Several hours later, the forces of the Alliance are now in hyperspace, en route to the Xenoth system, where the remaining forces of the Sedition are believed to be hiding.


Aboard the Alliance Command Ship, Vala is now on the bridge. She is with Arvon, and a middle aged man in an Alliance uniform. This is Admiral Sarr Denon, Alliance Chief of Fleet Operations. Vala's second-in-command, Admiral Jek Desaro, appears as a hologram, as he is on Vala's flagship. The group is gathered around a holotable, which is displaying a map of the region of space they are currently travelling through.

"We've gotten the data back from our stealth probes. Now… we know what we're up against." Arvon says.

"What did we find out?" Vala asks.

"See for yourself." Arvon answers.

The hologram changes to a map of a planetary system. The map also shows numerous ships of various sizes and designs, along with what appears to be a space station in orbit of one of the planets.

"Look there! The third planet! Some kind of… station of unknown design." Jek says.

"Not unknown. Remember Jedi history, Vala?" Arvon asks.

I remember. The story of Darth Revan and the Jedi Civil War. It looks identical to the station used by Revan and his apprentice. Vala thinks.

"That's a… Rakatan Star Forge!" Vala answers.

"Looks like it." Arvon says.

"Rakatan Star Forge?" Jek asks.

"It's a factory, built by the Infinite Empire over twenty thousand years ago. It can create droids and… ships." Arvon answers.

"You've got to be frackin' kidding me!" Jek says.

"I wish I was, but that… is a Star Forge. I remember the design from the Jedi Archives." Arvon says.

"But… we always thought there was only one of them, destroyed thousands of years ago." Vala says.

"There's only one hyperspace route into the Xenoth system. Thanks to the nebulas and ion storms, it's not always possible to get there. That's why it's never been fully explored. There's still a great deal we don't know about this region of space." Arvon says.

"This explains how the Sedition was able to build a fleet in secret without us knowing about it. A hidden Star Forge in the Unknown Regions." Vala says.

"What if the Rebs have more than one of these?" Jek asks.

"Then, we might have ourselves a problem. Now that we know what we might be dealing with, we need a new plan." Vala answers.

"Agreed. Admiral Denon, how many ships did the probes detect?" Arvon asks.

"One thousand five hundred and twenty four, sir. Mostly old First Order and Imperial designs. Including… seven hundred and fifty nine star destroyers, and… ten interdictors." Denon answers.

"How the hell did they get so many Star Destroyers?" Jek asks.

"It's possible that they... might have used the Star Forge to make them." Arvon answers.

"That's just frackin' great! What about those interedictors? We won't be able to go to hyperspace in case we have to retreat!" Jek says.

"We have interdictors too. They won't be able to run either." Vala says.

"The Mandalorians have two fleets that are nearby. It'll be cutting it close, but I think they could be here in time to help us. I'll contact the Duke and inform him of our plan of attack. As for us, I think we should split our forces, and attack from two different directions." Arvon says.

"What do you have in mind?" Vala asks.

"You take the second, fourth, and fifth divisions, and… come out of hyperspace… here. The eighth planet." Arvon answers. A red dot appears on the holomap, near the eighth and outermost planet.

"Just like at Krendar. Good plan." Vala says.

"I'll take the first, third, and sixth divisions and come out of hyperspace… here. The second planet. We'll attack the enemy fleet head on." Arvon says. Another red dot appears on the holomap, near the system's second planet.

"Alright. I'll wait outside the system, and standby for your signal. Just like the last time we did this." Vala says.

"Agreed. It looks like we have our plan of attack. I'll go ahead and upload mission data to all commanders. We'll rendezvous with the Mandalorians here… the Rotan system. We'll be there in about six hours. There, we'll make our final preparations, then… onto Xenoth." Arvon says.


Six hours later, the Alliance forces reach the Rotan system. Soon after, the Mandalorian ships arrive.


Aboard the Alliance Command Ship, Vala and Arvon are in the main hangar, approaching a shuttle. They stop near the ship's boarding ramp.

"I… enjoyed our night together. I hope we can do it again soon." Vala says.

"So do I. I… always hate watching you leave." Arvon says.

"I know. But… we are headed into battle, and I need to be on my flagship. Now that we've met up with the Mandalorians, we can get a move on. Straight to Xenoth." Vala says.

"Looks like we'll be there in about two hours." Arvon says.

"I think we should maintain comm silence until then." Vala says.

"I was thinking the same." Arvon says.

"Well, I had better get going. We both have work to do." Vala says. Arvon embraces her briefly, then, she heads for the shuttle.


Vala's shuttle departs the Command Ship, and returns to her flagship, the Endurance. Soon, the Alliance and Mandalorian ships enter hyperspace.


After returning to the Endurance, Vala calls a meeting for all of her squadron leaders. They assemble in the pilot's briefing room, which consists of rows of chairs facing toward a podium. Vala now stands behind the podium, while the squadron leaders are seated in the front row. Present are six pilots in total, including Vala's apprentice, Aja Pinal, Commander of Falcon Squadron.

"Alright everyone, let's get started. We've already gone through our preliminary briefing, so all of you are aware that we are headed for the Xenoth System. Since then, we've gotten new intel, and have had to change our battle plan accordingly." Vala says.

"So, what's changed?" Aja asks.

"We now know the total number of enemy forces, as well as what classes of ships they are using." Vala answers.

"That's why the Mandos are here, isn't it? You called them in for back up." Aja says.

There's no hiding anything from you, is there, Aja? So young, yet so brilliant. Vala thinks.

"That's right. Sedition forces would otherwise outnumber us." Vala says.

"But now, we have more ships than they do…" Aja says.

"Numbers… aren't always everything. Superior skill and strategy are ultimately what determines victory. Now, deployments will be as follows..." Vala says.

Vala gives the squadron commanders their assignments for the upcoming battle. They are then dismissed, except for Aja, who stays in the briefing room. Vala steps away from the podium, and takes a seat next to Aja.

"I thought the Knights of Ren were all dead. You said your grandmother killed them all." Aja says.

"I watched her kill them, so I thought they were all gone too. Guess I was wrong." Vala says.

"If the Knights of Ren really have come back, then, don't you think that, maybe, we ought to let her know?" Aja asks.

"She won't fight them, if that's what you're thinking." Vala answers.

"Won't fight them?" Aja asks.

"Her fight is over, Aja. My grandmother... has done more than enough for the galaxy, and has earned a well deserved rest." Vala answers.

"Why did she quit the order? I never really got an answer on that, other than she felt that the order should be doing more to help the military, and the rest of the council disagreed." Aja says.

I trust Aja. I consider her part of my family, and I love her like a sister, but… grandmother asked me not to tell anyone what happened that day with the Knights of Ren. I hate keeping secrets from Aja, but… I have to. Vala thinks.

"That's… one of the reasons. As for the rest, I have been asked not to tell anyone. I'm sorry, Aja. I hate keeping things from you, but… could you please respect my wishes on this?" Vala asks.

"Sure." Aja answers.

"Thanks, Aja." Vala says.

"So, we're about to go into battle. Sounds like it'll be a big one." Aja says.

"Looks that way. This battle could very well end the war." Vala says.

"I figure you'll want to walk the ship from end to end like you usually do." Aja says.

"The time alone helps me to focus on the task at hand, and physical activity is always a good thing. Call it a personality quirk if you wish, but for me, it's tradition. Before I go into battle, I always walk the full length of the ship. Alone." Vala says.

"I get it. It's like… a luck thing." Aja says.

"A… luck thing?" Vala asks.

"Yeah. You know… how some of the pilots do different things, like… for example… one of the pilots in Wolf Squadron kisses a picture of his wife before he gets in the cockpit, or a pilot in Hawk Squadron who painted her astromech green because she thinks green is a lucky color." Aja says.

"Okay. I get the point. I never thought of it like that, but… I suppose… it is a 'luck thing' as you call it." Vala says.

"Told you so." Aja says. Vala chuckles.

"I'm sorry." Vala says.

Sorry? For what?" Aja asks.

"For dragging you into another battle so quickly." Vala answers.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd like some downtime, but we're doing what we have to do to win this war. If that means another battle less than a day after the last one, then I'm okay with it. So, you have nothing to be sorry about." Aja says.

"Thanks, Aja." Vala says.

"So… once this war's over, what are you gonna do?" Aja asks.

"To be perfectly honest with you, I think I might... go home for a bit." Vala answers.

"Back to Aquilae. It's been a while." Aja says.

"It's been almost a year since my last leave. I miss my parents, as well as the peace and quiet. You should come with me. You're part of the family too." Vala says.

"Thanks, Vala. That means a lot. When we first met, I figured we'd just be teacher and student, which is the way it goes for most Jedi, but… we're different. We became friends. Then, when I… lost my dad, you were there for me. You… welcomed me into your family. My mom died giving birth to me, so I never knew her, but with you, I'm kind of getting an idea of what it might have been like to have her around." Aja says. Vala smiles, then wraps her arm around Aja, and pulls the younger woman close to her.

"I'll always be here for you, Aja. No matter what." Vala says.