"Judges Call (Timothy Zahn)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

office/conversation area.

Cirali was waiting for them on a large couch, nearly lost amid a dozen
large and vibrantly colored cushions. "Ah-the Jedi," he called, lifting both
hands in greeting as the attendants closed the doors behind them. "Welcome,
Master Skywalker. And you must be his blushing bride."

Mara gave her husband a sideways look. "'Blushing bride'?" she echoed
ominously.

"Just a figure of speech," Luke hastened to assure her. "We're here,
Master Cirali, and prepared to deal with the problem."

"I am grateful," Cirali said. "The problem, Master Skywalker, is one of
time. Tell me, what does one do when there seems to be no time for the
important things of life?"

Mara felt something twinge within her. That was the precise problem she
and Luke were having these days: too many responsibilities, too little time.
If a being who coordinated operations in a major agricultural area like this
couldn't solve it, it wasn't very likely Luke could.

To her mild surprise, though, Luke merely smiled. "There's always time
for the important things," he told the alien. "The trick is to recognize the
need, and to create the necessary time."

"You speak wisely," Cirali said, rising from his couch. "Come. The
consulting room awaits."

He led the way to one of the hanging curtains behind his couch and pushed
it aside, revealing a metal door built into the solid rock of the cavern. At a
wave of his hand, it opened into a small turbolift car. "I will await your
return," he said, bowing.

Luke led the way into the car, and a moment later he and Mara were moving
upward through the mountain. "So who exactly are we seeing in this consulting
room?" Mara asked as the car slowed to a stop. The door opened-

She caught her breath. Beyond the door was a vast chamber, as beautifully
and luxuriously appointed as the best palaces she'd ever seen across the
galaxy. The room had the delicate scent of dew-sparkled velanie flowers, and
one of her favorite kithra sonatas was playing softly in the background. At
the far end of the room, a huge transparisteel window gave an awesome view of
the mountains and the rivers and valleys beyond, all of it in sharp relief
against the shadows thrown by the setting sun.

And aside from the two of them, the chamber was deserted.

"As I said," Luke murmured as he put his arm around her and led her out
of the turbolift car onto the thick carpeting, "the trick is to create the