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.At least the Commune had ratified Earth’s possession of Terra Nova – and of the other Nine Stars, including Earth itself.The next aggressor would have to attack without the veneer of legality sought by the Funks, launching an aggressive strike against human technology that grew more advanced by the day.Shan had heard all kinds of rumours, rumours that seemed to grow more astonishing by the day.If humanity had possessed some of the weapons they’d been credited with, the war would have lasted no less than a day and the Hegemony would have been completely destroyed.She hadn't been trying to debunk the rumours.It would probably help with the peace terms if the Galactics thought that Earth was too strong to push around.But then, she reflected, over thirty superdreadnoughts had been captured or destroyed.That in itself was a pretty impressive display of power.It might have other long-term consequences.The Funks had had minimal research and development capability, but that wasn't true for the other Galactics.Shan had heard that R&D programs across the Association had been kick-started into high gear, starting a project to duplicate and exceed the new human weapons.It wouldn't take them too long to duplicate most of them, Shan had been warned.Most of the weapons were simply radically new takes on existing Galactic-provided technologies.She smiled as another Ambassador started to speak.The only sticking point was Garston, but she suspected that humanity would manage to hang on to the multiracial world.Quite apart from humanity having weapons no one could match – yet – Garston simply didn't have a working government.There was no one who could speak for their world.Humanity would have to rule a Funk population as well as the other alien races on the surface.From what she’d heard, the largely Russian and Chinese occupation forces had started the task of separating the Funks from the rest of the population.Maybe in a hundred years they’d be able to meet again without starting a war.For the moment, it would keep the peace.And besides, Earth needed Garston.Humanity’s reserves of Galactic currency had been drained by the war.The revenues from the shipping lanes would help refill Earth’s coffers and give humanity a chance to expand without having to build everything on Earth.It was lucky that no one cared enough to turn it into a major issue.She’d already assured a hundred Ambassadors that there would be no rise in shipping fees by the human administration.That should keep them from making too great a fuss.Or so she hoped.Humanity had shocked the Galactics.Who knew what would happen in the future?* * *Rain was falling as an honour guard of Federation Marines carried an empty coffin from the church to the graveyard in Southampton.Adrienne watched as they reached the appointed space and lowered the coffin into the grave, shaking her head sadly as the dead Marine’s friends and relatives threw dirt onto the coffin.A girl who looked far too young to be a widow was crying, one hand on her growing chest.The child would never know his father.Politician after politician rose to speak about the dead man, talking about how he had been a true son of England and how he had died bravely so that others might live.Adrienne suspected that the Marine would have preferred a more low-key funeral, but elections were coming up and politicians wouldn't want to appear uncaring about the dead.The waves of jingoism sweeping Earth in the wake of the war would destroy any politician who tried to stand in their way.Adrienne had heard that the Federation’s member nations had already approved a vastly increased budget for the Federation Navy, while a new wave of settlers were already on their way to Terra Nova.The planet has forged an odd society in the years they had spent under Funk occupation, leaving Adrienne to wonder just how welcome the newcomers would be.Terra Nova had already elected a new planetary governor, despite the Federation Council.Adrienne saw trouble brewing in the future.A number of people recognised her, pointing when they thought she couldn't see them.Her stories from the war had won her fame, if not fortune, although she had been offered everything from her own newspaper column to a live talk show.The former would be fun; the latter tedious beyond belief.She certainly didn't want to simper and show off her boobs on live TV, or play the bitch to guests who hadn't quite realised that they’d only been invited so they could be publicly humiliated.But there were other possibilities too.The first memoirs about the war were already being published and she’d been offered a book deal.It would sell very well, according to her agent.The congregation sang one final hymn and then dispersed, the widow and her father heading off before the media could intercept them [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.At least the Commune had ratified Earth’s possession of Terra Nova – and of the other Nine Stars, including Earth itself.The next aggressor would have to attack without the veneer of legality sought by the Funks, launching an aggressive strike against human technology that grew more advanced by the day.Shan had heard all kinds of rumours, rumours that seemed to grow more astonishing by the day.If humanity had possessed some of the weapons they’d been credited with, the war would have lasted no less than a day and the Hegemony would have been completely destroyed.She hadn't been trying to debunk the rumours.It would probably help with the peace terms if the Galactics thought that Earth was too strong to push around.But then, she reflected, over thirty superdreadnoughts had been captured or destroyed.That in itself was a pretty impressive display of power.It might have other long-term consequences.The Funks had had minimal research and development capability, but that wasn't true for the other Galactics.Shan had heard that R&D programs across the Association had been kick-started into high gear, starting a project to duplicate and exceed the new human weapons.It wouldn't take them too long to duplicate most of them, Shan had been warned.Most of the weapons were simply radically new takes on existing Galactic-provided technologies.She smiled as another Ambassador started to speak.The only sticking point was Garston, but she suspected that humanity would manage to hang on to the multiracial world.Quite apart from humanity having weapons no one could match – yet – Garston simply didn't have a working government.There was no one who could speak for their world.Humanity would have to rule a Funk population as well as the other alien races on the surface.From what she’d heard, the largely Russian and Chinese occupation forces had started the task of separating the Funks from the rest of the population.Maybe in a hundred years they’d be able to meet again without starting a war.For the moment, it would keep the peace.And besides, Earth needed Garston.Humanity’s reserves of Galactic currency had been drained by the war.The revenues from the shipping lanes would help refill Earth’s coffers and give humanity a chance to expand without having to build everything on Earth.It was lucky that no one cared enough to turn it into a major issue.She’d already assured a hundred Ambassadors that there would be no rise in shipping fees by the human administration.That should keep them from making too great a fuss.Or so she hoped.Humanity had shocked the Galactics.Who knew what would happen in the future?* * *Rain was falling as an honour guard of Federation Marines carried an empty coffin from the church to the graveyard in Southampton.Adrienne watched as they reached the appointed space and lowered the coffin into the grave, shaking her head sadly as the dead Marine’s friends and relatives threw dirt onto the coffin.A girl who looked far too young to be a widow was crying, one hand on her growing chest.The child would never know his father.Politician after politician rose to speak about the dead man, talking about how he had been a true son of England and how he had died bravely so that others might live.Adrienne suspected that the Marine would have preferred a more low-key funeral, but elections were coming up and politicians wouldn't want to appear uncaring about the dead.The waves of jingoism sweeping Earth in the wake of the war would destroy any politician who tried to stand in their way.Adrienne had heard that the Federation’s member nations had already approved a vastly increased budget for the Federation Navy, while a new wave of settlers were already on their way to Terra Nova.The planet has forged an odd society in the years they had spent under Funk occupation, leaving Adrienne to wonder just how welcome the newcomers would be.Terra Nova had already elected a new planetary governor, despite the Federation Council.Adrienne saw trouble brewing in the future.A number of people recognised her, pointing when they thought she couldn't see them.Her stories from the war had won her fame, if not fortune, although she had been offered everything from her own newspaper column to a live talk show.The former would be fun; the latter tedious beyond belief.She certainly didn't want to simper and show off her boobs on live TV, or play the bitch to guests who hadn't quite realised that they’d only been invited so they could be publicly humiliated.But there were other possibilities too.The first memoirs about the war were already being published and she’d been offered a book deal.It would sell very well, according to her agent.The congregation sang one final hymn and then dispersed, the widow and her father heading off before the media could intercept them [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]