Articoli correlati a Dark Tide II: Ruin
The galaxy is hit by a threat deadlier and more terrifying that anything that has gone before, with Leia, Luke, and the Solo children heading up the defense against invading alien warships.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Riassunto" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
L'autore:
Michael A. Stackpole is the author of the New York Times bestselling Star Wars x-wing novels. When not chained to a desk madly fighting deadlines, he plays indoor soccer, rides a mountain bike and reads, but not all at the same time. He lives in Arizona with Liz Danforth and a small pack of Welsh Cardigan Corgis.
Estratto. © Riproduzione autorizzata. Diritti riservati.:
Shedao Shai spun on his heel before the harsh, hoarse scream had a chance to echo down the street. A ragged human slave, flesh coated with dust, beard patchy and unkempt, broke form the work detail and rushed at him. The slave's eyes blazed past the nubbins of the coral growths on his cheeks, and he raised a piece of duracrete debris to smash the Yuuzhan Vong leader down.
Two younger warriors belatedly moved to intercept the assassin, but Shedao's sharply barked warning held them back. Clad in vonduun crab armor, with his rank baton, the tsaisi, coiled about his right forearm, the Yuuzhan Vong leader had little fear of injury. He flowed forward, keeping his center of gravity low, then came up, catching the slave's throat in his right hand. He lifted the man effortlessly, then battered the debris aside with his left hand.
The slave grabbed Shedao's right wrist. His eyes widened as the tsaisi hissed and rose up, ready to strike. The human's lips peeled back in a feral snarl, then he looked into Shedao's eyes defiantly. Unable to speak because of the hand crushing his throat, the man nodded, once, sharply, as if to demand death from the Yuuzhan Vong leader.
Shedao's thumb pressed up along the man's jaw, slipping past the curve of the bone, touching the skull right behind his ear. The two combatants watched each other, both knowing that with a simple increase of pressure Shedao Shai would pop the man's skull free of his spine, killing him. The man, with spittle flecking his lips and beginning to ooze down into the Yuuzhan Vong's gauntlet, nodded again, daring Shedao to kill him.
The Yuuzhan Vong commander shook his head once, then cast the man forward the two warriors who were overseeing the work group. "Take this one to the priests. Have them prepare him. If he survives, he will be of use."
The two warriors each grabbed an arm and bowed respectfully, tugging the man back down the street.
Shedao Shai allowed them to get ten paces away, then added, "And while there, ask the priests for a regimen of contemplation for warriors who are slothful."
The warriors bowed again and set off, but at a pace noticeably quicker than before.
Deign Lian, his direct subordinate, resumed his place a half pace behind Shedao, at his left hand. "Was that wise, my leader?"
"Easily as wise as your questioning my judgment, here, in the streets." Shedao Shai was pleased that his face mask hid the crooked smile born of Deign's flinching at that remark. "The warriors will return chastened, enlightened, and more dedicated to their duty."
"It was not that, Commander, but sending the man off with them. He attempted to murder you. The other slaves will see his survival and exaltation as a license to try to kill you again."
Shedao Shai continued his tour down the broad Drubrillion street in silence, knowing his lack of an answer would weigh more heavily on his aide than any rebuke. The destruction caused by the conquest of Dubrillion had not been overwhelming. Much of the cityscape was recognizable, and the work details were making much headway in clearing debris. Soon the slaves would be trained in how to use gricha to repair minor damage, and gragricha would be brought in to produce proper Yuuzhan Vong buildings.
"I believe, Deign Domain Lian, you are looking past the obvious to explore a realm we may never approach. Your question presumes the slave will survive inculcation. We do not know this. Yes, I chose him because he had spirit. He didn't shy from pain. More importantly, he wanted me to kill him. He had embraced his insignificance, which means our inculcation can give him new significance. He is a vessel ready to be filled with the truth of the universe. If he can contain what he learns, he will be of great use to us."
"This I understand, Commander Shedao Domain Shai." Deign bowed his head as he spoke.
His using Shedao's full, formal title--aping Shedao's formality--acknowledged his subordinate status. Shedao knew this acknowledgment was halfhearted at best. Domain Lian wished for a return to its former days of glory, and Deign was its best chance for such a return. In his aide Shedao had a feral amphistaff clutched to his breast, and he knew he would feel the sting of its bite when he could least afford it.
"Perhaps then what you do not understand is that despite the work of our agents like Nom Anor, we do not know our foe well at all. This New Republic is curious in how it approaches warfare."
"They are cowards at heart, my leader."
"To make that judgment so coldly, Deign Lian, is to deny that we have much to learn." Shedao glanced left, catching a spark of hatred in his aide's eyes. "Enlightenment is always useful, and we need more, much more, concerning these people."
Shedao Shai ignored Deign's fatuous mouthings about his wisdom. The New Republic and its response to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion had him puzzled. Nom Anor had provided a succinct political analysis of the situation within the New Republic, which is why they had chosen the invasion corridor they did. They hit the New Republic at a point where it was weakest, along a line joining it to the Imperial Remnant. That was pure military strategy: any force is weakest where two commands meet. The Remnant had not reacted and attacked the flank, which freed up units Shedao had held against that possibility.
The New Republic still had not struck back, and this puzzled Shedao Shai. He did know of the galactic civil war, and it did strike him as possible that some peoples would not want to see a return to a conflict. Still, the actions of the slave showed that these people were capable of martial conduct. A total acquiescence to the invasion did not seem to be a rational response, which led him to suspect deception.
He was willing to admit, as well, that of the worlds taken, only Dubrillion had true significance. The others had been sparsely populated and largely undeveloped, so their losses would be insignificant to the galaxy. Garqi, to which he had sent Krag Val to oversee occupation and transformation, did produce a lot of foodstuffs, but its loss could easily be compensated for since many of its products were geared for consumption by the elite, not the masses.
In their military engagement, the New Republic forces had fought a series of rearguard actions. Shedao Shai refused to acknowledge their destruction of the Yuuzhan Vong base at Helska 4, because that had been a Praetorite Vong operation. When politicians seek to play at being warriors, one must anticipate disaster. He glanced again at Deign. The reverse can also be very bad.
Shedao Shai found his foes admirable, after a fashion. That they were corrupt and weak was not in doubt. Their reliance on abominable mechanicals pointed out their moral decay, but the facility with which they employed their tools did impress hi. The military response to initial encounters with Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology had neutralized the invaders' advantages, leaving their starfighters on even terms.
The land battle on Dantooine had likewise shown how formidable the New Republic's personnel could be. When Shedao Shai reviewed a report listing the casualties among two training cadres of warriors in pursuit of a pair of refugees, he felt his belly begin to tighten. Given that the two being chased were jeedai, some casualties were to be expected, but the escape of the quarry was not. Domain Lian lost four warrior in that escapade, which only partially dulled the sting of Domain Shai's losing two warriors to a jeedai on Bimmiel.
In his grudging admiration for the enemy, Shedao Shai wondered if their reluctance to attack centered around the same problem he was having: that the New Republic did not know enough about the Yuuzhan Vong to be able to formulate a solid strategy. If they need more intelligence, we will have insertions of forces on conquered worlds. They investigated Belkadan and likely know we have been producing coralskippers there. What else they gleaned from there I cannot imagine, but I shall have to assume they know all.
Shedao Shai mounted the steps to the building in which he had situated his office. The building both irritated and soothed him. The irritation came from the predominance of straight lines, hard edges, and exposed piping, all of which had been described to him with the vulgarity industrial. The building was no more elegant than a big stone box, and the uniform shade of gray it had been painted did little to enhance it.
The reason he chose it as his headquarters, however, was because of the purpose to which it had been put. The building had been the Dubrillion Aquarium and was filled with scores of transparisteel tanks teeming with sea life from Dubrillion and other worlds. A central column filled with water dominated the building's heart, and through it swam a rainbow riot of fish, including huge emerald sharks.
Shedao Shai did not acknowledge the guards at the doors as he swept into the building. He mounted the stairs to the right, then cut back to the left, to the central chamber. Fish swirled in a lazy cyclone through the column and eclipsed three figures whose outlines were distorted by the water. The two taller figures were his own people, but the golden pyramid between them intrigued him.
He circled through the chamber to the right and saw seated on the floor a long-limbed creature covered in golden down. The creature's long legs were crossed, his hands folded into his lap and his spine straight along the duracrete wall at his back. Purple striping flowed back from the corners of his eyes and over his shoulders. He wore a simple purple loincloth, gathered with a gold cord.
When Shedao Shai moved into view, the individual rose to his feet without touching his hands to the ground. The guards were a heartbeat late in restraining him, clearly not having anticipated his action. He has lulled them into carelessness, which marks the placidity...
Two younger warriors belatedly moved to intercept the assassin, but Shedao's sharply barked warning held them back. Clad in vonduun crab armor, with his rank baton, the tsaisi, coiled about his right forearm, the Yuuzhan Vong leader had little fear of injury. He flowed forward, keeping his center of gravity low, then came up, catching the slave's throat in his right hand. He lifted the man effortlessly, then battered the debris aside with his left hand.
The slave grabbed Shedao's right wrist. His eyes widened as the tsaisi hissed and rose up, ready to strike. The human's lips peeled back in a feral snarl, then he looked into Shedao's eyes defiantly. Unable to speak because of the hand crushing his throat, the man nodded, once, sharply, as if to demand death from the Yuuzhan Vong leader.
Shedao's thumb pressed up along the man's jaw, slipping past the curve of the bone, touching the skull right behind his ear. The two combatants watched each other, both knowing that with a simple increase of pressure Shedao Shai would pop the man's skull free of his spine, killing him. The man, with spittle flecking his lips and beginning to ooze down into the Yuuzhan Vong's gauntlet, nodded again, daring Shedao to kill him.
The Yuuzhan Vong commander shook his head once, then cast the man forward the two warriors who were overseeing the work group. "Take this one to the priests. Have them prepare him. If he survives, he will be of use."
The two warriors each grabbed an arm and bowed respectfully, tugging the man back down the street.
Shedao Shai allowed them to get ten paces away, then added, "And while there, ask the priests for a regimen of contemplation for warriors who are slothful."
The warriors bowed again and set off, but at a pace noticeably quicker than before.
Deign Lian, his direct subordinate, resumed his place a half pace behind Shedao, at his left hand. "Was that wise, my leader?"
"Easily as wise as your questioning my judgment, here, in the streets." Shedao Shai was pleased that his face mask hid the crooked smile born of Deign's flinching at that remark. "The warriors will return chastened, enlightened, and more dedicated to their duty."
"It was not that, Commander, but sending the man off with them. He attempted to murder you. The other slaves will see his survival and exaltation as a license to try to kill you again."
Shedao Shai continued his tour down the broad Drubrillion street in silence, knowing his lack of an answer would weigh more heavily on his aide than any rebuke. The destruction caused by the conquest of Dubrillion had not been overwhelming. Much of the cityscape was recognizable, and the work details were making much headway in clearing debris. Soon the slaves would be trained in how to use gricha to repair minor damage, and gragricha would be brought in to produce proper Yuuzhan Vong buildings.
"I believe, Deign Domain Lian, you are looking past the obvious to explore a realm we may never approach. Your question presumes the slave will survive inculcation. We do not know this. Yes, I chose him because he had spirit. He didn't shy from pain. More importantly, he wanted me to kill him. He had embraced his insignificance, which means our inculcation can give him new significance. He is a vessel ready to be filled with the truth of the universe. If he can contain what he learns, he will be of great use to us."
"This I understand, Commander Shedao Domain Shai." Deign bowed his head as he spoke.
His using Shedao's full, formal title--aping Shedao's formality--acknowledged his subordinate status. Shedao knew this acknowledgment was halfhearted at best. Domain Lian wished for a return to its former days of glory, and Deign was its best chance for such a return. In his aide Shedao had a feral amphistaff clutched to his breast, and he knew he would feel the sting of its bite when he could least afford it.
"Perhaps then what you do not understand is that despite the work of our agents like Nom Anor, we do not know our foe well at all. This New Republic is curious in how it approaches warfare."
"They are cowards at heart, my leader."
"To make that judgment so coldly, Deign Lian, is to deny that we have much to learn." Shedao glanced left, catching a spark of hatred in his aide's eyes. "Enlightenment is always useful, and we need more, much more, concerning these people."
Shedao Shai ignored Deign's fatuous mouthings about his wisdom. The New Republic and its response to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion had him puzzled. Nom Anor had provided a succinct political analysis of the situation within the New Republic, which is why they had chosen the invasion corridor they did. They hit the New Republic at a point where it was weakest, along a line joining it to the Imperial Remnant. That was pure military strategy: any force is weakest where two commands meet. The Remnant had not reacted and attacked the flank, which freed up units Shedao had held against that possibility.
The New Republic still had not struck back, and this puzzled Shedao Shai. He did know of the galactic civil war, and it did strike him as possible that some peoples would not want to see a return to a conflict. Still, the actions of the slave showed that these people were capable of martial conduct. A total acquiescence to the invasion did not seem to be a rational response, which led him to suspect deception.
He was willing to admit, as well, that of the worlds taken, only Dubrillion had true significance. The others had been sparsely populated and largely undeveloped, so their losses would be insignificant to the galaxy. Garqi, to which he had sent Krag Val to oversee occupation and transformation, did produce a lot of foodstuffs, but its loss could easily be compensated for since many of its products were geared for consumption by the elite, not the masses.
In their military engagement, the New Republic forces had fought a series of rearguard actions. Shedao Shai refused to acknowledge their destruction of the Yuuzhan Vong base at Helska 4, because that had been a Praetorite Vong operation. When politicians seek to play at being warriors, one must anticipate disaster. He glanced again at Deign. The reverse can also be very bad.
Shedao Shai found his foes admirable, after a fashion. That they were corrupt and weak was not in doubt. Their reliance on abominable mechanicals pointed out their moral decay, but the facility with which they employed their tools did impress hi. The military response to initial encounters with Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology had neutralized the invaders' advantages, leaving their starfighters on even terms.
The land battle on Dantooine had likewise shown how formidable the New Republic's personnel could be. When Shedao Shai reviewed a report listing the casualties among two training cadres of warriors in pursuit of a pair of refugees, he felt his belly begin to tighten. Given that the two being chased were jeedai, some casualties were to be expected, but the escape of the quarry was not. Domain Lian lost four warrior in that escapade, which only partially dulled the sting of Domain Shai's losing two warriors to a jeedai on Bimmiel.
In his grudging admiration for the enemy, Shedao Shai wondered if their reluctance to attack centered around the same problem he was having: that the New Republic did not know enough about the Yuuzhan Vong to be able to formulate a solid strategy. If they need more intelligence, we will have insertions of forces on conquered worlds. They investigated Belkadan and likely know we have been producing coralskippers there. What else they gleaned from there I cannot imagine, but I shall have to assume they know all.
Shedao Shai mounted the steps to the building in which he had situated his office. The building both irritated and soothed him. The irritation came from the predominance of straight lines, hard edges, and exposed piping, all of which had been described to him with the vulgarity industrial. The building was no more elegant than a big stone box, and the uniform shade of gray it had been painted did little to enhance it.
The reason he chose it as his headquarters, however, was because of the purpose to which it had been put. The building had been the Dubrillion Aquarium and was filled with scores of transparisteel tanks teeming with sea life from Dubrillion and other worlds. A central column filled with water dominated the building's heart, and through it swam a rainbow riot of fish, including huge emerald sharks.
Shedao Shai did not acknowledge the guards at the doors as he swept into the building. He mounted the stairs to the right, then cut back to the left, to the central chamber. Fish swirled in a lazy cyclone through the column and eclipsed three figures whose outlines were distorted by the water. The two taller figures were his own people, but the golden pyramid between them intrigued him.
He circled through the chamber to the right and saw seated on the floor a long-limbed creature covered in golden down. The creature's long legs were crossed, his hands folded into his lap and his spine straight along the duracrete wall at his back. Purple striping flowed back from the corners of his eyes and over his shoulders. He wore a simple purple loincloth, gathered with a gold cord.
When Shedao Shai moved into view, the individual rose to his feet without touching his hands to the ground. The guards were a heartbeat late in restraining him, clearly not having anticipated his action. He has lulled them into carelessness, which marks the placidity...
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- EditoreRandom House
- Data di pubblicazione2000
- ISBN 10 0375409696
- ISBN 13 9780375409691
- RilegaturaAudio Cassetta
- Valutazione libreria
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Condizioni: ottimo2000. Audiobook. Fine. Two cassette... Scopri di più su questo articolo
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Star Wars - Ruin
Editore:
Random House Audio
(2000)
ISBN 10: 0375409696
ISBN 13: 9780375409691
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Descrizione libro Audio Book (Cassette). Condizione: Fine. Condizione sovraccoperta: Fine. First Edition. 2000. Audiobook. Fine. Two cassette tapes. Three hours running time. The New Jedi Order. Dark Tide II Ruin. Read by Anthony Heald. Abridged. Out of print. Books are packed and shipped in boxes. Audio Tape. Codice articolo 207
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