"Jack McKinney - Robotech Sentientals 4 - World Killers" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

Robotech Sentinels: World Killers
Book 16 of the Robotech Saga
Copyright 1988 by Jack McKinney


CHAPTER ONE
They were the New Paladins, riding forth to answer the trumpet call to a
nightmare war.
They were mortals caught up in events that transcended anything they had ever
expected.
Many of them were career military people who had learned that wars were often
won by those who made the fewest screwups.
But they also knew that everybody screws up sometime.
Le Roy la Paz, The Sentinels

"Everybody stay sharp! Looks like we're gonna have to go to guns!"
Jack Baker trimmed the mated Veritechs he was flying-the sleek Alpha
fighter was now joined like a vaned nose cone to the bigger, burlier Beta
ship. A quick glance over his weapons status displays revealed that the other
two Alpha-Betas of his raiding party were still in tight formation behind him.
"Jack, no!" yelled Janice Em. She was in the second ship along with
Burak, Lron, and Tesla. "You heard what Veidt and Sarna said: this world's
defenses will respond to any hostile action!"
Actually, Veidt had said the legendary protective systems of the planet
responded to the mere intent of intrusion or provocative act. And that
certainly seemed to be the case today, even though the fighters had gone in
with weapons and shields down.
"I got a news flash for you: we've already got Haydon IV PO'd at us,
kiddo," Jack snorted. "Or d'you think this planet's surface usually twitches
and then starts spitting sparklers at people? Get ready; like it or not, it
looks as if we're in for some turns 'n' burns."
One part of him registered the fact that the terrain of Haydon IV wasn't
actually twitching; it was changing shape, like something from one of those
old-time clay-animation flicks. And the things shooting up at the incoming
Veritechs were more like swirling vortices or sheets of flame than sparklers.
Whatever they were, they were traveling at such high velocity that Jack
saw the VTs had no chance of running for it.
"Activate shields and weapons." Jack tried to sound calm. "And stay
close to me." It was too late to go back, so there was nothing to do but drive
on.
Only he wished there were experienced combat fliers in the other two
combined VTs. Janice had been through training, and so had Learna, but neither
of them had any dogfighting experience to speak of. He would have preferred to
have Max and Miriya Sterling flying at his wingtips.
But Miriya had been stricken, like Rick Hunter and his wife Lisa, by the
strange microorganisms of Garuda. And so had another Sentinel, one whose
possible death filled Jack with feelings and impulses that bewildered and
shocked him...
He tried to put that out of his mind; what was happening to the famous
Baker cool and concentration? Damn!