"David Weber - Fifth Imperium 02 - The Armageddon Inheritance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weber David)

slender executive officer, had chosen to soak her entire person. Her neatly folded, midnight-blue uniform
lay to one side as she leaned back, and her long sable mane floated about her shoulders.

Black-bottomed holographic thunderheads crowded overhead, distant thunder rumbled, and lightning
flickered on the "horizon," yet Colin's gaze was remote as he watched rain bounce off the balcony's
shimmering force field roof. His attention was elsewhere, focused on the data being relayed through his
neural feeds by his ship's central command computer.

His face was hard as the report played itself out behind his eyes, from the moment the Achuultani
starships emerged from hyper to the instant of the sensor array's self-immolation. It ended, and he shook
himself and looked down at Jihanith for her reaction. Her mouth was tight, her ebon eyes cold, and for
just a moment he saw not a lovely woman but the lethal killing machine which was his executive officer at
war.

"That's it, then, Dahak?" he asked.

It is certainly the end of the transmission, sir," a deep, mellow voice replied from the empty air. Thunder
growled again behind the words in grimly appropriate counterpoint, and the voice continued calmly. "This
unit was in the tertiary scanner phalanx, located approximately one hundred ten light-years to galactic
east of Sol. There are no more between it and Earth."

"Crap," Colin muttered, then sighed. Life had been so much simpler as a NASA command pilot "Well, at
least we got some new data from it."

"Aye," Jihanith agreed, "yet to what end, my Colin? тАШTis little enow, when all's said, yet not even that little
may we send home, sin Earth hath no hypercom."

"I suppose we could turn back and deliver it in person," Colin thought aloud "We're only two weeks
outтАж"

"Nay," Jihanith disagreed. "Should we turn about тАШtwill set us back full six weeks, for we must needs give
up the time we've but now spent, as well."

"Fleet Captain Jiltanith is correct Captain," Dahak seconded, "and while these data are undoubtedly
useful, they offer no fundamental insights necessary to Earth's defense."

"Huh!" Colin tugged at his nose, then sighed. I guess you're right. ItтАЩd be different if they'd actually
attacked and given us a peek at their hardware, but as it isтАФ"He shrugged "I wish to hell they had,
though. God knows we could use some idea of what they're armed with!"

True," Dahak agreed "Yet the readings the sensor array did obtain indicate no major advances in the
Achuultani's general technology, which suggests their weaponry also has not advanced significantly."

"I almost wish there were signs of advances," Colin fretted. "I just can't accept that they haven't got
something new after sixty thousand years!"

"It is, indeed, abnormal by human standards, sir, but entirely consistent with surviving evidence from
previous incursions."

"Aye," Jiltanith agreed, sliding deeper into the hot water with a frown, "yet still'tis scarce credible, Dahak.