"Michael Stackpole "The Bacta War"" - читать интересную книгу автора

could have gotten at least the third stormtrooper. The fourth stormtrooper would
have shot him, Corran had little doubt, but his attack would have all but
eliminated half the threat to his friends.
A gentle tug on the breathing mask he wore caused Cor-ran to look up. He saw a
round hatch through which light came and a silhouette of a human head and
shoulders in it. Kicking his legs, Corran made his way to the surface of the
tank. He removed the breathing mask and hauled himself out through the hatch.
The medtech there lowered a grate over the hatch and pointed Corran toward it.
As he had done before, Corran stood on the grate as the tech used a water spray
to wash the bacta residue from him and back into the tank. Holding his hands
high, Corran turned slowly beneath the spray, then smiled as the tech tossed him
a thick towel. "How do you feel?"
Corran shrugged and wiped his face. "Pretty good. How badly was I hurt?"
The tech's face screwed up tight. "Pretty bad. You were in shock when we dunked
you. Internal organ damage, bro-
ken pelvis, spine, and ribs-more quantity than quality of damage."
Corran nodded. "So I was in for, what, a week?"
"Two days."
"What?" Corran frowned at the tech. "I should have been in there much longer
than that for those injuries."
The tech lifted his chin and gave Corran an imperious stare. "You are used to
dealing with export-quality bacta, and Xucphra product at that, friend. The
bacta here is more po-tent."
"Made by Zaltin verachen!"
The tech bowed his head. "Very good. If you will follow me, your friends are
waiting for you."
Lacking clothes, Corran wrapped the towel around his waist and followed the tech
down some stairs and through a doorway. The room beyond it was lit by a ghostly
green glow coming from the transparisteel viewport that dominated the left wall.
It looked back into the tank, the light from which allowed him to see further
into the room than he had been able while in the tank. Low, long, well-padded
day beds and high-backed chairs filled the rest of the room and had been
arranged so anyone using them could keep an eye on his progress. Shadows
shrouded the archway in the wall opposite the one he entered through.
As he came through the doorway, Mirax stepped for-ward and enfolded him in a
hug. She kissed his lips, then his right ear. "I can't tell you how good you
feel. I was afraid you'd not make it."
"And give your father the satisfaction?"
She laughed lightly. "I'll tell him that the Horn tenacity is, in fact, good for
something."
Corran kissed the side of her face and held on tight. One of the most unnerving
things about being in a bacta tank, with its temperature control and neutral
buoyancy, was the feeling of floating in a void. If not for the touch of the
breath-ing mask on his face, he would have had no connection to the outside
world. Just being able to hold on to Mirax and feel her body through the thin
material of her clothes brought him fully back into the world.
"You weren't hurt, were you?"
Mirax shook her head. "Nope, I kept my head down and came out in one piece." She
grinned. "And I even managed to recover your lightsaber for you. It and your
Jedi credit are safe."