Star Wars_ X-Wing 04_ The Bacta War - Michael A. Stackpole [151]
“See for yourself.” Cracken opened the door to the ready-room and allowed Corran to precede him in. Corran found Booster at the far end of an oval table, with Mirax seated on his right and a handsome man he took to be Karrde seated on his left. Corran went over to Mirax’s side of the table and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Booster, you’re looking fit.”
“Captaining a starship agrees with me.”
Corran extended a hand across the table to the other man. “Talon Karrde, I presume. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Better now than when you were with CorSec.” Karrde seemed to be watching him very closely. “The resemblance to your father is unmistakable.”
“Thanks.” Corran sat down, fighting to conceal a shiver. He didn’t know why, but he gained the impression that Karrde knew more about him than perhaps even Airen Cracken did, and that disturbed him. I think I’m happy I didn’t meet him when I was with CorSec as well. He would have been to me what Booster was to my father, but I don’t think I would have been sending Karrde to Kessel.
Booster looked up at Cracken, then jerked a thumb at Corran. “Did you think he could convince me to give up my ship?”
Great, this is off to a good start. Corran glanced at Cracken and shrugged.
“Booster, I just thought Lieutenant Horn here could supply you with some more perspective on why you’re not going to be able to keep the Virulence. That ship presents a rather major danger …”
“Right, a danger to anyone who tries to take it away from me.”
“Let me see if I can rephrase this—the only people with that sort of firepower at their disposal are Warlords and other Imperial renegades. The New Republic has to consider any Star Destroyers that are not under the control of itself or its allies to be an immediate threat to the New Republic’s stability.”
“Fine, General, fine. I’ll just take the Virulence, conquer some planet with it, have the planet become one of the New Republic’s allies.”
Mirax shook her head. “That’s pretty much what they’re afraid of, Father.”
Booster winked at his daughter. “Okay, then try this: I’ll make the Virulence herself a nation. We’ll just move from system to system, trading here and there, and we’ll be sovereign and even join the New Republic. Think of all the guns as ground-based defenses.”
Cracken’s breath hissed in between his teeth. “No, I don’t think that will work. That would constitute quite a large threat to peace in the galaxy. Such a threat would have to be dealt with.”
Booster’s artificial eye’s light seemed to flare for a second. “I think there are several different degrees of threat, General, and I’d have to say, right now, you’re acting more threatening than I’ve ever contemplated being. The Virulence is mine. She was surrendered to me.”
“But only after three squadrons of New Republic A-wings appeared in the Yag’Dhul system, giving Captain Varrscha the impression she had been trapped by New Republic forces.” Cracken pressed his hands flat against the white tabletop. “She thought she was surrendering the ship to the New Republic, and you know that’s true. Your representations to her did not dissuade her of this fact.”
Corran looked over at Booster and shook his head. “You let Isard’s conviction that we were a covert New Republic operation trick Varrscha into believing we actually were part of the New Republic? Not bad, Booster.”
Mirax’s father smiled proudly. “She was looking for any excuse to get out of trouble, so I just used the one she gave me.”
Corran winced. “Unfortunately, that means you’ve given the New Republic a claim on the Virulence.”
“What?!”
“Mirax, tell him. It’s the same as a partnership for salvaging hulks. Just because one partner is ceded ownership, he doesn’t own it—the partnership does.”
“Corran’s right, Father.”
“Nonsense. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Mirax laughed. “No? As I recall, that’s how you got your share of the Pulsar Skate.”
Booster