"David Drake - Hammer's Slammers 02 - Cross The Stars (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

rough draft and saving me a further day and a half of crushing work. And my wife, Jo,
made friendly, dispassionate, enormously helpful comments on that rough.

Blessings to you all.
 CHAPTER ONE
A hologram of a tank, bow-on as it plowed through a brushfire, filled most of the wall behind President
HammerтАЩs desk. Either by chance or through HammerтАЩs deliberation, the tank was Two StarтАФDanny PritchardтАЩs unit
twenty years before, when he had been a sergeant in the Slammers and not HammerтАЩs chosen successor.
тАЬHey, snake,тАЭ the President called cheerfully when he saw it was Pritchard who had entered the office
unannounced.
Hammer tilted away the desk display which he had been studying. He had not let age and the presidency blunt all
the edges of his appearance. If HammerтАЩs hair was its natural gray now, then it was still naturally his own. His
shoulders and wrists would have done credit to a larger, younger man. There was a paunch below desk height that
had not been there five years before, however. No practical amount of exercise could wholly replace the field work
of the lifetime previous. тАЬHad a chance to glance over the proposal from Dominica?тАЭ
тАЬGlance, yes,тАЭ Danny said, perching himself on the arm of an easy chair instead of the seat. The fabric responded
to his weight, squirming in an attempt to mold itself to his contours. Pritchard preferred a solid bench, so he gave as
little purchase as possible to the luxury with which Hammer disarmed visitors. тАЬI like the idea of having somebody
else pay for part of our army, sure . . . and, well, train it while things are quiet here on Friesland. But I think
DominicaтАЩs too far if weтАФneeded the guns back in a hurry.тАЭ
Danny popped the rolled notes he held against his knee. It was a sign of the nervousness which he otherwise
controlled. тАЬThing is, Alois,тАЭ he continued to the older man, тАЬthat isnтАЩt what was on my mind right at the moment.тАЭ
He smiled. тАЬEven though it should have been.тАЭ
Hammer snorted. He spun his desk display toward his Adjutant and heir presumptive. тАЬTeitjens sent this over as
background before he briefs me on the slump in heavy equipment export projections. IтАЩd sooner listen to you, on the
assumption that IтАЩll at least understand your problem when youтАЩve finished.тАЭ
тАЬYeah, well,тАЭ the younger man agreed. тАЬThe problemтАЩs easy.тАЭ
He slid down into the cup of the chair after all. The office walls were a slowly-moving fog-blue, almost a gray.
Pritchard slitted his eyelids. The hologram behind the President could have been a real tank on a skyswept plain.
тАЬWe got a homeworld query on one of our veterans. Do you remember Captain Don Slade?тАЭ
Hammer nodded calmly over his clasped hands. тАЬMad Dog Slade? Sure, I remember him. He was the one man I
really wanted who insisted on retiring when he heard his fatherтАЩd died. Home to Tethys, wasnтАЩt it? The Omicron
Eridani Tethys, I mean. I offered him a duchy here on Friesland, too, Danny.тАЭ
тАЬVia, he was a duke back home, Colonel,тАЭ Pritchard said to the blurred man and to the tank. тАЬHe was the next
thing to a king there if heтАЩd wanted to be.тАЭ The Adjutant opened his eyes again and sat as erect as the cushions would
permit him. тАЬWe wereтАФwell, he did me a favor. We were friends, Don and me. Tell the truth, he didnтАЩt much like to
be called Mad Dog.тАЭ
тАЬWell,тАЭ Hammer said with a laugh, тАЬif heтАЩll come back, IтАЩll call him Duke Donald or any curst thing he chooses.
Not because heтАЩs a friend of yours, DannyтАФthough that tooтАФbut because you canтАЩt have too many people like Slade
on your side.тАЭ The President did not precisely frown, but his face lost most of its laughter. тАЬAmong other reasons,
because if theyтАЩre on your side, they arenтАЩt on the other guyтАЩs.тАЭ
тАЬI think Don had had about enough of sides when he left here,тАЭ Pritchard said. He looked up at the ceiling and
remembered his big, black-haired friend in the spaceport at their last meeting. тАЬHe said he was ready to spend the
rest of his life fishing like his grandfather.тАЭ
тАЬFishing?тАЭ Hammer repeated in angry amazement. тАЬHe was going to go from one of my tank companies to
fishing?тАЭ
 It was his AdjutantтАЩs turn to laugh. Danny gestured with his notecards and said, тАЬWell, fishing on Tethys isnтАЩt that
different from the sort of jobs we gave M Company, Alois. ThereтАЩs a lot of water there, and the things that grow in it
are pretty much to scale, from what Don told me. . . .
тАЬBut the thing is,тАЭ Pritchard added, sobering, тАЬDon didnтАЩt get there. We got a query fromтАФтАЭ he checked the