The ship hit the sand, the long ramp at the front descended down onto the smooth dune. From the boat came trucks and armoured vehicles. Alongside them were gatherings of men, all in amazement at the endless plain of pebbles, shrubs and sand before them. Among them was a naïve man. His name was Friedrich Arksün. He left the boat. Feeling the suns heat against his skin he shifted his shirt collar to cover more of his neck. He climbed aboard a jeep and left for his new home.
The ground was mostly flat. Clumps of tents and barrels of fuel were scattered across the grounds. As he left the jeep he was given the directions to a tent that was supposedly the housing to the company's tank division. Inside the tent was a man sitting at a desk, as Friedrich entered the man looked up, neatening the papers he was holding before placing them on his desk.
"And you are?"
Friedrich saluted.
"Commander Arksün sir."
He finished the salute. The man stood up.
"You're late. Suppose that isn't your fault though." He reached his hand out, Friedrich shook it.
"Follow me."
The man led his way out of the tent, winding through and around multiple others.
"To you I am General Müller, if you need anything ask me... now if you don't already know you have been assigned to one of the two Tiger tanks the company has. I have the other."
"I wasn't informed sir, thank you."
"You met your crew yet?"
"Not yet."
The general stopped walking so suddenly Friedrich slammed into his back, having been distracted by a medical truck on the far side of the base.
"Sorry sir."
He just smiled.
"Its fine, now... here it is" In front of the two was a Tiger I, swarmed by other men, all scouring its thick steel skin. It was painted in the factory 'dunkelgelb'. Walking around its hull Friedrick noticed the number '853' written in red, outlined by white paint on either side of the turret. Once he had finished he stood next to the General once again.
"Now," he said "Would you like to meet your crew?"
"Very much sir."
The general climbed up onto the Tiger.
"Anybody here not crewing this thing is to leave immediately."
The men dispersed until four men stood in front of the tank.
"Right."
The General dropped from the tank to the ground, the rush of air moved the sand around him. He walked past Friedrich, stopping next to him.
"If you need me, you know where my tent is...Good day Commander." He walked off.
The four men looked at him in anticipation. Friedrich just looked back at them for a moment. He walked up and sat on the front plate of the tank.
"What are your names, and your positions?"
The man on the far left spoke up first. He was average height, just shorter than Friedrich, his arms were large and muscular, his hair was dark and his eyes brown. He spoke with an Austrian accent.
"Fred sir, I'm the loader."
Friedrich slipped off the tank's front and shook his hand, proceeding to look at the next man.
"The driver, Albert...I've only had a few hours with Tigers so we'll have a bumpy ride. Sir."
Friedrich once again shook his hand and looked to the next. He continued to do this with the next two men.
"Hanz, the gunner. I'm familiar with the gun, excellent shot. All I need is one."
"Enthusiasm, that's good we'll need it...remember we're stronger together."
"Kertz...Radio operator and ball gunner."
Friedrich sized them all up. Most had dark hair like Fred, Hanz had blonde hair, and his eyes were an extreme light blue. Kertz was wearing a leather cap with built in headphones. The others wore their casual black uniforms with red outlines and stitching. Friedrich looked to the horizon. The sun was now in half, as it was beginning to dive behind the dunes of yellow sand turned orange and pink. Much like the sky above it. Wherever you looked the heat was visible just above the ground.
"Go get some sleep, all of you. Meet me back here at 0700."
"Sir."
Before he headed to bed himself, Friedrich walked out of the base and stood there. It was utterly silent, not even the shuffling of feet inside the base could be heard. He closed his eyes and breathed in. 'We have to impress the commanders tomorrow' he thought silently.
"Friedrich? What are you doing out here?"
He turned to see the general coming up behind him.
"The view sir, it's extraordinary."
"Quite. It gets boring after a while. Get some rest, if not for yourself then me."
Friedrich turned to him with a confused look on his face.
"So many men have come out here and have put off sleep, either too excited or too scared. Either way they end up being drowsy and make stupid decisions in a fight."
Friedrich nodded.
"Sir."
He walked off towards the tents.