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

Doriana."
By the time Tories returned from his sweep of the surrounding area,
Binalie, Corf, and Doriana had taken up seats in the greenhouse's underground
storeroom. "All clear," the Jedi confirmed, lowering the trap door back into
place and plunging the space into complete darkness. "Go ahead, Corf."
A moment later he found himself squinting as the boy flicked on a small
ceiling light. "All right, Master Doriana," Binalie said. "Let's hear it."
"This is a soldier's ID," Doriana said, producing a datacard. "I took it
from a dead clone trooper lieutenant. Normally, it contains nothing but name,
rank, and operating number. A field officer's card, however, also has
something called a contingency deployment profile. It gives detailed
instructions as to where and how to regroup in case of command structure
disruption or the kind of disaster we've just experienced."
"I've never heard of anything like that," Binalie said.
"It's not well advertised, for obvious reasons," Doriana said dryly. "For
the same reasons, the information's also not easy to access."
"But you can do that?"
"Yes," Doriana said. "By morning, when the townspeople are allowed to
move around outdoors again, you and Master Tories should be able to casually
travel to the rendezvous point and make contact with the survivors of last
night's battle."
"Just the two of us?" Tories asked. "You're not coming?"
Doriana shook his head. "Now that the Separatists are in control here, I
need to keep as low a profile as possible. My face might have been seen in the
background on one of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's broadcasts, and I can't
take the risk that someone will recognize me. I can give you an authorization
datacard, though, that will confirm you have the authority to give them
orders."
"Wait a second," Binalie said, frowning. "What orders?"
"We have to get Roshton and his people out of there, Lord Binalie,"
Doriana said, his voice suddenly low and sincere and very persuasive. 'The
longer they're trapped inside Spaarti, the weaker and more vulnerable to
attack they'll become. Don't forget, all those techs he took in with him
probably weren't carrying soldiers' field packs, which means the whole group
is starting out critically low on food and water. If we let them get too weak,
our chances of getting them out alive will slip from poor to nonexistent."
"And you don't think the Republic will send help?" Corf asked quietly.
Tories focused on the youth. It was remarkable, he thought distantly, how
rapidly Corf had grown up over the past few days. He'd started out as a
cheerful, carefree boy, content to track down siviviv weeds or just hang out
with Cartao's resident Jedi Guardian.
And then Doriana had arrived, and the events that had followed had turned
Corf's home and his neighborhood into a war zone. Now, he was quieter, more
thoughtful, more brooding.
The war had come to Cartao. Sadly, it had also come to Corf Binalie.
"I don't know, Master Binalie," Doriana admitted, his voice as grave as
the boy's. "I've spoken with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and I know he truly
wants to help. The question is whether there are any Republic forces strong
enough and close enough to deal with this particular Separatist army. I'm sure