Robert Asprin – Tambu

“As such,” Tambu concluded, “if you’re finished-“

“I’m not finished!” Egor cried.

“Very well,” Tambu sighed. “Continue.”

“Since you only want to talk about the fleet,” Egor glared, “we will forget about Whitey. Fine. Let’s talk about the Scorpion and ships like her who are supposed to follow your orders. We were driven away from Elei by an Alliance ship without firing so much as one shot–following your orders. Speaking for myself, my crew, and the rest of the fleet, I want to know why. I can accept not chasing Alliance ships, but why do we have to run?”

Tambu asked, “When you left Elei, were there other planets unpatrolled by ships of either fleet?”

“Of course,” Egor nodded. “With so many planets and so few ships, there are always unpatrolled planets.”

“Then I’ll ask you a question of my own. You ask, ‘Why run?’ I ask you, ‘Why fight?’ To protect the planet? The Alliance won’t attack them. To protect yourself? They never fired a shot at you. To keep the revenues of the planet? Why bother when there are so many other planets that can replace it?”

Tambu leaned back and sighed.

“What it boils down to, Egor, is that you want to fight because of your pride. You don’t want to back down to anyone, anywhere, anytime. That’s pride. Now I ask you: do you think it’s right to risk not just your life, but your ship and the lives of your crew in a fight that could have been avoided? How much is your pride worth to you?”

Egor flushed and sat down, still angry, but unable to reply.

“Thank you, captain. Now, if we could hear from-“