Jedi Trial (David Sherman & Dan Cragg) by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-10T13:35:50+00:00

16

Anakin paced the bridge of the Nee/tan, clenching and unclenching his fists as he observed the battle cruisers deploy into attack formation. “I should be out there with them,” he muttered.

“No, you belong here,” Grudo answered. “That’s the plan; everyone agreed to it-you agreed. Commanders, too, must follow orders. Once the battle plan is approved, everyone must follow his or her orders. That way, everything works according to the plan. Please, sit. You’re making the crew nervous.”

At that moment Captain Luhar, the Nee/tans captain, glanced up at Anakin. He patted the gravity couch beside him. “Commander, have a seat.”

Reluctantly, Anakin lowered himself onto the couch. “I hate just sitting here,” he grumbled.

You’ll have action soon enough,” Luhar replied. He was sure about Anakin, whom he felt might be too young and inexperienced—Jedi or not-to be second in command of a fleet. He hoped that nothing would happen to General Halcyon. “Increase magnification,” he ordered his navigator. Immediately the Ranger came into sharp focus on the viewscreens. “She’s a beautiful little ship,” Luhar said.

Luhar was a distinguished-looking officer, middle-aged, Ana-kin estimated, with a full head of silver-gray hair. Anakin had admired the man’s calm professionalism from the moment he had first stepped onto the Nee/ians bridge. But the Nee/ian’s role was to guide the troop transports to safe orbit and oversee the landing operations, not engage the enemy fleet, and despite the great responsibility Anakin had accepted when he’d been given command of this operation, the young Jedi was controlling with difficulty his natural urge for action.

The enemy commander had ordered his ships into a vast boxlike formation in orbit above the hemisphere where the Intergalactic Communications Center was located. “We’ll have to break that square to get through to planetfall,” Anakin observed.

Luhar nodded. “It’s a strong defensive formation, sir. But we’ll break it by lining up in a column three ships abreast and attacking at speed. Our ships will concentrate on one side of the square at the same time, in echelon, like a set of moving stairs, to bring the concentrated firepower of our entire battle fleet to bear against that one sector. That’s when we go in. Once we’re through, we’ll disperse the remaining enemy vessels and destroy them individually. Have you ever been in a battle fleet engaged against an enemy, sir?” They’d been over this plan innumerable times, but he knew Anakin would be comforted discussing it again, only minutes before it was to be put into action.

Anakin nodded. “Yes,” he said, “but not from the bridge, not watching everything unfold. I got this-” He tapped his prosthesis. “-in individual combat. Have you ever gone one-on-one against someone who was out to kill you, Captain? Have you ever killed anyone up close?”

“Can’t say as I have. It’s the commander’s job to get others to do the killing, not to go in and do it himself.”

Anakin shot him a look, suddenly annoyed with the captain - from his tone, it seemed to the young Jedi that he didn’t consider individual combat much above the level of starship pilots brawling in a tavern.

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