In Alien Hands William Shatner

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

moment, when he realized was too close. Why else? Korkal was a spy.
He wouldn't up his prize willingly.
"Let's say I didn't want to contact Korkal. That I just wanted to lead
my own life. What about that?" "One of my unusual abilities involves
identity changes, Jim. I large systems to accomplish this if
necessary."
Jim thought some more. "Okay, and if I wanted to get off this Just go
somewhere else, do whatever I wanted to. Any
"I would need to know your intentions."
Jim made up his mind. "Okay, Fred, how about this?"
And after a microsecond of hesitation, Fred told him how to go it. When
Fred was done, Jim unfolded himself, stood, and to the bed. He lay
down and closed his eyes.
For the first time in months he slept without dreams. It was a
BROS TACH
t was a small room lighted by a hard white glow and it stank. jim had
no idea of its location. It felt as if it might be deep under ground.
Three disk jumps from his hotel. A hard-scaled thing with six knobbly
arms and a head like a washtub guarded the door. Jim
Fred with now-practiced aplomb. Big Scaly raised an i equally small
square box, and said, "What are you looking for?"
"I want to sign up." He wondered if the tremor in his voice was
noticeable. The oversize head swiveled. "Inside," Big Scaly said.
"End of the line." Jim stepped past him and wedged himself into the
crowd beyond the door. The place was a smaller version of the
concourse he'd seen on his arrival--though the ventilation systems
weren't as good.
He found himself standing behind a dumpy, mobile palm tree that oozed
clear yellow slime. Jim wrinkled his nose. The slime Smelled like a
freight-car load of rotting peppermints.
For an instant the strangeness of it all rocked him. Here he Stood in
a line of bawling, mewling, sweating aliens; he saw a SWatch of
multicolored fur off to his right that suddenly, when he looked closer,
resolved into a cloud of hairlike floating tendrils. Every place he
looked he saw something equally unsettling. But as far as he could
tell nobody was paying him any attention, and so he began to relax and
let the line move him forward.
When there was only the palm tree between him and a table set up with
another version of Big Scaly behind it, he said, what do I do?"
Fred answered immediately. "As we decided, you will be Marshal, an
itinerant Terran. I'll handle the details. They interrogate me as you
talk. Answer the recruiter's questions ever you wish, and I'll make
any necessary alterations in history."
Jim took a deep breath and regretted it immediately. "I
if this is such a good idea," he murmured.
Fred took it as a direct question.
"You said you wanted to get off planet in as anonymous a as possible.
You added that you wanted to see the galaxy close. And you said you
wanted a little adventure. crews are being recruited all over
Brostach, since it is a planet. Those who train and market such crews
aren't about who their recruits are or where they come from. If you
meet the physical parameters, they will take you with notions asked.
We agreed this is the simplest way to meet all requirements. Isn't
that what you wanted?" "I guess so." "Hey, your'
With a start Jim found himself standing at the edge table. The Big
Scaly was half out of its seat, regarding him what Jim presumed was a
glare.
"You a crazy?." Big Scaly asked. "Don't need no crazies." "No, uh,
sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I... want to "Well now. Let's look
at you." Big Scaly settled back down aimed some kind of handheld
contraption that holovid camera at him. "Umph. Healthy enough it
looks Terran, eh? We don't see much of those. I've heard you're posed
to be a pretty fierce bunch. Don't look it to me."
Its mouth dropped open to reveal a dozen fat orange squirming on purple
gums.
"It's laughing," Fred said.
"I'm very fierce," Jim said.
The mouth oozed shut. "We'll see about that, won't we? Basic
contract, two Standard Units' duration. Take it or leave you take it,
go that way." One of its arms gestured vaguely off! Jim's left.
'That's it?" Jim said.
"You're hired," Fred replied. "Two Standard Units is about
months. Welcome to the mercenary battalion owned by the Romian
citizen Hyksos Albamoth. The name of the battalion is the Red Death.
It is moderately famous."
ITle Red Death..." Jim said.
Six hours later he was several light-years beyond the Brostach System
and busier than he'd ever been in his life.
AeOARO THE NDEPENDENT STAR HIP
OUEEf OF Rul:
DEEP SPACE
I don't give a guard's turd about gray-beams or sub quantum torsion
disrupters or sun busters the instructor said. The instructor was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Wątki