Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 01_ Betrayal - Aaron Allston [18]
“Not directly…not at first. But if the Corellians use their new fleet to launch an assault against some system, they could then keep the GA at bay with the threat that Centerpoint Station poses. And even if this theoretical sneak attack turns out not to be their plan, Chief Omas is concerned that if the GA continues to enforce its current mandates, the Corellians would be able to use the station to preserve their independence, their autonomy.”
“That—” Jacen stopped before he spoke further. He’d been about to say, That wouldn’t be too bad. But no, the prospect of the Corellians, a notoriously independent planetary culture, possessing the single most potent weapon in the galaxy, and not being obliged to use it for the greater good of galactic civilization—in fact, being able to use it to assert their own agenda—would be bad. Very bad. He let his mind drift for a moment into the future—into one possible future, one most likely to result from the actions Luke was describing—and caught just a vision of vast fleets at war, of planetary surfaces suffering bombardment, of brother and sister firing on each other. The brief glimpse turned his stomach. “So the Galactic Alliance is calling on the Jedi order.”
Luke nodded. “More specifically, Admiral Pellaeon sees outright rebellion across many star systems as a direct consequence of continued inaction by the GA. Several of his computer-modeled outcomes point that way, as apparently his instinct does. Other admirals he’s consulted agree, and so Cal Omas has signed off on this plan.”
Jacen took a deep breath, considering. Admiral Pellaeon, for decades the leader who had kept the Imperial Remnant proud, independent, and ethical, had been chosen as Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance a few years earlier, sure sign of the Imperial Remnant’s growing status and importance within the GA. If he saw continued Corellian reticence as a sure path to civil war, Jacen would have a hard time arguing with that conclusion. “So what’s the plan?”
Luke circled in around his answer. “Among the scientists and support crew who have been studying Centerpoint Station for Corellia there are GA spies, of course. They would have a very hard time smuggling in squadrons of elite soldiers to damage or disable the facility. One or two infiltrators they could manage. And packing squadrons’ worth of effectiveness into one or two people…”
“Means Jedi.”
“Yes.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Travel to Centerpoint Station and disable or destroy it.”
Jacen tapped the hilt of his lightsaber. “Disable or destroy a moon-sized installation with just what I can smuggle in?”
“Others have been destroyed with just a proton torpedo and the right knowledge. We’ll try to get you the right knowledge. And the GA will be initiating an operation elsewhere in the system that should attract the defenders’ attention. Will you do it?”
“Yes, of course. But why me?”
“A few reasons. First, unlike most Jedi, you’ve been there. Second, because of who raised you, you can put on an authentic Corellian accent when you want to—that, and the fact that you’ve inherited a bit of the Corellian look from your father, will make it easier for you to move unobtrusively through the installation. Third, your specialized training in alternative philosophies of the Force makes you more versatile than many other Jedi—than some Jedi Masters, in fact—making it harder to stop you.”
“And what about Ben?”
Luke was silent for a long moment. He and Jacen turned onto a bridge spanning the chasm between two long rows of spacescrapers. It was made of transparisteel embedded with brightly colored sand and gravel, its railing high so that the occasional ferocious gusts of wind that coursed through Coruscant’s duracrete canyons would not toss a pedestrian