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

there are other things we must do right now. Captain Celchu, Com-mander Antilles
asked Ooryl to tell you he is waiting for you in the Lusankya's staff officers'
mess."
"Last minute things before his party?"
"Ooryl, I mean /, believes this is the case. Captain. And Corran, General
Cracken has asked to speak with you."
/ wonder what that's about? "Where do I find him?"
"Ooryl will take you there."
The trio of pilots carefully picked their way out of the cavern complex and took
the turbolift up. Tycho exited first while the Gand and Corran continued on,
climbing higher and higher in the Lusankya's superstructure. When the turbolift
stopped, Corran found Airen Cracken waiting for him outside the door to the
Captain's ready-room.
He nodded at the Gand as the turbolift's door closed behind him, then turned to
the older man. "What can I do for you, sir?"
Cracken raked fingers back through reddish hair tinged with white. "I need you
to talk some sense to Booster Terrik."
Corran immediately raised his hands. "Got a Death Star you want killed instead?"
"Close." Cracken shook his head. "Booster wants to keep the Virulence."
"And you want him to give it to the New Republic?" Corran laughed aloud. "He
won't listen to me."
"Mirax suggested I get you up here."
"Okay, you have me, but I don't know what I can do."
"Back me up, or we're going to have Booster Terrik in command of a fully
operational Impstar deuce." Cracken sighed. "Terrik was never as bad as some of
the smugglers out there, but now he's hooked up with Talon Karrde and . . ."
"Booster and Karrde are together? Allied? I mean, I knew Karrde had come into
the system, but I assumed it was to work a deal with Thyferra's new government
about hauling bacta. Are you sure Karrde and Booster are working to-gether?"
"See for yourself." Cracken opened the door to the ready-room and allowed Corran
to precede him in. Corran found Booster at the far end of an oval table, with
Mirax seated on his right and a handsome man he took to be Karrde seated on his
left. Corran went over to Mirax's side of the table and gave her a kiss on the
cheek. "Booster, you're look-ing fit."
"Captaining a Starship agrees with me."
Corran extended a hand across the table to the other man. "Talon Karrde, I
presume. Pleased to make your ac-quaintance."
"Better now than when you were with CorSec." Karrde seemed to be watching him
very closely. "The resemblance to your father is unmistakable."
"Thanks." Corran sat down, fighting to conceal a shiver. He didn't know why, but
he gained the impression that Karrde knew more about him than perhaps even Airen
Cracken did, and that disturbed him. I think I'm happy I didn't meet him when I
was with CorSec as well. He would have been to me what Booster was to my father,
but I don't think I would have been sending Karrde to Kessel.
Booster looked up at Cracken, then jerked a thumb at Corran. "Did you think he
could convince me to give up my ship?"
Great, this is off to a good start. Corran glanced at Cracken and shrugged.
"Booster, I just thought Lieutenant Horn here could sup-ply you with some more
perspective on why you're not going to be able to keep the Virulence. That ship
presents a rather major danger . . ."