"Steve Gordon - Ensectoid 01 - The Ensectoid Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gordon Steve)

Second Forward

Finally, there would be peace.
Humanity had been in conflict with the Insectoids for
nearly 20 years. They had appeared out of nowhere--giant,
seven feet tall intelligent insects bent on conquering the
human race. And, for a time, with their flood of destroyers,
cruisers, and battleships, it appeared they would win. It was
only at the decisive battle of Trajinar, three years earlier,
that the Alliance fleet under the command of War Admiral
Norman North had turned the tide and decisively crushed the
Insectoid fleet.
After that, battles became skirmishes, skirmishes
became hit and run raids, and then the Insectoids ceased
their attacks altogether. They had contacted one of the
Alliance's most respected ministers, Lawrence Mitterand, and
sued for peace.
And peace there would be. After a year of slow but
steady negotiation, Mitterand had worked out a peace
agreement that both sides could agree to.
League President Hov Marshall looked out from the
bridge of his mighty flagship the Augustus at the rest of the
fleet. He shielded his eyes from the powerful glare of
Vitalics' brilliant sun as he started at the assembled ships.
Nearly the entire League fleet was here for the armistice
with the Insectoids. The League was the dominant partner in
the Alliance; the junior partner, the June Directorate, had
chosen not to participate in the armistice, but had agreed to
abide by the terms of the ceasefire.
Well, Marshall wasn't going to let the Directorate
spoil things.
"Ze Insectoid fleet is here," said Mitterand, standing
by his side. "Finally, ve will have ze peace," he said in his
old westeuro accent.
"Admiral Peterson, order the fleet to a halt," Marshall said
as he eyed the approaching Insectoid Fleet.
"Fleet command: hold here," said the Admiral over the
central comm.
The Insectoid fleet maintained a healthy distance from
the League fleet. Only four of their larger ships slowly
moved towards the League Fleet, each moving towards a
different part of the fleet.
"Admiral, I'm getting some weird readings from those
ships," said a bridge crewer. "The scanners seem to say that
they have some kind of unstable cargo."
"Cargo? What kind of cargo?"
At that moment external ports opened on the giant
ships, which rapidly spat out a series of oval objects which
speeded towards the densely packed League fleet. As they