"David Drake - Reaches 02 - Through The Breach" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

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Through the Breach

To Allyn Vogel
Most of my friends are smart, competent,
and unfailingly helpful to me when
I need it. Allyn is all those things.
She is also a gentle and genuinely good person,
which puts her in a much smaller category.



BETAPORT, VENUS



7 Days Before Sailing



"Mister Jeremy Moore," announced the alien slave as he ushered me into the private chamber of the
Blue Rose Tavern. The public bar served as a waiting room and hiring hall for the Venus Asteroid
Expedition, while General Commander Piet Ricimer used the back room as an office.

I'd heard that the aide now with Ricimer, Stephen Gregg, was a conscienceless killer. My first glimpse of
the man was both a relief and a disappointment. Gregg was big, true; but he looked empty, no more
dangerous than a suit of ceramic armor waiting for someone to put it on. Blond and pale, Gregg could
have been handsome if his features were more animated.

Whereas General Commander Ricimer wasn't . . . pretty,say, the way women enough have found me,
but the fire in the man's soul gleamed through every atom of his physical person. Ricimer's glance and
quick smile were genuinely friendly, while Gregg's more lingering appraisal was . . .

Maybe Stephen Gregg wasn't as empty as I'd first thought.

"Thank you, Guillermo," said Ricimer. "Has Captain Macquerie arrived?"

"Not yet," the slave replied. "I'll alert you when he does." Guillermo's diction was excellent, though his
tongueless mouth clipped the sibilant. He closed the door behind him, shutting out the bustle of the public
bar.

Guillermo was a chitinous biped with a triangular face and a pink sash-of-office worn bandolier fashion
over one shoulder. I'd never been so close to a Molt slave before. There weren't many in the Solar