"E. E. Doc Smith - D'Alembert 10 - Revolt of the Galaxy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

She paused and looked straight at Pias. "What you're describing doesn't sound to me like a leave
of absence at all. It sounds like a full-blown assignment, to investigate illegal and treasonous
activities on Newforest and to take steps to correct the situation. You don't have to ask
permission to do that."
"There are personal matters involved," Pias said, "and I didn't want to just disappear on you if
you had any other assignments for me."
"I understand the personal matters very well," Helena said, her expression softening suddenly.
"Newforest is your home, and should have been your inheritance. I know the depth of your concern.
You know, though, that the d'Alembert teams have a standing assignment to investigate anything
that looks suspicious to them - unless they're given something specific to do instead. Right now,
everything's quiet - everyone's holding their breath to see what turns out in the Omicron
situation. You're free to pursue any investigations that strike your fancy. I appreciate knowing
where you'll be, in case of trouble. I'll notify the local office there to stand by to give you
any assistance...."
"That might not be such a wise idea," Vonnie said, in view of the fact that someone there might be
falsifying the reports."
Helena winced. "You're right, of course. It makes me shudder just to think there might be traitors
in the Service; it was bad enough when we had to weed out so many during the Banion mess. Find out
what you can, and if it calls for official action we can bring in help from the outside.
"If things are as bad as your sister claims, you won't have to go into much detail; just give us a
preliminary report. You're a good investigator and troubleshooter, but we've got specialists in
planetary administration who can handle the mop-up once you've pointed them in the right
direction. There's no need to risk yourself unnecessarily on a minor housekeeping matter like
this; the Service needs your talents too much for major projects."
But to Pias Bavol this was far more than "a minor housekeeping matter." This was his family, and
Newforest was the planet he'd once hoped to inherit. Unimportant though it might be in the scheme
of galactic history, this was his home and his people - and even though he was sorely tempted to
let the friends and family who'd betrayed him suffer the consequences of their actions, he vowed
to put into this case every bit of energy it took to set the situation right again.

CHAPTER 3
Return to Newforest
Pias had a major battle on his hands even before he left DesPlaines. Yvonne d'Alembert - impatient
at her enforced idleness and nervous about the fate of her spouse - demanded to accompany him on
his trip to Newforest. It would at least give her something to do to take her mind off Jules's
dangerous assignment on Omicron.
Pias at first protested that the children would be left unattended, to which Vonnie replied that
there were plenty of servants on the vast ducal estate, as well as the Marchioness Gabrielle - and
if they got tired of watching the children, Vonnie's father was always eager to see them. "I
refuse to be thought of as the weak link in this family," she insisted. "I'm always the one who
has to stay behind, and it just isn't fair. I can pull my weight with the rest of you."
Pias agreed that was so, but voiced a new objection. "This is a job that calls for a great deal of


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subtlety," he said, "and I'm afraid you'd stand out too much."
"Thanks a lot!" Vonnie grimaced. "I'm as good at undercover work as anyone in this family. I was
taking classes before you ever thought to leave Newforest, and I got a 989 on the Thousand Point