Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 21_ The Unifying Force - James Luceno [138]
“They have,” Luke said.
Sovv looked at him. “Just where have you been, Master Skywalker?”
“In the Unknown Regions, searching for Zonama Sekot.”
“The planet you appear to have ushered into the Coruscant system,” Brand said.
Luke turned to the human commodore. “I had no more to do with ushering Zonama Sekot into known space than I did with designing the planet’s hyperspace engines. It came of its own volition.”
“It?” Brand said.
“Zonama Sekot,” Luke repeated.
Kre’fey and Brand swapped perplexed glances. “We’re eager to hear your reaction to our plans,” the Bothan said.
Luke nodded. “When I learned that you’d moved the combined fleets from Mon Calamari, I assumed that Coruscant was to be the target.”
“Were we wrong to reposition?”
“No,” Luke said emphatically. “With the HoloNet incapacitated, the closer we are to Coruscant, the better.”
“Corulag is closer still,” Sovv said in a leading way.
Luke firmed his lips. “Corulag is too close. By moving there we’re certain to provoke a response from the Yuuzhan Vong.”
Sullustan Niuk Niuv spoke to it. “The Yuuzhan Vong are going to want to finish what they began at Mon Calamari. Whether the flotilla repositions or holds fast, an enemy response is guaranteed.”
Niuv had long been opposed to Jedi intervention in military matters. Some had interpreted his split from would-be Chief of State Pwoe after the Battle of Borleias as a hopeful sign, but, in fact, his presence on the Advisory Council was little more than an accommodation to lingering anti-Jedi sentiment.
“Not necessarily,” Luke said. “The presence of Zonama Sekot has thrown Coruscant into turmoil. By now the so-called heretics are rising up, and the elite and the military are divided on what course of action they should take. The hyperspace jump was designed to bring this about. The fact that the timing was so fortunate—that Zonama Sekot’s arrival drew the Yuuzhan Vong armada from Mon Calamari—convinces me that our actions were right. As a means of continuing what we’ve started, I hope to persuade you to allow the disorder on Coruscant to play out. If we do this, it’s my belief that Shimrra will be brought down from within, and that we can then reach an accord with the Yuuzhan Vong warmaster.”
Luke’s statement unleashed a torrent of criticism and rebuke. With everyone speaking at once, Mara leaned in to whisper, “Welcome to the downhill stretch.”
Luke’s confidence in the heretics was not all it might have been, considering that the so-called Prophet was none other than Nom Anor. But given the galvanizing effect Zonama Sekot had had on the heretics, it was possible that the movement had taken on a life of its own.
“The reports we have received corroborate that Coruscant is in turmoil,” Kre’fey allowed when most of the separate conversations had died down. “Which is precisely the reason to strike. The Yuuzhan Vong may never be this weak again. Yes, Shimrra stands a chance of being brought down by the heretics, but it’s not Shimrra we’re worried about. We’re worried about the armada. We succeeded in inflicting damage at Mon Calamari, and unless we follow through now, we fear we’ll lose what scant advantage we have.”
“The armada isn’t any weaker now than it was when Mon Calamari was attacked,” Kenth said. “What damage we did has been offset by the arrival of Yuuzhan Vong battle groups from far-flung sectors. More important, Coruscant’s planetary shields—the dovin basal gravitic fields—have yet to be tested, let alone stormed.”
“We’re not concerned about the orbital dovin basals,” Sovv said in a dismissive way.
“Regardless, attacking Coruscant is not the solution,” Luke added. “Under Shimrra’s influence, the World Brain has the capacity to render the entire planet uninhabitable. So unless that’s our aim, we must rethink our strategy.”
“The matter of the World Brain was raised at earlier briefings,” Sovv said succinctly.