"Truce At Bakura (Kathy Tyers)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tyers Kathy)

If Wedge jumped, Luke would have a second at most to slice one crystal
free, and only a little longer before Wedge fainted. Wedge was tethered and
he'd be able to keep breathing, but he could lose a lot of blood. The glimpse
blurred at the edges.
Luke tweaked Wedge's pain perception.
Too much to juggle. Luke's own aches began to ooze up from under control.
"Got it," he grunted.
"Got what?" Wedge asked dreamily.
"The view," Luke said. "Jump on the count of three. Jump hard. One."
Wedge didn't object. Clenching his teeth, Luke eased into a closer accord with
the saber. So long as he focused on the saber, he could maintain control.
"Two." Keeping up a steady count, he felt the saber, the crystals, and the
critical gap, all as parts of the universe's wholeness.
"Three." Nothing happened. "Jump, Wedgeffwas Luke cried.
Weakly, Wedge launched himself. Luke swept in. One crystal soared free,
reflecting a whirling green kaleidoscope onto the X-wing's upper S-foil.
"Ooh," crooned Wedge's voice in his ear. "Pretty." He spun, clutching his
right hand.
"Wedge, reel in!"
No response. Luke bit his lip. He stabilized the tumbling saber and
deactivated its blade. Wedge's tether stretched taut, high above the other X-
wing. His limbs wobbled randomly.
Luke slapped his distress beacon, "Rogue Leader to Home One. Explosives
disarmed. Request medical pickup. Nowffwas
From behind the A-wings, hanging back out of the danger zone, a med
runner swooped into sight.

Wedge's body rose and sank with each breath as he floated upright in the
Fleet's clear tank of healing bacta fluid. Much to Luke's relief, they'd saved
all his fingers. Surgical droid Too-Onebee set the control board and then
swiveled to face Luke. Slender, jointed limbs waved in front of his gleaming
midsection. "Now you, sir. Please step behind the scanner."
"I'm all right." Luke leaned his stool against the bulkhead. "Just tired.
" Artoo-Detoo bleeped softly beside him, sounding concerned.
"Please, sir. This will only take a moment."
Luke sighed and shuffled around a man-high rectangular panel. "Okay?" he
called out through it. "May I go now?"
"One moment more," came the mechanical voice, then clicking sounds. "One
moment," the droid repeated. "Have you experienced double vision recently?"
"Well..." Luke scratched his head. "Yes. But just for a minute." Surely
that little spell wasn't significant.
As the diagnostic panel retracted into the bulkhead, a medical flotation
bed extended itself from the wall beside Too-Onebee. Luke backstepped. "What's
that for?"
"You're not well, sir."
"I'm just tired."
"Sir, my diagnosis is sudden and massive calcification of your skeletal
structure, of the rare type brought on by severely conductive exposure to
electrical and other energy fields."
Energy fields. Yesterday. Emperor Palpatine, leering as blue-white sparks