A/N: Hey guys! Nope, not dead yet. The holidays are behind us, and I hope everyone enjoyed them.
I'm still off work until next Monday, but I fly back home on Friday.
Anyhow, here's chapter 3 of this story. Hope you're all ready for some tank action!
As always, read and review. Cheers!
Finally! A Fight!
"Okay folks, that's the start!" Andrew stated, sticking his head out of the commander's hatch of the tank and listening.
The only sounds were the light rumble of the Rolls Royce Meteor engine behind them, and the occasional breeze blowing through the trees.
"We'll hold here for five minutes, and then move south down the road until the next crossing." he said, glancing at his watch.
The given amount of time seemed to drag by, and without any confirmed sightings of any of the other tanks, they began to move through the woods off the main drag to get to the next road crossing.
All the while, the crew scanned out from their viewports, sans Klaus and Andrew who had their heads poked up through the hatches, offering an unobstructed, 360-degree view.
"Well…I ain't got jack here." Andrew said flatly after a few moments of silence, letting his binoculars hang down around his neck.
"Ditto." Klaus answered, still peering around with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun.
"Let's move." Andrew ordered, thumbing the mic.
"You got it." Dani radioed back, starting the engine and shifting into gear, before pulling back onto the road and rumbling along.
Andrew smiled at how safe that people were actually able to make a seriously dangerous sport.
Considering that there were tanks firing projectiles at each other, there were bound to be some injuries, but they were kept to a minimum…or tried to anyways.
You still had a solid object accelerated to hundreds of meters per second flying through the air, which were designed to shatter upon impact with the tank (unless it struck at an angle severe enough to bounce) and let the onboard computer systems designate if the hit was fatal, there were known incidents where people have broken bones due to a round hitting them while outside the tank.
Usually it was the commander getting hurt, because they had to stick their bodies out to get an accurate picture of the surrounding battleground, and being buttoned up inside the tank with only narrow vision slats to look out of and no sense of sound over the roaring engine, it really limited the picture they could form.
There was also the story of where someone nearly died after being knocked out of the cupola by a shell, and then nearly being run over by their panzer when the driver panicked and reversed.
They were saved by another quick-thinking tank commander who broke the rules and jumped out of her tank to save the person, but it was too close for comfort.
But that didn't deter Andrew as he sat on the turret top, legs dangling inside the structure as he scanned for threats, ready to drop down into the turret at a moments notice.
"Keep an eye out everyone. They could be anywhere." he muttered over the communications.
A high-pitched whine screamed past their tank, causing Andrew to shout "Stop!"
The comet skidded to a halt as he looked around and spotted another vehicle right as a shell was fired at them, screaming by once again.
"Traverse right 10 degrees! Target the BT-7M!" he yelled, ducking into the turret as it traversed quickly.
"Cyka blyat! I'm a terrible shot!" Yuri shouted as he pressed his eye to the gunsight in the light tank, taking another shot, and missing.
"Uhhh…their turret is turning this way…" the driver mused, as another shell was slammed into the breech.
"Damn! Get us out of here!" he ordered, as the engine revved up.
It was at this moment, Yuri knew he fucked up.
The 77mm high velocity gun fired from the Comet, planting a shell squarely in the front of the BT-7M and knocking it out.
The stench of cordite filled the turret of the tank as the spent casing was ejected from the gun and clattered to the floor of the turret basket.
"Good hit!" Andrew cried "Knocked out the BT-7M!"
All around him congratulations went up.
"Our first kill!" Klaus grinned, giving Marisa a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"That was…exciting." Zhan whispered, a small smile on her face.
"Good one!" Dani offered, starting forward once again.
"BT-7M has been knocked out! 4 teams remain!" Pauline said over the radio as the Comet pulled behind another rock off the beaten path overlooking a crossroad.
"Now remember, if you're in a light tank, your strengths are your small size and high speed. You can get around enemies easily and fire into their rear armor, but if you try to attack a target from a stationary position in front of them, you're as good as dead." Andrew informed his crew as the engine was once again turned off to allow them all to listen for any sign of the enemy.
They didn't need to wait long before they heard the telltale rumbling of an engine approaching towards them.
"Load AP. Eyes focused on the crossroads." Andrew murmured into his microphone.
"Gun up!" Klaus called, the metallic clang of the breechblock closing signified that a round was loaded.
"Sighted in on the crossroads." Marisa called, eye pressed to the sight, and finger hovering over the trigger.
"Patience." Andrew breathed, his eyes scanning the road some 80 meters distant with his binoculars, watching for any flicker of movement.
"Sherman! Grizzly! Range, 120 meters! Traverse left 5 degrees! Fire at will!" he shouted, finally seeing the source of the racket clattering down the dirt road.
"We'll need to look over that engine. She sounds pretty rough" Andrew thought as the gun fired and the tank rocked back on its suspension.
"Miss!" he called, watching the round kick up a cloud of dirt right in front of the Sherman.
The turret of the Grizzly began to slowly traverse towards them and the gun fired while the tank was still in motion.
"Rule number two. If you can afford to stop and fire, do so, because you'll be far more accurate." Andrew mused, as the 77mm gun fired once again, this time, burying the shell into the flank of the Grizzly.
A little white flag popped out of the top of the turret, signifying the tank as knocked out.
"Beauty! There goes another one!" Andrew yelled as he smacked his palm on the top of the turret "Lovely shooting Marisa!"
"Naturally!" Andrew heard her call from her seat, and he chuckled as he could imagine the girl brushing her hair back smoothly.
"The Sherman Grizzly has been eliminated! 3 tanks on the field!" Pauline called to them all, her voice seemingly more excited than before.
"Three left, and we're one, but the other two are the E-25 and the Firefly." Klaus mused, poking his head up once again through his hatch and looking at Andrew.
"I know. Not the best situation. I'd rather have one kill the other. Then at least we don't need to fight two difficult opponents." Andrew replied.
A heavy BOOM caused both of them to duck their heads out of instinct.
"That was the Firefly." Klaus said, before the same noise occurred again a few seconds later.
"And they missed their first shot." Andrew grinned thinly "Dani, take the next right, and then we're going bushwhacking after that."
"You wanna sneak up on them? In the middle of their duel?" Klaus asked, realization dawning on him at what his friend was doing.
"If we can indeed sneak up on them, we'll get a two for one. Knock out whoever we feel like, but I have a better idea." Andrew replied cryptically "But for now, put some AP in the breech and be ready to work."
"You got it boss." Klaus said, giving a mock salute before disappearing back into the turret.
"Remember Klaus," Andrew shouted after ducking his head in the tank "The only rule when you're fighting in tanks is to stay alive. Use everything to your advantage, especially when your enemy is distracted."
"Understood." the German answered, slamming a fresh shell into the cannon breech as Dani turned off the road and into the woods, causing the ride to get rough.
"Ready for action everyone. A minute or so until we're in the heat!" Andrew called over the comm, as the Firefly fired again, the gun much louder than before.
But no shot came sailing past them, so it was safe to say, that they were still busy with the E-25.
"Man, I could use a beer." Klaus muttered, unaware that he was talking to everyone in the tank.
"You and me both brother." Andrew replied, satisfied when his loader jumped slightly "But none of that swill you drink."
"Hey! My beer is good!" Klaus defended, as the girls in the tank struggled to not laugh at the squabble going on between the two.
"Whatever you say. Now focus on keeping that gun fed Fritz." Andrew joked.
"Fritz! Now see here you bozo…" Klaus trailed off, as the massive shock from the Firefly's gun sounded once again, causing Andrew to poke his head up.
"Halt!" he shouted, causing the tank to once again, skid to a stop "Firefly, 40 meters ahead."
Scanning the area with his binoculars, he spotted the drab grey of the E-25 off some ways away.
"E-25, 200 meters ahead, 5 degrees to the right of the Firefly's muzzle break. Target the E-25 but don't fire until I give the order." Andrew stated, watching carefully.
The Firefly fired once again, the sound of the 17-pounder gun reverberating all around them, but missing the E-25 by a few feet, the shell falling short.
"Boy this team needs to work on gunnery." he mused, mentally counting the seconds in his head at how long the reload took them.
"So, about ten seconds per shot." he muttered, watching as the E-25 and the Firefly fired, both shells missing their mark.
Time ticked by, tension mounted in the tank as the Firefly fired its gun once again.
"Alright, get ready," Andrew ordered, holding a hand up slightly, counting down the seconds in his mind.
"FIRE!" he called, and both the 77mm HV gun and the 17-pounder on the Firefly spat shells at the exact same time.
The Firefly once again, missed the shot, but Marisa didn't, smacking the E-25 square on the drivers slat and knocking the tank destroyer out of the fight.
"Reload and target the rear of the Firefly! Quickly!" Andrew shouted, urgency and fear in his voice as the tank in question began to traverse its turret around.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll load you in a minute. These shells are heavy!" Klaus grunted, slamming a shell home.
"Fire when ready Marisa!" Andrew said, which was nearly drowned out by the 77mm gun launching its payload at the rear of the Firefly.
The shell penetrated, causing the engine to brew up, which quickly died down as the automatic fire suppression came into effect.
"We'll need to fix that." Klaus groaned, looking at the other tank.
Hatches popped open on the Firefly and their commander, Cera Collingwood, or C.C. poked her head out, long green hair falling all around her slightly dirty face.
"You'll pay for that Dixon!" she shouted, but the smile on her face said the truth.
"Don't count on it." Andrew called back "You couldn't even hit a stationary target, and you were buttoned up, so you couldn't see or hear us sneaking up, and we weren't quiet at all! Tell Ciaran we're sorry for killing you guys."
"And that's all folks! Leave your tanks where they fell, and make your way back to the staging area. Your machines will be retrieved and repaired." Pauline laughed, glee evident in her voice.
"Can you give us a lift?" C.C. asked, to which Andrew motioned for them all to hop on.
The four members of the Firefly left their tank and climbed onto the Comet for the trip back to the sheds.
"Well you lads sure didn't waste any time." Ciaran said flatly, making conversation as the started back.
"Of course not." Andrew laughed "Killed everything on the field, which reminds me, kick some sense into your gunner. You kept falling short."
"We'll sort it out at the range. We've already had a talk about it." C.C. muttered from her seat on top of the engine deck, shooting a pointed glance at Ciaran, who turned a little red and looked away.
The lighthearted banter and ribbing continued until they made it to the starting area, where the other three crews, and Pauline, were waiting for them.
"Great work everyone!" she said once all crews arrived and the engine in the Comet shut off.
"I haven't seen a team do that well in a long time, for a first match, but we've found areas that could use improvement," she continued "But, you're all finished for today. I'll see you all here tomorrow after class."
Pretty much everyone dispersed at that, except for Klaus and Andrew, who stood waiting.
"Ready to get to work?" Klaus asked, beginning to unbutton his tunic.
"Hell yeah. Let's see what makes these kittens purr." Andrew replied, throwing his tunic to the side and rolling up his sleeves.
Klaus grabbed a wrench roll and tossed it to Andrew.
"Metric for Germans and whatnot, imperial for American variants, which is stupid." Klaus grumbled, grabbing his own roll and walking to the Grizzly.
"Oi! Lads! We got the green light to take off. What are you still doing here?" Ciaran called from the hanger doors.
"The Grizzly sounded a little off and the Firefly took a hard hit in the ass as you know. Want to check the interiors. See if anything's funky." Andrew informed the Briton.
"Oh…mind if I tag along? Learn a thing or two?" Ciaran asked the two.
"Of course bud, get up here!" Klaus called, as he loosened a few bolts on the engine deck of the Grizzly and swung the plate upwards to reveal the Continental R-975 9-cylinder radial engine.
Andrew grinned, watching his two friends begin animatedly discussing the finer points of a radial engine, and why it was chosen to go into the tank.
"Let's see what's in your belly then." he mused to himself, opening up the engine compartment.
"A Chrysler A57 multibank? Man, I haven't seen one of those in years" he thought, looking at the greasy, dirty engine.
Everything was covered in a white fog from the fire suppression system, and Andrew grabbed a rag.
It was going to be slow going cleaning everything up, and then inspecting for damage.
Hours later, the three friends were covered in sweat, grease, and oil as they flipped the engine covers back into place and secured them.
"How'd the replacement of that fuel pump go?" Andrew asked the pair once the tools had been put away.
"Easy enough" Klaus shrugged, taking a bottle of water from the workbench and drinking it down "Ah, that hit the spot."
"The Firefly was fine naturally. Just a mess of fire smothering agent to clean up. That, and the engine compartment hasn't seen any love in a long time." Andrew replied, wiping his hands with a rag.
"I don't know about you two, but I'm beat. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school." Ciaran said, waving to the pair as he headed out to go home.
"So long mate! Have a good night" Klaus called as he put his uniform tunic back on and buttoned it up.
"Man, I could use some food." Andrew stated as they walked out of the large sheds and out onto the grassy field.
His stomach grumbled, as if to emphasize the point.
That caused both of them to chuckle as they headed around to the front of the school and out the gates.
"Where do you wanna eat?" Klaus asked as they strolled down the street, hands in their pockets.
"I dunno." Andrew shrugged, looking across the road "Where do you wanna eat?"
"How bout there?" Klaus nodded, pointing to a restaurant up ahead of the pair.
"Margaux? Leave it to you to find probably the only German restaurant on the entire ship!" Andrew chided, as they walked through the door of the place.
There was a welcoming décor and both students were quickly seated, looking over the menu's placed in front of them.
"Well I'm torn between the sauerbraten and the schnitzel, how about you?" Klaus said, looking over his menu.
"Thinking I'll get the eintopf. I've always had a soft spot since your mom introduced me to it." Andrew replied, closing the booklet and putting it down in front of him.
Soon enough, a waiter came by and took their orders, and both were amicably chatting away when a familiar face walked by their table.
"Hey Marisa!" Andrew called, and she whipped around to face the pair "Want to join us for dinner?"
After what looked like a moment of thought, she shrugged her shoulders and slid in the booth next to Klaus.
"What's up guys? Didn't think you'd be in here." she said, picking up a menu and looking at it.
"Well considering he's a dirty kraut, and I like the food and know the language, it's kinda a no brainer." Andrew shrugged, shooting Klaus a placating smile to show he was only kidding around.
"Lower class Ukrainian." Klaus replied, sticking his tongue out "But what brings you in here Marisa?"
"My grandparents used to live in Essen. They came to Texas after the war." she said, browsing the menu.
"Essen was bombed pretty heavily during the war. Huge industry there in the Ruhr Valley." Klaus mused, as Marisa placed her order.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that where Krupp had their factory? That's why it was such a valuable target." Andrew thought out loud as Marisa turned back to them.
"Yeah, Grandpa worked for Krupp most of the war. He fought in the Invasion of Poland and in France, but they discharged him after the fall of Paris because he had been shot in the leg." Marisa replied, looking at the pair.
"So cool that you have a historic ancestor like Andrew does." Klaus muttered, smiling slightly as Marisa looked to the other guy.
"Really? Who do you have?" she questioned, looking thoughtful.
"Well, it's sort of a lineage thing. My great-great grandfather was one of the first tankers in WWI, inside a Mk I British tank during the Battle of the Somme. My great grandfather fought in WWII, up through Italy in a Sherman, and then in Normandy with a Firefly.
"My grandfather was a volunteer tanker in Vietnam during that war in an Australian Centurion Mk V, and my dad was in a Leopard MBT in the middle east. And then there's me, here now."
Andrew looked off to the side, mutely thinking through the story to see if he forgot anything, but shrugged as their food arrived.
"That's really cool though." Marisa said after a mouthful "I bet they're really proud that you're here doing this."
"Yeah." Andrew replied, smiling weakly "Gramps couldn't contain himself. Said I was a chip off the ol' block."
"Who knows. Maybe you'll be the captain of the team." Klaus joked, as the friends laughed and continued their meal.
Looking forward, they would remember what was said at that meal for a long time to come, because the school season had yet to really kick off.
But when it did, it was gonna be fun.
