Hey folks! Here's the second chapter of Cold Steel! I'm glad to see so many reviews, follows, and even some favorites in just the first few chapters, as well as the large amount of viewers. Very inspiring. And credit to kartracer24 for this chapter's title.
Now, to answer a comment from NyanHellcat18: You got me to check, yes. I did find that the proper name of the tank destroyer is the Elefant, but Ferdinand is another name, for the designer of the chassis (originally meant for the Tiger (P)) Ferdinand Porsche.
Now, to finish the intro, if the whole dialogue and storyline seems a bit shaky here, I had a bit of trouble expressing myself, as well as having a bit of a time constraint. I wanted to get this out for Veteran's Day.
Chapter II:Tanks Through Time
"The world has never seen greater devotion, determination, and self-sacrifice than have been displayed by the Russian people…"-Franklin D. Roosevelt, 28 July 1943 Fireside Chat
Leytenant Dimitri Izmaylov
Date: Unknown
Location: Unknown
2220 hours
Dimitri Izmaylov woke up to find himself pressed against the metal turret of the T-34/1942. With some difficulty, he pushed himself back up through the turret hatch into the cold air outside. Noises from behind him made him realize the infantry squad on the back of the tank were also just coming around. Behind their tank, the other three T-34s sat desolately, silent in the snow.
"Komandir."
Dimitri looked down into the tank to see Alexsandr and Bogdan moving around, the latter in the process of reviving Yuri at the tank controls. He sat up, using Bogdan as support as he put on the radio headphones again.
"What was that?" Alexsandr stated as he checked the cannon breech of the tank and the ammunition storage. All seemed to be normal, except for the strange anomaly that had knocked them all out. Yuri switched on the radio systems again, and began speaking into the headset as Dimitri looked outside for any trouble.
We're still on time, it appears. Dimitri thought as a gust of wind buffeted him. The infantry on the back were speaking in low mutters. The T-34s behind them drove up and formed a line. The snow was finally letting up, allowing the crews to see their surroundings; as before, they were still in a ravine, likely on the back road to the enemy airfield. Alexi Sokolov, the commander of the rearmost T-34, looked to be building a fire on the engine deck of his tank as his attached infantry squad did the same on the ground.
Ducking back inside, Dimitri waited as Yuri finished his current transmission. As soon as he was done, the veteran crew of the Soviet medium got to business. "Yuri, start the tank." Dimitri ordered, motioning with his hands. "Bogdan, take Alexsandr and build a fire on the engine deck. Have the infantry start the rest of them." The two nodded as Yuri turned the engine over, filling the interior of the steel beast with the familiar rumble. The loader and gunner both climbed out of the tank as the commander checked outside, seeing the other crews start fires as the four other tanks turned on.
"Yuri, the radio." Both headsets were given to Dimitri as he stepped down into the lower reaches of the tank. Putting on the command radio first, Dimitri opened up the radio waves and attempted contacting the field headquarters.
Static.
Not one to be so easily dissuaded, Dimitri tried the main force scheduled to hit the main gate of the airfield, and the scouting force meant to make their own gate to the east. "This is Raven here, looking for Bluejay commander, over."
After a few moments of static, the radio waves cleared as the commander of the main force answered. "Bluejay commander to Raven, what is it, over?"
"Have you encountered any problems, Bluejay? Especially those involving a loss of consciousness, over?"
The extra silence was all Dimitri needed to confirm his question. "Yes. So has Eagle and Archer group." There was a pause on the other end, allowing Dimitri to relay the information to Yuri.
"The Katyushas, lead, and scouting forces seem to have experienced the same problems." Dimitri mentioned. Yuri looked about to respond, but Dimitri held up a finger to silence him as Bluejay returned to the radio.
"It seems that we have only temporarily lost contact with command. Eagle is sending five cavalry tanks and two of their T-34/57s to find them. The attack is to recommence in ten minutes. Ready your men, over."
"Understood. Good luck. Raven out." Dimitri gave the command radio back to his driver as he got on the platoon radio. "All units, prepare to resume. If your vehicles are running properly, extinguish the fires. Infantry crews ready up. In ten minutes, we will commit to our attack." Affirmative answers crowded the radio as the small battle group of T-34s readied to attack the airfield.
Oberleutnant Hans Neumann
6th Panzer Division, XLVIII Panzerkorps
Date: Unknown
Location: Unknown
2226 hours
"What did you just say?!"
The message from the airfield was repeated, leaving the commander of the surrounding tank company confused. His crew looked at him as he returned the headphones to Adolf, asking the question silently. "Appa-" Hans stopped, still utterly bewildered. "Adolf, give me the short-range radio. I don't want to have to do this twice." The young radio operator complied, handing the radio to his senior. Opening up the system, the oberleutnant got the attention of the 50-tank-strong company.
"Apparently, men, we are in a completely different location." Pausing, Hans corrected himself. "Well, not even that. But it seems a large portion of the force stationed here at the airfield has, quite literally, disappeared, save for the armored forces. As it is, only a portion of our armor is accounted for. The personnel have also disappeared, with only about one thousand remaining."
The responses that came through the radio reflected exactly what the old German tanker thought of the situation: crazy and impossible. As the company deliberated on the news, Hans climbed out of the Tiger and looked around his new surroundings. The airfield looked like it had aged a decade or more, the buildings around the back gate decrepit, save for the more soundly built. The gate was still standing though, and he motioned for it to be opened as he jumped down from the heavy tank. The company resumed mobilization, setting up defilades and towing anti-tank artillery into hidden positions. Overhead, a lone Bf. 109 buzzed as it took off, banking around to the south to scout.
29 December 2024
Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
Abandoned Village
Practice Battle between Kuromorimine and Pravda
2247 hours
Koyomi Mitsuka looked through her binoculars at the snowscape in front of them, searching for any enemy vehicles waiting in ambush. Seeing none, the three-year veteran of the Pravda Tankery Team turned around and waved her arm, motioning for the main force to move up. The driver of her T-34/85 moved the tank over the ridge and out of the way as Pravda's muscle, the KV-2, slowly approached and crested the hill. With it was the bulk of the deployed Pravda team: four T-34/1943s, five more T34/85s, and two SU-85s. Somewhere in the forests on the battlefield, the team's IS-2 was lying in wait, and two BT-7s kept darting around, looking for the enemy.
In the turret of the massive assault tank that was the KV-2, Katyusha growled and muttered under her breath, growing more impatient each passing moment. They hadn't seen a Black Forest tank in almost an hour by now, and the diminutive commander would give nearly anything to see some action, even against the super-heavy Kuromorimine always tried to deploy.
"Where are they?!" she yelled out loud, banging her fist against the side of the turret before withdrawing it, feeling a sting of pain. "Scout team, go look around for the enemy! Check up north near the abandoned airfield!" The two light tank commanders responded positively, and presumably headed off to the old WWII airfield.
"Perhaps we should go south." someone mentioned through the radio. "They may have gone into the base as well."
"I know that!" Katyusha responded forcefully, silencing the one who'd dared to speak. Realizing the assumption was likely correct, she ordered for the battle group to head southeast to scout and, if necessary, assault the old military camp. Wanting to check on her co-commander, Katyusha pressed down on the button for her radio set. "Whiteout, this is Snow Hare. How are you?"
The commander of the IS-2 sounded off as she picked up the radio. "This is Whiteout. We are dug in and camouflaged at our last reported position. No sign of the enemy yet."
"Maintain your position. If we find them, we'll send the flag tank running right at you. The rest of you, let's go!" The Pravda force moved out from their emplacements in the abandoned village. As they did, however, a deep roar filled the air around them, barely audible over the sound of the tanks starting up. But, it was audible, and it grew louder, causing many of the tank commanders to look around in confusion. Suddenly, an old aircraft roared overhead, banking around to look at the formation before flying away.
"That's cheating!" Katyusha screamed, identifying the aircraft at one of Kuromorimine's due to the Balkenkreuz lookalike on the underside of the wings. "Isn't that cheating?!" The rest of the Pravda Tankery Team sighed as their commander went off on a tangent, raging at the idea that Black Forest had the upper hand.
The pilot of the Bf. 109, a G-6 model, lined up for an approach to land on the mysterious airfield. Even with all the strange occurrences going on, the fact that Soviet armor was still in range was more pressing. The air detachment had to get the surviving Stukas armed and airborne before the enemy attacked.
As the storm overhead blew and raged, a cold gust of wind blew across the battlefield at Abashiri, chilling the landscape even more so, as if signifying the events yet to come.
Again, relatively short chapter. This SHOULD be the last one before they start increasing in size. Also, to give future warning, this fic might have to be increased in rating due to the descriptive combat coming up.
Anyhow, OC entries are still open, if you're interested! Just PM me with your details and I'll incorporate your character into the story.
To finish, have a good Veteran's Day/late Remembrance Sunday, or whatever you may celebrate. Please take a moment to remember all of your respective country's veterans, and those who died fighting for your sovereignty.
