Three Salamander reconnaissance vehicles were trudging across the dry plains, forming a loose triangular formation in the cold moonlight.
Seen from a height, they are traveling at walking speed, kicking up bursts of dust behind them.
In front, a thick yellow-brown fog was approaching slowly, blocking the moonlight like a wall.
After closing the light-transmitting hole and blocking the moonlight, Farek Sommer closed his eyes for a while in the dark cabin. His eyes were sore from staring outside through the slit and the sight.
The Salamander Reconnaissance Vehicle is also a light armored vehicle based on the Chimera chassis. It is mainly used for reconnaissance missions. It is very fast and ranks among the best among the many vehicles of the Astra Militarum. However, it also has a crew that is quite annoying.
Its characteristics - the armor is extremely thin, so soldiers also call it "**".
Another feature of the Salamander reconnaissance vehicle is that it does not have a closed turret. The automatic cannon it carries, as well as the commander and communicator, as well as navigation, long-range and backup communication equipment are all installed on a platform at the rear of the vehicle. The driver and
The gunner who controls the heavy explosive shells on the vehicle is located at the front of the vehicle, and the engine of the vehicle is installed in the middle of the tracks on both sides of the vehicle.
This design will cause the two occupants outside to suffer a lot, especially in harsh environments.
Therefore, Sergeant Sommer decisively lifted the gunner out of the vehicle and took the heavy bomb gunner's position himself.
In order to soothe his vision, he would occasionally raise his angle of view and look at the night sky - those false stars and comets, as well as the lines of fire passing through the night, just like the nightmare that had been haunting him.
Since the defeat on the Plains of Ashes, he had spent most of his time retreating, retreating, retreating. He was deprived of his position as Cerberus commander because someone reported him as a "deserter" on the battlefield.
, was assigned to the most dangerous reconnaissance camp to "pay for his crimes and perform meritorious service." After a long evacuation, his battlefield has been transferred from the main continent to the sub-continent.
"We'll be back in the fog in a few minutes."
Suddenly, the voice of the commander of the No. 2 car in the team came from the communicator. They were all guilty, but Sommer had served longer, so he naturally became the team leader.
"The detection distance required above is one hundred kilometers. Are we almost there?"
"Roughly the same."
Sommer shrugged, even though the other party couldn't see her.
"But it's hard to pinpoint where we are now and the map is a little out of date."
The other party didn't reply, and the low hum of the machine surrounded Sommer again, shaking her amidst the noise.
A few minutes later, just as the commander of the No. 2 car said, thick fog swallowed them up.
At first, the fog barrier seemed like a cliff of gradually expanding fog above them, then it surrounded them, quickly passing through the lenses of their periscopes, rolling like sediment on the bottom of a river.
Sommer controlled his instinctive fear.
For a moment, it was like they were sinking rapidly in deep, dirty water.
He focused his attention on the auspicious device and watched the blue icons representing Cars No. 2 and 3 approaching him from the left and right. Under normal circumstances, they would spread out and rely on the auspicious device and microphone to maintain contact.
, but now they are on the front line, so they are as close to each other as possible.
After that, they moved forward for another half hour, passing through roads littered with vehicle wreckage, past rusted metal frames, and across ponds full of solidified sludge.
The sound of the crawler tracks and the exhaust gas disappeared into the water vapor as thick as pus. No one spoke, not in the vehicle, not in the microphone. The only noise was the engine driving the tracks and the air pumping into the cabin.
The hissing sound.
“Need to park.”
Suddenly, the voice of Commander No. 3 came over the intercom, making Sommer jump.
"there is a problem?"
The transmitter made a crackling sound and took a while to recover.
"The sound of the tracks has changed."
The voice of the No. 3 commander was full of exhaustion.
"Maybe the metal is a little tired and I don't want to push it again."
"OK."
Sommer swallowed down his tiredness. His mouth felt like it was holding sand, and the back of his eyes also felt painful.
"But just rest where you are."
After speaking, he blinked, shook his head, and tried to regain his attention.
If they stayed outside for a long time, they might not be able to drive back, so he opened the team communication channel:
"All vehicles, stop for fifteen minutes, cool the engines, and keep the microphones and auspicious devices on."
The other two commanders confirmed the orders, but he failed to hear them clearly because he felt like he was about to fall forward.
But with a sudden inspiration, he suddenly pulled himself back to his seat. It was too dangerous here and he had to find a way to stay awake.
He spent a moment trying to discern where they were, doing math, comparing the horrific landscape they passed with the glowing map on his podium.
But this is of no use.
After calculating the distance for the second time, he found that his eyelids were trembling.
The engine has also been shut down and the vehicle is remaining stationary.
Must stay awake...
must……
Sommer's eyes widened, his head jerked up, and hit the hatch above.
The severe pain drove away the afterimage of a dream. Not only did his head hurt from the impact, he also felt dizzy.
Sommer swallowed, trying to clear the taste of bile from his mouth.
Suddenly, the Salamander reconnaissance vehicle trembled.
Sommer was stunned. Is that true?
It didn't feel like the vibrations of a machine running, but like the ground beneath them was shaking.
He slowly turned his head towards the driver. The guy was sleeping soundly beside him. It seemed that just now it was Sommer's own illusion.
Sommer sighed and pulled up his collar. Maybe it was not real, but just an echo of his dream that had not completely disappeared.
But the shock he felt just now still lingered, as if someone had driven a nail into his forehead.
So he carefully turned on the internal microphone.
"Does anyone feel it?"
No one responded, so he repeated it again.
The next second, the tremor came again, and the driver changed his position, but did not wake up.
Sommer opened the outside view and pressed the eyepiece against the viewfinder.
The outside world has not changed much - it is still a high wall made of swirling thick fog, exposed to the somewhat faded white-green infrared vision, opening and closing in the darkness, like a brief opening of the door, revealing what is behind the door.
corridor.
As he watched with breathless concentration, he finally found a spot of light blooming with heat somewhere in the distance, spreading and disappearing in the thick fog.
A second later, Sommer heard a rumble of explosions.
He immediately switched to his normal perspective, and after a heartbeat, he saw a ball of orange light forming, leaving snowflakes on his horizon.
The explosion was far away from them, but right on their way back.
Orbital bombing?
maybe.
Long-range artillery or rockets?
But the vehicle remained stationary, and something else was shaking the ground.
While he was deep in thought, the vibration came again, and then again, as if in answer to his thoughts.
This slow rhythm made him feel like he was alone in a dark forest, listening to the invisible and terrifying sounds lingering at the edge of his vision.
"Sommer."
Suddenly, the communicator responded, and the voice of Commander No. 3 sounded tired and cold.