Tales of the 13th Necromunda- Oddball

 

Nobody in the 13th Necromunda could agree on when OddBall officially became OddBall. Some said it was the day Tech-Priest Moriarty finished “improving” the engine and the tank accidentally reversed out of a manufactorum breach faster than most Chimeras could advance. Others said it was when the barrel got longer. Much longer. Long enough that enemy auspex crews began reporting it as something else entirely.

Commander Donald never corrected them.

Donald had the look of someone who enjoyed being underestimated. The leather aviator helmet and goggles weren’t regulation, but they stayed. He claimed the goggles helped with glare. The crew claimed he liked the way people reacted when he leaned out of the hatch, smiling, like he knew a secret they didn’t.

OddBall’s first real test came during a running fight through the lower hab districts of a nameless hive city. The 13th was outmatched, facing heavier enemy armor moving to seal the streets ahead. The sensible move would have been to pull back and wait for artillery. OddBall did pull back. Just not the way anyone expected.

The engine howled. Moriarty’s handiwork kicked in. OddBall reversed down the avenue at full speed, loudspeaker blaring music that echoed between the ferrocrete walls. The barrel, absurdly long and unmistakable, swung as if daring the enemy to take a shot. They didn’t. Auspex readings didn’t make sense. Visual confirmation was worse. No one wanted to be the crew that challenged a gun that might have been a mega-cannon. Or worse.

When OddBall stopped, it fired.

Not high-explosive. Not armor-piercing. A shell burst in a brilliant splash of color across the lead enemy tank, paint cascading down its hull in bright, unmistakable streaks. Another followed. Then another. Fire discipline dissolved into confusion. Targeting optics were fouled. Vox traffic spiked with shouted questions and half-formed warnings.

By the time the enemy realized what they were facing, the rest of the 13th had repositioned, artillery had dialed in, and OddBall was already gone, music fading as it disappeared back down the street the way it had come.

Afterward, someone asked Donald why he bothered with the loudspeaker.

He shrugged and said it kept everyone calm.

OddBall returned with fresh scrapes, more stories, and a growing reputation. It never destroyed the biggest enemy tank. It never needed to. It scared them, marked them, distracted them, and left. In the 13th Necromunda, that counted as a victory.