"Maxine McArthur - Time Future" - читать интересную книгу автора (McArthur Maxine)

back, but they seemed to understand me when I spoke.

All they said this time, though, was "Wait."

So we waited.

They returned force with force and then: defenses were far more
sophisticated than any weapon we possessed, as we found to our cost. It
might have been easier if we had known what they wanted. Why they were
cutting us off from the rest of the galaxy and then leaving us to our
own devices on the station. Why they would not talk except to one
representative. Why they attack shuttles or small ships. Why they
take nothing from the station, but hold it hostage for my good behavior
and, vice versa, send for me arbitrarily on an average of once a
fortnight, wring me sometimes to the point of insensibility for
whatever they get from our "conversations"... and then let me return.
Why, if they needed nothing, they were here. And so on and so
on. It nearly drove me mad at first. Then I finally realized that it
was a waste of time trying to understand why they were doing this to
us. Now I think about what we do know--six months' worth of sensor
readings on their ships--and leave motive to the gods. There has to be
an answer somewhere in the data.

All we can do is wait, while the station falls apart around us.

The wall comm link beeped through the low hum of conversation.

"Commander Halley?"

I reached past Murdoch and tapped open the screen. "Halley here. What
is it, Baudin?"

Lieutenant Baudin, Earth Fleet and proud of it, calling from the
Bubble. He didn't have to lean into the visual pickup so far. The tip
of his considerable nose was quite blurred.

"We've detected a jump mine explosion. On the edge of the asteroid
field."

All conversation in the room ceased. Every head turned to listen.

It took a second for his words to penetrate and the adrenaline to kick
in.

"Have you picked up any sign of a ship?" I said. Jump mines can only
be set off by ships.

"We can't tell at this distance. Backburn from the mine is disrupting
sensors."