"Elizabeth Moon - Serrano 4 - Once A Hero" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

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CHAPTER ONE
R.S.S. Harrier, near Xavier


Esmay Suiza had done her best to clean up before reporting as ordered to the admiral aboard her
flagship, but the mutiny and the following battle had left her little time. She had showered, and
run her uniform through the cycler, but it wasn't her dress uniformтАФthe fight aboard Despite had
put holes through interior bulkheads and started innumerable small fires, including one in the
junior officers' storage compartment. She herself, though clean, had not slept well in . . .
however many days it had been. She knew her eyes were bloodshot and sticky with fatigue; her hands
trembled. She had the stomach-clenching feeling that her best wasn't good enough.

Admiral Serrano looked like an older edition of Captain Serrano, the same compact trim frame, the
same bronze skin. Here the dark hair was streaked silver, and a few lines marked the broad
forehead, but she gave an impression of crackling energy held just in check.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Suiza reporting, sir." At least her voice didn't shake. Those few days of
command had ironed out the uneasy flutter she used to struggle against.

"Have a seat, Lieutenant." The admiral had no expression Esmay could read. She sat in the
appointed chair, glad that her knees held and she made it a controlled descent. When she was down
safely, the admiral nodded, and went on. "I have reviewed your summary of events aboard Despite.
It seems to have been a very . . . difficult . . . time."

"Yes, sir." That was safe. In a world of danger, that was always safe; so she had been taught in
the Academy and her first ship postings. But her memory reminded her that it wasn't always true,
that a "Yes, sir," to Captain Hearne had been treason, and a "Yes, sir," to Major Dovir had been
mutiny.

"You do understand, Lieutenant, that it is mandatory for all officers participating in a mutiny to
stand before a court to justify their actions?" That in a voice almost gentle, as if she were a
child. She would never be a child again.

"Yes, sir," she said, grateful for the gentleness even though she knew it would do her no lasting
good. "WeтАФIтАФhave to take responsibility."

"That's right. And you, because you are the senior surviving officer, and the one who ended up in
command of the ship, will bear the brunt of this investigation and the court." The admiral paused,
looking at her with that quiet, expressionless face; Esmay felt cold inside. They had to have a
scapegoat, is that what it meant? She would be to blame for the whole thing, even though she
hadn't even known, at firstтАФeven though the senior officersтАФnow deadтАФhad tried to keep the
youngsters out of it? Panic filled in a quick sketch of her future: dismissed, disgraced, thrown
out of Fleet and forced to return home. She wanted to argue that it wasn't fair, but she knew
better. Fairness wasn't the issue here. The survival of ships, which depended on the absolute
obedience of all to the captain . . . that was the issue.

"I understand," she said finally. She almost understood.