Star Wars - X-Wing - Krytos Trap

by Michael A. Stackpole

  as Rogue Squadron's executive officer and has remained neu-,

  tral regarding this prosecution. Crix Madine came over fron

  the Imperial side around the same time you did, Captain.

  Given his work planning covert missions for the Empire, I

  would have to guess he has met Iceheart and is aware of the

  work she has done. He knows of your reputation and, being

  a Corellian like Commander Antilles, has an appreciation of

  bravery and audacity."

  "You're forgetting, Counselor Yen, that Corran Horn

  was Corellian, too."

  "No, Commander, I've not forgotten that fact. I'm

  counting on it to motivate General Madine to seek the peo-

  ple truly responsible for Corran's death."

  Wedge nodded. "So that's the line of defense Tycho's

  been framed?"

  "The truth always is the best defense. Their evidence is

  all circumstantial, so we can slip someone or several some-

  ones in to raise doubt about who actually committed the

  crime." Nawara Ven pressed his hands fiat on the table.

  "This trial will be played as much to public opinion as to the

  judges. It's going to do no good if the people think Captain

  Celchu is guilty while the court lets him off. Everyone knows

  how twisted and full of plots the Empire was. The mention

  of Kirtan Loor and Lusankya allows us to bring up Ysanne

  Isard. I can show that Captain Celchu's pattern of activity is

  all wrong by showing what Isard does do with her people. I

  can even point to the bombing as likely residue of her evil. If

  we have public opinion looking at Captain Celchu as the last

  victim of Imperial intrigue, a Rebellion hero being destroyed

  by a bitter and vengeful Empire, we have a lot of maneuver-

  ing room in the aftermath of the trial."

  Nawara Ven's explanation made sense to Wedge, but he

  didn't like all it entailed. Fighting enemies who were shoot-

  ing back was one thing. Winning a court case was quite

  another--one akin to politics, and Wedge knew he'd utterly

  failed in that arena at the Council meeting. Waging a public

  relations war to win the hearts and minds of a planet for a

  man who was already being entered into the pantheon of evil

  with Darth Vader, Prince Xizor, Ysanne Isard, and the Em-

  peror himself--well, that was a battle no one could consider

  easy.

  Wedge nodded toward the lawyer. "What happens if

  Tycho is found guilty?"

  "Hard to say. There's no clear appeals system set up.

  Unless the judges reverse their decision, he'll be stuck."

  Tycho raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by

  stuck?"

  "This is treason, Captain, and murder." Nawara Ven

  shook his head as Whistler moaned. "Given the mood of the

  people and the nature of your crime, if we lose, the New

  Republic will put you to death."

  5

  As Wedge entered the darkened briefing room, the pilots of

  Rogue Squadron broke from the knot surrounding Nawara

  Ven and took their places. Some of their expressions were

  difficult to read. Riv Shiel, the Shistavanen wolfman, wore

  his perpetual impenetrable frown. Gavin Darklighter, the

  youngest of the pilots in Rogue Squadron, seemed fairly

  cheerful, but the hardness of the flesh gathered at the corners

  of his eyes betrayed the pressure most of the rest of the unit

  felt.

  Wedge stepped behind and past Aril Nunb, then paused

  with the holoprojection table in front of him. "I appreciate

  your getting here so quickly. I had hoped we'd get at least a

  week's liberty after the conquest of Coruscant .... "

  The fiery-haired lieutenant in the front row, Pash

  Cracken, shrugged. "We've not had that much to celebrate,

  sir."

  "I know." Corran's death, then Tycho's arrest, had un-

  dercut the Rogues when they should have been enjoying their

  greatest triumph. While everyone else on Coruscant was ju-

  bilant about the world's liberation, the Rogues felt still en-

  slaved by Tycho's plight. The contrast between the

  congratulations they got from others and the way they felt

  inside remained sharp enough to slice them up emotionally.

  To save themselves, the squadron members had rallied

  around Tycho and were determined to prove his innocence.

  That provided them a sanctuary and sense of control, though

  it did nothing to endear them to others who thought Tycho's

  guilt was indisputable.

  "The one thing we do know, people, is that the source of

  our problems lies on the Imp side of things. We should also

  realize that what we're suffering is nothing compared to

  what hundreds of thousands of people out there are suffer-

  ing." Wedge pointed a finger toward Nawara and Riv Shiel,

  then glanced back at Aril Nunb. "Three of our own came

  down with this Krytos virus, but they got quick treatment

  with enough bacta to knock it out. Bacta is in high demand

  right now, but supplies are very short."

  Erisi Dlarit, the dark-haired pilot from Thyferra, pressed

  a hand to her own sternum. "I know the cartels are produc-

  ing as much as they can--at least the Xucphra group is. I

  have personally sent messages to my grandfather to let him

  know of the need for bacta here."

  "Thanks, Erisi, every bit of help we can get is vital."

  Wedge folded his arms across his chest. "Warlord Zsinj hit a

  bacta convoy heading out from Thyferra. I believe it was

  from the Zaltin group, Erisi, not your family's corporation.

  Zsinj took the bacta to a storage facility, but a member of the

  Ashern rebel group . . ."

  "Terrorists!" Erisi spat.

  "... happened to be crewing aboard the Zaltin ships.

  He managed to get a message out concerning the location of

  the space station Zsinj is using." Wedge nodded toward Aril,

  and the Sullustan punched up a holographic image of the

  station on the holoprojector. The station consisted of a

  central disk with thick expanses of living quarters above

  and below the horizon. Slender towers rose from the mid-

  dle of the disk, suggesting the station had been impaled on

  spears. Three wedge-shaped launch-and-recovery causeways

  stabbed out into space from the central disk like spokes

  meant to connect up with a nonexistent rim.

  "This is an Empress-class space station located in the

  Yag'Dhul system. Basic armament is ten turbo-laser batteries

  and six laser cannons. It also has the capability of housing up

  to three squadrons of TIEs, though the usual complement is

  only two dozen fighters. The bacta is being held here, and

  we're going to get it away from them."

  As Wedge continued his briefing, little glowing icons ap-

  peared to hover around the station. Each represented a ship

  and entered the display as its part in the operation was ex-

  plained. "We will be leading two squadrons from General

  Salm's Defender Wing to pull a quick strafing run on the

  station and get them to scramble their fighters. The squad-

  rons we'll have with us are Warden and Champion--you


  remember them, they saved us at Borleias."

  The Gand toward the back raised a three-fingered hand.

  "As Ooryl remembers it, Commander Antilles, Defender

  Wing flies Y-wing fighters. Provoking TIE fighters to come

  out and attack Y-wings would seem to Ooryl as potentially

  dangerous for Defender's pilots."

  "Your concern is noted, Ooryl, and has been taken into

  account. Guardian Squadron, the third of Defender Wing's

  component parts, has been refitted with B-wings. This adds

  considerable firepower to the wing. We'll pull the TIEs out

  and away from the station and the B-wings will drop on

  them and help us kill them. The Y-wings will continue in

  toward the space station and start working on its defenses

  with their ion cannons.

  "Following us in will be a half-dozen assault shuttles

  and then enough bulk-cruisers to haul the bacta away. This

  is a hit, hold, then run operation."

  Gavin smiled. "Sounds like a dew-run."

  "Maybe." Pash Cracken leaned forward in his chair.

  "Where's the Iron Fist supposed to be?"

  Wedge shook his head. "I've been given no data con-

  cerning the Iron Fist." Warlord Zsinj's flagship was one of

  the Super-class Star Destroyers created by the Kuat Drive

  Yard's shipworks before the Empire collapsed. The ships

  were, for all intents and purposes, fleets unto themselves.

  They carried 144 fighters, had a crew of over a quarter of a

  million people, and bristled with over a thousand missile

  launchers, ion cannons, and turbolaser batteries. Though the

  Rebel fleet had managed to destroy the Executor at Endor,

  everyone knew that ship had died because of luck, not skill.

  If the Iron Fist showed up at Yag'Dhul, the operation

  was doomed. Wedge knew it, as did all of the pilots in the

  room. "While I am as concerned about the appearance of

  Iron Fist as any of you, I know the bacta is too valuable to

  risk on an operation that could be so easily jeopardized. I

  have to assume that Intelligence has the Iron Fist located and

  that it won't interfere with the mission. If it does show up, all

  we can do is pull out." And hope no one gets left behind.

  Rhysati Ynr, the blond woman sitting next to Nawara

  Ven, raised her hand. "Do we just fly cover when the assault

  shuttles go in, or are we going to land and go in-station,

  tOO?"

  "Right now we're just flying cover. If things change,

  you'll be the first to know." Wedge sighed. "We're heading

  out in twelve hours, so you're now all under security quaran-

  tine. Report to your quarters, get your gear, and go to the

  hangar. Once there you'll get a more specific briefing and run

  through a basic simulation of the exercise before we leave.

  Any other questions?"

  Gavin looked around nervously, then nodded. ,,sir,

  won't Nawara's heading out on a mission compromise Cap-

  tain Celchu's defense? I mean, shouldn't Nawara be here

  setting things up?"

  A question I asked myself. "Your concerns, Gavin, are

  valid, but not terribly important in the face of what we're

  doing here. We're already one pilot light because of Corran's

  death, so we need everyone we can get. The fact is that ob-

  taining the bacta is far more important to the future of the

  New Republic than Tycho's trial, so that is our priority."

  "Besides, I have Whistler and Emtrey doing a lot of com-

  puter fact-finding for me right now." Nawara sat forward

  and slapped Gavin on the shoulder. "The lawyering part of

  all this comes later. It occurs to me that if we do get the bacta

  and things begin to calm down, someone might start listen-

  ing to reason instead of political pressure, and this case will

  be dumped in some black hole, where it deserves to be."

  "May the Force be with you in that regard." Wedge

  smiled openly. "If that's it, get going. Everyone should be in

  the hangar in an hour at the very latest."

  As the pilots started to leave the room, Wedge caught

  the eye of a black-and-white-furred Bothan female. "Sei'lar,

  if I could have a moment of your time." "Yes, Commander."

  He watched Asyr as she waited for the others to leave,

  then walked toward him. There was no overt challenge in

  her stride, though the fire in her violet eyes did reveal a

  strong streak of Bothan pride running in her. Splotches of

  white fur covered her from throat to belly, gloved her, and

  slashed down from her forehead over her left eye to her

  cheek. They almost succeeded in diluting the predatory

  power in her petite frame. She stopped before him and

  snapped to attention.

  "At ease, Sei'lar."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "You might want to reserve your thanks until you've

  heard what I have to say." Wedge looked down on her and

  saw her fur ripple with irritation. "Two things I want to

  discuss. The first is Gavin."

  Asyr blinked with surprise that flowed out into her fur.

  "I was under the impression that pairing among members of

  the squadron was not prohibited. Nawara and Rhysati, and

  Erisi and Corran . . ."

  "I'm not under the impression anything was going on

  between Erisi and Corran."

  "But her reaction to his death . . ."

  "They were close, but not in that way, as I understand

  it." Wedge frowned for a moment. Mirax Terrik had been

  crushed by Corran's death and had confided in Wedge that

  she and Corran had chosen to begin dating once the con-

  quest of Coruscant had been accomplished. Though Corran

  had never revealed his feelings about Erisi or Mirax to

  Wedge, Corran's attraction to Mirax had been fairly easy to

  spot, which led Wedge to believe Erisi was out of the picture.

  "Regardless of what was or was not happening between

  Erisi and Corran, or what is or is not happening between

  Rhysati and Nawara, the big difference between those situa-

  tions and your situation with Gavin is that Gavin's barely

  seventeen years old. He's very young and hasn't had the ex-

  periences that your education at the Bothan Martial Acad-

  emy has afforded you. He's not a stupid young man--he's

  actually fairly intelligent--but his upbringing on Tatooine

  has left him a bit idealistic."

  Asyr's violet eyes sank into crescents. "Are you ordering

  me to stop seeing him?"

  Wedge laughed. "No, not at all. You've only been out

  twice----"

  "Have you had someone watching us?"

  "No, and that's just the point." Wedge opened his

  hands. "Gavin is so taken with you that his enthusiasm isn't

  always kept under control. While he remains very circum-

  spect about private moments you have shared, he is very

  happy to let others know how much fun you're having to-

  gether doing all the things you have done. It's all very inno-

  cent and natural, but it's also a sign of his falling in love with

  you. He may not quite be there yet, but he'll be hurt badly if

  you pull away from him abruptly after too much longer. I

  don't want to se
e him hu, so if you don't really care for

  him, let him down easy and now, please."

  Asyr's chin came up and defiance blazed in her eyes.

  "What makes you think I might be toying with him?"

  "The second thing I want to discuss with you does,

  Sei'lar. I wonder if you don't have another agenda that

  you're working on." Wedge met her hot stare unflinchingly.

  "You graduated near the top of your class from the Bothan

  Martial Academy but never formally entered the military.

  Your records are decidedly sketchy, but I would imagine,

  given your age, that you were recruited into the Martial In-

  telligence Division of the Bothan military in an effort to re-

  plenish the supply of spies who died securing the plans to the

  second Death Star. The fact that you were already here on

  Coruscant when our operation arrived suggests the Bothan

  government had its own goals here on Coruscant."

  "But you forget, sir, that I did help organize and partici-

  pate in the operations that cleared the way for the Rebel

  Alliance to take the planet."

  "I never accused you of being stupid, Sei'lar. Quite the

  contrary, I think you are very intelligent. You saw an oppor-

  tunity that had to succeed and you did your best to make it

  succeed." Wedge let a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

  "That self-same intelligence is why I want you in this squad-

  ron.

  "The fact is, Sei'lar, who and what you are makes you

  very valuable and desirable. I want you here in Rogue Squad-

  ron. I think you are an incredible asset to the Rebellion. Flip

  a bit, though, and it's easy to see that your Bothan masters

  also find you quite useful. That means, sooner or later,

  you're going to have some decisions to make."

  Asyr glanced down. "Decisions about Gavin."

  "And about your loyalties to your planet and your na-

  tion."

  "Or my squadron."

  "Exactly." Wedge nodded slowly. The pressure is not on

  you right now, but it will come. Borsk Fey'lya likes having a

  Bothan in Roque Squadron, but at some point he'll want to

  exert control over you.

  Her head came back up. "Do you want me to make

  those decisions right now?"

  "I want you to make them when you feel they need to be

  made. I trust you, and I want to continue to trust you. If you