Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil
- Автор: Зан Тимоти
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Random House
- ISBN: 9781473596580
- Жанр: Боевая фантастика
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Unfortunately for them, that evasive maneuver also moved them away from the freighters and put them squarely on the Grayshrike’s targeting vector. “Ghaloksu—spheres at the bogeys,” Ziinda snapped. “Three, two, one.”
The plasma spheres shot out toward the patrol ships, aiming for Ghaloksu’s best guess as to where the bogeys would be when the spheres arrived. Ziinda’s eyes darted back and forth between the viewport and the tactical, watching the spheres’ progress, wondering if the patrol ships would spot the incoming attack in time to evade. The distance was closing … almost there …
Ziinda jerked in her seat as a second blast of laserfire erupted from the Clarr cruiser and blazed into the patrol ships. Once again the targets tried to get clear.
But this time they were unsuccessful. Even as the Grayshrike’s plasma spheres swept toward them, both patrol ships disintegrated in violent explosions.
Ziinda swallowed a curse. So much for taking prisoners.
But maybe the ones Ghaloksu had disabled could still be chased down. “Wikivv—” she began, turning to look out the viewport in that direction.
The command died in her throat as those ships, too, burst into writhing flame and disintegrated.
For a moment the Grayshrike’s bridge was silent. “Looks like we won’t be taking prisoners,” Apros commented quietly. “Awfully convenient for someone.”
“It does look that way, doesn’t it?” Ziinda said, looking back at the vid display. Earlier, Vimsk had said the attackers were taking the freighters apart. Now, as the Grayshrike continued toward them, she saw that they were in worse shape than she’d realized. The freighters’ thrusters were silent, their power levels were barely registering, and two of the four seemed to be leaking air at a slow but steady rate. The Grayshrike had arrived just in time.
Especially since their escort cruiser had gone dormant again, its final bit of power apparently having been expended on those last two laser attacks.
“Senior Captain?” Vimsk spoke up. “The other battle appears to be over.”
Ziinda looked at the tactical. With her full attention on the freighters and cruiser, she’d nearly forgotten about the two Clarr patrol boats rounding the planet that had been set upon by three more unidentified attackers. Now the two Clarr were alone, with dust and flickering fire where their assailants had been. “Destroyed, or self-destructed?” she asked.
“Looks like a little of both,” Vimsk said, and Ziinda could see a high-speed repeat of the battle playing on one of her sensor displays. “The Clarr got in some good shots, but then the bogeys just blew up.”
“Interesting timing,” Apros added, watching the same repeat on one of the weapons monitor displays. “They destructed right after the freighter pair were destroyed, and just before our two bogeys did likewise.”
“So; nothing intact left to be captured,” Ziinda said. “As you said: convenient. Let’s hope the analysts on Csilla can get something from the debris.”
“Signal from the cruiser, Senior Captain,” Shrent spoke up, keying his board.
“Grayshrike, this is Captain Roscu of the Clarr family warship Orisson,” a voice came from the bridge speaker. “Thank you for your timely arrival.”
“Glad we could help,” Ziinda said. “What happened here?”
“Just what it looks like,” Roscu said, and Ziinda could hear a hint of frustration and embarrassment drift into her voice. “We were caught off guard, pure and simple. They moved on us before we realized they weren’t Jamiron security, hit us before we could get our barrier up, then did a very professional job of overloading and crashing our main reactor.”
“Good thing we came along when we did,” Ziinda said. “What’s your current status?”
“Reactor’s nearly back online,” Roscu said. “We were just lucky that my crew was able to pull enough power from backups and nonessentials in time to get in those final laser shots.”
“Yes, we saw,” Ziinda said. “Might have been nice if you’d left a few prisoners alive so we could figure out what this was all about.”
“Weren’t a lot of options for fine-tuning,” Roscu said, a bit tartly. “What are you doing, Grayshrike?”
Ziinda frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You’re moving on our freighters. I need you to back off.”
“Excuse me, Captain, but the freighters are in bad shape,” Ziinda said. “Maybe your sensors were damaged too much to—”
“My sensors are working perfectly, Grayshrike,” Roscu interrupted. “As I said, we appreciate your assistance with the battle. But we’ll take it from here.”
“With all due respect, Captain Roscu, it looks like you have enough on your platter just getting your own ship back up to speed,” Ziinda said. “We’re more than happy to help out the freighters.”
“Maybe I need to make it clearer, Grayshrike,” Roscu said bluntly. “You’re not needed. More than that, you’re not wanted. Whatever your reason for coming to Jamiron, I suggest you get on with it and leave Clarr matters to the Clarr family.”
Ziinda looked over at Apros, saw her same surprise and disbelief in his own expression. She’d seen family stubbornness before, but Roscu was pushing it way beyond the limit.
But there was nothing to be gained by going head-to-head with her. Time to try a different approach. “I understand,” she said in a conciliatory tone. “But we really don’t have a choice. By statute, we’re not only permitted but required to aid a vessel in distress.”
“Kindly do not insult my intelligence,” Roscu growled. “Or my knowledge. That statute applies only to the Defense Force. The Expansionary Defense Fleet has an entirely different set of protocols and governing directives. I know that because I was once an officer there. I’ll say it one more time: This is Clarr family business, and the Clarr family will handle it.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Ziinda demanded, her already strained patience finally snapping. “Are you going to risk the lives of the freighters’ crews out of pride?”
“Pride?” Roscu shot back. “Is that what you think it is? Pride? Don’t be ridiculous. Those freighters are carrying highly secret, highly proprietary tech, and we have no intention of letting officers or warriors from other families get their hands on it.”
“Do you seriously think we’re interested in industrial espionage?” Ziinda countered. This whole thing was sliding straight off the edge. “Fine. I give you my word that no one will—”
“Your word?” Roscu echoed. “Don’t make me laugh. The word of an Irizi?”
Ziinda stared at the bridge speaker, a sense of unreality flooding through her. The Chiss military was supposed to be immune from family pressures and rivalries; and now a former Expansionary Defense Fleet officer was throwing those tangled webs straight into her face? “My family has nothing to do with this,” she said, forcing calmness into her voice. “I’m an officer of the Expansionary Defense Fleet—”
“Really?” Roscu said scornfully. “We’re attacked by Xodlak patrol ships, and you want me to believe their Irizi allies have nothing to do with it?”
“The attackers were Xodlak?”
“Xodlak and Erighal,” Roscu said. “Don’t try to deny it—we got a very clear look at them.”