"Eric Nylund - Halo - The Fall Of Reach" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nylund Eric)

Blue-Two leaped gracefully atop the ridgeтАФthree meters straight up. There was no sound as the half ton
of MJOLNIR armor and Spartan landed on the limestone.

She hefted one launcher and ran along the ridgeтАФshe was the fastest Spartan on the ChiefтАЩs team. He
was confident those Grunts wouldnтАЩt be able to track her for the three seconds sheтАЩd be exposed. In
quick succession, Blue-Two emptied both of the JackhammerтАЩs tubes, dropped one launcher, and then
fired the other rockets just as fast. The shells streaked into the GruntsтАЩ formation and detonated. One of
the stationary guns flipped over, engulfed in the blast, and the gunner was flung to the ground.

She ditched the launcher, jumped downтАФrolled onceтАФand was back on her feet, running at top speed to
the fallback point.

The Chief, Blue-Three, and Blue-Five leaped to the top of the ridge. The Chief switched to infrared to
cut through the clouds of dust and propellant exhaust just in time to see the second salvo of
Jackhammers strike their targets. Two consecutive blossoms of flash, fire, and thunder decimated the
front ranks of the Grunt guards, and most importantly, turned the last of the plasma cannons into
smoldering wreckage.

The Chief and the others opened fire with their MA5B assault riflesтАФa full automatic spray of fifteen
rounds per second. Armor-piercing bullets tore into the aliens, breaching their environment suits and
sparking the methane tanks they carried. Gouts of flame traced wild arcs as the wounded Grunts ran in
confusion and pain.

Finally the Grunts realized what was happeningтАФand where this attack was coming from. They
regrouped and chargeden masse . An earthquake vibration coursed through the ground and shook the
porous stone beneath the ChiefтАЩs boots.

The three Spartans exhausted their AP clips and then, in unison, switched to shredder rounds. They fired
into the tide of creatures as they surged forward. Line after line of them dropped. Scores more just
trampled their fallen comrades.

Explosive needles bounced off the ChiefтАЩs armor, detonating as they hit the ground. He saw the flash of
a plasma boltтАФside steppedтАФand heard the air crackle where he had stood a split second before.

тАЬInbound Covenant air support,тАЭBlue-Four reported over the COM link.тАЬETA is two minutes, Chief.тАЭ

тАЬRoger that,тАЭ he said. тАЬBlue-Three and -Five: maintain fire for five seconds, then fall back. Mark!тАЭ

Their status lights winked once, acknowledging his order.

The Grunts were three meters from the wall. The Chief tossed two grenades. He, Blue-Three, and Blue-
Five stepped backward off the ridge, landed, spun, and ran.

Two dull thumps reverberated though the ground. The squeals and barks of the incoming Grunts,
however, drowned out the noise of the exploding grenades.

The Chief and his team sprinted up the half-kilometer sandstone slope in thirty-two seconds flat. The hill
ended abruptlyтАФa sheer drop of two hundred meters straight into the ocean.

Blue-FourтАЩs voice crackled over the COM channel:тАЬWelcome mat is laid out, Chief. Ready when you