"John E. Stith - Redshift Rendezvous" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stith John E)

her eyes.Suddenly she put on a burst of energy,moving her hips,twisting her body,trying to jerk her arms
away from my grasp.I felt terribly like a rapist and I didn't know what to do next.

Jenni couldn't get free.It took her a while,but I could see her coming to the realization that she was
trapped until I decided to let her up.She lay still,looking up at me,while tears formed in her eyes.

She averted her gaze,clenched her jaw,and drew several deep breaths,staring blindly past my ear.

Her face plainly showed the effort it was costing her not to cry.The next minute she seemed to draw
back from the brink and just when I thought maybe she wouldn't cry after all,her body abruptly relaxed,
her eyelids closed,and tears began streaming out of the comers of her eyes.

I felt angry at myself because I'd thought I had an answer for every possible question,and here I was
possibly causing more pain than I was preventing.

I loosened my grip on her wrists,and Jenni began to sob.I let go entirely of one wrist,and her arm stayed
limp as her sobbing deepened and every muscle in her face seemed to tighten.I leaned back,letting both
of her arms lie unrestrained over her head.

I retreated a little more,and after a short time she moved her hands to cover her eyes.As if she didn't
want me to watch her cry,she raised her head and chest and put her arms around me,burying her face
against my chest.Her sobbing was convulsive.

I put my arms around her and let her cry.

She cried for what seemed to be a long time, only occasionally stopping for a series of deep breaths,
finally exhausting herself with dry sobs that gradually came farther and farther apart.

When she had been calm long enough that I didn't think she would start crying again,I said softly,"This
deck is probably no better than those crates.I'd better get you back to your cabin so you can sleep."

She nodded her head against my chest.I let Jenni dry her eyes on my shirt sleeve.

As I helped her stand up,my knees felt weak.I blamed it on the high gravity.

"What's your stateroom number?" I asked.

She didn't give any indication that she'd heard me.

I asked again and still got no response.Her thoughts seemed to be far away.

I walked her slowly from the center of the cargo bay to the door.In the corridor,I used a comm panel to
call the skipper,Bella Fendell.The rate-of-time difference between the level-two cargo bay and the bridge
up on level four pushed Bella's voice pitch high enough to make her sound almost girlish and excitable.
Bella was neither.
"Is Doc available?" I said."What's the problem?" Bella asked.

"Minor incident.It's under control. Iexplain when I get back to the bridge,but would you please have him
meet me at Jenni Sonders' cabin? I'm on my way there now."