“Good point, but I suspect Quelev Tapper can convince Karrde that we’re trustworthy.”
Booster laughed. “Continue paying in advance, and Karrde will believe it.”
“That we’ll do.” Wedge straightened up. “Remember, we’ve now eliminated one of Isard’s four ships.”
“Sure,” Corran sighed, “but it was the smallest of them all.”
“Agreed, but Ait Convarion was probably the most aggressive of the commanders Isard had working for her. He knew how to fight a Star Destroyer—what chances you could take with it and what chances you couldn’t. He expected us to scatter and we didn’t, which is why he died. The commanders of the larger ships are likely to be more conservative.” Wedge smiled. “The Empire’s boldest Admirals died at Yavin. Regardless, both Avarice and Virulence are the newer-model Imperial-class Star Destroyers, deuces—so they carry six squadrons of TIEs. No matter how good or bad their commanders are, they can overwhelm us.”
Corran smiled. “With targets.”
“Yes, but targets that shoot back.” Wedge shook his head. “Impstar deuces have a crew of nearly forty-six thousand people, if you count the troops they carry in the mix. They have a lot of firepower. Granted that it’s not terribly well suited for use against snubfighter squadrons, but an Impstar deuce will take a lot more pounding than a victim like the Corrupter before it goes away.”
Tycho nodded. “The one thing we have going for us in this regard is that a big ship has a lot more things that can go wrong with it than a smaller ship—maintaining our X-wings is easy compared to maintaining an Impstar deuce. Isard is going to have to be using them to run with convoys, and if we keep hitting them, the Impstars are going to have to be on a near constant state of alert. That will take its toll.”
“But will they wear out before you do?” Mirax looked from Wedge to Tycho, Tal’dira, and finally Corran. “Even before this last operation, you were pushing yourselves very hard. Tycho’s right, repairing an X-wing is easier than repairing a Star Destroyer, and I don’t doubt we can do things to spike the prices on crucial parts for Isard’s ships by buying them up ourselves, but replacing any of you or your people is going to be impossible.”
Corran knew that she was asking the right question, but she was missing clues to the answer. “One advantage we have, Mirax, is that Isard’s forces have to react to us. They always have to suppose we’re out there, whereas we only have to deal with them when we are out there. It will be rougher on them than it is on us. We can’t keep this up forever, but we won’t have to.” He looked at Wedge. “Right, Commander?”
“I hope so, Corran.” Wedge folded his arms across his chest. “I like the idea of buying up some critical parts. Turbolaser focal lenses, power couplers, and the like. Better yet if we can find junk and get it to the other side, that would help a lot.”
“I’ll see what I can do on that count, Wedge.”
“Thanks, Booster.” Wedge frowned. “I also gather you’re going to speak to Karrde about how the Imps found us at Alderaan?”
A braintail twitched its way toward the center of the table. “How do we know the information was not transmitted from our side to Isard’s people?”
Booster looked over at Tal’dira. “Our freighters were slaved for the jumps to the Skate. I didn’t tell my people where we were going. Wedge told you fighter jocks where we were going in your mission briefing, but that was only forty-eight hours before the run. The Aggregator was given over to Isard five days before the strike, and the pilots on it were run through mission-specific briefings about twelve hours after the ship arrived. Karrde had the information about our run a good two standard weeks before that, which means the data squirted from his people to the Imps.”
“Besides, if one of Booster’s people betrayed us, Isard would have showed up here with the Lusankya.” Corran tapped a finger against the tabletop. “Presumably, that’s information Karrde doesn’t have.”
“Nor information he’ll get from me or my people.” Booster snarled directly at Corran. “My people are good people, Horn. Decidedly trustworthy.”
Aril Nunb chittered in Sullustan for a second, then translated to Basic. “Booster, Corran did not mean to suggest your people are untrustworthy—he stated as much by noting we were not attacked here.”
“I know what he was implying, Captain Nunb.” Booster’s frown deepened. “He’s CorSec, through and through, and a Horn on top of that. He assumes no one who’s ever moved a little contraband can be trusted.”
Corran wanted to protest that he hadn’t meant what Booster thought he did, but he had to admit to himself that, deep down, he was suspicious of the smugglers Booster had working on hauling supplies for them. In the past it would have been simply because they were smugglers, and anyone who has once crossed the border between lawful and lawless is likely to do it again and again. Because of that, they can’t be trusted, at least they can’t from the point of view of someone who is lawful. Now, because I’m an outlaw, I know that isn’t exactly true, but I didn’t suspect Erisi until too late, primarily because she was one of us. Because that fact made me blind to her treachery, I want to avoid falling into that same trap again.
He looked over at Booster. Of course, he’ll never believe that.
Wedge rapped a knuckle on the table. “Enough, Booster. Aril’s right, and no matter what Corran might or might not think about your people, I know it’s nothing you’ve not already thought a dozen times over about each of them. We’re in a tenuous situation here, and caution is vital for all of us. The fact is that the leak probably did come through Karrde’s people. Booster, I want you to sort that out with him.”
“Consider it done.”
“Good. You’ll let me know what Karrde says.” Wedge looked up at Winter. “Last topic: the Valiant. Any luck in learning anything about it?”
“A lot of luck, actually.” Winter smiled heartily. “The Valiant is an Alderaanian Thranta-class War Cruiser. All of them were supposed to have been destroyed when Alderaan disarmed, but it seems as if Valiant and two other War Cruisers—Courage and Fidelity—were refitted with robotic controls and slaved to accept commands from Another Chance. They were its escorts. One of them would fly into the system before it, another would fly with it, and the third would take another course to draw off pursuit. The trio of ships would change off, and some of the damage on the exterior of the ship suggests it ran off more than one pirate raid on Another Chance. If Emtrey can talk it into opening up its logs we’ll be able to confirm that idea.”
Wedge gave her a big grin. “That’s a lot of information for so little time to research the ship.”
Winter’s hair spread out in a white veil across her shoulders as she shook her head. “Most of it is information I remember from reading histories when I was younger and by correlating little bits of data I picked up in the Organa household or when I worked with Princess Leia aiding her father. When the Another Chance was recovered, it was clear that a massive power surge had fried circuits, including the controllers for the external communication arrays that allowed ship-to-ship communication. Since Valiant queried Tycho’s X-wing when it broadcast the Another Chance’s IFF code, and followed his lead in picking targets, the Valiant was clearly assigned to protect the Another Chance. Three War Cruisers and a War Frigate frequently comprised a patrol in the Alderaanian fleet, so I concluded there must have been three War Cruisers. The Valiant and the other two were the last three built in that class, were commissioned, and then were immediately decommissioned. Unlike the other ships the Alderaanians had used in the Clone Wars—which were scrapped and melted down into peace medals that were presented to the crews and surviving families as mementos—there were no records of scraps being sent out to crews. Nor are there records of crews having served on them, so I have concluded that they were immediately refitted with droids to accompany the War Frigate Another Chance.”
Booster’s jaw hung open. “You remembered all that and figured it all out?”
&nb
sp; Mirax laughed. “Winter has a holographic memory. She remembers everything she sees, hears, or experiences, including that dumb look you’re giving her.”
Booster snapped his mouth shut, then shook his head. “Then remember this: Never have children.”
Wedge snorted out a quick laugh. “Crumbs don’t fall far from the Hutt’s mouth, Booster.”
“Thanks a lot, Wedge.” Mirax gave him a hard stare, but softened it with a smile.
“Sorry, Mirax. Winter, what are the chances that Courage and Fidelity are still out there?”
“Won’t have any way of estimating that until we get a look at Valiant’s inner workings. Emtrey thinks he can find a way in, and he now has Whistler helping him slice some code. Zraii is nearly shedding his carapace over a chance to work on the Valiant, so my guess is that they’ll have it open and functioning to our satisfaction within a couple of weeks.”
“That’s something, then.” Wedge glanced at Booster. “You want the Valiant, or is it too small for you?”
“I’m sure you can find someone else who is better suited to commanding it.” Booster forced a yawn. “Overseeing a crew of droids would be more boring than I care to imagine. You should give the job to that protocol droid of yours.”
Corran laughed. Trying to visualize Emtrey on the bridge of a ship issuing commands produced ridiculous images in his mind. “By the time he informed his crew of his qualifications, they’d mutiny.”
Wedge and the others who had worked with Emtrey joined Corran in laughter. Wedge ended his laugh with a cough, then cleared his throat. “I think Emtrey is better suited to be an Executive Officer, not a Commander. I do think, however, we’ve got someone who has the skills we need and could get more out of a droid crew than anyone else.” He reached out with his right hand and touched Aril Nunb on her left shoulder. “You’ve flown more than fighters. Interested in commanding a War Cruiser?”
Her deep red eyes widened in surprise, then she nodded. “That’s a job I can handle. I may need Emtrey to help me.”
“He’s all yours.” Wedge gave her a nod, then smiled at the others. “Okay, I think we’ve got some directions in which we can head and some operations to plan. We got lucky this time, but from here on out, we manufacture luck. The good we’ll keep and the bad will go to Isard. She missed her best chance to kill us off, and I see no reason to give her another one.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The apathetic mask Fliry Vorru had fitted onto his face cracked. He’d managed to keep his expression utterly impassive as Ysanne Isard dressed down Erisi Dlarit. Both women had maintained rigid control at first, wielding civility and titles with razor-kiss efficacy. Polite phrasings bottled up vitriol; but Vorru knew if he’d tossed a pair of lightsabers between them, they’d have minced each other in a nanosecond.
Then Ysanne Isard had said, “High Admiral Teradoc has withdrawn the Aggregator from my service and that is your fault!”
Erisi exploded. “My fault? What algorithm did you use to calculate that conclusion? Sir.”
“The calculations were simple enough that I would have thought any provincial mind could have grasped them.” Isard’s eyes narrowed as her hands balled into fists. “Your pilots were on both the Aggregator and the Corrupter. It was your pilots who were supposed to deal with the snubfighter threat. They failed, costing me the Corrupter and now making me the laughingstock of the galaxy. Teradoc had the gall to say to me that he’d only lend me toys if I would promise they would not return broken! The Emperor would have had his guts for floss over such a remark. Because of you, I am subject to such indignities!”
“Begging your pardon, but the orders placing my pilots on those ships came from you. I asked you to use our Elite pilots for the mission, but you picked a green unit.”
“Their evaluations—reports you prepared—were outstanding.”
“Yes, but they’d not seen combat before.” Erisi’s blue eyes burned intensely. “You sent them out after a unit that is arguably the best fighter squadron in the galaxy.”
Isard raised an eyebrow. “Even with your participation no longer needed or welcome?”
The sniped quip seemed to pass unnoticed by Dlarit, but Vorru had no doubt she’d cataloged it. “My Elite Squadron is the equal of Rogue Squadron. If you had sent us after them, Teradoc would be prostrate before you, begging you to accept his allegiance. He is laughing because you destroyed three squadrons, because you didn’t heed the warning he offered by refusing to send his own pilots against Antilles.”
Vorru saw Isard preparing for a counterargument and knew if Isard were not checked Erisi might pay with her life for her frank audacity. In the space of a heartbeat, he examined his options. If he said nothing, Isard would destroy Erisi Dlarit, throwing the Dlarit family into further disrepute. The fact that the Ashern had humiliated her father clearly fueled her desire for retribution on the forces arrayed against the Bacta Cartel. She had wanted to fly on the mission to Alderaan, but Isard had refused that request. To turn around and then blame Erisi for the mission’s failure was frustrating enough that Erisi might wish for death.
Intervening on her behalf would open him to Isard’s wrath, but the price might be worth it. Erisi and her family still had considerable influence within the Bacta Cartel. If Isard had to be removed, having Erisi as an ally might make such an operation possible and certainly would smooth over the consequences of it on Thyferra. I could even claim to the New Republic that I joined Isard specifically to work against her from the inside like this. The idea that the New Republic would have to accept him as the leader of the new Bacta Cartel broadened the grin Erisi’s defiance had put on his face.
“I think, Madam Director, you cannot discount the fact that the Rogues clearly had planned ahead against the eventuality of betrayal. Granted an Alderaanian War Cruiser is an antiquated ship, but coupled with the X-wing squadron’s strength, it was enough to make Captain Convarion pay for his recklessness.”
Isard rotated her head around to glance at him over her shoulder. “You presume Convarion made a mistake to blind me to the fact that if our operation was betrayed to Antilles, it was doubtless through a spy you have failed to locate.”
Vorru caught Erisi’s eye, and in a moment he felt he had earned her gratitude. Part of him began to list the various ways she could make it more manifest. Because of her beauty and strength, the idea of a physical union to consummate their alliance in opposition to Isard came to mind, but he dismissed it. He had no doubt it could happen—and might well happen yet—but their need for each other had higher purposes than sating lust. If we are to be allies, our first conjunction must be full of purpose and confirmed by reason, not dictated and muddled by emotional involvement.
Vorru knew he could fall victim to Erisi’s charms, because she realized that it was possible to play to his vanity and desperation. He had always been vain, but he had kept it in check. His age attacked both his vanity and ambition, reminding himself that he had little time to accomplish all the goals he had set out for his life. His time on Kessel had gotten him no closer to the heights he had once seen as his due, and now he knew that unless he acted quickly, his chances of even approaching them would wither and die.
“That possibility cannot be discounted, of course, Madam Director—nor can it be proven, as you are well aware. The fact is that Antilles has been very cautious throughout his career. That he has lived this long is ample proof of that. The precaution taken against our interference could have been nothing more than a concern over whether or not he could trust his trading partner.”
Isard turned so she could watch both him and Erisi. “Yes, his trading partner. I want Karrde dealt with.”
Vorru shook his head. “Under no circumstances. If we treat Talon Karrde any differently than we do now, he will realize we have an agent among his people, and we lose a very valuable resource. Moreover, Karrde’s loyalty can be bought. We will have him when, if, and however we want him.”
He opened his hands. “As
for your assertion that Commander Dlarit is to blame for the failures of her pilots, this, too, is disingenuous. Her pilots were inappropriately matched against Rogue Squadron. Captain Convarion always believed the appearance of his vessel would strike terror into the hearts of his enemies. He expected them to panic and run precisely because they ran the first time he ambushed them. Antilles has not lived this long by repeating mistakes. Convarion should have insisted on having the best pilots possible flying with him. He did not, because he assumed their contribution to his victory would be incidental.”
Isard brought her head up. “Ah, well, then it seems I am wrong about everything!” The rising ironic tone in her voice did nothing to hide her anger. “Perhaps you would like to tell me how things are going to go from now on and what we should do about them.”
Vorru smiled and took a half step toward Isard as he turned to face her. “I would guess, despite the possession of the War Cruiser, Antilles and his people will continue their”—he glanced at Erisi—“as the pilots so colorfully put it, ‘hit-and-hype’ raids. In actuality you’ve seen those raids are minimally effective. I would imagine they will also try to infiltrate some of the tanker crews so they can hijack more shipments. Our losses—and we will have some—should be minimal.”
Isard’s eyes half-closed. “Minimal losses to us will still be enough to let them finance their war against us.”
“True, but the fact is that time runs in our favor, not theirs. We have a number of ways to deal with them, but their threat will not be ended until we locate their base and destroy it.”
Isard pressed two fingers against her lips for a moment.
“The elimination of their base has always been the way to deal with them. What other plans do you have in mind?”
Vorru smiled hesitantly. “The prime method of eliminating their ability to fight against us is for us to open up our storage wells and make an abundance of bacta available.”