"Timothy Zahn - Conquerors 2 - Conquerors' Heritage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

securing the territory and waiting to see how the Humans would respond to this returning of the war
to their gatestep.

If this was, in fact, merely a turning of the war back on its creators.

It was a disturbing thought, and one which occupied the corners of Thrr-gilag's mind throughout the
voyage. He trusted the Elders, certainly, and the Elders' report had stated unequivocally that at that
first contact the Humans had been the aggressors. But at the same time, Thrr-gilag found it hard
simply to ignore the words of Pheylan Cavanagh, who seemed to have been equally convinced that it
was the Far Searcher and the other Zhirrzh survey ships which had fired first.

Probably the Human was lying. Almost certainly the Human was lying. But still, a thin edge of
doubt remained. Thrr-gilag could only hope that when he got to Oaccanv, he would be able to erase
that edge.



"All rise and prepare for service," the intoning voice of the chamber hailer boomed out. The words
echoed faintly from the loudspeakers throughout the huge room, an echo quickly drowned out by the
scuffling of a thousand Zhirrzh rising from their couches. "The Overclan Seating of the Zhirrzh
people is now in session," the hailer called over the noise. "All honor the Overclan Prime."

Behind the podium the doors swung open, and the Overclan Prime stepped into view. For a few
beats he stood in the doorway, silently surveying the crowded chamber. Then, holding aloft a kavra
fruit for all to see, he sliced through it twice in the ancient ritual of openness and trust. Placing the
lacerated fruit on the low table beside the door, he wiped his fingers on a cleaning cloth and
continued forward. He walked between the two shrinesтАФthe larger, in standard white ceramic, for
the general Overclan family; the smaller, of carved black stone, for the Overclan Primes
themselvesтАФnodding with respect to each as he passed. "I greet the Speakers of the Thousand
Clans," he said, seating himself on his couch and gesturing for the Speakers to do the same. "We are
met to consider the disturbing events of four fullarcs ago that necessitated the evacuation of Base
World Twelve. Searcher Thrr-gilag, Kee'rr; Searcher Svv-selic, Too'rr; Searcher Nzz-oonaz, Flii'rr:
step forward."

His two colleagues beside him, Thrr-gilag walked up to the witness box beside the podium, the
sweet-sour aftertaste of the poison-neutralizing kavra juice mixing with the acid nervousness on his
tongue as he tried to read somethingтАФanythingтАФfrom the Prime's expression. Hoping to get some
idea where the titular leader of the Zhirrzh race stood on all this.

But the Prime's face was a mask. And small wonder. For five hundred cyclics, ever since the
founding of the Overclan Seating, this family-without-a-clan had given its sons and daughters to live
and work in the sprawling complex that served the Overclan, its members allied to no one, beholden

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to no one, favoring no one, opposing no one. No Zhirrzh could have risen through those select ranks
to become Overclan Prime without long ago learning how to bury all personal thoughts and
prejudices deeply within him.