Star Wars_ Millennium Falcon - James Luceno [115]
“What was the plan for the Falcon at that point?” Leia asked.
“Back then one of our chief concerns was the number of Star Destroyers the Empire was turning out, so command came up with a plan to target one of the shipyards. Fondor, Ord Trasi, even Yaga Minor were considered as potential targets, but after all the analysis command decided that we had to go after the big one—Bilbringi.” Grateful to be back on course, Jadak took a sip of caf and set his cup down. “Were you there during the Imperial years, Princess Leia?”
“Only once. But I couldn't have been more than nine at the time.”
“Then you probably don't remember how tricky it was to insert into orbit there.”
“Because of the asteroid fields,” Han said.
Jadak nodded. “At the time, many of the asteroids were being mined for use in the shipyards, so Imperial forces were deployed not only in the shipyards but close to many of the extraction operations. Even with prior authorization, it was difficult to navigate through the system because of all the checkpoints. So the notion of sneaking a hostile ship into Bilbringi wasn't even worth discussing.”
Han smiled in sudden revelation. “Unless you had a ship with a powerful enough hyperdrive to microjump all the way in.”
“You've done that?” Jadak said in genuine surprise.
“More times than I can remember.”
Jadak refused to allow Solo to get to him. “Well, no militia members had done it. That's how come I'm familiar with the Maw and all those asteroid fields we were talking about.”
“Practice runs,” Han said.
“Each and every one. You might say it was the beginning of my love affair with the ship. Experiencing what she was capable of. Extricating me from predicaments I'd gotten myself into. Exceeding expectations time and again. Like she was determined to outperform herself.”
“Nothing's changed,” Han said.
“But what were you supposed to do with the Falcon when you got there?” Allana asked. “To Bil …”
“Bilbringi,” Leia completed. “What was the plan?”
“Destroy the shipyards to whatever extent possible.”
Han frowned. “With a single laser cannon?”
Jadak laughed wryly. “The cannon was just for in-close defense. The Falcon herself was going to be the weapon.”
“A bomb,” Leia said suddenly.
Allana looked at her, then at Jadak. “You were going to blow the Falcon up?”
He nodded. “That was the idea. But even the best ideas don't always work out.”
“What were you going to detonate?” Han asked.
Jadak turned to him. “A baradium fission device.”
Leia sat back in shock. “Those were banned—even by the Empire. Alderaan led the cause.”
“They were banned, all right. But we got our hands on one without Senator Organa knowing. Besides, he was eventually persuaded to see that baradium was essential to our attempts to counter the weapons the Empire was developing.” Jadak's gaze darted from Leia to Han and back again. “You two know this better than anyone.”
“Was this before the Alliance started using ytterbium as a stabilizing agent?” Han said.
“Years before. This device wasn't just some supersized thermal detonator. It was a planet buster. And if it had been detonated at Bilbringi, the shipyards would have been out of commission for a decade.”
Han shook his head in incredulity. “You were supposed to transport it aboard the Falcon?”
“That was the idea.”
“Yeah, somebody's idea of a suicide mission.”
“Not if things went right. Assuming I didn't annihilate myself on the way to Bilbringi or during any of the dozen or so microjumps I was going to have to execute to reach the shipyards, the plan called for me to ditch at five hundred thousand kilometers from the target.”
Han shook his head. “That wouldn't have saved you. You'd still have been inside the blast sphere.”
Jadak shrugged. “Like