"Michael McCollum - Antares 03 - Antares victory" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

the sharp end of the spear can be a thankless job, especially when you have to deal with REMFs.тАЭ
тАЬREMFs, sir?тАЭ
тАЬOld terrestrial navy expression,Drake. Its roots are obscene. It refers to the assholes back at basewho
wonтАЩt give the man in combat what he needs unless he asks in triplicate. You can rest assured, by the way,
that so long as I am on the job, there will be a minimum of that sort of bullshit.тАЭ
тАЬI know that, sir. I also know how many senior officers were passed over for this assignment,and how
much your opinion counted in the decision.тАЭ
Belton lowered his voice until onlyDrakecould hear him against the background noise. тАЬThen you also
know, Admiral, that there will be a thousand pairs of eyes watching your every move, waiting for you to screw
up.тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ
тАЬAre you interested to know what tilted the decision in your favor?тАЭ
тАЬIf you would care to tell me, sir.тАЭ
тАЬBecause this invasion was your doing,Drake. You Altans arrived on Earth with a map of enemy
foldspace, something no one else had managed to obtain in more than a century of war. Yet, even though
you presented us with the key to victory on a silver platter, not one of us saw the implications until you forced
us to see them. That shows an independence of thought that will be sorely needed in the coming campaign.тАЭ
Belton spoke standard with an odd, but understandable, accent. He was a native of the legendary city
of Rome, a fabled place that Altan children studied in school, but one that no Altan (toDrakeтАЩs knowledge)
had ever seen with his own eyes. Their first brief visit to Earth had been too hectic to visit the Eternal City,
and his two trips sincewere consumed with planning for the invasion.
тАЬI still appreciate the chance you are giving me, Admiral. I wonтАЩt let you down.тАЭ
тАЬAppreciation noted,тАЭ Belton said gruffly before raising his voice to his normal subdued bellow. It was a
voice that projected an image at odds with BeltonтАЩs short stature and thinning hair. тАЬNow then, AdmiralDrake,
are you ready to get on with the war?тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ
тАЬLet us give the engineers five minutes to put some spin on this old bucket and then we start the
briefing. I will keep my remarks short to give you more time for your spiel.тАЭ
тАЬThat will be fine, sir.тАЭ
WhileDrakeled the bulk of humanityтАЩs offensive fleet into the heart of enemy space,Grand Admiral Belton
would establish the bases and infrastructure needed to keep the fleet supplied. As Bethany,DrakeтАЩs historian
wife,had remarked when he told her of his appointment to operational command, Belton was to be General
George C. Marshall toDrakeтАЩs George Patton. Richardknew who General Patton had been, of course. One of
the ships in the fleet was namedPatton .
He had never heard of George C. Marshall.
#
тАЬOfficers of the Allied Forces of Humanity, welcome!тАЭ Admiral Belton roared when a few tenths-gee
returned to the ship. As he spoke, the terrestrial admiral let his gaze sweep over his audience. His listeners
worethe black-and-silveruniforms of the terrestrial navy, the ornate black-and-green of the Sandarians, the
subdued, slightly quaint uniforms worn by the Altans, and a dozen more.
тАЬYou have all been briefed extensively as to your jobs during the coming mission, so I wonтАЩt bore you by
being repetitive. Rather, AdmiralDrakeand I have invited you here today because this will be our last chance
to gather in person. We will not likely find ourselves within a few million kilometers of one another again any
time soon. Indeed, even if things go as well as we have planned them, many of us will not be returning to
human space for several yearsтАж and let us be honest, some of us will not be coming back at all. That is the
way of war, a necessity we warriors accept as the price of service to our race.
тАЬEvents will move very quickly once we enter the nebula and there will be little time for consultation.
Therefore, it is important that every fleet and subfleet commander, every ship captain, every first officer, every
ordinary spacer, understand our grand strategy. So, let me give it to you without the usual diplomatic
niceties.