"Alan E. Nourse - Peacemaker" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nourse Alan E)

removed the weapon from Klock's side, an ordinary, clumsily designed heat pistol, almost
unrecognizable, but similar enough to the type of weapon Flicker knew to be serviceable. He strapped it
to his side, and moved silently toward the hatchway.
 The lights had to go first. Flicker's body ached. His mind was reeling with fatigue, sliding momentarily
into hazy attenuation, snapping back with a start. Unless he slept soon, he knew, his reactions would
become dangerously slow, and hunger was now tormenting him also. Food and sleep would have to
take priority over the lights, no matter how dangerous.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he glanced back at the alien body on the floor. Some of the
blood had oozed out on the aluminum floor, forming a dark pool. The thought slid into focus, and the
hunger reintensified, into a gnawing knot in his stomach; then he turned away in disgust. He just wasn't
that hungry. Not yet.
Quickly he stepped out into the passageway, moving in the direction of the engine sounds. The ship
was silent as a tomb except for the distant throbbing of the motors. Far below him he heard the clang of
metal on metal, as if a hatch had been slammed. Then dead silence again. No sign that Klock had been
missed, not yet. Flicker breathed the cool darkness of the corridor for a moment, and then moved
quickly to the ladder at the end of the passageway. His muscles ached, and his neck was cramped, but
he felt some degree of his normal agility returning as he peered into the dark hold below, and eased
himself down the ladder.
The grainy odor he had smelled above was stronger down here. Halfway to the ceiling the coarsely
woven bags were stacked, filling almost every available inch of the hold except for the walkways. A grain
freighter! No wonder it had such a small crew for its size. Not many hands were needed to ferry staple
food-grains to the aliens on distant planets. Flicker blinked and searched the walkways, finally finding
what he wanted—a cubbyhole, behind the stacks, and up against the outer bulkhead. He slid into the
narrow space with a sigh, and curled himself up as comfortably as he could. Clearing his mind of every
thought but alertness to sound, he sank into untroubled sleep.
He heard the steps on the deck above him, and sat up in the darkness, instantly alert. There were
muffled sounds above, then steps on the metal ladder. Abruptly the hold was thrown into brilliant light.
Flicker whimpered and twisted with pain as the light exploded into his eyes, and felt a flash of panic as he
saw two of the aliens at the bottom of the ladder.
The waves of thought force struck Flicker, heavy with anger and fear. "It couldn't have come far
forward in the ship. If Klock was right, that first day, it has a high-order intelligence. It would seek a
good hiding place, and then venture out to explore a little at a time. It could be anywhere." The one called
Sha-Lee looked back up the ladder anxiously.
The other's mind was a turmoil of jagged peaks and curves. Then his thought cleared abruptly. "But
how could it happen? The creature was sedated, almost dead, as far as we could see. It had a shot just
an hour before Klock went up there. How could it have awakened? And why did Klock go up there in
the first place? I thought you left strict orders—"
The two cautiously moved down the walkway. "Whatever happened, it's loose. And there won't be
any sedating when we find it again—"
Trembling with pain, Flicker forced his burning eyes to the source of the light in the overhead. He
aimed the heat pistol he had taken from Klock, sending a burst of searing energy at the fixture. The hold
fell dark as the light exploded into metallic steam.
"He's in here!"
There was a long, pause, in dead silence. Flicker strained to catch the flow of thoughts that streamed
from the alien minds.
"I can't see a thing!"
"Neither can I. It got the lights."
They were so near Flicker could almost feel their warmth. Swift and silent as lightning, he sprang up
on the grain bags, leaned out just above them. A small bit of wood was near his foot; he grabbed it and
threw it with all his might against the far bulkhead. A surge of fear swept from the alien minds at the