Vision of the future

11

'So that's it, huh?' Wedge asked, leaning nonchalantly against one of the old-style Bothan lampposts that lined the park and gazing across the open expanse at the gleaming white dome in the center.

'That's it,' Corran confirmed, frowning at his datapad. 'At least, according to this it is.' Wedge shifted his gaze to the periphery of the park, to the encircling street and the shops with their colorful trade flags that lined it. It was apparently market day, and hundreds of Bothan and alien pedestrians were milling through the area. 'They must be nuts,' he told Corran. 'Putting a target like that—'

He broke off as a couple of Duros brushed past him and headed off at an angle across the park.

'In a public area,' he continued in a lower tone, 'is just begging for trouble.'

'On the other hand, having a pole of your planetary shield array inside your capital city pretty much guarantees the safety of that city,' Corran pointed out. 'That's going to be comforting to all the offworlders who do business here.'

'The Bothans always have been big on image,' Wedge conceded sourly. Even so, he had to admit the place wasn't nearly as vulnerable as it looked. According to the data Bel Iblis had pulled for them, the dome was constructed of a special permasteel alloy, had no windows and only one door, and was filled with armed guards and automated defenses. The shield generator equipment itself was two floors underground, with a self- contained backup power supply, a room full of spare parts, and a cadre of on-duty techs who could allegedly take the entire system apart and put it back together again in two hours flat.

'True; but image apart, they've also never been slouches at guarding their own rear ends,' Corran pointed out. 'They'll have safeguards seven ways from—'

He stopped as a group of Bothans, chattering animatedly to each other, pushed their way between the two humans. A pair of stragglers following the main group were even more self-absorbed; one of them ran straight into Wedge, nearly knocking him over.

'My entire clan's apologies, sir,' he gasped, his fur rippling with shame and embarrassment as he backed rapidly away directly toward Corran. Corran tried to sidestep, but the Bothan was already moving too fast and slammed into him, too.

'You clumsy fool,' the second Bothan berated him, grabbing Corran's arm to help him regain his balance. 'You will indebt our entire clan to the sun-death of Bothawui. Our greatest apologies, kind sirs. Are either of you injured?'

'No, we're fine,' Wedge assured him. He glanced at Corran for confirmation, caught just the hint of a frown creasing the other's forehead. 'On second thought—'

'Excellent, excellent,' the Bothan continued, clearly not really interested in the answer to his question as he took his companion's arm and steered them both toward the shops. 'A fine and friendsome day to you, then, fine sirs.'

Wedge moved close to Corran's side, watching as the two Bothans nearly ran down an old human woman at the edge of the crowd and then vanished into the general pedestrian flow. 'What's the matter?' he murmured. 'Are you hurt?'

'No,' Corran said slowly, his frown deepening. 'There was just something that felt wrong about—'

Abruptly, he slapped at his tunic, his frown exploding into a look of utter consternation. 'Droyk!

He took my wallet!'

'What?' Wedge snapped, grabbing for his own pocket.

And finding it empty. 'Oh, sh—'

'Come on,' Corran bit out, diving into the crowd.

'I don't believe this,' Wedge snarled, diving in after him. 'How in space did they pull that off?'

'I don't know,' Corran called over his shoulder, shoving one pedestrian after another aside. 'I would have sworn I knew all the tricks. I don't suppose you happened to notice the clan sigil they were wearing?'

'I saw it, but I didn't recognize it,' Wedge told him, feeling like a complete and blithering fool. Everything they had—money, credit chits, and both their civilian and military IDs—were in those wallets. 'The general's going to kill us if we don't get them back.'

'Yeah—one at a time and very slowly,' Corran agreed darkly. He shouldered his way through one last clump of pedestrians into a temporarily open spot on the walkway and stopped. 'Anything?' he asked, craning his neck to