"Gordon R. Dickson - Childe Cycle 04 - Tactics of Mistake" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

There're no jump troops on Kultis. And as for giving you a battalion of any kind of troopsтАФeven if your
guess has something going for it тАж " Bat snorted.
"The guerrillas are coming, all right. I'd bet my reputation on it," said Cletus, undisturbed. "In fact, you
might say I've already bet it, come to think of it. I remember talking to some of my fellow staff members
at the Academy, and a friend or two down in Washington, and forecasting that infiltration, just as soon as
Dow deCastries reached Neuland."
"You forecast тАж " Bat's tone became thoughtfulтАФalmost cunningтАФsuddenly. He sat behind his desk,
pondering Cletus with knitted brows. Then his dark eyes sharpened. "So you bet your reputation on this,
did you, Colonel? But spare troops are something I haven't got, and in any case, you're here as a
technical adviser тАж Tell you what. I'll pull a company off Rest and Retraining and send them out with a
field officer in charge. He'll be junior to you, of course, but you can go along if you want to. Officially, as
an observer only, but I'll tell the officer commanding that he's to keep your advice in mind тАж Good
enough?"
The last two words were barked sharply at Cletus, in a put-up-or-shut-up tone of voice.
"Certainly," said Cletus. "If the General wishes."
"All right!" Bat beamed suddenly, showing his teeth in a hearty, wolfish grin. "You can go on and see
about your quarters, then, Colonel. But stay on call."
Cletus rose to his feet. "Thank you, sir," he said, and took his leave.
"Not at all, Colonel. Not at all," he heard Bat's voice saying, with almost a chuckle in it, as Cletus
closed the door of the office behind him.
Cletus left the Headquarters building and went to see about establishing himself. Once set up in the
Bachelor Officers' Quarters, he strolled over to the Officers' Pool HQ with a copy of his orders and
checked to see if that Second Lieutenant Arvid Johnson, of whom he had spoken to Mondar, was still
unattached. Informed that he was, Cletus filed a request for the lieutenant to be assigned to him as a
research staff member and requested that he get in touch with him at the BOQ immediately.
He returned to the BOQ. Less than fifteen minutes later, the signal outside his room buzzed to
announce a visitor. Cletus rose from his chair and opened the door.
"Arvid!" he said, letting the visitor in and closing the door behind him. Arvid Johnson stepped inside,
turned and smiled happily down at Cletus as they shook hands. Cletus was tall, but Arvid was a tower,
from the soles of his black dress boots to the tips of his short-cropped, whitish-blond hair.
"You came after all, sir," Arvid said, smiling. "I know you said you'd come, but I couldn't believe
you'd really leave the Academy for this."
"This is where things are going on," said Cletus.
"Sir?" Arvid looked incredulous. "Away out here on Kultis?"
"It's not the locality so much," said Cletus, "as the people in it that makes things happen. Right now
we've got a man among us named Dow deCastries and the first thing I want from you is to go with me to
a party for him tonight."
"Dow deCastries?" Arvid said, and shook his head. "I don't think I knowтАФ"
"Secretary to the Outworlds for the Coalition," said Cletus. "He came in on the same ship from Earth
as I did тАж A gamesman."
Arvid nodded. "Oh, one of the Coalition bosses," he said. "No wonder you say things might start to
happen around here тАж What did you mean by gamesman, sir? You mean he likes sports?"
"Not in the usual sense," said Cletus. He quoted, " 'Whose game was empires and whose stakes
were thrones. Whose table, earthтАФwhose dice were human bones тАж ' "
"Shakespeare?" asked Arvid, curiously.
"Byron," said Cletus, "in his 'The Age of Bronze,' referring to Napoleon."
"Sir," said Arvid, "you don't really mean this deCastries is another Napoleon?"
"No more," answered Cletus, "than Napoleon was an earlier deCastries. But they've got points in
common."
Arvid waited for a moment longer, but Cletus said nothing more. The big young man nodded again.