"Diane Duane - Harbinger 2 - Storm At Eldala" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duane Diane)

only up to sixty percent. It wouldn't even fire until eighty,

Enda was firing. Gabriel fired too, his plasma cannons down to twenty percent now. Bolts from their
adversaries shot right past him, blinding and scorching him. Gabriel preferred to work with the ship's
sensors acting like his own nervesтАФthere were times when the effect could mean the difference between
being alive and dead. We'll see if it's enough this time, he thought. Maybe, just maybeтАФ

The rail cannon was up to sixty-five. Just a few minutes, he thought. Come on, Sunshine, just a few
minutes moreтАФ

It all happened at once. The three ships broke formation, two to the right and above, one below and to
the left. Enda concentrated on the two. Gabriel fired at the one but missed. He felt the scorch raking up
Sunshine's underbelly, and then he felt another bolt hit. He yelped, the ship lurched upwards, possibly
saving them both from being killed right then, but another bolt lanced down from above, hitting the rail
cannon.

It blew. Gone, the rails twisted all askew; it wouldn't fire anything now.

The englobement dissolved as the other little vessels registered the destruction of the one weapon that
had been keeping them at a distance all this while. It was gone now; they could swarm in and take
Sunshine at their pleasure.

Enda was firing nonstop. Gabriel was firing at anything he could see, and the fury was helping again.
Along with the utter terror, he was burning with the knowledge that they were both about to be killed. It
was amazing how life became not less intense at such a time, but more so, a fury of life, ready to burn
itself out but not give up.

One hit, then another, blowing up so close to Sunshine that the entire ship shook, but it was not going to
be enough. More plasma bolts came stitching in from behind, and Gabriel cried out in agony and rage as
one of them hit the engine compartment.

Then came an intolerable glory of light off to one side, a burning pain all up and down Gabriel's side, as if
someone had thrown burning fuel on him. He rolled Sunshine away from the pain. He had just enough
power left in his emergency jets to do that. The first light had just been the "pilot" detonation. Now came
the secondary one, and Gabriel squeezed his eyes closed tight.

The little ships were fleeing in all directions, but six of them were caught together as the squeezed nuke
went off. The remainder knew they had no chance against Sunshine even damaged as she was. They
kept running.

Space grew still and dark, and in it Sunshine drifted, tumbling gently and losing power. Gabriel sat there
gasping in the darkness of the fighting field as the power ebbed away, the weapons losing what little
charge they had left.

"Okay," said a gravelly voice from out in the darkness. "That went pretty well, I thought."

"Helm," Enda said sternly. "You were not supposed to do that."

"Aw, Enda, you're too rough on the two of you."