17. Hot Stuff
The rain, which had turned the ground of the battlefield into a muddy field, had lessened and was just about completely stopping as the large viewing screen in front of the spectators showed how the tanks of Ooarai drove into the patch of forest to clear it of any hidden opposition. Where there were none, as the spectators could see on the tactical map, but of course the girls of Ooarai didn't know that.
Folding up and setting aside her umbrella, a blonde young woman, dressed in a sensible yet also fashionable rain coat in blue and a matching cap, let out a small breath she hadn't realized she had held. Coming to watch this match had been the right decision on her part.
Sitting in the back row, far back actually, Darjeeling for a change enjoyed the relative anonymity the lack of attention send her way offered her. Being there alone without any of her friends and not wearing her school uniform, very few people recognized her and those that did were more interested in the match than in chatting her up. All but one that is.
Sitting next to her, wearing a t-shirt under a bomber jacket and sitting in her seat sprawled out like some undignified barbarian, Kay from Saunders University High School grinned broadly and stretched grandly. "Wow, that was a fight, wouldn't you say? Action, passion, speed, drama... Hah, such a finish."
The two girls hadn't planned to meet up, it had been completely by accident really that they had stumbled over one another. Both team captains had a free day, as it was the weekend and on many schoolships the weekends were actually completely free or at least partially reserved for club activities, and had independently decided to watch the match of Ooarai live. As per tradition, none of the larger and more successful schools Sensha-Dou teams were taking part in the fall tourney, a chance for the smaller, less powerful schools to show of their skills for once, and giving the teams of Pravda, Schwarzwaldspitze, St. Glorianna and Saunders a time to prepare for the winter tourney.
The only exception to this tradition was Chi-Ha-Tan, but very few people would actually call them among the strongest schools any longer anyway. Not for the last twenty or so years.
"It is not over yet," replied Darjeeling with a far more dignified expression on her face, sitting there all prim and proper. "The girls of Alexander have so far shown a surprising lack of tactical skill and discipline, but perhaps we will be surprised."
"You mean like we were surprised in the nationals by a fresh faced, undisciplined, inexperienced team?" asked Kay with a smirk and a chuckle, leaning forward and leaning her arms on her knees, once more reminding her more fashionable colleague of a street punk and less of a proper Sensha-Dou girl.
"It is a flag battle, and in these matches everything can be decided in a moment of weakness or focus."
"Eeeeh, I don't know..." Kay shrugged, but chuckled again. "But then, we have been surprised before."
"Indeed." For a moment the two girls shared a silent moment, before Darjeeling scowled. "But although I am happy to see fresh new teams joining the ranks of us, I am not so much concerned with there performance but more with their support."
The other blonde looked at her, then past her to the left of the the bleachers, where the girls from Ooarai sat. It was a block of girls in white and green school uniforms, some of them waving banners and flags, some of them sporting headbands, and all of them cheering their team on despite the fact that they couldn't be heard by them. Then Kay turned to look into the other direction, to the right side of the bleachers, where the girls from Alexander Academy sat.
Not only where they only about a third in numbers as their counterparts, they were also a lot more subdued and even disinterested. Some of them were chatting on their phones, some were listening to music, some were chatting with their friends. And only a few were actually watching the match. Kay felt a surge of anger inside of her stomach and clenched her fists, before she forced herself to relax a bit. "Guess not everyone is as enthusiastic as us Saunders Girls."
"Certainly," agreed Darjeeling, sending another glance to the unenthusiastic girls of Alexander Academy, easy to make out thanks to their often colorful hair, non standard uniforms and the free space around them, before having to hold back a sigh. What a shame really.
/
It was a sorry sight to behold that was caught by the camera drone as the surviving tanks of Alexander Academy drove into the small town that was inside the battle field. Dirty, pockmarked, covered in mud, some patches of grass and some twigs here and there, the small fighting vehicles weren't exactly awe inducing as they rolled out from the shrubbery and onto the street which led into the town.
Still driving at quite the crazy pace but no longer cheering or whooping, the girls seemed quite subdued, their faces showing expressions of disillusion, defeat and sadness. And a lot of dirt as well, none of them had taken the time to clear themselves up even a bit, wet hair clinging to their skin.
Using her hands to give simple commands, Tita showed the following tanks which way to drive, leading her small column of five vehicles off the main street into a side street and then into an alleyway. It was a typical Japanese countryside town, with a small shopping district in the middle, along the river, and humble single family homes with walls around the grounds surrounding that, with a few patches of green here and there.
"Into here," called Tita just a moment before her Panzer III turned left and drove down a ramp into the perhaps only underground garage of the town, with her ducking down into the turret to not hit the edge of the ceiling with her own head. It was a bumpy ride and the five girls inside the German steel box got shaken around quite a bit, but they were used to such and much worse, thus they didn't even really notice it.
Two cars were still parked there and by sheer luck more than by skill they did not get crushed under an armored fighting vehicle, merely scratched in one case. Waiting until her driver had turned off the engine before leaving the tank, Tita climbed out the left side hatch of the turret and then down onto the ground. She took a moment longer than usually, not really trusting her knees not to give in under her, but she remained standing, much to her relief.
She couldn't say the same for another girl, the pixie-cut wearing gunner of Team Oni, who as soon as she had climbed out of the L-60 went down to the ground and all but collapsed, her teammates following her example, their faces white as sheets.
Tita swallowed, thankful for the sunglasses she was wearing as they hid her wide, fearful eyes.
Having formed a lose circle with their tanks, the girls of Alexander Academy still in the match all climbed out, some faster than others, some of them visibly shaken, some putting up a brave face and in one case running quickly into a corner and being violently sick over the floor. Her teammates followed her, checking if she was alright, patting her on her back and soothing her softly.
For a moment Tita hesitated, then she sought out the gaze of Rakija, the athletic blonde looking at her with some unease. And waiting.
"Sooo... that went... badly," began Tita then, not trusting her own voice to carry very far and shocked by how weak she sounded. She swallowed, not sure where to look. Around her the girls who usually looked to her for leadership, usually watched her as if she could do anything, eyed her carefully now, their faces showing doubt and fear and defeat. Without even realizing she leaned back against her tank, wishing for the ground to swallow her whole, trying to become invisible.
"Well... it is Ooarai, they are the champions," whispered one of the girls, barely able to be made out, but in the soul wrenching silence her voice carried further than usually.
"Yeah... It's not like we had a chance in the first place..."
"Hmmm... we really are not good at this."
"What were we thinking?"
"Yes... right, exactly... Us going up against the champions..."
"Doesn't matter against whom, we are just shit at this."
Sitting leaned against the tracks of her Panzer II Cevapcici played a sad note on her trumpet, this time without a burst of flames accompanying it.
For a moment no one said anything, the dirty, downtrodden, all but beaten up and tired girls not daring to look at one another but staring at the ground or the ceiling, shifting from foot to foot or just leaning or sitting leaned against their tanks. Tita saw how Rakija gave her a stern look, as if disappointed, giving her a vague gesture. As if to tell her to do something, anything really.
Tita held her gaze, but then let her head sink down, hiding behind her sunglasses, closing her eyes. It's not like she could do anything now.
For a moment there was a tense silence, before one of the girls, a small first year with a side cut and a shirt with some j-rock idol on it, mumbled, "We just should give up... 's not like we had a chance in the first place."
"Yeah... we are down to five tanks..."
"Five very weak tanks."
"Exactly..."
"Yes..."
"Hmmm..."
"Shut up!" snapped Rakija then, making several other girls twitch and one of them squeak in fright. Even Tita, usually so absolutely unflappable and confident and cock-sure, twitched slightly, but luckily for her no one seemed to notice. "We haven't lost yet! We can still win! It's a flag battle, we just have to take out their flag tank!"
"Which is heavily armored and driven by an experienced group of girls who had won the championship and then defeated the university dream team. 's not like we have even a zero percent chance," said one of the girls, her tone biting and sharp.
"It's a flag battle, everything is possible!" shouted Rakija back
"Yeah, sure," snorted someone and some others nodded in agreement. "We just suck at this."
"We totally do."
Now it was Rakija who twitched, reacting as if she had been struck. And once more she looked to Tita, as if looking for something to hold on to, for some help. And the sunglasses wearing girl found that she couldn't say anything, that all her strength had been sucked out of her. She left Rakija hanging.
"We shouldn't have tried it in the first place..."
"Yes, we should have listened to them when they told us it was a waste of time."
"But..." started Rakija again, weaker now, but she was cut off.
"Face it Rakija, we're losers. We were stupid to think that we had even a snowball chance in hell."
"Yeah. We're Alexander girls, the rejects, the failures. No other school wanted us, that's why we are here in the first place. This was all a giant waste of time."
"Sensha-Dou is not a waste of time!"
Tita was shocked to find that it had been herself who had yelled this, now suddenly once more the center of attention. Feeling her knees buckling and her stomach twisting she looked around, everyone now staring at her, watching her. Waiting. Expecting her to say something. Anything really. Perhaps even hoping? She couldn't say. But what she could say was that she was angry. There was a fire in her, a small but potent flame, and she grabbed it and held close, going for it like a drowning girl would reach for water. "I look around and you know what I see? Losers."
Several cringed or twitched, as if slapped across the face, and Tita saw how several of them shrunk down. But before anyone could say something she continued. "As in, girls who have lost something. Respect, power, a chance. We were never given a chance... So let's grab it with both hands and shake it! So what if I'm a delinquent, a loser, a fuck-up, an embarrassment?! When I'm in my tank, together with you, fighting with you, I'm not that rejected little girl everyone sees! I am Tita, captain of the Alexander Academy meanest, baddest and most hardcore club, I am the leader of the Alexander Academy Sensha-Dou club!"
She saw how several of her teammates nodded, some others started to stand a bit more upright. And she saw how Rakija looked at her, smiling, sending warm shivers down Tita's back. "They say we should just give up and roll over? They say we are stupid and undesirable and unwanted and failures? Fuck them, what do they know?! We are hardcore! We kick and we scream and we bite and we punch and we kick ass like no one else! We resist and bite!"
"Yeah!"
"You tell 'em girl!"
"Fuck yeah!"
Cevapcici played a loud note on her Trumpet, followed by a enthusiastic small melody and ended by a burst of flames.
"So what if we are outnumbered and outgunned and outskilled?! I know that's not a word, but fuck it! No one tells me what to do!"
"Yeah!" Several girls cheered together, a few even pumping their arms up in defiance.
"They say we have zero percent chance?! Whatever, let's grab that chance, I don't give a shit how math works!"
"Yeah!" More girls joined in.
"So what if we have just five tanks left? Did the Persians give up when they were down to 300 men when the Egyptians attacked? No, the defeated them at the Hot Gates!"
She didn't notice how Rakija cringed at that, but she did notice how everyone nodded or cheered. And she also noticed how one of the girls came up with another good example for a situation like theirs. "Did Napoleon give up as his enemies burned down Paris? No, he gathered his armies, marched to Waterloo and kicked ass!"
"Yeah!"
Another girl shouted then, "Did Nobunaga give up as Attila attacked with his mongols?! Fuck no, he kicked the barbarians out of Japan!"
"Yeah!"
"Did William Wallace give up as the Romans invaded Scotland? No, he took his claymore and kicked Nero and his cronies right back to Rome!"
"YEEEAAAAHHH!" cheered the whole crowd of wild girls. Some were jumping up and down, some were clapping, but they all were cheering and whooping loudly.
/
"Aaaaaahhh," heard Saori over the radio, tensing as she identified the sound as a pained groan from Erwin. What she didn't see was how, accompanying the pained sound, Hippo Team nearly drove against an obstacle, as if the occupants of the StuG had lost control of it for a moment.
"Erwin, everything alright on your end?"
"Yes, just... it felt like a thousand voices cried out at once and were then brutally silenced."
"Ummm... okay, if you say so."
/
"You do know that this is not how the battle went, don't you?" asked Rakija under her breath as she watched Tita climb back into her tank.
"Which battle?"
"All of them actually," mumbled Rakija, before she shook her head. "Doesn't matter. So... What is the plan?"
For a moment Tita remained in the position she was in, which was half drawn up onto the hull of the Panzer III, her head turned to Rakija and watching her. Then she grinned widely and she pulled herself up fully, replying, "We resist and bite."
"Hehe, yeah, okay, good point," replied the taller girl with a chuckle. "But aside from Sabaton titles, what is the plan?"
"That is the plan," answered the pompadour sporting tank captain with a wild grin. "Or to be more precise... Viscous, brutal, bloody close quarters combat. We'll turn this into their Petrograd."
"What?"
"Petrograd? You know...Second World War, city in Russia, where the Soviet's beat the German Army in a bloody battle, fighting house to house, street to street? Very famous. Seriously, you need to work on your knowledge of history."
"That was... whatever," mumbled Rakija with a sigh before she turned around and strode back to her own tank, the Maresal, also called the Mini-Hetzer by some.
/
Following the tracks of several heavy armored vehicles through mud and wet ground was actually very easy and thus it didn't take a lot of time to find the place where the girls of Alexander Academy had taken refuge. It had mostly taken a bit longer because Shark Team was simply so slow and they were careful not to get ambushed, but after perhaps half an hour or even less, Nishizumi Miho had her body poked out of the cupola of her tank and scanned the small town in front of her.
"Kind of romantic," said Hana, also looking out of the tank, smiling wistfully. "Once we sought shelter in such a place, catching our breath and trying to turn the tables on St. Glorianna. Now it is us who are lured into such a place, to face our enemies."
Miho nodded firmly, though she too smiled. The description was fitting and she too found a strange sense of romance in it. Looking to the sides she saw the full tank force, now missing Duck Team, arrayed on the crest of the small hill overlooking the quaint town. It sure must have been an imposing sight from down there and she hoped that it would leave an impression and frighten their opponents.
At the same time she also hoped that they wouldn't be intimidated but actually manage to pull of what they themselves had done in the match against Schwarzwaldspitze. Because... Well, it would be much more dramatic and interesting and to be completely frank, she was kinda rooting for them.
"We'll flush them out and then try to push them back into open terrain, but if you can take one of their tanks out, don't hesitate," said Miho, speaking into the microphone of her radio. "Panzer vor!"
The rumbling steel monstrosities rumbled forward, forming into a neat column once more, with Anglerfish in the lead and Shark Team at the back, the remaining tanks forming a long drawn out line in between, not too close but not so far apart that they couldn't help one another out. They drove down the hillside and back onto the road, then they had to cross a bridge to get into the town which was mostly build on the northwestern side of the river.
The sight of the for the moment abandoned town brought back memories of the mentioned matches, among other things, and it sure was a deja vu moment for most of them as they rode into town. A gas station on one side, a few parked cars, the sides of the road framed by run of the mill, typical family homes, nothing out of the ordinary. It was exactly in such an area in which they themselves would spring an ambush, thus they were on edge.
"There is... oh no, it's nothing, false alarm!" yelled Hanami, not using the radio but actually shouting. For a second they had all tensed up, but then they let out breath's they hadn't realized they had held.
"Halt," commanded Miho after a few more minutes of tense silence and several false alarms, just as the Panzer IV drove into the local small shopping district. She looked around, not spotting anything out of the ordinary, and then ducked down into the hull. If anything were to happen Tanuki Team could spot it easily and warn them, the small Locust tank was once more serving as forward scout, a role in which the three girls excelled.
Both Hana as well as Yukari watched her, as if waiting for something, but they didn't say anything. Miho waited a short moment, then she activated her microphone and gave commands to the whole force. "Spread out, we have to flush them out. We will move through the town and cover a wider area, a Search and Destroy mission."
"But wouldn't that make us more susceptible to be isolated and taken out one by one?" came Azusa's worried voice over the radio, in the background the feeble protest of Yuuki that she had been pushed to the side.
Saori had to giggle, which prompted everyone to look at her, and she blushed slightly, though she whispered as explanation, "It's like what we did against St. Glorianna."
"And Kuromorimine," added Mako.
"And the university team," added Hana and giggled softly, as did Yukari.
Miho too had to smile, because yes, what Azusa warned about was exactly what they would have done and had done in the past and very successfully one might add. It was a good point, a very good point, she admitted that freely.
"Noted," she replied over the radio. "Still, if we remain in one big formation we are too slow and too unwieldy. Spread out, but try to give each other cover. Turtle Team, Hippo Team, be especially careful. We'll move into a north-eastern direction, on this side of the river. Panzer vor!"
"Hai!"
"Aye aye skipper!"
"Hai!"
"Hai!"
"Moving out, yes!"
The remaining nine tanks of Ooarai moved out, more or less pairing up and staying in each other's sight, as much as they could that is. At the same time Saori and the other radio operators were hastily trying to coordinate everything and reading the maps of the area, or to be more precise of the town.
/
This was not what a StuG was made for. Erwin and her friends were well aware of the drawbacks and limitations of their tank. The lack of a movable turret was a real detriment in this situation and the long barrel out front made the vehicle a lot more unwieldy than it was anyway. They loved their tank, they really did, but this was just not a situation for which it was suited. The reverse was much more to their liking, lurking in the town, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Erwin had to smile as she remembered that moment from the match against St. Glorianna, back when their tank destroyer had still been quite colorful, in which they had successfully ambushed one of the Mathilda's. What a glorious moment it had been, their first successful attack, leaving them with a fond memory. Even if shortly after they had been taken out themselves, thanks to their flags, but that had been a great teaching moment as well.
Driving through a not narrow but certainly not broad street either, Erwin had her head poked out of the tank and watched the surroundings for any ambushes. They passed a small gap between a small super market and a medium sized building housing a sweet shop, the perfect place to lay an ambush, it is where she would have done it. But the small alley was empty, only filled with a few trashcans, not a tank of any sort. Perhaps she was seeing ghosts, it was only her nerves, the tense hunt for the nimble small tanks in these surroundings-
The ear shattering boom of a gun going off and spitting it's dangerous shell at close range all but ripped her from her thoughts and going by the ringing of her ears she should have pushed forward by the sound alone. But she hadn't been shaken around, thus they hadn't been hit, but she had heard the sound of metal being hit and something giving in.
She whirled around, just as Oryou hit the brakes, stopping their StuG short and immediately. She realized immediately what had happened.
Driving behind them, at a respectful distance of at least ten meters but still close enough to help should they need to, Mallard Team's Sentinel had been hit dead on the side and the track had been ruptured. For a second Erwin had no clue how they had been hit and from where, but then she realized that the only way was... through the open window of the building next to them and it was there that Erwin spotted the smoking end of a small, for tank standards, barrel.
For a moment there was silence, then the turret of the sentinel turned around to face the attacker, while at the same time an engine was started and the smoking barrel vanished from sight as the small Panzer II backpedaled. A second later Mallard Team returned fire and it's small but potent two pounder gun spat it's shell with a boom, spitting fire and smoke and a loud crash came from the house as furniture was shredded. Erwin was sure that they hadn't hit what they had hoped for, namely the opposing tank, because she could still hear the engine and crashes and then the distant smashing of steel against stone as the German tank smashed partially through a wall.
"Contact, alley north of Amigami-Street, Panzer II. They have destroyed our track, we are immobilized until we have taken care of it," came the calm, collected and perfectly summarized notice of Mazoe over the radio. Erwin ducked down into the hull of her tank, looking at her friends who all watched her intensively, clearly wanting to know what was going on.
"Oryou, hit it and take the next left, then turn left at the mouth of the alley, perhaps we can cut them off."
"Yes," replied her friend and already their tank was moving, while Erwin informed the rest of the Ooarai tank force of what they were doing. Coordination was key when hunting an slippery foe, she knew that. If they worked together and managed to properly coordinate every tank, than they would be able to catch the girls of Alexander Academy for sure and-
"Hippo, they're behind you!"
Erwin all but shot out of her hatch and turned around, just in time to see how the Panzer II, adorned with black flames on the lower part of the hull, slipped past them between them and Mallard Team, slipping into another alley. Apparently they had simply risked taking fire from Mallard Team, whose turret was not turning fast enough to follow at such a close distance. "Wow, they are quick."
/
"Yeeaah! Whoooo! You show 'em girls!"
Both Darjeeling and Kay pulled their eyes from the large viewing screen and turned to their left, immediately spotting the single girl of Alexander Academy between her peers. She was nothing special, just a girl with a very long skirt and some writing on her uniform, but she was cheering and had her hands high in the air. She was the only girl cheering and several of her peers were looking at her a bit confused.
And some of them looked to the viewing screen, as if they were just now realizing that they were watching a live sports match.
/
"Contact, alley north of Amigami-Street, Panzer II. They haven destroyed our track, we are immobilized until we have taken care of it."
"Aaaahhh, this reminds me of our match against St. Glorianna," said Anzu out loud, grinning broadly, while Yuzu did her best to maneuver their tank around trough the streets. "That brings back memories."
"You mean like when we missed three tanks despite them being right in front of us?" asked Momo, giving the small student council president a glare. A glare that Anzu immediately recognized as being more playful than honestly annoyed.
"Yes, for instance. We grew from it." The brown haired girl giggled and bit into one of her favorite snacks. "We were very bad at this. But we got a lot better I think."
"Hippo, they're behind you!"
The two girls snapped practically to attention, concentrating on their tasks, their banter forgotten for the moment. Momo made sure that the gun was loaded and then looked through her periscope so that she was ready to fire any second, while Anzu listened to the radio chatter and checked the map that was placed on her knees while doing so. She was good at multitasking, that was the main reason she was the commander of this particular tank.
"Yuzu, take the next right, then turn left. Momo, they will come in our direction, be ready to fire."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The engine rumbled, the tracks moved and changed pace as Yuzu moved the steering levers. There was a small scratching noise and then a rumble as they hit the corner of a wall, leaving some nasty marks on the outside of their hull, but no one commented on it. This was a tank, not some dainty sports car.
The alley they had driven into was barely wide enough for their Jagdpanzer, but somehow Yuzu managed to maneuver through without slowing down too much. The tank that had been paired off with them, Rabbit Team, didn't follow after them, the narrow alley could easily turn into a death trap and the tall body of the M3 was far easier to hit and to penetrate than the angled surface of the Hetzer. At least that was their thinking.
Not caring much that they flattened a small chair that had been left standing there, Yuzu drove the tank through the alley between the two buildings and then at the end of it, having reached a still narrow but somewhat wider back alley, turned left. And immediately Momo yelped, "There they are!"
"Shoot them!"
Not even a second later the whole tank shook as Momo pulled the trigger and their 75 mm PaK roared angrily, the shell being fired and traveling down the alley aimed at their target.
Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was skill or the lack of it, but whatever the reason the moment they had been spotted, the driver of the Panzer II had turned their tank slightly and the shot missed narrowly, the small tank barely dodging the shell which would have most likely taken it out. A second later their small, comparatively, autocannon returned fire. They hit, but the small round practically plinked off the armor of the Jagdpanzer harmlessly.
"Haha, you think you can penetrate our mighty armor with your puny little gun? Think again, peasants, hahahaha!" laughed Anzu out loud while she was busy reloading the gun, making both Momo as well as Yuzu turn to her in confusion. Well, mostly Yuzu, Momo kept her eyes on their target.
"Hey, what-"
Momo's surprised yelp was cut off as their whole tank trembled and shook, following a loud crashing sound.
"They rammed us!"
"Shoot them!"
"I can't, they are next to our gun! I can't reach them!" A moment later they heard the impact of a small round against their hull once more. It didn't penetrate, but it sure was annoying.
Anzu couldn't help but to smile broadly. These clever girls. Knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance if they stayed at a distance and having nearly no room to maneuver, the girls inside the Panzer II had decided to go in for a sort of clinch, to borrow an expression from another sport. As the main gun of the Hetzer was mounted up front they were now safe from the 75 mm rounds, but could still fire themselves. Not that this was very effective, but still.
"Yuzu, backwards."
"Hmhm," replied the taller brown haired girl with a nod, immediately following the command and kicked in the reverse gear. But after a moment she said, "They are staying close, I can't shake them."
"I know," answered Anzu with a chuckle. "But once we are out of the alley, they are done for."
/
While Turtle Team drove backwards, Rabbit Team had already turned around and driven back, getting into position to shoot at the Panzer II the moment they came out of the alley. They had to, they had no real choice. If they stayed inside the alley, then they would be turned into mince-meat by Turtel Team and if they came out they had at least a chance of staying in the match.
"Ayumi, be ready!" commanded Azusa, standing with her body poking out of her cupola, calling down into the hull. "Aya, be ready as well, but prepare for turning the turret should we spot another one of their tanks as well."
"Hai."
"Hai."
Although Azusa was of course nervous, she was always nervous during matches, she was having a good feeling about this. They, for a change, outnumbered their opponents, they had the stronger and sturdier tanks, they were more experienced. For a change, things were looking good for them. She didn't think it would be easy, of course not, after all even a kitten could be dangerous when backed into a corner. But she was having a good feeling about this.
She gave the mouth of the alley ahead, about ten meters in front of them, a last glance and scanned the street for any signs of activity. Not seeing anything beyond a lone newspaper being blown across the street by the wind and then landing in a large puddle, she turned to take a good look at their surroundings. But only for a second, because she then heard the telltale sound of tank tracks, metal scratching along a wall and the howling of engines approaching.
"Here they come, be ready girls."
"Hai."
"Hai."
A few more moments, a few moments at which she watched the end of the alley very closely, and then the rear of the Hetzer appeared in her field of vision. She felt herself go stiff, felt one hand tighten around the rim of her cupola she was holding on to, felt her mouth turn into a smile.
"Be read-"
The sound of a gun being fired rang out like thunder, echoing over the street, reflected by the walls of the buildings. In practically the same moment the just mostly visible tank of Turtle Team was rocked into their direction, shuddering and shaking, then dying and stopping. And a second later the white flag popped out. Azusa felt herself go stiff, her eyes wide. "What?"
Pretty much exactly opposite of Rabbit Team, at the other end of the street perhaps thirty meters away from them, hidden behind several crates, tables, chairs and a few stolen, um, borrowed mobile billboards, the gangly, athletic Burek jumped up. Her arms were in the air, she was cheering loudly and the muzzle of the 75 mm main gun of her small but potent tank destroyer was smoking. "Fuck yeah! Whooooohoooow! Yeah! Take that!"
She then nearly lost her balance, standing awkwardly half outside her Maresal tank, as the driver fired up the engine and drove out of their hiding position halfway parked inside a small cafe. She then pulled her head in and ducked into her tank as the 37 mm shell fired by Rabbit Team hit the wall close by, not doing any damage but at least it was something. She cackled like some sort of goblin as she climbed inside, pulling the hatch closed behind her.
"Should we follow them?" asked Karina in the M3, looking to Azusa. Well, to Azusa's legs, but same thing.
"No, we could become isolated and lured into a trap..." replied her commander, shaking her head. "Yuuki, contact the others, ask where to catch up and with whom."
"Hai."
As Yuuki turned the tank and drove off to link up with Hippo Team Azusa kept standing, keeping watch. And, for some reason she couldn't explain, she was still smiling. She knew that she perhaps shouldn't. But she couldn't help herself.
/
"Yes!" yelled one girl in the uniform, or at least parts of the uniform, of Alexander Academy, pumping a fist into the air. A few others were clapping, some were smiling, a few were cheering. Not nearly as much as the girls from Ooarai on the other side of the viewers places were cheering for their team, waving banners and singing, but it was certainly more than just an hour before. And further in the middle and further up...
"Don't say it," mumbled Kay, leaning back in her seat, giving Darjeeling next to her an annoyed look.
"I wasn't going to say anything. I will have you know, I am not of such low character that I would ever utter the words I told you so, no matter how appropriate it would be. As in this instance it would certainly be," replied the blonde not actually English girl.
Kay groaned and glared at her. "That is just saying I told you so with extra steps."
"I can assure you, I have not the faintest notion of what you are speaking of," answered Darjeeling with a perfectly composed smile on her features. While also holding a steaming cup of tea with perfect composure. And no, Kay had no clue where she had gotten that one from.
Not that Darjeeling had any clue where Kay then pulled a giant bag of popcorn from. But she wasn't going to ask either.