"William R. Forstchen & Ben Ohlander - Wing Commander 05 - The Price of Freedom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Forstchen William R)

Taggart looked at Tolwyn, contemplating the admiral with hooded eyes. Tolwyn had just disclaimed
knowing who the culprits were, and now was steering the senators towards the Border Worlds. He
wondered what agenda the admiral had tucked up his gold-braided sleeve.

One senator leapt to his feet, interrupting both Tolwyn's speech and Taggart's line of thought. Taggart
glanced at the man, whom he really thought should be old enough to know better. "Scoundrels!" the
senator thundered, pounding his hand on his desk for effect. "That's what they are! They should be
punished for what they've done!"

Another backbencher, unwilling to be outdone, also stood. "They're hoodlums!Rebels who're preying on
innocent ships!" Taggart saw they were playing to the cameras and dismissed them.

Tolwyn didn't. He shook his head sadly. "Let me remind you, senators, that during the long war with the
Kilrathi, the Border Worlds were a strong ally."

Another senator jumped up to interrupt. "And now they're attacking us!"

Taggart sighed. It must be the full moon, he thought. They seemed, after just the tiniest bit of nudging
from Tolwyn, to be ready to blame the Border Worlders on general principles, much less on hard
evidence. He looked up into the galleries, relieved to see that while many faces were hard with anger,
many others looked contemplative and skeptical.

Tolwyn, again the voice of reason, continued. "Do not allow lust for revenge to cloud your thinking…"
He gave Taggart another sidelong glance and a tiny, wintery smile. "We mustn't forget who our friends
are."

Many of the senators present nodded assent, agreeing with the admiral's sentiments and missing the
byplay on the dais.

Taggart had no doubt whatsoever that the admiral had just put a shot across his bows.
Counterintelligence had actually been Admiral Richard's bailiwick and not his, but the hard truth remained
the same. Counter Intel had failed to catch the Kilrathi renegade, Hobbes, before he'd betrayed his
human allies and returned to his own kind. That lapse had cost Tolwyn his precious Behemoth and his
shot at ending the war. Tolwyn had made no secret of the fact he thought Paladin might have sabotaged
his pet project.

"However," Tolwyn said, his voice hardening as he delivered what Taggart thought would be his real
pitch, "we must also keep in mind that during the war, certain social and political changes were taking
place along the frontiers." He paused. "We don't know what is going on inside the Border Worlds
themselves. We don't know if these raids may reflect a change within the Border Worlds governments,
the rise of criminal elements on the frontier itself, or if these are just random terrorism events or even
common piracy." He paused. "Until we get hard evidence, however, we must assume that the Border
Worlds are as they have always been…" He paused, showing the slightest hint of skepticism, "our
friends."
 Terrorism, Taggart thought, is many things, but it is never "random." And it was common knowledge that
the Border Worlds had refused to release the carriers acquired from Earth until long after the Kilrathi had
begun their assault. The frowns he saw in the gallery suggested that he wasn't the only senator to make
that connection. He smiled slightly, amused at Tolwyn's ability to play both sides of the aisle.