"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 9 - The Omicron Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

Traces of a smile, seen by the light of a gibbous moon in the deepening twilight, curled the outer
edges of Lady A's lips. "Now that you mention it, there was something I was going to ask—only if we're
completely successful, of course."

"What is it?"

"A war can't be won solely on the defensive. Sooner or later we'll have to go into the aliens'
territory if we win. I want governance of any captured alien worlds, completely autonomous from the
Empire. Who knows? Perhaps I'll end up with an empire of my own, and I won't need to bother yours."

Privately, the Grand Duke did not put any such limits on the woman's ambitions; if there turned
out to be two empires, she'd simply want to rule them both. He considered it diplomatic, however, not to
express those thoughts aloud.

"All this," he said, "is contingent on our finding a worst-case situation. You mentioned a joint
venture to investigate the problem on Omicron. What did you have in mind?"

"What I don't think we should do is just send in some gunboats. That would just provoke another
fight, and all it would prove is someone's there. I'd like to know a little more about the nature of the
enemy—who they are, where they come from, what they're doing, what their plans are. That would
require some stealth."

"You should be good at that."

Lady A smiled again. "Thank you. You have a few people of your own who aren't so bad. I was
envisioning a small covert assault team, three people from each side. I would be in charge of my group
personally, since I'm the only one I trust fully in this matter. I'll pick two of my best people to accompany
me. On your side, I'd like Agents Wombat and Periwinkle and Captain Paul Fortier."

"I must have discretion over my choice of personnel," the Head countered.

"This is not negotiable." Lady A stood up and walked down to the edge of the sea, where the
incoming waves just lapped at the toes of her boots. "I'm risking a great deal, tovarishch, by going on this
mission personally. I want to make sure I'm surrounded by people I can depend on."

"You can depend on all three of them to hate your mechanical guts," von Wilmenhorst said
quietly.

The woman shrugged. "If I'd wanted love I'd have chosen some other calling. I know perfectly
well what they must feel about me. I also know perfectly well that they're dedicated enough not to let their
personal feelings interfere with the success of their mission. Wombat, Periwinkle, and Fortier are the three
best people you've got. If I'm to infiltrate enemy territory, I want them along with me.
 "Besides," she added, turning to face him once more, "they're the three you'd pick anyway. On a
mission this delicate, you'd want people whose reports you could trust. You certainly wouldn't take my
word for anything: you'll need your most dependable agents along to make sure I'm not trying to trick
you."

Von Wilmenhorst hated to admit it, but the woman was right. Jules d'Alembert and Yvette Bavol
would certainly have been two of his choices, and while he might have chosen the spouse of either one as
his third selection, Captain Fortier was an outstanding candidate.