"Vinge Vernor & William Rupp - Just Peace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

He couldnтАЩt tell whether she had, but he kept up a steady covering fire, sending stone chips flying in all
directions off the caveletтАЩs entrance.

Then someone stuck one of the torches on a pole and hoisted it up.

The others moved briefly into the open to fire all at once down upon his exposed position. But the
Earth-man got off one last shotтАФinto the explosives.

The concussion smashed the ground up into his face, and he never heard the cliffside fall across the
cavelet, entombing his enemies.

==========

Someone was shaking him, and he-felt a nose and a forehead nestled against the back of his neck.
тАЬChente, please donтАЩt die again, please,тАЭ came MarthaтАЩs voice.

Chente stirred and looked into the wet darkness. His ears were buzzing, and the left side of his head was
one vast ache.

тАЬYou all right?тАЭ he asked Martha.

тАЬYes,тАЭ she said. Her hands tightened momentarily against him, but her voice was much calmer. Now that
he was conscious she retreated again into a shell of relative formality. тАЬThe others must be dead though.
The whole overhang came down on them. I followed the edge of the landfall trying to find you. You were
not more than a couple of meters beyond it.тАЭ

тАЬYou knew about this plan beforehand?тАЭ ChenteтАЩs soft question was almost a statement.

тАЬYesтАФI mean, no. There were rumors that our Special Weapons Group killed the first Chente in an
unsuccessful attempt to take his communications bomb. I believed those rumors. We used one of our
bombs in the Nuclear Exchange of Year 317. The Special Weapons people have devised new uses, new
delivery systems for our two remaining bombs, but what they really need are more nukes. In the last few
months, IтАЩve had reports that the Weapons people are more eager than ever to get another bomb, that
they have some special need for it. When you arrived, I was sure that between the Ontarians and our
Weapons Group someone would try to kill you.тАЬ

Chente shook his head, trying to end the buzzing pain. The motion only made him want to be sick. Finally
he said, тАЬTheir assassination attempt seems incredibly clumsy. Why didnтАЩt they just do away with me
once we were airborne?тАЭ

Now the Providencian ambassadress seemed completely in control of herself. She said quietly, тАШThat was
partly my doing. I knew the Weapons people were waiting for another agent to be sent from Earth.
When you came through, I made sure you were assigned to an airship crewed by regular Navy men. I
was sure it was safe. For years Oswald has been part of the Navy factions opposed to the Special
Weapons Group. But somehow they must have got through to him, and at least a few of his crewmen.
Their murder attempt was clumsy, but it was a lot more than I had expected, under the circumstances.тАЭ

Chente sat up and propped his head against his hands. This [???] of New Providencian intrigue was not
completely unexpected, but it was ludicrous. Even if the conspirators could dig his bomb out of the
avalanche, it could not be fused without a voice-code spoken by Chente himself. He saw now his