Chapter 11: Two Commanders, One Victor - The Duel Begins

"Driver, turn around and head back the way we came" Maho ordered. "Proceed at no more than one-third speed."

"Uh... hai." Confused by her commander's decision, Minako obediently set the Tiger in motion, pivoting away from Miho's tank before rumbling down the hill. Inside the turret, Makoto and Rei exchanged puzzled glances.

The loader closed her hatch and quietly spoke to her friend without using the intercom. "I wonder what Maho is up to, Mako-chan. There's no cover that way, just open ground. If we're still there when the shooting starts, we'll be a sitting duck."

The brunette shook her head. "I have no idea."

Watching Maho's tank slowly retreat, Miho was equally perplexed by her sister's strange tactic. "I was sure she'd choose a spot inside the treeline to begin the match. This is a big surprise."

"Your orders, Commander?"

"Driver, if the other Tiger doesn't want to shelter within the trees, we'll take them" Miho decided. "Proceed there now. Loader, prepare our weapon. As usual, we'll be using only armor-piercing shells during this skirmish."

"Hai."

The second Tiger began moving in the opposite direction as the first heavy 8.8cm round was smoothly rammed into its gun's breech. Miho stood in her cupola watching her sister's tank until it was obscured from sight by the hilltop that now separated them. "That's very odd, Mother. If she changes her mind and wants to find cover later, her tank will have to cross open ground. We'll have an easy target."

"As I said before, Miho, your sister has obviously lost her competitive edge" the woman spoke. "Yet another poor decision by Maho that may quickly cost her the match." She chuckled, "Which is fine by me."

"If she tries that, I'll get two quick rounds into her tank as soon as she passes the hill we just left, Miho-san" her gunner confidently added. "There's no other way for her to go. This duel will be over in no time."

'I don't understand it' the brown-haired teen thought with a shake of her head. Miho frowned, 'It's almost like Maho is trying to lose.'

. . . . .

"Just as I assumed she would, Miho is playing it safe" Maho spoke to her team. "She'll start the match in that narrow grove of trees, likely near its center. Then she'll wait for us to present ourselves as an easy target. But we aren't going to do that."

"If the other Tiger is stationary and we're moving fast, her gunner will be able to aim much more accurately than I will" Ami spoke. "By the time I visually locate their tank in my gunsight, they will probably have fired at least twice. The odds of Miho scoring good hits on us will definitely be in her favor."

"Feeling less sure of your abilities, Mizuno-san?" Maho chuckled. "Don't worry, I have no intention of giving Miho an easy target." She dropped into the turret. "The cluster of trees she'll be sitting in is very small. She has confined her tank to a narrow area that I know well. Follow my commands precisely and we'll make her pay."

"Driver, we've gone far enough. Turn around tightly and creep back to the base of the hill at low speed. I don't want our engine noise to carry. Keep the hill between us and those trees. During this maneuver, hiding our movement is of utmost importance."

"Hai, Commander." Minako worked the track control levers and the massive Tiger lost momentum as it swung sharply to the left. The blonde muttered, "All this slow driving is getting really boring! I want to put the pedal to the floor again!"

"You'll get your chance soon enough, Minako-san" Maho reassured the speed-crazed girl. "Loader, for this first part of my plan to be successful, you'll need to reload faster than you ever have before. Three seconds maximum."

"I can do it" Rei nodded. "But we'll be behind a hill with no view of our target, Nishizumi-san. What is Ami supposed to be shooting at?"

"That is an important point, Commander" the blue-haired girl cautiously spoke.

"You're both thinking like tank crewmembers" Maho smiled. "However, we won't be operating as a typical tank for our opening volleys. Instead, we'll be artillery."

. . . . .

Having reached the treeline, Miho instructed her driver to continue closer to the center of the nearly two-dozen tall, leafy camphor trees that made up her initial cover. She ordered her Tiger to turn around and stopped just as the deployment phase of the match ended. "That's the five minute mark, Miho" her mother spoke. "Your tank is now free to fire."

"Hai. Otāsan, do you approve of my tank's starting point?"

"I do. It is a somewhat predictable location, and I'm surprised Maho didn't choose it when she had the chance, but the only other nearby terrain features are that deep gully north of here and the series of cliff ledges to our west. Both are less than ideal defensive positions."

"Arigatou, Mother. Gunner, train your weapon towards the hilltop we vacated. Maho needs to make the first move due to the match's time limit, and she'll likely appear as a fast-moving target at the far side of the hill. You'll need to lead your shots appropriately."

"That's well within lethal range of our gun, Commander." She laughed, "Your sister is making it too easy for me!"

'Hai, she is' Miho mused. 'I wonder why?'

. . . . .

"Halt when we reach the half-way point on the slope, driver. Go no further, lest we be discovered. Gunner, raise our weapon to its highest elevation." She told Ami, "I'll be outside for a brief time. Adjust your gun's aim by following my hand signals, up or down and left or right as I indicate. The number of fingers I hold up is the amount of degrees you will change your aim. I'll set you up for your first shot, but hold fire until I make a fist. Got it?"

"Understood, Nishizumi-san" Ami nodded.

After her Tiger had stopped, Maho climbed out of her tank and carefully walked further up the grade, dropping to a crouch near the top. She studied the grove's location relative to her Tiger with a practiced eye, and signalled to her gunner.

The tank's turret whined as it swung five degrees left, then the long barrel dropped three degrees lower. Satisfied with the result, Maho signalled her gunner and the first round was unleashed, arcing high into the air.

. . . . .

Miho was stunned to hear the dull boom of Tiger 212's weapon, with her sister's tank still nowhere to be found. After a few seconds, a whistling sound approaching from somewhere above had her drop into the turret and slam the hatch closed.

"Incoming!"

One more second passed, then a huge fountain of dirt erupted less than ten meters to the left and rear of her tank.

"Where did that come from?" her gunner gasped, feeling the earth quiver beneath her tank's hull.

Miho's head swung wildly from side to side, looking through each of her cupola's viewing slits in a desperate attempt to spot the second Tiger. "They aren't behind us, minna! Not left or right either!"

. . . . .

Maho signalled Ami with a quick adjustment and Tiger 212's KwK 36 gun quickly blazed again, sending another round arcing skyward.

. . . . .

The air around Miho's tank became brown with dust as the second round left a deep crater six meters to her right.

"Miho, why aren't you returning fire?" her mother angrily blurted.

"There's no target to shoot at, Okāsan! The shells are dropping nearly straight down!" Miho suddenly realized what her sister was doing. "Maho's tank must be using the back of the hill to raise her shell trajectory! She's using her weapon like an artillery piece!"

"I can't hit them if there's a hill between us!" her gunner blurted. "If they get lucky and drop one much closer, we'll be knocked out of action without firing a shot!"

The crew of Miho's Tiger looked up as another whoosh above them became a thunderous explosion of dirt uncomfortably close to the front of their hull.

"Well? What are you going to do about this?" the elder Nishizumi snapped. "if you just sit here doing nothing you'll eventually lose, Miho! Completely unacceptable!"

"Maho has this location ranged out. We need to get out of these trees!" the girl decided. "Driver, head for the gully at top speed! It's the nearest cover we can reach!"

Her Tiger's engine roared and the heavy tank sprinted forward, weaving its way between the thick trunks of the tiny camphor forest and gouging a thick layer of bark from one of the trees as it rushed past. A heartbeat later, another round impacted the earth in the exact spot Miho's tank had been stopped.

. . . . .

"We flushed them out! They're running!" Maho grinned as the Tiger thundered out from the treeline. She sprinted back to her tank and leapt onto its hull, shouting an order while she clambered onto its turret. "Driver, proceed over the hill, maximum power! We're going to chase Miho down!"

"Finally, I get to have more fun!" Minako giggled, releasing the clutch and mashing the accelerator to the floor. The Tiger jolted forward, gaining more speed when it crested the hilltop and revealing Miho's tank in the distance, racing towards the protection of a long gouge in the earth a kilometer further ahead.

. . . . .

Miho knew the chase was on, and ordered "Gunner, target is directly behind us and closing! Rotate the turret and fire when able!"

"Hai!"

"Driver, after we shoot, begin zig-zagging! We need to drop into that gully soon, our hull's rear is exposed to enemy fire!"

"Understood, Nishizumi-san!"

Realizing she was in the unaccustomed position of being the hunted rather than the hunter, Miho found herself smiling. "I can't believe we're running away! Running from Aino Minako's insanely fast driving and Mizuno Ami's crack marksmanship!" She giggled happily, "I think I'm in trouble!"

. . . . .

With her turret still facing forward, Ami was first to fire. She squeezed her trigger just as her tank jostled over a deep rut and her round went high, clanging off the rear of the other tank's turret instead of striking the back of its hull as she had intended. "A hit, but it didn't raise their flag" she muttered. "I simply must do better next time."

Watching the shell strike, Maho was pleased by her gunner's skill. "Nice shooting! Do it again, Ami-san!"

By now, Miho's gunner had Maho's tank firmly in her gunsight. Her finger tightened on the trigger but an instant before it clicked home, Minako yanked back on her left stick and Tiger 212 angled away from the flying shell. "Damn that blonde rookie!"

The voice of the commander's mother spoke angrily over the intercom, "This is not what I was expecting, Miho! You're fleeing like a typical Ooarai tank, instead of fighting back as a proper Kuromorimine commander should!"

"I intend to regroup and go on the offensive when we're safely in the gully, Okāsan." The brown-haired girl's usually sweet, soft-spoken voice took on a slightly sharper tone. "If you honestly think there was something I should have done differently so far, or there is a better way to escape our pursuer, I would enjoy hearing it."

Stunned by her daughter's uncharacteristic outburst, and knowing Miho was right, the woman fell silent as their tank charged across the flat terrain. It lurched from left to right as it edged ever nearer the safety of the depression they were rapidly approaching.

. . . . .