Star Wars the Truce at Bakura - Kathy Tyers [114]
“That’s the Dominant!” Leia exclaimed. “Go the long way around!”
Headache turned to nightmare as Thanas destroyed Rebel squadrons and Han slowly rounded up the survivors into a loose double squadron. He eyed the wallowing Ssi-ruuvi cruiser. “Leia? Tell Luke there’s trouble out here.”
“I’ll try!”
CHAPTER
19
Gaeriel whooped as the Ssi-ruuvi fleet fled, but within a minute, all the silver Alliance ship dots on Governor Nereus’s projection turned red. One by one, they began darkening. She gasped and sprang off her chair. “They’re not!”
Wilek Nereus rolled his nectar goblet’s stem between his heavy fingers. “Not what, Senator?”
“Turning on—attacking—the Rebels!” Not only that, but she had to assume that the retreating Ssi-ruuk still held Luke prisoner, and he was dying without knowing it. She drew a deep breath, hoping her attempt to gather her wits looked like a dramatic pause. “Sir,” she started over, “on behalf of my constituency, I wish to lodge a formal protest over the forces’ conduct, which I assume follows your orders. The Alliance people risked their lives—some spent their lives—helping us repel the Ssi-ruuk. Is this gratitude?”
“Your constituency?” Governor Nereus’s bland smile affected only the edges of his effeminate lips. “You’ve already been in contact? Have you been taking telepathy lessons from someone?”
She ignored the implied, repeated accusation of collaboration and set her chin. “My people have been grateful for Rebel assistance. They would not wish to see us—”
A comlink beeped. “Yes?” Nereus called.
“Sir, our sensors show thirty people gathered at the intersection of Tenth Circle and High Street, with more approaching.”
“What are you bothering me for? Suppress it,” he snapped. Again she glimpsed a tremor in his fingers, instantly controlled. Governor Nereus cut the connection and then sipped from his goblet. “Rebel assistance is already in the past. Now we must take thought for the future. What would Bakura suffer if Imperial Command learned that we accepted aid from Rebel forces?”
She clamped her jaw shut. Eppie Belden was raising Bakura, preparing civilians for the troopers’ return. She mustn’t think about Luke … although if she’d helped instead of hindered him, Bakura might already be free of Imperial rule.
But how could Bakura have repelled the Ssi-ruuk without Rebel and Imperial resources? What insane trick had fate played here?
Nereus picked up his multifaceted crystal full of human teeth. “My dear, you’ve not tasted your nectar.”
She wondered if he was threatening her. “My throat hurts.”
“I understand. That must have been uncomfortable. I apologize. You were not the intended recipient.”
“Is there nothing you won’t—” Stoop to, she thought, but said, “do, for the Empire?”
“You have always supported the Imperial presence. I have heard you speak eloquently of the benefits Bakura reaps through its affiliation with the Empire.”
“Yes, I spoke that way. I learned the language well.” The language of treachery.
“You will remember that your offworld education was subsidized by the Empire.”
“For which I and my family have thanked you repeatedly.”
“You have not yet begun to repay that debt. Now that I’ve had time to consider, I am certain that there is room for you on my personal staff.” He slitted his eyes.
If Eppie’s revolt succeeded, that threat would be empty. If the revolution stalled, though, she might serve the Bakuran underground in Imperial uniform. What had Leia Organa endured as an Imperial senator?
Governor Nereus studied the projection of near space, smiling. Noticeably fewer red Rebel dots “menaced” the system now.
“Did you order Commander Thanas to kill them all?” she asked bitterly.
Nereus swept dust that she couldn’t see off his ivory desktop. “Yes. For the safety of your people. Commander Skywalker is another matter. The larvae will be beginning to migrate again. They require a plentiful blood supply in which to pupate. The aorta