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

choose to do.

"The enemy may have more ships waiting just on the other side of the moon, in case we emerge
victorious. They may be waiting to hear from the ships they've already sent out before dispatching more.
We can count on nothing but our own speed to get us through."

She called up on her screen a quick scan of the Omicron maps again, watching the scenery flash
past until she found a spot she liked. She entered its location into the computer and almost instantly the
ship returned the course she would need to reach that point.

"Since we don't know precisely where their base is, if indeed there is one, we'll have to land
somewhere and find out more details on the ground. I've chosen a spot near a conflux of smaller towns
and not too far from Barswell City. The city was probably decimated but the villages may be intact. At the
least, there may be other transportation to take us where we need to go."

"What about this ship?" Yvette asked.

"If it gets us to Omicron, it will have served its primary function. I intend to crash it."

***

There was a silence in the cabin as she made that announcement. It was up to Fortier to state what
was on everyone else's mind. "That'll leave us stranded on Omicron. How will we get back to the Empire
to make our report?"

"There will undoubtedly be means available," Lady A said calmly. "If we're at all successful at
finding the critical information, it means we'll have penetrated the enemy base. They'll have ships there we
can use."

"Assuming, of course, we know how to work their controls," Jules said, adding his objections to
Fortier's.

"That's why we have Tatiana with us, to decipher these things," the woman replied. "Or there may
be small private ships on hand somewhere that haven't been destroyed. If we can't escape physically,
perhaps we can find a way to send out a subcom message past the enemy interference. There are
alternatives open to us. The alternative we no longer have is to play more games of hide-and-seek with
this ship.

"Even more to the point," she went on, "the enemy currently knows we're here. Until they know
we've been dealt with one way or another, they will continue to search for us. A ship that crashes with
sufficient violence to leave no wreckage and no bodies may satisfy their curiosity about us, at least
temporarily. In these circumstances, we'll need every advantage we can get."

"Sounds like you intend to stage a pretty showy crash," Yvette said. "How are we going to walk
away from it?"
 "By not being in the ship at the time, of course," Lady A said scornfully, turning back to her
controls.

For the next several minutes there was too much action to allow conversation. The H-16
accelerated along its course and sped out from behind the cover of Omicron's moon once more. Much to