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.But the response had failed.Instead of intercepting the berserkers, saving Liaoning andputting a stop to the menace for the time being, all that had been accomplished was to save two shattered people and to weaken the defenses of their own home for more than a day.It would be bad luck indeed if the enemy were to mount a heavy attack on Shubra within that time.But the absence of bad luck could never be relied upon.And at last the trip home was almost over."I've got an image of home on the detectors now, Captain.Maximum range."Good, thought Domingo.Now within thirty seconds or a minute I will get a further detector report, observation of some surface features, some activity, the beginning of reassurance that all is well at home.There would probably not be any open radio transmissions to pick up.A red alert, which meant radio silence, had been in effect here since the squadron's departure.Those conditions could soon be relaxed somewhat.There was a wedding to carry on with, however Maymyo and Gujar wanted to do it.Any celebration today or tomorrow would have to be severely restricted.It was going to be a while at best before the alert could be canceled completely.Until communications were exchanged with the Base.Until…The thirty seconds had passed, and then thirty more, and the silence on all the instruments was beginning to grow ominous.The visuals were getting clear enough to see now, to allow recognition of something of the familiar surface, anyway… but still only ambiguous spots were coming through.There was so much surface cloud, ice crystals blowing…Two seconds later he had to admit it to himself.The surface of Shubra ought not to look like that.The defense frequencies were not detectable.But they ought not to be, could not be, totally silent at this close range.They could not be, unless the unthinkable should intrude here and now into the actual.And that could not be happening.No, not that.Unless…There was no single moment in which the terror became reality.Rather there were minutes in which the members of the relief expedition slowly found their worst fears realized.There was now ruin on Shubra, almost the equal of that they had left behind them on Liaoning.There were spontaneous outcries from the people aboard the Pearl, and then stunned silence.Page 14ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe silence did not last long; there followed frantic efforts to communicate with someone, anyone, below.The attempts were as futile as they were desperate.Still there might be, might be, survivors.The rush to investigate was frenzied.This timeDomingo landed the ship, crudely and clumsily; he put the Sirian Pearl down directly on the surface, because here, just as on Liaoning, the space harbor had been effectively destroyed, turned into a gaping wound whose jagged mouth resembled that of a volcano.The deep center of Defense Control had to be gone, too; it could not have survived that cavitation.As Domingo landed his ship, the other ships of his squadron were coming down as well, landing on the surface close around the Pearl.The crews all disembarked and then milled around beside their ships, looking for some kind of hope, some indication of human survival.But it was a strange and unfamiliar world on which they stood, protected by their suits and helmets of space armor.The rocks of it still roared and shuddered underfoot.Every building had been wiped away.The atmosphere was poisoned.Fresh snow and black smoke blew together across a cratered, shattered, alien landscape.The artificial gravity was weakening already.The deeply buried generators that created it had doubtless been damaged, and soon the smoke and the snow would be gone, along with all the air…Domingo was commander still, and still mayor of whatever might be left.He had to spend the first minutes giving orders, trying to prevent the disintegration of his crew and the other crews, instead of running in a frenzy to see what had happened to his daughter.An organized search for survivors was begun.It was only minutes after the search started when the personal news reached him: The bride-to-be, his daughter, along with all her comrades in Defense, was dead.Duty forgotten, Domingo commandeered the only ground vehicle available—it had come down aboard one of his squadron's ships—and rushed to the scene
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Tematy
IndexZelazny Roger Amber 07 Krew Amber
John DeChancie Castle 07 Castle Spellbound
Clancy Tom Jack Ryan 07 Suma wszystkich strachów tom 1
Butcher Jim Akta Harry'ego Dresdena 07 Martwy Rewir.NSB
07. Robert Jordan Koło Czasu t4 cz1 Wschodzšcy Cień
Dahl Kjell Ola Gunnarstranda i Frolich 07 Wierny przyjaciel
Meyer Kai Siedem pieczęci 07 Demony morskich głębin
§ Hill Reginald Dalziel i Pascoe 07 Œcięte głowy
Dare Tessa Spindle Cove 01 Noc uległoÂści
Jo Clayton Drinker 03 A Gathering Of Stones