Planespotter
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First time I am writing a short story. I think it came out well, if not rushed, toward the end. Please leave your feedback below, if needed. [b]
“Two hundred and seventy meters, Corporal!” yelled PFC Gunner Stepanov down into the
cabin of the Manticore Heavy Tank. “Fire on my command, Stepanov!” barked Corporal Hanak,
signaling to the private on the radio behind him to alert Captain Bratan. “How many I can only see
1 of ‘em!”. “At least a lance of them, Corporal!”. Corporal Hanak had seen many engagements
before, but the campaigns of the Fourth Succession War were some of the worst he had seen.
Fighting on Nova Roma during Anton Marik’s revolt, the amount of death and destruction he
witnessed disturbed him. He had trouble sleeping at night because of it, and now they've brought
him back to fight in the Andurien Wars.
“Alright, pull back and regroup in serviceable terrain!”. “Yes, sir!” said Private Kovac. “Fire
LRMs, Stepanov, and quickly!”. A loud bang sounded ten times, followed by ten high pitch
whistles. Hanak peaked his head out of a hatch on the tank. In front of him, the husk of a Galleon
Light Tank sat there smoking. “Good shot Stepanov.” said the Colonel, looking towards the tank
turret. As Hanak pulled himself back into the Manticore, a small laser bolt shot past his head,
hitting the tank turret. “gak! Get into those woods behind us as fast as possible!” yelled Hanak.
“Are you sure, Corporal? We won't be able to —” said Private Kovac. “Yes!” interrupted Corporal
Hanak, reminding himself that if he could get his tank out of the fighting and back, he wouldn't
have another one of his troops’ lives on his hands. More and more laser fire slowly came from the
hills at the Manticore. Asking for sensor readings on how many tanks were left, the grim realization
had come upon Hanak that he had stumbled into an Armor Company of 12 tanks of various types
coming over the hill.
“PPC, Stepanov! Get rid of some of these tanks!”. At this point, Hanak knew he and his
crew were dead, with almost no chance of escape. They could always send in some ‘Mechs, but why
waste expensive and time-consuming vehicles on a skirmish? The Manticore was near the woods;
they could escape this, the prime word being could. “Radio Captain Bratan she needs to know
we’re surrounded!”. “Corporal Hanak, we have friendly units approaching from the west!” said
Private Bisiliev. “How many? And are they ‘Mechs?” Hanak began to have some semblance of hope,
yet he felt it would all be for nothing. “It seems to be VTOLs and four CVs!”. Good, at least they
could fight against the enemy now.
A voice on the tank’s radio spoke, “This is Corporal Alesksic. I see you’ve gotten yourselves
in a bit of trouble here!”. Hanak asked Besiliev to hand him the microphone. “This is Corporal
Hanak, now isn't the time for jokes. Come on and help take out these tanks.”. “Gotcha. Boys, you
know what to do!”. Hanak returned the microphone to Private Besiliev and sat back in his seat.
“Stepanov, fire everything we have at those tanks!”. The missiles and PPC of the Manticore firing in
unison nearly deafened the men in the cabin. A loud explosion rang out, and an SRM Carrier’s
husk sat smoking about 100 meters from the Manticore. A shock rattled the tank, nearly throwing
Hanak from his seat. “Corporal, SRMs down!” Stepanov yelled through the various sounds
surrounding the tank. “Damn it, keep firing!” Hanak yelled back.
“How many left, Besiliev!”. “Five, sir!”. “Good, radio in Alesksic and thank him for the
help!”. Hanak felt lucky, saved by a random patrol five minutes ago, he thought he was dead, but
now he may live long enough to have the same thoughts elsewhere. Maybe, if he drummed this
event up, he and his crew would get medals or be promoted to a guard unit and wouldn’t have to
fight on the front lines. Now wasn't the time for this, he still needed to live to get the medal.
Another shock hit the cabin of the Manticore. “Basiliev, what got hit!”. Hanak got no response,
asking again with no response. Looking over his shoulder, seeing Besiliev's unconscious body
slumped over the radio console.
Hanak got up from his seat, went to Besiliev, and checked his pulse. He was still alive,
barely. Getting back to his seat he opened the view hatch on the tank poking his head out. It
seemed the enemy was routed. “Kovac, pull us towards Corporal Alesksic’s tanks.”. “Yes, sir. Is
Besiliev alright?” “Barely, a few days in a M.A.S.H tent. He’ll be back up.”. Hanak hoped he’d at
least get a break from this chaos. War takes its toll, and it had on him. “Alesksic, thank you for the
help. We were lucky to have you help us.” Hanak was genuine in his expression of gratitude, but
knowing officers of the Free Worlds League, Alesksic probably viewed this as a disingenuous
formality. “No problem, my men were getting bored of the constant greens and greys of this place, a
nice way to add some different scenery!”. Hanak could already tell he would despise Alesksic for
being brash and overconfident.
When they returned to base Besiliev was immediately brought to a medical tent. Hanak and
Alesksic both went to the Base Officer’s quarters. “Officers, you’ve done your duty to the
Captain-General, the Andurien rebels will soon rejoin the League.”. Hanak knew this wasn't true,
rebels were never truly gone only silenced. “Alesksic, you’re dismissed. Hanak, I would like to speak
with you.”. “Yes, sir?” Hanak answered. “You’ve shown extreme bravery today. I mean drawing
them out into the open, is pure tactical genius! I’ll see what I can do about a reward for you and
your crew’s bravery.”. Corporal Hanak was confused by this sudden praise. He never thought he
would ever actually “deserve” whatever reward he was getting. He thought he was a coward and a
liar, but that may pay off once in a while. Hopefully, he would get that break.
Hope you enjoyed.
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