"Robert E. Vardeman - Battletech - Mechwarrior - Dark Age 03 - The Ruins Of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vardeman Robert E)

enemy. A BattleMech generated incredible heat in the cockpit, which heat sinks couldnтАЩt entirely radiate
away.

He positioned his arms on the couch armrests, gripped the joysticks confidently, reveling in the feel of his
fingers curling around to rest lightly on firing buttons, testing systems vital to the BattleMechтАЩs operation,
making certain that his weapons were ready for action. Austin chewed his lip as he studied the
instruments, which relayed data around the periphery of his forward screen. He worried most about the
Luxor autocannon in the тАЩMechтАЩs right arm, although he saw nothing but green lights across the board.
The gun had a tendency to jam at the worst possible time.

Austin piloted the fifty-tonCenturion with confidence borne of familiarity. It was a medium BattleMech
with excellent heat efficiency and good speed and maneuverability, especially suitable for this rocky
terrain. He had his LRMs and two lasers, one protecting his vulnerable back, while the forward-aimed
Photec laser mounted in his center torso showed only eighty percent charge. Austin worked with growing
frustration before he decided he didnтАЩt have time to coax the faulty laser. It would either automatically
complete the charging cycle or not. His feet worked the pedals as he unconsciously leaned forward,
pushing against the restraining straps in his eagerness to get moving. Myomer muscles stretching down the
тАЩMechтАЩs legs contracted as he swung about in a full circle for one last operational check.

All set,Austin thought. He moved the throttle forward a third, and the тАЩMech launched into motion,
striding over the rugged landscape at twenty kilometers per hour. A quick smile crossed his lips when he
saw the forward laser had charged and its indicator registered full.

TheCenturion тАЩs sensors showed infrared, full visual spectrum, and special seismic readouts. With lasers
ready and full ranging gear powered up, he sent theCenturion at a forty-kilometer-per-hour trot toward
an area he thought afforded decent cover for an ambush.

As he crunched along the ragged surface, placing his тАЩMech feet securely proved increasingly difficult.
The ground between the twenty-meter-high mounds of slag was curiously brittle, and more than once, the
fifty-tonCenturion broke the surface, its armored feet threatening to plunge into huge tunnels cut to
access subterranean veins of ore.

I need to map both surface and hard-rock mining regions,he thought, loading seismic information
gathered automatically into his navigation computer so he wouldnтАЩt make foolish assumptions about the
stability of the ground in the heat of battle. Austin worried more now about how familiarтАФand yet
differentтАФthe area looked. He dared not assume he really knew every detail of the slag-littered
landscape around him. The terrain was revealing more potential for threat than he had anticipated. Austin
took a deep breath and tasted the metallic tang of filtered air. He settled down in the couch, feeling it
cradle his every contour, as he studied his forward screen, hunting for the opponent he knew so well.
Nothing airborne. Clear sky. Austin knew Dale would want to make this fight real, down and dirty,
strategy versus strategy on the ground, for a hands-on feel of victory.
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Austin intended to make thishis victory.

Flipping through the green-glowing displays, hunting for a target in his Heads Up Display, gave him a
completely different view of the battlefield. His eyes widened a little when he detected radioactive