"05 - Force of Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

Then the strange new machine let forth a storm of fire: murderously fast and accurate missiles of some new type; autocannon rounds with even greater velocity, delivering far more kinetic energy on impact; phased-array laser blasts as powerful, at close range, as any plasma bolt.
The new arrival, faster than the escort leader, was in and out among the pods, striking and vanishing, blowing two Zentraedi mecha to smithereens and going on to take out another while the first two explosions were still ballooning.
Suddenly, the pods were like so many fat pigeons before the attack of a rocket-driven hawk.

Rick's initial success was so overwhelming, so pronounced and irresistible, that he got careless.
After seeing a dozen and more of the ambushers go up in flames, he began the switch to Guardian mode. But he'd forgotten what a hot ride he had, and the ship's sudden retro thrust almost put his head through the instrument panel and split his thinking cap down the middle.
He barely recovered, shaking his head, the breath knocked from him by the strain of the safety harness across his torso. Trembling, he got control of himself and his ship and pressed the fight again.
And once more the Zentraedi pods were fat targets at his mercy. He went swooping in at them, the VT laying out a staggering volume of fire, skeeting pods as if they were clay targets.

Khyron had seen enough; he had no desire to go up against this bewilderingly fast, fearsomely armed intruder. He made sure his own withdrawal was well under
way before he ordered his troops back.
It didn't mean his thirst for revenge was slaked, of course; if anything, it was worse. It was a constant torment now; it would be until he destroyed the enemy insects once and for all.

Max's report came over the bridge speakers. "The enemy has broken contact and withdrawn. The shuttle has sustained minimal damage and is continuing on.
"With your permission, I am returning to the SDF-1 with the remaining escort ships, due to damage suffered during the attack. Lieutenant Hunter will escort the shuttle to Earth."

Gloval granted permission. To Claudia's doubtful look, he responded, "That armored Veritech has so much speed and firepower, it's the equal of ten regular fighters."
And a thousand more like it wouldn't put us on an equal footing with our foe, he thought to himself. Still, we must have as many as we can, as fast as we can!
Sammie stretched and yawned. "I'm exhausted! I wish Commander Hayes was back."
Claudia glared at her. "We almost lost her permanently with that code snafu of yours!"
Sammie looked dismayed, young and tearful; she was even more upset by the danger to Lisa than by Claudia's temper, which could lead to very serious problems for anyone who angered the bridge officer.
But Claudia softened after a moment. After all, Sammie had pulled things out of the fire.
"That's okay, kiddo," Claudia said, turning back to her console. "Everybody learns from mistakes."

Gloval thought about that, silently gazing through the forward viewport. Did that apply to the Zentraedi, too? And the UEDC rulers?
Could they all be convinced the war was a catastrophic mistake?

The protective shielding swung back to show Lisa a passenger compartment that seemed unaffected by the battle. She was still a little winded and bruised from the tossing around she had taken in the padded, armored cocoon.
The shuttle pilot had kept her abreast of the battle and she felt a bit limp with relief. It was so vital that she get to Earth, that she speak for peace-long ago she had resigned herself to the likelihood that she would die in war, but to have died at that moment was a tragedy too vast to contemplate.
"Commander Hayes," the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "We have a commo call for you from Lieutenant Hunter, who's now flying escort for us. I've patched it through."
So Rick was the one who had ridden to the rescue in the armored VT; she had hoped it was and yet had feared for his life all through the fight. She picked up the handset.
Armored panels were sliding back from all the viewports. She was looking out at the humpbacked new-generation Veritech. "Lisa, are you all right?" she heard him say.
"Yes. Because you came to help." She saw him through the VT's canopy, looking at her worriedly.
I was never cut out for emotional drama, she thought. I should have known I couldn't get away with a rehearsed exit speech.
"No problem," he was saying. "Now, what's all this about you not coming back?"
"There are reasons, Rick."
"Even though your father's on the UEDC?"
"Especially because of that. Besides, they aren't going to like what I'm going to tell them."
There was a choppy sensation as the shuttle entered the Earth's atmosphere. He fumbled for something appropriate to say, knowing he had to turn back in seconds. "I hope you'll be safe" was all he could come up with.
"Thanks. I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Um." He knew the call was patched through the shuttle's com system, accessible to the pilots-presuming they weren't busy with their atmospheric entry maneuver. There's something else-sorta private. Here; look."
He had fallen back, out of the pilots' line of vision, up close to the shuttle. She could see him clearly, watching her. She was confused. "What is it?"
"Prosigns." He began flashing his VT's running lights in prosigns-brief dot-dash combinations that represented whole words, for quick manual Morse code communications. Lisa was a little rusty but found that she could read it.
LIKE YOU MUCH. COMPLAIN SOMETIMES BUT BELIEVE IN YOU. MISS YOU MUCH IF YOU DON'T RETURN. PLEASE RETURN SOONEST.
He could read her lips, so close were VT and shuttle.
I'll try. So long, Rick.
He threw her a salute-a joke between them, given his lack of military discipline when they had first met and clashed.
The armored VT peeled off and vectored for the SDF-1, the blue vortices of its thrusters shrinking to match flames, then disappearing. The shuttle jostled more as it hit the denser atmosphere.