"Michael Stackpole "The Bacta War"" - читать интересную книгу автора

Alderaan's sacrifice."
"Undoubtedly so, Madam Director. What is important is that Antilles will have
his fighters and his freighters there. If we divert our warships to Alderaan we
can ambush the Antil-les group and destroy them."
Isard's eyes narrowed, but her smile did not die and this contradiction confused
Vorru. "No, Minister Vorru, I'm not going to send all my ships in case this
information is false. I don't doubt you or your source, but Antilles might catch
wind of our ambush and refuse to show up. He could even hit a bacta convoy and
subject us to yet more ridicule. No, I won't have that."
She held up her right index finger. "I do know what I will do. I will send
Convarion and the Corrupter. He's ambushed them once and can do it again."
Vorru shook his head. "But if you only send the Cor-rupter, Antilles and his
people will scatter as usual. We will accomplish nothing."
"No, Vorru, we will accomplish everything." Isard
laughed aloud, her voice full of triumph. "While you have woven a net of spies
to catch Antilles, I have been searching for the means to kill him. I have found
it, and in twelve hours it will be here and ready to join Convarion as he goes
for the kill."
Vorru frowned. "I don't understand."
"It is rather simple, Minister Vorru." Isard's smile be-came cold. "At great
expense I have leased from High Admi-ral Teradoc a ship, the Aggregator."
Vorru's jaw dropped. "An Interdictor Cruiser."
"Exactly." She clapped her hands together. "When it ar-rives at Alderaan and
powers up its gravity well projectors, Antilles and his ships will be trapped.
There will be another sacrifice at Alderaan-another victory there for the Empire
to celebrate. What do you say to that?"
"I say, Madam Director, I will accept that drink you offered"-Vorru smiled-"and
raise a toast to victory."
24
Wedge's X-wing reverted to realspace above the plane of the elliptic in the
Alderaan system. Spread out in a flat disk, the rubble that had once been
Alderaan looked like the crumbs left behind after the cutting of a ryshcate. He
slowly shook his head. Dying only once isn't nearly enough punishment for the
Emperor to atone for this evil.
Mynock beeped with each ship entering the system. The Rogues in their X-wings
had come in first and oriented them-selves toward the Graveyard. The most likely
threat to them would come from there, from pirates or others hidden amid the
debris. Some of the chunks are large enough to screen even a Star Destroyer. If
there was one there, the plan was clean and simple: The X-wings would target it
with a full salvo of proton torpedoes, giving the other ships a chance to run.
The dozen freighters Booster had rounded up came in next with the Pulsar Skate
in the lead. Moments after rever-sion they made course corrections to get
themselves pointed toward their exit vectors. The Chir'daki came in last and
split their squadron up so each freighter had a fighter escort. If trouble
erupted, the Twi'lek and Gand squadron could reas-
semble and screen the escaping freighters from any TIEs or other snubfighters,
then head out themselves.
Wedge glanced at his screen and saw the names of the various ships in his fleet
scroll up. Green letters indicated they were all set to fulfill their part in
the mission. At least we've gotten here in one piece. Now we need Karrde to do