1352 hours? 5 rounds spent
Now playing in Manuel Player 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1WwnEDWAM

The Legendario and an APC Charrua moved out of depot, the sun was high and the cold wind blew, the village was infested with those mutated abominations some houses have been completely consumed by the fire, on top of the Charrua the infantry was, a mix of IA-2s and FALs in their hands the bright green flags on their Jackets and vests was a stark reminder we were strangers in a strange land here.
“Should we try to draw them out?” Manuel asked.
“Yeah, I'll alert the infantry, let’s test this out” I said and reached for the Legendario’s radio equipment, sintonized it to the Charrua frequency.
“C1 to Charrua, we’ll try to draw the enemy out with machine gun firing, prepare for combat, over”
“GC-2 Acknowledges, out” The voice said over the radio.
“Jacson, ‘faça as honras’ “ I said to Jacson and his face lit up with a smile, he then quickly climbed his hatch and charged his .50 machine gun, shortly after bursts of machine gun fire aimed to the sky were heard.
The infantry jumped down from their transport and took battle positions to the flanks of the tank, they crouched and held their rifles, I climbed my hatch so I could communicate with them, the Remax was in front of my hatch blocking my vision so i had to stand outside of the hatch, i have my SMT-9 in hands, ready to fire.
Jacson ceased fire and I inspected the area with my binoculars, and there they came they moved forth, some limping, some sprinting, their eyes were black and filled with an unnatural rage well at least in the ones that still had eyes, some had their heads broken open and turned into open mouths oozing with a blood and filled with sharp bony teeth, others had their arms replaced with bone blades.
“Fire! Fire at will!!” The infantry sergeant yelled
The FALs and IA2s came to life and the air was filled with the sound of the firing, not long after the MAG also opened up.
The zombies quickly fell one by one leaving their rotten blood and bodies on the grassy fields around the village.
I gestured for the infantry to move and relayed the command to Bino
We moved slowly so we wouldn’t be taken by surprise in-case there were more of them hiding, until we finally reached the village.
“C1 to command, over”
“Command here, send your traffic, over”
“Mission accomplished the enemy has been neutralized the infantry is doing their jobs now, over”
“Command acknowledges, tidy everything up there and RTB, out”
“Manuel, you take command, I have to do something.” I said and then disconnected my cable and jumped off the tank. I had the map in my head and the village wasn’t big so there were no problems in finding the cottage.
My boots hit the mud, even the ground felt different from Brasil, the village smelt of burnt wood and rotting flesh, I had to cover my mouth and nose with a short scarf I kept on me still it didn’t help much.
I walked forth into the village’s central mud road, i could hear and feel the Legendario and the Charrua move about, soldiers went around with red fire extinguishers putting down fires, bodies in different levels of decomposition could be seen here and there, i tried to ignore them, death is different when you see it with your bare eyes.
Their house was by the river just like she said, a small humble wooden hut, i hope i don’t end up finding their zombified parents or something and i hope Fehfeh is still alive
I came to the door of the small hut, the windows were blocked by green curtains and the cold wind blew from the river. I knocked on the door, not expecting any response, I simply did it out of habit.
I waited some second and then noticed my obtrusiveness and opened the door, it was locked.
“Fehfeh are you there?!” I said out loud into one of the windows
I heard the sound of quick and heavy footsteps going to the door and quickly shouldered my SMT9
The door opened violently and forth came a big man with an axe in his hands and fluffy appendages on his body, he was much bigger than me.
We stared at each other for around 15 seconds,with my SMT aimed at him and in his hands a big axe. That awkward silence was finally broken by a small dog and a brown haired vulpine woman who I presume to be his wife appearing.
The dog barked, although it was just a puppy so his barking was more endearing than intimidating.
“I see you aren’t one of those creatures, my apologies I was about to open your head just like those creatures are opened.” the man said relaxing his stance, his voice was low and loud
“No problem, i would do the same” I said while putting the SMT-9 at the Safe position.
“Who are you? Are you the source of all that sound? Are you a wizard? what clothes are that? ...” The woman said, without a breath in-between.
“Elena, please, let me ask the questions.” The man interrupted her
“Who are you?” The man asked while looking at my eyes
I moved my Scarf out of my mouth and nose
“1st Sergeant Anon, 21st Armored cavalry regiment, Brazilian Army” I said, instinctively putting myself at attention.
“So you aren’t a wizard?” The Woman asked, now with a calmer voice
“No senhora, I'm just an armored cavalry man.” I said preferring not to use the word “tank” lest I confuse them further.
“Are you the source of that noise?” The man asked with a curious look in face
“Yes sir, we killed the monsters that were in this village, we used guns, it’s hard to explain how it works but i’ll be able to show it to you shortly” I said.
The man was about to say something when his wife interrupted him
“And what about your clothes? aren’t you a cavalry-man? where is your armor?” Elena asked
“Again senhora, it’s hard to explain, but you’ll soon see it” I said and then turned my eyes to the puppy
“Is that Fehfeh?” I asked
“Yes, how do you know?” The man said
“Cesar asked me to find him, i’m very happy you and the dog are still alive and well” I said
“OUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE?” Elena yelled
“Yes, senhora they are at the Depot in that direction” I said and pointed towards the depot, it was obscured by the village houses so they couldn’t see it.
“Thank the gods, they were away from home when these monsters came, we locked ourselves and prayed the monsters didn’t find us, Fehfeh was with them but he bolted back here when this all started” The man said.
“Well, good that everything is alright, I'm sorry about all of this happening so suddenly and about my less than good introduction but now I have to go” I said, already expecting my ass to be chewed for abandoning my tank in the middle of a combat zone.
“Wait, we’ll go with you!” Elena said as I was already turning around and preparing to sprint away.
“Let’s go then, i need to return quickly to my guys otherwise my boss will be very angry” I said and began to walk off, they followed me.
The rumble of the engines and the vibrations caused by the tracks could be heard and softly felt even from here.


1402 hours? 5 rounds spent

I came to the central mud road, there were no more fires anymore but the smell of smoke and rotten and burnt flesh lingered the soldiers were checking houses and ruins and carrying bodies out of the houses, some of the bodies were burnt to a crisp others were small, not the kind of thing i want to see or dwell my mind in.
I moved my scarf back over my mouth and nose so the smell wouldn’t fill my mouth.
The two behind me had an incredulous look on their faces which quickly turned to sorrow.
“Young man, how many of us survived?” The man asked
“I don’t have an exact number, but a bunch you’ll see when we get there.” I replied
I could feel the ground shake and heard the sound of the Legendario and not long after it appeared the mighty warmachine moved swiftly through the mud road splashing mud behind it, it stopped in-front of us.
“By the gods, what is that thing?” Elaina said in a gasp
“It’s my Horse” I replied with a smile, which unfortunately couldn’t be seen behind the scarf.
They had their mouths open in awe and admiration upon seeing the Magnum Opus of the Brazilian Arms industry, it’s olive green and brownish red camouflage mingled well with the brown mud and grass around us, the Panoramic cameras stared at us with their mechanical eyes.
Elaina hugged her husband tightly expecting the worse
I climbed the tank and knocked on the commander hatch, the hatch was quickly opened, almost hitting my nose with it’s heavy metal structure
“Welcome back Sarge” Jacson said
“Pass me the cable” I said
The cable was threw out of the hatch, i picked it up and connected it into my helmet
The couple wasn’t as fearful as before but still showed some apprehension
“We are moving back to the depot, it’s where the rest of the villagers and your kids are, climb up onto this part and hold on tight” I said while pointing to the engine bay area
Both of them nodded in synchronism, Elaina picked up Fehfeh and both of them moved to climb onto the tank, I helped them get up.
“We’re gonna move over some rough terrain so hold onto the turret and beware the wind” I said to them
“Bino, go slowly, we got some guests here” I said pressing the intercom button.
Jacson opened his hatch and moved up showing his head
They were both startled by this; even Fehfeh barked, but Jacson quickly waved his hands and showed he meant no harm; his skinny and lanky body probably helped to convey this.
They both still showed some signs of fear and apprehension in their body language, their tails were kept low and close to their body.
The tank began to move, usually Bino moves in a swift and sudden jolt after a stop, but not this time, this time he did it smoothly, and it stayed that way for the entire short travel between the village and the depot.
We reached the gates, having two medieval peasants with fluffy tails holding onto our turret while one of them held a puppy must have looked very exotic for the guards at the gate.
The crowds that once surrounded the tanks at the courtyard are no more now, only curious soldiers and villagers remained, inspecting the vehicles while the crews tended to them.
I could hear the couple whispering to each other behind me.
The tank parked into its place in the courtyard 
“Where are they?!” Elaine said then promptly jumped off the tank, her husband followed.
I felt like I just returned home after a working day, it seems this place is slowly bleeding into me, still the climate and sky reminded me this isn’t my home.
“So who are those two?”  Jacson asked
“parents of some kids i found” I replied
“Crew dismount!” I yelled, holding my intercom button.
I disconnected my cable and climbed down the tank, my boots hitting the floor didn’t make much noise, they were sticky with the village’s mud.
“Mommy!” Little Cesar came running out of one of the Depot’s buildings which i assume was the cantena, and then glomped his mother, Fehfeh barked cutely upon seeing him and started licking him while being held by Elaina
Cecilia came right behind him, holding the Guaraná can I had given to Cesar earlier.
She stared at me for a second and then moved to her family’s warm embrace.
Now that I see it, they are all using similar clothing, probably all made from the same  material and by the same person.
Cleyton appeared, he came from the same building as the Vulpine siblings, he looked  at me and did a mock salute before going back inside the building.
The vulpine family hugged each other and stayed like that for a while.
Jacson and Manuel exited the tank Bino followed shortly after
I took off my helmet and held it in my hand. All the activity was starting to wear me down, at least it wasn't as bad as that one exercise we did in Argentina, but being in a different world sure felt strange, oddly enough it seems the time zone was the same, fortunately.
“I’ll get something to eat, who’s with me?” Manuel said
“Me, i’m starving let’s go” Jacson said
“What about you Sarge, and Bino?” Manuel questioned me and Bino
“I will stay, i need to digest what happened and check the tank” I replied
“Yeah me too, i’m staying with Sarge” Said Bino
“We’ll bring you guys something to eat” Jacson said and then both of them walked off to the cantina.
This has been a long day, I can't even believe this is the first day of this shit, better not even think about all this shit.
I climbed the tank and threw my helmet in and entered it to grab some of the oranges we picked back in Brasil.
The cold wind blew, I felt chilly now that my blood isn’t filled with adrenaline, a shame our uniforms aren’t meant for this climate.
I came down to the courtyard again, Bino was checking the storage boxes and frame on the other side of the turret,i had to use my beret to carry the oranges, the vulpine family was still together and keeping to themselves not far away from the tank the other people in this courtyard also kept to themselves, the sound of chatting didn’t fill the air, if it was a different day i would be relaxing in my room and listening to music or reading or something, but here i am.
I took a small wooden chair kept close to one of the walls and brought it near the tank. The tank was still warm thanks to the activity and the engine.
I set down my orange-filled beret on the floor and leaned my SMT-9 against the tank’s skirts. I picked an orange out of the beret and opened it with my NCO knife while sitting on the chair.
Fuck i would kill to have some café now, i hope the boys bring some to me
… wait, didn’t I already kill a bunch? huh, didn’t expect killing to be this easy, it was kinda fun actually, maybe this war isn’t gonna be that bad.
I began munching and sucking on the orange in hand. It will be some time before I find another orange tree, for sure.
My internal ramblings were interrupted by a small puppy approaching my orange filled beret.
He was about to bite an orange when he was picked up by feminine hands, I couldn't stop Fehfeh because my hands were already busy with a knife and the eponymous coloured fruit.
I looked up and saw Cecilia, she was just staring at me with those deep red eyes while hugging Fehfeh with a empty guarana can in her hand, Her tail was wagging slightly side to side, I stared back, we stayed like that for a while, you know what they say about the abyss? yeah, i felt like there was something there in those eyes, something scary.
“Anon?”  she asked, her voice was like music
"C-Cecília?" I replied tried to re-composure myself after being lost in those eyes
“Are you ok anon?” She said with a worried look.
“Yeah, of course, not the first time i have to be away from home” I said trying to maintain an air of masculinity “I’m just a little tired, that’s all”
“Anon, i just wanted to say, thank you very much for what you’ve done for us” She was blushing slightly while saying that.
“It was nothing, don’t worry you don’t have to repay me” I said, my internal temperature rising upon saying those words.
“Anyway, you want one?” I said pointing to the Orange-filled beret.
“Can I have this one?” she pointed to the orange i was munching on
“Sure if you don’t mind it’s half eaten and filled with my saliva” I said with a smile expecting her to decline
“YES! i-i mean, yes” She said with a embarrassed expression
I gave her the orange, my face was a mix of surprise and incredulously.
She put the dog down and  threw one of the oranges away, Fehfeh then bolted towards the orange.
“That solves it, heh heh” She said with a smile
I picked another Orange from the beret and began opening it with my NCO knife
“That’s a nice knife” She said while munching on her orange
“Got it after becoming a sergeant, they give it to all that finish the course” I said, nostalgia from those far-away days coming.
“Was it hard” She said pausing her munching
“Not much, the worst came after” I said, munching on an orange
“Ei, throw me one of those oranges!” Bino interrupted us from up on the turret.
I promptly threw one of the oranges to him, he picked it up mid air and returned to his chores.

I heard footsteps behind me.
“Anon, we have to thank you for what you did” I heard the still unnamed father say while i was turned towards the turret.
“Oh, don’t worry, no need to pay me or anything” I said while turning to them.
The family looked very cute together, they all had the same hair color and clothing fabric, although only Eliana and Cecilia had red eyes.
“Nonsense youngman! we are in-debt to you, if you need anything just ask” The father said in his deep and low voice
“Well, I'll keep that in-mind you can take an orange if you want” I said pointing to the beret “Oh another thing: what’s your name?”
“Ha ha, how could i forget telling you that, it’s Julius” He said with a big smile after a hearty laugh.
“What are these fruits?” Elaina asked while inspecting an orange
“I don’t know how to explain, they are citric i guess, you gotta peel them first” I said pointing to the orange with my knife.
“Here, you do it, I'll go get some chairs” Elaina said, passing the Orange to Julius.
Elaina returned with chairs for everyone and we all sat down forming a half circle by the tank, Jacson and Manuel returned with sandwiches and coffee thermos they joined the circle, even Fehfeh came and sat on Cecilia’s lap for a nap, we all drank and ate together telling jokes and stories, answering questions and learning from each other.

1602 hours? 5 rounds spent

Augusto and the Depot commander appeared at our little family circle, me and my crew promptly stood up and saluted the men.
“I see you are already fraternizing with the locals, Sargeant anon come with us.” Augusto said
“Yes sir” i replied energetically
I followed the two men, we moved to a briefing room, the other tank commanders and a few other familiar faces from the regiment were there.
I took a seat while Augusto and the base commander along with some others prepared some kind of presentation.
Cecilia followed me, somehow she passed unnoticed by the others, or they simply didn’t care a civilian was following a sergeant, she took a seat beside me and smiled at me, I smiled back ignoring the possible repercussions this little audacious act of hers could bring.
She hugged my arm, my body temperature was rising and I could feel people staring but as soon as I was about to protest the lights turned off and the projector was turned on.
It projected a surprisingly well made hand-drawn map of the region. I could see the river, Rio seguro, the depot, portal and the road flowing along with the river shores to the limits of the projection.
“Woow” Cecilia said lowly
“Good afternoon gentlemen, I’m Major Romerio, commander of this logistical depot it’s an honor to have Osorio’s men here, but let’s go straight to the point, we are expecting a big enemy army to arrive here at any moment now, according to the villagers those monsters were the pathfinding element of the actual army we don’t know what to expect but we’ll need to make and hold the line, runners have been sent back to Brasil but reinforcements are not guaranteed, you will be the frontline until further orders”
He used a stick to point to the edge of the village following the road
“They will take the roads, the forests are too dense for you and for them, the locals warned us not to stay in the woods during the night, the same is true for the enemy, you will have to hold the road, take whatever you need from the depot and prepare the defenses”
Romerio turned to us and placed his hands to his back and then moved to the left giving space for Tenente Augusto who took his place as the center of attention
“We lack scouting units, therefore everyone of you will have to pull double duty and set up observation points, unfortunately we do not have AP mines, as you all know the government destroyed all our stockpiles of it thanks to some international convention, of course these conventions do not hold against this “enemy” so i urge you all to improvise what you can.” Augusto said his eyes were all over room as if he was inspecting us before a parade
“You will be massively outnumbered, do not underestimate the enemy he is fighting for way longer than you and seems they still have some tricks up their sleeves,
casualties on our side are expected, you do not have permission to retreat, if you fall this entire depot,village, road and most importantly…. the portal, will be in their hands, fight as if your backs were turned to a river and make sure the enemy cannot proceed, we’ll do the rest”
Cecilia held my arm tight while Augusto proclaimed his fatalistic and dutiful words
Augusto marked on the map where we would regroup and wrote what we needed and the callsigns of each vehicle.
He then turned back to us.
“You know what to do, get what you need and regroup at the courtyard, AÇO!” Augusto said energetically and finished it stomping his right foot
“AÇO!!” The crowd stood up at attention and yelled in unison, Cecilia was startled by this.
Copies of the hand-drawn map were distributed as we left the briefing room, they were still warm, straight from the laser printer.
The men moved through the corridors, the sound of the boots almost in unison filled the air, I moved towards the warehouses, where I procured some MREs and a Brazilian flag, then me and Cecilia returned to the Legendario with our hands filled.
The rest of the crew were already preparing the tank for departure around the courtyard the scene repeated itself, it seems while the leaders were in the briefing the crews were doing their job here, preparing for combat, checking the tracks, cleaning optics, replenishing ammo and making inventory.
Cecilia’s family were around the Legendario talking to Manuel while Bino and Jacson were tidying up everything on the turret, me and Cecilia approached them, the sun was setting the cold wind blew making Cecilia’s hair flutter in the wind, and the flag i was holding to follow suit although in a more gentle and inconspicuous manner.
“What’s the status” I asked my crew
“Ready to go, fully armed and we got enough supplies for 3 days” Manuel said
“Make it 5” I gave him the MREs me and Cecilia had in hand, he picked it and passed it to Bino and Jacson who stowed them in the side-boxes.
“Anon, what’s happening?” Julius asked me with a serious tone and making visual contact
“We are expecting the enemy to come at any moment we are preparing to move out and hold the line at the road” I replied in a equally serious tone
“I see, good luck and take care, son” He said
“Anon please come back don’t you dare leave me alone, I need you” Cecilia said in a very hysteric tone hugging me tight “If you die there I'll curse your soul! I'll wait for you here so don’t you dare leave me alone!”
I don’t know what was more surprising, the once demure and quiet Cecilia breaking in my arms or the absurdity of a woman I met earlier today  saying this to me.
“If god wills it i will return safe and sound if not you’ll have to curse my soul because i’m a very stubborn man and i take my duties very seriously” I said with a smile staring into her tear-filled crimson eyes, my heart was beating as fast as it ever did and something akin to fear was beginning to sprout in me, i barely managed to contain these feelings as i stared into those eyes i saw my future.
I reciprocated the hug and we stayed like that for a while, her brown tail wagging calmly side to side, her brown hair smelt very nice.
I could stay like this forever like I was lost in our very own cathartic existence isolated from all the rest.
“Anon?” Julius said tugging at my shoulder
I turned my head to him, the vulpine brunette still in arms
“Welcome to the family anon,but if you plan to move out and join the fight you better do it now, my daughter is very very clingy” He said with a big smile in his face, Eliana was at his side chuckling with a hand over her mouth
“Yeah, i figured” I said still looking at him
“Cecilia it’s time, i’ll be back, i promise” I whispered into her fluffy ears
“You promise?” She said while staring deep into my eyes in a very creepy way.
“Yes” I assured her
“Give me a kiss then” She said unblinking staring at me
“This will be my first kiss” I said
“Mine too” she said in a demure tone
We closed our eyes and felt as our mouths and tongue connected, we explored each other’s mouths for a few seconds until i broke the kiss
The sound of clapping was heard, her family and my crew were clapping as if our heartfelt love scene was some middle school theater act
“My little daughter finally got herself a husband” Eliana said tears streaming down her cheeks
“The sergeant finally catched one!” Manuel yelled
Cecilia was blushing, her face was almost as red as her eyes.
“Ok, that’s enough Manuel” I said staring in his eyes
Around the courtyard the crewmen were already boarding their tanks, the infantry squads were in different states of preparedness, some were still loading their Charruas, others were making prayers.
“Take this Cecilia, so you have something of mine to hold on to” I said while offering my NCO knife still in its scabbard to her
“Thanks anon.” She said, a hint of sorrow in her tone but a smile on her face.

“It's all ready, let’s make a prayer before the orders come” Bino interrupted us, he was on-top of the Legendario’s turret behind him the orange sunset.
Manuel and Jacson lowered their heads and came closer to Legendario and Bino, i took my place among them, Cecilia and her family also lowered their heads, curiosity stamped on their faces.
“You lead it, Bino” I said, my head still lowered
Bino nodded and began reciting it, we repeated every sentence after him, we gave no mind to the sounds and activity around us.
“Lord!
Forge my spirit with courage
and my steel with determination.
Allow me to pass all obstacles
always using Fire, precision and shock.
Forge me a warrior of steel, cold and deadly
That makes the enemy positions tremble.
Give the strength to be omnipotent in the battlefield,
always moving forward riding in my war-machine.
And if one day, in the middle of the fight, i must go,
Never forget, lord!
That my armored heart to this green and yellow land it belongs,
For the simple reason that i am because i want to be:
AÇO!”
We lifted our heads in unison, the Vulpines behind us were still curious.
“It’s been a long time since i last did that” Bino said
“I thought it would feel better if you say it before going to battle but it still feel straight out of a cartoon” Jacson said
“Could be worse, now MOUNT UP!” I said and commanded, as i began climbing the turret