"Charles Ingrid - The Sand Wars 01 - Solar Kill" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ingrid Charles)

тАЬYes, sir. IтАЩve got ... oh, three clicks to go, maybe. Then IтАЩm just another pile of junk standing on the sand.тАЭ He turned
to look at his superior officer, the black hawk crest rampant.
Storm considered the dilemma. He had his orders, and knew what his orders told him. Clean out Sector Five, and then
stand by to get picked up. The last of Sector Five ranged in front of him. They could ration out the most important
refills for Bilosky once they got where they were going. тАЬWeтАЩll be picked up by then.тАЭ
тАЬOr the Thraks will have us picked out.тАЭ
Storm didnтАЩt answer for a moment. He was asking a man with little or no power reserves showing on his gauges to go
on into battle, in a suit, in full battle mode. Red didnтАЩt come up on the gauges until the suit was down to the last ten
percent of its resources. That ten percent would carry him less than an hour in full attack mode. Not that it made any
difference to a Knight. Jack sighed. тАЬWeтАЩre on a wild goose chase, Bilosky. YouтАЩll make it.тАЭ
тАЬRight, sir.тАЭ A grim noise. тАЬBetter than having my suit crack open like an egg and havinтАЩ a berserker pop out, right,
lieutenant?тАЭ
That sent a cold chill down StormтАЩs back. He didnтАЩt like his troopers repeating ghoulish rumors. тАЬBilosky, I donтАЩt want
rumors like that bandied around. You hear?тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ Then reluctantly, тАЬIt ainтАЩt no rumor, lieutenant. I saw it happen once.тАЭ
тАЬForget it!тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ
тАЬGoing back on open air. And watch your mouth.тАЭ He watched as the other lumbered back into position. Then,
abruptly, Jack dialed in his command line and watched as the miniscule screen lit up, his only link with the warship
orbiting far overhead. The watch at the console, alerted by the static of their long range com lines, swung around. The
navy blue uniform strained over his bullish figure. He looked into the lens, his nostrils flaring. The squared chin was
cleft and it deepened in anger. A laser burn along one side of his hairline gave him a lopsided widowтАЩs peak.
тАЬCommander Winton here. YouтАЩre violating radio silence, soldier. WhatтАЩs the meaning of this? Identify yourself.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm Battalion First Lieutenant,тАЭ he said.
тАЬWhereтАЩs our pullout? We were dropped in here five days ago.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩre under orders, lieutenant. Get in there and fight. Any further communication and IтАЩll have you up for court
martial.тАЭ
тАЬCourt martial? Is that the best you can do? WeтАЩre dying down here, commander. And weтАЩre dying all alone.тАЭ
The line and screen went dead with a hiss. Suddenly aware of his own vulnerability, Storm pushed his right arm back
into his sleeve and chinned the field switch back on. His suit made an awkward swagger, then settled into a distance
eating stride. Fighting wars would be a hell of a lot easier if you could be sure who the enemy was.
Bilosky and Sarge and who knows who else were talking about berserkers now. The unease it filled him with he could
do without. He squinted through the tinted face plate at the alien sun. Strange worlds, strange people, and even
stranger enemies. Right now heтАЩd rather wade through a nest of Thraks than try to wade through the rumors
surrounding the Milots and their berserkers.
There was no denying the rumors though. The Milots, who had summoned Dominion forces to fight for them against
the Thraks, those same low-tech Milots who ran the repair centers and provided the war backup, were as despicable
and treacherous as the Thraks Storm had enlisted to wipe out. And there were too many stories about altered suits ...
suits that swallowed a man up and spawned instead some kind of lizard-beastman who was a fighting automaton, a
berserker. Rumor had it the Milots were putting eggs into the suits, and the heat and sweat of the suit wearer hatched
those eggs and then the parasitic creature devoured its host and burst forthтАФ
He told himself that the Milots had a strange sense of humor. What Bilosky thought heтАЩd seen, whatever every
trooper who repeated the gossip thought they were talking about, was probably a prank played at a local tavern.
Knights always took a certain amount of ribbing from the locals, until seen in action, waging the тАЬPureтАЭ war.
Ahead of him, the dunes wavered, sending up a spray of sand. His intercom burst into sound.
тАЬThraks at two oтАЩclock, lieutenant!тАЭ
Storm set his mouth into a grim smile. Now here was an enemy he could deal with. He eyed his gauges to make sure all
his systems were ready, and swung about.
Thraks were insects, in the same way jackals were primates or ordinary sow bugs were crustaceans. They were equally
at home upright or on all fours, due to the sloping of their backs. Jack set himself, watching them boil up out of the