"Andre Norton - Solar Queen 7 - A Mind For Trade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

moved off in the direction of the engine compartments.

Free fall soon. Dane retreated to his cabin, wondering if it was Tooe's
influence that had them all using the handholds, walls, and decking to
propel themselves around in free fall, rather than walking with their boots
magnetized as had been their habit for years aboard the Solar Queen.

He pushed his old uniform into the cleaning slot and glanced at the
time. Still half a rest period left. He suspected he would not get back to
sleep before Rip and Jasper went off-shift and he and Ali were back on
duty, but he wasn't worried. Except for Ali's weird dreams, so far the
maiden voyage of the North Star had been uneventful enough. A lot of
hard work, but they'd anticipated that. Rip had one more day in charge of
the galley, then the rotation would put Dane there. At least there he could
nap if he needed to.

He took a quick hot shower, got into his clean uniform, and left his
cabin to go to the galley-mess.

The other three appeared at about the same time. Ali's dark hair was
wet and slicked back, the color high in his handsome face. He dropped
into one of the bolted chairs, smiling derisively. "If this is going to be a
let's-talk-about-our-past bull session, Craig, I'd rather finish racking up
my overdue sack time."

The medic, who had served aboard the Solar Queen longer than Dane
had been a Free Trader, looked unperturbed. A plain, neat man who
hardly seemed to have aged in the time Dane had known him, Craig Tau
spoke in a low, even voice, and his manner was unemotional and
straightforward. All the Solar Queen's former apprentices respected him;
he was honest, dedicated, and thorough.

Dane stayed silent. Despite Ali's banter, Dane knew his shipmate was
tense and uneasy.

"I had hoped," Tau said, lacing his fingers together, "that this
conversation could wait for a time. We all have too much to think about
already: •z new ship, new positions of responsibility for each of the four of
you, a contract that may or may not break us out of this cycle of hard luck
that has been riding our jets since we left Canuche. Add to that both ships
being undercrewed and all the extra work that entails, I thought you had
enough to think about."

"All right," Ali said. "I get the image here: it's sufficiently bad. How
about giving it to us straight."

Tau looked up enquiringly. Rip nodded, his intelligent dark eyes
concerned, and Dane felt himself nodding as well. Only Jasper
Weeks—unfailingly polite and noncommital, as were all Venusian
colonists, Dane had learned—waited patiently for Tau to get to his subject