41 The Battle for The Spire

41 The Battle for The Spire What are munitions?" said Little-Bit an hour later, as the three children and Doodle climbed into the back of their designated bright blue transporter truck and took their place on the bench seats. "It's the posh word for weapons," said Rockwell, "which, in this case, appear to consist almost entirely of art equipment. Peanut raised her hand to her bandolier, where Little Tail sat safely in its slot. She was determined that the two of them wouldn't be separated ever again. The children were sitting opposite the Resistance agents who had been charged with their protection. On the left was a very cute-looking koala called Tony, dressed in full

41 尖塔之战 "什么是军需品呀？"一个小时后，小不点问道，三个孩子和嘟嘟爬进了指定的亮蓝色运输卡车后舱，坐到了长椅座位上。 "它是武器的文雅说法，"罗克韦尔说，"不过咱们这回带的几乎全是美术工具。" 皮纳特抬手摸向自己的弹带，小尾巴正安安稳稳待在它的卡槽里。 她暗下决心，她们俩再也不要分开了。 孩子们坐在负责保护他们的反抗军特工对面。 左边坐着一只长相十分可爱的考拉，名叫托尼，全身穿戴

camouflage gear. He already seemed quite amped for the upcoming action, and was repeatedly slapping himself around the face and shouting things like "COME ON!" and "YOU CAN DO THIS!" Next to him was a colourful, if slightly abstract- looking woman called Dora, who was handing out pink and blue ink-bomb belts. She was also distributing pairs of small, bud-style earphones which she told the children they must wear at all times. Just as they were putting them into their ears, the truck started to move. Peanut looked out through the windows at the convoy of vehicles surrounding them. It was an impressive sight. There were a number of large, illustrated tanks not quite in the same league as the Big Xs, but intimidating nevertheless in addition to jeeps, lorries, trucks and a host of small armoured cars. Immediately in front of them were three open-topped hovercraft, being driven by Mrs M, Mr M and Josephine Engelberger. As the platoon of vehicles made their way out through the large hangar doors and into the crisp night air of the Green Valleys, Peanut turned to look back at

整套迷彩装备。 他早就为接下来的行动兴奋不已，不停拍打自己的脸，喊着诸如"加油！" 还有"你可以的！" 他旁边是一位色彩鲜亮、造型略带抽象感的女士，名叫朵拉，她正在分发粉蓝配色的墨水炸弹腰带。 她还分发了小巧的耳塞式耳机，叮嘱孩子们必须一直戴着。 就在孩子们把耳机戴上的时候，卡车开动了。 皮纳特透过窗户望向包围着他们的车队。 这阵仗可太壮观了。 除了吉普车、货车、卡车和一大堆小型装甲车外，还有许多画着图案的大坦克，虽然比不上大X坦克，但也足够吓人了。 紧挨着他们前方的是三艘敞篷气垫船，驾驶员分别是M太太、M先生和约瑟芬·恩格尔伯格。 当整支车队驶出巨大的机库大门，进入绿谷清冽的夜风中时，皮纳特转身望向

the Bunker. It appeared that the entire hillside had opened up to let them out. "Oooh, it's just like the Batcave," said Rockwell. The strange motorcade, now joined by several low-flying aircraft, made its way through the moonlit countryside of the Green Valleys, iridescent in indigos, purples and violets. In the distance, they could see the Spire rising, luminous, in the night sky like a beacon of hope or a harbinger of doom, depending on which way you looked at it. "ALL UNITS, THIS IS ZERO BETA..." The three children jumped as Mr M's voice rang loudly in their ears. Dora, the abstract lady, smiled. "ESTIMATED TIME ON OBJECTIVE SPIRE IS TWENTY-THREE HUNDRED HOURS. SIEGE TOWER ENGINEERS, PREPARE TO MOVE IN FORTY-FIVE. OUT." "Mr and Mrs M will direct the battle via our headsets," explained Dora. "It's how we'll coordinate the operation and

那座地堡。 整面山坡都打开了，放他们出来。 "哇哦，这就像蝙蝠洞一样，"罗克韦尔说。 这支奇异的车队，后来又有几架低空飞行的飞机加入，正穿行在绿谷沐浴着月光的郊野，山野浸在靛蓝、紫色和紫罗兰色中，泛着斑斓虹光。 远处就能看到尖塔拔地而起，在夜空中发着光，它既像希望的灯塔，又像厄运的预兆，全看你怎么看待它。 "所有单位，这里是零贝塔……" M先生的声音猛地在孩子们耳边响起，吓了他们一跳。 那位造型抽象的女士朵拉笑了。 "预计到达尖塔目标的时间是二十三点整。 攻城塔工兵队，四十五分钟后准备进军。 通话完毕。" "M先生和M太太会通过我们的耳机指挥战斗，"朵拉解释道。 "这样我们才能协调这次行动，

make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing at the right time. "So I guess this is really happening," said Rockwell in a resigned tone. "Don't worry," said Peanut. "We'll be fine. Remember what the Markmakers said during the briefing: we won't be on the front line. Hopefully the Spire will be recaptured before Mr White and Alan return from New York and turn the RAZERs back on, so we won't have any opposition. The Resistance just have to cross the lake, get past the crayon fence, and then enter the tower as quickly as possible. That way, when White and Alan do get back, our operatives will be waiting to arrest them. And by then, you'll be back home with a nice cup of tea, reading Aerospace Engineering and the Principle of Flight." Ah, that would be nice," said Rockwell, "but somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy. Things in Chroma never are."

确保所有人都在正确的时间做该做的事。 "这么说这事真的要开始了，"罗克韦尔认命地说道。 "别担心，"皮纳特说。 "我们会没事的。 还记得标记师们简报上说的吗：我们不会去前线。 希望在怀特先生和艾伦从纽约回来重启锐刺机器人之前，我们就能夺回尖塔，这样我们就不会遇到抵抗了。 反抗军只要穿过湖泊，越过蜡笔围栏，然后尽快冲进塔里就行了。 这样等怀特和艾伦回来的时候，我们的特工已经等着逮捕他们了。 到那时候，你就能回家舒舒服服泡杯茶，看《航空工程与飞行原理》了。" "啊，那可太美好了，"罗克韦尔说，"但不知怎么的，我觉得事情不会这么简单。" 克罗玛的事情从来都不简单。"