The forgotten world did not appear on any Imperial star chart.
Its coordinates existed only within ancient Sith archives recovered from tombs older than the Republic itself. Even then, the information was fragmented, buried beneath layers of encrypted lore and warnings written by beings long turned to dust.
To most, the planet was a myth.
To Darth Palpus, it was the final piece.
The last component needed to complete the trap that would bring down Abeloth.
The transport carrying the Prima death squad emerged from hyperspace into a system devoid of life. A dying red star illuminated a collection of barren worlds orbiting in silence.
The target planet sat furthest from the star.
Dark.
Cold.
Ancient.
As the vessel descended through thick storm clouds, sensor officers began reporting anomalies.
"Life signs detected."
The squad leader looked toward the display.
Thousands.
Perhaps millions.
None matched any species recorded within Imperial databases.
"Prepare for combat."
The command was unnecessary.
The Prima were always prepared.
The planet greeted them with violence.
Mountains of black stone stretched beyond the horizon.
Lightning flashed constantly overhead.
The atmosphere carried strange energies that interfered with scanners and communications alike.
Ancient ruins covered much of the landscape.
Massive structures stood half-buried beneath centuries of dust and erosion.
Evidence of a civilization long extinct.
Or perhaps something worse.
The transport landed within a valley surrounded by colossal obsidian cliffs.
The ramp lowered.
The Prima emerged.
Heavy boots struck the stone.
Weapons active.
Lightsabers ready.
Force senses extended.
The squad leader immediately felt something watching them.
Something old.
Something hostile.
Then the attack began.
The creatures erupted from beneath the ground.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Massive insectoid beings with armored shells and razor-sharp limbs.
Their bodies measured nearly four meters in height.
Their mouths dripped corrosive acid capable of melting durasteel.
The first wave charged.
The response was immediate.
Heavy laser fire erupted.
The valley became a storm of destruction.
Alien bodies exploded beneath concentrated energy bursts.
Others continued forward regardless.
A creature leapt toward one of the Prima.
Its claws capable of tearing through tank armor.
A crimson lightsaber ignited.
The creature landed in two pieces.
More followed.
Thousands.
The ground itself seemed alive.
The planet was defending something.
Hours passed.
The battle never truly stopped.
Every kilometer gained required blood and effort.
The Prima advanced relentlessly.
Sith lightning reduced entire swarms to smoking corpses.
Battle meditation synchronized every movement.
Heavy weapons shattered creatures the size of walkers.
Still, they came.
Wave after wave.
As if commanded by a greater intelligence.
Finally, the squad reached the ruins.
The structure towered above the surrounding landscape.
A pyramid larger than most cities.
Ancient symbols covered every surface.
The Force itself seemed concentrated around the monument.
Dark.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
The entrance opened as they approached.
Not mechanically.
Automatically.
As though recognizing their presence.
The squad leader felt unease.
Something waited inside.
The interior resembled a cathedral.
Gigantic chambers stretched beyond visibility.
Columns reached toward distant ceilings.
At the center rested the crystals.
Kyber.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Larger than any specimens ever recorded.
Entire formations of glowing crystals emerged from the ground like forests of light.
Blue.
Green.
Purple.
Gold.
Their energy saturated the chamber.
For a brief moment, even the Prima stood silently.
The power contained here was immense.
Enough to fuel entire fleets.
Enough to power superweapons.
Enough to kill gods.
Then the guardian awakened.
The floor shook.
The ancient stone cracked.
Something moved beneath the pyramid.
A colossal creature emerged.
Its body resembled a fusion of dragon and leviathan.
Black scales reflected the crystal light.
Massive wings unfolded.
Golden eyes opened.
The creature roared.
The sound shook the mountain itself.
For centuries, it had guarded the crystals.
Now intruders stood before it.
The beast attacked.
The battle lasted nearly three hours.
The guardian was unlike anything the Prima had ever encountered.
Heavy laser batteries barely slowed it.
Its scales resisted lightsaber strikes.
Its breath weapon vaporized entire sections of the pyramid.
Three Prima fell.
Then five.
Then seven.
For the first time in years, the death squad faced genuine danger.
The squad leader activated a private communication.
"All units. Concentrate fire."
Battle meditation intensified.
The surviving warriors moved as one.
The beast struck.
They adapted.
It roared.
They endured.
Finally, an opening appeared.
The leader leapt.
His lightsaber plunged directly through the creature's eye and into its brain.
The beast screamed.
Lightning erupted from dozens of Prima simultaneously.
The creature convulsed.
Collapsed.
And moved no more.
Silence returned.
The cost had been high.
But the mission succeeded.
The crystals belonged to the Empire.
Three weeks later.
Exegol.
The surviving Prima knelt before Darth Palpus.
Containers filled with rare kyber crystals surrounded them.
The mission report concluded.
Palpus remained silent.
Then he nodded.
"You have served well."
The warriors bowed.
For them, that was enough.
The construction chamber beneath Exegol became sealed.
No technicians.
No observers.
No interruptions.
Only Darth Palpus.
Before him rested the Vitae Extractor.
Nearly complete.
The final components waited nearby.
The kyber crystals.
Palpus began the process himself.
No droids.
No servants.
No assistance.
This machine would determine the future of the Force itself.
Mistakes were unacceptable.
His movements remained slow.
Deliberate.
Precise.
One crystal at a time.
One conduit at a time.
Every component inspected.
Every circuit tested.
Every rune verified.
Hours became days.
Days became weeks.
The machine slowly reached completion.
Ancient Sith alchemy merged with impossible engineering.
The result was neither technology nor magic.
It was both.
And something beyond.
When the final crystal settled into place, the chamber illuminated.
Energy flowed throughout the structure.
The entire planet seemed to react.
Exegol's storms intensified.
Lightning struck continuously.
The Force itself rippled.
The weapon was ready.
Palpus activated a secure holocommunication.
Moments later, Emperor Palpatine appeared.
The old Sith studied the completed machine.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Finally, Palpatine smiled.
"It is finished."
"Yes."
The Emperor nodded slowly.
"Then the time has come."
Palpus agreed.
For decades, they had prepared.
The Empire.
The fleets.
The hidden projects.
The training.
Everything had led toward this moment.
Not merely the defeat of enemies.
Not merely galactic domination.
Something greater.
Control.
True control.
Hours later, two of the most powerful Sith in history stood aboard the flagship Doom.
The massive vessel departed Exegol, accompanied by an escort fleet.
Its destination lay beyond ordinary hyperspace routes.
Beyond most charts.
Beyond reason.
The Maw.
A prison built around impossible gravitational forces.
A place feared even by the ancient Celestials.
A place where Abeloth remained bound.
For now.
Standing beside his father, Palpus looked out across the stars.
"The trap is ready."
Palpatine nodded.
"The dagger is ready."
Silence followed.
Both knew the risks.
Both understood what awaited them.
Abeloth was no ordinary enemy.
She was ancient chaos.
Madness given form.
A wound within reality itself.
Yet neither father nor son felt fear.
Only anticipation.
The Doom accelerated into hyperspace.
Behind them, the Empire continued its war against the Yuuzhan Vong.
Ahead of them waited something far older.
Far more dangerous.
And if their plan succeeded
The Force itself would soon have new masters.