Star Wars_ X-Wing 05_ Wraith Squadron - Aaron Allston [92]
Donos came out of the forest at a run and swung up over the rail. “You people are terrible cargo haulers,” he said.
Wedge smiled. “Probably why we were demoted to be fighter pilots. Let’s meet the Narra, people.” He waved at Falynn to continue forward.
Behind them, the roof of the bunker swelled like a balloon, chunks of ferrocrete firing up in the air, then collapsed. The rumbling roar of explosions followed them as they raced toward their pickup zone.
17
“I’ve consulted precedents on this matter,” Kell said, “and it appears that the TIE fighters will end up being chalked up as gunnery kills for Commander Antilles and myself, rather than as pilot kills for Falynn. Sorry, Falynn.”
The woman from Tatooine smiled. “I still may be the only woman to have dragged two Imperial starfighters around like boat anchors. I want that logged.”
“Consider it done.”
It was the day after the commando strike and the Wraiths, now parsecs from the Xartun system, were debriefing in Night Caller’s conference room. Most of the work was done; they were now cleaning up incidental details.
Kell, as mission commander, had been chairing the meeting, but Wedge leaned forward to assume control. “We’ve had the facts on what we found. Now I want some speculation based on your respective areas of expertise. What is Zsinj up to?”
“This is just a guess,” Grinder said, “but it looks to me like they’re setting up a financial empire to support Zsinj’s ambitions. We know he controls a large area of space; what we didn’t know was that he had such a network of business interests outside his space.”
Kell nodded. “I also think he’s doing it to support Iron Fist, his Super Star Destroyer. Here he makes replacement transparisteel parts. At another place, he refines fuel. Somewhere else, twin ion engines—or maybe complete TIE fighters.”
Tyria said, “I think we’re agreed that he’s almost organizing it as though he were a resistance organization. Cells kept isolated from one another, with ships like Night Caller being the only connection.”
“It makes me feel a little odd,” Wedge said. “In a sense, we’re becoming the Empire and warlords like Zsinj are becoming the Alliance. We’ve become a legitimate government with fixed locations we have to reinforce and protect. They’re operating from secret bases, mobile bases; they’re using the hit-and-run tactics we perfected. The galaxy has turned upside down since the Emperor died.”
Falynn looked surprised. “It sounds as though you miss the old days.”
Wedge looked at her and shook his head. “No. These days, we can wear our uniforms with pride to most worlds we’re likely to visit. We get cheers, or at least words of appreciation, instead of getting turned in to the Imps. Still, I like to think that I can adapt quickly to new tactics … but I know there are plenty of military officers and government representatives in the New Republic who can’t. That’s what worries me.”
Face spoke up, his voice quiet, reflective. “Zsinj is doing something else, too. Something motivational. Those probe droids weren’t made here and weren’t sold to the government on the open market. They’re something Zsinj had to have brought. Maybe the TIE fighters, too. I think that in addition to providing protection to the worlds he’s dealing with, he’s offering goodies to his government contacts. Technology they couldn’t get anywhere—or at least couldn’t get without leaving records everywhere. He’s offering his partners toys their legitimate rivals won’t have. That can be a powerful inducement.”
“Unresolved detail,” Phanan said. “What were those big transparisteel cubes, anyway?”
Obligingly, Grinder keyed his datapad. The room’s holoprojector brought up the appropriate sequence, from Jesmin’s camera, of the large transparent objects.
“They’re cells,” said Piggy. These were his first words since seeing the recording the first time.
The others looked at him. Janson asked, “Prison cells?”
“Something like that.