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

of it."
"As ordered, Wedge."
Looking back at Q5A7 and the surrounding area, Wedge saw a lot of fire and
rising columns of dense smoke to greet the dawn. Some small ships had set out
from the bay's marina and ground vehicles were beginning to fill the coastal
road-way heading north and south. Those who can get away are- those who can't
will just wait in fear.
"Lead, this is Nine. The spaceport is clear. No hostiles and the traffic-control
tower is empty but intact."
Wedge smiled. "You got close enough to determine that, Nine?"
"Whistler has good distance processing equipment from stakeouts, Lead. He's
never been wrong before."
"I copy. Stay covering the spaceport."
"As ordered, Lead. Nine out."
Wedge punched up a new frequency on the comm unit. "Rogue leader to Taskforce
Bantha."
"Bantha here, Wedge. We can spot the city by the fires from up here."
"I don't doubt that at all, Booster. It could have been nastier but Iceheart
only had eight vape-bait pilots here. They're gone, so it's safe to have the
freighters come in."
"Our pleasure. Incoming."
Wedge smiled. During the two weeks the squadrons had trained for the raid,
Booster had arranged for a convoy of independent freighters and smugglers to
meet with him, Mirax, and the Pulsar Skate. He told them he'd get them all the
bacta they could haul provided they would keep what they earned as a credit
against his future demands. Some balked, but most came along, even though
Booster demanded they slave their navicomputers to the Skate's and fly blind
with him to their destination. When they arrived in the sys-tem and took up
positions in the asteroid rings around Qretu 5, Wedge and his people began their
run.
Wedge brought the fighter's nose up until it eclipsed the burning town and
started another turn over the ocean. Regret for the damage done to nonindustrial
targets began to eat at him. My parents died when a pirate took off from the
fueling station they ran, igniting the station. Down there could easily be
another kid who has just lost his parents in a blast we caused. I know what we
are doing is right and even neces-sary, but that doesn't lessen the pain or dull
the horror of the people on the ground. I have to believe that opposing Isard
and insulating billions of people from her evil is a great good, a vital good,
but I can never let myself think that it justifies inflicting pain on innocents.
It may well explain why it had to be done, but it can never justify it.
Even as revulsion for the fire and damage began to fill
him, sanity provided a means for draining it off. The key difference between us
and Isard is that she fully intended to do the most harm to the most people. We
did not. We chose our targets well, we set the attack for a time when casualties
would be minimized, and we have made no attempt to attack targets of opportunity
like the ships or landspeeders fleeing the town. We exerted as much control as
possible to keep the strike as clean as we could.
Wedge smiled. Then again, it was said that the Emperor's throne had been molded
of good intentions. We must take responsibility for what we've done on the
ground and repair what we can. If not, we do by negligence what Isard does in