cinober: переводы

→"I see. And your conclusions were--?"

→"We've finished that study you requested," Theisman said in a much more serious tone, and Pritchart let her chair come upright.

→"Indeed. And now that we have that out of our systems, Admiral, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

→"Pity."

→"Often, as a matter of fact," she said gravely. "Unfortunately, Sheila won't let me play with guns anymore."

→"Have you ever considered just locking the two of them in a room with a pair of pulsers to let them settle this once and for all?"

→"Unless I miss my guess, Angelina was in the outer office when your call came in. He wasn't using his hush mike, anyway. My observation's been that when he ‘forgets' to do that, it's usually on purpose."

→"Did it again, did he?" Theisman asked with a smile.

→"And how are you this fine morning, Mr. Secretary?" Pritchart inquired.

→"You're welcome, Madam President," Belardinelli replied now, and disappeared from Pritchart's display to be replaced by Thomas Theisman.

→Personally, Pritchart was just as happy to have them use up at least some of their energy on something fairly harmless, and she knew Theisman found the entire situation amusing.

→"Thank you, Antoine," Eloise Pritchart said, suppressing a familiar temptation to smile.

→"Madam President, Secretary Theisman is on the com."

→Antoine Belardinelli, her senior secretary, was probably the only member of her staff who persistently "forgot" to refer to Thomas Theisman as "Admiral Theisman." Everyone else was willing to accept that Theisman preferred his naval title (to which he was still entitled, since he was CNO, as well as Secretary of War), but Belardinelli was adamant. As far as he was concerned, one of the most important features of the restored Republic was that elected officials really were in charge again, and so he invariably used Thesiman's civilian title. If that irritated the Secretary, Belardinelli was quite prepared to live with it. In fact, he and Angelina Rousseau, the President's personal aide, had been sparring over that little omission on his part ever since the first post-coup elections. Of course, although the "Two A's," as Belardinelli and Rousseau were commonly referred to, were both highly efficient and both deeply devoted to Eloise Pritchart, they loathed one another with deep and reciprocal passion. Which might be the real reason Rousseau--never one to back away from a fight herself, especially with Belardinelli--was so adamantly on the military side. If they hadn't been squabbling over Theisman's proper title, they would have found something else to fight about, after all.