• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Wedge felt a surge of triumph; Tomer was no longer denying his role in the Intelligence side of these affairs. “And the thing is, you have to win. Bringing this off successfully is the only thing that will save you. You know that you can’t explain your whole revised plan to General Cracken; he’d never go for it. Which is why you could never come up with an order from Cracken for me to play along with you. You had to implement a communications blackout to keep word of any kind, other than your own reports, from reaching him. It’s success on Adumar or the end of your career, isn’t it, Tomer? Your career might not even survive if you’re successful. Chief of State Organa Solo, when she reviews these events, might just decide that you’re a war criminal, not a successful diplomat.”

Tomer glared for a long moment. “You could have helped. Things would have been better.”

“I might have been able to help … if you’d been straight with me from the start. If you hadn’t settled on Cartann running everything, through a war of conquest, as the only way to get your job done.”

“You use the tools available to you—here’s the perator.”

The ruler of Cartann emerged from his doorway, his retinue of guards and advisors around him like a set of living shields. Wedge saw Hallis, this time wearing subdued sea-green and her hair arrayed as it had been yesterday; she maneuvered to be as close as she could to the ruler, which was still outside the boundaries suggested by the placement of his outermost guards.

The perator offered up his charismatic smile for the assembly. This time, there were to be no flatscreens broadcasting his words, though once again they were amplified so all would hear. “It is with deep sorrow that I must announce that certain elements have chosen not to enter into our plans for the future. In specific, the seditious forces ruling the nation of Halbegardia and the Yedagon Confederacy have decided to issue statements of defiance. Their actions are clearly intended to endanger our future relations with other worlds and could leave Adumar a weak, disorganized planet, ripe for conquest from outside. So for the sake of the security of all Adumari everywhere, I declare Halbegardia and Yedagon to be outside our protection … and the targets of efforts of pacification to begin very soon.”

He paused, and applause broke out among his courtiers. This day, Wedge saw smaller clusters of foreign dignitaries in the hall. He suspected that the ones present yesterday but not today were either under arrest or en route back to their native lands.

The perator raised hands against the applause and it died away. “Will the pilot-heroes of the Empire and the New Republic please approach?”

Wedge put on his business face and led Tycho, Janson, and Hobbie forward. To his right, the Imperial pilots had formed up in similar military precision. The crowd parted before them, and the two groups of pilots came to a halt at almost exactly the same moment, three meters from the perator.

The ruler beamed at them. “You eight pilots have brought considerable delight and knowledge to Adumar, but it has all been in circumstances somewhat different than those that brought you fame. I would now like to rectify that. Would you—and it would please us greatly if you would—lead units of the Cartann armed forces in action against our enemies, so that we might grasp the full measure of your skill and honor?”

Turr Phennir was first to speak, his voice nearly as rich and warm as the perator’s. “It would be my tremendous honor to demonstrate what we have to offer the people of Cartann and Adumar.”

The perator smiled upon him, then turned to Wedge. “And our representatives of the New Republic?”

Wedge cleared his throat. This was not going to be good. “We must decline.”

The ruler’s expression became one of sorrow, regret. “But why? Can it be that you care for us less than your Imperial counterparts?”

Wedge considered his words for a split second. “No, I suspect we care more. But we must demonstrate it differently. In this case, with a refusal.”

“I see.” The perator