//------------------------------//
// Part I--Needle in a Hay Stack *Edited* 
// Story: Metal Sands 
// by Eternal Aviator 
//------------------------------//

Part I--Needle in a Hay Stack
~Northeastern Sahara Desert~
~1400 hours~

"Alright, we're moving out!" Shouted Gunnery Sergeant Eric Swanson as he swung his right hand in a circular motion while standing inside the door of his MRAP, codename Curb Stomper.
Hearing him clearly I ducked back into the cabin of my trusty T-90MS main battle tank, which me and my crew had nicknamed Sandstorm. It later became it's official codename. As I climbed into my seat, I turned on the interphone system and called my crew.
"Nathan, Ryan, we good to go?" I asked as I began turning on various systems in front of me.
Almost simultaneously, the two screens flickered to life and the low rumble of the diesel engine starting up was audible
"Screens are green, good to go." Replied Nathan, the gunner.
"All systems are a go, ready to roll." Called back Ryan, the driver.

I loved how the tank only needed three people to operate it. It made being commander so much easier than the time I tried commanding the Abrams tank series for example. One less person is a bigger difference than you'd think.
"All units, report. We ready to go?" Eric's voice rang through my radio on my right shoulder.  
"Alright." I put my hand to the radio. "Sandstorm, ready to roll."
"Cyclops, up and running." Said Johny Tenka, the commander of the second T-90MS which would be behind me in the convoy.
"Juggernaut here, all set." Came the only female voice in the group, Kelly Nork.
"All units, get in formation! Me in front, Kelly in back, Johny and Robert take middle. Let's move!" Yelled Eric as I watched his massive truck pull forward.

Ryan supposedly already knew what to do because shortly after Eric started driving, we began moving forward at a slowly increasing speed. I turned around and peeked through one of the rear looking prisms, and saw Cyclops and Juggernaut following suit. I looked for a few moments before turning forward to the console and looking at the video viewing device. After about ten minutes of cruising at about forty kilometers per hour, Kelly called in over the radio.
"Juggernaut to all units; be advised, the weather report just came in from Castle. We've got a nasty sandstorm heading South towards our first and second search points."
I chuckled after hearing that.
"How long after we reach our checkpoint will it hit us?" Asked Johny a few moments later.
"Umm... We should be clear for the first, but we'll be hit just before the second if we continue at our current rate."
"Roger that. Everyone, increase speed to sixty kilos per hour. I don't want this to turn into looking for a needle in a hay stack." Ordered Eric.
I saw him start gaining distance from me and tapped the interphone.
"You heard him, Ryan. Sixty kilos."
"Okay."

I heard the diesel engine rumble louder and the distance between me and Curb Stomper grow smaller by the second. I looked away from the viewing screen and instead gazed through one of the left side looking prisms at the bright blue, cloudless sky and smiled. After a minute of peaceful sky watching, I put my hand to the interphone. Without looking away I spoke.
"Quite a day out, isn't it, boys?"
"I'll say, just sucks that the damn Sahara chose to hit us with a storm..." Nathan said annoyingly.
"True that!" Ryan added shortly after.
After about another two hours and twenty minutes of driving in the same direction, Eric called in, slightly exciting me.
"Alright everyone, listen up. We are about one minute from the first search site. Juggernaut, prep your guys for the search. Sandstorm and Cyclops, you two will provide close range cover just in case  things get hairy. Never know who may be out here..." Informed the commander as we all slowed our speed.

We were close a fourth way to the middle of the Sahara by now, and Me and Cyclops had taken defensive positions around the wreckage of a C-130. It didn't look like much, just a bunch of twisted metal and pieces of the wings littered the sand and some larger parts were partially buried by the Sahara's harsh climate. Among the cargo plane husk was the main body, which was still mainly in tact. If whatever we were looking for was here, it would be in there.

The two MRAPs had parked and each one unloaded three men armed with various weaponry & gear. Two men wielded M249 LMGs (Light Machine Gun), one carried a FGM-148 Javelin on his back with a G36K assault rifle in his hands, and three carried an MK-14 MOD 1 DMR (Designated Marksmen Rifle), a SCAR-L assault rifle, and a M15A4. these man did a quick perimeter check before they all filed inside. A painfully long two minutes passed before Juggernaut called in glumly.
"No good, it's empty."
A sigh came in reply.
"Alright. Everyone load up, we're heading to the next location!" 
As the scout troopers climbed back into there selected MRAPs and the heavy doors clanged shut, we all started to move back to our original formation when an explosion erupted next to Curb Stomper. Immediately, the radio was screaming.
"HOSTILES RIGHT SIDE, MULTIPLE ARMORED UNITS!!"
"ALL UNITS MOVE TO ENGAGE!!" Screamed Eric as his MRAPs top machine gun turret began blazing in the direction of two Type-62's and two BTR-60 L.A.V.'s, each armed with 25mm explosive ordinance. 

"Looks like things just got interesting. Ryan, move us right next to the wreckage with our front lined up with that tank! Nathan, load SABOT and hit the treads on the left tank!" I shouted as my heart started racing from just the awesome rush of being in combat.
As our tank took cover behind some pieces and the turret took aim, I caught a glimpse of Cyclops doing the same on the other side of the husk. 
"These guys are old timers! Sandy, we got this!" Cheered Johny as his tank fired an incendiary shell, turning the right BTR into a slow rolling fireball.
A moment later, Nathan called out.
"Firing SABOT on your mark!"
"Mark!" I immedeatly replied.
A puff of smoke emitted from the front of one of the T-62s and hit the side of the turret, moving it a little to the right and knocking the camera out of focus. Not a second later the IRNV viewing screen was clouded by a brief smoke screen as the ultra-high velocity, non-explosive shell effectively destroyed the right tread on the left tank, as well as the wheel behind it.
"Juggernaut, Curb, take cover from those T-62s! We don't want to risk any heavy hits." I ordered.
"Copy that."
"Copy!"

"Good hit on target. Load armor-piercing and aim for the base of the turret! Like threading a needle, buddy!" I yelled in an excited voice.
"Roger that, boss... AP loaded, on your mark!"
"Fire!" I responded.
After another second I saw the turret make a jut backwards, signaling it had been knocked literally out of its socket by the accurate hit. Another few seconds later the right tank's side exploded from a high-explosive shell by Cyclops, and it stopped moving completely. A moment later the right BTR floored it in reverse and took cover behind the nearest tank remains, before turning around and retreating into the desert.
"Nice shot, Johny." I breathed as my heart rate slowed. "Everyone, we're clear. Let's get a move on."
"Roger that. Everyone move back into formation, only this time I want Juggernaut and me in the middle. Another ambush like that is the last thing we need." Said Eric as we started moving in our original direction.
After a couple of minutes we were in our designated positions moving at full speed.


\_____/\/\/\/\/\_____/


The tank jutted to a sudden halt, nearly making me head on the console in front of me. Not expecting it, I took a moment before putting my hand on the radio on my shoulder and calling the MRAP behind my tank.
"What's the hold up?" I asked as I peeked through the rear looking prism. 
"I don't know, Curb Stomper just shorted out." Replied Ryan.
Through the thick dust and blowing sand I was able to barely see a few people by the back of the truck, slowly moving towards the front of it. Thick black smoke billowed from the front which was quickly blown away by the intense winds of the sandstorm which had hit them about an hour and a half after there last departure.
"Captain, our engine just busted. We're checking it out now, give us a minute." Replied Eric in a loud voice, the intense winds putting a lot of static through the microphone.

I sighed as I thought of what could've caused an engine failure; a rouge shell? No, it would've had an immediate effect. Deciding against further pondering, I just turned to the interphone.
"Ryan, how we doing?"

"All good, sir. If we end up having to tow Curb Stomper, we'd be okay to without any problems." Came the voice of the skilled driver.

I nodded at him and looked up at the round door before tugging on the handle. The hatch flew open and hit the top of the hank with a loud clank. Shielding my eyes with my arm from the harsh gusts of sand, I slowly climbed out and hopped to the ground. As he made his way over to the front of the truck, Eric walked over to meet him. 
"What's going on with the engine?" I asked loudly, still covering the side of my face.
Eric shrugged. "I have no idea, the guys are checking it out now though."
"Eric! We found the problem!" Called one of the soldiers as he waved the two over.
Me and Eric jogged over to the opened front of the MRAP.
"What's the deal?" Asked Eric as he leaned over the engine, which was smoking a little less now.
The soldier dug into his pocket and dug out a very old looking piece of flat metal with a few holes in it.
"The deal is this thing somehow passed off as a head gasket during inspection. They must've missed it somehow. But right now the engine is warped and well... Curb Stomper needs a new engine." The man said in a sunken tone, tossing the head gasket to the sandy ground.

It took more time than we wanted to spend, but we finally got the totaled APC hooked up to the back of Cyclops. After some situational planning, it was decided that I would lead the group the rest of the way to the checkpoint, followed by Juggernaut, and Cyclops with Curb Stomper in tow, in that order.
"Alright, everyone follow my lead. We're gonna be moving a little slower with the extra weight on ol' Cyclops, so it's going to be a long drive. Close to four hours." I announced.
"Are you fucking serious?" Groaned Kelly.
"Yep, sorry for the inconvenience." I replied as the tank started picking up a steady pace.
When we maxed out at thirty kilometers per hour I called through the interphone.
"How's everybody doing?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.
"I'm fine." Replied Ryan.
"All good here." Chortled Nathan. "Man, I would kill for some music right now..."
"I hear ya, bud. It's so god damn boring out here."
I chuckled at the musical desire.
"Hey Rob," Said Nathan.
"Yeah?" I asked, raising an eyebrow slightly and a smile coming to my face again.
"You're phone still got any battery?"
I rummaged through my right pocket and took out my iPhone 5. Tapping the home button I saw I still had nearly half charge.
"Yeah, why?" I asked, but an idea was already forming in my head. "Wait, you guys want to listen to some music from my phone, don't ya?" I laughed.
Ryan started laughing as well as Nathan.
"Yep, you got us!" Said Ryan. "What song you thinkin' of, Nathan?"
I went into my music app and started scanning through some good road songs. My eyes fell across one and I tapped it.
"Trust me guys, I'ma play one you all know."
I put my hand to my radio and turned it back on.
"Hey, who's up for some tunes?" I asked cheerfully.
Multiple answers of approval came instantly. Setting my phone to full volume and holding it by my mouth piece (which was linked to the radio and the interphone if they were both on) and the perfect road song began. Instantly there were laughs and comments of approval and I smiled to myself.

Maybe this trip wouldn't be too bad.