The once peaceful open plains are riddled with charred crater impacts from the defending heavy artillery against the invading force’s continuous push. The endless streams of rushing soldiers and armor have pushed against their people’s land and they will hold it at all costs, no matter what happens. Ruins of enemy armor litter about the land as a small quick rabbit tank slides around the obstacles and begins to approach the defensive line. It is leading the intense armor charge with large ships approaching from the water behind them.
“Bring that enemy tank down now!”
“Bring all guns online!”
“It is leading the charge!”
“Fire at will!”
The rabbit slides and dashes about swiftly dodging the large slow firing guns of the artillery placements.
“Our weapons are proving ineffective versus the enemy tank General.”
“Just keep firing all guns, we will overwhelm them with more projectiles than they can handle.”
“Their shield is just too good. We aren't making a dent.”
“What do we do? What are your orders? General. General. Orders!”
“We have lost the war. What are we supposed to do now?”
A smack is heard as the general has his face slapped. Stunned at first, he quickly regains his composure.
“General, get it together!”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Now General, what are your orders?”
“Begin charging up the Devastator cannon!”
“But General, it will consume the rest of our available power!”
“Get the troops on the cranks then. Push the prisoners on the wheels harder. We will hold the defensive line no matter the costs. I don’t care if I go down in history as a villain. So long as the kingdom remains then we can still write that history!”
“Yes, General! It will be done!”
The loud heavy cannon begins to power up from the base as the rabbit tank becomes alerted to its existence and rushes towards it. Power is being diverted from the nation behind the defensive fortress to power the cannon.
“They are trying to target the cannon.”
“Send out the walkers and drones. Stop them at all costs!”
“Yes General, it shall be done.”
Smaller agile unmanned walkers and tanks rush from the base in an effort to stop the tanks push. They open fire with their munitions sliding off the tanks sloped slanted armor with the heavier tank shells and missiles impacting the rabbits shield. The white rabbit seems to easily slide and dash around getting in close to the enemy armor before opening fire on each one in a quick yet decisive manner. The smaller rounds pass through the tank’s shield and slide off the armor which causes great issues when the tank is behind their defensive armor line. As the tank approaches from the rear the walkers turn and spin on their massive twin guns rapid firing at the rabbit tank, with the bullets sliding right by, their friendly soldiers take tons of wounds and damage to the defensive line. The rabbit tank destroys all the enemy armor. There is a flash of bright light for a moment and a loud glass shattering, ear popping, echoing BANG.
Smoke fills the air around us as burning chunks of debris lay all around. The impact hit us in the side, hard enough to impact the armor through our shield. The force stops the tank in its tracks as it explodes, flipping the tank on its side.
“Why did it turn out like this?”
“What did we even do to get this detail?”
“Are we being punished?”
“Why god why?”
Thoughts fill my mind as I look around the fiery crater that is the side of our tank. My eyes are bloodshot, my voice is faint. My arms are burned beyond the extent of human life. The tank is in ruins. The place where we spent our lives. It is family, it is home, it is gone.
“Gone?”
“Why is it gone?”
“Why did this happen?”
I look around me to find Shela passed out in the tank, Meke is covering his body with thick earthen mud to enhance his regeneration. By the looks of him, he is doing it unconsciously. Hopefully he isn’t dead.
“I don’t hear anything. My ears are ringing.”
“I don’t see anyone. Where is Servan? Where is Talos? Where is anyone?”
“Where are they? Where are we? Where am I?”
A loud explosion breaks my silent expression, stopping the rapid fire assault of thoughts in my mind. Another loud explosion rocks the earth near the tank causing a large thud as the shrapnel hits the tanks armor. I look at my lower body and find it missing, blood is everywhere. My thoughts rapid fire again.
“What is this pain? It hurts so much!”
“There is blood everywhere.”
“Oh god my feet. Where are my feet?”
“Where are my legs?”
“Why god, why?”
“Why is this happening right now?”
“No. This pain. This problem. This situation. This defeat. This loss. Everything! Wait, everything?”
“This loss?”
“What loss?”
“Defeat?”
“Who’s defeat?”
“It ends now! Rise Farah. Become the Phoenix you were always meant to be! Rise Farah once more. Rise!”
Thoughts race in my mind. Anger clouds my vision, they dare hurt me, hurt us. My magic begins to swell, it grows intense and filled with fire. I begin to shed my skin as it burns away into a cloak of flames, my legs regrow into sharp talons, my body is swift flames, I am the Phoenix. The phoenix rises once more! I take flight sending small firebolts and fireballs at my enemy with a single flutter of my wings, they did this to me, to us. My voice seems almost ethereal as it echoes across the battlefield for all to hear.
“The Fire Titan Rises!”
“The Phoenix Rises!”
“Burn!”
“Burn, burn, burn, turn to ash! Burn!”
Firebolts and fireballs begin to rapid fire off into the direction of the tank shells firing path as Talos climbs from the wreckage pulling Servan and Shela with him. The sky burns and is filled with balls of bright red and orange with streaks of yellows. Meke, lying in the mud, begins to rise up into a towering giant of earth and rock being able to harden himself into powerful yet durable metal with every punch. He stomps across the battlefield slamming his fists into the earth, rising huge hills and creating vast craters. Farah is swirling in the sky dancing across the air raining down hellfire to all those who stand against them. He is the one and only mighty earth titan set on complete destruction of the enemy. Complete anger and devastation from the titans emanate across the land to their enemies as destruction follows them where they go.
“Shela. Are you okay? Get it together! Here let me wipe the blood from your eyes.”
“Talos. Yeah, thanks.”
“You good Shela?”
“I’m good. I’m here.”
“Servan? You okay over there?”
“Still Alive.”
“Good, good. That's good.”
“What the hell happened?”
“Looks like a large armor piercing shell hit us in the side.”
“Thankfully Meke-sama always has a shield up.”
“If he didn’t the tank would have exploded from the inside and not from the impact on the armor.”
“Rough.”
“Thankfully we have your luck with us, Shela.”
“Yeah my luck, that didn’t save our tank though.”
“The luck of the devil really.”
“Thanks, as always your words are most comforting Servan.”
“Cut the chatter, we got hostiles in our Landing Zone. Get your weapons. We have enemies to engage. Hopefully those two are okay.”
Smoke fills the air as they charge weapons drawn. Firing rounds into the smoke at other ground units and enemy armor as well. They begin to charge to further engage the enemies in the thick smoke and disappear into the thick wall of gray white smoke.
Three Years Earlier.
The chilling winds and light sprinkling of snow glisten in the morning light as they look through the small open hatch on their tank at the large base with other armor units.
“Meke-sama. Meke-sama! Wake up!”
“Morning sleepy head. We're here, get up already.”
“Shela, Farah, good morning.”
“What's going on?”
“We have arrived at the forward base with other armor units.”
“Here look outside at all the tanks, Meke-sama!”
“With all this armor on hand, it should be a big operation. What do you think, commander?”
“All this armor means we must be taking the enemy head on and not through guerrilla tactics like we have been doing.”
“God I hope so, I'm tired of all this cowardly driving.”
“Shela, it is your job to drive the tank. Whether it is cowardly driving or not.”
“My job is the tank mechanic and to drive it in a combat manner. This tank is not suited for all the ambushing then reversing away methods we have been doing. It's bad for the engine and gears with constant use and I don’t know if I will have time to tune it after we get orders.”
“Orders are orders, Meke will have to hold you out off the back of the tank while you do tank maintenance as we drive to location.”
“God I hate doing that commander. Last time the engine and treads ate my good wrench! And my Impact Wrench!”
“I know Shela, I know. I'm sorry the tank wrecked them.”
“They wouldn’t have gotten wrecked if someone was more capable of driving the tank, Great Tank Commander Talos.”
“Look here Shelathe sass isn’t needed. I've practiced some tank driving since then. So you shouldn't lose any more tools or get injured anymore.”
“If I die. I swear to god I will find a way to become a ghost. I. Will. Haunt. You.”
“You will be fine, Shela. Anyways, that is for a later time. Let's go get our orders, everyone is lining up.”
Their tank is one of a couple of types at the base, a light recon scouting tank, nicknamed a rabbit tank due to their communication and scouting devices protruding from the top of the tank like a rabbit's ears. Other tanks like the Light Tank LT-003 Prowler is the main battle tank of their current army and operations. It is a tad bit larger with two of the rabbit tank cannons and 1 cannon that is even bigger than the others. They have more crew and more guns which increases their firepower drastically, making them powerful yet devastating tanks. Their size makes them larger targets to hit by aerial units which can be dangerous when they are lying in the snow for ambushing enemy armor. Their rabbit tank, like all others, is painted in Artic White Camouflage paint to easily hide in the snowy lands. They park their tank with all the others and exit to fall in line for their orders. A High Elf general in the standard black uniform approaches the lines of tank crews.
“Welcome to the Frozen lands of Niflheim, great soldiers of the Black Empire! As you can see we are engaging the enemy in their winter months to take their lands and strongholds. As the report you all had been given states, this land has engaged in long hard fought battles against the native insect bug-like race for many decades. This has made them weak and ripe for the picking, this world is of economical value to the empire so keep it intact as you conquer it. Further orders will be relayed to all units in the field by the operators. Embark in your armor to your tanks designated Area of Operations and await for further orders, Dismissed!”
They get in their tank and begin to leave as Meke holds Shela out the back while she is making repairs and adjustments to the tank.
“What is that? What are they doing?”
“Ah general, it is the crew of Recon Tank 101. That soldier is currently making tank repairs and adjustments while they drive to their AO.”
“That is impressive. Is she certified to perform maintenance on their armor?”
“She is not certified, however the chief has given her his blessing due to her changes. He has even adopted most of them for all other Recon Tanks with his maintenance and repair reports even being approved by high command.”
“Oh is that so. Get her certified then and given credits for the tanks. Also have her work on the light tanks, if there are improvements to be made she needs to see to it. Let the chief know.”
“Yes sir!”
The tank trudges along in the snow as it approaches the large hill and as Shela gives the call they slide the tank down the hill as she removes the tanks treads in route. She lays them on the tank and begins tightening various bolts and screws as she pulls the AUG gear backwards allowing for slower but more powerful rotations for the treads. She finishes both sides as other tanks pass more quickly and sees the somewhat unique but familiar sight of a crazed girl atop her tank without any treads while driving along the path. After she gets the treads fixed up with some metal claw attachments which go into the tank and fold inwards as the treads go under the tank then pop out to grip the snow and ice as they spin out allowing for excellent mobility on ice and snow terrain. The tricky part is getting the treads back on the tank while moving which is nearly impossible for normal crews. As they get to the next hill Meke creates a large earth base acting as a sled and lifts the tank on earthen spires while Shela lays the tracks down and Meke lifts them up so she can install them getting the tank back up and running even faster. They end up stopping the tank while she finishes all the attachments as Meke keeps pushing them forwards along the earth with his earth magic. Once they are installed they hit the road again in their newly equipped tank, she soon passes the other tanks which are sliding and struggling in the ice with her easy to drive tank. They arrive at their AO first and wait for their operation to begin.
“Meke-sama, are you okay? You used a lot of magic to keep us moving and to lift the tank.”
“I'll be fine. I used a good amount of it, less than how much it costs to use the shield bubble around the tank.”
“Okay good. Just want to make sure you're okay, Meke-sama. So what do you want to do after this assignment, Meke-sama?”
“Hmm I don’t know. Haven't thought about it really.”
“Come on Meke-sama, we haven’t gone on a proper vacation in soooo long!”
“Well what do you want to do Shela?”
“I don’t care. So long as I’m with you Meke-sama.”
“What about you Farah? What are you planning on doing after this?”
“Not you, that's for sure. Kidding. I don’t know, hopefully take a shower after this and wash it all away. I smell like tank.”
“What does tank smell like?”
“Tools, oil, sweat, and big guns.”
“Interesting. What about you, Servan?”
“Wait nevermind.”
“Rude,much. You didn’t even ask me what I want to do!”
“We know what you want to do, wanna be Mr. Ladies Man.”
“How mean. And here I was supporting your wants and desires for a shower.”
“I don’t want you to want or desire anything to do with my shower Servan. Ef off.”
“How mean. Doesn’t anyone care about me? What about you Shela?”
“I mean.”
“Wow.”
“Fine. Fine then, Servan. I’ll bite the bullet and ask. What do you plan to do after this?”
“Well I plan to search around the barracks for a hot little.”
“Yup nevermind. Commander! What do you plan to do after this?””
“Probably need a vacation.”
“A vacation? We just started the assignment.”
“It’s been a long dredging time. I need a vacation.”
“Commander, it has been like 2 hours since we have been on assignment.”
“Have you met you all? I need a vacation.”
“Wow!”
“Well then Meke-sama think about what you want to do after this assignment. We can go and find something fun to do or just cuddle. I don’t care as long as we do something like-.”
“Cut the chatter we got hostiles approaching.”
“I see 3 armors approaching. 2 Light, 1 Heavy.”
“Have any orders come through yet?”
“Just stand by and wait.”
“Begin to evade them. Send coms that we are taking fire and will be engaging.”
“Roger!”
The tank begins to dodge and weave back and forth in a large serpent pattern as they begin to close the distance against the other tanks. Normally being outnumbered 3 to 1 with enemies coming head on in open terrain would be a death sentence however they are a special group.
“Meke, keep up the slow burst firing against their armor.”
“It doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything though.”
”The mg is doing some damage to their front armor and we can disable their smaller guns and counting equipment.”
“Roger that commander!”
“Shields up Meke, lets the bullets slide past and tank their cannon fire!”
“Roger that commander.”
Enemy bullets pass right against the tank and slide off the slanted armor, enemy shells slam into the magical shield surrounding the tank. The tank rocks and slides backwards at the sheer power of the slow firing heavy cannon on heavy armor. Another hit impacts the tank as they approach the first enemy.
“Take this! Farah Shot!”
The rabbit tank fires, the shell striking the enemy light tank and sliding right off the side armor.
“Where the hell are you aiming, Farah!”
“At the enemy. Why?”
“You straight up missed after yelling Farah shot.”
“This is harder than it looks. This isn’t training anymore.”
“The enemy is well trained while we are completely novices. Their shots don’t miss like ours are going to.”
“Come on Farah shoot again. Why are you not shooting at them?”
“Calm down Shela, wait a minute. I got this.”
“Why are you waiting? I'm doing everything I can to drive around to dodge these heavy shots.”
“Hey man I got nervous. You look through this little UI hole and shoot as the enemy shoots at you. It looks like it is going to hit you in the eye!”
“Get it together Farah. Meke has his shield up so you're fine. Just fire when you're ready. Shela, stop antagonizing her.”
“Yes commander!”
The tank swiftly slides around the enemy light tank and opens fire on its side as it fires back impacting the shield causing Farah to jump. The light tank is out of commission as the side is completely ripped apart from the close ranged impact. Once more they employ the strategy sliding around the second light tank hitting it hard from the side. As they tank more impacts against the shield the enemy tank begins to fire slower as the rabbit tank approaches.
“Be careful guys my shield is cracking from this heavy firing and magic shields take a lot of manna to keep us fully protected.”
“Their firing rate is slowing down. Remain cautious.”
“They must be running out of ammo Farah. Get em!”
“Okay. Get us around its side!”
The rabbit tank slides up around the heavy tank after they fired their main gun and fired right into their side armor. To their surprise their shot did almost no damage and the heavy tank fired at them recoiling their small rabbit tank backwards.
“It dealt no damage! Quick run away Shela!”
The tank reverses and immediately slides to quickly turn around as they take a powerful shot against their shield cracking it greatly.
“What do we do now?”
“We are going to have to keep taking shots at the side or back where it is weakest.”
“That is a problem commander. That last shot cracked the shield pretty good. I got one more use of the shield bubble.”
“Can you do anything else after that? Like absorb magic or take magic from something?”
“I can’t do that with my magic. That is unique to only a select few.”
“Ah sorry I didn’t know. I’ve never been a magician or magic caster myself. So I don't exactly know what you can do with your magic.”
“I can create earth walls and manipulate earth. I learned how to do the tank bubble during training but I'm still inexperienced with it so I can't fully use it without the high mana cost effectively.”
“So you can do shields and earth walls. What about you Farah?”
“I can create and manipulate flames and heat as well as use enhancement magic for combat.”
“Can you enhance the tank shells to go faster or become more dense?”
“I think I can. I’ve never tried it.”
“Okay so for our next plan. Shela, drive the best you can and dodge all the shots until we get close. Meke tanks the close shot with the shield, then after Farah does an enhanced shot we retreat full speed backwards as Meke puts up earthen walls to shield the tank. Shela will try and take the tank shell to the front of the gun to minimize the damage to the tank to just the gun. We have a spare so we should be okay. Everyone ready?”
“Roger Commander!”
They charge forward with the plan. Shela dodges and weaves a serpentine pattern getting closer to the tank. A heavy shell slides right past them impacting the ground rocking the tank spraying mud all over it as they slide up next to it. Farah has been charging a shell and aims with the eyes of flames. The enemy tank fires, shattering the shield and crushing the front of the tank cannon. Stunned for a moment not knowing what to do, panic sets in the crew for a moment. The enemy tank loads their next shell. Calm and collected, Shela rams the enemy tank head on, smashing their gun into their treads.
“Fire Farah! Fire!”
“Do it now Farah! Before they shoot us!”
Farah fires the shell without need or worry of accuracy as it explodes against the heavy tank ruining the gun in the process disabling them. They reverse full speed as Meke puts up as many walls as possible but the last shot from the enemy rips through the walls slamming against the tank exploding on the top breaking the armor of the rabbit tank. Imploding shrapnel impacts into the top of the tank wrecking it. Farah smiles hard as she counts down.
“3. 2. 1. Boom!”
“Boom? What's Boom?”
“Hmm weird I knew I set the spell right.”
“What were you trying to do?”
“Just a simple-”
The enemy tank explodes in hellfire as Farah's magic goes wild burning the tank armor from the intense flames that don’t go out from rain or anything until the magic effect ends.
“That! That's the Boom!”
“The hell was that Farah?”
“A super Farah Shot!”
“Super Farah Shot?”
“Yeah! It's supercharged heavy shell with intense flames and delayed explosions. So the enemy thinks they are safe then Boom! They didn’t know what hit them!”
“Good to know. Report our situation and damage to command. Lets pull back a bit and get this tank fixed quickly. Servan, patch the top armor. Me and Farah will watch for enemies. Meke, assist Shela in gun changing. Servan you patch it up. Let's move.”
“Yes Sir!”
They quickly get the gun fixed and the tank in fighting order while they rest waiting for orders. Meke goes to sleep to conserve and restore some magic power while the others wait. They finally receive orders to push against the eastern wall and as they arrive, they see many of their tanks and countless enemy tanks destroyed in combat.
“What the hell happened here?”
“Must be intense battles.”
“So what are our orders, commander?”
“We are to hold this front against enemy units. Wake Meke up if we see hostiles, let him rest for as long as possible.”
“I can use the magic shield spell as well but it won't be for nearly as long as Meke.”
“Good to know Servan, we will count on you for the smaller issues.”
The eerie silence breaks the crew's random conversations with enemy armor and troops marching against them. They push back the enemy troops with their mounted Mass Projectile Gun MPG-02: Firing 7.62 mm armor piercing rounds made of small titanium bits at a high rate of fire. Can pierce through trooper armors of almost all types and can even damage enemy light armor.
“Farah.”
“Don’t kick me Shela.”
“Come on, absorb the heat from the gun. It's so hot in here.”
“Fine, hold on I’ll make it cooler in here, princess Shela.”
“I'm not a princess, just hot.”
People fall one after another from the blasting of the gun until a large screeching is heard down the road as a few armor units turn towards them. They shake hard as the first volley of shells slam all around them, one of them detonated close enough to set of Servan’s shield cracking it instantly. Farah begins engaging the enemy armor a few shells falling short.
“Wake Meke up immediately. We need a more powerful shield than this.”
“He's getting up now.”
“Engage the enemy armor Shela, also make sure to dodge better this time we don’t need a wrecked tank.”
“Yes sir.”
The rabbit begins dodging, weaving, and sliding towards the enemy taking only a few shots from the enemy light armors. They get close enough for their first shot to slam into the enemy armor disabling it in a single blow. They take 2 close ranged shots causing the shield to develop cracks. Farah's next few shots miss before taking a straight on shot to their shield. Farah steadies herself and takes a straight shot at another armor disabling it. As they begin to close the distance on the light armor Shela veers hard to the left sliding off the road into the grass.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“What the hell Shela? Drive better!”
“Landmines ahead.”
“Landmines?”
“Yes commander, landmines. I only saw them last minute due to enemy armor swerving slightly out of the way from it.”
“Good job Shela. Being not only able to drive the tank but also view the surrounding areas for obstacles takes great skill. If only our gunner was half as capable.”
“Commander, why are you being so mean? I can shoot the tank cannon just fine!”
“But aiming is something you should work on.”
“Commander!”
A large barrage of tank shells slam into the top of the shield and the surrounding area setting off the landmines. They drive up onto the road and continue chasing the last light armor.
“3 heavy tanks and 2 light tanks are approaching from the front commander.”
“Engage them all the same. Farah, begin sending out more powerful magical shots when you have the right targeting coordinates. Don’t waste needless magic energy on missed shots.”
“Yes Sir!”
They slide across the road dipping into the grass using the momentum to carry them forward dodging even the most powerful tank shots. Farah fires a powerful shell which slams into and detonates on the light armor melting the entire front of it like hot wax to a roaring candle flame. Meke’s shield cracks from the constant barrages while Farah misses a few more attacks getting just the right angle. Her next attack slams hard into the heavy armor engulfing it in flames disabling it in a single shot. Her next powerful shot crashes into the other tanks one after another until the last one melts before her intense liquid flames which superheat the metal. Farah began charging them with more of a plasma magic goo. They explode dealing even more damage to a small area and can melt most armor types and materials. It costs her more magical power but the results speak wonders to their enemies. They report their situation to command and await further orders.
“Shela, we have some down time so see if we need any repairs. Servan your on lookout duty keep us posted with any enemy units in the area. Meke and Farah, you two rest up, your magic will be needed again.
“Okay!”
“That was so scary!”
“I know right! There were a lot of them this time!”
“Don’t worry Shela, with your driving and my guns we can get through anything!”
“Yeah we can. Anyways Shela go fix the tank, ima take a nap real quick.”
“Listen up crew, we got orders. We are starting Operation Sneak”
The crew finishes their repairs and are on standby until they receive the next orders. They are to remain in a stealth approach to the far eastern cliffside and take out the big displacement artillery and anti aerial gun emplacements. They travel through the night and are tired and zombie-like as they get to a good stopping point for the day and have Meke use his earthen might to bury the tank and cover the top in earth and lush grass making a hill in a naturally hilly area. They sleep through the majority of the morning before coming together for a meal.
“You know, these Easy Eat Meals are pretty nice.”
“Yeah they are. I always eat the different pasta ones they have, the Artichoke Cream and Speget are pretty good.”
“Servan, which one do you like?”
“I enjoy the rice and meat ones.”
“Those are good as well. The herb chicken and rice slaps.”
“What about you Meke-sama?”
“The tender Proze and Thell are both good with rice.”
“Proze is too gamey and heavy for me, I like the more lighter and smooth Thell.”
“Thell’s good, but have you tried Quelsh?”
“Eh, not really a fan. What about you commander?”
“I prefer the basic and simple meals. You can’t go wrong with bread and water.”
“True, very true. It just gets boring. I don’t know how you can eat just the bread and water ration every single time.”
“Simplicity is best. Anyways, what's the current time of day Shela?”
“Looks like it is after midday.”
“Alright everyone, take your sleeping pill and we will travel when we wake up next.”
“Roger roger.”
The crew awakes as the sun has set and the last light begins to fade away. They use the bathroom as Meke raises the tank and they continue their journey.
“Keep our engine output low to dampen the noise if possible.”
“I can cast some magic to silence the tank if needed.”
“Yes Servan do that. Also if you don’t need to silence the entire tank then only silence the tank treads and engine.”
“Yes sir.”
“Meke can you cover the tracks from the tank? Is that possible with your earth magic?”
“I can by rolling the earth behind the treads.”
“Okay well if it doesn’t require too much magic power then do that. So far the tank has gotten into the forest and hasn’t left. Well according to our tank treads anyways. Keep up the current pace and we should be at the destination the next night. We will go over the plan before we engage the enemy.”
“Yes sir!”
They continue their routine travel at night, sleep, eat, and sleep again throughout the days as they soon arrive at their destination and sleep for the final time. After they eat and relieve themselves they get the tank ready for combat as the sun begins to rise over the battlefield.
“Listen up, this is our current plan. We are going to send the ready code to command and they will continue pushing the enemy. Our current objective is to take out the large artillery and displacement guns up top. Now they do not expect us to get up there easily and have the slope defended by bunkers and trenches. We will have Meke and Farah get up the hill. Meke will act as transportation while Farah sets some super powered Farah fire bombs on the targets. Then you all sneak back to our tank, we blow it and run like hell! Any questions?”
“Me, me, me!
“Yes Farah?”
“What's a super powered Farah fire bomb?”
“Hmm, well I don’t really know. I heard it was some kind of super uber powerful delayed magic that goes off melting the target in a sea of flames.”
“Oh that sounds really cool!”
“Yeah so I don’t know if you can do it but if not Shela and Servan may be able to.”
“I can do it! I can do it no problem! Super Farah Fire Bomb. No problems!”
“Good. Servan, send the code. Meke and Farah get ready to go. Shela, get the tank up and running. We leave as soon as they get back. Ready. Set. Go!”
Meke and Farah begin to ascend up the hill with Meke’s earth magic lifting them like an escalator as the guns begin to fire at distant targets and aircrafts. The soldiers hold their defensive lines unaware of the sneaking about. Farah gets close enough to each of the targets to begin channeling and casting her magic, once they get all the targets with her spell they make a break for it as a soldier sees them running away.
“Hey who goes there! Someone has been prowling around here!”
Snickering like school children doing something bad, Meke and Farah leap off the cliff being cushioned in the fall as she lands on the bottom and stands in the most confident manner to snap her fingers saying “Boom!” then laughing maniacally. Intense hellfire and flames erupt from the top of the hill engulfing and melting the people and metal guns alike as small firy rocks come flying outwards from the explosion. She confidently gets into the tank before smiling like an idiot.
“I take the large fireball in the sky and the meteor shower means success, Farah?”
“Hehe, yeah!”
“Good, Servan relay the completion code. We're leaving the AO. Let's wait for further orders. Move out!”
The crew heads southbound far away from the ridge and buries the tank to hide. Enemy patrols are swift as they chase the treds into the forest and start looking for a stealthy tank which they can't find. They pull back due to the overwhelming push against their line by a line of heavy armor. They receive orders to head to the top of the ridge they just fire bombed since they are setting up a new forward command. They arrive and restock supplies and repair their tank.
“God what the hell happened to that tank. Shela!?”
“Ah Chief! We're back!”
“I can see that. What happened to your tank?”
“Ah yeah, we took a few large cannon shots to the front and gun. That's the spare.”
“What did you do, fight the entire armor company yourselves?”
“I mean yeah, kind of?”
“Chief sorry to interrupt. We need repairs, ammunition, and a new spare gun for our recon tank. If possible I'd like to keep it how it is and not cleaned.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem with the cleaning and ammunition, the gun has to be approved by the local Commanding Officer. Head down to the large tent to get your next orders, and if you're lucky a time slot for showers. ”
“Showers commander! It has been so long! Get us good showers! Farah! Farah!”
“What Shela, what?”
“Showers! We get Showers!”
“Oh my gawd! I can't believe this miracle.”
Talos leaves and heads down to the large command tent to get all the requisitions filled as the chief hears whispers from the other soldiers commenting on all their successes and how they bright down more enemy armor then any other tank thus far. They are matching the entire 3rd armor company in objectives, armor, and tank kills so far. They chat while waiting for the good news from Talos as he returns.
“What's the word on the shower situation?”
“All of our requests have been met. We can shower as much and anytime we want to so long as we go as a group.”
“Yippie! Let's go now.”
“Gather everyone and we will go. After we get back we have Priority 1 orders. Dismissed.”
“Also chief here is the order list, just load it all into the back section we will double up if needed.”
“Well look here. Your going places Shela, quite literally I might add. It’s going to be a tight squeeze for this mission so bear with it.”
The crew gathers and takes a long awaited shower. Revigorating and rejuvenating their tired bodies melting the stress away with a calm bliss. They have food and board their fixed up and restocked tank and begin to depart the base.
“God, it's so cramped in here! What gives?”
“It's for the newest assignment. Double the firepower so if we need extra space we can double up. It’s too dangerous to ride on top since we are in sniper territory.”
“But Meke has a magic shield. It can stop a simple sniper round.”
“Yes but all communications have been blocked by our tank when we are fighting the enemy. They may not know about the shield so we are trying to keep that a secret. All enemies we have engaged so far haven’t been able to report us.”
“Ohhhh, okay! That's good. We still have Meke shield and Farah shot as secret weapons!”
“Exactly Farah. And we keep our secrets close to us.”
“So where to commander?”
“Yeah where are we going? What's our new objective?”
“We are to deal the main blow against the enemy fortress and destroy their walls and gates to allow our armor and troops to get inside. Farah will be playing a key element in this fight so you're on magic relax duty. When we get to the fortress we will take a good artillery spot. For now keep the engine revved up loud, we are acting like a decoy of sorts.”
They travel to the current AO and sleep through the night. When morning light breaks over the distant yet vast fortress of thick walls which stretch the valley and mountains, they go over the plan.
“Alright listen up. Especially you Farah since this plan involves you the most. Farah is to begin laying siege against the enemy stronghold hitting the wall in various points in an unsuspicious way. Record all the successful shots. When the operation begins Farah you are going to fire super powerful delayed shots at the wall which will explode shortly after opening up paths for our army to get in. The enemy is super proud of their defenses, let's break their spirit!”
“How long do I have to practice my long range shots? Like a week?”
“Funny Farah. You get 8 hours.”
“Wait what? Only 8 hours! How am I supposed to become a true artillery hot shot in that short time?”
“You just need to successfully hit their walls a few times. Ain’t noone becoming a new and upcoming hot shot artillery.”
“Okay fine so when do I start, tomorrow?”
“Now 5 minutes ago when we arrived.”
“Commander!”
“Better get to it Mrs. Hot Shot Artillery.”
Farah begins firing at the enemy base, at first they scrambled due to the impacts but soon realized it's another enemy light armor who is unable to do anything. Convinced they are just probing their defenses and their walls hold firmly they stand down and let them do as they please. Farah's first 3 shots fall short of the wall going down the line from the east to center then to the west. As she adjusts incrementally her 4th shot hits firmly in the walls most eastern section. Her next two shots hit around the middle section on the eastern wall as a few begin to hit dead center. They record their hit coordinates and firing angles as they repeat the process. Keeping the enemy focused on their little tank barraging them they are unaware of the massive ever growing pool of tanks gathering far behind them. Making the decision to just monitor the tank and not sending aircraft was their biggest mistake of the war and will go down in history for the blunder it caused. When Farah got her 3 angles they sent their ready code and had lunch and relaxed for a bit until they received their start code.
“Farah, ready to start?”
“Ready to go anytime.”
“Put as much destructive power in them as possible. Don’t worry about holding back this time. The entire armor company is going to assault them after you crack them open.”
“Roger that!”
Farah begins charging 5 super sized intense balls of fire high in the sky while chanting.
“Super. Powered. Super. Powered. Super. Powered. Farah Fire Bomb! Shoot!”
The fire bombs immediately dart towards their target points, 4 slam into the large thick walls while the middle one hits the massive gate dead center. There is a small delay as Farah begins to count down on her fingers then says “Boom”. Explosions shake the fortress as the fire bombs explode into a super heated thick slime-like substance which begins to melt through the walls and metal armor. The allied armor charges into the fortress immediately taking the swift path to victory.
“Good job Farah. How do you feel?”
“I’m good, commander. We can keep going!”
“You're not too magically drained right?”
“No, I'm good to go. No problem here.”
“Welcome back Farah! You did great out there!”
“Thanks, Shela. Now let's go. I don’t want to miss all the fun!”
“Alright team, move out!”
The crew begins their onslaught against enemy armor as they storm the fortress with the others. As they take out many of the enemy armor defenses they begin to pull back in haste. The fortress is empty with all the allied armor inside. A few heavy armored units pull back and head back to the forward base while the light armor holds the fortress. They relax in their tank as they back against the wall where Farah melted through and wait for further orders.
“So while we wait, commander, what do you think of our current orders to just stand by?”
“What do you mean what do I think, Shela?”
“There is something off with these orders.”
“How so?”
“Don’t you find it weird that high command was so vigorous in the capturing of this fortress but now they are silent. Weird right?”
“Hmm. Good point. Servan ran the comms again. Listen in deep to our orders. Something does seem off. Stay in the tank.”
“All I hear is repeating orders on a loop.”
“What does it say?”
“You have completed your task now, wait for further orders.”
“That doesn’t sound like normal orders. Record it with a recording device. We may be able to salvage this for the war.”
“That is a surprisingly good idea, Farah.”
“Hehe thanks.”
“Servan relay via the codes through the discrete channel. Don’t tell them we have the recording yet.”
“What should I say?”
“Relay we have taken the fortress and are receiving mixed orders. That should clear up the misunderstanding.”
“The return code has come through.”
“What is the message?”
“Current orders are to pull back to the forward base.”
“Send the message back saying the enemy has invaded our comms and is issuing a stand down order. All heavy armor pulled back but the recon and light armor have worse comm devices.”
“Their return code has come in.”
“What is it?”
“Understood. Go With The Empire.”
“That means we have freedom to do whatever!”
“Don’t get excited yet, Shela.”
“What do you mean?”
“Orders like this means we are a lost cause. We can’t be saved.”
“What!”
“Stop. We will be fine. Servan, send this message. We will hold our own and defeat the enemies before us without fail. For the empire!”
“They returned the message, Glory To The Empire.”
“Okay everyone it is what it is. Meke put up an awareness shield to detect threats from above. Stay in the tank on alert but relax while we can. In the event we get into it, bury the tank. We will assess the situation from then.”
“Hey Oliver.”
“Oh hey Shela. What’s hanging?”
“Do you happen to have any Mana potions or equipment?”
“Not on me why?”
“Our little fireball is tired from all the firebombs.”
“Oh yeah? Maybe ask Johnathan. They tend to have a small stock pile due to their additional mana core.”
“Thanks, will do!”
“Keep up the good work!”
“You too.”
“Speak of the devil. Johnathan. Hey Johnathan! Over here!”
“Shela. What's up?”
“Hey our little spunk fire cannon Farah is feeling tired from those fire bombs. Do you have any mana potions on hand?”
“I mean I can check really fast. Why not come with me?”
“Sorry I can’t at the moment. Our comms are busted and I’m fixing the crank shaft. That heavy powered magic attack did some damage to us as well.”
“At least you look better than the walls and gate.”
“Yeah, you're telling me.”
“Alright give me a second, I'll check with the Requisition Officer.”
“Heard.”
“Wow Shela. You got all the boys wrapped around your finger.”
“The only “boy” wrapped around my finger is my husband.”
“Where? All I see is the boys of the tank and the boys around your fingers.”
“Meke! Meke is my husband.”
“Sure.”
“Oooh I’m gonna get you real good Farah. Just you wait. Johnathan.”
“Yo. Here you go. I got you some good stuff.”
“Nice nice. What's the haul?”
“2 Mana Pendants which passively restores mana. Break it for a nice short boost. There are 4 Large Mana Potions and 2 Medium Mana Potions.”
“Nice. Thanks Johnathan. You're always a great help!”
“Just fill out the Requisition Requests when you're done with repairs.”
“Heard. Will do.”
Some time passes as they monitor the situation and relax while they can. They watch the others enjoy their time outside their tanks chatting about their missions and combat situations.
“Anything new on the comms?”
“Just Static.”
”Static?”
Static comes across the comms then stops as a faint humming is heard for a few moments. High above the clouds a heavy bomber drops a massive destructive weapon which as it falls it triggers Meke early warning shield.
“Everyone! Brace For Impact!”
Meke buries the tank deep into the ground and places thick earth overtop of them. A super powered shield is put up with Servan placing his shield on top Meke’s to absorb some of the damage. The weapon detonates on the ground wiping out the entire fortress and all the armor inside. Earth is thrown everywhere with the center of the fortress cratering from the impact.
“God what happened?”
“Status report! Shela what's going on?”
“Systems are down. Bringing them back online.”
“Wait. Get them up but kill them immediately after. In case the enemy can detect us, everyone, stay quiet and move silently.”
“Systems are off but operational.”
“How’s Meke?”
“He’s unconscious. The amount of magic required must have been intense.”
“Give him a medium potion to speed up his recovery. Farah, drink a medium one as well so you're in top shape. Servan if you can try and observe the enemies around us when they come.”
“Roger that!”
They relax for a half hour before they hear enemy armor enclose all around them and retake the destroyed fortress. Meke wakes up and drinks a large potion to regain some of his magic.
“Servan, how is it looking?”
“Most of the armor has become idle while their crews have disembarked. ”
“How many enemy armor do you think have operational crews?”
“Maybe 6 or 7 of them. The rest are idle.”
“How many of them do you count in total?”
“Looks like about 16 or so?”
“Good to know. Farah, do you think you can firebomb all of them instantly?”
“Not with the same amount of power I used against the walls. I can get like 10 of them, 11 at best.”
“Okay let's do that. Meke are you good to go?”
“I’m ready.”
“Alright so this is the plan. Meke will raise us up with walls on our sides and behind us. It doesn’t matter if they are thick or not, just obstruct their view of us. Farah firebomb as many as you can. Hopefully they will cross their shots and hit friendlies. Shela drives like a bat outta hell. We kill what we can and run away. We will regroup then hit them again.”
“They would never expect a sneak attack from the rubble they created.”
“Especially from within their own armor units. Are you ready, Meke-sama?”
“I’m ready. Let's do it!”
Large earth walls rise high up from the ground and a small tank emerges. The enemy is quick to respond, scrambling towards their tanks as shots rip right through the earth walls since they were made of soft dirt causing them to hit their own troops and armor while also putting a dirt dust cloud everywhere. Firebombs shoot off at the furthest tanks hitting them dead center engulfing them in flames. Farah fires her cannon hitting a medium tank dead center in the side taking it out, Servans shield goes down due to the constant barrage but Meke’s holds firm. Shela slides the tank around the side as Farah constantly takes out one tank at a time with the cannon while launching 3 firebombs at a time. They take a few major hits but keep pressing onwards until a powerful heavy shot rips through the wall in the distance and hits their tank dead on shattering the shield and busting the gun.
“The hell was that!”
“Armor piercing tank round?”
“Must have been. It ripped through the northern wall.”
The next shot rips through the wall and hits a destroyed armor near the rabbit tank splitting it in half before digging deep into the ground.
“Wow that one was super close!”
“I don’t think we can tank that shot without a shield!”
“They don’t call it armor piercing tank rounds for nothing Farah.”
“Oh my god Shela. You wanna fight!”
“All crew focus up and listen well. Meke put up a powerful shield like before. Farah, you charge a shot for an up close and personal delivery. Shela, get us there, charging head on it doesn’t matter if you dodge. The enemy won’t expect us to survive a death charge. Servan, put up an emergency shield before Farah fires to absorb any impact and shock from her attack.”
Farah charges a super powered Farah shot as Shela drives against the tank head on. The tank fires an armor piercing shell at them but Meke’s shield tanks the shot completely shattering in the process. Farah puts the broken tank gun right up against the enemy tanks front right under their gun turret and fires. Servan puts his shield up just in time, shattering as it absorbs Farah's kickback from her wild attack.
“We did it!”
“Meke-sama! Meke-sama! We did it! Hooray!”
“Congratulations guys. Good work. Now let's send the completion code and return back to the forward base.”
“Roger!”
They churn along their tank broken and battered, treads barely hanging on from the crazy fighting from before. As they enter the forward base heads turn to look at their tank. Missing an entire armor chunk from the backside, their chairs are exposed to the cold winter air. They park their tank and begin to catch up with others, and repair their tank while Talos goes and reports.
“Enter.”
“Major Talos Tank Commander reporting in.”
“You're the tank commander who stayed at the fortress after it had been conquered and disobeyed orders.”
“I would like to submit the recording of the orders being relayed to us in the fortress.”
He plays it for them.
“I’ve submitted it to the code breakers. Farah pointed out the fact that there seems to be an encoded message due to how it repeats and how some messages have a clicking sound at the end.”
“Do you think it is a code?”
“Due to the recon tanks' outdated communication devices the larger armor units turned back to the forward base but the enemy didn’t know that. We saw the heavy armor leave before they ever entered the fortress yet the enemy knew of their existence.”
“So the enemy doesn’t know of the heavy armor units that returned?”
“We stayed alert in the tank with magical scouting and didn’t come across a single enemy unit on ground or in the sky. The enemy should believe they rounded up our main armor unit and broke them at the fortress. They were very surprised when we managed to surprise attack them from within their own ranks.”
“We can use this to our advantage. The black empire is a great place to live. Every citizen is given a better life than anywhere else in the universe. It is the best and most enjoyable place to live, but to fight them is an entirely different story! We will show our might as the villains to these defending people. We will roll through their entire capital city with the entire might of the armor core.”
“What can we do to further the empire's domination?”
“I like your attitude Major Talos. Get your tank repaired yesterday, use whatever you need. After that you will conquer the airfield by midday tomorrow and then join the main armor company as it takes the capital.”
“By conquering the airfield, do we need to keep it standing?”
“If you need to completely destroy it then by all means go ahead. It just needs to be out of commission.”
“Roger that!”
“You have your orders. Dismissed.”
Talos leaves the command tent and returns to the tank.
“How did it go?”
“Good. We have orders. Shela, Farah, Servan, gut those tanks and get ours fixed on the double. Meke and I will go get more munitions. Get to it quick!”
“We can break the other tanks apart?”
“We were given permission to do anything to get our tank fixed up. It doesn’t matter what you need, just get it done. If the chief has a problem he can help or take it up with the base commander. Get it fixed by the end of the day otherwise no one gets showers or beds!”
“I want to shower so bad!”
“A bed? To sleep in? We haven’t had one of those in a long time!”
“Roger that!”
Talos and Meke leave to get the munitions and supplies they need. Word spreads across the base about how they survived the bombing and destroyed an entire armor company and a super heavy armor breaker tank. Which has helped them get the supplies and parts they need for their tank.
“Alright, are we all done now?”
“Yuppers. The tank is all fixed up and loaded with supplies.”
“Good. Let’s hit the mess hall. Afterwards we get to shower and priority use of barracks 2.”
“Roger!”
They all go get a long awaited hot non ready to eat meal. They enjoy coffee and relaxation while they just sit and chat.
“God man. Hot food is just too overpowered!”
“It just hits differently you know?”
“I mean the Ready to Eat Meals are okay but man, even warm bread is so much better.”
“I can’t wait to shower after this.”
“Me to me too.”
“And sleep in a bed!”
“I don’t know about you guys but my tank chair is comfy as hell.”
“We don’t all get the space you have, Farah. Your seat is bigger since it's meant to rotate slightly.”
“I feel bad for Shela. She has to sleep with pedals in her foot area.”
“You get used to it. It’s not so bad.”
“Are you all done yet! I wanna shower!”
“Fine. Let's go shower and sleep. We leave at first light.”
They shower then hit the beds in the barracks. Even though they are simple cots and not all that comfortable just laying down flat is enough to put them all out to bed quickly. Morning light breaks and they hit the mess hall before embarking on their quick paced journey towards the airfield.
“For this assault on the airfield we just need to conquer it so the enemy doesn’t launch any planes. Farah, your job is just a massive firebomb attack. Destroy the entire thing in a single shot if you can.”
“Sounds easy enough. The only problem is the enemy will be alerted to our position the moment we start attacking. I don’t have the time to get the firing angle right and charge the shot.”
“Can you charge a tank shell and then load it?”
“Well yeah.”
“Alright, Servan, you're going to be our tnk gunner. You get three shots when Farah is at 80% charged. Get the firing angle right so all she has to do is fire it once it’s loaded.”
“Yes sir.”
“Start charging it Farah.”
“How much power should I use?”
“Close to everything if you can.”
“Roger that. I will let you know when Servan can start.”
Farah cradles and hugs a large tank shell as red balls glimmer around her and slowly begin to pull inwards into the shell. It slowly begins to absorb the intense powerful magic energy. Once it was 80% charged it was glowing like the light of a roaring fire in the dark of night.
“Okay Servan, start firing!”
The first shot falls short of the airfield and to the left. After some adjustment it hits a building on the mid right. The troops begin to sortie.
“Ah Servan. Hurry up. The enemy is beginning to sortie!”
“I’ve almost got it. Just give me a minute!”
“We don’t have a minute. Servan!”
“There I got it! Dead center. You're up, Farah!”
Farah takes the chair as they load the shell. She immediately trusts her team and fires the moment the shell is ready.
“Super Powered Farah Shot!”
Planes line the runway and begin their take off run as the shell hits dead center. The explosion is so intense creating a building-sized mushroom cloud raining flames across all the buildings completely destroying and melting the entire airfield into molten goop.
“Nice! Great job Farah!”
“Good job. Servan, watch for any takeoffs. After 5 minutes we will send the completion code then rejoin the armor unit.”
“Roger that!”
Nothing comes out of the rubbled destroyed airfield as it slowly fades the bright red glow into thick black charred buildings. They send the code and travel to join the rest of the armor unit. They arrive at the tail end of the armor company as they storm right into the capital rolling through all the obstacles and stalls. The entire company consists mostly of medium and light tanks with their single white rabbit recon tank remaining. They take the capital filled with cheers of their victories and cries of the enemies' defeat.
“Now what, commander?”
“We get orders. There is still much more to come, Farah.”
“Come let's go to the command tent.”
They ready themselves and square away their uniforms. Once they are fully ready they knock.
“Enter!”
“This is the crew of the recon scout white rabbit tank.”
“Congratulations on all of your success. We have use of you in other places. Now that you have a taste of victory for the empire we are going to station your tank as part of a ships combat unit and have you take on even more difficult tasks. Enjoy some rest for now, your new home is en route and will be arriving in the next few days. Get your tank completely repaired and colored. It has a new title. Dismissed!”
They relax as their tank is fixed up and completely restocked. They enjoy a few days of bliss in the base, the lovers having some time, Farah and Servan playing random games, and Talos running errands. Their new home arrives and their tank is boarded in the loading bay. A large ship docks onto the makeshift spaceport.
“Wow, look at that beauty!”
“The Corvette Class Starship 010 Advancer. Our new home.”
“Why does it look like that?”
“Look like what?”
“I just assumed that it wouldn’t be so blocky and square looking since it doesn’t need things like air resistance and pressure. I think our rabbit tank looks weird too. It’s almost too blocky looking.”
“This change came from even higher than the high command. It has thick slanted armor and causes most projectiles to slide right off it, and works with most kinetic and energy weapons. With 2 layers of 5 meters thick TDA plating it is self repairing with its nano gel mesh like fluid in between the walls of armor. The tanks of the empire followed the same kind of design changes to better their resistance to most low end kinetic weapons.”
“Higher than high command itself?”
“A supreme made the changes.”
“A supreme made the changes, what, really? I just figured they were evil maniacs who just wiped out people willy nilly.”
“I don’t really know. My expertise is in ships and weapons of the empire. We will have to ask Servan.”
“Hey Servan, do you know about the empire’s supremes?”
“They are the supreme overlords of the empire and act like kings and queens for their own territory.”
“How does that even work?”
“It is set up in the same way an ancient old feudal lord system is. The lords and ladies rule their own houses and territories but still serve the king. In ancient times they were given nobility, power, land, wealth, and honor by the king yet were required to field resources and manpower to the king.”
“I’m surprised that this system is still used and is around in this day and age.”
“It works really well since they all have their own territory, desires, and are evil as hell. They all serve the Supreme King but have their own quirks. They mostly stay away from each other's territory but will fight each other for various worlds. All of their home worlds, and names are off the table in the empire. When they conquer another group or place if any name is taken or used they get a single chance to change it entirely and if they do not they usually are executed or destroyed in the case of a world or planet.”
“Wow, I don’t want to ever be on the bad side of a supreme.”
“Noone ever does but they are like ghosts. They can be in a world doing something simple like browsing a new shop and someone somewhere will offend them. Then we are lucky if they are the only ones who get executed. And not the entire world itself.”
“You make it sound like that's common!”
“Not that common from the Supremes but from the Magistrates it is. They serve the Supreme leaders and act like smaller nobility in the ancient feudal systems. Now they are even more evil and will execute people left and right.”
“Eww gross.”
“Yeah if we can ever ignore them we will. Better to be safer than sorry.”
“Still though, look at that beauty. They even loaded our tank! They are so nice.”
Looking at the ship Shela see’s Farah’s but sticking out behind a crate as she is eating some chicken she snuck from the mess hall.
“Farah! Farah stop stuffing your face! Come look at this beauty!”
“Wow, it's super big! It must be the biggest ship out there.”
“Being 30 meters tall, 55 meters wide, and 90 meters long, it is a corvette light scout ship with some decent armaments.”
“Light scout ship? At that size?”
“With those guns? Yeah sure, light scout ship.”
“What kind of guns does it have? Those are the biggest front cannons I’ve ever seen.”
“It has 4 Heavy Ship Cannons each one is 8 meters round and fires 6 meter wide 5 meter long titanium poles for devastating results. They are a mass acceleration catapult or MAC cannon which is standard on most ships in the empire.”
“Why do they use MAC cannons instead of standard weapons on other ships?”
“Is it because of its big firepower? Bigger booms?”
“That and because other weapons require some source of munitions, casings, or massive energy requirements.”
“So it doesn’t have any laser weapons?”
“It has an EMP Ship Scattergun and 2 Laser Cannon Platforms so it does have energy weapons.”
“Scattergun?”
“ It looks like a large firework box which fires a volley of charged electromagnetic titanium pods to damage and destroy enemy shields. It fires like a MAC cannon which fires like an EMP shotgun to shock and break their shields.”
“Wow, that's pretty cool.”
“EMP booms!”
“Does it have anything else?”
“It also has 2 Missile Pods which fires target seeking missiles using various forms of target locking and detection technology. Some can have super large payloads if need be.”
“Wow, and this ship is the weakest one in the empire? Yeah, false. I don’t believe it.”
“It really is the weakest ship, it isn't even the standard ship of the empire. Other ships have massive weapons and thousands of crew.”
“How many crew is on board this ship mr. knowledge commander?”
“This ship has about 50 crew onboard with 30 of them being mostly trained officers with some powerful shock troops.”
“50 people on this ship? It seems much larger and could fit many more.”
“It could but this ship is outfitted for our tank.”
“What do you mean?”
“It also has 2 drop ships each able to field up to 20 soldiers 40 if they are super packed, but they are meant to transport our tank.”
“It also has 5 tank drop pods and 5 more which can be made to order.”
“Tank drop pods?”
“Yeah to orbital drop places.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Flying Rabbit Tank! Flying Booms!”
The captain, vice captain, and chief officers of the ship come to meet them after they finish loading the tank and all the supplies into their ship's loading and storage bay. Approaching them the captain has a gentle smile on her face for a moment before it leaves her face for a more stern approach to meeting their new tank crew.
“Alright, come on. It’s time to go meet our new crew.”
“Good afternoon. I am Captain Shellka, this is Vice Captain Vern. These guys behind me are Medical Chief Stemm, Engineering Chief Abram, and Weapons Chief Clinton. We 5 make up the governing body of the ship.”
“Afternoon Captain. I am Tank Commander Talos, this is our driver Shela, our gunner Farah, the loader and light gunner Meke, and our communications specialist and scout Servan.”
“Pleasure to meet you all. We have read the reports being enroute for the last week. You have an interesting group here.”
“Yeah they are Captain. A little magically special but all in all good people.”
“How is it when you're the only real empiric soldier and the rest come from another world?”
“It does have its challenges especially at first, but they all work extremely well together. If our crew is not up to par remove me first so as to not disrupt the flow.”
“Interesting. Anyways, welcome aboard. The crew is hosting a little meet and greet to get to know you all. I’ll be excusing myself.” The captain leaves.
“Sorry about that. Shelka always questions the new crew in a harsh somewhat empire choosing way.”
“I didn’t get any ill intentions from her. Meke and Shela did well to hold their emotions.”
“The other two did well as well.”
“Servan doesn’t really care, he is more go with the flow and well Farah.”
Farah seeing a large bug on the ground has her eyes locked on it watching its every move with wonder and excitement.
“Ah, that explains some things.”
“Yeah super great at shooting, not so much at other things. An airhead of sorts.”
“Ah. Good to know. We aren't super formal unless we are on the command deck. Anyways, welcome aboard and enjoy the party!”
“Thanks. Let's go guys.”
They enter into the large ship walking up the ramp where their tank is housed into the large chow hall seeing party favors, snacks, and a large horde of friendly new faces. They enjoy all their merriment and meet all the crew of the ship as they set sail for their next destination.