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Jakan, Nas Choka, Qelah Kwaad, and Drathul could only look on in dismay, for the suggestion was that everyone arrested was a heretic—or had at least been somehow persuaded to show disdain for tradition.

None of the elite would even dare glance at Shimrra, save for Nom Anor, who, out of the corner of his one real eye, saw that the Supreme Overlord was laughing.

Everyone in the Ralroost’s, briefing center had fallen silent in response to the hologram Admiral Kre’fey had conjured from a projector. Shimmering in diaphanous blue light were images of a world engulfed by vines, giant ferns, and trees with enormous fronds, some fan-shaped, some as delicate as feathers. Spires and pinnacles and flat-topped bluffs rose from the luxuriant vegetation, and in the distance immense mountains heaved, their alloy bones protruding through the verdant cloaks that had been thrown over them, and their faces marred by geometric openings. Water-filled basins abounded, reflecting the light of a bruised sky, and flowing slowly through deep gorges were rivers without twists or bends or oxbow lakes.

Mossy outcroppings jutted from jungle patched in brilliant scarlet that darkened to crimson, or joined with other patches to form expanses of shimmering black or spark-gap blue, all shot through with streaks that shimmered like precious metals. Winged creatures flitted from height to height, hunting just above the canopy, while massive beasts lumbered below.

All in all, it was a planetscape too haphazard, too uneven, too immature to be real.

And in some sense, it wasn’t.

“Coruscant,” Kre’fey told his audience of several hundred Alliance officers.

At the touch of Kre’fey’s left forefinger a second holo superimposed itself on the first, showing the Senate, Calocour Heights, Column Commons, the Glitannai Esplanade, and other once-celebrated locations of the former galactic capital.

“You can see that things have changed,” the Bothan added.

Seated to one side of the command rostrum, Han and Leia remained as thoughtfully silent as everyone else. With Kre’fey stood most of the officers who had been present at the informal briefing that Han, Leia, and Jaina had attended four days earlier.

“You undermine your own argument for attacking Coruscant,” a Hutt said from front row center. His name was Embra, and he was commander of a resistance group known as the Sisar Runners. “Clearly the planet is beyond restoration. From what we have been given to understand, the Yuuzhan Vong even managed to alter the orbit and rotation.”

“Why should we waste our dwindling resources on rescuing Coruscant, in any case?” an Agamarian officer said. “What did the New Republic Senate do for us when the Yuuzhan Vong invaded? They hung us out to dry. They allowed the worlds of the Outer and Mid Rims to fall, while they recalled the fleets to protect the Core.

“Many of the choices made were regrettable,” Sovv said, in thickly accented Basic, his black eyes shining. “There are countless examples of gross misjudgment. But those were political concerns, and they shouldn’t be reason enough to splinter us now.

“Shimrra wants us to believe that Coruscant can’t be rebuilt, and is protected by hidden defenses. But it is not beyond redemption. Yes, the orbit has been altered, and the surface temperature has been raised. But it is certainly not uninhabitable. Much of the vegetation is surface cover. Underneath, beneath the veneer, much of our technology is intact, or at the very least repairable.”

Rogue Squadron leader Gavin Darklighter stood up. “Sirs, according to reports made by Jacen Solo, Coruscant is protected by hidden defenses. Jedi Solo indicated that an attack would set in motion contingencies that would ultimately render the planet unfit for reoccupation.”

“We’ve taken Jacen Solo’s report under advisement,” Kre’fey said. “But because of what he experienced during his captivity, we are not inclined to accept his statements as incontrovertible.”

Han was quick to put his arm around Leia’s shoulders. “Easy there, manka cat. What’d you expect Kre’fey to say?”

Leia turned to