"1 - The Fall Of Reach" - читать интересную книгу автора (Halo ebooks txt)

information along to his team over a secure COM channel.
УFour of us,Ф Blue-Two whispered over the link. УAnd a thousand of them? Piss-poor odds for the little
guys.Ф
УBlue-Two,Ф the Chief said, УI want you up with those Jackhammer launchers. Take out the cannons and
soften the rest of them. Blue-Three and Five, you follow me upЧweТre on crowd control. Blue-Four:
you get the welcome mat ready. Understood?Ф
Four blue lights winked on his heads-up display as his team acknowledged the orders.
УOn my mark.Ф The Chief crouched and readied himself. УMark!Ф
Blue-Two leaped gracefully atop the ridgeЧthree meters straight up. There was no sound as the half ton
of MJOLNIR armor and Spartan landed on the limestone.
She hefted one launcher and ran along the ridgeЧshe was the fastest Spartan on the ChiefТs team. He
was confident those Grunts wouldnТt be able to track her for the three seconds sheТd be exposed. In
quick succession, Blue-Two emptied both of the JackhammerТs tubes, dropped one launcher, and then
fired the other rockets just as fast. The shells streaked into the GruntsТ formation and detonated. One of
the stationary guns flipped over, engulfed in the blast, and the gunner was flung to the ground.
She ditched the launcher, jumped downЧrolled onceЧand was back on her feet, running at top speed to
the fallback point.
The Chief, Blue-Three, and Blue-Five leaped to the top of the ridge. The Chief switched to infrared to
cut through the clouds of dust and propellant exhaust just in time to see the second salvo of
Jackhammers strike their targets. Two consecutive blossoms of flash, fire, and thunder decimated the
front ranks of the Grunt guards, and most importantly, turned the last of the plasma cannons into
smoldering wreckage.
The Chief and the others opened fire with their MA5B assault riflesЧa full automatic spray of fifteen
rounds per second. Armor-piercing bullets tore into the aliens, breaching their environment suits and
sparking the methane tanks they carried. Gouts of flame traced wild arcs as the wounded Grunts ran in
confusion and pain.
Finally the Grunts realized what was happeningЧand where this attack was coming from. They
regrouped and chargeden masse . An earthquake vibration coursed through the ground and shook the
porous stone beneath the ChiefТs boots.
The three Spartans exhausted their AP clips and then, in unison, switched to shredder rounds. They fired
into the tide of creatures as they surged forward. Line after line of them dropped. Scores more just
trampled their fallen comrades.
Explosive needles bounced off the ChiefТs armor, detonating as they hit the ground. He saw the flash of
a plasma boltЧside steppedЧand heard the air crackle where he had stood a split second before.
УInbound Covenant air support,ФBlue-Four reported over the COM link.УETA is two minutes, Chief.Ф
УRoger that,Ф he said. УBlue-Three and -Five: maintain fire for five seconds, then fall back. Mark!Ф
Their status lights winked once, acknowledging his order.
The Grunts were three meters from the wall. The Chief tossed two grenades. He, Blue-Three, and Blue-
Five stepped backward off the ridge, landed, spun, and ran.
Two dull thumps reverberated though the ground. The squeals and barks of the incoming Grunts,
however, drowned out the noise of the exploding grenades.
The Chief and his team sprinted up the half-kilometer sandstone slope in thirty-two seconds flat. The hill
ended abruptlyЧa sheer drop of two hundred meters straight into the ocean.
Blue-FourТs voice crackled over the COM channel:УWelcome mat is laid out, Chief. Ready when you
are.Ф
The Grunts looked like a living carpet of steel-blue skin, claws, and chrome weapons. Some ran on all
fours up the slope. They barked and howled, baying for the SpartansТ blood.
УRoll out the carpet,Ф the Chief told Blue-Four.
The hill explodedЧplumes of pulverized sandstone and fire and smoke hurtled skyward.
The Spartans had buried a spiderweb pattern of Lotus antitank mines earlier that morning.