“Confirmed, sir,” the machine replied, and the cannon shifted its angle, humming and humming as fresh sections of the rocky cliff exploded into pieces, the rubble tumbling into the sinkhole and slowly building a wide sloping ramp that was reaching for the surface and freedom.
The cannon hummed, and whole new sections of the cliff came tumbling down, the pile gradually growing in width as the rainy desert sands began to flow down into the city.
Gaza was pleased it responded so well. Mebbe he was getting good at this tech talk. But he had to stay double razor, keep everything simple and try to talk as if he was preDark. Treat this as his new wife and the world would be his command! Once he got out of this fucking pit.
IN THE CONTROL ROOM of War Wag One, the group of people listened to the thick silence coming from the ceiling speaker. Only a second earlier it had been the driver of Cargo Van Three, then there was an explosion and nothing.
“War Wag Two has confirmed,” Jessica said, a radio receiver held to her ear. “Three is gone, blown to pieces.”
“Aced, a dozen of us like muties in a pit,” Blackjack said, frowning at the concept.
Standing in the doorway, Anders said nothing, but his face was a mask of controlled terror. Twice, he started to speak, but decided to remain quiet.
“Yeah, but aced us with what?” Kate demanded angrily, slumping into her chair. “What the nuking hell hit us?”
“It came from the city,” Jake said hesitantly. “Or at least, I think it did. Damn thing moved so fast I couldn’t really track it in flight. Only the afterghost on the screen showed where it had come from.”
“Impossible! Nothing moves that fast,” the Trader snapped. “Check the screen.”
“I did,” he stated firmly. “It’s working fine.”
“Laser?” Dean asked.
“Nothing on the thermal scanners,” Jessica stated. “Cold and clear.”
“Rain hide heat sig,” Jak suggested.
The woman shook her head. “The downpour only makes the air colder and increases a heat sig. This was no rocket.”
“Armbrust rocket fires silent and cold,” J.B. said hesitantly.
“The ear didn’t hear any cannons firing or rockets flying either,” Eric’s voice said from the speakers. The comp tech was back in his air conditioned blister of tinted plastic, with Mildred standing nearby, the two of them surrounded by a maze of wires and cables.
“Armbrust makes noise flying. No way around that.”
“It’s a coil gun,” Ryan said, rubbing a fist into a palm. “Gotta be. That’s the bastard thing that makes sense. Trader found one a long time ago.”
“Somewhere down there, Gaza found a fucking coil gun, a portable one like a bazooka, or an APC,” Krysty said, then scowled. “Mother Gaia, he was going for spare parts for his busted APC and found an armed one!”
“Hopefully, one that cannot drive,” Doc added in a bass rumble. “If he achieved mobility with such a weapon, the baron would become a most formidable opponent.”
“A coil gun,” Kate said slowly. “Those are just legends, mag guns firing plastic balls so fast they hit like skybombs. That’s just a fairy tale to scare the littles.”
“Plastic cubes, actually,” Mildred said over the PA system. “That form gives a better caloric yield on impact.”
Kate gave Ryan a hard disbelieving stare.
“If Mildred says that’s what it is, then you can load that into your blaster and start shooting.”
“Eric?” Kate asked meaningfully.
“I agree, Chief,” the man said. “But it’s only a guess on my part. She knows things. I’d say listen to the healer.”
“Accepted, then.” The Trader nodded. “Okay, Mildred got any clever suggestions?”
“Coil guns are purely line of sight,” Mildred said. “Have to be because their prime function is pure velocity. The cubes can’t track like a missile or arch over a hill like a rocket. Think of them as fast bullets and you understand.”
Listening from her chair, Kate almost smiled at that news. Good, so there was the flaw. Excellent. “Jess, tell the others to stay away from the cliff, the more distance the better. Down in that hole he can’t see up here. We stay clear, he can shoot all day and wouldn’t hit a nuking thing.”