"Blaine Lee Pardoe - Battletech - Battlecorps - Betrayal Of Ideals Part 1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pardoe Blaine Lee)

The ilKhan preferred his steak rare and did not salt or pepper the
food. Again, it was one of the little twists in his personality that
McEvedy noted and then attempted to ignore. These quirks were
numerous, and speaking about them was all but forbidden. Little
would be discussed until the main course was done–that was his
way. Once Nicholas finished his steak, he paused and rested his
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forearms on the edge of the table. Now, and only now, would con-
versation begin.
“How are my Wolverines, Sarah?” he queried.
“They are well, ilKhan,” the use of the title was important.
Nicholas could speak informally if he chose, but that was not a
luxury for even his Khans.
“I have heard that your harvests have produced a surplus. This is
welcome news given how some of your brethren have fared.”
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“We have indeed,” she said. There was a slight pause on
McEvedy’s part. The harvest report information had just come to
her attention three days ago. How had the ilKhan heard of it so
quickly? More importantly, who else knew? “We are more than
willing to share our bounty with those less fortunate, of course.”
“Of course,” Nicholas said, staring at his plate, pushing his
whipped garlic potatoes around as if he were a sculptor. “When I
heard of your fortune, I also heard that you achieved this by allow-
ing some members of other castes to, what was the word used?
‘migrate?’ to your Labor Caste. Is that true Sarah, quiaff ?”
“Affirmative,” she replied slowly and carefully. So that was what
this was about. It had to be the Smoke Jaguars, Widowmakers,
or the Jade Falcons that were in an uproar about this. They were
among the most hard-line traditionalists.
I must find out how they learned of this and plug that leak. She
wanted to offer explanation but held off. Nicholas often was given
to a tantrum, and interrupting that could be worse than the of-
fense that triggered it in the first place. “I did not mention it before
because it seemed so minor, ilKhan. It was an internal affair of my
people.”
“This disturbs me,” Nicholas said in a calm tone, still not looking
into the eyes of the Wolverine Khan. “I created the caste system
with purpose, a purpose that I thought you understood. Having
our people in castes removed some of the societal tensions and
rifts that our forbearers dealt with. Castes remove the drive of
people to attempt to better themselves through bringing civil dis-
order. I thought you understood that.” With his last words, he cast
an icy stare into McEvedy’s eyes.
“I do understand,” the Wolverine Khan replied. “At the same time,