"Jane Lindskold - Endpoint Insurance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lindskold Jane)

appeared on the MercuryтАЩs screen had to be cleared and enhanced. It hardly
mattered. We had found what we sought.
A hulking vessel large enough to dwarf the Mercury- though small in comparison to
some war ships IтАЩd seen- hung in the shadows behind the planetoid. Its orbit was set
to avoid easy detection both from Gilbert and from the more or less inhabited
reaches in the planetтАЩs vicinity. Tellingly, the identification beacon required by
interstellar law had been pulled-even smugglers usually only damped theirs- as clear a
sign of a pirate ship as a skull and crossbones had been millennia before.
The pirate vessel was not a pretty ship, her hull scarred and patched, her blocky
shape constructed for deep space, not atmospheric entry. She had probably started
life as an ore hauler. Such ships were often drafted into pirate service as general
cargo carriers.
Ore haulersтАЩ massive bay doors permitted small vessels to be tucked inside the hold
and their powerful engines- designed not only to maneuver a great deal of mass but
often to fuel processing plants within the ship-gave the unattractive ships surprising
speed for short bursts. Many a pirate-hunting expedition had been left gaping when a
seemingly sluggish target had departed in a contemptuous burst of speed.
I told Spike all of this, cautioning him not to underestimate the vessel and adding that
the three supply ships we had followed had probably been taken directly on board.
As I saw it, we were lucky that there was only one ship waiting out here, but
doubtless the pirates werenтАЩt wasting vessels.
One ship to the fourteen in our outlaw fleet. Victory looked easy enough in the
abstract. The thing was, only half or so of our ships were armed. Most smugglers
didnтАЩt bother with armament-it drew too much attention. Other recruits to our fleet
were guilty of prospecting without a license; other ships held fugitives from the
justice of one system or another. A few were simply the dwellings of interstellar
hermits.
Armed and unarmed, sleek and beautiful, or battered bits of metal and machinery
eking out a last few years before being scrapped for junk, the outlaw ships slipped
through the chill void, taking heed of my cautions, tight-beaming their
communications so that all the pirate ship could have heard were vague whispers that
would have been dismissed as the hissing pops of a starтАЩs breathing.
In less than an eye blink the pirate hulk found herself surrounded by a sphere of
some dozen plus ships, each carefully positioned to balance our various strengths
and weaknesses. Since the Mercury was unarmed and unarmored, built for speed
and communications rather than war, we were placed where the pirateтАЩs first shots
should not be able to reach us.
Spike was disappointed, but I was rather glad. I would rather not risk my life-no
matter how well insured.
When the glittering globe of lights on my board showed me that the outlaw fleet was
all in place, I hailed the pirate ship:
тАЬBeaconless ship, this is Captain Ah Lee of the Mercury. Identify yourself and open
your ports to inspection or prepare for the consequences!тАЭ
I had deduced-perhaps тАЬhopedтАЭ is a more honest term- that the pirate ship would
not fire. No matter who had been paid off, no matter how far up the chain of
command, none of EndpointтАЩs guard ships could overlook a fire fight right in system
and the pirates wouldnтАЩt want to attract notice.
To my dismay, the pirate ship fired almost immediately, a thin beam of eye-searingly
brilliant light jolting out from forward energy batteries.
The blue-white light melted an ugly runnel through the heavy armor of the ship