On a mission by order of the Empress, Ania Solo and a contingent of stormtroopers search for Jao Assam and Darth Wredd. Arriving once again on the rogue planet where her adventures began, Ania encounters something no one expected—an army of Sith!
- Sith! Stormtroopers! Solo!
Following Ania Solo's kidnapping, the Imperial Knight companion Jao Assam suspends his quest to hunt down the rogue Sith Darth Wredd, who wanted to assassinate the Galactic Empress Marasiah Fel, the head of the Imperial Knights. After a grueling rescue mission, Ania was arrested for the alleged murder of the Imperial Knight Teemen Alton. However, Jao succeeds in clearing Ania's name by presenting evidence that the real murderer was a deceased bounty hunter who had tried to frame her for the crime. While Ania was acquitted and released by the Galactic Federation Triumvirate, Jao Assam is arrested and imprisoned for deserting the Imperial Knights, a crime which carried the death penalty. In prison, he was visited by his quarry Darth Wredd who helps him escape from prison. Jao decides to follow Wredd in order to foil his plot against Empress Fel. Meanwhile, Jao's friends Ania, the Mon Calamari Sauk, the assassin droid AG-37, and a force of Trandoshan stormtroopers are sent by the Empress on a mission to rescue Jao Assam.
After receiving Mala's coordinates from Jao, AG-37's freighter reaches the floating world which they had encountered earlier during the Carreras Incident a year ago. AG-37's freighter lands near the wrecked Carreras G51 communications array, which was destroyed in a collision with Mala during the Carreras Incident. After instructing her stormtroopers not to send any outgoing transmissions, Ania's rescue party explored a cave. Unknown to Ania, one of the stormtroopers held back and sends a transmission to an unknown party, later revealed to be the Fel Empire. Inside the cave, they found a captive Jao, who was being held suspended by several restraints. After freeing him, Jao revealed that Darth Wredd had intended to lure the Imperials to Mala. Shortly later, a fleet of civilian starships lands near the Carreras communications array.
It turned out that these new visitors are a large army of One Sith, who had learnt about Darth Wredd's whereabouts and were out to hunt and kill him. Believing that Ania and the Imperials are sheltering the rogue Sith, the Sith leader Fanoste, whose cover job was a diplomat, orders his followers to attack the Imperials and Ania's team. During the fighting, Darth Wredd resurfaces and aids Ania's party by killing several Sith with his lightsaber. He also hands Jao a Sith lightsaber, allowing the Imperial Knight to join the fighting. Despite their valiant resistance, Ania's party are quickly overwhelmed by the One Sith horde and are forced to retreat into the Carreras communications array.
During the fighting, Wredd and Jao succeeded in slowing down the One Sith advance by using the Force to push a wrecked portion of the communications array onto the One Sith horde, crushing many Sith. This enables Ania, Sauk, AG-37, and the stormtroopers to retreat to a trench position within the communications array. Sauk confronted the stormtrooper who had sent the transmissions and accused him of working for the Sith. However, the stormtrooper protested his innocence and stressed his loyalty to Empress Fel. At that point, Wredd arrived and stated that he was the real quarry of the Sith. During a heated conversation with Jao, Wredd tries to rationalize his actions by claiming that he is providing a service to the Triumvirate by rooting out Sith infiltrators. Wredd also reveals his plans to restore the Rule of Two and offers Jao a place as his Sith apprentice.
Jao rejects Wredd's offer and spurns the dark side of the Force, citing his loyalty to the Empress. Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of the One Sith army, who have caught up with Ania's party. In the midst of the fighting, Imperial reinforcements under Empress Fel herself arrive at the communications array. A flight of Predator-class fighters flew over the trench and strafed several Sith. After the One Sith reject an ultimatum by the Imperial authorities to lay down their arms, the Empress deploys her Imperial Knights and stormtroopers onto the battlefield, thus beginning the second stage of the Battle of the Floating World.
- Star Wars: Legacy Volume II Book 4—Empire of One
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Legacy Vol. 4