"Joe Haldeman - We Were Very Happy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

it felt like less than two. Time dilation, of course. Even with the collapsar jumps, traveling from star to star
eats up the calendar. After this raid, I would probably be eligible for retirement, with full pay. If I lived
through the raid, and if they didn’t change the rules on us. Me a twenty-year man, and only twenty-five
years old.

Stott was summing up when there was a knock on the door, a single loud rap. “Enter,” he said.
An ensign I knew vaguely walked in casually and handed Stott a slip of paper, without saying a word. He
stood there while Stott read it, slumping with just the right degree of insolence. Technically, Stott was out
of his chain of command; everybody in the Navy disliked him anyhow.

Stott handed the paper back to the ensign and looked through him.

“You will alert your squads that preliminary evasive manoeuvres will commence at 2010, fifty-eight
minutes from now.” He hadn’t looked at his watch. “All personnel will be in acceleration shells by 2000.
Tench… hut!”

We rose and, without enthusiasm, chorused, “Hump you, sir.” Idiotic.

Stott strode out of the room and the ensign followed, smirking.

I turned my ring to position four, my assistant squad leader’s channel, and talked into it: “Tate, this is
Mandella.” Everyone else in the room was doing the same.

A tinny voice came out of the ring. “Tate here. What’s up?”

“Get hold of the men and tell them we have to be in the shells by 2000. Evasive manoeuvres.”

“Crap. They told us it’d be days.”

“I guess something new came up. Maybe the commodore has a bright idea.”

“The commodore can stuff it. You up in the lounge?”

“Yeah.”

“Bring me back a cup when you come, O. K.? Little bit of sugar?”

“O. K. Be down in half an hour.”

“Thanks. I’ll round ‘em up.”

There was a general movement toward the soya machine. I got in line behind Corporal Potter.

“What do you think, Marygay?”

“I’m just a corporal, Sarge. I’m not paid to—”

“Sure, sure. Seriously.”

“Well, It doesn’t have to be very complicated. Maybe the commodore just wants us to try out the shells