"Hawke, Simon - Descent-FreeSpace - Hammer of Light, Omen of Darkness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

"The hell you will." He glanced around dubiously at the Vasudan furnishings. "IТll sleep in that thing," he said, pointing at what looked like a cross between a contoured lounger and a birthing chair.
Rafferty glanced at it and raised her eyebrows. "Good luck," she said. "By the way, IТm a certified shipТs medic and a licensed chiropractor. I think youТll be glad of that come morning."
#
Tallanis had promised Harlow free run of the ship, and Harlow took advantage of that, exploring the Hammer to the extent he was allowed, escorted by alert guards every step of the way. Rafferty accompanied him, since there wasnТt anything else for her to do. Besides, as a Merchant Space Fleet officer, she was just as curious as he was. What Harlow wanted to see more than anything else was the Flight Deck of the Hammer, and apparently the guards did not have any instructions to prevent him.
A younger officer had replaced the one who had led the detail the first day and this one "spoke" much better Terran Standard, which meant that, like Tallanis, he understood grammar and syntactical structure well enough to sound natural through the translator. He answered all their questions and proudly pointed out the details of his ship. As Harlow and Rafferty stood out on the catwalk overlooking the HammerТs Flight Deck, the young Vasudan pointed out the fighters and the salient points of the launch bays with obvious pride.
"The Hammer boasts a complement of three hundred and fifty Imperial class fighters," the young Vasudan officer said, sweeping his arm out to indicate the sleek vessels below.
"IsnТt that more than the standard Vasudan destroyer usually mounts?" asked Harlow, as he stared down at the Flight Deck, where row upon row of the sleek, silver and gold, Imperial class Vasudan fighters stood parked side by side, weapons banks pivoted up and back on their mounting struts, enabling them to be parked close together, with only a few feet separating fuselage from fuselage..
The young officer did that strange, pigeon-headed nod. "We have maximized our fighter capability to carry as many as the Flight Deck can possibly hold. And our highly trained launch crews are capable of deploying the full complement of fighters in less time than the average destroyer in the Imperial Vasudan Fleet can launch all theirs. We are on constant standby, battle-ready mode, and can engage the enemy almost twice as quickly as the average destroyer in the Vasudan Fleet."
"Lucky for you, since theyТre all out gunning for you, arenТt they?" Harlow said. "How does it feel to regard your own people as Сthe enemy,Т and to have them regarding you as traitors and terrorists?"
"I was warned that you would ask such questions," the young officer replied. "And I was instructed to reply honestly and to the best of my ability. The answer is, it feels sad that so many of our people lack the faith to understand that what must be must be, and that the prophecy of the Omen of Darkness shall come to pass."
"The Omen of Darkness?" Rafferty asked. "WhatТs that?"
"It is an old prophecy among my people," the Vasudan officer replied, with the intensity of the true believer. "Long before our own civilization arose, there lived another race of beings known to us only as СThe Ancients.Т Evidence of their culture was discovered in a nearby system and it is believed by many that our own civilization on Vasuda Prime could never have developed as it did without their aid. But The Ancients disappeared without a trace, and Vasudan scientists believe a catacylsm of some sort befell their culture. The prophecy, however, tells us what that cataclysm must have been."
"The Shivans?" Rafferty asked.
"Or some force very much like the Shivans," the young officer replied. "The ruins of the Temple of Altair, one of the few almost completely intact structures left behind by the The Ancients, contain elaborate murals depicting the arrival of a dark and cleansing force, relentless and unstoppable. Some of these illustrations show monsters, creatures, which resemble strongly the design of spacecraft employed by the Shivans."
"So you believe that the Shivans came and wiped out these Ancients?" Rafferty asked.
The Vasudan gave a pigeon-headed nod. "They became too proud, too arrogant, too unmindful of the balance of the universe and their proper place within the scheme of things. They threatened to upset that balance, and so, the Destroyers came. Much as they have now come for my people ... and for yours."
"So why not fight them?" Rafferty asked. "Why simply accept defeat?"
"Because the cleansing force of the Destroyers is the inevitable mechanism through which the Omen of Darkness shall be realized," the young Vasudan said. "They cannot be stopped, because the universe cannot be stopped. The balance must be preserved. Your own human sacred writings also speak of this. Do they not say, СTo every thing, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven?Т Our season has passed, and so we must pass, as well. We must return to the Oneness of the Universe and reunite with it, so that the cosmic balance may once more be restored."
"Except that most Vasudans donТt seem as anxious to return to the СOneness of the UniverseТ as you do," said Harlow, wryly.
"If they lack the moral courage to accept their destiny, then they must be shown how to find it."
"By Admiral Tallanis, right?" said Harlow. "The Hammer of Light, himself. Fall in love with death, embrace your Fate. What a load of crap. You realize heТs totally psychotic, donТt you?"Т
The look the young Vasudan officer gave him was difficult to read, because Harlow simply did not know enough about Vasudan facial expresssions, but his terse words spoke plainly enough. "Admiral Tallanis is my father," the Vasudan said.
"Great," muttered Rafferty, under her breath. "Smooth move, Harlow."
Suddenly, am alarm pealed out across the Flight Deck, igniting an instant flurry of activity below. Harlow did not need to be familiar with the protocol aboard Vasudan military vessels to know what was going on. It was obvious.
"Battle Stations," the young officer said, tensing visibly. "I must go. You may remain here, if you wish, and watch the Flight Deck preparations. These soldiers will attend you." He indicated the guards behind them, then rushed off.
"WhatТs going on?" asked Rafferty.
"Well, when we came out of Freespace ," said Harlow, "we were somewhere in the system of Vasuda Prime, according to one of the guards I spoke to. So that means that either Tallanis is about to launch an attack on some of his own people, or else somone is attacking him."
"The Vasudan Fleet?" asked Rafferty.
"LetТs hope so," Harlow said. "Because if itТs the Shivans, then that fruitcake might just decide to embrace his predestined fate and not fight back. Either way, I donТt much feel like sticking around and finding out."
And before Rafferty could react, Harlow turned quickly, grabbed the Vasudan guard behind him, yanked him forward and swung him around, yanking the sidearm out of his holster as he did so and shoving him hard into the other two. Startled and knocked off balance, one of the guards staggered back and almost went over the railing of the catwalk. As the others collided, Harlow hit them both with stun blasts and they collapsed to the catwalk at his feet. Then he caught the arm of the guard that was struggling for balance, half over the railing, and pulled him back onto the catwalk, then promptly stunned him point blank to the chest.
"YouТre welcome," he said to the unconscious guard, glancing down at the weapon in his hand and checking the power supply. "LetТs hear it for shared technology."
"Are you crazy? What are you doing?" Rafferty asked, shocked.
"Getting the hell outta here. You coming?" he relived the unconscious guards of their sidearms and tossed one to Rafferty. "You know how to use one of those?"
"I had the same briefings on Vasudan weapons you did," she replied, catching the weapon and checking it. "ThatТs S.O.P. in Merchant Space Fleet. I even had a chance to qualify with one."
"Yeh?" said Harlow. "You ever qualify with one of those?"
She followed his gaze down to one of the gold and silver Imperial fighters on the Flight Deck and her eyes grew wide. "YouТre not serious?"
"ItТs the only chance weТve got," he said.
Below them, the cacophany of the call to Battle Stations and the frenzy of activity taking place to get the fighters launched meant that the Vasudans on the Flight Deck were not going to have much time to notice them. At least, Harlow devoutly hoped that was the case.
"CТmon," he said, beckoning Rafferty to follow as he took off running down the catwalk towards the lift tube at the other end. "Move it!"
"I sure hope you know what the hell youТre doing," she said, as she followed him. They got into the cage and Harlow stabbed at the unfamiliar controls until he got the thing descending.
"I hope so, too," he said. "But either way, IТm not about to trust my fate to some whacked out fanatic who thinks the Shivans are GodТs avenging angels or some crazy thing like that."
The rising and falling, whooping claxon of the Battle Stations call filled the cavernous Flight Deck as launch crews went into their well-rehearsed routines and pilots came rushing out to their assigned fighters. Several fighters were already rising on their platforms to the Launch Bays on the level above.
"Leave that weapon set on stun," said Harlow. "ItТll make the charge last longer and if we blow this, itТll go easier on us if we donТt kill anyone."
"LetТs hope youТre right. Can you fly one of those things?" asked Rafferty, as they reached the Flight Deck level and stepped out of the lift cage.
"IТm not sure," said Harlow.
"What the hell do you mean youТre not sure? This is a fine time to tell me that!"
"The Vasudan Imperial two-man fighter was the basis of the GTF Ulysses," Harlow said, as they moved along the bulkhead, trying to stay out of sight behind banks of equipment and the fighter lift platforms. "That was the first fighter developed from shared T-V technology. The Ulysses combined the best aspects of our Apollo fighter with their design. I qualified in one of those."
"But it still wasnТt the same fighter," said Rafferty. "And the controls were not set up for a Vasudan."
"Well, gee, Rafferty, if youТre gonna nitpick ...."
"Shit," swore Rafferty. "WeТre gonna die."