Heyo! Guess who's back? It's ya boi with another chapter that took way too long to write. I am sorry about the wait. However, it should be worth it. This is another plot heavy chapter. So, without further ado...

(Halo: Imperial Command Center)

The silence hung over the passageway like a sheet, ready to be pulled away at the slightest provocation. In the distance, Admiral Thrawn could hear the squelch of comlinks. Faceless stormtroopers guarded bloodstained walls. Their helmets hid whatever uneasiness they might have been feeling. As he walked, Thrawn took in the grey flooring and blue highlights. It had been years since he had stepped down here, yet he remembered every corner and doorway. The horrors of that mission, the lessons burned into his mind, rose to the surface with every passing step.

"I see a lot of blood, but no bodies," a voice said behind him.

Admiral Thrawn stiffened, suddenly remembering that he wasn't walking alone. He was being followed by a squad of black and red armored soldiers.

"They were gone long before we reached the surface," Admiral Thrawn answered.

"Where did they go?" pressed a second, female voice.

"Into the ring, Commander Versio. They went deep into the ring," he answered absently.

Silence fell back over the group as they made another left, followed by a right and two more downward ramps. At the base of the final ramp, they arrived at a large door flanked by two more stormtroopers. It was big enough for a Wookiee to pass through without ducking, and wide enough for three large men to enter side-by-side. On either side of the center seam were two angry-looking red lights. Admiral Thrawn offered his code cylinder to the Imperial access panel spliced into the door controls. The red lights flashed green, and the doors hissed open.

He stepped into a large, round room with a sealed door on the other side. The space was dominated by a holotable with cables snaking out in every direction. A Stormtrooper Commander snapped to attention as he entered, with the other two troopers next to him following suit a second later. On the opposite side of the room, a pair of engineers in grey coveralls stood around another door. There was no keypad on that door. Instead, the doors were welded shut, with durasteel beams forming an 'X' shape over the threshold. The engineers stared at the door, inspecting their work for any weaknesses or imperfections.

Time to go to work…

(ISD Executor: 1 week later)

Darth Vader stood up as the shuttle's engines changed pitch. His face settled into a look of grim determination as he felt his stomach drop. His legs quivered, ever-so-slightly, under the weight of his body.

"It will take time for your brain, nerves, and muscles to function together normally,"

Dr. Halsey's explanation had been cold and matter-of-fact. She had described his physical limitations with the same tone someone might use to forecast next week's weather. He was weak and he would remain weak for some time. These were simple facts to her.

Vader pushed the memory aside and squared his shoulders. His back straightened, while he called on the Force to steady his legs. On the Executor, there could be no weakness or vulnerability. He was Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, and he would conduct himself as such. The ramp dropped with a sharp hiss. He stepped down through the clouds of steam.

Waiting for him at the bottom were Commander Appo and Admiral Piett. Both men stood at attention with emotionless faces. However, Vader knew better. He could feel the agitation and excitement radiating off the men in the Force.

"Admiral, report," he ordered.

Piett blinked as he fell into step. Darth Vader did not care whether it was his voice or the scars that threw his man off. He only cared for what the officer had to say.

"Umm… Right… The message is working. Three star destroyers have made contact. Their crews were interested in joining the alliance. Two smaller patrol craft and an Aquience-Class ship arrived while you were in recovery," Piett reported.

Vader nodded once.

Stone face… Show nothing…

He repeated the words over and over as the admiral spoke. If he had learned anything with Halsey, it was that he had become far too comfortable with the helmet on. The woman had read him like an open book for seven days straight.

Vader's eyes narrowed.

"But…"

"But only the two patrol craft are running on full crews. Two Star Destroyers are missing their captains, and suffered from extended firefights through-out the ship," Commander Appo picked up. "Between the ships, they can call up about two hundred stormtroopers. We could form one full crew if we merge the naval personnel that are left."

"And what of the third ship?" Vader demanded.

"The ISB agent on board the ISD Hunter made contact. She is trying to rally the crew for a mutiny. She has information about a coming Imperial attack," Admiral Pett said.

"And the Captain?"

"She doesn't know. There was supposed to be an all-hands call, but that was days ago."

"We have heard nothing since," Commander Appo added.

Commander Appo turned to Piett with a look of suspicion. There was no explanation offered or needed. Each person had their own idea of what had happened, as did Vader.

"Let the Hunter tend to itself. Find out what you can about this coming counterattack, with or without that agent's help. I will address the newly arrived crews later today," Darth Vader said.

"Yes, my lord."

Vader froze mid-step. By now, they had crossed the length of the Executor's main hangar. Stormtroopers and crew members rushed back and forth, carrying out their various assigned duties. He could feel each person in the Force, as well as their general emotions. He felt anticipation and fear mixed with some boredom and loneliness. However, there was something else. Beyond the hangar, he felt another presence. It was one much different from the others. A second later, it hit him.

"How long has Tano been aboard?" Vader demanded.

"An hour, sir. She's waiting for you in the lower hanger," Admiral Piett said.

Vader shook his head free of the onslaught of memories. He knew she had joined the fleet. However, there had been an unspoken rule. She would not seek him out, and he would not seek her out.

So, why are you here?

"You two have your orders," Vader concluded.

"Yes, My Lord."

Darth Vader peeled off from the two officers and marched for the lifts further to the right of the main passage. He felt a rush of emotions flood through him as he stepped into the lift. The day of the surgery, he had been aware of her presence at the medical bay. However, today was different. He could feel it in the Force and in his mind. It was time to face her.

Ahsoka felt Darth Vader travel down the lift. It was a heavy darkness that permeated the Force. Encased within it was a broiling anger. This was white hot and ready to explode. The hangar door snapped open, causing her to take an involuntary step back. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the living shadow in the doorway.

What she saw made her skin crawl. Vader's skin was stretched and wrinkled across his face. In places, it appeared so thin that Ahsoka half-expected it to tear away like some monster ripping free of its human shell. His eyes burned with a sulfur yellow. They had reduced his life support suit to heavy black robes and a cape that swept down off his shoulders and enveloped his body. It stopped just short of his heels, ensuring that he still had a full range of motion. The image was completed with the same type of black gloves and calf-high boots that she had seen Anakin wear every day since meeting him on Christophsis all those years ago.

Silence hung in the room as they stared at each other. Seconds passed and Ahsoka thought she could feel something else. Was it exhaustion? Fear, maybe? Vader made it almost impossible to tell.

"All of that work and you're still the man who entered the surgery room," Ahsoka finally said.

Vader stepped forward. The sound of his boots echoed off the walls.

"Anakin was a fool. The galaxy is better off with him dead," Vader declared.

Ahsoka winced. To hear Vader's words in Anakin's voice was like taking an emotional blaster bolt. She took a deep breath and stared at the Sith. Upon second thought, she'd rather just be shot at this point.

Vader hid his pain well, but there was no way to fully suppress the weakness he still felt. She could see his chest heaving up and down under the robes, while his eyes never quite knew where to look.

"What happened to you?"

Vader froze. His body turned stiff as they locked eyes. Ahsoka willed herself not to squirm as his yellow eyes cut through her.

"You were wise to leave the order when you did," Vader said. "Trust, once broken, can never truly be mended. I see now that it would have been better for me to leave with you."

Ahsoka nodded. Darth Vader tilted his head slightly, breaking eye contact.

"Have you met the boy yet?" he asked.

"I have. He reminds me of his father."

Vader snickered. For the briefest of moments, she could see the pride of a father… Anakin's pride shining into the darkness. Then it was gone. Darth Vader snuffed it out with a scowl.

"And his sister takes after their mother."

Like Luke, Leia shined like a beacon in the Force. However, the Alliance had made her calling clear. She may be a diplomat and a fighter, but she was no Jedi. It was an arrangement that Ahsoka could accept.

"She does," Ahsoka agreed, "You still haven't answered the question."

Darth Vader's face darkened as he came back to the question at hand. Ahsoka stepped forward, steadied by her own stubbornness. Her face silently demanded an answer. Vader shifted his feet, attempting to hide his unease behind physical weakness. Ahsoka glared as she felt Vader reach out to her in the force. He pried at her mind like a set of icy fingers. She set her jaw and pushed back, careful to keep him away from the things that truly mattered.

"What happened on Malacore V is over," Vader announced, "Why else are you here?"

Ahsoka let out a barely audible groan. Darth Vader had no intention of revisiting the past. As much as she needed to know what happened to her former master, she would not get it from him. For now, she would have to focus on their current set of problems.

"I want to know what you found on Koraban," Ahsoka announced.

Silence fell again. However, this time, she could see his eyes moving. They traced the corners of the room and pierced the long shadows cast by the stacks of metal cases. Again, a dark hand pried at her mind in the Force.

"There was a time where we trusted each other. We put our lives in each other's hands and trusted each other with our secrets. That has to mean something to you," Ahsoka pressed.

Vader scoffed.

"It is not you I worry about. It's whoever sent you."

"No one sent me. There is no admiral, spy, or group that brought me here," she said. "I came here because I refuse to stand idly by as the galaxy burns."

Darth Vader nodded once.

"You have heard of the Ring?" Darth Vader asked.

"Halo?"

"Yes."

"I have. Galaxy-destroying super weapons seem to be a time-honored tradition in this galaxy," Ahsoka grumbled.

Vader began pacing again.

"I went to Korriban looking for information about it. If anyone had found this before, it would have been the ancient Sith," Vader explained, "However, something happened."

As he spoke, his words slowed down to a very slow and intentional pace. Fear pulsed in the Force before being violently smothered by Vader. Ahsoka's blood ran cold.

"What happened? What did you find there?"

"It is not about what I found. It is about what found us," Vader said. "We became separated in a sandstorm, and it led Luke down into the catacombs below."

He paused again, letting the gravity of what happened sink in with his former padawan.

"Something awoke on the Halo Ring and it found us on Korriban."

Ahsoka's eyes frowned. She knew that tone.

"And you know what it is, don't you?"

"No."

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. Anakin may have been dead, but his facial cues still read the same.

"But you have your suspicions," she accused.

"The Halo ring was both a weapon and a prison. Admiral Hood spoke of a race called the Flood that was held there," Darth Vader said, "I do not know the details of these beings, but they're dangerous enough that both him and the Arbiter were willing to condemn their societies to Imperial invasions if it meant their final destruction."

Ahoska stood silently as he spoke, mentally cataloging every detail for later. His voice grew severe as he continued.

"In my final act of hubris, I refused to believe him. Nothing that evil or that powerful could hide within the Core without someone noticing."

"And now you fear the Empire has released them."

Vader nodded in agreement.

"But why? They had to have known. There should have been signs that this… this thing… It's dangerous," Ahsoka demanded.

"Yes, which is exactly why Darth Sidious allowed it to be released. Either he will destroy the Flood, further increasing his own personal power, or he will die and the Empire destroyed," Darth Vader confirmed. "Either outcome is acceptable to him."

Ahsoka didn't answer. Her mind raced. Something was wrong. Vader's war, the alliance with the UNSC and Storm, and Thrawn's disappearance all made sense. However, the image they created… This couldn't be it. After all he had accomplished and all he had lost, this could not be Vader's end game.

"You never expected the Empire to rally around you," Ahsoka leveled an accusing finger. "You were only interested in destroying what Sidious had built while he was still alive."

She wanted him to deny it. She wanted him to fire back with all of the arrogance he once had. Ahsoka wanted him to spell out all of the reason she was wrong. Yet such an argument never came.

"He will watch as we strip away his power from him, one planet, one ship, and one body at a time," Darth Vader snarled. "The galaxy will burn and he will die with it."

Ahsoka could hear her heart pounding in her ears, breathing became harder by the second, and she could feel cold beads of sweat on her arms. Everything hurt. His death was something she could have accepted. Seeing him again she could suffer through, but to see this… this thing… running around in his body, and conceiving this horror of a plan, was almost too much. It felt as if someone has ripped open every wound and scar at once.

"And whatever the Flood destroys is something that you don't have to," she choked out.

Vader's bitter, yellow eyes zeroed in on the hand moving over her lightsaber.

"No. The Flood are counter to everything I wanted to accomplish. What good is destroying the Sith if something far worse takes their place? I came to fix my mistakes, not add to them," He said.

Ahsoka stared at him. She didn't dare to feel any hope as he began again.

"As for the Moffs and the Fleet, they will sort themselves out. Enough will come to me, while others will strike out on their own. Sidious will die as everything he built collapses around him."

Ahsoka crossed her arms.

"Then what do you plan to do with the Flood?"

"We've lost already. I can feel it in the Force, just as Darth Sidious does. All that matters is ensuring that he dies."

"But you just said that he would use them to gain more power. We can't kill one without killing the other."

"Defiance is a hallmark of the Sith. The Flood is a creature of immense strength and willpower. He will try to bend it to his will," Vader continued, "Whether he fails is irrelevant."

Ahsoka shook her head. The years raced through her mind. She thought of the people she had lost and those she cared about. She thought of Rex, Luke, and the others still fighting.

"This isn't the end. We've fought too long and too hard to just give up," she protested. "There has to be a way to stop them both."

"Everything you and I fought for is dead!" Vader roared. His voice echoed off the walls, propelled by a sudden burst of anger. "Our time has passed. The Republic is gone and I cannot save the Empire. All that we can hope to achieve is a blank slate for those who come after us."

Ahsoka didn't respond. By now, she couldn't tell if Vader was completely insane or the only rational person in the room. In the recesses of her mind, she wondered if it even mattered anymore.

"There is only one way this ends."

"We need to act fast. With any luck we can—"

Suddenly, the ring appeared in her mind. There it spun, encased in the vacuum of space. A white ball of energy built in the center before suddenly releasing. A wave exploded outwards, everything flashed white, and she was back on the Executor, her mouth open in a silent scream.

She could only stare at Vader as her mind tried to wrap itself around what she had just seen. The Force trembled as the yellow in his eyes deepened. Whatever she had witnessed was cataclysmic beyond what she could truly understand.

"No–How–We're trying to save the galaxy, not end it!" Ahsoka shouted.

"There is no threat or promise. There is only what will happen," Darth Vader announced. "If there is a way to avoid such a fate, I will take it. Until then, only one thing matters."

Ahsoka's stomach rolled. She staggered backward. She couldn't breath. She was in a room full of breathable air and she couldn't get any of it into her lungs. Ahsoka bent over, hands on her knees as though she had just run a marathon.

"There– There has to be a way." She sputtered between gasps.

The room appeared to dim around her. Darth Vader towered over her like a living void. She could feel the darkside pressing in around her, squeezing the room tighter and tighter.

"I have made my peace. I suggest you do the same," Darth Vader said.

Ahsoka violently shook her head. This couldn't be the end. Not here and not now. She pulled herself upright and pushed past Vader. She didn't know where she was going or what she would do. However, she couldn't stay here.

Darth Vader never turned as his former apprentice stormed out of the room. Underneath a carefully curated image of control, his mind was racing. Even in his own mind, his plan reeked of lunacy. He was placing all of his faith, every lie and dead body, on a carefully orchestrated set of events. Either the galaxy itself would bend to his designs or be condemned to a fate far worse than the hellfire that had flashed through Ahsoka's mind.

"We're out of time," he growled.

As he spoke, he staggered into the center of the room. With Ahsoka gone, he was far less interested in keeping up appearances. There were far greater tasks at hand. He stood tall as he closed his eyes. Vader felt the cold air flood his lungs as he breathed in. He let it out and reached out into the force.

In…

Out…

The breaths came deep and regular. Darth Vader squeezed his hands. He felt the coarse fabric of his gloves. He balled his fingers up tighter and smirked at the pain. After forty years of servos and numbness, any sensation was a welcome sensation in his right hand.

"One…"

Vader opened his right hand and reached for a pouch on his belt.

"Two…"

He felt cold durasteel and crystal. As pushed the air from his lungs, Vader could feel the Darkside enveloping him.

"Three…"

As he produced the holocron, Darth Vader felt something like a cold hand gliding down his forearm. It was slow and meandering, like the playful touch of a coy lover. The holocron was a small pyramid structure that bathed him in a red glow. Through the light, he could make out ancient glyphs and characters. The language was long dead, only spoken by a select few in the galaxy—himself and Darth Sidious.

(ISD Executor: 2 Days later)

"No, I haven't spoken to Tano. She's been quite elusive over the last few days," Agent Dare said into her earpiece.

"Find her and find out what she knows. I need answers," demanded Admiral Hood's voice, "What about Admiral Piett?"

"Just landed. I'm going to the bridge now."

"Understood. Infinity, out."

The link clicked off and Agent Dare paused. She had been so focused on her conversation with Admiral Hood that she had lost track of where she was. She stood in the middle of an intersection. Identical gray and black passageways took off in opposite directions. In the distance, a group of stormtroopers shared a conversation. She ignored them in favor of a door placard.

03-1526-7

Agent Dare took in the information and rolled her eyes. Whomever had built this thing had built a maze. Whereas the Infinity with grid-like passages crisscrossing the space between the MAC guns and the flight deck, the Executor had several smaller hangers tucked away on different decks and corners of the ship. It was almost impossible to actually land near the bridge or any other command-and-control center. The crew seemed to manage the layout well enough, but for newcomers, it was a hopeless mess of wandering passages and oddly placed rooms. It made the lack of a passenger tram system especially painful.

The good news is that she hadn't actually gotten lost. She was exactly where she expected to be. The bad news was that Agent Dare still had a way to walk. As she drew closer to the bridge, she started smoothing out the wrinkles in her uniform. She ran the palms of her hands over her hair and made sure her ponytail was tight. As the guard at the bridge-access lift checked her ID, she made sure her holster and collar pieces were straight. The Empire seemed to put a premium on appearances.

"Alright. Leave your sidearm here," the Stormtrooper demanded.

Agent Dare nodded and gave her boots one last glance as she unsnapped the holster. She traded the ID for her pistol and stepped into the lift. As the lift shot up to the bridge, she mentally rehearsed what she needed to do. The questions swirling around Death Squadron and what exactly Vader knew and didn't know were coming to a head. The UNSC needed answers. They needed to understand what was happening in that mind of his, and there seemed to only be one opening.

The door hissed open to the Executor's war room. It was a massive space painted grey and filled by a holotable, not unlike the one on the Infinity's bridge. Beyond that were the various consoles and workstations that handled the ship's propulsion and fire control functions.

At the front of the room stood Admiral Piett. He was a short, lanky man tucked neatly into a solid grey uniform with calf-high black boots. At present, he was staring out of the forward view ports. To Agent Dare, it looked as though he was trying to will more ships out of the darkness. She stepped into the room with squared shoulders and a set jaw. As she passed the holotable, an officer–a commander if she remembered their ranks correctly–marched up to Piett, only to be waved away. She made her way past the war room and was well into the bridge when Admiral Piett finally spoke.

"Agent Dare, to what do I owe this visit?" he asked.

She paused in the middle of the bridge, the two abyss-like crew pits filling either side of her peripheral vision.

"I have some information that you might be interested in," Agent Dare announced.

As she spoke, she held out a datapad. Admiral Piett turned around. His eyes turned down to the datapad and then back up to her. They narrowed as he grabbed the datapad from her hand.

"Are the comm channels down?" he asked.

"This information is for hand-delivery only."

Admiral Piett hastily skimmed through the pages on the screen. His look of suspicion turned to concern as he pushed past the agent.

"So it would seem," he muttered.

Agent Dare raced to keep up with Admiral Piett as he marched to the holotable. He jammed his code cylinder into the control console, followed by a flurry of keystrokes.

"Who else knows about this information?" he demanded.

"You, Admiral Hood, the Arbiter, and I," she answered.

Her voice was flat and matter-of-fact as a galactic map materialized above the table. The swirl of stars, planets, and gasses were enveloped in a web of green, yellow, and red lines. Admiral Piett was silent as he stared at the map. To Agent Dare, it looked like an unintelligible mess of lines and symbols. However, to Piett, it obviously meant a lot.

"And the Alliance?" he finally asked.

"No."

Admiral Piett's eyes narrowed again. His lips pursed and his jaw tightened.

"What are you not telling me?"

"The time of crackpot insurgents and hopeless idealism has passed. We're at war, and that means working with the people who know how to actually conduct a war," Agent Dare added.

Admiral Piett laughed to himself. His look of suspicion cracked in favor of amusement. Although Agent Dare couldn't detect any actual humor in his expression.

"Did you come up with that yourself, or did Admiral Hood write it?" he asked as he rotated the map.

Agent Dare shrugged. Admiral Piett stared at her for another few seconds before turning the map on its side. He highlighted a section and zoomed in on it. All the lines and the stars disappeared until there was just a small grouping of them, with three lines coming in from Agent Dare's side of the table and one going out on Admiral Piett's side. Admiral Piett looked down at the datapad one more time before tossing it on the table.

"Let me put this into clear, basic human terms," Admiral Piett said as he leaned forward. "What does ONI want?"

"Who says we want anything?"

Admiral Piett rolled his eyes.

"It is one thing to share facts and ideas with your allies. It is another to give someone you barely trust access to the raw data, provided by a fleet of ships so secret and clandestine that you refuse to say where they are or what they are capable of," Admiral Piett elaborated, "So, I will ask again. What does ONI want?"

Agent Dare let out a deep sigh. As paranoid as his accusation sounded, he wasn't wrong. While she had scrubbed the reports of all information that would explicitly implicate their prowlers in this recon mission, a trained eye could easily spot their greasy fingerprints all over the final product.

"In the short term, it's a matter of practicality. Admiral Hood and I both agree that this fleet is part of a major Imperial build-up. However, we simply don't have enough context to draw any specific conclusions," Agent Dare answered.

"What about the Arbiter?"

"He agrees. However, their sudden disappearance has him confused as well," she answered.

Admiral Piett nodded. As she spoke, she could see the gears turning in his head. The frown on his face when she said "short term" told her all she needed. He understood the deal being offered.

"What you're looking at is The Maw Cluster–Simply 'The Maw' outside of academic circles," Admiral Piett explained. "It's an ever-shifting mass of black holes and dying systems. While considered unnavigable, there are a few narrow passages where a skilled captain could guide their ship into one of the stable zones."

"And the Imperial Fleet specializes in 'skilled captains'."

Admiral Piett gave her a smug look.

"I suppose it wouldn't look very good if I said no."

"It explains why the ships disappeared so suddenly," Agent Dare summarized. "The black holes would absorb any outgoing emissions."

Admiral Piett nodded.

"Lord Vader and I discussed using it as a staging area for the same reason," he added.

"Why didn't you?"

Admiral Piett's face tightened and his eyes turned upward as he chose his words.

Admiral Piett pointed to the far left line on Dare's side of the table as he answered, "He felt it would be too much risk. Deploying the fleet out of the Maw would be too slow and dangerous of a process, even with one of the better mapped routes."

Agent Dare stared at the map. Admiral Piett was holding something back–whether it was a disagreement with Darth Vader or something else, she wasn't sure. Agent Dare made a mental note to tug on that string later.

"But going the opposite way wouldn't be as much of a problem," she noted as she pointed across the table, "They've had ample time to move ships into The Maw, and the exit route over there has a much wider opening."

"That would be correct. Make the short jump to Kessel, come around to bearing three-four-three, and jump again. Rothana is only a three-hour flight from there. It would take some time to filter all the ships out of The Maw and into a stable orbit around Kessel. However, it's a backwater mining planet with one way in or out, and no stable government. Blacking out that planet wouldn't be hard," he answered quickly, his voice growing more severe, "Agent Dare. I believe you found the source of our mystery counterattack."

(ISD Ravager: High orbit over Kessel)

The star was dying, just like the planet his fleet was orbiting. The planet, smaller than most moons, swung around the star with reckless abandon. The maze of black holes pressing in around them threatened to rip the planet from the star with every rotation.

Fleet Admiral Rax let out a sigh as another star destroyer slid into position along the port side. The pale light gave the ship a ghost-like glow. In his mind, the chess pieces moved again. Orbiting the planet were two Executor-Class Star Destroyers, Twenty-five Imperial Star Destroyers, as well as every Aquience and Interdictor-Class cruisers they could readily get their hands on to round out the force. It was a truly impressive display of firepower huddled up around the planet. Rax had seen entire planets reduced to ash by less.

Pop - Hiss!

Rax smirked.

"Some by Thrawn and some by you," he muttered.

The sound of boot steps echoed off the walls of the bridge. The Admiral, clad in an all white uniform, came to a stop. His face bore a look or perpetual displeasure, while the light reflected quite well off his greying hair. If Admiral Thrawn commanded respect through his battle prowess and extensive list of successes, this admiral commanded it through sheer force of will and title.

The perfect man for the mission. Rax smirked.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Admiral Versio?" he asked.

"Admiral Kozna has arrived," Versio announced. "However, she is missing a ship. The Hunter made its rendezvous with the resupply ships, but it never arrived at her staging area."

Rax continued to stare out at the fleet.

"Communications?"

"None."

"Transponder?"

"Nothing on Imperial channels, and her IFF is no longer transmitting either. According to Outerrim Command, the Hunter stopped transmitting two days ago," Admiral Versio explained.

The Fleet Admiral smoothed out his uniform, pushing the imaginary wrinkles out of his sides with a downward stroke of his hands.

"That is unfortunate. Prepare the fleet to move. The time has come to put an end to this rebellion," he ordered.

Admiral Versio frowned. His face twitched as though he might say something. However, the words never left the confines of his mind.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral."

In the depths of Rax's mind, something stirred. Was it anticipation or was it dread? Rax could not be sure. The disappearance of the Hunter mattered little. Perhaps her reactors had failed, or it had run into whatever Grand Admiral Thrawn had been sent to fight. It was just as likely that her crew had joined the traitors. Regardless, their lives were nothing in the scheme of what was to come.

Years of preparation and training had brought him to this point. They had brought him up to the seat of power and placed the fate of the galaxy in the palm of his hand. All was proceeding as the Emperor had foreseen. The galaxy was burning. The Hunter–this fleet—was but kindling for the fire, and out of the ashes, he would claim what was his.