Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 21_ The Unifying Force - James Luceno [84]
Han glanced around the cabin. “How many Yuuzhan Vong vessels are we talking about?”
“On the order of five thousand,” Bel Iblis supplied flatly, the fingers of his left hand smoothing his drooping mustache.
Han sat away from the table in shock. “Then we haven’t a chance.”
“Not force against force,” Sovv said. “But we have high confidence that the enemy has made a strategic blunder by opting to stage from remote worlds like Toong’l and Caluula.”
Bel Iblis nodded in agreement. “More important, we think we can take advantage of the fact the Yuuzhan Vong are expecting us to turn tail and scatter.”
Han regarded the inscrutable Sullustan and the gray-haired human. If there was any lingering bad blood between Sovv and Bel Iblis over what had occurred during the evacuation of Coruscant, there was no evidence of it now. In fact, everyone at the table appeared to have reached an accord.
“Why wouldn’t we be better off scattering our fleets?” he asked carefully. “We’ve enough ships to open dozens of new fronts.”
“And wage a war of rebel actions for the next ten years, while the enemy grows stronger?” Kre’fey said. “No. By scattering we would leave Mon Calamari open to assault, and we certainly don’t want to see happen here what happened on Coruscant. There is no more dangerous species than one that views killing as cleansing.” He gave his head a determined shake. “This must be our decisive step.”
“Without going into detail at this time,” Sovv said, “let me just add that we plan to give all appearances of being caught unawares by the armada, and of engaging it head-on. This alone will give the enemy pause. In fact, half our forces will have already relocated to Contruum, which has agreed to serve as our staging area—thanks to the efforts of General Cracken. We’re counting on Captain Page to prevail on the leaders of Corulag to do the same.”
Han shook his head in confusion. “Staging areas for what? The farther from Mon Calamari you place those fleets, the more trouble we’ll have communicating with them. And if you’re thinking of jumping them back to Mon Calamari by surprise, then maybe you need to be reminded of what happened to the Hapans at Fondor.”
Tenel Ka acknowledged Han’s remark with a veiled nod.
“Fondor was a special circumstance,” Commodore Brand said. “Our strategy would have worked if … In any case, it isn’t our intention to jump the fleets back to Mon Calamari.”
“What is your intention?” Leia asked.
Kre’fey cleared his throat meaningfully. “By devoting only half our battle groups to the defense of Mon Calamari, the remainder will be free to move against our primary target—Coruscant.”
SEVENTEEN
Ruthless deeds return to harass their architect, Nom Anor thought as he viewed the execution of the heretics.
The deaths were taking place not atop the yorik coral spire in the Place of Sacrifice, but in an area outside the sacred precinct, where many of Yuuzhan Vong beasts went to die, and warriors trained for combat. Once a sports arena in the district known as the Western Sea, it was now an ossuary—a boneyard—lush with swampy growth, rank with odors of decay, and the breeding ground for millions of meter-long yargh’un rodents. The bowl couldn’t hold many spectators, but Shimrra had ordered it filled to overflowing with bone stackers, workers, and low-echelon others, both as a blunt demonstration of his wrath, and as a warning to any who would follow the Prophet.
The doleful music of musicians went unappreciated.
The foodstuffs spread across the banquet tables for the elite went untouched.
The clawed beasts tasked with the executions snorted and bellowed.
This was not noble death but capital punishment.
It was three local days after the abortive sacrifice ceremony, and on orders passed down from Shimrra to High Prefect Drathul, and then on to Nom Anor, three thousand Shamed Ones