Star Wars - X-Wing - Krytos Trap

by Michael A. Stackpole

  he imagined echoing through those towers. It struck him that

  laughter and sobbing were really not that different, and de-

  cided that he would do his best to see to it that others gained

  first-hand knowledge of this insight.

  Before they die of the virus for which I will destroy the

  cure.

  Admiral Ackbar sat back in his Council chair and tried to

  pull serenity from the cool mist drifting down over him.

  Grand Moff Tarkin, in one of his more expansive moods,

  had once described politics to him as "soft warfare, the ele-

  gant duel of lightsabers instead of the thunder of turbo-

  lasers." Tarkin, with that description, had given no evidence

  of finding political fights frustrating because of the posturing

  and the treacherous riptide shifts of allegiances.

  Or the inability to come to grips with problems in a

  direct manner. Ackbar had endured more reports on

  microeconomic fluctuations on planets he'd never heard of

  than any sapient creature could be expected to stand i n one

  lifetime. Slowly, in working through the reports, Borsk

  Fey'lya and Sian Tevv were moving toward the matter that

  had been bruited about on the Provisional Council's staff

  level.

  Glancing over at the Bothan councilor, Ackbar could see

  a feral gleam in Fey'lya's violet eyes. The Botharis thrive on

  this soft warfare. Ackbar had already recognized in Fey'lya a

  drive to lead or, when he had been outmaneuvered, a desire

  to vault out in front to where the leaders stood so he was

  placed among them. Ackbar had seen similar tactics among

  warriors who sought promotion, but true warfare tended to

  deal with such ambition in a most lethal fashion.

  Mon Mothma nodded toward the Elom councilor.

  "Thank you, Verrinnefra, for bringing us up to date on the

  economies of our newest worlds. Next on the agenda is the

  matter of bacta. Borsk, you have a point to make?"

  The cream-furred Bothan stood opposite Ackbar. "The

  recent mission which has liberated a supply of bacta and

  brought it here to Coruscant is, of course, a great victory for

  us and a great boon to the people here. For that we owe

  much thanks and praise to Admiral Ackbar and his staff.

  Their success also brings with it some burdens, not the least

  of which is the need to take precautions to prevent Warlord

  Zsinj from exacting retribution from us."

  Ackbar leaned forward. "Forgive me the interruption,

  Councilor Fey'lya, but it strikes me that you are asking us to

  deal with the undertow before the wave has crested."

  "Excuse me?"

  Princess Leia smiled. "I believe the Admiral is pointing

  out that the supply of bacta brings with it far more pressing

  problems than a possible attack by Warlord Zsinj."

  "More correctly, Princess, I meant to say that because

  an attack by Warlord Zsinj has always been possible, both

  before and after our strike, there have long been plans in

  place to deal with such. I am more than willing to review

  those plans, but I think the core problem with bacta needs to

  be addressed more quickly than the surface issue of Zsinj.

  Trouble is a vast ocean, and for us, bacta distribution is the

  issue lurking in the depths."

  The Bothan's fur rippled. "There is indeed much to dis-

  cuss on the matter of bacta distribution. With the supply we

  now have, I think it should be possible to create centers for

  preventative therapy to stop the spread of the virus. My peo-

  ple tell me that an hour's mist therapy per week should be

  sufficient to destroy the virus before it has a chance to incu-

  bate. Creating centers that would allow that much treatment

  would go a long way toward quelling the fear that has

  gripped this world."

  Leia frowned. "I've seen no such reports concerning mist

  therapy. The review of the data we captured from General

  Derricote's lab does not show evidence of any testing in that

  regard. In fact, the only data the Imperials had on the Krytos

  virus showed massive amounts of bacta would be required to

  cure patients--having the effect of draining our supplies of

  bacta. There is no reason to suppose creating the centers you

  advocate would do anything but waste more bacta."

  "Ah, Leia, I would have expected more compassion

  froin you." Fey'lya glanced down at her. "If it were humans

  who were dropping dead of this plague, you would be the

  first to advocate creation of these centers."

  Leia's dark eyes flashed coldly. "And you think I do not

  support your plan because it would save non-humans?"

  "I would like to think better of you, but I know you

  have various constituencies to worry about. Like Admiral

  Ackbar, you would like to see some of the bacta reserved for

  use by our military. I understand this, for saving the lives of

  our valiant warriors is certainly commendable. I fear, how-

  ever, your hedge against the unseen means there are count-

  less individuals who might sicken and die and never get a

  chance to enter the military and fight for their freedom."

  Doman Beruss raised a hand. "I think, Councilor

  Fey'lya, you do Princess Leia and every other human member

  of the Council a disservice by even hinting that opposition to

  your plan is based on an anti-alien bias."

  "All, but even you are prey to it, Councilor Beruss. You

  refer to us as 'alien' and the Princess called us 'non-human.'

  Why are we defined by you and in comparison to you? Hu-

  manity certainly has contributed much to the Rebellion, but

  it did so because the Empire had done all it could to suppress

  and subjugate the species it saw as harmful and aberrant.

  Humans--being those who learned their trade at the hands

  of our Imperial masters--were the only people capable of

  taking a leadership role in the actual Rebellion. The rest of us

  contributed as we could, and made great contributions--

  contributions that led to the successful conclusion of tile ma-

  jor campaigns in the Rebellion.

  "I do not accuse you of being wholly unfeeling, but I

  think your perspective in this matter is colnpromised."

  Fey'lya smoothed the fur on the top of his head. "I believe

  the matter of bacta distribution is one that should be decided

  by those of us whose people are prey to the virus."

  Ackbar rose from his chair and slapped a hand against

  the table top. "In that case, Councilor Fey'lya, you will also

  be required to recuse yourself from any decisions in this mat-

  ter."

  "What?"

  "There is no known case of any Bothan being afflicted

  with the disease." I have no doubt Iceheart wanted you

  Bothans to survive so you could help split the Alliance. "_ul-

  lustans and Shistavanens have been infected, leaving open

  the very real possibility that Wookiees could find themselves

  susceptible to the virus. Quarren have died from it, leaving

  the Mon Calamari population vulnerable. I have heard of no

  Elom who have become ill, but Twi'lek, Gamorrean,
and

  Trandoshan populations have, so the possibility of the dis-

  ease jumping to the Elom is not out of the question."

  The Bothan's fur rose on head and shoulders, but

  Ackbar ignored the signs of Fey'lya's anger. "Moreover,

  from a public health standpoint, your plan of therapy centers

  is more of a risk than it is a help. The facilities you suggest

  would call for vast numbers of people congregating ill an

  environment where contact with infectious fluids is not diffi-

  cult to imagine. And, even if there were studies to show bacta

  mist did kill the virus, using it carelessly promotes the chance

  of a bacta-resistant strain of the virus being passed among

  people who believe they are being protected from it. If such a

  strain does appear, we will be powerless to stop the plague

  from destroying the galaxy."

  The Bothan kept his voice low. "What, pray do tell,

  would you suggest, then?"

  "First and foremost, we secure the water supply. We

  have evidence to suggest the virus was introduced into the

  planetary water supply, and for all we know, there are pock-

  ets of virus frozen in the glaciers just waiting to be melted

  before they become virulent again. Second, we continue the

  intensive therapy to control and cure those populations we

  know are infected. It is important to note here, I think, that

  human medtechs have been tireless in caring for victims of

  the virus. Their immunity to the disease certainly means they

  have less to fear than others, but that immunity in no way

  makes it incumbent upon them to help out the way they

  have."

  Ackbar held a hand up. "Third and final, we need to

  deal with the black market. The rumors of a supply of bacta

  arriving on Coruscant have depressed the prices, but esti-

  mates of how much we got from Zsinj are grossly high.

  When the truth comes out, prices will begin to rise, and sell-

  ing off portions of the supply will become very attractive. If

  we don't have our supply depleted through profiteering, we

  stand a good chance of buying enough time to obtain more

  bacta from Thyferra and solving our problem once and for

  all. If not, we will find ourselves bankrupt and dying of the

  virus."

  The Bothan opened his hands. "So you think we should

  just continue to proceed in the manner in which we have

  gone about things so far?"

  "No, by no means." Ackbar looked around the room

  and then up at the misting system. "We argue here whether

  bacta-mist therapy has any value, yet we have a system in-

  stalled here to protect us. All of us, including the humans,

  know affluent members of our populations have purchased

  bacta on the black market to use in their own preventative

  therapy. And, I have no doubt, people have come to you

  since the news of our victory has leaked out, asking you to

  procure bacta for them. While I know none of us would

  agree to such a thing, the perception that we might, and that

  there is special treatment for some selected folks going on, is

  one that will heighten the panic our people are feeling."

  Sian Tevv sniffed. "This virus is more than panic,

  Ackbar. It is real and deadly."

  "Agreed, but our actions make it deadlier still. If one

  person believes there is no hope for himself, that there will be

  no cure when he needs it, he might not seek treatment. A

  day's delay not only can cost him his life, but can infect his

  family and friends. The fact is that if we project the image

  that says the virus can and will be defeated, everyone will do

  what they can to defeat it."

  Leia smiled. "It's the same morale-building technique

  that kept us going during the dark days after Derra IV and

  Hoth."

  The black-furred Wookiee councilor's bark flowed into

  a murmur, and Leia's gold protocol droid translated. "Am-

  bassador Kerrithrarr suggests treating the virus as an enemy

  against which everyone is enlisted. With discipline and direc-

  tion the spread can be minirealized."

  Ackbar nodded at the Wookiee. "An apt analogy."

  Borsk Fey'lya's eyes narrowed. "A military model might

  well be sufficient to deal with t he virus, but do you suggest

  we use it to curtail black market trading? Having storm-

  troopers breaking into private homes to deprive people of

  bacta supplies will hardly endear us to our people."

  Mon Mothma shook her head. "No such thing is advo-

  cated. General Cracken is devoting a certain amount of his

  energy to this problem, and is working to put the New Re-

  public Security Force together. The NRSF will replace the old

  Imperial Sector Ranger force, and is meant to be a law en-

  forcement and counter-insurgency force. It will be some time

  before the force will be ready to administer all that needs to

  be dealt with here, but we have an offer for dealing with our

  law enforcement needs in the interim."

  Mon Mothma used her comlink. "Please send Vorru in."

  Ackbar saw the hackles go up on Fey'lya and felt his

  own flesh crawl. The doors to the chamber opened, and

  through them walked a small human with a thick head of

  white hair. From his size, which was not that big, even for a

  human, he could have easily been dismissed as benign, yet a

  warrior's instinct told Ackbar that was just an image Vorru

  sought to project.

  He'd met the man once before, when Fliry Vorru, then

  an Imperial Moff, had been a guest of Tarkin. The two men

  were physical opposites, but so alike in temperament and

  spirit that Ackbar had wished they would turn on each other

  and destroy one another. That didn't happen, though cir-

  cumstances soon conspired to get Vorru sentenced to Kessel,

  where he had remained until he had been freed and returned

  to Cornscant as part of the Rebel operation to take the

  planet.

  Vorru looked up and Ackbar read pure cunning in his

  dark eyes. "I thank you for seeing me, esteemed Councilors. I

  thank you for my freedom. I find myself in a position to

  repay the debt I owe you."

  Leia's head came up. "You don't consider your part in

  the liberation of Cornscant to have canceled that debt?"

  "If the truth be told, Princess Leia, I do not." Vorru

  stiflened formally, then bowed his head. "The liberation of

  the planet would have been accomplished more smoothly

  and efficiently if not for the treacherous behavior of one of

  my lieutenants. While I did not know Zekka Thyne was

  working for Imperial Intelligence agents, I must accept re-

  sponsibility for his actions. In effect, the liberation proceeded

  without my help, so my debt to you remains."

  A pained expression passed over his face. "You brought

  me here in the hope that I could revive Black Sun and turn it

  into a force that would aid the effort to take Cornscant from

  the Empire. I did what I could, but the fact is that the Impe-

  rial effort to expunge the remnants of Xizor's organization

  were as ruthlessly effic
ient as only Darth Vader's vengeance

  could be. What little of the leadership remained was de-

  stroyed in internecine battling. When I arrived here there was

  a paucity of leadership and an insufficient amount of time to

  once again establish control over the various factions present

  on Cornscant. Durga the Hutt and others resist unification,

  so Black Sun is effectively dead."

  Ackbar sat back in his chair. "I would have expected

  more regret in your voice at that pronouncement."

  Vorru shrugged. "Black Sun was Xizor's dream, not

  mine."

  Fey'lya folded his arms across his chest and remained

  standing. "And your dream is . . . ?"

  "Freedom, the same as your dream." Vorru smiled.

  "The Empire treated criminals the same way it treated you

  Rebels. With the Empire's grip broken, you Rebels have be-

  come the New Republic and have gained legitimacy. The

  criminals who have long been repressed by the Empire are

  not all evil, but many have been trapped in a cycle of lawless-

  ness precisely because they knew they could expect no mercy

  from the Empire. While they were not Rebels, they were no

  less victims of Imperial repression.

  "To bring things to the point quickly, we no longer wish

  to be treated as criminals. We want a chance to gain legiti-

  macy and lead normal lives. For this we realize we need to

  offer you something of value, and so we shall. We know the

  ways of the black market. We know how to disrupt it and

  break it. We know the ways of criminals and how to disrupt

  their activities. We know the underworld of Cornscant and

  we know how to bring to justice those you want to punish."

  Doman Beruss stared at Vorru. "You want us to make

  you the Commissioner of the Cornscant Constabulary?"

  "I do not think you that foolish, Doman Beruss. I knew

  your father and mother and I know you cannot be easily

  deceived." A smile came readily to Vorru's face--a smile

  Ackbar did not trust. "What I want is for my people to be

  allowed to administer the law in the underworld here. Your

  Security Force will have more than enough to do with the

  areas of Cornscant where you can project power. We already

  have various off-world populations forming their own mili-