Звездный десант

           Idon’twant‘emshotatbymistake!"Ibitdownformyprivatecircuitandsaid,"Sarge,yougotcontactontheleft?"

           "Yes,sir.Theyseeme,theyseeyou."

           "Good.Idon’tseeabeacononouranchorcorner—"

           "Missing."

           "--soyoucoachCunhabyD.R.Samefortheleadscout—that’sHughes--andhaveHughessetanewbeacon."IwonderedwhytheThirdorFifthhadn’treplacedthatanchorbeacon—myforwardleftcornerwherethreeregimentscametogether.

           Nousetalking.Iwenton:"D.R.check.Youbeartwosevenfive,milestwelve."

           "Sir,reverseisninesix,milestwelvescant."

           "Closeenough.Ihaven’tfoundmyoppositenumberyet,soI’mcuttingoutforwardatmax.Mindtheshop."

           "Got‘em,Mr.Rico."

           Iadvancedatmaxspeedwhileclickingovertoofficers’circuit:

           "SquareBlackOne,answer.BlackOne,Chang’sCherubs—doyoureadme?Answer."Iwantedtotalkwiththeleaderoftheplatoonwewererelieving--andnotforanyperfunctoryI-relieve-you-sir:Iwantedtheungarnishedword.

           Ididn’tlikewhatIhadseen.

           Eitherthetopbrasshadbeenoptimisticinbelievingthatwehadmountedoverwhelmingforceagainstasmall,notfullydevelopedBugbase—ortheBlackguardshadbeenawardedthespotwheretherooffellin.