"Ben Weaver - Brothers in Arms 03 - Patriots in Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weaver Ben)

тАЬLet me talk to them.тАЭ
She frowned. тАЬYou?тАЭ

тАЬI donтАЩt believe they understand whatтАЩs at stake here.тАЭ

тАЬTheyтАЩre big boys, Colonel.тАЭ

тАЬBut they havenтАЩt seen what IтАЩve seen.тАЭ

тАЬNegative. Gut-wrenching war stories wonтАЩt change their minds. WeтАЩll issue the ultimatum. In the
meantime, weтАЩll get the ambassadors from Mars and Jupiter up to speed and get a verbal commitment
from them.тАЭ

тАЬMaтАЩam, please. Just let me try. You owe it to all those families who will never be the same because of
the first war. We all owe it to them.тАЭ

She studied me a moment, then closed her eyes.



Within the hour, my security team and I were on board a heavily armed Colonial Warden gunship, a
hunchbacked hawk of machinery that we could fly directly into Manhattan and land outside the Western
Alliance capitol. Wong and Holtzman had reluctantly agreed to meet with me, though they insisted that as
a security measure we tawt into Mars orbit, then travel the rest of the way via conventional drive so their
fighters could provide escort.

Once we reached Mars, we met up with those fighters and lumbered off. The trip to Earth would take
about nineteen hours, so I settled back in my jumpseat, hoping to sleep away at least some of that time.

Before I could close my eyes, Bren, who was seated across from me, took in a long breath, then sighed.
тАЬHave you figured out what youтАЩre going to say to them? If I were you, IтАЩd be thinking about three
words: comply or die.тАЭ

I was too aggravated to roll my eyes. тАЬLast time I looked there was a balance of power between the
three alliances.тАЭ

тАЬYeah, but all their money is tied up with us. They need us more than we need them.тАЭ

тАЬLetтАЩs get some rest. IтАЩm betting the days ahead will be very long. Very, very long.тАЭ

тАЬAll right. But you still havenтАЩt answered me. What are you going to say to them?тАЭ

I closed my eyes and considered the question. If I was going to present a convincing argument to Wong
and Holtzman, I had to turn statistics into blood, sweat, tears, and death. I would offer my experiences as
a soldier. Perhaps war stories wouldnтАЩt be enough, but they would be a start. I thought of my early days
in the corps, of the massacre at Columbia Colony, and of the friend who broke my heart.