>Learnin' how to quest. This will be a oneshot, probably.
You look up as the Lieutenant walks in, still swiping away at the palmtop tablet. The other tank commanders perk up as he arrives at your table, slapping the dataslate down.
"Heads up, we got marching orders."
One of your sergeants smirks. "Since when did armored cav march, LT?"
"Around the same time tanks grew legs, Ray." The Lieutenant snapped back, giving him a sharp look that quickly dissolves into a good-natured smirk. The four of you share smiles as you clear the desk before settling down to business, crowding around the little rectangle of glass and light.
It showed a map of the city just south of your base, long since abandoned by civilians. You follow the Lieutenant's finger as he marks out one of the highways and marks two parking lots for big malls, before tapping a third - a former hardware megastore. The terrain was variable; you'd be dodging in and out of parks, choked in through business centers and plowing through former residential suburbs.
"We're linking up with two 'toons of hardsuits. We got a run sweeping through these checkpoints here, here and here, before pushing through to secure or destroy the FOB they set up here. Other elements will be approaching from different directions, so watch your fire."
"Enemy composition?"
"There's speculation of at least one AAFV element, about the same as ours, as well as conventional tanks. They've got infantry, powered armor... the works."
"Fuck."
"No shit. That's why we've got the whole battalion coming in on this one. We're the hammer on this one."
"Support?"
"There's two batteries of arty that can cover most of our objectives, but they're tasked for counter-battery fire until
You nod, turning around to grab your headset and stepping away from the table to go brief your crew.
As expected, they were at the tank. She was...
>A Mk 97 Heavy Spider Tank
Armor 10, Agility 5.
Primary: 150mm smoothbore cannon. Variety of shell types including HE, AP and cluster munitions,
Secondaries: 2x 12.7mm HMG, bow mounted. 3x turreted 7.62mm GPMGs, two top of turret, one retractable underside mount.
>A TS-35 Heavy Spider Tank
Armor 8, Agility 7
Primary: Dual 60mm railguns. High speed kinetic weapon, 16 capacitor cells can be alternatively fired to trade ROF for armor-piercing power.
Secondaries: 8-cell missile launcher. HE or AT. 1x 12.7mm bow mounted HMG. 2x turreted dual 7.62mm GPMG (chin mount)
>A M-10 Spider Tank Destroyer
Armor 6, Agility 9
Primary: 105mm railgun. High speed kinetic weapon. 10 capacitor cells can be alternatively fired to trade ROF for armor-piercing power.
Secondaries: 1x turreted 12.7mm HMG on top of hull. 1x coaxial 12.7mm HMG.
(Also, pick two utility items)
Active Intercept System (can intercept single missiles and other relatively low velocity weapons directed at you)
Smoke projector; smoke is rated to conceal thermal, magnetic and visual outlines.
Drone Launcher: 4x Remote-controlled quadrocoptor launch/recover system. Unarmed, lightly armored. Can be used for scouting and targeting.
Strap-on Missiles: 2x AT missiles.
bumpa
>>46126251
>A Mk 97 Heavy Spider Tank
>Active Intercept System
>Drone Launcher
BIG SPIDER GO
>>46126263
>A Mk 97 Heavy Spider Tank
>Active Intercept System (can intercept single missiles and other relatively low velocity weapons directed at you)
>Smoke projector; smoke is rated to conceal thermal, magnetic and visual outlines.
(Eh, since it's just two of you...)
>A Mk 97 Heavy Spider Tank
>Active Intercept System
>Smoke projector
>Drone Launcher
The Mk 97 is a beast of a machine. Even at rest she's four meters tall, and her thick, powerful legs spread out to five meters wide.
Atop her back sits a turret, like a dragonfly that believed species was only a word, the stubby - and that's a relative term for a 3 meter long barrel - 150mm cannon currently hosting your gunner's hammock. Two .50 cal machine guns protrude from the front armor, just ahead of the driver, and those are complimented by the three lighter machine guns built into the secondary turret up top, as well as the 'stinger' underneath your hull.
All up, you have a five man crew; the commander, a driver, your radio man, a loader, gunner and an assistant driver, who is also the one usually in charge of the drone launcher packed onto the side of the turret. You, however, are the one with the triggers for the smoke projectors studded over the Mk 97's body.
Rapping your knuckles on the hull, you grab onto the ladder resting on the side and haul yourself up, quickly finding the side hatch and sliding into your home.
"We're headed out in ten, so let's get out the south gate." You tell your crew, grabbing the water bottle off your seat and slugging back a mouthful. As you relay the briefing, your crew's already moving, dutifully settling into their positions and making the final checks as you bring your baby to life.
"Engines, green. Suckin' some charge and then we can get going."
"Ammo bins are good." Calls out the gunner, shoving a can of .50 cal rounds underneath her seat.
"Comms check." The radioman's voice crackles over the intercom. "Five?"
The loader nods, holding up a thumb. "By five."
You settle into the command couch, and yank your helmet on.
"Alright let's get going. Paladin-Actual, this is Paladin 2-1, callsign..."
>Miss Muffet
>Write in
>>46128737
>Miss Muffet
>>46128737
>Whiskey Richard
>Big Dog
>>46128737
>Rachnera
>>46128737
Anansi.
