Darkness pressed in from all sides. Solo gasped for the remaining air, forcing himself to think calmly.
Today's encounter had been a catastrophic failure. He clearly sensed Taidor Loy's life force fading completely—the old Matukadan was almost certainly dead.
Had the Sith detonated him, or had he used a mutual destruction technique?
None of that mattered now.
Solo's survival was entirely due to his armor.
The Sith's movements were incredibly swift, far surpassing even Ventress's capabilities.
Sometimes, Solo could track and predict the Sith's movements through the Force, but his body repeatedly failed to keep up, plunging him into peril.
This was an eternal dilemma: senses sharp enough to perceive, but talent and physical reflexes insufficient to respond.
This battle had taught him much, but it had also nearly cost him his life.
Now, Solo and Ahsoka were buried underground, with nearly an entire mountain weighing down above them.
Their only escape was to melt a tunnel with their lightsabers, even if it meant risking burning their clothes and scorching their skin.
Solo gripped his lightsaber in his right hand and reached toward the blade, near the emitter.
Absorbing the lava's heat, he swung his lightsaber to excavate a tunnel.
The arch principle came into play. The narrow tunnel formed an arch, supporting the surrounding mountain.
After digging a hole half a person's height and the length of a lightsaber, Solo, with Ahsoka on his back, began crawling forward.
Finally, the tip of his lightsaber pierced through the exterior, sensing the open space beyond.
Solo stopped moving, closed his eyes, and focused. There was no sign of life around him—no robots, only a ruined room piled with stones and remnants of scrolls.
He looked at the scene before him: scattered, burned, and torn scrolls; completely destroyed shelves.
He gasped heavily, alive.
But the exit was blocked again.
"Damn it!" Solo cursed. Just as he crawled out of the rubble, something cold landed on his head.
He looked up and saw snowflakes falling from the yellowing sky.
The explosion had actually blown off the "roof" of the building, causing the entire mountain to collapse. The Sith's life force had already been at its lowest during the final explosion, so now, facing him again, the odds of victory were fifty-fifty.
Some scrolls had fortunately survived. Using the Force to investigate, Solo discovered two valuable scrolls. One contained training routines, with arrows indicating how to channel the Force during the movements. The other was covered in Matukada hieroglyphs he couldn't decipher, and the Galactic language database had no records of it either.
The Kingdom of Zai's isolationist policy had brought trouble, and Solo needed a Matukai's help.
After stowing the scroll in his pack, Solo inspected his armor. Scorch marks and distortions marred its surface, especially across his chest—evidence of the Sith's Shiak strikes that had nearly pierced his protective barrier.
Activating his data pad, he tried to contact the Star Falcon.
The connection established, the Clone Trooper's hologram materialized.
"General! You're alive!" The Clone Trooper sounded excited.
"Yes, Captain," Solo replied with a heavy sigh.
"I followed orders and departed the planet. Our sensors detected two spacecraft taking off. The first was equipped with a slow hyperspace drive, and the computer took five minutes to calculate its jump trajectory."
That must have been the ancient fighter from the hangar.
Solo sensed Taidor's death, which meant Sheldon had survived.
This was fortunate, as he needed a Matukai to decipher the scroll. He'd installed a tracking program on Sheldon's ship earlier, so locating him wouldn't be difficult.
"Additionally," the Captain continued, "the Aerospace Robot connected to the Temple Database shows that you've been marked as deceased, and your account has been terminated."
"What?" Solo was stunned. "How did they find out so quickly? They're making conclusions before even investigating!"
He sat on a rock, his hand propping up his head as he pondered.
This news meant that the report of his death had been spread by a Sith agent, implying a traitor within the Warrior Order.
"Captain, bring the ship to my current location. A new canyon has formed, altering the terrain."
"We'll arrive in five minutes."
After ending the communication, Solo began to meditate.
The Shadows and Explorers were typically targets of the Sith, yet someone within the Jedi Order had obtained intelligence on this operation.
The Archaeologists were Jedi Explorers, rarely bound by clear research limits. They only dispatched Shadows when someone ventured too deeply into the Dark Side.
It was no surprise that Dogen, a member of the Explorers, had appeared on this mission. The Archaeologists had no single leader; they obeyed either the First Knowledge Council or a particular Master.
Just then—
Solo suddenly sensed a faint aura of the Dark Side beneath his feet. He swung his arm, using the Force to flip over the rock, revealing an object radiating Dark Side energy.
It was a miniature badge, one he had torn off the Sith's clothing during their battle.
The Sith was too arrogant to wear something carrying the aura of the Dark Side.
The triangular shape and star emblem at the center of the badge resembled a company logo.
Was this company in the fashion industry?
The roar of the Star Falcon's engines echoed from the horizon as the ship hovered in the air.
Solo, carrying the unconscious Ahsoka, leaped into the ship. A Clone Trooper immediately approached. "General, Commander Tano—"
"Let's get out of here, Captain," Solo ordered immediately. "I don't like being here."
As the ship left the atmosphere, Solo began considering their next move.
The Warrior Order had already declared him dead. He suspected a traitor within the Order, and it was likely someone connected to Palpatine.
Should he go directly to Coruscant to challenge or expose the traitor?
Without evidence, that would only put him in danger.
Should he publicly denounce the Sith?
But he knew nothing about that Sith.
Having been declared "dead," Solo couldn't access the Temple's archives or databases, and even if he could, the information might not be reliable.
He turned the Sith badge in his hand, lost in thought.
The Clone Captain asked, "General, where to? Lantilles?"
"Stay put for now," Solo said. He held the badge up to the data pad's camera and took a photo. "Let's play a little detective game first."
He uploaded the photo to a holographic search engine platform on the Holonet. The signal in Wild Space was unstable, but it was enough to use.
A few seconds later, the search results popped up.
"The Taal Investments logo," Solo read aloud, then immediately entered the company name to search for details.
The company was founded seven hundred years ago, with headquarters in Nal Hutta, Hutt Space. It specialized in light transportation services in the Outer Rim and wasn't poor, but it wasn't a super-wealthy enterprise either.
The executive director was named Rosamund Atkari, a red-haired woman with a strikingly symmetrical face, almost model-like in appearance.
Solo continued searching for Rosamund's latest activities, trying to find a connection to the Sith.
The company structure immediately caught his attention.
This company had both a general manager and an executive director. According to the public charter, the owner was the general manager, but all documents only listed "General Manager of Taal Investments" without a real name. The Republic's entrepreneur registry also showed no record of this person.
This was highly unusual.
By law, owners were required to register their real names and actual residential addresses. But this company's registered address was only its Nal Hutta headquarters, clearly violating Republic law.
Solo surmised that the other party was either a galaxy-class prankster or deliberately concealing their identity, with the latter being far more likely.
They had likely bypassed the registration process using methods such as the Force mind trick, bribery, or extortion.
This lead needed to be pursued.
That battle had deeply stung Solo. Since arriving in this galaxy, he had failed too many times. He knew he wasn't the strongest in the galaxy, but the relentless defeats had ignited a fierce obsession within him to defeat the Sith.
To achieve this, he first needed to uncover the other's identity and whereabouts.
Solo copied Rosamond's name and searched the news archives.
Three days prior, Nal Hutta's financial news reported that due to increased pirate attacks in the Outer Rim, Rosamond had decided to purchase new spacecraft for her transport fleet and had traveled to Kuat.
Solo surmised she was still there. Procurement negotiations often lasted weeks, especially when traveling to Kuat, which meant she was likely seeking expensive, high-performance equipment.
"Captain, plot a course for Kuat," Solo ordered.
"Yes, General!" the Captain promptly replied. "Hyperspace travel will take approximately four days."
Four days?
It was time to upgrade the ship's hyperspace drive, but unfortunately, now wasn't the right moment.
On the second day of their hyperspace journey, Ahsoka woke up feeling frustrated and redoubled her efforts in lightsaber training.
Kuat was renowned for its massive orbital docks encircling the planet, home to colossal battleships and dreadnoughts stretching kilometers long.
Solo, ever cautious, altered the IFF transponder code and changed the ship's name. The fake identity he had established earlier with Rona and Kopi Corporation proved invaluable at this juncture.
"This is Kuat Planetary Dispatch Center to Star Clover. Please state your purpose for entering the system," a stern male voice announced over the comms channel, originating from the administrative center on the orbital dock ring.
"Star Clover to Dispatch Center. This is Lund, here to inspect hyperspace drives for potential retrofitting on our ship," Solo replied.
"Only visiting the dock?" the operator confirmed.
"Correct. No intention to land on the planet."
Solo knew Rosamond was staying at a hotel on the ring.
"Your hangar is 329. Landing vector has been sent. Have a pleasant stay on Kuat."
With the vector data inputted into the computer, Solo began approaching the space station.
Before exiting hyperspace, he removed his armor, changed into his repaired uniform, and armed himself with a blaster.
The spacecraft finally docked at the hangar behind the orbital dock. No sooner had it landed than customs agents boarded to inspect it.
They expressed displeasure with the missiles and shock charges on board, while the hangar captain kept his covetous eyes fixed on the ship's Stegium stealth plating.
After successfully passing the inspection, Solo subtly used a Force mind trick on the overly meddlesome hangar captain, then immediately began his investigation.
He compiled a list of luxury hotels Rosamund might be staying at and headed to the high-end hotel district in the ring belt. There, he used the Force mind trick on each front desk employee to ask about her whereabouts.
The Kuat people generally believed the orbital dock, guarded by battleships and numerous security patrols, was heavily fortified, so they had lowered their guard.
It was impossible to station a Force-sensitive or willpower-trained individual in every corner. Solo's interrogation technique was simple and direct: those he questioned would immediately forget the conversation after providing the information.
By the tenth hotel, he finally obtained the answer he sought and pinpointed Rosamund's location.
With no time to slowly blend into the environment or meticulously plan, Solo confirmed the target's room number. Adjusting his disguise, he tightened his grip on the blaster at his waist, and strode into the hotel.
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