"Baxter, Stephen - On The Orion Line" - читать интересную книгу автора (Baxter Stephen)

I slammed into the curving hull, nose pressed against the stars.

I bounced off and drifted. The inertial suspension was out, then. I thought I could smell
blood–probably my own.

I could see the Ghost ship, a tangle of rope and silver baubles, tingling with highlights from
the fortress star. We were still closing.

But I could also see shards of shattered lifedome, a sputtering drive unit. The shards were bits
of the Brightly. It had gone, all gone, in a fraction of a second.

"Let’s do it," I murmured.

Maybe I was out of it for a while.

Somebody grabbed my ankle and tugged me down. There was a competent slap on my cheek,
enough to make me focus.

"Case. Can you hear me?"

It was First Officer Till. Even in the swimming starlight that burned-off scalp was
unmistakable.

I glanced around. There were four of us here: Till, Commissary Jeru, Academician Pael, me.
We were huddled up against what looked like the stump of the First Officer’s console. I
realized that the gale of venting air had stopped. I was back inside a hull with integrity, then–

"Case!"

"I–yes, sir."

"Report."

I touched my lip; my hand came away bloody. At a time like that it’s your duty to report your
injuries, honestly and fully. Nobody needs a hero who turns out not to be able to function. "I
think I’m all right. I may have a concussion."

"Good enough. Strap down." Till handed me a length of rope.

I saw that the others had tied themselves to struts. I did the same.

Till, with practiced ease, swam away into the air, I guessed looking for other survivors.

Academician Pael was trying to curl into a ball. He couldn’t even speak. The tears just rolled
out of his eyes. I stared at the way big globules welled up and drifted away into the air,
glimmering.

The action had been over in seconds. All a bit sudden for an earthworm, I guess.