"Okay, boss."
After a long pause, Kaul's crew answered in unison.
The tank destroyer began to move with a clatter, its tracks rolling slowly before gradually accelerating as it charged into the open.
Kaul pressed his eyepiece to the periscope, switching between infrared and normal vision.
The fog was thin enough for him to see the Ork tank cutting through the vapor like a shark through water stirred with sand.
"There you are."
He whispered, so quietly that only he could hear it.
"Make them notice us."
Then the tank destroyer's gun muzzle spat fire, and for a moment, a cloud of mud and smoke engulfed the Ork tank.
When Kaul saw it again, it had already changed direction, turning its hull while its turret swung around and the side-mounted gun rotated on its bracket.
Damn it, it was too close—so close that its striped metal hull nearly filled his vision.
He could see the red beam of its targeting sight cutting through the darkness as the Ork tank moved into a firing position against them and the command vehicle in the distance.
With superior tonnage and firepower, the Ork tank could do it. So long as it was not killed first, it could destroy both vehicles.
Tara had known that all along, yet he still roared across the mud-soaked flatland, exposing himself as a target.
The only way he could survive was if Kaul drove the tank destroyer out and drew the Orks' attention.
It was incredibly brave—and utterly stupid.
The Ork tank's turret turned toward Kaul, and his ears were once again filled with the gunner's curses as he struggled to keep the main gun steady for the shot.
The breech opened beside him, ejecting a still-smoking shell casing.
The loader had already lifted another round and rammed