"MOESTA, KEVIN J. ANDERSON REBECCA - SHADOW ACADEMY" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moesta Rebecca)

"They're packing up our next shipment. Let's take a look," Lando said.

The companions peered into the small opening of the cargo pod, where a
nimble-fingered copper droid had packed four Cor-usca gems, each no
larger than Jacen's thumbnail. Lando reached in and plucked out one of
the gems.

The droid flailed its multiple hands in the air.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" it said. "Please do not touch the gems. Excuse
me!"

"It's all right," Lando said. "It's me, Lando Calrissian."

The copper droid's flailing ceased abruptly. "Oh!

Apologies, sir," it said.

Lando shook his head. "I've got to get those optical sensors replaced."

He held the Corusca gem between thumb and forefinger; it glinted like
liquid fire in his grasp. it did more than just reflect light from the
glowpanels on the ceiling-the Corusca gem seemed to contain its own
miniature furnace, its trapped light bouncing around inside the
crystalline facets for ages until by sheer probability some of the
photons found their way out.

"Corusca gems have been found in no other place in the galaxy," Lando
said, "only the core of Yavin. Of course, prospectors keep searching
other gas-giant planets, but for now my mining station is where all
Corusca gems come from. A

long time ago the Empire had a sanctioned station here. It went bankrupt
pretty quickly without imperial price supports, though. Corusca mining
is a hazardous job, you know, with a high investment right from the
start-but it's really paying off for me."

He let Jacen, Jaina, and Lowie hold the gem and marvel at its beauty.
"Corusca gems are the hardest substance known," he said. "They can slice
through transparisteel like a laser goes through Sullustan jam."

The nervous packing droid plucked the gem from Lowbacca's hairy hand and
replaced it in the cargo pod, packing extra sealant around the stones
before it closed the access port. The droid engaged a sequence of
controls on the back of the cargo pod, and the bristling spines of
selftargeting lasers raised themselves up to their armed position.

"Cargo pod ready for launch," the copper droid said. "Please leave the
launching bay."