.

"Perhaps our broadcast is working," he suggested to Antilles.

"We can only hope, sir."

A tactical officer reported, "Sirs, we're picking up ships lifting off from Salis D'aar. Look to be Ssi-ruuvi."

"A withdrawal?" asked Antilles.

"Perhaps," Stazi said. "Tell our landing parties not to fire on those ships unless fired upon. If the Ssi-ruuk want to retreat, we'll let them."

They waited, watching the tactical holo until it became clear the Ssi-ruuvi ships from the ground were running straight to the cruisers in orbit. It was a withdrawal all right; when the first reports came from the landing parties they said they were receiving no resistance. The enemy had evacuated in hurry.

Stazi was relieved to have avoided a grueling fight, but his enthusiasm was cut short when the Ssi-ruuvi cruisers began firing from orbit. Short, concentrated blasts of laserfire lanced down and impacted on the surface. They'd ceased firing before the Federation ships could react, and as one they turned toward the stars and surged away from Bakura.

"Get with our ground teams," Stazi grimaced. "Find out what the hell that was."

"We're picking up precise hits at fixed locations," said the tactical lieutenant. "They look like industrial zones."

Another officer suggested, "It could be their repulsorlift factories."

Denying the conqueror his spoils was a long-time tactic of the loser. Stazi wondered why the Bakurans hadn't destroyed the factories themselves before surrendering. Perhaps they'd been hoping for mercy, or believed a quick Federation response would drive the Ssi-ruuk away with their world still intact.

No matter what, they'd been bitterly disappointed.

Antilles said, "We're getting a better look at the ground situation now, sir."

"All right," Stazi said. "Let's see it."

He followed the captain to another station, where a two-dimensional image showed a banking view over a Bakuran city.

"This is from Rogue Leader's cam, sir," Antilles explained. "She's over Salis D'aar now."

Stazi leaned close to watch as Dahl's Crossfire veered close to a pile of black debris, flame, and smoke. It was difficult to tell the scale, but it seemed to have been a massive factory. The starfighter changed heading and dropped altitude, giving a view of the city itself. Block after block had been scorched clean by orbital bombardment. Devastation stretched toward the horizon, interrupted only rarely by patches of intact cityscape.

It was a terrible sight but Stazi forced himself to keep watching, even after it was announced that the Ssi-ruuk had exited the system. He needed this sobering reminder of victory's cost.