"Jack McKinney - Robotech 14 - Dark Powers" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

Sue Graham, wielding her aud-vid recorder, had caught the whole thing,
the momentary lapse in protocol, in confidence-in love. Now, she rewound the
tape a bit, so that the sight of Rick Hunter dashing off from his wife would
be obliterated, and began recording over it.
Just as people were turning to the Admirals Hunter, Rick stepped closer
to Lisa. In that time, conversation and noise died away, and the Royal Hall
itself, weighted by its eons of history and haunting events, seemed to be
listening, evaluating. Rick's high dress boots clacked on an alien floor that
shone like a black mirror.
He offered her his arm, formal and meticulously correct, inclining his
head to her. "Madam?"
She did a shallow military curtsy, supple in her dress-uniform skirt,
and laid her hand on his forearm. The whole room was listening and watching;
Rick and Lisa had reminded everyone what the REF was, and what was expected of
it.
"Orders, Admiral?" Rick asked his wife crisply, loudly, in his role as
second-ranking officer present. By speaking those words, he officially ended
the ball and put everyone on notice that they were on duty.
Lisa, suddenly their rock, gazed about at them. She didn't have to raise
her voice very much to be heard. "You all know what to do, ladies, gentlemen.
We will treat this as a red alert. SDF-3 will stand to General Quarters. GMU
and other ground units report to combat stations; all designated personnel
will return to the dimensional fortress."
There was already movement, as people strode or hurried to their duties.
But no one was running; Lisa had given them back their center.
"Fire-control and combat-operations officers will insure that no
provocative or hostile acts are committed," she said in a sharp voice. "I will
remind you that we are still on a diplomatic mission."
"Carry on."
Men and women were moving purposefully, the yawning hall quickly
clearing. Lisa turned to an aide, a commo officer. "My respects to the
Plenipotentiary Council, and would they be so gracious as to convene a meeting
immediately upon my return to SDF-3."
The aide disappeared; Lisa turned to Rick. "If you please?"
Rick, his wife on his arm, turned toward the shuttle grounding area. REF
personnel made way for them. Rick let Lisa set the pace: businesslike, but not
frantic.
When the shuttle was arrowing up through Tirol's atmosphere for SDF-3
rendezvous, and the two were studying preliminary reports while staff officers
ran analyses and more data poured in, Rick paused for a moment to look at his
wife as she meditated over the most recent updates.
He covered her hand with his for a moment; squeezed it. "We owe each
other a waltz, Lisa."
She gave him a quick, loving smile, squeezing his hand back. Then she
turned to issue more orders to her staff.

To Rem, the Humans and their REF mission had been bewildering from the
beginning, but never more so than now.
With this news of an unidentified warship, he and Cabell-who had been a
father to him, really, and more than a father-were hastened toward the shuttle