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

keep his expression utterly impas-sive as Ysanne Isard dressed down Erisi
Dlarit. Both women had maintained rigid control at first, wielding civility and
ti-tles with razor-kiss efficacy. Polite phrasings bottled up vit-riol; but
Vorru knew if he'd tossed a pair of lightsabers between them, they'd have minced
each other in a nanosec-ond.
Then Ysanne Isard had said, "High Admiral Teradoc has withdrawn the Aggregator
from my service and that is your fault!"
Erisi exploded. "My fault? What algorithm did you use to calculate that
conclusion? Sir."
"The calculations were simple enough that I would have thought any provincial
mind could have grasped them." Isard's eyes narrowed as her hands balled into
fists. "Your pilots were on both the Aggregator and the Corrupter. It was your
pilots who were supposed to deal with the snubfighter threat. They failed,
costing me the Corrupter and now mak-ing me the laughingstock of the galaxy.
Teradoc had the gall to say to me that he'd only lend me toys if I would promise
they would not return broken! The Emperor would have had his guts for floss over
such a remark. Because of you, I am subject to such indignities!"
"Begging your pardon, but the orders placing my pilots on those ships came from
you. I asked you to use our Elite pilots for the mission, but you picked a green
unit."
"Their evaluations-reports you prepared-were out-standing."
"Yes, but they'd not seen combat before." Erisi's blue eyes burned intensely.
"You sent them out after a unit that is arguably the best fighter squadron in
the galaxy."
Isard raised an eyebrow. "Even with your participation no longer needed or
welcome?"
The sniped quip seemed to pass unnoticed by Dlarit, but Vorru had no doubt she'd
cataloged it. "My Elite Squadron is the equal of Rogue Squadron. If you had sent
us after them, Teradoc would be prostrate before you, begging you to accept his
allegiance. He is laughing because you destroyed three squadrons, because you
didn't heed the warning he offered by refusing to send his own pilots against
Antilles."
Vorru saw Isard preparing for a counterargument and knew if Isard were not
checked Erisi might pay with her life for her frank audacity. In the space of a
heartbeat, he ex-amined his options. If he said nothing, Isard would destroy
Erisi Dlarit, throwing the Dlarit family into further disrepute. The fact that
the Ashern had humiliated her father clearly fueled her desire for retribution
on the forces arrayed against the Bacta Cartel. She had wanted to fly on the
mission to Alderaan, but Isard had refused that request. To turn around and then
blame Erisi for the mission's failure was frustrating enough that Erisi might
wish for death.
Intervening on her behalf would open him to Isard's wrath, but the price might
be worth it. Erisi and her family still had considerable influence within the
Bacta Cartel. If Isard had to be removed, having Erisi as an ally might make
such an operation possible and certainly would smooth over the consequences of
it on Thyferra. / could even claim to the New Republic that I joined Isard
specifically to work against her from the inside like this. The idea that the
New Republic
would have to accept him as the leader of the new Bacta Cartel broadened the
grin Erisi's defiance had put on his face.