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

"How can we know that?" Tatiana asked.

It was Jules who answered glumly, "The invaders would hardly go to the trouble of picking up
dead bodies—not when they've already left so many lying around after the bombardment."

"But what do they want with them?" Ivanov asked.

"Interrogation, ransom, slaves, sacrifices, food, or experimentation," Lady A said calmly. "At
least, those have traditionally been the reasons for taking prisoners throughout human history. If these are
indeed alien creatures, they may have come up with some new permutation."

Jules shot her an angry glance. "You're so comforting."

The woman shrugged. "I'm not afraid of voicing the unpleasant truth. You knew it as well as I."

"I think we ought to go looking for some of those defenders who managed to get away," Fortier
said, trying to defuse the touchy situation. "They've spent the past week fighting the enemy; they may be
able to fill us in on some of the background."

Jules nodded slowly. He needed something to take his mind off Yvette's predicament for the
moment. "Good idea," he said. "Maybe they even know where the enemy base is or where they take their
prisoners."

Flames were still engulfing the disk that had been atop the enemy's walking tower. The team
skirted around that and went across the park to where the defenders had mounted their courageous stand
against the fearsome war machine. The yellow smoke had completely dissipated by now and the five
members experienced no ill effects. They did note that, while the enemy figures had loaded the bodies of
the fallen defenders into their vehicle, they had left the weapons behind. Apparently they were not too
concerned about the damage any survivors could do to them.

The streets were once again as silent as those of the other villages they'd visited. The other people
must be around here somewhere, but they'd retreated to some hiding place to lick their wounds after the
battle.

Jules and his team could have spent days trying to find the particular hiding place the defenders
were using, but there just wasn't the time to waste. Cupping his hands to his mouth, Jules cried out, "Hallo,
where are you? We're friends, we want to talk to you."

When that brought no immediate response, the five members of the team continued on through the
deserted streets, calling aloud to the people they knew must be there. After twenty minutes they were
starting to grow hoarse when they finally got results. A blaster beam sizzled the ground a few meters in
front of them, coming from the second-story window of a house on their right.

"Hey, don't shoot, we're friends!" Jules called up to the unseen sniper.

"Prove it," a voice called back.
 "Do we look like some of them?" Fortier asked.

"No," the voice admitted. "But maybe you decided to work for them."