Star Wars_ X-Wing 04_ The Bacta War - Michael A. Stackpole [104]
“They’ve thought of everything.”
“Not quite.” A hand reached up and grabbed the sill at the bottom of the door, then the tendons and muscles tensed in the arm attached to it and Elscol pulled herself into view. “The Vratix were nice enough to give us some footholds for climbing up here, but I’d still prefer a rope ladder.”
Iella laughed and helped pull the smaller woman into the room. Because the Vratix’s hind legs were so powerful, leaping up to the doorholes of rooms set well above the ground was simple. The need for stairs never developed, so Vratix architecture never included them. Visiting humans were normally housed in public areas, but advertising the presence of Ashern agents was not a good idea, so they were secreted away in rooms that were difficult for humans to move into and out of.
“Sixtus isn’t with you?”
“No. He’s out wandering through the rain forest.” Elscol shrugged and adjusted the blaster on her right hip. “I’ve known him for years now, and there are just times he has to drift away. I suspect the Imps did some nasty stuff to him and his people when they trained him to be Special Ops and occasionally he has to fight it.”
“Never had anyone exactly like him in CorSec, but I understand the need to get away. What’s going on? Change of plans?”
Elscol shook her head. “Nope, we’ll leave here after dark, as planned, and move to the next haven. Just seeing us here seems to be good for Vratix morale. I don’t really have any sense of how good the Vratix will be in combat, but they’re fighters at heart.”
“You mean at pulmonary arch.”
“Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?”
Iella shook her head. “No, not really.”
Elscol smiled and seated herself on the foot of Iella’s bed. “Well, doesn’t matter. Armed with vibroblades, force pikes, or blasters, we can get enough Vratix that we can overwhelm humans in Xucphra City. Some of the Ashern indicate their training cadres are swelling in our wake. We come through, they get more volunteers. Sixtus has specified benchmarks for training, and it looks like we’ll have our force in a couple of months.”
“I’d feel better about them if we ever got to see their warriors in action.”
Elscol nodded. “Agreed. From what Sixtus has said, though, because bacta and healing is so much a part of Vratix society, for a Vratix to become a warrior and cause harm is a very solemn decision. The Ashern, as you know, sharpen their forearm claws and paint themselves black. The former is for fighting, but they paint themselves black so they can remain in the shadows, hidden away to protect the other Vratix from what they can and will do to win freedom.”
“Well, their reluctance to be violent explains why they haven’t just risen up and slaughtered all the humans on the planet.” Iella sighed. “It’s too bad they have to resort to war to win the freedom they never should have lost in the first place. I hope we can remain free long enough for the Ashern to be ready to fight. How long do you figure we have until Isard storms us?”
“Good question. Me, I’d have done it in a heartbeat before we embarrassed General Dlarit, but she’s trying to keep the populace happy. If the Xucphra folks see white armor in bulk on their world, they’re going to figure she’s got no more use for them, and I suspect they can cause a fair amount of trouble for her.” Elscol sat back, leaning against the wall. “Of course, Isard has more trouble than just us. That’s what I came to tell you. News from the front.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And good news, too.”
Iella dropped to the circular chamber’s floor and sat cross-legged. Twisting her blaster belt around so she was more comfortable, she smiled up at Elscol. “What did you hear?”
“The Corrupter is no more.”
Iella’s jaw dropped. “What? How?”
“Isard tried to ambush Wedge and