[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
dressing gown.
The man in question was the beautiful lad she her-
self had packed lip. Simeon watched Channa's pupils enlarge and decided that
she was probably responding even more enthusiastically than she had on die
ship.
Pheromanes, he told himself wisely. And fewer distractions.
The young man had raised himself up on one elbow, a slight sweat glistening on
his shapely brow. He looked at them with distress in his light blue eyes.
"Please, let me go to her," he pleaded. His accent was exquisite, his voice a
light baritone. The language was recognizable Standard, although the vowels
had an archaic tonality.
From the look on her face, Simeon decided that
Channa would have taken him to hell if he wanted to go. Simeon wanted him off
the station.
Guys like him cause more trouble than beautiful females, Simeon thought. On
the other hand, if he can shut that screamer up, fllput him on the payroll.
Channa and Chaundra helped the Adonis into the chair and pushed him over to
the pallet where the young woman lay. He reached out for her hand and began
stroking it
She had waist-length dark hair and a pale, bony face with plain features and
high cheekbones. Long, gold-
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
lashed eyes of a dark blue that was almost black stared at him, her screeches
cut off for a blissful moment of silence. Then the whites showed all round the
iris of
her eyes, and before Channa or Chaundra could stop
126
Anru McCaflny fc? SM. Stirling her, she had grabbed the carafe from the table
beside her and was swinging it at him.
"You did this! You could have killed me! 1'almost diedr
The metal carafe connected witfc his temple in a sick-
ening smack. The young man slid|x>nelessly from the chair while, not content
with the damage she'd just inflicted, the girl strove to climb over the safety
railings on the side of her pallet, shrieking'that it was his fault, all his
fault. Then she began to sob with equal vigor.
"My love, my love, what have they done to you?"
Chaundra's interns and head nurse leaped for the pal-
let in well-choreographed unison. This infirmary saw a lot of visiting miners,
still high on various recreational chemicals, not to mention plain
old-fashioned ethanol, so they knew what to do. One pinned her arms and
another slapped an injector on the nearest portion of her flailing body.
Instantly she slumped into unconsciousness.
"Doctor," Simeon said firmly, "put that girl in restraints until she returns
to rationality. She can blame me for this one."
"You have it," Chaundra said. The nurses buckled the unconscious woman onto
her pallet but were too professional to show the slightest trace of
vindictiveness as they tightened the straps. Chaundra bent over the
unconscious man.
"Glancing blow after all," he said, pulling up one eyelid. "Should regain
consciousness soon."
"I'll be in my quarters, Doctor," Channa said, and gathering up her clothing,
walked wearily to an elevator. She entered and leaned against a wall, dosing
her eyes.
"You okay?" Simeon asked anxiously.
She smiled. "I'm very okay, thank you." She opened her eyes and straightened,
rolling her shoulders to loosen the kinks. "I'm still thirsty," she said, "and
hungry, and alive." Then she widened her eyes in dismay. "How could I forget?
The brain, did he make it?"
THE CTTY WHO FOUGHT
127
Simeon paused. "No."
Channa slumped and covered her face with her
hands. She looked up, her lips pressed tightly together for the rest of the
ascent. Then she asked quietly, "Have you had a chance to find out anything
about our sur-
vivors?" -
~
"Not as much as I'd hoped to, but 1 did find out something ahout the
shellperson. He was Planetary
Manager Guiyon. Last assigned to a colony planet called Bethel, orbiting the
sun GK.728, known locally as Saffron. Ijnfdrmed Central Worlds of his...
death:
beyond the call of duty, I'd say. They told me what they had on record. After
his original contract ended, he just stayed on, apparently for no other reason
than he liked
Saffron's pretty yellow color.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]