Read Online Isard's Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael A. Stackpole
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and kissed him on the forehead, then rested her chin on the crown of his head. “You realize, if the adoption goes through, one of us will have to leave thesquadron. It wouldn’t be fair for both of us to risk our lives and leave some child orphaned again.”
“I know.” Gavin let his head rest against her breastbone. “That’s a decision we can make down the line. Neither one of us wants to leave, I know, but if that’s what it takes to make the galaxy better, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
7
Corran Horn hated waiting for the go/no go signal for the mission. On the long journey from Coruscant to Commenor he and the other Rogues had studied the intelligence gathered about their target. He knew it was less comprehensive than he normally would have preferred, but everyone involved in the operation agreed that Urlor Sette’s arrival at the Rogues’ party meant their enemy had access to intelligence sources within the New Republic, so the operation was running outside normal channels. The intel they got was enough to plan the mission, but not enough to guarantee success.
Not that success can ever be guaranteed in a military op, and especially one counting on surprise to be effective.
Iella and Wedge had managed to trace the material components of the device that killed Urlor to Commenor. Wedge had been to the planet before, and many of the other Rogues had trained on a covert base on Folor, the largest of Commenor’s moons. An Imperial raid later hammered the base, but Corran felt little nostalgia for it. Training there was a long time ago. Lifetimes ago.
Tracing the components to Commenor had involved good solid detective work, but locating the site on Commenorwhere the implantation had happened involved some good fortune. Commenor’s medical system contained a fair number of facilities that could have done the implantation, but an analysis of records failed to turn up anything that suggested the operation had taken place there. Wedge located a couple of places where some exotic xenobiological creatures had been kept, and as he concentrated on them as a possible source of the venom that killed Urlor, he noticed that one facility boasted a full veterinary surgical suite, complete with droids. That facility had gone out of business roughly two years earlier, about the same time Isard had fled to Thyferra. The place had been built in a remote rural district in anticipation of further growth, but the collapse of the Empire had cooled Commenor’s economy enough that such expansion didn’t take place.
The target facility, called “the old Xenovet place” by locals, consisted of a fairly modern central building that served as the main animal hospital. Outlying buildings provided housing for commercial animals recovering from illness or being kept there for breeding and birthing purposes. One of the Xenovet’s final programs was an attempt to start a captive breeding program of exotic animals that were endangered on other worlds, but the rebuilding of worlds in the wake of the Empire’s collapse took precedence over the rebuilding of creature populations, dooming that effort as well.
On the face of it, the place looked like an easy target. Weather satellite data and other more covert methods of surveillance indicated no weapons systems in place to defend the site. Utility records indicated fairly low power and water use for a place that size, suggesting that no more than thirty individuals lived on the site—anywhere between a third and a sixth of the total prisoners estimated to have been on the Lusankya. Shipments of supplies came in through local stores and likewise were not that extensive. As nearly as the local residents knew, the folks at the XV facility were caretakers waiting for some bankruptcy trustee to find a buyer for the place.
Two problems cropped up to make the target harderthan anyone expected. The first was simply logistical. The Rogues could sweep in, pound the place, and reduce
“I know.” Gavin let his head rest against her breastbone. “That’s a decision we can make down the line. Neither one of us wants to leave, I know, but if that’s what it takes to make the galaxy better, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
7
Corran Horn hated waiting for the go/no go signal for the mission. On the long journey from Coruscant to Commenor he and the other Rogues had studied the intelligence gathered about their target. He knew it was less comprehensive than he normally would have preferred, but everyone involved in the operation agreed that Urlor Sette’s arrival at the Rogues’ party meant their enemy had access to intelligence sources within the New Republic, so the operation was running outside normal channels. The intel they got was enough to plan the mission, but not enough to guarantee success.
Not that success can ever be guaranteed in a military op, and especially one counting on surprise to be effective.
Iella and Wedge had managed to trace the material components of the device that killed Urlor to Commenor. Wedge had been to the planet before, and many of the other Rogues had trained on a covert base on Folor, the largest of Commenor’s moons. An Imperial raid later hammered the base, but Corran felt little nostalgia for it. Training there was a long time ago. Lifetimes ago.
Tracing the components to Commenor had involved good solid detective work, but locating the site on Commenorwhere the implantation had happened involved some good fortune. Commenor’s medical system contained a fair number of facilities that could have done the implantation, but an analysis of records failed to turn up anything that suggested the operation had taken place there. Wedge located a couple of places where some exotic xenobiological creatures had been kept, and as he concentrated on them as a possible source of the venom that killed Urlor, he noticed that one facility boasted a full veterinary surgical suite, complete with droids. That facility had gone out of business roughly two years earlier, about the same time Isard had fled to Thyferra. The place had been built in a remote rural district in anticipation of further growth, but the collapse of the Empire had cooled Commenor’s economy enough that such expansion didn’t take place.
The target facility, called “the old Xenovet place” by locals, consisted of a fairly modern central building that served as the main animal hospital. Outlying buildings provided housing for commercial animals recovering from illness or being kept there for breeding and birthing purposes. One of the Xenovet’s final programs was an attempt to start a captive breeding program of exotic animals that were endangered on other worlds, but the rebuilding of worlds in the wake of the Empire’s collapse took precedence over the rebuilding of creature populations, dooming that effort as well.
On the face of it, the place looked like an easy target. Weather satellite data and other more covert methods of surveillance indicated no weapons systems in place to defend the site. Utility records indicated fairly low power and water use for a place that size, suggesting that no more than thirty individuals lived on the site—anywhere between a third and a sixth of the total prisoners estimated to have been on the Lusankya. Shipments of supplies came in through local stores and likewise were not that extensive. As nearly as the local residents knew, the folks at the XV facility were caretakers waiting for some bankruptcy trustee to find a buyer for the place.
Two problems cropped up to make the target harderthan anyone expected. The first was simply logistical. The Rogues could sweep in, pound the place, and reduce
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