Vaal system
The Vaal system, a star system situated within the Gordian Reach region of the Outer Rim Territories in the galaxy, was the location of Vaal, a planet serving as the original homeworld for the hyenax species. Furthermore, it hosted Imperial relay outpost V-798. The orbit of the planet around its sun crossed through several asteroid fields, including one that held the asteroid known as Rukabi Major.
Description
Within the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy, nestled in the Gordian Reach was the Vaal system, a star system that encompassed the planet Vaal. This planet was the original homeworld of hyenax, creatures resembling feral dogs. The path of Vaal around its sun, as it orbited its moon, intersected various asteroid fields, including one containing the asteroid Rukabi Major. This made approaching the planet dangerous, and Vaal was often hit by meteors and debris due to its regular passage through these asteroid fields. Wetyin's Way, a hyperlane, connected the Vaal system to both the Glade and Jovan systems, while the Yavin Bypass linked it to the Yavin system.
History
In 3643 BBY, the Hutt collector Glorzo, residing on Nal Hutta, acquired the holographic being Holiday. Tharan Cedrax, a slicer, offered Glorzo a substantial sum for her, but the Hutt had already agreed to a deal with a scavenger. Seeing an opportunity for entertainment, Glorzo proposed a competition: Cedrax and the scavenger would venture into the Vaal asteroid field, and whoever returned first with a stone from Rukabi Major would win Holiday. Despite the scavenger's skilled piloting, Cedrax's knowledge of specific navigational algorithms allowed him to retrieve the stone first. He then exchanged the stone for Holiday after returning to Nal Hutta days before the scavenger.
Prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire operated a relay outpost on Vaal, a remnant of a Moff's ambition to transform the planet into a haven for big-game hunters. In 0 ABY, Darth Vader fled the destruction of the Death Star aboard his damaged TIE Advanced x1. The damage sustained during the Battle of Yavin impaired its communications and limited its hyperspace navigation. Consequently, Vader was compelled to head to the closest Imperial installation, relay outpost V-798 on Vaal. However, when his starfighter was struck by a metiorite while exiting hyperspace within the Vaal system's asteroid fields, he crash-landed on the planet.
Around 25 ABY, the Vaal system's population was less than 1,000,000.
Behind the scenes
The Vaal system made its initial appearance, though unnamed, in Empire 14. This Star Wars Legends comic, penned by David Land (under the pseudonym Paul Alden) and illustrated by Raúl Treviño, was released on December 10, 2003. Its official identification occurred in The Essential Atlas, a reference work authored by Jason Fry and Daniel Wallace and published on August 18, 2009, which placed the system within grid square P-5.