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Автор Трой Денниг
Star Wars
Legacy of the Force
Book 6
Inferno
by Troy Denning
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Many people contributed to this book in ways large and small. I would like to thank them all, especially the following: Andria Hayday for her support, critiques, and many valuable suggestions; James Luceno, Leland Chee, Howard Roffman, Amy Gary, Pablo Hidalgo, and Keith Clayton for their fine contributions during our brainstorming sessions- initial and otherwise; Shelly Shapiro and Sue Rostoni for everything, from their remarkable patience to their insightful reviewing and editing to the wonderful ideas they put forth both inside and outside of the brainstorming sessions- and especially for being so great to work with; to my fellow writers, Aaron Allston and Karen Traviss, for all their hard work-coordinating stories and writing them-and their myriad other contributions to this book and the series; to Laura Jorstad for her attention to detail; to all the people at Lucasfilm and Del Rey who make being a writer so much fun; and, finally, to George Lucas for letting us take his galaxy in this exciting new direction.
Dramatic Personae:
Alema Rar; Jedi Knight (female Twi'lek)
Ben Skywalker; Junior GAG member (male human) Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (male human) Jacen Solo; Sith Lord (male human)
Jae Juun; intelligence operative (male Sullustan) Jagged Fel; bounty hunter (male human)
Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Luke Skywalker; Jedi Grand Master (male human) Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (female Barabel)
Salle Serpa; GAG major (male human)
Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight (female human)
Tarfang; master spy (male Ewok)
Tenel Ka; Hapan Queen Mother (female human)
Zekk; Jedi Knight (male human)
Prologue
The scream and roar of combat began to reverberate through the empty grashal, and wisps of battle smoke materialized in the green beams of their helmet lamps. Jacen- now Darth Caedus, he reminded himself -
continued to pull into the past, one glove clamped around the arm of Tahiri's pressure suit, the other anchored to the rim of a blaster-pitted gestation bin. The brown stains on the bin's exterior grew wet and red, and crouching forms started to manifest in the surrounding darkness.
As he drew more heavily on the Force, the sallow light of glow-lichen began to shine down through the thickening smoke, revealing the cloning lab in which Jacen's brother, Anakin, had died. Where there had been only barren vacuum a few moments before, now a pulsing jungle of white nutrient vines corkscrewed up from the gestation bins that lined the grashal floor. Streaks of color and darkness were flashing past in both directions, the air swirling with razor bugs and the floor shaking with grenade detonations.
"I hope I'm ready for this, "Tahiri said. Over the suit comm, her voice sounded brittle and uncertain. "Maybe my first flow-walk shouldn't have been into the middle of a battle. "
Jacen knew it was not the battle that made Tahiri nervous, but he saw no advantage in forcing her to admit it. "We'll be fine, "he said.
