Star Wars_ X-Wing 02_ Wedge's Gamble - Michael A. Stackpole [69]
“I do. It can be cured by bacta.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes, of course.” Isard smiled slightly. “That a cure can be affected by the use of bacta was one of my original design parameters for the virus.”
Loor’s jaw dropped. “But I thought your goal was to kill the aliens here on Imperial Center so that when the Rebels came here they would be horrified.”
“Oh, I expect that, but in a way you never imagined. The problem with your scenario is that it will not cripple the Rebellion.” Her eyes sharpened. “Warlord Zsinj, Darth Vader, and even the Emperor failed to see that a single strike at the Rebellion will not destroy it. The Rebellion is a fire. You have to extinguish each and every hot spot, or you have to deny it fuel, so it cannot burn any longer. They settled on the former method, whereas I will use the latter.”
“I am not certain I follow you.”
“This is not a surprise.” She held a hand up. “What do the Rebels do when one of their comrades is killed?”
“Bury him, burn him, whatever.”
“And if one of their comrades is wounded?”
“Get him help.” The simplicity of the question and the speed with which the answer came to him undercut its importance. He thought for a moment, then added, “Rescuing the man, getting him medical help, rehabilitating him, and getting him back into combat all require more resources than a memorial service.”
“There is hope for you, Agent Loor.” Isard’s smile grew, as did the lump of ice in Loor’s stomach. “The Rebellion has done a great deal with severely restricted resources, both in terms of matériel and personnel. If a trained warrior cannot be saved by medical intervention, the Rebellion has lost him and all the hours spent training him. While there are always more bodies willing to be sacrificed to tear down the Empire, training them is a strain.
“Another question for you: What will the Rebels do when they find people beginning to be sick with the Krytos virus.”
Loor frowned. “They will heal them, if they can.”
“Which means they will require unbelievably vast amounts of bacta. Just stabilizing a Krytos victim in the disease’s incubation period—before the virus has begun to reproduce out of control—will result in the loss of a full liter of bacta. That doesn’t seem like much, of course, since a bacta tank holds considerably more than that, but the losses will become significant as the disease spreads. Total production on Thyferra last year was seventeen billion liters. The amount needed to treat all the victims here on Imperial Center will require three quarters of last year’s production. At the current prices for bacta, saving everyone they can will bankrupt the Rebellion.”
“With no fuel they cannot burn.” Loor stared down at the floor, then shook himself. “When Derricote gets the virus perfected, you’ll turn the planet over to the Rebels.”
“Exactly. And because the virus will not infect humans, I force the human Rebels to act to save as many aliens as they can. If they do not, because they are unaffected it will appear to their alien allies that they are just as unconcerned about aliens as they accuse us Imperials of being. Moreover, because elements of Rogue Squadron are here on Imperial Center now, we can begin to weave together lies that will implicate them in spreading the virus.”
“No one would believe that of them.”
“No one would believe they would free vicious criminals from Kessel and send them to Imperial Center, but they did.” Isard slowly rubbed her hands together. “While that morsel will be a lie, it is a lie that the Bothans will use as a pry bar to work more power into their hands. Those aliens we do not kill or drive away into a self-imposed quarantine will see the wisdom of repudiating their alliance with treacherous humans. The Rebellion will tear itself apart from within.”
Loor gave himself a few moments and let all she had said sort itself out in his brain. “Am I to assume, then, that you do not want the members