"Timothy Zahn - Hero of Cartao 2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

create the D-90 prototypes, as Palpatine thought? Or were they up to something
else? In the distance, he could hear the hum of repulsorlifts... And suddenly,
four small transports appeared over the hills between him and Spaarti
Creations, a squadron of STAPs flying defensive screening around them,
everything moving with the urgency of pilots who knew there were snipers in
the area. The whole crowd shot past nearly overhead, then angled downward, the
transports abruptly splitting formation and swinging into position on the four
sides of the Binalie mansion a kilometer away. With the kind of precision only
remote-controlled droids could achieve, all four dropped simultaneously to the
ground. And from the hatches poured military-straight lines of battle droids.
"Report."
With a start, Doriana jerked his attention back to his holoprojector. The
hooded image of Darth Sidious hovered over the small projection platform, his
expression unreadable. "Your pardon, Lord Sidious," Doriana apologized
hastily. "My attention was distracted."
To his relief, Sidious merely smiled thinly. "The Neimoidians have
finally made a move?"
"Of a sort, yes," Doriana said, daring to split his attention between his
master's image and the activity going on around the mansion below. The battle
droids had been joined on the lawn now by a handful of the hulking D-60
assault droids and a pair of droidekas. Most of them settled into a defensive
cordon around the mansion, but four of the assault droids were waiting instead
just outside the transport nearest the mansion's front door. As he watched,
two Neimoidians emerged from the hatch into the protective square of the
assault droids and scuttled across the lawn toward the door.
"It looks like they've decided to have a talk with Lord Binalie," he told
Sidious. "Will talking be of any use to them?" Doriana shrugged as the group
vanished inside.
"Binalie certainly can't get the plant up and running any faster," he


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said. "Maybe they want him to act as interpreter with the Cranscoc..." he
seems to understand that skin-coloration language of theirs. "More likely
they're seeking a hostage."
"Possibly," Doriana nodded. "That could be useful, providing Roshton is
willing to play along."
"You will make it your business to see that he does," Sidious said
bluntly. "That goes for that Jedi, Tories, as well. I don't want either of
them making trouble until the Republic task force arrives." Doriana blinked.
"You knew about that?"
Another thin smile. "Did you think you were my only source of
information, Doriana?"
"Of course not, my lord," Doriana said hastily. Still, he couldn't help
but feel a touch of disappointment. He'd rather hoped to deliver that
particular tidbit of news himself.
"But information is useful only when someone is in position to exploit
it," Sidious continued. "And we cannot allow either the Republic or Separatist