Star Wars_ X-Wing 03_ The Krytos Trap - Michael A. Stackpole [78]
And one of the things you shall do is use me as a scapegoat for your evil. The illusion of control over his own situation evaporated in a heartbeat. To Loor his future was clear: He would carry out more and more heinous missions for Colonel Vorru; then, eventually, Vorru would betray him. He would remain alive and free until Vorru had no further use for him, then he would be broken and displayed as proof of Vorru’s virtue.
It struck Loor as almost comical that he could see Vorru’s desire to strike at a school as evil, yet his desire to hit Rogue Squadron was nothing more than duty. The difference, ultimately, was that the strike at Rogue Squadron would advance the cause of the Empire, while the strike at the school would only strengthen Vorru’s position. We are not as far apart as I would like to think, but neither are we as close as Vorru sees us.
Nor am I as stupid as he thinks I am. Loor hit a button on the datapad and read the list of materials needed to undertake the operation. “When?”
“A week. There will have been no news of the trial in that time, so this will really attract attention.”
Loor’s head came up. “Will you need me to sacrifice some of my men to your militia?”
“Not immediately.” A shadowed smile spread across the small man’s face. “I have several troublesome individuals who need to die in an airspeeder explosion. The chemical composition of the explosives will match those in the school bombing. That will send Cracken’s people off in a direction I want and leave you free to operate.”
“Will you be selecting another target for us?”
Vorru straightened up, retreating into shadow. “No. Just go ahead and pick out a half-dozen targets you want to hit and I’ll pick one or two from your list. I’ll use them as tests for my subordinates to see if they can figure out how we can profit from these things. Competition will keep them sharp.”
“I would imagine.”
“I’m certain you would, Agent Loor.” Vorru sketched a mock salute. “I look forward to the results of your handiwork.”
Wedge looked around the lab set deep in the bowels of the Imperial Palace complex. “So this is where the Krytos virus was developed?”
General Cracken nodded. “You noticed, when you came in, that the place is kept under negative pressure. If the seals are breached, air flows in, not out. It precludes the possibility of pathogens getting out.”
Wedge frowned. “But I thought the Krytos virus could not be spread by air, only by fluid contact—in drinking water or when someone came in contact with bodily fluid from an infected person.”
“That’s absolutely true, but in this lab they were manufacturing a virus that had never existed before. They wanted something that would mutate relatively quickly so it could spread between species. With that sort of thing the chance of a spontaneous mutation that would let it become airborne and still remain infectious is one that must be guarded against.” Cracken led him on through a throng of white-coated lab assistants to a back room where Qlaem was using its hands to enter information into a datapad. A number of droids worked in and around the room, apparently orchestrated by a Verpine droid that looked much like a metal avatar of the Vratix.
Qlaern drew its hands back to its thorax as Wedge entered the room. “Commander Antilles, we are pleased to see you.” The Vratix’s right hand came out and gently brushed Wedge’s cheek.
Wedge stroked the Vratix’s arm in return. “The honor is mine. You know, I expect, that my squadron will be leading the expedition to Ryloth.”
“Yes, of this we are aware. We also know that Mirax will be traveling with you.”
“Right.” The trip to Ryloth from Imperial Center would take five days, and that was a bit long to be trapped in the cockpit of an