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

mounds nearby.

Ore from a pitchblende mine?This was possible but unusual in a tungsten ore field. Austin considered
this anomaly for a moment, then cranked up power to his тАЩMechтАЩs fusion plant and raced forward. The
radioactive area provided a sensor-confusing hiding place for his opponentтАФjust the sort of place Dale
would use. It was reckless charging forward blindly, but surprise could carry him through to victory.

If Dale even lurked at this patch, using its radiation as a shield.

TheCenturion surged forward in a heavy-footed gait devouring the landscape at sixty-five kilometers
per hour. Austin worked methodically, using seismic sensors to check the ground for tunnels and weak
spots that might hamper his advance. As necessary as it was to focus on his surroundings, AustinтАЩs
attention never wavered from the forward and secondary monitors as he sought any hint that Dale lay
ahead.

Austin wasnтАЩt certain what caused him to react. None of his screens showed danger. His index finger
curled back on the LRM trigger, and ten missiles launched at a small, shadowy zone to the left of the
largest radioactive slag hillock. One rocket went whining away as it creased the side of the mound. Seven
blew up a patch of ground, sending cinders sailing high into the air to create a glittering fog in the dusk.
The dull red light from MirachтАЩs distant sun reflected off the dark slag and produced a mist that both
glinted like fresh blood and spun like silver confetti, obscuring visuals.

Austin felt a bit sheepish at wasting the missiles until his sensor alarms blared. Green-glowing,
ghost-imaged infrared shimmer on his forward screen revealed heated heavy metal armor. His other two
missiles had smashed directly into that spot. Molten metal had joined the slag.

First hit!He wasted no time gloating about his cleverness in detecting Dale before he had revealed
himself. The battle had begun.

Got you now,Austin thought, pressing his all-out attack. This wasnтАЩt his usual cautious approach, feeling
out the situation, gathering intel about his opponent before engaging. Austin wanted this done fast, and
changing his trademark tactics would bring him victory.

His forward 806c laser fired, a deadly amber-colored energy spike hitting its target squarely. Shrapnel
flashed upward into the waning crimson rays from the sun, showing that a few hundred kilos of
aligned-crystal steel exterior armor had been blown away. Austin gunned theCenturion тАЩs fusion engine
to go in for the kill.

He burst through the shroud of debris kicked up by his opponent and identified DaleтАЩs тАЩMech. Dale
piloted a fifty-tonEnforcer III armed with a BlazeFire ER Large Laser, a ChisComp 2000 ER Small
Laser, and an Imperator Automatic Ultra AC/10 Autocannon. No rockets. TheEnforcer rivaled AustinтАЩs
тАЩMech in class, speed, and maneuverability. They were well matched, but the deciding factor in combat
might be theEnforcer тАЩs jump jets.

Austin had to hammer away at the other BattleMech with his LRMs to keep it from bringing its heavier
lasers to bear accurately. Without a stable platform, the inertial guidance and tracking for the lasers
degraded. That was the easiest shortcoming to exploit in the Federated Hunter targeting and tracking
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