"Michael McCollum - The Clouds of Saturn" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

тАЬDonтАЩt wear yourself out,тАЭ Dane said. тАЬThe high command here is still hoping our show of strength will
cause the Alliance to back off. We know their fleet left Cloudcroft three days ago, but we still have no
evidence that they are coming here.тАЭ

тАЬDo you really think that, my love?тАЭ

Dane flashed her his most lopsided grin. тАЬThatтАЩs the way weтАЩve been betting all along, isnтАЩt it?тАЭ

Larson Sands said nothing. Over the past few weeks, he had started to wonder if their bet had been a
wise one. The Delphis were expert geneticists who had long pursued the dream of engineering a life form
that could live in the upper Saturnian atmosphere. Rumors that they had developed a viable organism had
reached the Northern Alliance, causing it to invite New Philadelphia to join them. The invitation had been
couched in terms that caused the Delphis to look to their defenses.

As was the case with most independent cities, New Philadelphia could not afford a full time navy to
challenge the larger, more powerful Saturnian тАЬnations.тАЭ Rather, they maintained the core of a fighting
force that could be rapidly expanded in time of trouble. In addition to a few customs ships, they had
turned one of their large air freighters into a powerful flagship and mobile base. To supplement this fleet,
they had sent recruiters throughout the northern hemisphere looking for privateer ships and crews.

The Sands brothers and Halley Trevanon had met the Delphi recruiters in a bar aboard Pendragon City.
Lars still remembered the plump songstress who belted outThe Ballad of Lost Earth while the Delphi
recruiters made their pitch. Afterward, Dane Sands had argued in favor of taking the job. He had thought
it easy money, a simple show of force to convince the Alliance that their gain would not be worth the
cost.

It was an argument that had the benefit of history on its side. For if there was one thing all the cloud cities
of Saturn shared, it was their vulnerability to attack. When a single fanatic with a bomb could send an
entire population plummeting into the crushing pressure of the lower atmosphere, those who ruled thought
long and hard before challenging their neighbors. If faced with a large enough opposition force, the
Alliance would forego its claim on New Philadelphia lest they place their own cities at risk.

Larson Sands and Halley Trevanon had been less certain about the job, but neither had voiced a strong
objection to wearing the New Philadelphia livery. At the time,SparrowHawk тАЩs fusion reactors had been
more than a standard year past recommended overhaul. Worse, the shipтАЩs half-dozen crewmen had not
been paid in months. They had needed the money too badly to say no.

That had been three months ago. For some time after their arrival aboard the DelphisтАЩ capital city, it had
appeared the diplomats would resolve the dispute. A week earlier, however, the Alliance ambassador
had broken off negotiations. The New Philadelphia high command had also received reports that the
Alliance fleet had sortied.
New Philadelphia responded by launching their own fleet. They had sent ships east along the North
Temperate Belt flyway to interpose themselves between New PhiladelphiaтАЩs three cities and the Alliance.
Their presence there was both a challenge and a warning. While it would be a simple matter for the
Alliance to bypass the Delphi flagship and her covey of fusion powered aircraft, to do so would leave
their own cities open to attack. If they were serious about annexing New Philadelphia, they would first
have to seek out the New Philadelphia fleet and destroy it. The Delphis hoped to inflict enough damage
that the Alliance would lose interest and go home.