hopelessly beyond reach.
The meeting dragged out for three more fractious hours. At the end of
it, Leia was forced to settle for a compromise that pleased no one in
the room, least of all herself and the chairman. The plan was too bold
for Deega, too hasty for Marook, too interventionist for Cundertol, too
far short of what Behn-kihl-nahm had thought possible, and too timid
for Tolik Yar and the rest of the Council.
But all eight were willing to support it when they left the privacy of
the hearing room, which made it the best Leia could hope for.
"Thank you, Chairman," Leia said after the consensus vote, pretending
to a dignity far more elevated than the process deserved. "I'll give
the Council advance notice of the announcement. I'll need to consult
with Admi ral Ackbar and notify General A'baht. But it should only be
a matter of a few hours."
The preparation took longer than the execution.
"Here's a question for you, Princess," Han said, scratching his head as
he peered at the holorecorder's reference screen. "How exactly will we
know that Nil S paar has gotten the message, since he's officially not
talking to you?"
"We have three different holocomm codes from his visit here--two for
Ararnadia and one for the viceroy's staff," said Leia. "It'll go to
all three."
"We'll be using Channel One to notify all the home governments," added
Minister of State Mokka Falanthas. "Since the Yevetha used Channel One
themselves for Nil Spaar's last address, we know they can monitor
it--and if they can, it's likely that they do."
"We will also have prowlers broadcasting in high-band and laser
directional from along the Koornacht perimeter," said General
Rieekan.
"Those signals will reach the Yevethan pickets in eight hours or less,
and Doornik Three Nineteen thirty-four hours later."
"And if for some reason they willfully manage to ignore all that, they
cannot fail to notice two days from now, when we repeat this message
and allow the grids to carry it to the general citizenry, to prepare
them for what may come," said Behn-kihl-nahm. "I have no doubt that
the Yevetha still have spies on Coruscant. They will know what has
transpired." He shrugged. "Indeed, they may already know."
Leia finished fussing with the drape of her robes and looked up.
"Where is Ackbar? Has anyone seen him?"
"I did," Han said. "He was heading for his office with a big bundle
under his arm, muttering something about too much ormachek. I think
maybe he was having trouble with his dress uniform."
Leia's face relaxed into a smile for the first time in hours. "If he
went all the way back into his closet for the Mon Calamari battle tunic
he wore at Endor, this may take a while."
Tugging uncomfortably at his own uniform, Han said wryly, "I could have
used a tailor myself. I hope we don't look more silly than scary,
standing behind you."
Behn-kihl-nahm patted Han on the shoulder.
"Don't worry--the right message will come through.
And your presence is as much for domestic eyes as for Yevethan ones."
At that point Ackbar arrived, resplendent in his white admiral's
tunic.
"Is that everyone now?" called the young consultant from Nanaod Engh's
staff. "Can I have everyone but the Princess here by the banner?"
The consultant quickly arranged the extras along the wall behind where
Leia was to sit--Han, Ackbar, and Rieekan all in uniform to the left of
the banner bearing the gold-trimmed New Republic insignia, Engh,
Behn-kihl-nahm, and Falanthas all in diplomatic dress to the right.
Then he brought Leia in and sat her down in the cupped-hand pedestal
chair, which effectively vanished behind her robes. Backing up, he
studied his handiwork, then peered at the tableau on the reference
screen for a few seconds.
"That's all I can do," he announced. "Princess, you can go ahead
whenever the technicians are ready."
The technicians were ready in short order. Then, at last, it was
Leia's room, and Leia's moment.
"I am Princess Leia Organa Solo, President of the Senate, Chief of
State of the New Republic, and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense
Force.
I address myself to Nil Spaar, Viceroy of the Duskhan League, to the
governments of N'zoth, Wakiza, Zhina, and the other Yevethan worlds
throughout Koornacht Cluster, and to the commanders of Yevethan armed
forces everywhere.
"Whereas Viceroy Nil Spaar has freely and openly admitted to
responsibility for grievous crimes against the inhabitants of Morning
Bell, Polneye, New Brigia, Door-nik Six Twenty-eight, and other legally
constituted settlements in and near Koornacht Cluster-"Whereas these
crimes include the unprovoked wholesale slaughter of the inhabitants of
these worlds, and the illegal and immoral seizure of their homes,
goods, and territory-"Whereas these acts grossly and wantonly violate
the fundamental rights of sentient beings and peaceful worlds
everywhere, as well as the fundamental principles of moral
conduct-"Whereas these are rights and principles to which the New
Republic is wholly and unswervingly committed in both law and spirit-"I
do thereby instruct and advise Viceroy Nil Spaar and the ruling
authorities of the Yevetha to immediately relinquish and withdraw from
the systems you have seized, surrender any and all property
confiscated, and release unharmed any and all prisoners now held. If
you fail to do so in a timely and responsive manner, you will leave us
no choice but to enforce this directive by every means available to
us."
Her gaze burned into the lens of the holorecorder.
"Do not misjudge this--our will and determination in this matter are
unwavering. Withdraw from those worlds you illegally and immorally
seized, or be removed from them. Those are the only choices. The New
Republic will not allow you to profit from acts of such unbridled
barbarism.
"Ordered and recorded this day and before these witnesses at Imperial
City, Coruscant, by President Leia Organa Solo.
"End transmission."
When the technical staff signaled the recording was over, the gathering
dispersed with surprising speed.
Ackbar, Behn-kihl-nahm, and Han all came to her with words of support,
but only Han lingered.
"Sounded great from where we were, Leia," he said, catching her up in a
quick hug. "If it was me you were talking to, I'd know you meant
business. Now--how long do we wait?"
"I hope we don't have to wait very long," she said.
"But there aren't any deadlines. We'll give them enough time to work
through their decision. I'm sure we'll hear from someone at that end
before long."
"What if we don't?"
"Then everything centers on Doornik Three Nineteen," she said. "It's
the one site we can monitor closely enough to know whether the Yevetha
are packing up or still moving in. That's where we'll be watching."
Waiting was hard.
An hour came and went, with the ex
citement of the moment making it seem
like only a few minutes. The next hour lasted a day. The first day
lasted forever. Anticipation became anxiety, and anxiety
restlessness.
Soon restlessness became impatience, and impatience a gnawing
distraction.
The second day was even longer.
And nowhere was the waiting harder than along the Koornacht
perimeter.
All 106 principal vessels of the Fifth Battle Group were on
round-the-clock combat-level alerts. Flights of fully armed fighters
and interceptors came and went from the launch bays of the carriers as
the defensive screens were brought up to full combat density.
At the end of the second day, the ultimatum was made public, along with
selected still images from the Alpha Blue intelligence. The response
was surprisingly muted and, overall, supportive.
"It is comforting, but illusory," Behn-kihl-nahm warned Leia. "The
Senate is holding its criticism until there's some sign--in the form of
news from Farlax--to tell them which side they want to end up on. In
the meantime, they can nobly posture as loyal supporters of the
President and defenders of the Charter. And the public response--I
suspect you will find that most casual observers are applauding the
principle without grasping the risk. They enjoy the show of strength,
and it seems right and good to them for us to dictate to outsiders.
They expect the Yevetha to meekly comply, and for this to be over in a
few days. Most of all, they do not expect this to lead to war."
Two days became three, and three stretched to five.
The ultimatum was retransmitted daily at 1700, but there was no
response of any kind from inside Koor-nacht Cluster. It became
increasingly clear that the Yevetha were ignoring the messages.
On the sixth day an Alpha Blue stationary probe came out of hyperspace
near Doornik 319 and recorded the arrival of a small flotilla--three
spherical thrustships and an Imperial-design Star Destroyer. The
recording was relayed successfully to a repeater outside the Cluster,
but the probe had been on station long beyond its endurance and
disintegrated when it tried to disappear back into hyperspace.
As soon as they reached him, Drayson brought both the news and the
dispatch to Leia at the residence.
"I'm afraid our probe will have left debris in real-space," he said
apologetically. "That may complicate matters."
"All it tells them is that we're watching--and that they can't detect
it when we are," Leia said. "Maybe that will help us a little."
"But the reality is that that was my last asset in that system,"
Drayson said. "And placing them is harder than hiding them once
they're there. This is likely to be the last report from Doornik Three
Nineteen for the foreseeable future. They're all going to be
expiring."
"Let me get Han, and we'll take a look," she said.
"And we should contact Behn-kihl-nahm and Ackbar."
"I took the liberty," Drayson said. "Bennie is on his way over. But
Admiral Ackbar is getting in some time in a TX-sixty-five and won't be
here for at least an hour."
"All right. We'll wait for Bennie."
"He said not to."
"Well," said Leia. "Then I guess we won't."
Together Han, Leia, and Admiral Drayson watched the four minutes of
data--twenty capture clips, each twenty seconds long, spanning a
six-hour period. They documented the arrival of four ships and
landings at widely separated sites by three of them. When the
recording was finished, Leia looked up in surprise.
"That's not enough," she said. "We can't tell whether those ships went
down empty or full. We can't see if they left or stayed."
"Wait," Drayson said. "The recording is --enhanced resolution. We can
zoom on the last two clips, when the second thrustship was almost
directly under the probe."
The enhanced images resolved the ambiguity. They revealed a glassy
landing pad in the middle of an empty, undeveloped plain, and a train
of cargo pallets, each nearly the size of a light freighter, being
towed away from the thrustship.
"That's it," Leia said. "That's their answer."
Han shook his head and frowned. "I think the translation is 'Oh
yeah?
Make me."" He drew a deep breath and released it noisily. "What
now?"
"We wait for Bennie," Leia said. "In the meantime, I want to see it
again."
Eventually the meeting at the residence grew to include Engh, Rieekan,
Falanthas, Behn-kihl-nahm, and Ackbar. There were several showings of
the recording, particularly the later clips. No one who saw it failed
"Bennie? What do we do?" Leia asked. "Send another ultimatum? Tell
them we know what they're doing, insist that they stop? Maybe a firm
deadline this time, and a clearly stated consequence for missing it."
Behn-kihl-nahm's jaws worked at her use of the nickname in that
setting, but he said nothing of it. "It's difficult to see what magic
words would make another warning any more credible than the ones we've
already sent."
"We should give them more time," Minister Falanthas said. "There may
be an internal struggle over this--a split between the military and the
civilian government.
What we see at Doornik Three Nineteen may not reflect the ultimate
resolution. If we respond too forcefully, it could force them into an
adversarial position."
"In the little we know, at least, there is no evidence the distinction
is meaningful in the Duskban League," Ackbar said. "Nil Spaar acts
with the singular initiative and decisiveness of an autocrat--an
absolute ruler."
"He's calling your bluff, Leia," Han said. "There's no other way to
read this."
Rieekan nodded. "I agree."
"Yes," said Ackbar. "Those ships have hyperdrive.
If they came from N'zoth, they left after we sent the first warning."
"I'll have to come back to the Defense Council, then," Leia said,
looking at the chairman.
Behn-kihl-nahm inclined his head. "And if Senator Marook and Senator
Deega prevail this time, now that the stakes are clearly higher? Do we
call the Fifth Fleet home and walk away?"
Leia stood up and walked to the study's viewpane.
From there she stared out into the quiet hedge garden, its sculpted
shapes lit only by the nightglow of Imperial City. "We don't know
what's happening on N'zoth," she said finally. "We only know what's
happening on Door-nik Three Nineteen, and that it's unacceptable." She
turned to them, her arms crossed over her chest. "Will you support a
blockade of Doornik Three Nineteen?"
One by one, they nodded or spoke their acquiescence.
Drayson was the last to respond.
"I do not think the Yevetha will be easily persuaded of their
vulnerability, or our resolve," he said slowly.
"But it seems a reasonable next step, even if it should prove
insufficient."
Leia nodded an acknowledgment, then moved away from the viewpane and
rejoined the
m where they sat.
"Admiral Ackbar, does General A'baht have what he needs to securely
blockade that system?"
"We should consult with him on that," Ackbar said.
"With at least one Yevethau Star Destroyer already there, the general
will need to come in with overwhelming force or risk immediate
hostilities."
"Let's pull up the rules of engagement for planetary blockade and
review them with that in mind," Leia said.
Behn-kihl-nahm stood. "Madame President, if you will excuse me--the
decisions that remain do not require my presence, and I would like to
go home to be with my family. Minister Falanthas--will you walk with
me?
There is a small matter I need to discuss with you--" With the seats on
either side of him suddenly empty, Nanaod Engh found a reason to excuse
himself as well.
Leia looked questioningly at Ackbar when Engh was gone.
"These are hard enough decisions for soldiers," Drayson said. "You
cannot blame them if they want to distance themselves enough so that
they can sleep."
"Why should they be the lucky ones?" Han said grumpily, and sighed.