What was supposed to be a battle turned quickly into a hell storm. Tanks drove off immediately, mostly younger ones. It was safe to assume that they had never fought before, as most of them simply ran out into the open. I sat back for a few seconds and watched in disbelief as our team practically committed suicide. From over the hill came the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and blood-curdling screams. At least five out of our fifteen tanks died within the first minute. I was defenseless, as I still had not figured out how to use my gun.
Trev had positioned himself behind a small building, where his rear mounted gun was benefitting him greatly. Doc was in the bushes along with an AT-1 and T18, sniping at anything that came across the hill. The left side of the map, with the village and hill, was rather undefended. I decided that the left was my best option, and if we succeeded over there, we could potentially flank the enemy team. I started moving over the rails slowly, albeit as fast as my engine would allow. It still felt strange, having an engine inside me. It was a feeling I thought I would never get used to.
Once I went over the rails, I passed a sniping T1 Cunningham. I stopped and looked back at him, realizing I would need help.
"Hey, can you follow me? I could use backup." I asked. The T1 nodded, and we started moving up towards the hill. Once we passed through the village, a shell whizzed over me. I looked around and hunkered down to the best of my ability. I spotted an FT, at the edge of the village. The T1 noticed him too, and sent a spray of 37mm fire into the enemy tank. It screamed in agony, and exploded. I shook of the screams, and we continued up the hill. Slowly we crawled, as fast as our engines would permit. Up at the top of the hill, we stopped for a second. I attempted to look around, when the T1 next to me took a hit. He wailed in pain as it exploded inside of him, and I looked at the shell hole in his frontal armor. Black oily substance started bleeding out, and pieces of debris littered the ground. It was a disgusting sight. Another shell hit him, followed by two more. He exploded, and I was covered with the oily material as well as other… things. I spotted the assailant, an MS-1 behind a bush. I had him where I wanted him, right in my aim. There was one problem.
"Come on, come on… it can't be that hard to shoot!" I muttered. The MS-1 spotted me, and turned his turret at me. This was it, I was doomed. The MS-1 fired its 45mm, impacting me in my hull. The pain was like being stabbed, but much worse. I groaned as it hit, and tried to shake it off. I had to fight back somehow…
"You're not going to die today…" I thought to myself. I looked back at the MS-1, and somehow, my gun fired. I couldn't explain the feeling, it was certainly strange. However it was I did it, I managed to use my gun. The shell struck the MS-1 in the turret, and he simply collapsed as it hit. I guess turret shots are the equivalent of headshots. I chuckled a bit to myself, more of a nervous one than a happy one. I had to continue on.
I "raced" down the hill, trying to flank the enemy team. I was hurting, but that wasn't important. Survival was more important, and surviving meant winning. I stopped in front of the rails, and waited for a second. I was somewhat scared. I shook the feeling off, and moved over the ridge. On the other side, I could see what was left of the enemy team. There were several tanks, none paying attention to me. This was my chance. I picked out the biggest threat, a T18. Firing at his rear, I managed to land three hits on him before he exploded. The other tanks looked around confused, and my teammates realized the opportunity. An H35, FT, and T1 crossed the hill, firing on the distracted enemies. Trev destroyed a Medium 1 with an accurate shot, and Doc sniped a Sexton in the cap circle. It was over in seconds. What once was the enemy team was now just a debris field. Against the odds, I had survived.
Trev and Doc met up with me outside the battle zone. We shared looks of bewilderment, mainly the fact that we had survived the inferno. Out of the three of us, I had been the only one to get hurt. Doc first noticed it before we met up to collect our reward from the VK 30.01 H.
"Oh my God, you're hurt!" He exclaimed, getting up close and looking at the wound. I forced a smile.
"Yeah, there was an MS-1 back up on the hill that put a 45 millimeter round into me." I replied. I hadn't really paid any attention to the pain until he mentioned it.
"I'm gonna need to look at that right away, in case it could get infected." He said, examining it and looking up at me.
"Let's just get our reward and meet back up with Jerry and Kenny first." I said.
"Then we can look at it." Doc nodded, and the three of us went over to the VK giving out rewards. He looked at us for only a moment, before giving us a whopping pile of free experience and credits. Trev and Doc had to split it amongst their travel sacks. After that, we met back up with Kenny and Jerry. They seemed excited to see us.
"Well, did you win? What happened? Are you hurt?" Jerry asked in a hailstorm of questions.
"We won, yes, and Mobius is hurt, yes." Trev replied. Jerry shut his mouth when he heard the last part.
"I need a place to take a look at him before I can help him, anyone know somewhere close by?" Doc asked.
"I think I saw a garage or two a few miles back, but at this time of day, it'll be night by the time we get there." Kenny replied. Doc looked at me with a worried expression.
"Do you think you can wait until daylight? We'll need to stop at one point." He asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." I replied.
"Are you sure?" I hesitated before answering.
"What's the worst that could happen?" I replied. I should have known not to ever reply with those words.
