"Survivors Quest (Timothy Zahn)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

Star Wars

Survivor's Quest

by Timothy Zahn


For Vader's Fist: The Fighting 501st


CHAPTER 1

The Imperial Star Destroyer moved silently through the blackness of
space, its lights dimmed, its huge sublight engines blazing with the urgency
of its mission.
The man standing on the command walkway could feel the rumble of those
engines through his boots as he listened to the muttered conversation from the
crew pits below him. The conversation sounded worried, too, as worried as he
himself felt.
Though for entirely different reasons. For him, this was a personal
matter, the frustration of a professional dealing with fallible beings and the
capriciousness of a universe that refused to always live up to one's
preconceived notions as to what was fitting and proper. An error had been
made, possibly a very serious error. And as with all errors, there would
likely be unpleasant consequences riding in its wake.
From the starboard crew pit came a muffled curse, and he stifled a
grimace. None of that mattered to the Star Destroyer's crew. Their worries
stemmed solely from their performance, and whether they would be facing a pat
on the back or a boot in the rear at journey's end.
Or possibly they were merely worried about the sublight engines blowing
up. On this ship, one never knew.
He shifted his attention downward, his gaze leaving the grandeur of the
starscape and coming to rest on the bow of the Star Destroyer stretching out
more than a kilometer in front of him. He could remember the days when the
mere sight of one of these ships would send shivers up the spines of the
bravest of fighters and the most arrogant of smugglers.
But those days were gone, hopefully forever. The Empire had been
rehabilitated, though of course many within the New Republic still refused to
believe that. Under Supreme Commander Pellaeon's firm guidance, the Empire had
signed a treaty with the New Republic, and was no longer any more threatening
than the Bothans or the Corporate Sector or anyone else.
Almost unwillingly, he smiled as he gazed along the Star Destroyer's long
prow. Of course, even in the old days of the Empire, this particular ship
would probably have inspired more bewilderment than fear.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very
seriously.
From behind him, audible even over the rumble of the engines, came the
sound of clumping boots. "Okay, Karrde," Booster Terrik grunted as he came to
a halt at his side. "The comm's finally fixed. You can transmit whenever you
want."