The Krytos Trap (47 page)

The remnants of the Empire had captured, tortured, and imprisoned him at Lusankya, which he later came to realize was really a Super Star Destroyer buried beneath the surface of Coruscant. He had escaped from there—a feat never before successfully accomplished—but had gotten away only with the aid of other prisoners. He had vowed to them that he would return and liberate them, and he fully intended to keep his promise. The fact that they were imprisoned in the belly of the SSD that now orbited Thyferra made that task more difficult, but long odds against success had never stopped him before.
I’m a Corellian. What use have I for odds?

His desire to save them had increased with a chance discovery that embarrassed him mightily when he made it. In Lusankya the Rebel prisoners had been led by an older man who simply called himself Jan. Since his escape, Corran had caught a holovision broadcast of a documentary on the heroes of the Rebel Alliance. First and foremost among them had been the general who led the defense of Yavin 4 and planned the destruction of the first Death Star, Jan Dodonna. The documentary said he’d been slain during the evacuation of Yavin 4, but Corran had no doubt Dodonna had been a prisoner on Lusankya.
If I hadn’t thought him dead, I might have recognized him, too. How stupid of me
.

Dodonna’s celebrity had nothing to do with Corran’s desire to save him. Jan, like Urlor Sette and others, had helped him escape. They had risked their lives to give him a chance to get away. Leaving such brave people captives of someone like Ysanne Isard not only failed to reward their courage but repaid them by leaving them in severe jeopardy of death or worse—conversion into a covert Imperial agent under Isard’s direction.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Corran started, then turned and smiled at the black-haired, dark-eyed woman standing in the bedroom doorway. “I guess not, Mirax. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“You didn’t wake me. Your
absence
awakened me.” She wore a dark blue robe, belted at the waist with a pale yellow sash. Mirax raised a hand to hide a yawn then pointed at the silver cylinder in his right hand. “Regretting your decision?”

“Which one? Refusing to join the Jedi Knights or”—he smiled—“or hooking up with you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking of the Jedi decision. If you have reservations about the other decision, I can relearn how to sleep alone.”

He laughed, and she joined him. “I regret neither. Your father and my father may have been mortal enemies, but I can’t imagine having a better friend than you.”

“Or lover.”

“Especially lover.”

Mirax shrugged. “All you men who’ve just gotten out of prison say that.”

Corran frowned for a moment. “I imagine you’re right, but how you came by that information, I don’t want to know.”

Mirax blinked her eyes. “You know, I don’t think I want to know that, either.”

Corran laughed, then crossed the room and enfolded her in a warm hug. “After my escape, Tycho expressed his regrets concerning your death to me. He told me how Warlord Zsinj had ambushed a convoy at Alderaan and destroyed it, including your
Pulsar Skate
. Everything inside of me just collapsed. Losing you just ripped the emotional skeleton out of me.”

“Now you know how I felt when I thought you’d been slain here on Coruscant.” She kissed his left ear, then settled her chin on his shoulder. “I hadn’t realized how much you had become part of my life until you were gone. The hole the
Lusankya
created blasting her way out of Coruscant was nothing compared to the void I had inside. It wasn’t a question of wanting to die, but of knowing my insides were dead and wondering when the rest of me would catch up.”

“I had it luckier than you. When he got the chance, General Cracken pulled me aside and told me how you’d gone on a covert mission to Borleias to deliver ryll kor, bacta, and a Vratix
verachen
. Zsinj’s ambush conveniently covered your disappearance so the Thyferrans didn’t know what you were setting up on Borleias with their bacta.”

“Yeah, they would not have liked it if it were known we were using the Alderaan Biotics facility there to make rylca and, eventually, enough bacta to dent their monopoly.” Mirax shivered. “I would have preferred the original plan working, because as much as I didn’t look forward to being reviled and hunted down for stealing bacta from the convoy, I would have rather endured that than having all those other people killed.”

“Nothing you could do about that.”

“Nor was there anything you could do about your fellow prisoners being whisked away by Isard when she escaped in the
Lusankya.
” Mirax backed up a half-step and held Corran at arm’s-length. “You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Realize, yes. Accept, no. Tolerate, no way.” Corran narrowed his green eyes, but the hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You know, if you keep hanging around with me, you’re going to get into a lot of trouble.”

“Trouble?” Mirax batted her brown eyes. “Whatever do you mean, Lieutenant Horn?”

“Well, I precipitated the mass resignation of the New Republic’s most celebrated fighter squadron and vowed that we’d liberate Thyferra from Ysanne Isard’s clutches. So far, toward that end, we have a squadron’s worth of pilots,
my
X-wing, and if you’re really in this with us, your freighter.”

Mirax smiled. “Versus three Imperial Star Destroyers and a Super Star Destroyer, not to mention any sort of Thyferran military forces that might oppose us.”

Corran nodded. “Right.”

Mirax’s grin broadened. “Okay, so get to the trouble part.”

“Mirax, be serious.”

“I am. You forget, dear heart, that it was an X-wing and a freighter that lit up the first Death Star.”

“This is a little bit different.”

“Not really.” She reached out and tapped his forehead with a finger. “You and I, Wedge and Tycho, and everyone else knows what it takes to defeat the Empire. It’s not a matter of equipment, but of having the heart to use that equipment. The Empire was broken because, for the good of the galaxy, it
had to be broken
. The Rebels were given no choice, and because of that, they pushed themselves further than the Imperials did. We know we
can
win and that we
must
win, and Isard’s people know nothing of the kind.”

“That’s all well and good, Mirax, and I agree, but this is a massive undertaking. The sheer amount of equipment we’ll need to pull this off is staggering.”

“Agreed. I don’t think this will be easy, but it
can
be done.”

“I know.” Corran massaged his eyes with his left hand. “Too many variables and not enough data available to begin to assign them values.”

“And three hours before dawn isn’t the time you should be wrestling with such things. As bright as you might be, Corran Horn, this is not an hour when you do your best work.”

Corran raised an eyebrow. “I seem to recall you singing a different tune last evening about this time.”

“At that time you weren’t concerned with Ysanne Isard, you were concerned with me.”

“Ah, and that makes the difference?”

“From my perspective, you bet.” She took the lightsaber from his hand and set it atop his dresser. “And I think, if you’re willing to work with me, I can share that perspective with you.”

He kissed her on the tip of the nose. “It would be my pleasure.”

“That, Lieutenant Horn, is just half the objective here.”

“Forgive me.” Following her toward the bed, he stepped over the silken puddle her robe made on the floor. “You know, I just got out of prison.”

“For that I won’t forgive you but perhaps”—she smiled up at him—“I will make some allowance for good behavior.”

2

Wedge Antilles felt decidedly uncomfortable out of uniform.
Actually, I feel uncomfortable out of the service
. During the covert mission to Coruscant, he’d not been in hailing distance of an Alliance uniform, and he’d even worn Imperial uniforms a couple of times, but that had not bothered him. He’d spent most of his adult life as part of the Rebel Alliance and now he had chosen to leave it.

There was no doubt in his mind that the decision to leave was the right one to make. He fully understood why the New Republic couldn’t attack Thyferra and bring Ysanne Isard to justice. Since she was installed as the Chief of State through an internal revolution—as opposed to an invasion—her holding office was not a case of Imperial aggression, but of self-determination. If the New Republic rejected that idea in this one case, plenty of other nation-states would think long and hard before joining the New Republic or would consider leaving.

Wedge forced himself to smile and looked up at the light-brown-haired man with bright blue eyes sitting across the table from him. “Have we bitten off more than we can chew?”

Tycho Celchu shrugged. “It’s a mouthful, but with some more teeth, we might be able to choke it down. There is some good news on this whole front you know. We have the ten million credits that Ysanne Isard placed in accounts to frame me. That money is mine, which means it’s
ours
. We have the five Z-95 Headhunters that were used to help liberate Coruscant.”

“But they’re not hyperspace capable.”

“True, but that’s not going to be their value for us.” Tycho began to smile. “The Z-95s are part of history. They’re
collectable
. I’ve already had offers from museums and amusement parks to buy them. We can probably get one point five million for each of them—the Bothan Military Academy wants the one Asyr flew so badly they’re not even trying to hide their desire for it.”

Wedge’s jaw dropped. “That would give us quite a war chest.”

“It should take care of many of our needs.”

“Provided we can find places where we can buy weapons that are restricted or illegal on most civilized planets.”

Tycho nodded. “Winter and Mirax are working on that problem. Winter, from her work locating Imperial supply depots for us to raid, knows where there are bits and pieces of things that we can buy, borrow, or steal. Mirax is fairly certain she can locate sources for pretty much anything else we need. And we are getting donations of material.”

Wedge smiled and looked around the small office in which he and Tycho sat. After their resignation, they had been forced out of Rogue Squadron’s headquarters facility. Various citizens had turned around and offered the ex-Rogues apartments and offices. They’d been feted and celebrated and praised as if they were the only people in the galaxy who still had in them the rebel spirit that defeated the Empire.

“Do you think the Provisional Council ordered the grounding of all skyhooks just to spite us?”

Tycho shook his head. “That’s a popular rumor after we were offered the SoroSuub skyhook, but we know the safety concerns over the things are well founded. The
Lusankya
blasted most of one out of the sky, and the falling debris obliterated a couple of square kilometers. Grounding the skyhooks in that area and where the
Lusankya
blasted out of Coruscant provides housing for the survivors of those disasters
and
allows the resources used to keep the skyhooks airborne to be diverted to other projects.”

“Too bad for us, because a skyhook would have been perfect. It would have enough storage to let us house our equipment when we get it.”

Tycho raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re more concerned that it would provide Isard with a single target to hit when she comes after us, which she will. It minimizes collateral damage.”

“Unless you’re living beneath us.”

“True.”

“As was your speculation.” Wedge frowned. “The fact is. that we’ve declared war on Isard, but we’re not going to be indiscriminate in waging that war. She knows no such restriction on her actions. In reality, we shouldn’t be looking at any headquarters anywhere near Coruscant. There are a bunch of old Rebel bases we could convert.”

“Even if we
could
get it, I’m not going back to Hoth.” Tycho shivered. “I saw enough snow there to last me a dozen lifetimes.”

“Which is about what it takes to burn that Hoth cold from your bones.” Wedge shook his head. “No, I was thinking about Yavin 4 or Talasea. Endor would be nice, but the Ewoks would be targets for her.”

A chime sounded from the door. Wedge looked up and said, “Open.”

The door slid open to reveal a flame-haired man of above-average height wearing the uniform of a Captain in the New Republic Armed Forces. He started to salute, then hesitated, then completed the gesture in a crisp and respectful manner.

Wedge smiled and stood behind the table. He returned the salute, then waved the man into the office and toward a chair. “Good to see you again, Pash. I see you’ve got your rank back. You’re rejoining your flight group?”

Pash Cracken nodded, then shook hands with both Tycho and Wedge before seating himself. “Good to see both of you as well.” His green-eyed gaze flicked down at the floor for a moment. “I really wish I were going to be with the rest of you. Just say the word, Wedge, and I’m a civilian.”

The pain in Pash’s voice started a sympathetic aching in Wedge’s chest. “We’d love to have you with us, but there’s no way you can resign and join us. Your father’s the head of Alliance Security. If you came with us there would be no way anyone would believe we’re operating independently. I know you’d not be reporting to your father, but the appearance would cause trouble for the New Republic.”

“I know.” Pash took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m back as part of Commander Varth’s wing. While the bulk of the fleet is off chasing Warlord Zsinj, we’re being pulled Core-ward to cover some of the sectors where Zsinj used to run around. It’s going to be something of an adventure for our people, because we’ll be staging from Folor, that moon base orbiting Commenor.”

“I remember it well.” Wedge smiled. “Not a lot of creature comforts there.”

“It’ll beat what we’ve got out on Generis. It’s backward enough that most folks there don’t even realize the Old Republic has fallen.”