| # | Оригинал | Перевод |
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| 1 | CHAPTER 11 |  | | |
| 2 | IT CAME LESS AS A surprise, more of a relief, when he finally awoke. At first, anyway. | | | |
| 3 | His first clue that he had returned from the dead came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated, and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. He could just rest, and be. | | | |
| 4 | Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of cutting blades, low-pitched beeps and clicks from droids, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been a cauterizing tool, and other sinister sounds. His heart rose at the sound of a respirator rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each breathing cycle was horribly familiar. | | | |
| 5 | An artificial voice spoke: "Lord Vader, he's regaining consciousness." | | | Искусственный голос сказал: "Повелитель Вейдер, он пришёл в сознание". (polocki) | 0 |
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| 6 | "Keep him restrained until I'm finished." | | | "Держите его крепче пока я закончу". (polocki) | 0 |
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| 7 | "Yes, sir." | | | |
| 8 | The former apprentice raged against invisible bonds to move limbs he couldn't feel. The babble of noises faded for a moment, then returned, this time with light and sensation accompanying it. He was strapped prone to a medical table in the center of an operating theater. Multicolored tubes and wires ran from several places in his body to dark machines hovering around him, and stretching up to the high ceiling above. Angular droids milled about him, poking and prodding with sharp-tipped appendages. | | | |
| 9 | The familiar silhouette of Darth Vader loomed over him as, without warning, full sensation was returned to his body. | | | |
| 10 | He strained against the straps holding him down and screamed with rage. | | | |
| 11 | "You!" Foam flecked his lips. He had never felt such anger- brilliant in its purity, yet so untamed it utterly debilitated him. "You killed me!" | | | |
| 12 | "No." Vader leaned closer, resting one gloved hand on the table as though to literally impress his gravity on his former apprentice. "The Emperor wanted you dead, but I did not. I brought you here to be rebuilt. If the Emperor knew that you survived, he would kill us both." | | | |
| 13 | He stared up at the expressionless mask, neck twisted to increase the distance between them. Could it be so? His memories of betrayal and pain were so unclouded by doubt. A flash of his Master's bright red lightsaber protruding from his gut threatened to tip him back into unconsciousness. He resisted, thinking of Shaak Ti's final words: The Sith always betray one another. He had been so sure-but surety meant nothing. He had to decide with his mind, not his gut. | | | |
| 14 | "Why?" he asked. "Why rescue me if it puts you in so much danger?" | | | |
| 15 | "Because you are the advantage I need to overthrow the Emperor. He forced my hand, before we were ready. Now he believes you are dead. His ignorance is your true power, if you have the will to use it." | | | |
| 16 | "And if I refuse?" | | | |
| 17 | Darth Vader's voice grew harsher, his silhouette darker, if that was possible. "Then you will die. This lab will self-destruct and you will perish along with all aboard. There will be no witnesses." | | | |
| 18 | There never are, he thought, where you're concerned. But a lifetime of servitude forbade him from saying the words. He closed his eyes, unsure of which possibility he was more afraid: that Darth Vader was telling him the truth now, or that everything he'd ever been told was a lie. | | | |
| 19 | The harsh breathing of the respirator came closer still. "The Emperor ordered your death," Darth Vader said. "Only by joining me will you have your revenge." | | | |
| 20 | He opened his eyes and stared straight at the mask hiding the man who had killed him, then saved him. | | | |
| 21 | Only one choice gave him time to think this strange happen stance through. Only one decision came with the option of changing his mind later. Only one fork in the road before him left him alive, not dead. | | | |
| 22 | In a hollow voice, the apprentice said, "What is your bidding, my Master?" | | | |
| 23 | Darth Vader straightened, satisfaction apparent in every movement. "The Emperor hides behind his army of spies. They watch my every move." One gloved hand waved at the machines attending the operating theater. The droids backed away, and the tubes retracted. "We must provide them with a distraction." He punched a button on the table. | | | |
| 24 | The apprentice's restraints popped open. He slowly sat up, rubbing his wrists, and looked down at his body. He was clad in an entirely new outfit, one not dissimilar to his Master's, with black leather overlaying thin sheaths of armor, heavy gloves and boots, and a high collar. Nearby, over the shoulder of one of the droid surgeons, was a hooded black cape with a red lining, presumably his also. The same droid handed him a lightsaber hilt. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't the one he had wielded all his conscious life. That lightsaber had tumbled into the vacuum of space and been lost forever. | | | |
| 25 | He flexed his fingers, feeling stronger and different somehow. The pain was completely gone. He felt better than he ever had before, as though he had spent months in a bacta tank. | | | |
| 26 | Instead of pondering that issue, he asked, "What sort of distraction? An assassination?" | | | |
| 27 | His Master shook his head. "No single act will hold the Emperor's notice for long. You must assemble an army to oppose him." | | | |
| 28 | The apprentice cocked his head. | | | Ученик склонил голову. (jumper) | 0 |
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| 29 | "You will locate the Emperor's enemies and convince them that you wish to overthrow the Empire. When you have created an alliance of rebels and dissidents, we will use them to occupy the Emperor and his spies. With their attention diverted, we can si like." | | | |
| 30 | The apprentice ran a hand across his chest, feeling the smoothness of his uniform as though with entirely new nerves. The plan was good. It could work. | | | |
| 31 | "Where should I start?" | | | |
| 32 | "That decision is yours. Your destiny is now your own. But you must leave here at once. Save for PROXY, you must sever all ties to your past. No one must know that you still serve me." | | | |
| 33 | He bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Yes, my Master." | | | |
| 34 | "Now go. And remember that the dark side is always with you." | | | |
| 35 | The image of Darth Vader shimmered and assumed the familiar features and form of PROXY. The droid stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. | | | |
| 36 | "PROXY!" | | | |
| 37 | "Master! I am pleased to see that you are not actually dead." The droid beamed the only way he could: through his photoreceptors. "I was afraid that I would never be able to fulfill my primary programming and kill you myself." | | | |
| 38 | "I'm sure you'll have your chance, once we get out of here." | | | |
| 39 | PROXY moved away and began pushing buttons on the nearest terminal. | | | |
| 40 | "Where are we, by the way?" | | | |
| 41 | "Somewhere in the uncharted Dominus system, I believe." | | | "Где-то в отсутствующей на картах системе Доминус, я думаю". (polocki) | 0 |
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| 42 | "But what is this place?" | | | |
| 43 | "This is the Empirical, master, Lord Vader's top-secret mobile laboratory. We've been here for six standard months." PROM looked up from the terminal. "Lord Vader has updated all of mj protocols. Before I kill you, I am to do everything possible to help you vanish. Should I ready the Rogue Shadow for launch?" | | | "Это «Эмпирик», хозяин, совершенно секретная исследовательская лаборатория повелителя Вейдера. Мы провели здесь шесть стандартных месяцев". ПРОКСИ отвлёкся от терминала. "Повелитель Вейдер обновил мои инструкции. Прежде чем убить Вас, я должен сделать всё возможное, чтобы помочь скрыться Вам. Мне приготовить «Блуждающую тень» к отбытию?". (polocki) | 0 |
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| 44 | The apprentice tried to think. He flexed his hands, marveling at his amazing return to health. It seemed almost too good to In-true. | | | |
| 45 | A disconcerting thought occurred to him. He hastily tugged oft first his right glove, then the left. He was reassured to see only skin beneath-no synthetic materials or artificial joints. His knuckles moved the same as always; his fingernails were neat and even. The only odd detail was that his scars were gone. | | | |
| 46 | He rubbed his right hand down his chest to his stomach, remembering the terrible wound his Master had inflicted. 1 It-thought of the damage raw vacuum did to human lungs. Bacta tanks performed miracles, but they weren't that good. | | | |
| 47 | "Master?" | | | |
| 48 | He looked up at PROXY and blinked. "What? Oh. I didn't realize the ship was here, too." | | | |
| 49 | "Yes, master. How else would we get away?" The droid stepped back from the terminal. Indicating it with a hand, he said, "I've accessed the main ship's computer and begun carrying out Lord Vader's orders." | | | |
| 50 | The apprentice nodded, distracted by a thought that had just struck him. He had been on the Empirical for six months, PROXY had said, but the Rogue Shadow was here, ready for him. That might not be the only thing to survive the near catastrophe of the Emperor's intervention. | | | |
