**Chapter 539**
**Scene 1**
**Dagon POV**
**Grey Wolf Bridge**
The fleet dropped out of hyperspace in perfect formation, the stars snapping back into points of light. Xifal hung before us — a cold, dusty system with its namesake planetoid gleaming dully in the distance.
"Huh… not much of a defense fleet," Ahsoka murmured from beside me, eyes narrowed at the tactical display. "Just a single Lucrehulk-class cargo variant and four Munificent-class frigates. I thought they'd put up more resistance."
I felt it the same moment she spoke.
The Force twisted sharply — a wave of collective suffering, fear, and simmering rage. Too many living beings for a droid-controlled vessel. Far too many.
"Prisoners," I growled. "All ships, ion cannons only. Jam their communications and prepare boarding parties. Gunships and skelters, launch immediately."
I was already moving, racing toward the hangar as the bridge crew sprang into action. The girls' concern flared across the bond, but they knew better than to try stopping me.
**Scene 2**
My skelter shot out of the *Grey Wolf* like a spear, wings sweeping into attack position. The Lucrehulk loomed ahead — bulky, slow, clearly converted for cargo rather than war. Its escorts tried to maneuver, but the combined ion barrage from my fleet lit up the void in brilliant blue. One by one, the Munificents went dark, systems fried.
I slammed through the Lucrehulk's hangar shield, landing hard among panicked droids. The moment my boots hit the deck, I ignited both blades.
**Thunder Breathing — Fourth Form: Distant Thunder.**
Lightning-wreathed slashes erupted in a storm of emerald fury. B1s and super battle droids disintegrated in droves as I carved a path through the hangar. Alarms wailed uselessly — our jammers had already silenced any call for help.
I reached the bridge in minutes. The Neimoidian captain shrieked orders at frozen droids until I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the viewport.
"Slavery," I spat, voice low and cold. "How the mighty Separatists have fallen."
I tossed the captain to the deck. The freed Colicoids — tall, chitinous insectoids with clicking mandibles and deadly stingers — descended on him in a frenzy. Their buzzing screams of vengeance filled the corridor as they tore him apart. I didn't look back.
Through the Force I felt the collars — crude, painful devices locked around the necks and thoraxes of hundreds of Colicoids. One focused surge of lightning overloaded every control circuit in range. The collars popped open in a chorus of metallic clicks.
**Scene 3**
The Colicoids were impressive up close. Towering between 1.8 and 2 meters, their chitinous bodies gleamed under the emergency lights. Multifaceted eyes regarded me with wary intelligence as they curled and unfurled experimentally, testing freedom. Some rolled into tight protective balls before springing forward, a natural defense that reminded me of their Droideka designs.
But something still felt wrong. The suffering in the Force hadn't fully eased.
I moved deeper into the ship, guided by instinct and the Shield's low, angry hum on my back. A hidden bulkhead — cleverly masked — gave way under a Force push.
Behind it lay a nightmare.
A massive Colicoid Queen, easily twice the size of the warriors, was suspended in a torture rig. Heavy restraints pinned her powerful limbs while energy probes and chemical injectors pumped agony into her body. Her stinger twitched weakly, dripping venom onto the deck.
The other Colicoids hissed and clicked in distress behind me.
I ignited my blades and severed the restraints in two clean cuts. The Queen collapsed forward. I caught her massive form, channeling purification through the Shield of Wrath. Golden light flooded her body, knitting damaged chitin, flushing toxins, and soothing the raw nerves that had been screaming for who knew how long.
Her multifaceted eyes focused on me as consciousness returned. A low, vibrating hum emanated from her antennae — gratitude, perhaps, mixed with burning hatred for her captors.
"You were the key," I said quietly. "They enslaved your entire colony by holding you. Typical Separatist cowardice."
The Queen's mandibles clicked rapidly. One of the warriors translated in buzzing Basic: "Our Queen… safe. Debt… owed. We fight with you… Starkiller."
I helped the Queen stand as more freed Colicoids poured into the chamber, their rolling forms and clicking speech filling the air with vengeful energy. Through the bond I felt the girls' reactions — Ahsoka's horror at the slavery, Shin's grim approval of the outcome, and Sakura's quiet fascination.
Another system liberated. Another wound in the Separatist machine.
But as I looked at the freed Queen and her people, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of something much larger in the Xifal system.