[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
was on watch last?
We were. Bella-Lynn and I. Stevens rubbed at his eyes. We didn t see or
hear a thing.
What the bloody hell is going on? Lastwell appeared at the
mate s side, took one look at Ramirez s body, and snapped out a terse
obscenity. That s it. We re getting out of here today. You can sort out
unsecured gear once we re all back on board the lander. I
ain t staying here another night.
What about Old Conc? Millie Carnavon asked.
What about the old shit? If we re lucky, a
Vrilil will get him.
We can t leave him now, she insisted as Prentice and Simna arrived. We have
to&
We have to what? Lastwell was openly furious. Bring him to justice? Query
his motives? Forget it, Millie. Come sundown, we re out of here.
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He said that he knew his name. O Sandringham looked up at her colleagues.
He said that he knew who the old man was.
Everyone was looking at her. Majestatus.
Maje& Lastwell choked on the pronunciation. Concarry
Majestatus? She nodded. Whereupon he turned to slam a booted foot into the
corridor wall, denting it severely. Goddamnit! A
thousand times over son-of-a-bitch!
Hard to believe. A phlegmatic Simna was unaffected by the violent display.
By now they were all used to the captain s violent mood swings.
Lejardin s gaze flicked from one man to the other. Who is this guy? I never
heard of a Concarry Majestic.
Majestatus, Simna corrected her. He was a little before your time.
Old Conc. Concarry Clive Majestatus. Field-Marshal
Majestatus. Think back to your history texts, Favrile.
Her brow furrowed, then relaxed. Oh, she murmured. Her eyes widened
slightly.
Oh
.
Not especially eloquent, Simna deposed, but to the point.
Well, I don t recognize it, a frustrated O Sandringham insisted.
As I said, before your time. Before mine too, actually, though less
so than yours. The scientist meditated briefly as he leafed through the
encyclopedia that was his mind. Was it thirty years ago? Probably more. I
was just a kid, but it seems I can remember reading about it.
About what? O Sandringham prompted her colleague.
His abdication. The greatest military mind of the Post-tribal era, they
called him. Head of the Global Commonwealth Police
Active Response team. I remember reading about how he personally took
charge of the suppression of the Kanaka Anarchics rebellion in New
Caledonia in 83, and made peace among the
Martian colonists in 86. Those are just a couple of the high points.
His brilliance was universally acknowledged, though as I recall there
was considerable controversy over his methods.
Cedric Carnavon had arrived later than the others. But his memory was
as sharp as Simna s. Military historians ranked him with Caesar and
Alexander, though he never really had a chance to demonstrate his abilities on
that kind of scale. So he made the best of the more limited opportunities
contemporary society offered.
He was a soldier s soldier.
Simna nodded. Then one day he just disappeared.
The sneaky bastard. Lastwell was looking around nervously as if he
expected the old man to leap out at him from a dark corner. And
we wondered how he had the resources and connections to pull off a
voyage like this.
Certainly he was well connected in the global financial community,
Simna commented, and with the space program as well. Not many individuals
could have orchestrated an
inconspicuous one-way ticket on a deepsleep ship, but he had the wherewithal.
Clearly he used it.
But why this? O Sandringham indicated the inanimate body before them. Why
kill Stewart?
Maybe because your friend recognized him, Lastwell snarled softly.
Maybe because of something else that was said.
Maybe because the old bastard is just out of control. We ll never know. I do
know that we d better watch ourselves from now on, and not just because
of this. He indicated the corpse on the bloody floor.
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What are you saying, Frank? Carnavon asked him.
That he may not want us going back and telling the world that he s out here.
Simna disagreed. I think you re buying trouble. He could have knocked
us off one at a time before we ever ran into him, or had it done quietly
while we slept in the village. No, something specific happened to set
him off.
Millie Carnavon was never reluctant to speculate. Could the sedative you gave
him have had unanticipated side effects? Maybe it helped to jog old memories,
old reflexes.
He must ve surprised Stewart. Stevens was unruffled.
There are seven of us, and he s still just one old man.
Yeah. Lastwell continued to scan his surroundings uneasily.
The most dangerous old man alive. We ve got to get away from here, and we ve
got to get away now
.
Not until the rest of our equipment is ready to move.
Prentice was unyielding. We don t have spares enough to allow us to abandon
all this. Wherever we make landfall next, we re going to need it. He s gone,
and I don t think he ll bother us anymore. All he probably wanted was to get
away from us. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
was on watch last?
We were. Bella-Lynn and I. Stevens rubbed at his eyes. We didn t see or
hear a thing.
What the bloody hell is going on? Lastwell appeared at the
mate s side, took one look at Ramirez s body, and snapped out a terse
obscenity. That s it. We re getting out of here today. You can sort out
unsecured gear once we re all back on board the lander. I
ain t staying here another night.
What about Old Conc? Millie Carnavon asked.
What about the old shit? If we re lucky, a
Vrilil will get him.
We can t leave him now, she insisted as Prentice and Simna arrived. We have
to&
We have to what? Lastwell was openly furious. Bring him to justice? Query
his motives? Forget it, Millie. Come sundown, we re out of here.
Page 150
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He said that he knew his name. O Sandringham looked up at her colleagues.
He said that he knew who the old man was.
Everyone was looking at her. Majestatus.
Maje& Lastwell choked on the pronunciation. Concarry
Majestatus? She nodded. Whereupon he turned to slam a booted foot into the
corridor wall, denting it severely. Goddamnit! A
thousand times over son-of-a-bitch!
Hard to believe. A phlegmatic Simna was unaffected by the violent display.
By now they were all used to the captain s violent mood swings.
Lejardin s gaze flicked from one man to the other. Who is this guy? I never
heard of a Concarry Majestic.
Majestatus, Simna corrected her. He was a little before your time.
Old Conc. Concarry Clive Majestatus. Field-Marshal
Majestatus. Think back to your history texts, Favrile.
Her brow furrowed, then relaxed. Oh, she murmured. Her eyes widened
slightly.
Oh
.
Not especially eloquent, Simna deposed, but to the point.
Well, I don t recognize it, a frustrated O Sandringham insisted.
As I said, before your time. Before mine too, actually, though less
so than yours. The scientist meditated briefly as he leafed through the
encyclopedia that was his mind. Was it thirty years ago? Probably more. I
was just a kid, but it seems I can remember reading about it.
About what? O Sandringham prompted her colleague.
His abdication. The greatest military mind of the Post-tribal era, they
called him. Head of the Global Commonwealth Police
Active Response team. I remember reading about how he personally took
charge of the suppression of the Kanaka Anarchics rebellion in New
Caledonia in 83, and made peace among the
Martian colonists in 86. Those are just a couple of the high points.
His brilliance was universally acknowledged, though as I recall there
was considerable controversy over his methods.
Cedric Carnavon had arrived later than the others. But his memory was
as sharp as Simna s. Military historians ranked him with Caesar and
Alexander, though he never really had a chance to demonstrate his abilities on
that kind of scale. So he made the best of the more limited opportunities
contemporary society offered.
He was a soldier s soldier.
Simna nodded. Then one day he just disappeared.
The sneaky bastard. Lastwell was looking around nervously as if he
expected the old man to leap out at him from a dark corner. And
we wondered how he had the resources and connections to pull off a
voyage like this.
Certainly he was well connected in the global financial community,
Simna commented, and with the space program as well. Not many individuals
could have orchestrated an
inconspicuous one-way ticket on a deepsleep ship, but he had the wherewithal.
Clearly he used it.
But why this? O Sandringham indicated the inanimate body before them. Why
kill Stewart?
Maybe because your friend recognized him, Lastwell snarled softly.
Maybe because of something else that was said.
Maybe because the old bastard is just out of control. We ll never know. I do
know that we d better watch ourselves from now on, and not just because
of this. He indicated the corpse on the bloody floor.
Page 151
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
What are you saying, Frank? Carnavon asked him.
That he may not want us going back and telling the world that he s out here.
Simna disagreed. I think you re buying trouble. He could have knocked
us off one at a time before we ever ran into him, or had it done quietly
while we slept in the village. No, something specific happened to set
him off.
Millie Carnavon was never reluctant to speculate. Could the sedative you gave
him have had unanticipated side effects? Maybe it helped to jog old memories,
old reflexes.
He must ve surprised Stewart. Stevens was unruffled.
There are seven of us, and he s still just one old man.
Yeah. Lastwell continued to scan his surroundings uneasily.
The most dangerous old man alive. We ve got to get away from here, and we ve
got to get away now
.
Not until the rest of our equipment is ready to move.
Prentice was unyielding. We don t have spares enough to allow us to abandon
all this. Wherever we make landfall next, we re going to need it. He s gone,
and I don t think he ll bother us anymore. All he probably wanted was to get
away from us. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]