Vision of the future

'Why not?' Bel Iblis asked mildly.

'Why not?' Booster waved an all-encompassing hand around the room. 'Just look at us. You've got us running full weapons and defenses, a practically full crew complement, spit and polish that hasn't been seen since Palpatine was a prip. Who's going to believe we're in serious trouble?' Bel Iblis cleared his throat. 'I gather you haven't taken a look at the outer hull recently.' Booster's arm froze in the middle of another wave. 'What?' he demanded, his voice low and deadly.

'You're absolutely right about our needing to look the part of a ship in distress.' Bel Iblis nodded.

'I believe you'll find we do.'

For a painfully long moment the two men stared at each other, the expression on Booster's face reminding Wedge of an approaching thunderstorm. 'You're going to pay for this, Bel Iblis,' Booster said at last in a low voice. 'You, personally, are going to pay for this.'

'We'll add it to the ledger,' Bel Iblis promised. 'Don't worry, we'll put everything back together afterward.'

'You'd better,' Booster threatened. 'Everything fixed. And a new coat of paint, too.' He considered. 'Something besides Star Destroyer White.'

Bel Iblis smiled faintly. 'I'll see what I can do.'

He looked around the room again, then keyed his control. On the holo display, the blue light passed the outer ring; and as it did so, a group of yellow lights appeared farther out. 'At that same time, the rest of you will drop in and form up into an attack line,' he continued. 'You will not seriously engage the defense perimeter, but merely prod at it enough to keep their attention turned outward. You'll also be firing a full barrage of proton torpedoes, with an eye toward getting some of them through the ring into the base itself.'

The blue light came to a halt beside a slender spar sticking out from the main base. 'The Errant Venture will meanwhile come to a halt here, where we'll launch an assault boat against the computer access extension and attempt to get a slicer team inside. If the Force is with us, we may be able to locate and download a copy of the Caamas Document.'

'And then how do you get out again?' one of the other ship's captains asked. 'I presume you're not assuming they won't notice you at some point.'

Bel Iblis shrugged slightly. 'We are an Imperial Star Destroyer,' he reminded him. 'I think we'll be able to rancor-roll our way out without too much trouble.'

Wedge looked at Corran, saw the set to the other's mouth. No, Bel Iblis was dead wrong on that one. Casual confidence or not, Star Destroyer or not, once the Imperials tumbled to what was going on the old general was going to be in for the fight of his life.

Or else...

Wedge looked back at Bel Iblis, a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach. Or else he knew perfectly well there was no way he would ever get out. Knew that all he could hope for was to find a copy of the Caamas Document in time and transmit it out to the rest of the fleet. Knew that Yaga Minor was, in fact, where he was going to die.

And if he knew it...

Wedge focused on Booster, standing with his arms crossed again. Booster's ship, going to its destruction.

With Booster still aboard? Probably. Almost certainly.

Beside him, he heard Corran's sigh. 'He's not going all noble and self-sacrificing on us, Wedge,' the other murmured. 'He's thinking about Mirax and Valin.'

'Sure,' Wedge murmured back. Booster's daughter—Corran's wife—and Booster's six-year-old grandson. Yes, of course it made sense. The big, noisy, self-centered old pirate Booster Terrik cared deeply about his family, whether he would admit it or not.

And if it cost him his life to try to prevent his grandson from growing up in the middle of a civil war...

'I guess we'll just have to make it Rogue Squadron's business to make sure they get out again,' Corran went on.

Wedge nodded. 'You got it,' he promised.

'What about fighters?' A-wing Commander C'taunmar asked from the other side of the room.

'You'll want my squadron for screening, I presume?'