Starcraft 2 Fanfiction: Hard and Fast

**

In the midst of high powered engines came a simple raw sound.

Slurrrpp…..

“Ah…yeah. Now that’s a good cup of Joe.” A deep man’s voice emerged from the deep depths of Harvie Allric’s throat. Oh, he’s quite a man alright. He’s twenty six years old, six feet tall, Caucasian descent and a fit man to boot. He wore a red undershirt, long brown trousers, black military boots with a sleeveless brown vest that gave him good ventilation and flexibility. It’s a necessity for the job as he gets into tight spaces with a lot of heat. It matches his brown hair too. Well, what does he work as?

It’s a job that many would call requires to be highly dextrous and strenuous. It takes an artwork of skill to operate any part of his machine. His machine can work up close or from afar the work site. It needs good crisis management for if you mess up, you’re dead. Harvie Allric is in the 2 nd

Armoured Company of Raynor’s Raiders and he’s a siege tank operator.

“I have to agree with you on that.” Another man’s voice joined the atmosphere, much mellow. It’s another important man to the team. Jordyn Cheng, five feet four, twenty four, an Asian brown man with the tan to die for. For a man though, he is significantly slim to be considered on the possibility of having anorexia nervosa or so the doctors say. His eyes are spectacular, making him the gunner of a siege tank. “Think Cooper got the mix just right?”

The third man of the trio team chipped in with vocals of hard bass. “If he did, God has blessed us all.” Zeph Kelsey, twenty eight, modernized African descent or whatever they used to put it back then, bald on the head but packing with a full bulk of six pack muscles. He is the critical driver of the Crucio siege tank christened Hard and Fast. Right now, the three of them are enjoying coffee in the stomach of the Skyfree, an old Quantradyne APOD-33 dropship. Where are they going? They are on a mission. What would the mission be? The need for that very mission sprung up two hours ago in the bridge of the Battlecruiser, Hyperion.

**

“What do you have for me Matt?” The head of Raynor’s Raiders, Jim Raynor dressed in his usual slacks entered the bridge.

The captain of Hyperion, Matt Horner in contrast with his sharp uniform as expected of him gestured to the main screen. “Sir, we’ve just received a distress signal from the planet of New Sydney. They’re under attack by …”

Jim finished it off. “The Zerg right?” Almost everything they had been fighting against in a defensive manner has all been from the Zerg.

“No Sir.” Matt corrected. “It’s Protoss and it gets worse. It’s Tal’darim Protoss.” Jim now had a good look of the screen. The capital of New Sydney is a large metropolis. The city though is considerably smaller than the larger powerhouse planets such as Korhal. The rest of the planet remains small, mixed with large terrains of desert and wastelands. It is a fringe world after all.

The video feeds show multiple detachments at the borders of the city, already engaged with the small number of defenders. The defenders consisted mostly of infantry and light vehicle support units such as vultures and hellions. The best thing the defenders have is apparently the old school goliaths. Battle lines are drawn, fortified positions on both sides. Bunkers, sandbags and trenches filled one side. Artificially made mounds and vehicle sized foxholes filled the other. Old Terran wraiths were also scrambled for defence against the faster, sleeker Phoenixes. On the other side, zealot stalkers and sentries pushed into the Terran lines, troops reinforcing from nearby warp prisms in prism mode.

Jim wasn’t amused. “What on earth are they up to?” He had been there, a very long time ago. That was after leaving the Confederacy and for good long five years he and Tychus had been robbing trains and a bit extra there. They had to leave there eventually thanks to the Screaming Skulls aka former employers. That part wasn’t a very fond memory.

Matt had an idea. “If I have to make a guess, I think it’s their way of retribution for our attack for the last piece of the artefact.” He didn’t like that idea to be true. If it is, then these folks are being attacked because of them the good guys.

“Don’t they ever just give up?” Jim monitored the battle for details. “They have a good amount of air and group troops. There aren’t that many of their heavy weapon units deployed though.”

Matt added. “Those defenders won’t be able to hold out against such a force. They’ll need support.” The longest those forces can hold based on his long experience of war would be twenty four hours of combat. That is the optimistic statistics. The pessimistic would say less than two hours. The planet is under Dominion control but where are the Dominion troops? All he can see appears to be militia forces.

Jim agreed. “We have to get to them. They’ll need our help. How long would it take us to get there?” He didn’t bother to guess where the Dominion garrisons are. Valerian could have taken them all for the plan at Char. They could be taken away for the fight against the Zerg on other fronts. There could not have been a garrison there at all!

Matt computed the estimations in his head. “We can get there in two hours. What about our arrangement with Valerian?” They are supposed to rendezvous with Valerian in his plans to strike the heart of the Zerg, the homeworld of Char.

“Forget him. He can take his time with his fleet.” Jim jabbed a finger at the battle. “They however don’t have much time.” When he turned towards Matt, the captain was already undergoing preparations for jump.

Now, Raynor’s Raiders are in New Sydney, bringing precious reinforcement for the defenders. Harvie put the plastic cup into a small waste bin at the dropship’s wall. He heard a yell from the cockpit. “Five minutes! Saddle up!” Harvie got onto his feet with Zeph and Jordyn following suit. The three climbed into Hard and Fast which had been decorated on the body with graffiti of a smiling white skull and sealed the top hatch. Its outer hull had been supported by a frame with several canisters held in place.

Harvie asked as the three got into their seats. “Zeph, are those latches secured?”

Zeph answered as he began turning on the tank’s engines. “Triple checked. They’re firm and systems are connected to our network.”

Harvie slipped on a headset onto his ears. A sleeky voice greeted him. “Enjoyed your coffee?”

Harvie cheerfully replied as he fastened seat belts. “We did, Charger. How is the coffee in the tank?” Charger is the siege tank behind theirs, the first that will be dropped into battle from the Skyfree.

“It’s just as good.” Charger’s operator replied before Harvie switched the comm channel to company channel to hear a short briefing was just beginning.

The man who spoke this voice is a man not to reckon with. He is Colonel Kenneth Othniel, a long thirty five year old veteran. Apparently, he fought along with Jim Raynor during the time against the Confederacy. The amount of experience this man has with armour is equivalent to half a dozen of his units and that alone is a very high number. “Men, we got a good number of the Protoss on New Sydney as you already know it. The skies are still hot and so all twelve of us will be hotdropped into the capital. That’s where they all are. The Angels have already brought down the infantry in and are already engaging.”

A question popped out on the channel. “Colonel, what about those heavies sir? Our guns wouldn’t be very effective against those Immortals.” That would mean Immortals and the Colossus. While relatively scant in this battle but they still are on the frontlines.

“Thor lance is already on route to support us on that. You do remember how slow they are even in those dropships.” That brought a chuckle from the tank force. “They’ll arrive in about twenty minutes after us. Maybe longer if our birds have a slugging match with theirs. The birds are about to start their drop. They’ll be giving us our objective and position once we’re in. I’ll see you on the surface.” The briefing ended at that.

Harvie switched back to his personal tank channel and used his rear camera to see the sides of the dropship’s rear hatch opening. Charger just took too much of the background. He warned his crew. “They’re dropping us any minute now. Hang on tight!” Hotdropping for infantry usually involves a drop pod or an extremely fast insertion by dropship. In the many centuries back, there existed something called a parachute but in this real world of the tons, it isn’t enough.

Fast insertion and drop pods also exist for tanks and armoured units as well. However, the risks are a bit higher when you have a big exposed target on the ground or in the air. Being seen in a slow drop pod can be equal to making a sign for fighter pilots called Shoot me. Dropping in by dropship is dangerous when air dominance has not been acquired. They are extremely exposed

during the unloading phase, again another equivalent Shoot me sign. To resolve these situation problems that happened aplenty during the Brood Wars, dropship pilot Raven Trueman had invented the Raven manoeuvre. It could bring the tanks down fast with lower risks to being shot in the air or on the ground while unloading. Even if spotted, it takes a good shot from the enemy pilot to take it out. It is more expensive and still has its own risks and dangers but those are down to the siege tank pilot’s skill to circumvent that.

Harvie could feel the dropship slowing down as the ramp is extended fully into place. Here it goes. The dropship pulled up hard, following the Raven manoeuvre. The transport climbed to almost ninety degrees straight up. With the tanks unsecured to the dropship’s floor, the law of gravity took over. The two tanks fell out in sequence butt first of the Skyfree into the stratosphere. The Skyfree and its fellow birds continued their flight vector back to space. Hard and Fast began to accelerate towards the ground in an out of control spiral freefall. The G-forces being endured forced the crew hard into their seats. Zeph hit a small switch, activating the counteracting propulsion system. A series of jet thrusters installed to the frame platform attached to the tracks of the tank activated in fiery bursts. The vectors of the jets are all up to Zeph’s fine touch and skill.

The radio is awash with static in the interference of atmosphere. Harvie could read their height from the altimeter that is scrolling with numbers.

40,000 metres

Zeph acted against the spinning by firing the jets in the opposite vector. All he has to guide him is the tank gyroscope. First, a full hard blast to the left to ease the x-axis rotation before adding minor touches here and then to prevent a continuation in that vector. The centrifugal forces started decreasing, easing their heads and stomach. Zeph began working on the z vector as Harvie got an update on the battle. Somehow, telemetry is starting to get through.

The data came in a 3D Diagram of the entire city. Territories and units are marked in white, blue and red. Arrows signify directions of attack, estimated strengths emboldened by the size of such arrows. Small red arrows are pouring into the city’s northeast area. Some areas of the city are already breached. A bunch of equally sized blue arrows from an area nearby the assault moved towards the red push. IFF signals indicate Raynor Raider’s infantry units such as the Pathfinder and Able Company of Raynor’s infantry battalion. Our marines are on it to plug the hole. The tank has fully stabilized as they entered deeper into the stratosphere. Radio too became normalized. The company leader, Kenneth assigned their orders.

“Our job right now is to prevent the other side of the cities from being breached by ground troops.” His voice sounds a little strained from the sudden G-forces. “We’ll use our heavy guns and force them back. Your designated locations are coming to you now.”

Harvie read the received data. They’ll be deployed in the western side of the city. Their targets will be the troops at the north. Since the cities are large and tall, open space would be important for maximum siege tank efficiency as their role in long range heavy weapons. The Hard and Fast had the left flank along a straight line formation. This way, they’ll be the most exposed but according to the sensor telemetry, there’s no enemy movements present and allow proper adjustments.

30,000 metres left

With the tank stabilized in free fall, Harvie could get a stable view of the battlefield via the visual cameras installed in multiple hard points of the tank. The clouds mask little of the battle. He adjusted the front camera to see the battlefield down below. It is a shady evening, spanning dozens of kilometres long and wide. The skies are filled with tracer fire and missile trails. Smoke filled areas of the city, evidence of fires. The ground is a brown wasteland, similar to the planet of Mar Sara. Harvie remembered the battle of Mar Sara. It was full of carnage of dead Zerg. They had been brought into the battle by the Hyperion. They fought for ten minutes to get the Raiders on ground and along with many rescued civilians. The fortified positions fell just as Hyperion took off, quite a close shave from being overrun by ground troops.

The counteroffensive will begin soon at Char. Harvie was thrown out of his thoughts by a strong gust of wind. A phoenix went past with a Viking in pursuit in their dogfight. Still, the turbulence generated by the two fighters caused their flight path to be thrown out of stability. He curse as the G-forces began piling up again. “Shit!”

20,000 metres remaining!

Zeph struggled to realign the tank back to landing position. The joysticks moved frantically to avoid having the tank becoming a splat of metal. Zeph grit his teeth in resistance as Harvie and Jordyn watched in tight apprehension and a prayer to God.

15,000 metres

10,000

5,000

3,000

Zeph fired full blast on the jets, putting the tank into the proper upright position. He kept the jets running as the tank decreased in descent speed.

1,000

500

Zero

The tank buckled as its suspension absorbed the landing impact. Zeph hit a button, disengaging the holding latches and freeing the tank from the platform’s hold. The front part of the cage fell forward and the Hard and Fast accelerated over it undamaged. Jordyn sighed of relief as they got up to flank speed. “That’s damn close.”

Harvie was glad as well. “Our battle’s just started. Let’s get to position.” Other tanks too made their landing successfully, ranging from dozens to several hundred metres away from one another. Their setup location is not too far, a kilometre at best. The radio barked.

“Alright, the banshees fixed a firing solution. Deploy siege mode and engage.” Harvie relayed the order to his crew. Zeph pulled the tank to a stop and deployed siege mode. The actuators and hydraulics operated by computer to extend the recoil support braces. It rumbled on secure fitting. The primary tracks turned to the four diagonal corners, acting as further support. The tank’s twin 90mm plasma guns angled aside as the 180mm Shock Cannon extended into place, ready to fire.

Harvie scanned around with cameras as Jordyn held his pair of targeting joysticks in anticipation of chosen targets. The telemetry from all friendly sensors began streaming in. The operator of Hard and Fast began his designations. “Enemy Stalker and Sentries! Range two klicks at one o clock! HE!”

“Enemy Stalkers and Sentries, HE!” Jordyn hit a button on his joystick, giving the computer to load a high explosive tungsten round into the gun. “Firing!”

BOOM!

The tank shook hard as it absorbed the recoil from the shot. The gun reloaded as travel time delayed the results. Harvie was already searching for other targets of opportunity as the other tanks fired in sequence. The radio squawked. “Targets hit! Enemy AA is down, beginning our run.” A visual feed was now relayed to the tanks, giving them a spotter and allow proper adjustments. The squadron of Banshees screamed in their attack run, emerging from cloak and dropped their ordinance at the helpless zealots. Unable to retaliate, the zealots were pressed between a retreat and a suicide attack. Since they were Protoss and Tal’darim Protoss at that, Kenneth already knew what the likely option will be. His orders came in like a wave of fire.

“Pre-position fire! Six degrees right! Same elevation! Scatter Spread HE! Fire at will!”

The dozen tanks fired simultaneously at the suicide charging zealots. Their aim is at the positions just prior to the zealots. Add travel time to the equation and its spot on. The Colonel came up on radio. The lines immediately became quiet at that end. “Tachcom just came in. The hole the Angels are trying to plug is getting worse. Damn Protoss all over the place. First and second platoon will support up close while third platoon provide artillery support.”

“Yes S..HOLY SHIT!” Harvie could hear the gun of a nearby tank firing as its crew yelled on the radio. He swivelled the camera to see the fellow tank swinging its turret wildly for it was attacked. “There’s a zealot right on top of us!” Harvie noticed incoming troops from the side and rear cameras.

“They’re flanking us!” Jordyn trained the gun with a precise flick. He fired an armour penetration variant tungsten round which had direct impact on the zealot standing tall on the gun’s tip. The Protoss warrior was sent flying somewhere by sheer force of the non-explosive projectile. Jordyn wasn’t named the Brute Sniper for nothing.

Zeph was already beginning to retract the gun and firing supports back for tank mode. New sensor data gave a better view of the surprise. It is only a small squad sized force of zealot and stalkers, probably its role is to enter undefended regions and cause chaos or deny reinforcements to the main battle line. Siege tanks were designed primarily for long range artillery and support while goliaths act as armoured close combat support for the infantry. However, siege tanks are also

versatile with their stronger capabilities against tougher armoured units. Not as good as compared to the newer Thors but still better than goliaths.

The dozen unit mix of stalkers and zealots were already dispatched by the time Hard and Fast returned to tank mode. Hard and Fast had unsieged the first after their shot whereas the others had shot their targets in close range siege shots. It was fortunate for their straight line formation provided a great detection range and ability to defend by different elements of the formation given by their powerful range. The special Larscorp rounds have decreased the potential and damage of friendly fire by 75%, allowing tanks to shoot each other with minimal damage to their teammates. Charger said dignified on the channel. “That’ll teach them not to mess with us!”

“Can the chatter!” Kenneth instructed. “Those boys need our help so let’s floor it!” Eight of our tanks began moving in a scattered formation towards the city’s northeast end. They raced at their maximum speed of 80 kilometres an hour through parts of the city. Inside, the buildings are untouched with civilians moving about in a frenzy of panic. The setting became worse the closer they got. First was the debris, then the fires. The density got worse and worse until came the next element. Corpses littered the road and sidewalks. They are armoured or without. Men and women are not excluded. Zeph took care to avoid running over any of them. Even after death, respect is still a must. Gunfire and explosions got louder as more debris littered the battlefield. Large chunks of concrete and metal serve as cover for marines both healthy and wounded to take refuge behind. Harvie observed the tactical map as they got in contact with the marines.

“Angels! Where do you need us?!” The Capitaine colonel pressed first and second platoon to service.

A fellow raider, Chad Lewis answered with a little static. “Good to see you! We have a lot of them pouring down this area. They’ve slowed down but not to a full stop yet. We need to hold them back and then counterattack. They’re zealot and stalker heavy. We’ll handle the zealots. Your boys take on the Stalkers!” More marines, their armour coloured in Raynor blue or militia white emerged from the buildings and began an aggressive defence.

Kenneth ordered “We’ll lead the assault! They’ll cover our flanks.” The best counter to armour without support is infantry with anti-armour capabilities. Tanks have been inflexible in that respect since the 20th century. Being the big metal boxes they are, tanks can’t see everything around them. They have only one gun albeit a powerful one. Add sneaky soldiers with D8 explosives. Add zerglings with speeds faster than hellions. Add laser sword toting aliens that have the honour over death mentality that are equivalent in speed to tanks and it is a very bad day for siege tanks.

How do armour units fix that? Add some marines to avoid getting flanked. Turn the battle as linear as possible, avoiding multiple pronged attacks and the situation changes with their stronger weapons and static power of position. In the backdrop, artillery shells screamed from behind and struck positions far ahead. That would be third platoon at work. Hard and Fast is near the centre of the arrow shaped counter push. The battlefield quickly became a target rich environment. Voices filled the radios along with gunfire and the thundering tracks of Crucio.

“Enemy sentry! Twelve o clock! Range 200! HE!”

“Get that stalker!”

“Watch the right!”

“We’re hit! Losing Power!”

“Get it! Get it!”

The Hard and Fast met its own target as well in that midst. “Enemy Stalker one of clock! Range 250! AP!” The turret trained and fired on the move. The 90 mm anti-armour plasma rounds struck dead on but its deadly power was held back by the Stalker’s shields. The strength of those shields could be read by the use of radiation sensors tuned at particular frequencies. Jordyn could see that in the shape of an aura from his gun sights. Zeph pulled the tank left as the stalker fired its particle disruptors. The twin lasers struck the building beside them. Jordyn fired again to another hit at the head section. Shields are gone now. The Stalker fired again and Zeph couldn’t dodge it. The blast shook the tank hard and burnt deep at the tank’s armour.

Suspensions stabilizing, Harvie read the damage readouts. Twenty percent of the right flank armour had been melted off with just one shot. It was an acceptable damage loss for the stalker is blasted apart with the third shot.

Someone yelled on the radio. “Shit! We got Immortals here!” `

Kenneth ordered “Flank and outmanoeuvre them! Thor lance will reach here soon!” Hard and Fast took a hard right and ended up facing head to head with an Immortal fifty metres down the road.

Immortals are the bane of siege tanks. They are highly armoured with heavy firepower. With specialized hardened shields, it will take many hits to break through. Infantry are better suited against Immortals due to the fact the shield’s psionic matrixes are attuned to withstand hard hitting projectiles, not continuous weaker attacks. It was an intentionally designed weakness of its designed role of an anti-armour attacker. However, it serves its role very well. The more versatile your machine, the less effective it will be designed for. Hence in the war of design, you win some, you lose some.

“Back up! Back up!” Harvie ordered immediately. Zeph revved the tank into full reverse with a hard left as Jordyn fired a blind shot. It struck the shields ineffectually as it shot back. Its twin phase disruptors broke a large hole at the wall now to their left. Zeph then locked the tracks and pulled a hard right. Hard and Fast drifted into a full one eighty before its driver slammed the accelerator. The second volley missed as Zeph took another left at a turning.

Charger came on radio. “Let’s take it out together!” Their IFF signal was on the other side of the Immortal. A two pronged attack will work as long as they don’t take any critical hits. That is the second weakness of the Immortal, the only one that can be used by armoured units. The Immortal, having quad pedal legs lose out on mobility on flat terrain and have poorer tracking capability due to the need to rotate the entire body. The separate entities of a three man team in the siege tank can move and operate its gun simultaneously.

“You got it!” Harvie acknowledged the help. “Full stop! Aim at our eight o clock! AP!” Jordyn aimed the turret right at the building next to them. From his experience being with Harvie for six years, he knew exactly what his operator’s planning. He had done it a couple of times himself. “Fire!” The armour penetration round broke through six walls and out the other end to hit the Immortal that’s sluggishly in pursuit. Zeph hit the reverse as the Immortal took a hit from behind. Charger charged at flank speed, firing another shot before turning right behind cover at another building. Hard and Fast fired another close range shot, draining energy from the shields before speeding off again.

60%. Harvie read the approximation the computer gave him on the Immortal’s shield strength. It takes at least another six hits to get that shield offline and shoot the juicy core. The Immortal shot the building they wallbanged through, destroying one of its foundations. The building tilted slowly before beginning to collapse right in their path. Zeph floored the pedal as Harvie

ordered. “We’re going right through, HE!” Small debris fell faster around the Hard and Fast than the larger mass of metal and concrete. The round blasted a larger hole, giving more room to slip under and past the falling building. “Turn left right here!” Charger attacked the Immortal from the right this time, scoring another hit. A helping hand came from several marines beside the Charger firing their Gauss rifles.

The Immortal aimed as Charger began to take another right turn and fired. It made its mark, shattering all three left tracks and forcing Charger to a full stop. “We’re hit!” Charger reported its dire status.

“Bail out! Bail out!” Harvie said as a surprise greeted them. A blue blade stabbed through the metal next to Zeph’s head. It scared the hell out of Zeph, yelling in mad panic. The blade sliced a hole with the size of a human waist.

“Damn it!” Harvie reached for his C-150 sidearm and peppered the zealot with his poor one handed aim. From his seat behind Zeph, he could barely see the towering zealot let alone aim. They still struck true with almost point blank range. The shields absorbed the hits, leaving the zealot free to kill them if it wasn’t for the tank turret smacking it at the ribcage area and off the tank. Zeph pulled the tank around and went straight for the recovering zealot.

Crunch

Charger fired another feeble shot as its top hatch sprang open. The Immortal fired, striking its mark just below the gun turret. The radio went awash with static as the Charger blew up into two fiery pieces. On the bridge of the Hyperion, the task force controller would certainly notice the lost IFF signal of Charger and designate them Killed in Action. While powerful, siege tank must have no mistake. Otherwise, it would be their death coffin. Unsupported, the few marines split around quickly among cover to avoid being blasted apart in one shot.

Hard and Fast returned to its first battle. “30%” Harvie noted. It would take at least three more shots but with Charger dead, those three shots are a lot harder to acquire. Those marines won’t be able to take out those shields fast enough or even capable of doing so without support. Thor Lance is nowhere to be heard. It doesn’t look good. “Any ideas?”

“Not a clue.” Jordyn said. He shoots, not contribute decisions to a meeting in an on-going battle.

“I say we pull back.” Zeph suggested. Raynor’s Raiders can’t take too many losses. They don’t get reinforced regularly as would the armies of the Terran Dominion or Kel-Morian Combine. Reinforcement numbers including war materials are also disappointingly low. After all, the numbers depend purely on the revolution against the Terran Dominion. Additionally, the Hard and Fast has also taken some damage. If that Immortal got a lucky shot at the right armour or the torn open hole at the front, they can kiss their ass goodbye.

“If we pull back, there might not be enough of us to fix to hole.” The other lines would be flanked and the city’s defence would be isolated and be broken bit by bit. In short, if this hole is not sealed, New Sydney will fall. Harvie pondered about this. Kenneth may the commander but he is the boss of his tank. The lives of his crew are in his hands. Continuing an attack in a damaged condition has to be considered by him. The seconds when by and the Hard and Fast’s operator decided. “Fuck it, we’re going to kill that Immortal first. Thor lance can deal with the rest later. All ahead full! I got an idea.” It just might work with a single hit but it’s all or nothing.

Meanwhile, the Immortal is actively pursuing the marines. It kept its distance, avoiding the chance for a marine to slip by and plant an explosive on its body. Its shields will need to recharge before proceeding on with the assault. Its sensors then detected another siege tank heading right for it. It turned around on its quad pedal legs and began aiming.

Hard and Fast fired a shot as it swerved slightly to the left. The twin cannons shot struck the ground just behind them. Zeph swore as his hands struggle to dodge the incoming shots. “I must be nuts to do this!”

“We’re already nuts to agree in the first place!” Harvie yelled. Another close shot struck just in front of them now, making a crater. They went in and out of the crater with a hard slam of the suspension. Jordyn fired another shot before activating the 180mm cannon.

“Come on God, make this work!” Harvie made his prayer. Siege tanks have to enter siege mode in order to utilize the 180mm cannon that’s stored in the way of the twin 90mms, according to procedure that is. They also have a higher minimum elevation able, making it impossible to shoot nearby targets. In war, there are no rules.

The Immortal held steadfast at its position, firing again. This time, it struck the right side of the turret. It blasted one of the 90mm cannons and half of the loader system. One shot is now what they have. The three crazy men gave a war cry as the Hard and Fast reached imminent impact.

Tham!

The tank went to a full hard stop, its front armour bent from the crash. The Immortal’s shield is now gone. “NOW!” Harvie ordered.

Jordyn pulled the trigger. Hard and Fast fired a siege round pointed point blank into the vulnerable armour. It went clean through the golden armour and out the back. The tank’s was also pushed back hard by the recoil. The suspension broke from the recoil as well. Smoke belched from the small fires in the hole made by such a marvellous weapon. The Immortal collapsed on its back with a hard thud, dead.

Harvie opened the hatch to the tank. Hard and Fast can be said as disabled right now. “Alright, everyone out!” They tossed their headphones aside as they bailed out. He hit the dirt when he felt a rumble on the ground. It felt rickety, like a spider. If it is, then it is a very big spider. The crewmen of downed Hard and Fast looked to their left. Standing sixty metres tall, a large Colossus approached with its precise steps. He ordered as he himself began to run. “Move it!” The Colossus has lasers that can literally turn a man in power armour into burning charcoal in a second.

The Colossus noticed them but it was interrupted by a loud amplified voice. “Where do you think you’re looking at?!” A hundred metres in the sky, a dropship came in for a drop run. What it carried is the hard work of Raynor’s engineers. The dropship released its package, allowing a hundred tons of metal and firepower to land with an awesome rumble. Fourteen metres tall, packed with particle accelerator on each arm, meet the Thor.

Four hundred metres apart, the Colossus began its first move, strafing its twin lasers across the Thor’s hull. It penetrated into the armour, turning it red hot. “Is that all you got?!” The Thor charged forward, firing its twin particle accelerator sequentially. Each shot was worth more than the firepower of two siege tanks. The Colossus is the pinnacle of current Protoss war weapons. While it was made a war support unit, it shrugged off the hits and fired back. The Colossus lasers hit again, melting three tons of metal off the front armour of the Terran Behemoth.

Now two hundred metres away, the Thor used its trump card. It arced forward, deploying the 250mm Strike cannons on its back and fired its entire arsenal at once. Being large has its downsides, becoming an extremely easy target to hit. The barrage of train sized bullets broke through the shields and killing the machine. It collapsed as Jordyn yelled from the sidelines. “About time you guys got here!”

The Thor raised its back to the default position. “What can I say? Big boys come last. The Protoss forces are about to break. The remaining four of your frontline boys will be supporting us now. We’ll handle the rest.” The superheated metal began to super cool into weaker makeshift armour.

The three tank-less operators gave a brief salute as the Thor marched on with a rumble with its mission parameters. The marines around them took a breather before getting back to the fight.

Zeph sat and rested against Hard and Fast’s right track. “That’s the end of the show for us.”

“Don’t worry.” Harvie assured as he patted the tank’s hull. “We’ll get her patched up and we’ll be in the next fight in no time.”

“Next time, can we stay at the back please?” Jordyn casually requested.

“We’ll have to see about that.” The three men laughed their adrenaline away as New Sydney on its way to be rescued by Raynor’s Raiders.