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 Author When the Hammer Falls
Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black


Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
Posted: 2012-05-23 03:35   

40 klicks away, the large caliber guns of the UGTO 40th artillery made their last minute trajectory corrections and salvoed off their first shots. Their autoloaders ejected the spent shells and chambered their second ones within 8 seconds, and the entire battery fired their second salvo. Then the guns of the 40th made a slight heading and elevation change before firing off their third salvo. The entire process was completed within 20 seconds.

Immediately after that, all guns were lowered and retracted back into transport configuration as the self-propelled artillery vehicles began to vacate their firing positions.



Diving down the northern slope of 239, engines rotated aft for max forward speed, Sparrow locked on to both of the pursuing Hecas and fired off both of his ATGMs. The two missiles leapt off his launchers and reached out for both tanks, destroying them. Approaching 500 knots and the valley floor, he pulled back hard on his stick and rotated his engines to the vertical position. Passing over the escaping Crusader, he rotated and slewed his aircraft hard right in a strafing motion. Targeting the APCs next, he opened fire with his cannons.




"Hot damned!", Kendall shouted jubilantly as he recognized the sleek profile of the Ferret scout VTOL passing by behind them and firing into the ICC formation. The Ferret took out two APCs before it broke off and flew over them towards the west. Now running at over 70 miles per hour, they were rapidly leaving the ICC forces behind. Through Garcia's screen, the ground behind them suddenly seemed to erupt in multiple explosions.

The first group of arty shells arrived above the main ICC formation. Unlike the cluster munitions used earlier by both sides, high explosive rounds were used this time. The first group of shells landed in the ICC formation and destroyed over 70% of the vehicles in the target area. The second volley wiped out most of the survivors.


The Tartarus commander already had a bead on the approaching Crusader. He winced as he witnessed the main group getting shelled by arty fire. His gunner was about to lase the target when the world around them turned to hell. The third salvo landed in and around their position, though to a lesser degree of accuracy than what was unleashed on their comrades in the valley. A few of his tanks blinked off the IVDS, destroyed by the metal rain. He screamed at the driver to back off the ridge in full reverse.

Backing off the ridge, the surviving six Tarturuses retreated westwards towards their alternate extraction point, the battle already lost.


"Cease fire," Oxley called on the air as the last of the surviving ICC tanks was dispatched by the remnants of his platoon. He surveyed the landscape through his binos at the carnage that was once the main ICC formation. There would be few, if any, survivors among the wreckage. A hard fought victory, he sighed. Only four of his Heimdalls and a single Rapier was left. Most of Alpha had been decimated in the Battle for Hill 237. Many of the brave men and women that he had fought alongside with these past months had perished in the futile defense of a nameless hill in the middle of nowhere.

"Approaching tank, due east!", someone screamed. Heimdalls 1-2 and 3-1 swiveled their turrets around to track the incoming vehicle. Oxley turned his glasses towards the approaching dust trail, expecting a surviving enemy tank or two that had to be taken out. What greeted his eyes instead was the frontal profile of an approaching HT-7. He couldn't help but grin as the radio crackled, "This is 2-4, hold your fire. Repeat, hold you fire. We're approaching your position. Over."



******************************************


Abby drove the Crusader slowly up the ramp into the combat transport. As the tank entered the ship’s cargo bay, she reduced the power and let the tank settle down gently onto the transport palette. Killing the engine once that was done, she cut the APUs and slid her seat back before climbing out of the driver's hatch.

Kendall signed off the tank to the tranny's loadmaster and fell in line with Abby as they walked down the ramp towards the personnel transport waiting on the next ramp.

"It's about time we're getting off this godforsaken rock, boss", she said.

Kendall nodded, "Command's pulling us out. We're probably redeploying to Kona or back out to Kaus Borealis. Intel estimates are that we won't be able to hold this rock once the ICC main fleet arrives in about three hours. Better to pull back and consolidate to hold the line there."

"Oh really?", Abby shot back as they boarded their transport. "I coulda told you that when those bastards landed in force yesterday. Instead, we had buttheads like Quentin telling us to lay it on the line for king and country, then get our asses kicked for all the trouble. Smooth, boss. Real smooth."

UGTO High Command had decided to withdraw the fleet from Peron and Sto-vok to make a last stand in the Kona cluster. The cluster was already teeming with ICC ground forces. So more than likely, they were going to be sent to Kaus Borealis to face off against the K'luth.

"Besides, we're probably gonna be dropped into some alien furball in Kaus to be fodder for those lobsters. Personally, I can't wait to take a pincer in the gut. Nothing beats being frickin' alien chow", she continued as they found their seats. Garcia was already there, strapped into the seat across, facing hers.

"Are you always this optimistic, Abby?", Kendall smiled as they seated themselves.

"Not always. Only when we're up against five-to-one odds with our asses nailed to the wall", she grinned as they strapped in for takeoff. "Otherwise I'm about as hopeful as Garcia ever scoring, even on his tenth date." She winked at the seat across, as Garcia flipped her the bird.

As the transport took off for orbit, the crew of Crusader 2-4 wondered which hellhole they would be sent to next.



- End -
_________________
... in space, no one can hear you scream.....


Forger of Destiny
Chief Marshal
We Kick Arse


Joined: October 10, 2009
Posts: 826
Posted: 2012-05-23 04:56   
thats a VERY long story...

explains why you didnt log in yesterday...
_________________
Forging legends and lives outside till naught remains inside.


Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black


Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
Posted: 2012-05-23 06:06   
Quote:

On 2012-05-23 04:56, Toby D Syded wrote:
thats a VERY long story...

explains why you didnt log in yesterday...




Heh. Nah. Was busy with work the past week.

I actually started this right after 'What Price Victory'. Took me abt a month plus. Left it lying in some folder since March, so I decided to put it up. Needed some edits for typos though. Shoulda spell-checked it.


_________________
... in space, no one can hear you scream.....


Fattierob
Vice Admiral

Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
Posted: 2012-05-23 12:14   
Very good story. Liked this a lot.
_________________


Fatal Mack Bolan(WildCards_58th)*COM*
Marshal
Fatal Squadron


Joined: June 12, 2010
Posts: 184
From: home planet: Exathra
Posted: 2012-05-23 14:18   
damn kenny, any more like this and i'd say 'get an agent' and try to get it published............egad, good job !!!!!
_________________
1st recorded subscription activation 8-17-01 (under a different name & email)
20 years of playing this mo'-fo....amazing isn't it ?
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R.I.P. Stephen Hawking
R.I.P. sean connery
R.I.P. adam west


  Email Fatal Mack Bolan(WildCards_58th)*COM*
Ray[OU]
Marshal

Joined: December 07, 2010
Posts: 189
From: Some where in deep space, From another galaxy. [Origin Unknown]
Posted: 2012-05-23 15:30   
Wheres Face books Like button when ya need it???
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The Absence of a signature means that the Above Entity simply does not care.


Animyx
Chief Marshal
Army Of Darkness


Joined: December 08, 2008
Posts: 108
From: Ground Zero
Posted: 2012-05-24 19:29   
I've only read the first few pages but i must say i'm impressed, ill get round to reading the rest asap. your like a DarkSpace version of Neal Asher. Keep it up.
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Lock 'N' Load

Blackjack [DBL]
Grand Admiral
Faster than Light


Joined: February 25, 2011
Posts: 344
From: The land of venomous reptiles.
Posted: 2012-05-25 18:38   
I like how both factions still use tracked vechicles, apart from the UGTO medium tank (which apparantly has some issues with taking hits). If it still works, why change it? I think the ICC infantry weapn would be conventional, or a railgun, because a railgun doesn't need a powerful computer to make sure if fires properly.
_________________

Names I used: Da Bes Loser, Perseverance, Loyalty.

Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black


Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
Posted: 2012-05-26 07:15   
Quote:

On 2012-05-25 18:38, Loyalty *TO* wrote:
I like how both factions still use tracked vechicles, apart from the UGTO medium tank (which apparantly has some issues with taking hits). If it still works, why change it? I think the ICC infantry weapn would be conventional, or a railgun, because a railgun doesn't need a powerful computer to make sure if fires properly.




For starters it's fiction, so I took some liberties with the tech and concepts. But I tried to limit it to be feasible or at least DS canon (or as close as I could get).

Tracked vehicles make sense. I didn't want an anti-grav tank, so it had to use thrust. Why a hovertank? Speed and mobility, of course. Tracked tanks would be limited to 40mph over terrain. A hovercraft could go much faster. Of course I had to think of what disadvantage a hovertank could have. And it occurred to me that stability under fire could be a problem.

Next, why gauss over rails? A gauss cannon wouldn't wear out as fast as a railgun due to the contactless nature of the gun barrel.



[ This Message was edited by: Kenny_Naboo[+R] on 2012-05-26 10:36 ]
_________________
... in space, no one can hear you scream.....


Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black


Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
Posted: 2012-05-26 07:15   
Dbl post

[ This Message was edited by: Kenny_Naboo[+R] on 2012-05-26 07:21 ]
_________________
... in space, no one can hear you scream.....


Talien
Marshal
Templar Knights


Joined: May 11, 2010
Posts: 2044
From: Michigan
Posted: 2012-05-26 08:23   
There's also that a hovertank isn't stopped by water, it just glides over it, tracked or wheeled vehicles are stuck until you find/build a bridge if it's a river or lose time going around if it's a lake.
_________________
Adapt or die.

Blackjack [DBL]
Grand Admiral
Faster than Light


Joined: February 25, 2011
Posts: 344
From: The land of venomous reptiles.
Posted: 2012-05-26 09:39   
Quote:

On 2012-05-26 08:23, Talien wrote:
There's also that a hovertank isn't stopped by water, it just glides over it, tracked or wheeled vehicles are stuck until you find/build a bridge if it's a river or lose time going around if it's a lake.



Actually that can depend. If the hovertank has a low enough ground pressure it could... If it has too much ground pressure, it would make an impressive blast of water as it sinks. Though they would have much less issues with boggy ground compared to a tracked vehicle.

[ This Message was edited by: Loyalty *TO* on 2012-05-26 09:46 ]


_________________

Names I used: Da Bes Loser, Perseverance, Loyalty.

Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black


Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
Posted: 2012-05-26 10:43   
I suspect that a hovertank like the Crusader would probably sink if it tried to traverse a river or lake. It weighs 40 tons and has engines that produce a positive thrust-to-weight ratio. Plus it has a skirted belly surface area of around 8 by 4 meters. Too much weight and thrust concentrated in that small an area.



[ This Message was edited by: Kenny_Naboo[+R] on 2012-05-26 10:48 ]
_________________
... in space, no one can hear you scream.....


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