Massasauga

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

How many enemy tanks are there?

Halo: Edge of Midnight

Lance Corporal Lucy Holden
Anvil Station

"I heard Grunts eat people too. Gas-suckers are ugly under their masks. Can't look at 'em with a straight face. Creeps me out." Lucy said to Finnian. "Fuckin' A, never mind the Grunts and Jackals. I'd never thought we'd see Elites in a UNSC facility. Scary mother fuckers."

Lucy recalled her time during the Human-Covenant War. Her first skirmishes, the Siege of Paris IV, her assignment to the ODSTs which took her all over, the few stints she did undercover for ONI, the Battle of Earth, the Battle of Installation 05, her return and subsequent involvement in the strategic retreats in Voi, the Battle of Voi itself, and Operation Blind Faith. She'd seen a lot of Sangheili over her time, and many of those times were through her sights. Now, here they were, breaking bread with their former enemies. Brave new world.

Finnian's comment on Lucy's knife skills brought her back to reality. She may have been only a Lance Corporal, but she excelled heavily in martial arts and edged-weapon techniques. She'd taught many people over her career, and continued to do so. The Lieutenant would definitely be reminded of that, but it wouldn't be enough. Lucy was expecting for her Gunny to call her over any moment now and to tell her how she shouldn't be undermining the chain of command in front of the other marines, or some shit like that.

"The Ell Tee has to learn the hard way, like some people often do. I don't mind. I've been doing this longer than he has that's for sure. I spar constantly with other guys everywhere I go. Even with Spartans. I'm always trying to get better, though it doesn't help that the Spartans cheat with their reflexes."

Lucy eyed the two Sierras that joined a table with a Sangheili. She remembered her time working with Sierras. They weren't bad, but there was always a matter of pride when it came to it. So many marines and troopers were taking up on the Spartan-IV program. Lucy herself was even approached as a candidate. Her response then was the same as it would be the next time: 'Hell no, you guys are really trying to get me killed now.'

She went back to her meal after brushing her hair away from her face. Her usual crimson red was now marked at the tips with black dye, indicative of her time when she thought she could live the rest of her life as a Flip Music vocalist. In the early days, she'd use the more temporary dyes to keep herself looking in regs for the unit, but now she had used the permanents as she never thought she'd be back as an ODST. It was so surreal. The UNSC had sent a few troopers backstage to inform her of her immediate recall to active duty right before her gig. It was rude, to say the least. She still played the gig, much to the chagrin of the recruiters.

Now everywhere she went, the cat was out of the bag. Lucy Holden was the underground vocalist Claire "Hellion" Spears of the cover band Mythic. She was thankful it wasn't a very famous band, but that didn't stop her from getting the odd autograph request or question from time to time. Now even more so with her hair dyed.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

The Belladonna moved up the beach as Velvet kept it in first gear. The ISL were as ready as they could be. They even had the old hedgehog tank traps set out for them. Ash wasn't worried. Velvet could dance Belladonna around them like she was back on the pole, and she did just that. What worried her was the hulled down tanks they were using to rain hell down on the beach. Bunkers, machine guns, the works. But even still, Ash knew that this was only the first layer of defense. The artillery would be pulled back. Old Soviet guns and rocket pods mounted onto technicals. They had to break through if they didn't want to get killed on the sand.

"Fangs, HEAT, PC. Traverse left." Ash ordered as she sighted a BTR-82AT.
"Identified!" Fangs shouted as she put the illuminated gunner sight onto it.
"Fire."
"On the way!"

Boom! The tank rocked from the recoil of the main gun again. The stabilizer kept it on target as they moved up. Ash watched the 105mm HEAT round blow the turret off the BTR. Its crew bailed and took off running, even though it was still technically operational.

"UP!" Roxy yelled, signaling there was a new round locked and loaded.
"Fangs, fire at will." Ash said.
"Fangs out. Here I come." Darla replied.
"Watch out, boys." Velvet chuckled.

Ash switched to the platoon radio and spoke over the sounds of Black Sabbath blaring in the turret. She never once yelled.

"Maddy, this is Hex. The Belladonna's pushing up into the center. We're going to try to punch a hole where it looks weakest and get off this beach before they get wise and bring artillery down on our heads."

It was times like this she was glad that the cult had drilled military tactics into her head from all the training of being an assassin. They had adopted a lot from what they could get their hands on, including many manuals about special forces. Ash wanted to keep her tank mobile, moving, and therefor harder to hit. The tank shunted back again as Darla shot the main gun at another target she found, and Roxy went about loading another round. So far, they were making decent progress.

Halo: Edge of Midnight

Lance Corporal Lucy Holden
Anvil Station

The training areas had been bustling since the station first went into operation. The UNSC was more than eager to learn all they could from the Covenant races aboard. Weapons research, tactics, cultures, psychology. Everything that they could get, no matter how small, could impact the greater war effort. The war effort. The sole thing that had brought Lucy out of her early retirement. She'd been canned after the end of the Human-Covenant war in 2553 due to unbecoming attitude, despite being promoted to Sergeant for it. Now she was back down to Lance Corporal and still teaching marines and troopers much higher than she was about the finer points of knife-fighting.

Unfortunately, not everyone above her was so willing to learn. As she finished the lesson with a Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy standing behind her, a Marine Second Lieutenant stood up.

"Why do I gotta take your class. I already did combatives on the daily. When will I ever need to stick one of these Covvies with my knife when I have my gun?"

The marines all gave a pity chuckle to their platoon leader.

"Well, sir. Would you care to demonstrate how to use a knife against an unarmed opponent for us?"

Lucy had to work to keep from donning her signature shit-eating grin. She was about to wipe the floor with this guy.

"If you want it, Lance Corporal." The Lieutenant said, walking up towards her.

Lucy turned to the rest of the group and said. "We will now demonstrate how to overpower an opponent. Here, sir. I think you'll need this more than me." She said to him, tossing him the rubber practice knife. "Give me your best shot."

The Lieutenant caught the knife and took up a standard fighting stance. Lucy smirked and watched the man move in towards her, trying to test her reach. He was probing for a reaction. A defense. Lucy could see through the feints. When the Lieutenant came in with a full strike, she swiftly stepped around his arm and grabbed it with one hand and pinned the arm against her chest. Her other hand reached across the front of his chest and snatched at his bicep, pushing her own against his head in an unorthodox hold.

"Alright let's show everyone how you got here." Lucy said, pulling him in a circle as he struggled to switch the knife to his other hand. "And now, a quick takedown will finish this lesson."

Lucy made sure the group was in full view as she kicked the Lieutenant's knees from behind, causing them to buckle immediately. She then used her left arm that was currently across his chest to throw him back, planting him onto the mat and knocking the wind out of his lungs. She pulled the knife out of his hand and tapped it into his chest.

"And here we can get creative and puncture his lung. Or maybe go for the gut. We can also stab up into the armpit and sever an artery. Or we could-" Lucy flipped the Lieutenant on his stomach and pulled his head up, exposing his neck as she tapped it with the rubber knife again. "-go right for the throat. This concludes the class." Lucy said, standing up off the man. "Thank you for the demonstration, sir. Better luck next time."

The Lieutenant glared at her and marched off with his hair on fire. She shrugged to herself.

"Alright class dismissed."

The rest of the group stood to attention and departed. Lucy rolled her shoulders as she stood in her t-shirt and PT shorts. She headed out to her room and switched over to her boots and fatigue pants.

"Let's see what they got in the chow hall today."

Lucy took off and headed for the D-FAC. A station as big as Anvil's had multiple stores and dining facilities for separate sections of the station. She preferred to eat with the other troopers, though. She grabbed her tray, got a nice helping of krab alfredo and biscuits, a fresh apple, and grabbed a cola for her drink. On the way back she quickly snagged two pieces of bread and some peanut butter single-serving cups. Extra protein never hurt, especially when she hit the gym as often as she could. She took a seat next to her fellow ODSTs and dug in, knowing that a meal could be interrupted at any time.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

Don't worry about him much. We're all trying to make the jump-off from our real world into this one and have to keep reminding ourselves that this one is still different.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

There are plenty things that happen in times of war and combat. People die, move up the chain, or disappear if they choose. The crew of the Belladonna had been tightly knit until a month ago. The commander had lost her head to an incoming round while turned out. She had been trying to vector on a target and was suddenly decapitated by an enemy tank. They never got the one who did it, but the contract was completed anyway. Times like that reminded the survivors of the solemn reality that anyone could die at anytime without warning.

But the Belladonna and its crew were still needed. So instead of quitting, they had decided to stick it out. For each other, and for the money. A week ago, the boss transferred them a replacement commander and told them to "be nice to her." Even after one week of familiarization training, the girls had no idea what to make of their new commander. She was subtle, quiet, and spooky. Her facial tattoos gave them all the creeps, but they never admitted to it aloud. Now they were about to do their first contract with her in the turret. The real deal.

Ash Vale had been trained as an assassin in her former life. Part of a doomsday cult that saw the Heavenfall as a new beginning and the heralding of the death of the old world. The Veil of Ash cult was small-time compared to the Eternal Church, but they still kept up with their own ways of subterfuge and cunning. Ash had been sent to hunt down escapees from the cult and kill them to preserve their secrecy. It was during one fateful assignment that she learned what truly waited beyond the walls of the cult's compound that was secluded in the middle of the western part of the United States.

It was then that she decided to leave her life behind and make a new one. She had no name beyond what the cult had given her: Ashen Wraith. So when Armoured Fist asked for her name, she merely adopted her old cult's name into her being. Ash Vale, though the last name was misspelled by the administration clerk. Still, she made herself useful as she could. She had been bumped off many crews in her time for the same reason given by every one of them. "She scares the shit out of me." Now she was commanding the crew of the Belladonna, an M60A3 TTS that was supposed to be one of the rougher assignments, but she took it in stride as she only knew how.

Ash sat upon the top of the turret. Inside, Roxy "Haymaker" Mitchell was going over the ammunition loadout and assisting Darla "Fangs" Stray with the pre-combat checklist. Velvet "Doll" Harrow started up the engine to test operations of the turret, gun, optics, and so on. With the exception of Ash and her East German button-up coveralls, the girls were wearing US GI tanker coveralls, all in various states of being unzipped. From Darla's modest neckline to Roxy's tank top show, but neither could hold a candle to Velvet's full cleavage lace bra ensemble with midriff exposure to boot. Even after getting out of the brothel, Velvet couldn't stop being a tease.

"That covers everything. Hopefully the FCS doesn't shit out on us again." Darla groaned.
"Only if you don't treat her right. You know what Doll says." Roxy shot back.
"Yeah yeah, I know. Doll sure does love reminding me."
"Cause you keep forgetting." Velvet added.
"Can it, Doll. Hey boss, we all set?" Darla asked.

Ash brought her mic down in front of her mouth and spoke in her usual eerie calm tone.

"Dismount and meet me on the turret."

The girls all traded looks before they all popped out of the hatches and gathered around. Ash had her tarot card deck sitting on the roof of the turret, next to a mortar and pestle and a bundle of sage. Again, they traded looks and shrugs.

"What is it, bosslady?" Roxy asked.
"Our immediate future is in question. I look to Hecate now for her guidance. Fangs, your lighter please." Ash replied.

Fangs pulled out her zippo. It was engraved with her confirmed kill tally of seventeen and the words "MEAN AND UNSEEN" underneath. She handed it to Ash, who flipped it open and lit up the sage bundle.

"Stand at the side of the tank. I will get to you when I am done." She instructed.

Once again looks were traded with suspicion, but no one said a word against her. Their commander was their commander, no matter how weird she was. The three of them stood down at the side and watched Ash disappear into the turret. Smoke from the sage plumed out of the commander's hatch as soft prayers to Hecate echoed inside. One minute later, she reappeared and climbed out. The sage was sufficiently burnt, allowing her to crush the end into the mortar and pestle, grinding it into a finer ash with some other things mixed in. Once she felt it was enough, she jumped down to the rest of the crew.

One by one, Ash went down the line. She smeared her thumb into the ashen mix she made and marked each of the girls on their forehead, just above the area between their brows.

"The battlefield is full of the strongest emotions." Ash stated, "Hate, anger, sorrow, fear. All these and more at their most raw and powerful. We must be protected against the spirits who wish to cling to us and not let go. Every one of us carries ghosts, but no more passengers are welcome on this journey." She ended the prayer by smearing ash on her own forehead to match the rest of them. "Come. Let's see what Hecate has in store for us."

Ash climbed the turret with the crew in tow. She picked up the tarot deck and began to shuffle the cards. She shuffled and shuffled, over and over, until three cards fell out during the movements. Ash lined them all up and turned them over on at a time.

"Ace of Pentacles. Judgement reversed. Nine of Wands."

The crew each stared at the cards and then looked up to Ash.

"What's that mean?" Roxy asked first.
"The cards can be very blunt, Haymaker. Hecate says we will have a lucrative contract." Ash answered.
"But?" Velvet chimed in.
"But only if we accept what has come to pass and move forward with renewed determination."
"How convenient." Darla spat.
"The cards don't lie. We have a lot of work to do, and not just on the contract." Ash said cryptically. She perked up as her headset came to life with another voice: the unit commander's. Ash deftly packed up her belongings and stowed them in her personal rucksack. "Mount up. We're making ready to land."

The crew hustled into their stations, pulling the hatches closed and locking them down. The ship was going ahead full until it got closer to the shore and began to gradually slow until it bottomed out on the sand. The CO's tank was first off the ship, as per tradition. Once there was an opening, Velvet kicked the Belladonna into first gear and sent it forward.

"Doll, get us a wide angle as you come out. I want to be out of everyone's way as soon as possible." Ash ordered.
"Can do, hot stuff!" Velvet said back, jerking the tank to the right as they came down off the ramp.
"Who's turn is it now? Roxy asked.
"It was mine last time. It's Fangs next." Velvet replied.
"Nah, let's make it special. This is the commander's first time. Let her pick." Darla said.
"Pick? Pick what?" Ash asked.
"First song. We always play music in the tank during combat. Helps us focus." Roxy answered.
Ash stared blankly and said, "I don't have anything to pick about that."
Roxy rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. I think I got something for you anyway."

But Ash was already on her commander's day sight, even as music filled the interior.

"Haymaker, load plastic. Make ready." Ash told her.
Roxy pulled one of the few High-Explosive Plastic rounds from the ready rack and shoved it into the gun breech. She locked it closed and yelled, "UP!"
"Fangs, plastic, pillbox. Traverse right."

Darla swiveled the turret right, looking through her own day sight with her hands on the yoke.

"On." Ash called out.
"Identified!" Darla shouted back.
"Fire, fire HEAT."
"On the way!"

The whole tank shunted as the gun recoiled, sending the 105mm HEP shell directly into the mouth of the bunker and blowing it to pieces.

"UP!" Roxy yelled after slamming the shell into the breech and locking it again.
"Fangs, coax, AT. Traverse right. Doll, take us up the beachhead slow so we can cover the troops. Fangs, on."
"Identified!"
"Light 'em up."

The rattle of the M240C echoed inside the turret as tracers danced around an ATGM emplacement, tearing it and its operator apart in a red mist until the missile detonated inside the tube housing. The mission was on, and they were marching on Tehran. Ash made a silent prayer to Hecate to see her and her new crew through this contract, and hoped they weren't being used as expendable assets for a diversionary attack.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

<Snipped quote by Massasauga>

I wasn't waiting for anymore people; I'm busy working on some things for an event I'm running this weekend, so I haven't had time to write up an IC.
Should be putting it up early next week though, since I have the week off work.

@Rhona W

Sound good. I can't wait.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

Not sure we’re going to get any more people until we get the IC up.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

<Snipped quote by Rhona W>

Cool, I always thought the MEXAS kit with the custom thermal netting always looked a little neat, plus it's an obscure tank that regrettably no longer exists in real life. Had either this timeline or the one in the story been a little different by a matter of months, there could have been quite a lot of potential behind those tanks.



Plus it gives @Massasauga OF-40 grind flashbacks.

@Foster

My Hider

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

Alright the character sheet has been updated to include the crew appearances and their helmets