Звездный десант
Chapter 1
HewasacareercorporalandIwasjustatermlanceactingascorporal,buthewasundermeandyoucan’taffordtotakeanylipunderthosecircumstances.Notpermanently.
ButIdidn’thavetimethentothinkaboutit;whileIwasjumpingtheriverIhadspottedajuicytargetandIwantedtogetitbeforesomebodyelsenoticedit—alovelybiggroupofwhatlookedlikepublicbuildingsonahill.Temples,maybe...orapalace.Theyweremilesoutsidetheareaweweresweeping,butoneruleofasmash&runistoexpendatleasthalfyourammooutsideyoursweeparea;thatwaytheenemyiskeptconfusedastowhereyouactuallyare—thatandkeepmoving,doeverythingfast.You’realwaysheavilyoutnumbered;surpriseandspeedarewhatsavesyou.
IwasalreadyloadingmyrocketlauncherwhileIwascheckingonAceandtellinghimforthesecondtimetostraightenup.Jelly’svoicereachedmerightontopofthatontheall-handscircuit:"Platoon!Byleapfrog!Forward!"
Myboss,SergeantJohnson,echoed,"Byleapfrog!Oddnumbers!Advance!"
Thatleftmewithnothingtoworryaboutfortwentyseconds,soIjumpeduponthebuildingnearestme,raisedthelaunchertomyshoulder,foundthetargetandpulledthefirsttriggertolettherockethavealookatitstarget—pulledthesecondtriggerandkisseditonitsway,jumpedbacktotheground."Secondsection,evennumbers!"Icalledout...
