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At the moment the broadcast began, a late meeting was under way in the
office wing of the president's residence. Behn-kihl-nahm, Admiral
Ackbar, Admiral Drayson, Leia, and Han were painstakingly crafting an
announcement about the Yevethan massacres, and a strategy to guide them
after its release in the morning.
They had just broken a deadlock over how to handle Plat Mallar's
involvement--Leia was determined not to exploit him, and carried the
argument--when all four datapads on the table began to chirp warning
signals.
"Cha nnel One," Leia said, silencing her alarm.
"Did any of you--" "No," said Ackbar.
"Absolutely not," said Behn-kihl-nahm.
"Then who?" asked Drayson.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Han said darkly.
The holomonitor on the end wall came on by itself for a Channel 1
dispatch. "Citizens of the New Republic," said the image of Nil
Spaar.
"I beg your
indulgence for this intrusion, and I apologize for the unhappy news I
must bring you."
Behn-kihl-nahm flushed in an angry red. "If any member of the Senate
has had any part in this--" "Quiet," Drayson said sharply.
"I am the viceroy of the Duskhan League, a free federation of Yevetha
worlds in what you call the Koornacht Cluster," said Nil Spaar. "I
have come to you a second time to tell you of events far from your
homeworlds, and warn you of a danger very close at hand.
"Two days ago, the forces of the Yevethan Protectorate successfully
thwarted a deadly plot against our people and our way of life. The
plot involved inhabitants of three planets--" "Three?" said
Behn-kihl-nahm. "They can't count or tell the truth."
"--located near the boundaries of our territory.
These outsiders, whom we had generously allowed to settle on Yevethan
soil, betrayed our trust and hospitality.
All were discovered to be secretly assisting our enemies prepare for an
invasion.
"We have escaped the immediate danger. We acted swiftly and forcefully
in our defense, and we make no apology for doing so. All those
responsible have been executed for their crimes--" "Great stars," said
Ackbar. "He's claiming credit for the massacres."
"--but you, the homeworlds, remain in danger.
Because the plot against us was hatched on Coruscant, by a new
generation of warlords. They are our enemies--not because we wish it,
but because they have chosen it.
"They are your enemies as well. They hide their faces and their evils
behind a cloak of open government.
Do not underestimate their perfidy. A New Empire is being born, led by
a child of the old Empire.
Your dream has been betrayed. You have placed your trust in immoral
and deceitful leaders.
"I accuse President Princess Leia Organa Solo of high crimes against
her office, and against my people.
"Even now, after her conspiracy has been revealed, she threatens us.
Warships of the New Empire are in Farlax at this very moment, seeking
to compel my silence and our submission. She covets our wealth, and
fears our independence.
"But know this--the Yevetha will never bow our necks to this woman and
her hired killers. We will resist her predations to the fullest
measure. Her spies and conspirators know that now. Her generals will
know it soon. We will resist, and we will prevail.
"We regret the deaths which have already transpired.
But they are on her hands, and the hands of those who serve her without
question. We have the right to protect ourselves. We will never
accept the authority of the Coruscant warlords over our dominion.
And we will not tolerate the daughter of Vader meddling in our
affairs.
"If you do not renounce her, and you will not restrain her, then be
prepared for war."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR MICHAEL P. KuBE-McDoWELL is the pen name of
Philadelphia-born novelist Michael Paul McDowell. His highly praised
works include the star-spanning 1985
Philip K. Dick Award finalist Emprise and the evocative 1991 Hugo Award
nominee The Quiet Pools.
In addition to his eight previous novels, Michael has contributed more
than two dozen short stories to leading magazines and anthologies,
including Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, After
the-Flames, and Alternate Warriors. Three of his stories have been
adapted as episodes of the horror-fantasy television series Tales from
the Darkside. He is the author of more than five hundred nonfiction
articles on subjects ranging from "scientific creationism" to the U.S.
space program.
A popular guest at SF conventions, Michael is also a member of the
cheerfully amateur folk-rock group The Black Book Band, in which he
plays guitar, keyboards, and viola. A live. album, First Contact, was
released in 1995 by Dodeka Records.
Michael resides in central Michigan with artist and modelmaker Gwen
Zak, children Matt and Amanda, cats Doc and Captain, and "entirely too [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]