Sci-Fi: Start Gruntz 15mm (Part 4) The Firefight Starts

The Yaeter are a little put off by the appearance of the "Zard tank". Still the Yaeter are missile armed (AT and AA) so they "may" make short work of it and turn it into scrap. There is only one plus a scout car that looks like a crazy Beach Buggy (see below):

Yikes here comes the tank, rather too confidently for my liking (see below, nice paint job, beautiful weathering):

Yaeter's "Alpha Squad" come under fire but weather the storm of  long range 'normal kinetic' and 'magnetically accelerated kinetic' rounds (I am getting to dislike that Zard Tank and its upgraded infantry weaponry). However this action seems to come as an unpleasant surprise to the Zard as they expected much better results. One has to think that they would have killed the New Poles by now, but the hi-tech armour of the Yaeter has defeated their "Frontal Attack Option A" (see below, the Yaeter go "prone" and 'hug the dirt' like a pro):

The return Yaeter fire is even more of a concern to the Zard as an Omega Ream (One) pulls of an impossible shot and takes out a Zard Squad Commander. The round is not kinetic and burns straight through the Zard Personal Protective Armour (ZaPPAr) patent protection against all be the heaviest New Pole "shots", as if it wasn't there (see below):

The Yaeter Gamma Commander takes stock of the situation: Alpha Squad is in the process of either "pinning the enemy's attack" or will be "pinned by the enemy's attack" (aka somebody has to be under the guns), Beta Squad with himself should "pivot" in the middle to 'flank the enemy' while Delta Squad will angle in to "punch" into the rear of the enemy formation. Looks good on paper but so does any bold combination of arrows and circles. The question is can they pull it off before attrition goes against the Yaeter small squad size (see below, bottom left: Alpha (pin); middle left: Beta and Gamma (pivot) and top left: Delta (have to scamper across to throw a punch) .. well that's the plan, but will anybody be left by the time Delta show up?):

The Zard infantry scamper through the 'Shanty Town' making good use of its cover, however the Yeater advanced weaponry still takes it toll and pins them behind heavy cover, whereas the Zard Tank brazenly rolls up the Yaeter position (how many Starship Troopers can hide behind a rock?). Rather than suffer another exchange of cannon fire the Yaeter Squad Leader instruct Missile Man to let loose the 'bang stick' (see below):

Hoping for a spectacular explosion the Yaeter troopers are sorely disappointed. Rather than a mini-HMS Hood style magazine explosion there is a "whimper of a fizz" and a puff of smoke. Critical damage perhaps? No, it almost immediately starts firing back. This seems to be an old fashioned tank with hardened armour, plus reactive charged panels and ECMs. The Yaeter missile seems to be suffering from a little bit of space fatigue and is adjusting to the new aerodynamics of the planets atmosphere. Still the Zard finds this anti-armour capability an unpleasant surprise in itself, which is a not a bad thing, as it may make them more cautious and buy a bit of extra time for Delta Squad to move up (see below, nothing more than a ricochet, also note the military beach buggy in the background):

Next: Hard Rain Gonna Fall .. but exactly where?