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

That was certainly putting the best face on it. No previous effort had
convinced the United Earth Defense Council to either begin peace negotiations
with the Zentraedi invaders or allow the SDF-1 and its civilian refugees to
return home. Lisa had volunteered to try again, to present shocking new
evidence that had just emerged and exert all the pressure she could on her
father, Admiral Hayes, to get him to see reason and then persuade the rest of
the UEDC.
Claudia looked up. They were an odd pair: Claudia, tall and exotic-
looking, several years older than Lisa, with skin the color of dark honey; and
Lisa, pallid and slender, rather plain-looking until one looked a little
closer.
Claudia tried to smile, running a hand through her tight brown curls. "I
don't know whether it'll help or not to say this, but stop looking so grim.
Girl, you remind me of the captain of a sinking ship when he finds out they
substituted deck chairs for the lifeboats. It's gonna be hard to change
people's minds like that. Besides, all they can do is say no again."
There was a lot more to it than that, of course. Admiral Hayes was not
likely to let his only child leave Earth-to return to the SDF-1 and the
endless Zentraedi attacks-once she was in the vast UEDC headquarters. Neither
Claudia nor Lisa had mentioned that they would probably never see each another
again.
"Yeah, I guess," Lisa said, as the doors opened and the noise and heat
of the hangar deck flooded in.
The two women stepped out into a world of harsh worklights. Combat and
other craft were parked everywhere, crammed in tightly with wings and ailerons
folded for more efficient storage.
Maintenance crews were swarming over Veritechs damaged in the most
recent fighting, while ordnance people readied ships slated for the next round
of patrols and surveillance flights. The SDF-1's survival depended in large
part on the Veritechs; but they would have been useless if not for the
unflagging, often round-the-clock work of the men and women who repaired and
serviced and rearmed them and the others who risked their lives as part of the
flight deck catapult crews.
Welding sparks flew; ordnance loader servos whined, lifting missiles and
ammunition into place. Claudia had to raise her voice to be heard. "Have you
told Rick about the trip, or have you been too busy to see him?"
Busy had nothing to do with it, and they both knew that. Lisa had
concluded that her love for Rick Hunter, leader of the Veritech Skull Team,
was one-sided. By leaving the SDF-1 on a vital mission, she was also almost
certainly giving up any chance of ever changing that.
"I thought I'd call him from the shuttle," she said.
Claudia exercised admirable restraint and did not blurt out, Lisa, stop
being such a coward! Because Lisa wasn't-she had the combat decorations to
prove it, medals and fruit cocktail that any line officer would respect. But
where emotions were concerned, the SDF-1's competent and capable First always
seemed to prefer hiding under a rock someplace.
The shuttle was near the aircraft elevator-air lock that would lift it
to the flight deck. Lisa's gear and the evidence she hoped would sway Admiral
Hayes and the others at the UEDC were already aboard. The crew chief was
running a final prelaunch check.