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

Elscol nodded. "Agreed. From what Sixtus has said, though, because bacta and
healing is so much a part of Vratix society, for a Vratix to become a warrior
and cause harm is a very solemn decision. The Ashern, as you know, sharpen their
forearm claws and paint themselves black. The former is for fighting, but they
paint themselves black so they can re-main in the shadows, hidden away to
protect the other Vratix from what they can and will do to win freedom."
"Well, their reluctance to be violent explains why they haven't just risen up
and slaughtered all the humans on the planet." Iella sighed. "It's too bad they
have to resort to war to win the freedom they never should have lost in the
first place. I hope we can remain free long enough for the Ashern to be ready to
fight. How long do you figure we have until Isard storms us?"
"Good question. Me, I'd have done it in a heartbeat be-fore we embarrassed
General Dlarit, but she's trying to keep the populace happy. If the Xucphra
folks see white armor in bulk on their world, they're going to figure she's got
no more use for them, and I suspect they can cause a fair amount of trouble for
her." Elscol sat back, leaning against the wall.
"Of course, Isard has more trouble than just us. That's what I came to tell you.
News from the front."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And good news, too."
Iella dropped to the circular chamber's floor and sat cross-legged. Twisting her
blaster belt around so she was more comfortable, she smiled up at Elscol. "What
did you hear?"
"The Corrupter is no more."
lella's jaw dropped. "What? How?"
"Isard tried to ambush Wedge and the others. Appar-ently, Wedge had a surprise
waiting for them. A steady diet of proton torpedoes put the Corrupter down. No
word of squadron losses-at least none that are reliable. Data came from a tap on
Xucphra corp news, so it all has an Imp spin."
"Still, if they're saying the Corrupter was destroyed, that means its loss was
the least of the problems Isard has." Iella clapped her hands. "Maybe this
mission isn't going to be suicidal."
Elscol's face closed down. "We're a long way from get-ting out, Iella, but
getting shot up isn't going to get you and your husband reunited."
"What?" Iella tried to cover her surprise at Elscol's com-ment because when she
heard the words she knew part of her had been considering the mission in exactly
that light. "I never . . ."
Elscol leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "Hey, do I look like
some Xucphra clerk who's going to believe everything you say? No. I've been
where you are. I lost my husband to the Imps back on Cilpar, and part of me
wanted to die with him there. I took off after the Imps for revenge, but always
in the back of my mind was the feeling that when I died we'd be together again.
Wedge saw that in me and saw the urge for self-destruction grow in me. When he
kicked me out of Rogue Squadron, well, that woke me up; and I began to see a lot
of things."
lella's head came up. "Are you saying there's no life after death?"
"I'm saying it doesn't matter." Elscol held her two hands
out, palms toward the ceiling. "On one hand, if there isn't an afterlife, you'll
be remembered for the things you did while you were alive. On the other, if
there is an afterlife, you'll be able to share all you did with those who died