[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
to be overborne by the Cramin's almost brutal vigor. Quietly, with the confidence of greatness,
the little gray and gold and black Dessaline held its place.
She shook her head and looked around. Beyond the foyer, a short hall had but four doors opening
off it, and one was labelled SERVICE. Barin must have spent a fortune . . . 3814 was the middle
door. She moved into its recognition cone, and waited.
The door opened, and she was face to face with . . . a middle-aged woman she'd never seen. Before
she could begin to stammer an apology, the woman spoke.
"Lieutenant Suiza! How good to meet you I'm Podjar Serrano, Barin's mother."
Barin's mother. Panic seized her. She had been prepared for Barin, for a few stolen moments of
privacy . . . a chance to talk before she met his mother.
"Come on in," Podjar was saying. "We're all dying to meet you."
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We? What we? We all? She could hear a low hum of voices, and wanted nothing more than to run away.
Where was Barin? How could he lead her into this?
Podjar had her by the arm Barin's mother; she couldn't just pull away and led her inside, to a
room that seemed as big as a planet right then.
"Here she is at last," Podjar said to someone else, a short thickset man who had Barin's grin but
nothing of his grace. Brother? Father? Uncle? "This is Kerin, my husband," Podjar said. Esmay
hoped that meant he was Barin's father, because otherwise she hadn't a clue.
Farther into the room, her stunned wits began to register additional details. Not only was the
room big, and arranged for entertaining, but it was comfortably full of people who all seemed to
know each other. Barin's family?
"Esmay!" Her heart leapt. That was Barin, and he would get her out of this, whatever it was. He
came toward her, clearly gleeful and full of himself. She could have killed him, and hoped he
understood steel behind her fixed smile.
"I'm sorry I wasn't at the lift to meet you," he said. "I had an urgent call "
Esmay couldn't bring herself to be polite and say it didn't matter. "What is this?" she said
instead.
Barin grimaced. "It got out of hand," he said. "I wanted you to meet my parents, and they were
coming through here on the way home. Then grandmother " he waved; Esmay followed the gesture to
see Admiral Vida Serrano at the far end of the room, surrounded by an earnest cluster of older
people. " Grandmother wanted to talk to you about something, and thought this would be a good
opportunity. And then . . . they started precipitating, falling out of the sky . . ."
"Mmm." Esmay could not say any of what she was thinking, not with his parents standing there
smiling at her a little nervously. "Are we . . . going to have a chance to talk?" By ourselves she
meant.
"I don't know," Barin said. "I hope so. But " His gaze slid to his mother, who quirked an eyebrow.
"Barin, you know it's important family business. We must confer."
Great. The only leave she'd been able to wangle, in the current crises, and it looked as if she'd
be spending it conferring with his family instead of hers.
"How was your trip, Esmay?" asked Barin's father. He had lieutenant commander's insignia, with a
technical flash.
"Fine, though we lost a day at Karpat for unscheduled maintenance procedures." She couldn't keep
the edge out of her voice.
"Mmm. That's typical." Barin's father nodded across the room. "Let me show you to your room."
"My "
"Of course you have your own room here. We may have descended in force, but we're not entirely
uncivilized. You have to stay somewhere." Across the room, through another door, into another
corridor . . . Esmay was by this time beyond astonishment when he showed her to a small suite, its
sitting room wall showing a view of the station's exterior. "This is yours and I'm sure the staff
are sending up your things."
"I have only the carryon," Esmay said.
"Well, then. Come out when you're ready." With a smile, he turned away and closed the door behind
him. Esmay sank down onto one of the rose-and-cream-striped chairs. What she wanted to do was put
her head in her hands and scream. That wouldn't be productive, she was sure. But what was going
on?
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A tap on the door interrupted her uneasy thoughts. Her carryon? "Come in," she said. The door
opened, and Barin stood there looking sheepish.
"May I?" he asked. Esmay nodded; he entered, shutting the door behind him, and pulled her up from
the chair. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed against him.
"Your family " she began.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my idea, but it is my family. They're . . . headstrong."
"And you aren't?" She wasn't ready to think it was funny; she wanted to indulge her annoyance such
justified annoyance a little longer, but suddenly her sense of humor kicked in. She could just
imagine Barin, having planned this quiet little retreat, being maneuvered by his powerful and
numerous family. She stifled the giggle that tried to come out.
"Not headstrong enough," Barin said, with a rueful grin. "I tried to tell them to let us alone,
but you see how well I did."
Esmay lost control of the giggle; she could feel it vibrating in her throat and then it was out.
"You aren't angry?" he asked hopefully.
"Not at you, anyway," Esmay said. "I suppose a quiet few days alone was too much to hope for."
"I didn't think so," Barin said. "You would think the entire universe was playing tricks on us "
"Ummm . . . I've read that lovers always put themselves in the center of everything."
"I'd like to put us in the center of a bed, a long way from everywhere else," Barin said, with a
hint of a growl.
"We'll get there," Esmay said. Her arms tightened around him; he felt as good as ever, and she
wanted to melt right into him until their bones chimed together.
Someone knocked on the door. "Barin, if you don't let her get dressed, we'll never get to dinner "
A female voice, one she hadn't met yet.
"Oh, shut up," muttered Barin in Esmay's ear. "Why wasn't I born an orphan?"
"It would have been too simple," Esmay said. "Let me go I want to change. And are we eating up
here, or in public?" Not that the entire Serrano family wasn't public enough.
"Here. It's coming up." He let go, went to the door, and opened it. There stood a woman in her
thirties, about Esmay's size, with the Serrano features.
"Esmay, I'm Dolcent. Barin go away, I need to talk to her for a moment." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
to be overborne by the Cramin's almost brutal vigor. Quietly, with the confidence of greatness,
the little gray and gold and black Dessaline held its place.
She shook her head and looked around. Beyond the foyer, a short hall had but four doors opening
off it, and one was labelled SERVICE. Barin must have spent a fortune . . . 3814 was the middle
door. She moved into its recognition cone, and waited.
The door opened, and she was face to face with . . . a middle-aged woman she'd never seen. Before
she could begin to stammer an apology, the woman spoke.
"Lieutenant Suiza! How good to meet you I'm Podjar Serrano, Barin's mother."
Barin's mother. Panic seized her. She had been prepared for Barin, for a few stolen moments of
privacy . . . a chance to talk before she met his mother.
"Come on in," Podjar was saying. "We're all dying to meet you."
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file:///F|/rah/Elizabeth%20Moon/Moon,%20Elizabeth%20-%20The%20Serrano%20Legacy%2006%20-%20Change%20Of%20Command.txt
We? What we? We all? She could hear a low hum of voices, and wanted nothing more than to run away.
Where was Barin? How could he lead her into this?
Podjar had her by the arm Barin's mother; she couldn't just pull away and led her inside, to a
room that seemed as big as a planet right then.
"Here she is at last," Podjar said to someone else, a short thickset man who had Barin's grin but
nothing of his grace. Brother? Father? Uncle? "This is Kerin, my husband," Podjar said. Esmay
hoped that meant he was Barin's father, because otherwise she hadn't a clue.
Farther into the room, her stunned wits began to register additional details. Not only was the
room big, and arranged for entertaining, but it was comfortably full of people who all seemed to
know each other. Barin's family?
"Esmay!" Her heart leapt. That was Barin, and he would get her out of this, whatever it was. He
came toward her, clearly gleeful and full of himself. She could have killed him, and hoped he
understood steel behind her fixed smile.
"I'm sorry I wasn't at the lift to meet you," he said. "I had an urgent call "
Esmay couldn't bring herself to be polite and say it didn't matter. "What is this?" she said
instead.
Barin grimaced. "It got out of hand," he said. "I wanted you to meet my parents, and they were
coming through here on the way home. Then grandmother " he waved; Esmay followed the gesture to
see Admiral Vida Serrano at the far end of the room, surrounded by an earnest cluster of older
people. " Grandmother wanted to talk to you about something, and thought this would be a good
opportunity. And then . . . they started precipitating, falling out of the sky . . ."
"Mmm." Esmay could not say any of what she was thinking, not with his parents standing there
smiling at her a little nervously. "Are we . . . going to have a chance to talk?" By ourselves she
meant.
"I don't know," Barin said. "I hope so. But " His gaze slid to his mother, who quirked an eyebrow.
"Barin, you know it's important family business. We must confer."
Great. The only leave she'd been able to wangle, in the current crises, and it looked as if she'd
be spending it conferring with his family instead of hers.
"How was your trip, Esmay?" asked Barin's father. He had lieutenant commander's insignia, with a
technical flash.
"Fine, though we lost a day at Karpat for unscheduled maintenance procedures." She couldn't keep
the edge out of her voice.
"Mmm. That's typical." Barin's father nodded across the room. "Let me show you to your room."
"My "
"Of course you have your own room here. We may have descended in force, but we're not entirely
uncivilized. You have to stay somewhere." Across the room, through another door, into another
corridor . . . Esmay was by this time beyond astonishment when he showed her to a small suite, its
sitting room wall showing a view of the station's exterior. "This is yours and I'm sure the staff
are sending up your things."
"I have only the carryon," Esmay said.
"Well, then. Come out when you're ready." With a smile, he turned away and closed the door behind
him. Esmay sank down onto one of the rose-and-cream-striped chairs. What she wanted to do was put
her head in her hands and scream. That wouldn't be productive, she was sure. But what was going
on?
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file:///F|/rah/Elizabeth%20Moon/Moon,%20Elizabeth%20-%20The%20Serrano%20Legacy%2006%20-%20Change%20Of%20Command.txt
A tap on the door interrupted her uneasy thoughts. Her carryon? "Come in," she said. The door
opened, and Barin stood there looking sheepish.
"May I?" he asked. Esmay nodded; he entered, shutting the door behind him, and pulled her up from
the chair. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed against him.
"Your family " she began.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my idea, but it is my family. They're . . . headstrong."
"And you aren't?" She wasn't ready to think it was funny; she wanted to indulge her annoyance such
justified annoyance a little longer, but suddenly her sense of humor kicked in. She could just
imagine Barin, having planned this quiet little retreat, being maneuvered by his powerful and
numerous family. She stifled the giggle that tried to come out.
"Not headstrong enough," Barin said, with a rueful grin. "I tried to tell them to let us alone,
but you see how well I did."
Esmay lost control of the giggle; she could feel it vibrating in her throat and then it was out.
"You aren't angry?" he asked hopefully.
"Not at you, anyway," Esmay said. "I suppose a quiet few days alone was too much to hope for."
"I didn't think so," Barin said. "You would think the entire universe was playing tricks on us "
"Ummm . . . I've read that lovers always put themselves in the center of everything."
"I'd like to put us in the center of a bed, a long way from everywhere else," Barin said, with a
hint of a growl.
"We'll get there," Esmay said. Her arms tightened around him; he felt as good as ever, and she
wanted to melt right into him until their bones chimed together.
Someone knocked on the door. "Barin, if you don't let her get dressed, we'll never get to dinner "
A female voice, one she hadn't met yet.
"Oh, shut up," muttered Barin in Esmay's ear. "Why wasn't I born an orphan?"
"It would have been too simple," Esmay said. "Let me go I want to change. And are we eating up
here, or in public?" Not that the entire Serrano family wasn't public enough.
"Here. It's coming up." He let go, went to the door, and opened it. There stood a woman in her
thirties, about Esmay's size, with the Serrano features.
"Esmay, I'm Dolcent. Barin go away, I need to talk to her for a moment." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]