Battlefield Earth by Hubbard, L. Ron Read Free Book Online Page A

three times a year. You know and I know the company is on an economy wave. Tell you what.”
        
    Terl waited sourly to be told.
        
    “If you will let us cancel those recon drones, I’ll put a tri-wheel ground cycle at your disposal for a limited time.”
        
    Terl let out a small shrill scream.
        
    Zzt amended his bargain. “A ground car at your disposal when ordered.”
        
    Terl lumbered over to the crashed vehicle that had blood on its seats. “Wonder if this was caused by faulty maintenance.”
        
    Zzt stood there, unrelenting. The crash had been caused by too much kerbango on duty.
        
    “One recon drone programmed to cover the whole planet once a month,” said Zzt. “One ground car at your permanent disposal.”
        
    Terl looked at the other wrecks but couldn’t think of anything. These investigations were done and dead. Teach him to close investigations!
        
    He wandered back to Zzt. “One drone recon programmed to cover the whole planet once a month. One armored and firepower ground car at permanent disposal with no questions on ammunition, breathe-gas, or fuel requisitions.”
        
    Zzt took the forms from the bench drawer and made them out. He shoved the papers and clipboard at Terl.
        
    As he signed, Terl thought to himself that this transport chief really ought to be looked into. Maybe for ore robbery!
        
    Zzt took the papers back and removed from the switchboard the combination keycard of the oldest and rattiest ground car that was gathering dust in the garage dome. He coupled it with a coupon book for ammo, another for breathe-gas, and another for fuel.
        
    The deal would never actually become part of recorded history as a deal, for the dates of the orders were carefully not coincident. Neither suspected that they had just materially altered the future of the planet. And not for the better of Intergalactic. But that is sometimes the way with large commercial companies.
        
    When Terl had left to get his Mark II (armored, firepower) ground car, Zzt thought to himself that it was wonderful what lies executives told just to be able to go hunting. Kill-mad they all were. Machine kill-mad, too, from the jam-ups he had to repair. What a story! Man a sentient race indeed! He laughed and got back to work.
        
        

Battlefield Earth
    Chapter 7
        
         Jonnie Goodboy Tyler galloped free across the vast ocean of grass, Windsplitter exuberantly stretching his legs, the lead horse rollicking along behind.
        
    What a day. Blue sky and the wind a cooling freshness on his face.
        
    Now two days out, he had come down from the mountains, through the foothills, and into the vastest plain he had ever imagined. He could still see the tiniest tip of Highpeak behind him, and with the sun it kept him true on course and reassured him that he could find his way home whenever he wanted.
        
    Total security! The herds of wild cattle were many, but he had been living with those all his life. A few wolves, but what were wolves? No bear, no puma so far. Why, in all reverence to the gods, did anybody ever stay cooped up in the mountains?
        
    And monsters- what monsters? Phagh! Crazy tales!
        
    Even that shiny, floating cylinder that had gone overhead every few days the whole of his life was overdue down here. It had come from west to east with the regularity of every other heavenly body, but even it seemed to have stopped. On his present course he would have seen it.
        
    In short, Jonnie Goodboy Tyler was suffering from a bad case of overconfidence. And the first disaster that hit him had to do with pigs.
        
    Pigs were usually easy to kill- if you were a bit nimble and watched out for charges of the boars. And a small suckling pig was exactly what one could use for supper.
        
    Right there ahead of him, clear in the late-afternoon light, was a compact herd of pigs out in