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Rieekan nodded. “I agree.”

“Yes,” said Ackbar. “Those ships have hyperdrive. If they came from N’zoth, they left after we sent the first warning.”

“I’ll have to come back to the Defense Council, then,” Leia said, looking at the chairman.

Behn-kihl-nahm inclined his head. “And if Senator Marook and Senator Deega prevail this time, now that the stakes are clearly higher? Do we call the Fifth Fleet home and walk away?”

Leia stood up and walked to the study’s viewpane. From there she stared out into the quiet hedge garden, its sculpted shapes lit only by the nightglow of Imperial City. “We don’t know what’s happening on N’zoth,” she said finally. “We only know what’s happening on Doornik Three Nineteen, and that it’s unacceptable.” She turned to them, her arms crossed over her chest. “Will you support a blockade of Doornik Three Nineteen?”

One by one, they nodded or spoke their acquiescence. Drayson was the last to respond.

“I do not think the Yevetha will be easily persuaded of their vulnerability, or our resolve,” he said slowly. “But it seems a reasonable next step, even if it should prove insufficient.”

Leia nodded an acknowledgment, then moved away from the viewpane and rejoined them where they sat. “Admiral Ackbar, does General A’baht have what he needs to securely blockade that system?”

“We should consult with him on that,” Ackbar said. “With at least one Yevethan Star Destroyer already there, the general will need to come in with overwhelming force or risk immediate hostilities.”

“Let’s pull up the rules of engagement for planetary blockade and review them with that in mind,” Leia said.

Behn-kihl-nahm stood. “Madame President, if you will excuse me—the decisions that remain do not require my presence, and I would like to go home to be with my family. Minister Falanthas—will you walk with me? There is a small matter I need to discuss with you—”

With the seats on either side of him suddenly empty, Nanaod Engh found a reason to excuse himself as well. Leia looked questioningly at Ackbar when Engh was gone.

“These are hard enough decisions for soldiers,” Drayson said. “You cannot blame them if they want to distance themselves enough so that they can sleep.”

“Why should they be the lucky ones?” Han said grumpily, and sighed. “Oh, hell. Here we go again.”

“No,” said Leia firmly. “We’re doing this to prevent a war, not to start one. But that means we have to teach Nil Spaar that he misread us. That’s going to be General A’baht’s real mission. Nothing more.”

General A’baht turned away from the display with the blockade order. “Finally,” he said. “Finally.”

“What?” asked Captain Morano.

“We’re going into the Cluster,” A’baht said. “We’re going to deny the Yevetha the use of Doornik Three Nineteen as a forward base.” A’baht looked past Morano to the lieutenant at the comm station. “Call my tactical staff. Bring in the secondary screens. And alert all commands to prepare for redeployment.”

Ultimately, thirty-one ships of the Fifth Battle Group of the New Republic Defense Force were chosen to make the entry into the six-planet blue-white star system cataloged as Doornik 319. Leading the deployment were the Fleet carrier Intrepid, the battle cruisers Stalwart, Illustrious, Liberty, and Vigilant, and the assault carriers Repulse and Shield. The blockade entry was prefaced three minutes in advance by a new hypercomm message from Princess Leia to the Yevetha.

“The Yevethan government’s reckless decision to resupply the bases and settlements located on illegally seized territory is in clear defiance of our order to withdraw,” Leia said. “I therefore declare an immediate blockade of such locations as we may choose.

“It is our declared purpose in this blockade to interdict any and all inbound traffic, and to peaceably oversee the withdrawal of Yevethan citizens and the removal of Yevethan facilities. But know this—in the event of any hostile acts directed at New Republic vessels taking part in the blockade, our commanders in the field are authorized to respond immediately with all necessary force.