"Jack McKinney - Robotech 05 - Force of Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

gut of the one in the coveralls. The incredible reflexes and speed that served
him so well in dogfights were plain; he was difficult to see much less hit or
avoid.
Karita had struggled to his feet. "Stop!"
The three attackers were battered up a bit, but the fight had barely
started. Max Sterling wasn't even breathing hard.
"No more fighting," Karita labored, clutching his side. "Hasn't there
been enough?"
The first man wiped blood from a swelling lip, studying Max. Indicating
Karita with a toss of his head, he said, "Him and his kind killed my son. I
don't care what you-"
"Look at this," Max said quietly. He displayed the RDF patch on his
uniform, a diamond with curved sides, like a fighting kite. "You think I don't
understand? But listen t' me: He's out of the war. Just like I want to be and
you want to be."
"But we're never going to have peace unless we put the damn war behind
us! So drop it, all right? Or else, c'mon: Let's finish this thing."
The first man was going to come at him again, but the other two grabbed
his shoulders from either side. The young one said, "All right-for now."
Max supported Karita with his shoulder, and the three stepped aside to
let them pass. There was a tense moment as the pilot and the injured alien
walked between the attackers; one of them shifted his weight, as if
reconsidering his decision.
But he thought better of it and held his place, saying, "What about you,
flyboy? You're goin' out there again to fight 'em, aren't ya? To kill 'em if
ya can?"
Max knew that Karita was staring at him, but he answered. "Yeah. Maybe
I'll wind up killing somebody a lot like your son tonight. Or he'll wind up
killing me. Who knows?"
Max put Karita into a cab and sent him to the temporary quarters where
the defectors were housed. He didn't have time to go along; he was late for
duty as it was.
Waiting for another cab, Max gazed around at the rebuilt city of
Macross. Overhead, the Enhanced Video Emulation system had created the
illusion of a Terran night sky, blocking out the view of a distant alloy
ceiling.
It had been a long time since Max or any of the SDF-1's other
inhabitants had seen the real thing. He was already defying the odds, having
survived so many combats. The EVE illusion was nice, but he hoped he'd get to
see the true sky and hills and oceans of Earth again before his number came
up.

Elsewhere on the SDF-1, two women rode in an uncomfortable silence on an
elevator descending to a hangar deck, watching the level indicators flash.
Commander Lisa Hayes, the ship's First Officer, wasn't at ease with many
people. But Lieutenant Claudia Grant, standing now with arms folded and
avoiding Lisa's gaze as Lisa avoided hers, had been a close friend-perhaps
Lisa's only true friend-for years.
Lisa tried to lighten the gloom. "Well, here I go again. Off for another
skirmish with the brass."