Dim red light

This tin can echos any sound that occurs on the outside. So it's pretty frightening when your captain gives you a rest, and someone shoots the turret of your tank while you're sleeping.
"Gunner! Aim for your 3:00!" That was my cue. I got to the controls, and swivelled the turret to my 3 so fast, I felt like I couldn't stop. A round loaded, and an enormous boom, as the whole tank shuddered. I popped open the top hatch, and peered out into the gray Russian sky. My watch said that it was 4:30 in the AM. Parts of a car were falling back to earth. Comedically, (in my own opinion) an RPG launcher was stuck in the sand, standing at a ninety degree angle.
"Driver, over the ledge, now!" The Captain shouted through the headset.
"You're sure?" He said. "Yes, just do it!" He yelled. I felt a crunch of concrete below the treads, and then we were moving a bit slower. Tanks move better on ground they can get a grip on, and concrete easily crumbles beneath treads, but, doesn't give you a grip. Idioticly, though, the people in the building shooting at us, tried to protect their terrorist ridden city with spike strips. Let me repeat that. Spike strips. Might work on an APC, but tanks dont use anything inflatable. We rolled right over them, and forced them into the street.
"Gunner, get on the .50 cal." I climbed out of the hatch, and put my kevlar helmet on. The thing was heavy, and expensive. I tried to buy one out of the military, and it was 76 pounds. Of course, I was on vacation the USA, at the time, and it was 150 USD. I grasped the triggers of the Machine Gun mounted on the edge of the turret. I saw a militant point at me, so I opened fire first. Not much left of that extremist. Allow me to give you some background info on this war we're fighting...

You can get from Russia to Europe easily. But, on june 15th, Russian extremiusts opened fire on innocent civilians. This sparked a huge revolution within Russia, and bullets flew, insults were traded, and now you have a coup de etat of the Russian government. The militants were fighting to bring back the Soviet Union, and knowing every other country, that COULD NOT happen. It just couldn't. I can tell you why, unlike some people. We'd have a second cold war. And this war is only a prolouge to the second one. In my opinion, I think it's going to happen. Russian militants already captured the government. SO then, reluctantly, the USA, just coming back battered and Bruised from the enormous war in Iraq, after they completely destroyed iraq, and dragged he al-qaeda leaders out of their hiding holes, and god knows where they took them, they were never heard from again, USA, all of Europe, and parts of Asia, as in North Korea, and the South korea and Vietnam have joined up together to fight this new Soviet Union. Russia has basically no Army. At all.

Back to the war. Bullet holes riddled the buildings. It was still rather dark out, and I climbed back into my seat at the gunners position. it was cramped inside of a tank. It got really hot, and very stressful, and, it was usually lit, but when it wasn't, and you're working with nothing but a dim red light, things are very difficult. There are two seats within the specific model we were driving. It was a new model, with a 120 MM cannon. It's set up differently. The driver has a seat below and off to the left of mine, and a screen with a display of where he's going, and my seat is off on a small ledge, maybe a foot higher, and the controls for turning the turret, and firing it, are somewhat complex. The tank takes a very large 50 round "cartridge" that fits and locks into place on the side of it, and every time a round is fired, a new one is slid in by a powerful spring to take it's place. Every cartridge is about 27,750 British Pounds. It's fairly expensive. The tank we use is state of the art, a very new set of parts and technology. The treads have very small spikes that jut out, and hook onto upcoming terrain, for better traction. Under the tank, a compartment holds land mines, for easy deployment at the pull of a lever, for any vehicle or idiotic person following us. Mounted on the front, is a white line, that hums when you turn the tank on. This is what we call a HPMCB, or High-Penetration Mine Clearing Beam. It's basically a very hot and destructive laser that penetrates the ground and sets off landmines by heat. The front is very armoured, as well as the back, and sides, so the tank's rather slow, but flanking it is no longer an option. An optional feature that is available when selected for deployment is the APC attachment. It's basically a highly armoured carrier that hooks on the back of a tank by strong hooks, latches, and wires, along with a set of treads on it, that when hooked in by wire, match the speed of the tank itself, and continue with it. It seems rather unneeded, but when dragging along a big bulk of metal, you need the extra 42 MPH tops this tank does.

We were about to pass a casino on our right, neon lights flashing, when suddenly another tank, different to ours, started rolling and rumbling out the front gate. Glass, and steel flew every which way, as the thing rumbled towards our tank, guns blazing, and cannon firing. the first one hit a building right behind us, and the debris completely encased a smaller, older tank behind us. the front sign of the casino came tumbling down, and we rolled over it, determined to smash our way through this cramped, snowy city.
"Gunner, you see it?" the driver asked.
"Yeah, I've got it zeroed-in." I replied. A muffled boom, and the tank challening us shuddered, and tipped to the side.
The captains headset came in suddenly. "Spearhead tank?" That was us, "Spearhead tank, keep firing, we need that tank out of the way, it's extremely important, and I know that certain brigade is rather nasty, and will have more tanks on the way." His voice echoed in my mind. Before he could shut off his communications, I heard a voice.
"Is it her? Is it her tank brigade?" The unknown voice said.
"Yeah. God bless'em for being up front to take it all, she's a ruthless one."

My driver and I stared at each other for a moment.
"Hey. This doesn't sound good." He said to me. I smiled and began to laugh, as I swivelled my turret and dipped it, so it aimed down the center of the main gun, and through my laughter, I smashed the fire button. A loud crash, and I heard metal crunching together, as sparks flew out of the underside of the turret, and smoke began to wisp from the hatch. The force from the shell knocked the utrrets mechanics out of gear, and now the top was spinning wildly, while the tank backed up in a mad frenzy down the street, while the crumpled main cannon swung around with immense force, quickly sweeping a light pole off it's base, and onto the ground.

I shot another round at it, and a tread sheared off the track, whipping away into a building, systematically destroying a few windows. The thing was immbolized, and
the gunners hatch popped open,a nd fell down the back of the behemoth. A man came out, pistol in hand, and a helmet on.
"Oh wow. Real scary." I said.
"Ok, do what you gotta do, man." My driver aid, as I popped out of the gunners seat, and took position at the .50 cal.

I was determined to make this guy pay for crushing a tank behind me. He was putting the magazine in his gun. I yelled to him, my stomach quivering, not sure if I could do this.
"Hey you out of ammo?" He looked at me. His eyes were wide, staring in terror.
"Идет к аду, вам тупоумная сволочь!" He screamed. I don't speak Russian.
"Alright, whatever man." I put a few new bullet holes in his tank, as well as him.

We continued to roll down the gray street.

"Set up a field base here. I want those buildings searched twice. You three, I want you to take all the Headquarters equipment, and set it up in that building. Now, soldier!" The captain yelled. "Clifton!" I heard my last name.
"Sir!" I said back to him in my most formal shout.
"We're bringing in an even bigger tank. You, and your driver, and two more crew members will be operating this one." He told me in an almost overexcited mood.
"Sir, what are the specifications?" I asked him.
"Your tank right now is heavy, but, this is an extremely new tank. They've just accepted it yesterday. I'm not kidding. It's being dropped in by air, and it's extremely heavy. Currently this tank is the heaviest tank we have in service. You will spearhead the attack through this town, and you will be driving one of three tanks of this kind. The only other one here in Russia is being taken from the depot over, here." he pointed to a coastal city on the map. "Alright, now the specifications you asked me about. The cannon, is huge. It's about 200 MM. That's quite large for a tank. Your position will remain unchanged. You still operate the turret. Your driver still drives. The .50 cal on the top now has some sort of advanced technology in it that makes it so that the turret remains pointed in one direction while you operate the turret. Below you an the driver is a smaller emplacement, a dual .50 cal turret that pokes out of the sides, and can be reconfigured mid battle to point to the front, left or right, and the back. This tank, unbelieveably does 60 MPH."
"Miles? Why not Kilos?" I asked inquisitively.
"It's american made. You know how they are with their Imperial system." I stared at him, saluted, and walked away, to go find my driver. I noticed he had not assigned me anything to do. He ran up to me from around the corner.
"Hey, Clif, you wanna come with us? That casino that the tank came out of is free for grabs, and we're taking all the booze we can find."
"Um. Did you ask the captain if this was alright?" I asked nervously.
"Yeah, he doesn't care. Says this whole place'll be rubble by next month anyways, so might as well save all the artifacts we can." I stared at him with a grin, then agreed.

Neon lights flickered, and a few soldiers were walking out of the casino, carrying armfuls of Vodka, and other alcoholic drinks.
"Y'know the HQ that the Captain has us setting up in the old building? Well, he wants you and me to go find stools, chairs, and any sort of guns, we can find. This oughta be fun." I looked around, and headed towards a bar. Amazingly, a few neon lights were still intact, and I dragged a few bottles of Absolut and stools back to the makeshift HQ we had so valiantly built in an old warehouse. The inside of the HQ was hilariously filled with big bottles of Vodka, Beer, Wines, and things to make Margaritas with. Red stools and Blackjack tables were our primary furniture, and I watched the captain discussing plans with the other officers, a map layed flat upon the table, and a projector aiming at a wall. A few soldiers were engaged in a game of cards.
"Clifton! Come on over here!" The Captain shouted to me. I obeyed."This is one of my best tank operators here, he's spearheading our operation." The other officers looked at me with disbelief in their eyes.
"He looks about 23. And he's spearheading this operation? And you want him to drive our M59?" A Major said to me.
"Not drive it, be the turret operator. His buddy drives, and three other guys shoot, but we trust he wont hurt too many people. Right? Clifton?"
"No, sir. Unless they hurt me." They laughed. And a few officers shook my hand. I walked back outside, and my eyes glared at a huge mass of metal, treads and all was standing in the center of the plaza.
"Clifton! Corporal!" The Captain yelled as he chased me to the tank. Strangely enough since this war started, Both Armies of the British and United States had... sort of joined. We took on the States' ranks. I like them better.
"Sir?" I questioned.
"I just got reports of a squadron of heavy tanks headed this way. Now listen. the tank is set up exactly like your old one, just do what you do. Your crew is already set up there. You will have a few more tanks behind you for support." I nodded to him. I climbed into the tank. It was a bit more spacious, and I took my seat.
"Driver, start'er up. We need to take that route." I pointed to the street ahead of us.
"Gotcha. Saddle up, turret operators, we're going out on a ride." The tank started up, and with a roar, we were off, more tanks behind us for support, and infantry speeding up the street, as well as humvees and jeeps of all kinds.
"Watch your flanks, all units. They're taking up space in the buildings. Blow'em all to hell." The captain said. We were cruising down the street, when the first tank rolled over a heap of debris in front of us.
"Gunner. Dead ahead." The driver said. The .50 cal opened fire, and I shot the cannon at the front. The projectiles ripped into the front of it, and exploded after it had left a gaping hole in the front. Through the armor. It was tossed into the air, and demolished the front of a building. I heard the soldier on the turret above swearing. Two more tanks rolled at us, and I did the same thing. Their infantry was getting mowed down as we rolled right voer their wreckages, and into a town plaza. A very big one. Multiple tanks opened fire at us from all directions, besides our flank, and more of our tanks joined the battle from behind, as we blasted away their soldiers, their vehicles, and an AA gun they had in the middle. Tanks were backing up, and we turned them into black charred steel as we kept on rolling. We blew right through an old building, and it collapsed behind us. We crept very unstealthily into another coastline beach.
"Two o'clock! Two o'clock! It's her! It's their brigadier! Christ, shoot her! Shoot-" Then static. One of the tank operators' tank was blown into the air, as a massive tank came rolling around the corner. It was massive. Colossal reminder of why we were here. The cannon aimed it's long neck at us, and three shots came out of it, hitting our tank head on, but only denting it slightly. Cannons went off, and the air around us was thick with killing, as tanks toppled, and our men died. One tank, rolling over the many craters.
"Don't you people know how to shoot? Aim! NOW!" The captain was infuriated. We took aim, and moved as fast as we could, trying to flank the brigadiers tank. But she was too quick. I slid open my hatch, to look out. I took my binoculars. I was frightened instantly, by the sight of my captain sneaking around a building. One grenade lay silent in his hand, as he climbed up the treads. The turret twitched on the tank a bit. My captain took out a pistol; a glock, and pumped two bullets into the back of the head of the turret operator on the MG. Then, I was horrified. A tank behind me shot at the brigadiers tank once more, and my Captain was thrown onto the street. I screamed bloody murder as my crewmates jumped. I ordered one loudly to get on this turret, as I punched open the hatch, and glared at the tank to the side of me. I jumped out of my tank as fast as I could and dodge MG bullets that were sweeping up and down the street as I ran for my wounded captain. His face all bloody, but he was moving. Time moved at a slow pace. The air around me cleared as the humongous tank stared at me. Time moved even slower. I vaulted myself onto the top of the tank, over the treads. Just as my captain had done, I nonchalantly pulled the pin on a grenade I had in my vest. With indiscrimination, I wrenched open the badly locked top hatch, and time was still very, very slow. It seemed like ages, as I watched the hinges on the tank shear open with the pure brute force of my arm, and my other hand, grapsing the grenade raised igh over my head, like a knife, ready to stab it's victim. With complete lack of thought, and illiteracy toward what on earth I was doing, a Woman's face stared at me, eyes wide with horror, and I screamed, louder than the safe amount of decibels for any humans ears, and could probably have been heard for miles around, the worst thing you could call anyone, ever. The grenade left my hand, and found it's mark, bouncing off the Woman's skull, to my sadistic, cruel, satisfaction. Her head twitched and she fell onto the middle of the console, as I mashed the hatch back onto the tank. I jumped off, with extreme force, catapulting myself at the wounded captain, and I worked carefully and swiftly as I dragged him to cover, right as the grenade went off, blowing the hatch high into the air, and disfiguring the shape of the turret, as smoke erupted from the bottom of it.

His face was bloody, and his helmet cracked. He stared into my eyes with the most sincere of glares, one that obliterates all thoughts that reside in your mind. He looked at me, and no words came from his mouth, but thoughts came from his mind. It's times like this when you really remember why you're here. Not to just kill killers, but to save civilians. He was my captain, but he was of civilian status, now.

With my feet flat on the floor, and my galring eyes pointed in the same direction, my dogma of what my job is remains unchanged. To server, To Protect, not to kill. Only if I must. Only if I am demanded to do so. A year had passed since my Captain of that battle back in Russia was killed, his blood stained the spot where my footsteps had been, and now I follow the footsteps he once made. It is not how these people die, but how they live, too. I am a Captain. Just as he once was. It my men, they could be captains too, someday. If I die, I am to die for a good reason, not because my adversary believes in their own corrupt mind that it is my time. They do not know me. Who I am. Or what I do. They cannot make the assumption of my deathday. Anyone who does that, well, their deathday will be made possible by my own men, or me, as a person.