Chapter X
With a sudden lurch, the Jade Sabre was dragged from hyperspace. Mara saw that the ship Kun was on was nearby, and scanned the nearby area for any sign of the ship they had been pursuing. What she saw instead was an immense swirling mass of gas and energy that marked the presence of a black hole. The Super Star Destroyer was obviously not here, but a much smaller craft was. "What is going on?" Luke asked from beside her. "We've run into a black hole that wasn't on any of our charts," she told him, recalling something from her days as the Emperor's Hand.
"I wonder if this is where the Vanishing Point was?" she said to herself. "What was that?" her husband asked. "Once Grand Admiral Batch had enough of the crystal he needed for his cloaking device, work began behind his back to protect the Empire's investment in the technology. Especially since it still had glitches they hadn't ironed out. The whole thing was scrapped just about the time I was sent after you on Tatooine, and I never did find out where it was supposed to be. Rumor had it that it orbited a black hole, though." "Why would Sival lead us here?" Luke wondered.
"We've got another problem," the bounty hunter's voice said over the comm, "I've been going over the records from Yavin and there wasn't ever a Super Star Destroyer in orbit while we were there." "You're saying that it was an illusion?" Luke said and Mara laughed. "I get it now," she said, "The more primitive cloaking devices use holographic emitters to take in their scenery and make the object look invisible. It can still be detected, if you know where to look." "So Sival led us astray while he goes on his merry way," another voice said over the comm. "It's probably too late to pick up his trail," Luke said. "Let us just hope that this is over," Mara told him.
"I presume that you have an explanation." Sival smiled thinly. "I don't answer to you, Captain, or to your Empire. Your men will testify that they fared far worse than I against our intruder." "If it was not for you we wouldn't have this problem," Xavyu said. "If you expect cooperation in disposing of the alien I will also want you to continue to follow my lead," the Sith said. "You said you had a plan," the Captain reminded him. "How long until we are at Kessel?" the Dark Lord asked. "Less than an hour," Xavyu told him. "When we get there our uninvited guest will be eliminated and we will finish the course we have begun to travel," Sival said. "What do you mean?" Xavyu inquired.
"We will be returning to Yavin," Sival told him. "That is contrary to our orders!" the man said. The Sith's reply was instant. His lightsaber flashed to life and bisected the weapon of the stormtrooper behind him. His blade severed the deck the Imperials were standing on and sent them crashing to the floor below. Xavyu began to rise and Sival brought the weapon around to face him. "I have the last word on the Apocalypz, Captain," the Sith snarled, "Not Grand Admiral Vhaldoq. You live at my sufferance." Then, outside the viewport he saw the mottled sky of hyperspace give way to stars. They had arrived within spitting distance of the Maw.
"You lied to me," Sival said tersely. "Yes," the Captain said, "Do what you wish with me. Grand Admiral Vhaldoq has decided that your usefulness has come to an end." Beside him, the intercom chirped. Reaching out with the Force, the Dark Lord activated it. "Sival here. Who is this?" he said. "Ah, so good to speak with you again," a rather familiar voice answered, "I think you will be pleased to know that I have disposed of a minor infestation you had. You'll also note that the onboard functions will be shutting down soon, and only respond to a command that I know." Sival closed the channel and turned to Xavyu.
"Abandon ship," he told the Captain. Xavyu looked at him as if he were insane. "Do it or I will gut the life-support systems myself!" Sival swore. Xavyu stepped over to the intercom and said, "All hands, this is the Captain. Abandon ship, repeat, abandon ship." "What's going on Captain? I didn't order you to evacuate," the familiar voice demanded. "Sorry, sir," Xavyu said, "Your adversary holds the high ground here. I'm certain that you will prove ultimately victorious." The Captain closed the channel, then he and the others left the Sith alone. Ready to face quite possibly his most dangerous foe ever; himself.
Like a horde of Tusken Raiders, Vhaldoq's forces descended on their latest target. Rashan watched the assault, which must have seemed negligible at best to those under attack. The random nature of the strikes the Grand Admiral was leading had to be causing all sorts of debate in the New Republic. It made him hard to predict and his targets quite vulnerable. "Word from the Apocalypz," Rashan told his superior, "They have been forced to leave the ship en masse."
"That could prove costly," D'ukal said, "Especially if our agent fails or something happens to the ship. However there is nothing we can do about it at the moment." "The Lusankya had also reported in," Kyle went on, "The system is secure and Captain Idanian has been transferred to the group monitoring the security of the shipyards." "What of the diversion we arranged for Skywalker and his group?" the Grand Admiral asked. "They stopped in the area briefly and then left," Rashan told him. "Instruct the fleet to enter hyperspace," Vhaldoq said, "It is time for our battle to progress towards its eventual conclusion."