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."A reply came, in Freckles' simulation of the metallic tones of thecommunicator:"The key numbers of the confiscated blasters have been checked and thedisturbance rays of the master integrator set.You'll probably have fewnatives left alive to take as prisoners after those thirteen charges explodebut continue with a mopping up job that the survivors will never forget."So the Gerns could, by remote control, set the total charges of stolenblasters to explode upon touching the firing stud? It was something new sincethe days of the Old Ones.He called Chiara and the other groups, quickly, to tell them what he hadlearned."We'll get more blasters ones they can't know the numbers of when weattack," he finished.He took the blaster from his belt and laid it on the ground.The front ranksof the Gerns were almost to the wall by then, a column wider than the gap thathad been blasted through it, coming with silent purposefulness.Two blaster beams lanced down from the turrets, to smash at the wall.Dustbillowed and thunder rumbled as they swept along.A full three hundred feet ofthe wall had been destroyed when they stopped and the dust hid the ship andmade dim glows of the searchlights.It had no doubt been intended to impress them with the might of the Gerns butin doing so it hid theRagnarok forces from the advancing Gerns for a few second."Jim black out their lights before the dust clears," he called."Joe the horn!We attack now!"The first longbow arrow struck a searchlight and its glow grew dimmer as thearrow's burden a thin tube of thick lance tree ink splattered against it.Another followedThen the horn rang out, harsh and commanding, and in the distance a unicornscreamed in answer.The savage cry of a prowler came, like a sound to match, and the attack wason.He ran with Fenrir beside him and to his left and right ran the others withtheir prowlers.The lead groups converged as they went through the wide gap inthe wall.They ran on, into the dust cloud, and the shadowy forms of the Gernswere suddenly before them.A blaster beam cut into them and a Gern shouted, "The natives!" Other beams sprang into life, winking like pale blue eyes through the dustand killing all they touched.The beams dropped as the first volley of arrowsPage 77ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmltore through the massed front ranks, to be replaced by others.They charged on, into the blue winking of the blasters and the red lances ofthe flame guns with the crossbows rattling and strumming in answer.Theprowlers lunged and fought beside them and ahead of them; black hell-creaturesthat struck the Gerns too swiftly for blaster to find before throats were tornout; the sound of battle turned into a confusion of raging snarls, franticshouts and dying screams.A prowler shot past him to join Fenrir Sigyn and he felt Tip dart up to hisshoulder.She made a sound of greeting in passing, a sound that was gone asher jaws closed on a Gern.The dust cloud cleared a little and the searchlights looked down on the scene;no longer brilliantly white but shining through the red-black lance tree inkas a blood-red glow.A searchlight turret slid shut and opened a moment later,the light wiped clean.The longbows immediately transformed it into a redglow.The beam of one of the turret blasters stabbed down, to blaze a trail of deaththrough the battle.It ceased as its own light revealed to the Gern commanderthat the Ragnarok forces were so intermixed with the Gern forces that he waskilling more Gerns than Ragnarok men.By then the fighting was so hand to hand that knives were better thancrossbows.The Gerns fell like harvested corn; too slow and awkward to usetheir bayonets against the faster Ragnarok men and killing as many of oneanother as men when they tried to use their blasters and flame guns.From therear there came the command of a Gern officer, shouted high and thin above thesound of battle:"Back to the ship leave the natives for the ship's blasters to kill!"The unicorns arrived then, to cut off their retreat.They came twenty from the east and twenty from the west in a thunder ofhooves, squealing and screaming in their blood lust, with prowlers a blackwave going before them.They struck the Gerns; the prowlers slashing lanesthrough them while the unicorns charged behind, trampling them, ripping intothem with their horns and smashing them down with their hooves as they ventedthe pent-up rage of their years of confinement.On the back of each was arider whose long spear flicked and stabbed into the throats and bellies ofGerns.The retreat was halted and transformed into milling confusion [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]