บท 2: The Red Musket Part 2
With that, the crew resolved their resolution, "That's what I want to hear!" Then the commander used the radio again, "Tell me their location."
"Eastern edge of the city park, coordinates 40.747535, -73.984105. There's a column of T70's and T90's there." — Warpig
"Copy that, Warpig. Retreat for a while! Don't you dare lose any of our tanks! We only have a few of 'em! ETA 3 minutes. Hold out for a while."
"Copy that, Red Musket." — Warpig
Ivan, his hands firmly gripping the controls, twisted the throttle, unleashing the raw power of the 70-ton steel behemoth. The Red Musket surged forward, its tracks chewing through the war-torn streets, its impressive speed of 69 kph defying the limitations of its imposing size.
"We'll deal with those enemy infantry later," Captain Tiger declared,"Right now, we've got a party to crash."
Mirroring the enemy's flanking maneuver, the Red Musket veered off the city's main road, heading northeast from the city square. Their destination: the city park, an open field perfect for shooting.
The distance between the Red Musket and their comrades, the Warpig, is approximately 5 kilometers. At their current speed, they could reach the park in roughly four minutes, but the terrain was far from ideal. Rubble from collapsed buildings littered the path, threatening to impede their progress.
However, the Red Musket crew was prepared for such obstacles. They deployed a reconnaissance drone, its aerial view providing a clear picture of the terrain ahead. With Ivan's impeccable tank-driving skills, they navigated the treacherous landscape with precision.
They're only 3 km to the destination but they already spotted the target. It's confirmed — a column of T72's and T80s's tanks heading at the foxtrot and Warpig location.
"Time to start hunting." Cpt proclaimed. "Contact 3000 meters ahead 13 T80's lined up. Load sabot and aim at the lead tank."
Archer aimed the main gun. "Identified!"
Armstrong opened the ammunition rack and grabbed the APFSDS round or Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot. It is a special ammunition that uses a sabot or an arrow like tungsten metal or even a depleted uranium, capable of penetrating thick armor at high velocity with deadly precision.
"Up!" Armstrong shouted after loading the round, "Fire."
"On the way!" Archer pulled the trigger.
The 120mm gun roared again and the sabot round hit the lead tank, penetrating its armor like a butter then the thunderous bang can be heard.
"Sabot at the second tank!!" — Tiger.
The column tank quickly scattered to face the imminent danger.
"Now aim at that tank-" Red Musket charges at full speed at the same time firing at the enemy. Within a minute, the Red Musket had transformed the enemy column into a burning graveyard of steel. Six T72 tanks lay in ruins.The remaining enemy tanks halted their advance by the sudden onslaught, scrambled to regroup. Panic-stricken, they attempted to retreat while firing erratically at the Red Musket, their shots falling wide of the mark.
M1A3 of the Redmusket charged forward while firing; when they reached their destinations, all of the 13 tanks were nothing but a piece of scrap now. But there are still more of them.
"This is the Red Musket, we have finally arrived at the destination just two clicks from your position, how's our man in there? Over." — Tiger
"Red Musket, This is Warpig! We are now defending the Hotel Suez, we're buying time for our men to retreat. Over."
"How many armor?" Cpt Tiger inquired.
"There's at least 20 of them attacking us right now!" Through the radio they can hear the sounds of the gunshot and bullets whistling around.
"Engage the enemy and draw their attention. We'll flank them and attack from the side." — Tiger
"Solid copy, Red Musket. Engaging Targets!" — Warpig
Hotel Suez stands isolated amidst a vast open field, its strategic importance drawing the enemy's attention. Three M1A3 tanks, positioned around the hotel, form a defensive perimeter, their crews determined to protect the stronghold.
From the north, the enemy forces surge forward like banzai charge, their numbers and firepower posing a significant threat to Hotel Suez's defenders. Red Musket, recognizing the vulnerability of the enemy's left flank, devises a bold plan to strike from an unexpected angle and charge them. The element of surprise is their greatest weapon, and the timing of their attack is crucial.
Black Powder Squadron started their attack, 3 Abrams tanks fired at the charging enemy, and now the Red Musket finally started the attack party. Attacking enemy consisted of some T72 and some APC's. Red Musket fired APFSDS rounds at its overpen 2 aligned BMPs destroying both of them, while Cpt Tiger is on top of turret firing its 50 Cal and also Archer who's firing the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun at the infantry.
Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, the Black Powder Squadron stands triumphant, having decimated the enemy's armored forces. With only enemy infantry remaining, Armstrong joins the fray, expertly wielding his M249 Saw machine gun while Scarface maneuvering the tank to provide optimal firing positions for his comrades.
After twenty intense minutes, the enemy retreated and a temporary ceasefire descended, and the Black Powder Squadron, recognizing their numerical disadvantage, decided to withdraw. However, as Hornet retreats, disaster strikes – a landmine immobilizes the tank.
"Arghhh! We step on shit!" The Hornet's captain bellowed. However, timing turned treacherous when Tiger spotted something flying in the air. It's a white tube-like object with wings or fins on it. It looks like a cruise missile but it's slow because it's only using a propeller. And that object is currently nose diving towards Hornet's M1 Abrams tank. It's a loitering munition or also known as a kamikaze drone. It uses heat signature to find its target and it can penetrate the top part of a tank because that's the least protected part of any tank.
"Hornet! Bail out! Bail out! Drone incoming!" then Cpt Tiger, recognizing the imminent threat, swiftly takes up his position at the 50 caliber gun. Archer, with a mix of humor and concern, questions his captain's intentions. "Hey! You're going to shoot it with that thing? Can you hit it?" Cpt Tiger, unfazed, but then he orders Archer. "It's probably impossible for me but I guess you can. Take this gun now, soldier!"
Tiger quickly climbed up to the turret of the tank to let Archer use the machine gun, and as Tiger did that, Archer also swiftly manned the gun.
Armstrong, not to be outdone, joins the challenge, manning his gun and proposing a competition to see who can shoot down the drone first. Archer accepts, and the two engage in a race against time, their red tracer rounds streaking through the air. Hornet's crew on the other hand finally made it out of the tank.
Amidst the flurry of gunfire, one bullet strikes the drone's wing, sending it into an uncontrollable spiral. The drone crashes to the ground, exploding in a fiery burst. Archer, caught up in the excitement, and Tiger inquire about the victor, but Armstrong simply shrugs off "It's clear that this brat beat me."
Tiger quickly ran toward Hornet to assess the situation.
"Thank you, Tiger. We owe you with that one." Hornet's captain gave thanks.
" How bad have you been hit?"
"Two of our road wheels on the left are completely shattered, the track is already loose and one of our suspension fluid is leaking."
"How much time do you need for repair?"
"Best we can do is 3 hours"
"Captain, they are coming." A deadpan and neutral voice came into Tiger's radio, it's from Scarface. It's clearly indicating that they must leave now.
Captain Tiger pondered, he knew that they must retreat now, but he can't just abandon the tank. Not only do they lose a precious war machine but it may also inflict morale damage since the tank has a reputation and this would be the first operation they fielded. Their sponsors expect good results from them. He is desperately seeking a solution to the seemingly impossible task of recovering the abandoned Abrams tank. Then suddenly a peculiar smile spread across his face, drawing curious glances from his crew.
"Oh hell no, that damn smile… I don't like where this is going," Archer groaned, sensing the captain's brewing audacity.
"Make it 30 minutes."
"What?"
"I said we need to get moving in 30 minutes. I don't care if you use a car wheel or a goddamn tow truck that can carry 70 tons of war machine. Best if you just repair it, as long as we can get the hell outta here with your tank, I don't care what you do. Just 30 minutes and we're out."
"That's…impossible-"
"It's your job to do my command, now give me some of your rounds." Then Tiger ran off back to his tank.
The Hornet captain can't retort anymore and Tiger calls for Armstrong. Armstrong, ever the thrill-seeker, couldn't contain his eagerness. "So, we're really gonna go for it, huh, arrogant as ever. I love it!"
Scarface, the voice of reason, sighed in resignation, already anticipating the wild scheme that was about to unfold.
Captain Tiger, feigning innocence, exclaimed, "Wait! You don't know what I'm thinking, right?"
"You know that we know," Archer retorted with another sigh. "Just give the order to the Black Powder Squadron and ask the infantry how many can still fight. You don't just want to reclaim that Abrams; you want to reclaim the whole city, don't you?"
"You're goddamn right, son, now give me a map"
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