Tales from the New Republic Read Online Free Page B

he knew, had daughters who had thrown themselves so willingly and so self-sacrificingly into their father’s line of work as had his Ysanne. Already an outstanding Intelligence agent, she had time and again demonstrated a vigor and ruthlessness in her pursuit of the Empire’s enemies that had put even some Moffs to shame.
    An attitude, fortunately, which was solidly backed up by competence and cleverness and efficiency. Nothing, in Armand’s mind, was more contemptible than a shining-eyed Intelligence agent whom smugglers and Rebels alike could fly casual rings around.
    The smug smile faded. Clever and efficient, to be sure. But she was going to need every bit of her skill if she was to pull this one out of the fire.
    The door slid open. “You summoned me?” Ysanne said gravely from the doorway.
    “Sit down,” Armand said in the same tone, feeling another flicker of pride as he gestured her toward a chair. No mention of her being his daughter, with the underlying suggestion or invitation of preferential treatment such an acknowledgment might have implied. In this room, in this building, she was an agent and he was her director, and that was the totality of their relationship. “I have an important job for you.”
    “How important?” she asked as she lowered herself with sinuous grace into the chair.
    “It could be a career-maker for you,” he said. “It also could be a career-breaker for a large number of others.”
    Her eyes flickered, just noticeably. She had the Isard family ambition, too, the same ambition that had taken Armand himself to the top. “Tell me more.”
    Armand selected a datacard from a stack on his desk. “An eight-card datapack has been taken to Darkknell,” he said, sliding the datacard across the desk toward her. “This datapack must at all costs be retrieved.”
    “Point of origin?”
    “The Despayre system,” Armand said, watching her face closely.
    Once again, the brief flicker of her eyes showed that his long-held suspicion was correct. Despite the most stringent of security procedures, Ysanne had somehow managed to learn about the Death Star project, even to the point of knowing where the massive weapon was being constructed. “So you understand the seriousness of the situation,” he went on. “Under the circumstances, I can hardly declare an Empirewide state of emergency and seal the Darkknell system with a ring of Star Destroyers.”
    “Certainly not for a project that doesn’t officially even exist,” Ysanne agreed, almost off-handedly. “I presume that also means you’re not sending a full Intelligence force with me.” Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Or is there more to it than that? Is this theft somehow personal?”
    Armand grimaced. “Personal enough,” he conceded. “The suspected thief was given his security clearance by a close associate of mine, a man high up in our department, who will be in serious trouble if we can’t retrieve the datapack before the Rebel Alliance gets hold of it. Or before someone else in Intelligence does.”
    Ysanne picked up the datacard. “Is the traitor’s file in here?”
    “The suspected traitor, yes,” Armand said. “Along with several possibilities of who the Rebels might send to pick it up.”
    Ysanne nodded. “So you want me to retrieve the datapack, confirm the traitor’s identity, and capture the Rebel agent. Is that it?”
    Armand suppressed a smile. The famous Isard family confidence… “Or as much of that as you can manage in the time you’ll have,” he said. “I’ve ordered an interdiction of Darkknell’s spaceports, but I doubt the local authorities will be able to keep them sealed for very long. Just remember that retrieving the datapack is the most important part of the job.”
    “Then I’d best get started,” she said, sliding the datacard into a tunic pocket. “I presume it’s all right for me to take one of my enforcers along.”
    “If you have to,” Armand said. “Make sure it’s someone