"Williamson,.Michael.Z.-.Freehold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

loosened it slightly.

Kendra watched as her guard stripped and headed into the
bathroom, an action reinforcing that nudity was a casual thing for
her. Romar's skin was flawless, hairless except for the flaming
waves on her head and matching eyebrows, and rippled with heavy
muscles. Kendra asked, and found out that she spent almost three
hours a day in the gym. She also recalled that their gravity was a bit
more vigorous than Earth's. Remembering a brief encounter with
the Freehold 3rd Mobile Assault Regiment's staff on Mtali, Kendra
decided she never wanted to fight with them. They seemed to
regard their military service as a religious duty. Romar even kept a
pistol with her in the shower. "I know you won't try to escape,
considering your circumstances," Romar's shout echoed from the
tiled room as she lathered her rich red hair, leaning out of the stall
to make eye contact. "But I'd look pretty stupid if you got away. It's
a rough duty model anyway."

Kendra was shown to a dining hall that was again small but
luxurious. She grabbed some sandwiches and a bowl of soup,
which she found too spicy. The sandwiches had a lot of mustard
and peppercorns, but she found them manageable. Once she got
past the heat, they were actually quite tasty.

Jelsie showed her around briefly. The compound had a gym, small
theater and a day room that included a decent-sized pool and a
long, rectangular hot tub, which held an older man and an Asian
woman and had room for several more. They waved at Romar in
passing and resumed talking and drinking. "I'm off duty now,"
Romar told her, "except for my responsibility regarding you. If you
don't mind, I'm suggesting a plunge."

"I don't mind," Kendra said. "I'll just sit and watch vid."

"Why? You're welcome to join us."

"I don't have anything to wear."

"Sorry. That's a problem here, isn't it?" Jelsie said, peeling out of
her uniform. "Well, if you change your mind, feel free. Sit on that
side," she gestured, "so I have you in plain sight."

Kendra watched vid halfheartedly. More people wandered in and
part of her mind deduced it was a shift change of some kind. They
looked over and saw the depression emanating from her, but
decided not to interfere. She was grateful for their discretion, but
made no outward sign. Being properly morose took work.

Ten minutes later, her face was flashed on the screen. At least it
wasn't mainstream news, only a specialty channel on political