"James White - Lifeboat" - читать интересную книгу автора (White James)

"Good-bye, m'am," he said.
It came close to being the shortest and most uninspired farewell of all time,
but her reaction literally rocked him back on his heels.
"Take care of yourself," she said, standing on tiptoe and giving him a very
warm but sisterly kiss on the cheek. Then she looked at him very seriously and
added, "Take care of all of them, sir."
Mercer had instinctively put his arms around her waist, both to keep his
balance and because it seemed to be the thing to do, then let them drop to his
sides. She had not, he saw, committed some trifling misdemeanor and been told
off for it-there was far too much tension and sheer misery in her expression.
He wondered what kind of trouble could make a girl with a disposition like
hers react like this, and if he could help. But today he seemed to have left
his inspiration in his other suit, and all he could manage was a sickly smile
and a line of dialogue, which was too trite for words.
"What about your husband, m'am?"
"He doesn't mind," said the Captain, "provided you two don't make a habit of
it." Suddenly he laughed, and the girl began laughing too-the way people did
who were trying hard not to cry. She turned from Mercer to hang a stranglehold
on the Captain's neck.
The kiss she gave him was anything but sisterly.
Mercer was still staring at them when Prescott's finger dented his shoulder.
"Are you some kind of voyeur, Mercer? We have work to do upstairs."
"Yes, sir."
But when they had climbed to the passenger level Prescott paused for a few
moments before continuing towards the control deck. Pitching his voice low
because of the passengers lying all around them, he said, "They're all yours,
Mercer. Keep them quiet and comfortable and don't let anyone be sick outside
of his plastic bag-that is funny only on television. If you should have a
problem, hesitate before calling on me for help-hesitate for as long as
possible because we will be very busy and will not take kindly to doing your
job for you. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
Prescott shook his head. "You have made a great start to your first voyage,
Mercer, and I shudder to think of what you might do before it ends. I mean,
practically making love to the Captain's wife before his very eyes-" "At the
risk of sounding a cad, sir," said Mercer, "she started it."
"And another thing, Mercer. We do not salute or click heels or call anyone
'sir' except the Captain, and he does not insist on it. Invisible discipline
is what we aim for, and an air of relaxed informality- well, informality
anyway. Just look after your passengers without getting too close to any of
them and keep out of the way of the ship's officers-"
"It looks as if I'll have a very lonely trip, Mr. Prescott," said Mercer
quietly, but he was unable to keep the anger from showing in his tone. "In my
experience," Prescott replied in a voice that was sarcastic rather than
actively hostile, "people like you take a trip like this as a means to an end.
In - your profession, space experience automatically puts you at the head of
the queue where the juiciest research appointments are concerned, and even in
private practice it is enough to allow you to triple your fees. Perhaps we
will be lucky; you will stay out of trouble with the passengers, keep yourself
to yourself and spend your free time in your cabin studying some of those