The shadows between the small buildings had started growing as the sun was slowly descending from its peak. As the moments passed, Sky could see them crawl across the hull and turret of the T29 standing before her. He had led her here soon after her return, telling her that they needed to talk — alone. Sky didn't know what he could want to talk about, and she didn't really want to talk about anything with him anyway. As he finally said something, it was clear from his words that he had guessed as much.

"I know that you're angry at me, but your anger is unwarranted," he said.

"Is it now?" Sky asked. "Is it really unwarranted to be angry at someone who conspired to kick me from my own team and took my place after killing a teammate?"

"Understand my reasons for acting the way I did," Eject said. Sky glared at him.

"Kicking me, I'd understand. I know I did a bad job. But you still had a teammate murdered, for fuck's sake," she said, still upset about that fact, and it was obvious in her voice. "You ask me to respect a leader who let hate cloud his judgement. There's nothing for me to understand there."

Eject remained calm at the accusation.

"I may not have been particularly fond of her, but I didn't hate her. It wasn't hate that drove me," he replied. "Starting a witch hunt would be hypocritical of me."

Sky tilted her turret with a frown.

"Then what the hell was it?" she asked.

Eject only looked at her silently for a moment, with an expression that gave away a realization.

"You were clueless, … oblivious, and you still are," he eventually said.

Sky was impatiently waiting for him to get to the point, but didn't interrupt him; even though she wanted to protest.

"Rill knows what he's doing. He knows well," Eject went on. "And I'm not talking about his leadership qualities here."

"Well, what are you talking about?" Sky asked. She couldn't follow at all anymore.

"He didn't decide today to take over. You didn't see the signs. I did. For me, it was a matter of finding out if he'd be suitable, if he'd get things done," Eject explained. "I'll admit it took me a while, but after our last battle, I finally realized what he was trying to do. I had to know if I had to stop him — if he'd do more harm than good as the new leader."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Sky's frown deepened. "Don't you think you should have informed me if you found out someone is planning to overthrow me?"

"That would have been unwise. You couldn't have done anything. I could have, but only if I kept him unaware of what I knew. I had to keep playing dumb just in case."

Sky felt like she was starting to understand what he was getting at. But if that was the case …

"You didn't stop him from killing Goggles … You helped him kill her … to test him? Her death was just a test to you? A … a gambit?" she asked with disbelief.

Eject shook his cannon.

"Like I said, it had a purpose beyond that," he said. "He would have found a way to get rid of her, even without my help, he had the others' support. Her fate was sealed, she was the scapegoat, but I realized that there was my only chance, and if I took it, her death wouldn't be in vain, at least."

Sky stared at her teammate blankly. It was simply baffling to her how complicated the whole situation really was. All of that scheming just to become the leader of a group of pariahs? Or was that just the beginning of something bigger? The implications were only beginning to sink in and Sky tried to confirm that her train of thought was on the right track.

"And your verdict was …" she said slowly. Eject finished the sentence for her.

"Rill is capable of successfully leading this team," he said.

"But he is ruthless, …"

"You need to be ruthless to a certain degree to lead."

Sky sighed.

"I guess I'm really not cut out for this leader business then," she said in a weary tone.

"Don't worry," Eject said. "They wouldn't tolerate a tyrant."

"I sure hope so …" Sky murmured. The anger that she had felt at the T29 was indeed gone, but something was still unclear to her.

"So … Where do you come in? You're leader too now," she pointed out. "Are you sure you're not playing your own games?" she asked the other tank warily. After all, Eject seemed to be pulling his own share of strings.

"That was never my aim. He made me an offer to lead with him," Eject replied with a shrug. He went on firmly. "I merely accepted it. Not because I want power, if that's what you mean — I couldn't care less about it. It's simply the easiest way for me to keep him in check, and I'm glad the opportunity presented itself."

Sky nodded, because she didn't know what to say; but then another important question popped up in her mind.

"How do you know he isn't just using you?"

"He is," Eject replied deadpan. "When he made us the leaders, I was just a token for him, an alibi, to make it seem like he didn't want it all for himself. I won't doubt for a moment that he'll get rid of me as soon as he can. But for the time being, he needs me. I'm well-liked and respected. People follow me, because they've known me for a long time, and they trust me. Until he can win them over, I'll be his friend and ally."

"And when he did win them over? Then what?" Sky asked.

Eject shrugged. His antenna twitched for a moment as if he had noticed something. He turned to leave.

"We will see. I trust him as far as I can throw him, but he is not the devil."

Sky watched the heavy turn around and drive off; it took her a moment to spot Rill, who was now standing between the shadows a little way off. Eject reached him and they disappeared between the buildings together. Sky lowered her optics as she started driving off herself. She had a lot to brood about. She thought that she now understood the real reason why heavy tanks were so pensive all the time. All that plotting and analyzing each other's moves had to take up a lot of brain power. Maybe it was better that she was no longer the target of such calculations.

###

"What do you mean 'they are not friends anymore'?" Sky asked Arty.

The Sturmpanzer shuffled on her tracks uncomfortably. She couldn't believe it either, but the argument had been very unambiguous. Also Rex had confirmed it himself as she had cautiously asked him about it just earlier. He and Fox were on very bad terms now.

"They kinda yelled at each other and haven't talked since …" Arty said.

"But why?" Sky asked on.

"Because of … you, from what I understand," Arty replied, scratching her glacis. Sky gaped at her. Arty went on. "Rex … uh … didn't take the takeover well."

"He didn't mention it …" Sky mumbled thoughtfully.

Arty had seen him talking to Sky earlier, but had gotten the impression that it had been a positive conversation. He too was glad to have her back, but he must have realized that Sky taking back her leadership role wasn't going to happen anytime soon. It was unlikely that he had accepted it yet, but at least he was quiet about it now. Arty thought that it was for the best. It would have been a shame if he had gotten kicked too — he was a strong ally and she liked him.

"I didn't see them argue before that," Sky said, still in a thoughtful tone. "Do you think they became estranged?"

Arty gave her a shrug but didn't say anything. Sky shook her cannon. It looked like she was about to say something else, but in that moment Eject made an announcement over the radios.

«Everyone, gather,» he said.

Sky immediately set herself into motion. Arty rolled after her. They'd continue the conversation later if they'd get the chance. The two tanks reached the middle of the base quickly. The others were arriving one after another as well, even Pepper and the TRV. Rill and Eject were already there and waiting until everyone had finally gathered and was looking at them expectantly. Eventually, Eject spoke.

"We decided what we are going to do next," he said, making everyone listen even closer. "We will not be going further south, or back north. We are going to travel west."

He just ended the sentence there and didn't go on. Arty looked around, and guessed from everyone's expressions that this left a lot of questions unanswered. The TRV spoke up before anyone else could do it.

"I can't follow you there," she said, which earned her frowns from the leaders.

"We were hoping you would accompany us," Eject rumbled.

"The teams in the South need me."

"I see," Eject replied. He turned to his team again. "We will leave presently. Pack our things and get ready for a march."

The tanks scattered to make preparations for their departure. Sky and Arty didn't drive off right away as they noticed Awol approaching them. As he reached them, the three of them started making their way towards the fuel depot.

"What's in the West?" Awol asked, his voice timid.

"I've never been there, either," Arty said with an uneasy shrug. The world might as well have ended there, she wouldn't have known. That they would just be driving off a cliff and fall off said world seemed just as likely to Arty as finding unknown lands there.

"Do you think they have?" Awol went on.

"They?" Arty asked.

Awol gestured into the direction they had come from.

"Eject, or Rill," he said.

"No," Arty replied pensively. "I don't think so."

Awol looked to the ground and remained silent.

###

The sky was painted in all shades of orange and a luscious blue; deep red clouds were reflecting the light of the descending sun. Below, a Pershing was following a tree-lined road that coiled itself between the hills, going on as far as her sights could see before its contours vanished in the glow of the horizon. Sky's watchful gaze traced the hill crests as she did her best to spot anything against the dying sunlight. Her job was to scout the area for the Tanking League so they could travel safely, which should have been a light tank's job. But in the absence of such, she was a reasonable choice. Even if she was nowhere near as nimble or perceptive as a light tank, she could at least rely on her sixth sense to tell her if anyone was nearby. That was something none of her team mates could do.

That sixth sense suddenly went off.

Sky slowed down and threw a hurried look around. From the corner of her optics, she noticed some movement - something small disappeared behind a lone building near the road. Whoever that was, they had probably seen her. She quickly informed her team; Rill told her to go take a look.

"But what if -" she replied nonverbally, but Rill interrupted her.

«Are you in cover?» he asked.

"No," Sky replied.

«Is cover nearby?»

"No ..."

«If you stay there, you're dead, then.»

As much as Sky didn't like it, he was right. She took a deep breath and rolled towards the building, her cannon loaded.

Her optics were darting back and forth between both sides of the building in case the unknown tank would appear there, but even as she reached it, nothing of the sort happened. She cautiously drove round the building's front, and then its side. As she reached the back, Sky found what she was looking for. A Chaffee - covered in cloth and bags, most of his turret hidden by a hood - was standing just beside the wall, turned towards her.

Sky pointed her cannon at him, but relaxed a little … until she realized that the two of them weren't alone. She froze as a Super Pershing rolled out from behind a bush to her right. Their cannon was trained on Sky's flank, but they didn't say anything.

"Well, fuck!" Sky hissed at her radio.

###

'Where the hell are they?' the Jagdpanther thought. Perched on his hill, he took another thorough look through his binoculars, but still couldn't make out any movement down the road.

With the setting sun behind him, it probably wouldn't have been necessary to hide his hull this painstakingly under all kinds of vegetation and even build a whole - very convincing, in his opinion - fake hedgerow; but he had to make sure to eliminate every possible factor of his ambush failing, no matter how small. Being seen too early would have been an incredibly disastrous cause of failure.

The problem was that it seemed like his plan, crafted with feverish care, was going to fail for another fatal reason: The tanks he was trying to ambush were simply not showing up. He couldn't explain it. His careful observation had shown that they were using this very road, with no apparent intentions of leaving it soon. If they had decided to take a different route for whatever reason - if he lost track of them now - he most likely wouldn't get another chance.

But he didn't want to think that. Maybe they had just been held up for a bit along the way, taking a break or something. It was also possible that they had simply settled down for the night already and would finally show up in the morning.

With an anxious growl, he decided that he would wait for a bit longer, even though he was very close to losing his nerve and leaving his position to go look for them.

###

"Follow me, if you want to live," the Chaffee said.

Sky slowly nodded. Her gaze was still glued to the Super Pershing, who she was sure would kill her without hesitation should she try anything. But not only that - even though she couldn't see other tanks, she could clearly sense their presence now. She was convinced that more than just two guns were pointed at her right then. There was little doubt that the Chaffee was serious about her life depending on her doing what he said.

The light tank set himself into motion and drove past her. The quiet Super Pershing just made a small gesture with their cannon. Sky dared to turn around, keeping her cannon averted as she started to follow the Chaffee.

"It was nice knowing you guys," she sent her team a silent message. Despite the lack of transmitted tone, Rill most likely knew that her words were not only inspired by genuine worry for her life, but also a great amount of cynicism. He was perceptive, that much she had found out by now, so she was sure he'd get it. Curiously, it was Eject who replied this time.

«Do you need assistance?» he asked sternly.

"An assassin maybe," Sky replied.

The Chaffee in front of her drove further away from the road, seemingly intending to drive a big arc around the hills ahead. The Super Pershing was following them, close enough that Sky felt like their cannon was nearly poking the back of her turret.

«I'm aiming at them right now,» Awol informed her. «But they're really close to you, and it's far away... If I miss -...» He trailed off. Sky trusted her brother to be good at aiming, but even he was limited by his gun and sights. She didn't feel like being killed by her own sibling on accident. Or angering her escorts in case he should just miss completely.

The feeling of other tanks being nearby grew stronger now. The strangers' team must have been near. Sky tried not to imagine the worst case scenarios, and relied on the hope that this was going to end well for her.

"Hold your fire for now," she told Awol.

Their trip took several minutes, until they reached the foot of one of the hills. Strangely enough, the Super Pershing stopped there, while the Chaffee gestured at Sky to keep following him.

"Quiet now," the light tank said in a low voice.

Sky couldn't have been more confused at this point, but she nodded and drove up the hill with him. Before they could fully crest, the Chaffee motioned at her to stop. He turned his turret forward again, looked over the hillcrest. Sky followed his gaze. To the left and right side of the road, she spotted a handful of tanks who were positioned on the hillsides and facing east … where Sky would have shown up if she had driven on obliviously.

"They'd turn you and your team into Swiss Cheese in the blink of an eye," the Chaffee whispered.

Sky's optics wandered across the hills, where she could spot more and more tanks now. She grew tense on her suspension as she imagined how easily those ambushers would have taken her team apart. They were well hidden, if one didn't know they were there.

"How did you spot them?" she asked the Chaffee, whispering as well.

He backed up slightly, gesturing at Sky to do the same, which she did.

"We were travelling east, so basically we ended up behind them. They didn't notice us," he replied with a smirk.

"And you decided to warn me? Why?"

The Chaffee shrugged.

"We were curious. Normally, the ghosts don't wait for people. They come to get them. So we figured they were waiting for someone … important, I guess."

Sky frowned.

"Why are we important?" she asked.

"That's what I was gonna ask you," the Chaffee replied.

Sky made a thoughtful "Hm", but blinked with surprise as a realization hit her. That wasn't the first Chaffee she had heard using the term "ghost". She looked at him again, scrutinizing the stranger for a moment.

"Wait …" she mumbled. He returned the look with an inquiring expression. "I know you …!" Sky went on. She couldn't remember his name, but she knew where she had seen him the last time. And the Super Pershing also. "You're from Ruinberg."

"Shhh!" the Chaffee hissed, and backed up further. He turned around and drove back down the side of the hill. Sky drove after him, and caught up to his side.

"Am I right?" she asked.

"What if you are?" the Chaffee replied with a question.

Sky frowned with irritation at the other tank's secretiveness.

"My team's lives are at stake! Stop fooling around!" she chided.

"Tell them to stay where they are," the Chaffee said. "You should make camp for now."

They stopped at the foot of the hill, where the Super Pershing was no longer aiming at Sky at least.

"Make camp?" Sky asked. "Why? We should attack them before dark."

The Chaffee shook his cannon.

"It's too late for that. You'll want to attack them from behind, but you'll never make that detour before nightfall."

Sky had imagined something like crashing the ambush with all guns blazing, but that strategy sounded more sustainable indeed. She tilted her cannon.

"So, attacking in the morning it is. Will you help us?" she asked.

"Our leader will have to decide that," the Chaffee replied.

"Your leader …" Sky murmured. She clearly remembered the scavenger team's leader being a dummy tank the last time they had met. "Well, yeah, ask him," she said, holding back a sigh.

The Chaffee nodded.

"Farewell for now," he said and turned to leave, gesturing at the Super Pershing to follow him. The two tanks drove off.

Sky remained where she was for a moment, then turned around and shook her cannon as she started making her way back to her team.

"Guys," she said on her team's radio channel.

«What's going on? What did they want?» Rill asked.

"Yeah — I'm alive and well, thanks for asking," Sky replied. No one reacted to that statement, so she went on and passed on the new information.