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

woodland near the edge of a large pond, with many small farms scattered between the woods and the
capital city. The woods would give him cover as he left the ship, and the farms would provide
plenty of places to hide if pursuit came after him. Once in Garridan itself, he had no doubts at
all about his ability to blend in and disappear.
The landing was tricky - first, because he was having to alter his course from moment to moment to
select the best spot, and second, because he didn't have the help of ground traffic control to
guide him in. He'd never made such an impromptu landing in his brief experience as a spaceship
pilot - and the problem was further complicated by Newforest's heavy gravity. Fortunately, he'd
learned his landing procedures on DesPlaines, and he was able to compensate.
The ground came up to meet him almost before he was ready, and he had to fire the braking rockets
hard to control his descent. There was really no clearing big enough for his ship; he'd have to
create one the hard way. His vessel hit the trees with considerable force, chopping off upper
limbs and pushing aside the thick trunks.
His ship landed with a tooth-jarring thump. Because of its odd Position within the woods, with
trees pressing against it on two sides, it began to tilt over immediately upon touchdown. Pias
quickly turned off all power systems to avoid possible explosions, leaving just enough for the
lights and air regeneration systems. He held his breath, afraid to move, as the ship's cant
increased, and finally relaxed as the nose came to rest against another tree. The little vessel
was in a terrible position, but at least it would fall no further.
Pias unstrapped himself from the acceleration couch. He was glad he'd prepared everything ahead of
time on the long flight here from DesPlaines, and had made the ship look like a smuggler's vessel;
with Tas's defenses alerted, he'd have less time to get away from here than he'd planned, and
every second was crucial.
He staggered awkwardly through the oddly sloping corridors of the ship to the airlock, and faced


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an unexpected problem: how to get down. The normal boarding ramp was jammed. It was about a three-
story drop to the forest floor - hazardous even in one gee and possibly fatal in New forest's two-
and-a-half gees.
There was no time to look for fancy solutions. Pias reached for the handholds in the ship's hull
and began lowering himself down the side even though, at this angle, it meant he was climbing
almost horizontally, with Newforest's heavy gravity tugging at his back trying to make him fall.
The magnisteel hull dissipated heat quickly, but the handholds were still very hot from the
atmospheric friction of the landing, and Pias's hands stung from their tight grip on the hot
metal. When he reached a point only a few meters above the ground he decided to risk the drop, and
fell the rest of the way. Landing the way he'd been trained, he rolled to his feet unhurt and took
stock of the situation.
It had been only a few minutes since his ship came to rest, yet already he could hear the whirr of
approaching copters that signaled pursuit. Again the small curious voice in the back of his mind
wondered what was suddenly so special about Newforest that warranted such thorough protection from
prying eyes. There was enough firepower in his ship to blast any copters out of the sky and Pias
had enough weaponry on his body to put up a significant fight, but that wasn't his objective. He'd
come to Newforest to observe the situation, not to engage in military battles. He'd already made a
bigger splash than he'd intended; Tas would be on the lookout for an intruder, making Pias's
undercover job that much harder. Taking a stand here would only strengthen the defense's resolve;
a smuggler, as he was trying to portray himself, would much prefer to run and hide until they
relaxed a little bit.