War Criminals by Gavin Smith (ereader for textbooks .TXT) 📕

again and again. The 20mm cannon made the whole Wader shake. She heard the rhythmic thump of Nyukuti firing his GMG. In what was left of her periphery she was aware of the flickering muzzle flash of Raff’s HMG. There was so much water in the air she had no idea if she was hitting or not. Cannon round and bullets shot past them. She felt them, slowed down by the water resistance, hitting the armour. As soon as she saw movement through the water and the incoming fire she rapidly adjusted the cannon and fired again and again until she lost the target. Raff and Nyukuti both slowed their rate of fire, searching more carefully for targets.

Then they really started taking hits as the third Wader manoeuvred itself into position. She heard Raff swear as incoming HMG rounds dimpled his weapon’s ballistic shield. He changed target and started firing longer bursts, trying to suppress the third Triple S Wader.

‘Nyukuti, suppress this one!’ Miska shouted, meaning the second Wader, the one they were already engaged with. She heard the rate of fire from the GMG pick up again as the stand-over man fired as many 30mm HEAP grenades as he could in the general direction of the second Triple S Wader. Miska switched target and started pumping rounds towards the third Triple S Wader. Their Wader lurched to the side as an incoming grenade exploded right next to them. Almost tipping over, one side went under the water. Mass, somehow, managed to wrestle the machine upright. They were sitting in water up to their waists now.

‘Reloading!’ Nyukuti shouted. It was the last thing they needed to hear. She switched target. A 20mm round punctured the Wader’s armour. She heard Raff curse. Nobody seemed to be hurt but the third Wader had their range now. Miska ducked as HMG fire ate away at the cannon’s ballistic shield. The third Triple S Wader’s cannon went silent when it should have been killing them. The tree that Kaneda had hidden in started exploding as grenade after grenade from the third Wader’s GMG hit it. Miska guessed Kaneda had shot the cannon operator. It would have been a great time to attack the third Triple S Wader with her own cannon but while Nyukuti was reloading the GMG she couldn’t risk letting up on the second Wader.

She felt the bump as the Wader hit land. The ‘mech’ lurched forward as its rear legs clawed their way up onto the bank. Miska knew they were sitting ducks on dry land. She wanted their firepower but she knew they would get torn apart trying to get deep enough into the fungal forest to conceal themselves. Already grenades, cannon rounds and bullets were tearing into the forest, cutting down tree-sized mushrooms, sending clouds of spores into the wet air. Sparks flew as a cannon round flew through the front armour of the Wader, destroyed Nyukuti’s seat, and continued through the rear armour. Another near miss from a grenade rocked them and covered them in the greyish swamp water.

‘Everyone out!’ Miska shouted. ‘Fall back into the woods, find cover!’

Raff was straight out the back of the Wader, sprinting for the fungal trees, Mass close behind him. Nyukuti was waiting for her. ‘Go!’ she shouted. More cannon rounds were penetrating the primitive mech’s armour. Nyukuti leapt over the back of the Wader, his boots landing in the mud. Miska was out of her seat grabbing her AK-47/flamer combo when the grenade hit. The Wader’s armour saved her but the mech tumbled over, sending her sprawling into the mud, her gun going flying.

Nyukuti was lying face-down in the mud as well. She saw sparks from the Wader as cannon round after cannon round tore into it. More fire. Tracers flying through the air from the west, through the fungal forest. She saw Mass go down. There were people waiting for them on land. They were caught in an L-shaped crossfire between the concealed enemy on land and the Waders behind them, a classic ambush. Miska knew she was about to die.

Doesn’t matter, you fight. It was her dad’s voice she heard in her head. She scrambled for her weapon. It was covered in mud. It didn’t matter. It was an AK-47. She glanced back at Mass. He was on his feet, being helped into the treeline by Raff. She looked at Nyukuti. He was still moving.

‘Nye! Get on your fucking feet, lay down some fire!’ she screamed at him and he was pushing himself onto one knee. Bringing his SAW up. Firing at their ambushers.

Miska was aware of Hemi, Corenbloom and Kasmeyer jumping from their Wader and running. Moments later the Wader blew. The force of the explosion knocked all three of them off their feet. It bounced Miska into the slimy bottom of her capsized Wader and sent Nyukuti sprawling as well.

‘Fuck’s sake!’ Miska spat. In the fungal wood Mass and Raff were trying to return fire but they were horribly outgunned. Miska was sure that there was at least a squad of the Triple S ambushers.

Hemi was on one knee firing at the ambushers as Corenbloom and Kasmeyer half ran, half crawled towards the fungal trees even as the huge mushroom-like growths were being torn apart by incoming ordnance.

‘Nye! Unless you are fucking dead, move!’ Miska shouted, as much because she didn’t want Nyukuti to be dead. Where did that come from? Nyukuti was moving again. Up on one knee firing into the ambushers. Miska turned her attention to the three incoming Triple S Waders. She had no idea why she hadn’t been torn apart by their cannon fire yet. Her best idea was to use her grenade launcher as a mortar. Try and drop a grenade into their open cupola.

One of the trees breathed fire all over the first Triple S Wader. Miska heard screaming and watched burning figures jump off the Wader. She could see the glow of the still-burning Triple S contractors as they sank