"Ian Douglas - Inheritance Trilogy 1 - Star Strike" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglas Ian)

where he would get into trouble whether he replied or not. He remained mute, eyes focused somewhere
beyond Warhurst’s left shoulder.

“Give me an answer, recruit!” Warhurst bellowed. “Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“What?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Second of all, for your information my name is not ‘Sorry.’ So far as you putrid escapees from a toilet
bowl are concerned, I am sir!” He turned away from Garroway and strode up the line, bellowing. “In
fact, so far as you mudworms are concerned, I am God, but you will always address me as ‘sir!’ If you
have permission to address me or any of the other drill instructors behind me, the first word and the last
word out of your miserable, sorry shit-hole mouths will be ‘sir!’ All of you! Do I make myself abundantly
clear?”

Several in the line of recruits chorused back with, “Sir, yes, sir!” A few, however, forgot to start with the
honorific, and most said nothing at all, or else mumbled along.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear that!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“What?!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Warhurst turned again to glower into Garroway’s face. “Third! Recruits will not refer to themselves as
‘I’! You are not an I! None of you rates an I! If for any reason you are required to refer to your
miserable selves, you will not use the first person, but you will instead say ‘this recruit!’ That goes for all
of you! Is that clear?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Fourth! If I give you an order, you will not say ‘sir, yes, sir!’ You will reply with the correct Marine
response, and say ‘Sir, aye, aye, sir!’ You are not Marines and you may never be Marines, but by all the
gods of the Corps you will sound like Marines! Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” came back, though it was made ragged by a few shouted “Sir, aye, aye, sirs.” The recruits
were all looking a bit wild-eyed now, as confusion and sensory overload began to overwhelm them.

Garroway thought Warhurst was going to explode at the company for using the wrong response.
Reaching the left end of the line, he spun sharply and charged back to the right. “Idiots! I ask for recruits
and they give me deaf, dumb, and blind idiots!” Turning again, he charged back to the left, raw power
and fury embodied in a spotlessly crisp Marine dress black-C uniform. “Get the shit out of your ears! If I
ask a question requiring a response of either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ you will say ‘sir,’ then give me a ‘yes’ or a
‘no,’ as required, and then you will again say ‘sir!’” Stopping suddenly at the center of the line, he turned
and bellowed, “Is that clear?”