EPISODE II
Chapter 14: Facade

One month has passed since the devastation of Christophsis and Zolph Vaelor has recovered from the injuries Valkor inflicted upon him. Since then, both the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order have been forced to scatter across the galaxy due to the threat Mortaqa presents.

In the war room of the Alliance base on Polis Massa, Zolph met up with Grein, Hiriss Moraana, Admiral Cephal and Luke Skywalker, the latter of whom was forced to keep moving from system to system due to his position as Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

"Are you sure you're ready to be back in action?" Hiriss asked Zolph.

"Well, the doctors say I'm good to go, and my internal injuries are pretty much healed." Zolph told her. He then looked to Cephal. "So what's new, Admiral?"

"We've lost even more planets. Qiluura: Crushing defeat. Kratzar: Crushing defeat. Ord Ibanna: Crushing defeat. Lola Sayu: Crushing defeat. All within five minutes of the battles starting." The Mon Calamari admiral answered.

"In other words, more bad news. Ever since Christophsis, we've been losing battle after battle. Unless we do something about Mortaqa, we're like an army of sterilized gizka. At the rate we're going, the Valkoran are going to win this war, and all their Emperor had to do was unleash her on us. He was probably just using the Archfiends to toy with us."

Cephal continued. "Curiously, unlike Christophsis, only our military forces are being killed and not the civilians."

Zolph then scoffed. "Judging by the behavior of some of the Valkoran forces following the massacre, Valkor's probably trying to avoid more bad publicity stunts."

Hiriss commented. "They've also refrained from taking Coruscant and the Core Worlds. If anything, he's also probably trying to intimidate us into surrendering."

"He's crazy if he thinks we're just going to accept a future where we're all possessed by Forceless." Zolph then looked to Luke. "And I know you're here for another reason aside from staying away from Mortaqa, Skywalker."

"I've had to deal with threats like her before, but even then I'm not willing to gamble on whether I'm immune to having the living Force ripped out of me like you are." Luke told him.

"I wouldn't say I'm completely immune. Her attempt to rip mine out still felt painful."

"Anyway, I have another lead on an Archfiend. I got some intel leaks suggesting that the Valkoran are going to summon one named Facadma on Chilades."

"Chilades? That's another planet I've never heard of until now."

Grein answered him. "It's in the Unknown Regions, only a few systems away from Ockla Prime."

"But what's the planet like?"

"It's under a perpetual nuclear winter, has lots of chemical-tainted water and is inhabited by mutants."

"So, it's another one of those Unknown Region nightmare worlds."

Cephal then asked. "Should I prepare a fleet to attack Chilades?"

"No, Admiral. This is clearly a trap. If Mortaqa's the cause of our recent string of losses, she's most likely going to be there and kill all of you as soon as you jump out of hyperspace." Zolph then lowered his voice in case there were Valkoran spies eavesdropping on them. "Besides, Luke, Grein, Hiriss and I know the part about them trying to summon Facadma is a load of nerfshavit."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"Since it's established I'm the most likely to survive whatever that power is, I'll go there and deal with Mortaqa myself, and I'll only have Seefor to accompany me since she's a droid. Perhaps, once Mortaqa's dealt with, we can finally take the fight to Ockla Prime."

"Provided we don't have to deal with the entire Valkoran Empire. Otherwise, it's a good plan." Luke responded.

"Then it's settled." Cephal answered. "We will go with Vaelor's plan."


Later inside a hangar in the Polis Massa base, Zolph prepared himself, R9-C4 and the Manthis for Chilades' hostile climate. Grein and Hiriss came to him while he worked on his fighter.

"I'm sorry I didn't invite you to come along, but you should understand why I didn't."

"We know, Zolph. Mortaqa would kill us if we came along too." Hiriss answered.

"I wish I could be there for Emilin, but I can't." Grein joined in. "I only survived the annihilation of Christophsis because she held… that thing back and I was far away from her. If I got any closer, she wouldn't be as successful that time."

"Is there anything I can do for you, Grein?" Zolph asked her.

"Aside from what needs to be done…" Grein handed Zolph a long-range holo-communicator. "Let her die as Emilin and not Mortaqa."

"I understand."

Hiriss spoke to Zolph again. "Just promise me you won't die there."

"Hiriss, I've had several near-death experiences already, and one of them just a month ago. This isn't anything new to me."

"Please don't say that. If you keep saying that, your own cockiness may get you killed someday. Whenever you almost died, you've only survived on the virtue of someone else being there to bail you out."

He then put his left hand on her shoulder. "I know I'm not immortal, Hiriss. Like I said, I've had near-death experiences before, and I actually thought I was going to die during them." He then pointed backwards to Seefor. "Besides, I'm not going entirely alone. She'll be with me."

Seefor giggled mischievously while sitting in the Manthis's astromech socket.

"I know." Hiriss responded. "It's just that if you die, it's all over for us."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to let cold weather, toxic chemicals, mutants or a one-woman planet-killer armed with a weaponized crop-harvesting tool kill me. And I'm sure as hell not letting an Archfiend kill me either."

"That's all I wanted to hear. May the Force be with you."


Several hours later, Zolph and Seefor entered the Chilades System and saw a planet with splotches of grey, white and toxic green guarded by a fleet of Valkoran warships. Apparently, this fleet was stationed there to alert Mortaqa if the Alliance fleet came.

"Well, at least they're trying to make it not look like an instant death trap. Or they predicted that I'd be coming." Zolph said to Seefor.

"Engage Valkoran fleet = Inadvisable." Seefor responded.

"You're the last being in the galaxy I'd expect to back out of a fight, but I agree with you. Fleet or no fleet, engaging them would be suicide, and it would be even more catastrophic for us if we brought the fleet. Instead… we're just going to fly right through them."

"Zolph Vaelor = Insane."

"Seefor, I've been insane since Krantisi, and this isn't going to be any different from what we normally do. Besides, this isn't a stealth fighter, so I don't have any other options."

Zolph set power to the Manthis's thrusters and zoomed right through the blockade, dodging laser fire and missiles from the capital ships and only shooting down any fighters that tried to attack from the front.

With very little trouble, Zolph and Seefor made it into Chilades' atmosphere.


After entering the atmosphere, they were greeted by a blizzard and noticed several mountaintops and green chemical-tainted lakes.

"Remind me never to do that again, Seefor." Zolph told his droid.

Seefor giggled mischievously, having no intention of reminding Zolph not to perform any more bold fleet rushes.

Zolph suddenly felt another wound in the Force nearby, but it was pretty small compared to Christophsis.

"I felt a number of people dying simultaneously just now. I think Mortaqa just executed them for failing to kill me." Zolph told Seefor somberly before his tone slightly lifted. "At least we won't have as much trouble leaving this frozen hellhole."

Zolph then flew in the direction he sensed Mortaqa's Forceless presence was coming from and once he sensed he was close, he landed the Manthis inside a cave on a mountain to protect it and Seefor from the harsh weather.


As Zolph climbed out of the fighter, injected himself with a body temperature increaser and put up his winter hood, he gave some orders to Seefor.

"I'm sorry you won't get to fight any mutated animals, Seefor, but I need you to stay with the ship in case something happens."

Seefor then turned her head towards the back of the cave. "Zolph = Incorrect. / Shelter = Inhabited."

Zolph turned around to see a pool of green water behind him with a tunnel in it, and emerging from the pool was a large mutated furless pinniped with four fins for limbs, an elongated neck and a dragon-like head with four eyes and really sharp teeth. From Zolph's perspective, it was a more horrifying version of a similar but more adorable creature he's seen before.

"I am not going to be able to look at domesticated dracoseals the same way again." Zolph said to himself as he ignited his lightsaber.

Suddenly, Seefor launched out of the Manthis's astromech socket and rolled towards the mutant dracoseal just as it moved toward Zolph and prepared to lunge its jaws at him. Once by the creature's side, Seefor popped an arm out of her torso and electrocuted it. The fact that the dracoseal was still freshly wet made the electrocution fatal.

"Cave – Mutant = Now uninhabited." Seefor commented.

"Thank you, Seefor. But I still need you to stay with the ship." Zolph responded. "And be sure to protect it from any other mutated animals that try to destroy it."

Zolph then exited the cave and started his journey to find Mortaqa.


As Zolph trekked his way across Chilades' surface, he would find himself dealing with other mutated predators such as anoobas, nexu, acklays and rancors in addition to creatures exclusively native to Chilades. From what Zolph observed, there was no plant-life present on the planet and any herbivores were now extinct, either due to the bitter weather, environmental pollution or carnivore dominance.

As far as ice planets went, Zolph had found one even colder than Polus and Orto Plutonia. He was very lucky to have brought the body temperature raisers.

Eventually Zolph made it to an area known only as the Poison Well, a sinkhole in which an ancient tower – clearly of Rakata origin - sat in the middle of a chemical-tainted lake.

"At least the Valkoran's fake leak wasn't lying about there being a temple." Zolph looked down into the sinkhole at the base of the temple, noticing a few Valkoran MAAD pods down there. "Getting down there is no problem, but getting out's the next question." He then noticed some walkways connecting into the walls of the sinkhole. "Of course, I don't think the Rakata would've built this temple down here if they didn't have an emergency exit, but that doesn't change the fact they built it in the middle of a toxic lake."

Zolph then jumped into the sinkhole, dived towards the temple plaza platform while dodging fire from the turrets below and landed safely. After eliminating the Valkoran troopers in the plaza, he dispatched the MAAD pods so he could have a quick getaway.

After the plaza forces were dealt with, Zolph proceeded up the temple tower, hoping to finally a get a break from the cold and possibly exposure from toxic fumes. Either way, Zolph knew he would have to take a decontamination shower after he got off Chilades.


As Zolph ascended the tower's interior and progressed towards Mortaqa, he sensed another disturbance in the Force approaching him.

Midway through the temple tower, he came across what looked like a large egg chamber – with six eggs total, and the disturbance he sensed was coming from those eggs.

The eggs suddenly hatched, and out of them came some pale semi-humanoid crab-like creatures. They had three pincer-tipped arms protruding from their upper bodies and two pincer-less legs on their lower halves, but their faces resembled the mask Mortaqa wore – a human-shaped head with no mouth and three holes revealing it to be completely hollow inside save for a single glowing Forceless eye crystal. The resemblance couldn't be a coincidence.

"Let me guess: Facadma's children?" Zolph asked them.

The creatures shambled towards Zolph before emitting a high-pitched shriek that reverberated in his brain.

"Oh, that's right, you were just born. You don't even know how to talk yet, but how would you be able to do that when you don't have mouths? Then again, how are you able to shriek?"

And Zolph also wondered where in space those eggs came from. Facadma couldn't possibly be using Mortaqa to make them. Chiss are mammals like humans and thus do not lay eggs, and even if they could, their eggs wouldn't be that big.

One of the children somersaulted at Zolph and knocked him down before pinning him down by both arms, allowing the creature to impale him with its middle claw. However, Zolph kicked it in its unarmored abdomen, breaking its grip and allowing him to free himself. Zolph slid his mechanical arm out of the left pincer's grip, grabbed his lightsaber and bisected the Facadma child.

The remaining five children tried to swarm Zolph as he got up, but he jumped out of the way before they could pounce on him. Zolph then realized it was safer to keep his distance from them and that they were trying to attack him in a group. He readied a thermal detonator and threw it into the swarm, killing them all in a fiery blast.

"I am not looking forward to fighting their mother…"

Zolph continued progressing up the tower.


Minutes later, Zolph made it to the top of the tower and came across a chamber with shallow green-lit water and a few slightly elevated platforms. To Zolph's relief, there was no toxicity in the water.

On the larger central platform, Zolph noticed Mortaqa on her knees and clutching at her skull as if she were having a headache. In contrast to what he saw of her on Christophsis, it sounded like she was crying in pain.

"That's enough, Facadma!" Zolph yelled at her.

Mortaqa then got up on her feet, turned towards Zolph and drew out her lightscythe.

"I know who you really are, Emilin. I've come to save you."

Mortaqa then spoke in a weak voice. "My name…. is not Emilin…. I am Mortaqa."

"Shut up, Facadma! Emilin, this isn't you talking!"

"Stop calling me that! I told you, my name is Mortaqa!" Mortaqa then teleported behind Zolph and tried to slice him in half with her scythe, but he quickly blocked it with his lightsaber before jumping backwards.

Zolph began to worry. Has Facadma mentally broken Emilin through millennia of physical and psychological torture? Would this have eventually happened to Dynn had he not killed her? However, he was suspicious of the telepathic interference coming from her head.

"Fight it, Emilin! Don't let that monster control you! Your sister's been worried sick about you! Mortaqa isn't your real name!"

Mortaqa Force-pushed Zolph away from her before releasing a stream of green superheated energy from the center eye on her mask and briefly pinning Zolph against a wall. "You don't know me! You don't know anything! I don't have a sister! I've always been Mortaqa!"

Considering she just used a Force power, something that only willing Forceless hosts could use, it seemed Zolph's fears were confirmed. However, it wasn't just a Forceless, but an Archfiend possessing Emilin, and as he learned from Belluzub, some willing Archfiends are Force users. By that logic, it's possible that Facadma is a Dark Force user like Belluzub, which would make sense, as according to Grein, the two of them were Valkor's right and left-hand Archfiends. And there was still the matter of the telepathic interference… and the horns. And some of the powers she demonstrated, he could sense were not Force powers.

Mortaqa teleported over to Zolph's location, telekinetically lifted him off the ground and prepared to finish him off with her scythe.

"Time to test my theory on what those horns are for." Zolph ignited his lightsaber and slashed off all five of Mortaqa's horns and this caused her to drop him. As Zolph predicted, the telepathic interference stopped. Those horns were actually telepathic inhibitors.

Suddenly, Zolph heard a voice in his head coming from Mortaqa. "Please… kill me! End it!"

Zolph blocked another death blow from Mortaqa and spoke somberly to her. "Don't worry, Emilin. It'll be over soon."

"Stop calling me that!" Mortaqa yelled.

"You can stop the charade, Facadma. I can read her thoughts now. Her real thoughts. You can't deceive me anymore."

Mortaqa prepared to slash him again, only for Zolph to impale her through the chest with his lightsaber. Zolph then grabbed her mask, pulled it off her face, threw it aside and pulled her hood down, revealing a humanoid face contrary to the mask's design underneath.

Emilin's skin tone changed from Forceless gray to the usual Chiss blue, her eyeballs were purple like her sister's, she had dark blue hair like her sister – except without teal highlights - pulled back in a ponytail and some scarring on her face, suggesting that the mask embedded itself in her face and released when she was impaled.

"She's… finally gone… and the screaming… is finally over." Emilin weakly said to Zolph as she clutched at the wound in her chest. "I gladly… accept my death…"

"Please, just hold on, Emilin." Zolph told her.

"Can't you just let me die in peace?"

Zolph pulled out the holo-communicator Grein gave him before he left. "Someone you know wants to talk to you. She's missed you dearly." He then signaled and activated the device, projecting a live hologram of Grein.

"Emilin? It looks like Zolph has succeeded." Grein said.

"Sister? You're still alive after all these years?" Emilin reacted with surprise and shed a tear. She didn't initially recognize her with the dyed bangs, and she barely looked older than she last remembered her.

"I prolonged my lifespan and watched some of those I knew die just to see that you were eventually free. I'm sorry I left you to get captured and subjected to many lifetimes of suffering, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be here to save you myself. If you're angry with me for leaving you, I won't hold it against you. Having to live with that knowledge for over three-thousand years was just as painful."

"I remember, I told you to run. You can't blame yourself. As for not coming here, you knew very well that Facadma would kill you instantly if you came within this star system, and I just barely held her back to keep her from killing you on the crystal planet. So, you sent this boy who managed to resist Facadma's power as a proxy. You can't do everything on your own."

"Thank you, Em." Grein's holographic image then pointed towards Zolph. "Zolph Vaelor there is Seferin's and my distant grandson. And before you ask, generations of my descendants breeding with humans have made the Chiss ancestry signs nearly invisible over time."

Emilin chuckled. "So I'm a great aunt, but that's going to be past-tense soon." She clutched at her chest again and grunted in pain. "Sorry, Grei, but I don't think I'm going to last much longer."

"I'm glad to have seen you one last time, and as yourself. I love you, Emilin. May the Force embrace you."

"I love you too, Grein, and this was just what I needed before I die. And please, continue living your life normally after the Collective is finished, but no more cheating death." Emilin then looked to Zolph. "And thank you, my nephew."

As Emilin breathed her last, Zolph laid her body down on one of the platforms.

"Rest now, Emilin. Your suffering has ended." Zolph said in his continued somber tone. He may not have known Emilin for long, but he knew he just lost another family member.

Zolph then noticed Mortaqa's mask on the floor a few feet away glowing.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a score to settle with that schutta." Zolph said to Grein before ending the transmission.

Mortaqa's mask transformed into what was essentially a larger version of the crab-like creatures he saw in the tower's middle floor. She had pale white skin, a skinny build, three pincer-tipped arms, a human-like head with three eye-like holes revealing it to be hollow inside save for her Forceless eye crystal and facial makings similar to her mask form. Unlike her children, she had four thin tentacles coming from her head: two hanging from her "cheeks" and two drooping backwards over her cranium. The creature then let out a high-pitched shriek despite her not having a mouth.

"Well, look at that. The ugly crab has decided to stop hiding inside a mask and show what she looks like." Zolph said to Facadma.

Facadma responded back. "You… You just spoiled my plans to consume the blue one's life-force once I got bored with her, but after three-thousand years, it's hard to tell if I'd ever get bored of playing with her. And it's a shame I'll never get to taste yours either, because I'd really enjoy your screaming."

"So, you actually take pleasure in tormenting people? You know what, Facadma?" Zolph then ignited his lightsaber as he continued speaking in a tone of tranquil fury. "I hope the Nine Corellian Hells exist just so you can go there when you die, but even those would be too good for you, you disgusting, hollow-headed, five-legged, vampiric… crab thing!" However, being a Jedi, Zolph didn't actually believe in the Nine Corellian Hells.

Facadma sarcastically clicked her right pincer repeatedly as if she were trying to imitate a slow clap. "Are you finished? By the way, I'd like to thank you for your part in killing that idiot, Belluzub. Valkor wouldn't let me do it myself."

Facadma pointed her pincer towards Zolph, opened it and fired a bolt of sickly green Force lightning from the claw tips at Zolph, throwing him against the wall again. As Zolph got up on his feet, he noted that he would have to be careful around the water in the chamber.

Zolph spoke to Facadma. "I take it this room was your summoning chamber? Its size is way too convenient for you."

"You guessed correctly. Oh, and I'm guessing you're curious as to how I laid eggs while I was possessing Mortaqa?"

"You mutilated her body?"

"Aside from making her grow telepathy inhibitor horns, no. Only the symbiotes can do that. I reproduce like this?" Facadma launched a tiny egg from her middle eye-socket into the water, and the egg then grew exponentially larger before hatching into one of the Facadma larvae he saw earlier, albeit less developed since its growth was rushed.

"By the way, you're a horrible mother, Facadma. Who abandons their own children before they're born and makes them into soldiers?"

"Oh come, they only have a one-hour lifespan. Besides, you Jedi weren't above leading an army of slave soldiers and treating them as cannon fodder."

"Don't try to project the old Order's failings onto us! Besides, from what General Choi told me, and while we agreed their decision to lead the clone army was questionable at best given what its creation entailed, saying they were often used as 'cannon fodder' is an exaggeration from Imperial propaganda. Said propaganda also omitted that the Jedi usually bonded with the clones and even had citizenship plans for them had they won the war."

"Are you sure that's the case? After all, history is written by the victors."

"My source was an undertrained old Order Jedi. And the victors of that war were the Empire, hence the propaganda, and it took the Rebel Alliance defeating the Empire to dismantle some of that propaganda."

"Anyway, it's time to stop being side-tracked." Facadma barked an order to her child. "Attack… but don't kill him. I have plans for him that I don't think Valkor would mind."

The child made a rolling charge at Zolph, but he simply Force pushed the creature across the room into a wall once it made it into striking distance, smashing it to death. Facadma made a few more eggs, but the next few children were decapitated when they charged at Zolph.

"You intend to possess me like you did Emilin, correct? Newsflash: I'm immune to possession! That's exactly why Valkor wants me dead!"

"I know, but that's Forceless symbiote possession." Facadma then fired a green laser from her eye at Zolph, who quickly deflected it. "And I'm an Archfiend. So I believe you can be possessed by a proxy creature like me."

Facadma fired another bolt of green lightning at the water, forcing Zolph to jump onto one of the platforms before he got electrocuted. "And judging by the coloration of your attacks, I'm guessing you're not a natural Force user?"

"Of course I am."

"You're lying again."

"Very well. I'm what other people call a Force Vampire, but I don't just feed on the living Force. I also use it to fuel my own power. But if I can take control of a natural Force user like you, I can feed on a system-wide scale."

"If you want to possess a Jedi or Sith, why not choose someone more powerful?"

"Oh, I've tried to go after Skywalker, but he's proven too illusive and Valkor didn't want me unveiling myself to the galaxy until the time came. So you'll have to do."

Facadma then jumped into the air and tried to land on Zolph. When she missed, she tried to grab at him with two electrified pincers while balancing her upper body on her middle claw. Zolph then Force-pushed her middle claw to throw her off balance, causing her to slip, land her electrified claws in the water and electrocute herself. She let out another high-pitched shriek as she was being electrocuted, but the shock wasn't fatal.

She got up and grabbed Zolph with her middle pincer and slammed him against the floor a few times before letting out a high-pitched laugh that could only be heard in someone's mind.

"You know, that laugh of yours is really annoying!" Zolph told Facadma. She then tried to squeeze on him a little more.

"But I'm not even making any sounds." Facadma taunted Zolph. She continued laughing telepathically while trying to slowly snap Zolph in half.

Suddenly, Zolph felt a familiar presence in the room. Facadma's grip on Zolph loosened and she was telekinetically thrown against the wall. Zolph then noticed Maesterus approaching him.

"What are you doing here?" Zolph asked Maesterus.

"I had some suspicions about Mortaqa." Maesterus then took a quick glance at Emilin's corpse. "And it turns out my suspicions were correct."

Facadma then got up and tried to taunt Maesterus. "Well, well, if it isn't Belluzub's real killer."

"You flatter me, Facadma." Maesterus told her. "But flattery won't save you from my wrath, and I think my wife would like some justice for what you did to my sister-in-law. And I thought you Forceless would have learned by now what happens when you threaten my kin." Maesterus then ignited his lightsaber and drew out a palm spike.

"You speak of justice, and your kin just killed her!"

Maesterus then tried to Force choke her, but with no effect on her other than immobilizing her and squeezing on her neck.

"Emilin was already dead the moment you possessed her and mutilated her. Zolph just granted her mercy."

"You know choking me isn't really going to work since I don't have any lungs, right?"

"Ah, but you do have a neck."

"You've just signed your own death warrant by coming here!" Facadma tried to fire some Force lightning at Maesterus from her left claw, but he flew up into the air before it could hit him. He responded by firing his palm spike into Facadma's scalp and severing one of her head tentacles.

"You were saying?"

"I may not be as strong as I was when I was Mortaqa, but I can still feed on the living Force within you… right now."

Facadma attempted to rip Maesterus's life-force out of his body, but Zolph interrupted her by severing her left and right pincers, leaving her to only balance on her middle claw.

"You little brat!" Facadma yelled at Zolph.

"That would be the thirtieth time recorded that I've heard that phrase." Zolph mocked her.

Facadma then attempted to fire an eye laser at Zolph, but Maesterus swooped at her and lobotomized the top-half of her head with his lightsaber, further exposing the eye crystal that also served as her brain and making the remains of her head look like a hatched egg shell. At the same time, Zolph severed her middle claw, causing her to fall down on her upper body and completely immobilizing her.

Zolph then walked up to her mutilated head and she looked at him as the glassy surface of her eye crystal started to crack, and green mist seeped from those cracks.

As Zolph pointed his lightsaber at her face, Facadma pleaded for her life. "Please…h-help me!"

"Why should I?"

"I don't want to die!"

"I'm sorry, Facadma, but we all have to die eventually, and you've taken millions of lives in the time you've been around. And from the looks of it, those millions aren't very happy with you eating them."

"I can't help it! I have to feed on them to stay alive! I can't even eat physical food!"

"So you're going to justify mass murder with survival? And how have you managed to live long enough to learn how to do that? I can understand your children only live short lives because they have no means to nourish themselves. You brought this predicament on yourself by deciding to become an Archfiend and allowing your mouth to atrophy, and as a result, your children take on your current anatomy."

"But you're a Jedi! Isn't life supposed to be sacred to you?! I won't try to kill you again!"

"Hmm… I dunno… From my experience with Mandoculus and Fafniros, Forceless symbiotes don't like it when their hosts don't do what they want, and when they don't do what they want, they get fully taken over." Zolph then raised his lightsaber for a death blow.

"What are you doing?!" Facadma asked before more cracks showed up all over her eye and she started screaming in agony as green mist started seeping out from other parts of her body.

"I'm sorry, Facadma, but I couldn't save you even if I wanted to, and I don't trust you to keep your word after what I saw happened to the Archfiends I mentioned. However, since I'm not as cruel as you are, I will grant you a more merciful death than being slowly torn apart from the inside by the living Force of those you've devoured."

Zolph then struck his blade against Facadma's eye crystal, shattering it to pieces and killing her for good while all the living Force she had absorbed escaped from body into thin air, becoming one with the cosmic Force.

"It's done." Zolph then deactivated his lightsaber.

Maesterus then approached Zolph. "And another of one of the Collective's top generals is down."

"Looks like Valkor's going to have to go back to fighting with conventional methods, but how much longer is this stupid war going to last?" Zolph asked Maesterus.

"If you want some good news, Valkor's show on Christophsis has divided his empire." Maesterus answered.

"How divided are we talking?"

"Nearly half of the Valkoran army has defected, and the Empire's civilian population is fleeing from Ockla Prime. There's also a resistance movement building in orbit over Lehon, the original homeworld of the Rakata."

"Are you sure you should be telling me this? Valkor can see everything you do."

"I know, and he'll know everything that happens regardless of what I do. Now it's up to you for how you'll use this information. And if you're curious, I've already been informed that you know the truth about Grein."


Much later, Zolph and Seefor regrouped with Admiral Cephal, Captain Xadisall Varessi, Colonel Birik G'jan, Luke Skywalker, Grein and Hiriss aboard the Mon Calamari star cruiser Harmony in orbit over Coruscant. The fleet was also regrouped now that the threat of Mortaqa, or rather Facadma, was over.

"Good news everyone: a little birdie has told me that the Valkoran Empire is only half its original size and Ockla Prime is less secure." Zolph announced to everyone.

Luke responded to the news. "Then that means we can prepare a fleet big enough to strike the Valkoran capital without wasting time arguing with the Senate."

Admiral Cephal interrupted. "But aside from being in the Unknown Regions, we don't exactly know where Ockla Prime is."

Hiriss interrupted him in turn. "Buuuuuut…." She then pointed to Grein. "We have someone who used to be with the Valkoran a few thousand years ago."

"I may not have come back for a long time, but I still know the hyperspace coordinates." Grein answered in response.

"Then it's settled." Cephal announced. "We will prepare the fleet and attack Ockla Prime a week from now."

"Then the Valkoran War is finally coming to an end." Xadisall commented. "My squad's itching for some payback against that emblem-faced Huttspawn after what he did to General Choi."

Zolph made another announcement. "In the meantime, I'm taking a trip to Lehon to meet with the Valkoran defectors, and if I don't come back before then, launch the attack anyway. I'll make it to Ockla regardless." He then looked to Hiriss. "And Hiriss, you'll get to be in command of the Manthis, so practice up on your flying lessons." He then glanced to Seefor. "And that means she's in charge of you, too."

"Will do, and may the Force be with you." Hiriss responded back.