“Forgive me for spoiling your fun,” Luke said. “But that’s exactly what we shouldn’t be doing.”
“What?” Pellaeon tore his gaze away from the dome. “The Killiks might as well be dead already. They can’t possibly escape us.”
“Probably not,” Luke agreed. “But we’re not here to destroy an enemy fleet. We’re here to stop this war.”
“In my experience, they’re one and the same,” Pellaeon snapped.
“Yes, but your experience doesn’t include Killiks.” Luke’s reply was blunt; he had to persuade the admiral to switch tactics now. Once the fleet started to deploy its fighter wings, changing battle objectives would become impossible. Not even Pellaeon was a good enough commander to recall several thousand starfighters, change formations, and continue the attack with any expectation of success. “Admiral, we have to concentrate our resources on retaking the Admiral Ackbar and neutralizing Raynar Thul.”
Pellaeon arched his gray brows. “You know for a fact that Raynar is aboard the Ackbar?”
Luke nodded. “I’m certain. I feel it in the Force.”
“Then you don’t need an entire fleet to trap him,” Pellaeon countered. “Admiral Bwua’tu’s task force should be more than sufficient to support you.”
“You’re missing the point, Admiral,” Luke said. “Destroying the Colony’s fleet will delay the war, but it won’t end it. The Killiks will only rebuild and be back with an even larger force next year.”
“Then at least we will have bought ourselves some time.” Pellaeon shook his head. “I’m not going to commit everything to neutralizing one man, Luke. If you fail-or if you’re wrong, and removing Raynar doesn’t cripple the Colony-we will have squandered the opportunity for a great victory.”
“That’s sound military doctrine, of course,” Luke said. The Mothma and the A’Kla were now moving into shielding positions just ahead of the Megador. “But if you follow your plan, Raynar and Lomi Plo will defeat us-because we’ll have lost sight of our true goals.”
Pellaeon’s eyes remained hard-perhaps even angry-but he did not interrupt.
“Let’s assume I do neutralize Raynar and Lomi Plo without the fleet’s full support,” Luke continued, “and that you destroy the entire Killik fleet. Your strategy will only prolong the war.”
“You’re making no sense, Luke,” Pellaeon retorted. “Without Raynar and Lomi Plo, the Killiks won’t he able to rebuild their fleet. You’ve said yourself that neutralizing those two will destroy the Colony’s ability to coordinate its nests. Are you telling me it won’t?”
“I said removing Raynar would eventually destroy the Colony,” Luke corrected. “And you’re forgetting the Chiss. If you wipe out the Killik fleet here on Tenupe, what do you think the Chiss are going to do next?”
“Thank us,” Pellaeon said. “Perhaps they’ll finally believe that we’re not siding with the Killiks.”
“They’ll know that if we focus on recapturing the Ackbar and neutralize Raynar and Lomi Plo,” Luke said. “What they won’t do is use that fleet down there to continue pressing the war against the Colony.”
Pellaeon’s eyes flashed in alarm; then he scowled and studied Luke as though they were meeting for the first time. Outside, the edges of the observation deck were laced with ion trails; the rest of the fleet was moving into attack formation.
Finally, Pellaeon spoke in a disbelieving voice. “Master Skywalker, I do believe you’re suggesting that we leave the Chiss fleet to its own resources.”
Luke nodded. “It would be for the best,” he said. “They were obviously willing to sacrifice much of it anyway.”
“Before their parasite weapon was compromised,” Pellaeon pointed out. The Megador had barely emerged from hyperspace before the Falcon had commed an update of the situation on Tenupe. “I suspect they’re no longer eager to lull the Killiks into a false sense of security. This battle is going to be bloody.”
“No doubt. But it might be wise to let the Chiss have a good taste of what the Killiks can do. Otherwise, the Ascendancy will continue pressing the war-they’ll find another way to deploy their parasite weapon.” Luke paused, then continued, “As excited as you are about this battle, I know you don’t want speciecide on your conscience.”
Pellaeon’s eyes flashed, and Luke thought maybe he had gone too far.
Then the admiral sighed. “It isn’t the killing, you know,” he said. “It’s the beauty of battles that I love-the choreography and the challenge of executing everything just right-and the challenge of matching your wits against a capable opponent.”