Free Raid on Kahamba by Peter Lok

into the air before plunging bac k down in a crazy swirl of smoky lines .  The missiles didn’t fly in a straight line , but spiraled and changed direction on target approach.  The expended missile pods dropped from the HARMs.
     
    Well- coordinated l aser flashes filled the air even before the missiles began racing down.  The firing came from the point defenc e lasers mounted on the shoulders of each of the alien mech a s.  M issile after missile explode d, but over the short distance they were traveling, the 64 missiles made a storm of incoming warheads.  At the last moment the alien mech a s tried to dodge and throw off the incoming missiles.  Large e xplosions bloomed on the bodies of the alien mech a s when the missiles struck .  O ne alien mech a collapsed when six missiles struck it, blowing multiple holes in its armoured back . Billowing black smoke rose high into the air.  Another mech a was hit almost as badly by four missiles. A smoking hole on its upper torso and a missing leg indicated it had been badly damaged.  The third mech a had taken a couple of hits with deep pits gouged on its armour, but seemed otherwise unaffected.  
     
    The HARM units were moving right after the missile launch.  The Newt beam weapons had a longer effective range than the coilguns and they would need to close in to negate that advantage.  An enemy spider - mech could be killed by a coilgun hit at a distance less than two kilometres , but coilgun projectile power increased at shorter ranges .  On the other hand, a Newt beam cannon was equally effective at all ranges under two kilom etres so the alien mech a s preferred to stand off .
     
    Only twenty percent of the mass ed missile attack had hit the targets.  Joshua had hoped that it would have taken out all three mech a s, but Newt missile defences had obviously improved too . “One enemy mech a destroyed, one damaged. Three enemy units remaining,” X announced.  “The third unit is closing rapidly.”  
     
    Wildlife, led by birds flying off, were scattering off in all directions from the explosions that had interrupted their morning routines.  The mech a s were fighting in a fairly flat wooded area.  There wasn’t any significant cover since they were taller than most of the tree s .  Joshua picked the intact mech a for his target and closed in.  Penny designated the remaining damaged mech a .   Both HARM units fired as they ran, their coilguns stabilized by AI directed arm adjustments . 
     
    Bang!   Joshua’s coilgun recoiled as the hypersonic penetrator shot towards the intact mec h a .  At the point of impact , massive amount s of kinetic energy were focused to create a small blast of vapourizing armour and extremely dense , depleted uranium.   A deep gouge left behind indicated it had only struck a glancing blow off the alien molecular armour .  The alien mech a fired the beam cannon held in its arms at Joshua’ s HARM.  The cannon flashed and the cracking sound of explosively heated air near Joshua’s mech a indicated it had just missed.   The cannon flashed again and this time, a chunk of the side armour on his HARM exploded away in a blast of vapour and armour fragments.
     
    “Left side, minor damage,” X called out. “Systems fully functional.”
     
    Joshua changed direction, the feet of his HARM unit digging deep into the ground and throwing up huge clods of earth.  There was a lot of mass in a running HARM unit, but he had to throw off the alien mech a ’s aim.  His coilgun recharged and he fired again.  This time the alien mech a had a chunk of its torso armour blow off between the first arms and the forelegs.  The alien mech a was staggered , but it kept moving and maneuvering .  The beam cannon flashed again, missing Joshua’s mecha.  Joshua was rapidly closing the range , which his HUD showed at 9 8 8 metres.  He dodged again, changing his direction.  Another laser blast scorched his armour. The coilgun indicated it