"Ann Crispin "Han Solo. Rebel Dawn"" - читать интересную книгу автора

Bria nodded. "I remember my gums started to bleed all the time, It took me two months of decent food to overcome most of the effects."
He glanced back down at his datapad. "Helot} Shackle is almost finished being refitted for combat. We can really use her, Tharen, thank you for acquiring her for us. With that in mind... want the honor of re-naming her?"
Bria thought for a moment. "Call her Emancipator," she said.
"That's a good one," Torbul said. "Emancipator she is."
Torbul clicked off his datapad, leaned his elbows on his desk, and leaned forward. "Bria..." he said. "Now that the official stuff is over and done with, I have to tell you that I'm concerned about some aspects of your record."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "But, sir--!!"
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Tharen. You are a good fighter, an able leader. Nobody's gainsaying that. But look at the name those slavers gave you, that your squadron cheerfully adopted. Red Hand symbol of no quarter. Look at this report on the taking of Helot} Shackle. No prisoners. Not a single one."
Bria stiffened. "Sir, they were slavers. They know how the civilized world regards them. They put up a lot of resistance, and not a one offered to surrender. They fought to the last."
"I see .... "Torbul said. The two of them exchanged a long look, and it was the ranking officer who looked away first.
An awkward silence ensued until Torbul cleared his throat. "Things are heating up in the Outer Rim," he announced. "The Rebel groups out there are really understaffed. I'd lille Red Hand to stay out there for a while, give them some assistance."
"Yes, sir," Bria said. "Sir..."
"Yes?"
"I think I may know a way to get more recruits."
"What is that?"
"Well, the best we've ever done curing the Ylesian Pilgrims of addiction before was about fifty percent. Remember?"
He nodded.
"But now, with the new techniques Daino is using to help the Pilgrims we took to Grenna Base, he thinks his success rate will be better than 90 percent."
"That's very encouraging. But what does that have to do with getting more recruits?"
Bria leaned forward, her blue-green eyes holding his dark ones. "Sir . . . there are over eight thousand Pil-grims on Ylesia."
He sat back. "What are you suggesting, Tharen?" "Give me just a little help . . . an old troopship for transport, a couple more cruisers, some more troops, and I can take that planet. I can shut down the Ylesian operation for good. We'll take every colony, free every slave there. Hundreds of them are bound to join us, if the percentages we've seen so far are any indication." "That's a big ‘if,' "Torbul said.
"I know, sir. But I think the risk would be worth it." "We don't have the troops. Not all of the Corellian resistance would be enough to take a whole planet, Tharen!"
"We're getting recruits in from Alderaan every day," Bria pointed out, truthfully. "And there are so many Bothan and Sullustan Pilgrims on Ylesia, those worlds might send us some troops and ships. It's worth asking them. And what about Chandrila? They're part of the new Rebel Alliance-sworn to help us!"
"Recruits... it's an incentive, certainly."
She nodded vigorously. "Sir, it could work. We can free those slaves. And while we're at it, we could take the spice to sell on the open market. We're always short of credits. Think of how many turbolasers or proton tor-pedoes that much spice would buy us! We could bomb the warehouses and factories when we had emptied them. Ylesia and its filthy trade would be a thing of the past."
Bria realized that she had lost her composure, but in her passion, she didn't care. Her hands were shaking; she gripped the edge of Torbul's desk so he wouldn't see the betraying tremor.
"I don't believe the Rebel Alliance would think much of selling drugs as a means of financing the Re-bellion," Torbul said.
"Then, with all due respect, sir, don't tell them where you got the credits!" Bria's smile was more than a little savage. "You know as well as I do that they won't look a gift traladon in the mouth. They'll take the credits and use them. We need weapons, medical supplies, uni-forms, ammo... you name it!"
"True," he said. "Fighting a resistance is an expen-sive proposition."
"Think it over," Bria urged. "I know Red Hand could do it. And without Ylesia siphoning off some of Corel-lia's best, we'd have more recruits. Think about who's going to Ylesia these days. Young people, dissatisfied with their lives, unable to pay the horrendous taxes, wanting something more, a better life. Those are exactly the kind of people we need."
"True," he said again. "But what about the Ylesian at-mosphere? Your raid on Colony Three two and a half years ago freed a hundred slaves-but we lost a ship in that blasted atmosphere. That treacherous atmosphere of Ylesia's is one of their best defenses."
Bria's features twisted in remembered anguish. "I warned them, but... that wind shear just caught the ship .... "
"Tharen... it wasn't your fault. But we have to think about that. Command is bound to point that out."
She nodded. "I'm working on that, sir. There's got to be a way to deal with the atmosphere. Better pilots, for one thing. Our people are enthusiastic, sir, but face it... most of them haven't had much experience. Our training programs need work .... "
"I agree. We're working on ways to make our sims better, and broaden their experience before we turn them loose."
Bria stood up and leaned across the desk. "Sir... just promise me you'll think about it. I can do it. I even have some ideas about how to fund the raid. At least consider it, okay?"
He gave her a long, level glance. "All right, Tharen. I promise you I'll think about it."
"Thank you, sir."
Interlude 1: The Corporate Sector
Dressed only in his trousers, barefoot, Han Solo wandered out of the bedroom in Jessa's tiny apartment. Her little flat was located on her father's, Dock, outlaw' tech base, a grim, utilitarian place, but both Doc's and Jessa's personal quarters were surprisingly well's furnished and comfy.
Han yawned and scratched his head, rumpling his hair even further, then threw himself down on the elegant couch with a thud, and signaled on the big vid-unit.
The official news from the Corporate Sector Au-thority came on, and Han watched it with a cynical grin. The Authority was getting worse every day. Wouldn't take much to make them as repressive as the Empire ....
At least the Falcon was now in the best shape of her life. Before his capture and removal to Stars' End prison, Doc had upgraded her hyperdrive until she'd now make point-five past lightspeed. I oughta be able to outrun just about anything the Imps could throw at me with that, Han thought smugly. Or the Authority either.
Then, in order to induce Hah to go after her father and rescue him from Stars' End, ]essa had fixed the Fal-con up with an all-new sensor suite and dish, to replace the ones damaged in aright with an Authority lighter.
Later, following Doc's rescue, the grateful ]essa had recently finished the Falcbn's repairs, putting in an all-new guidance system and repairing all of the hull dam-age the YT-1300 had accrued. Han had even considered giving the ship a coat of paint, so she'd look just like new, but, after some consideration, had rejected the idea. The Millennium Falc'sn's beat-up appearance was one of her strongest assets in catching opponents unaware.
Nobody expected a grubby old freighter to have a military-grade hyperdrive that had been customized and upgraded by the galaxy's master tech, a sophisti-cated sensor suite, topnotch jamming capability, and all the other improvements Han had bestowed on the love of his life.
]essa was still asleep in the other room. Hah leaned back and propped his feet up on the table, thinking about Jess. She was certainly the best thing to come his way so far in the Corporate Sector. The two of them had had a lot of fun ....
Just the other day, they'd flown the Falcon to one of the swankiest casinos in a nearby sector, and put on their best bib and tucker for a gambling spree. Jess had gotten her blond curls done in a wild new style, striped bright red, and bought a stunning red gown that was snug in all the right places. Han had been proud to be seen with her, and assured her she was the most beauti-ful woman in the place.
The news-vid changed from Corporate Sector re-ports to a brief report from the Empire. Palpatineg forces had stifled yet another uprising on yet another world. Hang mouth twisted. Same old, same old... He found himself thinking about SaUa, wondering if she'd gotten over being mad yet. He suspected not. It was a good thing she wasn't here to see him with Jessa. SaUa was the jealous type. She was one tough lady, but, then, so was Jessa. Han was profoundly grateful that the two of them were unlikely ever to meet.
Thoughts of SaUa led naturally to wondering how Lando, Jarik, Shug and Mako were doing. Han even thought of Jabba with something approaching nostalgic affection. He bet the Hutt leader was having a hard time replacing him. If he ever decided to go back to Im-perial space, Hah suspected Jabba would welcome him with open arras... repugnant as that thought was.
Han watched another brief news bite from the Em-pire. Seemed that the Empire had now declared that the Rebel forces in the Outer Rim had been completely crushed. Sure, he thought. Right. That must mean that they're quite a thorn in the Imps' side ....