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

Ooryl quivered for a second. "Qrygg is sorry for your misinterpretation because
Qrygg knows it is Qrygg's fault, Mirax. These Gands are not Qrygg's friends.
They are ruet-savii." Ooryl's mouth parts closed for a moment, then snapped back
open. "In Basic they would be something like observers or examiners, but more
than either."
Corran raised an eyebrow. "They're your superiors?"
The taller Gand-Vviir Wiamdi by order of introduc-tion-exaggerated the shaking
of his head. "We have been sent by the Elders of Gand to watch Ooryl Qrygg. We
are to
chronicle Qrygg's existence and to criticize it. It is a great honor."
Ooryl doesn't seem to think it's that great an honor by the look of him. Corran
smiled. "If there is any way I may be of assistance to you, please do not
hesitate to let me know what I can do. Ooryl and I have spent much time
together, and he's saved my life more times than I care to remember."
All three Gands nodded their heads sagely, but Corran was uncertain he was
reading their body language correctly. I'm not sure I can read them at all, and
I doubt I'm going to get a good explanation from Ooryl. Corran looked over at
Mirax, but she didn't seem to be any more confident of her judgment of the Gands
than he was. One more thing to learn about, which is why this galaxy will never
be dull.
Corran pointed to the open area in the booth. "Would you care to join us?"
Ooryl shook his head. "Now it is time for Qrygg to inter-face with Zraii and
tend to Qrygg's X-wing. After that, the schedule allows for dining."
Vviir bowed his head again. "I beg your forgiveness for this interruption. We
will watch you interact with Qrygg at a later date." He turned and led the
procession back out of the tapcaf with Ooryl drawn along in the trio's wake like
an X-wing tractored to a freighter.
Mirax raised an eyebrow. "What was all that about?"
"Not a clue."
"And Ooryl's not going to tell you anything, either." She pointed in their
direction with her fork. "I've never heard of, let alone seen, a group of Gands
wandering around together. Very odd."
Corran shrugged and attacked his food. "Twi'leks have joined us, and now we have
some Gands with us. I don't understand it, nor do I need to understand it. I
just hope Iceheart gets as confused by it as I am."
21
Under other circumstances Wedge Antilles thought he might have liked Qretu 5.
The ring of asteroids surrounding the planet that provided his people with cover
against ground-based early-warning systems had looked wonderful in the night sky
in all the holograms he had studied. The world's moist and warm climate
encouraged the growth of lush green foliage, over the tops of which Wedge's
X-wing whisked at dizzying speed. Mountains upthrust by colliding tectonic
plates also hid the fighters from their target, providing the personnel at the
Q5A7 Bacta Refinement Plant no warning about the impending attack.
Wedge's force was flying in at a strength of twenty-four-two squadrons' worth of
snubfighters. The three losses to the Corrupter had been replaced by the Gand
ruetsavii and their curious ships. The Gands flew heavily modified TIE bombers.
The Quadanium solar panels at the front had been cut on the diagonal bias like
those of TIE Interceptors and had a central cutout to provide the pilot with
peripheral vi-sion. The bomb delivery system in the secondary hull had been