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

Qwi Xux fell into step with Wedge. УWedge, could you tell me, please, when we will meet this friend of yours that you were anxious to see again?Ф
Wedge looked about to see we were out of earshot of the others, then his smile broadened warmly. УYou have, Doctor Xux. Qwi Xux, meet Corran Horn.Ф
The alien woman frowned. УBut Master Skywalker called him Keiran.Ф
Wedge nodded. УHe is here under an alias for a variety of reasons. Corran, this is Qwi Xux.Ф
I turned in mid-stride and bowed my head to her. The friendly tone in Wedge's voice when he introduced her made me wonder if I shouldn't offer her my hand, but I felt reluctant to do so. As brilliant as she was beautiful, she had been a key researcher in the Maw installation-the Imperial think-tank that had created the Death Stars, the World Devastators that had ravaged Mort Calamari and the starfighter-sized, invincible Sun Crusher that Kyp Durron had just sunk into the depths of Yavin for safe-keeping. What little gossip we got out here sug-gested that she had been an unwilling dupe of the Imperials, someone only interested in pure research. That might well have been true, but I had to wonder how someone so bright could fail to notice all the projects she worked on had hideous names and could be so incredibly lethal.
УWelcome to Yavin 4.Ф I pointed toward the sky. УThe first Death Star died up there before it could destroy this place.Ф
A hint of pain passed through Wedge's eyes as I spoke, but Qwi just turned to look up toward where I had pointed. УMost of the debris would have fallen into the gas giant, I would sus-pect, but some must have impacted here.Ф She looked at me with open cerulean eyes. УHave you found such debris?Ф I shook my head. УHaven't been looking. There was an Im-perial survey team or two here after the Rebellion abandoned the planet, so I would assume they collected what they could for analysis.Ф УPity.Ф
УRight.Ф I led the two of them into the Great Temple and took the turbolift to the second level. УHere we have refresher stations and rooms for you, if you wish to catch up on sleep. I can also get you food.Ф
The doctor smiled. УI would like a quick nap, if that is ac-ceptable.Ф
Wedge nodded. УI'11 check in with you in an hour, how's that?Ф
She nodded. УGood. Nice to meet you, Cor... er, Keiran.Ф
УSleep well, Doctor Xux.Ф I pointed her to the room I'd prepared for her earlier, then steered Wedge toward the room I'd prepped for him.
Inside Wedge appropriated a chair and sat, tilting it back so it rested against the wall and his feet dangled above the floor. УYou don't like her, do you?Ф
I caught just a hint of pique in Wedge's voice. УDon't know her well enough to form an opinion, but her playthings have made quite an impression. Maybe because you helped destroy two of them you have a different perspective on her, but I'd not consider myself a big fan of her work.Ф
УShe really didn't know what she was getting into, what they were doing with her research.Ф
УAre you sure? The code names should have told her what was going on. She should have at least asked herself what would happen if, by mistake, these things were used on inhab-ited planets. We have life-sign sensors. How tough would it have been to put a life-sensor interlock on the Death Star so it couldn't kill Alderaan?Ф I found anger creeping into my voice and raised both of my hands. УI shouldn't have said that, sorry.Ф
Wedge glanced down at his hands. УDon't be. Nothing I
haven't asked myself a million times since I started acting as
her bodyguard. When she's around, when I speak with her,
she's just so bright and innocent-the antithesis of the Death
Star and the World Devastators and the Sun Crusher. I think she thought the Sun Crusher would be used to eliminate beta stars from binary systems to provide system stability or to clear uninhabited systems from navigational routes.Ф
My eyes narrowed. УOh, no. You like her.Ф
Wcdge's head came up. УWhat?Ф
I whirled the room's other chair around and dropped into it, letting my chest press against its back. УYou're supposed to be her bodyguard and you're falling for her.Ф
УYou'd like her if you'd spend more time around her.Ф
;'Don't do it, Wedge, don't do it.Ф
He glanced over at me, letting a sloppy grin tug at one corner of his mouth. УWhy not? Wouldn't this be a final reconciliation of the Rebels and Imperials?Ф
~'Wedge, I'm speaking from experience.Ф I sagged forward against the chair-back. УWhen I was with CorSec I had several assignments where I was to see to the personal safety of some-one important. In fact, I once had to deal with your sister on a visit to Coreilia. Didn't know she was your sister at the time, however.Ф
УIf you're going to tell me you fell for my sister while guard-ing her, I don't want to hear it.Ф
УNope, not her. It was the daughter of the shipping magnate who owned Tinta Lines. She was the target of a kidnapper. Of course, when I was guarding someone, we found a hole and crawled in, didn't gallivant around the galaxy.Ф УMoving target is harder to hit.Ф
УGood point.Ф I smiled. УAnyway, Siolle Tinta and I got along fatuously once we discovered we shared similar opinions about art. In close quarters, we reinforced each other's ideas and it quickly became us against the world. On the outside, leila nailed the kidnapper, so we only spent three days to-gether, but if you'd asked me at the end of that time if it was love and lasers for life, I would have told you all systems were go.Ф
УWhat happened?Ф
УWhile we had one thing in common, we had all sorts of things that weren't. I was with CorSec, which meant I couldn't take off and hit a spa on Selonia, or travel to Imperial Center for the opening of an art exhibit in the Galactic Museum. The gulf between us proved insurmountable. We parted friends, but we both knew that what we'd had while together was a super-nova that was collapsing in on itself. We might have generated a lot of heat and light, but eventually the black hole would have torn us apart.Ф
Wedge nodded, but stared past me. УYou'll allow me to plot my own course through this?Ф УI can't stop you.Ф
УBut I thought you Jedi could easily influence weak minds.Ф I laughed lightly along with him. УThis Jedi knows better than to think of your mind as weak, and I've no desire to go mucking about without good reason. You're a big boy. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you've got friends. I imagine my wife would give you an earful on this.Ф
УYeah, and Mirax can be a mite more persuasive than you can.Ф He tipped his chair forward onto all four feet. УNo word yet from Han and any of his contacts about Mirax. Sorry.Ф
I sighed heavily. УI didn't expect he would have much to say, given that he's been on Kessel recently. Booster's not been talking to you?Ф
УI've been hard to find, but I've had no messages.Ф
УBest to let sleeping Hutts snore.Ф I felt anger gathering, but I dissipated it with a quick calming breath. УYou'll let me know if you do hear anything, right?Ф
УAs soon as I do get word, you'll know.Ф Wedge smiled sol-emnly. УIt's the least I can do for a friend.Ф
Wedge and Xux left in the evening and I felt sorry to see them go. The one truly difficult aspect of the Jedi academy for me was isolation from news of the outside world. Han Solo's ad-venture on Kessel and the theft of the Sun Crusher had been presented to us as asides-sidebars to lessons Master Skywalker taught us. More information came out now that Kyp Durron was with us as a student, but even that was tantalizingly spare.
Even more spare was any word on the Invids.
Kyp's presence seemed to put a spark back into Master Skywalker-the spark that had been diminished since Gantoris' death. Kyp proved almost immediately to be the greatest of the apprentices gathered there. With only a minimum of training, he blasted on past all of us in terms of what he could do. Supporting himself on one hand only, he could balance rocks and fallen tree boles with ease. Given my lack of ability in that area, I found his skills somewhat intimidating.
Master Skywalker found Kyp's abilities all but mesmerizing and devoted a lot of time to directing his studies. I guess that made sense in a variety of ways. I suspected that Luke saw a lot of himself in Kyp. They both came from brutal worlds-
Tatooine and Kessel respectively. Kyp had received initial in-struction from the fallen Jedi female Vima-Da-Boda much as Obi-Wan had taught Luke. Kyp had also proved adept at pilot-ing a ship and had saved Han Solo's life-a positive endorse-ment, to be sure. Lastly, Kyp's power dwarfed that of Gantoris, making him the perfect candidate to eclipse the memory of the academy's first failure.
Of course, no one stated that directly, nor did we think of Gantoris in that way. Gantoris' remains had been interred in the midst of a beautiful grove, and Master Skywalker himself had driven a grey plinth into the ground to mark the spot. We knew it was the sort of paradisiacal place Gantoris would have wanted for himself and his people. Several of us noted that we wouldn't mind being buried there when we fell, but none of us hoped that would be soon. Still, the spectre of Gantoris' failure haunted us all to a greater or lesser extent.
Luke turned much of the instruction of the other apprentices over to Kam Solusar, and Kam did a good job. As a taskmaster he was fair but firm, and everyone progressed steadily under his guidance. Luke made good use of Tionne's research to instill us with a sense of community and continuity. We began to think of the Imperium as Jedi Twilight, and we were the dawning of a new day of a new era.
Luke did allow Kam to start training me in lightsaber com-bat. I used my grandfather's lightsaber and relished its cool, smooth weight in my hand. I could feel the antiquity in the weapon and almost feel Nejaa Halcyon's hands pressed there with mine. I think that sensation broke the final wall for me, allowing me to accept my position in the grand tradition of the Jedi. If I could feel my grandfather's essence in the weapon he had wielded, then I felt the weight of his responsibilities on me as well.
We began with remote training. I had a nodding acquain-tance with the little floating balls that could sting you with a quick needle of blazing energy. At the CorSec Academy remotes played a part in blaster training. A blaster set on stun could knock a remote out, so trainees used them as targets. In my time at the academy I became very good orienting on move-ment and nailing a remote with a blue bolt.
УThe object of the exercise here, Keiran, is not to kill the remote, but to defend yourself from its shots.Ф Kam let one of the small balls hover over his outstretched palm. УUse your lightsaber to block the stingshots. Once you can do this with one remote, we'll work with more. And once you can defend yourself against a handful, we will work on redirecting the bolts at various targets.Ф