Han Solo gazed unhappily at one of the most beautiful sunsets he had ever seen.
And he had seen a lot of sunsets on a lot of different worlds, but as Mon Calamari’s primary hit the ocean horizon and threw its shadow across the waves, the sky went as subtle and iridescent as mother-of-pearl.
Gaudy sunsets were easy to come by, especially on worlds with dense or dusty atmospheres—understated beauty was more difficult, not only because it was rare, but also because it sometimes took a lifetime to learn to appreciate it.
Which was why it was too bad he couldn’t really enjoy it. The problem wasn’t with the sunset—it was that he was on Mon Calamari to see it.
“We can’t fight every battle in this war,” Leia pointed out.
“What?” Han grumped. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. You’ve been brooding ever since Twin Suns pulled out. In fact, since Tahiri left.”
“We should’ve gone with her,” he opined.
“Which one? Jaina or Tahiri?”
“Take your pick.”
Leia shook her head. “Jaina’s a starfighter pilot. It’s what she wants to be. It’s where she sees her duty. She’s been flying with the Galactic Alliance forces for months now. If we tried to horn our way into the Bilbringi push somehow, she’d—well, she wouldn’t like it, to say the least. And Tahiri—Corran can take care of her. I know he can.” She crossed her arms. “But that’s not it, is it?”
“Whaddya mean?”
“You’re bored. Two weeks without someone trying to kill us, and you’re bored out of your mind.”
“I’m not bored,” Han replied. “I just—there must be something we can be doing besides sitting around looking at sunsets.”
Leia sighed and settled into one of the divans. She gave him one of those looks. “Nothing’s happened in, oh, days that needs you, Han. Sure, things are happening, but they’re things almost any competent pilot could deal with. But when something comes along only Han Solo can handle—”
“All right, that’s enough sarcasm for one night,” Han said.
It was a mistake. A glimmer of hurt appeared in her eyes. “I’m only being slightly sarcastic, Han,” Leia said. “Maybe not at all. In war, sometimes the most important thing—and the hardest—is to just sit still.”
He made a face. “You really know how to—”
She reached out and took his hand. “Stop right there,” she said, “and I may show you something else I know how to …” She trailed off suggestively.
“I dunno,” Han said. “It’s an awfully nice sunset.”
Leia gestured to the place next to her on the divan and raised her eyebrows.
Han shrugged. “You’ve seen one sunset, you’ve seen ’em all.”
Something pinging interrupted his sleep. Han sat up and muzzily looked around for the source, finally identifying it as the comm unit in their room. Easing out of bed, he stumbled toward it and opened the channel.
“Yeah?” he mumbled. “This has to be good.”
“I’m not sure good is the right word, Solo,” a distorted voice said.
Han snorted. He wasn’t falling for that again.
“Cut it out, Droma, and tell me what’s up. What’s the Ryn network into now?”
“I’ve no idea what you mean, Solo,” the voice replied. “But something is definitely up.”
“Look, it’s late—no, it’s early,” Han said, rubbing his eyes with palm of his hand. “What is it?”
“The Vong have deployed something new,” maybe-Droma said. “They launched them a few days ago. Some kind of unpiloted drones, we think, unless they’ve developed some really small pilots.”
Han was wide awake now. “What kind of drones?”
“We don’t know what they do, if that’s what you mean. But it can’t be good. Figured I’d give you a heads-up. You might mention it to the military, too.”
“Yeah, I might,” Han said. “Is that all you can tell me?”
“At this time, yes. We’re trying to track one of them, but they’re slippery.”
“Some kind of weapon?”
“If I knew that I would tell you. But the Vong are excited about them.”
“Thanks,” Han said. Then more heavily: “And Droma, if this is you—I don’t appreciate the subterfuge. I mean, security is security, but I thought the two of us—”
But he was talking to a dead comm.
“Who was that?” Leia asked, from behind him. He hadn’t heard her approach, but he wasn’t surprised, either.
“One of our pals in the Ryn network, I think. Maybe Droma. You heard?”
“Yes.”
He reached for the comm. “I’d better pass this on.”
But when he tried to call control, he got put on hold.
ALL CIRCUITS RESERVED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES.
He frowned at the device, and then started for where he’d left his trousers.
“I’m going down there,” he said.
“I’m right with you.”
They arrived to a tense but relatively quiet situation room. They were greeted briefly by Sien Sovv.
“The first wave is about to go in,” the Sullustan said. “Under Antilles. He should be coming out of hyperspace in five minutes.”
“Mind if we stay?” Han asked. “When you’ve got a spare minute I have something to brief you on.”
“Of course you may stay. Your daughter is with Antilles, isn’t she?”
“Last I heard. But that’s not why I came down.”
“Can it wait, then?”
“I think so,” Han said.
He watched Sovv return to control, feeling itchy. He hadn’t spent much time in situation rooms—he’d always been on the other end of things, mostly ignoring everything he heard from control. Sure, battle computers were great, but they didn’t feel anything. They didn’t have instinct to help them out.
“General Sovv!” someone shouted.
“What is it?”
“Admiral Pellaeon hasn’t reported in, sir. He was supposed to alert us when he had reached position for the Bilbringi jump.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The HoloNet relay in that area seems to be down.”
“Can you boost the signal from the next nearest?”
“I can try.” The comm technician frowned and fiddled with something. “Sir, transmission coming through from HoloNet relay Delta-aught-six!”
“Put it on.”
An excited voice crackled over the comm. “… some kind of ships, very small. They look Vong, but don’t fit any of our profiles. We can’t get them all. Six of them have—” Loud static replaced the voice.
Small ships? The drones his unknown caller had warned him about?
“We’ve just lost touch with Gamma,” another communications officer reported. He punched wildly at his controls and then looked up, his face very pale. “Sir, the HoloNet’s down. I can’t find a live relay anywhere.”
“General,” Han said, “I think my news just became a lot more important.”
“The HoloNet is down,” General Sovv confirmed twenty standard minutes later, in a hastily convened meeting of the war council. “The cause is undetermined, though there is some evidence that it’s due to a new Yuuzhan Vong weapon—some sort of drone.”
“Some evidence?” Han interrupted. “You heard the report from Tantiss Station.”
Sovv conceded that with a nod. “We assume the other stations were destroyed in the same way,” he said. “Whatever the details, it seems clear that this was an extremely well-coordinated strike at the heart of our communications network. The timing is … suspicious.”
“But not conclusive,” Bel Iblis said. “They may have known we were planning to strike—they probably did—but not where. By taking down the entire HoloNet, they jeopardize our success whatever our target.”
“I tend to agree,” Sovv said. “An examination of when the relays went off-line indicates that the first to go were not those nearest Bilbringi. In fact, the process seems to have started some time ago, albeit in sectors we aren’t for the most part in communication with anyway. Still, your whole point remains valid. Without the HoloNet to coordinate the other two fleets, General Antilles is very much on his own.”
Jaina, Leia thought. But her daughter was still alive. She could feel that much.
“Then all that fighting we did at Esfandia was for nothing?” she said.
“We don’t know if Esfandia is still up or not—all the relays linking it Coreward are gone, though. We’re as cut off as the fleets.”
“General Antilles is no fool,” Bel Iblis said. “The other fleets have orders not to make the jump to Bilbringi without his go-ahead. When he realizes he’s lost his lines of communication, he’ll retreat, as per his orders.”
“If he can,” Han said. “But if they were expecting the attack—or even if they weren’t, and they have interdictors—he’ll have to fight his way out.”
“Can he do that?” Leia asked.
“No,” Sovv replied. “Our intelligence tells us that the Vong fleet at Bilbringi is too strong for Antilles to defeat without backup.”
“And the Vong haven’t lost their communications,” Bel Iblis pointed out. “They can call for backup anytime.”
“What will Pellaeon and Kre’fey do when they don’t hear from Wedge?” Leia asked.
“They will hold their positions for a time, but when they’re sure no communication is forthcoming—”
“Oh, it’s forthcoming,” Han said. “Which force is larger?”
“Beta—the Imperials.”
“Where is it?” Han demanded.
“That’s classified, Captain Solo,” Sovv said.
“Classified?” Han sputtered. “This whole thing has already gone south, General. I say we need to salvage what we can.”
“What do you propose, Solo?” Bel Iblis asked.
“We don’t have the HoloNet. Hyperwave’s not good enough for those distances. The only thing we have faster than light is ships, and the Millennium Falcon is the fastest ship there is.”
“He’s right,” Leia said. “We need to set up a courier service, and fast. It’s not just this battle, either—the Yuuzhan Vong will certainly take advantage of this blackout to strike. We could lose whole star systems without knowing about it.”
“Yeah, but they are already too thin to keep the systems they have,” Han said. “But our main concern right now—”
“—is the fleet,” Sovv replied. “Quite right. General Solo, if you’re willing, I’m putting you in charge of a courier service to the fleet. Find four other ships, military or otherwise, but people you trust. Reestablish the lines of communication between Antilles, Pellaeon, and Kre’fey. I’ll also take suggestions on someone to head up a more widespread emergency information service. As it stands now, we are in a vacuum, and everything we have won is in jeopardy.”