Now that I had a tank that I was truly in love with, I needed to take care of a few things.
First of all, I needed a base of operations.
Well, I didn't really "need" one, but it would help when I needed a place to do repairs & maintenance without getting shot at.
After much searching, I finally found one in an abandoned mine somewhere deep within the mountains.
Second of all, I needed to upgrade my new steed.
Having gained some experience in mechanics & metallurgy, I didn't figure it would be too hard, but there was one question:
Where was I going to get the parts?
So, I did some brainstorming, and after a while, an idea came to me.
On the battlefield, once the gunfire stopped, I searched the bodies of any former Soviet tankers that I came across, hoping to find blueprints of any sort.
I also looked for any useable parts from blown-up tanks.
Little by little, I got blueprints for better parts:
A better suspension.
A V-5 engine.
A 10RK radio.
But the real crown was the new gun setup.
Now, my KV-1 was equipped with a large turret sporting a 152mm M-10 howitzer.
The blueprints designated the new turret as type "KV-2".
For some reason, the blueprints for the cannon contained the inscription "ДЕРП".
What did it mean?
Was it the name of the designer?
That didn't matter much to me.
Finally, after improving my tank, I decided to improve myself.
To do this, I grabbed all the scrap metal I needed and started working away at it.
Eventually, I ended up creating an improvised suit of armor.
The suit consisted of: A face plate for my helmet, augmentations to my SN-42 vest, arm protectors, and leg protectors.
Now, not only did I have a way of protecting myself if my tank got destroyed, I also had a way of feeling connected with my tank.
Besides, I already had enough metal in me, so why not just put some on me?
There was just one thing missing, though.
After a few more minutes, I painted a name for my tank on both sides of the turret:
"Goliath".
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.