"William C. Dietz - Halo 1 - The Flood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dietz William)

body. He wore a tall, ornate headpiece made of metal and set with amber panels. The Prophet had a
serpentine neck, a triangular skull, and two bright green eyes which glittered with malevolent intelligence.
He wore a red overrobe, a gold underrobe, and somewhere, hidden beneath all the fabric, an antigrav
belt which served to keep his body suspended one full unit off the deck. Though only a Minor Prophet,
he still outranked тАЩFulsamee, as his bearing made clear.

True Sayings aside, the Ship Master couldnтАЩt help but be reminded of the tiny, squealing rodents he had
hunted in his childhood. He immediately banished the memory of blood on his claws and returned his
attention to the Prophet, and his tiresome assistant.

The assistant, a lower-rank Elite named Bako тАЩIkaporamee, stepped forward to speak on the ProphetтАЩs
behalf. He had an annoying tendency to use the royal тАЬwe,тАЭ a habit that angered тАЩFulsamee.
тАЬThat is very unlikely, Ship Master. We doubt the humans have the means to follow one of our vessels
through a jump. Even if they do, why would they send only a single cruiser? Is it not their way to drown
us in their own blood? No, we think itтАЩs safe to surmise that this ship arrived in the system by accident.тАЭ

The words dripped with condescension, a fact which made the Ship Master angry, but couldnтАЩt be
addressed. Not directly, and certainly not with the Prophet present, although тАЩFulsamee wasnтАЩt willing to
cave in completely. тАЬSo,тАЭ тАЩFulsamee said, careful to direct his comment to тАЩIkaporamee alone, тАЬyou
would have me believe that the interlopers arrived here entirely bychance ?тАЭ

тАЬNo, of course not,тАЭ тАЩIkaporamee replied loftily. тАЬThough primitive by our standards, the creaturesare
sentient, and like all sentient beings, they are unconsciously drawn to the glory of the ancientsтАЩ truth and
knowledge.тАЭ

Like all the members of his caste, тАЩFulsamee knew that the Prophets had evolved on a planet which the
mysterious truth-givers had previously inhabited, and then, for reasons known only to the ancients
themselves, subsequently abandoned. This ring world was an excellent example of the ancientsтАЩ power . .
. and inscrutability.

тАЩFulsamee found it hard to believe that mere humans would be drawn here, the ancientsтАЩ wisdom
notwithstanding, but тАЩIkaporamee spoke for the Prophet, so it must be true. тАЩFulsamee touched the light
panel in front of him. A symbol glowed red. тАЬPrepare to fire plasma torpedoes. Launch on my
command.тАЭ

тАЩIkaporamee raised both hands in alarm. тАЬNo!We forbid it. The human vessel is much too close to the
construct! What if your weapons were to damage the holy relic? Pursue the ship, board it, and seize
control. Anything else is far too dangerous.тАЭ

Angered by what he saw as тАЩIkaporameeтАЩs interference, тАЩFulsamee spoke through gritted teeth. тАЬThe
course of action that the holy one recommends is likely to result in a high number of casualties. Is this
acceptable?тАЭ

тАЬThe opportunity to transcend the physical is a gift to be sought after,тАЭ the other responded. тАЬThe humans
are willing to spendtheir livesтАФcan we do less?тАЭ

No,тАЩFulsamee thought,but we should aspire to more. He again clicked his lower mandibles, and
touched the light panel. тАЬCancel the previous order. Load four transports with troops, and launch another
flight of fighters. Neutralize the interloperтАЩs weaponry before the boarding craft reach their target.тАЭ