[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Behind her, she was suddenly aware of Captain Singh walking across the bridge and staring up at the main display.“There’s nothing more melancholy than a battle lost,” the Captain said to himself, “except a battle won.”“That isn't the right quote,” Commander Gregory pointed out.“And we did win.Think how they must be feeling!”Yolanda concealed her mixture of amusement and horror with an effort.She would never have dared to correct the Captain, certainly not so lightly.But she also understood the Captain’s thought.The battle was over, the crews of the surrendered ships were being moved to POW camps.and the Solar Union had to clear up the mess.But we still won, she told herself, firmly.We won!”***It was lucky, Martin reflected, that the Tokomak were so stunned by their defeat.Otherwise, they could have caused real trouble.There were over five thousand Tokomak to a battleship, most of whom had survived the battle, the invasion or simple systems failures caused by the unexpected war.If they had managed to get organised, they might have tried something that would have gotten most of them killed.Instead, they just walked into the shuttlecraft for the first leg of their journey to the POW camps, without a single complaint.“Corporal Douglas,” a voice said.“This is Greeley.Do you have the Varnar prisoner secure?”“Yes, sir,” Martin said, nervously.Major-General Greeley was the CO of the 4th Marine Division, several dozen steps up the hierarchy from Martin and his comrades.Martin had only met him once, back when he’d graduated from Boot Camp.“We separated him from the Tokomak and placed him in a private compartment, under guard.”“Good work,” Greeley said.“There's a shuttle on the way from the spooks.When it arrives, you are to transfer your prisoner to the shuttle, then accompany him.I want you escorted by at least four other Marines from your platoon.”“Yes, sir,” Martin said.He frowned, biting down a yawn.The instructions puzzled him.He was tired and sweaty and wanted nothing more than bed, but he wasn’t tired enough to let an unarmed alien prisoner get the better of him.But maybe no one was meant to know they’d taken a Varnar POW.There had been few prisoners in the Proxy War and most of them had been traded back, after a few months in Coalition POW camps.A new prisoner might raise the prospect of learning something new, instead of merely being returned to his people after a short delay.Or maybe it was the fact he was on a Tokomak ship, Martin thought, as he summoned two additional Marines.He must know what they had in mind.As soon as the Marines had relieved him, he walked down to the compartment and nodded to the Marine on guard duty.It was annoying to have to expend three Marines, all of them in powered combat armour, guarding a single prisoner, but his orders had left no room for misinterpretation.Stepping inside, he saw the other two Marines watching the Varnar, who was standing in the centre of the compartment like a living statue.Up close, they were definitely creepy, he thought.They made no movement that wasn't planned.There wasn’t a single involuntary motion in their muscles.“You will come with us,” Martin said.He linked into the command network and issued orders, clearing a line from the compartment to the makeshift shuttlebay that would allow them to move the Varnar through the hull without being seen.“My people wish to speak with you.”The Varnar moved in quicksilver flashes, jerky motions that nagged at Martin’s mind, as if he was recalling something very old.Merely watching the alien was disconcerting; he rubbed his rifle, calculating just how quickly the alien could actually move.Fast enough to be a real problem, he decided, if they were enhanced too.But a powered combat suit could still rip the alien’s head off before the alien even realised he was under attack.He motioned for the Varnar to climb into the shuttle, then followed, cursing the obvious lack of any restraints.Prisoners were meant to be treated gently, but firmly; he would have felt safer if the Varnar was cuffed and shackled [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]