[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
member of that race be thinking at this very moment?
She loves clothes. Her favorite colors are shades of pink and purple.
She lacquers each fingernail with a different color polish. She likes to wear
dangling, outrageous earrings, shoes that give her more height and match her
mood, bright belts with large buckles..."It's no use!" Rick said out loud. He
got up off the bed and began to pace the scant distance it took to cover his
new quarters wall to wall.
The invitation to Minmei's birthday party lay unopened on his bed, the
envelope sealed with a paste-on red velvet heart. Cute. There was no need to
read it-half of his division had received invitations, and everyone was
flashing them in front of his face with knowing smiles. He wasn't sure that he
was even interested in going to the party under the circumstances. When it was
just the two of them, everything was fine. But in a large group, Minmei wanted
center stage and Rick often felt like just another nobody in the audience.
Just another faceless member of Minmei's adoring public. Neglected. Yeah, that
was how he felt. And jealous, he had to admit it. Angry, confused,
depressed...the list went on and on. It was almost as long as the list of
possible gifts he'd formulated. But none of the items seemed quite right, not
one of them was perfect, and that was what he was shooting for. Something that
would say what he couldn't confess.
And just what was that? he asked himself. He wanted to tell her how
special she was-how beautiful, and sexy, and charming. How flirtatious and
conceited and spoiled and-
All this was getting him nowhere-fast. He collapsed onto the bed, put
his hands under his head, and stared at the ceiling. When he closed his eyes
and tried to think things through once more, something unexpected happened:
The face of Lisa Hayes filled his mind. This wasn't something new, but it
continued to take him by surprise. The truth was, it had been happening a lot
since Sara Base.
Was he really such an idiot that he was going to invite yet another
woman to run roughshod over him? An older woman at that, a superior officer
who gave every indication of despising him in spite of his rescue efforts on
her behalf? A cold and distant plain-looking woman who seemed more a part of
the SDF-1 than a part of the crew? So why was he suddenly feeling that she too
needed protection and affection?-his protection, his affection. But Lisa
occupied a different place in his heart than Minmei, someplace he couldn't
reach with thoughts alone.
Rick was rescued from this by a call announced through the intrabarracks
comm system.
"Attention the following personnel: report to headquarters: third
lieutenants Justin Black and James Ralton; second lieutenants Xian Lu, Carroll
James, and Marcus Miller; first lieutenants Thomas Lawson and Adam Olsen..."
Rick listened for a moment, lost interest, and was about to rehash his
dilemma, when he heard his own name called.
Page 35
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He made himself presentable and left the barracks, walking listlessly
toward headquarters and wondering just what he might have done to get himself
called on the carpet this time. He ran through a mental list of the
possibilities as he rode the elevator to the command level of the ship.
It was a day for lists, that was for sure.
A female lieutenant led him into a briefing room where the others whose
names had been called were already gathered. Rick fell into an end position
and looked down the line: Black, Ralton, Olsen...these guys were all square
shooters. No one needed to read them the riot act, and not one of them seemed
the slightest bit concerned; just the opposite, in fact: confidence and pride
radiated from each face.
When a captain called attention, Rick squared his shoulders and feigned
unconcern. Colonel Maistroff and some of the top brass entered the room. The
colonel seated himself at a long table and glanced through the files piled in
front of him; then he cleared his throat and addressed the line.
"Since the battle for Sara Base on Mars, the men assembled here have
established for themselves records of bravery under fire. Therefore, I am
pleased to award them the titanium Medal of Valor for their distinguished
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]