"This is shepherd, do you copy armour, over" Adrian radioed the tank.
"Copy shepherd, ready for orders. Over" the tank commanders voice crackled through the static.
"I was told armour was unavailable, caught up someplace else. Over"
"Not anymore, my company has three independents (apparently that's what they called the strange tanks), eight voltigores and some X handlers, and the Abrams, over" the static calmed a little.
"Do you have orders yet?" Adrian replied
"Negative, awaiting your command"
Jackson broke into the channel.
"Adrian, I'm making my way down to ground level with my men, recommend you move northwards, from what I see up here, you'll have to blow up a few checkpoints to reach the local Overwatch nexus. Not many striders in this district. I see⦠four choppers moving around."
Adrian looked up, there were indeed four combine helicopters moving in the air, a few rebels in Jackson's squad fired rockets into the air.
Three choppers.
"Out of interest, what was that back there?" Adrian radioed Jackson, still puzzled by the display of bravado.
"You have no idea how many weapons I have customized over the years; this is a good opportunity to test them."
Adrian wondered what else Jackson had cooked up when in hiding.
He spoke to the tank commander again.
"We're heading north towards the nexus; request that you take point, Jackson's moving across the street parallel to ours."
"Copy shepherd, rolling forward"
After fifteen minutes without opposition while on the move, the company reached a checkpoint. It was full of combine soldiers and police, Adrian thought he spotted an elite in there.
The combine really didn't want them reaching the nexus.
Hundreds of sparks appeared on the Abrams, causing no lasting damage
The Abrams cannon fired, rubble and combine showered the area.
The advance continued.
The nexus was well defended, tons of police and Overwatch were patrolling the area, and a suppressor device was mounted on the roof of the place.
Adrian observed this, and spoke into the radio.
"They have an artillery piece mounted on the roof, recommend we sneak in to avoid the meat grinder, and keep the armour out of this."
There was a long burst of static.
Jackson responded, he was now stationed up on a roof near Adrian's position.
"Or, we could bomb the shit out of them." he suggested.
His men had set up mortars and other long range explosives on the roof.
Adrian grinned beneath the gas mask.
"Affirmative"
"All right men, load clusterfucks" Jackson saluted from the roof.
Guy Fawkes Night just came early.
