"JAMES LUCENO. SABOTEUR" - читать интересную книгу автора

The Castle disappeared behind an explosive flare of blinding light. Then the
sound of the collisions pealed across the landscape, reverberating and
crackling, echoing thunderously from the twin escarpments. Immense chunks of
rock flew from the face of the tor, and two of its elegant spires toppled. Dust
spewed from the mine openings, as if the Castle had coughed itself empty of ore.
The air filled with billowing clouds, white as snow. Almost immediately the ore
began to precipitate, falling like volcanic ash and burying everything within
one hundred meters of that side of the mountain.
Bruit still didn't budge-not until the roiling cloud reached the control station
and the view became a whiteout.

Lommite Limited's headquarters complex nestled at the foot of the valley's
western escarpment. But even there a half a centimeter of lommite dust covered
the lush lawns and flower gardens LL's executive officer, Jurnel Arrant, had
succeeded in coaxing from the acidic soil.
The soles of Bruit's boots made clear impressions in the dust as he approached
Arrant's office, with its expansive views of the valley and far-off tors. Bruit
tried to stomp, brush, and scuff as much dust as he could from his boots, but it
was a hopeless task.
Jurnel Arrant was standing at the window, his back to the room, when Bruit was
admitted.
"Some mess," Arrant said when he heard the door seal itself behind Bruit.
"You think this is bad, just wait'll it rains. It'll be soup out there."
Bruit thought the remark might lighten the moment, but Arrant's piqued
expression when he turned from the view set him straight.
Lommite Limited's leader was a trim, handsome human, just shy of middle age.
When he had first come to Dorvalla from his native Corellia, he had not been
above rolling up his shirtsleeves and pitching in wherever needed. But as LL had
begun to thrive under his stewardship, Arrant had become increasingly fastidious
and removed, choosing to let Bruit handle day-to-day affairs. Arrant favored
expensive tunics of dark colors, the shoulders invariably dusted with lommite,
which he wore as a badge of honor. If his nonindigenous status had been held
against him initially, few had anything disparaging to say about the man who had
single-handedly transformed formerly provincial Lommite Limited into a
corporation that now did business with a host of prominent worlds.
Arrant glanced at the white prints Bruit's boots had left on the carpet. Sighing
with purpose, he motioned Bruit to a chair and settled himself behind an old
hardwood desk.
"What am I going to do with you, Bruit?" he asked theatrically. "When you asked
for enhanced surveillance equipment, I provided it for you. And when you asked
for increased security personnel, I provided those, as well. Is there something
else you need? Is there something I've neglected to give you?"
Bruit compressed his lips and shook his head.
"You don't have a family. You don't have a girlfriend that I know about. So
maybe you just don't care about your job, is that it?"
"You know that isn't true," Bruit lied.
"Then why aren't you doing it?" Arrant put his elbows on the desk and leaned
forward. "This is the third incident in as many weeks, Bruit. I don't understand
how this keeps happening. Do you have any leads on the shuttle crashes?"
"We'll know more if the guidance droids can be located and analyzed," Bruit