"Andrew J. Offutt - Spaceways 08 - Under Twin Suns" - читать интересную книгу автора (Offutt Andrew J)

He hoped that she was surreptitiously watching from within the long tunnel that was Spoke H of the docking
station's twenty in-use spokes. They all fed out here to the torus's perimeter from the hub of the big wheel in space,
where the shuttleport would be located. Along with Sergeant Cosi's CP, the offices or booths of vari-
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ous offplanet factors-and some onplanet ones as well, with some advertisers-exhorters and probably a
 procurer or three, too. Also Customs, Medical, Decontam, and surely a lounge as well as a restaurant of
some sort. There would also be a room of electronic involvement-games, Trafalgar assumed.
His mental state would be greatly enhanced, as a matter of fact, if he could only know that Hellfire was
in there pitting herself against a dragon or Saberserkers or something. Unfortunately he was quite certain
that she was not.
"Your ship's just in, then," the sergeant said, look-ing past him curiously at the shortish woman with the
almost white hair.
"Firm," Trafalgar told her. "That's Janja. Spacefarer First, and Compatrician Second," he said, promoting
Janja. "Our First Mate is still on the ship. The Jarp is Spacefarer Second Cinnabar."
"Umm."
She remembered then to direct Sarp and the other SolSeccer to put detaining cuffs on the two
smugglers. She bade Sarp remain here: "We'll have to go in and check the ship again, and put a seal on its
lock."
Sarp nodded and she spoke to her wristchron, which was either a recorder or a commlink, presumably to
her command post. Trafalgar watched-and Listened- attentively.
"Situation in hand. Suspects resisted and are detained. One subdued, one surrendered. Securer Khiade is
bring-ing them along."
She looked at Trafalgar across her wrist, which she lowered slowly before speaking again: "The Jarp is a
member of your crew, then?"
"Pos, Sergeant. Its name is Cinnabar. Sin-uh-bar," he repeated, when Cosi frowned a little. "But it's not
my crew. I'm not captain. She's already gone along on her business." His accompanying gesture was not at
all flamboyant and was as a matter of fact rather vague.
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Peeping out at them from the tunnel inside the spoke twenty or so meters away, Hellfire smiled. She eased her hand
away from her bolstered stopper. Some kind of fellow, this Trafalgar Cuw! (She glanced back, saw no one else in the
spoke, and eased her stopper's setting down to One.)
She certainly hadn't started out liking the Outie-a man who practically forced himself on her and onto her ship.
Never mind that he had saved her beans and her life at the same time; she had saved his life too.
She had learned to like him. She had to like him. The man was competent and charming, and there was no way
around it: he had saved her ship and thus all of them, several times. On Copperdock, Mott-chindi's space station, and
on Knor, which should be named Zamharir: Cold Hell. He had pretty much taken charge back on Knor, during their
escape from Survival while she was . . . debilitated. The charming rainbow of a man was as competent as he was
mysterious, and attractive.
Not that attractive men were of any interest to Cap-tain Hellfire of Satana.
This time she was doing her best to be cool, taking advice for once, now that she was (almost) sure that she was
going to be rich. And he and Janja had everything in hand. Why, these station spooks actually owe us one! She was
glad she hadn't got involved. No doubt SolSec and planet Jorinne's authorities preferred the two smug-glers as
captives, to the random molecules Hellfire's stopper would have made of them!
She was a bit subdued these days, too, after her enslavement and sexual use by the stern masters of Knor.
The Knormen's drug had kept her quiescent, cowed, even a willing participant. In restrospect, the knowledge of
what they had done to her was doubly worse for Hellfire than for Janja and Quindy, because Hellfire
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was a lesbian. She owed Janja, who had slain Hellfire's Knorese "master."
And I owe Trafalgar and Quindy a punch in the crotch for not getting the coordinates of that piggish slaving
planet when we redshifted it! Oh if only I hadn't been . . . debilitated. I'd go back and blow up the whole