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Uh-oh.They re smart as I feared.Grav waves.Somebody under primary acceleration.Has to be a ship of theirs. Son of Man, help us. At the boat s high kinetic velocity, the pulsar shrank and dimmed while they watched. Radar touch, Flandry reported tunelessly. Th-they ve caught us? M-m-m, they may assume we re a bit of cosmic debris. You can t check out every blip on yourscope Oof ! They re applying a new vector. Wish I dared use the computer. It looks to me as if they re maneuvering for an intercept with us, but I d need math to make sure. If they are? The abstractness of it, that s half the horror. A reading, an equation, andme closed off from touching you, even seeing you. We re not us, we re objects. Like being already dead no, that s not right, Jesus promised well live. He did. They aren t necessarily. No beam s latched onto us. I suspect they ve been casting about more or less at random. We registered strong enough to rate a closer look, but they lost and haven t refound us. Interplanetary space is bigger than most people imagine. So they may as well direct themselves according to the orbit this whatsit seemed to have, in hopes of checking us out at shorter range. Will they? I don t know. If we recaught well , I suppose we should eschew a last-ditch stand. How would one dig a ditch in vacuum? We can surrender, hope Ydwyr can save us and another chance ll come to worm out. His voice in the dark was not as calm as he evidently wished. You d trust Ydwyr? lashed from her. His beam stepped across the dials. Closing in fast, he said. Radar sweep s bound to pick us up soon. We may show as an interstellar asteroid, but considering the probability of a natural passage at any given time Sheheard and felt his despair. Sorry, sweetheart. We gave em a goodtry, didn t we? The image might have sprung to her physical vision, shark shape across the Milky Way, man s great foes black-clad at the guns. She reached out to the stars of heaven. God have mercy, she cried with her whole being. Oh, send them back where they belong! Blink blink blink. The light ray danced. Where it touched, meters turned into pools beneath those suns that crowded the screens. Ho-o-old, Flandry murmured. Oneminute They re receding! exploded from him. Judas priest, they, they must ve decided the blip didn t mean anything! They re going? she heard herself blurt. They are? Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Yes. They are. Can t ve felt too strongly about that stray indication theygot Whoo ! They ve gone hyper! Already! Aimed back toward Siekh, seems like. And the here, we can use our circuits again, lemme activate the secondary-wave receivers first yes, yes, four indications, our couriers, their other three ships, right on the verge of detectability, headed out Djana, we did it!Judas priest! Not Judas, dear, she said in worship. Jesus. Anybody you like. Flandry turned on the fluoros. Joy torrented from him. You yourself your wonderful, wonderful self Weight. Warm hearty gusts of air. Flandry was doing a fandango around the cabin. We can take off ourselves inside an hour. Go a long way round for safety s sake but at the end, home! He surged to embrace her. And never mind Ydwyr, he warbled. We re going to celebrate the whole way back! XX Standing in the cramped, thrumming space between bulkheads, beyond reach of him who sat chained, the Terran said: You appreciate that the whole truth about what happened would embarrass me. I want your solemn promise you ll support my account and drop no hint concerning Wayland. Why should I agree? the Merseian asked blandly. Because if you don t, Djana told him venom seethed in each word I ll have the pleasure of killing you. No, no, spare the dramatics, Flandry said. Especially since he too considers an oath under duress is worthless. Ydwyr, the pilot s data list various planets where I could let you off. You can survive. A few have intelligent natives to study. Their main drawback is that no one has found any particular reason to revisit them, so you may have a slight problem in publishing your findings. But if you don t mind, I don t. Is that not a threat? the prisoner rumbled. No more than your threat to expose my, ah, sideline financial interests. Talwin s bound to lose its military value whatever becomes of you or me. Suppose I throw in that I ll do what I can to help keep your scientific station alive. Under the circumstances, does that bargain sound fair? Done! Ydwyr said. He swore to the terms by the formulas of honor. Afterward he extended a hand. And for your part, let us shake on it. Flandry did. Djana watched, gripping a stunner. You re not figuring to turn him loose now, are you? she demanded. No, I m afraid that can t be included in the deal, Flandry said. Unless you ll give me your parole, Ydwyr. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html The girl looked hurt and puzzled, then relieved when the Merseian answered: I will not. You are too competent. My duty is to kill you if I can. He smiled. With that made clear, would you like a game of chess? Mining continued here and there in the system to which Irumclaw belonged. Hence small human colonies persisted, with mostly floating populations that weren t given to inconvenient curiosity or to gossiping with officialdom about what they might have seen. Jake put briefly down in a spaceport on the fourth world out. It was a spot of shabbiness set in the middle of an immense rusty desert. The atmosphere was not breathable, and barely thick enough to blow dust clouds into a purple sky. A gangtube reached forth to connect airlock with airdome. Flandry escorted Djana to the exit. You ll be through soon? she asked wistfully. For a moment the small slender form in the modest gown, the fine-boned features, eyes like blue lakes, lips slightly parted and aquiver, made him forget what had passed between them and think of her as a child. He had always been a sucker for little girls. Soon s I can, he answered. Probably under a week. But do lie doggo till you hear from me. It s essential we report jointly to Leon Ammon. Those credits you brought with you ought to stretch. Check [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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