Chapter 16:

Just as Miho had predicted, Makoto's Panzer reached the edge of the grove less than two minutes later. Finding the thick fog stubbornly unrelenting, Minako grumbled, "We're finally almost clear of these trees, and I still can't go any faster than a stupid crawl because of all this silly mist! I feel like I'm sitting inside a turtle!"

"It isn't a race, Minako-chan" her commander replied from above the Panzer's cupola. "Keep your speed low... on second thought, stop right now."

The blonde driver obediently brought the tank to a halt. "Why are we stopping here, Mako-chan?"

"Just a feeling I'm getting" the wary brunette replied. "I can't see more then five meters in front of our tank, but I'd swear someone's out there... waiting for us." A shiver crept up Usagi's spine as she heard Makoto quietly order the girl sitting behind her, "Rei-chan, load the gun."

"Hai..." Rei responded, then added a few seconds later, "The weapon is loaded."

At the gunner's station, Ami stared intently through her scope while slowly nudging the turret left and right. "No target, Mako-chan. Everything's completely cloudy. Perhaps my scope's optics have misted over."

"That could be a big problem for us." Makoto hesitated at making her next move, wondering if her female intuition was wrong, while scarcely three hundred meters away another teenage girl in another Panzer IV also stood in her turret , her tank's engine idling, its gun loaded and its crew silently waiting to pounce.

. . . . .

Miho smiled. "Makoto is learning fast" she told her crew. "I was wondering if her tank would pick up speed when they cleared the treeline, but I don't hear their engine anymore. They've stopped moving."

"Where do you think they are?" Hana asked, also peering through her scope. "Gomen nasai, Miho. I still can't see anything. Our ship must be passing through a really heavy fog bank."

"From the sound I heard, I'd guess... almost directly in front of us, Hana. At least that's where they were when they went silent."

"Do you want me to take a blind shot?" her gunner asked.

"No, I don't think so. There's a good chance we'd miss, and Ami would spot our muzzle flash and return fire directly at it." She told the girl, "No sense in giving ourselves away. But stay on the scope and be ready to aim and return fire immediately if they shoot first."

"Hai."

Mako spoke up from her place at the driver's controls. "So... we seem to be in a blind standoff, Miho-san. What's our next move?"

The young commander thought for a moment as damp, heavy fog continued to swirl around her school fuku. "Perhaps we can trick our opponent into revealing themselves, Mako. If they think there's a tank wandering around out here, they'll probably try getting closer and hope for an easy kill." She decided, "Hana, keep your finger on that trigger, you may need to shoot really quickly."

"I'm ready, Miho."

Miho smiled. "Minna, it's now time to set our little trap. Mako, rev up the engine, but not too much. I want them to hear us, but not well enough to know exactly where we are."

"Hai." The petite girl wearing a white headband pressed down on the accelerator, increasing their tank's noise level from idle to a low, menacing rumble.

. . . . .

"Minna, I think I hear something!" Usagi gasped.

Stlll standing in the turret, Makoto grinned as the faint engine noise, just loud enough to be heard over her own Panzer's idling engine, also reached her ears. "I was right. There is another tank out there." She listened intently for a few seconds. "It's got to be somewhere in front of us." The tall brunette frowned, "But I can't tell how far away it is, or which way it's going... or even if it's moving at all."

"I think we should get closer, Mako-chan" Minako suggested. "Let's start our day off with a bang!"

"This isn't the time to be hasty" her commander answered, still lost in thought. "Or... maybe it is." The street-smart teen continued listening to the faint growl eminating from somewhere deep within the fog for a few seconds more. A smile appeared on the tall brunette's lips. "Minna, I believe we're being baited." She told the other girls, "They want us to make the first move. And we will."

Ami was surprised at her friend's sudden decision. "Are you sure that's wise, Mako-chan?"

Makoto shrugged. "We'll soon find out." She listened yet again, trying to pinpoint the location of the distinctive tank engine sound before it faded away. "Ami-chan, aim your gun slightly more to to the right, please, just a tiny bit. A little more... more... that's good. Set up your shot assuming the target is... I'm guessing at three hundred and fifty meters."

Ami rotated the gun's elevation handle slightly. "Done, Mako-chan."

"Rei-chan, get ready for a really fast reload if we miss. We probably will."

"Hai!" The miko lifted another shell from the rack, cradling it snugly in her hands.

"We'll need to shift our position the second we fire, and turning this thing takes way too long. So, Minako-chan, keep us pointed straight ahead, and... I never thought I'd ever hear myself tell you this" the brunette chuckled, "get ready to stomp the life out of that gas pedal."

"I thought you'd never ask!" the blonde in the driver's seat giggled. She eagerly poised her right foot above the accelerator. "I am sooo ready!"

"What about me, Mako-chan?" Usagi wondered. "What should I do?"

"Hold on tight."

Rei added, "And try not to scream so loud this time, Usagi-chan. It's giving everyone a headache."

"Fine" Usagi muttered.

Makoto crossed her fingers. "Ok, Ami-chan... shoot!"

. . . . .

Miho was only somewhat surprised when she saw the flash of light and heard the loud boom of Luna team's weapon. The shell whooshed towards the Anglerfish tank, knifing through the fog until it ever-so-lightly grazed one side of the Panzer's hull before continuing on out of sight.

'That was very close' she thought. 'Almost a kill. Impressive!' She next heard the sound of a distant engine screaming at full power. "Hana, shoot when ready!"

What seemed like a split-second later, her friend answered, "Firing now!"

Their long-barreled gun blazed back at once, expelling a heavy projectile toward what Miho assumed to be a fleeing Panzer. Before she knew if the shell had reached its target, Miho ordered her crew, "Yukari, reload! Mako, get us moving, fast! I don't want the other team running away if we missed!"

Not hearing the expected metallic clang of a shell striking armor, she asked her radio operator, "Saori, did you hear anything from Luna saying they're disabled?"

"Nothing yet, Miho. I'll keep listening."

Miho's Panzer rapidly accelerated to its top speed, as had Makoto's, with both girls unaware that they were blindly heading directly toward each other.

. . . . .