"Richard Hatch - Battlestar Galactica 01 - Armageddon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hatch Richard)

"So, what have we got?" Starbuck asked.

"Binary 13 system on a narrow vector just ahead. We want Ochoa, the
only habitable planet in the system. It's the furthest out from either star,
and the gravitational pull of the two has created a helix orbit. Ochoa
orbits first one star, then the other, in completing a single rotation. Not
unique in the galaxy, but certainly extraordinary," Apollo explained,
fascinated by the holographic display before him.

"So even this outermost planet is within the gravitational range of both
stars?" Starbuck drawled.

"Yes. But it's in a protracted orbit, forty or fifty yahren, and the
planetary core appears stable."

"Stable? How can we be sure? Just because the seismic readings are
zero-zero at the moment doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Are we really
going to land on a planet that could be about to enter a cycle of geological
upheavals?"

"Nothing on the scanner suggests that," Apollo interrupted. "And we
need whatever the planet can offer by way of food and fuel and mineral
deposits. It's a recon trip, Starbuck."

There was a momentary pause before Starbuck grumbled, "Recon
missions don't usually mean risking my neck."

"You risk your neck every time you flirt, or play triad with the cadets, or
cheat at pyramids, or launch that antique Viper for that matter," Apollo
said.

"That's different," Starbuck sighed. "I'm a Warrior, not an idiot.
There's no way, as I see it from my limited knowledge of science, that
Ochoa could not be unstable.

"OhтАФand I've had about enough of you mocking my ship."

Starbuck added. "She's kept me alive this long, and I don't need a shiny
new toy."

Apollo grinned. When the fleet had begun building Azure-class Vipers,
Starbuck had held on to his ship. Recently, the first Scarlet-class
starfighter had rolled off the line and been presented to Apollo. Starbuck
was next in seniority, but still wouldn't have anything to do with it. He let
the tech crews service his antique and update its systems when necessary,
but that was it. Starbuck may have matured over the years, at least
somewhat, but when it came to that Viper he was like a little boy. No
other ship would do.

"Send a narrow-beam message to the Galactica; tell them we've