"Richard Allen Stotts - Empire 3 - Majesty" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stotts Richard Allen)

The resulting rumbling explosion brought everyone on the palace grounds running,even the Emperor was
seen to be proceeding at an extremely undignified pace (amad dash).

"What the shit happened?" Daniel demanded as he gasped for breath,courtly language cast aside.
There was an extremely large and perfectly round hole in the far stone wall of thelab, in the distance there
was a neat quarter-mile long divot taken out of the nearesthill.
"Too much power, apparently." Ian was covered in stone dust, a slightlybefuddled expression on his face.
"Are you all right?" Daniel asked, a bit calmer by now. He had feared that hisfriend might have finally
pushed the wrong switch and vaporized himself.
"Except for the ringing in my ears. I seemed to have damaged your humbleabode."
"This is coming out of your paychit," Daniel replied, by now relieved and alittle amused at his genius of a
friend's latest accomplishment (catastrophe).
"I don't get a paychit," Ian rightly observed.
"A good thing too. Maybe you should try out this gadget of yours at a moreremote location next time,
how about the far side of the moon?"
"That sounds reasonable," Ian replied, "I had only intended to punch a holein a plastic target, a minor
miscalculation actually."
"At least it wasn't pointed at the palace, what the hell is it supposed to dowhen it works right?"
"I thought it would make a very efficient tunneling device, it also seems tohave some considerable
weapon potential," Ian explained.
"To say the least." Daniel could see the obvious use for the device, this couldbe the final nail in the
Snake's collective coffin.

"Come on, let the medics check you out, you look like you did when thatrating used his starter on you
back on New Taz."
By now the whole area was awash in emergency personnel and security people,the Emperor steered his
dazed friend into the arms of the medical team who thenwhisked Ian off to the palace infirmary.
Ian would be fine after the ringing stopped, the lab needed some serious repairs.

Marine Colonel Anson Bryce, the day watch head of palace security, was notamused when he came to
seek a private audience with the Emperor an hour later.
The officer bowed the correct distance away from Daniel before speaking.
"Your Majesty, forgive my intrusion. May I speak with you about Sir Ian?"
Daniel had been trying to make some sense out of the mind bending expendituresfor defense, any
interruption was welcome. The Emperor liked Colonel Bryce,perhaps now was a good time to try and
put the two of them on a more informalbasis.
"Of course, Colonel. Please be at ease, no ceremony. From now on whydon't you be more informal
when there's just the two of us, speak your mind at alltimes. I...We respect your opinions and advice."
Daniel still had a lot of troubleadapting to the use of the royal 'We' in his speech.
"Thank you for that, Sire, I will speak plainly. Sir Ian is a true gift to theEmpire but I fear that his
experimental work so close to your presence is a danger. The accident in his laboratory could have
destroyed the palace and you, Sire."
"True. We spoke with him about just that, any further testing of experimentaldevices will take place at a
distance far removed from here, We suggested the farside of the moon, Ian agreed."

Bryce just had a large weight removed from his shoulders.
"That would seem a wise choice, sire. It occurs to me that whatever Sir Ianwas working on would make
one hell.. Excuse me Sire, one very effectiveoffensive weapon."
"We thought the same thing, Colonel. One hell of a weapon."