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“No,” the tactician said. “Their war vessels remain in the star systems awarded to them by Supreme Overlord Shimrra.”

Nas Choka’s tattooed upper lip curled in anger. “Their punishment, too, will be swift and lethal.”

One didn’t have to be a native of Coruscant to know that the planet had seen better days. Holos displayed at the premission briefings didn’t do justice to the extent to which the Yuuzhan Vong had transformed the world and Zonama Sekot had wounded it. Once as green as the Chiss capital of Csilla was white, vast areas were now blackened by fire and fractured by sinuous flows of lava.

Jag absorbed the desolation in a glance as his clawcraft swooped from the open belly of the Star Destroyer Right to Rule. Twin Suns’ complement of clawcraft and X-wings streaked behind him in a trailing wedge. Off to Jag’s port side, and slightly to stern, flew Rogue Squadron; to starboard, the Wraiths and Taanab Yellow Aces. Centered and shielded by the near wing of starfighters were three lightly armed troop transports. Two were of the same vintage as the 170-meter-long bulbous-lobed Record Time, which had been sacrificed at Coruscant shortly after the planet’s capture. The third was a pre-Empire vessel, almost four hundred meters long, and might have been a precursor of Right to Rule herself.

The main body of the Yuuzhan Vong armada had made the jump to lightspeed only an hour earlier, but Warmaster Nas Choka had left enough vessels in orbit to test the mettle of the Alliance. Even with Star Destroyers, Mon Cal cruisers, and Corellian gunships arriving from unguarded insertion points, the Yuuzhan Vong were capable of engaging each separate battle group.

The enemy flotilla that rushed to meet the Fourth Fleet was made up of light cruiser and assault cruiser analogs, from whose hull panels jutted forked arms housing plasma cannon emplacements and clusters of coralskippers. Simultaneous with the emergence of the starfighters, the skips had dropped from their barnaclelike perches and were now racing outward from the edge of Coruscant’s envelope, eager for contest.

“Shield trios,” Jag commanded his group over the tactical net. “Stick close to the transports, and stay alert for course corrections. Don’t allow yourselves to be drawn into individual conflicts.”

The group was split evenly between Chiss and Alliance pilots, but for the first time since Twin Suns’ inception at the Jedi base known as Eclipse, there wasn’t a Force-user among them. Jag had originally flown with Twin Suns at Borleias, when the squadron had been handed over to Jaina, and he had flown with her for most of the past year at Galantos, Bakura, and in other campaigns. Their training, coupled with his deep affection for her, sometimes made him wonder if he hadn’t become sensitized to the Force—or at least to Jaina’s use of the Force. At Hapes, and as recently as Mon Calamari, where Jaina’s X-wing had been crippled, he seemed to be able to intuit her needs or requests. Incapable of communicating with her squadron, she had reached out through the Force and Jag had heard her—clear enough, at any rate, to have anticipated and relayed Jaina’s orders to her wingmates. With Jaina absent—on Zonama Sekot, according to Gavin Darklighter—the starfighter group felt less responsive, though Jag maintained a strong combat bond with the Chiss pilots, especially Shawnkyr and Eprill.

“Twin Sun Leader,” said the voice of Right to Rule control. “Bring your group to Sector Sabacc, zero-six-six. We’re getting ready to light things up.”

Jag had flown with Grand Admiral Pellaeon’s vessel at Esfandia, and the voice was reassuring.

“Copy, Right to Rule. Coming about to zero-six-six.”

The broad bank sunward placed the trio of transports and their starfighter escorts over daybreak Coruscant. No sooner was the task force clear of Right to Rule than all its starboard quad laser batteries belched fire. Not far from the Star Destroyer, and similarly aligned to the planet, two Mon Cal MC80Bs and the cruiser Dauntless added their blinding salvos to the light storm. Half the amassed firepower