Star Wars_ X-Wing 02_ Wedge's Gamble - Michael A. Stackpole [44]
“If it’s official, it’s official.” She shrugged and let Corran’s hand go. “I’m still going to get some food. I’ll eat slowly, so if you get done fast, find me.”
“I will.”
Mirax looked at Ooryl. “You are still more than welcome to join me.”
“Ooryl is honored.”
“Good, I like having company, and since you share a room with Corran, you can tell me all sorts of embarrassing things about him.” She slipped her right arm through the crook of his left and winked at Corran. “Take your time with Wedge. I’ll be well taken care of.”
Corran laughed, more at Ooryl’s discomfiture than her remark. “Have fun—the fun I can bet I won’t be having.”
Corran walked past Emtrey and into the office space Wedge had been given on the unit’s return to Noquivzor. The room, which was not really that big, seemed far too large to suit Wedge. Other officers would have had the walls lined with holograms and the shelves packed with trophies from their various adventures. Aside from a few holograms of his dead parents and of him posing with squadron mates, Wedge didn’t have much reflective of his time with the Rebellion.
Wedge pointed Corran to one of the two chairs in front of his desk. “Be seated. This won’t take long, but it means some changes that are going to require some action on your part—both of your parts.”
By way of his statement Wedge included the woman seated in the other chair. Erisi Dlarit had been another of the recruits that had joined Rogue Squadron at the time Corran did. She wore her black hair cut short and tight against the back of her neck. She had blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires and an elegant beauty that definitely made her prettier than Mirax. Erisi, having been raised among the privileged humans on Thyferra, had benefited greatly from the riches her kith and kin made from the bacta cartel. Mirax had referred to Erisi more than once as “the bacta queen” and Corran thought the remark was uttered with an equal mix of envy and disgust in Mirax’s voice.
Though Mirax would deny any of the envy. Corran slipped into the seat and smiled at Erisi. “This should be interesting.”
“Indeed. We finally get to fly together.”
Wedge cleared his throat. “Emtrey will be giving you access codes for some datafiles. They include a self-extracting virus that will destroy the data once it has been viewed. Read carefully and memorize the points about initial contact.”
Corran’s mind flashed back to the sort of briefings Gil Bastra used to give him and Iella before they started on an undercover assignment. “You’re not preparing us for some escort run, are you?”
“No.” Wedge looked down at his desk, then back up again. “For a variety of reasons the Provisional Council has decided the New Republic needs to take Coruscant. To be able to do that we need reliable data on the defenses and the locations of tactical targets. Someone has to get that information and you’re it.”
“Us?”
Erisi looked as surprised as Corran. “Commander, there is no way the two of us can do that job alone, even if we have help from forces already there.” Her blue eyes shrank to slits. “We’re all going in, aren’t we?”
“That’s an assumption that I’m not at liberty to confirm or deny, Lieutenant Dlarit.” The Commander shook his head. “You both know how a cell system works—no one is allowed to know about more than their portion of the network. What you don’t know will keep others safe.”
“Who do we report to?”
“All that will be in your briefing file—even I do not know what your cover will be or what your travel arrangements will be and I doubt sincerely I’ll have a way to contact you.”
“You’ll be going, though, won’t you?” Erisi frowned. “It only makes sense they would send all of us, not just two.”
Wedge shook his head. “What makes sense to General Cracken is its own