"David Weber & Steve White - Starfire 2 - Crusade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weber David)

Orion brevity. "It is vital that there be no misunderstanding, so I ask you to forego the courtesies
of diplomacy. I shall speak my mind fully and frankly, and I wish you to do the same.тАЬ

"Of course, HiaтАЩkhan,тАЬ Mulrooney replied. He had no choice but to accept whatever ground rules
the Khan chose to set.

"Thank you.тАЬ Liharnow settled more comfortably into his cushions, combing his shoulder-wide
whiskers, and his ears inclined forward as if to underscore his serious mood.

"Two weeks ago, the Tenth Destroyer Squadron, commanded by Lord Talphon and stationed in
the Lorelei System, was treacherously attacked.тАЬ Mulrooney stiffened. There could be only one
Orion response to an attack they labeled "treacherous.тАЬ

"The attackers apparently entered the system through its sixth warp point, the one which your
astrographers call тАШChaaraannтАЩsFerry,тАЩ and enticed Lord Talphon into attack range with a false
parley offer. The frequencies of their drive fields matched none in our NavyтАЩs data base, but they
identified themselvesтАЬ - the KhanтАЩs eyes locked with the ambassadorтАЩs - тАЬas Terrans.тАЬ

Despite himself, Mulrooney gasped, and the Khan shifted his ears slowly, as if obscurely
satisfied.

"Lord TalphonтАЩs courier drones bore our equivalent of your Code Omega. They were dispatched
very early in the engagement, as it was obvious his ships could not survive. Their messages
were transmitted to ValkhaтАЩzeer-anda by the warp point relay net and reached here five days
ago. During those five days, our intelligence service has analyzed Lord TalphonтАЩs report and
reached certain conclusions.

"First, the attackers did employ Terran Federation Navy communication protocols, although they
were of an obsolete nature. Second, the single ship name provided by the enemy was KepahlarтАЬ
- Liharnow did much better with the Terran name than Khardanish had managed- - тАЬand our
xenologists have identified this as the name of an ancient Terran scientist. Third, all
communications from the enemy were in Terran Standard English. From these findings, a board
of inquiry has judged that the attackers were in fact a Terran survey force.тАЬ

MulrooneyтАЩs face was white.

"There are, however, several points which puzzle me,тАЬ the Khan went on levelly. "The odd drive
frequencies are one such point, as also are the peculiar communications protocols employed. In
addition, our intelligence arm has observed no re-deployment of additional Federation units, nor
is the Lorelei System of great military value. Finally, I have reviewed Lord TalphonтАЩs last report,
and I am at least partially inclined to accept his hypothesis as to his attackersтАЩ identity. I do not
believe the Federation attacked the Tenth Squadron,тАЬ MulrooneyтАЩs shoulders relaxed, only to
tighten afresh as Lihamow finished, "but I suspect its attackers were Terrans.тАЬ

"HiaтАЩkhan,тАЬ the ambassador began, "I - тАЬ

"A moment, if you please,тАЬ the Khan said softly, and Mulrooney closed his mouth. "Lord Talphon
concluded that these unknown тАШTerransтАЩ might be descended from survivors of the Terran
colonization fleet attacked in Lorelei by the Eighty-First Flotilla in 2206, who fled down
тАШChaaraahnтАЩs Ferry.тАЩ If this is indeed the case, the Federation Navy and Assembly cannot, of