Part 29 (1/2)

That's how its resources are supposed to be used.”

”Granted,” Pellaeon said with a nod. ”And what do you suppose will happen when they find out we've been goading them?”

”There's no reason they need to find out,” Hestiv argued. ”We don't have to use our Star Destroyers or TIE fighters or anything else obviously Imperial.”

”No.” Pellaeon shook his head. ”We can keep up such a charade for a while, maybe even a long while. But in the end, they'll find out. And then they'll unite again, at least long enough to destroy us.”

Hestiv looked out the window at the blue-green sphere in the distance. ”At least that way we'd go down fighting,” he said with obvious difficulty. ”Your way . .

. there's no honor in surrender, Admiral.”

”There's no honor in wasting lives for nothing, either,” Pellaeon countered.

Hestiv smiled wryly. ”I know. But at least if you're dead you don't have to live with the shame of it.”

”There are some in the Fleet who would call that a n.o.ble warrior att.i.tude,” Pellaeon said.

”Personally, I'd call it stupid. II we're destroyed-if we all die-the concepts and ideals of the New Order die with us. But if we surrender, we can keep those ideals alive. Then, if and when the New Republic self-destructs, we'll be positioned to rise again. Maybe then the galaxy will finally be ready to accept us.”

Hestiv grimaced. ”Perhaps.”

”There's no disgrace in backing out of a no-win situation General,” Pellaeon said quietly.

”I saw Grand Admiral Thrawn do it more than once, forthrightly and without embarra.s.sment, rather than waste his men and s.h.i.+ps. That's no more or less what I'm proposing we do now.”

Hestiv swirled his drink restlessly in his gla.s.s. ”I presume you've already consulted with the Moffs about this.”

”I have,” Pellaeon said. ”In the end, they agreed.”

”Reluctantly, I suppose.”

”None of us is exactly enthusiastic about it,” Pellaeon said. ”We simply recognize that it has to be done.”

Hestiv took a deep breath, exhaled it. ”I suppose you're right. I wish you weren't.” He lifted his gla.s.s, drained it in a single swallow. ”Very well, Admiral. You have my support, which I presume was the real reason you came to Yaga Minor. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

”As a matter of fact, there is,” Pellaeon said, pulling out datacard and handing it across the desk. ”First of all, I'd like you to run this list of names through the Ubiqtorate base's computer system.”

”Certainly,” Hestiv said, sliding the datacard into its slot and keying his terminal.

”Anything in particular you're looking for?”

”Unaltered information,” Pellaeon told him. ”These are people I suspect of having shady financial ties to Moff Disra, but we haven't been able to track the connections.”

”And Disra wouldn't let you look through the Bastion records?” Hestiv suggested with a wry smile.

”I'm sure he would have,” Pellaeon said. ”I just don't happen to think I'd be able to trust what those records said.”

”Well, you can trust these,” Hestiv a.s.sured him, keying his board. ”No one gets into my records without proper and double-confirmed authorization. That major from the Obliterator -Tierce-certainly found that out when he tried to-”

”Major Tierce?” Pellaeon interrupted him. ”Major Grodin Tierce?”

”Yes, that's the one,” Hestiv said, frowning. ”He was here on behalf of Captain Trazzen, only we couldn't make contact with the Obliterator to confirm the authorization so we wouldn't let him into the system. Why, is something wrong?”

”Yes,” Pellaeon gritted. ”Major Tierce isn't attached to the Obliterator. He's Moff Disra's aide.”

Hestiv's expression turned to stone. ”Is he, now.”

Pellaeon gestured toward the terminal. ”Is there any way to tell which records he might have tapped into?”

”I just told you he didn't get in.”

”Oh, he got in, all right,” Pellaeon said darkly. ”Through a terminal no one was watching, or perhaps he brought one of his own and tapped in at a junction point. But he most certainly didn't leave without whatever it was he came here to do.”

Hestiv was keying his board. ”You're right, of course. I'll order a check; and while we're at it, let's have them run his ID again.”

The examination took just under an hour; and in the end, they found what Pellaeon had begun to suspect they would find.

Nothing.

”This doesn't make any sense,” Hestiv growled, glaring at his display. We know he was here, and presumably not just for his health. But there isn't a single sign of access or tampering. So what in blazes did he do? ”

”Did you check all the records?” Pellaeon asked, swiveling the display around and running an eye down the listing.

”Of course we did,” Hestiv said, his tone a little huffy. ”Everything from the basic maintenance files on up to-”

”No,” Pellaeon said, staring at the display as a sudden chilling thought hit him. ”You didn't check everything. You couldn't have.”

”Begging the Admiral's pardon-”

”Because there are records you don't have access to,” Pellaeon cut him off, scrolling down the listing. ”Specifically, the Special Files section.”

Hestiv's eyebrows lifted. ”You can't be serious,” he said. ”Are you suggesting a lowly major could access the Emperor's own sealed records?”

”I agree it sounds unbelievable,” Pellaeon said. ”But we're running out of options.”

”But a major?”

”He's an aide to a very slippery Moff,” Pellaeon reminded him. ”I wouldn't put it past Disra to have found a way into the Special Files. In fact, considering his ambition and lack of discernible ethics, I'd probably find it more surprising if he hadn't.”

”I still don't believe it,” Hestiv said heavily. ”But as you say, we're running out of, options.” He c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. ”I don't suppose you can get us into those records to check this out?”

Pellaeon shook his head. ”The codes and procedures were lost long before I rose to the position where I would have been instructed in their use.”

”Pity,” Hestiv said. ”If we can't get in, we aren't going to be able to figure out what he was doing in there.”

”That is the big question, isn't it?” Pellaeon agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ”He couldn't have been looking up something-the records at Bastion are duplicates of the ones here. Which implies his purpose was to add, delete, or alter.”