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By Root 454 0

suns had settled into his skull. He knocked at the doorjamb of Booster’s office, but refrained from leaning heavily against it, lest he fall asleep on his feet. He and Ooryl had made a run to Thyferra, hitting some interim systems along the way to make it impossible to backtrack them to Yag’Dhul. A direct trip would have taken them twelve standard hours—their course added another twelve to the total. While he had managed to get a little sleep while in hyperspace, the trip left him feeling like he’d spent the last two days in the belly of a Sarlacc.

Wedge, seated in front of Booster’s desk, looked up. “You could have stopped to get a meal before you reported in, Corran.”

Sure, and have Booster presume I can think only of myself when I’ve been on an important mission like this? “Not hungry, Wedge. The news kind of killed my appetite.”

Booster arched a white eyebrow above his artificial left eye. “You were able to confirm the reports from Thyferra, then?”

Corran nodded. “According to communication intercepts, approximately two weeks ago Iceheart initiated a program in which she’s gathering up a thousand Vratix a day and is planning to execute them when she has thirty thousand total. At that point, if Ashern resistance to her regime has not ceased, she’ll collect more.”

Wedge’s voice dropped into a low growl. “She finally thinks she’s found a way to draw us out.”

Corran shrugged slowly. “I monitored public announcements and privately coded messages from Iella and Elscol. Everything seems to indicate this program is a domestic one only. There has been no mention of us or what we’ve been doing.”

Booster barked a harsh laugh. “You think she would say anything directly to motivate us? That would make us suspicious of a trap.”

Corran frowned. “So since she said nothing about us, it is a trap designed to catch us? You must have a conspiracy theory program working overtime on your datapad, Booster.”

Wedge sat forward and held a hand up to forestall Booster’s reply. “Doesn’t matter what Iceheart intended—though I do think Booster is more right than you are here, Corran—the fact is that we have two weeks to prevent her from slaughtering thirty thousand Vratix. Conspiracy or no, trap or no, we have to act.”

“I wasn’t saying we shouldn’t act, Wedge.” Corran shook his head to clear his mind. “I’m just saying it’s not an obvious attempt to provoke us.”

“CorSec always did miss the obvious.” Booster snorted with disgust, then hit a couple of keys on the datapad centered on his desk. “Do we initiate things?”

“Can we?” Wedge’s brown eyes narrowed. “Where do we stand on the refits?”

“The sensor and targeting units are all in place. If we use the crews from the freighters we have hanging around here, I can have the launchers ready to go inside a week.” Booster looked up. “Karrde even has our last shipment of concussion missiles and proton torpedoes ready to go. An hour after I send him a message via the HoloNet, his convoy should be assembled. We can have it here within a day, with missile batteries and torpedo magazines fully loaded twelve hours later, if all goes well.”

“What about the gravity well projector.”

“Got it, and it’s being installed now.”

“Good. Let’s get things going. Call Karrde and set up a rendezvous for twenty-four hours from now.” Wedge glanced up at Corran. “Will you be ready to lead a flight out to escort them in by that time?”

Corran hesitated, not certain what he heard was really what Wedge said. “Escort them in?”

“I’ll make it thirty-six hours—let him get some sleep.”

“Fine, Booster, that should work.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Corran held his hands up. “You really intend for me to lead Karrde’s convoy here? We aren’t going to work out some transfer thing?”

Wedge shook his head. “No. Time is of the essence.”

“But, Wedge, sir, begging your pardon, if we do that, then Isard will know where we are. The Lusankya and the Virulence could be here just twenty-four hours after we get back with the convoy.” Corran frowned and rubbed a hand over his wrinkled brow. “I thought Booster determined that someone in Karrde