Artemis-class Mobile Missile Launcher Blue Four, Undisclosed Location, Audacia
“Any idea what it’s going to be?”
“Not a clue,” replied the driver, “I just hope it’s not a simulation in the Audacian countryside…again…”
Sergeant Schorse shook his head and glanced at the targeting screens and viewports in his Artemis’s rear cupola. The targeting computer showed nothing, as did the vehicles other sensors, showing that the simulation hadn’t started yet. As any prepared gunner did, the man ran over his weapons: Arakyd 315 missiles in the six bottom tubes…what the hell? Why do we have heavy rockets in those two tubes? Ah, and shells used on the Apollo’s guns…must mean that they expect us to do some close support work in the mission…or they’re giving us random ammunition…probably just random…A voice broke through his comm.
“We’re online, Schors,” informed his driver through the intercom.
The man looked at his screens. Blackness had given way to a pure white expanse, with snow falling about him. If this was an actual situation in real life, Schorse knew that the vehicle’s internal climate controls would have sealed the vehicle completely out from the outside, begin using its internal oxygen supplies, and used a heater to keep the crew warm. Neither was happening at the moment. Looking around through the ceraglass cupola, the man could see several other Artemis artillery vehicles with a handful of Hermes-class APCs, probably acting as ammunition transports. Chatter from the other vehicles broke through the comlink.
“Where the hell are we?”
“I don’t know, doesn’t look like a great vacation spot, except for maybe you, Murphy…”
“Looks like Soroya to me-”
“Cut the chatter,” demanded the unit’s CO, “launch your droids and let’s find some targets.”
“Ah, sir, my full-spectrum transceiver has located twelve large transports of some sort descending fifty kilometers to our west…they’re hostiles…”
Well, we’d better take them down. Artemis, target the transport with the same number as your vehicle, and fire away…”
The sergeant toggled his controls to select four of the vehicle’s lower tubes. Each of the tubes carried a single Arakyd 315 missile equipped with a proton warhead; equally useful against air and ground targets alike. It was a missile he felt comfortable with, having used Arakyd 315s on the Sentinel-class Tank that the Artemis was replacing. The man acquired the target, and hit the firing stub; four missiles surged out of the tubes towards the distant targets. On his FST screen, the man watched as a series of missiles from the Confederate vehicles began to intercept the invaders. Some of the transports panicked, and tried to evade the nimble missiles without success. But by the time some of the missiles had hit, some of the transports had managed to land their troops and vehicles already. Mark IV sentry drones buzzed away from the Confederate army formation to provide more intelligence on their target, and provide more accurate and up-to-date targeting information than the vehicle’s sensors were currently showing. This was not to say that the Artemis sensors were bad, but they had not yet been calibrated for the extreme environment they were operating in. Glancing at his Sono-optics screen, Schorse could make almost only see the sonic imprints of the falling snow, which shrouded the actual shape of the distant Imperial-style vehicles. But from what the man could tell based on the thermal imaging, the vehicles were large. A light blinked next to his auxiliary targeting screen. The man selected it to provide real-time photoreceptor images of the Imperial Formation as the droid dodged blasts from Snowtroopers disembarking from AT-ATs. Schorse quickly tagged the targets and fired all of his tubes. The magnetic accelerator coils in several of the upper tubes lobbed out artillery shells much like a mortar, while the same technology in other tubes catapulted their rockets and missiles out into the air before their engines came online, giving the missiles and rockets extended range and hiding their launch site. The munitions descended into the Imperial formation, decimating the vehicles and trooper with a multi-explosive blast. While their target was destroyed, Blue Four had a new problem.
“Dans,” informed Schorse, “that was the last of our ammo loaded into the tubes. We need to retreat to base so we can safely reload.”
“On it sir.”
“Any idea what it’s going to be?”
“Not a clue,” replied the driver, “I just hope it’s not a simulation in the Audacian countryside…again…”
Sergeant Schorse shook his head and glanced at the targeting screens and viewports in his Artemis’s rear cupola. The targeting computer showed nothing, as did the vehicles other sensors, showing that the simulation hadn’t started yet. As any prepared gunner did, the man ran over his weapons: Arakyd 315 missiles in the six bottom tubes…what the hell? Why do we have heavy rockets in those two tubes? Ah, and shells used on the Apollo’s guns…must mean that they expect us to do some close support work in the mission…or they’re giving us random ammunition…probably just random…A voice broke through his comm.
“We’re online, Schors,” informed his driver through the intercom.
The man looked at his screens. Blackness had given way to a pure white expanse, with snow falling about him. If this was an actual situation in real life, Schorse knew that the vehicle’s internal climate controls would have sealed the vehicle completely out from the outside, begin using its internal oxygen supplies, and used a heater to keep the crew warm. Neither was happening at the moment. Looking around through the ceraglass cupola, the man could see several other Artemis artillery vehicles with a handful of Hermes-class APCs, probably acting as ammunition transports. Chatter from the other vehicles broke through the comlink.
“Where the hell are we?”
“I don’t know, doesn’t look like a great vacation spot, except for maybe you, Murphy…”
“Looks like Soroya to me-”
“Cut the chatter,” demanded the unit’s CO, “launch your droids and let’s find some targets.”
“Ah, sir, my full-spectrum transceiver has located twelve large transports of some sort descending fifty kilometers to our west…they’re hostiles…”
Well, we’d better take them down. Artemis, target the transport with the same number as your vehicle, and fire away…”
The sergeant toggled his controls to select four of the vehicle’s lower tubes. Each of the tubes carried a single Arakyd 315 missile equipped with a proton warhead; equally useful against air and ground targets alike. It was a missile he felt comfortable with, having used Arakyd 315s on the Sentinel-class Tank that the Artemis was replacing. The man acquired the target, and hit the firing stub; four missiles surged out of the tubes towards the distant targets. On his FST screen, the man watched as a series of missiles from the Confederate vehicles began to intercept the invaders. Some of the transports panicked, and tried to evade the nimble missiles without success. But by the time some of the missiles had hit, some of the transports had managed to land their troops and vehicles already. Mark IV sentry drones buzzed away from the Confederate army formation to provide more intelligence on their target, and provide more accurate and up-to-date targeting information than the vehicle’s sensors were currently showing. This was not to say that the Artemis sensors were bad, but they had not yet been calibrated for the extreme environment they were operating in. Glancing at his Sono-optics screen, Schorse could make almost only see the sonic imprints of the falling snow, which shrouded the actual shape of the distant Imperial-style vehicles. But from what the man could tell based on the thermal imaging, the vehicles were large. A light blinked next to his auxiliary targeting screen. The man selected it to provide real-time photoreceptor images of the Imperial Formation as the droid dodged blasts from Snowtroopers disembarking from AT-ATs. Schorse quickly tagged the targets and fired all of his tubes. The magnetic accelerator coils in several of the upper tubes lobbed out artillery shells much like a mortar, while the same technology in other tubes catapulted their rockets and missiles out into the air before their engines came online, giving the missiles and rockets extended range and hiding their launch site. The munitions descended into the Imperial formation, decimating the vehicles and trooper with a multi-explosive blast. While their target was destroyed, Blue Four had a new problem.
“Dans,” informed Schorse, “that was the last of our ammo loaded into the tubes. We need to retreat to base so we can safely reload.”
“On it sir.”