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

again. Dingo might think Haven was in the nearest bar, but Captain Weskind clung to it being one good
run away. It seemed it had always been one good run away and maybe it always would be one good run
away. Maybe not, though. This run did promise a good return. Not without risk, of course. I smiled and
nodded at Captain Weskind's words because this really could be the one good run we needed, and
because I was sure Captain Weskind needed to believe that run would happen and needed to know I
believed it, too. "Will you be on the bridge when we leave port, Captain?"

More expressions chased their way across Captain Weskind's face. "I ... have work, First Officer
Kilcannon."

"I understand, Captain. I'll take the ship out."

"Thank you, First Officer Kilcannon."

I saluted again and left, making sure her hatch was set to notify me if Captain Weskind left her cabin. It
didn't happen much nowadays, but I needed to be there if she needed me.

Leaving port was the usual mix of tension and boredom. Tension because things could go wrong. A
blown directional vector or an aging control system sending the wrong commands could result in a painful
meeting of ship and some other object. Lady wasn't the smallest freighter running between stars, but she
wasn't all that big, either. Odds were if we hit anything Lady would be the loser.

But it was boring, too, because the procedures were ones we'd run through a hundred times and they
didn't change all that much from port to port. Same old drill, often in different places, but always the same
old drill.

Then we were out of the confines of the port and running free down the outbound shipping lanes, heading
outward past planets and rocks and comets, aiming to get far enough from the gravity well of Mandalay's
sun, Ganesha, to start our jump. Systems, especially inner systems, always felt cramped and crowded
when you were used to the wide open freedom of the big dark. Nearly a hundred suns held human
colonies now, and even after so many years of sailing between them I still felt a moment of wonder at the
thought that the Lady could carry me to any sun and planet I chose. In theory. In practice, we could only
go where the paying cargo runs took us. The roads between the stars aren't free, no matter what the
poets dream far away on Mother Sol.

Here, close to port, the inbound lanes passed near the outbound. I watched the big ships coming in. Sol
Transport, Vestral Shipping, Combined Systems, Great Spinward. The ships belonging to the giant
companies seemed to glow on our screens, all their systems registering in top shape on our readouts. I
fought down a wave of envious anger. With a fraction of what the big companies spent to keep those
ships of theirs shiny I could get Lady back in shape. But it wouldn't happen. Lady was beneath their
attention. The ports Lady called at were often beneath their attention. The cargo Lady carried usually
wasn't worth it for the big carriers. So I watched the big ships pass and wished for more of their leavings.

Maybe some of them were watching old, small, battered Lady heading out. If they were watching, I
could too easily imagine what they were thinking. I wished the wrath of the saints on smug company
spacers and went to let Dingo out of his quarters.
****
I double-checked the jump solution while Dingo glared at me. The lump visible on his forehead hadn't
aided his forgiving me for tricking him last night. But he'd done his job right. A short run to Wayfare, then
a middling run to a nowhere star named Carnavon that didn't see much traffic and wouldn't have any local