"Foster, Alan Dean - Star Wars - Splinter Of The Mind's Eye" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

"Fine now, Puddra," he assured the subordinate. He made a show of wrinkling his nose. "Except for the smell, of course." He spoke easily to Luke: "You two must be special. Anyone who can stand the odor of a Yuzzem..." He made a face, shook his head in mock astonishment. "To exist in that stink for more than a few minutes requires some special quality." Hin obliged by howling madly at the Captain-Supervisor. "Go ahead and rage," Grammel told Hin pleasantly. "As soon as I can convince the mine director that you two aren't worth the risk of rehabilitation for work, I'll disassemble you personally. After having you thoroughly deodorized, of course." He turned to leave.
As he did so, Hin made a strange sound. It was followed by a forceful phut from the long snout. The huge blob of spit struck Grammel on the back of the neck, just above the high collar. Wiping it away, the Captain-Supervisor growled viciously back over his shoulder.
"You grinning travesty of a man. Soon, very soon, I promise." He gestured sharply to the troops, and they disappeared in a body up the corridor.
Hin left the bars, walked back to check on the Princess. She had fainted and Luke was supporting her with one arm. A grumble and Luke commented knowingly.
"Yes, he's a prince, our jailer, isn't he?"
By way of reply, Hin picked up a piece of gravel from the floor. Rolling it between two long fingers, he pulverized it effortlessly and let the dust trickle back to the ground.
"I hope you can do that to him someday, Hin," Luke agreed, eying the Yuzzem. "Right now, though, I'm afraid our chances of getting out of here, let alone of getting to the Captain-Supervisor, aren't very good."
A moan, and the Princess reached out toward Luke. He caught her hands and she opened her eyes in surprise. An uncertain glance, then she saw the huge-eyed Hin staring at her curiously.
"I'm sorry, Luke." He helped her to her feet. "The thought of going through an Imperial interrogation again... I lost control."
"That's understandable. You won't go through another session. I'll see to that."
She smiled at him. Why discourage such confidence with mere facts?
Luke had moved to the single window, was testing the bars with exploratory pulls. "They're just as solid as they look," he grunted. "No way out here."
"The Yuzzem probably already tried that," she pointed out reasonably.
A small section of stone wall slid aside and she jumped. A reassuring rush to the wall from both Yuzzem caused Luke to relax. Several bowls and dishes of something steaming were slipped into the cell on smooth metal trays before the stone panel slid back into place.
Hin and Kee left no doubt as to the contents of the dishes. They grabbed one apiece and started wolfing down the contents.
"I don't think much of Yuzzem table manners," Luke observed. "I think if we want something to eat, we'd better hurry or they won't leave us a thing."
Exchanging glances, they studied the contents of the two remaining trays. Luke sniffed of the contents of one bowl, shrugged, and tried a spoonful.
"Some kind of stew," he decided. "Not bad for prison fare."
"Remember," Leia said, "Grammel's under instructions to keep us healthy. Until the Imperial Governor's representative arrives."
Luke paused between mouthfuls to venture hopefully, "At least if we do get a chance to escape, we'll be able to do it on a full stomach."
Luke finished his meal, rose and walked over to the bars forming their cell. He stared down the corridor at the distant spot on the stone wall where the cell entry control was emplaced. Leia eyed him quietly.
If only they could cover the recessed photosensitive switch with something, he mused. His gaze traveled around the cell. The trays on which their food had appeared were smooth, unmalleable metal. No way to attach them to one another. The result wouldn't be nearly long enough to reach the far-off switch anyway. And it was, self-evidently, well out of the extended reach of the two Yuzzem.
"We've got to get a hand or something over that switch," he muttered in frustration.
"Or something, Luke boy."
Everyone started at the unexpected voice, especially the excitable Yuzzem. Hin rushed toward the window but Luke, fortunately, got there before him.
"No... it's a friend, Hin." The Yuzzem gibbered and clacked at him, but finally moved away. Luke rushed to the opening himself, grabbed the bars and stood on tiptoe to look out. A wrinkled, smiling face stared brightly back at him.
"Halla!" he almost shouted. "You didn't forget us after all!" He tried to see past her. "What about Threepio and Artoo Detoo?"
"Your 'droids are fine, boy. As for me, I never forget a partner. Besides, I need you two. So don't go emotional on me. It's the crystal I'm after." Her grin faded and she stared hard at him. "Did you tell that maggot Grammel anything about me?"
"No," Luke assured her. There was a cough and he noticed the Princess staring at him. "Well, not exactly," he corrected himself. "He thinks we were trying to sell the crystal fragment to you."
Halla chuckled. "So that's why I wasn't brought in for questioning. Grammel always did see things through the wrong end. He's taken the fragment, I guess?"
"I'm sorry." Luke looked downcast. "We couldn't do anything about it."
"Never mind, boy. We'll have the whole crystal soon. Soon's we get you out."
"How? You've got something to blow the wall?"
"Now, that would be a waste of time, boy. What would you do, run away from here?" She paused, realization striking. "Say, I'll bet you can't see down out of this window, can you?"
"No, only in a straight line," Luke admitted.
"Boy, I'm standing on a ledge about ten centimeters wide, over a forty-meter-deep trench. There's a barrier on the other side that would detect any energy weapons or explosives anyone tried to carry over here. Or did you think I was pressing this close to the wall because I like the way your breath smells?"
"Halla, you're crazy! What if you slip?"
"I'll make a small splash, Luke boy. As for the first, since everyone seems so sure I'm crazy, I don't see any harm in acting like it. Only a crazy old woman would come sliding out on this little bitty ledge here. That means you couldn't negotiate it. No, boy. The only way out of here is back the way you came."
A loud, exuberant grunting sounded behind Luke. Hin came over, put a hand on Luke's shoulder and eyed Halla imploringly. Then he and Luke engaged in a rapid exchange of grunts. Hin walked back into the cell and commenced a low dialogue with Kee while Halla looked on uncertainly.
"What was that all about?" she asked Luke. "I don't understand that monkey talk."
"Hin told me," Luke translated for her, "that if you can get us out of the cell, Kee and he will take care of getting us out of the building."
"You think they can?" Halla wondered, licking her lips.
Luke looked confident. "I wouldn't want to bet against a pair of desperate Yuzzem. There's something else. If we help them escape, they'll help us in the hunt for the crystal."
"A help they'd be," Halla admitted readily. "And I can see why they'd throw in with us. Once they break jail, they've no hope of leniency from Grammel."
"How are you going to get us out of here?"
Halla adjusted her precarious stance above the sheer drop, then said proudly, "I told you I was a master of the Force. Stand aside, young man."
Not knowing what to expect, Luke did as he was told. The Princess folded her arms and looked skeptical and anxious simultaneously.
Halla's eyes closed and she appeared to enter some kind of trance. Luke felt the stirring, knew that she was manipulating the Force in a way he could never manage well. Not necessarily in a superior fashion, just... different. His greatest concern was that in her altered condition she might lose her grip on the temple's exterior. But she remained in place as if frozen there, her brow contorted as she strained.
He heard a gasp, and he spun around to look where the Princess was pointing. One of the metal food trays had risen, drifted lazily in the air of the cell. It began moving toward the bars. Luke looked back at Halla. It was a simple parlor trick, but one he could never have duplicated. Levitation was not a skill he had mastered very well. But it seemed to be the one thing Halla could do. He remembered the spice shaker on the tavern table, and held his breath.
Sweating, her face twisted with the effort, Halla moved the tray. It thumped against the bars. Luke winced, thinking it might be too wide to squeeze through any of the openings. But the tray turned, angled to match the bars, and slipped through with a slight scraping sound. Fluttering, it continued drifting up the corridor.