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

Separatist droid armies waited uselessly outside. It wasn't at all the way
Darth Sidious had planned this operation, and he winced as the thought of what
the Sith lord would say about it the next time Doriana contacted him.
Still, the situation was far from lost. Republic reinforcements were
undoubtedly days away, which gave Doriana time to put things back on track.
And as for the Jedi...
He gazed at Tories' broad back as the other picked his way around yet
another missile crater. Now that he thought about it, Tories' unabashed
heroics tonight might actually work to Doriana's advantage. Certainly the
other had risen to new heights of respect and prestige in the handful of days
since Doriana had landed on Cartao.
Which would make it that much more of a pleasure to bring the Jedi down.


With the tunnel under the Spaarti Creations' south lawn collapsed and
impassible, there was no longer any reason for the Neimoidians controlling the
Separatist forces to occupy the Binalie estate. They had occupied it anyway,
probably out of spite for the way Tories had helped chase them out of the
mansion not too many hours earlier. With his home occupied by battle droids,
it had become necessary for Lord Binalie and his son Corf to find other
accommodations.
The estate's greenhouse had been probably the least likely possibility,
given the near-complete visibility through the building's long transparisteel
panels. Which was precisely why Tories had suggested it. What any searchers
would assume-at least, what Tories hoped they would assume-was that there was
no chance of anyone hiding in such an open place and move on to more likely
prospects.
What any such searchers would have forgotten was the profusion of plants
inside the greenhouse, plants that could be shifted and adjusted and layered
to form hidden areas as sheltered and invisible as a military camp in deep
forest.
Binalie and Corf had nearly finished setting up their new quarters when
Tories and Doriana arrived. "Ah; Master Tories," Binalie said, setting a
package of emergency food rations beside three more against a line of tall
plants with wide overhanging fronds. "Did you find Doriana? Oh-there you are,"
he added as he caught sight of Doriana in the dim starlight. "Any trouble?"
"None," Tories said. "I found him bluffing his way past a droid patrol."
"Really," Binalie said. His voice was casual, but Tories could sense the
sudden suspicion in his sense. "And how exactly do you bluff battle droids?"
"With the judicious use of false credentials," Doriana told him briefly.
"But never mind that. I have something to show you that should be considerably
more interesting. Is there a place where we can have a little more light?"
"I suppose," Binalie said reluctantly. "Master Tories-?"
"Why don't you go ahead and take him downstairs," Tories suggested. "I'll
go take a quick look around outside."
"Thank you," Binalie said, sounding a bit relieved. "This way, Master


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