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Автор Джуд Уотсон
Legacy of the Jedi
Chapter 1
The corridor was empty. The two thirteen-year-old boys paused outside the closed door. There were locks at the Jedi Temple, but they were rarely used. There was no need. There was nothing to hide. Nothing was forbidden. The Jedi's code of honor gave each individual the challenge and privilege of walking the Jedi path. It was assumed that the discipline needed for this would also prevail in one's private life.
So to enter another Jedi's room without an invitation would not violate a rule. Not one that needed to be spoken or written, at least.
Yet Dooku knew it was wrong. It wasn't terribly wrong. But it was wrong.
"Come on," Lorian said. "No one will find out. "
Dooku glanced at his friend. Lorian's face was eager. A dusting of freckles scattered across his blunt nose like a dense constellation of stars. His eyes were warm, lit with mischief, a dark piney green with amber lights, like a forest shot with sunlight. Lorian had been suggesting schemes since they were seven, and he'd talked Dooku into exploring the garbage tunnels. The experience had left Dooku with a reeking tunic and a healthy respect for sanitation practices.
"Besides, he's your Master," Lorian said. "He wouldn't mind. "
It was true that Thame Cerulian was Dooku's Master. The renowned Jedi Knight had chosen him last week. Dooku had just turned thirteen, and he was relieved that he wouldn't have to wait any longer to become a Padawan Learner. Yet he had not had time to get to know Thame at all.
Thame was in the Outer Rim completing one last mission before taking on a Padawan. Dooku was proud to have been chosen by such a legend.
The question was, could he live up to that legend? Dooku had to.
Getting a peek into Thame's personal quarters might give him a head start.
He nodded at Lorian and accessed the door. It slid open silently. He stepped inside. If he expected a clue to his new Master's inner character, he was disappointed. The sleep couch was narrow, pushed against one wall. A gray coverlet was folded neatly at the bottom. A data-screen sat on a bare table. No laserprints or holograms hung on the wall. No personal items were on the desk or the small table beside the sleep couch. There was a glass carafe with a small glass stopper.
The transparent vessel and the gray blanket were the only signs that someone actually inhabited the room.
"Wait," Lorian said. "I found something. "
He slid his hands along a seam in the wall that was almost invisible.
He pressed a recessed button and the wall slid back to reveal shelves over the desk. They were filled with holobooks.
Dooku bent to examine the titles. Thame, he knew, was a historian, an expert in Jedi history. He had never seen most of these titles before.
Galactic history, biographies, the natural sciences of different atmospheres and planetary systems. It was an impressive library.
Lorian dismissed them with a glance. "You'd think he'd have had enough of studies after Temple training. I can't wait to get out into the galaxy and do things. "
