Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 11_ Dark Journey - Elaine Cunningham [61]
Kyp turned his attention to his fourth and final opponent. To his surprise, Jag Fel was already on it. The younger man’s clawcraft led the ship in a dizzying chase, openly taunting it to employ its turbocharged cannons. Several times the Hornet spat green fire. Each time Jag deftly evaded.
The Chiss ship spun away from the Hornet and began to climb, positioning for a diving attack. Kyp realized the strategy and came in from the opposite side. The two ships dived toward the Hornet, showering the midsection with laserfire.
Red heat began to pulse through the rear fuselage. The two scouts veered aside as the ship exploded from within.
Smart move, Kyp congratulated silently. Turbocharged laser cannons were as much a liability to the Hornets as they were an advantage—even a few shots could render the big guns unstable. Still, Jag Fel’s approach to the problem was as crazy as any airborne stunt Kyp had ever pulled.
But the young commander seemed unimpressed with his own daring. He was already on the comm, scanning for any ship close enough to pick up the evacuated pilots.
Once Jag had ensured retrieval of the surviving pirates, the two scouts fell into the side-by-side formation the Chiss-taught commander seemed to favor.
“So,” Kyp said conversationally, “is that your idea of practicing maneuvers?”
For several moments the only response to his rhetorical question was the faint crackle of an open comm. “You approached the Hornets without waiting for my command. Is this common practice?”
“For me? Absolutely.”
“I was referring to the New Republic in general. Gathering information is a vital function, but to whom should I report? I’m accustomed to clear chain of command, and the efficiency that results. While I understand that the fall of Coruscant dealt an enormous blow to the New Republic, the survivors seem fractured and contentious.”
“No argument here,” Kyp said, “but for the record, I haven’t been using the term New Republic for years. A government is like a fighter ship: after the first couple of decades it picks up a few dings and loses its shiny new look.”
“Point noted. Given my upbringing, I frequently have to remind myself not to refer to you as the Rebel Alliance,” Jag said with a touch of wry amusement. “I don’t wish to offend, but it’s a mystery to me that you managed to defeat the Empire.”
“We have our moments,” he said in a dry tone. “The Republic’s utter lack of direction is actually a clever ploy to confuse our enemies.”
“And that works?”
“Not that I’ve noticed, no.”
Jag lapsed into thoughtful silence. “I appreciate your candor, and your willingness to hear me out. Would you be offended by a personal question?”
“That seems unlikely. Go ahead.”
“Why is Jaina Solo so angry at you?”
An irrational flicker of irritation shimmered through the Jedi Master. “Oh, that. It’s a long story with a number of sordid chapters. Why not ask her yourself?”
“Two reasons. First, I don’t wish to intrude upon personal matters. Second, I suspect that you did resent that question,” observed Jag, “and I suspect that sending me to Jaina is your way of ensuring that I’m suitably punished for my presumption.”
This canny observation annoyed Kyp, and then amused him. “Depends what you consider personal. She helped me bring the Republic into a strike on a Yuuzhan Vong shipyard. The Vong were building new worldships there. I wanted her to believe they were superweapons. Once convinced, she was very convincing.”
“Ah.”
“Ah?” he repeated. “That’s it? You’re not going to lecture me on the evils of aggression?”
Jag considered this for a moment. “I was raised and trained among the Chiss. To them, first-strike tactics are unthinkable, dishonorable. We are defenders, not aggressors. But in this conflict, can we really argue that carefully considered aggression is different from holding back until the enemy strikes first? We