Звездный десант
Chapter 13
Ihadneverseenlargerthanascale-fourcrater.Thetheorywasthattheydidn’tdareusetoobiganexplosionbecauseofdamagetotheirtroglodytehabitats,eveniftheycofferdammedaroundit.
"Placeanoffsetbeacon,"Itoldhim."Tellsectionandsquadleaders."
"Ihave,sir.Angleoneoneoh,milesonepointthree.Da-di-dit.Youshouldbeabletoreadit,bearingaboutthreethreežfivefromwhereyouare."Hesoundedascalmasasergeant-instructoratdrillandIwonderedifIwerelettingmyvoicegetshrill.
Ifounditinmydisplay,abovemylefteyebrow—longandtwoshorts."Okay.IseeCunha’sfirstsquadisnearlyinposition.Breakoffthatsquad,haveitpatrolthecrater.Equalizetheareas—Brumbywillhavetotakefourmoremilesofdepth."Ithoughtwithannoyancethateachmanalreadyhadtopatrolfourteensquaremiles;spreadingthebuttersothinmeantseventeensquaremilesperman—andaBugcancomeoutofaholelessthatfivefeetwide.
Iadded,"How‘hot’isthatcrater?"
"Amber-redattheedge.Ihaven’tbeeninit,sir."
"Stayoutofit.I’llcheckitlater."Amber-redwouldkillanunprotectedhumanbutatrooperinarmorcantakeitforquiteatime.Iftherewasthatmuchradiationattheedge,thebottomwouldnodoubtfryyoureyeballs."TellNaiditopullMalanandBjorkbacktoamberzone,andhavethemsetupgroundlisteners.
