Fine art

[CrackaDoom]

This is a piece I threw together awhile back. It's short, but I had inspiration nipping at the back of my brain, so I wrote it up. I've done 40k fiction writing before, so I'll see about posting some of those here...

Anyway, just thought I'd make a little contribution 3nodding

-------------------------

“Elevate two degrees… Six degrees left…”

Captain Janus listened with satisfaction as the turrets servo motors whirred quietly, placing the targeting reticule right where he wanted it. Patience was key, as the young sergeant on the gun needed to learn. You had to know your steed, know your enemy, and know when to press the firing stud. After almost forty years as a tanker, Janus knew all three in intimate detail. The silence sat unbroken as the crew awaited their Captains orders. The only sound heard was the distant roar of jet engines in the dark sky above. Janus watched the gunners screen intently as the alien skimmer floated into view.

“Sir?”, the sergeant inquired nervously as the enemy vehicle scooted lazily into his cross hairs.

“Wait.” Came the whispered reply. The Captains eyes narrowed in annoyance at the interruption. Too few guardsmen recognized this for the art it truly was. The Captains current mount, a venerable old Vanquisher named “Imperious Dominatus”, had been paired with him over a decade previously and he knew every last bolt like a father knows his son. Sometimes he could even sense the hulking machines moods. The important thing right now was that the cannon shells always swung about a tenth of a degree to the right.

The target was designated a “Hammer Head”. The alien tanks main gun was the bane of his profession, able to punch through the thickest armour from several miles away. Its targeting systems would also automatically track any sudden movements and bring it to the gunner’s attention. Hundreds of tank commanders had died to learn that little tid-bit. All of this called for extreme caution, necessitating the careful preparation that grated the sergeant’s nerves, but that his Captain enjoyed to no end.

The problem with those Tau tanks was the lines, Janus thought to himself, watching his gunners hands twitch nervously on the control stick, his thumb poised above the faded red button that would fire the main cannon. The smooth, curving features would glance all but the most direct hit, making them difficult targets… The Captain watched as the Tau tanks hatch opened up, its commander raising his ugly head out to scan the horizon. The vehicles turret ring settled dead center in the cross hairs, and the slight swing combined with the drop at this distance and the cross wind effects would place the round right at its base. The enemy had played things just as the Captain thought they would, and now they would pay for it. He would enjoy this kill. He smirked at his victory.

“Fire.”

The word had hardly left his mouth when the tank jumped nearly a foot backwards, bouncing and rocking violently back into place as the specialized tank killer round left its main gun, whistling through the air at speeds measured in kilometers per second. There was almost no delay, and the enemy crew didn’t even have time to realize they were taking fire before the round struck, just where he had expected it to. The heavy round, sheathed in armor piercing titanium and tipped with deadly incendiaries, drove itself right into the Xenos marks turret base. The targets turret and gun rocketed into the air, instantly detonating its ammunition reserves and sending a jet of white hot flame shooting into the sky, sucking all oxygen from the interior, asphyxiating the crew even as it torched them. The fuel tanks went next, resulting in a massive detonation that sent a thin white shock wave screaming in every direction as Janus’s crew watched on the monitor. The entire fireworks display took a mere fraction of a second, leaving only flaming debris to scatter across the barren landscape. The Captain broke into a full smile as he gazed at his handy work. Tonight he would paint another skull on the cannon.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Personally I wouldn't slot inexperienced crew into high-end hardware, unless the entire regiment has received a large order of Vanquishers. Give the lads a proper lesson or two in regular Russ tanks, not the deluxe models. Plus tank cannons are fired with foot pedals, not triggers or studs, funny but true. Your description of the AT round also sounds a tad weird, though I'd have to read up on what a Vanquisher HVAT shell contains.

But that's my own fluffy answer and POV.

Other than that, its nice and a little detail heavy for such a short bit, but nice. Keep it up!  

[CrackaDoom]

Foot pedals? No kidding? eek

Huh, who'da thunk it.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Yah, tank guns now and then (40k) are fired with foot pedals mostly. Warwick wrote a story in which the reader is informed that the Russ main gun is fired with a foot pedal. Same with Vanquishers, only a second pedal for the coax.  

[CrackaDoom]

"Why are there six pedals if there are only four diretcions!?!"  

[Hoxtalicious]

Generally speaking there's still a funky column in there for control of the main gun, just a pedal or two for the turret weapons xp  

[Preliat Militis]

The only problem I saw was that every time you showed posession, as in when you said 'Captain's orders' you forgot the apostrophe, but other than that the story was really well written, and was very detailed without being over bearing. 9.5/10  

[Genevaman]

Fluff accurate or not it was really enjoyable.

Reminded me of the little extracts you find in the pages of a codex.