Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order_ Dark Tide 02_ Ruin - Michael A. Stackpole [102]
Admiral Pellaeon nodded solemnly. “I would have never thought it possible to evacuate a planet’s entire population.”
Corran frowned. “We’ve not got them all away, not by a long shot. And there is plenty of life left behind on Ithor. We’re just taking away the most mobile parts of it.”
Kre’fey nodded and glanced down at the datapad he was using to control the holoprojector. “Best estimates are that we need a week or so to complete the evacuation, but that’s provided the extra shipping I’ve requested can get here. Already the price of passage from worlds like Agamar is spiking, so anyone with a ship that can haul a load is heading up there to get ‘self-loading freight.’ It is a race against time, and the chances to win it are quickly slipping away.”
The Jedi Master sighed, the gravity of the Bothan’s words weighing his spirit down. “Nothing your cousin can do?”
Traest Kre’fey laughed aloud. “No, not really. His advisors fled back to Coruscant on one of the first ships to go.”
Corran arched an eyebrow in surprise. “Borsk stayed behind?”
“He did.”
The Corellian Jedi held both hands out, palms up, as if they were either side of a scale. “Brave, stupid. Brave, stupid. Not sure which I want to believe of him.”
“As long as he does not cause trouble, I don’t care which it is.” The Bothan sighed. “Then again, the chances of his not causing trouble are minimal.”
“And really immaterial.” Pellaeon pressed his fingertips together. “Our engineers have finished the work on the ground station. The defenders, such as they are, are in position. Shells defending a shell, but it should be sufficient to fool the Vong.”
Luke nodded. “Good. The Jedi are very close to finishing our preparations on the Tafanda Bay. I’d prefer more time to make sure things will work properly, run some simulations, but we go when we go. It’s really up to the Yuuzhan Vong.”
“It is that, definitely.” Kre’fey hit a button on his datapad and the viewpoint’s spiral continued on out in a long arc toward the depths of the solar system. There, nestled between an asteroid belt and a gas giant, sat the Yuuzhan Vong fleet. The ships almost appeared to be a group of asteroids slowly leaving the belt to orbit the gas giant, but their course pointed inexoribly in toward Ithor itself.
The fleet’s image sent a chill down Luke’s spine.
The Bothan Admiral sat back and smoothed the white fur on his neck with both hands. “Ever since they showed up in the system I’ve been running dozens of simulations of the probable course of battle. With the forces allotted to both sides, the outcome is fairly consistent. We engage in space, inflict damage on each other, then retreat to the opposite sides of the world. At their current rate of advance, we engage in three days, perhaps four. One big battle, then a standoff.”
Gilead Pellaeon leaned forward and smoothed his moustache with thumb and forefinger. “I’ve requested reinforcements, and I know you have, too. What I don’t like about the simulations I’ve run is this: The Vong can peel off a small contingent of their ships and send them after the city-ships once we’ve settled into our standoff. We have to react, shifting the balance of power here. Ithor will be open to them.”
Corran’s green eyes narrowed. “Can these reinforcements come into the system in a position to cover the city-ships?”
The Imperial Admiral nodded. “That would be relatively simple to accomplish, and would put them in position to help with the evacuation, too.”
“And the evacuation is more important than killing any Yuuzhan Vong splinter force.” Luke looked at Corran. “What is it?”
The Corellian Jedi blinked, then glanced down at his hands. “Well, it sounds as if what we really need, instead of just a standoff, is a truce.”
Pelleaon nodded. “That would be most useful, but the fate of your Caamasi friend would suggest it’s unlikely.”
“Maybe not.”
Luke looked