Star Wars_ The Jedi Academy Trilogy 02_ Dark Apprentice - Kevin J. Anderson [69]
The Rebel B-wing fighters and some of the midsized capital ships in orbit proved only a minor nuisance. As the Gorgon and the Basilisk went through their carefully choreographed misleading attack, the Calamarian defense forces had followed along as expected, like marionettes pulled by strings.
She turned to the communications officer at his station. “Contact Captain Brusc on the Manticore,” she said. “The Calamarian forces have finally left their shipyards undefended. He may begin his attack at once.”
Ackbar gestured with his hands and spoke with an undignified rapidity, as if he knew he didn’t have much time. “Before I was liberated by the Rebel Alliance, I was Moff Tarkin’s indentured assistant. He took great pleasure in telling me exactly how he was going to enslave other worlds. By observing him I learned the fundamentals of space-warfare tactics, including Tarkin’s own favorite strategies.”
He pointed a flipper-hand into the images of the two Star Destroyers. “Tarkin is dead, but I recognize this trick. I know what the Imperial commander plans to do. Do we have a sensor network on the far side of the moon?”
“No, Admiral,” the city commander said. “We had considered it years ago but—”
“I didn’t think so,” Ackbar said. “So we’re blind there, correct?”
“Correct.”
“What are you getting at, Admiral?” Leia said.
“There’s a third Star Destroyer hiding behind our moon.”
When Ackbar said that, half of the chattering voices in the room fell silent. The others turned toward him in amazement. “What proof do you have?”
Leia tried to use her fledgling powers with the Force to sense the hidden enemy ship, but either it was too distant, or she was not skilled enough … or it wasn’t there.
“The actions of the Imperial commander tell me all I need,” Ackbar said. “Their main target is indeed the shipyards. Moments after these two Star Destroyers came out of hyperspace, a third also emerged, concealed in the shadow of our moon. The vanguard attack is designed to lure us away from the shipyards, tricking us into throwing our entire defenses against a feint. When the third Star Destroyer comes in at full sublight speed, the shipyards will be helpless. With one run the third Star Destroyer can obliterate our starship assembly facilities with virtually no losses of its own.”
“But, Admiral,” the city commander said, “why did you just withdraw all of our forces from the shipyards?”
Ackbar nodded. “Because you are going to give me remote command of that ship.” He indicated the huge spacedock hangar where the skeletal hull of the new battle cruiser Startide hung in orbit.
“But, sir, none of the Startide’s weapons are functional.”
“But its engines work, if I am not mistaken?”
“Yes,” the city commander said, “we tested the sublight engines only last week. The hyperdrive reactor core has been installed, but we have never taken the ship into hyperspace.”
“Not necessary,” Ackbar said. “Have all the construction engineers been evacuated?”
“Yes, at first sign of the attack.”
“Then give me remote operations.”
“Admiral—” the city commander said tentatively, then punched in a command-code sequence. “If it were anyone other than you …”
Taking control, Ackbar stepped into the field where virtual images were projected with a parallax designed for wide-set telescopic eyes.
The half-constructed ship powered up its engines and locked into drone mode. With an inaudible roar of massive sublight engines the unarmed battleship crawled away from the orbital shipyards, picking up speed as it ascended from the planet’s gravity well. The engines were powerful enough to haul along the entire connected framework of the spacedock.
Ackbar didn’t mind. The more mass, the better.
Leia bit her lip as the echoes of attack thundered from above, as the external imagers showed the damage to Foamwander’s outer shell, as another wave of TIE fighters