Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [143]
She worked her left shoulder forward and back. “It’s fine. Full range of motion and all. Nothing bacta couldn’t handle. You know that—you’ve been wounded much worse and survived.”
“True, if there’s a spark of life, bacta will keep you going.”
Iella nodded. “Happy to be out of isolation?”
“Very.” Corran jerked his head toward General Dodonna. “It was very weird to be a prisoner of sorts on Lusankya again. We got the run of the deck they trapped us on, which happened to have been the deck where we were held the first time. The accommodations were a lot nicer this time around, though.”
“Lusankya looks nothing like it did when we were married on it.” Mirax took his whiskey from him and drank a sip. “I definitely think it’s an improvement.”
Corran nodded. “I guess a lot of refitting went on. There’s a whole forward area where living creatures aren’t allowed to go. It’s just serviced by droids.”
Iella coughed into her hand. “It’s a bio-containment facility. It apparently struck some of the designers that in rebuilding the prow, they could put in scientific and medical suites that would allow Lusankya to be more than just a military ship. I think their sense of irony prompted them to put an area on board that, had it existed when the Krytos virus broke out, would have been useful in thwarting Isard’s plan. In the heart of that area there is supposed to be a containment cell so secure that any breach in it will immediately vent the whole area to space. Nothing, no virus or germ, will be getting out of there alive.”
“That’s a plus.” Corran smiled slightly, then looked around. “Kind of funny about Isard coming back here. I guess it makes sense, but she had me fooled. She told me she was glad the ship had been destroyed, since I ruined it for her. How did you figure out she was coming back for it?”
The two women exchanged a laugh. “Actually it was Mirax’s father who figured it out.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Iella shook her head. “The process sort of involved logic, but it was a bit twisted …”
Mirax sighed. “It was Booster-logic.”
“I hope you had a Three-Pee-Oh there to translate.”
Mirax slapped Corran on the arm. “Easy, husband. If not for him you’d be fighting this monster.”
Iella smiled. “Booster started from the idea that Isard wanted to reestablish the Empire, then he started breaking it down into all the steps she’d need to succeed at to get there. Somewhere in that list was a serious need to be able to inflict heavy damage on her enemies. From there Booster got to the Lusankya reborn, which he’d figured the New Republic was refitting because of the prices being offered for parts on the secondary commodities markets.
“Cracken provided us with authorization to commandeer whatever we needed, so the four of us came here and took command.”
“Four of you?”
Mirax and Iella exchanged a quick glance, then Corran’s wife gave his arm a squeeze. “Booster, Iella, me, and a Verpine tech who did some quick rewiring. We trapped Isard’s people and Iella took care of her in her own private quarters.”
Corran remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “You think Diric is finally at peace?”
“I hope so. Isard had reduced Diric to something he never wanted to be. Eliminating her won’t bring him back, but she’ll never do that to anyone else, so that’s a plus. I can live with it.”
“And live much better for it.” Corran shivered. “I wonder if she’ll end up haunting this place.”
“I have no doubt part of her will always be with the Lusankya.”
“Right where it belongs.” Corran sipped more of his whiskey. “Any word on what happened to Colonel Vessery and his people?”
Iella shook her head. “He vanished, taking his two squadrons of Defenders with him. General Cracken isn’t looking forward to his return.”
“I can understand that, but I don’t fear it.” Corran smiled. “In his own way Vessery is a very honorable man. He’ll do what’s right for his people.”
“Let’s just hope that doesn