"Arinn Dembo - Between the Lines" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dembo Arinn)

 III.

In 2616, a new intern is assigned to the medical staff at Mars Dome. Thera Mendosa is a specialist,
trained in the design and fitting of artificial nervous tissue. She has been brought to Mars to assist the chief
medico-engineer as he fits a new generation of starship pilots with an experimental control system.

At age twenty-eight, Mendosa herself is a striking example of bionic engineering. Half paralyzed and
stricken with ataxia in childhood, sheтАЩs had artificial nerves grafted throughout her legs that allow her to
walk and move with unnatural grace. She is introduced to many of the pilots during her tour of the
facilities, and quickly becomes a popular topic of telepathic conversation in the mess. More than one
young flyer decides to try his rusty speaking skills in the face of her towering, heavy-boned,
copper-skinned homeworld beauty . . . but only one stands utterly transfixed when she passes, staring at
her with eyes gone wide and liquid and black.

Soon thereafter, Lieutenant Galen Navarek shows the first real initiative of his military career, and asks to
be considered as a subject for the new experimental airframe. Although reluctant to part with one of his
most gifted pilots, the wing commander nevertheless bows to NavarekтАЩs request for a letter of
recommendation. When brought before a board of inquiry recently, the man chose to ignore the advice of
his counsel, and shrugged in the face of hostile questioning. His statement was simple: тАЬLieutenant
Navarek came into my office and said, тАШWill you nominate me for the new deep-space destroyer
program?тАЩ Since it was the longest sentence I had ever heard him string together, I figured it must be
important to him. And there was no question that he had the skills.тАЭ

Impressed by NavarekтАЩs almost surreal aptitude for flight, the selection committee accepts him
immediately. During his initial trials, they are also delighted by his rare feel for the rip drive; Navarek
never fails a Jump, and can often make several Jumps in one session-a feat that even the most
experienced men on the flight line canтАЩt match.

When he receives an upgrade to his security clearance, Galen is finally briefed on the details of the new
control system. It is immediately clear why so many top guns have washed out of the program at this
stage of the game. In order to fly the new deep-space destroyer, the pilot must have his own nervous
system spliced with the wiring of the ship; the procedure will be long, gruesome, painful, and permanent.
If he agrees to it, he will never walk away from his vessel again. He and the AFSFinne Ronne will
become a single unit.

When offered the usual grace period to consider his answer, Navarek shakes his head. He signs a
number of forms and waivers, receives an honorary rank of Lieutenant Commander, and reports on the
following morning to the office of the chief medico-engineer and his new assistant, Thera Mendosa.

IV.

In the years that follow, the Navy finds many uses for its new fleet of deep-space destroyers; the
Explorer-class vessels effectively double the length of the NavyтАЩs arm. Able to Jump many light-years at
a time and refuel themselves by skimming the upper layers of any convenient gas giant, ships like the AFS
Finne Ronne are used to respond quickly to a turbulent frontier.

Galen sees action in several campaigns against the rebellious outer colonies, but never rises above a rank
of Commander. His reluctance to open fire on undefended domes goes on record three times in a
decade, limiting his opportunities for promotion.