tz.cobra strike-第52章

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；　thank　you。〃
　Corwin　shrugged。　〃Just　asking。〃
　But　he　lingered　in　the　outer　office　long　enough　to　hear　Yutu　make　arrangements　with　the　starfield　for　a　ground…to…orbit　shuttle。　His　father；　it　appeared；　would　not　have　to　worry　much　about　Aventine's　winter　tonight。
　Winter；　as　such；　didn't　exist　aboard　Troft　warships。
　For　the　fourth　time　in　almost　that　many　minutes　the　board　screen　seemed　to　blur　in　front　of　Telek's　eyes；　and　for　the　fourth　time　she　shook　her　head　stubbornly　and　swallowed　a　mouthful　of　cahve。　It　was　late；　she　was　tired；　and　she　would　need　to　be　at　least　marginally　coherent　for　the　Council　meeting　in　the　morning。　But　this　was　the　first　chance　she'd　had　to　see　the　Menssana's　report；　and　she　was　determined　to　have　at　least　a　passing　acquaintance　with　what　they'd　found　before　she　checked　out　for　the　night。
　There　was　a　light　tap　at　the　door。　〃e；〃　she　called。
　It　wasn't；　as　she'd　expected；　one　of　the　Academy　medical　staff。　〃The　nurses　at　the　monitor　station　are　annoyed　you　haven't　gone　to　sleep　yet；〃　Jonny　mented　as　he　walked　into　the　room。
　She　blinked；　then　snorted。　〃They　brought　you　all　the　way　from　Capitafia　to　tell　me　that？〃
　〃Hardly。　I　was　in　the　neighborhood　and　thought　I'd　drop　in。〃　Pulling　up　a　chair；　he　sat　down。
　Telek　nodded。　〃They　did　good。　You　can　be　damn　proud　of　them。〃
　〃I　know。　Though　Justin　doesn't　think　so。〃
　〃Well；　he's　wrong；〃　Telek　growled。　〃If　he'd　tried　to　get　to　Purma's　underground　stuff；　he　wouldn't　have　made　it　out　alive。　Period。　And　if　he　hadn't　made　it　out；　we　might　have　taken　Yuri　and　Marck　aboard　before　we　knew　how　the　Qasamans　like　to　stack　their　deals。〃
　〃I　understand　that。　He　will　too；　eventually。　I　hope。〃　Jonny　waved　toward　her　board。　〃The　Menssana's　report？〃
　〃Uh…huh。　You　people　did　pretty　well　yourselves。〃
　Jonny　nodded。　〃They　all　look　promising；〃　he　agreed。　〃At　least　two　are　better　even　than　that。〃
　Telek　looked　him　in　the　eye。　〃I　want　those　worlds；　Jonny。〃
　He　returned　the　gaze　without　flinching。　〃Badly　enough　to　fight　a　war　for？〃
　〃Badly　enough　to　do　whatever　we　have　to；〃　she　said　bluntly。
　He　sighed。　〃I'd　rather　hoped　that　what　happened　on　Qasama　would　have　blunted　your　eagerness　a　bit。〃
　〃It's　made　me　aware　of　what　it'll　cost。　But　the　option　is　the　loss　of　the　last　nineteen　thousand　people　on　Caelian。〃
　〃Or　so　goes　the　argument。　They　can　always　move　back　here；　you　know。〃
　〃But　they　won't。　Anyone　who　was　willing　to　lose　that　much　face　by　admitting　defeat　has　already　done　so。　We　can't　move　the　rest　of　them　back　to　civilization…their　pride　won't　take　it。〃
　〃Whereas　your　pride　won't　let　you　turn　tail　on　the　Qasamans？〃　he　countered。
　〃Pride　has　nothing　to　do　with　it。〃
　〃Sure。〃　Reaching　into　his　tunic；　Jonny　produced　a　magdisk　and　handed　it　to　her。　〃Well；　whatever　your　motives；　as　long　as　you're　solidly　hell…bent　on　smashing　Qasama；　you　might　as　well　know　as　much　about　the　place　as　possible。〃
　Telek　frowned　at　the　disk。　〃What's　this？〃
　〃The　official　Baliu'ckha'spmi　report　on　Qasama。〃
　She　looked　up　at　him；　feeling　her　mouth　fall　open。　〃It's　what？　Where　did　you　get　it？〃
　〃From　the　Troft　ship　out　there；〃　he　replied。　〃Clearly；　any　ship　sent　to　back　up　our　mission　would　have　their　own　world's　report　aboard　for　emergency　reference。　So　I　went　up　this　afternoon　and　got　a　copy。〃
　〃Just　like　that？〃
　〃More　or　less。　A　bination　of　bluff；　bluster；　and　legal　footwork。〃　He　smiled　faintly。　〃Plus　a　healthy　new　respect　for　us　on　their　part。〃
　〃God　knows　we　earned　that　much；〃　she　said　quietly。　York　and　Winward　alone　had　earned　them　at　least　that　much。。。。　She　shook　off　the　sudden　resurgence　of　guilt　for　her　failures　on　the　trip。　〃So　why　give　it　to　me？〃
　〃Oh；　the　whole　Council　will　get　copies　in　the　morning；〃　he　shrugged。　〃As　I　said；　I　was　in　the　neighborhood。〃
　〃Yeah。　Well　。。。　thanks。〃
　〃No　charge。〃　Jonny　got　to　his　feet…wincing　with
　the　effort；　she　noticed…and　walked　to　the　door。　There　he　paused　and　looked　back　at　her。　〃Lizabet　。。。　I'm　not　going　to　let　the　Worlds　go　to　war　for　your　new　planets；〃　he　told　her　quietly。　〃Not　after　what　we've　seen　of　Qasama。　A　surgical　strike　against　their　technological　base；　perhaps；　if　feasible；　aerial　bombings；　probably；　if　it'll　actually　do　any　good。　But　no　land　war。　Not　even　for　Caelian。〃
　She　nodded　slightly。　〃I　understand。　And　I'm　as　willing　to　look　for　middle　ground　as　you　are。〃
　〃Let's　hope　we　can　find　it。　Good　night。〃
　He　left；　and　Telek　found　herself　staring　at　the　Troft　magdisk　in　her　hand。　Suddenly　she　was　very；　very　tired。　。　。。
　Ejecting　the　Menssana's　report；　she　inserted　the　Trofts〃　into　her　board；　keying　to　run　it　through　the　Academy's　central　translator。　Then；　sighing　wearily；　she　splashed　more　cahve　into　her　mug　and　began　to　read。
　
　
　Chapter　24
　
　The　Council　meeting　was　postponed　two　days；　to　give　the　members　a　chance　to　read　both　the　Qasama　Mission　debriefing　and　the　Troft　data　package　Jonny　had　obtained。　But　when　the　debate　finally　began　it　was　quickly　and　abundantly　clear　that　the　cautious　approval　that　had　existed　for　the　original　mission　had　flipped　solidly　in　the　opposite　direction。
　And　it　wasn't　hard　to　figure　out　why。
　〃If　the　damn　planet　wasn't　a　lost　human　colony　no　one　would　be　nearly　this　emotional　about　the　whole　thing；〃　Dylan　Fairleigh　growled　afterward　as　the　governors　gathered　for　their　own　meeting。
　〃Neither　of　the　Caelian　syndics　was　plaining；〃　Vartanson　pointed　out　quietly。　〃We　know　what　the　trade…off　is　here。〃
　〃Us　or　them？〃　Jonny　asked。　〃Is　that　it？　e　on；　now…we　don't　even　know　why　the　Trofts　are　so　worried　about　Qasama。〃
　〃Don't　we？〃　Roi　shot　back。　〃A　thriving；　highly　cooperative；　highly　paranoid　human　culture？　That's　not　something　to　be　afraid　of？〃
　〃A　culture　without　starflight；　without　even　system　space　travel？〃　Hemner　quavered。
　〃We　don't　know　they　don't　have　spaceflight　capability；〃　Fairleigh　reminded　him　tartly。　His　eyes　flicked　to　Jonny。　〃There's　a　lot　we　don't　know　about　their　industrial　and　technological　base。　That　we　should　have　found　out。〃
　Jonny　bristled；　but　Telek　got　her　word　in　first。　〃If　that's　a　slur　on　my　team　in　general　and　Justin　Mo…reau　in　particular；　you're　invited　to　withdraw　it；〃　she　said　coldly。
　〃I　only　meant…〃
　〃If　you'd　like；　you　can　head　the　next　trip　to　Qasama；〃　she　cut　him　off。　〃We'll　see　then　how　well　you　do。〃
　Stiggur　chose　that　moment　to　make　his　own　belated　entrance；　his　presence　stifling　the　budding　argument。　〃Good　afternoon；　sorry　I'm　late；〃　he　said　with　an　air　of　harried　distraction　as　he　sat　down　at　his　place　and　pushed　a　pile　of　magdisks　into　the　center　of　the　table。　〃Preliminary　biological　data　analysis…just　came　in。　Summary　in　the　front。　Take　a　quick　look　and　we'll　discuss　it。〃
　It　was；　as　Jonny　had　expected；　an　analysis　of　the　Dewdrop　and　Troft　data；　concentrating　on　the　mojos。　He　skimmed　the　summary　and　was　halfway　through　a　more　careful　study　when　Vartanson　harrumphed。　〃Nasty。　Reminds　me　of　some　of　the　feathered　killing　machines　we　have　on　Caelian。〃
　〃Aside　from　the　weird　reproductive　setup；　I　presume；〃　Roi　said。　〃The　whole　arrangement　looks　pretty　fragile　to　me。　Kill　off　enough　of　their　embryo…hosts…　these　whatyoucallem；　these　tarbines…and　you　could　wipe　out　the　species　overnight。〃
　〃Most　ecosystems　look　that　unstable　at　first　glance；〃　Telek　put　in　dryly。　〃In　practice；　you'd　find　you'd　need　to　kill　a　hell　of　a　lot　of　tarbines　to　make　any　real　dent。　I　take　it；　though；　that　you　feel　the　mojos　to　be　the　major　threat　to　any　Cobra　forces　we　put　down　there？〃
　〃No　question；〃　Roi　said。　〃Look　at　the　record。　No　one　except　Winward　suffered　any　appreciable　damage　from　the　Qasamans〃　guns；　and　that　single　case　was　a　surprise　attack。　But　the　mojos　got　him　and　York　and　came　close　with　Pyre　and　Moreau。〃
　〃They　really　are　the　first　line　of　defense；〃　Fairleigh　agreed。　〃And　the　Qasamans　know　it。　Hell；　they　design　their　cities　to　keep　the　things　happy。〃
　〃Makes　sense；　of　course；〃　Stiggur　said　with　a　shrug。　〃Why　risk　human　deaths　in　a　battle　when　you've　got　animals　to　take　the　brunt　of　the　attack？〃
　〃That's　not　how　the　arrangement　began；〃　said　Telek。　〃It　was　originally　for　defense　against　predators　and　evolved　into　a　personal　bodyguard　system。〃
　〃And　now　shows　itself　easily　adapted　to　w