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

here.Ф
УDo you really think that, my love?Ф
Dane flashed her his most lopsided grin. УThatТs the way weТve been betting all
along, isnТt it?Ф
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 Уnations.Ф
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 Тs fusion reactors had been more than a standard year past
recommended overhaul. Worse, the shipТs 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
DelphisТ 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
PhiladelphiaТs 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.