Miho was worried. As she was standing on the turret of her tank between the hills at the border of Fukushima Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture she realized that they were less than 120 kilometers away from their home. In a tank war that's still a pretty big distance. However it's not THAT big. What if they will be unable to stop the II. Honshu Battalion and the Hokkaido Battalion of the confederate army? If they manage to advance further to the south… maybe the front can reach Oarai itself. Miho didn't want to even think about this scenario.
But she wasn't sure what should she refer to as "front". Overnight the fight on the northern front became a maddening guerilla war without exact lines in some sectors. The tanks fought each other completely independently in the woods not in groups. Therefore the epicenter of the war in the north became very static and stuck at the border of the named prefectures.
Miho's only joy was that she was with her friends. Otherwise she would have given up and left behind this whole nightmare a long time ago. Her motivation was now the same as Darjeeling's. She wanted to protect the home of her beloved school at all costs. They say: "a real soldier does not fight because he hates what is before him, but because he loves what is behind him". Based on this statement she could now understand the thinking of the boys. All they want is to protect the schools and Sensha-Do teams they love. Unluckily they see no other option than breaking down the JSF to achieve this goal. Moreover she had to realize that the boys wanted to save their schools from what nearly happened to Oarai. Is she now fighting for a Federation which sees only sources of income in the high schools and their teams? If that's the case why should she be here? Is it possible that the boys' schools that were portrayed by the JSF as devilish, evil rebels ever since their secession, in fact have the moral high ground?
The thoughts stared to drive her crazy. "Sigh. What is Kiyoshi-kun doing now over there?" Miho thought looking to the direction where the forces of Landsknecht Boys' High School could be. "What is he thinking? What is motivating him? Does he remember that Christmas?"
"Miporin! Coded message from Tokyo!" interrupted Saori Miho's thoughts from the inside of the Panzer IV.
"Thank you Saori-san." said Miho and took the paper from her friend. When she finished the decoding she was surprised and shocked. She immediately called all her teammates together.
"Attention please girls!" said Miho when everyone from Oarai's Sensha-Do team stood before her in ranks. "We have a new situation. The High Command wants us to turn the tide here, eliminate the threat on the capital and the central sectors and reconquer our northern territories. Their main goal is to push Landsknecht and Stromboli back to Niigata and Nagaoka, force the Hokkaido Battalion out of Honshu and get Aomori back."
"How could we do that taichō?" asked Isobe. "We are outnumbered and outgunned by far."
"Numbers do not help a battle little land ducks!" said Ogin. "At Salamis forty heroic Greek ships faced two hundred Persian galleys and the Hellenics won the fight!"
"Listen to the commander please!" shouted Kawashima.
"You asked how we are supposed to do that Isobe-san." said Miho. "I guess all of you know what Saunders and Kuromorimine did on the southern front and triggered huge protests among the public and even the Federation." All the girls nodded. "Well, now it's our turn to do that." Miho could tell that her friends didn't like the idea. All of them frowned and looked at each other.
"Do we really have to do that taichō?" asked Azusa confused. "Even if we are at war with the boys' schools, it's a too cruel thing."
"We are soldiers now Azusa-san. We have to follow the orders of our leaders; otherwise we will be traitors as well. It's not our duty to ask things like that." replied Miho, but in her heart she completely agreed with Rabbit Team's commander. "There is more. The directorate could finally buy new tanks for the other schools of ours to replace the lost ones. Luckily we still have all the nine vehicles. The other commanders have received the message too. Our equipment to carry out the attack will arrive in two days. Let's hope that we will not have to face any bigger movement from the enemy until then. Go now and get prepared everyone." dismissed Miho the meeting. When she wanted to walk away Anzu stopped her.
"Oy Nishizumi-chan. Can we have a talk?"
"Sure thing kaichō." said Miho. "What is it?"
"You really don't want to do this right? Feel free to tell me, I will not tell it anyone else."
"You are absolutely right President." said Miho after hesitating. "Not as if I could do anything against it."
"Guess we must obey the order as you said. But what would you do if you could do something?"
"That's… That's a hard question President."
"But you sure have an answer."
"Honestly… I'd prefer to use that damn gas against those who gave it to us."
"Ergo: against the leadership of the JSF? If you'd do that, that would make you a traitor, wouldn't it?"
"I'm not sure anymore who should be called a "traitor". Those who only wanted equal rights and fair treatment within Sensha-Do or those who wanted to deplete them and make money of their schools?"
"So you see our leaders as villains in this conflict. But you are fighting for them in this exact moment. Why is that?"
"I'm not fighting for any of them President. I'm fighting for Oarai and my friends."
"But should Oarai fight at all? Or even if we should, should we fight on the federal side?"
"What do you mean Anzu-san?"
"What do we benefit if the Federation wins?"
"President… are you now talking about… switching sides?"
"Not necessarily. But what do you think about this scenario?"
"There is only one but big reason why I can't do that."
"And that would be?"
"I couldn't war against my own friends from the other schools. Katyusha-san, Darjeeling-san, Kay-san, Anchovy-san and… Onee-chan."
"I can understand that. I wonder what do they think about all of this."
"I'm afraid to ask them. I don't know what they would say."
"You are right Nishizumi-chan. Forget about this for now. Focus on our task." said Anzu and walked away, placing her hand for a second on Miho's shoulder.
Miho stood there for a minute, and then she went on her way too. "Seriously. How do the other girls feel?" Miho stopped and looked around. In mean time the night fell and it was now dark in the foggy forest. She could only hear the talking of her comrades and the hoot of the owls in the distance. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the cold air and tried to evoke the Oarai school ship in front of her. Her apartment, the small bakery with the smell of fresh baked bread, the way she used to walk to the school, the school building, the classroom, the cantina, the library, the parks, the sights where she and her friends used to spend their free time, the Sensha-Do training field…
"I hear the mountain birds
The sound of rivers singing
A song I've often heard
It flows through me now
So clear and so loud
I stand where I am
And forever I'm dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I'm dreaming of home." she crooned quietly.
Darjeeling's POV
No matter how good tactics St. Gloriana had, they couldn't help them. They were trapped inside Nakatsugawa. They just couldn't conquer any more land. It was now a deadlock like many other fronts. The lines moved back and forth with only a few dozens of meters. A street could be owned by St. Gloriana at the morning then by Bannockburn by the afternoon. The night when Miho was singing that little song for herself Darjeeling was leaning on a railing under a streetlight watching the flowing water of the Nakatsu River. Beautiful. How beautiful. Like the flowing of life. She noticed Pekoe walking by. The loader didn't say a word just nodded with a tired look on her face. Darjeeling really didn't know now what to think. All she wished was a hot bath, a cup of tea in the saloon of her school and maybe a lovely tennis match with her friends. But she was still here…
Katyusha's POV
Katyusha was eating a mess tin of borsch with Nonna and Klara nearby. "How are you two?" she suddenly asked.
"What Katyusha?" asked Nonna.
"что?" asked Klara surprised.
"How do you feel?"
"I… I honestly don't know what to answer Katyusha-san." said Klara lowering her head.
"What about you Nonna?"
"The same here Katyusha?"
"Then tell me what you would do now if you could do what you want."
"My first thing to do was to go to the sauna and let out a huge sigh." answered Nonna. "Then I would go to see my parents. Then search my cousin brother."
"I didn't know you have a cousin brother." said Katyusha now looking at her vice-commander. "Who is he?"
"His name is Sora. And he…"
"He?"
"He is the vice-commander of Habsburg Boys High School."
"Oh… I see…" nodded Katyusha confused. "Don't you hate him?"
"How could I hate him? We literally grew up together and he was the only person in my life who was like a sibling for me. Before all of this started we promised to each other that everything will remain the same between us whatever happens. I just hope I will never have to fight with him."
"I hope your wish come true. What about you Klara?" asked Katyusha.
"I would visit my family as well back in Novosibirsk. That's my one and biggest wish." replied the Russian girl. "What do you want Katyusha-sama?"
"Sleep. That's all." said Katyusha. She wanted to sleep in her own bed in her own room. But she was still here…
Anchovy's POV
Anchovy had to realize that she is probably luckier than most of her comrades. Even though Anzio, Chi-Ha-Tan and Maginot lost Shizuoka they were stationed between the confederate city and Yokohama and since they were close to the capital their supply was way better than the other schools'. She even got a few slices of pizza. But she wished she could eat them on the sunny Piazza di Spagna on Anzio's schools ship. Instead of that she was sitting on her P40 on the windy countryside which was still cold during the nights.
"Anchovy-san! A cappuccino?"
"Hm?" It was Carpaccio, offering a cup of coffee. "Ah. Thank you Carpaccio. Take a seat if you want."
"Grazie comandante." said the vice-commander and sat down on the tank of her commander.
"You know. I think when people think about Italy they usually think about the warm beaches and the sunny hills with vineyards. And the often forget about that the Italian mountains in the north are just as cruel, cold and icy as the ones in Germany, Austria or Switzerland."
"I think you have a point Anchovy-san. But why are you saying this now?"
"It just came to my mind." Silence lapsed between them for a minute. "You have a younger brother right?"
"Yes comandante." said Carpaccio.
"I also have one."
"How old is he?"
"He turned twelve last month. And I couldn't be there."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yes, me too. And how old is your brother?"
"He is only two years younger than me. He is learning in a co-ed school in Naka and he is in the Senkan-Do (the martial art of warships) team of the school."
"Oh really? What is his post?"
"He is the first artillery officer on a heavy cruiser."
"And why did he pick up that sport?"
"He was always in love with the sea. Our mother was afraid of him for a bit of time but now she is okay with that. Our father has always supported him in it."
"Be glad that he didn't join Sensha-Do." said Anchovy. "I actually never cared that boys are doing the sport too but he would be with the enemy side now."
"And I'm very grateful that it didn't happen."
"Let's wish that both of us will see them soon." sighed Anchovy. She wanted to finally reunite with her family. But she was still here…
Kay's POV
"Which part of the USA would you like to visit first girls?" asked Kay in a far more depressed voice than she used to.
"I don't know. Maybe Grand Canyon or the Monument Valley." said Alisa as they were sitting near a campfire. "Naomi?"
"On my list the Great Lakes stand on the first place." replied the Firefly commander. "What about you commander?"
"I'd like to see the Crater Lake, Yellowstone or Yosemite." said Kay. She always wanted to visit these places she learned so much about. But she was still here…
Maho's POV
Maho, like the other girls from Kuromorimine and Saunders started to question their earlier views. They were no longer sure that they were nearly undefeatable. After they lost the battle of Hiroshima the boys' president Hamada Kyousuke launched a massive counter offensive called Operation Reconquista to get back the lost confederate territories in southern Honshu and maybe to even force the two girls' schools back to Kyushu. And they could only slow it down. They were forced further and further to the south.
"Kommandant." heard Maho a voice as she was sitting at her own campfire.
"Good evening Erika."
"How are you?" asked the silver haired vice-commander kneeling down to her commander.
"Well… what could I say to that?"
"You're right, that was a stupid question." shook Erika her head. "Tut mir Leid."
"And how are you?" asked Maho.
"Remember how determined and fanatic I was when this has started. That Erika is gone now."
"And what kind of Erika do I see now?"
"You see an Erika who wants to do Sensha-Do again for fun. And who has no longer anger in her heart toward her old friend who fights in the ranks of Szent István High School."
"You never told me about him. What is his name?"
"Gensai Fumito."
"Were you and he ever…"
"What? Oh no, no. We were just best friends."
"If he was a true friend of yours you ARE still best friends."
"I really hope it Kommandant. I really hope it."
"You ask how I am, right? Tired. Terribly tired."
"What about the war?" asked Erika.
"I want it to finally be in the past. I want to see Kumamoto again. And Miho." sighed Maho.
"Kommandant."
"Hm?"
"I'm… I'm sorry that I was so harsh with your sister back then. I never told it to you or to her. I've regretted it long ago. My older sister always told me, not to judge people so easily. But I was a fool. Let's face it: she is very talented and strong. Just like you."
"Maybe. But her heart is far more warmer than mine. Huh. Lucky little sister."
"Kommandant. You are one of the nicest persons I've ever met. Don't say things like that bitte."
"You think so?"
"I'm sure. I know you'll always do what is best for us. Also when it comes to this war." said Erika then left.
"What do you mean?" thought Maho. "Hah. Miho… what are you doing now?" Maho wanted to know what's up with her sister. But she couldn't ask her or hug her. Because she was still here…
Miho's POV
It was dawning. The first beams of the Sun started to appear. They received the special shells during the night so they could remain undetected. The new tanks for Pravda and Maple have arrived under cover of darkness as well and now they were lined up, ready to attack. Miho looked at her watch and counted down the minutes. In twenty minutes Operation Spring Awakening will begin. Reconquering about the quarter of Honshu… Will they be able to do that?
Hello folks! I'm finished with my exams and I'm finally back! Here is the new chapter! Enjoy and leave a review if you think! Ideas or suggestions are welcome!