Cogs - InkSorcery

The year is 2041. Cybernetic implants enable the linking of man and machine like never before. These enhanced soldiers are called 'Cogs,' as in the term 'cogs in the machine.'
  
Adrejan "Wr8th" Romero is cybernetically enmeshed with a hovertank he calls "Kate." When he is plugged in, Kate becomes an extension of his mind and body. The tank's sensor arrays are his eyes and ears, he thrills with the pulse of her engines, and feels the damage she receives. They act as one being-a lethal new lifeform on the modern battlefield.
  
In the hellish chaos of war, Romero will discover his true calling.  If he can survive combat with his greatest enemy.

Cover: Narcisse Navarre  -  Copyright 2017
Cover Model:  Andrei Andrei

action
combat
cybernetics
cyborg
dystopian
hovertank
military
near-future
northkorea
science-fantasy
sciencefiction
scifi
shortstory
soldier
warfare

Are you sure you got the year right. Seems like this scenario is just round the corner. Please tell me there is more.

"shattered to dust"  hmmm.. I know pulverized to dust is cliche but shattered might not be the right word here..

Ooh this was a pretty intense first chapter! I like the whole futuristic feel, but worrying it feels like something similar to this could happen any time now with the way the world is going 😕
                              Pretty cool concept idea though!

This reminds me of Void Hawks and their captains in  Night’s Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.

Thanks!  Weirdly enough, this was written over eight years ago, long before the recent tensions.

Good introduction in my opinion. You have a nice hook—violet retribution.