He endured the rest of the evening in simmering silence until the Karnak ambassador and her entourage of furball children finally departed, accompanied by the Chief of State and her husband.
When New Republic escorts came to return them to their rooms, Zekk decided to take the first opportunity to escape.
“Don’t worry about tonight, Zekk,” Jaina said in an understanding voice. “You’re our friend. That’s all that matters.”
Zekk felt stung by her comment, by the fact that she had even needed to say such a thing. He didn’t belong here. That truth was etched in burning letters in his brain. He should have known better, but he had pretended that he could fit in with such high-class friends.
When he slipped out the back door of the main dining hall, fully intending to walk too fast for even the rigid escorts to keep up with him, Jaina tried to stop him. “Wait!” she called. “We’re still going to meet tomorrow, right? We promised to help you get that central multitasking unit for Peckhum.”
Zekk didn’t particularly want to go home, but he certainly couldn’t stay. He hurried out into the corridors without answering Jaina.
7
Later that night, the bulk space cruiser Adamant lurched into the Coruscant system, heavily guarded by New Republic warships. The number of assault fighters bristling with turbolaser cannons that clustered around the supply cruiser hinted at the military importance of the cargo it carried.
Standing ready on the cruiser’s command bridge, Admiral Ackbar remained tense despite the additional precautions that had been taken. The Adamant approached a docking zone near the Coruscant space stations, precisely according to schedule. The assault fighters powered down their weapons and split off as each squadron signaled farewell to the admiral, commander of the New Republic Fleet.
“Thanks for the escort,” Ackbar said into the comm unit. “Coruscant security will take over from here.” He switched off and paced the bridge. It had been a long haul, but the New Republic badly needed the modern hyperdrive cores and turbolaser battery emplacements his ship carried in its armored holds. The Adamant would deliver the components to the Kuat Drive Yards, where they would be installed in a new fleet of battleships. Ackbar had been charged with making a formal inspection tour—and he always relished the chance to be aboard a fine military ship.
Though the main threat from the evil Empire had ended, trouble still flared up in the non-allied systems. The fragile government, led by Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, had to be ready at all times with a force strong enough to ward off attacks from known or unknown enemies.
“Coruscant Central acknowledges our arrival,” said the helmsman.
Admiral Ackbar nodded. “It’ll be good to take some rest and recreation downside,” he said, turning to the helmsman and staring with his round, fishy eyes. “Ever been to Coruscant for a furlough before, Lieutenant?”
The young man nodded. “Yes, sir. Several times. I know where there’s this little rooftop cantina, a rotating restaurant that lets you look out across the whole city. They’ve got a keyboard player with ten tentacles. Boy, you should hear the music she makes!”
Admiral Ackbar chuckled just as the tactical officer turned from her station, her normally pale skin flushed as she shouted an alarm. “Admiral! An unidentified fleet just appeared off our starboard bow. Range is less than fifty kilometers and closing fast. They appear to be in an attack formation.”
Ackbar whirled to look out the front viewports. “Attack formation?” he said. “But we’re in the Coruscant protected zone, one of the most heavily guarded areas in the galaxy. Who could possibly attack us?” He saw the incoming fleet as it soared in like birds of prey, appearing out of nowhere. In the same moment, he felt the stunning blows from their ion cannons, which immediately crippled the Adamant’s defensive systems.
“Battlestations!” he cried in his gravelly voice as another thundering blow slammed into the side of the Adamant.
“Minor outer hull breach,” the operations officer shouted. “Loss of pressure. Emergency bulkhead doors have closed.”
“Transmit a distress signal,” Ackbar yelled. “Request immediate assistance from Coruscant security. Now!”
“All weapons systems off-line,” the tactical officer reported. “We can’t even fire a shot. Engines are still undamaged, though—almost as if our attackers are trying not to target them.”
“They want to steal this ship,” Ackbar said as the cold realization struck him. “And its cargo.”
The communications officer had begun transmitting a distress signal, but the round-faced young man looked up almost immediately, his cheeks pale. “Sir, communication systems are nonfunctional. We can’t even request help.”
Admiral Ackbar swallowed. Coruscant would note the attack and respond within minutes—but by then, he knew, it would be too late.
The enemy ships closed in.
The modified assault shuttle zeroed in on its target. At his controls the former TIE pilot Qorl guided the attack. He wore a black skull-like helmet that sealed against his skin and recirculated breathable air. The dark goggles covering his eyes transmitted important tactical data to his retinas.
He positioned the shuttle’s circular cutting “mouth” attachment against the armor plating of the Rebel supply cruiser. The name Adamant had been stenciled on the side … Adamant, which meant impenetrable, unyielding. Qorl grunted to himself. The exceedingly tough cutting teeth were made from industrial-grade Corusca gems and could slice through any known substance. The Shadow Academy’s takeover troops would be in control of the ship within moments.
Qorl punched an important-looking red button on the controls. It set the Corusca blades spinning, chewing, until the attachment had sliced out a large circle in the Adamant’s hull, opening a hole into the supply cruiser.
Qorl clenched the black-gloved hand of his bulky droid arm into a fist. His own arm had been crippled when his TIE fighter crashed on the jungle moon of Yavin 4, but Imperial engineers had replaced the twisted limb with a more powerful droid attachment. His strength had increased, though he could not feel anything with his new mechanical fingers.
Eager stormtroopers assembled in the boarding tube, holding their blaster rifles ready. Qorl knew that the supply cruisers main defenses had been on the escort ships, the fourteen heavily armed corvettes, E-wings, and X-wings that had flanked the Adamant on its trip to Coruscant. The Rebels had become complacent at their capital world, though, and they had let their defenses lapse for just a moment. Qorl, lurking in his invisible hiding place, had seized that moment to strike.
“Airtight seal complete,” a stormtrooper captain reported.
“Very well,” Qorl said, standing from his command chair. “Begin the assault. We must be away from here within five standard minutes. We have no time for errors.”
The sealed hatch of the boarding tube popped open, and the stormtroopers charged in, firing at anything that moved using only stun beams. They had no particular desire to avoid killing the Adamant’s crew, but deadly blaster bolts might cause irreparable damage to the bridge’s control systems.
Some of the Rebel crew had taken shelter behind consoles. They fired at the stormtroopers, releasing wild bursts of energy. One trooper went down, a smoking hole in his white chest armor, making a gurgling sound that ended with a burst of static over his comm system.
Qorl marched in, holding a blaster pistol in his droid hand. The stormtroopers fired repeatedly. The Rebel helmsman went down, flying backwards as bolts of blue energy knocked him aside. A tactical officer screamed a challenge as she leaped from her position, shooting four times in quick succession. She killed two stormtroopers before she, too, was stunned.