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Tank Commander Wan Xi Lao ordered his Battlemaster full ahead, the tank column rapidly advancing on the GLA forces attempting to take the armory. It would be a long day. The GLA weren't known to give up easily.
Buttoned up in his tank, the Commander had a limited view of the battlefield, relying instead on radio communications from the other tanks in his platoon. Losses had been light so far, but one never knew what the GLA had up their sleeves.
"AP up!" came the yell from his gunner, the orange light on his firing panel flashing to life. The new auto-loader system had loaded a new shell in only five seconds. Impressive, but Lao still preferred an old-fashioned human loader. Politburo would hear none of it, though.
Commander Lao looked through his rangefinder at the BRDM troop carrier racing towards them, marking it with a press of a button. The gunner's sights showed the target as a lock.
"Target acquired!"
"Fire!"
"On the way!"
The Battlemaster rocked back, its 90mm main gun propelling an anti-tank shell at the GLA vehicle. It took less than a second for the round to impact, a clean hit that demolished the front half of the trooper carrier. A burst of flame shot out from the vehicle's hatches, rewarding Lao with secondary explosions as the 15mm light cannon's ammunition cooked off. Another vehicle down. Two seconds later, another BRDM to the side exploded in half from an unseen tank in his platoon. The GLA were like lambs to the slaughter.
"Good shot, Yin!" he yelled to his gunner, already looking through his rangefinder for another target.
"Thank you, sir!" came a reply as the autoloader spit out the spent shell casing and loaded another round. The vehicle burned as his tank approached it, broken and mangled bodies strewn around the wreck. Somehow, three GLA infantry had managed to escape the vehicle, limping away, clutching at bleeding wounds or burns. Lao's remote-controlled 7.62mm machine gun put them down for good.
"GLA scum."
"AP up!"
The tank's radio crackled to life. Lao wished he had a more modern tank, with GPS like the Americans. But the Battlemaster was cheap and easy to produce, so he made do with the outdated radio.
"Ox platoon, report!" came the voice through the radio.
"Ox one, no damage to report."
"Ox three, no damage to report."
"Ox four, currently fixing a thrown tread!"
"Ox five, no damage to report." Lao broadcast to his superior.
"Ox nine, driver is dead, tank inoperable. Bailing out!"
"Ox ten, no damage to report!"
Lao cringed. Ten tanks to his platoon, and only four were battle-ready. The GLA might not have had the most modern equipment, but they did have numbers and cowardly tactics. Soldiers with Flash rockets had managed to take out three of the tanks and seriously damage two others. Two Battlemasters fell to massed fire by T-72 tanks.
"All remaining Ox units, Diamond formation!"
A flight of three MiG fighters screamed by overhead, unleashing their Black Napalm missiles on a line of GLA infantry and light vehicles. Even through the din of battle, Lao could hear the men screaming as the flames joined in a furious, wind-blown fire storm. Countless infantry were burned alive, caught in the open or cooked in their rapidly melting vehicles. Several of them tried to run from their positions, only to be mercilessly gunned down by the sharp 'crack' of the rifles of the Red Guards or the deep rumble of the Gatling tanks.
The remaining tanks of Ox platoon joined up into a loose diamond shape, one tank to a side, providing maximum protection and firepower. Lao's tank took up the right-most position, slamming an AP shell into the side of a T-72. A tall fountain of rapidly expanding flames shot from the hatch. No one would be escaping that tank.
Machine gun fire erupted from their right side, clattering off the Battlemaster's armor like hail on a tin roof.
"Gunner, High Explosive, machine gun position, four o' clock!" Lao barked out over the roar of Inferno cannon shells exploding near by.
Yin flipped his fire selector to High Explosive, and the autoloader rammed home a new shell in a few seconds.
"Target acquired!"
"Fire!"
"On the way!"
The gun position exploded in a shower of earth and gore. The autoloader fed a new round into the firing breech.
A rebel was still firing from a foxhole in the position, cutting down a Red Guard soldier.
"Lao, take care of him!" came an order.
"Yes, sir! Driver, four o'clock, full ahead!"
"Yes, sir!" shouted the driver.
Lao's tank roared towards the foxhole, the rebel spotting the tank and ducking out of the way, perhaps hoping he wasn't noticed or could wait for the tank to pass.
"Lock the tread!" Lao ordered his driver. The driver threw a lever and locked the left tread, gunning the engine as the tank started spinning in place, its treads chewing through the loose soil.
The rebel realized too late what was happening, and with the tank parked directly above him, he could not escape. He only only scream in futility as the 40 ton Battlemaster slowly ground its way down, crushing him with all its weight, grinding his body into a compacted red and pink smear.
Lao's tank unlocked the track and joined the formation.
Lao's range finder picked up a Quad Tank that was already firing on a group of massed Red Guard. Lao felt a pang of disgust course over him as the quad .50cal machine guns ripped into more than twenty infantry, leaving behind nothing but shredded bodies.
Yet still more infantry made their way over the embankment, a group of rocket soldiers firing a salvo of anti-tank rockets at the Quad Tank, mangling its guns and treads. The crew tried to bail out, explosives strapped to their chests, only to be riddled by massed rifle fire. One of them twitched as he lay on the ground, his explosives rendered harmless by a swath of bullets. A Red Guard bayoneted him in the back.
"Ox platoon, full ahead! Command reports GLA forces on full retreat!"
Lao smiled despite all he had seen. At least the men had not died in vain.
The small group of Battlemasters was soon joined by a larger group from another Company, including a pair of Overlords with speaker towers. The massive tanks towered over Lao's own, crushing burning wrecks beneath their massive treads, their dual 125mm cannons utterly destroying every retreating vehicle within range.
"Victory belongs to China this day!" came a voice from the loudspeaker. Shouts of "Hurrah!" echoed across the battlefield, boosting the morale of all within earshot.
The surviving GLA vehicles disappeared over a hill, rapidly pursued by Assault Trooper Crawlers.
"All units, hold position" came an order over the radio.
"Driver, halt!" Lao ordered. His Battlemaster came to a stop. Lao made sure there were no GLA within view, and popped open his hatch to get a better view of the area. Shattered, burning wrecks and broken bodies were strewn over a large area. Casualties had been heavier than expected, but China had once again prevailed.
Lao clapped a hand on the shoulder of his gunner. "That was good shooting today, Yin."
Yin smiled to himself and replied with a "Thank you, sir."
Recon flights of MiGs flew overhead, watching the assault troop crawlers disgorge their infantry payloads to finish off the surviving GLA.
A clang and a wet thud. Lao's driver was dead before they heard the shot, a single armor-piercing 14.5mm bullet piercing through the viewing slit and removing the top half of his head in a spray of blood, skull fragments, and brain matter. Lao and his gunner sat in shock for a mere moment before their training kicked in.
"SNIPER!" Lao yelled over his radio.
"Ox five, where did the shot come fr--" a reply was cut off in mid-sentence, another shot ringing out from a tree line.
A cacophony of gunfire erupted from the Chinese forces in the general direction of the shot, spraying as much lead as possible in hopes of hitting the sniper that had claimed two drivers already.
Another shot. A Gatling tank fell silent. Explosive shells joined the gunfire, ripping through the tree line, filling it with shrapnel and debris.
At this moment, the ground beneath a squad of soldiers erupted up and out, sending the men flying. A large, armored ramp stood where the explosion had happened, rounds clattering off it while the tanks struggled to get their turrets turning fast enough.
Having done his job, Jarmen Kell snuck away as silently as he had appeared.
"GLA HOLE!"
The ramp dropped, and a crowd of terrorists, strapped with explosives, ran at the Chinese forces. An Overlord opened fire, but its Armor Piercing rounds did little unless they scored a direct hit. A dozen terrorists were struck down by gunfire, but more kept coming. They threw themselves onto the vehicles, the shaped-charge explosives strapped to their chests detonating and destroying everything they touched. Six Battlemasters and eight light vehicles fell to the suicide bombers.
The ground started to shake. Lao thought it might be the Overlords on the move, but a quick look showed that they were idling, one of them missing a front-left track from a suicide bomber's explosives.
The Chinese forces were splintered into groups. Lao's own tank formation had only five Battlemasters and two Overlords. One of them was stalled out near the GLA hole, its engine destroyed and its crew killed.
"Yin, fire on that GLA hole!"
"Yes, sir!"
The remaining tanks in Lao's formation opened up on the armored tunnel, knocking chunks out of it, but it would not collapse.
The rumbling grew heavier, the very ground shaking. Even as the column of tanks poured fire into the tunnel, something started to crawl its way out...something big.
"What in the world..." Lao said to himself as a giant gun barrel slowly emerged from the tunnel. It seemed to go on forever...and then it stopped, the vehicle it was attached to lurching out of the tunnel. A hulking monstrosity of a tank, roaring, clanking, grinding away. The noise was overpowering. Its massive treads crushed the 40 ton Battlemaster near it like it was a tin can. Lao's eyes widened as the enormous GLA tank completely emerged from the tunnel, 90mm rounds bouncing off its frontal armor. Even the Overlord's cannons did nothing more than gouge moderately sized holes.
The GLA tank slowly turned, its 155mm gun turning with the hull. It lined up a Battlemaster. The Chinese tank tried to flee, but it was too late. The Basilisk's massive cannon roared to life with a burst of flame and sound, so loud it made Lao clasp his hands over his ears. The targeted Battlemaster was utterly destroyed, the huge shell tearing the entire side of the tank open, turning the crew into a pink, pulpy mess.
"ALL UNITS, CONCENTRATE ON THAT TANK!"
The remaining Chinese tanks focused fire on the Basilisk. Their rounds pinged off the armor. Yin fired as quickly as the autoloader would let him, spent shells clattering to the floor and filling the tank with the smell of burnt cordite.
The Basilisk fired again, ripping the turret off of the lead tank in Lao's formation. Shrapnel clanged loudly off of his own tank.
"Reinforcements! We need reinforcements!" Lao shouted over the radio, but to no response.
The lead Overlord poured rounds into the Basilisk. The massive tank turned towards the Overlord and fired. The shell ripped through armor plating and immobilized the Overlord. The wounded tank continued to fire, but a second round tore through the ammo storage bay and ignited several of the rounds. The Overlord exploded in a gout of flame and shrapnel.
Lao couldn't believe his eyes. Whatever this tank was, it had killed the most massive armored vehicle in China's military with just two shots.
"Yin! Forget it! Get us out of here!"
Yin responded hastily, visibly shaken. He dragged the remains of the driver out of the driver's seat, looking as though he would vomit. The control bar was still sticky with blood, but Yin managed to get the tank into a full reverse.
The second Overlord maneuvered around the side of the Basilisk, hitting the weaker armor around the tread skirt. The GLA tank stuttered from the heavy, dual cannons of the Overlord. Flame erupted from the rear of the Basilisk, but still it would not die. It slowly turned to the right...but not to face the Overlord.
Lao watched the battle from his viewfinder. The Basilisk was now on fire, and it seemed to defiantly continue to turn to face its attacker. It slowed its rate of turn and seemed to almost stop completely...right at Lao's tank. He could see down the massive cannon, following the tank as it tried to escape.
His eyes widened. A wave of cold rushed over his body. He could only muster a weak "no..."
The Basilisk fired. For the briefest of moments, Lao's world became heat and pain. And then...
...nothing.
Some distance away, General Mohmar watched the spectacle from a hidden vehicle. He smiled as his Basilisk finally succumbed to the concentrated fire of the Chinese forces. One Basilisk in exchange for an Overlord and six Battlemasters.
"This new weapon is very effective, General." Spoke a man to his right.
"Indeed it is, Jarmen. Give the go-ahead to the scrap yards. I want these tanks in full production as soon as possible."
Jarmen nodded and watched the Basilisk burn.
Today was a good day.
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Originally this was in a thread for ShockWave...I was told it should be put here. Hope everyone likes the story! I used to make stories like this all the time. Dozens of them, of all lengths. Feels good to get back into it
Edited by MercenaryMuffin, 16 January 2009 - 14:06.
