Now. Drop the shields, we’re going to crash, let us through, for pity’s sake help us…
“Shields down!” It wasn’t Nevil’s voice, but that of the weapons officer. Caedus was still drifting in that fog of minds, drowning in their panic and urgency, and not here with the ship that was going to unleash their worst nightmare. “Cone section, fire when ready…”
Caedus tried to snap back at the moment the airburst sent a blinding, searing shock wave across the packed city, but he was a fraction too late, and he caught a moment of pure animal terror that took his breath away. He jerked alert in his seat, wanting to complete a scream that wasn’t his. He caught it in time. If he’d screamed-well, the crew thought he was crazy anyway.
On the monitor, he could see a fireball spreading and debris billowing up into the atmosphere on a plume of rolling smoke. Now he needed other GA vessels to turn toward the planet and press home their advantage. He wondered if he could even move. He was drained, and for a moment he couldn’t even grip the arms of his seat. “Sir…”
Caedus looked up into Nevil’s face, suddenly reminded that the Quarren once had a son, but Caedus had forgotten his name. And I had a daughter. She’s lost to me now. It was a sentimental thought totally at odds with being a liv-ing weapon. He suspected it was an echo from being in the minds of people who feared the worst for their own loved ones.
“Sir, Admiral Niathal is on the comm.”
“Tell her to wait. We need to hit Fondor hard now, be-fore their fleet closes in on us.”
The colors were coming back. The bridge looked familiar again.
Caedus’s head was clearing, and he could see the overlay in his mind again, the biggest cities on the planet and the infrastructure that he would need to cripple to bring Fon-dor to its knees. It was like being in a pleasant trance; not fully in the present, but aware, and unwilling to snap out of it because it felt so still and perfect-as if everything in the galaxy suddenly made sense and had an answer. He was vaguely aware that the captain had darted away. He was probably stalling Niathal from another comm position so he could gripe about Caedus unheard. No matter. He could gripe all he wished.
“Take us in, “Caedus said to the helm officer. “Close as you can.”
Chapter 14
Officer of the deck’s log, Galactic Alliance warship Anakin Solo:
1300: At action stations.
1330: At action stations.
1349: Escape pod launched from Bank 9-Alpha. Captain Kral Nevil missing, presumed unauthorized absence.
GALACTIC ALLIANCE WARSHIP OCEAN, OFF FONDOR
Jacen wouldn’t take Niathal’s comm, but she wasn’t sure she’d believe what he told her anyway. She focused on the information she had, provable stuff flowing back from the battle.
The holochart changed before her eyes. One moment the inner cordon was a tangle of blue and red transponder icons, and the next the red icons were separating out fast and heading for the planet.
She could hear the voice of Captain Tarpilan in her head-set, as if he’d woken up sober and hadn’t a clue what he’d been up to last night. He was apologizing for his language in a confused tone. GA ships were still locked in battle, but as Niathal switched from ship to ship, the contrast between the manic mood of a few moments earlier and the normal level of grim tension during combat almost felt like calm had descended.
“Tell me this isn’t a feint, “she said. “If they’re playing dead, and he’s fallen for it, we’re borked.” She didn’t use the word often, but it was a blessed release right then. She got ready to pull her ships out, just in case, trying to check again who was where, who was still in one piece, who needed urgent assistance, who had no propulsion or had jettisoned escape pods. Jacen had effectively split off from the fleet.
“If Fondor’s scamming us, “Makin said quietly, “they’re taking the special effects a little too seriously…” He touched Niathal’s arm to get her attention. “Look.”
Some X-wings had penetrated Fondorian space far enough to get detailed aerial reconnaissance of the ground. Visuals were confusing. Some showed steam roaring high into the air from the shattered tunnels that ran under the whole of Fondor’s surface. Others were just thick dark smoke spreading, filling the frame like thick, folded fur, and it was hard to work out what was happening until she switched to a thermal image-and that was much clearer.
Oridin-was it really Oridin? - was burning. It was a ball of searing temperatures that cooled towards the edges, with irregular projections as if a firestorm was being fanned farther. That was exactly what she was seeing: the aftermath of a massive airburst. Fondor certainly wasn’t putting that on for a show. When she looked to the other screens, Jacen’s task force was taking advantage of the loss of shielding to pound other Fondorian cities. But Fondor still had a fleet flying, and the battle was intensifying even if the planet was in dire straits.