"Andre Norton - Solar Queen 06 - Derelict For Trade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

senior, Jan Van Ryke, or in the mess with the steward, Frank Mura, and
the medic Craig Tau. Dane was not able to play a game of cards like those
two, apparently ignoring the tension gripping the shipтАФnor did he have
Van Ryke's unflappable attitude toward life. Dane knew they were in
danger, perhaps the worst they'd faced yet, and he had to face danger
straight on.

"Damn, damn, damn," Wilcox muttered under his breath. The display
lights underlit his face with a weird yellow glow. "I don't like coming out of
hyper this close to a planet, Chief."

"We have to." Jellico's voice was clipped, precise. "My calcs so far are
proving true right to the tenth decimalтАФwe don't have enough fuel left for
snapout in flat space. We've got to use a gravity well."

Dane Thorson glanced again at the fuel-level panel. He'd been watching
it for the last hourтАФhe knew they all had. The captain had computed it
very close, but he was right; unless they exploited the dimensional
weakness caused by a planetary mass, they wouldn't have enough fuel to
emerge from hyperspaceтАФor rather, snapout wouldn't leave them enough
fuel to rendezvous with Exchange, the Trade city in orbit above Mykos. As
it was, it would be close.

"One minute to snapout," the captain said, and the engines snarled as
they wound up towards the surge of power that would catapult them back
into normal space. Dane pressed himself into his seat, reaching to connect
his restraining beltтАФ

And a tremendous bang shook the ship.
 Dane's head rocked, and he clutched at his pod arms. Trouble lights
flickered on the captain's console, and from the com to the engine deck
came fluent curses from the usually taciturn Johan Stotz.

The pseudo-gravity of hyperspace suddenly vanished as the familiar
fleeting nausea of snapout seized Dane, and he almost flew out of his seat
before he managed to get his magnetic boots back on the deck and cinch
up his seat belt.

"Snapout!" Wilcox exclaimed, and then, in a sharp voice, "We hit a
knot!"

"Coordinates," Jellico commanded. "Find out where we areтАФand what
lies on our course."

Wilcox's fingers were already flying over his console.

Dane looked at Captain Jellico, whose face was unchanged as he
scanned his instruments. This was the most dreaded of all events, save
plague, for the gravitational distortion that had thrown them out meant
the existence of a close or large mass, and where there was one, there were