Dust and smoke billowed out in a huge doughnut from where the truckload of rockets had been. The air-suspended particles masked the remaining positions on Hill 504. Guns and bunker sites vanished into the haze like ships sinking at anchor. The main screen provided a detailed vision of whorls and color variations within the general blur.
"Booster,"Des Grieux said. "Feed me targets."
The circle pulsed. Des Grieux fired the 20cmgun.Even as the tank recoiled from the bolt's release, the AI rotated the weapon toward the next unseen victim.
"Booster!" Des Grieux snarled. His throat was raw with gunnery fumes and the human waste products of tension coursing through his system. "
The pipper quivered again. Des Grieux fired by reflex. A flash and a mushroom of black smoke penetrated the gray curtain. "Targets!"
The main gun depressed minutely. To Des Grieux's amazement, a howitzer on Hill 504 banged a further shell toward the Federal positions.
A bubble of gaseous metal sent the howitzer barrel thirty meters into the air.
With only one calliope to protect them, the Reps on 504 had dug in somewhat better than their fellows on Hill 661.Despite that,there was still a suicidal amount of ready ammunition stacked around the fast-firing guns. The tank's data banks fed each dump to the gunnery screen.
Des Grieux continued to fire. The haze over the target area darkened, stirred occasionally by sullen red flames. A red 0 replaced the green numeral 1 on the lower right corner of the screen. The interior of the fighting compartment stank like the depths of Hell.
"I told you bastards . . ."Des Grieux repeated, though his throat was so swollen that he had to force the words out. "And I told that bastard Lindgren."
"Sarge?" Kuykendall said.
