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

"Not to complain, my dear friendsтАж" From the engine deck came the
familiar humorous drawl of the engineer apprentice Ali Kamil. "We all
voted yes when we left Canuche, but it seems our luck ran out that day."
 For a long moment there was silence, and Dane sensed everyone
considering the wearing weeks they'd just endured.

Their hearts had been high when they left Canuche. The Queen was in
good shape, and they had the generous sum given them by the grateful
Macgregory for their heroic work there. They'd chosen not to stay on
Canuche, though the cargo work promised by the equally grateful
merchants would have meant a steady income. SteadyтАФand boring.

They had decided unanimously to turn down the contract, for they were
not cargo haulers, but Free Traders.

This was the risk every Free Trader took. Life was a gamble, and
sometimes one lost. At least Captain Jellico permitted his crew to vote on
the big decisions, and again everyone had voted unanimously to put all
their earnings into the Survey auction on Denlieth, which had sounded so
promising for Traders looking for new opportunities. Unfortunately the
big Companies had heard the same scuttlebutt. All the Queen had been
able to afford to bid on had been a Class D planet, and they'd scarcely
gotten that as Combine and Inter-Solar had not only snapped up the
better choices, but the I-S agentтАФ probably in revenge for past
encountersтАФhad deliberately driven up the prices on the rest.

The Queen had just managed to get the one claim, and it had proved to
be a dead one. Worse, the refueling station promised on the tape with the
planet's coordinates had closed down probably weeks before their arrival,
for lack of business, and the Queen had been forced to make what fuel they
had last for this jump. They'd had no choice but to head for the nearest
system, which was farther out on the frontiers of the Terran Federation
than they had ever been. The Company ships seldom came out this far;
even Free Traders were rare.

Most of the crew had groused about MykosтАФall except Jan Van Ryke.

Dane looked up at the cargo master, who was watching the screens, his
lips pursed. Van Ryke had admitted that he thought the Kanddoyds, and
Exchange, might turn out to be a successful venture.

"Don't like habitats," Johan Stotz had growled.

"Me either," Ali had drawled, lounging behind his chief, his handsome
face derisive. "If human beings were meant to live in gas tubes in space,
we would have been born in vacuum."

"That's the way most humans feel," Van Ryke had said, beaming at
them in triumph. "Which is exactly why we have a greater chance at
success. Just think how little Terran competition we'll find!"