“That thing must weight fifty tons.” And we gave them the idea. Some disinformation. You had to hand it to the Chosen engineers; they were perennially overoptimistic, but their hubris brought some amazing tour-de-force technical feats at times.
the vehicle weighs sixty one point four three tons, Center said. maximum armor thickness is four inches at thirty degrees slope. estimated range eighty miles under optimum conditions. mechanical reliability and ergonomics are poor. cost effectiveness is low.
Beside him on the ridge Henri was staring at the Land tank, his mouth making small chewing motions. Jeffrey had a hundred-odd men with him, Brigade troops and Loyalists, whatever had been left when the front broke. Many of them were taking a look and beginning to sidle backwards. There was a phrase for it now: “tank panic.” The ordinary ones were bad enough, but these new monsters were worse.
“No movement,” he snapped.
Discipline held enough to keep his makeshift battle group from dissolving right there. Then again, the ones who’d felt like quitting had mostly gone in the days since the rebel counterattack and its Land spearheads had broken through the Loyalist front. These were the ones with some stick to them.
“Gather around, everyone but the scouts.” He waited while the quiet movement went on; the men had good “fieldcraft, at least. “All right, there’s a heavy tank down there. They’re dangerous, but they’re also slow and clumsy, and the enemy doesn’t have very many of them. We’re behind their lines now, and they feel fairly safe. As soon as it’s dark, I’m leading a forlorn hope down there to take it out with explosives. I need some volunteers. The rest will cover our retreat, and we’ll break out to our own front. Who’s with me?”
He waited a moment, then blinked in surprise as more than half lifted their hands. A nod of thanks; there was nothing much to say at a time like this.
“Ten men, no more. Henri, Duquesne, Smith, Woolstone, McAndrews—”
Night fell swiftly, and the highland air chilled. The commandos spent the time checking over their weapons, and making up grenade bundles—taking one stick grenade and tying the heads of a dozen more around it. Those who thought several days’ stubble and grime insufficient blacked their faces and hands with mud; a few prayed.
“How does a general keep getting himself into this merde, sir?” Henri asked, grinning.
“Going up to the front to see what’s going on,” Jeffrey said. “It’s a fault, but then so are women and wine.”
He looked up; it was full dark, and still early enough in spring to be overcast.
Rain? he asked.
chance of precipitation is 53%, ±5, Center replied.
“We’ll go with it,” he said aloud. “Spread out. Avoid the sentries if you can; if you can’t, keep it quiet.”
The commandos moved down from the ridge, through the aromatic scrub and into the stubblefields of the valley bottom. There was little noise; the men with him had all been at the front for long enough to learn night-patrol work. I’d have had more posts and a roving patrol here, he thought.
Whoever was in charge wanted to keep pursuing as fast as he could, Raj said. He left the minimum possible with the tank when it broke down. Sound thinking. The chances of a Loyalist band big enough to cause trouble being bypassed are low. But even low probabilities happen sometimes.
There was a low choked cry from off to the left in the darkness, and a wet thudding sound. We’re going to—
A rifle cracked, the muzzle flash bright in the darkness. Jeffrey could see the crew around the tank scrambling up out of their blankets and heading for their machine; half or better of them would be Chosen and deadly dangerous even surprised in their sleep. He tossed his pistol into his left hand and drew the bundle of grenades out of the cloth satchel at his side, running forward, stumbling and cursing as clods and brush caught at his feet. Abruptly the landscape went brighter, to something like twilight level. Thanks, he thought; Center was reprocessing the input of his eyes and feeding it back to his visual cortex. It no longer felt eerie after more than twenty-five years with Center in his brain.