"Alan Dean Foster - Aliens Vs Predator - War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html




Aliens vs Predator: War

1



They set down just after dawn, or whatever passed for it on the unnamed planet; the dirty light from two
distant stars lay across the rocky world like smog, an early bath of murky yellow haze that did nothing to
improve Noguchi's mood. It looked like gaseous piss, and even with the steady pump of adrenaline
coursing through her, the intensity that came from knowing she was about to face death, she found herself
wondering if it was worth it anymore.

In the back. Again. After so many training Hunts that I could teach them myself . . .

They waited for the signal in the main loading dock, the planet's ugly surface displayed on a small screen
set into the door. Flashes of glistening black darted across the screen, raising the level of greedy
an-ticipation in the stuffy, overwarm air. Noguchi tried to breathe evenly, wishing that the masks had a
better fil-ter system; it was hot, dark, and she couldn't get away from Hunter musk.Dia-shui, they called
it, along with a clicking that she couldn't pronounce. It was a cloving.

animal smell, and the heat made her feel like she was bathing in it.

Probably not so hot up front. Where I belong.

It wasn't a new thought, but it still stung. Noguchi shook herself mentally, working to slide into the focus
she would need, to concentrate her energyтАФbut it wouldn't come. She felt overheated and irritated,
crowded by the towering young males all around her. The suits had individual thermostats, but even at the
low end they were well over human comfort levels, and since the unnamed planet was cold by Hunter
standards, the others had theirs cranked up. The heat from their suits combined with the thick, oily musk
they secreted, created a humid, feral atmosphere alive with the clicking growls of barely checked
excitement. At one time, the sounds and smells had excited her, too, but today it only made her wonder
again if this was where she wanted to be.

Focus, focus, focus . . .

Right. It didn't matter that she was in the back, or in themiddle of the back, the worst position from
which to score a kill. Didn't matter that she bore Broken Tusk's mark and wasstill Hunting from the least
honor-able positionтАФ

тАФstop it! Focus or die, you can't have both.

Beneath the sweaty face mask, Noguchi gritted her teeth, silently cursing her wounded pride. It wasn't
the time or place to be bemoaning her lot or letting her emotions take over; this was a queen Hunt. It
wouldn't be scored, not burner only, but that didn't mean it was going to be a walk. She kept her gaze
front and center, rinding Topknot's raised claw and fixing on it. She couldn't see the Leader from her