—
The attacking ships, all three clusters, were within firing distance of the cruisers now. Eli clenched his teeth, wondering when they would begin the slaughter. The attackers continued on, reached point-blank range—
And in smooth unison their formations split apart, the ships swinging wide around the cruisers and support vessels. They cleared the obstacles, re-formed their clusters, and continued inward toward the Chimaera.
Without firing a single shot.
“What in the world?” Faro muttered.
“Nightswan learned from our attack on Scrim Island,” Thrawn said calmly. “You see how he brought his ships in along the precise vectors where our fire would be blocked by the cruisers for the first leg of their attack.”
“Yes, sir,” Faro said. “Speaking of our fire…?”
“Patience, Commander,” Thrawn said. “Senior Lieutenant Lomar, inform the cruisers to break free of the barges immediately.”
“You’re sending them away now, sir?” Eli asked. “I thought you put them out there so they could jump before an enemy force could open fire.”
“An incorrect assumption, Commander,” Thrawn said calmly. “The attackers were never going to fire on them. Remember, we face Nightswan, who insisted that the Dromedar’s crew be held captive by pirates who wanted to kill them. He would never order his forces to fire on ships that could not fire back.” He gestured out the viewport toward the Shyrack. “From a purely tactical point of view, having our undamaged ships and their crews behind his attackers and directly in our line of fire should also make us hesitate to open defensive fire.”
“And that’s why you’re sending them away?” Faro asked. “So we can finally fight back?”
“I am not sending them away.” Thrawn gave her a small smile. “Patience, Commander. Commander Vanto, report on the repair barges.”
“They’ve pulled away from the Shyrack,” Eli said, studying the display. “Same for those around the Flensor and Tumnor…” He paused, peering at the group of repair structures. Was something emerging from behind them? “Admiral? Are those—?”
“They are indeed, Commander,” Thrawn said quietly. “TIE fighters, a full squadron from each location. Brought into the Batonn system concealed inside the repair barges.”
Eli exhaled a quiet breath, the knot in his stomach suddenly loosening as he finally understood. “Waiting for the attacking ships to pass by.”
“Yes,” Thrawn said. “And now, thanks to Nightswan’s strategy, they are perfectly positioned behind their targets.”
Even as Eli watched, the TIEs curved smoothly around the barges and accelerated to attack speed, bearing down on the incoming insurgent vessels. “Our TIEs are still on sentry screen,” he said. “Where did these come from?”
“The Judicator,” Thrawn said. “Admiral Durril was kind enough to loan them to us. Commander Faro?”
“Sir?”
“Instruct our turbolasers to stand by to fire,” Thrawn said. “Remind them not to overshoot against the TIEs.”
“Yes, sir,” Faro said, a tight smile on her face. “Fire control, you heard the admiral. Enemy incoming. Get ready to take them down.”
—
It was time.
Arihnda’s parents were safely inside Major Talmege’s HQ. Arihnda was standing behind the vehicle. The steady light of the stars overhead showed they were finally out from under the Creekpath shield.
And no one was watching.
She couldn’t stop Yularen’s special squad. She couldn’t prevent them from finding Gudry’s body. All she could do was make sure they never reported it.
Raising Gudry’s comm, she keyed the remote.
Not the Signal One remote, the one that would destroy the shield. The Signal Two remote, the one that would set off Nightswan’s cache of explosives.
And suddenly, the world shattered into a blaze of fire.
—
Whatever Eli might think of Durril’s abilities as a tactician, the Judicator’s starfighter pilots were among the best he’d ever seen. By the time the attackers reached the Chimaera’s close-firing range, their numbers had been decreased by nearly two-thirds.
It was the Chimaera’s turn now.
The sky was filled with speeding ships and the green flashes of turbolaser blasts when, out of the corner of his eye, Eli saw the display centered on the Creekpath strongpoint light up with a brilliant burst of light.
He spun to the display, his breath catching in his throat. For another fraction of a second the smoke-swirled fire remained a near-perfect circle—
And then, with a second flicker of light from the very center, the circle vanished and the roiling mass of smoke and debris became a tangle-edged cloud as it blew farther outward.
Someone in one of the crew pits swore…and abruptly Eli understood.
The explosives Gudry had rigged had detonated. But with the shield still in place the massive blast had been contained and deflected inward and downward, demolishing not only the insurgents’ stronghold but also the multitude of civilian homes clustered around the mine complex.
What the hell had the insurgents just done?
The Chimaera’s bridge had gone quiet. Thrawn was the first to break the silence. “Commander Faro, signal Colonel Yularen and the ground commanders,” he said, his voice calm but with an edge to it. “The troopers are to enter the insurgent complex immediately.
“But not for combat. For search and rescue.”
“Understood, sir,” Faro said, her voice under rigid control. “And those?” she added, pointing at the enemy ships swarming through the blaster cannon and turbolaser fire.
“If any break off and run, let them go,” Thrawn said. “Their tales of what happened here today will hasten the demoralization of any other such groups.”
“And those that stay to fight?”
Thrawn didn’t hesitate. “Destroy them.”
—
“Did you see that?” Elainye asked yet again, her voice still shaking. “Did you see that?”
“I saw it, Mother,” Arihnda confirmed as she half led, half dragged her parents to the waiting shuttle. Behind them, the whole Imperial line had come alive as men and vehicles moved into the blazing buildings and scattered debris that had been the Creekpath mining complex. “And no, I have no idea what happened.”
“Such a terrible thing,” Elainye murmured. “How could the Empire have done something like that?”
“You want to blame someone, blame the insurgents,” Arihnda countered, more harshly than she’d intended. “They’re the ones who forced this confrontation.”
Her mother fell silent. Her father hadn’t spoken at all since they’d left Talmege’s vehicle.
Arihnda had to admit to a certain queasiness of her own. The shield-contained blast had been far more devastating than she’d expected.
But it had served its purpose. The explosion or the resulting firestorm had surely obliterated her parents’ home, and with it the evidence of Gudry’s murder.
In the end, that was all that mattered.
“Here’s what you’re going to do,” she said, shaking both her parents a little to make sure she had their attention. “The pilot has instructions to take you to the Paeragosto City landing field and a transport called the Duggenhei. Your passage to Lothal has already been paid. Once there, go to the governor’s mansion—I’ll call ahead and instruct them to put you in one of the guest suites. I’ll join you as soon as I can, and we’ll figure out then what you want to do. Clear?”
“But—” Elainye began.
“No buts, Mother,” Arihnda said. “Just go, and wait. Okay?”
Elainye sighed. “All right.”
“Father? Okay?”
Talmoor merely nodded.
“Okay,” Arihnda said, stopping at the foot of the shuttle’s ramp and releasing their arms. “Get going. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She watched as they made their silent way aboard, both still moving like dreamers trapped in a horrible nightmare. The hatch closed, and the shuttle took off, heading for the distant lights of the city.
“Your parents?”