I stood on the chair, keeping myself up in my cupola as we approached the remains of Vacuo. I glared at the burning city, Neopolitan leaning against the wall of the turret with an unamused expression as Leonis remained staring out his gunner sight. We rolled up to the crater from the first 'Carl' shell impact that helped us escape Jaune and Pyrrha. I slowly climbed out of the tank and grabbed my STG off the turret and I slowly approached the gate, climbing down into the crater for cover as I surveyed the area, the two were nowhere in sight. I quickly rolled onto my back as someone slid into the crater, my rifle trained on Neo before I rolled back onto my stomach, pointing my rifle towards the city.
"You can't sneak up on me like that." I stated. She tapped her parasol against the crater wall expectantly. "Right, you can't talk." I reminded myself, "I don't see them, I wonder if they're even in the city." I explained. Neo crawled closer to me, and pointed to a large opening. "We could get our tanks through." I stated. After a moment me and Neopolitan returned to the tank and climbed back in.
"All units, we have an entry point to heading 3-3-2. Infantry, now is your time to dismount." I explained over the radio. Mechanized Infantry crawled out of their Marder IFVs and Zelda APCs as our M51 tanks rolled forward, the last of the artillery shells landed in the city, the flashes and blast clouds flashing in between the damaged buildings. The tank jumped a bit as we rolled over the remains of the wall before we stopped, looking around before moving onto the main road. I frowned at the lack of grimm,
"Looks like they didn't leave anything for us boss." Leonis remarked, leaning back in his seat.
"It's too quiet." I replied, one of the infantry men threw his hands into the air and frowned.
"Really? You're going to play that card!? You're just looking for a fight." He complained.
"Think about it though, Grimm pools can endure the barrage, in fact it can spread it, so how is there nothing here?" I replied. The soldier went quiet, "Forward driver, first gear." I ordered, the tank slowly started rolling down the main road as I looked around and the war torn city, corners burning, buildings caved in. I looked over my shoulder to see a second M51 following us with infantry walking around us before a growl echoed through the streets.
"Deathstalker." I calmly called out, we stopped in a market area, only a fountain remained. I looked down at it from the turret with a grimm solution settled in the bowl. "We've got a puddle over here." I called to the back. A pair of Pioneers came forward and began setting up some sort of freezing device before blasting the fountain with a bangalore sticking out of the forming ice tower. I grabbed the grip of my .30 cal and waited for grimm to come from any angle.
The bangalore detonated, my back facing the explosion of the ice spread across the area, the grimm solution seemingly having disappeared as the Pioneers took down their device. A nearby Deathstalker let out another screech before appearing from around the corner. My tank rocked as Leonis fired a HEAT shell into the top of it, its armor notwithstanding the four hundred millimeters of penetration from the stream of fire the shell shot out. I watched as fire went in through the top of its armor before shooting through the Grimm's stomach before it turned into dust. There was a howl that quickly followed as a pack of Beowolves stormed the corner that the Deathstalker emerged from. I didn't have to give the order, I just started firing my .30 cal as Neopolitan fired the coaxial while Leonis loaded a HE shell. The second M51 rolled up behind us before firing a HEAT shell into the pack, blasting the grimm unfortunate enough to be in front of the shell was blasted with a wave of fire that bounced off the ground as the shell exploded against the ground. The infantry were quick to take up cover and start firing their weapons.
While there wasn't much point in taking cover from a melee opponent when you were equipped with a gun, it was still a good practice for ranaged grimm. Steam floated off my .30 cal's barrel as I let off the trigger. Leonis fired the first HE round into the scattered hoard, disintegrating them in a ball of fire and smoke. Acid splattered on the side of the tank behind us, the acid melting through the armor and into the shells. The M51 reversed into an alleyway before the acid detonated the ammunition. I flinched as the sudden boom as I shifted to see a Cenitaur staring me dead in the eyes from the corner of the remains of a restaurant. I squeezed the trigger of my machine gun, spraying the creature with yellow tracers before it evaporated into grimm dust. I sighed with relief before turning to look over my shoulder, the burning wheels of the M51 behind us rolling into the market, the fire illuminating the dark alley, the front of the burning wreckage visible through a broken window.
"Damn it." I whispered under my breath, annoyed by the weak side of armor of our M51 tanks.
"Sir, task force Bravo and Charlie have made it to the capitol building, they are freezing the grimm pools now." A soldier reported, I nodded to him before grabbing my long range radio.
"This is Centurion Alpha to Rainfall Alpha, how copy?" I called over the radio.
"This is Rainfall Alpha, we hear you General, how's it looking out there?" Kris answered.
"We're in the city, light resistance. Salem wouldn't have left the city, right?" I asked. There was a pause for a moment. I stood in my coupla, waiting for a response, after a minute Kris spoke up, "I don't like to think so, but she could've, the question now comes in, why?"
"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to, if we can secure the city we can figure that out." I answered.
"Understood, we'll begin construction of a proper base." Kris replied, "Over and out." I listened as he called out before sitting in my commander's seat and closing the commander's hatch and staring out the small window for a moment.
"Let's get a moving driver." I ordered. Laura was quick to comply, driving forward and towards the remains of the capitol building. We parked in the courtyard where I sat quietly in my commander's seat for a moment, my mind flooded with possibilities for Salem leaving the city. It didn't make sense, why would the grimm respond in the first place, they have no military intellect. They can't tell a losing battle when they see one, and sure, a week's worth of constant bombardment with heavy artillery guns would ravage the city and damage the garrison, it wouldn't diminish grimm forces like it seems to have. Neo tapped my shoulder and pointed to the open hatch above her as Leonis crawled out of the tank.
I climbed out of the tank, Neopolitan following me out of the tank.
"Don't try anything." I told her, grabbing my rifle, and walking forward towards a Jumbo 76(w). "When the hell did we get assault tanks?" I asked. The commander of the tank sat on top of the turret, her legs crossed with a wide smile. "You General Stargazer?" She asked. I nodded, dusting off my teal acu jacket and putting on my slouch hat. She tilted her head, "You don't look like your ID image sir." She remarked, standing up and jumping off the tank, spinning in the air and landing behind me. Neo didn't seem very impressed, in fact she seemed rather annoyed by the flashy move.
"You don't seem like a regular tanker." I replied, she smirked as cocked her hips before speaking, "Of course not General. I'm a surviving Huntress." She replied, "Names Alison."
"Well, Alison, how'd you end up in a tank that's used by a unit not even here?" I asked.
"The 66th Tank Brigade is showing up now, we were thrown into the operation after it was already launched." She explained. I frowned as a pair of P-39Q-5 fighters flew overhead, behind them a trio of C-47s, several soldiers falling from them before pulling their parachutes, slowing their descent.
"And there's the 60th airborne." I added. I listened to the roar of tank engines as a column of Sherman tanks rolled forward, all of them with different hulls and different guns. Engineers had circled me, awaiting orders.
"Begin construction of defensive positions. I want heavy and machine guns at every corner, trenches in every open area. Tanks need to support infantry in positions like the markets and the town square. Create snipers nests in every possible tower, I want every defense possible. Salem will be back, and in force." I ordered.
YOU ARE READING
The FAF | Grimmverse | Volume I
ActionSalem has allowed her Grimm pools to flood every major city, other than a small island nation who remained in isolation. Roman, Summer Rose, and Pyrrha have been brought back to life as part Grimm while most huntsmen have been turned to Grimm-Human...
