Звездный десант

           TheyhaveneodogsnowthatareindoctrinatedfrompuppyhoodtoobserveandevadewithoutblowingtheirtopsatthemeresightorsmellofaBug.Buttheseweren’t.

           Butthatwasn’tallthatwentwrong.Justnameit,itwasfouledup.Ididn’tknowwhatwasgoingon,ofcourse;juststuckclosebehindDutch,tryingtoshootorflameanythingthatmoved,droppingagrenadedownaholewheneverIsawone.PresentlyIgotsothatIcouldkillaBugwithoutwastingammoorjuice,althoughIdidnotlearntodistinguishbetweenthosethatwereharmlessandthosethatwerenot.Onlyaboutoneinfiftyisawarriorbuthemakesupfortheotherforty-nine.Theirpersonalweaponsaren’tasheavyasoursbuttheyarelethaljustthesame—they’vegotabeamthatwillpenetratearmorandslicefleshlikecuttingahard-boiledegg,andtheycooperateevenbetterthanwedo...becausethebrainthatisdoingtheheavythinkingfora"squad"isn’twhereyoucanreachit;it’sdownoneoftheholes.

           DutchandIstayedluckyforquitealongtime,millingaroundoveranareaaboutamilesquare,corkingupholeswithbombs,killingwhatwefoundabovesurface,savingourjetsasmuchaspossibleforemergencies.Theideawastosecuretheentiretargetandallowthereinforcementsandtheheavystufftocomedownwithoutimportantopposition;thiswasnotaraid,thiswasabattletoestablishabeachhead,standonit,holdit,andenablefreshtroopsandheaviestocaptureorpacifytheentireplanet.