[Legacy Of The Force] - 04(77)
And Dodonna’s probable death. The Galactic-class battle carrier, commissioned less than a year before, was being chewed to pieces by the Bothan forces pursuing her; she might not last long enough to flee the solar system. The constant pounding by the laser batteries of enemy cruisers and just as damaging, the missiles and torpedoes of enemy starfighters-was taking a terrible toll on Limpan’s flagship.
“Ready to enter hyperspace, Admiral,” her navigator announced.
“Launch,” she said.
The exterior view, brought in by the salon’s displays, showed the stars twist, become streaks of light-and then instantly revert to stars again, because this hyperspace jump was very short, not even leaving the system.
Centerpoint Station and the furious fight being waged around it appeared on the main display.
“Navigation,” Limpan said, “plot a course to send us on an approach close to the station-at optimal range for our batteries. We’ll make one pass and pour as much damage as we can into her. Then we’re outbound. Our next jump will take us to-Fenn, what’s the designation for the muster point you used for your initial assault on the system?”
Colonel Fiav Fenn, a female Sullustan, turned from her station computer. “Point Bleak,” she said. Fenn had been the aide to Limpan’s predecessor, Admiral Klauskin; Limpan had her own aide, but had transferred Fenn to starfighter coordination duty and was pleased with her work in that role.
“Once we’re past Centerpoint”- if we survive, Limpan thought-“our next jump will take us to Point Bleak. Communicate with all other Alliance forces, tell them to break off the engagement and join us there. Tell Errant Venture they have the option of joining us there.”
“Recommend against that course of action, Admiral,” Fenn said.
Limpan fixed her with a harsh look. “Explain that, Colonel.”
“If every Alliance force at the Centerpoint engagement zone jumps to the same spot in space, fine-the enemy can plot our direction but not the distance of our jump, so following us would be pointless. But if Alliance ships from six different engagement zones jump to the same location, all t lie enemy needs to do is triangulate, and they can find us within minutes.”
Limpan seethed quietly for a moment. She’d been promoted to admiral from captain during the peacetime after t lie Yuuzhan Vong war. During that war, she’d had to lead New Republic forces in retreat on more than one occasion, but she’d only commanded one ship at a time then. She knew the tactics of a full task force retreat in theory, intellectually, but they weren’t second nature to her.
Into the silence that had fallen in the command salon, Limpan said, “You’re right, Fenn. Good call. Navigation, relay the Point Bleak order to all our forces in this engagement zone. Communications, tell the coordinator of each separate engagement zone to find its own arrival spot just inside the system and communicate with us from there. ‘WI the same thing to the blasted gambling ship.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Limpan settled into her command chair and scowled at the main display, scowled at Fenn’s back. The chair vibrated beneath her as Dodonna sustained another torpedo lilt. More red lights flashed on the diagnostic displays.
Whole banks of turbolasers were failing. Shields were down to 68 percent efficiency and weakening. Life support was out on a dozen decks, the personnel there scrambling to get to safer areas. Several thruster banks had been destroyed, and more were being stressed past their operational limits. Persistent vibrations shook the Dodonna, a sign that accumulated damage was twisting her very framework.
Dodonna might survive this engagement, but she would do so in such bad shape that she would have to return to the shipyards immediately for repairs. She would be out of the mission for months.
More quietly, Limpan added, “Communications, let Blue Diver know that as soon as we reach Point Bleak, she’s to come alongside. I’ll be transferring the flag to Blue Diver.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Limpan saw several spines stiffen at the announcement. Good, she thought, they still have their pride. It was one thing they hadn’t completely lost.
Dodonna poured damage down onto Centerpoint Station, digging a latitudinal trench of melted metal and scoring to match the longitudinal one Blue Diver had gouged. But the pursuing Bothan and Corellian starfighters, unchecked by a sufficient starfighter screen, continued to hammer away at the battle carrier. Blue Diver broke away from the station to follow the flagship, using her batteries to eliminate as much of the starfighter pursuit as she could, but it was like a novice Jedi trying to protect a haunch of blood-warm meat from a swarm of piranha-beetles.