tz.cobra strike-第25章

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　to　hold　up　even　when　you're　only　along　for　the　ride。〃
　〃Um。　Aside　from　little　things　like　snakele　venom　in　the　nucleic　acid　analyzer…〃
　〃Fixed；〃　she　said。　〃We　got　it　working　again　about　ten　minutes　ago。　Which　was　why　I'd　been　released　from　my　desk　and　could　e　out　to　drag　you　kicking　and　screaming　back　inside。〃　He　shook　his　head　in　mock　exasperation。　〃I　swear；　Chrys；　you　do　a　poorer　imitation　of　a　loafing　passenger　than　/　do。〃
　〃And　you're　delighted。　Go　on；　admit　it。〃
　〃Why？　You're　going　to　send　me　to　my　room　anyway；　aren't　you？〃　he　said；　putting　a　well…remembered　five…year…old's　whine　into　his　voice。　〃You　always　want　me　to　play　outside　on　nice　days。〃
　She　poked　him　in　the　ribs。　〃Stop　that…I　had　my　fill　of　tantrums　years　ago。〃
　He　captured　her　attacking　hand　and　wrapped　the　arm　around　his　waist；　and　for　a　moment　they　walked　like　that　in　silence。　〃It　would　be　an　ideal　planet　for　colonization；　wouldn't　it；〃　she　said　quietly。　〃And　that's　going　to　make　it　all　the　harder　to　say　no。〃
　〃No　to　the　Trofts？〃
　She　nodded。　〃The　Council's　going　to　want　this　world；　and　probably　the　others　as　well。　And　to　get　them　they'll　take　on　the　Qasamans　。。。　whether　that's　the　smart　thing　to　do　or　not。〃
　Jonny　grimaced。　The　same　thought　had　been　lurking　in　the　back　of　his　own　mind　for　at　least　two　planets　now。　〃We'll　just　have　to　hope　the　Dewdrop's　report　is　solid　enough　that　it　relegates　ours　to　footnote　status　as　far　as　that　decision　is　concerned。〃
　〃With　Lizabet　Telek　in　charge　of　writing　it？〃　Chrys　snorted。　〃She　wants　these　worlds　so　badly　she　can　taste　it。　She'll　make　sure　the　Qasamans　sound　like　crippled　porongs　as　far　as　fighting　ability　is　concerned。〃
　〃I　don't　know　if　she's　that　underhanded；〃　Jonny　demurred　cautiously。　〃And　with　Almo；　Justin；　and　Joshua　aboard　she'd　have　a　hard　time　slanting　things　too　far。〃
　Still；　he　thought　as　they　passed　the　Cobra　guard　at　the　Menssana's　airlock　and　stepped　through　to　the　cool　shock　of　the　ship's　climate　control；　it　might　not　hurt　to　tone　down　our　report　a　shade　or　two。　Emphasize　Chata's　flatfoot　herds；　perhaps；　and　Fuson's　spit…
　ting　snakeles。　Every　world's　got　its　drawbacks…all　we　have　to　do　is　find　them　and　make　them　visible。
　And　hope　the　Council　doesn't　take　them　too　seriously。　Already　the　ship's　cooler　air　was　affecting　his　arthritic　joints；　reminding　him　with　each　twinge　that　he'd　been　a　bit　lax　with　his　medication　schedule。　He　would　hate　to　see　a　world　like　Kubha　slip　through　mankind's　fingers　for　no　real　reason。
　Whether　it　was　worth　a　war　。。。　well；　that　decision　didn't　yet　need　to　be　made。
　
　
　Chapter　12
　
　The　plete　tour　of　Sollas　and　its　environs　took　six　days；　and　for　Cerenkov　the　most　amazing　part　was　how　the　Qasamans　could　keep　them　so　busy　while　showing　them　so　little。
　So　little　of　real　importance；　anyway。　They　spent　a　great　many　hours　touring　art　galleries；　cultural　museums；　and　parks；　while　evenings　were　usually　filled　with　dance　and　musical　performances　at　their　guest　house　and　long　discussions　with　Mayor　Kimmeron　or　other　high…ranking　officials。　At　no　time；　despite　Cerenkov's　carefully　phrased　requests；　was　the　contact　team　taken　to　anything　resembling　a　munications　or　puting　center；　nor　were　they　shown　any　of　the　city's　industrial　or　manufacturing　capability。
　And　yet　such　capability　obviously　existed。　The　glimpses　they　got　of　intercity　roads　and　the　relatively　sparse　traffic　on　them　showed　Sollas's　goods　weren't　simply　being　shipped　in　from　somewhere　else。
　〃It's　got　to　be　underground；〃　Rynstadt　mented　that　evening　as　the　four　men　relaxed　in　the　lounge　that　connected　their　two　sleeping　rooms。　〃All　of　it：　refining；　manufacturing；　waste　processing…maybe　there's　even　a　tunnel　network　for　product　distribution。〃
　〃Except　for　smaller　operations　like　the　boron　plant
　　　we　saw　the　first　day？〃　Cerenkov　shrugged。　〃Possibly。　Probably；　even。　Sure　seems　to　be　the　hard　way　to　do
　it；　though。〃
　〃Depends　on　what　they　were　after；〃　Joshua　put　in。　〃Aesthetically；　this　is　a　clean；　beautiful　city；　a　good　place　to　spend　your　leisure　time　even　if　you　have　to　work　underground　all　day。〃
　〃Or　else；〃　York　said　quietly；　〃they　were　simply　worried　about　having　everything　out　in　the　open。〃
　Cerenkov　felt　his　jaw　tense　up；　forced　it　to　relax。　The　unspoken　assumption　was　that　the　Qasamans　were　eavesdropping　on　these　conversations；　and　to　go　anywhere　near　military　concepts　made　him　nervous。　But　on　the　other　hand；　ignoring　such　a　normal　aspect　of　human　societies　was　likely　to　look　even　more　suspicious。　As　long　as　York　didn't　let　his　professional　interests　run　away　with　him…　〃What　do　you　mean？　They　built　underground　to　protect　their　manufacturing　base　from　attack？〃
　〃Or　from　detection；〃　York　replied。　〃Remember　our　assumed　starting　point：　emigres…or　exiles…from　perceived　repression；　having　gone　way　farther　than　they　intended　and　now　stuck　on　Qasama　with　a　useless
　stardrive。〃
　〃Do　you　suppose　they　ran　into　some　Troft　ships　on　the　way　here？〃　Joshua　suggested。　〃The　Dominion　probably　hadn't　met　either　them　or　the　Minthisti　when　the　Qasamans　left。　If　I'd　just　seen　a　Troft　for　the　first　time；　I　think　I'd　probably　have　kept　going　until　my　tanks　ran　dry。〃
　Nodding；　York　said；　〃I　suspect　that's　exactly　what　they　did。　The　distance　seems　right　for　a　colony　ship's　full　dry…tank　range。〃　He　looked　back　at　Cerenkov。　〃I'd　guess　they　had　their　whole　city　underground　to　begin　with；　moving　up　only　as　they　started　to　outgrow　the　space　and　no　one　showed　up　to　stomp
　them。〃
　〃And　they　came　up　smack　in　the　middle　of　the　bololin　migration　pattern；〃　Cerenkov　sighed；　shaking
　his　head。　〃Definitely　poor　planning　on　someone's　part。〃
　〃That　doesn't　explain　where　the　villages　came　from　Rynstadt　mused。　〃Though　maybe　we　can　get　some　of　their　history　tomorrow。　Assuming　the　trip　is　still　on。〃
　Cerenkov　shrugged。　〃As　far　as　I　know　Moff　and　pany　are　driving　us　out　there　first　thing　tomorrow　morning。〃　He　broke　off　as　a　familiar　hooting　sounded　faintly　in　the　distance。
　York　grimaced。　〃More　bololins。　I　think　I'd　have　stayed　underground　until　I　found　a　way　to　keep　the　damn　things　out。〃
　At　least；　Cerenkov　thought；　the　streets　ought　to　be　pretty　empty　by　now。　I　wonder　how　many　people　those　things　kill　every　year？　〃I　assume　they　had　their　reason。　Maybe　Moff　will　loosen　up　some　day　and　talk　about　it。〃
　First　time　in　a　week　I'm　close　enough　to　make　a　grab；　Pyre　groused　silently　to　himself；　and　the　damn　herd　decides　to　be　nocturnal。
　From　Pyre's　end；　of　course；　it　wasn't　all　that　bad。　Locking　in　the　light　amplification　capability　of　his　optical　enhancers　gave　him　as　good　a　view　as　he　would　have　had　on　an　overcast　afternoon；　and　with　magnification　also　on　he'd　be　able　to　target　any　likely　tarbines　as　soon　as　they　emerged　from　the　obscuring　buildings。　And　once　he　had　targeting　lock　established　he　could　follow　his　chosen　bird　into　the　woods；　where　he　could　shoot　it　without　anyone　seeing　the　flash。
　The　problem　was　that　with　most　good　Qasamans　tucked　away　in　their　beds　there　weren't　likely　to　be　many　bololins　running　into　bullets　out　there；　and　correspondingly　few　impregnated　tarbines　for　him　to　hunt。　Muttering　under　his　breath；　he　mentally　crossed　his　fingers　and　waited　for　the　herd　to　appear。
　It　did；　and　his　pleadings　were　answered　from　an　entirely　unexpected　direction。　Across　the　landing
　area…about　half　a　kilometer　away　and　somewhat　northeast　of　his　current　position…a　door　suddenly　opened　in　a　tall　building　the　Dewdrop's　crew　had　tentatively　labeled　the　control　tower；　spilling　light　and　people　out　onto　the　pavement。　Flickers　of　fire　erupted　from　outstretched　hands；　and　even　as　their　mojos　took　to　the　air　the　sound　of　gunfire　reached　Pyre's　ears。　Shifting　his　attention　back　to　the　herd；　he　waited。　Within　seconds　the　tarbines　began　to
　appear。
　The　multitarget　capability　hadn't　been　a　part　of　Cobra　optical　enhancers　since　Jonny　Moreau's　war；　but　Pyre's　team　had　trained　with　them　prior　to　the　Qasama　mission　and　he'd　developed　a　healthy　respect　for　both　their　advantages　and　their　dangers。　Once　he　target…locked　one　or　more　tarbines；　his　nanoputer　and　servos　would　make　sure　his　next　laser　shots　would　be　in　that　direction…whether　or　not　he　suddenly　found　a　predator　he　needed　to　deal