"Williamson,.Michael.Z.-.Freehold.02.-.The.Weapon.v1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

I love hearing about how smart I am. I'm still waiting for someone
to offer me money commensurate with my brains. "Sure. Or
Kenneth. I don't mind," I replied.

"Good deal," he said. "Sure you want to go into combat comm?
Can I ask why?"

I shrugged. "It has a bit of travel. The technical training is good,
and it gets me out of here," I said. "Here" was New Rockville, a
small suburb ninety kilometers south of Westport. It's an okay
town, but hardly the center of Freehold culture, much less of the
galaxy.

"I have a position available that's better. Not to put the combat
comm guys down, I mean, but—"

"What is it?" I interrupted. I didn't want to hear a spiel, just the
facts.

He shifted drive ratio fast and said, "Special Warfare. We get to
travel too, and sometimes first class and in high circles. We get a
lot more training, some of which has civilian applications, even
though people might not realize it. If you want action, then we're
your people."

I started thinking. I knew of Special Warfare, of course. I'd heard
lots of stories, and had no idea which were real and which were
rumors. The idea was appealing, but . . .

"I couldn't possibly pass the physical," I said. Not a skinny guy like
me.

"Sure you can," he said. "After Basic, we have our own course.
You'll be in adequate shape then, and we'll build you up from there.
You'll be hardcore by the time you're done."

Now that sounded good. I had no illusions about huge muscles,
but strength and agility appealed. I loved gymnastics and dancing
and I never backed down from a bully. The idea of being able to
actually clobber them instead of being splattered gave me a warm
feeling.

"Let's go to your office," I said. It didn't take much convincing to
make me agree to switch over. I held out for the bonuses they
offered, though. He scheduled me for another battery of tests,
mental, physical and psychological, that made the standard military
placement look like an elementary school assessment test. I was
worn out when I finished.

My parents were convinced I was making a huge mistake. When I