by James Luceno
Oelah Kwaad and her chief adepts; and High Prefect Drathul, baton
f high-office in hand, and leading his cabal of personal consuls. Last
me Shimrra, without Onimi—for, as a Shamed One, Onimi was
barred from attending such weighty proceedings—but accompanied
bv his quartet of hideous seers. Attired in a train of living insects and
holding the royal scepter, the Supreme Overlord rode atop a yorik
coral sled drawn by a pack of bissop hounds.
All fangs, talons, horns, and blades, female dervishes whirled at the base of the spire, while the elite arranged themselves in tiers below Shimrra's moonbeam throne. Nom Anor sat close to the top, with an unobstructed view of the sacrificial platform toward which Jakan climbed, followed by a gang of executioners, priestesses, and young acolytes.
At the appointed moment—when the sun had reached a place in the sky from which it could set the rainbow bridge aflame—the captives were led into the complex by a parade of ngdin handlers and Chazrach troops, riding twelve-legged quenak beasts.
Counting what the Peace Brigaders had managed to deliver and those captured only three standard days earlier at Caluula, the captives numbered close to one thousand. Military officers, political officials, soldiers, and protestors from scores of worlds along the invasion corridor—men, women, even a few adolescents who had fought bravely enough to be rewarded with honorable death—they had been purged, bathed, perfumed, mildly sedated with sensislug gas, and blessed with tishwii leaf smoke. Manacled, they wore white robes that glowed with green designs and were veined in black along arterial networks down the sleeves and fronts.
The captives were brought to a halt at the foot of the spiral stair-cases that twisted around the spire. By then Jakan and the others had lched the top and were waiting eagerly.
At Shimrra's nod of consent, Jakan raised his arms and spoke, and 6 bellies of the four mon duuls carried his invocation far and wide.
"Accept what we offer as evidence of our wish to render unto yo what is rightfully yours," the high priest intoned. "If not for you w should not exist!"
Dedicated lambents illuminated statues of the gods, which lin the quadrangle. The statues would be anointed with first blood B because of the special nature of the sacrifice, Yun-Yuuzhan would
going
receive only a healthy share, with much of the sacrificial blood
instead to Yun-Yammka, god of war.
Guards began to force the captives to ascend the staircases Despite their sedation, they floundered and fought, showing no appreciation for the honor that had been bestowed on them. In the end, though, there was little they could do to affect their fate.
The first of the captives had reached the circular platform when a howl rose from below. With nearly half the audience of elites rising to their feet, Nom Anor couldn't see what was going on. It sounded as if a battle had broken out among some of the guards stationed at the base of the spire—perhaps a domain dispute. He pitied those who lacked the self-control to delay their contest until after the sacrifice. But at least he wouldn't be blamed.
Then he realized what was actually happening.
As if detonating, carefully camouflaged chuk'a caps were popping from the quadrangle's hexagonal paving stones. The shells of an aquatic creature, the caps concealed the entrances to shafts that must have descended into the maze of canyons below the Place of Sacrifice—down to the wide thoroughfares that had once separated the tall edifices of Coruscant, down into the dusky underworld of scrub growth and meandering pathways the Shamed Ones had claimed as their own.
Out of the shafts were emerging hundreds of Shamed Ones— Yu'shaa's flock of heretics—armed with amphistaffs, coufees, an array of homemade weapons, even a few blasters! Momentarily taken off their guard, the warriors—many in ceremonial armor only—were slow to react, and dozens were felled in an instant. As the Shamed Ones spread out into the crowd, the commoners began to panic, surging down into the quadrangle.
f iring that the heretics had come for Shimrra, the slayers closed
around the Supreme Overlord, unfurling their amphistaffs,
rlless of any who might be standing in front of them. But Nom
saw that only a small contingent of Shamed Ones was closing on
'mrra's dais, and that this group was clearly a diversion.
T was the prisoners the heretics had come for.
Oblivious, thinking perhaps that it was all a hallucination, the cap-
• were being scooped off their feet by bands of heretics and rushed
•k into the labyrinthine underworld from which the pariah army
d climbed. Not all of them made it to safety; scores were dropped
bv thud and razor bugs, along with three times as many Shamed
Ones.
Shimrra's black-smeared seers were flailing their arms in dread,
and Jakan appeared to have been struck deaf and silent. The executioners, however, were rushing down the staircases and lashing out with their keen weapons, determined to administer at least a few decapitations—as if the gods could be satisfied with a snack, when they had been anticipating a feast!
What blood was running into the quadrangle, the ndgins were thirsty to absorb. Unable to contain themselves, they were wriggling free of their handlers, and, in so doing, providing slick patches of crushed bodies for warriors in pursuit of the heretics and the captives they had set free.
Nom Anor wasn't sure if he should flee, throw himself on one of the slayers' coufees, or crawl to Shimrra on his belly and beg forgiveness while there was still a chance. He glanced over his shoulder to see Drathul skewering him with a look of unmitigated hatred. The high prefect had said that he would hold Nom Anor accountable for any nterference, and now Drathul was intent on making good his threat.
Pressed among the crowd, Nom Anor readied his venom-spitting eoall. Drathul was already shouldering his way through the throng, andishing his baton. Was Nom Anor going to have to kill another IF Prefect just to save his own neck?
^nimrra would have expected no less of him. rathul was almost within arm's reach of Nom Anor when the
Supreme Overlord's voice rang out above the melee of droning t), bugs, snapping amphistaffs, and sizzling blasterbolts, his huge h rising above those slayers that made up his living fence.
"High Prefect Drathul! No more of this shall we brook! At tV place is our patience and goodwill sundered!" Shimrra stood to his fi ii and imposing height, towering over everyone. "I demand the heart every Yuuzhan Vong who has aided and abetted the Prophet!"
Everyone in the vicinity was cowering, except for Norn Ann because of how tightly he was wedged in place. Perhaps that was wh' he alone happened to be gazing past Shimrra when one of the slayers slipped away into the crowd. Except that the individual wasn't slayer. Master of disguise that he was, Nom Anor recognized that the deserter was wearing an ooglith masquer, which not only cloaked his appearance but also reshaped his body.
And from the way the slayer moved—with a somewhat trembling gait—the imposter could only be Onimi.
For the fourth and final micro] ump that would deliver them at last to Mon Calamari, Han and Leia had sealed off the cockpit and spent the entire time in each other's arms, Leia on Han's lap in the pilot's chair, her arms around his neck. By the time the Falcon reverted to realspace Han was delirious, and Leia felt that, as safe corners went, the cockpit wasn't too shabby—at least until they happened on the real thing.
Approaching the water world from well beyond its solitary moon, they were greeted by the sight of an enormous, perhaps unprecedented gathering of warships—a unified force of battle groups, flotillas, and fleets from all regions of the galaxy: Bothan, Bakuran, Imperial Remnant, and Chiss; Sullustan, Hapan, Eriaduan, and Hutt; Corellian and Mon Calamarian. In a glance they saw Mediator-class battle cruisers, Belarus-class cruisers, Lancer-dass frigates, and Hapan Battle Dragons. They saw ensembles of .Now-class battle cruisers and Corellian gunship
s; reprovision flotillas of KDY Mfl"' class heavy freighters; attack groups of Imperial //-class Star Destroyers, Republic-dass cruisers, and Immobilizer-dass interdictors, their hemispherical gravity-well projectors accented by starlight.
There were Ralroost, Rijjhtto Rule, Harbinger, Elegos A'Kla, Mon • and Mon Mothma, the Super Star Destroyer Guardian, and
All$r
ancient Dreadnaught Starsider.
C -You disappear for a couple of days," Han said when he was past initial astonishment, "and the kids turn the house into party
central.'
Wordlessly he and Leia maneuvered the Falcon through corridors
• !ed by the massive ships. The confined lanes were thick with
ficrhters and tenders. Ultimately they were requested to surrender
itrol of the freighter to one of Ralroosfs tractor beams, which car-
. ^ them gently into the cruiser's immense starboard docking bay. A
1 ree crowd had turned out to welcome the Falcon home, and cheers
and applause filled the scrubbed air as Han, Leia, and their roster of
verv influential people descended the boarding ramp.
Jaina rushed from the sidelines to hug her parents for dear life.
Han was nonplussed. "We'd've been here sooner, but we had to spend three days at sublight making repairs to the repairs."
"I knew you were at Caluula," she said, refusing to let go of him. "I should have listened to the Force and gone there."
"I'm glad you didn't," Leia said, taking a moment to gaze at her daughter. "Has there been any further word from the station?"
"A courier arrived from Caluula yesterday," Jaina said. "The station and the planet fell to the Yuuzhan Vong. Hundreds were taken captive and sent to Coruscant."
"The sacrifice," Han said.
Jaina nodded grimly and began to lead her parents away from the falcon.
Han thought about Pash Cracken and the rest who had chosen to
emain at Caluula—rescued only to be captured again. He was
^minded of what had often happened at the beginning of the war,
hen countless refugees had been taken advantage of by pirates and
Peace Brigaders.
Is there news from Coruscant?" he asked.
Jama nodded. "Good and bad—but you can hear for yourself. fOiral Kre'fey wants to bring you up to speed personally." "Give us a hint," Leia said.
tran Leia, and Jaina found seats for themselves.
"Just to catch you up," Kre'fey said, "the sacrifice ceremony took
Jaina lowered her voice. "The Yuuzhan Vong have amassed a armada. We're expecting them to strike us here."
Han blew out his breath. "That explains all the ships." "Let's just hope that wasn't the good news," Leia said.
Jaina talked nonstop for the several minutes it took them t ascend to Ralroosfs command deck and ride a skimmer to a conference cabin amidships. Han and Leia were disappointed to learn that the Jedi still hadn't heard from Luke, Mara, Jacen, or the others It wasn't like them to remain out of contact for so long.
The white-furred Bothan admiral, Traest Kre'fey, rose from his chair at the head of the long conference table as Leia, Jaina, and Han were being escorted into the cabin space. His violet eyes took in Han and Leia, and he smiled broadly. "We were all starting to wonder if you'd decided to take unannounced leave."
"Well, we have our own idea about what constitutes a vacation," Han joked.
Leia managed to smile, but just barely.
By all, Kre'fey had meant the dozen high-ranking officers who were seated at the table. Defense Force Supreme Commander Sien Sow; Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon; Generals Wedge Antilles, Garni Bel Iblis, Keyan Farlander, Carlist Rieekan, and Airen Cracken; Commodore Brand, Queen Mother and Jedi Knight Tenel Ka, and bulky Major General Eldo Davip—promoted as a result of his brave actions aboard the Star Destroyer Lusankya at the Battle of Borleias.
Han and Leia needed no introductions to any of them, but there were others they recognized only by species rather than name.
Han threw everyone a grin of greeting. Leia shook hands with Gilad Pellaeon and Keyan Farlander, kissed Wedge and Tenel Ka on both cheeks, then went to Airen Cracken, with whom she had spoken briefly from the Falcon.
"Pash was one of the officers captured at Caluula Orbital and taken to Coruscant," Cracken said. "But I'm hoping for the best. NO one knows Coruscant better than my son, and if anyone can escape it'll be him."
pla
put
• as scheduled. But our agents report that before anyone had been
the coufee, there was an uprising by several hundred heretics.
jt to tl
heretics managed not only to interfere with the ceremony, but
to abscond with more than three hundred Alliance prisoners.'
"Just to spoil things for Shimrra?" Han asked.
"We're not sure, at this point. But we have learned that an untold
mber of Shamed Ones have been rounded up in return, and are
oarentlv going to be put to death. No Alliance personnel were
among those seized, so presumably our people are being well hidden."
"If they're even alive," Han said. "The Shamed Ones could have staged a sacrifice of their own, in honor of whatever deity they worship." He glanced at Cracken. "Sorry, Airen, but I think it's premature to consider these heretics as allies."
"We agree," Kre'fey said. "The possibility of a secret sacrifice or a hostage scenario cannot be ruled out. However, we have also learned the purpose of the original sacrifice was to ensure victory for the armada Shimrra plans to launch against Mon Calamari."
Han and Leia pretended to be surprised by the news. "Do we know when or how they're going to do this?" Leia asked.
Sow spoke to the question. A Sullustan, he looked as if he were wearing a large-eared, heavy-jowled mask. "Intelligence has determined that the enemy plans to attack directly from the Perlemian Trade Route. Secondary salients will be launched from Toong'l and Caluula, both of which now host yammosks. There appears to be a twofold purpose for installing war coordinators on those worlds: first, to coordinate flanking attacks; and second, to provide rear-guard defense in the event the initial wave is repelled."
Han glanced around the cabin. "How many Yuuzhan Vong vessels are we talking about?"
On the order of five thousand," Bel Iblis supplied flatly, the fin-ers of his left hand smoothing his drooping mustache.
Han sat away from the table in shock. "Then we haven't a chance."
"Not force against force," Sow said. "But we have high Co c dence that the enemy has made a strategic blunder by opting to st from remote worlds like Toong'l and Caluula."
Bel Iblis nodded in agreement. "More important, we think we take advantage of the fact the Yuuzhan Vong are expecting us to r tail and scatter."
Han regarded the inscrutable Sullustan and the gray-haired human. If there was any lingering bad blood between Sow and B I Iblis over what had occurred during the evacuation of Coruscant there was no evidence of it now. In fact, everyone at the table appeared to have reached an accord.
"Why wouldn't we be better off scattering our fleets?" he asked carefully. "We've enough ships to open dozens of new fronts."
"And wage a war of rebel actions for the next ten years, while the enemy grows stronger?" Kre'fey said. "No. By scattering we would leave Mon Calamari open to assault, and we certainly don't want to see happen here what happened on Coruscant. There is no more dangerous species than one that views killing as cleansing." He gave his head a determined shake. "This must be our decisive step."
"Without going into detail at this time," Sow said, "let me just add that we plan to give all appearances of being caught unawares by the armada, and of engaging it head-on. This alone will give the enemy pause. In fact, half our forces will have already relocated to Contruum, which has agreed to serve as our staging area—thanks to the efforts of General Cracken. We're counting on
Captain Page to prevail on the leaders of Corulag to do the same."
Han shook his head in confusion. "Staging areas for what? The farther from Mon Calamari you place those fleets, the more trouble we'll have communicating with them. And if you're thinking of jumping them back to Mon Calamari by surprise, then maybe you need to be reminded of what happened to the Hapans at Fondor."
Tenel Ka acknowledged Han's remark with a veiled nod.
"Fondor was a special circumstance," Commodore Brand said-"Our strategy would have worked if... In any case, it isn't our intention to jump the fleets back to Mon Calamari."
«VVliat is your intention?" Leia asked.
t^'fey cleared his throat meaningfully. "By devoting only half battle groups to the defense of Mon Calamari, the remainder will to move against our primary target-Coruscant."
Chapter
ff
M mutl.
: uthless deeds return to harass their architect, Nom Anor thought as he viewed the execution of the heretics.
The deaths were taking place not atop the yorik coral spire in the Place of Sacrifice, but in an area outside the sacred precinct, where many of Yuuzhan Vong beasts went to die, and warriors trained for combat. Once a sports arena in the district known as the Western Sea, it was now an ossuary—a boneyard—lush with swampy growth, rank with odors of decay, and the breeding ground for millions of meter-long yargh'un rodents. The bowl couldn't hold many spectators, but Shimrra had ordered it filled to overflowing with bone stackers, workers, and low-echelon others, both as a blunt demonstration of his wrath, and as a warning to any who would follow the Prophet.
The doleful music of musicians went unappreciated.
The foodstuffs spread across the banquet tables for the elite went untouched.
The clawed beasts tasked with the executions snorted and bellowed.
This was not noble death but capital punishment.
It was three local days after the abortive sacrifice ceremony, and on orders passed down from Shimrra to High Prefect Drathul, and then on to Nom Anor, three thousand Shamed Ones had been gathered
