The FAF | Grimmverse | Volume I

Chapter IV | Divide

I sat in the commander's cupola as we drove through the desert night, team CFVY's bullhead followed in the air with us. Several mixed variants of filler Sherman tanks and reserviced assault tanks, such as the Stug III and Stug IV tanks. I sighed, my hands resting on top of the .50 cal as we continued on. The moon light slightly illuminated the world around us as the roar of engines flooded my ears and headlights lit a path in the sand. I let out a heavy sigh, looking towards the sky, enjoying the peace as we approached a treeline, Mountain Glenn in the distance. I frowned as I called us to a halt, the tanks behind us stopped and team CFVY landed. Coco jumped off and walked up to me,

"What's the problem, big man?" She asked. I watched the treeline for a moment before lowering my fist, "We're not going through the forest." I firmly stated. Coca lowered her aviators and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why not? Fight through some Grimm, cut through, get to Vale." Coco stated, I shook my head.

"Tanks and trees don't mix, huntress." I stated.

"So what, you've got a plow and some engineering tools." Coco said.

"Listen here coffee for brains, I may be all about lighting warfare, but we're not going to take even more losses because you're impatient." I calmly stated, Neo's giggle echoing in my turret. Coco rolled her eyes.

"Your orders boss man." Coco replied, clearly in disagreement with my refusal to push through the forest.

"All units make way for the plains, we're taking the longer route I guess." I ordered. We would drive on for a few more hours before a shift in the wind next to my formation. I looked over my shoulder to see a column of several M4A3 (105) shermans and a pair of M4A4 (76)Ws with them. I nodded to Kris, who was half asleep in his copula as we drove on. Hours passed as we continued to move along, the empty plains serving as a nice scenery during hours of the day and night. We drove on for hours on end, those hours eventually became a day. The day became a long week before something finally changed in the atmosphere.

I watched as the aircraft carrier flew overhead, not bothering to provide an explanation to the sudden removal of our airsupport. I frowned,

"Anyone hear anything about why they're pulling away?" I asked over comms. I was too busy watching the carrier leaving, I was shocked by a sudden explosion. I let out a short breath and quickly looked to the tree line flanking us. I looked over my shoulder to see the turret of a M-51 come crashing down into the grass. For a moment the noises of the world were blurred as I tried to piece together what happened. A sharp, pointed, grimm object shot back into the tree line before I finally figured it out.

"All units, enemy target, nine o'clock!" I shouted. As the remaining tanks, including my Firefly, shifted their turrets to face the tree line I was confronted by the screams of several rockets barreling towards us. I quickly ducked into my turret, closing the hatch over me, "Incoming rockets!" I shouted over the radio. Less than a second later the turret echoed with the sound of shrapnel pummeling the armored exterior. I slowly opened the capuola backup as I surveyed the area, "Shit." I cursed under my breath, noticing a squadron of Atlas Paladin mechs slowly approaching, blobs of Grimm mass covering chunks of the hull. Behind the five mechs, a horde of grimmified Atlaseain soldiers. I sighed, knowing this was going to become a long day.

"Dismount the infantry, we're in for a long one." I called out over the radio. Neo poked her head out of the gunner's hatch with a smile, the bladed tip of her parasol resting against her cheek. I raised an eyebrow while she slowly crawled out of the hatch, acting like a kid trying to get away with something without their parents correcting them. I grabbed my .50 cal and began firing into the tree line as she jumped out and onto the ground as mechanized Jagers and Shock troopers scrambled around from their IFV transports, the auto cannons of the Marder 1A3s sprayed rounds into the tree line. My ears rang as the seventy-six cannon echoed, the sound getting mixed into the sounds of battle. A louder cannon overtook the battlefield, even for a moment, as a one-o'-five round was flung from Kris's Sherman and into a Paladin, snapping the mech in half.