"He's only in orbit." Stone pointed out.
"In a ship we will have control of." Madine maintained, "The paramount vessel of the fleet- nothing can touch us."
Everyone stilled to silence again, considering.
"Could we use our control of the Invincible to activate its own onboard DEMP's and continue the mission as originally planned?" Ackbar asked, bringing hopeful eyes to him.
"No, Sir." It was Intel Chief Tag who replied, "Unfortunately the Invincible's DEMP's won't be online for the launch; present intelligence suggests they're to be completed at the shipyards in the Koornacht Cluster soon after."
"No chance we could actually get 'em running for the launch- with our own 'techs?" Han asked, though there wasn't much hope in his voice.
"No, Sir. They were never intended to be active for the inaugural flight; the Invincible was always intended to carry out shakedown manoeuvres en-route to the Koornacht Shipyards, then have the final fit and fine-tune."
"Could we lock off the Bridge? Keep Palpatine confined there until we've used the overrides to make a jump out of system?" Stone said, considering.
"No," Leia replied, eyes narrowing in thought, "Launches are traditionally held in low orbit in order to be visible from the planet's surface. There'd be too many other Star Destroyers in our path; we'd never find a safe trajectory in time. If we're not able to disabled those Destroyers, as we could have done with DEMP's they'll immobilize the Invincible's engines to keep us there - or simply use tractor-beams."
"Seal off the Bridge then; cut off oxygen?"
"Possibly," Madine allowed.
"Nah," Han interjected, "A Destroyer Bridge is a big area. You'd be giving 'em an awful long time to get out before they were out of air- and the rest of the Destroyer crew a long time to get to them, no matter how many troops we had onboard."
"Explosive decompression?" Leia suggested. Everyone fell to silence, considering.
"We'd need to check the plans- I don't think there's an airlock." Tag murmured.
"If it were inside the Invincible's defence shields, a relatively small ship could blow out the viewpanes." Leia said.
"All ships without security clearance would have been banned from the area two days in advance." Tag said, always familiar with her enemy's protocols.
Everyone fell to silence again; it was Han who spoke up, "Take one of theirs- hell, they'll have bays full of 'em. If we have the Command Overrides we can release a few TIE's and get 'em into space inside the Invincible's shields."
Tag nodded, "The shields would also prevent the TIE's being shot down by other Destroyers."
Leia considered... was it possible- did they have a real shot at Palpatine? "We could lock down the whole ship to limit Imperial responses from onboard the Invincible- every blast door. Shut down comms- seriously hamper any rescue attempt."
"The Bridge blast doors are the highest-rated onboard." Tag said, lost in thought, "And there'll be three sets in the stretch of corridor to either side of the bridge. If all blast doors were engaged using the override code it would take a while for anyone to get through, even with explosives or cutters."
"Where would we need to be to use the codes?" Han asked, leaning in now, getting a feel for the overall plan.
Madine looked to Tag. "Ops Three, halfway up the Command Tower; that would probably be our best bet. Override Codes will work from various locations; you could close blast doors from any class-one terminal, but to have access to the whole of the Destroyer, including the Bridge doors, defense shields and the TIE Bays, you'd need to be in Ops. And you'd need to be there on the day."
"Can the codes not be used remotely?" Leia asked.
"No. These are back-door codes specific to this ship. There are unique Command Override Codes designed to be used remotely, but these aren't them. We'd never intended to use them in any other way than onboard; when the original plan was made, we didn't expect to have any opposition- our own DEMP's would have rendered any other ship in the area inoperative."
"So we're getting on-board." Leia said, unsure now. "How?"
"It would need to be three days before; they'll begin moving all non-military personnel off then." Tag offered the details, as ever.
"Hey, how hard can it be?" Han asked, "Have you seen the size of one of those things?" I don't believe we can't just find somewhere quiet to stow away for a few days... take a reader, a pack of cards maybe."
"It would have to be a small team if we're hiding them." Leia said, ignoring the Corellian's wisecrack, "Twenty; no more. Four pilots who can fly TIE's; the rest of us will split into two teams and make our way to the Ops Three separately, both units having the Command Code."
"Wait a minute... us?" Han interjected.
"I'm not about to sit this one out." Leia stated firmly.
"That's exactly what you're gonna do, boss." Han said, emphasising his last word.
Tag agreed; "You're no longer in a position where active service missions are an option, Chief."
Leia pursed her lips, "You seriously think I'm going to pass this chance up? This isn't open for discussion; I'm going to be there."
"I'm sorry, Chief, but I can't allow it; I'd be failing in my duty if I did." Tag said firmly, her eyes going to Ackbar for support.
He wasn't slow to offer it, "Leia; you know this would be unwise. Please reconsider."
Leia held her ground, unwilling to let this opportunity go by; to be there - to be in the team who finally brought Palpatine down... or at least had a good chance at it. "Chief Mothma often took command roles in the field-" She argued- and had already seen the error of her words when Madine shot her down.
"Yes- and we lost her there, because we let that rule slide. We can't afford another change in leadership right now, your Highness. Your input and experience would be very much appreciated - from here."
Leia fell to silence before that, looking into the faces of those about the table, knowing there'd be no arguing with them
"..... Fine." Leia agreed, cornered- but she wouldn't give up without a fight; it wasn't in her nature. No; she'd bide her time...
Han turned back to the assemblage, that laconic glint in his eye, "I, on the other hand, am completely expendable, so should head up the team."
Leia took a breath, about to state in no uncertain terms that if she wasn't going, then he wasn't going either, but caught herself in time.
"That's a great idea." She said, bringing his wary eyes back to hers, looking for the catch. "But I think you should fly the escape ship."
"Wait a minute- I'm not sittin' in some boring ship in some empty hangar while everyone else goes trottin' round a Star Destroyer swee..." He paused, realising what he was about to call her in a formal conference in which minutes were being diligently taken. She smiled just slightly and he pursed his lips, half-stubborn, half-sulking; "I'm still not doin' it."
"The important thing about this is going to be keeping a retreat corridor open for the two teams Han; no-one's going to expect us to be there on the way to the Ops room- on the way back, not only will it be a running firefight, but a good portion of the fleet will be just waiting for us to exit the Invincible and run for deep space. I won't ask anybody to go on a suicide mission, therefore I'm going to put my best pilot at the stick."
"I can go on the mission and then fly." Han maintained, ignoring the ego-massage, not missing the fact that she had just said 'us not 'them', but keeping it quiet- for now.
"I think this is perhaps a discussion for later." Leia charged, lifting perfectly-arched eyebrows over mahogany-brown eyes. She turned away, looking to the greater assembly, "For now I'd like to call for a vote on this?"
There was a nod of assent from those about the table, Madine clenching his jaw, willing the project forward without wishing to seem too eager. Leia glanced about, then nodded. "We have an undivided vote, which constitutes an agreement in principle; the mission will go ahead."