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

chest-dagger and armored left glove that marked him as a spacegoing Bleaker.
They did that, probably just to let others along the spaceways know that they
were ready to dispute any saot about their home planet. "You'd think that
flainer'd be so happy to be off that cesspool of a planet for good, farin' in
space," spacefarer Shiganu later said darkly, "that he'd be too proud to stick
up for a waiter, just because he, she, or it also happened to be a
Bleaker!" Instead, the spacefaring Bleaker hurried right over and punched Shig
down. Immediately Sak hurried to his feet and punched the Bleaker one, if not
down. As the fellow staggered back, the waiter rolled up onto his knees and
bit Sak in the leg. And Sak yelled and kicked him, backwards. And as Shig
turned a questioning look on all that racket, the other spacefarer punched
him. With his left fist, the one in the armored glove. After that it was
pretty raggedy-andy in the Golden Citadel, with the two Terasaks off Coronet
beating the snot out of the two Bleakers. Then the spacefaring Bleaker's
crewmates-two men and a woman built like a man with hips-sort of hurried over
to help their Bleaker buddy. And they weren't even Bleakers! Fortunately two
station securitymen arrived soon after that broadening of the brawl. They took
one look at the melee and intelligently decided to use their stoppers to
restore order or at least a cessation of hostile activity. Having thus got the
attention of the combatants, they forced every one to pop a red and one of the
mild tranks carried by Bleakerstation securitymen. With the
hostilities 27 ended and the combatants both sobered and softened up, the two
securitymen escorted the pair off Coronet and the other four to their
respective ships. They took the time to see them on their way up the inclined
tunnel called umbilical, and left them with stern warnings. They also made
quiet assurances to Shiganu and Sakyo that the waiter would be dealt with
sternly. When one asked after their captain, Sak told him the captain was down
onplanet, selling some merchandise. "What sort of merchandise?" Sak and Shig
exchanged a look, and shrugged. Sak said, "It walks." "Really!" The
securityman brightened visibly. "How many?" "Four. Wanted pirates." "The very
best kind!" the Bleaker enthused. "Four more warm bodies to help take up the
work load," his companion enthused. "Right, and since they're wanted by
policers they got nobody looking for them and nobody who cares! We've got 'em
for life!" Having enthused that, the first securityman looked again at the two
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Coronet crewmembers, and he was beaming. "You boys pop on into your ship and
be good now, all right? Hope we wasn't too rough with you, but we can't have
fighting now, can we, spacefarers?" "Oh my no," Sak said, and went on into
Coronet in quest of a microgram or two of endorphinol. "Nah," Shig said,
wagging his head and wincing because that armored fist-blow to the rearward
side of his neck hurt. "Just a few long-deprived spacefarers letting off a
little steam. 'Night, guys." "Uh-huh." Shig went on up the tunnelway and into
Coronet in quest of a few micrograms of endorphinol and some antiseptic for
his scratches. That woman had landed proper punches, but the dam' waiter had
kept biting and scratching. 28 The waiter was being dealt with sternly,
meanwhile. Not by the Bleakerstation Securitymen. His boss held him
responsible for the loss of business of six easy-spending and freely-drinking