The Man-Kzin Wars 12 by Larry Niven

Author:Larry Niven
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: kzin
ISBN: 1439134103
Published: 2010-03-18T03:00:00+00:00

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Hal Colebatch and Matthew Joseph Harrington

2895 CE

"This will be a change from your last assignment for us," the puppeteer said. The grizzled ARM general apparently standing beside it nodded agreement. Given modern medical techniques, not even counting whatever the ARM kept for themselves, the gray had to be pure theater, to establish dominance via human respect for elders. It wasn't that effective—there were too many elders these days.

"It had better be," said Richard Guthlac. "The last was not something we'd like to repeat."

"You did well enough then, though your companion did better," it replied. "A great menace was destroyed. That is one reason you have been chosen again. That and the fact Charrgh-Captain asked for you."

Richard and Gay exchanged eloquent looks. Charrgh-Captain had been the Patriarchy observer assigned to accompany their small human-Wunderkzin team to the last stasis box to be found.

"He evidently appreciates your resourcefulness," the puppeteer went on. "More, by the terms of the treaty they are only obliged to accept one observer, but he said you were a mated team. Unasked concessions like that from a kzin of the Patriarchy, an officer very much of the old school, are too rare to be lightly set aside."

Richard and Gay nodded. They and Charrgh-Captain had been through a memorable time together.

"This time," the general said, "it's been the kzinti's turn to find a stasis box. You will be the human observers attached to a kzinti expedition.

"Of course you don't have to go," he went on. "But the pay will be good."

"For sharing a ship with a crew of kzinti of the Patriarchy? It had better be!" Richard exclaimed.

"For sharing a ship with a crew of kzinti, and for facing a possibly very dangerous unknown at the end of it. But you know that better than I can tell you.

"Anyway," said the general, "it appears the kzinti are abiding by the treaty like good little kitties. They have informed us of the discovery, have given you time to join them, and, of course, have agreed that you will have diplomatic status and immunity. Your reserve ranks will also be respected, so you will be entitled to fighters' privileges, though I hope it won't be necessary for you to invoke them.

"The box will be opened where it is, not taken to Kzin-aga. In some ways that has problems, but both sides insisted on it, neither trusting the other, and it's written in. High Admiral Zzarrk-Skrull has given his Name as his Word that the box has not been surreptitiously opened already and then closed again for our benefit. I don't need to tell you to try discreetly to confirm that if you can," he said, telling them anyway. ARMs. "But I think the kzinti are genuinely wary about bringing home stasis boxes to open, and in this case I think their paranoia is justified—pretty much everybody's had problems in that direction in the past, as you probably know. There's no reason why it shouldn't all go according to the protocols."

"Charrgh-Captain," said

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