Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [171]
War allowed people to feel fear. It gave them time to curse their leader. Survivors often blamed not their own incompetence, but the desires of the person who had sent them into battle.
He had hoped to avoid this. His Star Destroyers were for show, not for might. And yet, the crews were serving him well, better than he had hoped.
If only something weren’t nagging at him, some detail he was forgetting.
Another A-wing exploded on several screens scattered around the room. On the tactical display, a blip disappeared. A man’s scream was cut off mid-thrum on the overhead speakers. He wondered if the New Republic knew that their communications had been tapped.
He wondered if they even cared.
Yanne was shouting orders to the tactical team before him. Voices echoed throughout the command center. Some were digitized voices of TIE fighter pilots. Some were the less-audible voices of the A-wing pilots.
And there were two new blips on the tactical screen, nearly outside Almanian space.
“What are those?” Kueller asked.
“Newcomers, milord,” Gant answered. “The first ship appeared, almost joined the fray, then turned tail. As it ran back to its hyperspace launch point, the other ship appeared almost on top of it.”
“I want those ships identified.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kueller looked at the dome above him. Except for the big flash of light that had appeared moments after the Star Cruiser exploded, he had seen no evidence of battle. If the people of Almania were still alive, they would have seen no battle in the skies above.
If they were still alive.
He smiled. He had their wealth, along with that of Pydyr, and Auyemesh. He would soon use these places of his power and hold the entire galaxy in thrall.
His TIE fighters were flying in an inverted V formation toward the next Star Cruiser. Didn’t the New Republic realize that he knew the schematics of their vessels? That included the easiest way to destroy the ships. He had learned his lessons from Master Skywalker well.
Skywalker.
That was what he was feeling. Skywalker was moving. Kueller detached himself from the group as Vek came to him.
“Sir, we’ve identified the ships.”
“Not now, Vek.” Kueller pulled back even farther.
“But, sir, Yanne said you needed to know. It’s the Wild Karrde and the Millennium Falcon.”
Kueller suddenly focused on the young man before him. His face was round, his eyes a dark reddish-brown, and his skin still covered with acne. One of the hand-picked survivors of Kueller’s revenge on Almania. One of the thousand who made it, and Kueller had trouble remembering why he had let the child live.
“Han Solo’s ship?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kueller smiled. The boy took a step backward. “Well, Sinewy Ana Blue did her job, even if she is a bit late. Double her credit account as promised.”
The boy looked at him oddly. “Yes, sir.”
Solo was here. He didn’t really need him anymore because Organa Solo was already on the planet, but Kueller would take what he could. Solo was a vigorous defender of family and friends, and once Kueller was done with Solo’s wife and brother-in-law, he would go after Solo’s children. It would be a lot easier to do that with Solo gone.
“Yanne!” Kueller yelled.
Yanne looked up from his post near the tactical display. “Milord?”
“We have guests in the outer rim of our sector of space. Veer off a destroyer and get rid of them, will you?”
“Sir, we’ve got the New Republic fleet in a perfect pincer movement. If we veer off ships now, we run the risk of losing all of them.”
Kueller shrugged. “Do as you see fit. But don’t let those two new ships leave. I want them destroyed.”
Yanne frowned. “Yes, sir.”
“And Yanne.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Until I return, you are in charge of all of this.” Kueller smiled. “And remember. I dislike failure.”
Yanne put a hand to his throat. “I’m not likely to forget, sir.”
“Good.” Kueller left the command center. It had fatigued him to be inside. That sense of failure followed him. Yanne