Chapter IX

The unexpected comes in many forms. All too often, it is in fact what we think will happen but it doesn't make any sense for it to actually occur. At least, that was what Rashan was hoping. "Enemy response minimal, sir," he said. "Of course," Vhaldoq countered, "They want to see what we're up to this time. Signal the Lusankya that they should begin the Vsea'r Bluff." Kyle relayed the order and a moment later the other Super Star Destroyer hung back to effectively block traffic from entering or leaving Sluis Van unchallenged.

"The relay station is scrambling fighters, sir," Rashan told him. "Fire the Ionic warhead," D'ukal instructed. As the Captain watched, one of their TIE bombers swung low over the planetoid and released its cargo. When the bomb struck, the station was shrouded by a hail of electrical energy that quickly disabled it. "Bring us to flank speed, Captain," the Grand Admiral said, "Initiate the countdown for the conclusion of the Vsea'r Bluff." The tractor beams of the Star Empire shot out to capture fragments of rock that served as a secondary set of shields as the Super Star Destroyer dove thru the defensive screen.

As ships moved to guard the planetary shields, the mammoth vessel released its temporary cargo onto the area that controlled their shields. Turbolaser blasts accompanied the barrage, soon penetrating and knocking out the control mechanism for the defensive screen. As the Star Empire swung about, Rashan glanced at his watch. Almost time, he thought. At the edge of the system, the Lusankya began to move thru the starfighter cloud to the center of the shipyards.

Vhaldoq calmly leaned over and opened a channel to the facility that he had just effectively stripped of its defenses. "This is Grand Admiral Vhaldoq," he said simply, "Surrender now and no more harm will come to you." An angry alien voice came back, saying, "We have no choice. You have decimated our defenses. We are not Coruscant; surrender is our only option."

"I'm glad you see it my way," Vhaldoq continued, "We will not be occupying the shipyards themselves with our forces, but the Lusankya will retain control of the surrounding space in my absence." "Acknowledged," the other said before D'ukal closed the channel. "That went well," Kyle decided. "Well enough," the Grand Admiral conceded, "Now we have bait that the leaders of the New Republic cannot possibly resist. The only question is when they will bite."


The conference had been brief and in the end both sides got what they wanted. So as Pellaeon returned to Yaga Minor to organize his forces and those assembled by Karrde, Garm Bel Iblis found time for other concerns. He had little idea of the nature of the room Gavin Darklighter had appropriated, but for the moment it doubled as a private conference room. Gavin motioned for everyone to be seated and said, "This session of Operation Hutts and Ewoks is now called to order."

The General blinked in confusion, then turned to Colonel Celchu and said, "Hutts and Ewoks?" Tycho smiled faintly, and said, "Long story; I'll fill you in later." Garm just nodded as Darklighter began to speak. "In case you haven't heard, the Lusankya is back in our territory again under enemy control. It's currently occupying the Sluis Van system. While we know that this is a trap, we've assigned our senior members to come up with the most likely scenarios our opponent will use," Gavin said. Bel Iblis snorted.

Even Gilad Pellaeon had little light to shed on how someone like Grand Admiral Vhaldoq might carry out his schemes. That lowered the chances for their success, but they had no choice but to press on. "Option one," Tycho said, "Overwhelming force. Vhaldoq stations so many people aboard Lusankya that no one could possibly board her successfully and anyone who did wouldn't last long." "Option two," Klivian said, "Sabotage. They rig the hyperdrive so that the instant we try to move her we'll plow right into a star or bounce off a black hole."

"Option three," Janson said, "Annihilation. The ship is set to blow itself up once the bridge crew gives the proper signal." Gavin said, "Obviously we need to prepare to deal with all of these. Hence we'll insert a team in engineering & just outside the bridge. We'll also assume that the Grand Admiral will use option four." Garm frowned & said, "What's that?" "Wedge-code again, sir," Wes told him, "Roughly translated it means all of the above."


Captain Randall led the stormtroopers to the edge of the landing bay as the dilapidated freighter lowered itself from the sky. Above, Qniyt-fighters flew by periodically. "Stay sharp," Randall advised his troops, "We don't want these creatures to get out of hand." Just then, the port repulsorlifts of the craft flared and died. Randall started to activate his comlink when the belly of the ship spit red fire at the door to the bay. As the metal wall melted and his men dove for cover, the repulsorlifts came back to life.

Above them, quad laser cannons took out a curious patrol of Qniyt-fighters as the ship began to rise. Randall frowned, wondered why they had behaved so strangely. It was then he heard a soft click of metal on metal and saw an object roll out the ramp of the vessel and fall towards the ground. Randall had no time to warn those under his command as the thermal detonator went off and reduced the landing bay to a crater.