Acheron was only slightly thankful that when she awakened again, she wasn't trapped in another stasis field that held her above the floor. Instead, this time, she found herself lying on a bed of what appeared to be a medbay, and when she sat up, she saw Thrackan Sal-Solo standing several meters away from her. A nervous-looking male doctor, an equally nervous-looking female nurse, and two stoic, burly male guards—whose own nervousness was shown only through the Force—with blaster rifles held across their chests stood behind Sal-Solo near the medbay's exit.

It was only then that Acheron felt something slightly constricting around her left ankle. She looked and found that there was a black metallic ankle bracelet with a tiny red light visible attached to that ankle. She looked back at Sal-Solo and asked angrily, "What is this?"

"What it looks like," the Corellian Head of State replied arrogantly as he crossed his arms over his chest haughtily. "That's meant to make sure you don't leave your room without supervision in the middle of the night again; I gave you that minimal amount of freedom in letting you keep the Force and out of restraints, but I can't have you go around trying to kill a Jedi who's protecting me."

Acheron looked skeptically back at Sal-Solo. "You just got this thing imported, didn't you? That's why you didn't use it on me earlier, even before Jacen showed up."

Sal-Solo frowned. "Yes, I did. Convenient timing, I'll admit, but still, I wish it had come sooner."

Acheron sneered before she swung her legs over the bed and down onto the floor. "Let me guess; if I tamper with this bracelet, it sends an electric shock into my nervous system that kills me?"

"Nothing that dramatic," Sal-Solo replied with a casual shake of his head. "It'll just knock you unconscious. But I doubt it'll be good for your health if you try tampering with it too many times." He looked over to the doctor. "Right, Doc?"

"Cumulative damage to the nervous system could result after multiple instances of attempted tampers with the ankle bracelet that might ultimately prove to be fatal, yes," the doctor confirmed evenly. "That's the short layman's version, anyway."

"So the only way to get this off is if I'm a good little girl and you can input the code that can deactivate this thing?" Acheron replied, her tone still dripping with contempt.

"Maybe, maybe not," Sal-Solo replied with an indifferent shrug. "Depends on how my mood is."

"And what's to stop me from, say, using my powers to extract that code from your mind, Thrackan?" Acheron asked. "Because I can obviously still feel the Force."

"Yes, I wouldn't want you to not be useful to me," Sal-Solo said. "That's why I haven't had you killed or imprisoned yet. But to answer your question, Leary, if you try to use your mystical powers on me to try to get the code, guess what? That bracelet is attuned to my heartbeat; so if it gets too high or too low, it'll knock you right out. And don't bother trying to get it from anyone else, 'cause only I know it; and you can feel it through the Force that I'm not lying about any o' this."

Indeed, she could, much to her chagrin.

"And if you were to die, then the electric shock I get by that point will be fatal?" Acheron asked grimly.

"In so many words, yes," Sal-Solo confirmed smugly. "So you better hope I get to live a long time, honeypie. I mean, I try to do my best to keep in shape, especially in my old age, but... life happens."

Acheron grimaced; how could she let this vermin get to her like this? This was utterly humiliating for a Sith. She had taken out an entire Killik hive with her powers, yet this mere mortal and his cronies can constantly get the drop on her. At this point, she wondered if it was a good idea to just reach out through the Force, snap Sal-Solo's neck, and just end it all for herself, too.

But before she could say anything, a sudden feeling stiffened her in her seat.

"Hey, what is it?" Sal-Solo asked, his arms dropping to his sides in concern.

There was a new presence on the station; or, rather, a familiar presence that she had last felt well over a year ago. It was a dark, tainted presence, one very much like Acheron's, but still very familiar.

It belonged to the Sith once known as Jaina Solo.

"What is it?!" Sal-Solo exclaimed as he grabbed Acheron's shoulders and shook her in place.

Instinctively, she swiped his hands away from her shoulders, and he backed up a few steps.

"Hey, easy there," he said defensively. "Remember: my heart rate gets too jumpy, you get knocked out."

"I haven't forgotten," Acheron replied acidly. "Just don't touch me again."

"I won't," he promised; Acheron could feel that he was actually genuine when he said that. "Just tell me what's going on just now. Is it something I should be worried about?"

A moment later, after Acheron looked away in concentration, she looked back at Sal-Solo and said, "No. It's nothing."

Sal-Solo looked as skeptical as his Force-presence indicated. "That didn't seem like nothing. If you're lying to me, then I'll-"

He was cut off when his personal commlink beeped; he turned away, brought the device up to his lips, and abruptly asked, "What?"

"Sir, we have a situation," the voice on the other end stated. "Can you return to your office immediately?"

"Is it urgent?" Sal-Solo asked impatiently.

"I'm afraid it is, sir."

Sal-Solo sighed in annoyance. "I'll be right there," he replied. He shut the commlink off and replaced it upon his belt before his gaze returned to Acheron. "This ain't over, Leary. And if what you just felt really is nothing, then I expect you to be in your room until further notice; deviate from your return there, my man monitoring that bracelet lets me know, and I give him authorization to knock you out. Then you'll be carried back to your room by a couple o' my guards, you got it?"

"I got it," Acheron growled.

Sal-Solo sneered before he turned and headed out through the medbay exit with his bodyguards in tow.

Acheron levelled her gaze upon the doctor and nurse.

"Am I free to go?" she asked darkly.

"Y-yes, you are," the doctor stammered as the nurse nodded wordlessly.

Acheron stood up abruptly, much to the flinches from the doctor and nurse, but then moved gracefully towards the exit without another word or action directed at them.

As she made her way back to her room, however, she contacted the Sith once known as Jaina Solo through the Force. It wasn't that hard, given their time with the Killiks had strengthened the relatively loose Force-bond that they had beforehand, to the point that a telepathic conversation between them was more clear than most other telepathic conversations between Force-users.

What is your name now? Acheron asked.

Judicar, came the reply. Darth Judicar. And yours?

Darth Acheron. Now why are you here?

To use Centerpoint to destroy the Jedi, Judicar replied.

Ambitious of you, Acheron commented dryly. The Sith that I'm a part of want something similar, albeit on a more... long-term basis.

So you'll help me?

Should I? Acheron countered. She then sent a bitter sense of betrayal toward Judicar; when Jaina Solo had turned her back on the Colony, on Gorog, Tahiri Veila had felt betrayed.

When Judicar received that sentiment, she asked, And how did that turn out for you?

Acheron grimaced, much to the unwanted attention of a Centerpoint Party guard who was heading in the opposite way of this corridor.

Not well, Acheron replied.

Of course not, Judicar sent. You wouldn't be here otherwise. But you don't have to bother me with the details; that's all in the past now, anyway. What matters is the present, and the future, naturally. So, again, will you help me, Lord Acheron?

By then, Acheron had returned to her room, and it was clear to her that there was virtually nothing left of what they had together when they were Jedi; she was fine with that. And only after the door shut behind her did she tell Judicar, Honestly? I'm not sure how much I can help you; your second cousin has me on quite a leash right now.

Well, maybe I can help you out with that.

Just don't kill him. And if you use anything that might hurt him significantly, let me know first so I can be ready to be knocked out. Acheron then relayed the circumstances of her capture as she sat down upon her room's bed.

Alright, I'll make sure you're ready, Judicar promised. I just need to know where Thrackan is.

I can help you out with that. But first, you've got to tell me: how do you intend to reactivate Centerpoint's weapon capability?

Instead of being sent a verbal conveyance for an answer, Acheron received an image in her mind's eye, and she again stiffened in her seat.

Anakin's lightsaber, she saw. Even after all these years, she still recognized it; she could never forget it if she tried.

Acheron clamped down on her emotions; she had turned her back on that side of herself when she killed Corran Horn. Then she asked Judicar, What makes you think that'll work?

I don't. It's just the best I got.

Acheron sighed. I hope you're right.

Now where's Thrackan?

Acheron proceeded to tell her where the Centerpoint Party was located aboard their namesake station.

. . .

When Sal-Solo returned to his office, he sat down behind his desk and saw the holographic depictions of the Five Worlds' Prime Minister Aidel Saxan and Corellian Supreme Commander Gojop Prest staring back at him.

"Head of State Sal-Solo, glad you could join us," Saxan said stiffly.

"Prime Minister Saxan, Supreme Commander Prest," Sal-Solo replied with a practiced diplomatic tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

"Something alarming, I'm afraid, Head of State Sal-Solo," Prest answered gravely. "Our outer system probes have detected massive amounts of military activity from both Galactic Alliance and Chiss Ascendancy forces. Here are the recordings, sir."

Saxan and Prest's images shrank slightly to accommodate an image that appeared next to the latter; said image displayed various fleet movements recorded from various systems outside the one inhabited by the Five Worlds, and, indeed, the movements were coming from both the GA and the Chiss.

"We estimate that, within less than a week, these fleets may arrive here," Prest continued. "And as you can see, there's a strong indication that both sides are going to use our system as their battleground. We don't know the reason for this yet, unfortunately; we've been unable to contact either the GA or the Chiss."

"I see," Sal-Solo said as he kept his nervousness out of his voice.

"Mr. Head of State," Prest said, "I strongly urge you to get your station's own defense forces, as well as that of your planet, ready. As we speak, I'm getting my own ready, too. I've also already contacted the Head of States of the other Five Worlds and informed them of this."

It irritated Sal-Solo that Prest and Saxan saw fit to tell the filthy Drall and Selonian rulers about this before him, a fellow human. Still, he maintained his professional disposition and said, "I'll see to it both my forces are ready, Commander Prest. Is there anything else?"

"Not currently," Saxan said. "We'll let you know if there are any further developments over this matter." She and Prest signed off.

Sal-Solo stood up angrily from his seat and left his office to meet the guards who had followed him from the medbay. "Come with me," he told them as he started them towards a different medbay.

It was time to have another chat with his cousin Jacen; Sal-Solo had a feeling that he knew something about why the GA and Chiss were amassing their forces for the Corellian system.

. . .

Jaden awakened with a start before he found himself in a blank wooden room with a window view of massive trees outside. Ignoring the dull pain in his midsection for the moment, he looked around further and saw the opened exit; there, Han and Leia Solo stood staring back at him with concern, and behind them was a dismayed-looking Wookiee.

Han turned to the furry alien and said, "Thanks, Lumpy; we'll take it from here."

The Wookiee gave a casual growl, then turned away to leave the three humans alone.

The Solos entered the room, and Leia asked, "Jedi Korr? How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling well enough," Jaden answered as he rubbed at the pain in his chest with one hand. "The last thing I remembered was hitting a massive tree-branch; I induced a Force-coma in myself to keep from dying."

"Well, good thing you just happened to wake up right when we arrived," Han commented.

"It's no coincidence," Jaden said as he stopped rubbing at his chest. "It's a technique I mastered wherein, if another Force-user gets close enough to me, it'll wake me right back up. So thanks, Leia, for coming."

"You're welcome," Leia replied evenly.

"So I take it that I was found by some Wookiees and brought here for recovery?" Jaden asked as he stood up carefully.

"The authorities found you not far from where your ship was," Leia explained. "When word got around about you, and it was apparent you were a Jedi, Lumpawaroo and his family took you in."

"Lumpawaroo?" Jaden asked. "Isn't that-"

"Yeah, it's my old buddy Chewie's son," Han interrupted. "Now you're sure you're alright?"

"I don't think I'll need any bacta, no," Jaden said. "But anyway, it was your daughter, Jaina. She was here."

"We know," Leia said.

"You do?" Jaden asked.

She nodded. "That's why we're here. Master Katarn told us about what you sent him through your connection with him when you went into your coma. Is it true you saw Jaina with both a purple-bladed lightsaber and a red one?"

"Yes," Jaden answered.

"Well, if you really are okay, then follow us," Han said. "We need to confirm something."

"Confirm what?" Jaden asked as he followed them out of the room.

"If that was Jaina's lightsaber," Han said without looking back, "or Anakin's."

It wasn't long until they left the house; less than an hour's walk later, they came across Chewbacca's now-destroyed shrine.

Upon reaching it, Han froze in place, and his expression slackened to one of disbelief. Leia placed a comforting hand on his shoulder even as she had to avert her gaze from the splintered wood.

After a moment, Jaden asked, "What's all this about?"

The Solos looked back at Jaden grimly.

"It's what we feared," Leia said. "Jaina's taken Anakin's lightsaber."

"Why?" Jaden asked.

"We'll answer all your questions on the way to the Corellian system," Han said as he and Leia walked past the Jedi.

The confused and concerned Jaden turned and followed them all the way back to the landing platform Thiss, where the Millennium Falcon was docked. Less than a few minutes after, it rocketed off into the sky and, eventually, into hyperspace for the upcoming battle in the Corellian system.