First GuP fanfic, and the first fanfic I have written in a long while. Please be gentle.

Disclaimer: besides original characters, I own nothing.

The soft, but distinct, rumble of the Ansaldo L5 engine could be heard, while the commander listened carefully to the radio. "Any sign of enemy mobilization?" the girl, situated in the gunner seat, facing a short-barreled 37mm in front of her, with two 8mm Breda machine guns above her, asked.

"Nein, Fraulein." the voice over the radio, a German accent that contrasted nicely with the commander's American one, replied.

Lupa sighed, reclining with her head back, using her arms as pillows, whistling an old tune she couldn't remember where she had learned. Next to her, the driver simply sat, resisting the urge to nervously fidget with the hem of her uniform.

There was a loud bang over the radio, and Lupa swiftly seized it. "What was that?" she asked sharply.

"Commander, we've been spotted! One of our L3 has been taken out."

The commander, without saying a word to the driver or recon commander over the radio, rose from her seat and opened the hatch of the L5 turret, looking around to see the two L3/35 controcarro, armed with deadly 20mm anti-tank rifles, flanking the L5 at about two or three meters along with two other Carro Veloce, armed solely with machine guns. "You know what they say," she proclaimed, taking a moment to put her trademark steel bonnet on. "You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. Sick 'em, girls!" there was a screech as the commander unsheathed her basket-hilt sword and pointed it forward. On her mark, the CV-3 responded by racing ahead of the L5 to serve as shields, soon to be followed by the light tank with a 37mm gun in the hull.

IS there never a man in all Scotland,

From the highest state to the lowest degree,

That can shew himself now before the king?

Scotland is so full of their traitery.

The sun beamed down on the field, and the green grass and sound of birds chirping from atop the trees made the environment a pleasant atmosphere. Lupa couldn't help but sing loudly, an old child ballad that she had taught the rest of the girls, some of whom joined in, while their tanks sped forwards to aid the rest of their troops.

'When John he looked the letter upon,

Then, Lord! he was as blithe as a bird in a tree:

'I was never before no king in my life,

My father, my grandfather, nor none of us three.

'But seeing we must [go] before the king, Lord!

we will go most valiantly;

This was the first match of the season for the Academy, all that was needed was one victory, the prize money could help afford heavier vehicles, capable of competing in Sensha-dou matches. It seemed like years since Lupa had been in a real tankery match, and while this sport, tankathlon, managed to capture the essence well enough, it just couldn't compare to the warring 10 - 30 ton metal behemoths she was accustomed to.

While lost in thought, the commander stood at the hatch of the L5, the sounds of machine gun and larger caliber fire becoming louder and louder, until they were right on the spot.

You shall every one have a velvet coat,

Laid down with golden laces three.

'And you shall every one have a scarlet cloak,

Laid down with silver laces five,

With your golden belts about your necks,

With hats [and] brave feathers all alike.'

The deployment reached the scene of the firefight fairly quickly, unfortunately, a single CV-3 remained, which quickly fled behind the lines of the L5 and Praetorian guard. Sliding down the hatch and aiming the L/26 on one of the surprised 7TP, she pulled the trigger, sending the round flying into the Polish light tank. There was a screech and a white flag appeared above the turret, but Lupa had no time to stop and admire her handiwork, grabbing another round and slamming it into position. Luckily, while she was doing that, the two controcarro had provided fire support, easily knocking out two of the surprised tanks, while the remaining two quickly prepared to flee.

'Come, follow me, my merry men all,

We will scorn one foot away to fly;

It never shall be said we were hung like doggs;

No, wee'l fight it out most manfully.'

"You should have expected the cavalry to arrive, shouldn't you?" the L5 commander asked with a sadistic grin on her face, while one of the remaining Polish tanks fired on one of her escorts, knocking the L3 out. "Don't let that bastard get away!" Ellen nodded, hitting the gas pedal and sending the L5 speeding forward, swerving to avoid fire from the enemy tank's own 37mm. "Alpha Squad! We'll split up to cover the two escapees. If you hit the mother load, tell us before confronting. Roger!" the remaining Reiver teams split up, one CV-3 following Lupa's 5 ton and the other two following Gertraud's controcarro. "Now we have to see whether this tank leads us to their commander's."

The L5 and CV-35 raced down the dirt road, the latter firing on the fleeing tank with it's machine guns, it's swiftness allowing it to seemingly attack from all flanks, while Lupa waited for the tank to either lead them to the commander's vehicle, or to a dead end, neither of which would end well for the 7TP.

Suddenly, there was a loud pop! and a round busted into the CV-35's side, causing the tankette to halt and a white flag to spring up from the hull, giving the 7TP leeway to swerve off road and out of range of the L5's 37mm gun. "Turn the tank around!" Lupa ordered Ellen frantically, cursing at the girl as she tried to turn it right. "Left! Left! We're being fired on from the - " her final word was blotted out by another round, this time banging into the L5. The small 5 ton tank shuddered for a split second, but they weren't knocked out. The commander got up from her seat, muttering obscenities, as she traversed the turret to the left to try and get a view of the enemy tank, only to hear another pop! as a round flew towards the L5. "They jammed the turret..." Lupa grumbled, realizing the enemy was playing a game with them. "Take my seat." she told the driver, who quickly obeyed without question.

The turret hatch opened and Lupa climbed out, first thing becoming visible was the steel helmet she wore on her head, nicknamed "steel bonnet," shining in the sunlight. Climbing out and examining the damage, she called out. "Looks like they got our suspension." her tone was disappointment. "We aren't going anywhere," for the rest of the match. She was about to attempt a suggestion before noticing a gleaming light in the distance. Luckily, the Reiver helmet provided a nice shade against the sun, but she still couldn't make out the source of the light.

Then there was another pop! and the last thing Lupa remembered before being knocked unconscious was being thrown off the top of the tank by the sheer velocity of the round, and landing in a ditch.

Appreciate any constructive comments, both positive and negative, thanks for your review and taking the time to read this.