Hell's army officers

by Andrew Komarowski

  — McGregor has already made a bet, Ben! — killed his assistant, the banker. Why would he fit anywhere else?

  Nine Demons in the whole Confederation is negligible. It is not force, but hint at it. Of course, while. Therefore, it is too unstable to support a politician who is going to win the next elections. Until the Demons manage to defend the Outskirts of McGregor on horseback. Once they lose at least one planet — and the discontent of the electorate is able to sweep the President out of his seat faster than he could utter the word "mother"! And the project "the Zombies" will not require any initial investment, change the selected course or major changes already paid for his PR campaign. Only a couple of phrases, one a successful boarding with our products, a pair of beautiful spots on holovideo — and the citizens will sincerely believe that Zombies and Demons are two faces of the same crystal. Yes Kharitonov even have a car to alter it is not necessary — in the standard "Merlin" two chairs! Plant near modificaton Zombies, and the crew of the new type is ready.

  Okay. For example, McGregor and Kharitonov agreed and we entered in the Project. What's next? thoughtfully looking at his subordinate, asked Brian. Edition miserable nine Zombies under the current crew on my investment is not justified! And even two hundred needed to complete the Third phase, which recently hinted Brigadier General Rommel, too...

  Wow! I had not heard... started Groner. — Kharitonov is not worth it...

  Yeah, not worth it. By the way, four days ago in Galenite there are several files taken by students in a school of Lagos. And not taken anywhere, but inside the "Krechetov" Kharitonov. So, in their holovideo on the Demons very interesting in the suits. I am afraid that people the General had learned from the failed Board in the system Pronin. And have developed something that can change for the better ability of Demons to the ground operations. Alas, all my attempts to reach the manufacturer of this product have so far not resulted in...

  — The more we need to hurry... distractedly muttered Ben. — If Demons even optimize for this case, the Zombie will become useless...

  — I understand and without you. But you didn't answer the main question — how to justify my investment?

  Sooner or later the war will go on the surface of inhabited planets. Our or the enemy's. But cheap Zombie will be at the time. One regular regiment of the planetary corps — two and a half thousand fighters. And landed on the planet ONE regiment still nobody came...

  — M-Yes. Perhaps this is an approximate figure sounds much more interesting... — chuckled Brian.

  — What's interesting, boss? As soon as our products will make the first Board the ship, and their work will be on holovideo, we immediately will be the first NORMAL clientele. I mean wanting to buy a pair of supercelebrities. Well, or its antipode. And the price of the product, promoted commander of the VKS and personally, Mr. MacGregor, is bound to be PROHIBITIVE...

  Okay. With this face of our business, as I understand it, problems are expected. And with the beginning of informal sales zombies, we will cover the initial costs. But, complying to the Project, we lose some capabilities. Specifically, we will not be able to play against Kharitonov! — bowed head on his shoulder, mused Olsen.

  — I wouldn't say that. Kharitonov is positioning its modificando as a Person. That is, each of its pilot — employees. They put combat tasks, provide the opportunity to make decisions and, of course, to take responsibility. On the one hand is good because any success at all on hearing, they are ready to carry on hands and hang them on the chest of medals. But, on the other hand, this positioning is the first step to the grave! Each of the error — a jab in the back. And our Zombie — gray mass. They have no names. They're just following orders, and doing it perfectly. They were not paid salaries and bonuses do not reward Them. Why, if they are conventional WEAPONS? And who will come to mind to hate him? Or throw on him the responsibility? So in any case who is to blame? Correctly, modificati Kharitonov. Or those who plan operations. However, with proper manipulation of the public opinion of the past, no one will remember...

  — Yes, well... Cyclops destroyed the system — so to blame the pilot, which didn't get there in time to fly. Time, but there were too many enemy ships? I do not care! Who cares? The people died! And they will not return! But if managed and saved — well done both of you. And Demons, and Zombies...

  — Exactly! Therefore, to fit in with their Project necessary today...

  — And are we ready? slightly frowned banker.

  — All we could squeeze out a VIC-s[43], we squeezed. It is the same with stationary army landfills: efficiency of prototypes even higher than the calculated values. The only thing they don't have enough testing in real combat. But the legalization of the project to such a possibility, we can't...

  — How many samples are ready to demonstrate? — raising an eyebrow, asked Brian.

  Twenty — two copies of sample number one hundred and twenty nine fraction seventy-seven. They are already in stasis, and temporary arrays in the block imprinting reset...

  — By the way, if our products are in every ship of Demons, then it will open very promising future. Information about the planned operations, the supply of orbital fortresses and military orders for someone who plays the stock market — it's like an extra pack of aces up his sleeve...

  — Yeah. And we will have access to the latest developments of the CCA VC too expensive... — smiled Ben. — I've thought about it.

  — No doubt... Olsen got up from the table, walked around the office and stop for about a hologram depicting a tropical beach, turned to his assistant: — So I decided to stop to pay your prize I just triple your salary...

  — Thank you, boss, — smiled Ben. — This option is much more interesting...

  — I agree. Now let's about the issues — they surely have?

  — The latest party donors — is a quiet horror! See for yourself! He had turned over the table, the hologram and pointed at the emaciated, covered with scabs and scaly skin of the old man. — He has firmly sits on the "Northern lights"! His brain is ninety percent dead. Why do we need it?

  — Hmmm... As I recall, the lack of donors as addicts we have already discussed in a separate paragraph of the contract... did Olsen.

  — Exactly! But in the last game, they were seventeen. In this thirty — nine. And what will happen next? I think your suppliers are starting to be rude...

  — Perhaps... — Brian has made a mark in the commercial, squinted, looked through Granera and added: yeah, consider this question solved. What else?

  — The rest of... stuff. And your attention is not worth...

  Great. Then... approach using General Belotserkovsky, you say?

  The first four days after the departure of Rodriguez, we held in "Poseidon", almost not getting out of the "Alternative". Getting used to "the Guards". In theory, there is nothing particularly difficult in this process was not — all of their equipment from life support systems and ending with the jet early, it was managed by BC-of a Cup. Which guaranteed immunity against enemy jammers — the one that almost killed us on the transport Unit. The management interface of weapons systems was identical to the one that was on the "Merlin", so that problems with initial adaptation, no one could not occur. But this is only in theory. In practice it was much more difficult. The first attempt to move almost led to the slaughter — a slight touch to the shoulder increased more powerful exoskeleton, threw standing next to me Hasek four meters. If people with normal bones, to revive him had to be long. So I, stopping short, began to explore her new second skin with lungs perturbations fingers...

  A set of exercises designed especially for us engineers "OOK"[44]turned out to be quite funny: for four days we drove in a meditative trance, and then forced to perform increasingly complex tasks. The first day we learned to walk, run and jump, and in the last, fifth, was planned to practice the exercises on shooting from assault rifle complex "Hail" in the conditions of weightlessness. Extremely difficult from the point of view of orientation in space. Howe
ver, to work out "a cross between acrobatics with shooting rocket slingshot," as called this course Helmut, we were not given — four of the fifty-two obseruations in the system reappeared Cyclops...

  ...Sixth fleet took up positions prescribed new tactics, quickly, accurately and without fuss: after twelve minutes after the announcement of code red latest ships, rising from the spaceport, turned in their seats and in the air reigned a dead silence.

  Meanwhile, the advanced group of the ships of the Cyclops, consisting of twelve fighters and destroyers, moving to Lagos on the fast and furious and began frantically to slow down.

  Something that I see they don't like our minefield... — seeing that trying to attack the Key-five ships falling speed, smiled Williams. — I wonder why?

  — Let's fly and ask... ' chuckled the Ira, alternately checking the generators of a protective field. — I'm just doing nothing...

  — Your-you let go? — playfully asked Ellen, and having received from me a file with the vector, ceasing to talk, took his unit to the side.

  Yes... But jealous would — horror... — removing the shields on all three ships, after she said Orlov. And focused: three deuces fighters Cyclops, having turned away from the avant-garde, the envelope of a minefield, moved towards us to intercept...

  The first few seconds of the fight I felt out of my element — shove in the forehead for not weak, in General, of the enemy, while not closing, it was scary. As it turned out, not only to me: mark — all panicked and frantically tried to get Ira managing generators. So she told him them and gave a short roar in the General channel, and slightly resentful Gomez has his own business. Weapons. However, monitor its actions have not stopped.

  We had to get close to the distance of the direct contact, I slightly feel better: a flock divided twelve warheads, heavy torpedoes fired almost point blank, didn't cause us any harm, exploding in time exhibited Ira shield. And we slipped past the first two pairs of the Cyclops, fell to third. The four momentum of the interference field, one descended from a weapons pylon "the Whale" — and our managers hiding behind two screens, flew through a cloud of splinters, formed on the place where the first enemy ship. His wingman understood even faster — taking it in a vise and drove into the hemisphere, not protected by a force screen, plain "Piranha"...

  What is happening Irina generators protective field, it was impossible to put into words. For whatever trajectory I was their ships, the excess power was that which was required. Not only that — the impulse of the force fields with which it is destroyed by enemy missiles and torpedoes were becoming shorter and shorter and at some point I stopped to understand what they have in us NOT fall. However, to delve into the intricacies of her manipulations I couldn't do it, because you had to duplicate actions are completely demoralized Mark. Monitoring what is happening with our protective fields, he has ceased to respond adequately to my move and a couple of times not taken advantage of the perfect opportunity to attack.

  — Vic! You saw what he was doing this crazy? — he shouted in a personal channel, barely waiting for the moment when all six fighters Cyclops would be destroyed. — We're flying without shields!!!

  — What? — I smiled, throwing "Merlin" for trying to escape destroyers. We once got?

  — N-no...

  — So, all right...

  — Vic! So it is impossible! — angrily muttered Gomez. — Shields should hang all the time!

  — Convince her himself. But after the battle... And yet let him do whatever he wants by the Way, in my opinion, she's very good at it...

  — You're crazy, and the woman you crazy... — swore and he shut up mid-sentence: in the sights of all three vehicles there were increasing hull of an enemy ship.

  — You all wrong... — bringing "Merlin" irishki in the forward hemisphere of the destroyer, I grumbled. I Semenov, making short raids in the rear of the enemy's orders, were not allowed to rest relax. In General, to get the ships of the Sixth fleet hovering in front of the orbital fortresses, not flying in the sector approachthat was almost unreal. The next few hours, groups of ten or twelve of the enemy fighters tried to assess the possibilities of attack of the sectors approach to other Keys. And we almost did not interfere. Or rather, didn't touch them along the way "there." But burned everyone had time on the way back. Oddly enough, Cyclops almost snapped — tried hard not to break the order and rushed to the counter, only knowing doomed.

  Surprisingly, almost continuous demonstration of the benefits of fictional Ira techniques for working with boards Mark was somehow comforting- with every new us shot down a Cyclops, he became grumpier and grumpier. At some point, I even had to yell the number of errors made by them during the counterattack, was too large. But the morale of the Sixth fleet has risen to its highest pitch: each blast of the ship Cyclops managers and Key liaison officers met such a roar that I started to fear for the integrity of his eardrums. However, their joy was very simple explanation — to the half past ten in the morning the Cyclops squadron lost twenty-nine ships, including four destroyers. But defenders of the Lagos — only one minelayer...

  Realizing that the enemy fleet is about to go, I sent the links to recharge at a time, trying to keep at least two of the three at any time were ready for prosecution. So literally a second after the cruisers Cyclops began to work evolutionnisme to turn around to us in nozzles main engines, all three link "Gyrfalcons" rushed to the positions of the retreating enemy.

  The main part of a squadron of eight cruisers, three dozen destroyers and hundreds of fighter jets, took a compact group, not reacting to our attacks and trying not to collapse with accelerating rate. But twenty-six cars cover did everything that we were unable to get their ships of the line. Therefore, despite the well chosen time of the attack, managed to burn only eleven of the Cyclops. A cruiser, two destroyers and two fighters from the main group. And three of two groups cover, rushed in all directions immediately after the squadron had gone into Hyper. However, the feeling of complete and unconditional victory emerged later. When in the General channel, the buzzing from the noise of happy utterly dispatchers, a voice sounded Iron Joe

  — Demons! I am a Leader-six! Thanks guys! Landing on my head! Questions?

  The questions I had, so, before reaching Lagos, we have another thirty minutes hanging on the geocentric orbit, waiting for the boat with "Ivan the terrible", dashing between the orbital fortresses, mine-layers, bukerovskoj "Tornado" and the ships...

  Ridley sat in the spaceport, and the area of the First Landing — in the centre of memorial complex, located in the first capital of the planet — the city of Greenfield. A decrease of up to two kilometers, Igor realized that this is almost an impossible task: all airspace over Greenfield was culled civilian flyers, and each of them tried to pass as close as possible to some "Merlin" and he blinked marker and landing lights. Help flyers to the police, rushing among them, was not enough: red-blue glimpses of the lights of official cars was lost in the mass civilian vessel, and in about ten minutes loitering over the area the wolves decided to go to the spaceport:

  — All base. There are transplanted in a "Drop" and return...

  The demon five! I am a Leader-six! Wait another two minutes! implored the Colonel Ridley. — I now turn to citizens through news channel, and the boarding corridor will be...

  — Have to wait two minutes... sigh Vick: apparently, the option to "Drop" he liked more.

  — Vic, do you hear what Ridley is? — a minute later asked sarcastically Helen.

  — Nah...

  — "Dear citizens of Lagos! Any attempt to interfere with the landing ships division "Demon" will be regarded as a manifestation of extreme disrespect to the defenders of the planet and will be punished by blocking access to the landing terminal area of the First Landing"... she quoted. — Cool, right?

  — And then... — Semenov smiled, not taking his eyes from the tactical screen in the suit is there, underneath, was something terrible.

  — See how they fly! he said Orlov. — Damn! They'
re into each other not beat?

  Better each other than about my "Merlin"... — muttered somehow terribly unhappy with Gomez. — Post protective field you wouldn't guess...

  — And you get rid of the control panels... — suggested Semenov, Or sit alone...

  — Going to take her as well... "Merlin" Mark fell down and, following the boat of Colonel of the first villages on cleared from people's square.

  ...Rally, hosted by Ridley, was delayed until late at night, however much fatigue Semenov, oddly enough, is not felt. Apparently, because the events on the square was radically different from the official celebrations, which he has time to get bored. Randomly flying over the human sea camera and then dived down, came to a standstill before the first wishing to Express their feelings and broadcast his words to the entire audience of millions on the planet. And even though most of the speakers were not remarkable for eloquence, but they spoke sincerely. And third, the handshakes and the looks of those who broke through the system of "counterrevolutionaries" Tishkina, there was no arrogance, no calculation...

  Short eyelinerwith which Ridley ruled the mood gathered in the memorial complex of people, was almost invisible. However, the objectives pursued by the Colonel, sought — after an hour after landing all those in the area the citizens were happy and sad in unison. Videos, holovideo with records of especially spectacular attacks "Krechetov" displayed on a huge holocron deployed directly over the heads of the audience, caused a continuous roar of delight. Picture a stampede of the remaining partnerless fighters Cyclops laughter. And the footage of the death of the mine layer "Careless" — tears...

  A mad flurry of emotions swept everyone, without exception, was so strong that at a time when Iron Joe suggested to observe a minute of silence for all those who did not live to see this day, and the screen began flickering faces of the fallen defenders of the planet, the tears flowed even in the face of the captain Ievleva, standing next to Igor...