"RUSCH, DEAN WESLEY SMITH KRISTINE KATHRYN - TREATYS LAW 4TH IN THE DAY OF HONOR SERIES STARTREK B" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)putting himself in front of it, shouted, "It is I, Kerdoch!" Inside he
heard sudden movement; then his wife said, "Kerdoch? Son of whom?" Her voice was full of courage, testing to make sure that no one but her husband would enter her home. She was a solid, stout woman, and Kerdoch could imagine her standing inside, weapon aimed at the emergency door. Kerdoch smiled. "Kerdoch, son of KaDach, beloved one." "Enter, my husband," she said. Inside, in the dark, he hugged his wife and five children as the ground shook. The enemy ships had returned on another attack run. Dr. Vivian Rathbone watched as the turbolift doors slid open with a hiss. She slowly stepped through and onto the Enterprise bridge. She was amazed at how nervous she felt as she smoothed her commander's uniform. This was her first time on any starship bridge, and in the six months she'd been posted to the Enterprise, it had never occurred to her that she would be ordered to any of the officers' areas, let alone the bridge. She had hoped to see the bridge someday, while in space dock, perhaps, or on a tour. To suddenly be called there during an emergency was not at all what a colonial agronomist would expect. Her job was to study any planets the ship discovered for possible future colonization and food-production ability. During red alerts her most important duty was to report to her lab and stay out of the way of crew members who had important things to do. Behind her the door hissed closed, and she stopped. Captain Kirk sat in his command chair facing distance when she was first assigned to the ship. Then he had seemed like any other Starfleet officer, hurrying about his business. Now, though, he seemed larger than before. A man in his element. A man who accepted his power as he accepted the design of the bridge. A man no one should trifle with. The stars of warp space flashed past on the screen, but nothing else was visible. The slight beeping and clicking sounds of a working bridge were the only sounds around her, but they seemed extra loud to her in her heightened nervousness. Spock had his head pressed against a scope at his science station. She'd passed the Vulcan science officer a few times in the halls, and every time was impressed by his stern demeanor. This time was no exception. Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekov were at their stations. She had spoken to both of them before. They had seemed nice enough, but concerned with the business of the day. She'd had a sense she failed to make an impact on any of them, although she was honored just to share the same starship with them. Lieutenant Uhura swiveled in her chair, put a hand to the device in her ear, and smiled at Vivian, who smiled back. She and the lieutenant had become occaSional three-dimensional chess partners. They played when happened at the same time. But they did enjoy the games they were able to play. They were evenly matched, and Uhura was cunning. Vivian appreciated cunning; it added surprise to the game. Uhura's smile helped. At least Vivian didn't feel entirely alone on the bridge. But she did feel vulnerable. In all of Vivian's forty-two years she couldn't |
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