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(21 of 212) [10/31/2004 11:25:16 PM]
Timothy Zahn - Warhorse
There may not any common ground on this one. Sir.
be
There s always common ground, Roman said bluntly. And it can always be
found if someone s willing to search for it.
Always
.
He watched the other s profile, saw the stiffness and anger fade. Understood,
sir,
he muttered. He glanced over at Roman, and a tentative smile brushed his lips.
In this case, I take it, that someone is you?
A half-crew s worth of human beings: thoroughly perhaps even
violently polarized in their feelings for or against Tampies& who would be
making up the other half of the crew. Perhaps, he said. Peacemaker is
certainly one of the two possible roles I ve been cast for here.
The lieutenant frowned. What s the other?
Roman grimaced. Scapegoat.
The woman was tall and slender, in her mid-forties, with graying dark hair,
piercing eyes, and an air of confidence about her as she glided easily to the
center of Roman s office. Lieutenant Erin Kennedy, Captain, she identified
herself.
Reporting for preflight interview as ordered.
Welcome aboard, Lieutenant, Roman nodded to her. Or should I say
Commander ?
Her eyebrows twitched. Lieutenant will be fine, sir, she said. I was
told that the reduction in rank wouldn t be mentioned in my file.
It wasn t, Roman told her. It happens that one of my friends served on a
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ship where you were exec some years back, and your name stuck with me. He
cocked an eyebrow. I presume the demotion was voluntary?
Yes, sir, she said. I was originally slated to be
Amity s exec, but at the last minute I was bounced one faction of the Senate
battling with another, I gather, and my supporters lost. That left me the
choice of either accepting a demotion to second officer or not coming at all.
I see. Roman eyed her thoughtfully. And riding with the
Amity was that important to you?
Yes, sir, she nodded. But not for the reason everyone else signed on.
You don t particularly care one way or the other about Tampies. It was a
statement, not a question. Kennedy s psych profile had put her almost
dead-center neutral on her feelings about Tampies, a glaring anomaly among
Amity s emotion-
churned majority.
She shrugged, an infinitesimal movement of her shoulders. Not really, sir.
Though it might be more accurate to just say that I know enough for the things
I like and the things I dislike to balance out.
In many ways an echo of Roman s own feelings about the aliens. Fleetingly, he
wished Kennedy hadn t lost in her bid to be Amity s exec. You see yourself as
a peacemaker between the Pros and Antis, then? he probed gently.
She smiled faintly. And get shot at by both sides? Not me, sir. Actually, the
main reason I wanted to come was for the hands-on experience of flying a space
horse.
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Timothy%20Zahn%20-%20Warhorse.htm
(22 of 212) [10/31/2004 11:25:16 PM]
Timothy Zahn - Warhorse
With commercial shipping companies already experimenting with space horse-and-
Tampy rentals, this looks to be the direction interstar travel is going.
Perhaps. Or perhaps not; the handful of companies who had actually tried
hiring space horses instead of using Mitsuushi-equipped ships had indeed raked
in substantial profits& and had lost customer goodwill in roughly equal
measure in the process. At the moment it was considered a toss-up as to the
direction the private-sector experiment would ultimately go.
Just one more burden, Roman thought sourly, resting on his and
Amity s shoulders.
Space horse experience, at any rate, I think I can safely guarantee you. Have
you had a chance to look through our voyage plan yet?
Of course, sir. She seemed surprised he would have to ask. I ve also read
the initial survey reports on the four planets we ll be looking over. Alpha,
Beta, Gamma, and Delta, the reports designate them.
The designations weren t my idea, Roman assured her dryly. I would have
picked something with a little more class.
She smiled again. Yes, I ve had some experience with bureaucracies and report
factories myself, sir, she said. One question, if I may: everything in those
reports came via the Tampies?
Right. We ll be the first humans to visit any of the four systems.
So everything in them such as it is is written from the Tampy point of view.
It s something to keep in mind when we get there, Roman agreed. Any other
comments on either the plan or the reports?
She considered. Not really, sir. I did notice several places where the
timetable or even the mission plan itself seemed a bit vague. May I assume
that was deliberate?
You may indeed, Roman nodded. I wanted to leave us enough room to play
things by ear. Don t forget, Lieutenant, that this is the first time something
like this has been tried. You re going to be helping to make history here.
Or at least a footnote to history
, her look seemed to say. Yes, sir, she said instead, her voice suitably
neutral.
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We ll be examining the voyage plan at regular intervals once we re actually
underway, Roman continued.
I ll look forward to your input then, and at any other time you have a
comment, of course. So. He glanced at his desktop display, checking to see if
there were any other questions he d wanted to ask her. How s your
organization of piloting staff and helmers going? Any problems cropped up
yet?
Nothing significant, she shook her head. Certainly not when you consider
the potential for psychological clashes aboard.
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