On Bastion, Imperial Head of State Vitor Reige walked into the Capital Building's Moff Meeting Room with his personal aide Ashik trailing behind him. He looked around the circular table that served as the avenue of their latest meeting and saw that all twelve of them - including that snake, Drikl Lecersen, and that witch, Natasi Daala - were present and glaring angrily at him, as if the subject of their discussion was all his fault.
Repressing a frustrated sigh, Reige sat down in the seat reserved for him and folded his hands on the table. "Does anyone have any ideas as to how we can defend ourselves against the Killiks?" he asked without preamble.
"We need to mobilize immediately," Daala said in a straightforward tone. "We need to strike them hard and fast in the Coruscant system when they least expect it; when they're still cooling down from taking over the GA. I don't see why we're sitting here, discussing this."
"Maybe you forgot, Admiral," Tol Getelles interjected, "that the Killiks are now able to simply reach out to the minds of their enemies and simply take them over! Even if we were to just attack them like that, they'll just convert us to their side!"
"Which is why we're discussing this," Reige concluded. "We need to make sure that we're all safe from the Killik hive mind itself, if not their forces. So, again, any ideas?"
Everyone remained dead silent for a while before Porrak Vansyn said, "I say we do what the Yuuzhan Vong did and get the hell outta this galaxy while we still have a chance!"
"And leave everyone else to fall to the Killiks' hive mind, Moff Vansyn?" Reige retorted. "I don't think so."
"Well, I don't see you offering any ideas, Head of State!" Calron the Younger voiced. "I agree with Moff Vansyn. I think we have no other choice but to leave this galaxy and leave the rest to rot!"
Reige glared at Calron. "Even if I agreed to such a cowardly act," he said, "we certainly don't have the resources to move to the nearest galaxy, or sustain ourselves or our descendents for the trip. No, we must stand our ground, we can't let a bunch of bugs take our territory, so we have to come up with some kind of defense plan."
"You're wasting your time and ours, Reige," Lecersen said. "Any battle plan you can come up with will be all for naught; once those Killiks and their Joiners drop out of hyperspace in this system, before we can even launch a single laser for them, we'll all be part of their hive mind-" He snapped his fingers. "-just like that."
"And you'll be wasting your time if you think you can leave this galaxy and hope to live long after that," Reige said. "The Yuuzhan Vong got lucky when they left their galaxy; how much you wanna bet you'll achieve that same luck, even for any descendents who might live on the off-chance that such a chicken way would actually work?"
Lecersen and the Moffs who were behind the idea of running all opened their mouths, but then just as promptly closed them when they realized that couldn't muster an argument to that point.
"Then we're all doomed," Vansyn said in a self-defeating tone.
Reige looked at him again. "Not yet. And that's all that matters."
.
After being granted permission by Kenth Hamner to land their Imperial shuttle in the Jedi Temple's hangar bay on Shedu Maad minutes earlier, Team Jacen marched briskly for the Council room. They ignored all the looks of surprise and shock and the resultant stares from Jedi Knights and apprentices that came their way in the Temple's corridors, but they ignored them. When they got there, Jacen opened the door and he and his Yuuzhan Vong friends walked in to meet the gazes of expectant Jedi Masters.
"Solo," Hamner said, "I've already informed this Council about your attendance here. I assume you came here to offer a solution to this new Killik problem?"
"We have," Jacen nodded.
"Then spill it," Hamner demanded.
"A mind-meld attack against Thuruht," Jacen replied simply.
"Mind-meld attack?" Hamner asked incredulously. "Solo, we don't have enough Jedi in the entire Order to attempt something like that against the Killiks, especially not with the strength in numbers that they now have in forces and in their hive mind!"
"I didn't realize the Jedi were concerned with numbers when they had the Force, Master Hamner," Jacen said.
"And the Killiks don't?" Hamner retorted. "They have eight Jedi on their side! Eight powerful Jedi that have enhanced the power of their hive mind and allowed them to take over the Galactic Alliance in a matter of seconds! We can't fight that!"
"Not unless you could enhance the strength of the mind-meld, right?" Jacen asked.
"You have something that could help us out with that, Solo?" Hamner inquired.
"My friend, Onimi, who is only one of two Yuuzhan Vong to have achieved a link with the Force before his species were carried away on Zonama Sekot," Jacen said, waving to the aforementioned Yuuzhan Vong. "Don't worry about the other Yuuzhan Vong, she's dead. Anyway, link Onimi up to the mind-meld and he'll be able to boost it up to outdo the Killiks' hive mind."
"How can you do that?" Cilghal asked the deformed Yuuzhan Vong.
"I can fashion molecules that can heighten my mind-controlling powers-" Onimi began to explain.
"Mind-control?" Hamner interrupted. "Solo, are you crazy? I'm not about to compromise the Jedi Order to this Vong!"
Onimi growled at Hamner's derogatory remark, but Jacen restrained him by placing his arm before his friend's chest. The only audible reaction to come from Nom Anor regarding Hamner's exclamation was a sneer.
"I assure you, Master Hamner," Jacen said, "we only offer you our cooperation. Without us, particularly without Onimi, you may not win against the Killiks this time."
Hamner looked from Jacen to Onimi. "How could I trust you?" he asked the deformed Yuuzhan Vong.
"Honestly?" Onimi asked. "You can't. But you really have no other choice." He couldn't help but smirk for getting payback on Hamner for calling him a Vong.
Again, Hamner sighed. "Fine. You win. We'll do it your way, Solo."
.
What does the Dagger tell you to do now? Ship asked Plagueis.
Instead of answering, the Sith looked back at the Dagger of Mortis still in hand and he turned back around to face the droids. The Dagger glowed red again and Plagueis began walking past Ford and Five-U for the fountain. Once he reached the dry fountain, he stepped in and continued for its center, where he stopped.
Five seconds later, the Dagger's red glow exploded to encompass the entirety of Plagueis's vision.
When Plagueis opened his eyes from the blinding red flash, he looked around and found that he was standing in a blank, white expanse of nothingness in his Muun body, the Dagger still in his hand. This time, though, it lacked any kind of glow.
And it was now silent to him.