"Michael Stackpole "The Bacta War"" - читать интересную книгу автораbeen served in the Outer Rim-I know of worlds and systems that you could never
find. Seek out the Avarice, and you will leave yourself vulnerable to enemies who can destroy you." The image faded to gray static, then evaporated, leaving Isard staring back toward Vorru. "You once told me he had a mistress, this Captain Yonka." Vorru nodded. "On Elshandruu Pica." "Have her killed." Isard spoke softly, surprising Vorru with her ability to keep her anger from coloring her words. "And any children she has, any siblings, any family." "And not his family?" Isard snorted harshly. "I got this hologram three hours ago. Extermination of the crew's families began then. Do re-call, as Director of Imperial Intelligence, I have been through this routine before. I happened to notice the information on Yonka's mistress was not in his file. You were not collecting it for your own purposes, were you, Minister Vorru?" The small man half-lidded his eyes. "Merely awaiting confirmation before I committed anything to bytes, Madam Director." He opened his hands innocently. "I just wonder at your desire to go after his mistress. You don't imagine she influenced him in this decision, do you?" "No, of course not." Isard folded her hands together. "She dies to cause him pain. Have her death holographed-I will play it for Yonka as I work on him." "As you wish, Madam Director." Vorru bowed as he replied to her, but inside he felt only contempt for her. Aellyn Jandi will be far away and out of your grasp because it will frustrate you, Iceheart. "The Avarice's departure puts us in a curious position. Our ability to guard our convoys has been halved, unless you An eyebrow arched over her red eye. "And leave Thy-ferra vulnerable to an attack by Antilles or an uprising by the Ashern? You think me more mad than Yonka did." "Hardly that, Madam Director, just a person faced with difficult decisions." "This is why I have you to advise me, Vorru." Isard glared at him, her gaze burning a blush onto his face. "You are correct-we cannot guard our bacta convoys and prevent an uprising here. Moreover, if we do nothing, Antilles will get bolder and might convince a number of worlds to throw in with him so they can take by force what we are afraid to ship out. That would destroy us. In the face of this I see only one clear choice." Vorru half-closed his eyes. She won't surrender, so there must be some new atrocity she is planning. Isard slowly smiled. "I believe it was you, Minister Vorru, who noted that we could not destroy Antilles until we determined where his base was. Your reports in regards to the search for that base, I have been told by you, have been fruit-less because Antilles and his people are very cautious in how they accept goods from outsiders-only the people he trusts are allowed to come all the way into his base." Vorru nodded. "That is the problem, Madam Director." "No longer. Antilles could operate without taking chances because we gave him time to do so. I intend to de-prive him of that time. The Rebels always worked best when no pressure was placed on them and they were allowed to operate on their own time scale." "You have found a way to make him act faster?" Erisi's questioning tone underscored Vorru's own thoughts. "Threatening an innocent world might do it, |
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