Star Wars_ X-Wing 06_ Iron Fist - Aaron Allston [55]
“Why?”
“Because Notsil wasn’t the first pilot candidate Major Rep—Colonel Repness came to with this starfighter-stealing scheme.”
Wedge regarded her steadily. A number of puzzle pieces suddenly clicked into place. Face’s and Phanan’s personal involvement in this Repness matter. Phanan had talked of a former trainee who’d spilled the story of Repness’s black-market activities to him … but had hinted that this trainee had washed out and had met Phanan on Coruscant.
He wondered if Tyria had been part of Phanan and Face’s plan all along. No; she was unskilled at deception, an honest spirit who took no satisfaction in lying. A refreshing change from most of the other Wraiths.
“You didn’t—”
“No, sir. I didn’t steal anything for him. But I did something just as bad. I let him blackmail me into keeping quiet. I could have turned him in, opposed him the way Notsil did … but I didn’t.” Her shame was evident in her expression. “Repness was an obsessive record keeper, sir. He has records of my scores. He can prove that he doctored them to let me pass. And when that happens, they’re going to vape my flying career.”
Wedge sighed. “In the face of evidence like that, I doubt I’ll be able to offer you much protection.”
“I’m not here to ask for protection, sir. There is no protection. But I thought you ought to know—so you can prepare for it—that there’s a possibility that I’m going to be yanked from the squadron.”
“I understand. But let’s say Repness doesn’t accuse you. That he gets in touch with you privately and says, ‘I can torp your career, but I won’t. All you have to do is send me a few creds to help pay my legal team for my defense.’ ”
She took that hurdle without hesitation. “If he asks for one credit, sir, he doesn’t get it. Let him turn me in and be damned.”
“You’re sure.”
“I’m positive. I’m not going to let him have even the most tenuous of leashes on me. No more. Not ever.”
He was silent a long moment. A shame she hadn’t come to him right away upon joining Wraith Squadron’s training program. If she had done so, he could have—
Could have? No, perhaps he had done so. Just after joining the Wraith Squadron, Flight Officer Sarkin had come to him, not knowing who, further up along any official channels, might be part of Repness’s organization. Wedge had assigned Face and Phanan to find someone to act as bait, and within weeks they’d done so, in the hospital on Borleias. It was his plan, as well as Face and Phanan’s, that had sent Lara Notsil to Tedevium and Colonel Repness.
The one thing that made him uncomfortable about this altered history was that he would be taking credit for initiating a plan actually brought into being by two of his subordinates … but the results would be worth this little deception.
“Flight Officer Sarkin.”
She heard the change in his voice and snapped to attention. “Sir.”
“You’re too good a pilot for the squadron to lose you this way.”
“I’m at the bottom of the squadron rankings, sir.”
“No longer true. One of the new pilots has taken over that singular honor, at least temporarily. And even if it were true, the so-called worst Wraith is one of the galaxy’s most dangerous opponents by any standard, else he or she wouldn’t be in the squadron.”
“Um—”
“That didn’t call for a response. Now, this is a direct order: If anyone comes to you with questions about your dealings with Repness, you will give no answers. Instead, tell him you are under orders, from me, not to discuss the matter—until he has come to talk to me. Do you understand?”
“I understand the order, sir, but not what it means.”
“What it means is that you’re going to be with the Wraiths until you die or you decide to transfer—not until someone outside the unit decides you’re not one of us. Now, dismissed.”
Startled, she saluted and fled.
Wedge sat back. His story would survive interrogation up until the time anyone involved was called on to testify, but his gut feeling was that it wouldn’t go that far. If