"Kay Kenyon - Maximum Ice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kenyon Kay)

She focused on him. "Anatolly," she murmured, "you look awful."

He shrugged. "I'm an old man."

Her mouth attempted a smile. "No excuse." She glanced at Kristof, the med officer hovering nearby.
"Drink," she said.
Kristof brought her a thimble-sized portion of water as Ana-tolly helped her to sit up.

Zoya eyed the water, then brought out a more convincing smile. "Surely a little wine, instead?"

Anatolly intervened. "Water first, Zoya. Easy does it."

She uttered a rusty laugh. "Oh, Tolly, nothing is ever easy. Especially without wine." Her hand went to
her ear, to touch the four diamond studs, counting them, as was her habit on awakening. They winked in
the dim lights of the physio unit.

Stretching out an arm, she wiggled each finger in turn. She seemed to have forgotten about the wine. "So,
Anatolly," she said, her voice slurred, "why so glum?" She licked her teeth, trying to clean the coating
from them. Zoya claimed that fur grew on her teeth during these sleeps. An assistant appeared with brush
and paste.

His courage fled. "It can wait, Zoya. Bad news can always wait. You should gather your strength." He
added feebly, "Brush your teeth."

The assistant helped Ship Mother to do so. Then Zoya looked from the captain to the doctor to his
assistant. She put on her patiently waiting face, that catlike smile. "My teeth are cleaned, Anatolly. Now
tell me."

He cleared his throat. "Well, Zoyechka, it's earth, you seeтАж we've arrived. But with the situationтАж we
decidedтАж that is, once weтАж discussed everythingтАж"

"Yes, Anatolly. Go on, I'm listening."

Caught in her brown gaze, he blurted. "Ship Mother, we have a problem."

Now her laughter came freely, the rich, deep laugh he re-membered from their time together during her
last awakening. "Yes, a problem," she said. "Of course." But she could have guessed that much. They
always woke Ship Mother in times of trouble. She was their counselor, wasn't she?

He looked to the doctor. Kristof was no help at all, suddenly busy with tubes and instruments.

In a stronger voice, she said, "Get me out of this thing."

They helped her to sit on the edge of the pallet, trailing wires and monitors, her slippered feet barely
touching the deck.

"Unhook me, Kristof."

Kristof looked surprised that she called him by name, but it was written over his breast pocket. He was
in no hurry, though, to remove her life support.