"Pearls In The Sand (Veronica Robinson)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Veronica)

own raspy voice.
"I was thinking the exact same thing, little lady," Dusque heard from
behind her. She whirled around to see the trio lined up on the other side of
the dune where she and Tendau were standing. The two Zabraks had small
holdout blasters drawn. The Mon Calamarian stood slightly behind them with
an almost ashamed look on his face, as though he couldn't believe the
manners of the company he was keeping.
The one who had spoken motioned to Dusque and Tendau with his blasters.
They were in no position to argue, so they climbed down the slope to stand
in front of the armed Zabraks.
"Arid just who might you be?" the second one demanded. "Chasing after
our treasure?" The first Zabrak shot him a look, and Dusque thought he must
have been afraid that his companion had already revealed too much.
Took," Dusque started to explain, raising her slim, white hands in the
air in a gesture of someone trying to fend off an argument, "we're not
trying to steal anything you think is yours. My colleague and I are Imperial
bioengineers under Emperor Palpatine, and we -"
"Bloody scientists!" The first Zabrak spat and raised his blaster.
Dusque realized she might have just sealed their fate, as there were many
who hated the Emperor and his servants, especially this far from the core
worlds.
"Wait," the other Zabrak said. "I'm not prepared to shed blood over
these pearls, and I'm definitely not prepared to have the Empire breathing
down my neck any more than it already is. I've got a better idea,"
"What do you have in mind?" the first asked, and Dusque could hear that
the anger in his voice had been replaced by the emotion felt by many who
believed themselves to be on the wrong side of the Empire; fear,
"Let's let the desert claim them," the second said, "By the time anyone
finds them, they'll be mostly bones. I'm sure, given their line of work. It
wouldn't be the first time one of them met with a fatal accident."
"That's a good point," the Mon Calamarian chimed in. He seemed eager to
avoid bloodshed as well.
The first Zabrak, who had been so eager to blast them, took their
knives and waved them to sit down. "One of those knives is mine," the second
Zabrak said.
As Dusque and Tendau followed the Zabrak's orders, the wind picked up,
and although there was still at least half an hour before the second sun of
Tatooine set, darkness fell quickly,
"Sandstorm corning," the Mon Calamarian shouted to be heard over the
growing howl of the wind. "Just leave them. The sand beetles will take care
of them."
The second Zabrak had yanked Dusque's arms behind her back and was
lashing them together when visibility dropped to nearly nothing. "Good
enough," he shouted to his twin and the trio took off, still maintaining an
easterly direction as best as Dusque could tell.
As soon as they were out of sight, Dusque shouted, "Are you all right?"
The Ithorian managed a rueful smile. "You do manage to get us into the
most interesting predicaments,'' he yelled back,
Dusque rose to her feet and stumbled in the darkness, kicking at the
ground. With the reduced visibility, it took a few moments before she felt