"Michael Stackpole "I, Jedi"" - читать интересную книгу автора

I smiled, then winked at Iella. УWe would. And my friend will order for us. That's what friends do for friends.Ф
Wth Ooryl in the co-pilot's seat beside me, I flicked on the Lambda-class shuttle's descent warning indicators, then angled the ship into the atmosphere of Yavin 4's jungle moon. We were coming in on the night side of the moon-its rotation had it facing away from the star at the center of the system-but it faced the day side of the gas giant around which it orbited. This meant we had a fair amount of reflected orange light by which to make our approach.
I looked over at the Gand and smiled. УI appreciate your letting me drive this thing down.Ф
Ooryl's mouth parts opened. УI understand you will not be flying while you are here.Ф
УYeah, Whistler is not happy about being left behind on Co-ruscant, but Master Skywalker wants to minimize the distrac-tions here. It makes sense, and I'll be far too busy to be taking flights. And Whistler should have plenty to do reviewing all reports on the Invids and pulling a criminal activities analysis for me.Ф
УOoryl will see to it that Whistler is taken care of.Ф
УThanks.Ф The controls bucked a bit beneath my hands as we hit some turbulence coming down through the atmosphere. The jungle moon had fairly humid air which, if the documents I'd read were accurate, remained fairly stable except in the transition from day to night and vice versa, when cooling and warming took effect. I maintained control as we dropped down through a thin canopy of clouds.
Luke Skywalker appeared between us and pointed dead ahead. УThere it is. Bring us down on this side.Ф
УAs ordered.Ф I glanced over at him. УYou want to strap in, sir'?Ф
УAs smooth a ride as you're giving us?Ф He patted my shoul-der. УI will if it will make you feel better.Ф
УNo reason to have more variables in play than I really need.Ф I cut the throttle back and began to boost the power on the repulsorlift coils. УStand by to retract wings on my mark, and lower landing gear.Ф
Ooryl leaned forward, his fingers poised to flip the appropri-ate switches. УAs ordered.Ф
I watched the altimeter slowly scroll down and pulled the shuttle's nose up in a slightly better glide path. The jungle's thick foliage looked like mottled carpeting, with the occasional giant tree spiking upward. Further on the Great Temple, a squared off, pyramidal stone structure, loomed like an alien creature amid the greenery. I'd seen images of that structure for years-first in Imperial newsholos and later in every history of the victorious Rebellion ever made. It had looked impressive in the holograms, but never real and certainly not this majestic.
УMark.Ф As Ooryl snapped the wing switches in the up posi-tion, I throttled back to ten percent of power and boosted the engine feed to the repulsorlift coils. The shuttle flew on easily and just missed clipping some trees as we came down in the clearing on the east side of the Temple. There, at the base, I saw a long, low opening of sufficient height that I could have tucked the shuttle on inside, but a landing zone had been laid out well clear of that area.
And back away from it had gathered the two dozen New Republic engineers that had been present preparing the Great Temple for its new role as the home of the Jedi academy. Ooryl would take them home, leaving Master Skywalker, two other recruits and me behind. Nine more recruits would be following us, making the first class at the academy an even dozen. I set the shuttle down without so much as a bump and shot Ooryl a wink. УHaven't lost my touch, but I'm going to miss flying.Ф
УI am Findsman. I will help you find your skill again, Keiran.Ф Ooryl turned his chair and bowed his head toward Luke. УProvided Master Skywalker would not object to Qrygg's doing so.Ф
The Jedi Master gave Ooryl a broad smile. УYou are wel-come to hone his old skills as I hone his new ones.Ф УOoryl is honored.Ф
УGood, don't want to lose my flight certification.Ф I flipped a switch and lowered the boarding ramp. Warm, moist air imme-diately jetted up into the shuttle. I hit my restraining strap re-lease and stood. УThanks, Ooryl. I'll see you next time you come through.Ф
УOoryl will be proud to have a Jedi Knight as a friend.Ф
УAnd wingman.Ф
УAnd wingman.Ф
The Gand settled into the pilot's seat as I followed Luke back into the passenger compartment. Luke Skywalker was slightly taller than I was, but we had similar builds. The other two passengers towered over each of us. Brakiss stood a good fifteen centimeters taller than me, and Kam Solusar another ten centimeters above that. Brakiss had the slender build and sharp features of an aristocrat. If it weren't for the haunted look in his blue eyes, and the way they sunk back a bit in his skull, I would have taken him for some planetary noble out for a lark in taking on the training.
Karo Solusar was really Brakiss' antithesis, despite sharing his blond coloration. Kam's hair had been cut short and a bit raggedly. The strong blocky nature of his features was en-hanced by the stubble on his cheeks and chin. His powerfully athletic build marked him as the physically strongest of us, and the seams on his face and leathery quality of flesh on his hands clued me in to both his age and the hardships he'd lived through.
The fact that he already wore a lightsaber also meant there was more to him than was easily apparent. I'd brought my grandfather's lightsaber with me, but I'd packed it in the small satchel loaded in the cargo bay. I didn't feel inclined to wear it yet, despite Master Skywalker's insistence that I had every right to do so. Until I had more training it was little more than a tool and I felt it deserved to be more.
We grabbed our bags from the pile of supplies the engineers had unloaded, then Luke led us away to the area where the engineers had awaited our arrival. I waved to Ooryl as the boarding ramp retracted and the shuttle took off again. Ooryl piloted the shuttle out in a grand circle around the Great Tem-ple, then shot off around to the moon's day side, vanishing from sight as if swallowed by the forests.
Luke let his black cloak slip back from his shoulders as he opened his arms. УWelcome to Yavin 4. This will be your new home. I wanted the three of you to be the first students here because all three of you have a greater understanding of what we will be doing here. Your foundation means you will progress more quickly, therefore I may ask you to perform extra duties, like helping other students.Ф
He nodded toward Kam. УKam's father, Ranik Solusar, was a great Jedi Master. Kam studied under him, became a Jedi Knight, then was co-opted by the Empire. He became one of the Emperor's dark-side warriors, but has rejected the dark side.Ф
Muscles bunched at the corners of Kam's jaws. УMaster Skywalker was able to touch the foundation my father had laid down in me. I now serve him.Ф
Luke pointed a hand toward the other man. УBrakiss here was discovered by the Empire to be Force-sensitive. They trained him to use his abilities, using him largely as a spy. They held the threat of destroying his family over his head to make him comply with their wishes. He is here to learn how to use his abilities for the benefit of other living creatures.Ф
Brakiss gave us a weak smile but offered no comment. Luke shifted his attention to me. УKeiran Halcyon's grandfa-ther was a Jedi who died in the Clone Wars. Keiran's family has a strong Jedi tradition and he is here to reclaim it. As you have seen, he is also a skilled pilot and has had training that I think will be useful as we go along.Ф
Kam offered me his hand, so I shook it, and Brakiss and I exchanged nods.
Master Skywalker started walking toward the Grand Temple. УThere are five levels to the structure here-six if you want to count the observation level at the top. The lowest level, the one beneath the ground floor, was something the Rebellion put in for storage and servicing of our fighters. The main floor houses the flight operations area, as well as some living quarters. The two levels above that were used by the Rebellion as the base command center and the combat operations center. These levels are most of what we will use, but they only have some basic computer, training and library facilities. Their value comes to us from student housing and what will serve us for a meal hall. The highest level here is the Grand Chamber, which I had left alone.Ф
He smiled carefully. УI thought I would allow you to choose your own quarters and get some rest. We can continue orienta-tion tomorrow.Ф
I raised a hand. УI have a few questions, if you don't mind.Ф
УCertainly.Ф
УAre we going to be using Coordinated Galactic Time here or are we going to just work with Yavin's normal day? The moon's rotation is slightly faster than that of Coruscant, so keeping on the galactic scale will put us out of sync with the planet.Ф
The Jedi Master hesitated for a moment, his blue eyes re-flecting the sky's orange highlights. УWith your training, time will very much become subjective. I will teach you Jedi refresh-ing techniques, so your need for sleep will change. Worrying about time might create pressure on the students. I don't want that.Ф
I frowned. УBut if we don't have a coordinated sense of time here, how will we know when our watches begin or end?Ф
Luke regarded me quizzically. УWhy would we need to stand watch?Ф
I wanted to answer that if someone like Thrawn wanted to show up with an Imperial fleet to raze the planet, warning would be a good thing. Of course, all the warning in the world about a fleet coming to attack would be useless since we didn't have any ships here to let us evacuate. There was, then, abso-lutely no practical reason to have folks stand watch, so I fell back on the reasons given for such things at the CorSec Acad-emy.
УStanding watch provides us with a sense of responsibility and fosters trust between the students, since we are looking out for each other.Ф
Luke nodded. УThis is good, but here I want you to come to trust the Force. You will find, as your understanding and skill grow, that the Force will provide us all the warning we need if there is a threat. We will know it and have ample time to react to it.Ф
Which seems to describe how the Invids avoid all the traps we set for them. A chill breeze seemed to cut at my spine. Is it /~ossible for someone sufficiently versed in the Force to hide his /,'csence jS'om detection ?
УI stand corrected, Master.Ф I bowed my head toward him.
УThen will we just get up at dawn to begin physical training?Ф
He opened his hands. УYou may do whatever you feel neces-sary to make yourself feel at ease and receptive to the Force.Ф УSo there will be no organized physical training?Ф
Kam laughed gruffly. УYou sound disappointed, Keiran.Ф
УNot really, just confused.Ф
Luke smiled. УYou will find your training demanding enough, I think, and quite exhausting.Ф
I pointed toward Kam's lightsaber. УWe will, at least, have combat training, correct?Ф