Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Read Online Free PDF Page B

arrangement. He knew that the responsibilities of my command took precedence over the success of his mission. ” At least I hope he did, she added silently to herself. “We were on the same side. Senator, and I am not ashamed of helping him. I would help him again, in a heartbeat. ” If I could.
    Everyone started to speak at once, but it was Mon Mothma’s voice that carried the moment.
    “Did you know about this, Commodore?”
    “No, Senator, but I take full responsibility. ” Viedas’s green skin had turned faintly purple around the edges. Juno hoped that didn’t mean anger among his species.
    “Commodore Viedas couldn’t have known, ” she said. “I was careful to keep it a secret from him, because I knew that he would not approve. “
    “Did you take any losses, Captain?” asked Mon Mothma.
    “Six starfighters, ” she said. “That’s less than our last official mission, which was considered a success. “
    “I want more details, ” said Bel Iblis, leaning forward in the hologram to steeple his fingers. “What did your collaboration with Kota gain us?”
    “Well, we know that Cato Neimoidia is better defended than we initially thought. It’s taken some hits and brought in reinforcements. The Empire knows we’re watching the slave industry now. Baron Tarko will be more cautious in how he mistreats his ‘stock. ‘”
    “So he’s still alive?”
    “I’m afraid so. “
    “You said were, ” put in Leia. “You and Kota were on the same side. “
    Juno couldn’t meet the Princess’s observant eye. It was she who worried Juno more than the others. Her father had been an old friend of the general. They had known each other longer than Juno had been alive.
    “Kota fell on Cato Neimoidia, ” Juno said. “His end of our joint mission was not successful. “
    The air in the conference room seemed to solidify as the news sank in.
    “Did you try…” Bel Iblis began, but cut himself off. The thought didn’t need to be finished.
    “You were constrained by your orders, ” said Mon Mothma, nodding. “That I understand. But do you see where you have left us? By assisting Kota-by actively encouraging him in his reckless solo campaign against the Empire-you have cost the Rebel Alliance our most experienced general. Can you honestly say that we have benefited from this outcome?”
    Juno met the Senator’s accusatory stare without flinching. “I believe he would have died anyway-perhaps long before now-without my help. You know his history as well as I do. He was never going to sit around and watch as opportunities came and went. “
    “She’s right, ” said Bel Iblis. “The longer we wait, the more people like Kota we’re going to lose. “
    “But if we attack now, we might lose everything. ” The passion in Mon Mothma’s voice was naked. Even by hologram, the mixture of grief and determination could not be mistaken. “Renegades like Kota would have us die by degrees or burn in one final conflagration. There must be another way!”
    “There is, ” said Juno.
    All eyes turned back to her.
    This was the moment she had prepared for all the way from Cato Neimoidia. She wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers.
    “We’ve lost a general, ” she said, “and we must mourn him. But we can’t let a setback like this knock us off course. ” She said the words with a faint sense of deja vu, remembering the traumatic times after the agreement on Kashyyyk-except then they had been Kota’s words, not hers. “We must find a replacement for him-a military leader who will rally people to our cause-someone who comes with his own resources, as Kota did, but someone who also captures the perfect balance of action and caution we need to embody, if we’re going to win this war. “
    “Do you have someone in mind, Captain?” asked Mon Mothma.
    She was ready for this, too. “I’ve been hearing about a Mon Calamari called Ackbar, a slave we rescued from the Eriadu system…”
    “Captain