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

Virulence." Captain Sair Yonka smiled at him. "Don't say you're happy to see
me-you won't be."
"Captain Drysso, the Freedom is deploying snubfighters, X-wings and Uglies."
Drysso stopped before he ordered his own nonexistent fighters into battle.
"Contact the planet and have the THDC's squadrons scrambled. I want all their
fighters up here protect-ing me. Helm, bring us about to engage the Freedom." He
pointed a finger at Yonka's image. "I don't think, sir, when all is said and
done, you will be happy that I've seen you."
The abundant undergrowth around the Xucphra corporate headquarters provided
Iella and her people the means to get within twenty-five meters of the back
entrance. They had ex-pected to walk up to it, set a little lock-popping charge
on it, blow it open, and be inside before much of an alarm could be raised. Ten
meters along the corridor beyond the transpari-steel door they'd be in the
building's security center and would be able to control alarms and access to
corridors and turbolifts.
But now there are two stormtroopers standing guard at the door. At first glance
they looked to be the genuine arti-cles, but Iella noticed they chatted back and
forth quite a bit. THDC banthas in rancor clothing. Even so, the strip of open
ground she needed to cover was enough that the guards, no matter how poorly
trained, should be able to cut her down. Because they had been prepared for a
close assault, none of her people carried a blaster rifle, just carbines and
pistols, so killing both of them from cover was impossible. We might hit them
with carbine shots at this range, but the armor means we don't have a guaranteed
kill.
She needed a diversion, but the only real option she had was to use an explosive
charge to distract them. The problem with that idea was that if it didn't kill
them, they'd undoubt-edly report the explosion, providing more of an alert to
the forces inside than she wanted. She reached for her comlink to
ask Elscol to divert some of her people to help out, when a TIE fighter screamed
overhead at treetop level.
As a second and third TIE screeched past, Iella saw the door guards look up and
point at the starfighters. One even took his helmet off to get a better look,
tucking his headgear under his arm. Without a second thought Iella stood and
strode from the undergrowth in their direction, shielding her carbine from sight
with her body and turning her head to likewise watch the starfighters fly past.
A full dozen of the fighters roared out of their hangar, letting Iella know
Wedge and his people had finally arrived. Now if I can just do my part. She
looked up at the guards, smiling at them, as she reached the base of the stairs
leading to the door.
" 'Scuse us, ma'am, but you can't be here." The helmet-less guard leaned his
blaster carbine against the wall and be-gan to fumble with his helmet again.
"Restricted area."
"Oh, sorry." Iella reinforced her smile, then brought her blaster carbine up.
She scythed fire back and forth, burning holes in the white plastoid armor over
the guards' chests and bellies. The helmet fell from lifeless hands and bounced
down the ferrocrete stairs as she ran up past it. She stepped over the body of
one guard, then leveled her carbine at the door's lock and triggered a burst of
scarlet fire that vaporized it.
Before she could push the door in with her foot, two Ashern Vratix reached the
landing. With their powerful legs they kicked the guards' bodies off the