"David L. Kuzminski - On the One Hand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuzminski David L)

was still something within it that held power. Though Janus didn't know what the box's purpose was, it
was one of the few things he'd encountered that wasn't damaged or destroyed by the battle the ship was
in. Janus moved cautiously around the box, staring at it intently while trying to determine just what the hell
its purpose might have been.

Finally, Janus touched the box.

Nothing happened. It merely floated slightly away from his touch as it obeyed the laws of action and
reaction.

Satisfied that the box didn't appear to be a bomb or other booby trap left by any battle survivors for their
enemy, Janus moved the box to the rent where he entered the superstructure. There he netted it and
fastened it to his line. He gazed out at his ship for a moment, then turned back into the wreck to search
for more items worth salvaging.

********************
Too quickly, Janus moved as he squirmed about in one cabin. He felt the tear to a flexible portion of his
armored suit. Alarmed, he backed out quickly as his suit lost its atmosphere. His good hand slipped into
a pocket and came out with a suit clamp. Hurrying without panicking, Janus placed the clamp into
position, then laboriously fastened the two ends down to close the clamp on the small tear. Then Janus
allowed himself to float while he composed his nerves. As he did, he thought, well, you didn't even have
the nerve to let it happen when death came calling. Did you, Janus, old boy?

********************
Janus stared at the meager cache of salvageable items he'd found. The tear in his suit had cost him
valuable searching time. The oxygen he lost could have let him search for another two hours. Now he had
to return with less than he wanted. Janus could only hope that what he recovered would make the trip
worthwhile since he couldn't return to the wreck anymore. It wasn't like in the early days after he first
retired and could afford to carry more than one oxygen canister.

Slowly, Janus attached himself back to the line, checking carefully that he wouldn't be caught once more
by any sharp fragments from the wreck. Then he reached into a pocket and retrieved a beacon. Much as
he hated using it so the government could take over his find, he knew what would happen if he didn't.
Janus affixed the beacon to the wreck and activated it. A check of his instruments indicated that it was
operating properly.

Then Janus activated the retraction winch. The line began recoiling back toward his ship. Janus watched
for asteroids and gently warded off a few as a precaution even though his ship and the line still kept pace
with most of the orbiting rocks.

Then he and his treasure were out of the belt into clear space. Janus speeded up the winch so he could
get on board quicker.

********************
Finally out of his suit, Janus had to carry the salvage from the airlock before he could go anywhere. It
wasn't actually that he had to. It was more a precaution on his part in case his ship was stopped for
inspection. The last thing he wanted was for the government to find out about his haul before he could sell
it.

The damaged items were easy to handle. It was the box that proved difficult. In the artificial gravity on