"Michael Flynn - Wreck of The Rivers of Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flynn Michael)

Gorgas had an agenda, of course. So did Satterwaithe.

The wardroom had been designed for the larger crew of a larger craft. ColtraineтАЩs people had filled it.
The PurserтАЩs department alone had boasted four senior officers plus their juniors, and the Sailing Master
had commanded a staff of dozens. Now, nearly all the furnishings had been stripped; some in the
original refit, some through sale, scrap, or cannibalization in the years since. A single table remained,
surrounded by a half-dozen clip-chairs, illuminated by a single light. The remainder of the room was
bare and dim, as if it were slowly fading.

(Even under constant boost, a table and chairs were but marginally useful; in free fall, they were entirely
notional. Yet the designers had possessed firm notions of propriety, and the image of finely uniformed
officers bobbing about like so much flotsam was too ludicrous to be entertained.)



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 TheWreckofTheRiverofStars

The ghosts of Coltraine and Toledo and Johnson and Fu-hsi might yet haunt that room, gazing from the
shadows with disapproval at what had become of their legacy. Lately, Corrigan had felt their eyes upon
him; had heard them rustling in the darkтАФshadows in a ship that had become itself a shadow. Gorgas
scoffed at such notions. He gave no credence to ghosts of any sort, not even to HandтАЩs, who alone of all
the prior captains might have reason to linger. If there were bangs and thumps and rattles, they signified
imbalanced fans or water hammers in the pipes. A ship grown old enough could give a credible imitation
of a haunting.

тАЬMr. Corrigan,тАЭ Gorgas announced without preamble, тАЬI shall need a suite of course revisions. We had
not reached our planned coasting velocity when the engines went down, so the balk line must be reset.тАЭ
It was like him to get right down to business. He mistook abruptness for efficiency.

тАЬWhat top velocity and braking power will we have available?тАЭ Corrigan asked, his stylus paused over
his тАЩputer.

тАЬThat will depend on how soon Mr. Bhatterji brings the engines back on line and how much thrust he
can give us when he does. It may be a software malf and we will have full power by this afternoon; or it
may be an equipment failure and we will only have partial restoration after days of work.тАЭ

тАЬBut then, whichтАж?тАЭ

тАЬUse your imagination, Number One. Give me an envelope. Find the boundary conditions.тАЭ It was unfair
to ask a man to use what he has in short supply. Gorgas had flown with the second officer long enough
to know that. You didnтАЩt always have to tell Corrigan what to do, but it helped.

Satterwaithe spoke up while Corrigan made notations in his тАЩputer. тАЬHave you developed a plan to bring
the sensors back on line?тАЭ She was an older woman, not so old as Ratline but her hair had grayed and
there were deep lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth. No one called them тАЬlaugh lines,тАЭ either.
тАЬWeтАЩre coasting at better than a hundred and fifty kisses against the Jupiter datum, and if we overtake
any rogue bodiesтАФтАЭ