[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Her fingers stopped moving on his fore-head.
"Who?" she asked.
"Lily," he said. "Lily.Got mixed up, with all thosel 's.Women withl's in
their names. Anyway, the point is it's not just colonists. There were two
thousand colonists watching the night the Meda V'Dan burned our station and
killed my parents, and not one of them did a thing.Against maybe fifty of the
aliens."
"What could they have done?" Her fingers were again moving rhythmically back
and forth across his forehead.
"Anything," he said, "but nothing. That's why it's not just my parents. It's
not just the outposters or the colonists, it's all of them.The whole race of
damn fools and nobody to save them from their own mess but me."
He twisted his head a little awkwardly to look up into her face. Somehow,
while he had been talking, she had slid off the arm of the chair until she lay
with the light weight of her body pressing against him. He was suddenly
conscious of the womanness of it. He tried to focus on her face, but she was
too close. All that he could bring into focus were her two blue eyes, which
were watching him solemnly from inches away.
"Lily ..." He reached across with his right hand to lift her back up onto the
arm of the chair, but at the touch of his hand, the thing she was wearing fell
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
open down the front as if it had never been fastened, and the naked skin of
his wrist and forearm pressed against her skin.
The contact was like an explosion in him an explosion of everything in him
that was young and had been long under pressure. But then, even in the second
inwhich he picked her up and got to his feet, the tidal wave of all he had
worked and lived with as long as he could remember came pouring back into that
area the explosion had temporarily blasted empty.
He looked down at hersavagely, thinking how easy it would be to give in
now to the first small break in his purpose that would lead to further
cracking and final disintegra-tion. From here he could slip back into the
captured mass of humanity, accept the letters waiting for him on the community
chain, and sink out of sight among the rest of those help-less in the grip of
their historic time. He could, but he would not, and for a moment he stood
feeling the bitterness of his purpose and equal bitterness at what it denied
him.
He put her gently on her feet on the ground, and automatically she gathered
her clothing about her. Her face was pale now.
"I'm human," she said.
Fury boiled up in him.
"I'm not!" he said. "What's the matter with you? Don't you know what you
are?"
She twitched as if he had hit her. Her eyes closed.
"I know," she whispered."A midget... a freak."
"What?" he snapped at her. "What're you talking about? You're a
colonist that's what you are. Do you think I can be different with one
colonist from what I am with the others? If I am, the whole thing breaks
down."
His voice lowered on the last words.
"Get out of here," he said grimly. "I've got to get some sleep."
The colour had come back into her face. She smiled at him, and her eyes were
almost lumi-nous.
"Yes," she said softly, "you sleep now." She backed to the entrance of his
cabin and then she was gone.
He stood looking at the door that had closed behind her. The adrenalin of his
explosion had all drained away now. His head was no longer fuzzy from the
whiskey, but he felt numb all over, heavy as a dead man in all his body and
limbs. He turned, sat down on the side of his bunk, and pulled off his boots.
Falling back on the bunk, he pulled its single cover up over him and fell
asleep instantly.
He woke from heavy, prolonged slumber just as the scout ships were setting
down from orbit around Garnera VI. There was no time to debrief Lily or Spal
now on what they might have learned respectively about the Meda D'Van
philosophy or military potential during the visit just past. He went out and
took command of the ships during the landing.
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
There was a Navy courier ship not much smaller than oneqf the heavy scout
ships already on the field before the station when they landed. Mark glanced
at it briefly as the jar of landing went through the vessel he was in, but his
mind was elsewhere now. He put in a call to the Residence building before
leaving the scout ship.
Race's lean brown face appeared in the screen.
"Go well, Mark?" he asked.
"I think so," Mark said. "Want to get all the outposters and Jarl, too, come
to think of it in the conference room at the Residence? I'll be there in a
few minutes."
"They're already here," Race said.
"Fine.How's Brot?"
"Better," Race said. "He'll be there, too."
"Good." Mark broke the connection.
By the time he left the scout ship, Paul and the others had already gone, but
an empty ground car had been waiting for him. He got in it and drove up to the
Residence.
When he stepped at last into the conference room with its ring-shaped table,
he found there not only the other outposters and Jarl Rakkal, but Ulla
Showell. When she saw him, she got quickly to her feet from the chair where
she had been sitting next to Jarl.
"Excuse me," she said. "I'll step out. I just dropped in on your station to
see how Jarl was doing."
He looked at her grimly.
"You chose a bad time for it," he said.
Her face tightened.
"A bad time?" she echoed. "Why?"
"Because the Meda V'Dan will be hitting this section in about three days,
unless I'm badly mistaken," he replied. He looked about the room at the faces [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Her fingers stopped moving on his fore-head.
"Who?" she asked.
"Lily," he said. "Lily.Got mixed up, with all thosel 's.Women withl's in
their names. Anyway, the point is it's not just colonists. There were two
thousand colonists watching the night the Meda V'Dan burned our station and
killed my parents, and not one of them did a thing.Against maybe fifty of the
aliens."
"What could they have done?" Her fingers were again moving rhythmically back
and forth across his forehead.
"Anything," he said, "but nothing. That's why it's not just my parents. It's
not just the outposters or the colonists, it's all of them.The whole race of
damn fools and nobody to save them from their own mess but me."
He twisted his head a little awkwardly to look up into her face. Somehow,
while he had been talking, she had slid off the arm of the chair until she lay
with the light weight of her body pressing against him. He was suddenly
conscious of the womanness of it. He tried to focus on her face, but she was
too close. All that he could bring into focus were her two blue eyes, which
were watching him solemnly from inches away.
"Lily ..." He reached across with his right hand to lift her back up onto the
arm of the chair, but at the touch of his hand, the thing she was wearing fell
Page 64
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
open down the front as if it had never been fastened, and the naked skin of
his wrist and forearm pressed against her skin.
The contact was like an explosion in him an explosion of everything in him
that was young and had been long under pressure. But then, even in the second
inwhich he picked her up and got to his feet, the tidal wave of all he had
worked and lived with as long as he could remember came pouring back into that
area the explosion had temporarily blasted empty.
He looked down at hersavagely, thinking how easy it would be to give in
now to the first small break in his purpose that would lead to further
cracking and final disintegra-tion. From here he could slip back into the
captured mass of humanity, accept the letters waiting for him on the community
chain, and sink out of sight among the rest of those help-less in the grip of
their historic time. He could, but he would not, and for a moment he stood
feeling the bitterness of his purpose and equal bitterness at what it denied
him.
He put her gently on her feet on the ground, and automatically she gathered
her clothing about her. Her face was pale now.
"I'm human," she said.
Fury boiled up in him.
"I'm not!" he said. "What's the matter with you? Don't you know what you
are?"
She twitched as if he had hit her. Her eyes closed.
"I know," she whispered."A midget... a freak."
"What?" he snapped at her. "What're you talking about? You're a
colonist that's what you are. Do you think I can be different with one
colonist from what I am with the others? If I am, the whole thing breaks
down."
His voice lowered on the last words.
"Get out of here," he said grimly. "I've got to get some sleep."
The colour had come back into her face. She smiled at him, and her eyes were
almost lumi-nous.
"Yes," she said softly, "you sleep now." She backed to the entrance of his
cabin and then she was gone.
He stood looking at the door that had closed behind her. The adrenalin of his
explosion had all drained away now. His head was no longer fuzzy from the
whiskey, but he felt numb all over, heavy as a dead man in all his body and
limbs. He turned, sat down on the side of his bunk, and pulled off his boots.
Falling back on the bunk, he pulled its single cover up over him and fell
asleep instantly.
He woke from heavy, prolonged slumber just as the scout ships were setting
down from orbit around Garnera VI. There was no time to debrief Lily or Spal
now on what they might have learned respectively about the Meda D'Van
philosophy or military potential during the visit just past. He went out and
took command of the ships during the landing.
Page 65
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
There was a Navy courier ship not much smaller than oneqf the heavy scout
ships already on the field before the station when they landed. Mark glanced
at it briefly as the jar of landing went through the vessel he was in, but his
mind was elsewhere now. He put in a call to the Residence building before
leaving the scout ship.
Race's lean brown face appeared in the screen.
"Go well, Mark?" he asked.
"I think so," Mark said. "Want to get all the outposters and Jarl, too, come
to think of it in the conference room at the Residence? I'll be there in a
few minutes."
"They're already here," Race said.
"Fine.How's Brot?"
"Better," Race said. "He'll be there, too."
"Good." Mark broke the connection.
By the time he left the scout ship, Paul and the others had already gone, but
an empty ground car had been waiting for him. He got in it and drove up to the
Residence.
When he stepped at last into the conference room with its ring-shaped table,
he found there not only the other outposters and Jarl Rakkal, but Ulla
Showell. When she saw him, she got quickly to her feet from the chair where
she had been sitting next to Jarl.
"Excuse me," she said. "I'll step out. I just dropped in on your station to
see how Jarl was doing."
He looked at her grimly.
"You chose a bad time for it," he said.
Her face tightened.
"A bad time?" she echoed. "Why?"
"Because the Meda V'Dan will be hitting this section in about three days,
unless I'm badly mistaken," he replied. He looked about the room at the faces [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]