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He stood sullenly, looking defiantly at the council table, until he saw Rick. He
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stared a moment, then shouted, Captain! For God s sake, Captain, help me!
It was Private Warner.
Despite the blazing fire, Rick s quarters were cold. And not just the chilly air,
Rick thought. He could feel the chill radiating from where Tylara sat by the
hearth.
I had thought you would be pleased, she said. Are not your enemies my
enemies? Sarakos can be killed, and I can rid myself of this burning hatred for
him
We don t know that, Rick said. Tylara Tylara, every time I think of what
Sarakos did to you, I get sick. I hate him as much as you do. I love you!
You do not seem to.
More than you know, Rick said. It is my wish to make Tamaerthon strong
without endless war. Should we risk all that for revenge?
Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. Come in, Rick called
with relief.
Warner had been shaved and given better clothes. He was almost pathetically
grateful when Jamiy brought him in. Thank God you re here, Captain. Thank
God
Have a seat, Rick invited. Jamiy, pour him a cup of wine.
Warner sat gratefully. He chugged the wine, and Rick poured his cup full again.
Take it easy, he said. Before you get drunk, I want to know your story. He
laughed. You know, it wasn t a week ago I was wishing I had you around. I was
trying to derive some of Newton s equations. Think you can remember college
physics?
Yes, sir, Warner said. Uh ballistics?
Maybe, Rick said. But mostly just general sci-ence. He switched to the local
Tran dialect. Warner, this is the lady Tylara. We d both like to hear your story.
Yes, sir. But could I have some more wine first? Warner drank eagerly. Where
should I begin?
We know Parsons made an alliance with Sarakos, Rick said. And that you
helped him win the battle against the Drantos army. What happened after that?
At first it was pretty good, Warner said. Cap-tain, I can tell this better in
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English.
Go ahead. I ll translate for Tylara.
Yes, sir. Well, like I said, at first it was pretty good. We d won, and we owned
the country. Par-sons gave each one of us a couple of local girls. It was a little
funny owning slaves, but that s the way things are here. We had women and
jewels and lots of good food and pretty good wine, and it was like Parsons said it
would be. We lived like kings. Even out in the field we had servants. We took
over the best houses for quarters, and we didn t have to fight much just when
the locals ran into something they couldn t handle. Then we d come up with the
machine guns and the mortars.
Everything was fine for a couple of months, but then it all came apart. Guerrilla
war. Captain, it was like Vietnam, only worse, because we didn t have any
choppers or trucks or anything. We had to ride horses, and by the time we got
anywhere, the char-lies had gone off into the hills. We weren t safe any-where
outside castles. Ride through the woods and you never knew but what an arrow or
a crossbow bolt would kill you.
It just never stopped, and it didn t look like it was ever going to get any better,
either. Those people hated us, and we couldn t kill all of them. And it got kind of
hungry, too, even for us and we had more to eat than the poor bastards with us.
And Parsons! He got so mean, you couldn t get near him. Claimed it was all our
fault we weren t disciplined enough but he d fix that. So one day a bunch of
us got fed up and rode off.
How many? Rick asked.
Twenty-two, Warner said. Gengrich and I or-ganized it. We went south, to the
city-state territory. We needed some way to make a living, so we ar-ranged to hire
out to the city republic of Kleistinos. They fed us and our wives most of us
brought one or both of the girls we d been living with and we didn t have to
fight, either. Come spring we were supposed to escort a big caravan south, and
that sure sounded like easier work than what Parsons had us doing.
So how did you end up here?
Warner looked sheepish. ! got drunk, passed out in a tavern, and woke up with
those handcuff things. The local tavernkeeper sold me to the Drantos reb-els.
I see. Excuse me, I d better tell Tylara what s going on. Rick summarized
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Warner s story.
They are not rebels, Tylara said coldly when Rick finished. They are fighting
for their homes against bandits.
Yes, Lady, Warner said. If you say so
She did say so, Rick said. He changed to En-glish to say, I d be very careful,
were I you. She s got a sharp temper and a sharper dagger. He poured himself a
cup of wine. What weapons did Gengrich take with him?
One of the mortars, Warner said. And our rifles and pistols, of course.
So André has one mortar and the recoilless. How many mortar bombs?
I d guess a dozen, Warner said.
The star men are greatly weakened, Tylara said. And Sarakos has lost much of
his army.
They re not as strong as they were, Warner agreed. Captain, are you planning
on fighting them?
I don t know.
Tylara looked at him coldly.
Sweetheart, you don t understand, Rick said. They think because we handled
the Romans so eas-ily, Parsons can t be that tough. They just don t know. One
mortar shell in the right place, and I don t have a pike regiment, I have a
disorganized mob. And Yatar knows what machine guns would do to my
archers
Tylara got up and went to the door. Jamiy, she said. She pointed to Warner.
Take him to his quar-ters.
He s to be well treated, but he is not to escape, Rick said. Warner, I really am
glad to see you. If we all survive, you re going to be a professor in the only
university on Tran.
I d like that, Warner said. It s got to be better than fighting for a living.
Rick waited until Jamiy and Warner had left, then turned to Tylara with a sigh.
All right, darling. Let s have it out.
3
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Her cold look changed to one of unhappiness. I do not like to quarrel with you,
she said.
God knows I don t enjoy it much either
Please. Let me finish. All winter my father and I have waited for you to speak
formally to him of our future.
I was waiting to be sure you wanted me to, Rick said. And I wasn t sure when
would be the right time
I had hoped you wanted me.
I do. God knows I do. I love you, Rick said.
As I love you. More than you know. Our customs are not yours. Never in our
memory has a woman married before she was avenged, yet yet I was will-ing
to do so. Rick, your ways are strange. You are not like my husband was. You are [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
He stood sullenly, looking defiantly at the council table, until he saw Rick. He
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Pournelle%20-%2001%20-%20Janissaries.html (152 of 184) [12/29/2004 12:13:09 AM]
JANISSARIES
stared a moment, then shouted, Captain! For God s sake, Captain, help me!
It was Private Warner.
Despite the blazing fire, Rick s quarters were cold. And not just the chilly air,
Rick thought. He could feel the chill radiating from where Tylara sat by the
hearth.
I had thought you would be pleased, she said. Are not your enemies my
enemies? Sarakos can be killed, and I can rid myself of this burning hatred for
him
We don t know that, Rick said. Tylara Tylara, every time I think of what
Sarakos did to you, I get sick. I hate him as much as you do. I love you!
You do not seem to.
More than you know, Rick said. It is my wish to make Tamaerthon strong
without endless war. Should we risk all that for revenge?
Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. Come in, Rick called
with relief.
Warner had been shaved and given better clothes. He was almost pathetically
grateful when Jamiy brought him in. Thank God you re here, Captain. Thank
God
Have a seat, Rick invited. Jamiy, pour him a cup of wine.
Warner sat gratefully. He chugged the wine, and Rick poured his cup full again.
Take it easy, he said. Before you get drunk, I want to know your story. He
laughed. You know, it wasn t a week ago I was wishing I had you around. I was
trying to derive some of Newton s equations. Think you can remember college
physics?
Yes, sir, Warner said. Uh ballistics?
Maybe, Rick said. But mostly just general sci-ence. He switched to the local
Tran dialect. Warner, this is the lady Tylara. We d both like to hear your story.
Yes, sir. But could I have some more wine first? Warner drank eagerly. Where
should I begin?
We know Parsons made an alliance with Sarakos, Rick said. And that you
helped him win the battle against the Drantos army. What happened after that?
At first it was pretty good, Warner said. Cap-tain, I can tell this better in
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Pournelle%20-%2001%20-%20Janissaries.html (153 of 184) [12/29/2004 12:13:09 AM]
JANISSARIES
English.
Go ahead. I ll translate for Tylara.
Yes, sir. Well, like I said, at first it was pretty good. We d won, and we owned
the country. Par-sons gave each one of us a couple of local girls. It was a little
funny owning slaves, but that s the way things are here. We had women and
jewels and lots of good food and pretty good wine, and it was like Parsons said it
would be. We lived like kings. Even out in the field we had servants. We took
over the best houses for quarters, and we didn t have to fight much just when
the locals ran into something they couldn t handle. Then we d come up with the
machine guns and the mortars.
Everything was fine for a couple of months, but then it all came apart. Guerrilla
war. Captain, it was like Vietnam, only worse, because we didn t have any
choppers or trucks or anything. We had to ride horses, and by the time we got
anywhere, the char-lies had gone off into the hills. We weren t safe any-where
outside castles. Ride through the woods and you never knew but what an arrow or
a crossbow bolt would kill you.
It just never stopped, and it didn t look like it was ever going to get any better,
either. Those people hated us, and we couldn t kill all of them. And it got kind of
hungry, too, even for us and we had more to eat than the poor bastards with us.
And Parsons! He got so mean, you couldn t get near him. Claimed it was all our
fault we weren t disciplined enough but he d fix that. So one day a bunch of
us got fed up and rode off.
How many? Rick asked.
Twenty-two, Warner said. Gengrich and I or-ganized it. We went south, to the
city-state territory. We needed some way to make a living, so we ar-ranged to hire
out to the city republic of Kleistinos. They fed us and our wives most of us
brought one or both of the girls we d been living with and we didn t have to
fight, either. Come spring we were supposed to escort a big caravan south, and
that sure sounded like easier work than what Parsons had us doing.
So how did you end up here?
Warner looked sheepish. ! got drunk, passed out in a tavern, and woke up with
those handcuff things. The local tavernkeeper sold me to the Drantos reb-els.
I see. Excuse me, I d better tell Tylara what s going on. Rick summarized
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Warner s story.
They are not rebels, Tylara said coldly when Rick finished. They are fighting
for their homes against bandits.
Yes, Lady, Warner said. If you say so
She did say so, Rick said. He changed to En-glish to say, I d be very careful,
were I you. She s got a sharp temper and a sharper dagger. He poured himself a
cup of wine. What weapons did Gengrich take with him?
One of the mortars, Warner said. And our rifles and pistols, of course.
So André has one mortar and the recoilless. How many mortar bombs?
I d guess a dozen, Warner said.
The star men are greatly weakened, Tylara said. And Sarakos has lost much of
his army.
They re not as strong as they were, Warner agreed. Captain, are you planning
on fighting them?
I don t know.
Tylara looked at him coldly.
Sweetheart, you don t understand, Rick said. They think because we handled
the Romans so eas-ily, Parsons can t be that tough. They just don t know. One
mortar shell in the right place, and I don t have a pike regiment, I have a
disorganized mob. And Yatar knows what machine guns would do to my
archers
Tylara got up and went to the door. Jamiy, she said. She pointed to Warner.
Take him to his quar-ters.
He s to be well treated, but he is not to escape, Rick said. Warner, I really am
glad to see you. If we all survive, you re going to be a professor in the only
university on Tran.
I d like that, Warner said. It s got to be better than fighting for a living.
Rick waited until Jamiy and Warner had left, then turned to Tylara with a sigh.
All right, darling. Let s have it out.
3
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Her cold look changed to one of unhappiness. I do not like to quarrel with you,
she said.
God knows I don t enjoy it much either
Please. Let me finish. All winter my father and I have waited for you to speak
formally to him of our future.
I was waiting to be sure you wanted me to, Rick said. And I wasn t sure when
would be the right time
I had hoped you wanted me.
I do. God knows I do. I love you, Rick said.
As I love you. More than you know. Our customs are not yours. Never in our
memory has a woman married before she was avenged, yet yet I was will-ing
to do so. Rick, your ways are strange. You are not like my husband was. You are [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]