Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [71]
Mirax looked at Iella. “Remember when I said this was too easy?”
Iella nodded. “I do.”
“Well, I was wrong.” Mirax shivered. “And I don’t think I like it at all.”
19
Wedge Antilles waited until the last of Rogue Squadron’s pilots sat down, then nodded to Nawara Ven to lower the lights in the briefing room. Wedge hit some keys on his datapad and the holoprojector it had been linked to served up the image of a solar system. At its heart lay a yellow star; seven planets orbited it, three outside an asteroid ring that marked the halfway point between the system’s outer edges and the star at its hub.
“This is the Corvis Minor system. The third and fourth planets are inhabited. The third is a semi-arid world with temperate zones at the poles, and the fourth is a water-rich tropical world. Both produce some exotic xenobiological products that sell as luxury commodities within the Hegemony and outside, though all trade outside the Hegemony flows through Liinade Three or Ciutric. The populations on these worlds are small and benign. A Victory-class Star Destroyer is on station around the fourth planet. It’s called Aspiration, came into the Imperial Fleet right after Endor, and joined Krennel when he installed himself as the Hegemony’s leader.”
Wedge hit another button and the image shifted. The focus moved past the asteroid belt to the fifth planet. Then it zoomed in, revealing a gas giant with a half-dozen moons in orbit. “This is the planet we’re concerned with, or, rather, one of its moons. Astronomical data on this section of the system is sketchy at best, but computer simulations indicate that this moon, Distna, named after the discoverer’s wife, may be hollow. It has half-standard gravity, a bit of an atmosphere, and could be the equivalent of a spacedock. It is possible that Krennel is building his Pulsar Station inside it, or even building the station into it.”
Tycho ran a hand over his jaw. “If the station is actually being built into that moon, the crust will act as far more effective armor than the Death Star ever had.”
Hobbie groaned. “How come we never have these superweapons that could eliminate a problem like that?”
Wedge smiled. “Because, Hobbie, we rely on pluck, courage, and skill instead of capital expenditure.”
“I guess, then, that the rumors of a raise are not true?”
Wedge joined the others in laughter, then cleared his throat to settle them down. “Our mission is going to be a simple one. We’re guiding a T-Six-Five-R into the system. We’ll do fly-bys on Distna to collect what data we can, then we get back out. Because of the gas giant, the various moons, and the asteroid belt, jumping into that area is going to be difficult. We have a limited number of entrance and exit vectors, and they will change, so we need to work up a variety of exit solutions.”
Corran raised a hand. “Two questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“First, who gets stuck driving the snoopscoot?”
Wedge pointed to the Quarren pilot sitting next to Tycho. “For those of you who don’t know him, this is Nrin Vakil. He flew with the Rogues back before most of you joined the squadron. The New Republic has had him on other duties for a while, but he’s good with the recon ship. He’ll be Rogue Alpha for this run.”
Nrin raised a hand and Hobbie reached over to slap him on the shoulder. The other pilots nodded and murmured hellos. Wedge assumed Nrin would be interrogated by the others once the briefing was ended. Given Nrin’s penchant for being a bit dour, they’ll learn that whatever hardships they’ve faced, they were nothing compared to the earlier days of the squadron.
“Your second question, Corran?”
“The Vic around the fourth planet, it’s not going to be a problem?”
“Aspiration isn’t likely to come off-station because of the difficulty of navigating in and out of hyperspace for that sort of micro-jump. Thrawn may have used that sort of jumping to tactical advantage,