Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order_ Dark Tide 01_ Onslaught - Michael A. Stackpole [119]
Luke shook his head. “That’s not certain.”
Leia frowned. “How can you say that?” She gasped, then covered her mouth with a hand. “You have a vision in the Force?”
“Glimmerings.”
The sensor console beeped. Elegos glanced at it, then cocked his head to the left. “Something coming out of hyperspace. Something big.”
The reversion to realspace for the Ralroost occurred several seconds sooner than Admiral Kre’fey had intended. In the instant the white tunnel through which his ship had been traveling began to fall apart he knew at least one Yuuzhan Vong cruiser had made itself into an Interdictor. The only reason for this could be to prevent the escape of the ships that had been grounded there. Which means I’ve arrived right in time.
He glanced over at his weapons-control officer. “Tell the Corusca Fire to let go with everything they have. Fire for effect what we have, as well.”
The black Bothan weapons-control officer snarled orders into a comm unit. Golden streaks of turbolaser fire flashed out at the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser. Blue bolts of ion cannon beams lanced down. A tremor ran through the Ralroost as the twenty proton torpedo launchers on board spat out their deadly missiles.
The Corusca Fire, which was an old Victory-class Star Destroyer, likewise launched all the concussion missiles it had available. Eighty rockets spiraled in at the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser, with each target evenly spaced around the enemy ship so no one void could capture more than one missile.
The gravitic anomaly that had dragged the New Republic ships prematurely from hyperspace evaporated as the dovin basals broke off to stop the incoming missiles and laser fire. Whether because the assault just overwhelmed the available dovin basals, or the creatures had exhausted themselves creating the interdiction field, they failed to intercept all the lasers and missiles. Proton torpedoes pulverized yorik coral hull panels. Turbolasers melted plasma spines and scored long furrows in the ship’s hull. More than one spine broke off and floated free in space.
The Yuuzhan Vong cruiser fired back with its plasma cannons. Red-gold gouts of energy slammed into the Ralroost’s shields, nibbling away at them. The golden energy coating faded, and drained away 20 percent of the shields’ power as it did so, but the shields still held.
But if we have to slug it out with them, they won’t hold for long. The idea of those plasma blasts getting through to melt his ship’s hull sent a trickle of fear through Kre’fey’s guts. If there is no other way, however, to get the freighters out of here . . .
The sensor officer glanced at the admiral. “Sir, the Yuuzhan Vong cruiser is pulling back. Its skips are diving for atmosphere.”
A round of cheers greeted the news, but Kre’fey cut it off with a slash of his hand. “Communications, get me the Impervious.”
“On-line, Admiral.”
“This is Admiral Kre’fey. Senator, are you still in charge of my shuttle?”
“I am, Admiral. Would you like it back now?”
“I would, yes. Please bring it aboard and have your fighters recover through my dorsal recovery bay. The freighters can form up on us, and we will escort you away from here.” Kre’fey smiled. “Provided your fact-finding mission is over.”
“For now it is, Admiral.” The Caamasi sighed. “And the senate is not going to like this report at all.”
“That hardly surprises me, Senator.” The Bothan admiral’s violet eyes narrowed. “And it’s all the more reason we make for Coruscant as fast as we can.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Gavin Darklighter refused to give in to the aches and pains in his body. Normally he would have put them down to fatigue, but he’d been able to get plenty of rest on the journey from Dantooine to Agamar and then on to Coruscant. The fact was that he felt as rested as he ever had during his time with the squadron, yet he also knew he was engaged in one