"Timothy Zahn - Cobra 3 - Cobra Bargain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

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Cobra Bargain
by
Timothy Zahn



Chapter 1

"Governor Moreau?"

Deep in personal combat with the official bafflegab staring out at him from his reader, Governor
Corwin Jame Moreau switched mental gears with an effort and turned his attention to his intercom.
It made for a pleasant change; Thena MiGraw's face was a lot nicer to look at than Directorate
papers. "Yes, Thena?"

"Sir, Justin is here. Shall I have him wait a few minutes?"

Corwin grimaced. _Shall I have him wait._ Translation: should she give Corwin a few minutes to
prepare himself. Typically perceptive of Thena... but Corwin had already stalled this
confrontation off a couple of days, and if he wasn't ready now, he never would be. "No, go ahead
and send him in," he instructed her.

"Yes, sir."

Corwin took a deep breath, straightening himself in his chair and reaching over to shut off the
reader. A moment later the door opened and Justin Moreau strode briskly into the room.

Strode briskly; but to Corwin's experienced eye the subtle beginnings of Cobra Syndrome were
already starting to show in his brother's movements. The ceramic laminae coating Justin's bones,
the implanted weaponry, servos, and joint strengtheners--after twenty-eight years his body was
beginning to react to all of it, precipitating the arthritis and anemia that would, a decade or
two from now, bring his life to a premature end. Corwin winced in sympathetic pain, wishing for
the millionth time that there was something he could do to alter the inevitable. But there wasn't.
Like his father before him, Justin had chosen this path willingly.

And like the late Jonny Moreau, he had also chosen to accept his fate with quiet dignity, keeping
his pain to himself whenever possible and quietly deflecting any offers of sympathy. In Corwin's
opinion, it was a counterproductive approach, serving mainly to increase the Moreau family's
collective sense of frustration and helplessness. But he understood his brother well enough to
know they had to grant him his choice of how to face the long and painful path ahead.

"Justin," Corwin nodded in greeting, reaching across the desk to offer his brother his hand.
"You're looking good. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Justin said. "Actually, I suspect that at the moment you're suffering more from
Cobra Syndrome than I am."

Corwin felt his lip twist. "Caught the debate on the pub/info net last night, I see."