AN: Though I got the inspiration for this short story from an actual battle I played in WoT, the idea for anthropomorphizing the vehicles comes from autophagy's wonderfully amusing The Hummel Quest and the short stories of Brithund. Be sure to check those out too. Also, as a side note, I don't own World of Tanks or any of the intellectual property thereof... obviously.
The roar of an engine echoed out through the empty streets as the sun settled across the sky. Smoke billowed from the burning buildings and embers were blown skyward, giving an eerie glow to the ruins. The whirling screech of treads on gravel announced the presence of the Type 64 in the crackling flames. Having just annihilated an opposing artillery tank, she now raced down the cobblestone road as if the devil itself and all his minions were hot on its heels. They might as well have been. A trio of VK 28.01s zipped along behind the Chinese scout, weaving between abandoned automobiles and piles of rubble. The sharp crack of a 75 L/48 sounded and the Type 64 swerved left, barely dodging the armor-piercing round. She swerved again as a second APCR round buried itself in the engine block of a truck of to her right.
The Chinese light tank banked right, bleeding speed as she did and swung around a corner in a desperate attempt to get off the main road and out of the VK's firing line. As her speed dropped below 40 kph a click sounded from the engine compartment and the roar of the Continental motor growled louder, almost becoming a whine as the governor ticked off. The Type 64 clawed back up to 70 as the VK's rounded the corner at a much slower pace than before. Unfortunately for them, this particular side road was completely clear of debris and stretched on for several kilometers, which was something the Type 64 planned to take full advantage of.
The Hellcat model turret swiveled on its chassis, bringing the 76mm M1A2 rifle to bear on the trailing German vehicles. The gun thundered once, and a M48 high-explosive round blasted forth from the muzzle break, slamming into the flat forward plate of a VK's turret. The HE round punched through the relatively thin armor there and detonated within, immediately cooking off the VK's own ammo. The resulting explosion blew what was left of the turret high into the sky, and completely obliterated the hull of the grey tank.
The remaining two 28.01's roared obscenities in response, their own guns barking in their fury. The Type 64 dodged around the repeated shots, twisting her turret back around so that she could actually see where she was going again.
"That's what you get for toying with me, assholes." The light tank growled lowly as she sped down the road. After another kilometer or so of dodging flying tank rounds she banked left and around another corner, smashing through a food cart as she did so.
"Shit!" She shouted as a 17 pounder AP round buzzed through the air scant centimeters over her turret. The Comet responsible was sitting halfway up the road, butting up against the tail ends of a pair of flatbed trucks. His hull was angled so that it blocked nearly the whole road. The 28.01's must have been coordinating closely with their team. The Type 64 yelped as another round blasted off the metal tubing on the right side of her turret.
The 64's engine groaned as it was pushed to the very limit. Another shot blasted down the alley, miraculously scoring only a glancing hit on the Type 64's side, scratching the paint more than anything. The 76mm gun rose high into the sky as the Type 64 prepared for impact. The Comet fired another shot, visibly becoming alarmed at the rapidly approaching tank. The round blew apart a wall of to the Type 64's right as it ducked out of the way, angling straight for the tip of the Comet's diagonal hull. Then the moment of truth came, and at the last second the light tank twisted left and dropped her rear suspension while raising her front as high as she could.
Instead of slamming into the Comet, the Type 64 crunched into the sloped nose of the flatbed, ramping up on top of it and smashing through the cab and over the bed. In that brief moment, the Type 64 became airborne. She flew through the air, tracks spinning wildly before the twenty plus ton armored vehicle came crashing back down directly on the engine cover of the Comet. She bounced once, and then accelerated immediately off of the British medium and dropped to the cobblestone road behind him. Her engine roared again as the Chinese scout raced away from the Comet. Behind her the Comet roared in anger and began to crank her gun around to face the fleeing tank, but the 64 spun around another corner, avoiding the Brit's line of fire.
As she sped along, the Type 64 let out a whimper, feeling the heat rise in her engine block as the parts began to overheat. She had to brave the pain however, stopping now would only mean death. She was so close to safety, only scant kilometers from protection.
Buildings passed by and then vanished, morphing into trees as the Type 64 broke out into the main city park, crushing a bench beneath its treads. Then, something snapped. A bang-crunch noise rocked through her chassis and smoke exploded from the vents on her rear. The Type 64 could feel something shatter inside her engine and ricochet around the compartment. The engine cut completely and the Type 64 stalled between the trees and bushes, moaning loudly as she did. Silence settled through the park, only broken by hisses of steam and the whimpers of the Chinese tank.
"Pushed yourself a bit too hard, didn't you?" A voice growled out from between the trees. The Type 64 craned her turret to point at it, but froze when a HE round torn apart a tree to her right.
"Move and you die." The voice ground out. The 64 shook in fear, tracks rattling on its road wheels. She recognized the voice; it was the Comet that the Type 64 had jumped. He must have turned and followed the scout into the park. The light tank let out another whimper.
"You killed my friends, you know that?" The Comet snarled. "I should kill you where you lay, but I think I'm going to have a bit of fun first."
"I think… that I would take offense to that." A new voice echoed from off to their right.
"What the Hell?!" The Comet managed to cry before thunder shook the evening sky. A 105mm shell took the Comet in the side, throwing the medium completely off its tracks and flipping him onto his side. The Type 64 spun her turret around in relief, catching sight of the smoking barrel responsible for the Comet's demise.
The massive form of Tiger II nosed itself out a bush. Cloaked in camouflage netting and painted in forest colors, the huge machine seemed to morph into and around the vegetation it emerged from.
"You alright kiddo?" The heavy asked. The Type 64 nodded her barrel, in too much pain to do much else. She could feel the components inside her engine trying to reengage, but it'd be a while before the scout would move again. The clattering of tracks heralded the arrival of the VK 28.01s. They raced around the corner, only to skid to a stop at the sight before them. The Tiger II was still reloading, but he turned his glaring turret to face them, rolling to a stop behind the Type 64 to protect her from the German light tanks.
The VK's fired once each before they began to reverse in terror, back into the cover of the city as fast as they could go. Both shots pinged uselessly off the angled armor of the bigger war machine. The prototype scouts almost made it to cover before something else opened up on them. A duo of 90mm rounds raced out at the two scouts, originating from a pair of camouflaged Hellcats hiding in the ruins of a storefront. They both ripped into the thin armor of the rearmost tank, shearing the tread off the right side and shattering the gun. The other VK didn't have time enough to steer, and slammed, rear first, into the front of his disabled brother.
He tried desperately to pull forward and reposition himself to better maneuver around the other tank, but he barely made it five meters before the Tiger's gun thundered once more. The VK detonated in a spectacular inferno, throwing fire high into the sky. After a few seconds, the lead Hellcat fired again, finishing off the other disabled 28.01.
"Rat-bastards." One Hellcat shouted as she pulled out of cover, joining the Tiger II and the Type 64 out in the open.
"Eat shit!" The second Hellcat chorused as he rolled up alongside his sister. The Tiger turned towards the disabled scout.
"Were those it?" He asked. The Type 64 grunted out an agreement and winced in pain again. The Hellcats gave sympathetic glances to her before they motored off, intent on scouting the nearby area for supplies.
"You did well today. Should be proud." The Tiger said as he deftly hooked his tow cables to the damaged tank and began towing her along to follow the Hellcat's path. A few minutes of silent driving later and they had reached the nearby depot. The Tiger carefully nudged the wounded Type 64 into an open slot.
"We'll have you fixed up and ready for action in no time." The heavy said soothingly as the door closed on the silent tank, sealing her in.
The Chinese vehicle sighed in relief as the repair arms descended and began stitching back together the torn engine and repairing the cosmetic damage. Counting up the experience she had earned in the last fight, the little tank wondered if she would finally be able to jump to the WZ-131 model that she had been saving up for. She cursed when she tallied up the numbers. Off by less than 30 points. The Type 64 sighed in misery as the gates of the depot opened and the repair arms ascended. Her engine however, purred in contentment as she rolled out into the ashen air. Once more unto the breach.