Taris
Since the Sith were driven off of Taris, the planet has been rid of the planet-wide war and the people were free to travel and see their families again.
The remaining rebels had put down their arms and surrendered upon facing Imperial troops. Some tried to keep the fight going, but with an already demoralized army, they were quickly disbanded.
After this, the planet was beginning the process of becoming independent.
Daimon didn't want this planet, which was in the middle of Sith space, nor would it provide the Imperium with anything it didn't already have.
So, general elections were scheduled and had already occurred, with the planet selecting its first Prime Minister. Other positions were filled as well, and the people praised Imperial troops for helping them.
The Imperium had also pledged to assist with the reconstruction effort for the next ten years, providing engineers, medical personnel, and infrastructure support. After that, Taris would be entirely on its own, free to chart its own course as an independent world.
It was something that Daimon and Cortana had come up with for the new era: intervene, when necessary, stabilize completely, then withdraw before the planet become completely dependent on the Imperium.
The new Prime Minister, a former resistance fighter named Sarena Vell, had given her inaugural address from the steps of the rebuilt planetary capital. She thanked the Imperium for its assistance, acknowledged the Jedi who had given their lives during the conflict, and made a single promise to her people: that Taris would never again be a battleground for empires.
It was a promise she would likely not be able to keep. The galaxy was not the kind of place that allowed small worlds to stay out of larger conflicts indefinitely, particularly worlds situated as Taris was, near the borders of multiple major powers. But it was the kind of promise that gave people something to hold onto in the immediate aftermath of war, and that was worth something in itself.
———
Veldari - Capital of the Veldari Imperium
Daimon stood in one of the palace gardens that overlooked the city. The Daughter walked beside him, her form now brighter than it had been a few weeks ago. The Force Nexus that Veldari had become continued to nourish her, though Daimon suspected she would never fully recover what had been lost on Mortis.
"You have built something remarkable here," she said, looking out over the city. "Father would have appreciated it."
"Would he?"
"He believed balance was something that had to be maintained through constant effort. He did not understand that balance could be cultivated in a place, and that the place itself could then maintain it." She gestured toward the city. "This world breathes with the Force. The people here, even the ones who cannot touch it directly, are shaped by it. That is not something he could have done."
"It took a long time."
"Time you had. Time he did not." She paused. "My brother will not stop. You know this."
"I do." from his knowledge and brief time spent fighting the Son, Daimon knew that things were not so simple now.
"He will come to face you eventually," the Daughter continued. "Not directly. He is not foolish enough for that. But he will come for those you love, for the things you have built, for everything that ties you to this galaxy. He will try to break you piece by piece, because he believes that is the only way to bring you down."
"He is not entirely wrong," Daimon said.
She looked at him.
"That is the difficulty of what I have built," he continued. "The Imperium, the people within it, my family, all of it represents leverage that an enemy can use. If I had remained alone, unattached, indifferent to outcomes, there would be nothing to threaten. But I chose otherwise."
"And you do not regret that choice."
"No. The alternative was a kind of existence that was not worth having."
The Daughter nodded slowly. "What will you do?" she asked.
"For now, I prepare. He will need time to build whatever he is building. Time to gather forces, time to consolidate whatever territory he has claimed. He will not move openly until he believes he has the strength to survive my response."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime, the Republic and the Sith will fight their war. The Imperium will continue to support the Republic indirectly. And I will hunt for him."
The Daughter turned fully to face him.
"You intend to find him before he is ready."
"I intend to know where he is. Whether I move against him before he is ready will depend on what I learn." Daimon looked out across the city. "He is not on any world that the Imperium has charted. That much I can tell. He has hidden himself somewhere in the Unknown Regions, in a place that even my surveys have not reached."
"The Killiks."
Daimon turned slightly. "What about them?"
"My father isolated Yoggoy long ago. He sealed it from the rest of the galaxy because the Killiks were dangerous in ways that most species are not. They are not individuals. They are a single mind wearing millions of bodies, and that mind is endlessly hungry. It does not negotiate. It does not compromise. It only grows."
"And you believe the Son has taken them."
"I believe he would have gone to them first," she said. "They are the only species in the galaxy that could accept his presence without resistance. The Killiks do not have the kind of individual will that would push back against a being like him. They would simply absorb him into their collective and call him a god, because that is what their nature allows them to do."
Daimon considered this. The strategic value was obvious. The Killiks reproduced at rates that no other species could match, and they did not require the kind of training and indoctrination that ordinary soldiers needed. A hive that accepted the Son as its center of authority would expand outward according to his will, building fleets, consuming worlds, and producing soldiers faster than any conventional empire could match.
"Yoggoy," he said. "That is the name your father gave the world?"
"It is the name the Killiks gave themselves. The first hive. Father did not name it. He simply isolated it."
"And the isolation?"
"Artificial. Father used the Force to obscure the system from outside detection. With him gone, that obscurement will weaken over time. Eventually, the system will become detectable through normal means. But by then, my brother will have had centuries to prepare."
Daimon thought that over in his head. The Father's death had consequences that extended far beyond Mortis itself. Every artificial constraint he had placed upon the galaxy was now beginning to unravel, slowly, in ways that would not be immediately visible but would compound over time.
"And do you know where it is," he asked.
The Daughter shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. It has been thousands of years since I last saw the Killiks. Plus, father made it so that we didn't know where it was, but I'm sure my brother found a way."
Daimon sighed. This was a problem, one that was unmeasurable because of the amount of unknowns that existed. But that wouldn't stop him.
"I will help however I can to stop my brother." said the Daughter. Her father was dead, her brother was now roaming the galaxy somewhere, ready to stir up chaos.
"I appreciate that, but now is the time for rest. Once you get better, than we talk about how you can help." replied Daimon.
The Daughter looked at him for a long minute wondering what was going through his head. For a long time, she had just her brother and her father. Now one of those things were taken away from her and all that remained was herself.
But it seemed Daimon was adamant about protecting her, which wasn't that shocking since she knew what type of person he was, but it was the first time another person was filling that role.
The two of them continued to talk for a few more minutes before heading back inside. Daimon was due to depart for where Chiss space was located soon, but there were some things he had to settle before he did leave.