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His hands curled into claws, Han stormed across the chamber, but he made it only halfway to Wraw before Kyp wrapped his arms around him in restraint.

“That’s why Caluula’s governor promised a peaceful surrender,” Han yelled. “Your people let the orbital station fall, just so you could launch this half-witted plan!”

“Take it easy, Solo,” Wraw said. “If I’d been in on the planning at that level, you think I’d be along on this little joyride? I’m here as an observer—nothing more.”

“Nothing more?” Han struggled against Kyp’s hold. The muscles in his neck stood out like cables. “This whole op has been nothing but a reconnaissance to see if Alpha Red had done the trick!”

“Not true,” Wraw fired back. “Our mission was to destroy the yammosk, and now the thing’s dead. Alliance had good reason to believe that the Vong were planning to use Caluula as a fallback point. I’ve no explanation as to why there aren’t more war vessels in orbit.”

Han relaxed, and Kyp let him go. “So if Alpha Red failed, then we’d be on hand to make sure the yammosk was killed.”

Wraw shrugged again. “Director Scaur is big on redundancy. But, yes, he wanted to be confident that the yammosk would die one way or the other.”

“You knew all along,” Leia said to Wraw. “The patrol we ambushed, the crashed coralskipper …”

“I’ll admit that I was encouraged by what I saw.”

Han sneered. “You’re no better than the Yuuzhan Vong.”

Wraw’s fur rippled again. “You said you wanted to teach me the ways of the world. Well, maybe it’s you who needs the lesson. What we did here was necessary.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “That shaper and her special warriors are going to take Alpha Red to Yuuzhan’tar, and from there it’s going to spread to other occupied worlds up and down the invasion corridor. So instead of ranting at me, Solo, you should be taking heart. The Vong’s day are numbered. The war is essentially over.”

“You killed them,” Meloque mumbled, then yanked herself from her musings in wide-eyed panic to glare at Wraw. “You killed the winged-stars!”

Wraw swallowed hard. “You don’t know that.”

She collapsed to her knees to the spongy floor, as if her legs had turned to gel. “Don’t you realize what you’ve done—what you’ve unleashed? The effects of Alpha Red aren’t confined to the Yuuzhan Vong! Your superiors want assurance? Tell them that Alpha Red has surpassed everyone’s expectations, Agent Wraw. Sentient and nonsentient life is also susceptible. If those Yuuzhan Vong craft reach Coruscant, the entire galaxy could be at risk!”

“What craft?” Lando asked. “What’s she talking about?”

“A couple of enemy vessels went up the well just before you arrived,” Page said.

Karrde whipped his comlink from his belt and activated the call button. “Crev, are you receiving me?”

“Just barely, Talon,” a deep male voice answered after several moments of static. “What’s your status?”

“I’ll tell you later, Crev. Right now, you’ve got to alert Booster’s gunners to destroy every Yuuzhan Vong ship in the area.”

Crev Bombossa laughed. “What’d you think we’ve been doing? Not that there’s been a whole lot of targets.”

“Thank the Force,” Meloque said quietly.

“Only one ship got past us,” Bombossa continued. “A corvette analog like nothing we’ve ever seen. Scaled, with three pairs of pincer-arm rock spitters and an uplifted stern.”

Han looked at Leia. “The skips that chased us to Caluula. They must have been grown for the slayers.”

Han’s alarm was enough for Talon. His hand tightened on the comlink. “Crev, tell me you’ve still got that vessel in your sights!”

“Hang on, Talon.”

Everyone fell silent, waiting through several more moments of static; then Crev’s voice returned.

“Talon, sorry to report that the craft jumped to hyperspace before we could nail it.”

Meloque put her face in her hands and began to sob.

Han worked his jaw in anger and dismay. “Our only hope is that the crew dies before that ship reverts to realspace.”

On the bridge of the Bothan Assault Cruiser Ralroost, Admiral Kre’fey swiveled the command chair away from the observation bay