"David Drake - Belisarius 2 - In The Heart Of Darkness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

warrior who accompanied him wore only light leather armor and no hand weapon
beyond a semi-spatha scabbarded to his waist. He was not a spearman, but a
rocketeer. Rising from the center of the chariot was a solid pole, five feet
tall. Atop the pole, swiveling on a simple joint, was a bundle of six tubes --
three abreast, in two tiers. The warrior aimed the launchers ahead and to the
side, at an enemy army advancing some few hundred yards distant. He called out
a signal. He and the charioteer crouched. The rocketeer touched a slowmatch to
quick fuses. An instant later, a half-dozen rockets were hissing their way
toward the approaching army.
The charioteer turned the horses, raced away. Behind, other chariots copied
the same maneuver. Within not more than a minute, the ranks of the enemy were
being shredded by a hail of rockets. The missiles were not very accurate, but
made up for the lack by their numbers and the manner of their explosion.
Fragmentation warheads, came the thought from Aide. This time, the thought was
saturated with satisfaction. Shrapnel.
Belisarius slumped back, sighing. He rubbed his eyes wearily.
"Yes, there's promise there." Again, he scratched his chin. "But these --
katyushas -- will only work on level ground. In mountain terrain, we'll need
something different. Something that a small squad of men can carry by hand,
and that can be fired over hills."
The facets flashed excitement.
Mortars.
Belisarius' eyes widened. "Show me," he commanded.
A small motion caught his eye. The Maratha slave had finished his prayers and
was lying down on his pallet in preparation for sleep. His face could not be
seen, for it was turned away. Belisarius put aside his dialogue with Aide, and
devoted a moment to contemplating the man Dadaji Holkar.
Aide did not object, nor interrupt. There were many things about humanity
which Aide did not understand. Of no human, perhaps, was that more true than
of Belisarius. Belisarius, the one human of the ancient past whom the crystals
had selected as the key to preserving their future. The choice had been
theirs, but they had been guided by the Great Ones.
Find the general who is not a warrior.
Belisarius, the great general.
That strange thing Aide was coming to know, slowly, haltingly, gropingly.
Belisarius, the man. That stranger thing Aide already knew.
So Aide waited patiently. Waited during that moment of sorrow for another
man's anguish. Waited, patiently, not because it understood grief but because
it understood the future. And knew that its own future was safeguarded not by
the weapons it was showing the general, but by the nature of the man himself.
The moment passed. The man receded.
"Show me," commanded the general.

Chapter 4
CONSTANTINOPLE
Spring 530 AD
"You're positive?" demanded Theodora. "There's no mistake?"
The Empress of Rome leaned forward in her luxurious chair. No expression
showed on her face beyond a certain tense alertness. But the knuckles of her
hands, gripping the armrests, were white as snow, and the tendons stood out