"Robert Thurston - Falcon Guard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thurston Robert)

frantically at the rock wall in front of her, she dislodged rocks and flung
them behind her, pushing dirt to either side of her.

Soon most of her torso was out the hatchway and into the tunnel she had dug.
Instead of feeling exhilaration at the success, her body wanted to collapse,
close its eyes, rest, and fall asleep. Fighting the urge to give up, she began
to dig even more ferociously.

At just the moment when she might suddenly have tipped over the edge into
unconsciousness, Joanna's left hand broke free into the hot, humid outside
air. Knowing escape was so close, she rallied what little reserve energy still
remained and frantically began to scratch, dig, and claw forward. Soon she had
created a substantial hole. Air flooded in and she hungrily drew in a normal
breath. Pushing herself headfirst, she forced her body through the opening,
and emerged into the scorching air of Twy-cross. Joanna nearly collapsed just
as she worked her legs out of the hole, rolling three or four meters down the
slope of the rockfall. She landed on her back. Looking up, she saw the
Hellbringer*s shoulder, its launch mount bent backward, and a small part of
the head. It seemed to peek out from beneath a rock pile.

With great eifort, she hoisted herself to a sitting position and then looked
around her. Various BattleMech parts were strewn all over the slope and down
onto the floor of the pass. From what the wreckage showed, it looked as though
the avalanche created by the explosions must have buried the entire unit. The
Hatchetman's own fiery death must have set off the demolition charges buried
in the sides of the Gash.

This Kai Allard-Liao was a courageous warrior, free-birth Inner Sphere pilot
or not. The honor that should have gone to the Jade Falcons was now due him,
whoever he was, wherever he was.

That grim thought was the last of which Joanna was conscious before passing
out.

The Summoner, Aidan Pryde's 'Mech, lay on a plateau, looking for all the world
as though it were merely resting, taking a breather before confronting another
foe. Looks were deceiving, however. This 'Mech had met its fate in Clan Jade
Falcon's battle to take the lush but undeveloped Inner Sphere world of
Quarell. The enemy warriors left behind to defend Quarell had fought
courageously, but Aidan's forces had overwhelmed them despite the low number
of forces he had bid for the battle.

As for the Summoner, the BattleMech had been ripped apart. Its left arm lay
elsewhere on the field, and its entire left side was a tangle of metal, wires,
and other components. Aidan's chief tech, a grizzled old man named Lenk,
reported severe damage to the fusion engine and that several other systems
were inoperative. Lenk told him that any repairs would be makeshift, and so
the 'Mech could not possibly operate at peak efficiency.
Aidan agreed, ordering Lenk to tag the spare parts that might still be useful
to other 'Mechs, then assigned the rest of the Summoner for salvage. A good