"Timothy Zahn - Hero of Cartao 3" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

"Turn and identify," the voice ordered.
Doriana obeyed, turning carefully on the uncertain footing. It was a
complete patrol, all right: six of the old-style battle droids, one of them
standing slightly in the lead. In the dim light, Doriana couldn't tell whether
there was anyone of command rank among them. "Identify," the droid in the lead
repeated.
"My name is Kinman Drifkin," he told them. "I'm a member of the Aargau
Medical Observer Corps. We're a neutral power sworn to observe and report on
any atrocities taking place during this conflict."
The droid seemed to digest that. "Come forward," he ordered. "Do you have
official identification?"
"Of course," Doriana said, slipping his hand into his ID pocket as he
walked toward the group. The droids lifted their blasters warningly as he



file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Timothy%20Zahn%20-%20Hero%20of%20Cartao%203.txt (1 of 15) [12/30/2004 9:00:09 PM]
 file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Timothy%20Zahn%20-%20Hero%20of%20Cartao%203.txt

withdrew his hand, relaxed slightly as they saw he held only a datacard.
"Which of you has a reader?" he asked.
"I will take it," the spokesman said, shifting his grip on his blaster
and extending a claw-like hand.
Doriana stepped to him and handed him the datacard. So this one was
definitely the leader; and at this distance, he could see now the pale yellow
markings of a command officer on its head and torso. Excellent. "I believe
you'll find my credentials are in order," he added, glancing casually around.
There was no one else in sight, human or droid.
"We will see," the officer droid said, taking the datacard and sliding it
into a reader slot set into the lower part of its jaw line. "It says here that
your assigned observation area is...'
"Barauch seven-nine-seven," Doriana said in a low voice. "Filliae gron
one-one-three."
The officer broke off in midsentence. Doriana eased a few centimeters to
his right, watching to see if the droids and their weapons would track his
movement.
They didn't. To all appearances, the entire squad was frozen and
oblivious. "I'll be crocked," Doriana murmured to himself, feeling muscles
relax that he hadn't noticed were tense. So, the magic backdoor lockout code
that Sidious had given to him actually worked.
And if the lockout code worked... "Pinkrun four-seven-two aprion one-
eight-one-one," he said, reaching out to the spokesman's jaw and retrieving
his false ID. "Backskip three minutes; pause one minute; restart. Execute."
The patrol gave a group shiver. "Accessed," the spokesman said, his
mechanical voice sounding somehow even flatter than it had before.
Smiling tightly, Doriana sidled past them, heading back the direction
they'd come from as quickly as he could manage without twisting his ankle on
the loose stone. He had just one minute to disappear before the droids came
out of their freeze and restarted their patrol, with this little incident
conveniently erased from their group memory. He reached the nearest corner and