"Tanya Huff - Valor 2 - The Better Part of Valor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

Her matching clothing was unusually subdued—in spite of the
color—and the combined effect was one of studied innocence.
Torin didn't believe it for a moment. Anyone studying that hard had
to be working against type.
"One of my thytrins was supposed to be on that shuttle, Sergeant
di'Perit Dymone. I didn't see him get off so I was wondering if he,
well, missed his flight again." Her hair flattened a little in
embarrassment. "He missed the last flight he was supposed to be on."
Looking politely disinterested, Torin waited.
"I thought maybe, if he didn't miss this flight, he might still be on
board."
"No."
"Are you sure ..." She dipped her head and her eyes went a shade
darker as she studied Torin's collar tabs. "... Staff Sergeant?"
"I'm sure."
"But..."
"I was the only NCO of senior rank on board. Your thytrin missed
another flight."
"Oh." Her hair flattened farther as she stepped out of the way, one
long fingered hand fiddling with her masker. "I'm sorry to bother you
then."
Torin swung her bag back onto her shoulder. "No problem."
"Um, Staff Sergeant, would you like to ..."
"No. Thank you." When a di'Taykan began a question with would
you like to, there was only ever one ending. And that was probably
why the girl's thytrin kept missing his flight.
By the time Torin reached the exit, she'd been delayed long enough
for the lines to have gone down at the security scanners. Wondering
why the Niln next to her was bothering to argue with the station sys-
op—top of the pointless activity list—she slid her slate into the wall
and faced the screen. In the instant before the scan snapped her pupils
to full dilation, she saw a flash of reflected lime green. The di'Taykan?
Scan completed, she turned.
On the other side of the lounge, now nearly empty of both the
shuttle's passengers and those who'd come to meet them, the di'Taykan
had crouched down to speak to a Katrien. Although conscious of being
watched, they glanced up and smiled. For an omnivore, the Katrien had
rather a lot of sharp-looking teeth in its narrow muzzle and although
Torin couldn't see much of its face around an expensive looking pair of
dark glasses, something about its expression made her fairly certain
she'd seen that particular Katrien before. She just couldn't put her
finger on where.
*You have been cleared to enter the station. Proceed immediately to
docking bay SD-31. Your pilot has been informed of your arrival.*
Torin tongued in an acknowledgment and stepped through the hatch,
the Katrien's identity no longer relevant.
Facing the lounge exit was a large screen with a three-dimensional
map of the station. As Torin stepped closer, a red light flashed over her
corresponding place on the map and a long red arrow led to the legend;
"You are here." Torin would have bet her pension that the graffiti