Star Wars_ Darksaber - Kevin J. Anderson [166]
The instant of silence sounded like an avalanche. She continued, “I will be happy to follow your orders and assist with rebuilding the Empire in any way possible, but I feel that I am no longer capable of commanding so many worthy soldiers. They cannot be asked to lay their lives on the line, to swear allegiance to someone who has been beaten so many times.”
With a precise motion, she coldly and stiffly saluted him, never letting her emerald gaze waver. The stormtroopers stood at attention, drinking in the details.
“But Admiral, I can’t accept this. We need you to rebuild—”
“Nonsense, Vice Admiral,” she said. “You must be strong. Follow your own convictions. We need an opportunity to recover from such a debacle. We need your strength.”
Daala stood next to him looking long and hard into his eyes. “You are in command of the Empire now, Pellaeon,” she said.
She waited rigidly at attention, motionless, until Pellaeon gradually returned her salute.
CORUSCANT
CHAPTER 63
The skies of Coruscant glowed with brilliant signal fires. X-wing fighters dumped clouds of plasma in a diffuse banner high in the twilight. The ionized gases shone with bright colors, spreading out and serving a dual purpose: to celebrate another victory against the Empire, and also to honor those who had died in the recent battles.
For Crix Madine’s memorial service, Luke Skywalker waited beside Leia and Han Solo—but his mind was far, far away. He felt empty and cold. The group waited atop the Imperial palace next to a dazzling signal beacon that stabbed up into the atmosphere. The sharp, thin air whipped around them, but he didn’t feel it.
Overhead, the X-wing fighters continued to soar, splashing their spectacle across the darkening sky.
See-Threepio, newly polished and gleaming gold under the bright lights, stood proudly beside his counterpart Artoo-Detoo. “Oh Artoo,” he said. “It’s been the greatest pleasure serving with you again. I wish you didn’t have to return to Yavin 4 and assist Master Luke at his Jedi academy.”
Artoo whistled and twittered, but Threepio straightened in sudden alarm. “What—me? Accompany you to that dense and treacherous jungle? I think not! Here on Coruscant I have many important duties and … besides it’s so much more civilized.”
Artoo gave a low blat of scorn. Chewbacca, standing beside them with his fur neatly combed and washed, groaned something at Threepio. Indignant, the gold protocol droid said, “That will be enough from you, Chewbacca. For your information, I am doing a fine job assisting Mistress Leia in her duties as Chief of State.”
Leia looked up, her dark eyes sparkling with unshed tears. An honor guard stood around the upper platform of the immense Imperial palace that looked out upon the towering skylines of the planetwide city. Han remained next to her, troubled but trying to hide it. He placed a comforting arm around Leia’s shoulders.
Young Anakin and the twins, Jacen and Jaina, were dressed in stiff and uncomfortable finery, but they behaved themselves, seeming to sense the somber occasion.
As Luke looked at Leia’s family, it struck home like a dull knife blade in the heart. He wasn’t jealous of Leia and her marriage—he and his sister had very different lives—but he had longed for a similar future with Callista. Only Callista …
As two powerful Jedi Knights, they should have been a perfect pair. They could have been deliriously happy, precisely matched—and they would have been, if circumstances hadn’t repeatedly conspired against them. Luke’s face remained stony, a tired mask that hid his emotions … but his inner pain at the loss of Callista was so strong even Leia could sense it. She flinched, looking at him with concern—but she had her own overwhelming duties as Chief of State now. Luke nodded briefly to reassure her.
He felt as if he had been continually denied a facet