"Williamson, Michael Z - Freehold 03 - Better to Beg Forgiveness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Michael Z. Williamson - Freehold (BAEN) (v5) [htm jpg])

paid tourist, either.

Anyway, it made sense to soak up the view, get firsthand intel. There was nothing wrong with being a
paid tourist, either.

What a hole, he mused.

He tensed slightly as they landed. This mission was still being put together and the Ripple Creek oporder
did not have much information on infrastructure. It lacked details such as whether the port was
automated, or if pilots had to manually land and if there were even navaids. All these intelligence holes
were information he needed to get the job done, but he'd have to make do. The landing was uneventful
as it turned out, and they taxied up to a very basic, sheet-roofed building that served as the terminal. That
summed up what this place was like.

As soon as they rolled to a stop, he said, "Okay, debark, Elke and Bart, grab our weapons, and let's
meet our principal at his new home."
* * *

Their craft was a civilian Skylifter, but was on contract to the military. Again and again that was
happening, and Bart Weil didn't like it. He remembered when everything had been done at great expense
with armor and combat craft. This was allegedly cheaper, but it was not safer and contractors weren't
always reliable. He hated using them. Then he caught himself and laughed inside. He was a contractor
and wouldn't be here otherwise. He'd done executive protection for years, but only been on military-type
contracts a few months, like most of the team, and was still adapting to the mind-set.

He walked aft, out through a wave of heat and down the ladder rolled against the fuselage. They were
debarking on the apron, which said what was needed about this backwater. He started sweating, but it
was only from the weather, not from any threat. Yet.

There was a crew already unloading the hold, but not in the briskest fashion. That might be partly diet


and climateЧthey had starvation-and-manual-labor physiques, even in this lower-than-Earth
gravityЧbut he suspected a good part of it was laziness. Why work harder if it would not pay off?

and climateЧthey had starvation-and-manual-labor physiques, even in this lower-than-Earth
gravityЧbut he suspected a good part of it was laziness. Why work harder if it would not pay off?

But he managed to guide the load down, and he and Elke snapped the wheels out from where they
served as dunnage, to proper road position. The pallet could be driven by attached or remote control for
as long as its ampacitors lasted, towed as a trailer, or pushed if it had to be. By itself it was an expensive
piece of equipment, and what it contained . . .

The others were around shortly, having brought all the personal gear, which was piled on the crates for
easy transport. They took the spare time to examine the surroundings in person.

There were moister, cooler areas near the poles. These temperate and tropical zones were dusty and
dry, largely, even close to the coasts. Rivers were few, small streams meandering into swamps being
more common. Here was simply bright yellowish Boblight, flat terrain with local gingko analogs, and
Earth palms with some coastal pines. The dust was dun.