Corvus (Frontlines: Evolution, #2)

by Marko Kloos

“Reload,” Detmer shouts. “Reloading!” Olsen opens the breech of the MAWS and inserts another round, then slams the breech shut again and turns the locking handle before slapping Detmer on the shoulder. “Sabot up!” Olsen shouts and ducks away from the breech end to avoid the backblast of the shell. “On the way,” Detmer calls out and fires again. Between the three of them, the fire team has ten rounds for the MAWS, and Olsen and Detmer launch them at the enemy group in a steady cadence, one every 38three or four seconds, as quickly as Olsen can reload the gun. The Lanky column is in wild disarray now. Several Lankies are down, and the rest are scattering in half a dozen directions. Now that the ambush is sprung, they are moving with much greater speed and urgency as they try to evade the incoming fire. One of them lowers its head to cover itself with its cranial shield and starts coming up the hillside toward Alex’s team in long strides that cover a terrifying amount of ground with every step. A MAWS round hitting at an unlucky angle glances off the Lanky’s shield and ricochets into the dark sky. Another, fired from across the valley by one of the blocking teams, misses the Lanky altogether and sends up a spray of dirt ten meters to its right. The creature keeps advancing, undeterred. It swings its head slowly from side to side as it comes, a giant trying to shake off a swarm of insects. “Three