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

one. The overseers had the humans hop quickly off the cart and march single file into the building.
 Alien though these invaders may have been, certain functions do not change. Yvette could tell
from the moment she walked in the door that this building was a military headquarters of some sort. The
interior was partitioned off into a series of cubicles, and aliens wearing stylized uniforms of different
colors were walking officiously to and fro.

There were surprisingly few of the invaders on staff in here; perhaps they had most of their work
computerized, or perhaps most of the officers were supervising construction at the slave camp. Whatever
the reason, this military office was ridiculously understaffed. Yvette contemplated silently how easy it
would be to break in here and get whatever information was available—provided she could recognize the
important information when she saw it. Right now, only Tatiana had the potential to read the alien
symbols—and Yvette had no idea where the albino woman was, or even if she was still alive.

Throughout the day, Yvette and the other humans were made to fetch and tote supplies from the
storage shed into the main building and up and down the central corridor of the headquarters, in and out of
the various cubicles, until she knew pretty thoroughly where everything was in here. What she didn't know
was how to make use of that knowledge, or how to get anything out of here if she should acquire it.

Nevertheless, as the cart drove back to the slave camp at the end of a hard day's work, Yvette was
starting to feel more positive about herself and her mission once more. Despite the setbacks that had
overtaken her she'd still managed to discover a key point in the aliens' defenses. There was little she could
do except keep her eyes open and wait. Everything now would depend on how well Jules and the other
team members managed on their own. But if they came for her, Yvette vowed she was going to be ready.
She had a personal score to settle with these green-skinned invaders.

CHAPTER 9

Freedom Raid

Realizing they had a lot of distance to cover to reach the slave camp and alien base, the Empire
team spent some time looking around for a different mode of transportation. The groundcar, while
comfortable, was entirely too slow and too limited to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. After a short
search they found something more to their purpose: a copterbus trapped in the ruins of an old storage shed.
It may have been a part of the city's public transport system, judging from the insignia on its sides, but it
had been in the shop for repairs when the aliens began their bombardment and had been overlooked in the
ensuing chaos. Fortier and Ivanov, having the most complete knowledge of these devices, examined the
vehicle carefully and pronounced it nearly fit to fly. A couple hours' work was all they needed to get it into
working order again, and the team was off on its mission into the heart of alien territory.

Even at the copter's top speed the journey was several hours long and the five team members spent
that time looking nervously out the windows on all sides, alert for any sign of enemy activity. They
remembered how quickly the aliens had spotted the H-16 when it was orbiting Omicron and they wanted
to be prepared to defend themselves if they should be spotted again.

About halfway along the route to where their maps said the Long River valley was, they flew over
a large town that had survived the bombing intact. On impulse Jules ordered that they stop here and pick
up some supplies. "We don't know what we'll be facing when we get there, and I'd like to be prepared for
any trouble," he reasoned, and Lady A agreed with him.

They found some food that hadn't been ransacked by marauders fleeing to the countryside, but just