DISCLAIMER

1 - This is a fanwork made for fun and to spread the love for all things Girls Und Panzer and History around. Girls Und Panzer belongs to its legal owners, as well as its characters and story. Also the show is awesome and you should really buy the DVDs.

2 - I need to thank BlueJay62, F-14 Tomcat Lover, Kite Tanril, Soviet Fox, Theralion, Yemi Hikari and the helpful guys at the Girls Und Panzer FaceBook group for all the help and support. The good parts of this fic only exist thanks to them. The bad parts, though, are all mine.


I

OVERTURE

The evening was nearing its end. As the sun approached its hideout under the horizon the day started to get colder and mist emerged from the land, at first timidly, but rapidly threatening to grow thicker by the minute.

While the evening had dragged on for hours under that clouded sky, the girls from Baderberg had worked hard on their collection of machines of war, readying the tanks for their first true march, the one in which they would finally hand them to the men who needed their weapons and thick armor. Although the vehicles had already been thoroughly rebuilt, tested and verified time and again, it was felt that a last revision wouldn't do any harm.

And so Maria saw herself in the center of the action, giving orders and steering the work team in what would be the last time they did that kind of work. Enthusiastic as she was with the whole situation, Anja had managed to gather a handsomely large group to help with the final preparations. As expected, everything was in order, and all issues found were minor and quite easy to fix.

After the hectic revision the tanks were brought outside, in a cacophony of rumbling engines and shrieking treads which exploded in the otherwise silent evening, their guns and armor glittering under the darkening sky. Slowly, the drivers brought them to the plaza just behind the entry gates, where the vehicles now stood in line, all the engines purring while idling. The 38(t) was commanding the column while at the tail was a single Boxer truck, in which the girls would travel back to Baderberg once their mission was completed.

Satisfied with the column's appearance, Anja approached Führerin Schon. Although the weather was getting colder and the mist denser most girls of the complex, even those not involved in the restoration of the tanks, were watching the departure, some from the windows in the nearby buildings some outside, trembling but curious nonetheless.

Among them was Maria, who walked away from the tanks once she'd felt her work to be done. Now her glance seemed to be lost in some point beyond the tanks and the buildings nearby.

Her mind was still filled with doubt and several threads of thought fought against each other, measuring their respective weights, considering what could happen in the next hours. She still knew of Anja's plans, and she also knew how shocking the reality behind them would be to the girls coming along with her. If possible, Maria would prefer to stay well away from all of it.

And yet, she couldn't simply turn away, because there were other issues at stake there.

While her mind wandered, Schon was giving her final orders to Anja. They were now looking at a map Schon had spread over the flank of the 38(t).

"You will fuel at the police station in the next town. Then you'll travel north to meet the 77th Panzergrenadiers." She pointed at a series of roads which should lead the column through some of calmer areas of the region. "Once you've delivered the tanks to Oberst Messner bring the girls back in the truck."

"Sounds easy enough..." Anja replied, her eyes fixed on the map as to not betray her excitement.

"Should be. If, for some reason, you find any enemies, you are ordered to abandon the tanks."

Honestly, Anja wasn't expecting to hear those orders. Needless to say, she also had no intention of obeying them. She turned to Schon. "Abandon them? Just like that?"

"Just like that." The leader nodded. "Try to damage them as you can with the time you might have. Of course as you'll be travelling under the guise of the night you won't probably find any problems on your way, but one can never be too careful."

Travelling during the night was the usual modus operandi at that stage of the war. The overwhelming Allied air superiority had little trouble in making piecemeal of any armored column found travelling during the day. Schon wrapped the map and gave it to Anja.

"Understood, meine Führerin." Anja then turned on her heels and walked around the column. Maria observed from the midst of the small group standing on the opposite side of the plaza as Anja made a last inspection of all vehicles, including the truck. The crews were peeking through the hatches and doors either observing what she was doing or saying something to the girls who would stay behind.

Among them were the friends Maria had done during her in that farming complex; the enthusiastic Ysabelle, the lively Simone and the drowsy Meike aboard the Panzer IV, and the graceful Hanna in the truck in the tail of the column. What would be of them if something did happen? Could them and the others take care of themselves if something broke or, God forbid, they did indeed came in contact with an enemy with hostile intent?

It was impossible for her to ignore the side glance Anja send in her general direction when she reached the middle of the column, after having already inspected everything on the opposite side and turned around the truck. Maybe she was simply observing the crowd, but Maria couldn't avoid feeling she was passing judgment on her in some way. The last words they're traded regarding Anja's plans were still fresh to Maria.

And then she noticed Anja had indeed locked her eyes on her and with her index finger signaled for Maria to come closer. There was a seriousness to her expression that Maria really couldn't place. She'd only seen it two or three times and didn't really like to remember those moments. So she approached the sub-leader with a certain degree of nervousness.

"I just wanted to know," Anja began to say once Maria was beside her. Her voice was almost a whisper like if she was afraid of being heard, and the rumbling of the engine nearby didn't made hearing her any easier, "you still don't want to come with us, now do you?"

So it was that again… Anja still believed all effort was important to help save the German people from the hell the crazed leadership had brought upon them. If somehow that small group managed to gain the Fatherland even one more day, that could be the difference between saving uncountable lives or allow for their people to be slaughtered by the enraged invaders.

But would any effort make any difference in the end? Because after the war, after the unavoidable defeat, there would be the occupation. Could a single day, if they even managed to gain that much, be of any worth in such scenario?

"I…" Maria sighed, her breath a small cloud of vapor in front of her face. "You know what I think about this."

Anja nodded, at first seemingly accepting her words. Then she spoke again.

"What if I tell Schon something about how you've learned about tanks and all of your other illegal hobbies?"

She finished her question with a venomous smirk that chilled Maria to the bone. Did somehow managed to learn about what her father had taught her? Maria couldn't imagine what Schon and the other leaders could or would do if Anja gave them that information, but it they wouldn't certainly stand by anything less than expelling her out of the League. And then she would to deal with the fallout, including her mother's reaction when she discovered everything.

"You wouldn't…" Maria hissed, still in shock. Anja shrugged.

"The thing is," she opened her arms, "if you come with us then I will have no reason to think you're anything less than a proud servant of the Party and probably any suspicions to the contrary would simply be forgotten. Funny how the memory works…"

Curious about what was keeping her second-in-command; Schon walked around the column and approached the two girls talking besides the STuG III.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Anja shook her head before replying.

"Fräulein Nitzschmann here came to ask me if she could join us after all. I think it's being hard for her to stay away from the tanks." Her smirk was as yellow as they came. "After all she invested so much time and effort in them it's being a difficult separation. It's like if they're her babies or something."

Babies? Was Anja insane? Maria couldn't hide the bewilderment that took hold of her mind.

"I asked you to take as little personnel as possible, Königsberg." Schon was completely serious this time.

"I know, meine Führerin." Anja replied, her voice leveled and her expression serious this time. "But taking into account her expertise I think it would help us greatly if she came with us after all."

With a hand in her chin, Schon considered her point for a few seconds.

"Very well. Fräulein Nitzschmann isn't really prepared for any other task, anyhow. You'll be responsible for finding her a post once this is over with."

Anja enthusiastically raised her right hand, fingers extended. Her plan was working and the leader seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact.

"I will do as ordered, Führerin!"

"Very well. Now move." Schon's voice was level and absolutely calm. Considering the situation dealt with Anja started walking to the 38(t), although not before giving a last side glance to Maria, a hint of a feline grin on her face.

Truth be told, Maria had a moment to really think through what she could do. Of course she could simply consider Anja's threats a little more than that, a way to pull her stings. After all she couldn't really know her most well-kept secrets, could she? She wasn't a psychic as far as Maria knew!

Her glance scooped the line of tanks in front of her before descending over the Panzer IV, immediately behind the Czech machine. Simone and Ysabelle were peeking to see what was happening. Seeing the two girls brought her a sudden realization.

She had friends in there. If things really went south would Anja really be able to take care of them? Would she?

At that moment she realized those girls, mere strangers little more than a month ago, now meant something to her. Maria had-

"Why are you idling, Nitzschmann?" Schon asked Maria, an inquisitive look in her face. The girl actually felt intimidated by her question.

"Yes, yes! I'm going!"

She walked to the Panzer IV, for some reason, and held to the mudguard to climb. Then Simone extended her a hand.

"Are you coming with us, Maria?" She asked her. Maria mumbled something, nodded, and accepted her help. Once she was on top of the tank Ysabelle turned to her.

"Oh, you are! That's so cool!" The excited girl yelped. Maria couldn't help but smile at her.

And then she glanced at the small tank in front of hers, to Anja, already sat on the command hatch and glaring at her with that vicious smirk. Felling defeated, Maria sat over the engine cover with a blank stare.

With her rooster now complete Anja barked an order to her driver followed by a circular gesture with her index finger. One by one the tanks started rolling out, passing through the open gates at the entrance and moving in line across the worn-out path leading to the nearby village.