Part 10 (2/2)

”A committee of Bagmims,” Wedge told him. ”The crew is mostly Bagmims, humans, and Povanarians.”

”Bagmims are pretty good fighters when they get riled.”

”They should have stayed more riled, then,” Wedge said. ”Right now, they're just a waste of air.”

”Too late to worry about it now,” Lando said, carefully refraining from reminding Wedge about his own earlier comments on how much more relaxed things had become. ”What's the plan?”

”We try to slow them down,” Wedge said. ”The Peregrine's on its way, and the general's got two Star Cruisers coming from Haverling. Until they get here, we're on our own.”

The three X-wings and the yacht rose above the curve of Moris.h.i.+m's horizon; and there they were: the awe-inspiring bulk of the Imperial Star Destroyer with the Corvette leading it toward the planet.

And then Lando frowned. ”Wedge?”

”I see it,” Wedge murmured. ”Rogue Seven, give me a fast a.n.a.lysis.”

”No mistake, Rogue Leader,” Tycho's voice came promptly. ”Those aren't accidental misfires-the Star Destroyer's definitely targeting the Corvette. The Corvette's running flank speed, with full aft deflector s.h.i.+elds. She's being chased, all right.”

”They're jamming her transmissions, too,” Janson added. ”Course projection shows she's making straight for the edge of the base's energy s.h.i.+eld. Looks like we've got a theft-and-defection on our hands.”

”Could be,” Wedge said cautiously. ”It could also be a trick to get us to let an unexamined s.h.i.+p in under the energy s.h.i.+eld.”

”So what do we do?” Janson asked.

”Let's try running a little interference,” Wedge said. ”Rogue Two, Rogue Five: cut in around the Corvette's starboard side and see if you can draw some of the Star Destroyer's attention. I'll take the other side. Watch out for tractor beams-they may try to pull the Corvette in.”

”Copy, Rogue Leader.”

The two X-wings swerved smoothly away from Wedge and Lando. ”What about me?” Lando asked.

”Better stay back here,” Wedge told him, putting on a burst of speed of his own. ”That yacht isn't designed for this sort of maneuvering. Anyway, we may need you to act as relay between us and our reinforcements.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when there was a sort of m.u.f.fled flash from the Corvette, accompanied by a cloud of debris. ”Topside sensor group's been hit,” Janson reported. ”Internal fire&mdashprobably going to have to shut down the main reactor core.”

Which meant no drive, no s.h.i.+elds, and no hope of escape. Lando swore under his breath, keying his secondary comm system to scan across the channels. Static hissed out at him at each of the frequencies the Imperials were jamming.

”Tractor beam activated,” Tycho said tightly. ”Making connection . . . they've got her.”

”Incoming to aft,” Janson cut in. ”The rest of Rogue Squadron, plus three wings of A-wings and two of X-wings. ETA, about four minutes.”

Wedge's sigh was a softer echo of the jamming hiss. ”Too little, too late,” he said reluctantly. ”Break off. There's nothing we can do to help them now.”

Lando looked out at the Corvette, tapping a frustrated fist gently against the edge of his control board. Muzzled and helpless both, the Corvette would be taken or destroyed without anyone knowing who they were or what they were doing here.

Unless . . .

”Wedge?” he called. ”I've got an idea. Fire up all the transmission frequencies the three of you can handle-full power, with all the encryption you can put on them. Maybe we can dilute their jamming enough to at least get something out of the Corvette.”

”Worth a try,” Wedge said. ”Let's do it, Rogues.”

Lando swiveled around to the comm board, keying in one of those exotic add-ons he'd spent all that good money for. This probably wouldn't work. Almost certainly wouldn't work, in fact, and the effort alone might easily irritate the Imperials into taking a lethal swipe at him. But at least it was doing something. He stared at the comm readings, holding his breath .

And then, to even his gambler's amazement, there was a flicker of something through the static. ”Keep it up,” he shouted to Wedge and the others, keying madly at the board. The flicker strengthened, faded, strengthened again .

It cut off suddenly. Lando looked up just in time to catch a final glimpse of pseudomotion as the Star Destroyer vanished into hypers.p.a.ce. ”Well, that's that,” Tycho said.

”I wasn't watching,” Lando said. ”Did they take the Corvette with them?”

”Pulled it into the bay and took straight off,” Wedge told him. ”You get anything?”

”I don't know.” Lando keyed for replay. ”Let's see.”

There was a burst of static; and then, almost buried beneath the hissing, a few faint words could be heard. ”-is Col . . . zh Ver . . . ecial envoy fro . . . . miral . . . on, sent here . . . ontact Gen . . . el Iblis concern . . . ego . .

. ce . . . crc . . . . be . . . Empire and New Repub . . . under atta . . . traitorous ele . . . the Empire . . . do not expect . . . urvive. If the New Re . . . to hold su . . .

ions, Adm . . . Pel . . . at the aban . . . mining cent .

. . itiin in . . . nth to meet wi . . . peating: This is . . . nd Me . . . . Vermel . . .”

The recording ended. ”Not much there,” Wedge commented.

”No,” Lando conceded, ”What now?”

”You'd better head back and get that recording to General Bel Iblis,” Wedge said. ”I think we'll stay out here a little while longer.”

”In case this was just the first act?” Lando suggested.

”You never know.”

Lando gazed out at where the Corvette had lost its race for safety, an unpleasant chill running up his spine. The whole thing was very similar-disturbingly similar, in fact-to the race Princess Leia Organa's consular s.h.i.+p had lost to Darth Vader's Star Destroyer above the planet Tatooine nearly two decades ago. It had been a pivotal point in the struggle against the Empire's tyranny, though no one had known it at the time.

And now, here over Moris.h.i.+m, the same scene had just been played out again. Could there have been something of equal consequence behind it? ”Wedge?”

”Yes?”

”There weren't, by any chance”-Lando hesitated, afraid this was going to sound silly-”any escape pods jettisoned from the Corvette?”

”Actually, that's the first thing I thought of,” Wedge told him soberly. ”But no, there weren't.”

”Didn't think so,” Lando said, shaking away the memories of the past. History never truly repeated itself, after all. Odds were that Janson had already called it: a simple theft-and-defection.

The odds also were that none of them would ever know for sure.

Officially, the planet was named Muunilinst--unofficially, it was known to many as Moneylend. And if Bastion was the political center of the Empire, Muunilinst was its financial core.

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