Clone Wars Gambit: Siege
Второй том такой же отличный, как первый. Что замечательно у Миллер, помимо обикина, это умение показывать ужасы войны без оглядки на детскую аудиторию. Когда применяют биологическое оружие, когда ученого пытают ради того, чтобы заставить работать быстрее или жителям деревни приходится, дрожа от страха, выступать против армии дроидов, действительно веришь в то, насколько это было страшно. А не как в седьмом эпизоде, взорвали пять планет и... Ну и? Никакой эмоциональной вовлеченности, думается о том, как красиво пальнул Старкиллер.
В общем, Эничка и Беничка, успешно улетевшие от армии дроидов на машине, не предназначенной для полетов, разбились спустя несколько часов в центре ебаного ничего, нашинковали то, что осталось от машины с помощью мечей, чтобы заместе следы и двинулись к ближайшей деревне. Это была деревня голодающих шахтеров, которые сами того не зная, поставляли неймодианцу материал для биологического оружия. Не то, чтобы у них была альтернатива, жить на что-то надо. Эничка и Беничка, заявившись к ним, сперва продолжили притворяться кузенами, как делали в первой части, когда только прилетели. Спали в сарае, ели ужасную яичницу. Эничка думал, что ею блеванет, но тогда их точно выставят, поэтому блевать нельзя. Оби-Вану наконец представился случай отвесить ему подзатыльник. И их, конечно, погнали тоже работать в шахте, никто чужаков бесплатно кормить не нанимался.
А потом случилась буря, случился взрыв завода, пришли дроиды... Работа под прикрытием снова не удалась.
Несколько кошмарных (не таких кошмарных, как на Зигуле, но недалеко ушли от) дней Энакин поддерживал щиты вокруг деревни, так, чтобы пришедшие дроиды палили по ним, а не по местным жителям, а Оби-Ван убивался в больнице. Без опыта, без специальных кристаллов, без особого таланта к целительству, лечил людей как умел. Встречаясь пару раз в день, они с Эни безуспешно пытались отправить друг друга есть, спать и отдыхать, меряясь глубинами мешков под глазами. Подмога из Храма не спешила, жители деревни потихоньку зверели. Опять эта мастерски выписанная давящая атмосфера. Хотя на Зигуле, признаем, все равно было ужаснее. Тут они хотя бы вдвоем и могли друг друга подбодрить.
Оби-Ван еще наткнулся в деревне на десятилетнюю девочку со способностями к Силе и переживал, что не может забрать ее в Храм. Для Энакина исключение сделали, но он-то Избранный, а она обычная девочка из неизвестной деревушки.( С другой стороны, учитывая будущее юнлингов, хорошо, что она в Храм не попала. Может, прожила счастливую жизнь на Набу, куда всех эвакуировали.
В конце концов, на помощь Эникам-Беникам прилетела Тарья, умирающая жыдайка. И выяснилось, что они с Оби-Ваном тоже когда-то были влюблены друг в друга, но решили остаться друзьями. Одной Сири мало было! xD Сколько еще эдаких романчиков было у Оби-Вана в Храме, я уж и не знаю.
Эничка, увидев как они целуются, пришел в ярость xD
Величайшая сила, величайшая слабостьHe rinsed the dosing cup in the sick house's basin, then returned it and the bottle to their rightful place. "For what it's worth I am sorry, Obi-Wan. I never meant to disrespect you. I just-I need to honor my own truths. "
Obi-Wan looked up. The light shafting through the window fell full across his face, bleaching him sand-pale. "I know you do, Anakin. And I know you want to save these people. But the truth is not everyone can be saved. "
Anakin shook his head. "I don't believe that. "
"I know that, too. " Obi-Wan frowned, very faintly. "It's your greatest weakness... and your greatest strength. " *
Эни вспоминает как Оби-Ван говорит "мальчик опасен", а Оби-Ван его, разумеется, уверяет, что просто ревновал тогда и давно так не считает
"So, " he said, when he could trust his voice. "I guess you were right after all. I guess I am dangerous. "
"Dangerous?" said Obi-Wan blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't remember?" He shrugged. "Well. It was a long time ago. "
Coruscant at night, awash with brilliant color. A landing platform crowded with the Queen of Naboo's starship, busy with staff and droids, humming with tension. Young and alone, he was missing his mother so badly, was so angry because the Jedi Council had smashed his dreams to dust. His only hope was Qui-Gon, tall and strong and somehow elemental-a shield and a shelter and a newfound friend. Not like Obi-Wan. He'd been young, then. Impatient, sharp-tongued, and just as angry- because Qui-Gon had said he wanted to train one small, strange boy.
"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it. Why can't you?"
Anakin shivered, remembering. And then the puzzlement in Obi-Wan's face faded, replaced with a dawning realization as he remembered too. "Oh, " he said. "Oh, Anakin... "
There was shame in Obi-Wan's voice. Regret. And shock, to think his fleeting anger, his thoughtless words, could have left such an indelible impression.
But they did, Master Kenobi. They really did. And now I can't help wondering... were you right, after all?
"Anakin, " said Obi-Wan intently. "Listen to me. I was wrong. In that moment I was hurt, I was angry. " He swallowed. "Anakin, I was jealous. "
Some part of him had always known that. Even as a child, abandoned to the care of an astromech droid on that landing platform, he'd felt those hot, roiling emotions in Qui-Gon's quicksilver apprentice. Even when he'd been too young to understand everything, he'd always understood how other people were feeling. That was just another part of being a Jedi. The
Chosen One. The boy who grew up as something more than a boy.
And now, years later, stranded on a planet staring death-or worse-in the face, that boy was a man and the quicksilver apprentice was the man's former Master. His friend. His comrade-in-arms.
Strange times.
Anakin shook his head. "Forget it. I never should've brought it up. "
"But you did bring it up, " said Obi-Wan. "Anakin, you are not dangerous and you are not responsible for the trouble we're in now. If there's a finger to be pointed, let it be pointed at me. I'm older than you, I'm more experienced, and at any given moment I could've pulled the plug on this mission. But I didn't. "
Anakin. you are not dangerous. It warmed him, to hear the words, to hear the sincerity in Obi-Wan's tired voice, and see it in his tired face.
Rut if be knew about Tatooine, and what really happened with my mother. About Padme. About how I feel sometimes when the Force turns scarlet and bursts through me like hot blood. If be knew all that, what would he say?
He didn't know. He never wanted to find out.
Burying those thoughts before Obi-Wan could sense them, he cleared his throat. "So why didn't you pull the plug?"
"Because I wanted you to be right, " Obi-Wan said after a long silence. "I wanted to give you the chance to prove me wrong, for once. " He ran a hand down his face. "We call you the Chosen One but we don't often give you the chance to prove it, do we?" "Yeah, well... " He had to clear his throat, and blink hard to unblur his vision. "I haven't exactly proven it this time. "
Blat... blat... boom... blat... boom... boom... boom... and the night sky beyond the fragile shield burned like a dying sun.
"Oh, I don't know, " said Obi-Wan, very gently. "We're not dead yet"Про девочку с Силой. Оби-Ван отлично умеет ладить с детьми х)
But instead of smiling at his praise, like she usually did, Greti stared out of the small window above the sink. With the bombardment ceased, no bright flashes lighting the night sky, her young, thin face was almost lost in shadows.
"Did you mean what you said, Obi-Wan? About help coming soon?"
"Of course I meant it. I'd never lie about something like that. "
She glanced at him. "Then why are you still scared?"
Still scared? And here I thought I was doing such a fine job of hiding from her. "I'm tired, Greti. It's easy to get discouraged when you're tired.
Lips pursed, she rinsed the medicine cup and set it to drain. Then she flicked him a glance. "Have I really been a help to you, Teeb?"
"Yes. An enormous help. "
"Is that because..." She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "Obi-Wan, I'm different, aren't I?"
The Force give me strength. "We're all different, Greti. "
And that made her scowl. "You know what I mean. "
If only he didn't. "Greti... "
"Bohle tells me all the time I shouldn't feel things so hard, " she said, drying her hands on the front of her grubby tunic. "But I can't help it. Born this way, I was. "
Obi-Wan swallowed. "I know. "
She looked at him, so hopeful. "Teeb-when you go, can you take me with you? Somewhere I can learn about being different?"
He should have seen this coming. He should have prepared himself for it. "Greti, I can't, " he said, his throat painfully tight. "There are-ways of doing things, where I come from. Rules. "
"Oh. " She jerked her chin up. "I'm not good enough?"
He made himself meet her glittering, wide-eyed stare. "It's too late. "
"Oh. " Her lips trembled. "But-I'm good enough. "
Waifs and strays. Qui-Gon. "Greti, you're better than good enough. It's been an honor, teaching you what little I know. "
"Then why can't you..." The child bit her lip. "Rules. "
Aching, he shook his head. "I'm sorry. "
*
Too tired to argue, feeling ill and shivery, he let the child chivvy him back to his empty spot on the floor and settle him there with his shoulders pressed to the wall. Then she fetched him half a cup of water and stood over him until he drank it.
He handed the empty cup back to her. "You're very bossy. "
"That's because you won't listen. "
"Said the girl who fights tooth and nail against taking her medicine!"
With a swift, sly grin Greti dropped to the floor beside him and slid her arm through his. Letting her head fall against his shoulder, she sighed.
"It tastes bad. "
"True. But that's no excuse. "
Greti giggled. "Now who's bossy?"
"I'm the grown-up. It's my job. "
She scoffed at that, but then fell silent. After a while she sighed again. "Obi-Wan... if it's too late for me, that's not your fault. I do understand. Rules are rules. "
It almost broke him, that she'd try to ease his guilt when he'd condemned her to this barren exile.
"Yes, Greti. They are. "
But we disregarded them for Anakin. Why can't I do the same for her, when she's a natural-born healer and we're in desperate need of her skills ?
But then the droids started firing again, blaster bolts booming, and her thought was lost in a wave of barely suppressed fear.
Obi-Wan took her hand. "It's all right, Greti. Anakin won't let the shield fail. And help will come. Believe me. It will come. "
She was so frightened. He could hear the whimper, trapped in her throat. But like a Jedi, she refused to give in to her fear. "I believe you, Obi-Wan. "
Stang. What a waste. "Good girl, " he said. "Now close your eyes and meditate, just like I showed you. " Целующий Тарью Оби-Ван, ревнующий Эничка As he vanished into the darkness, Taria looked at the droids on the other side of the shield. They were still firing their blasters. "Don't they ever give up?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Sadly, no. "
"That's aggravating. No wonder you're tetchy. " She patted his knee. "Hey. Sorry to be such a bother. "
A bother? He tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Don't be silly. Taria, let me see that blaster burn. "
She took his hand between both of hers. "In a moment. " Reading him, her eyes widened. "Obi-Wan. "
Even if he'd wanted to hide from her, he couldn't. His self- control was too far eroded, his carefully constructed inner barriers smashed flat. And she was... who she was. She could feel every pain in him, sense every overstretched nerve and sinew.
He made himself meet her shocked gaze. "Don't scold. I had no choice. "
Letting go of his hand, she stroked her fingers down the side of his face, tracing every hollow and sharp thrust of bone.
"I could smack you. "
"And I could smack you right back. Taria, why did you come?"
"Somebody had to. " She tried to smile at him, and failed. "Obi-Wan... "
The pain in her was growing fiercer. What it had cost her, to make this journey.
*
"Stang. " She sighed. Her arms went around him, pulling him close. "What a mess. "
"Don't, " he protested. "I'm all right. And we must contact Master Windu and..."
She tightened her hold. "Master Windu can wait till we've something definite to tell him. Hush now. Hush. You're so tired. Hush. "
He felt something deep inside him break. Hiding his face against her, he let himself go.
Stunned, Anakin stood in the shadows and watched Taria Damsin comfort Obi-Wan. Watched how she held him, how she stroked his hair and rubbed his back, her hands moving, her voice a soft, ceaseless murmur. He saw how Obi-Wan surrendered to her voice and her touch, how unguarded he was within her embrace.
They're lovers. Or they were. He never told me. I never guessed.
Lost in each other, they were oblivious to the droids-and to him.
All those lectures about not needing anyone, about the importance of staying emotionally detached? And look at him. Look at him. He's drowning in her. He loves her.
And what did it mean? That everything Obi-Wan had said was a lie? That he was living a lie, denying his feelings, enforcing the Order's ban on love not because he believed in it, but because he wasn't strong enough to defy it?
It felt like a betrayal. It was a betrayal.
*
Saying something, his low voice indistinct, Obi-Wan eased himself free of Taria Damsin's arms. Then he cupped her face with his hand, and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Cold to his core, Anakin kicked the antigrav sled into motion and with a whining of servos pushed it forward. "Sorry to take so long, " he said, crossing into the pale pool of light cast by the plasma shield and the generator. "You know how it is. Couldn't find a sled I liked. "
Obi-Wan stood, his face carefully blank. "Anakin. "Оби-Ван пытается объяснить Эничке, что с Тарьей у него давно уже ничего нетAnakin led the way outside. On the sick house step Obi-Wan caught his arm. "Anakin... "
He pulled away. "Don't. "
Obi-Wan's dimly lit face was full of understanding, and sorrow. "Anakin-it was a long time go. It ended a long time ago. "
His sleeping anger woke. Really? It didn't look like that to me. "You love her. "
"She's my friend. "
He felt his fingers fist. Don't yon lie. Not about this. Don't you dare. "You love her. "
Monotonous blasterfire filled the silence between them. Then Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, Anakin, I love her. But I was never in love. For a short while Taria and I needed each other. And when we no longer needed each other, we parted-and remained friends. "
So that was how it worked, was it? Stay aloof, stay detached, never let yourself feel too much, too deeply, and the Order didn't care?
"Anakin, " Obi-Wan said sharply. "Don't. Are you going to tell me that if you crossed that line with Padme you could cross back again? That you would ever be satisfied with only being her friend?"
The thought was unbearable. Never.
*
It was the truth. Baffled, his anger dying, Anakin folded his arms. "I don't understand you, Obi-Wan. "
Obi-Wan almost smiled. "I know. "
And something tells me I never will. Not when it comes to this, anyway.
"I have to go, " he said. "The fuel lines need checking and Devi can't do it alone. "Тарья с Оби-Ваном. Очередная женщина, которая убеждает его не винить себя в ее смерти, но это работает так же плохо, как попытки объяснить что-либо ЭничкеTaria woke to Obi-Wan's pain as he tried yet again to heal her.
"Obi-Wan, stop, " she whispered. "You're not helping me and you're only hurting yourself. "
He shook his head. "No. I can do this. I just need to-I haven't quite got the knack of..." His list hit the side of her cot. "I'm not trained, that's the problem. But I can..."
"Obi-Wan!" She caught his wrist. "I said no. I don't want you to do this. "
Filthy and unkempt, he stared at her. "Taria, I can't sit here and do nothing. "
"Of course you can, " she said gently. "Because there's nothing you can do. "
*
You shouldn't have come, " he said, staring at his hands. She released his wrist. "Don't talk nonsense. That bioweapon had to be destroyed. "
"You shouldn't have come here, " he snapped. "You're a fool. "
"I know, " she said, and pressed her palm to his cheek. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. "
Jerkily he pushed himself off his stool. "No. No. Don't mind me, Taria. I'm just tired. "
Tired? She couldn't think of a word to describe what he was. Empty, perhaps? Having poured so much of himself into healing these people, into keeping them alive? Yes. He was empty.
Or he was. But now here I am, filling him with grief.
*
"Obi-Wan, " she said again. "Please. "
Slowly, he turned. His face was naked, every guarded feeling laid bare. If they'd been in love once, it was only for a moment, in the breathless, fresh excitement of discovery, in that first annihilating shock of pleasure. But it had passed, which was a good thing, and in passing had transmuted to something deep and sure and true.
"Obi-Wan, you have to listen to me, " she said. "Really listen. And believe every word. "
Step by step he came back to her, and sat down again.
"I've been a dead woman walking ever since Pamina Prime, " she said, keeping her voice low. Willing him to hear her, and believe. "We both know that. So it wasn't ever about living longer, but what I got to do with the life that was left to me. What I'm doing here?" She waved her hand, feeling the bite in bone and muscle. "Stopping Durd, helping to save you and Skyguy and this village? It's important. So even if it hastens what must come to pass, Obi-Wan, how can I not rejoice? And how can you love me yet not rejoice for me?"
He shrugged. "I'm selfish, Taria. I don't want to lose you. "
*
Though it woke the sharpest hurt in her, she sat up. "I made my peace with this dying business long ago. Don't poison what little time we have left. "
For a moment she watched him struggle with that. Then she leaned forward and cradled his face between her hands.
"I'm going to tell you this now because I might not get a chance later, " she whispered. "They call Anakin the Chosen One but you have a destiny, too. You have a long road to walk and it won't always he easy. I wish I could walk it with you, but that's not meant to be. So you remember what I'm telling you, Obi-Wan. Everything happens for a reason. Everything. The good, the bad, the indifferent. They all have a purpose. Never forget who you are. Never forget what you serve. And no matter what happens, keep your face turned to the light. "А эта сцена для меня выглядит так, как будто умирающая жена перепоручает мужа его новой возлюбленной xD Странноватая"Here, " said Anakin, handing her his quarter-filled cup of water. "And don't argue. "
Amused, grateful, she sipped and stared at the droids. "Have they stopped tiring at all yet, today?"
"Only to reload, " he said, morose. He'd seen her comforting Obi-Wan at the shield, the night she arrived. For some reason their closeness had angered him, and that had distressed Obi-Wan. She had no intention of causing strife between them.
"Anakin, I need to ask you a favor. "
He glanced at her. "What?"
"Promise me you'll always have Obi-Wan's back. And be there for him, when I die. "
After a long silence, he nodded. "All right. "
She swallowed the last mouthful of water. "He'd die for you. You do know that?"
Another nod. "I know. "
His tone was faintly hostile, as though she'd broken some unspoken rule. And maybe she had. She smiled.
"Just checking. "
When she didn't say anything else, he raised an eyebrow. "What-you're not going to ask if I'd die for him?"
And that made her laugh. "Just how stupid do you think I am?"
He was still trying to decide exactly what she meant by that when Obi-Wan joined them, and nodded at the ranks of droids beyond the shield.И со стороны любуется тем, как муж с возлюбленной счастливы"This is Mace Windu. We've got reinforcements and we're engaging Grievous full-strength, attempting to breach the blockade and get ground troops to your location. We should..."
A high-pitched, electronic squeal drowned his voice-and then the comlink went dead.
"Ah, " said Obi-Wan. "I think Grievous has worked out how to jam our comms again. How inconsiderate. "
"Yeah, that's probably why I don't like him, " said Anakin. "He's got no manners. "
Watching them smile at each other, Taria felt their kinship and the complicated love. They were such an odd pairing on the face of it: Obi-Wan so self-contained, Anakin so reckless, but they'd found their balance, and now they were two halves of a whole. Anakin had been the making of Obi-Wan... and Obi-Wan had shown Anakin what it meant to be a good man.
I'm glad, I'm so glad, that I got to see it.
*
"Obi-Wan, I'm going to get my generator team together, " said Anakin. "Make sure they're clear on what warning signs they need to look for. You're all right?"
"Of course, " said Obi-Wan, faintly smiling. "You?"
"Never better, " said Anakin, and pulled him into a swift, hard embrace. "Take care. "
"He's so terribly demonstrative, " Obi-Wan complained, watching Anakin half walk, half jog toward the power plant. "Has been from the first. And nothing I say seems to break him of the habit. "
Taria smothered a smile. "Yes. It's very un-Jedi of him. What a crushing disappointment he must be to you. "
Очень милая обикиновская концовка, где они вместе возвращаются в Храм"Home. " said Anakin. "That's got a nice ring to it. " He was smiling broadly, a hint of mischief in his eyes and a sense of excitement, quickly tamped down. And then the smile faded. "So, Obi-Wan. We survived another one. "
Not all of us.
But that wasn't Anakin's problem. With a wrenching effort, he pulled his mind from the pain and loss that were crouched ahead in the shadows, waiting. Inescapable.
"Yes, we did, Anakin, " he agreed. "By the skin of our teeth. "
"Yeah... " Anakin shook his head. "Y'know, I'm starting to think we need a new hobby. "
He was tired, he was sad, but still...
"Trust me, Anakin, " he said lightly, "on that score, you'll get no argument from me. "
And then they grinned at each other. No need to say more.
"Kenobi!" Master Windu shouted from the corridor. "Have you forgotten what best speed means?"
"Oops, " said Anakin, and extended his hand with a flourish. "After you, Master Kenobi. "
"No, no, Master Skywalker, " he replied. "I insist. After you.
Side by side, they walked out of the room.
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27.04.2016 в 12:30-
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27.04.2016 в 13:24-
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27.04.2016 в 13:27-
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27.04.2016 в 19:31опять?Одно мне очень обидно - что Оби-Ван даже не попытался забрать Грети в джедаи. То есть вот сразу решил, что нет, не позволят, и все, не попытался бороться за нее, хотя у него пример перед глазами, что и с такого возраста можно в джедаи, а тут случай явно проще, а необходимость в джедаях в данный момент значительно выше.
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27.04.2016 в 20:43-
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27.04.2016 в 21:13-
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28.04.2016 в 00:17