"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 9 - The Omicron Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

"Khorosho," she said. "I chose you for your expertise, I might as well take advantage of it. I think
we can all agree on you as team leader. In emergencies, yours will be the one voice for the group—but in
more casual circumstances, I at least will expect to have a significant say."

Jules looked at Yvette and Fortier, who both nodded acceptance of him as leader. "Smooth," he
said to Lady A.

"However," the woman continued, "this is my ship and I will pilot it. Captain Fortier may be co-
pilot if you like. I gather you're something of a hotshot flier yourself, but my reflexes really do work to
best advantage in this circumstance. As pilot, I expect captain's prerogative to be absolute master of my
vessel. Your jurisdiction begins once we're safely on Omicron. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Jules said. He was still in mild shock over how easy his battle with Lady A had been;
he'd expected a much harder fight to win the team leadership away from her. Lady A would not enjoy
taking orders from anyone, particularly from him, but she was an intelligent woman. As she'd said, she'd
chosen him because he was good at this sort of thing, and he bet she could swallow her pride enough to
listen to him when it mattered.

With the technicalities finally settled, they were ready for takeoff. Lady A assigned the Empire's
agents to three acceleration couches within the hemispherical bridge, while she worked the ship's major
controls herself. The H-16 lifted majestically off the small private landing field, leaping into space.
Despite all reservations and misgivings, the mission to learn the secret of the Omicron invasion had
begun.

CHAPTER 5

Stranded

Nereid was close enough to the Omicron system that the flight would only take a few hours. They
were hours the team tried to use wisely.

As team leader, Jules needed to know what resources and talents he could draw on in an
emergency. From questioning Ivanov, he found the man had a varied background—professional athlete,
bouncer in a number of bars, burglar, assassin and, most recently, a factotum for Lady A's criminal
conspiracy. The man was hardly a model of virtue, but Lady A had picked well; he'd have the requisite
skills to perform on a delicate mission like this. They could depend on him to hold up his end.

Aimée Amorat, of course, could be considered an asset to the team as long as she could be trusted.
Physically, her body would be far more durable than anyone else's; mentally, she had a quick and cunning
mind. She'd been an actress in her youth, and had no doubt drawn on those abilities many times in the past
half century to keep herself alive and free. She had eluded the greatest manhunt SOTE had ever staged at a
time when she was merely flesh and blood like everyone else. As long as her interests were the same as
those of the team, her contributions would be outstanding—but Jules would have to keep on his toes for
the slightest signs of betrayal. She'd made a fool of him on Gastonia, and he was not going to let that
happen again.

He and his sister, of course, worked together like the muscles in his hand. Having performed as
acrobats in the Circus of the Galaxy, they were quite used to having their lives depend on each other's
movements and reactions. Although Jules had never met Fortier before this mission, the officer had been a