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

shooting to kill. With Vorru, Isard, or Dlarit, I'll go for a stun shot, but
only if that's not going to get me or anyone else killed."
"Your plan calls for more finesse than the bomb, but I guess we can make it
work."
"We will." Iella nodded solemnly. "Two days until Thyferra regains its freedom
and Ysanne Isard loses hers."
35
Captain Joak Drysso let a low sinister laugh fill the dark hol-low of the
ready-room on the Lusankya. He recalled with holographic clarity the image of
the Executor plunging into the heart of the half-completed Death Star at Endor.
He'd known at that point that the battle was lost, so he'd taken his Virulence
and fled from the battle. / always knew I would have another chance to crush
Rebels.
He didn't believe for an instant the fiction that Antilles and his people were
outcasts from the New Republic. Theirs was obviously a mission meant to keep
Isard bottled up until they could deal with her-and Antilles had done a good job
of keeping her attention on him. Had he not preoccupied her, she might have seen
the wisdom of creating an Imperial Com-bine, bringing together the various
Warlords out there to put an end to the New Republic. It would have been very
success-ful, he was certain of that, and she could have even led it because she
possessed what everyone else wanted: Bacta.
Isard's short-sightedness in this regard didn't surprise Drysso, primarily
because she thought like a politician, not a warrior. Isard took great delight
in being subtle and tricky, then when she decided to wield a hammer, she did it
in a very
clumsy manner. Sending Convarion out to destroy Halanit was a wasted gesture. An
assault shuttle and a squadron of TIEs could have laid waste to that settlement.
The attack did nothing but salve her ego and anger Antilles.
He would have handled things entirely differently. Drysso had agreed a strike
was necessary, but he would have gone after Corellia and brought the Diktat to
heel, adding Corellia and its shipyards to the Iceheart Empire. That would
supply them the means of building more ships. He would have then badgered Kuat
into making a similar deal, giving him access to those shipyards. And then on to
Sluis Van. Once I have those three sites under my control, I can strangle the
New Republic by restricting trade-without ships and shipyards, nothing moves
between stars.
Drysso had chosen to stay with Isard because he thought she represented the best
chance at reestablishing the Empire, and because she had the most legitimate
claim to the throne itself. He had supported her decision to abandon
Corus-cant-a world that does not provide the means to wage war is worth little
in a war. The New Republic's conquest of it did hamper the Rebellion, and
Isard's possession of the Bacta Cartel put her in a very powerful position in
the galaxy.
Unfortunately, her power is embodied by this ship. Drysso caressed the arms of
the command chair in which he sat. Only through this ship can she project her
power to other worlds, command their compliance and punish their defiance. Now
this ship is mine and thus is her power ceded to me.
The comlink clipped to his jacket beeped. "Drysso here."
"Captain, five minutes to reversion to realspace."
"On my way to the bridge." Drysso stood and strode from the ready-room to a