Free Wedge's Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole

anyone connected with his project does not fall into Rebel hands.” She smiled coldly. “And if I were you, the implications thereof would frighten me to death.”

8
    Wedge dried the palms of his hands on his thighs as he watched Admiral Ackbar rise in response to Mon Mothma’s invitation. “Thank you, Chief Councilor. My staff and I have spent a considerable amount of time since yesterday’s session reviewing and analyzing all pertinent files concerning Coruscant. While we are still of the opinion that a blockade of the world is the preferable course of action from the military point of view, we are willing to concede that other factors may make this option unavailable to us.”
    Mon Mothma smiled with genuine pleasure. “I appreciate your efforts in this regard, my friend. Have you discovered another way to approach this problem?”
    “We have identified a number of them, Chief Councilor.”
    Borsk Fey’lya tapped a button on the datapad in front of him. “A more logical course would have been to identify the greatest problem preventing our conquest, would it not?”
    The Mon Calamari nodded solemnly in the Bothan’s direction. “We have done this as well. Clearly the overlappingplanetary shields are the primary impediment to achieving our goal.”
    The large black Wookiee seated to Princess Leia’s right growled a question that Leia’s gold 3PO unit translated. “Oh, my, Councilor Kerrithrarr wishes to know if you have found a way to bring the shields down?”
    The Wookiee snarled and the gold droid’s arms flapped for a second. “I conveyed the meaning of your message, Councilor, without using the colorful analogy you suggested. For clarity, sir.”
    “I understand the question.” Ackbar held a hand up to forestall further elaboration from the Wookiee. “In reply, perhaps an analogy is appropriate in that Coruscant can be likened to the first Death Star.”
    Borsk Fey’lya barked a quick laugh. “You suggest we let Skywalker and Rogue Squadron fly in and destroy the planet with a well-placed proton torpedo?”
    “I am terribly sorry to disappoint my esteemed colleague from Bothawui, but I was thinking to the prior visit to the Death Star, when Obi-wan Kenobi succeeded in sabotaging the facility to allow the Millennium Falcon to escape.” Ackbar pressed both of his hands against the tabletop. “The overriding problem we have in deciding how to approach Coruscant is determining exactly what is where. Huge construction droids are constantly grinding up old buildings and creating new ones. While we do have agents on the ground who are trying to supply us with as much data as possible, most of it comes from assets placed within the Imperial administration. While this has allowed us to react to things the Empire is doing off-planet, these resources are poorly positioned and trained to provide us with the sort of military data needed to enable us to effectively plan for conquest.”
    Doman Beruss looked over at Ackbar. “You want to send a team of military specialists to Coruscant as a prelude to moving on the world?”
    “It is a stormy sea, but this venture is the first stroke in calming it.”
    Doman looked over toward Mon Mothma and beyondto one of the Chief Councilor’s advisers. “General Cracken, this sort of intelligence operation falls into your area of expertise. Are you prepared to handle it?”
    “Councilor Beruss, I have reviewed the general guidelines for the operation and I approve of them. I am prepared to use the assets I have developed on Coruscant to aid Admiral Ackbar’s effort. However, the general division of labor within the Alliance—a division caused by our limited resources—means most of my people lack a prime requisite for being able to carry out this operation.”
    The Bothan craned his neck around to look at Cracken. “That requisite being?”
    “None of my available people are fighter pilots.” Cracken gestured in Wedge’s direction. “Admiral Ackbar has