"Chapter 04" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gordon Dickson - Forever Man)

CHAPTER

4



DISORIENTATION,. NAUSEA...
The stars were different for the fifth time. Acceleration hit
like a tree trunk ramming into Jim's chest. His fingers danced
on the sub-light conltrol buttons. The voice of Raoul Penard
was howling his battle song again-


... When you come drive de beeg saw log,
You got to jump jus' lak de frog!
De forenian come, he say go sak!
You got in de watair all over your .......


Time passed....
"Check Ten!" shouted Jim once again. "All ships Check
Ten. Transmit in three seconds. Three. Two-"
No Laagi ships in the telltale sphere again this time. And
the next. And the next-
Suddenly AndFriend bucked and slammed. Flame flickered
for a fraction of a second through the cabin. The telltale was
alive with green lights, closing fast.
Fifteen of them or more... Directly ahead of AndFriend
were three of them in formation, closing on her alone. In
Jim's ears rang the wild voice of Penard..


P'ras's you work on drive, tree four day-
You find dat drive dat she don' pay....


"Gunner!" cried Jim, seeing the peen lights almost on top
of him. It was a desperate cry for help. In a moment-
Two of the green lights flared suddenly and disappeared.
The third flashed and veered off.
"Mary!" yelped Jim, suddenly drunk on battle adrenaline.
"You're a gunner! A real gunner!"
"More to the left and up-sector ten-" said a thin, calm
voice, a voice he could hardly recognize as Mary's, in his ear.
He veered, saw two more green lights. Saw one flare and
vanish-saw suddenly one of his own white lights flare and
vanish as the scream of torn metal sounded from one of the
screens before him. Glancing at the screens, he saw for the
moment the one picturing Fourth Helen's cabin, showing the
cabin split open, emptied and flattened for a second before the