[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
five crew and three gunmen aboard she was distinctly overcrowded. The
consequences of a beam battle in a sardine can are dreadful to contemplate.
We were escorted across the surface of Rhapsody away from the
Swan.
They didn't leave anyone on board, and they permitted Nick to secure the lock
against potential invaders.
I'd put us down in the twilight zone, at the required latitude, within a
couple of hundred yards of the surface-lock which gave access to the principal
warren. The pinpoint accuracy was a great compliment to my piloting, but no
one expressed gratitude that we didn't have far to walk. The surface was all
dust-drifts and rock-jags, and wasn't suitable for strolling in the evening,
but we had no difficulty in obeying the instructions which our captors sent
over the open call circuit. They marched us in Indian file to the vast lock,
which gave us access to the capital. I looked around briefly, and caught sight
of one other ship - presumably the Star Cross ramrod - a couple of miles away
towards daylight.
We were permitted to de-suit in the reception area under the lock. I was
allowed to retain the flashlight, but not to remove any of the other
potentially useful things that were secreted in the suit, under the guise of
standard equipment. (Like, for instance, food concentrates and the emergency
bleep.)
We were now privileged to clap eyes on our captors for the first time, while
they crammed us into a hand-operated hoist.
The heavy mob looks the same the universe over. They have never really escaped
the influence of the clichés laid down by the earnest exponents of the art of
strong-
arming. They always have big shoulders and slack features, and a casual swing
to their movements deliberately styled to suggest that they can - and maybe do
- bend iron bars between their fingers. Our welcoming committee was trying
hard - if subconsciously - to give this overall impression, but they weren't
very good at it. Gangsters may be born or made, but these men had had
gangsterism thrust upon them. They looked as if they'd rather be pecking away
at a rock face, and that was probably their normal occupation.
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Page 34
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
'What the hell goes on?' asked Nick, while the hoist descended noisily. It was
Charlot's picnic, of course, but Charlot hadn't bothered to protest or demand
to be taken to their leader, so perhaps Nick thought it was up to him to expel
some hot air. Mavra and company seemed to take the whole affair very
fatalistically.
'Shut up,' said one of the gunmen bravely.
There's no need to add insult to injury,' I remarked.
'Shut up,' he said again. He obviously didn't feel up to explaining the
situation. A
man of action.
'As a matter of simple curiosity,' said Charlot oilily, 'are you
institutionalised or free-lance?'
No answer.
I rephrased the question for them. 'He means, are you the regular cops or did
you just take up the habit?'
Still no answer. It's possible that they still didn't understand the allusion,
but I
concluded that it was more likely they weren't going to say anything more. I
admire a man who can take his own advice.
We didn't get to see much of the local scenery. They hustled us out of the
hoist into a dark corridor, and promptly split us into three groups going
three different ways.
The men of Mavra's party were one group, the women of Mavra's party the
second, and the crew of the
Hooded Swan the third. They marched us up and down long corridors that were
all grimly similar. This was the first time we encountered the full force of
Rhapsody's sporadic lighting system. Some corridors had only one lamp -often
not centrally placed. Others had two, and were well-endowed by the local
standards. Not one of the bulbs was brighter than a wax candle.
Nick, Eve and Charlot were hustled through a door into a minuscule cell.
Johnny and I were taken down the passage a little way and shoved into a
similar one. It was just as small and just as crowded.
There was a man lying full-length on the bunk. He looked up at us with the
ghost of a smile on his face. He was an offworlder, like us. I presumed that
if there were other cells, they must all be full of outworlders. Either that
or the cavemen were not in the least concerned about our comfort. The cell was
about eight feet by six. The bunk was six by four and a toilet took up at
least a sixth of the remaining floor space.
'Standing room only?' I remarked, gazing steadily at the man sprawled on the
bunk.
He got the hint, but he didn't move.
'Nice to see you,' he said, probably with a certain amount of sincerity. It
couldn't
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
have been much fun on his own. 'Where did you blow in from?'
'Attalus,' said Johnny, giving nothing away.
'You company men?' he asked. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
five crew and three gunmen aboard she was distinctly overcrowded. The
consequences of a beam battle in a sardine can are dreadful to contemplate.
We were escorted across the surface of Rhapsody away from the
Swan.
They didn't leave anyone on board, and they permitted Nick to secure the lock
against potential invaders.
I'd put us down in the twilight zone, at the required latitude, within a
couple of hundred yards of the surface-lock which gave access to the principal
warren. The pinpoint accuracy was a great compliment to my piloting, but no
one expressed gratitude that we didn't have far to walk. The surface was all
dust-drifts and rock-jags, and wasn't suitable for strolling in the evening,
but we had no difficulty in obeying the instructions which our captors sent
over the open call circuit. They marched us in Indian file to the vast lock,
which gave us access to the capital. I looked around briefly, and caught sight
of one other ship - presumably the Star Cross ramrod - a couple of miles away
towards daylight.
We were permitted to de-suit in the reception area under the lock. I was
allowed to retain the flashlight, but not to remove any of the other
potentially useful things that were secreted in the suit, under the guise of
standard equipment. (Like, for instance, food concentrates and the emergency
bleep.)
We were now privileged to clap eyes on our captors for the first time, while
they crammed us into a hand-operated hoist.
The heavy mob looks the same the universe over. They have never really escaped
the influence of the clichés laid down by the earnest exponents of the art of
strong-
arming. They always have big shoulders and slack features, and a casual swing
to their movements deliberately styled to suggest that they can - and maybe do
- bend iron bars between their fingers. Our welcoming committee was trying
hard - if subconsciously - to give this overall impression, but they weren't
very good at it. Gangsters may be born or made, but these men had had
gangsterism thrust upon them. They looked as if they'd rather be pecking away
at a rock face, and that was probably their normal occupation.
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Page 34
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
'What the hell goes on?' asked Nick, while the hoist descended noisily. It was
Charlot's picnic, of course, but Charlot hadn't bothered to protest or demand
to be taken to their leader, so perhaps Nick thought it was up to him to expel
some hot air. Mavra and company seemed to take the whole affair very
fatalistically.
'Shut up,' said one of the gunmen bravely.
There's no need to add insult to injury,' I remarked.
'Shut up,' he said again. He obviously didn't feel up to explaining the
situation. A
man of action.
'As a matter of simple curiosity,' said Charlot oilily, 'are you
institutionalised or free-lance?'
No answer.
I rephrased the question for them. 'He means, are you the regular cops or did
you just take up the habit?'
Still no answer. It's possible that they still didn't understand the allusion,
but I
concluded that it was more likely they weren't going to say anything more. I
admire a man who can take his own advice.
We didn't get to see much of the local scenery. They hustled us out of the
hoist into a dark corridor, and promptly split us into three groups going
three different ways.
The men of Mavra's party were one group, the women of Mavra's party the
second, and the crew of the
Hooded Swan the third. They marched us up and down long corridors that were
all grimly similar. This was the first time we encountered the full force of
Rhapsody's sporadic lighting system. Some corridors had only one lamp -often
not centrally placed. Others had two, and were well-endowed by the local
standards. Not one of the bulbs was brighter than a wax candle.
Nick, Eve and Charlot were hustled through a door into a minuscule cell.
Johnny and I were taken down the passage a little way and shoved into a
similar one. It was just as small and just as crowded.
There was a man lying full-length on the bunk. He looked up at us with the
ghost of a smile on his face. He was an offworlder, like us. I presumed that
if there were other cells, they must all be full of outworlders. Either that
or the cavemen were not in the least concerned about our comfort. The cell was
about eight feet by six. The bunk was six by four and a toilet took up at
least a sixth of the remaining floor space.
'Standing room only?' I remarked, gazing steadily at the man sprawled on the
bunk.
He got the hint, but he didn't move.
'Nice to see you,' he said, probably with a certain amount of sincerity. It
couldn't
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
ABC Amber LIT Converter http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
have been much fun on his own. 'Where did you blow in from?'
'Attalus,' said Johnny, giving nothing away.
'You company men?' he asked. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]