Star Wars - X-Wing - Krytos Trap

by Michael A. Stackpole

  didn't you have to reconsider Captain Celchu's position in

  regard to what Horn thought about him?"

  Wedge shook his head. "To be honest, Commander,

  there was so much happening at the time Thyne was revealed

  to be a traitor, that I could only consider one thing getting

  my mission done. We had just received word that we had to

  bring the shields down so our fleet could invade. Mind you,

  Tycho passed that message to me. If he were an Imperial

  plant, he could have withheld that information and set a trap

  for our fleet."

  "So then, Commander Antilles, you are not of the opin-

  ion that the Empire gave us this world, infected as it is with

  the Krytos virus, to destroy us?"

  "I have no idea, Commander Ettyk, what was in the

  mind of Ysanne Isard at the time we took Coruscant."

  "I see." Halla Ettyk took a datadisk from leila Wessiri

  and exchanged it for one in her datapad. "But you do not

  discount that possibility, correct?" "I cannot discount it."

  "And you cannot discount the possibility that Captain

  Celchu was working for the Empire in helping give Corus-

  cant to the New Republic."

  "Yes I can." Wedge nodded solemnly. "I know Tycho. !

  know he's not a spy. I trust him."

  "And you trusted Zekka Thyne until proved wrong

  about him, didn't you, Commander?" "No, that's not the way it was."

  "Perhaps not to you, Commander, but it was to one

  man." Halla Ettyk shrugged casually. "Corran Horn. And

  now he's dead."

  Outside the courtroom, Wedge slumped against the cold

  stone wall. Nawara tried to rehabilitate me as a witness, but

  the damage was done. I wanted to be in there and help

  Tycbo, but I didn't. He hammered a fist against the wall.

  "Sithspawn!"

  He straightened up immediately as a woman closed to

  within inches of him. She held up a comlink and nodded to a

  holocam-carrying lthorian. "This is Zaree Lolvanci, Kuati

  First Holo-News, and I'm standing here with Alliance hero,

  Commander Wedge Antilles. How does it feel, Commander,

  to know that your testimony is what will convict Captain

  Celchu?"

  Before Wedge could gather his wits enough to answer, a

  body sliced between the holojournalist and him. Wedge felt a

  strong grip on his upper arm and heard a firm voice reply to

  the question in his place. "Commander Antilles's only inter-

  est in this matter is seeing justice done. He has every confi-

  dence that his faith in Captain Celchu will be vindicated

  when the defense presents its case. Until then, any specula-

  tion on the outcome would be premature and possibly preju-

  dicial. And he has no further comment."

  Wedge let Diric Wessiri guide him past the Ithorian and

  on through a security checkpoint, where two guards stopped

  the reporter and her holographer. Diric steered him to a

  bench and sat beside him. "Odious people, the holoshills,

  aren't they, Commander Antilles?"

  "They don't make a very good first impression . . ."

  "No, but it tends to last." The older man smiled at him.

  "How are you holding up?"

  Wedge nodded. "I think I will be able to recover. Just

  need some time." He regarded the slender man closely.

  Though his flesh still seemed a bit ashen, spirit and fortitude

  shone in his eyes. "Thank you for saving me."

  "! am glad I was able to help." Diric gave him a smile

  that appeared artificial only in that it looked as if Diric had

  to consciously work at remembering how to smile. "Iella was

  afraid something like that would happen. She sent me after

  you."

  "I'd have thought she was happy with the turn of events.

  Commander Ettyk ate me alive."

  "No, she wasn't happy." Diric patted a tunic pocket. "I

  have a pass that can take us up to the secure parking area.

  We can get in my airspeeder and leave here. Iella said she

  would be willing to join us later for dinner, if you wish."

  "I doubt I would be very good company." Wedge

  glanced back toward the courtroom. "I wanted to end

  Tycho's persecution with my testimony, and all I did was

  leave the impression that even I think he was a spy."

  "Not at all." Diric tapped Wedge's thigh with a finger.

  "First of all, the Tribunal judges know you and know how

  difficult that was for you. All Commander Ettyk really did

  was establish that Tycho was on Coruscant at your request

  and that the possibility of betrayal was in your mind."

  "Sure, but she also made it sound like I wouldn't know

  who was a spy and who wasn't."

  "Why would you?"

  "What?"

  Diric opened his hands. "As you said, ferreting out spies

  is not what you do. No one expects you to have been able to

  spot him as a spy if he was, and you certainly couldn't if he

  wasn't. And, between you and me, I don't think he is a spy."

  "Thanks."

  "None necessary. I've had a number of conversations

  with Captain Celchu in jail and I find him thoroughly lik-

  able. If he's a spy, well, then all of us are suspects." Diric

  held a hand up. "I would also like to point out that I have

  attended many trials in my time, and you did no worse on

  the stand than many people I have seen. You see your perfor-

  mance as hideous because you were hoping to put the state's

  case away with one telling shot. Unfortunately the case

  against Tycho isn't a Death Star. It isn't going to go away

  that easily. Nawara Ven knows what he's doing, though, and

  he'll do a good job."

  Wedge stared down at his hands. "I'd like to believe you,

  but I feel the way I did at Yavin, when Luke told me to pull

  up out of the trench on the Death Star. Luke was right, there

  wasn't anything else I could do, but to abandon the effort at

  that point, it just didn't feel right."

  "I understand that, but Luke Skywalker was correct and

  the Death Star was destroyed."

  "Yes, but Biggs Darklighter died. If I'd stayed in there,

  maybe--"

  "Maybe he would have lived and you would have

  died?" Diric shook his head ruefully. "And you probably

  think that if you had been flying the night Coruscant was

  taken, Corran would still live?"

  I hadn't thought about it, but, yes, that notion has been

  bouncing around in the back of my mind. "It's not that I

  have a death wish, you know."

  "I know that very well, Wedge. I have seen this survi-

  vor's guilt in Iella, in Corran and his father, and in others."

  He pressed a hand to his own chest. "Even I have known it.

  We all have friends and acquaintances who meet with what

  we see as an untimely death. With me, because I do nothing,

  I wonder why it wasn't me who died. I wonder what I have

  done to survive. With you and others who actively oppose

  evil, you wonder what it is that you could have done to

  prevent another person's death. Those questions have no an-

  swers-at least none outside the philosophical realm. For me

  they are a point of departure for
thought, but for you and my

  wife they are just sources of frustration and regret.

  "This is why, of course, my wife is working so hard to

  uncover who caused Corran's death. That's the only way she

  will be able to defeat the frustration and assuage her feelings

  of guilt. She hated what you were put through on the stand,

  because you are her friend, but her loyalty to Corran de-

  manded she sit through it and help Commander Ettyk, if

  need be." Diric shook his head. "Fortunately she did not

  have to help. You two are enough alike that I imagine you

  can see how much that would have hurt her."

  "Yeah, I can see it." Wedge rubbed at his temples with

  both hands. "And I can understand the frustration. I have to

  wonder if there was a way to prevent Corran's death."

  "Undoubtedly there was, Wedge, but it was not open to

  you. If Captain Celchu was a spy, then General Cracken and

  Winter and leila all missed the signs of it." "But Corran didn't."

  Diric's smile returned more naturally. "As much as I

  valued Corran as a friend, he was not always right." "So Whistler has indicated."

  "And no one knew him better." Diric patted him on the

  leg. "Maintain your faith in your friend. He deserves it."

  "Again, thank you."

  "No thanks are necessary. So, would you like me to take

  you somewhere? We can eat or drink and leila can join us."

  Wedge thought for a moment, then shook his head.

  "There should be another two hours of testimony today,

  shouldn't there?"

  "Yes. Winter was called after you were."

  Watching Winter testify has got to be hard on leila. They

  were even closer than leila and I became, and with Winter

  and Tycho being together . . ."Iella will need you there,

  because Winter's testimony is going to be tougher on her

  than mine."

  "But you shouldn't be alone right now."

  "I won't be." Wedge jerked a thumb toward the east.

  "I'm going to go down a level, then over to the Galactic

  Museum via the walkway. I'll spend some time in the Crimi-

  nal Gallery, visiting old friends, then I'll come back here

  when court is adjourned for the day and take you up on your

  offer. I have a feeling that when today is over, Iella isn't

  going to want to be alone either. No matter how this turns

  out, I do consider her a friend, and I want to make sure she

  has no reason to doubt that at all."

  19

  Gavin shifted his shoulders uneasily and tugged at the cuffs

  of his dress jacket. I feel about as comfortable here as Com-

  mander Antilles did on the witness stand.

  Asyr slipped her arm through his as the tether-lift

  stopped and the doors opened. "It's not going to be that bad,

  Gavin. Liska Dan'kre, our hostess, is an old friend of mine.

  We schooled together before I went off to the Academy."

  "If she's hiring a skyhook for this party, she must be

  filthy rich."

  Asyr purred contentedly. "Rich, yes, but you'll find

  nothing filthy about her." She led Gavin from the lift box

  onto the entry platform which overlooked the whole of the

  skyhook's disk. "Impressive, isn't it?"

  "Yeah." The circular skyhook actually formed a bowl

  with several pathways spiraling down through forested

  depths to a central courtyard. A kilometer in diameter, the

  floating garden flew high over the mountain district of Co-

  ruscant. Off to the northeast, beyond the Manarai Moun-

  tains, Gavin saw the top of the Imperial Palace. "I can't

  believe I'm here."

  Asyr looked up at him, puzzlement riding openly on her

  face. "What's wrong?"

  Where to begin? "Nothing, really, I suppose. It's just

  that, well, on Tatooine we had no skyhooks. They weren't

  deemed safe enough--one good dust storm blows up out of

  the nastier regions and it would pull one of these skyhooks

  from the sky."

  The Bothan patted his hand. "The repulsorlift genera-

  tors are more than sufficient for keeping this skyhook aloft.

  Don't worry about that."

  "Then there's the jungle." He gave her a weak smile.

  "You weren't with us on one of our duty stations, but it

  looked a lot like this. I got shot there. My stomach is already

  acting up because of it."

  Asyr rubbed her hand over the faint trace of a scar on

  his belly. "I've seen what the bacta left you for a souvenir,

  remember, love?"

  Gavin blushed. "Yeah."

  "And I think you're not nervous about that as much as

  you're nervous about being here among my people." She

  raised a finger and pressed it to his lips to forestall a com-

  ment. "I know you're not bigoted--if you were you'd not be

  here--but you've even said yourself that most of your life has

  been spent among humans. It's not unusual to be anxious

  when outnumbered--I feel it whenever we go to places

  where humans predominate."

  Gavin's shoulders sagged a centimeter or two. "I should

  have realized . . . I'm sorry."

  "Don't be." Asyr smiled broadly. "Come on, let's make

  an impression on my friends."

  Gavin brought his head up and smiled. "As you wish,

  Asyr, so shall it be."

  Together they descended from the entry platform and

  started off on a path that took a long, 1ooping spiral down to

  the central courtyard. The guests at the party were mostly

  Bothans, and all of them stared at the couple as they walked

  past. Gavin knew that had to be because of the high-necked,

  sleeveless gown Asyr wore. Woven of iridescent blue and

  purple thread, the color shifted and shimmered with her ev-

  ery movement. The garment clung tight to her slender body,

  but the fact that the skirts had been slit from ankle to high on

  her thigh meant she was not hampered while walking. She'd

  loosely draped a simple blue stole, woven from the metallic

  thread used in her dress, across her back and through her

  elbows, completing the outfit.

  Other Bothan females wore similar gowns, but none so

  well. Though he was not wholly adept at reading Bothan

  body language and facial expressions, the rippling of fur on

  necks and shoulders of those they passed by told him that

  Asyr's gown was making quite an impression indeed. Gavin

  thought he looked pretty sharp in his Rogue Squadron uni-

  form, but he was a black hole compared with a supernova,

  and quite content with that role.

  As they reached the courtyard, a lithe female Bothan

  with black and tan markings excused herself from a circle of

  individuals who were listening to Borsk Fey'lya holding forth

  on something. She wore a gown similar in design to Asyr's,

  though it had been made of cloth of gold and had been

  accented with jet beadwork in the form of stripes. She

  beamed broadly as she approached them. "Asyr Sei'lar, you

  are a vision!"

  Asyr gave her friend a big hug. "Thank you for the invi-

  tation, Liska."

  Liska pulled back and looked up at Gavin. "And you are

  Asyr's friend."

  Gavin
executed a semiformal bow. "Gavin Darklighter

  of Rogue Squadron, pleased to make your acquaintance."

  He took her hand in his and shook it gently.

  Liska sighed contentedly, then smiled at Asyr. "So man-

  nerly, no wonder you find him so attractive. How did you

  meet him?"

  Asyr hesitated for a moment. "I was part of an opera-

  tion in Invisec before the liberation. We met then."

  Gavin smiled. "She was trying to get me executed as an

  example to the Imps."

  "You always did play a little rough, Asyr."

  Asyr shrugged. "Luckily he had Nawara Ven defending

  him, so the execution was delayed. Imps showed up, Gavin

  saved my life and I his in the ensuing firefight. Not much

  more to tell than that."

  "Quite the first date, Asyr. It's a wonder he dared go out

  with you again." Liska linked her arm through Asyr's. "You

  never seemed to get into this sort of trouble when I've been

  there to keep you safe." "True enough."

  Liska looked up at Gavin. "I'm going to steal her away

  for a moment or two, just to get caught up. You don't mind,

  do you?"

  Gavin gave her a big smile and shook his head. "Not at

  all--seeing you again is all she's talked about since the invi-

  tation came. I'll just find myself something to drink."

  Asyr reached out and gave his right hand a squeeze.

  "Won't be but a minute."

  "Have fun." Gavin watched Liska lead her away, then

  looked around, surveying his surroundings. Knots of individ-

  uals-almost exclusively Bothans---dominated the land-

  scape. About the only place they were not predominant was

  at one bar where a couple of humans, two Ithorians, and a

  handful of other non-Bothan individuals seemed to have

  taken up residence. Gavin drifted off in that direction, keep-

  ing his strides even and his head up even though something

  in his belly made him want to hurry over there.

  He looked at the bartender. "Lominale, please."

  A short, balding man smiled over at him. "You should

  drink the expensive stuff--the Bothans are paying for it."

  "Perhaps, but I like lomin-ale." Gavin accepted the

  frothy green glass of ale, sipped, then licked the foam off his

  upper lip. The ale was good, though not nearly cold enough

  for his tastes. Bothans don't seem to like particularly cold