• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“The Golan stations don’t have enough power to bring Lusankya down, but they can hurt it.”

Emtrey’s eyes dimmed. “We’re defenseless.”

General Crix Madine shook his head. “The Lusankya started inside our defense shields—the point assault forces usually see as a goal. The fact that the ship is headed out means escape, not conquest, is its goal.”

A Quarren aide slipped through the crowd to Admiral Ackbar’s side and handed him a comlink. The Mon Calamari flicked it on. “Ackbar here.”

“Antilles here, Admiral. We’ve broken off our pursuit of the TIEs and are returning to base to refuel and get ready to go out again.”

Hearing Wedge’s voice again sent a thrill through Corran. He smiled and saw Tycho mirror his expression. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Tycho nodded. “If I had Rogue Squadron on my tail, I’d be running, too, even in a Super Star Destroyer.”

Ackbar gave them a wall-eyed stare. “I concur with your plan, Commander, but you needn’t have informed me of it at this time.”

“No sir, I know that.” A cold edge crept into Wedge’s voice. “The reason I called is to tell you to let Tycho go. He wasn’t the traitor. I know who is and I can prove it.”

“What?” Ackbar’s mouth hung open. “Who?”

Corran smiled. “Erisi Dlarit.”

“I was asking Commander Antilles.”

“Who was that?” Wedge asked remotely. “How did he know?”

Cracken made a quick adjustment to his own comlink. “Commander, this is General Cracken. Use no more names on this opchan—it might not be secure.”

Ackbar shook his head. “How do you know who the traitor is?”

Corran pointed at himself. “Are you asking me?”

“No. Commander Antilles, please answer me.”

“Simple. Because of Horn’s death I had a subroutine added to the unit’s astromech droids allowing me to pull diagnostic data from them. She reported damage over the comm unit that her R5 didn’t report. She claimed the Lusankya had a tractor beam on her and pulled her aboard against her will. Work back from there and it’s obvious.”

Corran nodded. “Right. She was in a position to forewarn the Imps about Bror Jace’s return to Thyferra—and there was no love lost between them. I told her that when we’d taken Coruscant I was going to search out the traitor in our midst. She’d helped me check out my Headhunter so she knew the codes, the same as Captain Celchu. She comlinked the data to Isard and I was taken.”

General Salm shook his head. “Why would she do that? Why work against us?”

Wedge provided an explanation. “The bacta cartels were formed under the Empire. She and her people might have figured their monopoly would end if the New Republic succeeded in destroying the Empire.”

Tycho pointed toward the sky. “It’s through the second shield and outbound.”

Barely visible above them, the Lusankya exchanged fire with a Golan Space Defense Station. Gouts of green energy passed back and forth between them. The station’s fire buckled the Lusankya’s shield, collapsing the energy sphere that had kept the big ship safe. Explosions played along the huge ship’s hull, but in their light Corran saw the Lusankya begin to pull away from the station.

The Golan Station continued to blaze away at the Super Star Destroyer, causing more explosions, but they seemed to form a wall between the station and the ship itself. It took Corran a moment to realize what was happening.

“They jettisoned the lift-cradle, sacrificing it so they could escape.”

Cracken nodded. “Nothing to lose by doing that—the Lusankya isn’t going to be trapped on a planet again.”

“But it will be trapped again.” Corran nodded solemnly, recalling his promise to Jan to return and free him and the others. He glanced at Whistler. “Can you determine the damage to the Lusankya?”

Whistler blatted negatively and retracted his sensor dish.

Corran squinted but couldn’t see the Super Star Destroyer anymore. “Gone to lightspeed. I wouldn’t like to be where that ship ends its journey.”

“Being where it started from was bad enough.” Cracken shivered. “Isard was here all along, and now she’s gone.”

Halla Ettyk folded her arms across