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

farthest along the flight path had time to see what was coming and get away, but most of the people—
Yvette included—were caught up in the yellow cloud.

The Empire group across the park could hear the sounds of coughing, but the yellow smoke was
so dense they couldn't see what was happening. The gas dissipated quickly, though, and they could see
bodies sprawled haphazardly across the rubble. At this distance it was impossible to tell whether they were
dead or merely unconscious.

Jules jumped up to run to his sister, but Lady A grabbed him tightly by the shoulder and held him
in place. He started to protest, but she merely pointed to the sky in the direction from which the enemy
plane had come.

A bigger, slower craft was settling to the ground near the sprawled bodies. Although it, too, was
of a strange design, it reminded the team members of nothing so much as a transport copter. As the vehicle
touched down, a door opened in its side and a team of creatures emerged. They were all wearing bulky
suits to protect themselves from any vestiges of the yellow gas, and it was impossible to tell much about
them other than the fact that they had two arms, a head, and walked upright on two legs. In height they
were slightly shorter than an average DesPlainian, but they seemed much more slender.

Moving quickly, the spacesuited figures began picking up the bodies and carrying them quickly
into their waiting aircraft. A couple of them picked up Yvette and began carrying her unceremoniously in
with the others.

"We've got to save her!" Jules exclaimed.

"How?" Lady A asked coolly. "It'd be suicide to charge that ship. I won't allow it."

Looked at from the logical side of his mind, Jules had to admit she was right. To make a direct run
at the craft would take him across some fifty meters of exposed terrain; it would be foolish to think they
wouldn't spot him and shoot him down before he could reach them. He could circle the perimeter of the
park, taking advantage of cover afforded by rubble and old houses—but at the rate the creatures were
working, they would be finished loading all the bodies by then, and they might already have taken off.

"We've got to do something," Jules muttered. "Maybe a diversion." His mind started thinking
along convoluted paths, of having a few members of the party go off to one side and start creating enough
disturbance to allow the rest to move in and perform the rescue. But there wasn't the manpower, the
equipment, or the time, and Jules knew it.

"I didn't want her going on that fool's errand in the first place," Lady A said smugly. "We can't
risk any more of our people trying to save her."

Jules clenched his fists in anger and watched, frustrated, as the enemy figures finished their task.
The last of them hopped back aboard the transport craft, and the vehicle took off once more into the
afternoon sky—carrying Yvette with them.

CHAPTER 7

The Omicron Liberation Army
 "At least we can be sure the gas didn't kill her," Lady A commented as the enemy vehicle
vanished from view.