Free Go Tell the Spartans by Jerry Pournelle, S.M. Stirling Page B

City and the Valley towns, too. And techs, and a secure conduit off-planet. Not just to those Liberation Party grisgris , either. Even with help, going to be long time before we can slug it out with the Brotherhoods."
     
     

    He set down glass and pipe and tapped his fingers together beneath his chin. "We've got it."
     
     

    Skida raised an eyebrow. "Money?"
     
     

    "Money, yes."
     
     

    "Enough to pay your debts? Who we owe for this?"
     
     

    Croser ignored the first question. Neither he nor his father had been very good at financial management. The Revolution would take care of the situation, but that wasn't any of Skida's business. "A lot more than money. From the Senator." A snort. "It was the Royal government hiring Falkenberg's people that decided him to do more for us than the trickle we've gotten so far. Weapons, shipping out for what the NCLF takes in, loans— big loans—technical personnel. . . .
     
     

    "A group from Meiji is arriving next week." This time his grin was a wolf's. "Full conference of the clandestine branch section heads as soon as the Meijians have been briefed."
     
     

    Skida's teeth showed dazzling white against her skin. "That my mon!" She raised her wine. "To the Revolution!"
     
     

    He leaned over to clink his snifter against her glass. "To the Democratic Republic of Sparta!"
     
     

    "To the first President of the Republic, Dion Croser!"
     
     

    "To the first Minister of Defense"—the Royal government had a Ministry of War—"Skida Thibodeau!" he said.
     
     

    They emptied their glasses and she uncoiled to her feet, walked over, braced her hands against the armrests of his chair and leaned forward until their faces were almost touching. Lips met; her mouth tasted of wine and mint. The man's nostrils flared, taking in the strong mixed scents from her clothes and skin, woodsmoke and sweat and leather and horse. Dion reached for her.
     
     

    "No, not yet," Skida said huskily; her eyes glittered in the firelight. "Skilly wants a shower first. And then we lock the door for a day. Skilly has been in the outback too long. Skilly is so horny goats and girls and even my hidehunters were starting to look good."
     
     

    She drew back with taunting slowness, and looked over her shoulder. "Scrub de back, mon?"
     
     

     
     

Chapter Four
Crofton's Essay and Lectures in Military History (2nd Edition)
Professor John Christian Falkenberg II:
Delivered at the CoDominium University, Rome, 2080
 
"The principal military states 'own' perhaps ninety-five percent of all military expertise, if that can be measured by the number of publications on the subject. They have even managed to turn that expertise into a minor export commodity in its own right. Officers belonging to countries which are not great military powers are regularly sent to attend staff and war colleges in Washington, Moscow, London, and Paris . . . the principal powers themselves have sent thousands upon thousands of military 'experts' to dozens of third-world countries all over Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

"The above notwithstanding, serious doubt exists concerning the ability of developed states—both such as are currently 'liberating' themselves from communist domination and such as are already 'free'—to use armed force as an instrument for attaining meaningful political ends. This situation is not entirely new. In numerous incidents during the last two decades, the inability of developed countries to protect their interests and even their citizens' lives in the face of low-level threats has been demonstrated time and time again. As a result, politicians as well as academics were caught bandying about such phrases as 'the decline of power,' 'the decreasing utility of war,' and—in the case of the United States—'the straw giant.'

"So long as it was only Western society that was becoming 'debellicized' the phenomenon was greeted with anxiety. The Soviet failure in Afghanistan has turned the scales,