Звездопад / Starfall: Глава 17

Chapter 17

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:01

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Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:01

"Your Lordship!" A short, dark-skinned servant in white overalls bowed to the lord and looked up as he waited for him to pay attention. "We are approaching your position. Do you have any requests for a landing site?"

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:31

"No, as long as it's not in the lake." Alex smiled and leaned back against the railing of the platform.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:31

The open circular platform glided as a thin, silvery disc over the purple-reddish sea of Voigrom's jungle. Below, emerald patches of clearing and small lakes, covered in a shimmering ripple of glare, flashed intermittently. The melodic pulsing hum of the platform's traction generators startled the scarlet creatures as their swarms rose in bloody clouds into the sky, leaving a melting scarlet trail behind the flying platform.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:32

Baroness Rionale, dressed in a stylish hunting costume of light red leather adorned with large black crystal, finally broke the silence that reigned by this side:

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:33

"I love Voigrom! Especially this continent - it's so beautiful here," she fixed her disheveled wind-blown hair and gave Alex a charming smile.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:34

"Yes, it's very beautiful!" He sincerely appreciated both the view and the smile. "But how to look for Oikers in such thickets, I have no idea."

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:35

"Come on, they're big, and when they go through the jungle, there's such a rattle..."

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:36

The platform sprang out into the open and hovered in a wide semi-circle on the ground. A part of the side went down into a wide gangway.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:36

"Their Lordship Lord Cassard's number!" The usher proclaimed and bowed, making an inviting hand gesture towards the dais.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:37

Taer unlocked the safety of her hunting rifle and, fixing the white shoulder pad with the scarlet griffin, was the first to step onto the green ground. The thick layer of moss softly sprang to take her weight, and small puddles of brownish water appeared around her feet.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:37

"It's a bit wet," Dudo looked suspiciously at the bump he had made under his boot.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 15:38

The hunt began at noon station time, but it was still early morning in the hunting area of Voigrom. The foliage, illuminated by the dawn sun, glowed red, and the dense moss carpeting the ground was steaming with moisture. The fog clung to the ashy gray branches of the trees in whitish wisps and rose in a solid wall over the still surface of the small lakes.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:40

//Imagine what will happen if it starts to rain.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:41

"Yes, indeed, it's a bit wet," the Lord got off last.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:41

"Good luck, Alex!" Baroness Rionale shouted from the platform as it began to slowly take off. "I'll bet my Oiker will double..." her last words were drowned out by the melodious hum of the traction generators gaining power.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:44

The silver disc of the platform, tilted slightly, took to the right and drifted off towards the sunrise, towards the rest of the numbers.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:44

"Shall we look for the Oikers?" Taer glanced at the platform and made sure it was out of sight. "Or..." she patted her pocket meaningfully.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:45

In her pocket was an info stick obtained from Lady Liora's attendant during the loading onto the platforms. And, as they call it, "burned the hands" - there was supposed to be a video on the stick with information about who exactly wanted to kill the lord. But watching the footage right there on the platform, surrounded by guests?

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:46

"I think we can..."

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:46

A loud low roar from somewhere above drowned out Alex's words. The coal-black machine, with its wide-spread, triangular stabilizer wings, looking like a dagger with a wide diamond-shaped handguard from below, flew over the treetops and disappeared, heading somewhere to the north.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:48

"Prism-E," commented Dudo. "The Imperials are vigilant."

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:49

"I guess we can at least pretend we're looking for an Oiker." Alex repeated, tearing his gaze away from the fighter and gripping his hunting long-barreled rifle. "And, Dudo, you brought the infoblock with you, didn't you?"

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:50

"Yeah," he nodded.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:50

"As I understand it, the Oikers are grazing at this time, eating roots in shallow water..."

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:51

Taer waved her hand toward the gleaming lake in the dawn's light and froze - the still water swelled up to form a small hill in the middle of the lake and, a moment later, exploded into a huge splashing fountain, spitting the air out of a small aerial vehicle.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:51

Taer felt the 'accelerator' pick her up - the world froze and became slow and draughty. Streams of water glistened in the sun and flowed smoothly down the dirty grey sides of the aircar. Each drop became clear. The sights of a lightning-quick rifle slowly entered her field of vision. The vehicle, howling with the thrust generators and gleaming glare on the cockpit glazing, began to turn smoothly sideways.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:53

The Taer ducked into the scope and aimed the red dot of the marker at the side door of the aircar that appeared in her field of vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dudo shouting something, very slowly - from her point of view - raising his weapon. In fact, it was almost instantaneous.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:53

The side door of the aerocar slowly crept to the side and, at the same time, her long barrel shrieked, sending the first shot through the opening. A bright blue glowing ball of discharge flew into the opening and shattered against the mirrored morass of the shield. The door finally opened, revealing the dark interior of the aircar and what Taer feared most: the HGM launcher and the red glinting eye of the passive guidance channel.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:55

/Damn!

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:55

The launcher was under the shield, and the long rifles could not do any damage to it.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:56

//Maybe if I cover the lord with me, the combined power of the personal shields would be enough?

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 17:56

But her body, under the control of the installed skills, kept sending out discharge after discharge into the opening, probably hoping to dazzle the operator or interfere with the aiming device.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 18:01

Although the aerocar was two hundred paces away, she saw the membrane of the first compartment in the launch container become covered with a network of fine cracks and burst under the pressure of the missile's sharp nose. The HGM pierced the cloud of shrapnel with a silver needle, the stabilizers flashed with a sharp glare in the sun, and the rocket very slowly began to movet to a safe distance from the launcher on the soft launch engines.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 18:02

The long rifle in her hands gave a long howl, and a swarm of discharges pulsed toward the missile, followed by a second one fired by Dudo.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 18:03

The rocket, rotating slowly, drifted through the stream of gunfire until one of the blue lights touched the edge of the stabilizer, bursting into a bright flash. The silver hull needle folded in half and, engulfed in sparks and smoky flames began to fall.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:25

There was movement in the interior of the aerocar. Metal gleamed faintly, gunfire pulsed rhythmically, and a string of purple flashes curved in a predatory arc. The trail of tracers, which stung the Taer in the leg and smashed into the mirrored glow of the flaring personal shield, drew a trail of bursts toward Dudo, knocking out fountains of earth and steam in its path.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:27

Lance Dudo was still firing when one of the discharges struck him in the chest. The bright flash of the hit immediately disappeared into a burst of smoke and sparks from the instantly burnt form. Slightly shaken by the impact, Dudo began to fall slowly, gradually tumbling onto his side.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:29

Taer's first impulse was to lunge at him, but the guidance system decided otherwise - seeing a second missile begin to emerge from the container as it tore the membrane, the guidance system hurled her body in the direction of the lord. The aerocar's heavy assault speed gun howled behind her, sending a whirlwind of discharges in its wake. Scarlet tracers whirred around her with angry wasps, bursting with a loud dry hiss and showering her with waves of heat. The shields erupted, enveloping them both in mirrored ripples, as Taer knocked the lord to the ground and collapsed from above, pushing him into a small hollow.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:32

She had time to think that it would hardly help if the missile hit them directly when suddenly she heard a familiar low rustle that drowned out the howling and hissing of bursting discharges.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:32

Around them, covering almost the entire clearing in a swirl of glittering firepower, the shield being formed spun.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:33

The central funnel went somewhere upwards, gradually dissolving into the sky. A white-tailed missile struck the still-forming cone of the shield and disappeared, shattering into a mirror-like ripple.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:35

The attackers' aerocar jerked, trying to gain altitude, but froze, enveloped in flashes of static, nailed by the glowing rod of the force grip that had struck it.

Camrad_RIP 03.03.23 в 19:36

Nearby there was a deafening cracking sound that turned into a rumbling noise, a tight wave of air hitting the ground, tearing down leaves and pressing tree branches to the ground, and knocking a white haze of water drizzle from the ubiquitous moss.

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:36

A landing null-boat appeared near the ground, dropping its visual camouflage and hovering between the aerocar and the shield, roaring with its traction generators. A scarlet griffin stood on its black side, and beneath it shone the golden eye of the search branch, the emblem of House Fyron's Intelligence.

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:37

The landing ramp touched the ground, and the forward eight in heavy assault suits immediately rumbled across it. Leaving deep trails that quickly filled with water, the paratroopers ran under the shield that opened in front of them. Behind the stormtroopers came four men in light blast suits carrying bulky white overalls and airbags. Medics.

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:38

The "guidance" "released" her.

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:39

She rolled off the lord and sprang to her feet, wanting to punch the paratrooper with the field biomonitor as hard as she could. The only thing that stopped her was that he was wearing armor.

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:39

//Those bastards knew about the attack beforehand and didn't warn us! They used us as bait! They endangered the lord's life! They put Dudo under fire!

Camrad_RIP 04.03.23 в 14:40