James Axler – Deathlands 35 – Skydark

“It’s a Mitsuki Meteor fighting vehicle,” Mildred said. “Also known as the Mitsuki Meatball. I

rememher seeing a lot of news footage on it maybe six months before I went in for my surgery. The Asian Alliance started manufacturing them in 1998. They first saw combat in the conventional-force battle of Hong Kong in the summer of 1999. The Meteor’s missile-defense system worked well against Taiwanese air-to-ground and ground-to-ground heat-seekers. Produces a pulse of EM rad that throws a protective dome over it. Makes incoming missiles veer off target at sixty or more degrees, which gives the Meteor’s laser-guided 20 mm cannons time to lock on the enemy.”

“There aren’t any more heat-seekers to worry about,” Ryan said, using the hand- and footholds to climb up to the turret “But if this Meatball runs, we could sure ride out of here in style.” He opened the hatch and looked around inside. “This thing is big enough for all of us. Mildred, do you remember anything about the fuel range?”

“I remember it was excellent,” she said. “Notice anything unusual about die hull?”

He put his hand on it. “It’s not cold.”

She nodded. “That’s because the armoring isn’t steel. It’s some kind of high-temp, Kevlar-armaglass composite. It’s very light for its strength, which adds to the fuel efficiency. I seem to recall that in the Hong Kong campaign the Meteor was averaging a couple of hundred miles per tankful over mixed terrain.”

“Let’s see if she’ll start,” Ryan said, dropping down through the hatch.

While Doc and Mildred stood guard, Jak, J.B. and

Krysty picked up their gear and followed him into the dark, cramped space. They had to climb around the gunner’s chair, which was suspended in a metal cage from the inside of the turret. The Meteor’s interior was cluttered with a latticework of structural braces, and with conduits and cables wound in dull silver tape. At the front of the compartment were the driver’s and copilot chairs; at the rear was a storage area that housed the power cells for the electronic systems. Rows of jump seats lined the rear side walls.

Ryan slipped into the driver’s seat and opened the ob slit. It provided enough light so he could read the dials on the compact dash. He found the interior-light switch. When he turned it on, red light bathed the compartment.

“Trader had himself a war wag kind of like this once,” he said after a quick review of the control system. “Two levers, one for steering and braking each track. An automatic tranny with four forward speeds, neutral and reverse.” When he punched the starter button, it whined ferociously, but the 750-horsepower engine failed to turn over.

“Dark night, maybe the whitecoats mothballed it,” J.B. said over his shoulder. “Have you got oil pressure?”

“Yeah.” Ryan tapped the accelerator twice and hit the button again. The engine growled to life.

“Let it run awhile,” J.B. suggested. “Get the engine temp up and melt that hundred-year-old grease. I’m going to check out the weapons system.” He hauled

himself up into the caged gunner’s chair, removed his fedora and pulled the target-acquisition helmet over his head. After flipping down the VR visor, he reached out for the dual joystick fire controls.

The instant he touched the sticks, the weapons system came on. A powerful electric motor whirred, and there was a flutter of movement along both side walls of the rear compartment The movement caught Krys-ty’s eye and made her look more closely. Under the clutter of braces and conduit, she could see the chains of linked, 20 mm antitank cannon rounds that fed up from the magazine under the floor.

J.B. turned his head to the left, and the turret followed suit. He twisted right, and the turret moved with him. Pleased with himself, he juked the joysticks, and to everyone’s surprise, including his own, the quartet of cannons roared thunderously. Almost in the same instant there was an explosion that jarred the vehicle on its suspension. J.B. opened his hands at once, releasing the fire controls, but it was too late for the third Hummer down the line. The accidental 8-round burst of HE rounds had already blown it in two.