"Tanya Huff - Valor 2 - The Better Part of Valor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

of my job. The balance of power in Parliament is very tenuous right
now. Many of the old races feel the Confederation isn't making enough
effort to deal with the Others diplomatically—in spite of the fact that
diplomacy so far has resulted in nothing but dead diplomats. There's a
very real possibility that the arguments between the various factions
could result in the same crippling of the government as happened back
in '89 when, with defense spending stalled, the Others took over most
of SD38 including the Ba'tan home world. It would be nice," he
continued dryly, and Torin got the impression he was talking as much
to himself as to her, "if this time, things could stabilize without such a
drastic kick in the collective ass. Surprisingly enough, it's been the
Krai who've been causing the most trouble of late, throwing one
faction against the other so that the military will take notice of their
complaints that there aren't enough of their people in top positions.
 They've been insisting Krai officers, Navy and Marine, receive more
chances to serve in those places where promotions are most likely."
"The front lines, sir?"
The general looked startled by her question. "No, not the front lines.
They're looking for a higher survival rate."
Aren't we all.
"Sir!"
Torin wondered if Stedrin stood at attention when he addressed the
general over the comm. It certainly sounded like he did.
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"The captain is here, sir."
"Send him in." General Morris stood, tugged his tunic into place,
and came around the desk, shooting Torin a look that seemed almost
apologetic.
Bugger it. That's not good. She'd been standing easy, so when the
door opened behind her, she came around ninety degrees, presenting
her back to neither the general nor the entering officer.
He looked vaguely familiar. Which wasn't necessarily relevant since
the Krai as a whole had very little color or size variance and, to any
species without a highly developed sense of smell, all looked pretty
much the same.
"Staff Sergeant Kerr, I'd like you to meet your commanding officer
for this mission, Captain Travik."
Oh, crap.
Captain Travik's rescue of the besieged research station on Horohn
8, his reckless charge through the Others' perimeter recorded by the
station's sensors, had captured the attention of the public and made him
a celebrity. He'd been feted all through the sector, his image turning up
every time the Corps got mentioned on any kind of a popular
broadcast, his reputation growing as every new program fed on the one
before it, his ego growing with his reputation.
Most of the Marines who landed under the captain's command
hadn't survived.
To the public, that made him even more the hero.
To the Corps, particularly those who'd studied the recording, that
made him a reckless hotshot who knew how to manipulate the media.