In the green images of Beviin’s night visor, the clawed armor of the advancing Vongese warriors looked like a walking forest. There was nothing more he or his comrades could do. But fighting alongside those New Republic troops-yes, his gut not only wanted him to do that, it demanded that he did. But he turned away to follow the others back to their fighters and hated himself for it.
“And what happens when the New Republic praises its brave Mando allies for slipping intel to them?” he asked Fett. “Its going to happen. And ‘oops’ won’t cut it with the Vong.”
“Then I’ll swallow my nausea, and payday with the Vong is over.” Fett put his glove to his visor, and for a second Beviin thought be might actually take his helmet off. Instead he just wiped away a scrap of debris. “But we grab as many opportunities as we can to beat them. A day at a time.”
“At least the New Republic can evacuate the next target before they show.”
“Yes,” Fett said. “Let’s see what happens at New Holgha.”
“When the crab-boys finally decide to remodel Mandalore, we’ll be the last to know.”
“That’s what they’ll think, too,” said Fett. “Now let’s see if Cham got that pilot away safely.”
The pilot had, and they rendezvoused with Cham a few hours later. But Beviin couldn’t stop himself checking the status of Birgis. He knew he shouldn’t, but he had to find out.
He found out. There were no survivors.
Nom Anor: evaluation of the New Republic’s reaction to the invasion.
I hadn’t realized bow much the New Republic despises the Mandalorians.
Their role in the attack on Birgis is known to the New Republic command, judging by a message we intercepted, and tbe infidel seem to find greater release in bating their own kind even than in hating us. They seem to think this is just another mercenary group, though. They don’t know that Fett is leading them. That may be an extra psychological weapon I can exploit later.
Shirb system. Outer Rim: New Hoigha. three standard months into the invasion.
The Five Holy Cities of New Holgha should have been evacuated by now, but it was clear that the New Republic hadn’t acted on the warning, even though they’d denounced its source.
Could have been worse, Fett thought. They could have lauded us as Republic heroes and spoiled the fun.
With its long-range planetary defense radar sabotaged overnight. New Holgha became another world to fall to the Yuuzhan Vong almost without a struggle. Irs troops had been diverted elsewhere, but Fett had the feeling that they would have made very little difference in the long run.
He watched the Yuuzhan Vong warship, another miit ro’ik type, as it moved across the shattered city skyline looking as if it was … feeding.
“Sbab, it is,” said Beviin, uncomfortably close to reading his thoughts. “It really is.”
A giant dark-specked tube-at least double the length of the vessel-hung from the ships hull and trawled through the city below, sucking up everything in its path. It reminded Fett of a tornado. He watched through his macrobinocular setting as it inhaled buildings, trees-and people. The more he watched, the less he could take in what he was seeing. In a galaxy full of bizarre ways to die, this was a whole new level of the grotesque.
“They’re refueling.” Beviin was transfixed. “The thing is actually digesting everything. Disgusting.”
The Sarlacc parallels were strong. Fett had been convinced he’d shrugged off the nightmare of being digested alive. Now he wasn’t so sure. But if he was appalled in any way by what he was watching, he suspected it was for himself and not for the New Holghans.
“The New Republic didn’t believe us. Well, maybe they’ll believe us now.”
“They redeployed troops to defend Pedd Four,” said Beviin. He had his helmet under one arm and rubbed his forehead with the back of his gauntlet. He looked tired, probably from spending too much time flying back and forth to Mandalore between missions, where he seemed to he making preparations for the worst scenario-that although the “crab-boys” he’d come quickly to hate had pledged to leave the sector alone, they were going to break their word sooner rather than later. “So they think we gave them misinformation.”
Fett realized the New Republic didn’t know as much about Mandalorians as it thought. It’d judged them wrong. “And they’ll think a little bit of accurate intel was lobbed in for effect.” He checked the charge level on his blaster. “I’ll find a better way to convince them. I’m not giving up on the barves yet…”
“How long does it take to evacuate a planet anyway? Where do you put displaced worlds at a few weeks’ notice?”