Her fighters slotted neatly into their a.s.signed formations. Through the Force she could feel their pride, their sense of accomplishment. Her relentless insistence on drills and practice sessions had paid off. In the nearly three months since her visit to Mon Calamari, months filled with raids and skirmishes and alarms, she hadn"t lost a single pilot.
Three X-wings had been destroyed or so badly damaged they were sc.r.a.pped, but the pilots had always ejected before their craft were wrecked and were recovered afterward.
Her six rookies were now proud veterans, all with kills to their credit. A few weeks ago Jaina had astonished her Neimoidian wing-mate, Vale, by sitting with her at the breakfast table and engaging in a conversation that had nothing to do with tactics or with Vale"s deficiencies as a pilot.
Vale and the other rookies had proved themselves. They were worth knowing.
But though Jaina was friendlier than she"d been, she was careful to avoid actual friendship. Her determination hadn"t lessened over the months. She knew that the raids on Yuuzhan Vong territory had been carefully planned to take advantage of temporary enemy weaknesses. The attacks had been made only against outnumbered or ambushed forces, and were aborted if the enemy proved stronger than antic.i.p.ated. Often the enemy were second-rate troops, Peace Brigade or mercenaries or Yuuzhan Vong workers with scant warrior training who fell apart into a confused muddle once their yammosks were jammed. Jaina"s own rookies had been blooded, but they"d been blooded in battles where great pains had been taken to a.s.sure only victory.
Jaina knew that Twin Suns Squadron couldn"t expect battle on such favorable terms forever. Sooner or later the enemy would launch another offensive, and then her squadron would be up against first-line Vong warriors attacking from a position of overwhelming strength. It would make every fight her new pilots had experienced look like a playground skirmish between children.
The knowledge that the enemy offensive would inevitably come kept Jaina on edge. Just because things had been going well was no reason to relax. In fact, she had to be harder than ever in order to keep her pilots from slacking off due to overconfidence.
Fortunately, a few things kept Jaina from exploding with tension.
Kyp"s powerful and strangely stabilizing presence. Jacen"s otherworldly calm. Regular messages from her parents, from Luke and Mara . . . and from Jag Fel.
His squadron was still hunting Yuuzhan Vong on the Hydian Way, and with her he shared the frustrations of a veteran pilot training a large number of rookies.
She was confused about what she should allow Jag to mean to her.
She feared he was a distraction; that if she let him into her life, she"d lose her edge. But then moments would come in which she yearned for his embrace, felt the press of his phantom lips on hers . . .
It was lucky they were apart, she decided. If they were together, the turmoil of her own thoughts and desires might overwhelm her.
But a part of her very much wanted to be overwhelmed.
Her heart lurched as her c.o.c.kpit displays flashed. A Yuuzhan Vong task force had just left hypers.p.a.ce. Seven capital ships of varying sizes, all of them now venting squadrons of coralskippers. The Yuuzhan Vong defending Duro had called for help, but it had arrived too late.
For a moment Jaina waited in suspense. The two forces were nearly evenly matched. Kre"fey"s cruisers had taken little damage in their lopsided fight, and few fighters had been lost. The Jedi Force-meld was an advantage the enemy couldn"t match. A nearly bloodless victory had been won, and the New Republic forces were exultant. Morale was as high as it was ever going to get. If Kre"fey gave the word, his task force would fling itself on the enemy in absolute confidence of victory.
Kre"fey could win this, win two battles in a single day. He had to know that.
"Cruisers regroup," came the order on the command channel.
"Starfighters stand by for recovery and transit to hypers.p.a.ce."
Jaina"s felt the tension drain out of her, and the exultation, too.
Kre"fey was playing it safe.
He was probably right, she thought. This might not be the only enemy force on its way to help Duro.
But Jaina felt disappointment. She knew the Force was with her today, and might not be on the day of the next battle.
"I believe I"ve found the trap I"ve been looking for," Ackbar said.
"The trap that will spell doom for the Yuuzhan Vong." He floated in his pool at home, with Luke, Cal Omas, and Admiral Sow sitting in plush chairs on the rim. The room smelled pleasantly of the sea. Winter stood by with a holoprojector.
She switched on the projector, and a star map floated in the air over Ackbar"s head. Luke knew from the star density that it had to be somewhere in the Core, but otherwise the configurations of the stars were unfamiliar to him.
"This is Treks One-Fifteen-W," Ackbar said, as one of the stars blinked against the background. "It"s an old main-sequence star on the outermost fringe of the Deep Core, completely unexceptionable. As you can see from the overlay of our official hyper-s.p.a.ce route charts"-a narrow golden ribbon appeared on the display, a hypers.p.a.ce route leading to the blinking star-"Treskov is a dead end. But if we add the secret Imperial Core routes that Princess Leia brought back from Bastion . . ." Four other routes appeared on the display, marked in red and radiating from Treskov. "You see that unmarked routes from Treskov lead farther into the Core. One of these"-another blinking light-"leads to an Imperial star base code-named Tarkin"s Fang. The base was sealed and evacuated at the end of the Galactic Civil War, but otherwise remains intact and usable.
There is also a large cache of supplies stored at Tarkin"s Fang that the Empire intended to use in the event of renewed hostilities."
"Even Tarkin"s Fang is a dead end," Admiral Sow pointed out. "If we put forces there, they could be blockaded by any enemy who scaled the route to Treskov."
"I agree," Ackbar said. "And I intend the enemy to agree as well."
Perspective shifted on the holo, the display zooming to display Treskov and its system. The fifth planet out, a gas giant striped in white and several shades of green, began to wink.
"This is Ebaq, a gas giant with eleven moons. Of these, Ebaq Nine was once exploited by the Deep Core Mining Corporation for its deposits of bronzium. The moon was opened up shortly after the rise of Palpatine.
During the war years the Empire maintained an observation post there, and used Ebaq Nine as an emergency resupply point, but the moon is now empty."
Ackbar ducked his head beneath the water, refreshing himself, then shook stray drops from his ma.s.sive head. "I propose we reoccupy the moon and use it as bait in a trap. We must make it an irresistible target for the Yuuzhan Vong. And then, once the enemy begin their a.s.sault, we seal off the end and turn the Treskov system into a killing ground in which the enemy forces are hunted down and destroyed."
Ackbar turned to Sien Sow. "Admiral, it is you who must commit the forces necessary to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong."
And then Ackbar turned to Luke, and Luke felt a chill run down his spine. "Master Skywalker," the admiral said, "it is for you and the Jedi to provide the bait."
"I"m calling this meeting of the High Council for two reasons," Cal Omas said. "First, we must discuss Admiral Ackbar"s plan for a renewed attack against the Yuuzhan Vong. Second, Intelligence Director Dif Scaur has an announcement of critical importance."
Cal looked abnormally grim. He was usually relaxed at meetings, joking as he slouched his lanky body into its scat. Today he was erect and businesslike. Clearly something important was at hand.
The council members weren"t as crowded as they had been at their first meeting, even though they met in the same room, with the same overlarge table. The crowding had eased because fewer were present: Kyp Durron and Saba Sebatyne were at Kashyyyk, fighting with their squadrons, and had given their proxy votes to Cilghal and to Luke, respectively.
"I have no intention of communicating the details of Admiral Ackbar"s plan to this council," Cal said. "Its usefulness depends on secrecy, and in any case it"s irrelevant to the case I wish to put.
Ackhar"s plan requires detaching large forces from their current deployments and using them against the Yuuzhan Vong. This will mean that many of our squadrons now engaged in the defense of our worlds won"t be available in case the Yuuzhan Vong choose to attack."
[If our fleets are on the offensive,] Triebakk proclaimed, [the Vong will have more urgent things to do than to than to attack our planets. ]
"Sir, our briefings have indicated that many more ships will be available in six standard months or so," said the soft voice of Ta"laam Ranth. "Would it not be possible to delay our offensive until we can both defend our planets and attack the enemy?"
"My Gotal colleague has a point," Releqy A"Kla said. "It may be possible to delay any offensive until we have greater numbers."
"There"s a time limit on the admiral"s plan," Luke said. "We currently have a technological advantage over the enemy. We don"t know how long this advantage will last, so the admiral wants to move now."
"Delaying six months," Sien Sow said, "means the war goes on six months longer than it would otherwise. Six more months of killing and uncertainty and expense." He looked at Ta"laam Ranth. "Thousands of worlds are under threat. The fleet can"t defend them all, even with six months" worth of reinforcements."
"My colleague"s arguments are logical," the Gotal said. "I concede that an attack is logical."
"If I may interrupt," Dif Scaur said, "I"d like to bring my own business before the council. It may have a direct bearing on whether the New Republic wishes to go on the offensive or not."
Luke looked at the thin man with care. When Ackbar had first presented his plan, Scaur had been meticulous about discovering Ackbar"s timing. This had made Luke suspicious, and Luke"s suspicions had been confirmed at Council meetings. Scaur clearly had an agenda of his own, and it was an agenda with a timetable.
Scaur looked from one council member to the next. "I am now able to reveal the existence of a secret unit in New Republic Intelligence called "Alpha Red." It is headed by Oji Eicroth, a xen.o.biologist formerly belonging to Alpha Blue, another secret unit charged with Yuuzhan Vong affairs. Since the beginning of the war, Alpha Red has undertaken covert research on Yuuzhan Vong biology with the a.s.sistance of a team of scientists supplied by the Chiss."
Here it is, Luke thought. Something big, something very quiet that had gone on for at least two years without a breath of it getting out. In a government as porous as Borsk Fey"lya"s, that was a major accomplishment.
Unless Fey"lya himself didn"t know, Luke thought.
"Why Chiss?" Sien Sow asked, bewildered.
"The Chiss come from a hidden, remote section of the galaxy far from the Yuuzhan Vong invasion routes," Scaur said. "It was highly unlikely that the enemy would have infiltrated them."
Which means, Luke thought, that Scaur"s had contact with the Chiss for some time. He knew in advance that he could count on them to deliver.
"Our xen.o.biologists and geneticists have investigated Yuuzhan Vong genetics," Scaur continued. He placed his pale, thin hands on the table before him. "They have located a unique genetic signature in Yuuzhan Vong DNA, something common to all Yuuzhan Vong species-the plants, the living buildings and ships, the animals, the Vong themselves. This genetic signature is unknown in any plant, animal, bacterial, or viral life within our own galaxy."
"You"ve developed a weapon," Ta"laam Ranth said. Luke could feel surprise among the other council members, followed by apprehension and dread.
"Yes." Cal"s face was grim. "We have a weapon."
"A biological weapon," Dif Scaur said. "An airborne weapon that will attack only those plants or animals that possess the genetic signature of the extragalactic Vong. If the weapon is dispersed efficiently on enemy worlds, we calculate that the menace of the Yuuzhan Vong will be ended within four weeks at the most-probably three."
"What do you mean, ended?" asked Cilghal.
"I mean the Vong will be dead," Scaur said. "And everything the Yuuzhan Vong brought with them-all the plants, all the buildings, all the ships." He shrugged. "There may be some survivors in remote areas. But they"ll be infected if they travel to Vong worlds, and if they don"t, they can be hunted down." He glanced briefly at each of the council members.
"Biological weapons are notoriously capricious," he continued.
"Normally I would never recommend their use on a dispersed population like the Vong, but this weapon will be so effective that I consider it an exception to my usual rule. The Vong can"t escape it. It will attach to their genetics. There is a latency period of four or five days in which they will feel no effects, but will be infectious and contaminate everyone and everything they contact. After that they will begin to break down on the cellular level-their living tissue will dissolve into a fluid, and even that fluid will be infectious. They will be infected by their ships. Their weapons. Their armor. Their homes. Their food.
Everything in their environment will carry the disease. Once the breakdown starts, the Vong will be dead within three or four days."
Luke let the horror sink in. The horror was followed by anger-anger is a useful emotion, he remembered Vergere telling him-and he turned to Cal Omas.
"How long have you known about this?" he asked.
"Since I was sworn in," Cal said.
"Almost three months."
Cal turned his own eyes to Luke. "Master Skywalker, I"m extremely sorry. But you understand that the secrecy of this project was paramount."
"I understand your reasoning," Luke said. And I disagree, he thought coldly. Because if I"d known in advance, I could have prepared arguments against this. As it is, I can only make the arguments that occur to me, and hope the Force will be with me.
He looked at Dif Scaur. "You want to use the Great River to distribute this weapon, don"t you?" he said.
Scaur nodded. "That would be convenient."
Luke shook his head. "Jedi won"t touch this. I ask you not to require it of us."
Scaur seemed unsurprised. "The Great River isn"t vital to the project. Our own intelligence networks now extend into Vong s.p.a.ce. The fleet can deliver the weapon on missiles to enemy fleet targets, to s.p.a.ce facilities, or to planets. And the Bothans made Alpha Red much more convenient when they declared ar"krai on the Vong-the Bothan spynet is famously efficient, and Alpha Red will settle all their goals for this war." He shrugged his thin shoulders. "The Yuuzhan Vong themselves will do most of the distribution on our behalf, as their infected personnel and ships travel from world to world."
Ta"laam Ranth turned his red eyes to Luke. "Master Skywalker obviously objects to this plan," he said. "I wish he"d explain his protests."
Luke looked at the others. "The Jedi exist to preserve life. This slaughter of entire species runs contrary to our principles." He took a breath and summoned the Force and hoped that it would make his arguments as brilliant as they needed to be.
"Let me point out that the Yuuzhan Vong are not so completely unlike us," he said. "They are intelligent and educable. If you took one of their young and raised it, the child wouldn"t be unlike one of ours-their evil isn"t innate to the species. It"s their government and their religion that have made them aggressive, and it should be our task to defeat that government and religion, not to wipe out the common people who have had no choice but to follow their leaders,"
"The Yuuzhan Vong have done this to our worlds," Ayddar Nylykerka pointed out. "They"ve sown our worlds with life-forms that have killed everyone on the planet."
"Which is simply another point against the use of this weapon."
Ta"laam Ranth"s declaration surprised everyone at the table. "If we unleash this weapon against them, they could retaliate against us. We could lose worlds to Vong biologicals."
"Alpha Red is a defense against such an attack," Scaur said. "Alpha Red would destroy any biological a.s.sault the Vong could launch."
Triebakk gave a roar that brought silence to the table. [I know something of science,] he said finally through translation. [I know the word blowback.] He glanced at the others. [For those who don"t know this term, it describes a weapon"s unantic.i.p.ated side effects turning on the user. ] He looked at Dif Scaur. [You"re planning to distribute Alpha Red throughout Vong s.p.a.ce. Billions upon billions upon billions of live bacteria-or viruses, or whatever Alpha Red is-cast loose on viable ecosystems.] He shook his s.h.a.ggy head. [You can"t tell me that Alpha Red won"t mutate, not in all those replications. And you can"t a.s.sure me that one of those mutations won"t be harmful to us. Blowback could kill all of us, ]
"The Chiss a.s.sure me this is highly unlikely," Scaur said.
"Unlikely," Luke said. "Not impossible."
Scaur shrugged. "If this is a worry, we could quarantine Vong worlds until we can a.s.sure they"re safe. Refugees will be upset at not being able to move home immediately, but once victory is achieved, we should be able to pacify them."
Scaur had antic.i.p.ated every argument. He"d had months to prepare this. Luke had only this moment.
"You haven"t spoken of Yuuzhan Vong biological capabilities," Luke said.
Scaur raised an eyebrow. "I don"t understand, Master Skywalker."
"The Yuuzhan Vong have formidable biological knowledge," Luke said.
"They do everything through biotech. Can you tell me they haven"t antic.i.p.ated this form of attack? How do you know they aren"t ready for it? How do you know that once they sec we"re ready to commit genocide and ecocide both, they won"t retaliate in kind?"
?????? for the first time, Scaur seemed at a loss. "We see no sign of it."
[You don"t understand everything about the Vong,] Triebakk said.
[My guess is that you have at best a cursory knowledge of their immune systems. What if they"re ready for you?
Scaur hesitated. A corner of his eye twitched. "We have no evidence to show anything of the sort."
"Have you looked?" Luke asked.
Scaur seemed nettled. "Of course. We"ve captured and examined shaper facilities. We have a decent knowledge of the weapons they"ve used against us. We"ve captured their ships and examined them."
"Our knowledge of the enemy is deficient," Ta"laam Ranth said. His double-horned head turned slowly left and right, scanning the table.
"Clearly it would be illogical to proceed with this plan."
Dif Scaur"s face tautened, only increasing the death-mask effect.
"The weapon is fully tested," he said. "And that includes on live subjects." He raised a hand to cut off Luke"s explosion of protest.