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“That tables the matter of the Duros protest,” Kre’fey said. “It’s time we move on to what we do next.”

Admiral Sovv nodded. “General Bel Iblis, how long before the shipyards at Fondor become productive again?”

“That will take some time,” the aging general admitted. “Two, three months before any facility can go on-line. Ships—six months perhaps. Probably not sooner. But once construction actually begins, they will be quite productive. They should position us well for a push toward the Core.”

“Good,” Sien Sovv said. “In the meantime we should continue the process of isolating Coruscant from the rest of Yuuzhan Vong territory. Which brings me to this.” He tapped the table, and a hologram of the galaxy appeared.

“Yag’Dhul and Thyferra are secure, finally, and Fondor is ours.” Three stars near the dense, glowing center of the galaxy winked green, indicating the positions of the systems named.

“Coruscant, however, is still well supplied.” Coruscant—or whatever it was the Yuuzhan Vong had renamed it—lit up, on the other side of the Core from the other three.

“It’s time to threaten that.”

A final star lit.

“Bilbringi,” Wedge said.

“Yes. There is some evidence that the shipyards there are partially intact. More, it gives us a base from which to harry both the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route.”

“It’s too close to Coruscant,” Bel Iblis said. “And too far from our own secure zone. We can never hold it.” He shook his head. “We don’t want another Borleias. No offense, General Antilles.”

“None taken. Our actions at Borleias served their intended purpose. We never imagined we would keep it.”

He turned to Sien Sovv. “But he’s right, the Yuuzhan Vong can hardly ignore a threat that close to Coruscant. I don’t think we have the ships to take it if they have advance warning. If they don’t, I doubt we could hold it very long. Not and keep our own systems secure.”

“They have the same problem,” the Sullustan admiral pointed out. “As we’ve proven to them, they’ve taken more systems than they can hold. There’s not much in the Bilbringi system, but there are no habitable planets. In any event, I have a tactical reason for choosing Bilbringi as a target.”

Wedge raised an eyebrow and waited, as another sector of the galaxy lit up, this one Rimward.

“The Imperial Remnant,” he murmured.

“Indeed,” Sovv said. “Admiral Pellaeon has agreed to lend us his support in this enterprise, and Bilbringi lies within good striking distance of the Empire. Between us, we can carve a corridor through the Rim, eventually cutting Coruscant off completely.”

Wedge bit back a protest. He’d spent most of his life fighting the Empire, and his opinion of Pellaeon was a mixed one, the recent alliance notwithstanding. But he decided to hear Sovv out.

“It’s true Pellaeon can reach Bilbringi without passing through Yuuzhan Vong territory,” Kre’fey said. “The same is not true for us.”

“No. We will have to fight our way through several hyperspace jumps. Here is what I propose.”

Lines began drawing themselves across the galaxy. “Our main fleet will launch from Mon Calamari, under Admiral Kre’fey,” he said. “Part of the fleet at Fondor will move to meet them, under General Antilles. When they converge, they will be joined by a detachment from the Imperial fleet.”

“The Vong will suspect a trick,” Bel Iblis said, “after what we did to them at Fondor.”

“Exactly,” Sovv said. “But the only trick in this case is overwhelming force. I expect them to hold back reinforcements, fearing it is another feint, perhaps to draw defenses from Coruscant itself.”

“Interesting,” Wedge allowed. “Though there will be a trick in the coordination. The hyperspace routes are uncertain these days. If one of our fleets arrives too early, or too late—”

“The HoloNet is functioning at high efficiency in those areas. We should be able to coordinate down to the second.”

“What’s the Empire getting out of this?” Bel Iblis asked.

“Exactly what I was wondering,” Wedge replied.

Sovv shrugged.