"Jacqueline Lichtenberg - Dushau Trilogy 01 - Dushau" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lichtenberg Jacqueline)

She woke with a start to find Dinai bent over Jindigar at the desk, one arm around Jindigar's shoulders,
whispering to him. Jindigar finally roused from his communion with the screens and moved vaguely, his
eyes dazed, his words slurring. Dinai's alarm was written plainly in his posture, his tone, even though she
couldn't understand a word he was saying other than zunre, the term for a fellow Oliat member.

She got up, alert as if there were something she could do for Jindigar. But as she moved, Jindigar
dragged himself together, and said, "Oh, Krinata, I didn't know you were still there. Did I wake you?"

"No," she lied, checking the time. "I've got to get to the office." She pasted on a smile. "I've got a heavy
debriefing later today!" But he should be in the hospital!

As she went to dress, he said, "We'll be there."

She left while they were closeted in the guest room, apparently chanting in unison.

The office was buzzing when she arrived. She marched past the reception counter behind which scores of
her subordinates sat at desk terminals. Many of them did most of their work at home, corning into the
office only occasionally. Today, however, everyone had come expecting a show. They were in their
places, but gossiping, not working.

Clorinda Dover, one of the newest additions to the Survey Base data pool, fresh from Terra with the air
of automatic authority that made everyone hate her while envying her pretty face, was regaling the young
Lehiroh male, Sharfolk, with fictitious details of Kamminth's death, as if she had an inside track to the
Emperor's apartments. Krinata strode past and snapped, "There's work to be done."

"Yes, Lady Zavaronne," intoned Clorinda. The worst of it was, she meant it. To her, rank was
everything, and she acknowledged Krinata's status while vying to raise her own.

Krinata stopped, sorry she'd cracked her invisible whip at Sharfolk, who wasn't impressed by titles. "We
do have Kamminth's debriefing today, and I'm sure the Outreach will be grateful if we can make it as
quick as we can for him."

Clorinda put on a knowing smile that Krinata wanted to wipe off her tastefully made-up face. Three years
ago, people like Clorinda wouldn't have been tolerated in positions of any responsibility. With a bit more
rancor than she intended, Krinata said, "And I don't want to hear a single snicker if he walks in here with
a piol on his head. The Emperor didn't bat an eyelash, neither will you."

I shouldn't be so hard on her. She's just young. Besides, she's a member of my team!

Whispers followed her all the way into her private office. She powered up quickly and began shooting
questions at her staff. making sure all the queries from the field had been answered, all new data filed and
integrated. By the time she'd been on-line five minutes, her department's Sentient and all his
semi-sentients were fully occupied.

Then she checked with Arlai to make sure Jindigar and the others were really as well as they claimed. He
answered, "They're not well, but they'll heal faster after they get this over with."

She was planning how to make it easiest on them when her door rattled open as if hit by a tornado. Six
Holot guards led by a gilt-carapaced Cassrian trooped into her office in perfect marching step and took
up a formation. Feeling smaller than the Cassrian, shock prickling along her skin, she rose to her full