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

compensate you with five mil-lion credits."
"Ha! This is an Imperial Star Destroyer Mark II we're talking about. It doesn't
have a scratch on it. It is worth billions and billions of credits. I'll settle
for a billion credits, payable in two hours, or I'm flying it out of here."
"Ah, Booster, you're dreaming that if you think that ship is going anywhere."
Cracken smiled confidently. "As you know, Thyferra has voted to join the New
Republic. Because of this, all ships in the system are subject to New Republic
law. In accord with said laws, your navigation and engineer-ing section crews
have been taken planetside for debriefing."
"That's piracy."
"No, it's actually a security concern. As Lieutenant Horn can attest, a number
of prisoners who were on this ship are missing. We want to question anyone who
might have been used to move them to other locations, and your astronav crews
could have been employed in that capacity. Right now, your ship is going
nowhere."
Booster frowned. "Okay, I'll come down to five hundred million credits."
The sum seemed to stagger Cracken for a moment, then Karrde spoke. "Booster, be
reasonable. Try twenty percent of that."
Booster stared at him. "You're being very generous with my money, Karrde."
"Twenty percent of something, Booster, is better than one hundred percent of
nothing."
"True, but if they can't deliver, why not dunk big?"
Corran raised a hand. "It just struck me that we might be arguing about the
wrong thing here. Booster, how serious are you about making the Virulence into a
hyperspace-capable smuggler's den?"
Booster scratched at the beard stubble on his throat. "Very. I spent my life
hauling cargo from one point to an-other. It would be nice to own a place where
the cargo came to me and I just brokered deals for it. The Virulence would do
nicely in that regard."
Corran smiled. "So would the Freedom."
"No!" Booster and Cracken dismissed the idea at the same time. They exchanged
surprised glances, then shook their heads.
"I don't want the Freedom. Refitting it will take a life-time. I'd have to get
it to Sluis Van, and General Cracken here
would guarantee my work was never scheduled. Stick to fly-ing, Horn, because
that idea was really dumb."
Mirax slapped her father on the arm. "Don't speak to my fiance like that."
"What?!" Booster's jaw dropped. "No, that's impossi-ble."
Corran raised an eyebrow. "Mirax, I'm not sure this was the best time to mention
that."
Booster pointed at Cracken and then Corran. "He wants to take away my ship, and
he wants to take away my daugh-ter." He turned to Karrde. "I suppose you want
something of mine, too."
"Perhaps, Booster." Karrde smiled in a very genial man-ner. "I think I want you
to reconsider what Lieutenant Horn suggested. It strikes me that General Cracken
is primarily concerned with your being in command of a ship with enough
firepower to slag an inhabited world."
"Succinctly put, Karrde."
"Thank you, General." Karrde looked at Booster. "Now you're concerned that your
ship would fall prey to all sorts of pirates if they take its weaponry away.