Hell On Tracks
Part 19
The field that was being used for the Combat vs Amalgamated match was a fair bit larger than the one for the Practice vs Training match. It was also a lot more open and flat. Most of the available cover was from dips and rises in the ground than from large hills and trees. Which wasn't to say that those terrain features didn't exist, just in less concentrated amounts than the fairly tight corridors at field one.
In the southern part of the center of the field was a simulated village, to the north west was a commanding hill, and a sorta small river ran from east to west, having been fed from the same stream that was in practice field one. Small pockets of forestation completed the map, and were scattered about in what could be called a haphazard manner.
"We use this field for official matches against other schools when we're at home and not in tournaments." Kay explained, as the two team captains met with Arisa in the middle of the field, slightly north of the village. "Fighting Kuromorimine here is a big challenge, but we have managed to pull off a few wins against them."
"How do you manage that? That hill is a perfect place to drop a couple Tigers or Jagdpanzers and control the whole map." I asked.
"It is. The key is getting there first, and then hitting their snipers from an unexpected angle. You see that patch of trees just west of the hill?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It has lots of bushes and low trees, so if you put a platoon of heavy tank killers in there, Naomi's Firefly, Easy Eights, the Pershing if we have it working and want to use it, you'll be undetected unless they drive into it. And if they drive their Tigers or Panthers into the forest, it's a close range brawl where whoever gets the first shot usually manages to take out their opponent."
"But if you drive right past it, you leave yourself vulnerable to the flank from tanks hidden there. Smart."
"Thank you, but it was actually Arisa's idea. She's very good at predicting where people will go, and how to affect the information that they get on you. If only she didn't try to stretch the rules, she would be a great leader."
"Stretch the rules? I feel like there's a story behind that."
"A few, actually. Arisa has incredible knowledge of the rules of Sensha-do. What is and isn't allowed, what will get you removed from a match or disqualified altogether, things like that. She's actually the one working out what exactly needs to be done to get our Hellcat modified to be Tankery legal. But the point is that she knows the rules well. Well enough that she tries to do things that are completely within the rules but give an unfair advantage."
"That's… I fail to see the problem there. If it's all perfectly Tankery legal, shouldn't it be fine?" I admitted.
"It's not fair. In the, "it's against the spirit of Sensha-do" kind of unfair, rather than the "no such thing as a fair fight" kind of unfair." Kay explained, with sufficient air quotes. "Oh, they're heading back to their tanks. It's gonna start soon."
"About darned time…" I muttered. "So you don't like what Arisa does because it's cheating without having the honor to cheat properly."
Kay gave me a funny look for that one. "You can cheat properly?"
"Sure! The Bandits do it all the time when they play penny poker in the back corner instead of doing maintenance."
"They do what now?"
"They're all a bunch of dirty rotten cheaters. Put a deck of cards in front of them, and half of the good cards will be up their sleeves before you know it."
"No, no, the other thing."
"Playing poker during maintenance period?"
"Yes, that. Tell me-" Kay was interrupted by Arisa coming on the radio, saying that everyone was ready. "We'll talk about this later."
I nodded, and Kay fiddled with her radio to hit the general broadcast of the whole Saunders team. "All teams, on your marks! Get set! Begin!"
As with all Tankery matches everywhere, the battle started out slowly. Though the slightly less than two kilometer span meant that if teams wanted to rush each other straight out the gate, they could, any sane team used the distance and the time that distance gave them to maneuver and jockey for advantageous positions. In this case, part of the Amalgamated team was rushing towards the cover of the town, while the rest just sort of went and did their own thing. Meanwhile, the Combat team was also moving towards the town with most of their forces, but one platoon was instead making for the hill, and another was following the riverbed to push forward with a bit of cover.
For all that it was a larger area than the previous match, and with more participants, this match went much faster than the one I had been in. Combat gained uncontested control over the hill, and used that position to pick off targets that were scattered around the map. The platoons going to the town met equal opposition in numbers, but their ability to stay in contact and maneuver was unequalled. When the platoon that had taken the riverbed through emerged on the town's flank, cutting off any retreat, it was all over for the Amalgamated team's town force.
Kay pointed out a few tanks on the Amalgamated team that had done well in their individual fights, and might be good additions to the general Combat Company for the upcoming tournament. I listened and nodded along, giving some insights where I had them.
"Were there any potential Combat Company additions from last match?" I asked during a lull. The remaining Amalgamated tanks were fleeing, taking potshots as they ran.
"A few. Training One, their flag, did really well. I'll have to talk to her and see who came up with the plan they executed, and see about moving them up to at least Practice. Practice Four and Five did really well too, though the Five Tank had a few issues that will need addressing." Kay answered.
"Like my panic attack?" I deadpanned.
"Not just that, but yes. You've got a sound mind, and if you can stay focused in matches, you'll do wonderfully. Ooh, look at that." Kay pointed to the screen, where a trio of Amalgamated tanks were setting up an ambush for the pursuers of the two fleeing tanks.
"Combat should already be able to see them, I think. They've got spotters on the hill, and tanks along the flanks."
"They can. But watch what happens."
It was a masterfully executed trap. Amalgamated was down to their last five tanks, all involved in that chase/ambush scenario. Combat had only lost a few tanks in the town fighting, and was engaged with almost all of their strength.
One of the runners took an unlucky hit during the chase, stopping them cold. The other one ducked into a low spot, with the three pursuers close behind them. As they followed the runner into the trap, the ambushing tanks popped out from the sides and blasted them. A good trap to whittle down the opposing team's numbers with minimal losses, but they had failed to remember that the rest of their team was also knocked out.
The flanking Combat Company tanks dove in like sharks to a slaughter, and tore the remaining Amalgamated tanks to pieces.
"And that's game." Kay said succinctly. She turned on her radio, and spoke into the receiver, this time speaking to everyone on the camp, not just the tank crews. "Good job, everybody! Reset your power, and return to Camp Intrepid parking. If you are stuck, call a recovery vehicle. Everyone else, gather at the pavilion. Once everyone has arrived, we will have closing announcements, and then dinner!"
That got a cheer from everyone, and people began shuffling off towards the pavilion at a rapid pace. I started to move with the crowd, but Kay grabbed my wrist, stopping me from leaving.
"You did great out there, Tali. Don't let one bad experience ruin the whole sport for you." Kay said, meeting my eyes. I'd never noticed how pretty her eyes were before just now.
"I won't." I nodded. "And thank you."
