"Eric Frank Russel - Next of Kin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

"H'm! Probably they've set a time limit far my safe return. If I'm not back by then they'll assume that I'm
a gone goose."



"They haven't said anything to you about it?"



"No."



"Then don't you worry either. Life's too short. In time of war it gets shortened for many." Montecelli
scowled at the sky. "Whenever a boat boosts upward on a column of flame I never know whether that'll
be the last I'll ever see of it."



"That's right, cheer me on my way," said Leeming. "The life and soul of the party."



"Sorry, I clean forgot you're going:" He pointed to an adjacent building. "In there we've set up a
duplicate nose- cabin far training purposes. It will take you most of a week to become accustomed to the
new-type controls, to learn how to handle the transpatial radio and generally get the feel of things. You
can start your education as soon as you like." "All I'm bothered about is the autopilot," Leeming told him.
"It had better be a good one. A fellow can't travel for days and weeks without sleep and he can't snooze
with the ship running wild. A really reliable, autopilot is his fairy godmother."
 "Listen, son, if this one could do more than hold you on course while jerking you away from dangers, if it
could see and think and transmit reports, we'd send it away without you." Montecelli gave his listener a
reassuring slap on the shoulder. "It's the best ever. It'd take care of you even if you were on your
honeymoon and temporarily unconscious of the cosmos."



"The only resemblance is that I'll need my strength," said Leeming. He entered the building and more or
less stayed in it for the prescribed week.



The take-off came at one hour after sunset. There was a cloudless sky, velvet black and spangled with
stars. Strange to think that far, far out there, concealed by sheer distance, were countless populated
worlds with Combine warships parading warily between some of them while the allied fleets of Terrans,
Sirians, Rigellians and others were on the prowl across an enormous front.



Below, long chains of arc-lights dithered as a gentle breeze swept across the spaceport. Beyond the