"Dean Wesley Smith - VOR 03 - Island of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Dean Wesley)

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FirsteBook edition: January 2001

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Prologue
Time:12:14Universal Time
17 minutes before Arrival

ThePharon high priest stood in the control room of his spacecraft, the jewel-of-power solar collector
over his head almost touching the ceiling as he stood watching theviewscreen . Displayed before him
against the blackness of space was what looked like a small asteroid, no more than six kilometers long
and half that thick. The light of the Maw, distant and faint, traced only the rock’s outline against the few
stars. This was an almost empty area of the Maelstrom, near the outer edge. There was very little here to
interest his people except this rock.

A simple-looking asteroid tumbling in the darkness.

But the high priest knew that it was much more. The rock contained vast power. A power he would
someday control for his people.

The fluids of life coursed through his body, pumped into him by the pack on his back. The wrappings on
his arms were new and uncomfortably tight, yet he knew he must keep them that way. His vest was also
new, with ornate glyphs showing his rank and accomplishments. His mailed skirt hung down behind him,
protective rear armor. Soon, when he controlled the power of the rock, he would have even more
beautifully carved glyphs to be proud of on his vest.

His craft hung in space to one side of the tumbling asteroid, the ship’s sleek, aerodynamic shape giving
the impression of movement even when it was hovering. The nose of the ship was pointed slightly
downward, looking like a bird’s head from a distance. The gold and chrome of its skin reflected the
distant light of the Maw at the center of the Maelstrom like a faint, internal glow.

At least twenty otherPharons , mostly foot soldiers, also accompanied the high priest, as well as the two
pilots sitting to his right. But he ignored them all for the moment, spellbound by the slowly tumbling rock
showing on the screen.

Suddenly a blue light seemed to encircle the rock, illuminating structures on the surface. One entire side
of the asteroid was flat and covered in tall buildings never intended to exist in the vacuum of space.