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

ducked around it, pausing there to listen. A few seconds later he heard the
distinctive clunk as the droids came to life again. With more clattering, they
continued on their patrol, their footsteps fading off into the night breezes.
Smiling again, Doriana detached himself from the wall and headed back toward
the Binalie estate.
"You all right?" a voice asked softly from the shadows. Doriana jumped
violently. "Who's there?" he hissed.
"Relax," Jafer Tories calmed him, stepping into view from a doorway, his
lightsaber ready in his hand. "It's just me."
Doriana took a deep breath. "You nearly stopped my heart there," he said
reproachfully. "In the future, kindly practice your Jedi skulking techniques
on someone else."
"Sorry," Tories said with a faint smile. "But for a moment there I
thought I was going to have to demonstrate more than just skulking. What
happened over there?"
"What do you mean, what happened?" Doriana hedged, wondering uneasily
just how much the Jedi had seen. "It was just a standard security patrol."
"Who looked at your ID and then let you go," Tories said pointedly.
"Since when do the Separatists give free passes to Palpatine's advisors?"
Doriana started breathing a little easier. So, the Jedi had been close
enough to see the confrontation, but not to hear what was said. Good enough.
"No free passes for advisors, no," he told Tories, digging out his false ID
again. "But plenty for neutral observers. Kinman Drifkin, Aargau Medical
Observer Corps, at your service."
"Cute," Tories said. He took the ID, peered at it, and handed it back.
"Holds up to baseline scrutiny, does it?"
"As you saw," Doriana reminded him, putting the datacard away again.
"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine can hardly afford to let his people get picked
up by the enemy in the middle of a war zone. Speaking of which, what are you
doing out here, anyway?"


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"Funny; I was going to ask you the same question," Tories said, his voice
suddenly going a little odd. "Lord Binalie said you'd gone into the city and
asked me to see if you might be in trouble. So what are you doing?"
"Feeling mildly pleased with myself, and ready to get out of here,"
Doriana told him. "Has Lord Binalie found a place to settle in yet?"
"We've got one, yes," Tories said.
"Good," Doriana said. "Take me there, and we'll all sort it out together.
"
For just the briefest moment Tories continued to gaze at him in that
discomfiting way Jedi all over the galaxy seemed to have learned to
perfection. Then, reluctantly, Doriana thought, he nodded. "All right. Follow
me."
He headed off down the deserted streets. Doriana followed, scowling to
himself. It was Tories' fault, after all, that the situation had ended up the
way it had, with Roshton and his clone troopers holding the plant while the