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The New Era 33
🕑 Added 2025-03-21 10:06:21 +0000 UTCChapter 33
Subject: Staff Sergeant Power
Species: Human
Species Description: Mammalian humanoid, no tail. 6'2" (1.87 m) avg height. 185 lbs (84 kg) avg weight. 170 year life expectancy.
Ship: N/A
Location: Classified
"You know, a tank or APC would be able to plow through most of these guys," Simmons said as his weapon ran dry.
"Sure, but do you know of any armor rated against plasma?" Johnson asked. "The robots wouldn't stand a chance, but the mechs would turn our vics into scrap for sure."
"A tank would be able to put up a fight before it went down, at least. It would be able to just run right over the bots while saving its turret for the... Hey, that one looks like it's trying to flank."
Simmons put a marker on our HUD, and I turned my attention to our flank while he reloaded. One of the security robots was marching as quickly as it could, ignoring us for the sake of getting a better position. With a sigh, I fired at it, striking it in the torso and head.
"Nice shot, staffsarnt," Simmons said. "Anyways, the point of fighting is to do more damage to the other side than is being done to your side. I think a tank could do that."
"I don't know, man," Johnson replied. "It's hard for the mechs to kill more than one of us at time if we maintain cover and spacing. A tank has a gunner, loader, commander, and driver. One plasma bolt from the mech, and all four of those guys are toast. Plus the cost of the tank."
"Gotta agree with Johnson," Smith added. "There's only enough room for maybe three out of five of the tanks in a squad to be able to get shots in, and that doesn't leave any room for evasive maneuvers."
"There's only four in a squad, sarnt, but I get your point," Simmons sighed. "So, when is our backup getting here?"
"Every time you ask, you add a minute to the clock," I growled. "Shut up and keep shooting."
"Mech!" Ramirez shouted.
A moment later, I heard the signature hiss and swoosh of an AT9 firing followed by the glorious sound of twisted metal crumbling to the ground filled the air. A quick glance confirmed the mech's demise. Apparently, it had been hanging out behind the shuttles until we had destroyed enough robots to give it enough room to try to engage us.
"Good fuckin' shot Fairmain! Oorah!"
My marine's flippant behavior and Ramirez's excitement belied how desperate our situation was becoming. Dozens of broken robots littered the ground, but dozens more were still standing and firing at us. The second and third gates had been mostly unguarded, but Omega had warned us about Gate 4. It led to some sort of nexus point, a room with multiple gates in it. The AI currently had some of the aliens assaulting that nexus point, but that didn't convince the robots and mechs on this side of the gate to retreat.
Our intention was to confirm enemy head-count for the main force, but they spotted us and immediately began firing. It was hard to tell which of us they spotted first, but Lance Corporal Goetz had taken the first few shots. Running would have meant exposing our asses to enemy fire, so we'd popped our portable covers and holed up, hoping that the main force would catch up before we ran out of ammo.
"I'm out of ammo," Smith reported. "Anyone got a spare mag?"
"I'm on my last," Hanson replied as he reloaded.
"Same," Simmons and Johnson said simultaneously.
I noted that I had one full mag left, but only four rounds left in my rifle. I took down two bots with those four rounds, then wondered how effective clubs would be against our metallic foes. The dull thud of a grenade sent its reverberations through the ground.
"Fuckin' shit! That scared the hell out of me, sarnt," Simmons said.
"My bad, corporal," Smith chuckled. "I'll call it next time. Which is now. Frag out!"
Another dull thud shook the ground.
"Their left flank is shooting at something else," Goetz reported.
"Check your fire, then," Gunny Kim replied. "Don't wanna put holes in friendlies."
My well ran dry and I ejected the magazine, safely stowing it away for a refill once we were out of this mess. I dropped down into cover and stared at my freshly empty rifle for a moment.
"Ammo check," I ordered.
Fourteen lights in my HUD lit up, none of them green. Nine yellow lights, indicating less than fifty percent of their ammo remaining. Five red lights, indicating no ammo remaining. Shit.
"If you're out of ammo, prepare for CQC," I said. "Don't rush out after them, make them come to us. That'll keep our shields from taking a beating."
"Staffsarnt, permission to have a bad idea?" Smith asked as another dull thud shook the room.
"Permission granted."
"We could just grab some of their stupid laser guns."
"Are you volunteering to run out into enemy fire to gather those stupid laser guns?" I asked with palpable sarcasm.
The comm was silent for a few moments, except for a chuckle from Simmons.
"Well, I guess that could wait until we initiate close quarters combat..."
"I'm out," Johnson interjected with a sigh. "If there's an armorer with the main force, they're gonna be pissed off at how bent these rifles are about to be. Dibs on not being the one to turn them in and request new ones."
"I'll do it," Gunny Kim laughed. "I've got a way with the supply folks. I'm out too, by the way."
One by one, the yellow lights turned red. I let out a silent sigh, and readied freshly converted club. The robots would have no choice but to push forward, which would allow us to pummel at least a few of them before being overrun. Smith's idea wasn't without merit, but once the enemy gets close it will be damn hard to drive them back.
"Uh... They're not coming closer," Dewy said.
The corporal's report made me realize that I was no longer hearing the signature rapport of lasers hitting our cover, either. I peeked my head out and watched as most of the robots turned and began marching toward their left flank. A few were still pointed in our direction, but they had stopped firing.
"I'll be damned," Ramirez said. "Are they assuming we died?"
"Doesn't matter. Gunny, staffsarnt, pick two to retrieve weaponry," I ordered, wasting no time. "Those two will retrieve three directed energy rifles each. Smith, Simmons, you're the two for our team."
"Aye aye, staffsarnt," several voices said at once.
A moment later, six genetically altered marines flew around and leapt over their cover faster than any normal human could possibly hope to move. The majority of the robots had turned to face the threat on their left flank, but a few still fired at our, for lack of a better term, snatch-team. Those that still had ammo did their best to cover those that were gathering weaponry.
Simmons grabbed the first laser rifle and threw it back in our direction. I caught it and aimed it at a robot that was firing at the corporal, only to find that the damned thing didn't have a trigger. My shield sparked a little as incoming laser fire hit me.
"Oh, come the fuck on," I growled as I dropped back into cover.
I spent a few moments examining the rifle. The weapon's shape was similar to our own, but the pistol grip didn't include a trigger or trigger-guard. I popped my head back out and magnified the view of one of the firing robots, and was shocked at how stupid their weapon designers must be.
"It's... Pump-action fire?" I asked myself.
Just to be sure that I wasn't hallucinating, I aimed the rifle once again. The fore-grip portion of the rifle slid back and a small red-hot hole appeared in the robot's head, proving my internal bias against this design. I had been aiming center-mass.
"What?" Ramirez asked as his two snatchers returned.
"You need to pump the fore-grip to fire," I replied. "No wonder these guys can't aim for shit."
"So... Aim for the feet?" Kim asked.
"For rapid fire, yes," I said. "With a more steady grip you should hit what you're aiming at, though. Remember, this is an energy weapon, you're not going to see any curve from this range."
Simmons and Smith returned and passed out the rifles they'd obtained. Soon after, we were all sending condensed electrons down range, melting robots as quickly as we could. I noted more than a few misses on my part, though.
"Not gonna lie, fuckin' hate this thing," Johnson grumbled.
"I'm kind of likin' it," Hanson replied. "It's like one of the target shooters from a fair. You know, the ones that make it ridiculously difficult to hit the target?"
"Nope, don't know anything about that," Johnson said. "Must be a local thing."
"Almost entirely exclusive to Earth, actually," Simmons added excitedly. "Nobody knows when fairs started, but their purpose was to allow merchants to gather and demonstrate products to prospective buyers. At some point, the merchants began sponsoring games and rides to attract more customers. Then, some of the fairs evolved into what we now know as conventions. There's some that are held on Mars and Luna, but other than that fairs have stuck to Earth."
"You know about the weirdest shit."
"Less talk, more shoot," I demanded.
"We can do both, staffsarnt. The aim on these things doesn't improve if we hold our breath," Hanson laughed, then his visor lit up as a laser scored a hit. "SHIT! MY EYES!"
He dropped down into cover and Smith rushed to check on him. My HUD showed his shields still up, so I returned my attention to the robots. They were taking a beating from multiple sides, wouldn't be long before they were nothing but scrap.
"You alright?" Smith asked. "What happened?"
"Laser right on the face-plate," Hanson wiggled his helmet to massage his face. "Blinded me before the adaptive tint could react. Can't see."
"Do you have any vision at all?"
"Y-yeah, but only out of the corner of my eyes."
"Well, good news, you're not gonna need new eyeballs. Congrats, you're our fire-team's first casualty."
"No he's not," Simmons laughed. "I tried to catch the last round of chow in my mouth. Got me right in the gums and broke skin. Might even need to see a dentist about it."
"Reign it in," I said. "Hanson, stay down until you recover from the flash-blindness. Everyone else, drop those god-damned bots."
The tone in the reply I received made me feel like a kindergarten teacher. Nobody can sulk quite like a marine can. We were down to the last few dozen bots, though, and our would-be saviors were finally visible.
A quick zoom confirmed a MARSOC unit accompanied by, or accompanying, some of the locals. Once the robots were finished, a lieutenant gestured for us to come over. Ramirez, Kim, and I shared a look, and the gunny shrugged.
"Might as well go say hi," he said.
Comments
Michael Halpern
true enough but i will point out that a lot of the current consideration on up gunning tanks to 130mm or higher (again single piece because longer rod) ALSO is combined with an unmanned turret, either from the start or as a later option. if you are willing to sacrifice some of the armor and/or firepower assault guns/light tanks also have similar roles to the MBT, the main difference being that they are medium vehicles, and are meant for use where you don't anticipate going against heavy armor but you need something protected enough against most artillery and light AT systems.
ItsDirector
I must disagree with your estimation on the necessity of an autoloader for anything above 120mm. The FV4005 had a load-assist, but not a full autoloader and they had the biggest tank-shells ever made (183mm). When I was in the Marines, I used to personally sling 155mm for the M777A2 Medium-Towed Howitzer. That also has a load-assist mechanism, but when it malfunctioned we had to load the shells manually, and it wasn't all that difficult (depending on the elevation lol). The reason that I highlight the armor and mobility features of tanks is because that's the combination that you can't find elsewhere in the armed forces. Artillery packs a lot more punch than tank cannons ever could, but if they're armored they aren't very mobile and vice versa. Aircraft are more mobile and can pack a heavier punch than tanks can, but they're far more fragile. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but the size of the weapon on a tank has no consideration when defining a vehicle as a tank.
Michael Halpern
one piece 120mm is about as big as you can get without an auto loader, its a point of failure, but not a reduction in capability due to fire rate and the ability to go to an unmanned turret and save a LOT of weight. A tank is armor, mobility and heavy direct/semi direct fire capability, for busting through targets with too much C-RAM for the allotted time. it just so happens the gun is also great for other things- if a bit big. the loss of the additional crew member for maintenance can be handled through the French method, which is to have the 4th crew member in an IFV
ItsDirector
The primary issue with autoloaders is that it adds an unnecessary point of failure while also detracting from the tank's range of capabilities. The addition of this point of failure also adds the requirement of specialized maintenance to avoid said failure while also removing a member of the crew that could aid said maintenance. Despite what your eyes will tell you, the point of a tank isn't the gun. It's the armor and mobility. As such, upscaling the shells would be counter-intuitive because long-range mobile artillery already exists. Biggest tank shells ever used were ~183mm (FV4005), biggest mobile artillery shells ever used were ~800mm (Schwerer Gustav). So, if enemy tanks end up being too armored for your tanks to fight, it makes more sense to look at the tech of the shells than the size of the shells. Or just go for the tread ;)
David Ellis
*Pushes up glasses* "Well akshually, if the light is curving you still wouldn't see a drop from your scope because the light coming from the target in the distance would have similarly been curved by gravity, so it would still appear straight to you."
Michael Halpern
slam fire only lasers... that's got to be an act of sabotage
Michael Halpern
i would think they'd have up calibered the tanks enough to require auto loaders, so that's 3 people, however, ablative applique would probably help against plasma.
Rhuidean
OMFG, I get to read this before work this week!
