Star Wars - Black Fleet Crisis - Shield Of Lies

by Michael P. Kube-Mcdowell

  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

  to be concerned.

  "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.