"Huff, Tanya - What Ho, Magic!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

Erik and Darvish jostled their way into the control room. The door sealed shut behind them.
"What's up?" Erik asked shooting a curious glance back at the door.
"Maybe us. Both of you sit down and shut up."
"In my opinion," Darvish began.
"I said both of you!"
Exchanging puzzled glances, the cousins contorted themselves into the copilot's couch.
"We're pulling away, Boss. We can't lose them but they can't catch us unless they divert power from their shields."
Kelly looked considerably more cheerful. "No chance of that."
"Why not?" Darvish asked, a frown creasing his perfect brow.
"Because, ditz head," Erik told him, trying to put his feet up in imitation of Kelly and missing the console by a good half meter, "if they lower their shields, there'll be nothing to protect them from each other."
Darvish spent a moment figuring out who they were. "Oh," he said at last.
Time passed. The dreadnoughts gained marginally but they were still out of firing range when Val dropped back to real space and swung into orbit around the sixth planet of Okmar IV.
"This is it, Boss. Nothing appears to be waiting for us."
"Nice change," Kelly commented, straightening and studying the readouts. "Hail the planet on a tight beam. Identify us and our passengers and sweep for a reply."
"Don't expect a reply from Grandmother."
Kelly turned to stare at Darvish.
"Grandmother only answers when she feels like it," he explained. "And that isn't often."
"Swell," Kelly sighed. "If we get down in one piece, she's on our side?"
"That's about it," Erik agreed.
"Atmosphere in seven minutes, Boss. No reply to our identification, but a landing beacon just came on." Val sounded almost jubilant. "Looks like we're in the clear."
Kelly's expression suggested she doubted it, but she remained silent. Briefly, she regretted not spacing Erik back on Rayanton when she had the chance.
As the Valkyrie slid into the atmosphere, the pursuing dreadnoughts came into firing range. Both ships let fly a futile barrage of shots then, still warily apart, followed the freighter down.
"They're still after us, Boss. I'm raising the speed and shortening the angle of descent. It's going to get a little warm in here."
"It's going to get a lot warmer if they catch up," Kelly pointed out. "Just get us down in one piece."
The dreadnought's pilots were good but only human and their margin of error was comparatively large. Without the ability to split seconds into infinitely smaller units and navigate accordingly, they could only watch as their prey sped down toward the planet while they followed at a much more sedate pace.
"It's been months since I visited," Darvish protested when Kelly tried to find out how to get to his grandmother's from the landing site. "Jungles change a lot in months."
"Jungles?" Kelly repeated weakly.
"Jungles," Erik confirmed. "And swamps."
"Swamps?"
"Yeah, but we didn't usually go out in them because of the shkiys."
"Shkiys?"
"Large slugs," Erik explained.
"With large teeth," Darvish added.
"And large appetites," Erik finished. "Grandmother says they're better than Immortals for getting rid of unwanted visitors."
"Lovely," said Kelly as the braking jets screamed. "I take it the air is breathable?"
"Breathable," Val told her. "But it's raining."
"That should be the least of our worries."
It wasn't.
The rain fell, not in drops, but in solid sheets of water.
They were wet before they stepped out of the airlock.
Ten meters away, they couldn't see the ship.
Twenty meters away, Darvish proved all those lovely muscles rippling under his tunic were functional when he pulled Kelly out of a sinkhole.
Forty meters away, Kelly and Erik returned the favor.
"Kelly," Val boomed from the remote on Kelly's wrist. "Sensors pick up a large cluster of life forms two and a half kilometers ahead. Head about ten degrees to your right."
"Two and a half kilometers?" Kelly pushed a wet strand of hair back off her face. "Val, you've got to be kidding."
"I'm not. And you'd better get moving, Boss. Those dreadnoughts just landed shuttles."
"The only bright spot in this mess is that they'll have as much trouble as we are."
"Both ship's parties have disembarked with swamp gear," Val informed them, "and are heavily armed."
"And monitoring our position from the remote, not doubt," Kelly muttered. "Sit tight, Val. I'm switching you off."
The three slogged on. For about another ten meters. Then Kelly hit another sinkhole.