Always Advancing
A Girls und Panzer fanfic
Part X: Squeeze Play
by Civilis
"Welcome to the town of Ōarai", announced Kay, as the Saunders formation passed the first building on the outskirts of the city on their strategic advance to the point known as Second Base. "When we get to the waypoint, I want Pitcher 1 facing down the highway, flank to the wall. I want both Outfielders on the other flank. Shortstop will be behind the Pitcher, facing the other direction. Pitcher, engage the Batters at your discretion. Given the armor, Slugger is not a priority unless you're sure you have a good chance to kill. Outfielders, our goal is to kill the remaining Runners. They'll probably appear about the time the Batters start opening fire. Everyone, keep an eye out on all sides."
"Outfielder 3. What should we do if things go wrong?"
"If the Batters start getting into killing range, or we lose tanks to Slugger or the Runners, withdraw as soon as possible. If the Runners come from the flank, withdraw to Home Plate. If they come from the rear, withdraw to Third Base."
"If things go to hell," added Arisa from Pitcher 1, "play hide and seek in the back streets. Remember, Slugger is only really vulnerable from behind."
The four tanks reached the intersection that would serve as the next battlefield. Pitcher 1 turned around and edged up to the corner of a building, giving it a good line of sight for its 76mm cannon down the highway. The other three tanks positioned themselves to cover the heavier armed tank. Tank commanders and loaders unbuttoned their hatches to join Kay and Yukari in watching the surrounding streets.
After a few minutes of waiting, Yukari felt things were calm enough to ask a question. "Kay, what's up with them disqualifying Outfielder 1 for a busted track? We lost tracks all the time."
"In Annihilation matches, the judges are allowed to rule that an inoperable tank that has no chance of being repaired in the field is out of the battle. It comes from some of the early matches where half the tanks would throw a track or have their weapons knocked out and you'd have two sides with no way of getting to each other to end the battle. That's why we carry spare tracks and teach people to repair them in the field, but it's not always possible," Kay explained.
"So, I guess Outfielder 1 just had bad luck to really wreck their track."
Kay would have continued, but Arisa's yell from behind got their attention. "I see dust coming down the road. Looks like they're finally ready to face us." Next to her, Pitcher 1's loader dropped into the turret to prepare to fight.
"Everyone else, keep an eye out!" called Kay. "They'll try to hit us from two sides at once!"
Yukari's ears picked up the sound of engines from the opposite direction of the advancing dust. Her call of "I hear something from the rear!" was drowned out by the roar of the 76mm cannon on Pitcher 1 firing.
"Runners spotted!" called Kay, pointing to a glimpse of a Crusader briefly visible in the space between buildings several blocks down. "Everyone ready!"
Yukari dropped into the turret and picked up a shell.
"This is Arisa," came Pitcher 1's voice over the radio. "One Batter down, but the others are using houses for cover as they advance. No sign of Slugger. Batters are almost in…"
Anything further was lost in the shock of Shortstop's cannon firing. With practiced ease, Yukari reloaded and signaled to the gunner. Another shock.
"Got one Runner!" called Kay. Yukari loaded another shell and signaled.
Another shock, followed by a second. It took Yukari a moment to recognize the second as the sound of a shell bouncing off their armor. She reloaded, but the gunner didn't fire.
"This is Shortstop! Withdraw to Third Base!" came the order from above.
Yukari pulled herself up and out of the hatch. Nearby on the street was another Crusader, smoking, with a white flag. Unfortunately, one of the Outfielder Team tanks also had a protruding white flag. As Shortstop pulled away, the commander of the knocked out tank saluted from the cupola.
"Outfielder 3, you're rearguard. Pitcher 1, take the middle," ordered Kay as the tank turned onto a meandering side street.
Yukari watched behind them as the two other Shermans backed out of their position and turned to follow. Outfielder 3 had its turret trained to cover the rear, its commander watching for anything behind them.
She was just breathing a sigh of relief when Kay cried out next to her "Abort! Scramble!" The Sherman lurched left as a shell flew closely past from ahead, impacting on a nearby building.
Turning around, Yukari caught a glimpse of the Churchill VII parked in the middle of the street ahead, just visible around one of the turns in the road. Darjeeling was sitting out of the hatch, teacup in hand, calmly smiling as her crew sprung their trap. Kay waved to her, as Shortstop quickly turned onto a narrower side street, practically an alley, avoiding the next shell from the Churchill.
Yukari tried to keep her eye on the Churchill, but it was quickly out of sight behind a building. She did have a chance to watch Pitcher 1 turn away from the ambush in the opposite direction, heading away into the maze of alleys. Outfielder 3 was not so lucky. Caught between the advancing Matildas and the Churchill, it took several direct hits in rapid succession.
"We have your tank and my 76," said Arisa over the radio. "They have one Crusader, probably the redheads, two Matildas, and Darjeeling's Churchill. I guess it's down to hide and seek."
Kay looked over her shoulder. "It looks like two Batters are pursuing us. That means that Slugger is likely trying to track you down, and the Runner is going to try a squeeze play with one of us."
At the same time, Yukari studied the familiar street. She tapped Kay on the shoulder. "After the next bend, there will be a hotel in front of us and a left turn. Take the turn slow, then wait around the corner, gun pointed in front of the hotel." She dropped into the tank and readied a shell.
Dropping into the tank, Kay passed on the instruction to the crew, who nodded. With a wider turning radius than the Panzer IV, the Sherman only made the turn thanks to the warning, as the gunner readied the cannon.
Although the Matildas were forewarned by seeing the Sherman slow, the warning meant that instead of sending them into the hotel, the turn put them right in front of Shortstop's cannon. The first shot hit the lead Matilda just as it stopped. At this range, the Saunders gunner had no problem hitting the armor with enough force to knock out the tank. Yukari slammed another round into the cannon as the second Matilda hit the turn and ran into the first Matilda, knocking off the St. Gloriana gunners' aim and causing her shot to mar the Sherman's flank instead of penetrating the vulnerable rear armor. Shortstop fired again, sending the second Matilda out of the match.
"Both Batters down. One Slugger, one Runner left," radioed Kay as they drove away from the wreckage.
"This is Ar… Pitcher 1. No sign of Blondie or the redhead," came the reply.
The tank shook as a shot glanced off their front turret armor. "I found the Runner!" said Kay. "It looks like she wants to play tag!"
"I'll be on my way… if I can figure out where you or I am," groaned Arisa.
Shortstop lurched after the fleeing Crusader, which zigzagged along even though the Sherman wasn't firing, preferring not to waste ammo on such a difficult and evasive target. "You know, they're leading us into a trap, right?" warned Kay's gunner.
"We have to find them somehow," replied Kay. "As long as we know it's a trap we can prepare."
Yukari spotted something in the tank. "Kay, do you remember the trick with the smoke markers I told you about?"
"Yeah. Why? Do you have an idea?"
"Was that legal?" Yukari asked.
"It's fully legal to use normal period equipment which might be carried in the field, or modern equivalents authorized by the Sensha-do Federation, as long as they're not used as weapons and don't endanger any participants or spectators. We carry binoculars, for example."
Yukari grabbed something from the safety equipment holder next to the emergency smoke markers. Kay's eyes widened in surprise, but she smiled and nodded, then got on the radio. "Pitcher 1, Shortstop here. Keep an eye out for the ball and you'll know where we are."
Yukari pulled herself up into the hatch, clutching the item. Rosehip's Crusader was visible ahead, but it was buttoned up given the attention it was getting from a charging Sherman, meaning they might not see what she was about to do. Yukari took the emergency flare gun and fired it above the tank, where the flare burst in midair.
"There's an open area ahead, a likely spot for a fight," said Kay, "Yukari, get below and prepare to load. Gunner, priority is the Runner. Given the area ahead, they'll likely expect us to break off to the left. Driver, feint left as soon as we enter the intersection, then head back and hug the right wall so they'll be on our left. Once we pass the Runner, circle around and try to get behind the Slugger. Keep moving."
The radio crackled to life. "Arisa here, I see your location. On my way."
Shortstop roared into the intersection. Ahead and to the left was an outlet mall, with a massive parking lot empty save for the Churchill, waiting for its' prey. Straight ahead the road continued on, with the Crusader swerving into a turn to charge back. Ahead and to the right was a solid noise wall. Surrounding this on the other sides were the apartments and houses of Ōarai proper.
The Crusader jerked around and charged the Sherman, gun pointed to the left from the perspective of the crew on Shortstop, expecting the Sherman to try to break into one of the side streets to the left to avoid the ambush. The feint took Rosehip by surprise, however the Sherman's shot missed the speeding tank as well. A shot from the Churchill landed behind the Sherman as it sped along the wall.
"Gunner, we're going to play chicken with the Runner again," said Kay, dropping into the turret as the Sherman made a wide turn around the Churchill. "Target front."
Rosehip's Crusader was almost at the Churchill when the comparatively lumbering Sherman swung into view ahead of it. Both tanks fired, the Crusader's 6pdr glancing off the front plate of the Sherman, while the 75mm round from Shortstop hit the Crusader square on, sending the last cruiser tank into the shops and out of the battle.
"This is Arisa! I'm almost there, but there's a wall in the way!" came the cry from the radio.
"Where's the Slugger?" asked Kay. "Anyone have eyes on Slugger?" They'd been so focused on the Crusader they'd lost track of where they were relative to the heavy Churchill.
The Sherman shook from a near miss from the last St. Gloriana tank. "Keep circling! Don't stop!" called Kay as she went for the cupola again. "Slugger is at our ten!" The gunner frantically worked the turret to get a line of fire on the Churchill as the tanks circled.
"The wall's too thick to drive through!" radioed Arisa, frantically trying to aid her commander.
The tank shuddered again from a near miss, and something mechanical groaned menacingly. The driver called back, "That was too close! One of the tracks is damaged!" The tank lurched sickeningly along the storefronts. One of the windows nearby exploded from one of the Churchill's shots.
Yukari called to Kay, "Tell Arisa to stand on top of her tank, quick!"
"Arisa! Stand on top of the tank! Get your gunner ready!" radioed Kay, reading Yukari's mind.
Another window ahead of the Sherman exploded as the tank slowed down.
"All right, when we stop, shoot this round at anything, and then aim the next shot at the wall below where you see Arisa." Yukari told the gunner, who nodded. Yukari grabbed a High Explosive round.
"I see you!" radioed Arisa, as Shortstop shuddered to a halt. Kay dropped into the turret and braced herself.
The Sherman fired into the pavement. Yukari rammed the HE round home, and the tank fired again.
There was a massive impact from the side of the tank, and its systems, save for the radio, powered down.
Moments later, the sound of Pitcher 1's 76mm cannon firing could be heard. There was no further cannon fire, only the faint sound of a small white flag popping up.
The radio crackled to life. "All St. Gloriana tanks are inoperable. The match is over. Saunders wins."
"Well, it came down to extra innings, but a win is a win," said Kay, as she watched as the tank transporter carried Shortstop out of the staging area for the trip back to the docks and Saunders.
"Would you quit with the Baseball metaphors already?" groused Arisa. Or, rather, Arisa tried to grouse. She had gotten the winning shot, had got to ride back to the staging area with her tank without having to wait for a recovery team, and had even gotten to eat lunch without having any of it stolen, so she could only pretend to be in a rotten mood.
"Here comes Darjeeling and company." Naomi, who had joined the team on the field after the match, gestured to the group in red coats making their way over to the Saunders food concession area. "I see Rosehip, so you might want to make yourself scarce, Yukari."
"I need to go to the restroom anyways," said Yukari, "I'll meet back up with you on the bus." She headed off into the crowd.
"Congratulations, Kay," said Darjeeling, when the St. Gloriana group finally reached the Saunders officers. "I felt for sure we'd be able to finish you off before your other tank could arrive. Knocking a hole in the wall with your last shot was an unexpected but clever trick."
"You really kept us on our toes," replied Kay. "There were several times you had us completely outmaneuvered."
"Still, you were able to make better use of the urban areas than we were. It was a worthy match. Although I am a bit disappointed you seem to have picked up Arisa's tricky habits. At least that flare gun was unquestionably legal."
Naomi quietly stepped on Arisa's foot to prevent her from saying anything.
Kay extended her hand again. "I hope you and your tanks all had fun."
Darjeeling shook the proffered hand. "I look forward to our next match. Hopefully, this year it will be in the Finals."
The team officers exchanged friendly handshakes, and left for their respective buses.
On the way out of the women's restroom, Yukari collided with a figure in St. Gloriana red.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," apologized Yukari.
"No, I wasn't paying attention either," said the other girl.
The two managed to get around each other. Yukari made her way to the Saunders bus.
It wasn't until she was on her way out of the restroom some minutes later that Rosehip's driver realized that she'd seen that distinctive fluffy hair a few days before.
Next: Part XI: Tea and Flowers
Author's Note: The rules of Sensha-Do are never fully explained. When I pull something questionable, I try to have the characters justify it in a way that makes sense to me and doesn't clash with the original story.