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.They would have to come to peace terms eventually, or the Hegemony would eventually grind them down and push humanity all the way back to Earth.Pressing the offensive might guarantee that the Hegemony couldn’t discuss peace… and one of his private nightmares was his fleet advancing further and further, until it was cut off from Earth and trapped.“Contact the commanders,” he said, finally.“Inform them that I wish to depart no less than one week from today.”It would require superhuman effort to prepare the fleet in time, but it had to be done.Remaining static at Terra Nova, as the Hegemony might have done, was merely asking for defeat.They had to remain on the offensive.or risk losing the war.“And then have the Marines send up the enemy commander,” he added.“I want to have a word with her.”The psychologists swore blind that the Funks would recognise and understand their own ancient conventions.Sending a captured leader back to his – her – side was a gesture of contempt, a gesture that suggested that the enemy leader was of no value to either side.But he wasn't so sure.Anyone who had seen human weapons in action would at least know what was possible, even if she didn't know how.They could be giving the Funks a free gift, an intelligence bonanza, simply by sending her home.He shrugged.The alien wouldn't be released until the next battle.By then, some of humanity’s surprises would be known to the Galactics.And the others wouldn't have been shown to the Funks until they were deployed into combat.And, again, there really was no other choice.* * *How had the humans become so advanced?The question tormented her, overriding even her concern for her own safety.Lady Dalsha knew what would have happened to any important prisoners taken by the Hegemony; they’d be brain-sucked and whatever was left of them afterwards would be dumped into the nearest star.Most of the prisoners the humans had taken were nothing more than ordinary males, ones never trusted with any secrets, but she knew how much she knew.The armored humans who had taken her into custody would probably not hesitate to do whatever it took to dig information out of her mind.But even that might be a preferable fate to what would happen to her if she returned home.The hunt for a scapegoat was the Empress’ favourite choice of sport, if only to maintain her own position.After all, being ultimately responsible for the most disastrous defeat in the Hegemony’s history would weaken her position… and then the rest of the aristocracy would start sharpening their knives.The Empress would put the blame on the officer who’d been in command - Lady Dalsha – and then have her brain-wiped and thrown to the males.There was no worse punishment in the Hegemony.The humans had treated her reasonably well.They’d given her edible food – not always guaranteed when dealing with aliens – and enough water to keep her alive.The air was cooler and wetter than she preferred, but the human ships were so small that setting up a comfortable atmosphere in the brig would probably be impossible.Besides, the part of her that remembered the times when her ancestors had searched frantically for water knew that she should be grateful.Not all worlds were as harsh as the one that had given birth to her race.She looked up as two humans entered the brig and stopped in front of the forcefield holding her inside.They both wore armor, concealing their repulsive human features.It was impossible to tell if they were male or female; with humans, anything was possible.They believed in the equality of the sexes.It was an absurd concept to her, but humans were an alien race.Surprises had to be expected.The forcefield vanished with a crackling sound.“You will come with us,” one of the humans said.“Do not attempt to resist.”Lady Dalsha rose to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster and allowed the humans to lead her out of the cell.The interior of their starship was painted an uncomfortable shade of white, with data terminals and consoles everywhere.It was so unlike one of the Association-built ships that the sheer alien nature of the humans was brought home to her.No Hegemony-built ship would have scattered data terminals around for the crew.They might have found something that was not suited for junior eyes.She wanted to ask questions, but she had a feeling that the humans would refuse to answer her – assuming that they knew the answers.The Hegemony kept its juniors ignorant; many Galactic societies did the same, leaving the seniors in power to keep the system running.Instead, she kept silent and watched, hoping to see something that would unlock the secrets behind the alien ships.She saw nothing, but humans.If they’d obtained technology from another race, their unknown benefactors had not chosen to serve on their vessels [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.They would have to come to peace terms eventually, or the Hegemony would eventually grind them down and push humanity all the way back to Earth.Pressing the offensive might guarantee that the Hegemony couldn’t discuss peace… and one of his private nightmares was his fleet advancing further and further, until it was cut off from Earth and trapped.“Contact the commanders,” he said, finally.“Inform them that I wish to depart no less than one week from today.”It would require superhuman effort to prepare the fleet in time, but it had to be done.Remaining static at Terra Nova, as the Hegemony might have done, was merely asking for defeat.They had to remain on the offensive.or risk losing the war.“And then have the Marines send up the enemy commander,” he added.“I want to have a word with her.”The psychologists swore blind that the Funks would recognise and understand their own ancient conventions.Sending a captured leader back to his – her – side was a gesture of contempt, a gesture that suggested that the enemy leader was of no value to either side.But he wasn't so sure.Anyone who had seen human weapons in action would at least know what was possible, even if she didn't know how.They could be giving the Funks a free gift, an intelligence bonanza, simply by sending her home.He shrugged.The alien wouldn't be released until the next battle.By then, some of humanity’s surprises would be known to the Galactics.And the others wouldn't have been shown to the Funks until they were deployed into combat.And, again, there really was no other choice.* * *How had the humans become so advanced?The question tormented her, overriding even her concern for her own safety.Lady Dalsha knew what would have happened to any important prisoners taken by the Hegemony; they’d be brain-sucked and whatever was left of them afterwards would be dumped into the nearest star.Most of the prisoners the humans had taken were nothing more than ordinary males, ones never trusted with any secrets, but she knew how much she knew.The armored humans who had taken her into custody would probably not hesitate to do whatever it took to dig information out of her mind.But even that might be a preferable fate to what would happen to her if she returned home.The hunt for a scapegoat was the Empress’ favourite choice of sport, if only to maintain her own position.After all, being ultimately responsible for the most disastrous defeat in the Hegemony’s history would weaken her position… and then the rest of the aristocracy would start sharpening their knives.The Empress would put the blame on the officer who’d been in command - Lady Dalsha – and then have her brain-wiped and thrown to the males.There was no worse punishment in the Hegemony.The humans had treated her reasonably well.They’d given her edible food – not always guaranteed when dealing with aliens – and enough water to keep her alive.The air was cooler and wetter than she preferred, but the human ships were so small that setting up a comfortable atmosphere in the brig would probably be impossible.Besides, the part of her that remembered the times when her ancestors had searched frantically for water knew that she should be grateful.Not all worlds were as harsh as the one that had given birth to her race.She looked up as two humans entered the brig and stopped in front of the forcefield holding her inside.They both wore armor, concealing their repulsive human features.It was impossible to tell if they were male or female; with humans, anything was possible.They believed in the equality of the sexes.It was an absurd concept to her, but humans were an alien race.Surprises had to be expected.The forcefield vanished with a crackling sound.“You will come with us,” one of the humans said.“Do not attempt to resist.”Lady Dalsha rose to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster and allowed the humans to lead her out of the cell.The interior of their starship was painted an uncomfortable shade of white, with data terminals and consoles everywhere.It was so unlike one of the Association-built ships that the sheer alien nature of the humans was brought home to her.No Hegemony-built ship would have scattered data terminals around for the crew.They might have found something that was not suited for junior eyes.She wanted to ask questions, but she had a feeling that the humans would refuse to answer her – assuming that they knew the answers.The Hegemony kept its juniors ignorant; many Galactic societies did the same, leaving the seniors in power to keep the system running.Instead, she kept silent and watched, hoping to see something that would unlock the secrets behind the alien ships.She saw nothing, but humans.If they’d obtained technology from another race, their unknown benefactors had not chosen to serve on their vessels [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]