Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [8]
“You’ve distilled four hours of Provisional Council discussions down to the key points. We’re going to have to go after the warlords, and the first one has to fall in relatively short order.”
“Haste never makes for good warfare.” Wedge frowned. “Just picking a target will be tough. The criteria for that choice alone will take hours of debate.”
“Already done.” Ackbar hit another button on the holoprojector and a new image replaced Tycho’s. The man had close-cropped white hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to project a cold cruelty. Below the image of the man’s head and shoulders hung a smaller computer window display showing a prosthetic right hand. A list of specifications for the hand scrolled out below. “You’ve dealt with this man before.”
“Admiral Delak Krennel.” Wedge felt the flesh on his arms pucker. “He ordered TIE fighter attacks on the civilians on Axxila and opposed our rescue of Sate Pestage from Ciutric.”
“Yes. He murdered Sate Pestage and took over his holdings—the Ciutric Hegemony. It made him the leader of a dozen worlds and gave him a fair amount of material resources. He didn’t join Thrawn per se, but seems to have given him monetary support. He rules from Ciutric and has a fleet of a dozen or so capital ships, including his Reckoning.”
Wedge smiled. “Got it all repaired, did he?”
“So it seems.”
“He’s been rather quiet—not at all like Teradoc. How can you justify going after him …?” Wedge frowned for a moment, then barked a little laugh. “We’re going to bring him to justice for Pestage’s murder?”
“That, and the murder of Pestage’s family. When Krennel took over, he killed every one of them he could find. Over a hundred people perished in that purge alone, and there have been other purges to keep him in power. His murder sprees give us all the excuse we need to target him.”
“And the fact that he took the holdings of an Imperial officer and converted them to himself means that by going after him, we’re suggesting to anyone else who might be adventurous out there that what once belonged to the Empire is ours. Interfere with us and you’ll lose everything.”
Ackbar turned his head and stared at Wedge with one big amber eye. “Political analysis, Wedge? Had I known you’d take to being a General so easily, I’d have demanded the promotion sooner.”
“Being aware of politics, Admiral, is light-years away from liking it or being good at it. Still, the lessons concerning Thyferra and how ticklish that all was haven’t been lost upon me. Do things right, and we might avoid prolonged battles in the future.” Wedge stood and saluted the Admiral. “I guess a General has to keep the big picture in mind. I get that right and I keep my people alive. No matter what my rank, that’s the duty I hold most dear.”
3
Corran Horn hit the canopy release on his X-wing and freed himself of the restraining harness even before Whistler completed the fighter’s shutdown procedure. The pilot pulled off his helmet and set it on the spacefighter’s nose, then clambered out of the cockpit and jumped down to the hangar deck. He came up from his crouch quickly and turned toward Whistler. The droid was piping shrilly.
“I know you want down. I’ll find a tech to do that.”
He turned toward the flight operations center and raised a hand to signal for a tech, but a woman slipped her fingers through his, then bumped him bodily back a step beneath the X-wing. She covered his mouth with hers and Corran enfolded her in a fierce hug. He clung tightly to her, drinking in the spicy scent of her hair and perfume as they kissed.
Eventually, reluctantly, he freed his mouth from hers and looked up into her smoldering brown eyes. “Damn, I have missed you so much, Mirax. I …”
She kissed him again. “You’re here, I’m here. The missing part is over, my love.”
Corran reached a hand up and stroked her cheek, brushing