"C. J. Ryan - Gloria VanDeen 4 - Burdens of Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ryan C.J)

presence of a division of Imperial Marines had failed to convince the holdouts. If anything, the
sputtering insurgency had picked up steam in the preceding year, making life uncomfortable
and dangerous for the Terrans who had come here for the sake of Imperial power and
corporate profits.

The indigs, in any case, were a fractious lot, split three ways and as eager to slaughter each
other as they were their human overlords. Instead of meekly bowing before the overwhelming
might of an Empire that spanned two thousand light-years and encompassed 2673 worlds with
a population exceeding 3 trillion, some of them remained determined to fight on, heedless of
the consequences for themselves or their lackluster little world. Kenarbin had come to reason
with them.

Sanjit Blagodarski, the Imperial Governor, stepped forward and extended his right hand.
Kenarbin clasped it in both of his.

тАЬWelcome to Denastri, Lord Kenarbin,тАЭ said the Governor.

тАЬThank you, Governor. Good to see you again, Sandy. YouтАЩre looking well.тАЭ

His first lie, less than a minute after setting foot on the planet. In fact, Blagodarski looked
awful. Drawn and frazzled, he seemed to have aged twenty years during the ten since they had
last met. The Governor shrugged off the obvious falsehood with a weak smile and introduced
his Imperial Secretary, a Level XII Dexta functionary named Freya Benitez, and the
commanding officer of the Occupation Task Force, General Steven Ohashi. The general gave
Kenarbin a crisp, military nod along with a firm handshake. тАЬGlad youтАЩre here, milord,тАЭ said
Ohashi. That, in itself, struck Kenarbin as an ominous note; Marines were seldom happy to see
diplomats on their turf.

тАЬAnd now,тАЭ said Blagodarski, тАЬit is my privilege to present the Premier of Denastri.
Honored Premier, may I present Lord Kenarbin?тАЭ

The alien stepped forward and extended a four-fingered hand, which Kenarbin took in his.
Its flesh felt cold.

тАЬVilcome to our furled,тАЭ said the Premier, with obvious effort.

тАЬThank you, Honored Premier,тАЭ Kenarbin replied as he stared into the dark, vertical slits of
the alienтАЩs eyes. The creature was vaguely humanoidтАФtwo arms, two legs, nearly as tall as
Kenarbin. But its face was narrow and noseless, with large, drooping, triangular ears, sallow
skin, a sharp, pointed chin, and a mouth that would have looked at home on a rainbow trout.
The vertical almond-shaped eyes seemed to be all pupil, and looked like the entrances to
shadowy, unexplored caverns. From a narrow bony crest at the top of its head sprouted a long
shank of blue-black hair, braided and bound with thin colored threads. The PremierтАЩs clothing
consisted of a belted saffron-colored robe that fell nearly to the ground.

Kenarbin released the PremierтАЩs hand and touched a stud on his tunic, activating the
translation software on the computer pad in his pocket. тАЬHonored Premier,тАЭ he said, тАЬI bring
sincere and heartfelt greetings from His Imperial Highness, Emperor Charles V.тАЭ He paused to
let the PremierтАЩs own pad translate his words into the fluid tonal language of the Denastri, then
continued. тАЬThe Emperor has asked me to convey his deep personal gratitude for your service