Panzer und uni
Chapter 4: American rolling thunder, promises, Battle comences
Los Angeles port
The massive Ibaraki university ship pulled seamlessly into the port of LA. It had been 2 weeks since the first round draw and Ibaraki had been making non-stop at full speed from Tokyo to LA. It was decided that, as the battle was to be held in America at Ohio's battlefield, but this presented the problem of getting the crews, tanks and aircraft most of the way across America, about 2565 miles there and the same back. Currently, the whole of the Sensha-dō team was gathered in A team's hanger for the briefing.
"Right listen in!" shouted Sato, "Seeing as Ohio state use a mix of M60's and M48 Patton's, we will be fielding a mix of our own M60's, Centurions and other tanks. The team composition will be: 5 M60's, 2 Centurion Mk 9's 2 AMX 13 90's and our Leopard 1. Nova Squadron will also provide air support." Sato paused and she glared at Nicholas and the rest on Nova. "All crews are to have their tanks and Aircraft ready for transport do the Amtrak station by 13:00 hours, the time is currently 10:30 hours. Go to your machines and prepare, you are dismissed when you are ready to your commanders satisfaction. Any questions?" One hand went up from a member of B team.
"How will the crews be travelling to Ohio state commander?" asked the student.
"Good question." Said Sato, "As it will take a long time for the train to get to Ohio. We have 2 days R&R before a transport sent from Ohio comes to take us to the battlefield at 22:30 hours.. Any other questions?" no hands were raised. "Good, dismissed." The crews went off to their tasks, prepping their aircraft and tanks for transport.
LA international airport
22:00 hours
Inside one of the terminals at LA international airport, the assembled Sensha-dō team and Nova squadron were waiting for their pick up to take them out to Ohio. On the horizon, a storm was brewing, nothing that any ordinary aircraft couldn't handle though. Everyone had bought a suitcase or bag with them, looking forward to a to comfortable flight. Then a student dressed in a dark green flight suit walked into the terminal and said,
"Ibaraki University Sensha-dō team?" the team stood up. The flight suit clad student said,
"Right, grab your bags and follow me out to you ride to Ohio." The team members grabbed their kit and followed the student out on to the tarmac.
And to a big surprise waiting for them.
Palked on the tarmac was, not an airliner, but a C-130 Hercules with the Ohio State logo on the side. For Nicholas and Miho however, standing in the open rear bay door of the C-130 was a familiar face and family friend.
"Hey Jorge!" shouted Nicholas, waving to his old friend.
"Nicholas! Miho! Good to see you again!" shouted Jorge.
"You're our ride to Ohio?" asked Sato as she pushed up past Nicholas up to the mouth of the Hercules.
"Yup, hop on and grab a seat." Said Jorge. The Sensha-dō crews started filling into the Hercules. Much to everyone's, bar Nicholas, surprise on each seat was a white vest and a helmet. Jorge moved up to the stairs to the cockpit and shouted.
"Right listen up!" everyone fell silent and turned to him from their seats. "Put your hand up if you've ever rod in a C-130 before?" only Nicholas raised his hand. "Right, Nick I've the safety briefing take off in 5 mikes."
"Got it Jorge." Said Nicholas, he walked up from his seat and up the stairs and began the safety briefing.
"Alight, everyone put on your vests and helmets." They did and continued to listen. "Now then, in the event of an emergency, you are to adopt the brace position. Under your seat you will find a lifejacket. You are to put it on but do not inflate it. There is a life raft in the back. The doors are clearly marked and there are 2 here, here and here, and obviously the massive rear loading door. You know the rest of the standard airline spiel it's the same. On a veterans note, as first time flyers I suggest you don't eat anything and only drink water. Now strap in and try to get some sleep." Nicholas climbed down from the stairs to the cockpit and retook his seat, putting on the vest and donning the helmet. He then did up the straps on his seat and readied himself for takeoff.
"Hey Nicholas," asked voice, he looked up at Mary Jayne, B teams commander. "How come were packed in so tight?"
"This thing wasn't built for comfort," said Nicholas, "this thing isn't pressurised so it gets cold inside this thing, this way we'll stay warm. By the way, if your going to sleep, put you straps on."
"Why?" asked Mary,
"You'll get thrown around in the storm." Said Nicholas. Mary looked at him astounded. The engines roared and the aircraft shook and creaked as it accelerated down the runway and into the air, by the time they had reached 12,000 feet, Nicholas was already asleep.
It had been an hour since takeoff and the Hercules was in the midst of a gripping storm, many of the students were air sick and others were terrified of the aircraft being thrown around the sky, but Nicholas was sound asleep while Miho, Hana and Mako just watched as he slept.
"How can he just sleep through a flight like this?" asked Hana, shouting slightly over the drone of the 4 turboprop engines. Miho just smiled sheepishly and said,
"No idea."
A few hours later, the storm had lifted and the sun rose over the horizon. In the cargo bay full of shattered and disorientated students, Nicholas stood up, feeling fresh from a good night's sleep. He stretched off and said,
"Morning all, good Night's sleep?" He received filthy looks from the other crew members who hadn't slept.
"We got thrown around like cannon fodder in here." Said Mary, "but other than that yeah." Jorge then emerged from the cockpit with a coffee in hand and offered it to Nicholas,
"Complements of the pilot." Said Jorge, Nicholas took the coffee and swallowed the stale caffeinated drink.
"Thanks," said Nicholas, "How close are we to arrival?"
"We passed over the Ohio state border a few minutes ago." Said Jorge, "And were approaching the drop zone."
"Drop Zone?!" shouted most of the students in surprise.
"yeah," said Jorge, "While the Hercules is continuing to the Kreigsfliger base, there is the option for those who want too, to parachute jump down. Any volunteers?" Nicholas and the rest of Nova squadron stood up volunteering. Nicholas smiled with pride.
"Nicholas, Chutes are on the bulkhead, get these jumpers ready." Said Jorge. Nicholas nodded and moved forward to the bulkhead, retrieving 5 chutes and handed them out amongst his squadron.
"Jorge! Time to drop zone?" shouted Nicholas as he secured his chute. He was confident that each of Nova could do their own chutes as they had all performed jumps from aircraft during training for bail out drills, he was confident in them.
"30 Seconds! Opening rear hatch." Said Jorge. The massive rear door of the Hercules opened, a small hurricane rushed through the Hercules cargo bay.
"Keep an eye on or stuff please." Said Nicholas, Miho nodded that she would.
"See you on the ground." She said. Nicholas nodded and led his squadron to the back of the cargo bay.
"Count to 10 then pull your chutes! Nova squadron! We are dropping into hell, how we getting there?" shouted Nicholas.
"FEET FIRST SIR!" shouted Nova squadron as loud as they could. Then the green light lit up and the 5 pilots raced forward, jumping from the lip of the ramp into the open sky. The Hercules was gone, disappeared behind the group of 5 parachutists. As Nicholas mentally counted to 10, he surveyed the terrain below. Ohio was known for its rolling hills and in parts, mountainous terrain. Bellow them, Nicholas could see hills and a large shed, with the Ohio state university logo on the roof. He guessed this was their Tankery shed or the equivalent. He, adjusted his arms and legs to alter his gliding path towards the large shed, aiming to land in front of it. His mental countdown reached zero and he reached and yanked on the rip cord and his chute deployed, snapping Nicholas upright from a horizontal decent. As Nicholas regained his orientation, he looked around, scanning for his pilots; he was relieved that he spotted other 4 open chutes, all heading for the large shed. As they descended, Nicholas spotted a group of people emerging from the hanger to greet them. Nicholas adjusted his Chute's decent angle, accelerating his decent and altering his course to land in front of the group. The ground rushed up to meet him and he bent his legs, preparing for a hard landing, he adjusted his chute to slow his decent and his feat touched the ground, he took a few steps as he landed before planting his feet on the ground, his chute floated to the ground and Nicholas undid his backpack, dropping it to the ground. He looked up at the approaching mass of American students and smiled.
" Who is in command here?" he asked. A tall, fair skinned, dark haired, emerald green eyed student, clad in a dark green coverall, boots and tankers jacket stepped forward.
"I am." Said the student. Nicholas offered his hand to the American and said,
"Flight lieutenant Nicholas Nishizumi, from Ibaraki university Kreigsfliger squadron, reporting." The American student smiled and shook Nicholas' offered hand.
"Commander Robert C. Jackson the 3rd." Said the student. "I command the Ohio state Tankery team. Your tanks and aircraft arrived 2 days ago via Amtrak. We've put the tanks in our visitors hanger and the aircraft have been put in hanger 12-7 at the Kreigsfliger airfield."
"Thank you, the rest of the team should be landing at the airfield soon, but anyone who wanted was given the option to jump and we're all pilots so we thought why the hell not." Said Nicholas. Jackson laughed and said,
"Jorge was right, you are crazy." Nicholas looked questioningly at Jackson who explained, " Jorge and Alisa are on the Tankery and Kreigsfliger team respectively, and Jorge has told many a tale about you, including a story about a girl named Isobel..." Jackson smiled at the mixed look of embarrassment and humiliation laced on Nicholas face, "Come on, I'll give you a lift to the airfield." Jackson lead Nicholas and the rest of Nova squadron to a waiting jeep. As they jumped in and started towards the airfield, Nicholas turned to Jackson and said,
"Tell me, did Jorge ever tell you about a girl called Maddy?"
At the Kreigsfliger base, Nicholas and the rest of Nova were astounded to say the least. The Ohio state university's Kreigsfliger base was impressive to say the least, Nicholas had gathered that it had been once a US air force base until recent budget cuts and it had been decommissioned and the university had bought it and moved its squadron to its new home. Although the word 'squadron' seemed like an understatement. Across the airfield, were aircraft off all types shapes and sizes, from AT-6C Texas trainers, to silver clad P51's and P47's, blue F4F corsairs and F6 wildcats, to massive B24 Liberators and B17 flying fortresses, there were dozens of aircraft either in the air, on the flight line, taxiing or being worked on. From the where they were waiting on the flight line for the Hercules carrying their team mates to arrive, Nicholas got a good view of the whole base. He could clearly see the outline of his mosquito in its dark green camo in a hanger on the far side of the base, but what had his curiosity peaked was something parked in a couple of hanger over, on its own, away from all the other aircraft. Curiosity then got the better of him and he turned to Jackson and asked,
"Robert, is that an F-35A lightning 2 over there?" he pointed to the USAF generation 5 multi role stealth fighter in the distance.
"Yeah," said Jackson "it's a USAF bird that landed here due to a system failure the other day, the air force are sending some mechanics out to fix it. You want to go have a look around it?"
"Sure." Said Nicholas excitedly. He was always a fan of modern aircraft and the F-35 was one of his favourites. He was distracted from his moment happiness at the prospect of getting a look around the current cutting edge and foreseeable future of air combat by the sound of 4 turbo prop engines passing over. Nicholas watched as the Hercules came into landing and taxied around to, by where they were waiting.
The back door of the Hercules lowered to the ground and the Ibaraki students started filling out. Miho was dazzled as she stepped out of the cramped, dark Hercules and into the bright daylight of the airfield. She spotted her husband, the rest of his squadron and a student in a jump suit by a jeep waiting for them. Sato pushed past her towards the waiting student. She then asked the student,
"Are you commander Jackson?"
"Yes, Your Commander Sato I presume. Welcome to Ohio. " Said Jackson. "Your panzers have been put in the visitor's hanger and your aircraft in hanger 12-7. Your panzers and aircraft have full use of the firing ranges and obstacle courses until the battle starts tomorrow at 11:00., You're being accommodated in student bunk rooms in delta house."
"Thank you." Sato turned to the teams. "Right! Dump your crap and get you're asses down to the panzers and get out to that firing range! MOVE IT!" the tank crews groaned and headed off to find their panzers. Nicholas, in contrast turned to Nova squadron and said,
"Right squadron listen in. The time is 10:00 hours, I expect you all to be working n your aircraft no later than 11:00, dup your stuff, have a shower, get a change of clothes on and I'll get something for you to eat before we fly out to the range today. Dismissed." The 2 separate crews went their separate ways, the flight team significantly happier than the Sensha-dō team.
Nicholas jumped down from his Mosquito, he had just finished maintance on the port engine and he glanced down at his watch, he had 12 minutes before his squadron was due to turn up at the hanger. He then walked out of the hanger, being bathed in the light of the Ohio sun. The midday sun bathed their airbase in sweltering heat and blinding light. Nicholas put on his aviators, he smiled, just taking in the moment, reflecting on his life, he was married to the woman he loved, he was the leader of a team that was made of people he would trust with his life and was doing things that most students could only dream of doing. He wandered into the hanger next to the one his teams war birds were in. Inside was a single aircraft, one of the most advanced, deadliest and to Nicholas, one of the most beautiful aircraft that ever graced the sky.
The F-35A lightning 2 joint strike fighter.
The F-35 was one of only a handful of operational generation 5 aircraft. Incorporating advanced avionics, stealth technology and some of the most advanced weaponry on the planet, it was one of the deadliest aircraft in the skies. Nicholas walked around the aircraft, he had been around one before, an RAF F-35A at the Cosford Air show a few years prior, its graceful angled lines amplifying to its beautiful deadlines.
"Enjoying yourself?" asked a voice. Nicholas looked from by the F-35 to see Miho in the hanger door. He smiled and said,
"Appreciating art." He walked away from the F-35 and embrace his wife, something he felt that they hadn't had much time to do lately. "How goes the pre battle prep?"
"Fine." Said Miho, "Anglerfish the 2nd bust a torsion bar but we've replaced it." Nicholas snorted with amusement.
"Anglerfish the 2nd?" asked Nicholas humorously. Miho laughed and said
"You got magnificent Miho the 2nd, Why not anglerfish the 2nd?"
"Fair enough." Said Nicholas. Nicholas and Miho looked at the F-35. "There's something I've been wanting to discuss with you Miho." Miho looked up, when ever Nicholas called her by her first name, she knew it was serious. "When we graduate, I want to join the Air self defence force." Miho sighed deeply, deep down she had known that someday that Nicholas would want to join the air force, but she was worried.
"I know." Said Miho, "And I know you won't be happy unless you're going Mach 2 with your hair on fire." Miho and Nicholas chuckled a little, But I don't want you to end up like my father." Nicholas understood why she said that. Miho's father had been a MSDF helicopter pilot who in quite a lot of ways was like Nicholas, slightly hot headed, confided, at times, reckless, one day his recklessness and overconfidence had resulted in him crashing his Umidori tilt-rotor aircraft, killing himself, his WSO and 3 crew on the ship he was landing on. As result, Shiho had had to raise Miho and Maho by herself.
"I promise you that won't happen to me." Said Nicholas. Miho started to cry,
"You can't promise that." She said, her voice muffled by tears, her voice grew louder , "You could die in an accident beyond your control, then what? I'll be left alone. What about that? What about our family! Assuming we have one?" Nicholas was surprised. They had talked about having a family, and it had crossed his mind before. He then had an idea and turned to his wife kneeling down to her head height and said,
"How about this then. If I join the Air force, I promise that if we decided to start a family, I will leave the air force, at whatever point I am at in my career, to be with you and our children." Nicholas looked up, still sobbing slightly.
"Really?" she asked through her tears.
"Really." Reassured Nicholas "I don't want to have my children grow up without a father." The 2 locked eye sight for a moment and then Miho kissed him. The 2 lovers broke their kiss and then, hugged. Content that they had sorted their future career plans for the time being.
Ohio Kreigsfliger airbase runway 17
The sun held high in the morning Ohio sky, moderate cloud cover, low wind and no rain. Perfect flying weather. Parked at the end of one of the 5 runways at the Ohio Kreigsfliger base were the assembled warbirds of Ibaraki's flying team, with Nicholas' mosquito at the front, the P40, the Oscar and the hurricane, engines idling, waiting for the off. Nicholas once again, let his eyes glance over the instruments for about the 12th time in the last 5 minutes, he glanced down at the clock, 2 minutes till 10:00 at match start. He keyed his Mic,
"All Ibaraki call signs," he said, "Report and sound off."
"Merlin aye, ready to fly." Said Alex, in his Hurricane.
"Hornet, good to go." Said Jacob, in the P40 Warhawk,
"Okha ready to fly." Said Lizzie, in the Oscar.
"Jäger, ready to hunt." Said Nicholas. He glanced out the window and saw their opponents taxing out to their runway. Ohio's premier team, P-38 lightning's, the G-Junkies. Nicholas keyed his mic once again,
"There's the competition lads and ladess. P-38's, 2 rigger for ground attack and 3 to hunt us down. Engage in a turning fight and hold nothing back. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" came the collective response. The clock clicked to 10:00 and a red flare arched over the runway from the control tower.
"MATCH START!"
