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The HEat.

Radio chatter was rattling away in the foam padded ear pieces of his CVC helmet as sweat poured down his face and neck. His eye pressed into the brow pad of the ISU lense while he thumbed the ESLRF on the gunner’s hand station. An LED display within the sight flashed the range, 750 meters.

“You have them?” the commander asked through the headset.

“Roger that,” the gunner said calmly.

His steady hand was slowly tracking the green thermal images as they were becoming harder to distinguish from the background. IR changeover was occurring. The time of day when the infrared signature of everything becomes balanced, muddying the thermals for a few moments during dusk and dawn.

He flipped the thermals off with his left hand, dropped it down onto the hand station, and punched up HE HI on the ammo selector. The barrel of the gun jumped to correct for the new ammunition type.

“Do it.” the commander barked.

He squeezed the trigger, launching a burst of 25mm High Explosive into the crowd of insurgents.

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