Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [59]
Borsk Fey’lya’s claws scraped along the table’s matte black surface. “It is hard to believe that someone even as cruel as Krennel would resurrect Death Stars.”
Leia shook her head. “Since we have not found the original shipyard that created the Death Stars, the possibility that one or more are under construction is something we can’t ignore.”
Wedge pointed at the holograph. “You’re also wrong in calling this a Death Star. It looks like one, but this is a decidedly scaled down version. It looks to be inspired by how the Emperor used the Death Star at Endor, targeting capital ships. That was a gross underutilization of its power, but it was very effective.
“What Krennel was creating here is a system domination weapon. It pops out of hyperspace, cranks up gravity well generators—that’s what those blisters around the center are—and all traffic in or out stops cold. The planet-splitting beam from the original Death Star has also been scaled back and multiple sites for it have been created. Those are all the dimples on the thing. With each of those beams capable of killing a Super Star Destroyer, it’s a decidedly lethal ship. It also bristles with smaller antiship weapons and can support a half-dozen TIE wings, which gives it plenty of defensive capabilities.”
Corran folded his arms over his chest. “We’ve taken to calling it a Pulsar Station.”
Mon Mothma calmly pressed her hands together. “Does Krennel have an operational version of the device?”
Wedge shrugged his shoulders. “Unknown, but unlikely.”
The Bothan Councilor’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
Wedge raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought it would be obvious to you, Councilor. Creating a ship this size would require an incredible amount of resources. Just the durasteel alone would necessitate the mining of a planetoid and its total conversion into metal. The factories needed to turn out the finished pieces don’t exist in Krennel’s Hegemony—or, as Captain Horn would point out, we don’t know of their existence.”
The Bothan waved a hand graciously in Corran’s direction. “Would you care to explain?”
Corran shrugged his shoulders. “Data on some of the Hegemony worlds is thinner than the cushions on a Hutt’s reclining platform. Krennel is clamping down on information sources, so getting any data out is going to be tough. Some worlds we can eliminate as candidates: Ciutric, for example, is a well-charted and traveled system. Others, like Corvis Minor, are hardly known at all. The shipyards could be there, perhaps positioned to always be opposite the main world in orbit, so the sun blocks any sensor readings of the construction on that world.”
Leia sat back, her brows knitted with concentration. “The only way to confirm this would be to scout the systems.”
“That’s the quickest way.” Wedge nodded. “We can run a T-Six-Five-R through the system and have it pull all the intel it can gather.”
Leia frowned. “The X-wing recon version has no weapons, so such a run would be risky.”
Wedge laughed. “I wasn’t thinking of taking it in all alone, even though an accompanied ship will be easier to spot. Still, we pick the right location to come into the system, make a quick hit, and go, and we might be unnoticed.”
“Fact is, though, we might need to be noticed.” Corran nodded toward the holograph. “The facility we found was relatively new, with the team there assembled only over the last couple of months. As nearly as we can determine they’re not part of a design team per se, but are analyzing the data being produced by the actual designers. They’re trying to look for flaws in the thing the way you did at Yavin.”
The fur rose on the back of