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

The plane was gone as abruptly as it had come, but it unquestionably left its mark on the
battlefield. Physically the defenders had suffered serious casualties and the piles of rubble they were using
for cover were smaller and more jumbled. Emotionally, they were shaken. When they could be attacked so
devastatingly from an unexpected quarter in so short a time, it was hard to press on with the fight. Death
seemed the only sure outcome, and retreat seemed a better alternative. Still, the Omicronian pioneer
stubbornness kept them fighting on when others might have turned and fled.

Yvette made it to the top of the tower's leg, just below the passenger disk. She studied it closely
for any possible opening she might have, but the machine was too well sealed against external force; there
might indeed be some way to get in, but finding it would take more time than she could afford. Frustrated,
she turned her attention to the tower's external structure and met with more success.

The legs were attached to the disk at the top by a complex series of socket joints, enabling them to
swivel rapidly at many angles. Reaching into the compartmentalized utility belt she wore, she pulled out a
series of small explosive charges. It took every bit of her fantastic acrobatic abilities to climb around the
joint, setting the charges in places where she calculated they'd do the most damage. Then, scurrying
around to the other side of the tower, she set off the explosives.

There was no loud roar; the explosives were not that powerful. They were, however, accurately
placed for maximum result, and that was what Yvette got. The "shoulder" of the tower trembled for a
moment, then buckled and caved inward. The tower tilted precariously, more and more of its weight
suddenly falling on the disabled limb. The crew inside made a frantic effort to readjust the three remaining
legs into a tripod arrangement, but offbalance as they were they couldn't quite make it work. The tower
twisted slowly around and began to fall.

Yvette clung to her precarious perch as the tower toppled with an exaggerated slowness. She held
her spot while the tower fell, judging distance with a keen aerialist's eye. At the very last moment, while
she was still about two stories above ground level, she pushed off with a mighty leap and soared through
the air. She landed well clear of the falling behemoth, tucking herself into a ball and using the momentum
from her fall to roll her safely along the ground.

Beside him, Jules could see Lady A nodding almost imperceptibly. "Impressive," she said beneath
her breath. Jules smiled. There were still a few tricks he and Evie could show her.

The smile vanished an instant later as the top of the tower hit the ground. The group was
unprepared for the violent explosion that rocked the street, bringing down a few more buildings with the
sheer magnitude of the blast. An enormous fireball erupted into the sky, followed seconds later by an
angry cloud of dense black smoke. The air for hundreds of meters around heated up to summer
temperatures and stank of burning plastic.

"So much for our chances of capturing any of the invaders alive," Fortier muttered.

Stunned by the blast, it was all Yvette could do to scramble to her feet and run for cover, in case
more explosions or fires followed. In the confusion she ran toward the line of the city's defenders rather
than back to her own group. It didn't seem to matter: the only direction of immediate importance was away
from the fallen tower. The defenders, who had also witnessed her act of bravery, welcomed her into their
ranks.
 Then, diving through the black cloud, the enemy aircraft came again. This time it delivered
neither bombs nor blaster beams against the brave band of militia. Instead, like a cropduster, it left a trail
of smoke in its wake, a thick yellowish cloud that settled heavily on the ground. A few of the defenders