"Richard Hatch - Battlestar Galactica 02 - Warhawk" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hatch Richard)

mind, and gravity.

Below him, the Chitain craft fell into pattern to begin a strafing run on
the embassy. Ahead, Valor saw several Sky approaching from the distant
embassyтАФthat was not yet in sightтАФbut only two of them were armored.
The others were flying unprotected, apparently hoping to draw fire away
from the embassy by sacrificing themselvesтАФwhich was what they must
do, for the sake of the Sky. And, indeed, several of the Chitain set off after
these new arrivals. But the others continued on.

Inside the shell of his armor, Valor's pseudopods flowed over the
navigational controls. But when the moment came, and he leveled out
behind the Chitain attackers, he gave the command telepathically.
 Fire! he thought. The ship that enshrouded him responded to his
command. Green fire sprang from the crux of his metal shell, where
outthrust wings met in devastating weaponry. As if it were the hand of an
angry deity, the green flame snaked out and touched the rearmost Chitain
craft.

The vessel exploded.

Valor's blood raced and in his mind, he cried out in triumph. The cry
was meant for his people, to reassure and encourage them. But he did not
balk at the idea that it would also be felt by the Chitain. He wanted them
to know he was there, that he had just taken the lives of six of their race.
With a brief moment of focus, Valor sent a mental image to all of the
Chitain who were attacking the embassy.

An image of their ships aflame, exploding. Then another image, of
thousands of Sky warriors sweeping down over the surface of Xerik-7
destroying Chitain cities.

So intent was Valor upon his attack, upon projecting his ferocity, that
he nearly did not sense the hatred and arrogance that at that moment fell
in behind him. The pair of Chitain craft had come in on a dangerous
vector, dropped almost too close to the lunar surface, and were even now
gaining on Valor.

The engine tendrils that spread out and back from the face of each craft
pulled tightly to the sides of the ships, cutting down on atmospheric
resistance. Stingers slung beneath the Chitain attackers began to glow
crimson.

They fired in unison. Red plasma blasts burned across the distance
between predator and prey, on a direct line for Valor's armored shell. But
in the instant they would have destroyed his ship, and taken his life, Valor
was no longer there.

He had manipulated the minds of the Chitain pilots. They had seen him
where he was not, and reacted as such. It was a trick he could use again if