"The Courtship Of Princess Leia (Dave Wolverton)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wolverton Dave)

balcony entrance. Within, only a few people stood looking through the glass onto
the procession below. Han recognized some of them: Carlist Rieekan, the
Alderaanian general who had commanded Hoth base; Threkin Horm, president of the
powerful Alderaanian Council, an immensely fat man who rested in a repulsor
chair rather than try to carry his own weight. And Mon Mothma, commander of the
New Republic, stood next to a bearded gray Gotal, who gazed dispassionately
toward the main floor, head tilted, aiming his sensor horns in Leia's direction.

The diplomats were all speaking softly, listening to com-links and watching
Leia, who sat on a dais, regally gazing on a Hapan diplomatic shuttle that had
landed on a pad built within the great open-air hall. Perhaps five hundred
thousand beings had gathered on the main floors, eager to catch a glimpse of the
Hapans. Tens of thousands of security guards had cleared the gold carpet between
the shuttle and Leia, and Han looked up to the balconies. Nearly every star
system in the old Empire had had its own balcony here, and beside each balcony
was the nation's standard. Over six hundred thousand of those standards hung now
on the ancient marble walls, showing the membership of the New Republic. Down on
the floor, silence fell as the shuttle dropped its loading ramps.

Han went to Mon Mothma. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why aren't you down on the
dais with Leia?"

"I was not invited to meet the Hapan ambassadors," Mon Mothma replied. "They
asked only to see Leia. Since even the Old Republic had very limited contact
with Hapan's monarchs over the past three thousand years, I felt it best to
remain aloof until invited."

"That's very considerate," Han said, "but you are the elected leader of the New
Republic?"

"And Queen Mother Ta'a Chume feels threatened by our democratic ways. No, I
think it best that Ta'a Chume's ambassadors speak through Leia, if she makes
them feel more comfortable. Have you counted the number of Battle Dragons in the
Hapan fleet? There are sixty-three?one for each inhabited planet in the Hapes
cluster. Never have the Hapans initiated contact with us on such a grand scale.
I suspect that this is to be the most important contact our peoples have made in
the past three millennia."

Han would not say it, but he felt slighted at not being seated by Leia's side.
The fact that Mon Mothma had been similarly treated added to the offense. They
waited only a moment before the Hapans began to disembark.

First from the shuttle came a woman with long dark hair and onyx eyes that
glittered in the lights. She wore a light dress of peach-colored shimmering
material that left her long legs exposed. Microphones on the floor fed into the
balcony, and Han could hear a sigh pass through the crowd as the beautiful woman
made her way up the promenade.

She approached Leia and dropped gracefully to one knee, keeping her eyes on
Leia. In a strong voice she spoke in Hapan, "Ellene sellibeth e Ta'a Chume.