Star Wars_ The Black Fleet Crisis 01_ Before the Storm - Michael P. Kube-McDowell [78]
“Is that why you’re having this conversation with me instead of with the princess?”
“That’s one reason,” said Drayson. “The other is that you’re going out there with thirty warships, and she’s not.”
“Can you tell me anything about what I’m likely to find?”
“Some. There are several worlds on the fringe of the Cluster which are inhabited by species other than the Yevetha,” said Drayson. “Along the border, there’s a sizable colony of Kubaz, two small mining installations owned by the Morath, and a commune of H’kig cultists who apparently left Rishii over a doctrinal conflict. A little farther in, there’s a nest of Corasgh established by the Empire and then abandoned, and a droid-run Imperial factory farm, likewise abandoned, which represents a free lunch for any cargomaster willing to risk the trip.”
“The droids are still tending and harvesting crops?”
“Yes. Put a ship down at the loading docks, and the droids fill the hold without even being asked,” said Drayson. “Now, all of those are new since the last general survey of that sector, and there could be more. Based on that survey, there are also at least five indigenous sentient species in the Cluster, none of which have achieved hyperspace travel. Some haven’t even gotten off the ground.”
“Not a very likely place for the Empire to put a key forward shipyard.”
“Not with the Yevethan worlds nearby.”
“Do you think they have the ships?”
“It would have been unusually sloppy of the Empire to allow that to happen,” said Drayson. “But I don’t rule it out.”
“It would be nice to know.”
“Wouldn’t it? But I don’t. Chances are you’ll end up finding out and telling me, instead of the other way around.” Drayson rubbed his eyes, then finger-combed his short black hair. “But here’s something I keep thinking about. The Yevetha had just achieved interplanetary spaceflight at the time of the general survey. Very bright, technically clever, rather proud of themselves, but no threat to anyone.”
“Then the Empire shows up.”
“And puts the Yevetha to work for a few years in Imperial shipyards, building and repairing vessels which represent a big leap beyond what the Yevetha had been doing on their own. Whether or not the Yevetha acquired any ships or shipyards from the Empire, they almost certainly acquired the knowledge of how to build them.”
“They could have created their own Black Fleet.”
“Indeed,” Drayson said. “How’s your memory, General?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to teach you a code,” Drayson said. “If you begin a message with it, that message will come to me without ever being seen at Fleet Headquarters. And if I send you a message, that same code will decrypt it.”
“I don’t like this,” said A’baht, frowning deeply. “And I don’t believe I like you, Admiral. If Admiral Ackbar hadn’t spoken up for you, I would wonder at your loyalty. Now I find myself wondering at his judgment. Is all this necessary? Why would I want to conspire with you to conceal information from the president or from Fleet Command?”
“Let me answer your question with a question—do you trust Leia’s judgment where the viceroy and the Yevetha are concerned?”
A’baht looked away and remained mute.
“That’s why,” said Drayson. “The purpose of the code isn’t to conceal anything. Just the reverse—it’s meant to ensure that you can get the information you need, and that you can provide us with the same in turn. Information that might otherwise be filtered out by the prejudices of those who control the comm channels.”
A’baht drew a deep breath and sighed. “This is the real reason for this meeting.”
“Only one of several,” said Drayson. “I want you to have everything you need to do your job out there, General. I want you and your people maintaining a high level of alertness through the whole deployment. I want you to see the punch