Marc Farrimond

The sound of the approaching tanks would have sent shivers through to the very soul of any normal, sane person, but Gunter Svenson was no normal person, nor was he completely sane! Gunter lay in the shallow trench he had dug the night before and waited for the patrol to pass him by. The ground itself shook violently as over a hundred tones of steel rumbled past heading for the front lines, but Gunter held his ground and waited till the last of the heavy vehicles was almost a distant rumble.

With a practised ease the man sprung from the shallow grave that had been his home for the past two days and with a speed and grace that belied his large frame he started off down the dirt track following the column that would bring about destruction to his own compatriots.

He sprinted along feeling the rush of adrenaline beginning to kick in, as he often did during such missions. Many men viewed the idea of taking a tank on in close combat a more than fool hardy idea, but to do so alone and amidst so many of the enemy was far from foolish and bordered on insane.

Gunter checked the demo charge he had at his waist one more time. Certain that it was securely attached he increased his pace till he was only a few hundred yards behind the enemy vehicles. The last of the tanks was a bit of a straggler and seemed to by having a few troubles of its own. The engine on the Bauhaus Bully coughed and spluttered as the tired old vehicle chugged along after its newer and faster counterparts. Many years service in the Imperial forces had left the tank tired and worn out from countless encounters with Her Serenity's enemies, and now the old work horse was making its last journey into the fray.

Gunter grinned like a manic as he gained ground on the tank, his face streaked with sweat behind the skull mask he wore. The sound of the blood pumping in his temples, banged in time with his racing pulse as with a leap he sailed through the air and landed on the back of the moving hulk. Almost losing his grip, he swung precariously for a few seconds till he regained his grip and hauled his body up the back of the tank. Speed was now of the essence as he needed to plant the explosives and leave the tank before its occupants had time to discover that they had a stowaway on board!

Hardly able to control himself now, Gunter giggled like a child as he pulled the small but powerful pack of explosives from his waist. He bent down and flicked the magnetic catch at the base of the weapon, and raised it to his face. Blowing a kiss from behind the mask, with tears almost rolling down his face now, he slammed the pack to the hull of the vehicle and flicked the primer.

Without warning the tank stopped dead in its huge tracks as the engine gave a tired cough. Gunter fell backwards and his leg wrapped up in the mirad of pipes that ran the length of the tank causing him to dangle like an insane marionette.

The crewmen got out of the hatch and climbed down the short ladder to the floor cursing. This was the third time in almost as many days that he had to fix the faulty intake pipe on this rust bucket and he was not at all happy with the fact! He made his way to the side of the tank and gave one of its dull metallic wheels a hearty kick with his well worn combat boots. Resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to be going anywhere very fast for a while the tired crewmen walked slowly around to the rear of the vehicle to only to be greeted by the grinning face of Gunter.

His Skull mask now on the floor along with his sidearm, both arms pointing to the floor and tears of laughter were streaked across his war torn face. Every Blitzer knows what the job entails and just how dangerous it can be, and to Gunter now it all seemed hilariously funny. He viewed the crewman from this strange perspective, which only seemed to further enhance the situation and when the startled man reached for his weapon only to find it wasn't there, the trapped man howled with laughter.

As the man reached down for Gunter’s weapon reality finally kicked in and as the man raised his own weapon against him he popped the button on the detonator.....

 The End?