Haha time for tanks
Joshua Whitman was hungry. More than that, he was having difficulty concentrating on his current debriefing because of how hungry he was. Personally, he sort of suspected that it was intentional on Anzio's part; a devious and dastardly plan to distract his American mind by naming their operations after delicious food. In all honesty, it made the most sense to his mind.
Unfortunately, plot or no, he had to focus and absorb this information if they wanted to win. So far, almost no tank had posed a legitimate threat to Sugar's Blues, besides the Semoventes and the P40 if they got a side shot on him. The tankettes, even with their upgraded armament, couldn't penetrate his armor regardless of their positioning. That's not to say, of course, that the other tanks were safe; every other tank was vulnerable, a point that Miho was currently making
"... In addition, the match is set to be in an extremely mountainous area, with alot of close quarters. There realistically isn't anywhere where we'll be making shots at more than about 100 meters, so the T32 needs to be careful!"
Joshua rolled his eyes at that, much to Miho's frustration. But honestly, his armor was heavy enough that it didn't realistically matter. Nothing Anzio had was getting through his armor.
Turning back twords the rest of the team, Miho continued her briefing
"So, operation Antipasta says that Anzio plans on avoiding the T32 at all costs, luring our tanks away from it. Unfortunately, if we stick by the T32, we'll never catch their flag tank. So, I'm going to have Duck team acting as scouts, along with Rabbit team. Once you two find them, the rest of us will move twords you to take the enemy tanks out. Unfortunately, we only do have six tanks, and the StuG will have trouble in the environment we'll be in. So, I'm going to assign the flag tank as the 38 (t), and have Kodiak team protect it! Any questions?"
The girls shook their head, as Momo took the stage and began going over the training schedule
"Gunner, adjust down two degrees and fire!"
"On the way!"
The shot rang out over the gunnery range as the shell arced through the air, passing right through the wooden target and destroying it.
"Good hit! Congratulations Saemonza, you've just made your first 2000 meter shot."
The girl grinned, her eye still shut, as Hippo Team broke out into cheers at their friends display. Sure, it was a static target with 7 ranging shots, but Joshua was still impressed she had managed to hit something at a distance of 2 kilometers, especially eing so new to tank gunnery. Rachel managed those shots fairly routinely, but the gun she used was much longer with a much higher velocity, and she had years of experience to boot.
Unfortunately, the StuG most likely wouldn't get a chance to show off it's long range skills any time soon, as the forests of the Anzio match were extremely prohibitive to long range firefights. Still, it helped the girls get more comfortable with their skills, and they'd spend alot of time camoflauging their position beforehand. That alone sure to be vital in the upcoming match. Oryou had proven a better and better driver under the tutelage of Michael and Mako, manuvering the StuG expertly in tight spaces.
In fact, the while team had proven to be much better than Joshua expected. He stood up on the hull of the StuG, Erwin opening the commanders hatch and climbing out herself
"So, Whitman, what do you think about our crew now?"
"I gotta admit, Foxy, you guys have come a far piece in a short time. Much farther than I expected, Actually everyone has. I'm very happy with it"
Behind him, the M3 came into position, Azusa hanging out of the commanders hatch, pointing at the horizon and shouting into her mic. The tank stopped, made fine adjustments to it's guns, and fired both in quick succession, before thundering off to repeat the process as it advanced. Duck team came tearing behind them, weaving in and out of using the American tank for cover, firing until they overtook thr Rabbits, speeding off at an angle to split the fire of their imagined enemies.
The two tank commanders watched as the teams worked together, and Joshua had to admit that the Rabbits had come the farthest by far. From bailing out of their tank at the first practice match Captain Chōno had held, to charging into enemy lines and using aggressive tactics, they were shaping up to be potent heavy tank killers. They even technically had Sugar's Blues on their tally board, a fact they never failed to remind Joshua about when they could. He never retorted, the one time he considered if a glare from his burly loader had been more than enough reason to shut up and accept the teasing.
His gaze shifted to the Pz. IV on a hill, furthest away from him and Caeser, just beyond where Rachel was firing the T32s gun at its own targets. Out of the coupla stood Miho Nishizumi, and the meer sight of her made his stomach flip.
Earlier in the day, he'd Actually done it; he'd asked her out to dinner, just the two of them. Of course, they'd eaten dinner alone before, but this had the distinct unspoken undertones of a real, actual date in the making. Stuttering his way through it, Miho's eyes had gleamed and she accepted, just as akward as he had done. It was set after the Anzio match, neither one of them having the time beforehand, but he was excited nonetheless.
Shaking his head, he turned to Erwin
"Foxy, I'd say call it a day. Match is in two days, tomorrow we'll take it light, clean the guns and sight them in, and get ready."
Erwin nodded, yelling back into her tank for Oryou to drive back to the hanger. Joshua borrowed the radio to confirm with his Commander, and upon her agreement, all tanks began withdrawing for their upcoming match.
The day had come. To say Asuza was nervous would be an understatement; she was bouncing inside, her stomach had become a butterfly farm that even Saki would be intrigued by, and her palms were sweaty. She watched her senpais approach the other teams commanders, Joshua-senpai sticking close to Nishizumi-senpai as always.
The two teams shook hands, made small talk, and the turned back twords their tanks. The first year signaled to her fellow Rabbits, and the girls mounted up
"Rabbit team, this is Anglerfish, how goes your mission?"
Azusa keyed her mic, "We're okay Nishizumi-senpai! We haven't found any Anzio tanks, yet, but we'll keep you informed!"
"Okay, remember to stay safe please!"
Azusa popped her hatch and looked around, scanning the trees like she had seen Joshua-senpai do alot. They had been driving for a while now, but hadn't seen anything yet!
Coming up above a ridgeline, Azusa paled, staring down the guns of several enemy tanks
"Karina, stop, stop!!! Aya, we have enemy tanks ahead, open fire!"
Aya yelped, rotating her turret and letting off a snap shot that went wilde, while Karina reversed the Lee. Azusa counted five enemy tanks, but curiously, none returned fire.
Cautiously, she instructed Karina to move forward, her eyes trained on the ridgeline. The tanks stood there, motionless, not even moving their guns twords her
"... Aya, keep us aimed at them. Yuuki, please tell the senpais we've found six of the enemy tanks!"
Before she could get the word off, the radio exploded with chatter
"Anglerfish, this is Duck, we've found seven enemy tanks!"
"S-seven!? but Rabbit team found six... They can't field that many tanks in a second round match..."
Azusa's mind began churning; how could that be possible??
"Azusa, did the tanks try and shoot at you?"
"No! and we even fired a round, I know they saw us!"
"Hm... Azusa, fire your machine gun at them please"
Azusa complied, and to her shock the rounds tore through the cutout of the tank, revealing it to be wood
"Senpai, it's a fake! It's a fake tank!"
"Ah! Kodiak team, this is Anglerfish, how's your sector???"
"... How's you're sector?"
Joshua keyed his own mic, rolling along in his tank and leaning out of the hatch
"No contacts, Sector is clear."
No later than ten seconds after he had reported, five cannon reports sounded, and his tank was lit up by rapid anti tank rifle fire
"AH! NOT CLEAR, NOT CLEAR!'
Ducking into his hatch, he shouted at his driver
"MIKE, REVERSE! HECTOR GET A SHELL LOADED, HIGH EXPLOSIVE! SAM KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! WHERE ARE THEY!?"
The hull continued to resonate with sound as the shells flew, Joshua reaching for his mic again
"ANZU, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! GO, GO!"
The flag tank quickly beat a retreat, the T32 continuing to take fire. Soon enough, the tank lurched to a halt as the track was snapped by several high explosive shells
"DAMNIT, they've got their Semoventes!"
Like a swarm of angry wasps, the tankettes began filtering out through the trees firing wildly and surrounding the heavy tank
"Damnit, Rachel target those tankettes!"
The brunette struggled to track one of them, firing a high explosive shell that landed near one and flipping it. Two rounds then impacted to Joshua's left, and the turret jammed
"Goddamnit, fucking useless turret ring! Just fire if they get in front of you!"
"Right!"
Joshua climbed out of his hatch, rounds flying all around, and racked the bolt of his trusty machine gun. Lining up on a tankette, he fired a burst and watched with satisfaction as it began smoking, halted, and raised it's white flag. He tracked a second one, herding it in front of the main cannon, when Rachel fired, scoring a direct hit and spinning the tank around, it's flag going up
He managed to take out two more tankettes before needing to reload, throwing the belt in and flipping the cover closed. Racking the bolt, he lined up his sights on a third tankette
Carpaccio watched as her loader struggled to throw another shell in the breech. Her last shot had taken out the turret ring of the behemoth, but to her shock the commander opened the hatch and began lighting up her tankette sisters
"Driver, position is to the side of the tank, in the trees. Hurry, hurry!"
She watched as one tankette was hit by the machine gun, taken out, and another by the main cannon directly. Unlike Pepperoni's tankette, this hadn't been a glancing blow she'd be able to flip the tank over and recover from.
Swinging the hull of her Semovente to the left, Carpaccio was greeted with the sight of the thin side armor of the American tank.
"Fire!"
A loud CLANG shook Joshua, throwing his aim off as he recovered. Feeling heat behind him, he looked back and saw flames rising from his engine. His dread was confirmed by his driver moments later
"FIRE, FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT!"
He paled; They had something that could penetrate his tank now, and he was immobilized. Making matters worse, the first tankette Rachel had nearly hit had it's crew out. He watched in horror as they flipped their tankette, hopped back in, and drove off, none the worse for wear Keying his mic, he shouted to Miho
"MIHO! We took out three of their tankettes, but we've been immobilized!"
"Joshua! Hang on, I'm diverting Duck team and Hippo to assist! Turtle team just arrived back, hang on Joshua help is-"
CLANG
Miho's voice was cut off by another loud impact, and this time it was punctuated by the sound of a flag deploying. Staring in shock, Joshua turned to his left and saw his T32's white pendant flying in the breeze
"Joshua, status! Joshua!?"
"Uh... this... This is Joshua... we've been knocked out..."
He took his headset off, watching in shock as the Italian tanks tore off into the forest, leaving only the three disabled tankettes behind.
After a minute, they were gone, consumed by the forest as if they'd never been present.
Operation: Macaroni is in effect. In my mind, the plan actually hinged on Anchovy's assumption that thr T32 would be both better protected by the rest of the team, and be the flag tank. This was going to be her one, swift strike. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the 38 (t) beat feet as soon as the fighting started, they didnt manage to finish the fight right away. Still, the false intelligence worked, and the heavy tank probably would have chosen a better defensive position if they had known they were the priority one target all along
As always read and review, let me know what you liked, what you didnt.
