CHAPTER 1: Last Push

Dawn crept into the Black Powder squadron barracks, casting a pale, ashen light upon the sleeping soldiers. Ivan Abrams stirred from his uneasy slumber, his eyes opening to a world painted in shades of gray, a reflection of the winter that was fast approaching.

As he lay there, the weight of a 2 years' worth of war settled upon his heart. Though years had passed since the first shots were fired, for Ivan, the horrors of that time remained as vivid as if they had happened yesterday. The deafening air raid sirens, the earth-shaking explosions, the cries of the wounded and dying, these sounds echoed ceaselessly in his mind, a haunting symphony of destruction. But it was the cries that tore at his soul the most. Those desperate calls for help, the anguished screams that bore his name.

…His family…

The memory of them, of their serene lives shattered by the sudden inferno of war, flashed before him like a grotesque slideshow, a never-ending nightmare from which he could never truly awaken. Vibrant colors of life had been replaced by a monochrome of despair, a world where the only hues were the gray of smoke-filled skies, the crimson of spilled blood, and the haunting emptiness of loss.

Ivan gets up from his bed and wears his shirt and inside his locker, he sees a faded, edges worn, and slightly frayed photo of his family.

In the sepia-toned image, he saw himself, younger and carefree, his lips curved into a genuine, unburdened smile. His clothes, bear the earthy imprint of days spent tending to the family farm. Beside him stood his parents, their faces mirroring his own expression, their eyes exuding a love that transcended time and circumstance. At the forefront, his two beloved younger sisters, Lilia and Rosaria, beamed with an infectious joy that illuminated the scene like twin beacons. And the background of it was their barn and tractors that Ivan used to drive.

He placed his hands on the picture "Mom, Dad, Lilia, Rosaria. Wait for me, I will go there soon, I will come back home, so please, wait for me…I'm going to find that place."

Ivan finally moves out to their room and heads to the kitchen. Red Musket barracks is more like a house rather than typical military living quarters. They have access to baths, living areas, and kitchens of their own.

Archer is lying on the couch, playing on his portable console. Armstrong on the other hand, despite his brute muscular physique, is just cooking breakfast while wearing an apron. 

"Good morning." Ivan greeted them with his emotionless voice. Sgt Reznov, Archer greeted him back with a good morning but turned back immediately into his game with frustration. "Damn it! Bad drop again. This RNG is bullshit!."

Pvt Arlando Sherman also greeted him, "Morning, have you slept well?" Ivan didn't answer but Armstrong noticed the dark circles around Ivan's eye. Armstrong didn't press for any answer and just served him with a newly cooked pancake.

"Here, eatwell." The aroma of the pancake wafted through the air, its buttery scent tantalizing Ivan's senses. Despite them being at war, it's not that bad to have a simple luxury for a while.

However, Ivan looks at Armstrong suspiciously. "You didn't use protein powder instead of flour with this, did you?"

Armstrong averted his gaze, whistling innocently. "As expected." Ivan stood up to get other food but Armstrong stopped him by pushing him down back to his chair. "I'm just kidding, I'm kidding. It's a normal flour, so don't worry. Just eat up, kay?"

Ivan, not even entirely convinced, just sat and took a bite, his eyes widening in surprise. The pancake was fluffy and delicious, the butter adding a rich creaminess. Within a matter of seconds, Ivan didn't notice that he had already cleaned the plate. 

Armstrong is prepared and puts a newly hot smoky pancake on his plate and adds butter on top of it. "Here ya go." 

"T-thank you." 

"Heh, Fill yourself up. I can cook more for you." Armstrong says while flexing his muscles. 

"By the way, where's the captain?" When I woke up he was already not here." Sgt Reznov asks, "Boss left early and went to the hangar, it seems like he got a new idea for modification in our tank." Pvt Arlando replied. 

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Again? What the hell did you put again to our tank?"

Armstrong grins, "Heh, you'll see."

"You're just going to make our tank heavier than it is, which means it will be much harder to maneuver."

"Well, you've been with him for almost two years now," Sergeant Reznov said sarcastically. "Haven't you gotten used to him yet? My brother used to tell me all about him, about how he ridiculously upgraded any tank he commanded."

"As the driver, I just don't want to make things difficult for myself," Ivan grumbled.

"Now, now," Private Arlando spoke up. "But yer be fine, aren't cha? You used to drive T72s, T84s, and T90s, which are much lighter than M1 Abrams tanks. But from what I heard recently, it seems that you've already become proficient at driving a 70-ton tank and making it run like a sports car."

"I hope that's still the case next time." 

Both Archer and Armstrong chuckled. 

"Oh by the way, Boss told me that after breakfast, we'll go to the hangar, there's something he needs to talk about or more like it's a pre-mission briefing." Armstrong said.

The atmosphere became serious. After washing the dishes, the red musket crew goes to the hangar to meet their captain. 

It's already been almost a month since their last operation in the frontline. They've been put on standby because of logistical issues so they can't operate. During that time, Captain Gritz Wittmann or Tiger with Armstrong's help used that time to upgrade the Red Musket tank

Along the way, there's a column of different tanks on their base. There's German made Leopard 1 and 2, British Challenger 2, French Leclerc, South Korean K2 Black Panther, China's Type99, Israeli Merkava, Japanese Type 90 and lastly The Russian-made T-90.

All of those fire powers of other countries combined and united just to defeat an unstoppable enemy. The raw power of the United Force. 

They've also seen some destroyed tanks being scrapped but there's a line of destroyed tanks that nobody's touching and all of those tanks have a paint of distinctly red turret and on the side have a mark of 2 1700's musket rifle that is in 'x' position. 

Those were the destroyed tanks of the Red Musket. Some were just damaged that they couldn't repair and some were just heavily damaged so that the tanks were unrecognizable. There's a total of 10 destroyed tanks and It's just a miracle that Tiger and Scarface survived all of those. However, while walking, they stumbled upon one of the "destroyed tank" 

Amongst the other war machines, this one held significance. It's a T90, by the first look it seems not damaged at all because the hull of it is still intact except there's a large deformation and scratch In Front of it, the tracks and wheels are still good, but if they look at it's a turret, there's a hand spread size hole on it. The tank turret was penetrated. 

Hypothetically, it can be restored back to action by just patching it up and repairing some damaged parts knowing in war, any operational tank can significantly help the frontline, but they wouldn't. Simply because they respect the life that perished inside of it. The one of the original crew of Red Musket, Bowman. Brother of Sgt Reznov.

Even the higher-ups just agreed to it just not to because, before that tragic event, the Red Musket will be trained to use the Abrams. But even thinking about it, it's probably respectable if they keep the tank operational, and if you ask Bowman himself, he will choose to reactivate that tank even after his death. That will be the plan of the crew of Red Musket after this war or if it's already necessary. 

Ivan always clenches his fist whenever he sees that tank. There's still regret lingering on him and always asks and blames himself why he didn't notice that muddy swamp. If he just avoids it he probably evades that incoming round from the enemy thus saving Bowman. He wants to blame himself but Archer notices it and as the brother of Bowman, he doesn't want to blame Ivan for that. He's already aware that Ivan did everything he could to save his brother. It's just that the war is shit. 

Archer patted the back of Ivan, "Let's go, captain is waiting for us." Ivan nodded and they proceeded to the tank hangar.