"Jack McKinney - Robotech 02 - Battle cry" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

ascent.

The one thing he hadn't taken into account was the height of the table. His head connected
hard with the underside, the tube made its escape, and Rick collapsed back to the floor, rolling
over onto his back and holding his head.

When he opened his eyes, he was staring up at a rain of brassieres and three pairs of
silken female legs. The women owners of these were backing away from the table, high heels
clicking against the floor, hands tugging at the hems of their skirts as though they'd just seen a
rodent on the loose.

Rick pushed himself out and got to his feet, facing the three women from across the table.
They were still backing away from the tabletop lingerie display with looks of indignation on their
faces. Rick was stammering apologies to them as they exited the shop, the saleswoman was once
again laughing hysterically, and Minmei was suddenly behind him, tapping him on the shoulder,
soliciting his opinion of the dress she was trying on. He stood shell-shocked for a minute,
laughter in one ear, Minmei's questions in the other, and left the store without a word.

Minmei remained inside for well over an hour. She had two additional shopping bags with
her when she came out. Undaunted, Rick once again tried to suggest a walk in the park, but she had
already made other plans for the two of them. Her surrogate family, who ran Macross City's most
popular Chinese restaurant, the White Dragon, had been asking for Rick, and this would be a
perfect time to visit-he looked so "gallant and dashing" in his uniform.

Rich could hardly refuse. Minmei's aunt and uncle were almost like family to him; in fact,
he had lived with them above the restaurant before joining the Defense Forces.

They were an odd couple-Max, short and portly, and Lena, Minmei's tall and gracious
inspiration. They had a son back on Earth, Lynn-Kyle, whom Lena missed and Max preferred not to
think about, for reasons Rick hadn't learned. Although there was little else that either kept from
him. As Rick entered the restaurant they pretended surprise, but within minutes they had his
favorite meal spread out before him. While wolfing down the stir-fried shrimp, he regaled them
with the barracks stories he had been saving for Minmei. They wanted to know all about the
Veritech fighters-how they handled in deep space, how they were able to switch from Fighter to
Guardian or Battloid mode. And they asked about the war: Had Gloval managed to contact Earth
headquarters? Did his commanders believe that the enemy would continue their attacks? Was Rick
worried about his first mission? How long it would be before the SDF-1 returned to Earth?

Rick did his best to answer them, sidestepping issues he was not permitted to discuss and
at other times exaggerating his importance to the Defense Forces. It concerned him that the
residents of Macross City were not being given the same reports issued to the Veritech squadrons.
After all, Macross was as much a part of the ship and the war as the rest of those onboard.

He was about to allay their fears for his safety by telling them that a combat assignment
was far off, when he saw Roy Fokker enter the restaurant. The lieutenant's six-six frame looked
gargantuan in the low-ceilinged room, but there was something about Roy's unruly blond hair and
innocent grin that put people at ease immediately. He greeted everyone individually, made a show
of kissing Minmei's hand, and took a seat next to Rick, snatching up the last of the shrimp as he
did so.