January 10th, 2017
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Luca and Zoe were finishing up some routine maintenance on the M60A1. The tank had been sitting for quite a while and needed all of its fluids changed so during their downtime the duo decided to change the oil as well as the radiator fluid while Stider and Spudz helped swap out the track pads.
"Let's get this sucker started and see if she runs." Luca said.
"Yes." Zoe nodded.
Luca climbed into the driver's hatch and turned on the fuel and then flipped on the master battery switch before pushing the starter button. The tank hesitated for a bit due to how long it had been sitting. Luca sighed in annoyance and got out of the tank. He went into the storage bin and grabbed a set of jumper cables assuming that the batteries had indeed gone flat.
"We're might have to jump it. Hey Spudz!" Luca said, pointing to his driver, "You mind hopping into the driver's hatch and getting this thing started?"
"Got it!" Said spudz as he climbed into the hatch.
Just as Zoe was going to leave and grab the jumper cables, Spudz had succeeded in getting the old Patton started. It looks like it just needed a small kick in the pants as well as some fuel introduced to the cylinders before it would finally wake up.
"How are we on oil pressure?" Luca asked.
"45, 60..." Spudz said.
"90?" Zoe added.
"The needle's at 75 but we should be fine." Spudz replied.
"Idle is still quite rough!" Zoe shouted over the engine noise.
The smell of the diesel was enough to make Zoe somewhat nauseous as the Continental V12 in the M60 was much less cleaner than anything the modern tanks today had.
"Wait for it to warm up! She'll calm down!" Luca shouted back, covering his nose with his sleeve to block out some of the fumes, "Makes you wanna vomit huh?"
"Yep.." Zoe replied.
As Luca said, the engine's RPMs began to die down and the M60 purred just like a kitten. Despite the M60's age she sounded like she still had plenty of fight left in her and Luca was no longer starting to doubt his purchase.
“Awesome!” Zoe cheered.
“Now to get her to battle. Of course we’re gonna need an assistant driver to man the bow gun.”
With the tank already warmed up. They continued to wait for the fluids to circulate before shutting it down again and heading to the briefing room to receive their orders. Upon arriving they were amazed to see a large group of tankers from various countries including even Ruvania itself.
"Now that you are all here. I am commander Collier.." Collier said as he watched Luca and Zoe sit down with their crew, "I'm gonna keep this briefing very short and to the point as I know some of you mercs and KBD folk can be quite impatient. The Ruvanian government performed a surprise attack on Kesalia yesterday. If any of you were paying attention you may have realized that. Our air force for the most part was caught with its pants down trying to defend Angelus. The Ruvanians also succeeded in invading their neighbors Sensoa and Atril. While they're not exactly WePAC members, they are considered major non-WePAC allies."
"What's our first mission?" Asked a random soldier.
"As of now your first mission will be to head out and link up with the Saint Isabel division of the KBD. They have more firepower than we do... after that we may be able to conduct a counter attack against the Rufies. If you encounter any Ruvanian armor then run... or if left with no other option engage."
"Sounds easy enough..." Luca muttered.
"Did you say something, Alessio?" Collier asked.
"No, Commander."
"Okay then. Well that is all everyone... prepare your tanks and get some rest. You're heading out in a couple of hours, there ain't no time to be resting."
At the parking area, Luca and his crew were finishing the final inspection on their tank. The M60A1 was fitted with a set of Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) tiles for added protection as well as a fifty-fifty mix of M900 APFSDS and M393A1 HEP-T rounds for the 105mm. The coaxial and cupola mounted machine guns had also been reloaded as well.
"Okay ladies mount up!" Ordered the leader of the tank column, "Oh and Alessio... make sure not to die. I wouldn't want to have to send you back home in a box."
"Real funny, Diedrich..." Luca replied, "Mount up everyone... let's get outta here and keep your eyes open. We're bound to encounter enemy."
Luca, Zoe and Strider climbed into the turret while Spudz entered the driver's hatch. Once everyone was in position they put on their headsets and tested the comms. With the headsets working, Luca switched the frequency so it would only broadcast between his crew.
"Did you know that man, Luca?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah... he was my former tank commander. Now you can see why I kicked his ass."
"No self control, Alessio." Strider shook his head, "Just kidding... that guy seems like one of those entitled I'm an officer because I went to school types. So far up his own ass that he's got crap on his ears."
"I hear that." Spudz added.
Luca then switched to an open comm in order to hear the orders from the lead tank. For the time being things were pretty quiet which is how he liked it. Suddenly that would all change when the commander of the lead tank detected a group of Ruvanian T-72s out in the distance.
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"All tanks get ready! We've got a group of Ruvanian T-72s at 2000 meters!" Diedrich said.
"Loader load an APFSDS round!" Luca ordered.
"Copy that!" Stride grabbed the round from the ammo rack and placed it into the breach, "Up!"
"Gunner fire when ready!"
Zoe turned on the stabilizer and laser range finder and acquired the first tank. At 1500 meters she took the shot and the round impacted the T-72's right side disabling it. Strider quickly loaded a second shell allowing for her to perform a follow up shot this time finishing off the tank leading to a spectacular explosion with the T-72's turret separating from its chassis.
"Fucking hell!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Tank destroyed!" Luca said.
"Oh shit, we have more tanks coming over the hill and headed into the city! We need to perform an elastic defense and head for our destination ASAP! We don't have enough ammo for this!" Diedrich ordered.
"Are you sure?" Luca asked, "We're in a good position right now... we can just entrench ourselves and call for CAS, Major."
"Do I sound unsure you insubordinate little shit!?"
"Just asking..." Luca shrugged, "Okay guys you heard the man... Spudz we can't risk exposing our rear. Throw it into reverse and Strider don't stop loading. Zoe keep firing."
"Roger!" The trio replied in unison.
As instructed, Spudz shifted the M60 into reverse and began reversing with the column of Abrams tanks. The biggest flaw of the Patton was already made obvious and they became a noticeable target to the enemy. The Abrams was capable of reversing at twice the speed of the M60. Once they made it to some cover, Luca pulled out his radio and radioed for air support in order to buy some time for him and his fellow tankers.
"Command this is Sagaris requesting any available CAS. Target is a column of Ruvanian T-72 and ZTZ-96 main battle tanks. How copy, over?"
"Sagaris this is AWACS Darkstar we read you loud and clear. We have an A-10C in the area available for tasking, callsign Ugly 3-1... I repeat go for Ugly 3-1."
"I copy. Ugly 3-1 this is Sagaris. I have a column of Ruvanian T-72 and ZTZ-96 tanks advancing on my position about 2000 meters west of my position. I need you to buy me and my crew some time to retreat. How copy?"
"Ugly 3-1 copies. TOT twenty seconds." The A-10 pilot replied.
Twenty seconds later the A-10 came in for a strafing run using its 30mm cannon on the T-72s. The first run managed to destroy one tank and the pilot came around for another pass this time using his AGM-65 Mavericks to destroy another T-72 and a ZTZ-96 as Luca's crew and the crews of the other allied tanks cheered.
"Three targets confirmed destroyed, Sagaris. Do you need another pass?"
"I think we're good... thanks a lot Ugly 3-1. I think we can get away."
With the A-10 gone, Luca's crew continued their retreat towards the KBD outpost that was still within friendly Kesalian territory. As they made it deeper into Agelus they began to encounter enemy infantry and light vehicles. Left with no choice, Luca and Strider would have to turn out to defend the tank from all directions. Because Luca had gotten rid of the commander's cupola and switched it for a more conventional design. The M60 had a Browning M2 and an M240 mounted on the roof for self defense.
"Suppress the enemy positions and if you see any RPGs you drop 'em!" Luca ordered.
"You got it!" Strider replied.
The duo watched their sectors vigilantly with their machine guns and opened fire at anything that was hostile as they moved through Angelus. Unfortunately their luck would run out as Strider took a bullet from an enemy sniper.
"Oh fuck!" Luca shouted, "We have just lost our loader! Looks like I'll be taking over!"
"Are you shitting me!?" Spudz complained.
Luca climbed back into the hatch and attempted to locate the sniper's position. He loaded a high explosive round into the breach ordered Zoe to fire the main gun where he had thought the shot had come from.
"Round way!" Zoe shouted.
The round impacted the side of what used to be the Darrel Savings and Loan building and the sniper was hopefully no more. The battle through the city was long and intense as Luca and his fellow tankers attempted to survive ambush after ambush as well as the numerous anti tank kill zones that the Ruvanians had set up. With little infantry on their side the tanks were practically worthless. When the had finally exited Angelus and made it to Saint Isabel. They were relieved to see friendly Kesalian forces.
"Move out, Spudz full throttle! This whole place is a goddamn killzone!" Luca ordered.
As they continued to move through the city. A Ruvanian soldier was lying in wait with an RPG-7. When the M60 was just within range he fired the rocket launcher and managed to land a shot on the turret ring knocking out the hydraunlic traverse which startled Zoe.
"Kyaa! Hydraulic traverse is gone, switching to manual override!" Zoe confirmed before flipping the switch.
"Gotta visual on the culprit! Traverse twenty degrees right and squirt that bastard with the coax!"
"Roger, Roger!" Zoe replied, selecting the coaxial M73 machinegun and eliminating the AT gunner.
"Now let's get the fuck outta here!" Luca commanded, "We have taken damage, our loader is dead and we are not combat effective!"
After leaving Angelus and heading into territory that was still under Kesalian control. The rest of the drive was thankfully quiet and uneventful. Spudz pulled the tank into an empty parking spot and quickly climbed out of the driver's hatch. Luca could sense his anger after having lost Strider. When Luca and Zoe disembarked they were quickly approached by a medic who checked them out before asking them if there was anyone else to tend to.
"Well there's our loader." Luca sighed, "Sadly he didn't make it."
"We'll take care of him..." The medic replied.
"What now?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know..." Luca replied, "You wanna help get the tank prepped for the next mission, Strider?"
"Me, help you!? Fuck both you! If you would've just retreated sooner instead of calling in that goddamn CAS then Stan would probably still be here! I'm going to find another crew... a crew far better than you shitbags." Strider replied, giving both Zoe and Luca the finger.
"Well there we have it." Luca sighed, "We're out a loader and now a driver."
Just as Luca said that, his luck turned out even worse when Zoe with the help of a mechanic opened its engine bay and checked its engine oil. It turned out that the engine was burning oil.
"Oh no... oh no no no." She muttered.
"What is it?" Luca asked.
"The engine... it is burning oil at a very alarming rate. According to the dipsitck we are almost out of oil."
The news nearly made Luca kick the tank out of pure rage but he reeled himself it. He knew that the tank he had purchased was indeed a jalopy and therefore far from perfect. He was just hoping that it would last him a couple of years rather than just a few days.
"Well shit... looks like we'll have to drop a new engine into it then." He sighed.
"At that point you might as well just purchase a new tank." Zoe replied bluntly.
A light bulb triggered in Luca's mind as he looked at Zoe. He motioned for her to follow him and they headed for the administration tent. He kept on looking until he found a bald man with a long bushy beard wearing a BDU uniform looking at a laptop.
"Hey Jackster glad to see you made it out safe. I really need a favor from you and you're the best guy to ask since my loader is taking the dirt nap and my driver just ran out on me. Would you be willing to be my loader?" Luca grinned.
"Me as your loader?" Kendrick busted out laughing at the offer and then noticed the smiles on Luca and Zoe's faces turn to serious expressions, "You're serious!? Look, Alessio with the clusterfuck Kesalia just got into I don't think I can't just up and leave my post. I think you're gonna have to find someone else."
"We can always get a Leopard 2A6. That would entice you wouldn't it, Kendrick?" Zoe asked.
"Great tank... one of the best in the whole world." Luca replied, "But the price is only half that of a Leclerc and you know how expensive those are. Plus the Adlarian army would likely have them locked down tight if the reports about Ruvania invading Keipfstierderheisen are legit."
"They are true..." Zoe sighed, "I've recently received word from Peter. Fortunately, he is safe."
Luca raised an eyebrow curious to know who this Peter person was, "Who's this Peter guy?"
"He is a friend. He's an Adlarian fellow, born in Kesalia and like you, he served in the Marines. He can be a bit scary at times but he's a very good person at heart."
"Yes... just never cross him because he does know how to hide a body." Zoe giggled.
"I-I'll keep that in mind. Anyway... are there any other tanks? Perhaps that Sensoan Type 90?"
Kendrick got up from his chair and motioned for Zoe and Luca to follow him out of the tent. The trio continued to walk until they reached a makeshift parking area next to a dismantled Stryker APC. He then looked around to make sure the coast was clear before suggesting the unthinkable.
"Okay listen." He whispered, "I have a friend of mine in the armory over at Fort Armistead. He has access to a few M1A2 tanks that have been in storage for a couple of years and are either destined to be scrapped or reactivated. They're older M1A2 models from the 1990s with the SEP package but they have a whole lot of life left in 'em."
"I thought Abrams were unobtainable. Now is there a catch?" Zoe crossed her arms and started tapping her foot.
"Man you're really busting my balls today. The only problem is that these tanks have been sitting for a long time and like I said they're 1990s models. Their engines also need to be overhauled, you can get 'em cheap but you need to put in some extra work." Kendrick sighed, "You just gotta be willing to put in the extra work."
Luca rubbed his chin and nodded in approval, "I know the Abrams very well so this won't be a big deal."
"We must not forget the engine." Zoe suggested, "Thankfully getting parts will not be difficult as the tank is Kesalian but good lord... the fuel economy."
"Just install an APU and all your worries will be gone with the gas turbine powered wind. Plus these engines are quiet and if shit really hits the fan you can run 'em on jet fuel, kerosene, gasoline hell if it burns it'll run it." Kendrick nodded.
Luca looked at Zoe who then nodded in approval before nodding back. They now had a tank to replace their M60A3 which they had lost just as quickly as they had acquired it.
"I think we have found our next tank. Now, what about a driver?" She asked.
"There's another one I know...she's one of those Gyaru types. Served in the Army in the Bradley and Abrams units before getting kicked out."
"Let me guess...she assaulted somebody." Luca interrupted.
Kendrick snickered at Luca's guess, "Worse...she found out her ex-boyfriend was boning some other chick and crushed his car and then led the Military Police on a two hour long chase before her tank ran outta gas...served two years in the brig for that shit."
"Oh god..." Luca buried his face in his hands, "Well I'm desperate so bring her over...she can't be Hannibal Lecter levels of crazy can she?" Luca continued.
"Nah, she's okay once you get to know her." Kendrick chuckled.