"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 9 - The Omicron Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

It was hardly surprising that the majority of shots in any space battle missed their marks
completely. On those occasions when an enemy target lined up precisely in the sights, the gunner's own
ship was just as likely to make some maneuver of its own just as the shot was fired, ruining the aim. Being
an accurate space gunner required not only superhuman skill and superhuman reflexes, but superhuman
patience as well. A fluent knowledge of off-color language was considered optional, but handy.

Jules, Yvette, and Ivanov sat with their attention riveted on their individual screens, waiting for
the precise instant a target offered itself. There might be only a fraction of a second that one of the enemy
ships slid within range; they would have to spot it, direct the computer aiming module, and fire all within
that split instant. They could not be concerned with piloting their own craft; they had to put complete faith
in Lady A to handle that chore successfully. The sharp motions of the H-16 were unavoidable distractions,
but their concentration was strictly on the field of view covered by their detectors.

As the enemy craft came within range, the H-16 let off a few shots just to let the attackers know
they meant business. Undeterred, the enemy fighters kept coming. Jules had one of the ships directly in his
sights and fired quickly, but Lady A chose that second to veer from her course and Jules's shot went wide.
That same maneuver, however, brought the other ship into Yvette's screen, and her shot was perfect. A
beam of intense energy burned its way from the H-16 through empty space until it hit the enemy ship's
hull. The defensive screens were no match for the power of the H-16's blast; they blew out on contact, and
the beam pierced the hull. The two vessels were moving at such great relative speed that even the fraction
of a second that the beam existed was enough to rip a long gash in the side of the other craft. There was
the strange silent explosion that was an eerie hallmark of space battles, and this one enemy ship was no
longer a threat to anyone.

Yvette did not see the damage her shot caused; the ship was out of her viewer again by the time it
exploded and she was watching for any sign of the other vessel. It was not until Fortier cried, "Hit!" from
his own viewscreen that she felt the satisfaction of knowing she'd done her job well.

That feeling was replaced by dismay just a moment later, however, as Fortier called out, "Three
more coming in."

In short order the fighting became fast and furious. The enemy craft were laying down a fire
pattern of their own, and it took all the speed of Lady A's computer reflexes to steer a course safely
through the barrage. Deciding the low orbit region above Omicron was temporarily dangerous territory
she pulled out and headed on a course that would loop around Omicron's single large moon and back
again. The attacking craft naturally followed. Yvette and Ivanov knocked out two more of them along the
way, and no new ones were immediately dispatched. That left the large H-16 against two smaller fighters
as they disappeared from the planet's view behind the moon—just about an even fight.

As soon as they'd been eclipsed by the moon, so the enemy base on Omicron couldn't know what
was going on, the H-16 swung around. No longer was it merely a vessel running for its life, it was actively
on the attack for the first time. It bore straight in at one of the attackers, giving all three gunners in turn a
clear shot at the enemy's flank. Three consecutive beams lashed out from the H-16's blaster turrets and one
of them—no one was ever quite sure which—hit its mark. Out of control, the damaged enemy vessel
plunged down onto the surface of the airless moon, creating a spectacular new crater on the already
pockmarked surface.

Keeping to a straight course for that long a time, though, meant the H-16 was a more predictable
target, and it paid a penalty for that. The remaining ship sent out a beam that caught them a glancing blow