"Andrew J. Offutt - Spaceways 09 - In Quest of Qalara" - читать интересную книгу автора (Offutt Andrew J)

called an "assassination"; an unduly pleasant-sounding euphemism for the
murder of someone important. The presidor-for-life of the LPAF appeared to
have been slain by his mistress who then, still naked in bed with him, had
suicided. Only one man on Franji knew otherwise, and he was not on Franji for
long. He was the man who had killed them both. All three; he had also
"assassinated" Mujazia. He had come a long way in the discomfort of a big
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packing crate to carry out the double mission, for his employer. His employer
was opposed to wars, interplanetary or otherwise. He had long since departed
Franji, along with the ship whose name was not Hot Squid. Now it and he were
en route to Shankar, where General Filatravia was scheduled to be stopped.
That is, murdered. That is, assassinated. "Musla's Lion" Filatravia was just
one more small-country fundamentalist religious bigot and zealot who thought
it would be a wonderful idea to plunge his planet into war for the glory of
his god-and himself. 22 In such enormously important galactic missions,
spear-carriers could not be considered important. They had to be considered
loose ends. There had been one real witness to the advent on Franji of the
professional killer-who went through six disguises before he left, in peace.
That witness was inside a spacesuit inside a silver bag that bore a small
sticker showing a familiar symbol and the three letters "TGO." The chemical in
the adjusted sealant spraycan had reacted with the powder awaiting it in the
yellow tube- and his own body heat-as planned. The Terasak had been dead
before his coffin was removed from the shuttle pod. 1 Thomas Carlyle, as he
looked up at the stars (c. 1850, Old Style): "A sad spectacle. If they be
inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a
waste of space." The planet called Bleak receded in the distance behind
spaceship Coronet. And then its sun was only a reddish spot of light, and none
too soon for Coronet's master and crew. Spacer Coronet's master was Kislar
Jonuta. The crew were Kenowa, Sakyo, and Shiganu of Terasaki; and the recent
additions who were part crew, part passengers: HRadem and HReenee of HRalix.
Four were Galactics- the human word for humans, now-and two were not. The
furry feline people-felinoprimates-from HRalix were not the first
non-Galactics to ship with Captain Jonuta, but Sweetface of Jarpi had long
since departed his crew. Their leavetaking was not friendly. Jonuta and
HReenee the HRal were very friendly indeed. So were Jonuta's long-time
companion, Kenowa, and HReenee's "step-sib" brother, HRadem. Dem, he was
called. Those onboard pairings left out Sakyo and Shiganu. Unfortunately, both
were male and each was entirely heterosexual. What Shig and Sak were was
horny. Still, there was unity on Coronet. Their "Captain Cau-23 24 tious" was
not a military or militaristic man and while he was not so stupid as to try to
ran a spaceship as a democracy, he was no tyrant. He was also demonstrably
superior. The feeling onboard was almost a family one, with Jonuta the
respected patriarch-although he was hardly old enough for that role. Too, they
had been through a lot, dared and attempted and survived a lot, in triumph.
Profits were looking good, too. Besides, they were unified in their delight at
putting Bleak behind them, along with its bleak capital, Zero, and its homely
sun. Of Coronet's crew, only HReenee had gone down onto Bleak's bleak surface