HAD ABADDON

Looking up at the Sith cruiser and departing Syck fighters and Hawk gunships, Sam observed, "We're lucky that they're so distracted about now. It looks like they're planning something big."

"They've been constantly attacking Republic planets, haven't they?" Kira asked.

"That looks bigger than their usual exploits," Sam replied, shaking his head, "Looks like they're gearing up for a major invasion unlike any they've done before."

"We'll worry about it later,okay?" Kira said, "We've got to get Tahiri out of here."

"Right," Sam agreed.

As they climbed up the mountain, the smell of nauseating gas filled Kira's nostrils.

A striking thought occurred to her all of the sudden after she finished gagging.

"Sam, I think you should stay in the ship?"

"Stay behind, why?" Sam asked, slightly affronted at Kira's suggestion.

"It's going to be really dangerous," Kira reasoned, "And I think I'm more equipped to handle whoever is going to be waiting."

Sam wasn't so proud that he would immediately deny Kira's claims and say he was well enough prepared. He had barely survived the encounter with Durge and would have been beaten to a pulp if Kira hadn't been there.

"Besides, we're going to need a getaway vehicle," Kira amended, giving Sam a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "We're going to need you to come get us once I break Tahiri out."

"You can count on me, Kira," Sam replied, smiling with bittersweet emotion, "I guess we'd better get a move-on, then?"

"Yeah," Kira replied with a nod.

"Be careful up there."

"I will," Kira promised.

Sam turned around to head back to the Blue Harvest, but then an impulse suddenly seized hold of Kira before she even knew it was there.

Jogging after Sam, Kira took him by the cheeks and turned him around.

"What are you doing?" Sam demanded, pulling away.

"Nothing, sorry," Kira replied, pulling away. She ran up the gaseous slope as fast as she could to get away, "Just thought you had something in your face."

She didn't see that Sam's face was as red as hers as he proceeded back down to the ship, looking back at her as she disappeared into the mountain trail.

Kira tried to push her embarrassing mistake and Sam's tacit rejection out of her mind as she climbed up the black trail. Rescuing Tahiri was more important, she told herself, and everything else was secondary, including her relationship with Sam.

Finally, after what amounted to two hours, Kira reached the summit of the mountain. The time had gone by quickly in her perception, given the maelstrom of thoughts gushing through her head and the mixture of fear, embarrassment, and rage directed at Skyler and his Coalition beating in her heart.

"I'm coming, Tahiri," she breathed, approaching the black castle, which was gated by a drawbridge over an boiling acid moat.

Several armored Shadowtroopers emerged from secret hatches leading out of the castle, raising advanced double-barrel blaster rifles.

These hired soldiers donned uniforms that somewhat resembled those of Imperial stormtroopers, except their armor was entirely black and their visors had a different design.

Already grasping her lightsaber hilt, which felt very hot as she clenched the metal handle, Kira flicked the switch to bring her blue blade of plasma to life.

"You're already in too deep," the lead Shadowtrooper warned Kira, "No turning back for you."

"Good thing I wasn't planning to," Kira growled in fierce reply.

The rapid balls of fire flew in her direction. Kira was fast, moving her wrists from side to side, her blade accompanying each motion.

The shots that didn't strike the original assailants drilled into the outer walls of the fortress, while Kira ran at the troopers and with a roar, sliced her lightsaber into the torsos of the nearest two.

She had made her first conscious, face to face kills. Kira vaguely processed this information, but it only took a second before she was back in action, slicing in half the weapon of the next black-clad goon before dipping her blade into his chest and leaving a vertical line of burn marks on his armor as he collapsed.

Another glowering helmet popped up from the secret passageway on the side of the drawbridge.

Kira stretched her free hand out towards the anonymous foe, and used the Force to drag him from his perch.

The Shadowtrooper hollered as he tumbled from the stone summit into the pit of acid beside him, instantly vanishing into the bubbly liquid.

Kira hurried forward before any more of the men could surround her, leaving a heap of bodies in her wake.

She tried to use her close link to Tahiri to her advantage, reaching for the energy of her friend.

Tahiri was close by, Kira realized as she climbed into the small tunnel from which the enemy guards had emerged.

She deactivated her lightsaber and quickly clipped it, wiggling into the secret passage and crawling through.

Due to her small stature, Kira was able to stand up inside the metallic, squared walls that led into the Dark Master's fortress, but she opted to crawl on her belly, trying to be as fast and sneaky as possible.

Ultor's SuperStealther touched down on the small, private hangar adjacent to his throne room.

This time, he was accompanied by Talon, the two of them rushing inside the palace from the ship.

Once they were inside, Ultor wordlessly pointed to the doorway, silently commanding Talon to go.

His top apprentice nodded in understanding and glowered menacingly. She took the lightsaber clipped to her clothing and activated its red blade before proceeding towards the corridor.

Ultor pressed a secret, unseen button on the armrest of his throne, staring inexplicably at Talon's retreating back.

As the Sith apprentice stalked the hollow, shadowy corridor, she was joined by the four attending ShadowGuards, dressed in black robes and face visors obscuring their features.

In addition, throughout the palace, PROXY droids emerged from secret tunnels, leading small groups of TC-SCs in search of their target.

As soon as she landed her somersault into the main hangar of Ultor's castle, Kira sensed a looming and approaching danger.

The sound of ominous, terrifying metal clanking against the floor filled the halls surrounding the barren landing platform.

Kira reflexively turned on her lightsaber blade, her heart racing with dreaded anticipation.

As soon as she took her first step, metallic TC-SC droids came swarming into the hangar from the left, about ten at a time.

Additional Shadowtroopers came in from the right, this time armed with electroscythes that brandished lightning yellow blades. A Shadowguard carrying a yellow-bladed saber pike was leading the black armored troopers.

Kira widened her stance in preparation of the attack as the droids charged, some armed with blasters and others with the same yellow-blades that the Shadowguard and troopers brandished.

Kira's feet bounced back and forth, carrying her weight as she swung her lightsaber in response to the fire coming her way. She was able to accurately redirect the blaster shots back to their sources, and brought her blade back in a jabbing motion as the first Shadowtrooper reached her, ready to hook his scythe into Kira's torso.

Kira was faster, crying out with adrenaline as she cut her blue saber into the trooper's helmet, causing the top half to slide off of its counterpart as the man silently dropped to his knees.

"This is what I've been missing," Kira said savagely, feeling satisfaction at the feeling of killing an enemy.

She sprang from her feet forward at the three droids and two Shadowtroopers surrounding her, stabbing into the chests of the two droids in a single motion, and raising her hand to push back the two Shadowtroopers before they could slice into her head and neck. She could smell the burning plasma from the scythes of one guard before she sent him crashing into the wall, rolling ten feet onto the floor with a crack of the spine.

"Anyone else want to try me?" Kira demanded.

The Shadowguard charged, preparing to bring his saber pike down in an executing motion.

Kira saw an opening and kicked upward, catching the elite guard's weapon handle with her boot.

The weapon slipped from the mysterious guard's gloved grip, and Kira spun her lightsaber between her fingers before swiping the very tip of it into his throat while barely touching him.

The guard gagged as blood filled the fabric of his cloak, collapsing onto his knees before falling onto his back.

Kira glared at the remaining droids and the three remaining Shadowtroopers.

"Are you really the best they can come up with?" Kira taunted them.

She reveled in her fury and aggression as she advanced on her foes, absorbing the fear of the organic beings and looking forward to whatever flimsy challenges presented by the droids.

As the guards raised their weapons, backing away cautiously, Kira made a fist and raised it, putting more power into her offensive than any other preceding it.

The concentration put into her gesture allowed her to levitate all three droids before sending them crashing into their Shadowtrooper companions.

As the guards stumbled under the weight of the TC-SC droids, Kira charged at them and brought her lightsaber all the way back in preparation to swing it forward with every bit of energy she had.

With a yell of finality, Kira sliced her lightsaber through her opponents, seemingly finishing them all.

When she backed away, panting from the intense effort required of her, Kira began to turn away, before sensing that her struggle with this cluster of foes was not over.

The largest and leader of the droids suddenly stood on its feet once more, no longer sliced at the middle.

The droid began to glow and flash before recognizable features began to replace the metallic and wired body parts

Kira squinted in confusion as the droid assumed the form of a horned Zabrak, with red skin and black tattoos.

The Zabrak flashed its teeth at Kira and said in a low, deadly voice, "You are an inferior version of those who came before you."

"You're not real," Kira replied, nonetheless backing away towards the wall, "You're just an illusion."

"It won't make a difference when you die today," the Zabrak replied, bringing a red lightsaber to life and advancing.

Tahiri suddenly snapped awake in her cell, still restrained by the scan grid. Her face was heavily scarred and torn, while her blond hair consisted of visible burn marks of grey. She could barely stand upright, but she could also feel renewed strength flowing through her veins.

Kira was here, in this castle, Tahiri realized.

Not only that, but she was actively calling for her fellow Padawan's help.

"I'm coming, Kira," Tahiri said aloud, "Just as soon as I find a way out of this cell.

Kira's lightsaber was nearly knocked out of her hands by the projection attacking her. The horned alien brought his red blade back and forth as he attacked, forcing Kira to remain in retreating mode, blocking every strike without having the time to form her own plan to obtain any kind of advantage.

The illusion growled in frustration as he was unable to break the stalemate, especially as Kira began to rival the strength of his attacks.

The Jedi trainee pushed hard against his lightsaber, her arms aching and her teeth visibly clenching.

"You have the blood of the Chosen One, Solo," Maul's droid-activated projection sneered, "But will it be enough to get you out of this alive?"

Kira bent her knees and leapt up high, her feet passing over Maul's head before he had time to slice at them.

She flipped over Maul before landing in front of him, instantly turning to react to his attempt to drive his red jet of sizzling energy through her.

Kira held up her blade vertically to meet the Maul-droid's horizontal strike, pushing it aside with a combination of the Force and her physical prowess.

With the Zabrak's hip facing Kira, she brought up a knee and drove it into the droid. Kira groaned as her kneecap hit the metal plate that the simulation was made up, but she managed to drive it away.

Taking advantage of the brief opportunity, Kira reached for her comlink and switched it on without removing it from her belt.

"Sam!" she yelled.

Sam instantly responded via radio from the Blue Harvest.

"What's going on?" he asked, "I hear lightsabers."

"No time!" Kira yelled, "Find power source and shut it down!"

Sam didn't bother replying, but instead pulled the lever to lift off. He piloted the vibrating Harvest from the acidic sea level and flew up against the slope of the mountain and the acid fall flowing into the lake below.

Sam pulled another, smaller level, activating his probe droid, which flew from the storage compartment into the cockpit.

"K3, I need you to find the source controlling this place's power," Sam said to the droid.

K3 buzzed its answer and hovered as Sam opened the top hatch of his ship.

The droid fluttered out of the top of the Harvest and zoomed in the direction of the pointed towers of the Coalition fortress.

By now, Tahiri had used the Force to break free of her restraints, but found the electricity-generated entrance to her cell impossible to open.

She grunted with effort as she tried to break open her cell with the Force, but could not find a target source for her energy.

Sam switched his control computer on as K3 transmitted its findings.

"Thanks, K3," Sam replied, "Time to shut it down."

He flew his attack shuttle between the two lower towers towards the main one, where a power grid was located peering into the ledge of the mountain.

A silver Infiltrator appeared from behind the slope of the mountain, piloted by a furious and determined Talon.

"Insignificant pest," the young Sith warrior growled as she opened fire.

Sam tried to speed behind the power grid for to take cover, but the Infiltrator was coming in too fast.

Just then, several shots from above tore into Talon's ship, forcing her to fly ahead to take cover as the upper hull burst into flames.

Sam whooped in relief as he looked to find two Jedi StealthXs flying overhead.

"You were quicker than I thought," he said into the radio.

"This means you'll have to pay me back twice now," Ben Solo replied with his father's cocky swagger.

Behind the two StealthXs, a Republic cruiser appeared in the clouds overlooking the surface of Had Abaddon.

Sam made out at least two dozen Interceptors sailing overhead, coming to his rescue.

"We've got them," Trix reported as she led the squadron in formation surrounding Ultor's castle, "Almost completely safe and sound."

Almost on cue, Talon's ship circled around the mountain range, now leading a swarm of Syck fighters to combat the Republic reinforcements.

Sam said, "K3 showed me the power grid of this place. We need to knock it out as soon as possible."

"Sounds doable to me," Ben replied as he joined Sam side-by-side between the towers.

Syck fighters were approaching them, about nine in a V formation.

Ben instantly took out the leader before doing circles around the rest.

Sam whistled at the Jedi's impressive flying techniques before realizing that he too was under fire.

He just managed to swerve right as his ship skidded brutally against a burning Syck, which collided in a small ball of gas with the roof of the castle, forming a hole as it exploded inside.

Inside his throne room, Ultor was knocked down by the explosion.

With a snarl and a contortion of his face, the young Coalition leader summoned two curved lightsaber hilts from the sides of his throne, turning on their red blades of power.

"I think I've got a clear shot," Master Tionne said, turning the guns of her StealthX towards the power grid. While Ben, Sam, and the others worked to keep the Coalition ships off her back, Tionne opened fire, driving her laser shots into the grid and tearing it in two.

Suddenly, all the droids on all levels of the fortress came to a stop in their proceedings, shutting down all at once.

The Maul projection went limp, allowing Kira to knock it into the wall as a smoldering heap of spare parts.

The energy fields protecting the dungeon cells went off at the same time, including the one keeping Tahiri locked in.

The teenage Jedi didn't stop to wonder. She just staggered out of her cell into the corridor, hurrying as fast as her weakened body would allow her to towards the staircase ahead.

Kira's boots struck the top of the staircase leading into the dungeons hard, nearly causing her to trip.

With a gasp of relief, she saw a beaten, exhausted Tahiri making her way up to her.

"Tahiri!" she yelled, starting to run down to help her friend.

Tahiri looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Kira," she breathed, "You came."

Kira stopped about halfway to Tahiri and startled as armored Shadowtroopers appeared behind her, raising their weapons to fire.

"Behind you!" Kira yelled.

Tahiri dropped down as the troopers opened fire, the lasers sailing over her back as she hit the floor.

Kira sprinted down and sent the shots back at the troopers, killing them all within ten seconds.

When she reached the gasping Tahiri, Kira did a double take at the scars on her face and hands.

"You look terrible," she panted.

Tahiri cracked another smile. "You couldn't come up with something nicer to say?"

Kira halfheartedly returned the smirk and seized Tahiri's hand, pulling her to her feet with a grunt of effort.

"You okay to walk?"

"I think so," Tahiri replied.

"Let's go then," Kira draped an arm around her best friend and supported her as they staggered back up the stairs.

The northern tower had erupted into flames as the Republic and Jedi help had destroyed the power grid and sent its flaming pieces scattering over the castle.

Ben and Tionne were quick to land their fighters outside the drawbridge, Force-jumping from their cockpits and igniting their lightsabers.

As soon as Kira and Tahiri reached the main hangar, a shadow of dread and doom filled the air.

"Kira," Tahiri cautioned, tugging on her sleeve.

Kira shuddered and squirmed on the inside as Talon came out of a side panel, her lightsaber poised to strike.

She grinned maliciously at the two of them, who were entirely unprepared to face her.

Ben and Tionne both appeared, advancing on Talon and backing her away from the two Jedi trained.

"Get out of here!" Ben yelled.

"I'm not leaving you," Kira replied, rushing to help as the two Knights kept Talon at bay.

"Let's go!" Tahiri shouted as four cloaked ShadowGuards appeared.

Reluctantly, Kira went along as Tahiri started at a run.

She could glimpse Sam's attack shuttle just outside the castle. She hopped over the drawbridge and raced over it, pulling Tahiri along.

The guards pursued, but were not nearly as fast.

The Blue Harvest was hovering about five feet above the mountain trail, the ramp opening as Kira pulled Tahiri up onto the drawbridge, gripping her arms tight.

"Kira!" Tahiri gasped. The ShadowGuards had caught up and had their saberpikes pointed in the girls' faces.

"On three," Kira whispered.

A second later, both girls used a powerful Force push to send the ShadowGuards flying. Three of them fell back into the main hangar, while the fourth hit the castle wall and slid down into the pool of acid, instantly boiling to death.

"Come on!" Sam yelled, as the probe droid K3 hovered through the aerial battle and joined his master on the ramp of the Harvest.

"You ready to jump?" Kira asked.

Tahiri replied, "I don't know if I can make it."

"I'll give you a boost," Kira replied.

Tahiri leapt feebly in the direction of Sam's shuttle ten feet away, and Kira used the Force to propel her into the air, pushing her in Sam's direction.

"Grab my hand!" Sam shouted, catching onto Tahiri as she managed to seize the bottom of the ramp.

As Sam pulled Tahiri aboard the ship, which rested comfortably in autopilot as the Republic Interceptors kept the Coalition fighters off their backs, Kira looked back to find Ben and Tionne still dueling Talon.

This time, the two Jedi Knights had the upper hand against Talon, forcing her to maintain the defensive.

Tionne pushed Talon back with a powerful strike against her lightsaber.

Sensing his sister lingering, Ben turned his head to her and shouted, "Kira, go!"

Kira hesitated, reluctant to leave her brother.

Yet she saw that as Talon rebuked Tionne's push of the lightsaber, Ben was able to counterattack with ease, actually knocking Talon to the floor on her back.

When Talon tried to leap to her feet, Tionne kicked the hilt of her lightsaber, sending it far from her hand, spinning on the hangar floor and emitting a trail of sparks and embers.

Kira decided that this was enough reassurance.

She turned back to Sam and Tahiri and Force-leapt from the drawbridge of Ultor's castle and landed on her feet on the ramp of Sam's ship as he dragged the still-injured Tahiri to safety.

The ramp closed behind them as Sam said to Kira, "I'll get us out of here, get the medical kit for her."

He ran into the cockpit and switched from autopilot, launching away from Ultor's castle as quickly as possible.

Ultor stood next to his SuperStealther on the private landing pad next to his throne room.

He gripped the tracking device he had taken from the Hutt Cartel Hawk gunship, winding up to pitch it.

As the Republic attack shuttle flew past him, Ultor pitched the device over the edge of the platform, using the Force to send it towards the Blue Harvest and attach it.

Down below in the main lobby, Talon scooted backwards from the blades of the two Jedi who had beaten her, her eyes wide with both fear and rage.

Ben and Master Tionne looked at each other, deciding that the job was done.

They both started away from Talon back to their StealthXs, keeping their weapons activated just in case.

As Ultor climbed aboard his personal craft, he spoke to the miniature hologram of Darth Talon.

"The Solo girl and her friends have escaped, my lord," his apprentice said.

"Get to your Infiltrator and follow me," Ultor ordered, baring his teeth with fury, "We'll track them back to their Jedi Academy and begin our ultimate conquest."

CORUSCANT

Inside the Senate hall, Chief Fey'lya addresses the reassembled Senators and representatives.

"And now, I believe that every side of the issue has said their fair piece. Master Skywalker, have you had any more thoughts on your position?"

Luke gazed over from the glass of the Corellia booth to where the Trandoshan Drussk stood nearby. Drussk flashed him a sharp-tooth grin, daring him to change his mind and support the war.

Luke reflected on his inner beliefs, knowing that he supported the Republic's policies on such practices as bounty hunting that the Coalition was threatening to undo.

He looked up into the large broadcasting screen that presented Fey'lya's glowering face and said, "I stand by my earlier verdict, Chief. I will not send the Jedi to fight a war."

Fey'lya squinted his beady eyes in contempt. "So be it, Master Skywalker. And now, it is time to put it to the vote."

On Leia's miniature screen in the Senate booth, two buttons appeared, one green and one red. Without further delay, Leia tapped her finger on the red button.

Gazing up at Fey'lya's large screen, Luke saw the votes rallying up. There were some votes for no, but to his dismay, the overwhelming majority of systems supported the motion.

It seemed as though only pro-Coalition Senators such as Triclops and Drussk had voted against recruiting the Jedi as generals.

"What do we do now?" Leia asked.

"We stand our ground," Luke replied.

An AA-9 freighter liner appeared into orbit of the metropolitan capital world. A pilot droid and a human engineer were at the controls, while two-hundred-odd passengers were seated at their booths and tables.

Darth Nihl, Kallus, Paxis, Wyyrlok, and Judicar, despite being elite apprentices of the Dark Master and leaders of the Coalition, were dressed casually in a way that made them look like students on an excursion into the big city.

Aged between eighteen and twenty-three, these young Sith did not draw suspicion from their fellow passengers as they prepared for a mass invasion.

"Do you think the Hutts will bail on us?" the female, purple-skinned Nautolaun Paxis asked.

"Why would they?" replied Judicar, a male Kiffar, "This mission does more for them than for us. Of course it's Talon, Ultor's favorite, who gets the real mission. Now look at us, smuggling a group of slimy Hutts into the lower city levels."

"We'll have plenty of time to knock her down," Nihl assured his fellow apprentice, "And maybe..." He paused, hesitating to say what his next thought had been.

"And what?" Kallus asked, "Maybe what?"

"We are the Sith of the future, aren't we?" Nihl pointed out, "And what's a Sith who keeps his Master around? The only reason why he doesn't Force-choke and electrocute us on a regular basis is because he needs us to be loyal to him."

"We have to be realistic," Judicar said, "The Dark Master is probably still more powerful than the rest of us put together. There's a lot he keeps from us."

"Besides," the human Wyyrlok added, "He's still got Talon wrapped around his finger."

"Well, we'll all have our chance eventually," Paxis concluded, "Then I guess the next step would be tearing each other apart until the strongest remains."

Nihl silently checked his portable holoscreen and said, "The Hutt Cartel mercenaries are in position now.We'll give them the signal when it'stime for them to land."

Far behind the freighter liner, four Hawk gunships appeared out of lightspeed, along with a large Dor'bulla warship.

The Hutt Council was assembled inside the conference room of the Dor'bulla.

"Tell the guerrillas to attack," Gorga said to his majordomo Krunge.

The orange Toydarian nodded and silently fluttered from the room, activating his comlink.