Звездный десант
Chapter 13
WhileIlistened,Iwatcheditinmyowndisplay—glowwormscrawlingpastmyfaceinpreciselines,"crawling"becauseevenfortymilesanhourisaslowcrawlwhenyoucompressaformationtwentymilesacrossintoadisplayamancansee.
IlistenedtoeverybodyatoncebecauseIwantedtohearthechatterinsidethesquads.
Therewasn’tany.CunhaandBrumbygavetheirsecondarycommands—andshutup.Thecorporalssangoutonlyassquadchangeswerenecessary;sectionandsquadchaserscalledoutoccasionalcorrectionsofintervaloralignment—andprivatessaidnothingatall.
Iheardthebreathingoffiftymenlikemutedsibilanceofsurf,brokenonlybynecessaryordersinthefewestpossiblewords.Blackiehadbeenright;theplatoonhadbeenhandedovertome"tunedlikeaviolin."
Theydidn’tneedme!Icouldgohomeandmyplatoonwouldgetalongjustaswell.
Maybebetter—
Iwasn’tsureIhadbeenrightinrefusingtocutCunhaouttoguardthecrater;iftroublebrokethereandthoseboyscouldn’tbereachedintime,theexcusethatIhaddoneit"bythebook"wasworthless.Ifyougetkilled,orletsomebodyelsegetkilled,"bythebook"it’sjustaspermanentasanyotherway.
IwonderediftheRoughneckshadaspotopenforabucksergeant.
MostofSquareBlackOnewasasflatastheprairiearoundCampCurrieandmuchmorebarren.
