Meeting engagements

Miguel smiled grimly as he materialized on top of something very familiar. The M402 main battle tank hummed underneath him as he looked around.

"Nice." Miguel hit the commander's hatch control and slid into it as it opened. "From my memories?"

"You have both pleasant and unpleasant memories of this vehicle." The Bolo –Charlotte- replied. "My own form is too large and unwieldy to operate in this virtual simulation. This will suffice."

"Indeed it will." Miguel said as he started hitting manual controls, sealing the hatch and opening the old style periscopes that had replaced sophisticated sensors when the Sentients had proven again and again that high tech was a bad idea when fighting them. "You can run the other systems?"

"Yes." Charlotte replied easily. "Do you wish holos of crew?"

"No." Miguel replied, suddenly uneasy for some reason he could not define. "This isn't real. But… the memories hurt."

"I am sorry." Charlotte said quickly. "I didn't think about that. I can change the simulation to something else-."

"No time. I can handle it." Miguel gave himself a savage shake and toggled his weapons live. "Map?" An actual plastic covered paper map appeared beside him and he smirked. Again, the limited tech had hindered many of the Orokin military personnel, but the Marines had adapted. Less efficient than holo displays, but unhackable. He grinned as he scrutinized it. "The training ground?"

"Is that what this area is?" Charlotte asked. "Your memories were unclear. Tactical simulation range three?"

"Yes." Miguel replied absently. He tapped a point on the map and nodded. "We are here. Two enemies approaching?"

"Multiple enemies." Charlotte sounded uneasy now. "The priests are using the mechs as bridges into this virtual simulation. I… do not want to kill them…" She said weakly. "But I do not have a choice, do I?"

"No." Miguel said sadly. "If they take control again, you will be lucky if you die in the process from what little I saw. If they take me…" He shuddered. "Don't let them take me, please?"

"I won't." Charlotte promised gently. Then her voice solidified. "Orders, commander?"

"Start us on course three two five." Miguel said with a nod. "There is a ridge two kilometers out we can use to get hull down. The only true advantage we have is surprise. They have no idea what we are going to do." He watched warily out his periscopes as the tank growled into motion. The rocking feeling was so familiar that it hurt. "If you see an enemy, call it out and kill the bastard."

"I… don't like this." Charlotte said with an audible gulp. "I… felt what you are, what you did, when I linked, but… I do not like this."

"Anyone who likes war is completely and irredeemably insane." Miguel said with a shrug as he braced himself. The track lurched into a small ravine and he smiled as the feelings came back. Then movement cross his field of view. "Target! Two o'clock! Tank!"

The turret swung with snake like speed. The ancient system of calling out ground or air positions by directions on an old style clock face still worked. Which was why the Marines had never given it up.

"Identified." Charlotte's voice had turned cold. "Armor piercing up."

"Fire!" Miguel called and the tank rocked as both 200mm cannon fired as one. The walking mech in the distance barely had time to note their presence before a pair of heavy metal penetrators hit it and… "No effect?" Miguel demanded. "Do they have shields?"

"Unknown." Charlotte said weakly. "This is… not something I have done before."

"Wait…" Miguel snarled and slid like an eel down to the loader's console. He stared at the readouts for a moment and then cursed. "You took this sim from my mind! It was a training operation. Non-lethal munitions. The brass took a dim view to Marines killing one another in training."

"They entered the simulation…" Charlotte started to reply and then screamed. "Incoming!" Miguel braced himself just in time. The tank rang like a bell as something hit it. "Ow…" Charlotte said weakly. "That… wasn't a practice round…"

"Damage?" Miguel pulled himself back up into the commander position. He strapped himself in as the tank hull rang again. "Another?"

"Both mechs are engaging with main guns at long range." Charlotte replied. "Armor is holding."

"For now." Miguel replied uneasily. "All that the track has onboard is training ammo for the big guns. The machine guns have live rounds. That was standard during the war. But the main gun rounds and rockets are training munitions. Made noise, made marks on the target, but no actual damage."

"I am sorry." Charlotte said weakly as the hull rang again.

"Not your fault, Charlotte." Miguel said sternly. He tapped the map. "Change course four degrees port. There is a hill we can use to block their fire. Wish I knew which wargame this was. There were so many."

"Training simulation 17-Brave." Charlotte replied instantly. "War game against simulated enemy armored cavalry." Miguel's eyes went wide and her voice changed to a smirk. "I am a computer."

"More than that, darlin'." Miguel said with a grin. "Much, much more than that. Okay, so our mains can't kill them… Our strengths are surprise and mobility. We can outrun them in this terrain. Any infantry we face we can tear up, but if they have a lick of sense, they will have brought some kind of anti-armor systems." He looked at the map and then his face split in a grin. A vicious grin. "If they breach the hull, they can hack your systems, yes?"

"Yes." Charlotte said uneasily. "We are masked." Miguel looked out his periscopes and yes, the hill was between the two distant mechs and the M402. He extended his periscope and noted that both were moving in opposite directions. "They are going to try and bracket us." Charlotte whimpered a bit.

"Easy, recruit." Miguel said automatically. He had trained a lot of Marines in armor combat. "That actually works to our advantage."

"It does?" Charlotte asked, then paused. "I… I am not a recruit, am I?"

"If you want to be, you can be." Miguel replied easily. "The Marines only take the best, mind you. And you have to volunteer."

"Don't I have to go through training?" Charlotte asked slowly as the tank growled on. "Alert! Infantry at three o'clock!"

"Engaging!" Miguel swung his control and his face was grim as the machine gun on top of the tank turned to target. He led the distant group expertly and fired a short burst. His grin became feral as the rounds hit and the infantry that had been approaching quickly sought cover. There wasn't any. In moments, the twin forward machine guns joined the fire and the group was quickly cut down. "That won't stop them, but it had to sting."

"They will have to reconnect." Charlotte agreed. "I am getting faint readings from one of the mechs. It is trying to get ahead of us."

"Good." Miguel said with glee. "Increase speed."

"Uh… okay." Charlotte was obviously not sure about this but the tank sped up. "This tank's armor will not stop a 200 mm round at point blank range."

"I know that." Miguel nodded. "You know that. The enemy knows that. If they had sense though, they would stand off and pound us to pieces when we cannot reply effectively. They don't have sense. How quickly can you get in and disable one those mechs?"

"I need to be in cont- Oh…" Charlotte's voice suddenly had a smile in it. "Ramming speed, Commander?"

"Ramming speed." Miguel said as he braced himself tighter.

The mech that came out of the small ravine ahead had no chance at all. It spun to bring it's main gun to bear on seeing the tank, but then realized that 1) the tank was moving at its top speed and 2) it was very, very close. It fired. Too quickly, the shot went wide. Before it could reload, the M402 was on it. Literally.

The mech went down in a heap as Charlotte slammed the forward half of her hull into it's legs. It landed on the upper hull of the M402 and a horrid metal on metal grating noise sounded. Then the tank jerked to one side and the sound vanished as the mech fell off.

"Report!" Miguel snapped.

"Enemy linkage to computer cores severed." Charlotte said quickly. "It is not able to receive commands and I hit it with a wake up pulse…" She paused and then cried out in fear. "Infantry! Three o'clock! Missile team!" Miguel spun his guns and hosed the area. He saw several forms fall, but then he saw the telltale signs of an anti-armor missile flying his way. They had gotten a missile off before he had fired!

"Point defense!" Miguel called.

"Offline!" Charlotte called back, terror in her voice. "From the impact, I think-" A sledgehammer hit the tank and Charlotte's scream of agony tore through Miguel's consciousness. Then it cut off as if sliced by a sword. The entire interior of the track went dark for a moment.

"Charlotte!" Miguel called. "Charlotte respond!"

"Damage…" Charlotte's voice was weak now. "Enemy attempting access…" Something went 'thump' atop the hull.

"Protocol Nine!" Miguel snapped. "Now!"

The tank suddenly went still and energy crackled around. Miguel was careful to keep himself balanced on the insulated seat. The tank rocked and muffled screams came from outside. He checked his periscope and yes, a form in robes had been reaching for the hatch. Unfortunately for the enemy, the Orokin Marines had planned on their tanks getting boarded on occasion. Infantry could get around where tanks could not see or engage them. So, Protocol Nine allowed the tank crew to electrify the hull using some of the output of the reactor. Nasty, brutal and very effective.

"Damage report?" Miguel asked as he used his controls to swing the machine gun again. The robed forms that had been closing ran. "And why isn't the other mech firing?"

"Unknown." Charlotte's voice grew stronger. "That… Ow…" She snarled. "Alert! Enemy attempting to access reactor vents." Miguel went still, if they closed those, or just damaged them, the tank would explode. But…

"Clean the floor!" Miguel called and two muffled thumps sounded through the tank, followed by muffle screams. Claymore mines made for very clean floors. "Are we mobile?"

"No damage to tracks. Reactor at 100%, control runs intact. The missile hit the ammunition storage." Charlotte reported. "We should be mobile."

Miguel smiled grimly. The designers of every tank used by the Orokin Marines had taken a page from the 20th century US Army. Ammunition storage was set up with blow out panels that channeled any explosions away from the crew compartment. That small feature had saved the lived of hundreds of Marines through the years.

"Any sign of the other mech?" Miguel asked. "And what is the status of the one we hit?"

"The one we hit is sitting at nine o'clock." Charlotte sounded smug now. Miguel looked through the appropriate periscope and had to smile at the sight. It was lying on it's back, the mangled remnants of it's legs twitching feebly. "Is that a 'I have fallen and I cannot get up' moment, Commander?" She asked with barely disguised glee.

"Probably." Miguel said. He was scanning the horizon and scowled as he found what he feared. "The other mech is on high ground at our six o'clock. If we move it will hit us. Even if it mobility kills us, we are screwed with those infantry around."

"Not many of those seem to be left." Charlotte observed, her tone worried. "I do not know how long it will take them to recover and reconnect to the simulation."

"Well, then we cannot stick around." Miguel said with a sigh. Then he paused. "Which war game did you say?"

"17-Brave." Charlotte said quickly. "Why?"

"On my command, I want you to fire off every smoke canister we have." Miguel said as he clambered down to the munitions loadout again. He smiled as he saw what he was looking for. "Sloppy… sloppy…" He said as he started hitting keys.

"What?" Charlotte asked. "Smoke ready, but if they have us dialed it –and they will- they can hit us before we move."

"My tank was part of the Aggressor force in that war game." Miguel said with a nod as he worked. "Checking… Checking… Come on… be there. Ah." His smile turned feral. "Let's see where you are, my fine long legged friend…" He said as he checked the map.

"What is that?" Charlotte sounded confused. "What are you accessing?"

"Aggressor forces had to simulate enemy attacks." Miguel said as he double checked his system. "We couldn't' actually kill people –that was frowned on- but we could shake them up a bit. Every hill in this simulation was wired for artillery simulations." An inhalation sounded Charlotte's comprehension.

"That won't destroy the mech." Charlotte said uneasily. "Will it?"

"No." Miguel shrugged. "But it will shake it up and throw off its targeting. I bet they didn't even scan for traps. Like I said… sloppy. Once the charge goes off, I want a line of smoke from where we are to where the mech is. How fast can you get us to where it is?"

"Ram it?" Charlotte sounded more than a bit dubious. "Uphill? Sergeant…" She said formally. "I am not sure our tracks are even intact after that missile hit. They read as intact, but…"

"'Who dares, wins.' Different service, but a good motto." Miguel said with a nod as he keyed another command and climbed back into the command seat. "Still no sign of infantry. We need to do this now."

"At your orders, commander." Charlotte replied, calmer than she had been. Miguel hit a control and a rumble sounded in the distance.

"Fire smoke!" Miguel snapped. Before his words had even finished echoing, the view from the periscopes became a fog of white. "Go!" He braced himself as the track jerked backward and accelerated again. A sledgehammer blow rang on the armor, but the rumble of the tracks never slowed. "Report!"

"Hit portside aft!" Charlotte replied. "No damage! They sure built them tough!" She gave a cry as a huge form appeared out of the smoke, but then a jarring collision was felt. "Got him! Connection severed. What? No!"

Whatever Miguel was going to say in response was cut off as a flash of light speared though his viewport and…

"Sergeant!" Charlotte's scared voice roused Miguel from a dream of pain. "Sergeant, respond please!"

"What… What happened?" Miguel asked as he opened his eyes to find himself on the couch in the control module. Now, every wall was alive with holos of various kinds.

"The mechs are disabled." Charlotte calmed on hearing his voice. "The last one fired just as I cut its connections to the depot computers. The feedback was intense. I thought I had lost you." The shame and fear in her voice were goads and Miguel shook himself.

"I'm okay." Miguel said with a groan. "Hurts, but pain is good. Tell you that the nerves are still working. Status?"

"The mechs are mine." Charlotte reported. "The priests tried to remove them, but could not. Now they seem to all be focusing on the pod."

"Doing what?" Miguel asked, shaking his head. A holo zoomed in on the pod and Miguel went still as he saw the head priest hitting controls. "Oh dear… Is he doing what I think he is doing?"

"He is trying to wake her." Charlotte sounded uneasy, and who could blame her? "I have no idea what capabilities she has." She gave a gasp of fear as the pod split open and a form appeared lying in it. The woman… looked wrong. Miguel stared at it and then hissed. The look was familiar. "Commander?" Charlotte inquired.

"Oh no…" Miguel said with a wince as the woman's face slowly turned to look at the priest. Half of her face was covered with a familiar prosthesis. "She didn't…" He breathed. "Can we get out of here?"

"Our way is clear." Charlotte confirmed. "Do you wish to egress?"

"Oh yes." Miguel said with a gulp as the woman sat up. Her legs were not human either. Instead, they were familiar prosthesis. The armor too was familiar. "How the hell did she wind up with them?"

"Commander?" Charlotte inquired.

"That woman is wearing Grineer armor." Miguel said with a snarl. Charlotte gasped and Miguel nodded. "Her face… yes… That was Marlena. Once. Not anymore."

"No." The female voice was everywhere. "The human known as Marlena was weak. Stupid and weak. The queens promised this one a place at their side and this one accepted their offer. Stand down and your death will be quick."

"You didn't…" Miguel swallowed hard. "I always knew you were dumb, Marlena, but this… This takes the cake."

"Who?" The voice asked and then cackled with glee. "Oh this is rich. The brother finds his way back to the fold. I could use a loyal soldier. With… some modifications. Serve me. Serve well and be rewarded."

"Not a chance in hell, Marlena." Miguel said with a grunt. "You have no brother. You lost that when you tried to steal your parent's savings. They should have spaced your silly ass as soon as you joined the Navy. I mean, really? A robot body?" He shook his head. "How corny can you get?"

"You will not take what is mine." The mechanoid woman rose from her pod and stood, staring at the Bolo. "Surrender the chariot and I may let you live as a pet."

"I said it before and I will say it again." Migeul said with a snarl. "F*** off, you dumb B****! Really, working with the Grineer?"

"They are the future." The woman who had been his sister replied. "You are the past, dear brother. And I, the Valkyrie, will make it so. I choose you to be slain!"