Star Wars_ X-Wing 02_ Wedge's Gamble - Michael A. Stackpole [96]
Corran snapped to attention and saluted as Rima left the room. “Horn reporting, sir.”
Wedge returned the salute, then smiled and gave Corran a back-slapping hug. “It’s good to see you’re alive and well, even though the last time I saw you, you were doing your best to kill me and a number of other people.”
What? “Excuse me, sir?”
“I was in the apartment where you sent a speeder bike through the window.” Wedge held a hand up and Corran saw some half-healed cuts on it. “Nothing major, but there’s not much bacta down here, so I have to heal the traditional way. Did find some ryll tincture that killed infection, though.”
“If I had known, I’d …”
“No one save the driver was badly hurt, so don’t worry.” Wedge inclined his head toward the door. “Winter tells me you wanted to talk with me? Something you could only tell me?”
“Winter?” Corran frowned for a second. “Ah, you mean Rima …”
“Right. We’d met before. She and Tycho are friends.”
“So I’ve gathered, which is why I wanted to talk to you.” Corran clasped his hands at the small of his back. “Five days ago, right here in the Headquarters, I saw Tycho Celchu talking with Kirtan Loor, an Imperial Intelligence agent.”
Wedge looked surprised, then frowned and slowly shook his head. “Five days ago?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I know what I saw, sir.” Corran jerked a thumb back toward the bar. “I saw him as sure as the Emperor is dead.” He tried to make his statement sound certain, but he was getting feelings of confusion and sorrow from Wedge’s expression. “Really, I did see him.”
“That’s impossible, Corran. Five days ago Warlord Zsinj attacked our base at Noquivzor. The barracks complex got hit hard. They’re digging through the rubble now but they don’t expect to find survivors.” Wedge hesitated for a moment, then swallowed. “Our support staff was devastated. Zraii survived, but that was the only confirmation they’d give me.”
“What about Whistler?” Corran blurted out the question before he realized how callous it made him sound. “He’s only a droid, but …”
Wedge patted him on the shoulder. “I understand. I don’t have word of him directly, but Zraii was working on our fighters in the hangar, so I have to suppose most of our astromechs were there with him. The hangar escaped serious damage. If any news comes through, I will let you know.”
“Thanks.” Corran took a deep breath and tried to sort everything out in his mind. “So what you’re telling me is that if I saw Tycho, I saw a ghost?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“And you told Rima, er, Winter? That’s why she was so quiet.”
“I just got word myself and broke it to her as gently as I could. We’re still hoping—bacta can do miracles if there’s even the remotest spark of life—but things do not look good.” Wedge sighed. “Of course, that’s the least of our worries right now.”
“Oh?”
Wedge nodded. “Zsinj’s attack is driving the invasion schedule forward. We have a new mission and you’re here to help plan it out.”
“I’ll do my best, sir.”
“Let’s hope we can all do our best, and then some.” Wedge slowly exhaled. “We’ve got to come up with a plan that will let us, with a minimal amount of lead time, take over or destroy whatever we need to bring down Coruscant’s shields and leave the world open to invasion.
30
Corran followed Wedge from the small room into the hallway and farther along to an even larger room. The first people he saw there were the Bothan Asyr and the Devaronian he’d helped to escape from the warehouse. They were already seated at the large round table in the middle of the room. As he came around Wedge he saw Fliry Vorru looking very Imperial and Zekka Thyne looked pale and in a bit of discomfort.
Looks like not everyone escaped unharmed.
“Corran!”
“Iella!” Arching his back, he picked her up in a hug and hung on tight. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Gil did this to me. The identities he set up were on Coruscant.