Chapter 10

As Tùzǐ and Blitz reached the street leading to the village's central square, Kale's voice called over the radio. "Tier 1s and ARVs to the square, look lively!"

Blitz turned her turret and scowled at the Sherman, who was near the back of the column with the other ARVs and the M37. "I don't like his attitude," she muttered to Tùzǐ. "We pull their asses outta the fire and he thinks he can boss our tanks around."

"It sounds to me like tier matters more to them than it does to this team," Tùzǐ answered, keeping his voice low as well. "Remember how Ripper reacted to seeing Narida in charge?"

Blitz gave a loud huff, smoke puffing from her exhaust pipes. "You bet I do. Disrespectful punk. I woulda liked to see Narida teach him a lesson." They reached the end of the street and turned into the corner of the square to wait.

"It's kinda understandable though." Tùzǐ raised his cannon in a placating gesture as Blitz turned her turret to him with an angry glare. "Thrasher's team was the same way," he went on. "Frontier teams are used to being bossed around by bigger, tougher tanks. You see someone higher tier, you either get out of the way or expect to get crushed."

"...Hmph. Fine, I can see where they're comin' from. I'd still love to see Ripper take on a Death Star and see if he's still talkin' crap afterwards."

Tùzǐ shivered at the morbid implications, remembering the way Thrasher's turret had disintegrated after a single hit. As he was trying to think of a diplomatic reply, the ARVs rolled into the square. Kale looked around, confirming that the three tier 1 tanks were present, then turned to Blitz. "1c, shouldn't you be patrolling the perimeter? We have work to do here."

Blitz fixed him with a glare that looked like it should have melted his armor. "I'm helping upgrade Tùzǐ, remember? I'm the one who actually knows how Vickers transmission works."

"Ah, of course," Kale brushed off the implied insult, turning to the cargo trucks. "Let's get started then."

Tùzǐ awoke with a mild feeling of déjà vu. It was the second time he was waking up in this square from some form of unconsciousness rather than proper sleep, he realized with mild amusement. He felt MUCH better this time though. His fuel tank had been filled properly, and the mild ache of the shells he had taken was gone.

"Tùzǐ? How you feelin'?" Blitz asked him.

Tùzǐ turned his turret to look at her, noticing the much quieter sound of his new turret ring. "Great," he answered. "Everything feels... smoother." Remembering his new gun, he tried loading a shell container. The motions were unfamiliar, but easy enough to figure out. "The gun's a little strange to get used to…"

Kale interrupted him. "Your first time using an autoloader? You should try shooting and reloading with it. Practice will help more than anything else." He glanced at Blitz. "Maybe you could give him some pointers. Outside the town. We need to focus on our work."

Narida spoke up from a position at the edge of the square. "Blitz, Tùzǐ, come with me. We'll go out on a patrol." She watched Kale for a long moment as the two light tanks drove over to her, then turned to lead them out of the town.

The three tanks followed the team's trail down through the foothills mostly in silence. Blitz fumed quietly to herself as they drove. Tùzǐ experimented with his new, more powerful engine, going out of his way to drive over rises and rough terrain. Narida watched them both with obvious amusement.

The road curved around a hill and the trio found themselves on a low, rocky ridge looking out over rolling hills. They came to a halt and scanned the horizon warily. Tùzǐ's optics caught a flash of movement in the distance. "Look," he whispered, "is that a tank?" He indicated the spot, and all three tanks waited for whatever it was to show itself.

After a few seconds there was another flash on the next hill over. Narida's turret twitched to follow it. "...That's an ELC AMX. Bandit paint. Coming this way. We'll have to get the team ready for action. But let's deal with this one first." She turned to Blitz and Tùzǐ. "Take cover and stay out of sight. That thing has a nasty gun. I'll take care of this."

Blitz nudged Tùzǐ with a track and motioned to a stand of brush against the steep hillside. Tùzǐ stared after her for a moment as she hurried to hide. The irritated expression Blitz had worn since leaving town had abruptly changed. She looked almost… excited? Tùzǐ shook his turret, drove after her and slipped into a gap in the brush.

Narida rolled forward onto the ridgeline and made a show of slowly turning her turret, pretending to scan the horizon. After a few moments she rolled back partly into cover with a confident nod. The three tanks waited, listening as the sound of the enemy scout's engine became audible, rapidly approaching. Narida deliberately turned her hull and turret to the right as the sound moved to the left, still feigning ignorance. Tùzǐ watched nervously. It didn't seem likely the KV-1 would be able to turn her cannon around quickly enough to catch the ELC before it hit her and sped past.

"Should we-"

"Shh!" Blitz interrupted him. Seconds later they heard the ELC's engine whine as it reached the slope up to the rise, and the bandit scout popped up onto the ridge behind Narida, still moving at nearly full speed.

As the ELC sped toward her, Narida fired a burst from the machine gun in the back of her turret. The bullets struck just behind the base of the ELC's cannon, punching through into the firing mechanism. The bandit yelped in pain and slid to a stop, bumping against the KV-1's left rear drive wheel. Narida smirked and backed up slightly. The ELC's thin armor buckled under her treads as her weight slammed the light tank's nose into the dirt, lifting the rest of the tank slightly off the ground. Narida locked her right track and threw her left into full reverse. The ELC had time for a single fearful whimper before being dragged under Narida's treads with a sickening crunch and a small spray of oil and fuel.

Tùzǐ winced and looked away from the grisly spectacle. He heard Blitz gasp, but she didn't sound frightened. He glanced over through the brush. The Panzer 1c was watching Narida with an expression of obvious awe. She certainly didn't seem as afraid of Narida as she had claimed after the bandit ambush.

Narida turned around and drove up to the bushes, bits of scrap metal falling from her treads. "Come on, let's get back to the team. We need to let them know the bandits are moving nearby."

Blitz drove out of cover and around Narida to lead the way back up the road, her expression schooled to blankness. Tùzǐ fell in beside Narida and followed Blitz. After they had gone some distance up the road, he snuck a careful glance at Narida. The KV-1 was watching Blitz with a small, strange smile.