Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [128]
“And if we lose?”
“She denounces us. We become rogues who went off on our own, trying to save the New Republic, and failing.” Wedge leaned toward her, his expression sincere. “If we fail, Leia, our reputations won’t matter.”
“They will to my children,” Leia said.
“Your children will be protected. Mon Mothma knows how precious they are. It’s lucky that they’re not on Coruscant for this. It means Mon Mothma can manipulate the information any way she wants.”
“A fleet,” Leia said, the plan slowly sinking in. With a fleet, she might actually have a chance. Kueller would expect her to give in, or to wait for his next message. If he knew her as well as he thought he did, he might even guess that she would try to rescue Luke. But he would never imagine a fleet. “What about the X-wings?”
“Most are unusable,” Wedge said, “but we’ve rebuilt a few. Mostly the team will be relying on Headhunters, A-wings, B-wings, and Y-wings.”
“This sounds like a large fleet,” Leia said.
“Luke’s important.”
She smiled softly. “And Mon Mothma reviewed the holocording, and believes that Kueller is a big threat. You forget how often I’ve fought at her side, Wedge. She has never believed in sitting still. She believes in fighting. She believes in having the advantage of surprise.”
“Then we’d better get moving,” Wedge said. “Do you want to fly in the flagship?”
Leia shook her head. “I’ve never been a military commander, Wedge. You have the charge of this mission. I’m taking Alderaan. Let me focus on Luke. You can remind Kueller that we took down the Empire. A small, petty demagogue on a faraway planet poses no threat to us at all.”
“You don’t believe he’s that weak, do you?” Wedge asked.
“No.” Leia smiled ruefully. “I think he’s one of the worst threats we’ve ever faced.”
Thirty-three
The water churned with blasterfire. As Han dove under the water, Chewie grabbed Wynni’s bowcaster. Han didn’t see if Chewie was able to wrestle it from her. Instead, he swam deep, grabbed Zeen’s legs, and tugged him under.
Zeen immediately kicked at him, but Han hung on. He pulled with all his strength, and got Zeen next to him. Zeen’s blaster slowly sank beside them. Zeen flailed at Han with his arms. Han just clung. His lungs burned from the struggle, but Zeen’s mouth was open. He wouldn’t last as long as Han.
Zeen’s fist connected with Han’s chin, but the water softened the blow. Han put his hands on Zeen’s shoulders and shoved him downward. Zeen grabbed for Han but missed. The momentum of the water, and the sinkhole, pulled Zeen deeper.
Han swam to the surface. Lando had Kid in an armlock, and they were struggling, both going under then coming up and spitting out water. Laser bolts were sizzling the water all around them. Chewbacca was firing Wynni’s bowcaster at the Glottalphibs. One lay dead on the ledge, while another floated facedown on the pond, a black stain swelling around its body. The other Glottalphibs were shooting fire at the water, boiling it. The heat was incredible. Han couldn’t tell if his face was covered with pond water or sweat.
Nandreeson was firing at them with his blaster. Wynni was unconscious, but floating on her back in the scummy water, her snout safely in the air.
Han grabbed the blaster out of Kid’s hands, punched him in the face, and pushed him under as he had Zeen. Then Han grabbed Lando and pulled him up.
“Breathe, buddy.”
Lando was breathing, hard, but he nodded and swam free. Han handed him the blaster, and then grabbed his own blaster from its pouch around his waist. He was treading water and firing at the remaining Glottalphibs, aiming for the centers of the mouths.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lando float on his back, take aim, and blast the ceiling.
Han whirled, about to tell him not to waste his shots, when a million watumba bats swooped down. Chewbacca roared, and immediately covered his head with his paws. The bats dove at the water, into the smoke, and then followed the flames.
The Glottalphibs started honking in unison and slapping at the bats with their tiny