Shooting Stick

Operation: BLAST had taken a turn from possible success to complete failure. Other armor columns had been halted or were being pushed back trying to break Covenant Lines around Nablus and relieve local forc-

BewBOOSH, creeaaaakkk, KLANG.

The ear splitting noise of ripping and melting metal - followed by the sound of a massive impact resonating through the tank - caused the driver to rapidly shift the tank into cover.

“Well, shit.”

When Bodark opened the hatch she was met with a particularly poor sight of a 90mm gun sitting lifelessly on top of the tank.

They had taken a hit from a passing Banshee to the turret just as they broke through enemy lines. They were going to flank around along with the other two surviving tanks to break the Air Defense in the area to open up the sky bridge, but after a quick inspection of the damage Bodark wasn’t so sure.

“Gun laying drive and one of the stabilizers are wrecked. Barrel looks okay; same for the auto loader, but this thing can’t do shit with the gun eating dirt”

“I’m fine, by the way,” Bodark's teammate Obadiah said as he moved the gun out of the way so he could get up from the gunners turret.

“So you think we can get this running in time?”

Bodark had tuned out Obadiah for a moment as she inspected the gun before giving him a quick look, and then back to the gun and then slowly turning her head toward him, her grin almost being felt as Obadiah slowly stopped talking.

“I know that look, what it usually means is me being in a great deal of discomfort, so come on, lay it on me” Obadiah said. It wasn't really worth arguing, not when she usually managed to convince him anyway.

“Get on the gun”

Obadiah paused, trying to figure out what she meant.

“What do you mean, get on the gun?”

“I mean, get on the gun” Bodark said in a less than welcoming way.

“ Get on the gun wh-” Obadiah began, before stopping  as he understood what she meant.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not doing it!”

“You have a better plan? By the time reinforcements get to us, Covie reinforcements will too”

Obadiah pondered for a good few minutes trying to think of something, anything, that could work better than this.

“You’re buying the drinks after this.”

“Deal.”

Obadiah leapt on to the top of the tank before moving rearward just ahead and above the cupola. He squatted down, lifting the gun up, before getting it over his right shoulder and slowly standing up with it balanced there.

Before getting back to her seat, Bodark paused to grab  the hatch with both arms, lifting upwards and breaking the hatch off, then handing  it to Obadiah as a makeshift shield.

“I still need you alive, alright?” Bodark said quietly before throwing a quick punch at Obadiah to test his ‘shield’

“Yes, ma’am.” Obadiah says shifting the ‘shield’ to  cover his upper body.

“Hammer 1-2, Hammer 1-3, this is Hammer 1-1. We are back in action - let’s make some noise,” Bodark said into the radio as she started the tank, checking on Obadiah by turning the turret and nearly pushing him off-balance.

“Very funny,” she hears Obadiah’s annoyed voice over the comms.

The three tanks  were moving toward the western wall, but their path - through a narrow gully - was made worse by the falling rocks knocked loose by blasts and explosions.

“This isn’t what I imagined when you gave me this thing to use as a shield,” Obadiah yelled, deflecting another rock.

“Hey, at least you have some cover!” Bodark called back, pebbles falling onto her through the open hatch.

Their arguing was interrupted as they exited the gully and came into a large open area just a few dozen meters from two Wraiths and four of their anti-air counterparts.

“All call signs, you are clear to engage!” Bodark said into the radio, before switching her COM to Obadiah. “Call the shots, gunner.”

“Copy that. Contact, 32 degrees clockwise,” Obadiah called as the AA wraiths fell back, the regulars moving to take their place.

“Ready, FIRE!” Obadiah braced himself for the shock that came moments later, resonating through his armor and nearly lifting him off his feet.

A moment’s pause, as another of the tanks goes for the same target and turns the Wraith into wreckage, before another shout from Obadiah - “Good hits!”

“Ha HA! Another contact, 20 degrees counter-clock!” Obadiah yelled, steadying himself as the tank advanced to get a line on the other Wraith.

“Hold...hold.” Obadiah said, waiting for the Wraith to turn, just a little further... “FIRE!”

The round hit true, tearing through the side of the mortar housing, in a massive explosion.

“Alri-”

The moment of celebration was cut off, however, by another trio of explosions, fuel rods from two AA Wraiths flanking them turning Hammer 1-3 into molten slag.

“Pull back!” Obadiah yelled, Bodark backing the tank up behind the remnants of a collapsed wall, as Hammer 1-2 destroyed the damaged AA Wraith before it could fire again.

“Alright, give ‘em hell!” Obadiah braced himself again, hunkering down with his shield.

“Come on BABY!” A shot, then another, and another, as Bodark fired the tank as fast as its autoloader would load, at anything in sight.

The tank shook from the constant fire, and from fuel rod rounds landing a little too close for comfort, Obadiah doing his best to keep the gun on target while under a barrage of plasma fire. Hammer 1-2 wasn’t as lucky - it took down another Wraith and the infantry around it, but its turret was swiftly knocked out by the last one.

“Hey Boss!, I got a plan!” Obadiah called as the last Wraith turned towards them.“Turn the turret 180 degrees and hold!”

“Wrong direction, genius,” Bodark shot back as the Wraith moved into position

“Just do it, then reverse into ‘em.”

Bodark was about to retort when the first mortar round landed, falling short but blowing off their front right track cover.

Fuck it, she thought, turning the hull away from the Wraith, as Obadiah dismounted to keep the gun supported from the ground.

“Full speed!” Obadiah called as he began to run with the gun resting on his shoulder as the tank reversed toward the enemies, hunkering down behind the ‘shield’ as best he could.

As the tank lurched forwards towards the Wraith, crushing the surrounding infantry, it let off a few frantic shots that only managed glancing blows at the Scorpion's treads.

At the last moment, the tank’s gun let off a shot, blowing off the driver’s hatch just in time for the gun to crush the exposed driver’s head as Obadiah dropped the gun, leaving it jammed inside the Wraith.

“FIRE!” Obadiah calls out as Bodark pulls the trigger blowing the Wraith and the Scorpions barrel apart.

As the corpse ridden battlefield fell into relative silence it was broken only by the feigned anger coming from Bodark.

“Dammit Ob you broke my tank!” she says with a lightly contained laugh before she switches to her helmet comms.

“All units the skybridge is open, i repeat enemy AA has been taken out” Bodark says before joining Obadiah sitting on the tread of the ruined Scorpion.

“Seems like I’m rubbing off on you” Bodark says as Obadiah laughs lightly as they watch the Longsword's fly overhead.