"Andrew J. Offutt - Spaceways 02 - Corundums Woman" - читать интересную книгу автора (Offutt Andrew J)

ancestors -all pigs and small yellow she-dogs. Evil pirate out." He buttoned
off the comm and favored the shocked trio with another of his astonishing
little bows. He might almost have been a courtier in the throneroom of one of
the monarchic planets. His voice and demeanor had continued level and quiet
before, during, and after the slaying of Ota. "There. You three are clear.
Evil pirate came onboard and did a good deed: he murdered the captain. 26 I
made no mention of this," he said, slapping his suit-slung bag, "and if you
are wise you will not either. If one of you would like a lasting bruise to
show Murph-side authority, handle its infliction yourself. Any such marks,
obviously, would fade long before you reach your destination. You should,
however, be fully in the clear. I shall now put a stop to my outside
operations. Whatever remains is yours to carry on to Murphsta-tion. It is my
hope that you all remain on Suyari- with you as master, Acting Captain
Prithvi. It may be of interest to you to know that this ship's backer is in
turn backed by T.M.S.M. Company, of Murph. My ship shall not again detain
Suyari . . . unless of course it comes to my attention that none of you is
longer aboard, and opportunity arises." "Name-name of Gri," Prithvi said. "Who
are you?" "Ah, you swear by the god of Resh. Did you know that Gri's
absolutely and totally evil old retired high priest Sicuan, with his venal son
Chulucan, are no more? A gift to the spaceways-like Ota's demise! My name is
Corundum, Captain Prithvi, Corundum; and Corundum now departs your ship. Best
wishes for an uneventful continuance of your run to Murph." "Th-that was
c-cold-blooded murder," Tetsu said, and he was shaking. "Not quite. Corundum's
blood was heated by Ota's threat to have you convicted and deprived of your
eyes. Corundum liked the ones he was born with better than these optics he has
now worn for some years. Sometimes they itch, or seem to, and the center of
vision is dead ahead, which is wrong; you see just a bit more clearly to the
side, as you must know by seeing distant stars just a bit better by not quite
looking at them. In hot blood or cold, however, Ota's is a death that you will
long appreciate." The three crewmembers stared at him from the bunk of their
late captain. He touched the black handle of his stopper. "This will be left
in the airlock. It is Corundum's suggestion 27 that you leave it there if
possible, so that you may pretend it and Number Two's were left for you. As
they will be. Your own were of course sucked out when you opened the hatch for
us. Now of course you will facilitate our departure, for should we become
trapped in the airlock we should merely have to cut our way out. Or, worse
still, back in." Again that satiric amusement freighted his tone. Prithvi
nodded. "Of course, Captain Corundum. May we rise now?" "Do." As they trekked
to the airlock, Prithvi asked, "Captain Corundum . . . once you gave your
name, you referred to" yourself only in the second person. Do you always speak
so?" "Yes. I also lie shamelessly." After a moment, Prithvi chuckled. A good
.man, Prith of Resh. Had Corundum need for a crewmember, he might well
converse with the fellow. Still, one so bold and decisive might well be
unhappy on Fire-dancer, and, too, might not be onboard long. Less than five
minutes later the three invaders had departed Suyari. Three people were left
to take the ship on to Murph, to wonder about the unaccountable alien in the
yellow suit even while they got their stories together so that they were one,
and to think and talk about Captain Corundum for the rest of their