I opened my hatch and pulled myself up as the tank maneuvered a bit and parked with it’s back towards one of the hangar walls, i could see the other tanks and APCs doing the same in their own places, our parking formation is something pre-established, we trained this early in our careers and refreshed it every year.

I felt tired and frustrated, I moved out of the hatch making space for Manuel and Cecilia to exit, I saw the other crews leaving their vehicles, they looked tired, we had a long journey here.
This is only the beginning… God this whole situation, all this stress, makes me want to puke, i can’t even save a single family, what a fucking waste of man years of training and the best equipment we could muster.
Jacson opened his hatch and pulled himself up, he looked sleepy, Manuel pulled himself up shortly after, Bino’s hatch opened and he emerged from it, they all climbed down from the tank.
An Officer came along with some other NCOs, I stood up on top of the tank and saluted him, alerting the men around me of the authority in the vicinity; they then echoed my motion and proceeded to salute.

“I am Major Ferroso commander of Brasilia's southern front, we didn’t expect to receive our armored reinforcements. I am very happy to see you gentlemen here today.” The Major had a deep loud voice that echoed in the hangar, it made him feel like a giant surrounded by Dwarfs.
“Who’s in charge of this task force?” He asserted while looking around at the many men in attention, trying to find the alpha in the pack.
“READY SIR!” I yelled and proceeded to jump down from the turret and moved in front of him, striking myself into attention again.
I saluted him energetically, making sure not to show weakness in front of him, he wasn’t a tall man. He had Blond hair and brown eyes. His skin was pale. He seemed to be in his early 50s.

“Sergeant Anon, First sergeant, First Combat car platoon, 1st company, 21st Armored cavalry regiment, 6th armored brigade, 3rd division.” I felt like i was giving him my whole genealogical tree, i felt anxiety brewing in me as he gave a deep look and twisted his brow.

“A first sergeant in charge of an armored task force, quite uncommon. What are the facts behind this?” He said, looking deep into my eyes.

“Uncommon valor deserves uncommon responsibility, sir!” I replied stoically.

“To paraphrase Camões, one needs to have hands-on experience to truly master something, you do seem to be too young to have had such, Sergeant.”

“Sir, i have come back from the portals where these beasts have poured from, i have personally destroyed 2 Hostile Armored combat cars and killed more of those things than i could count, all the men here can vouch for me, Sir!” I replied making sure not to seem too confrontational.

“Sir, Third Sergeant Manuel Peixes, master gunner of the 21st regiment, gunner of CC1 i can personally vouch for my sergeant’s valor in combat.” Manuel interjected, a big mistake, you're not supposed to talk over an officer.

“Third Sergeant Peixes, I did not give you permission to speak, silence yourself” He said to Manuel who was close to the Legendario, an angry expression on his face. “Combat experience does not save you from military discipline”

“Sir my mistake, sir” Manuel apologized.

“Very well Sergeant anon, your unit is way ahead of schedule. I hope your travel here was fortuitous, we are having problems getting reinforcements towards Brasilia, the whole world is on fire, but we’ll win, make yourself at home tonight, tomorrow your men will receive briefings, there’s food in the terminal, and a field hospital on the strip.” Ferroso said, he changed his tone.

“Remember to tone in to the right frequency.” He finalized as he made his way out of the hangar.

I felt as if my remaining energy was stolen, taken away, tiredness and soreness all that remained, all the exertion from a combat filled day had catched up to me and I felt bad.

The men prepared tarps on their vehicles and brought their sleeping bags out, after a short session of congrats and back taps from my crew I made my way back to the Legendario and into the commander’s seat, the only place that felt like home.

Climbing the tank seems like an easy thing to do for those that never saw a tank in person, well it isn’t for me. I am not the tallest person and right now i’m out of energy, it took a while until i could use the foot rest to propel myself up without slipping off. And then made my way to the commander’s hatch.

Opened it with the familiar signature klink and klank and hopped inside into the cushy and sweaty seat, it was occupied, i had to enter the turret carefully for Cecilia that vulpine women bent on becoming my shadow is napping on my seat while sniffing it quite loudly, her tail sways gently below hovering over the dirty turret basket.
How many dreamless uncomfortable nights have I spent on this same seat, how many moments of success and failure, now there’s some sweaty animal woman on it, hogging my place and trying to invade my life.
I set myself down on the floor almost stepping on her brown tail but avoiding it at the last moment.

“Anon?” She said quietly in a snoorish tone upon hearing my boots hit the steel floor.
“Here, make space for me. I want to sit too.” I said as I gently moved her to make space for me in the seat.
“Are you gonna sleep here too?” she asked in a sleepy tone while hugging  me
“Yes, I also need to check something here” I said as I turned the REMAX LCD display on.

All REMAXes come with a built in training mode, i was certified as a instructor earlier in my career so i know how to activate it, just have to turn some things on, put the gun on safety and turn the training mode on, it’s like playing a video game, they even have some scenarios to play.

I boot it up and the bluish hue of the screen illuminates the tank, I need to check the accuracy of the browning and the dispersion of the shots otherwise i won’t be able to sleep at peace this night, i select a scenario with plenty of targets close together and start it the graphics look like shit.
The shot dispersion isn’t that bad at the 80 meters range, enough to hit a chest with some inches of dispersion, enough to hit a single target without collateral damage... I could have saved that woman, I just had to shoot. Her husband was right. I could have saved her but I didn't, why didn’t i? I should have done it…

I turn the display off, I feel even more tired now knowing of my own pathetic failure.

Cecilia is napping against my shoulder, hugging my chest while sitting on my lap, her ears are nugging up against my neck, her body heat will make sure I won't need a blanket for tonight, I feel dirty and unworthy of this affection but pushing her away will cause more drama so i’ll just try to ignore her. I slept through worse.
I close my eyes and try to forget all this, try to forget where I am and what I did as I slowly drift off to not so serene slumber inside this bi-metal and composite casket. tomorrow will be worse...



0560 hours 9 rounds spent, Third day

The bugle played alvorada signalling the start of a new day, the sound came from multiple speakers located around the air base, our hangar had at least two of those, playing in sync.

I heard it from inside the tank, my eyes slowly opened. I could feel breathing close to my face along with the awful smell of an unwashed mouth. I was face to face with Cecilia, she had black spots under her eyes and was staring at me with an intense glee.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked her.
“No… I couldn't, these loud thunder noises kept waking me up, so I just hugged you tight and closed my eyes.” she said, the intensity of her gaze felt out of place now.
“I slept like a rock, didn’t dream of anything... “ I yawned out while I checked if my equipment and chest rig were still on me.
“My father says that’s a bad omen” She stood up from my lap and gave me some space.
“We’ll find out” I blurted out as I opened the hatch and climbed up.

The screaming of the jet engines and firing of the artillery, the morning sun and the familiar hangar and vehicles. That was my first experience of the outside today.
I didn’t feel like we were at war, it seemed strangely idyllic here in the lazily illuminated hangar.
Soldiers went by, men from my unit. Doing maintenance, chores, unloading equipment, going by their usual day, but far away from homebase.

I stood up on top of my tank, and walked down towards the front of it, checking the point of impact of an Argie 105mm sabot we received yesterday back in the other side of the portals, the beautiful result being the impact of a supersonic dart against the composite material like a small stab wound.

My tank was a beautiful piece of engineering, as expensive as it was effective a true heir to the chariots and horses of old, fated to always lead the charge and decide the battle.

“First platoon, attention!”  A loud voice echoed in the hangar, silencing all other voices, I reflexively stood at attention on top of my tank upon hearing it.

I saw the men from my platoon doing the same as Major Ferroso entered the hangar.

“Where’s the tank commander, first sergeant anon?” Major Ferroso solicited as he moved forth towards the center of the hangar.

“Ready, sir!” I responded as i jumped down from the tank and towards him
“At ease” Ferroso ordered as i saluted him

“You smell horribly sergeant, did you just wake up?” Ferroso said as he covered his nose
“It was a tough day, major” I shrugged.
“You aren’t much different from the infantry manning the perimeter at this point, but I guess that’s expected from the cavalry.” He said as he produced a clipboard filled with papers.
He pointed to my tank and moved closer its front, putting the clipboard on top of it
“Let me go straight to the point” He produced a map out of the clipboard.
“A BOPE unit just secured the armed forces hospital in downtown Brasilia, they need reinforcements to hold their position while we evacuate the personnel and equipment back here.” He said pointing to a skull mark on the map on top of the hospital.
“We want your full platoon along with your infantry to move there and secure the perimeter, hold it for the following days while the helicopters bring the people back” He ordered as he began fiddling with a pencil and looked around the hangar.

“Roger that, sir. When are we going to move out?” I asked as I produced a small notebook out of a pocket, all commanders were instructed to keep one and note down their orders.
I noted down the orders and units present

“You are going to move out at 1400 hours, prepare everything for your men until then-” The commander stopped midway through his speech with his mouth held open as he looked up towards the tank turret.

“What the fuck is she?” He yelled as he pointed towards Cecilia who just climbed up and began moving down towards us.

She jolted up in shock from the sudden movement and alarm.
“Me?!” She said meekly while pointing to herself.

“WHO ELSE?!” Ferroso roared back.

She looked at me, then at Ferroso, then back towards the open hatch she just left from, then towards me again, then she stared at the papers, then stared at me. All this in the span of a few seconds.

“I-i’m his wife.” She proclaimed pointing towards me.

My world has just been destroyed with her saying those words that I never expected a creature from the female gender would say to me. She just destroyed my career and the track record i’ve been making for myself (possibly dooming the defence of Brasilia along with it).
I’ve begun to cold-sweat profusely, the likes of which not even death could make me do, I felt my vision blackening and my legs faltering.

“T-that’s not t-true” I jittered as I held onto the tank for support.
I feel nauseous

“Yes it is, you even kissed me… sealing the deal” She meekly said as her face began to turn red.

“First sergeant anon” Ferroso said, while holding onto my shoulder

“Sir?” I looked up to him, defeated.

“In different circumstances i would have you mop the entire landing strip, clean the toilets for 4 weeks, do laps around the air base every day, be my personal driver for two years, and a long list of other punishments, including expulsion from the army if you dared to complain for even a second about it” He listed, in a very different tone from earlier.
“But I need you on that commander’s seat for the following days and i simply don’t have the patience to deal with this kind of shit during a alien invasion or whatever THE FUCK this is, so just makes sure this won’t be seen as you kidnapping a nubile young women from her hometown and brainwashing her to be your wife or whatever the fuck you’re planning you fucking horny motherfucker.”  He yelled out.

“T-this means i’m still in the army?” I muttered below my breath timidly.

“The what? sound like you have a pair you dumb fool” He yapped

“This means I'm still in the army, sir?” I said, trying to lift myself up

“YES, of course it means, you idiot, now prepare your men to leave and hide that fucking wo-” He stopped mid-sentence as he noticed the ears and tails on Cecilia.
“Is that a fucking dog tail on her” he whispered to my ear “What the kind of fuck are you doing to her you animal?”

“N-no sir, that’s natural, she comes with it!” I tried to defend myself, pointing towards the dumbfounded woman on top of my tank.

“You there, woman!” Ferroso yelled to her “Did he tell you to wear that tail and ear? don’t worry he has no power over you anymore you can say it out loud”

“What?” she responded, dumbfounded and surprised.
Ferroso was about to repeat his question when I motioned for her to show him her tail and ears.
She became even redder.

“I-i won’t do it, anon!” She cried.

“What?” Ferroso and i said in unison

“What the fuck did you tell her to do, you animal, i’ll have you court martialed for this shit, enough is enough” Ferroso said as he began to try to arrest me.

“No, no, no, Major this is not what i said, she misunder-” Ferroso was about to punch me when Cecilia held his shoulder.

“Please don’t!” She cried.

“S-see?! the ears are real”  I laughed it off.
Ferroso stopped and stared at her ears, for a few seconds, paralysed.
Cecilia moved her ears up and down.
Ferroso released his grip from me and entered a state of deep thought.

“Sergeant anon, 1400 hours, I want you out of my base, you copy?”  Ferroso yapped.
“Yes sir!” I responded, victoriously.


Ferroso left the hangar along with his retinue, the men of my platoon were staring at me and Cecilia, Manuel had his cell phone out and pointed at me.

“Manuel, turn that shit off!” I yelled while covering my face.
“I’ll show this to your kids soon enough, hahahaha.” He said as he turned the cellphone off and put it in one of his pockets.

Clapping was heard, Bino was the only one at first then the rest of the men followed.
“Happy marriage to you two, hahaha.” Bino said.

“Cease this, i want the tanks and infantry ready to move at 1400 hours, i want the maximum amount of firepower possible coming with us, stock up on medicine and food too.”  I began ordering my men, ending their party-like demeanor and as I did the sound of boots entering the hangar was heard again.

“First sergeant anon, we need to talk, follow me!” Lieutenant Augusto moved quickly and motioned me to follow him as he moved towards the back of the hangar and into one of the offices.

“You have the authority of a Lieutenant, but I see you still aren't ready for that” Augusto said, his words felt like knives in my heart.
“I cannot argue against that, sir” I responded, as we entered the hangar office, which was deserted and empty, safe a metal table and metal chairs.
“Take a seat, soldier”  I did as he said, the chair was cold.
He did likewise and stared at me.
“I need you to do your job, but I'm not sure I can trust you.” He paused for a moment. “Can i?”
Silence reigned for a few minutes as my mind raced for an answer.

“Yes… sir, I still have a lot to learn, but I know my craft and I trust my capabilities.” I pushed out, anxiety brewed in my body, I tried to act tough but it was hard.

“In my life I saw lots of men like you, I read about men like you either in reports or war memoirs, they either die early taking a lot of good men along with their fall, or they become some of the best soldiers a country can muster.” He tapped the metal table as he proclaimed.
“I heard a lot about you from Aguerres before all this too, a hard worker, professional when needed, but usually an immature, unprepared and lax person. You were supposed to be promoted to first sergeant a long time ago but… well, you’re simply not ready for the responsibility, or at least that was the case before you passed through the portals.” He stopped tapping the table.
“Prove yourself again or die trying and you’ll be promoted to Lieutenant, our forces are coursing thin and Aguerres won’t be able to come. Am I understood?” He stared at me with a vigour I've only seen in the eyes of an infantryman during the finishing assault.

“Yes, sir!” I stood up as I yelled it out.

“That’s what I want to see, go back there and prepare your men, I'll handle the dust feets” He said as he stood up.

I left the office along with Augusto, the men were surrounding the front of my tank, laughs could be heard from that herd of men as I approached.
They were pestering her with questions, too many questions, she looked like a beautiful little cherry fruit surrounded by camouflaged men.

I was about to start eavesdropping when Augusto came back from inside an APC with a camera in hand.

“Ok everyone! shut up and smile for the camera, this will be going to the Division’s museum”

The crowd changed disposition immediately upon hearing the Lieutenant’s authority, they began moving around yelling to each other trying to find the best way to put everyone in the photo, some men that were nearby were pressured verbally into getting into the crowd. That included me which they shoehorned into getting on top of the tank and hugging Cecilia, being the centerpiece of the picture.

We all stood there for a second, tightly packed like bread in a bag, i was lucky because i was sitting on the tank, hugging a woman, the woman in question seemed to be overly stressed and close to a breaking point judging by her facial expression, such qualms faded away as she came closer to me and hugged me tighter.

Augusto took multiple photos. My mind wandering off thinking of the battle ahead… always thinking and thinking, finding ways to organize my mind, searching for the way out of the fear and anxiety, and worst of all: Thinking about the future, when you’re young and lonely you don’t fear death or maiming, you’re only responsible for yourself and you should know very well how cheap your life is.

But now at this moment hugging this woman i finally felt true fear, the fear of losing someone dear to me, the fear of disappointing them, the fear of abandoning them, a grueling and invisible pain surged through my mind and chest as I fantasized about the multiple ways i could die this very day, of what awaited me in the dark. And how Cecilia would react to me dying.

Tears started welling up in my eyes, I found someone I wanted to protect above all else but I knew I couldn't always be there for her, that one day i would be lying dead in the cold steel casket.
In my defense I would say it was my duty, my oath, my honor, my homeland and my vocation. But that wouldn’t be enough to change the fact that I could never repay what I will take from her when I draw my last breath in this life of eternal struggle.

“Ok that’s it gentlemen, finish preparing everything up.” Augusto's voice sounded up calling me back up from my deep dive into my own mind.

The men started falling out of pose and moved towards their tanks and vehicles, I still felt a bit stunned and out of bearings on top of the tank, with Cecilia at my side.

It’s still too early in the morning, so I took a look at my watch: it’s around 8 AM, we still have 4 hours to prepare.
First things first, we need to change our ammunition load, we’re carrying too many sabots, we need canisters and HEAT, we also need extra shotgun shells for the anti infantry assault devices.

I slapped myself awake, startling Cecilia then jumped out of the tank and moved towards Augusto.

“Sir, we need-.” Augusto interrupted me mid speech with an open hand pointed to me, I didn't notice he was busy talking to one of his sergeants.
“Yes, make sure all men have maps and grappling ropes. This city is already on the way to becoming a labyrinth.” Augusto said to the young man in front of him who responded with an affirmative nod and an enthusiastic “Yes sir”  as he departed away from the hangar.
Augusto turned towards me as if beckoning me to speak up.
“Sir, we need to replace our ‘Arrow‘ rounds, HEAT and HESH won’t be enough.” I told him

“I’ll see what i can do, for now prepare you men and supply them with all they need, we’ll probably stay there for a while so make sure to bring extra ammo and food, as well as toilet paper. Make sure to pair your best crews with my IFVs.” He said while pointing to the IFVs.

The beautiful machines, although old and under armored, mere APC Charruas equipped with old Engesa 25mm two man turrets originally meant for the Urutu APC, many would call it a stopgap but it has it’s charm and i learned to respect the power of our 25 mils, the fact it has enough space to carry a full squad plus some is a good bonus too.

The Infantry squads and the crews were around or inside their vehicles, talking and relaxing, my crews were doing the same.

Augusto left the hangar, I moved towards the center of the hangar. The Osorios were all parked in a line pointing their cannons to the wall in front of them, I felt as if they were saluting me.

Cecilia was following me closely.

“All tank crews! attention, fall in!” I yelled out filling the hangar with my voice. The crews immediately responded, moving out and forming in front of their tanks. C-1 to C-4.

Legendario, my tank C-1, and it’s crew.

Pernambuco, C-2, commanded by third sergeant Cleyton, my partner tank.

Brother, C-3, Commanded by corporal Vila, the ex-gunner of the tank forced to take the
commanding position after the commander and loader died on the other side of the portals, we won’t be getting replacements any time soon and I don't want to put infantrymen in that tank.

Brummer, C-4, Commanded by Carlos, the blondie.

The men were far from straightened and sharpened, their jumpsuits were beaten and grease stained, their faces were equally beaten, I fear they didn’t get enough rest.

“Good morning gentlemen” I greeted them, they responded in unison “Good morning, sir!”
I never liked being in command of a formation, too much power. If I told them to get down on the ground and do pushups they would in a heartbeat it never felt right on me, but it was my responsibility.

“As you might have guessed by now, we will be operating away from the regiment for a underdetermined amount of time, this means no repairs and no command and control from Aguerres and the Brigade commander, we are now under the plateau command our orders are to prepare to march to defend the armed forces hospital, we leave at 1400 hours.” I looked at them as I moved back and forth, Cecilia always following me closely. Their eyes followed her as I moved. “What’s the status of the combat cars?”  I asked.

“Sir, all tanks are optimal, C3 needs a new loader.” Cleyton said.
I looked over towards Cecilia who freezed upon meeting my gaze. I looked at her arms, too scrawny to load the 18kg shells at a reliable rate, her muscle memory isn’t ready for the kind of quick firing we are drilled to do either.
“Corporal Jacson, you are hereby transferred to the loader position of C3.” I said after transferring my attention to Jacson, our loader. “Yes sir” he said as he awkwardly looked over back to our tank and then towards C3.

“Get your things and transfer to C3 at once, i want to finish all major preparations now. The rest of you zero your guns to 300 meters and trade your arrow munitions for HEAT and HESH, we won’t be needing their anti-tank power here but make sure to stow some in the turret just in-case. this is the order of the day… dismissed.” I finished and then looked over to Cecilia, who was eagerly waiting for me to speak. I motioned to my tank with my hands and began to move towards it.

Jacson moved his way up towards the turret, opening one of the storage boxes on it’s side and picking up an army bag.

I climbed the tank and helped Cecilia do the same.
“Get in the loader’s hatch, you’ll take Jacson’s place until we get a new black beret.” I told her while pointing to the loader’s hatch.
“I’ll try my best anon.” She meekly responded.
She tried to open the hatch but couldn’t lift it, so I went forward and opened it for her.
“Get in and lift the seat up, I'll show you what you have to do.” I told her as I went to the commander’s hatch, Jacson was close-by. I nodded to him as he picked up his bags and personal items from the storage box.

I entered the commander’s position, Cecilia was looking around trying to get her bearings, the L7 cannon breech was between us, it was unloaded.

“Ok first of all, behind you there’s a helmet with headphones, put it on when we go to the fight you won’t be able to hear me without it, and you might lose your hearing if you don’t use it during combat.” I told her as I put my helmet on and connected the intercom cable on it.
Cecilia proceeded to do as I did although with much more difficulty thanks to her fluffy ears, it took a while until she found the sweet spot but the uncomfortable look in her face remained for a bit longer despite that.

“Test, test” I said as I pushed the intercom button.
Her mouth moved but i couldn’t hear her, she started to look for the intercom button and found it shortly after.

“Yes I can hear you, anon.” She said, a happy expression on her face, but I could see she was overwhelmed by all the hardware around her and by the uncomfortable headset.

“To your right, you see that door? look for a black button close to it and push it with all your force.” I said as I turned the APU on, various lights and meters in the turret started turning on along with the unmistakable engine droning which made Cecilia flinch slightly.

She began to look for it despite the initial flinch, like a curious cat spying every corner until she found it and pressed it once with no success, she repeated the action this time with more strength and the bulkhead bustle door began to open.

“I never thought I would see something like this in my life, I feel like a woman shouldn’t meddle with this kind of thing, I'm a bit scared.” She said with a slight chuckle.

I told her the differences between APFSDS, HEAT and HESH projectiles and what each does, she listened to my voice intently. I could see she was a bit more relaxed now.

“Ok, let’s do this.” I said with a smile pointed at her. “Loader, load arrow!” I yelled out as if we were in combat.

She jumped into action like a startled cat, she pressed the bustle door button and stopped for a second fishing for a APFSDS with her eyes, some seconds later she quickly moved her little arms and pulled a shell out, it’s pin-like tip a guarantee she learned what i told her.
She pushed it towards the mouth of the breech and let it fall.

“What do I do now anon?” She asked with an amused look on her face.

“Ram it in, it will close as soon as it enters so make sure not to get your fingers caught” She looked at me with a hint of fear as i said it “Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous.” I assured her.

“Ok then, let’s go!” She yelled as she pushed the shell in, a click, a clack and the breech closed as she pushed her hands out of the way quick as a bolt.

“Good, it’s inside the gun but it’s not ready to fire yet, you see that red button close to the gun breech? that readies the gun to fire at my command, press it.” I told her while pointing to the big red button, it armed the electronic firing mechanism, firing manually was possible without it but only the gunner had access to the manual firing mechanism.

She pressed the button and retreated a bit, trying to get her bearings.

“Congratulations, but i don’t know it’s loaded, you need to yell ‘pronto’ out, that’s how we do it.” I said to her and as soon as i finished she enthusiastically shouted “P-Pronto!” With a big smile on her face.

“Ok, you now know the basics, you can take off the helmet now” I said to her as I took my helmet off and put it down on one of the stowage bins in the tank.
She removed the troublesome helmet with a satisfied expression stamped on her face.

“Time to take the shell out of the cannon, there’s a lever below the breech block, see if you can find it and wait for me a bit.” I told her, as she looked at me with a confused expression that soon turned into determination as I pulled myself out of the tank and moved towards the loader’s hatch.
“Coming down make space” I said as I was greeted by a brown fluffy tail that moved slightly to the side to give me space.
I moved down and landed on the turret floor. I proceeded to open the small shell removal hatch to my left, this allowed some wind and light to penetrate into the confines of the tank.

“This thing here anon?” Cecilia called me while holding to the lever that opens the cannon breech.

“Yes, pull it and the breech will open, ejecting the shell and letting it hit the basket here” I said as I pointed to the white metal basket that collected the spent shells.
Cecilia pulled the lever a click and a clack sound reverberated through the turret followed by the sound of the brass hitting the basket.
“Perfect, i want you to pass that shell and 4 more arrow shells to me through this hole here” I said as i pointed to the shell disposing hole.
“Ok!” She nodded enthusiastically like a child at a playground.

I pulled myself out of the tank and moved to the side of the turret ready to pick up the ejected shells.

We did it rhythmically shell by shell. I could hear the metal door open and her moans of effort each time as I stacked the shells down on the hangar floor.
I was sweaty when i finished the job, Manuel approached me with a coca cola can in one of his hands offering me it. “Good work champion, doing some pair bonding, eh?”
He was drinking from a can of his own.
I picked the cold red can from his hands. “Thanks” I said as I moved up towards the commander’s hatch of the tank.

I opened the can and took a sip of it as I moved, I reached the hatch and moved inside. “Heads up, have a drink.” I Said to her as I entered the commander’s position and offered her the red can of coca cola.

“I’ll move the turret, can you take a look outside and tell me if there’s anyone in the way?” I asked her as I took a seat.
“Yes, one second” She said after taking a sip of the sweet soda and proceeded to pull herself up, leaving her tail sticking down the hatch.
After a few short moments she returned “it’s ok, anon, go ahead” she assured me.

I took the controls in hand and laid my eyes down, moving the turret until the hull ammo rack was accessible, upon reaching the sweet spot I stopped the turret.
I looked to the side and I could see Cecilia holding her ears shut, fox ears are too sensitive for this kind of work, I guess.

“Ok Cecilia, i’ll pass you the shells and you put them in the bustle, got it?” I asked her as I moved down towards the hull and began opening the rack’s cells.
“Got it!” She responded, I could hear the bustle door opening.

I passed her HEAT and HESH shells one by one, and as I did she became slower and slower, making painful sounds and breathing raggedly, by the third shell I felt I needed to intervene.

“Ok stop, lemme finish this by myself before you break yourself” i said as i tucked a Heat shell under my arm and moved towards Cecilia who was close to the bustle.
“No, anon lemme help you, i can do it.” She protested as I pushed her away from the bustle.

3 Shells remaining, but I fear her arms are at the limit.
I push the shell in my arms into one of the empty cells in the bustle.

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself, this position is only temporary.” I said without looking at her as I returned to the hull-rack.
“I don’t want to be some useless piece here, I want to help you!” She protested, her voice was some decibels higher than normal.

“I don’t care, if your arms become fatigued you’ll be useless for the rest of the day” I told her calmly as I opened one of the hull-rack cells and pulled a HEAT shell out of it.
Some seconds of hesitation were heard in her trembling mouth before she finally spoke out again “T-that’s not true, i know that when the time comes i’ll be ready!”
I moved back up the turret basket, towards the bustle.
“If you force yourself and manage to do it when the time comes you might break your muscles which will make you even more useless than you already think you are.” I said as I pushed the shell into one of the bustle’s cells.
I looked at her and could see a mix of anger, resentment and sadness. I couldn’t look at her for very long lest I be swayed by her eyes.

“Learn your limits, we don’t have the luxury of forgetting about them.” I said as I avoided her eyes and moved back to the hull-rack.
“I don’t want to be useless, not here, not with you.” She said, I could hear her picking up the coca cola can.
“I know, I love you for it, but play to your strengths, lifting and operating heavy equipment is far from being your strength.” I consoled her.

I produced a new HEAT shell from the hull rack and moved it to the bustle, Cecilia was drinking from the can, holding it with both hands, a downtrodden expression on her face.

“For one, I'm getting hungry, why don’t you go get us food?” I said as I pushed the shell into the last bustle cell. “Go ask Manuel about it, I'll finish things here by myself.” Her expression quickly changed as I saw a hint of excitement build up, she gave me the half empty coca cola can. 
“I’ll be going” She yelped as she jumped up and tried to pull herself up, just to fail and slip thanks to her weakened arms.
I bit down on the can and held her as she fell down on my arms. “I fould yu aout yor ams.” I tried to say through the can in my teeth.
She gave a hearty laugh and took the can from my mouth, kissing me and then taking a sip from the can.
“Ok, i’ll propel you up now” I told her as i put her down and held my hands together so i could push one of her feet up. She took a few moments to notice what I was trying to do, but when it finally clicked she proceeded with her right foot and I quickly pushed her up towards the loader hatch.
I heard her feet on the roof and some chatting from outside but I paid it no mind and focused on removing the spent casings that were in the turret. One by one I threw them out through the small circular hatch in the loader’s position.
When I was finished I moved to the commander’s position and moved the turret back to  12’o’clock and turned the APU off, the droning sound of the auxiliary engine faded away, the smell of burnt powder, sweat, metal and synthetic material invaded my nostrils.

I moved to the commander’s station, my place in the tank. The world changed a lot yesterday but my job remained the same, usually stories set in the end of the world involve the protagonist being freed of the shackles of his job and society. Zombies, rats and monsters are running around and my job is still the same. I wonder if I'll still get paid.
I sat down on the commander’s seat and stretched myself, trying to relax while I used the LCD displays as an improvised mirror.. 
I took my helmet off, my SMG was still on me ever since yesterday the sling was tensioned against my chest to the point where the SMG felt like a tumor. a wooden holster with my Mauser pistol was attached to my belt along with my sergeant knife, it was heavy and cumbersome.
My pockets are filled with magazines and clips, a sweaty black scarf on my neck, my face looks tired and beaten black orbs under my eyes complimented my look, thankfully my hair was short so it didn’t look that bad.

I took my SMG off and stowed it beside the commander’s station. Good old Taurus SMT-9.

I stood up on my seat and opened the commander’s hatch, the lazy morning Atmosphere invaded the tank, along with the sound of men and equipment moving around.

I checked my watch: 10:50 AM… we still have much time to prepare. Outside this hangar I can hear the guns firing, the rockets flying and the jets screaming. A brutal battle rages on while I stand idle inside my tank, when i close my eyes i can feel the vibrations of the track reverberating around my body, my ears still ring from the marvelous fire of the 105, my eyes remember very well the effect of a 50 BMG impact on a enemy’s body.
As if commanded by an external energy i proppelled myself out of the seat and onto the top of the tank.
Manuel and the rest of my crew were coming back with styrofoam boxes filled with food, they were accompanied by crewmen of the other tanks all of them carrying some kind of food inside similar boxes or otherwise.

We all sat down on top of the tank’s turret and began eating, plastic forks and knives, cramped boxes filled with rice, beans and grilled meat.
Manuel and Bino talked about the tank, Cecilia looked at me expectantly. I ate my food with absent eyes, my mind was somewhere else, the burning thoughts fixated on the mission ahead.

“So, do we have enough ammo?” Manuel asked before filling his mouth with a piece of meat.
“I’m not sure, Augusto went around to see what he’s gonna find, but don’t expect much, most tanks around here use 90mm guns.” I answered.
“What about spare track links?” Bino asked, “There’s a huge chance we’ll need to replace them in the field if we keep up this mileage.”
“We’ll have to improvise, for now focus on the battle ahead, we’ll need extra fifty cal and thirty caliber ammo, find extra grenades and shotgun shells too, get it from the infantry if need be.” I answered before drinking water from my canteen.

Cecilia felt out of place here, she was trying to follow the conversation but I could see visible confusion on her face.
“W-what about the food?” she asked in a shy voice.
“That’s right, the way things are going we will be cut-off from this base and will have to sleep in the vehicles for some time, we should bring as much food as we can.” Bino stated.
“Ok people, order of the day, get as much food, ammo, fuel and water as you can and put it up on the vehicle, use ropes if you have to and instruct the other crews to do the same.” I said as I stood up.

“First Sergeant Anon, there’s absolutely no 105 mm ammo in this base for us, I got extra 762, 50, grenades and 25 mm  but that’s it.” Lieutenant Augusto shouted as he entered the hangar, accompanied by men carrying boxes of all shapes and sizes filled with ammo.

“First Armored platoon! load up on whatever you can, if your tanks don’t look like Gypsy wagons by 1400 hours I'll have you do a hundred pushups.” I shouted out so everyone in the hangar could hear it.