"Jerry Pournelle - He Fell into a Dark Hole" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pournelle Jerry)

"Put him on."

"Aye, aye, sir." The watch midshipman's face vanished and Rap Torrin's
broad features filled the screen. The rear admiral looked at the bare cabin,
grimaced, then smiled at Ramsey.

"I'm going to pull rank on you, Bart," Torrin said. "Expect that courtesy
call in an hour. You can plan on having dinner with me, too."

Ramsey forced a smile. "Very good, sir. My pleasure. In an hour, then."

"Right." The screen went blank and Ramsey cursed. He drank the
second whiskey and cursed again, this time at himself.

What's wrong with you? he thought. Rap Torrin is as good a friend as
you have in the Navy. Shipmate way back in Ajax under Sergei
Lermontov. Now Rap has a star, well, that was expected. And Lermontov
is Vice Admiral Commanding, the number two man in the whole
CoDominium Space Navy.
 And so what? I could have had stars. As many as I wanted. I'm that
good, or I was. And with Martin Grant's influence in the Grand Senate
and Martin's brother John in charge of United States security, Senator
Martin Grant's son-in-law could have had any post no matter how goodтАж

Ramsey took another whiskey from the chair and looked at it for a long
time. He'd once had his star, polished and waiting, nothing but formalities
to go, while Rap and Sergei grinned at his good luck. Sergei Lermontov
had just made junior vice admiral then. Five years ago.

Five years. Five years ago Barbara Jean Ramsey and their son Harold
were due back from Meiji. Superstiously, Bart had waited for them before
accepting his promotion. When he took it he'd have to leave Daniel
Webster for something dirtside and wait until a spacing admiral was
needed. That wouldn't have been long. The Danube situation was heating
up back then. Ramsey could have commanded the first punitive
expedition, but it had gone out under an admiral who botched the job.
Barbara Jean had never come home from Meiji.

Her ship had taken a new direct route along an Alderson path just
discovered. It never came out into normal space. A scoutcraft was sent to
search for the liner, and Senator Grant had enough influence to send a
frigate after that. Both vanished, and there weren't any more ships to
send. Bartholomew Ramsey stayed a captain. He couldn't leave his ship
because he couldn't face the empty house in Luna Base compound.

He sighed, then laughed cynically at himself. Time to get dressed. Rap
wanted to show off his star, and it would be cruel to keep him waiting.