星球大战 第二部 第三章（2）

The sun that was creeping over Hoth's northern horizon was relatively dim, but

its light was enough to shed some warmth on the planet's icy surface. The light

crawled across the rolling hills of snow, fought to reach the darker recesses of the icy

gorges, then finally came to rest on what must have been the only perfect white

mound on the entire world.

So perfect was the snow-covered mound that it must have owed its existence to

some power other than Nature. Then, as the sky grew steadily brighter, this mound

began to hum. Anyone observing the mound now would have been startled as the

snow dome seemed to erupt, sending its snowy outer covering skyward in a great

burst of white particles. A droning machine began pulling back its retractable sensor

arms, and its awesome bulks slowly rose from its frozen white bed.

The probe robot paused briefly in the windy air, then continued on its morning

mission across the snow-covered plains.

Something else had invaded the morning air of the ice world—a relatively small,

snub-nosed craft, with dark cockpit windows and laser guns mounted on each side.

The Rebel snowspeeder was heavily armored and designed for warfare near the

planet's surface. But this morning the small craft was on a reconnaissance mission,

racing above the expansive white landscape and arcing over the contours of the

snowdrifts.

Although the snowspeeder was designed for a two-man crew, Zev was the ship's

only occupant. His eyes took in a panoramic scan of the desolate stretches below,

and he prayed that he would find the objects of his search before he went snow-blind.

Presently he heard a low beeping signal.

"Echo Base," he shouted jubilantly into his cockpit comlink, "I've got something!

Not much, but it could be a sign of life. Sector four-six-one-four by eight-eight0two.

I'm closing in."

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