virus.
He couldn't discount the possibility of a trap entirely, but for the Imps to
ambush him meant they would be leaving another of their convoys open. The
freighters that were coming to him were from a small convoy that was being
watched over by the Victory //-class Star Destroyer Corrupter. Though the
smallest of the ships Isard had in her fleet, it carried two TIE squadrons,
equaling his force, and bristled with enough weaponry to be able to lay siege to
whole planets.
Complicating matters, Wedge knew less about its Cap-tain Ait Convarion than he
wished he did. Convarion was supposed to have served both at Derra IV and Hoth
before being given the Corrupter and being sent off on suppression
missionsgovernment-sanctioned campaigns of terror against populated worlds on
the Outer Rim. Convarion was
rumored to be calculating and cruel, with a penchant for quick action that had
won battles despite the odds being against him. That was a combination that
could cause a lot of trouble for the squadron.
If Convarion knows in advance of the defection, we could be in severe trouble.
If he has to deal with having three missing ships from his convoy upon his
arrival at the Rish system, he'll be searching for an atom in a nebula.
Depending on the reluctance of the freighter crews to follow us, well need a
maximum of an hour to move the convoy farther on. If we have been betrayed,
we'll have to jump back out of the system as fast as possible . . .
Wedge glanced at his primary monitor. ". . . and hope against hope that Isard
hasn't convinced any Interdictor cruisers to join her side." He shook his head
and sighed. He knew he was worrying about events that were very low on the scale
of probability, but the chance of a problem still niggled at him. He knew he'd
have felt better if he'd been in on planning the operation from the first, but
he wasn't in a position to refuse the help the Ashern offered.
"I'll just make the best of this situation and hope Captain Convarion isn't as
sharp as rumors make him out to be."
A pinpoint of black expanded up and engulfed the snubfighter as it reverted to
realspace in a system with a red dwarf star surrounded by a dust disk. Three
bacta freighters hung in space just above the plane of the disk. The captains
had oriented the ships so their bellies pointed inward and the two dorsal
turbolasers they sported overlapped their fields of fire.
Wedge opened a comm channel. "One and Two Squadrons, S-foils in attack
position." Both the X-wings and the Deathseeds responded to his order, causing
their stabilizers to split and lock. The fighters spread out on their previously
assigned approach vectors, but they held back from closing with the freighters.
He shifted the comm unit over to the frequency the Ashern indicated the
Thyferrans used. "This is Wedge Antilles. I have two squadrons of fighters
here. We intend to have
your cargo. If you cooperate you will be given a course, be able to drop your
cargo, and then go back home unharmed."
Nervous tremors shot back through the voice that answered him. "Antilles, we
were told that if we went with you, we'd be destroyed. We have family back on
Thyferra."
That comment sent a chill down Wedge's spine, but he fought against the ideas it
planted in his head. "Your families will not be harmed. Isard can't kill
families of pilots and expect any more shipments of bacta to go out. It's a
bluff that I have to call. If you decide not to go back to Thyferra, I'll help
you get your people to safety. You're going to lose your cargo, you might as
well save yourself some pain."
One of the tankers began to move away from the others. Mynock, Wedge's R5 droid,
tagged it as Xucphra Rose. "This is Bors Kenlin in the Rose. We're yours,
Antilles."
"Kenlin, don't go. You have a wife back on Thyferra."
"Isard will be doing me a favor if she kills her." The Rose drifted further from
the other two ships. "Where am I go-ing?"
"Stand by, Rose." Wedge shifted his comm unit over to the squadron's tactical
frequency. "Nine, you and Ten and your two Deathseed friends will escort the
Rose to Halanit. Isard has threatened dependents on Thyferra if the crew goes
along with us, so find out who their people are so we can transmit the data to
the Ashern and try to save them."
Corran's voice came back strong. "As ordered, sir." Two X-wings broke from
formation and made a quick flyby on the Rose. In the first pass they downloaded
to the Rose's navicomp the course for their run to Halanit. As they came back
around, the Rose moved on the exit vector with them and two Deathseeds fell in
behind. In the blink of an eye all five ships went to lightspeed and vanished.
Wedge looked back at his monitor again. The remaining ships were Xucphra Alazhi
and Xucphra Meander. Wedge suspected the first voice he'd dealt with was on the
Alazhi. Since the ship was named after a key component in bacta, he assumed the
captain had seniority over the other two. Wedge shifted his comm unit back to
the Thyferran frequency. "Meander, what is your decision?"
A woman's voice answered him. "Meander is unconvinced the crew will be safe
from Isard's reprisals."
"Meander, your cargo will be bound for Coruscant. If you can't lose yourself
there, you can obtain transport to anywhere you want to go from there. I
guarantee you that your cargo will alleviate an incredible amount of suffering."
Xucphra Meander began to drift away from Alazhi. As it did so, the Alazhi began
to roll to bring its turbolasers to bear on Meander.
Wedge shifted over to his tactical frequency. "Three and Four, neutralize
Alazhi. Five and Six, pick up Meander and head to Coruscant."
Gavin and Shiel broke their X-wings out of the formation and sprinted in at the
Alazhi. They kept their fighters moving in a grand spiral, which made them very
difficult to track, especially as they dipped below the turbolasers' ability to
depress sufficiently to shoot at them. Green laser bolts shot out in pairs at
the incoming fighters, but they always came in above or below the X-wings.
Coming up on a turn in the spiral, Gavin's fighter rolled and spat laserfire at
the freighter. One quad burst hit the ship's hull right in front of the
turbolaser battery, then two more caught the battery in the side. Fire tracked
up the blocky battery, blasting away at the armor plates sheathing it. Molten
globules of armor rocketed off through space, then an explosion filled the
battery with fire and ripped it apart.
Shiel's run on the aft battery proved just as effective, stripping the freighter
of its offensive weaponry. The two fighters began to orbit the Alazhi, flashing
past the cockpit one after another. Well away from them Rhysati, Inyri, and
their two Twi'lek companions led the Meander off toward Coruscant.
Wedge adjusted his comm unit and tightened the beam to focus on the Alazhi.
"Alazhi, you are defenseless."
The man who had first answered him again spoke, but anger had replaced
nervousness in his voice. "We can and will oppose you, Antilles. This is piracy.
But we have a standof
f here, because you only have fightersyou can't board us.
If you shoot us up, you or we will destroy the ship and you lose
the cargo. You got some of what you want. Go away. Leave us alone."
He has a pointwe can't board the ship. I hadn't expected Isard's threat to the
crew's families. I'd thought, given that we harmed no one last time, that we
would have cooperative crews. Wedge thought for a moment, then forced an edge
into his voice.
"Be advised, Alazhi, that the same software that allowed us to bring you here
will, when the correct signal is sent, purge your ship of atmosphere and slave
itself to our navicomp data. Your choice is not whether you come with us or not,
but whether you do so alive or dead."
He let that sink in for a moment or two. If they call my bluff, I let them off
so they can tell others that we didn't kill them. It'll win us some goodwill,
perhaps. "Your decision, Alazhi?"
Fear had returned to the captain's voice. "You'd kill us just to get this
bacta?"
"I'd kill you to get the bacta to those who need it. Isard unleashed a disease
on Coruscant that kills ninety-five percent of the victims who go untreated.
Which should I count as more valuable the lives of a dozen freighter crewmen or
the lives of billions?"
"You'll help our families?"
"You have my word on it."
Silence fell for several heartbeats, then the Alazhi's captain spoke in a
distant whisper. "I hope you know what you're doing. Alazhi is yours."
Wedge went back to the tactical frequency. "Gavin, Alazhi is yours to shepherd
on her rounds."
"I copy, Wedge. Transmitting data to Alazhi now. See you later." Gavin's X-wing
swung out and around to head toward the exit vector. The two Twi'leks swooped
in, taking up positions on either of the Alazhi's flanks while the Shistavanen
curled around and came up in the freighter's wake.
As the Alazhi came about to starboard and began its run up to lightspeed, a
vastly huge white dagger thrust itself through the fabric of space on a course
that cut in at the freighter's line of flight. Dread bubbled acid into Wedge's
throat as the Corrupter reverted to realspace and opened up with its weaponry.
Waves of green turbolaser energy washed down from the Star Destroyer's port
batteries. While not made for engaging snubfighters, firing at point-blank range
the gunners could hardly miss. The flank Deathseeds evaporated in a cloud of
green plasma. The turbolaser fire eroded all the sharp lines from Shiel's
X-wing, reducing it from a sleek fighter to a fluid blob that slammed into the
aft end of the Alazhi.
A second volley of fire from the Star Destroyer focused itself on the bacta
tanker. In an instant the entire ship glowed orange, then the bacta storage
tanks exploded one after another. The superheated bacta sprayed out and
instantly congealed into delicate sheets of ice that mocked the violence of
their birth. Similarly the transparisteel and quadanium-titanium alloy plates
used in the freighter's manufacture twisted and flowed, tearing away and
exploding outward, before they congealed into a warped mockery of what the
freighter had once been.
Of Gavin, Wedge saw nothing.
"Condition Critical. Exit the system now on Critical vectors. Go! Go!"
Asyr's voice pounded into Wedge's ears. "Wedge, what about . . ."
There's nothing left of Gavin. "Go, Asyr, go now. Waiting around is just going
to get you killed." Wedge hauled back on his stick and punched his throttle up
to full. He glanced over to his left and saw Asyr's X-wing hanging off his
S-foil. "Three seconds to lightspeed." "I copy, Wedge."
Wedge hit a button on his console and made the jump to lightspeed. The stars
elongated, then sucked him into a tunnel of white light, but he felt as if he
left his guts back in the system with the Corrupter. It had always been the plan
to scatter and flee if Corrupter showed up, but to do that after taking losses
made him feel horrible. Four more are dead because of me.
Part of him immediately rebelled at that thought, seeking to place blame
elsewhere. If the Alazhi's captain had not hesi-
tated, then everyone would have been out of the system before Corrupter
arrived. If Isard had not threatened the crews with the safety of their
families, everything would have gone well. If Senator Palpatine hadn't been
greedy, this situation never would have existed.
Wedge closed his eyes against the omnipresent light of hyperspace. "What
happened back there is my responsibility. The operation had risks, but all
operations have risks. Blaming myself for what happened isn't going to do me
any good. What I need to do is learn from the situation because Convarion is
very good."
He punched up a data request and got Mynock to break down the entry and exit
vectors of the various ships, then had them overlaid on the system diagram. As
the astromech did so, Wedge got his first glimmer of understanding. Corrupter's
entry vector appeared very fortuitous because it angled in on Alazhi's exit
vector, but it really was the same entry vector the freighters used to arrive in
the system.
Wedge whistled slowly. What that bit of data told him was that Convarion had
waited at the previous transit point, had tracked the exit vectors of all the
ships in his convoy, then had his people do an analysis of them. The three ships
that deviated from the planned course were discovered, their course plotted, and
the Corrupter came after them. Whether the freighters were hijacked or just had
arrived in-system and shot immediately.
A chill crept into Wedge's body and puckered his flesh. "Iceheart has never been
one for compassion, and now she has a ship's captain who shares her contempt for
it. We're lucky we only lost four of our pilots. I had hoped this war would be
quickI knew it would be dirty. We're going to have to be quicker and dirtier,
and with Convarion and Iceheart opposing us, that's not going to be an easy
task."
17
The sound of a thousand individuals stamping their heels and coming to attention
echoed through the Corrupter's hold as Fliry Vorru followed Ysanne Isard from
the belly of the shuttle. Vorru looked out over the straight ranks of sailors
and stormtroopers and allowed himself a smile. Such a display of Imperial might
I've not seen since before I was sentenced to Kessel. The Rebels may own
Imperial Center and may have proclaimed themselves a New Republic, but they will
never know Imperial splendor like this.
At the base of the gangway, Isard paused and offered her hand to a small, lean
man in a black uniform. The rank insignia he wore on his jacket's left breast
bore only six color tabs, but the fact that he also wore two rank cylinders told
Vorru he was a Commander, not a mere Captain. Even so, because of his position
of command on the ship and Imperial tradition, addressing him as Captain would
be proper. And the way he genuflects before kissing Iceheart's proffered hand
shows this Convarion is nothing if not proper.
Convar
ion met Vorru's offered hand with a strong grip. The man's sharp features,
thick black hair, and blue eyes all combined to grant Convarion an intensity
that surprised
Vorru. / had thought all such fire-eaters had been killed at Endor. This man is
ambitious and, therefore, dangerous. If he were my subordinate, I would have him
killed.
"Pleased to meet you, Captain Convarion."
"And you, Minister Vorru." Convarion's mouth smiled, but any pleasure failed to
register beyond the boundaries of his lips. "I am honored that you would deign
to notice my ship and our exploits."
Isard, wearing her scarlet Admiral's uniform, glanced back at him with faint
amusement in her eyes. "You have shown initiative, Commander, and I always
notice initiative. I should like to inspect your ship, if that is possible, but
first I would speak with you in private."
"Of course, Madam Director." Convarion bowed, then pointed to an aisle through
the middle of the bone white ranks of stormtroopers. "My wardroom is this way."
Vorru trailed behind Convarion and Isard. He noticed that Convarion matched his
pace to that of Isard and that she, in reaction to this, varied her gait and
caused Convarion to do the same. Convarion's face gave no sign he noticed what
was going on or if he was annoyed by it or not. He merely looked up at Isard
with rapt attention on his face, not sycophantically hanging on her every word,
but receiving what she said as if it were advice worthy of his most sincere
consideration.
Vorru suppressed a smile as he watched Convarion operate, because he knew the
man had to be trying to balance two conflicting scenarios in his head. By
sending the Corrupter after the errant ships, Convarion had succeeded in
ambushing an Antilles operation and scattering his forces. By Convarion's
estimate Antilles lost a half-dozen ships, including several of the Uglies,
known as Deathseeds by the Twi'leks who created them. Just knowing that some
Twi'leks had thrown in with Antilles was valuable information itself, and
Convarion would have been due some reward for just bringing that tidbit back
from his mission.
On the other hand, he had left the majority of his convoy
uncovered and open to attack. Antilles had still gotten away
with two ships and Convarion had destroyed another bacta
freighter on his own initiative. His report had stated that the freighter was