Greg Rucka
Before you wake up
A long time ago
in a distant Galaxy...
The shadow once again stretched over the Galaxy.
The clouds of war are gathering. Fear reigns where there is no time
peace and hope ruled.
The power of the FIRST ORDER is ever increasing,
and the NEW REPUBLIC may not be able to withstand a new enemy.
Billions and billions of creatures inhabit the Galaxy,
but in the heart of the battle there will only be three.
Each of them will have a great lot.
Each of them will have a meeting with darkness.
Each of them will fight to reach the light.
FN-2187 - STORMTROOPER TRAINED
in the forces of the First Order. Stormtrooper,
in whose soul doubts arose.
The girl who calls herself REY has no one
not needed - because only alone she can
survive on the desert planet Jakku.
Somewhere among the stars, PO DAMERON is serving.
He is determined, he has always believed in the Republic.
But sinister forces threaten to break
his resolve and undermine his faith.
Here are three stories. All this happened in a matter of months,
weeks and days until THE FORCE AWAKENS.
There were four of them in the fire group. Every now and then each had to warn his comrade about the danger. With blaster bolts whizzing around everywhere, it's pretty stupid to yell something like, "Hey, FN-2187, watch out!" Therefore, the guys from the fire group agreed to call each other shorter. In the presence of the officers, especially Captain Phasma, they, of course, only mentioned numbers. But in the barracks and in battle, everyone had a nickname. Some came up with it themselves, while others were helped by their comrades.
For example, FN-2199 was called Nines. He just liked the word itself, that's all. And FN-2000 asked to be called Triple Zero. He was terribly happy that he got a tidy figure for his room. Three Zero imagined that because of this he was so unique. Zero, in fact, is a dubious reason for pride, but no one told Three Zeros about it. And he himself, apparently, didn’t think much about it.
Only FN-2003 had a real nickname - Kopun. He was always a little slower than the others, kind of a little clumsy. And it’s not even a matter of ordinary sluggishness, it’s something else. Sometimes you look at him - at briefings, during training or during drills - and it seems as if the orders are not quite reaching him. It’s as if he doesn’t understand well what he should do and how.
FN-2187 was abbreviated as simply Eight-Seven. Although his comrades somehow did not dare to call him by his short number again. Eight-Seven was one of the most capable stormtroopers of all time, as other stormtroopers and instructors would readily attest. For the instructors, he was just a gift, not a soldier - loyal, efficient, fearless, intelligent and strong. Any exam, any aptitude test - and you can bet that Eight-Seven will always be among the top one percent of the best. All in all, FN-2187 was well on his way to becoming the ideal First Order stormtrooper. That's what everyone thought, at least.
Except for FN-2187 itself.
FN-2003, aka Kopun, was left to the mercy of fate.
FN-2187, Three Zeros and Nines took cover behind the remains of the outer wall. This wall, battered by countless blaster shots and thoroughly cracked, could still serve as a reliable shelter. On the other side of the wall was Republican territory, which they desperately defended. Under heavy enemy fire, FN-2187 and his comrades could not even stick their nose out of the shelter. Bright blue arrows hissed overhead and stuck into the ground around them. The charges hit the wall with incredible force, the shocks were felt even through the armor.
Look, there he is again. - Three Zero nudged FN-2187 with his elbow, pointing back to where they had recently been forced to retreat.
FN-2187 squatted down and cautiously looked out. To an outsider's eye, all stormtroopers wearing the same armor are indistinguishable from each other. But the devices mounted in the helmet pour out an almost continuous stream of information on any soldier: telemetric data, coordinates for fire control, weather conditions - in general, anything, right down to the number of charges in a blaster rifle (well, this is just not bad) . And as soon as one stormtrooper looks at another, the instruments in the helmet immediately display personal data. That's why you need a built-in computer to recognize friend and foe. So the instruments instantly told FN-2187 that Kopun was crouched behind the hull of the exploded Republic speeder. And what about it is 29.3 meters.
FN-2187 also saw something that Kopun could not see: a detachment of five Republicans was approaching FN-2003 from the left. Eight-Seven raised his rifle and took aim, but immediately realized that it was useless - he was too far away. Shoot, don't shoot - you'll miss anyway.
“He’s finished,” Nine breathed out. - We abandon him and move on.
“He’s one of us,” FN-2187 responded, lowering his rifle.
“We have an order,” Three Zero intervened. “We’ll go there,” he added, pointing his thumb behind him, towards the base. “If we go back for him, there won’t be a wet spot left of us.”
No one saw FN-2187 frown under his helmet. Well, yes, they have orders, yes, there are enemies all around, yes, Three Zeros are right. They are ordered to capture a position in enemy territory, which the enemy defends with the help of a heavy autoblaster. Whoever's firing that thing knows his stuff. In front of Eight-Seven and his comrades, two squads of stormtroopers were wiped out as they tried to get closer. It's amazing how Kopun is still alive. Or maybe not surprising. FN-2187 had no doubt: the guy who pulled the trigger intended to die when someone came running to save his ill-fated comrade. Which, in fact, is what he, FN-2187, is going to do.
“Time passes,” Triple Zero reminded.
FN-2187 glanced over his shoulder at enemy territory. The terrain is uneven, there is somewhere to hide - you can move in dashes under covering fire. True, the closer to the autoblaster, the more difficult it will be to provide cover, but oh well. If you do everything wisely, you might be able to get through.
Three Zeros, enter from the left. Nines, you are on the right,” FN-2187 ordered. - On my command. Stick to the inside wall.
“So we’ll fail the whole operation,” Nines grumbled.
“Stay to the inner wall,” FN-2187 repeated. - Went!
Three Zeros and Nines are not delighted with his instructions, that’s clearer than ever. But they are attack aircraft, which means: you received an order - carry it out, and quickly. Therefore, both took off, and Eight-Seven paused for a few seconds, waiting until his comrades diverted the enemy’s fire to themselves, and only then rushed forward. In this direction, the terrain was no better than in enemy territory - bumpy, impassable, littered with debris of metal and stones. Black smoke from burning engines spread over the ground. Eight-Seven covered the first ten meters with a jump, and then he rushed from cover to cover, bending low, desperately weaving and from time to time jumping over obstacles.
He had already covered half the distance, but then the Republicans noticed him and raised the alarm. Their cry echoed across the entire battlefield, and FN-2187 was immediately fired upon. He dived forward, plopped down into the crater that had just appeared, and froze for a moment. Then he ventured to rise on his elbows. He fired twice and again fell flat in the crater. He rolled to the right and fired three more times. He took out two opponents. That is great.
True, there are still three left, and everyone is aiming at him.
FN-2187 turned on the transmitter:
FN-2003, check the situation left and right!
I don't see anyone!
Not for me, but for you! Look to the left!
The transmitter burst into noise again - FN-2187 even winced. You can go deaf, honestly. He rolled back and carefully crawled to the edge of a small crater. Kopun, meanwhile, opened fire on the remnants of the republican detachment that was still approaching him. Now FN-2187 is in no hurry. He took careful aim and pulled the trigger of his blaster rifle three times. The last enemy soldier fell.
Behind me! - FN-2187 yelled.
There was no need to yell: FN-2003 had already gotten out of his hiding place and was rushing towards his friend as fast as he could. Eight-Seven rolled onto his back, making room for Kopun to take cover next to him. He slid into the crater and hit the FN-2187 on the chest plate in a friendly manner. He hit it with all his heart - the sound came out as if they banged on the door with all their might.
Thank you, 2187! - Kopun blurted out. - Thank you, buddy. I thought you were going to leave me.
You are one of us. - FN-2187 pointed towards enemy territory. - Don't leave me alone.
I'm right behind you.
FN-2187 paused for another second, catching his breath, and jumped out of the crater. Kopun followed. It seemed as if they were firing less often from the Republican base, but Eight-Seven understood that it only seemed so - the enemy was shooting with the same frequency, but now the fire was scattered. Everything goes according to plan: FN-21 87 specially separated Three Zeros and Nines in order to disperse the enemy’s attention. This was the only way he had a chance to get through to Kopun. True, now Three Zeros and Nines are cut off from them with Kopun and pinned to their place. They can't escape.
To narrow down the search results, you can refine your query by specifying the fields to search for. The list of fields is presented above. For example:
You can search in several fields at the same time:
Logical operators
The default operator is AND.
Operator AND means that the document must match all elements in the group:
research development
Operator OR means that the document must match one of the values in the group:
study OR development
Operator NOT excludes documents containing this element:
study NOT development
Search type
When writing a query, you can specify the method in which the phrase will be searched. Four methods are supported: search taking into account morphology, without morphology, prefix search, phrase search.
By default, the search is performed taking into account morphology.
To search without morphology, just put a “dollar” sign in front of the words in the phrase:
$ study $ development
To search for a prefix, you need to put an asterisk after the query:
study *
To search for a phrase, you need to enclose the query in double quotes:
" research and development "
Search by synonyms
To include synonyms of a word in the search results, you need to put a hash " #
" before a word or before an expression in parentheses.
When applied to one word, up to three synonyms will be found for it.
When applied to a parenthetical expression, a synonym will be added to each word if one is found.
Not compatible with morphology-free search, prefix search, or phrase search.
# study
Grouping
In order to group search phrases you need to use brackets. This allows you to control the Boolean logic of the request.
For example, you need to make a request: find documents whose author is Ivanov or Petrov, and the title contains the words research or development:
Approximate word search
For an approximate search you need to put a tilde " ~ " at the end of a word from a phrase. For example:
bromine ~
When searching, words such as "bromine", "rum", "industrial", etc. will be found.
You can additionally specify the maximum number of possible edits: 0, 1 or 2. For example:
bromine ~1
By default, 2 edits are allowed.
Proximity criterion
To search by proximity criterion, you need to put a tilde " ~ " at the end of the phrase. For example, to find documents with the words research and development within 2 words, use the following query:
" research development "~2
Relevance of expressions
To change the relevance of individual expressions in the search, use the " sign ^
" at the end of the expression, followed by the level of relevance of this expression in relation to the others.
The higher the level, the more relevant the expression is.
For example, in this expression, the word “research” is four times more relevant than the word “development”:
study ^4 development
By default, the level is 1. Valid values are a positive real number.
Search within an interval
To indicate the interval in which the value of a field should be located, you should indicate the boundary values in parentheses, separated by the operator TO.
Lexicographic sorting will be performed.
Such a query will return results with an author starting from Ivanov and ending with Petrov, but Ivanov and Petrov will not be included in the result.
To include a value in a range, use square brackets. To exclude a value, use curly braces.
The shadow once again stretched over the Galaxy. The clouds of war are gathering. Fear reigns where peace and hope once ruled. The power of the First Order is growing, and the New Republic may not be able to withstand a new enemy. Billions and billions of creatures inhabit the Galaxy, but only three will be at the heart of the battle. Each of them will have a great lot. Each of them will have a meeting with darkness. Each of them will fight to reach the light. FN-2187 is a stormtrooper trained by the First Order. A stormtrooper with doubts in his soul.
The girl who calls herself Rey does not need anyone - after all, only alone can she survive on the desert planet Jakku. Somewhere among the stars, Poe Dameron is serving. He is determined, he has always believed in the Republic. But sinister forces threaten to break his resolve and undermine his faith. Here are three stories that will merge into one stream before the awakening of the Force...
Description added by user.
The book is very convenient and cool, and you should read it if:
1. You fall into exaltation from the very name “Star Wars”.
2. You have been browsing English sites for a long time in the hope of snatching at least a piece of this backstory of the new trilogy, so that you really know everything about the latest one.
3. You are horrified by the sudden and unrealistic change of heart of Finn, who so easily and naturally corrected all the pro-fascist ideals of the First Order hammered into him.
“Before Awakening,” rest assured, will provide answers to all three points and will even delight you with additional bonuses, giving the reader something interesting to think about on the topic of the eighth and ninth episodes. The book itself is “convenient” precisely because a fan of the saga who knows about its existence will most likely like it, as it contains a lot of useful and new information about the main characters and their life. The rest simply haven't heard of it. But even if you, out of good feelings, recommend it to the “unenlightened”, and they read it, they are unlikely to be so impressed - and this has been proven experimentally.
The book itself contains three stories that sequentially tell us what the main characters - Finn, Rey and Poe Dameron - were doing a few months before the start of The Force Awakens. First of all - yes, it turns out that Poe Dameron is the main character, and Kylo Ren, that is, Ben Solo, is just an under-Sith decoration, so we won’t give you a story about him, well, maybe we’ll draw some comic book in a couple of minutes years, when we complete the trilogy. Well, in general, if anyone is interested: a grain of the story about Ben Solo and his time as Luke’s Padawan is briefly reflected in “Blood Ties” by Claudia Gray, and this, apparently, is enough for now.
Now about the pleasant things. The book, in my opinion, is written better than the novelization of “The Force Awakens” (or is its translation better?) - the dynamic plot is very pleasing. One minute you are in a military simulator, the next you are participating in a tense fight against friends, ten minutes later you are already in the Jakku desert and feel your throat dry from long-term thirst. The author does not waste time on elaboration, and the narrative resembles a roller coaster. Detail and a lot of information about the daily routine in the First Order, for example, or about the insides of the dead ships on Jakku, or about the peculiarities of piloting space yachts... It's wonderful. Apply this book to your mental wounds received while waiting for the eighth episode, and feel how they begin to gradually heal.
If everything is great with the plot, then with the psychology of the characters it’s a little less joyful. Here you will not see that awkward and nervous Finn from PS - he has been replaced by a cold-blooded warrior looking for the truth in this inhospitable world. He doesn’t joke, he doesn’t twitch like John Boyega, but he sweats - so everything is according to the canon. And you will definitely be able to dive into the thoughts of FN-2187 to understand why his life was so hard and why he decided to betray his duty at the very moment when Poe Dameron’s life was in danger.
Rey is smart and beautiful, and her story is precisely the ground on which we can later try to build new theories about the next episodes. Life on Jakku is a life in a burning hell, where your soul inevitably hardens, where you become more suspicious than perhaps you need to be. And it is still unknown whether it is good when you try to change and become a little more humane. I don’t want to spoil it (and still there is a slight SPOILER), but after reading Rey’s story, it becomes completely unclear how she has managed to stay on the light side of the Force, and whether a more ambiguous development of her views awaits us in the future (fortunately, there is prerequisites).
Poe has the most playful, simple and at the same time optimistic story. A story about friendship (and inevitable loss), duty to the Republic (well, in general, they fulfill it in a unique way) and blind patriotism, with the help of which such entities like Starkiller are destroyed.
Just don’t expect increased emotionality from the stories - unfortunately, at decisive moments, where the heroes, in theory, should experience some kind of internal turning point, the author gives only factual descriptions. Yes, “she/he felt bad” or “she didn’t feel anything” - the latter is generally a direct path to the reader not feeling anything.
Otherwise, the book is a treasure trove of useful information for fans, which makes the bleak wait a little easier for the new episode.
Loading...