"Edmond Hamilton - Fugitives of the Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Edmond)

navigation-board, Vinson's dark head had snapped erect.
Horne said, тАЬSlavers? You mean, raiding for humanoid slaves...?"
"Yes. Why anyone would want the poor devils, even for cheap labor, I don't know.
But the complaints have been filtering through. So, send Denman to look into it."
Horne shook his head, incredulous. тАЬIn this day and age...?"
Vinson came back from the board. тАЬBut that,тАЭ he said, тАЬis against every law there is!
The Federation has cruisers. Why don't they patrol the Fringe and break it up?тАЭ As
an afterthought he turned and said to Horne, тАЬBoard checked out, sir. A-OK."
Denman said, тАЬYou're not thinking, boy. Cruisers on extended patrol have got to
have bases within reach on civilized worlds able to handle all the problems of supply
and maintenance. There are very few civilized worlds out here, and not one of them
has chosen to join the Federation."
Vinson nodded. тАЬSo, no bases, no patrols. I see."
Denman looked bitterly at an orange-yellow star shining out in the farther distance of
the Fringe, and added, тАЬSkereth would be the key to the whole Fringe, if we had it in
the Federation. But it isn't. They've held off joining; they've argued; they've
demurred. So instead of a decent force capable of going out and dealing with such a
situation, we have to send an under-official out to тАШinvestigate.тАЩ That's me."
Horne began to understand why Denman was so sour. He said, тАЬWe're stopping to
pick up passengers at Skereth, on the way back. I've heard..."
"I know,тАЭ said Denman cynically, тАЬI've heard the same thing. Special envoys going
to Vega to talk about Skereth entering the Federation. Fine and dandy. I hope they
do! But it won't do me any good. All the preliminary talks, and the ratification
red-tape, and the time required to build a base and get it operating...тАЭ He shook his
head. тАЬFor the next two years, at least, I'll still be hitch-hiking on tramp freighters
from one Fringe world to anotherтАФthat is, if I'm alive to hitch."
"You're thinking of the slavers,тАЭ Horne said.
"They wouldn't be anxious to have me get back home, do you think? No. And of
course the humanoids are always an uncertain quantity ... most living things are,
especially if they've been frightened or hurt.тАЭ Denman sighed and looked at the
diamond-clear flame that was Allamar. тАЬI wish,тАЭ he said, тАЬthat I was a drinking man."
Later, lying in the dark cabin in his bunk, listening to the deep faint throbbing of the
drives and feeling the fabric of the ship around him like an extension of his own
flesh, Horne thought that Denman was taking the whole thing too big. He was a
lonely man, obviously, far from what home and family he might have, and, just as
obviously, he carried something of a grudge against his superiors, with all this talk of
Denman being expendable and always getting the dirty jobs. Horne thought he was
dramatizing the situation, both its importance and its danger, in order to dramatize
himself.
Later still, when he came trundling down the beam of the automatic beacon to land
on the single primitive field of Allamar Two, he was not so sure.
Horne had landed at Allamar once before, some five years ago. He remembered how
it had been then, a festive occasion with much drumming and squealing of outlandish
instruments, much waving of banners made out of feathers and bright leaves, and
all-night sessions of solemn drinking after the business of trade was finished.
This time there were neither music nor banners. The Yoga Queen settled down in a
totally deserted field. After the smoke and dust cleared away and the gangway was
run out, Horne and Captain Wasek and the Third Officer went down with Denman to
stand in the clear sunlight. A brisk cool breeze went by with a smell of distant
snowfields in it, and there was nobody at all to meet them.