"John G. Hemry - Lady Be Good" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hemry John G)

Lady Be Good by John G. Hemry
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Illustration by John Allemand
You can't have everything you want, but you can make the best of what you have....
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There's a place, they say, where sailors go when their last voyage ends, when their ships come apart
among the drifting reefs of an asteroid belt or vanish in the great dark between the stars that light worlds.
A place where the engines never falter and the hull never cracks, where particle storms never rage in
sudden fury that pierces shielding to shred the workings of machines and men and leave lifeless wrecks in
their wake. A place where every sailor has a safe posting and a fair wage and every Captain sees a
decent profit from a hard run. A place where the bars are cheap and honest, the planet-tied greet sailors
with open hands and hearts, and every ship finds welcome and a safe berth.

The place is called Haven, they say. No chart shows you the way, no sailing directions offer guidance, no
star map carries the name. But when the need is great and the time is right, a true sailor will find it. Or so
they say.

"Bunch o' crap," Dingo mumbled around his beer mug as the old drunk at the next table kept talking
about the mythical sailor's paradise known as Haven. Dingo drained the last of the brew and banged his
now-empty mug on the table. A passing waiter paused just long-enough to slop more beer into the mug,
allowing a big head to form, and tapped the counter on his waist racking up Dingo's tab. Dingo grunted
with disgust and blew off the foam, squinting at the actual beer level. "They do that on purpose."

"Really?" I pushed a lot of sarcasm into the word so that even Dingo would pick up on it. "When'd you
figure that out?"

"Go to hell, First Officer Kilcannon, sir," Dingo suggested. "They're cheating us, is what they're doin'."

"And they do the same damn thing in every damn bar in every damn port from here all the way back to
Mother Sol."

Dingo drained his beer again, belched, and got another partial "refill" almost as fast. "That's what I mean.
That attitude. What makes them think they can get away with that?"

"Experience with dumb sailors."

"Screw you, Kilcannon."

"No, thanks. I've already had that taken care of today."

"Then why're you bein' such a wise-ass? Wasn't it any fun?"

I shrugged. "It was business. Services paid for, services provided."

"Saints, but ain't you in a foul mood. Have another beer." Dingo flopped backward and smiled loosely.
"Works every time."