Star Wars_ X-Wing 03_ The Krytos Trap - Michael A. Stackpole [17]
Erisi Dlarit, the dark-haired pilot from Thyferra, pressed a hand to her own sternum. “I know the cartels are producing as much as they can—at least the Xucphra group is. I have personally sent messages to my grandfather to let him know of the need for bacta here.”
“Thanks, Erisi, every bit of help we can get is vital.” Wedge folded his arms across his chest. “Warlord Zsinj hit a bacta convoy heading out from Thyferra. I believe it was from the Zaltin group, Erisi, not your family’s corporation. Zsinj took the bacta to a storage facility, but a member of the Ashern rebel group …”
“Terrorists!” Erisi spat.
“… happened to be crewing aboard the Zaltin ships. He managed to get a message out concerning the location of the space station Zsinj is using.” Wedge nodded toward Aril, and the Sullustan punched up a holographic image of the station on the holoprojector. The station consisted of a central disk with thick expanses of living quarters above and below the horizon. Slender towers rose from the middle of the disk, suggesting the station had been impaled on spears. Three wedge-shaped launch-and-recovery causeways stabbed out into space from the central disk like spokes meant to connect up with a nonexistent rim.
“This is an Empress-class space station located in the Yag’Dhul system. Basic armament is ten turbo-laser batteries and six laser cannons. It also has the capability of housing up to three squadrons of TIEs, though the usual complement is only two dozen fighters. The bacta is being held here, and we’re going to get it away from them.”
As Wedge continued his briefing, little glowing icons appeared to hover around the station. Each represented a ship and entered the display as its part in the operation was explained. “We will be leading two squadrons from General Salm’s Defender Wing to pull a quick strafing run on the station and get them to scramble their fighters. The squadrons we’ll have with us are Warden and Champion—you remember them, they saved us at Borleias.”
The Gand toward the back raised a three-fingered hand. “As Ooryl remembers it, Commander Antilles, Defender Wing flies Y-wing fighters. Provoking TIE fighters to come out and attack Y-wings would seem to Ooryl as potentially dangerous for Defender’s pilots.”
“Your concern is noted, Ooryl, and has been taken into account. Guardian Squadron, the third of Defender Wing’s component parts, has been refitted with B-wings. This adds considerable firepower to the wing. We’ll pull the TIEs out and away from the station and the B-wings will drop on them and help us kill them. The Y-wings will continue in toward the space station and start working on its defenses with their ion cannons.
“Following us in will be a half-dozen assault shuttles and then enough bulk-cruisers to haul the bacta away. This is a hit, hold, then run operation.”
Gavin smiled. “Sounds like a dew-run.”
“Maybe.” Pash Cracken leaned forward in his chair. “Where’s the Iron Fist supposed to be?”
Wedge shook his head. “I’ve been given no data concerning the Iron Fist.” Warlord Zsinj’s flagship was one of the Super-class Star Destroyers created by the Kuat Drive Yard’s shipworks before the Empire collapsed. The ships were, for all intents and purposes, fleets unto themselves. They carried 144 fighters, had a crew of over a quarter of a million people, and bristled with over a thousand missile launchers, ion cannons, and turbolaser batteries. Though the Rebel fleet had managed to destroy the Executor at Endor, everyone knew that ship had died because of luck, not skill.
If the Iron Fist showed up at Yag