"Cloak Of Deception (James Luceno)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Luceno James)

Rather, OLR-4 had been tasked by the central control computer to watch for
anything out of the ordinary--for any event that fell outside performance
parameters denned by the computer itself.
The resounding thud that accompanied the roosting of a nearby cargo pod
was, given the size of the craft, well within those parameters. So, too, were
the sounds emanating from inside the pod, which could be ascribed to a
shifting of whatever cargo the pod contained. But the same couldn't be said
for the hissing of pressure relief valves or the metallic clanks and
stridencies that prefaced the slow rise of the pod's uncommonly large,
circular forward hatch.
OLR-4'S long head pivoted and his oblique optical sensors fixed on the
pod.
Magnified and sharpened, the captured image was transmitted to the
central control computer, which instantly compared it to a catalog of similar
images.
Discrepancies were noted.
Even as OLR-4'S photoreceptors were scrutinizing the rising hatch,
additional security droids were already hurrying to assume positions on all
sides of the suspect pod. OLR-4 planted his bootlike feet in a combat stance
and leveled his blaster rifle.
The open hatch should have revealed the interior of the pod, but instead
it exposed what seemed to be yet another hatch, sealed shut. OLR-4 did succeed
in identifying the composition of the inner hatch, but the droid's puny
processor was not up to the task of making sense of what it was seeing. That
was the province of the central control computer, which was quick to solve the
puzzle--though not quick enough.
Before OLR-4 could move, the inner hatch had telescoped from the pod with
enough force to launch two security droids and three worker droids halfway
across the hangar. Immediately, OLR-4 and three others opened fire on the
battering ram and the cargo pod itself, but the blaster bolts were deflected
and sent ricocheting through the hold.
A pair of droids leapt onto the wide-bodied pod, hoping to attack the
striking device from behind, but their efforts were in vain. Blaster bolts
found them first, quartering one, and all but obliterating the other.
It was only then that OLR-4 realized, in his limited capacity, that there
were unfrlies behind the battering ram. And judging by the precision of the
bolts, the intruders were flesh and bloods.
With cargo pods gliding overhead and a hundred labor droids continuing to
tend to their tasks, oblivious to the firefight occurring in their midst, OLR-
4 rushed to one side, firing steadily and intent on gaining a better vantage
on the intruders. Bolts sought him as he moved, sizzling past his head and
shoulders, and streaking between his pumping legs.
In front of him two security droids lost their heads to well - placed
shots. A third droid remained intact, but dropped to the deck nevertheless,
hopelessly dazzled by untamed, coruscating electrical charges.
OLR-4'S internal monitors told him that his blaster was overheating and
close to depletion.
Though obviously aware of the droid's predicament, the central control
computer did not countermand its orders; so OLR-4 kept firing while he
attempted to angle behind the battering ram.