"Jeff Kirvin - Unification Chronicles 2 - First Contact II" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kirvin Jeff)

Jack smiled. тАЬSo long as youтАЩre okay by the time we hit ground, Private.тАЭ

тАЬYes sir.тАЭ

Robyn OтАЩReilly, the dropshipтАЩs pilot, radioed back to Jack. тАЬApproaching the first LZ! Two
minutes!тАЭ

Landing Zone, Jack translated. The first of three spots designated as suitable colony sites by
the Envoy computer analysis of the planetary topography.

тАЬRoger that,тАЭ he said to Robyn. Then, to the rest of the team, тАЬLock and load, people, we hit
dirt in two.тАЭ

The team checked the charges on their weapons, then the integrity of each otherтАЩs suits.
The atmospheric probe sent down by Envoy hadnтАЩt detected anything toxic in the air, but it
was better not to take any chances.

тАЬOne minute!тАЭ Robyn called back.

Jack could see the planetтАЩs surface out the pilotтАЩs window. They were flying over a lush and
expansive jungle, much like the pictures of rain forests heтАЩd seen in history class as a child. The
last Terran rain forest had disappeared more than a century before his birth. This alien version
was breathtaking.

тАЬPrepare for touch down!тАЭ Robyn shouted. Jack braced himself, and the dropship pounded
into the soft ground of the landing site. The hydraulics of the landing gear absorbed a lot of the
shock, but the impact still would have broken both his legs if he hadnтАЩt been wearing the
armor.

Before the ship even had a chance to settle, the rear door snapped open and the Marines
filed out, fanning out into a defensive formation as soon as they cleared the dropship.

For a few tense moments, the only sounds in the clearing were the hum of charged plasma
rifles and the ticking of cooling metal on the dropship. The Marines trained their weapons on
the trees around them, looking for anything that could threaten the civilian colonists. Finally,
Jack raised his hand and called the All Clear.

тАЬWhat next, sir?тАЭ asked Private Sighis Ahiga, a Navajo from a family that chose to live as
their ancestors did, outside the city-sized arcologies that dotted EarthтАЩs land masses. EarthтАЩs
ecosystem wouldnтАЩt have been able to handle twenty billion humans if they were all still spread
out over the surface, and some of the arcology dwellers resented тАЬnativesтАЭ like Ahiga. Living off
the land made the towering Navajo stout and muscular, an ideal build for the fireteamтАЩs
mechanic and heavy gunner.
 тАЬWe button up the dropship and secure the area,тАЭ Jack said as Robyn and Corporal
Shimura exited the craft. тАЬWeтАЩve determined the air and gravity wonтАЩt kill us, but nothing else.
WeтАЩre here to find the snakes in the Captain ChenzokovтАЩs Garden of Eden.тАЭ

That brought a smile from most of the troops. JackтАЩs feud with the EnvoyтАЩs skipper was no
secret. Most of the Marines shared JackтАЩs assessment that Chenzokov was idealistic, and thus