2AW Last Stand On Addas: Part 1

Mirach System: Ruins of Addas

"Fire!"

The order was carried out almost instantly. The Rapier simply came apart. The Scram shell left the barrel at massive velocities, the shell propelled by a scramjet left a huge exhaust plume as it sped down the shattered street, across the crossroads and into the wreckage strewn plaza. Ash, debris and dirt were kicked up the shell as it gained speed the further it went. The Union Rapier light tank didnt even have time to register the shot before the 155mm round hit it center on, its hull merely coming apart in a raging fireball as the entire thing exploded, crashing to the ground in sheets of flame.

"Scratch one light tank" The gruff sound of the gunner replied. Chezak grinned, notching another kill tally into the side of the gunners screen with his knife, the tally markers had gotten quite high over the past few days.

"There will be more, keep an eye out" The reply of Malin the commander was in a softer tone, but much more calculating in its complexity. He sat next to Chezak, in fact all three crew sat side by side. Including Osai who drove the Hyperion MBT, all three men sat in the wide, turret, the massive autoloading system already working noisily to load another Scram round into the main gun.

"I hope to have at least 100 kills by the time we are pulled out" Chezak snarled.

"Keep fucking hoping chez" Osai replied with his legs crossed merely smoking in boredom.

"Kill confirmed, kill confirmed." The voice came through the communications network, coming from one of the two CCZ-99 tanks that flanked the enormous Hyperion from at least 250m away, both of them covering themselves behind the enormous elevated highway that had collapsed in the fierce nuclear bombardment that had reduced resistance in Addas to remnants that nevertheless besieged the now-isolated APP forces.

"Chezak, I see damage in your tank." The pilot of the leading of the two tanks noted with a flat, professional monotone. "Are you still fully active? We've got incoming, over."

"Nah the tanks fine we are good to go, rounds now loaded, how many have you got on the scope?" Chezak said over the com before Malin could reply, as the tank commander Malin felt like Chezak was definately out of line. But then the bastard was always like this, Malin merely kept the crew in good order and ensured that they somehow got the orders done.

"Osai be ready to move us if we need it" Malin said aloud. Osai sighing, taking one more puff of his smoke before tossing it onto the gunmetal floor of the tank and stamping on it. He then flexed his arms and got ready on the huge steering wheel and other levers which allowed the huge tank to move.

"Seems our optics got a bit damaged in that last big engagement, same with our sensors" Malin then added.

"Bastards trying to hamstring us, it wont work though" Chezak immediately bit back.

"Wreckage is throwing target identification off-course, I have a visual on at least three confirmed APCs moving in a zigzag pattern at ground level, over." Replied the EPA commander by the name of Nzh Tgl, his mind submerged deeply in the massive sensor input of the tank's many systems that kept him updated through the smoke and fire that covered the battlefield.

On the other side of the collapsed highway extended a wasteland so flat that it was hard to think of it having ever been a city; streets were only discernable as faint clearings in the blast zones of the nuclear weapons; the only structures left standing over two stories high were the distant, enormous cylinder-shaped industrial arcologies that extended several miles into the noxious radioactive air and sunk into the distant mist, appearing to the tank crewmen as ghostly shapes engulfed in flame.

"APCs aye..." Chezak grumbled.

"Looks like their going to engage us with infantry, fire up the old 37mm, 155mm is going to be useless here" Malin replied coldly.

"I know, I know..." Chezak switched his trigger hand over to the smaller trigger to the right of the main one, the apparatus to control the co-axial 37mm autocannon on the tank which was loaded with HE and Frag munitions, Malin then also brought up the manual controls on his station for the additional 20mm cupola mounted autocannon as well, just in case.

The inside of the Hyperion despite being such a large and wide tank was fairly cramped, the autoloader taking up the majority of the space along with the shell movers which delved into the large center ammo rack in the middle of the hull, well protected along with the engine and the main computer hub. While the crew chairs themselves were comfy and their controls easy to handle any access to another part of the tank was a struggle.

Huge battleship-like volleys were fired between the tall ruined arcologies that combattants had taken, hammering away at the monolithic structures in which thousands of men made their stands. In brief flashes, distant unseen arcologies lit up. With artillery fighting artillery in the rooftops, the survivors at ground level were left to each fight the war on its own, and the dozens of wreckages that dotted the ground attested to the brutality of the fight.

A large explosion blinded the Hyperion's optics, and the resulting shrapnel destroyed the commander's optics, the gunsight and the roof-mounted 20mm. A Spheromak from Nzh's tank had just vaporized a powerful railgun shell coming from much further away than the APCs or the Rapiers.

"Malin, Malin, we're under fire." The two EPA tanks retreated behind cover, firing their guns in unison at a distant edifice, visible only whenever lighting silhouetted it against the smoke and mist. "It's coming from that arcology, there's a tank in there"

"Empress be dammned" Malin growled, he was effectively blind "Im going to have to pop a hatch"

"Are you fucking insane?" They have snipers, and I doubt you would fair much better than the optics" Osai replied. Chezak merely grinned at the commanders balls in all this. Malin stood up on his seat, and popped the hatch.

"Osai pull back and I will give you directions" Malin called down, the driver now kicking the tank into reverse, the large rumbling and roaring sound of the Hyperions drive system now rolling the huge tank backwards.

The air however, was acrid in taste. It tasted like the death of a world, ash mixed with burnt metal and flesh, mixed with chemical smells. Malin looked around, the EPA tank shots having marked the firing location somewhat, picking up his Binoculars he could just make out a target through the smoke and haze, it was oppresively hot, the nuclear holocaust that had flattened the city still had fires burning here and there. It was a miracle he could breathe, thankfully the airbursts had prevented any real fallout, the allies wanted to retake this land not salt it. It was then he made out the shape.

"Seraphim around 5km out by that arcology" He called both to Chezak and Osai and also over the coms. He quickly surveyed the damage to his tank, the 20mm was out, near totally ripped off, scarring of the pain all over the top of the turret and much of the optics had been either slashed or blasted.

"Damaging my tank... Union dogs will pay for this" He growled, quickly jumping back down into the tank and sealing the hatch, the internal filters sucking the air back out which was filled with pollutants.

"Malin, don't reverse, you're giving them your roof." The EPA tank commander informed. While the two CCZ-99 tanks took cover behind the highway, the Hyperion had taken position in a clearing blown by a rather powerful bomb.

"Move forwards, over." Nzh said, managing to open a datalink between the CCZ's optics and the Hyperion so that Malin was given an external view of his tank. A holographic arrow appeared in the Hyperion's hull, indicating them to advance 50m forward into the edge of the crater so Malin could point line the thick armor of the Hyperion at the tanks on the rooftops.

"Since when did they give us orders?" Chezak mumbled.

"Since they can see thats when. Osai push us up to the indicated location and lets try to get a good bearing on this bastard" Malin ordered. Osai immediately changing gear and accelerating forwards, the Hyperion groaning as the beast of a tank began to advance. The turret gears whining as Chezak kept the gun pointed towards the vague area of the target.

"Copied order. Enemy will be firing again shortly" Malin responded over the coms

As the tank lurched uphill a visceral metallic grinding noise echoed through the tank. Under its tracks, the remains of what had once been an infantry position were crushed into pieces. ATGM launchers, radios, machineguns, and the charcoal-like bodies that piled high to both sides of the Hyperion. Completely black, burnt so thoroughly not even the uniforms remained. A destroyed Hyperion sat on the other side of the hill created by the crater, engulfed in flame since Malin had arrived.

The whole city was a charnel house, whatever the point of invading this planet was clearly lost to Malin. But they were here none the less. And while this invasion force was no longer invading its only objective now was to hold out until they were recovered. That was if they were going to be recovered, if not they would likely fight to the death. At least they had caused immense damage in this system, Malin could die happy that while they had lost he had managed to take some down with him. The Hyperion pulled up to the designated location, using the other Hyperion bazing wreck as cover.

"Poor bastards, hope we dont get cooked alive" Osai commented, Chezak merely nodding.

"Uh, either enemy is using active stealth or we're getting ambient clutter, I can't get any contacts fr-"

Immediately after the CCZ-99 to the other side of Malin's tank began moving, five flashes dotted the rooftop levels of the burning arcology, hitting all over the line. One of them found its mark on the upper glacis of the massive Hyperion that had managed to angle it towards the attack while another shot hit the highway, punching completely through the rubble and exiting as a shotgun of white-hot shrapnel that blasted the lightly-armored tank on the other side in several places, breaking its tracks and setting several capacitor banks on fire.

"Fnvr just got hit, Fnvr just got hit, we've got a lot of fire incoming!" Nzh informed as several follow-up shots kept pummeling the immobilized CCZ-99 through its cover.

"The fuck was that!" Osai called out loudly, Malin kicking Chezak in the leg.

"Target the top of that arcology and fire, light that thing up!" He ordered shouting, Chezak immediately taking aim and firing with both the main gun and the co-axial autocannon. The massive thump and whoost of the main gun signalled the loosing of a 155mm round, the jet-assited round impacting the top of the arcology with a huge amount of force, ripping a section off the top and sending multiple floors below collapsing in on each other, something then exploded before the dust and ash causing from the explosion along with the smoke obscured the whole upper floors of the arcology from view.

"That will have to do for the momen-" Malin was cut from speaking as the Hyperion took a direct hit to the frontal upper glacis, the railgun round richochetting off the pike nose, gouging a hole as the shot then slammed into the frontal turret armour, failing to penerate but leaving a large bore hole. The interior of the tank was slammed with such force that Osai was knocked unconcious, Malin was thrown against his seat with such force that he could feel his organs hurting while Chezak smacked his head against the aiming controls, causing a cut on his head which began to bleed.

(Another character RP between and involving EPA/Capitol holding out against allied forces attempting to take back the planet Addas in the Mirach system from APP ground forces landed there enjoy)