"Zach Hughes - Mother Lode" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

Mop sighed.

"After all, he's been in cold storage in the middle of a rock for maybe a
million years."

Mop cocked his head.

"It would be nice, though, if you and I had some help out there,
wouldn't it? With a couple of men to help us we could do two or three
more loads in short order."
 "Wurf," Mop said.

She thought about it. She considered going back to Haven and asking
the X&A colonel to recommend a couple of good men, good workers. She
quickly decided against that. One cabin on Mother had been converted
into the mining control room. There was one bunk bed, high on the wall,
in the mining room. Not enough space for two hired hands. And Mother
was a small ship. To share a ship as small as a Mule two people had to be
very good friends. Trouble was, all of her friends were still in Service.

Except.

"Hummm," she said.

"Uhhhh," Mop said, looking for a belly rub as he rolled over.

"You sort of liked Denton Gale, didn't you, Mr. Mop?"

Mop grinned as she rubbed his chest and belly.

"He acted civilized," she said.

Mop said nothing.

"True, he was my father's friend, not mine."

"Uhhhh," Mop moaned.

"We could share the exercise room and the library with no problem,
and he could sleep in the mining control room. What do you think?"

Mop, having had enough rubbing, wiggled to be put down. She put him
on the deck and he went to paw a chew bone from his personal dispenser.

"You're a helluva lot of help," she said. "Comes time for a heavy decision
and you clam up."

Mop crawled under the control chair to eat his tidbit. She turned left,
but not to go to Xanthos. Soon she was blinking rapidly down established
routes. At beacons she encountered other ships lying on charge. Mother's