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

Cross, the Valkhaanairs equivalent, which must have been hard to come by in the fifty Terran
years of peace since ISW-3. Perhaps, he speculated idly, she had been chosen for this duty by
her superiors just as carefully as he was coming to believe First Fang Lokarnah had chosen
him?

"Ah, Saahmaantha!тАЬ he said now. "At times, you are too much like one of my own for comfort.тАЬ

"I take that as a compliment, Captain,тАЬ Johansen said, chewing another slice of zeget
appreciatively. In fact, she found it overly gamy, but it was a warriorтАЩs dish. The bear-like zeget
was four furry meters of raw fury, the most feared predator of the original Orion homeworld, and
Least Claw Khardanish had done her great honor by ordering it served.

"Do you?тАЬ Khardanish poured more wine. The Terran vintage was overly dry for his palate, but it
had been JohansenтАЩs gift, and he drank it with the pleasure she deserved of him. He tilted his
glass, admiring the play of light in the ruby liquid. "Then I will tell you something, Lieutenant. Do
you know what we Theeer├╝kouтАЩvalkhan-naieee call our two wars with you?тАЬ

"Yes, Captain,тАЬ Johansen said softly. " тАШThe Wars of Shame.тАЩ"

"Precisely.тАЬ He sipped delicately. "I find that apt even though we are now aUies. We had twice
the systems, ten times the population, and a navy, and you had - what? A few dozen lightly-
armed survey vessels? Should not any warrior feel shame for losing to an enemy so much
weaker than he?тАЬ

Johansen met his eyes calmly, and the least claw approved. Even among his own people, many
would have sought to hide their discomfort with some polite nothing; this Human merely waited.

"But you were not weaker where it mattered most, Saahmaantha,тАЬ he said seriously. "For your
people, war was a matter for planning and discipline; for mine, it was a chance to win honor by
individual bravery. Your First Fang Anderson lured us into traps, ambushed us, and massed his
fire to burn us down as we charged against him, and to the TheeerlikouтАЩvaikhannaieee those
were cowardтАЩs tactics. My grandsire, the first Lord Talphon, fought in both Wars of Shame. He
was an intelligent officer, one of VarnikтАЩsheerinoтАЩs proteges, but even he thought your peopleтАЩs
way of war fit only for chofaki.тАЬ

Johansen still said nothing, though her eyes flickered. Literally, the term meant "dirt-eatersтАЬ;
figuratively, it implied beings so lost to courage and honor they could not even recognize them
as concepts.

"Yet I have read his journal many times, Saahmaantha, and he learned better.тАЬ Khardanish
watched his guest relax. "He was not at Aklumar, but his ship was the sole survivor of the First
Battle of Ophiuchi Junction, and he fought in every major engagement of the Junction
Campaign. By the end, he had learned what your Federation Navy taught us so well; that the
duty of a warrior must be to win, not to count coup. So if you are like one of us, perhaps that is in
part because my people have grown more like yours.тАЬ

"And is that a good thing, Captain?тАЬ Johansen asked.

"Yes, Saahmaantha.тАЬ He refilled her empty glass and raised his own to her in the Terran
manner. тАШWe owe you much for teaching us there is no cowardice in forethought. Some might