Dein Weg ist Mein Weg
Chapter XXI
The Counterattack
"Well, I guess that's it then…"
"What makes you say that, Orange Pekoe?" Darjeeling asked with a queer expression and took another sip of her tea.
"I mean… Isn't it obvious?" Orange Pekoe replied, and returned her cup and saucer to the table beside her, gesturing towards the field before them. "Ooarai are encircled and outnumbered for the second time this match, one of their biggest guns is out of action, and they're under constant barrage?"
"I'm afraid I must agree, Lady Darjeeling," Assam nodded. "The odds are very much not in Ooarai's favor, and I simply do not see a way for them to win this battle?"
"I must say, girls, I find your lack of faith disappointing." Darjeeling emptied her cup, and handed it to Rukuriri to be refilled. "I don't think the result is as conclusive as you seem to consider it. Thank you, Rukuriri." She accepted the refilled cup without looking away from the action, intense contemplation apparent behind her eyes.
"But…" Orange Pekoe started to protest, before stopping, calming herself, and restarting. "Lady Darjeeling, if I may, why?"
"Whatever do you mean, my dear Orange Pekoe?"
"Why have you taken such an interest in Ooarai? You've never dragged us out to a match like this before, and most certainly not to one with a minor school in the first round."
"It's simple, isn't it?" Darjeeling threw a sly glance at her two Vice Commanders. "It's because Ooarai are different."
"In what possible way are they different?" Assam asked. "They haven't fielded a Sensha-Do team in decades, they have no titles or victories to their name, and their only previous battle led to an unquestionable defeat?"
"I'm not quite sure…" Darjeeling answered as she leaned back and smiled, taking a sip of her tea as she looked at the large monitor showing the battle. "But I suppose it's Nishizumi... I don't quite understand her... And I take an interest in things I don't understand..."
"San Francisco, come in. This is Los Angeles. Over."
"This is SF, reading you loud and clear LA! Whaddya got for us?"
"Enemy M3 Lee eliminated, Ma'am," Naomi said cooly over the radio. "Which one do you want taken out next? Over."
"Just lay down some covering fire for now," Kay replied in her cheerful tones. "We've got nine tanks out here after all. What kind of commander would I be if I let you have all the fun?"
"Got it. Happy hunting, San Francisco. Los Angeles, out." Naomi switched off the radio of her Firefly, and leaned back in her seat as she rolled her head a few times to loosen up her neck.
"What are our orders, Commander?" Maya asked from the driver's seat below her.
"Just the usual…" Naomi replied.
"Aww, just one shot?" Juria exclaimed with a pout from the other side of the gun, already having loaded a new shell into the breach.
"'Fraid so."
"The Commander never lets us have any real fun…" Juria sighed. "We've already got a clear shot, so why can't we just take out their flag tank here and now?"
"Because the commander is the sporting type. And besides, the rest of the team deserve to have some fun too, don't they?" Naomi aimed her sights at Ooarai's Panzer IV. Giving the trigger a gentle squeeze, as if it was one of Assam's soft hands, she watched as the shell traveled the two kilometers with the speed of a bullet, pinging predictably off the German tanks turret. "Now, get me another round loaded." She put a new stick of gum between her teeth, and began to chew while Juria reloaded the 17-pounder. "Just because we're shooting clay pigeons instead of hunting, doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves."
Naomi didn't care much for Kay's insistence on sportsmanship, even if she most certainly saw the value of a personal code. She just relied on her own instead. She considered herself a professional, and professionals needed standards, of which she had three. She was polite, she was efficient, and she had a plan to take out any foe she met.
She smirked, and readjusted the gun's aim anew, the sights now lining up with the head of the cartoon hippo painted on the side of the enemy's StuG III, taking both elevation, distance, wind speed and direction into account. "Boom. Headshot." Again, she imagined Assam's hand where the trigger was, and again she squeezed it tightly. The gun fired, rattling the Anglo-American tank as another shell was sent down-range.
Erwin almost knocked her head on the walls of the StuG III as another shell hit their side, but managed to catch herself before she did so.
"We need to do something, Commander, or this is going to turn into another Dunkirk!" she yelled into her handset, but there was still no reply. "Commander?! Hello?!" She threw it to the floor in frustration.
"Still no orders from the Commander?" Oryou shouted from the driver's seat.
"Not a word of it," Erwin commented. "But if we don't hear something soon, I don't give a damn what High Command says… Just try to maneuver our strongest armor towards the forest as much as you can for now…"
"But, Commander, there's forest all around us. We're being fired on from every direction…"
"Don't you think I can see that too? Just do your best!"
"Copy that, Commander!"
"Want us to fire, Commander?" Saemonza and Caesar asked almost in unison, as another shell slammed into their side.
"That depends," Erwin mused. "Do you have your dowsing rod handy, Caesar?"
"No, of course not, it's back on the ship…"
"Then good luck hitting anything. Considering we can't see the Yanks for the trees…"
"Captain?!" Akebi asked. "What are we going to do?!"
"Just keep firing!" Noriko yelled back and continued firing the machine gun randomly into the forest behind them.
"But Captain, we can't see the enemy!" Taeko noted.
"Oh yeah?! Well, fire off a round anyways! The only thing needed to take out an enemy is some guts and determination! Just think they'll be where you aim, and they'll be there!"
"YEAH!" the cheer bellowed from her teammates throughout the cramped tank, as Noriko tried to hail the Commander again.
"Commander! Your orders?!"
"I SWEAR, IF WE SURVIVE THIS, I'M KILLING HER MYSELF!"
"Eh, calm down a bit, will ya Momo?" Anzu said cheerfully as she leaned back in the radio operator's seat and opened another bag of dried sweet potatoes. "I'm sure she's doing the best she can considering the situation. Here, want some?"
"Um, ladies, if we could perhaps focus on the problem at hand?" Yuzu asked nervously as she tried her best to keep their front armor facing wherever she thought Saunders were firing on them from, trying desperately to nestle their weaker side and rear armor among their three other tanks. As the flag tank, their elimination meant defeat, and defeat meant that everything they had worked for would have been for naught.
"I AM FOCUSING!" Momo yelled and fired another shot blindly into the forest.
"Sweetie, I think you missed," Yuzu noted.
"OF COURSE I MISSED! I CAN'T SEE WHAT I'M FIRING AT, SO HOW COULD I POSSIBLY HIT ANYTHING?!" Momo yelled back. "AND DON'T CALL ME 'SWEETIE'!" She laboriously loaded another shell into the breach, and picked up the radio handset from the floor, where Anzu had carelessly thrown it she claimed the radio operator's seat as her own, momentarily refocusing her anger. "NISHIZUMI!" she yelled into the radio. "I THOUGHT YOU SAID THEY WOULDN'T FIND US?! WELL, THEY HAVE, SO WHAT'S THE PLAN?!"
"Commander! Your orders?!"
"We need to do something, Commander, or this is going to turn into another Dunkirk!"
"I thought you said they wouldn't find us?! Well, they have, so what's the plan?!"
Call after call came over the radio, but Maho couldn't answer any of them. Shell after shell ricocheted off their armor, but Maho could barely hear them. All she could do as her thoughts raced was repeat the same three words over and over again.
"I don't know… I don't know… I don't know…"
Her body felt like it was on fire, and her mind was as wild and untamed as the battlefield, with images, plans, memories, thoughts, nightmares, strategies, and more flashing in a wild cacophony, all duking it out for her limited ability to process them. She tried to close her eyes and focus, tried shutting the world out from her mind and plan, tried to see where the enemy was, tried desperately to come up with some way that she could get them out of this mess. But the strain she was under was too much. All she could see was a black abyss, and every plan she could come up with would either lead to more people getting hurt, like Azusa and Emi, or would rely on giving in to the darkness and let her old demonic self take over, like it had against St. Gloriana. Neither of which she considered an option.
"But Maporin-" Saori cried from down in the hull, once again asking for orders and a plan that Maho simply didn't have.
"I DON'T KNOW! I JUST… I DON'T KNOW, OK?!"
Not that it mattered whether she had a plan or not. Whatever she came up with, Kay would just read it like an open book and counter it again, just like she had done twice now. Was Maho really that easy to read? Or was Kay just that superior of a foe? She didn't know, and that only filled her head with more doubts and dark thoughts. She had lived her whole life being told that she was superior to others. That the only right way for the world to work, was for her to trample her lessers into submission and take what was rightfully hers. Not only did she not want to believe any of it, seeing the obvious horror of such statements from an early age, but now she was beginning to wonder if perhaps the opposite was true.
Was she actually as worthless and unreliable as Erika, Miho, and her mother considered her to be? Was she forever doomed to fumble around in this darkness, tortured by her own regrets? Was she really nothing without the Nishizumi name and style backing her up? Was there nothing but hot air and unearned confidence keeping her on her feet?
"We could… no… But what if… Or perhaps… No… no… no…" She mumbled to herself as her mind kept racing, but nothing was working. Every thought or possible idea was immediately struck down as unworkable by the dark tendrils of the abyss, as if taunting her with her apparent inadequacy.
"Commander?! Commander?! Anyone?!" Erwin yelled into her handset once again, still with no reply other than Saori telling her to be patient as the Commander figured out a plan. "Oh, to hell with this…"
"What are you doing?!" Caesar yelled at her as she gingerly lifted her hatch to get a better look at their surroundings.
"I'm trying to think!" Erwin yelled back as she scanned the forest around them. Then she saw it. "Oryou, head straight forward at 175 degrees! Top speed! Saemonza, fire and keep firing as fast as you can! Caesar, just keep the gun loaded! We're gonna try something!"
"There's nothing there to fire at though?!"
"I know that! Just do as I tell you and we may live as legends yet!"
"What's the plan though? What are we doing?!" Saemonza asked as Erwin sat back down in her seat, just as another shell hit their hull.
"No clue!" she laughed. "I'm making it up as I go!" Her crewmates gave each other a look, and shrugged. As the assault gun started moving, Erwin drew a quick breath and spoke into the handset. "This is Hippo! I'm not sticking around to see this turn into Korsun-Cherkassy, so we're gonna break through. If anyone wants to follow, you're welcome to join us."
A moment of silence passed. Then another. Then, suddenly, her receiver was filled with calls from the rest of Ooarai's tanks.
"Well, at least someone's giving orders in this clown show!" the Student Council PR manager yelled bitterly.
"Oh, what the hell, can't get any worse than this," Noriko answered, with more excitement than anger. "Good show of determination, Hippo! Duck is right behind you!"
"Erwin!" Saori protested nervously from the Panzer IV. "You can't just go around giving your own orders to everyo-"
"Worked well enough for the Commander in the St. Gloriana-match, didn't it? Feel free to stick around, but we're getting out of here!" Erwin replied as she looked through her periscopes, seeing the 38(t) fall in behind them, and the Type 89 taking up the rear.
Another moment of silence, and then Saori answered. "Alright, Erwin. We'll have your back, just lead the way."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, I suppose…" Erwin said to herself, before smirking and handing out her orders to the impromptu column. "Alright, here goes nothing. All tanks, fire straight forward at 175 degrees, and keep up the barrage. Operation Wacht am Hinuma is now in effect!"
"Krrsch… Alright, here goes nothing… All tanks, fire straight forward at 175 degrees, and keep up the barrage… Operation Wacht am Hinuma is now in effect… Krrsch…"
"Oh, no you don't…" Alysa said softly to herself, as she listened intently to the transmissions being picked up and sent to her earpiece. "And it's such a shame too. You even came up with a cute nickname for your little scheme…" She put the headset down and looked at the notepad she had balanced on her knee, adding this new intel to the list of Ooarai's communications. She couldn't help but grin. "Perfect… It's too bad the commander's such a girl scout when it comes to the rules…"
"But… uhm…" Rin Sasama said nervously from the slot usually reserved for the Radio Operator. But seeing as Alysa preferred to man her non-regulation equipment herself, the helmet-wearing girl was left with only getting to man the machine gun. "I… I'm still not sure this is such a good idea… The Commander always says to follow the rules… Ma-maybe we should… maybe we should ask what she thinks about..."
"What Kay doesn't know can't hurt her," Alysa said sharply. "Am I clear?"
"Y-yes… Commander…"
"And besides," she continued in calm dismissal, "I am following the rules. Or rather, I'm at the very least not breaking them. I'm just bending them a little here and there. And see how far it's gotten us."
"But…"
"No more 'but's. Unless we're being attacked, just let me crush these upstarts in peace."
The silent looks her crew exchanged let Alysa know the discussion was over, so she returned her focus to the radio equipment beside her, switching the headset connected to her listening device for the one connected to the team's radio, switching around a few knobs on it to connect to Kay, just like she had several times during the match already.
"San Francisco, this is New Orleans. Kay, the enemy is heading for-"
"Uhm…" a voice that was decidedly not Kay's answered, "The… the commander's not here at the moment, Miss Alysa… Would… W-would you like me to take a message for her?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT THERE?!" Alysa yelled back into her transceiver. "WHAT, DID SHE DISAPPEAR IN A CLOUD OF SMOKE?!"
"Well… uhm… I… I-I-I mean…" Kay's radio operator continued meekly, and began explaining the situation to Alysa.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATCH AND SHE JUST UP AND LEAVES HER TANK?!"
"They're breaking through a gap in the lines!"
"Where?! I can't see them?!"
"Point NE5176! Four contacts, column formation, heading; 175 degrees!"
"This is Dog, engaging!"
"Bravo, engaging!"
"We've got them on the run, Kay-I-I-mean-Commander. Y-your orders? Should we pursue?"
"Nah, leave 'em be, Ace," Kay answered cheerfully into her handset. "Let's just circle the wagons and regroup for now. Alysa's plans have worked great today, so I'm sure we'll find 'em again in no time!"
"Copy-"
"Actually, you know what, let's be safe rather than sorry. Dog, Bravo. Patrol the perimeter. Make sure our enemies don't use the same trick on us."
"Copy that, Commander. Dog, heading out."
"Copy that, Commander. Bravo, heading out."
"Everyone else, circle the wagons. We might as well enjoy some peace and quiet."
"Yes, Commander," the response came from the rest of her forces.
Kay showed a satisfied smile as the six Shermans made their way out of the forest they had used to encircle Ooarai, and set up a defensive perimeter in the clearing their enemy had just occupied. She reached down to hang the handset in its place, put one foot on her seat and the other on the roof of San Francisco, her M4A6.
That's weird… she thought and looked at the fallen over M3 Lee lying defeated in the middle of the clearing. It's obvious the battle is over, so why haven't they come out of there yet?
With three quick, well-practiced strides, she stepped up onto the roof of the turret, then onto the hull of the tank, and finally down to the ground. She gave a quick knock on the side of San Francisco's hull before continuing, and out of the driver's hatch popped the head of June Miyabi, her driver.
"What's the matter, Commander?"
"Nothing, June. Everything's A-OK. Just gonna go check on the crew of the M3, make sure everyone's fine. Keep an eye on SF for me while I'm gone, okay?"
"You got it," June replied and puffed herself up slightly to look more important, causing Kay to give a quick giggle as she walked over to their adversary.
"Knock-knock, anyone home?" she called as she gave a few firm knocks on the commander's hatch. "The battle's moved on, you'll be fine coming out now!"
For a few moments, there was more or less only silence from the M3, except for some muffled conversation Kay couldn't make out coming from inside. But after a few seconds more, to Kay's surprise, the Driver's and Radio operator's hatch opened, and two young girls popped their heads out.
"Is… is it over?" asked the radio operator gloomily, a short girl with equally short black hair.
"Sorry to say it, but for you it is," Kay replied with a grin, which swiftly vanished as the two girls looked rather glum. "Oh come on, don't be like that. You put up a good fight, and who knows? The rest of your team is still out there. You may win yet!"
"But… but…" the girl with wild red hair, half-crawled out of the driver's hatch, stuttered, "It's… it's Azus-I-I-mean-the Commander…"
A sense of understanding began to enter Kay's mind as she observed the two girls, who seemed close to tears. Suddenly the fact that the Commander hadn't opened her hatch made a lot more sense.
"Your commander? Is she hurt?" A few slow nods were the only reply, but Kay knew what she needed to. "Alright, just stay here and keep an eye on her. I'll be right back, just gonna fetch the first-aid kit," she said in an attempt to sound reassuring, even as she was half-sprinting away from the M3 and towards San Francisco. "And don't worry!" she yelled over her shoulder. "The Vehicle Reclamation Unit should be here any moment, and they always bring some proper medics!"
With a swift leap off of the treads of San Francisco, Kay was back on top of her Sherman's hull, rummaging through the scattered slots for cargo.
"June!"
"Yes, Commander?"
"Where's our first-aid kit?"
"Second box on the right… I think…"
"Oh, but for…" Kay swore to herself as she looked through the second box on the right. "It's not here!"
There was a moment of silent conferral from inside the tank, which Kay didn't quite feel she had the time for right now.
"June!" she called again, with a slight hint of rare annoyance.
"THE LEFT! Second box on the left!"
Kay clambered around to reach this new set of containers, and within found what she was looking for. "Finally…"
"Something the matter, Commander? You're not hurt are you?"
"It's the M3. Their commander's been injured somehow. Send in a distress call to the judges. I assume VRU's already on their way, but let them know either way!" Kay yelled back as she dismounted the tank and rushed back towards the M3.
"Well, what are you waiting for? You heard the Commander!" June snapped at Suzu Mihara, the radio operator. "Call it in!"
"How're ya holdin' up?" Kay asked the M3's commander, a girl with short brown hair named Azusa Sawa. The height difference between the two girl's was neatly nullified by the fact that Azusa was sitting atop the bed of the VRU-truck ready to carry her tank and crew back to the depot. "By the way, again, sorry 'bout this."
"N-no, it's fine-ow-ow…" Azusa answered and tried her best to show a brave smile to her enemy, which Kay could respect. "It's not your fault…" She leaned back against the side of the M3, and drew a few deep breaths. Even after the medics had given her something for the pain, it was obvious that she still wasn't completely fine. The sling carrying Azusa's left arm was more than enough proof of that.
"Still, play this sport for long enough and you forget that sometimes people can get hurt. I should have told Naomi to be more careful." Kay looked down at the ground and put her hands in her pocket, giving a pebble she had noticed a kick, just to have something to do.
"Well, if we meet again some time, I'll make sure to remind you," Azusa groaned.
"Ain't that the spirit," Kay replied, looking back up with a smile of her own. "I like your style, Sawa. There can never be enough honest and kind people in Sensha-Do." Seeing that the VRU-crew was preparing to leave, Kay offered a hand towards Azusa, who after a moment accepted it, shaking it not quite as vigorously as Kay would have preferred, but considering Azusa had gotten her dislocated shoulder put back in place less than half an hour ago, Kay let it slide.
"Right… Honest…" Azusa mumbled under her breath, as the large truck began to slowly trundle it's way back towards the staging grounds.
Kay gave a quick wave to the crew of the M3 as it was driven away, before turning to return to San Francisco and the battle.
"Suzu, any messages?" she asked as she sat down in the commander's seat and put on her headset again.
"Well… uhm… Miss Alysa has been wanting to talk to you… for quite some time now… She's been… well… She's been rather insistent on it..."
"Eh, I assume you'd have told me if she was in trouble, so it can't have been that urgent," Kay joked as she fiddled with the settings on the radio. "Ahoy-hoy, New Orleans, this is San Francisco! Alysa, whaddya got for-"
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Alysa's annoyed yell came back through the headset, interrupting Kay and reminding her to keep the earpiece away from her ears when talking to her Vice-Commander. "YOU CAN'T JUST HALT ALL ACTION AND THEN GO THREE QUARTERS OF AN HOUR WITHOUT RADIO CONTACT!"
"It's fine, don't worry about it," Kay replied, both to reassure, and to dismiss the first-year's worries. "It's not like anyone's been attacked, right?
"I mean… No… But you let Ooarai escape! That's the second encirclement we've let slip today!"
"And I'm telling you it's fine. There's no need to be so high-strung. Naomi's covering our position, Dog and Bravo are still patrolling, and with your excellent planning, we'll find 'em again in no time!"
"WHERE IS SHE?! I'M GONNA KILL HER!"
"Sweetie, let's calm down and save this for la-"
"I'M PERFECTLY CALM, AND STOP CALLING ME SWEETIE!"
Maho didn't pay the commotion any mind from where she was sitting on the ground, leaning back against the Panzer IV and looking down at her shivering hand. She still didn't know what to do. Every plan of attack she could think of only turned out to be easily countered by the Kay that now resided rent-free in her mind.
She was out of her depth.
She felt like she was a single misstep away from being dragged under by an unseen torrent or a snaking monster from the abyss. Or perhaps the issue was the opposite? After a lifetime of leading some of the finest teams in Japan, filled to the brim with excellently skilled and experienced tankers, perhaps she was simply unable to lead such a small and inexperienced team? As if her time in the oceans of Kuromorimine had made her incapable of surviving at Ooarai, the doomed puddle she had thrown herself into.
"Get up…" she vaguely heard Momo growl at her, as well as some other commotion from the rest of the team. There seemed to be some sort of argument going on, one which Maho neither could, nor cared to, hear.
"I SAID 'GET UP'!" the cyclops yelled and reached down, grabbing Maho by the front of her jacket and pulling her to her feet. Maho didn't care to resist, only continuing to look gloomily towards the ground. "'It was a strategically sound plan', you said! 'I underestimated her', you said! 'They're not going to come through the forest', you said! 'They don't know we're here', you said!"
"Momo, leave it alone. We all make mistakes…" Yuzu said cautiously, trying to deescalate the situation, but Momo was having none of it.
"Except we can't afford mistakes here, now can we?!" The cyclops, still very much red in the face from her anger, returned her attention to Maho. "So, what brilliant scheme will you come up with next, Commander Nishizumi?" There was nothing but disdain and fury in the way she put emphasis on the title. "Shall we simply drive our tanks into an open field and wait for that Firefly to take us out? Or would you prefer we go into the lake and just drown ourselves? At the very least it denies Saunders the pleasure of shooting at us! Or maybe it's just simple enough that you're not even on our side to begin with! It sure would explain how those bastards keep finding us all the time, despite your 'perfect hiding spots' and 'foolproof plans'!" Momo threw Maho to the ground, and was about to pounce on her with fists at the ready, but through a combination of holding her back and standing in her way, Yuzu, Erwin, Yukari and Saori managed to stop her.
On any other day, Maho would have smashed Momo's face in for the sheer insubordination. In fact, considering it was Momo, Maho would have happily done it just for the satisfaction of the act itself. And that was before she even mentioned the suggestion that they all drown themselves. For that, she would have been ready to grab the spade from the side of the Panzer IV and hack at the cyclops until every inch of her was cut into neat cubes. But this wasn't any other day.
Maho didn't feel anger at Momo's comments. She didn't feel a sense of power or invincibility from being in a tank. She didn't even feel sad or panicked from being so close to the abyss. She just felt hollow, and empty, and cold. Just like the sky above her, there was nothing within her. The only thing she could see in her mind's eye was the Firefly, and how it had taken out the M3 Lee, injuring Azusa.
This feeling was new to her, and yet she so clearly recognized it. It wasn't anger. It wasn't fury. It wasn't sadness, or fear, or anything else. It was much more simple than that. This was nothing more or less than a primal thirst for revenge. If she had been dismissive of the battle and their chances to win it before, now she had stopped caring entirely. She only wanted one thing. To find the Firefly, and turn it into scrap. Crew and team and school be damned.
For a moment, she just kept lying there, staring at the empty sky and the scattered clouds that passed overhead, feeling this cold hatred and craving for revenge fester in her heart. Distantly, she could hear someone ask if she was alright. She didn't answer, and instead only remained where she was.
"Maho?" Her silent contemplation was interrupted by Hana's head appearing in her field of view, peering down at her and offering a hand. "Are you alright?" Maho didn't answer, and instead only averted her eyes, looking at some other part of the sky. A part with something making itself seen against the blue sky.
"Huh…" Maho raised an eyebrow and gave the foreign object a surprised second look. Suddenly, the fact that Kay had known where to find them and how to outflank their position didn't seem so strange anymore. Maho accepted Hana's hand, and was swiftly helped to her feet.
"And why the hell do you look so satisfied?!" Momo growled at her, still being held back by Yuzu and Erwin. "Come up with another high and mighty plan for us mere mortals, have you?"
"I have…" Maho said with a coldness rivalling her own mother's. "And this time, Kay will be the one to underestimate me."
"All tanks, go south towards point SE0046 and move to the junction there. Saunders should travel north through the crossroads, and we'll take them out from the sides when they pass" Maho called to her forces.
"Copy that!" "Plan is in motion!" "Don't think you're off the hook, Nishizumi! I'm still dealing with you later…" the answer sounded from the rest of Ooarai's tanks.
"The enemy's heading south to point SE0046. Send a decoy north through the crossroads, and send the rest of our forces to surround them!"
"Gotcha, solid plan as always, Alysa!" Kay answered cheerfully. "But, tell me; how is it you know so much?"
"Oh, you know," Alysa answered, cocky as always, "Just a strong female intuition is all."
"Reliable as always, I see. I knew I could count on you as my second!"
"I still don't like this…" Maho said privately, when she had turned her radio off.
"We know, Maho. But this is what the team wanted, so we're just going to have to-" Saori said, trying to cheer her up, but Maho wasn't interested in being cheered up at the moment.
"Don't you think I know that?" she snapped back, and stared off into the distance as they waited. "Just because I'm going along with it doesn't mean I like it. I want that Firefly turned to a shriveled up ball of scrap"
"Well, one plan at a time. Once we've gotten rid of some of Saunders' tanks, then we'll-"
"I. Know. That." She was still annoyed. She didn't like this plan in the slightest. She wanted to find that arrogant Firefly and crush it. But the decision had been ripped from her hands by the other crews, and she had been forced to accept a compromise. Before anything else, they would even the playing field a bit by diminishing Saunders' forces.
On the horizon, she could see clouds of dust kick up from the three roads leading into the crossroads. Saunders had once again found their position and blocked their route.
"Shermans in all directions!" Noriko said in a panic over the radio.
Maho took a deep breath, switched her radio back on, and reached up to her throat mic. "We're surrounded, all tanks retreat and spread out! The 38(t) flag tank is to hide at point SE0571."
By the crossroads below them, Maho could see the Type 89 take off at full speed, a massive cloud of dust appearing behind it as it pulled a piece of lumber they had found, giving off the impression that there were four tanks where there was only one.
"They're trying to get away! Dog, Ace, Bravo, advance as fast as you can to point SE0571. That's where the enemy flag tank is."
"Copy that, Alysa," Louise answered over the comms. "Dog, Bravo, follow me, close echelon formation."
"Gotcha, Ace. Dog, forming up."
"Bravo, forming up. Lead the way Ace."
Opening the hatch of Ace, her grand-father's old Easy-Eight, now expertly restored for a new purpose, she felt her heart skip a beat from pure excitement, as the wind rushed through her hair. It was still her first real match, and even though she missed her home back in France, she wouldn't give any of this up for the world.
I gotta hand it to Brooke and Holly… she thought as they drove through the uneven terrain towards their destination. They sure fixed the suspension up nicely…
"Alright," she said into the handset, swallowing any traces of her nervousness, "We're coming up on point SE0571. Prepare to engage the enemy flag tank!"
A moment later, and they arrived. Louise was practically jumping in her seat, ready to fight the… great big empty field they found at their target location. A sense of panic gripped her, and she double checked her map, but no, they were at the right coordinates. "Where the hell is the 38(t)?" she asked the open field as she scanned for any enemy among the low bushes and hillocks around them. Then she saw it. The barrel of a tank gun, just visible as it poked out between some bushes.
"Jesus!"
"FIIIIREEEE!" Erwin shouted, and for the first time this match, Ooarai's tanks fired in perfect symphony.
Finally… Maho thought. Hana and Saemonza had lined their shots perfectly, and the two 75mm M4's showed white flags the moment the shells impacted. The cyclops however, surprising no one but herself, had missed the Easy Eight in the middle, and instead sent a column of dirt and grass flying into the air far behind the American tank. Of course she did…
"Commander, the M4A3(76)W HVSS is trying to get away!" Yukari called as she loaded a new shell into the Panzer IV's gun. "That's such a cool tank… And they've gotten a really neat paint job on it too. Right, Saori?"
"M…4…a...3... what are you talking about?"
"The one that's still moving! With the Ace of Spades on it and the blue-white camo on the barrel! It almost looks like it's an original… Don't you agree, Commander?"
"I see it," Maho muttered, not very interested in the conversation and more focused on the battle, switching on her radio. "Hana, take out their treads so they can't climb the hill. Team C, you get the killshot. Understood?"
"Copy that, Commander!"
"Shit-shit-shit-shit…" Louise mumbled under her breath as white flags appeared on both Dog and Bravo, and she called down to her driver to get them out of there and back to the main force. "And while we're here, might as well take a shot at them!" she said to her gunner, who fired off a round, which pinged off the low frame of the StuG III that had taken out their comrades. "Well, nice try at least. Now get us the hell out of here!" Louise reassured her crew, as she picked up the handset again to let Kay and Alysa know what had happened.
A sudden jerking of the tank interrupted her however. "What's happened?" she called down to her driver.
"I think they got the tread! The right side is just spinning in place… We can't get up the incline to get out…"
"What?" Louise asked flatly, and fell back in her seat, before Ace's engine spluttered slightly and the tank rattled. A short swiping sound could be heard, and as she looked up from the cupola, she saw a white flag flying from the hull of her grandfather's tank.
"A-Alysa… Kay… We've… uhm… We've been taken down…" Louise's call appeared in Alysa's headset.
"What do you mean taken down?" Alysa asked in confusion. How could a single 38(t) take out three Shermans?
"Ace is out… So's Dog… and Bravo…"
"Wh-what?! Why?!" she asked out loud, stunned into silence by the turnaround.
"So, it appears even Alysa's intuition has its limits…" Kay mused to herself as Naomi's squad joined up with her own.
"Seems that way…" Naomi muttered, disinterested. "She should learn to be more prepared for surprises... Murphy's law and all that."
"Indeed," Kay replied. "But the great thing about surprises, is they sure make things a lot more interesting."
"It seems Ooarai is capable of turning the tables somewhat…"
"Indeed, Orange Pekoe," Darjeeling answered calmly, a hint of self-satisfaction in her voice. "Perhaps you shouldn't be so swift to judge a situation only from what you can see?"
"I suppose so. Lady Darjeeling, I apologize for my rash analysis before."
"As must I, Lady Darjeeling. Orange Pekoe and I both miscalculated." Assam concurred.
"Oh, don't let it worry you. The match is not over yet, and I may still be proven a fool."
"Grrr… You cocky little upstarts… you think you're sooo good, don't you…" Alysa growled as she fiddled with the settings on her interception equipment. "Not if I have anything to say about it, you're not…"
"Krrrssch… All tanks… We can't win unless we equalize the numbers a bit more… So we're going to move to the clearing at point SW9085… Krrssschh... The enemy Firefly won't be able to cover their forces unless they're on the hill at SW7634, so we'll be safe from any sniper-fire. It'll just be us and the enemy at SW9085… Krrrscch…"
Alysa didn't care about the odd looks her crewmates threw her. She couldn't help but to laugh in maniacal glee at the prospect. "Alright! They're going all in! Now I have you! This is perfect!" She could feel a grin spread across her lips. "You're going to be one giant target down there."
Switching headsets, she called in this new information to Kay. "Head to point SW9085. Naomi will head to SW7634 and cover you from there."
"What's going on?" Kay asked, confused. "Why are you sending us out into the middle of nowhere?"
"It looks like all the enemy's remaining tanks are heading there right now."
"Uhhh… Hey, Alysa… are you sure about this? How do you know that's what's going on?"
"Just trust me, this is the safest bet in the house. We can't lose."
"Oh," Kay said, and smiled. "Well, if that's the case… All tanks! Full advance!"
"Alright, that should keep them occupied for a while," Maho said as she switched off her radio, and stood up in her seat so the rest of the team could hear her. "We've knocked out three of their tanks, which means the Firefly is next."
"Except that we're not going to bite on your little suicide mission, Nishizumi," Momo yelled back. "Why the hell should we go to where we know all the enemy tanks are going to be? We should just use this respite to track down and take out their flag tank!"
"Because," Maho answered, annoyed, "I just told you that's what we're doing. You and your colleagues keep insisting I command this team. Well, now I am, and I'm giving you an order, Cyclops."
"I heard you. But given that it's a stupid order, I'm deciding to ignore it."
"You think you can do better, Miss Let's-set-up-an-ambush-a-kindergartener-would-spot?"
"At least I don't fall for the same trick twice in a row!"
"Hey!" Erwin yelled, interrupting the argument. "Do you guys listen at all during Modern History?"
"What the hell does my history homework have to do with this?" Momo muttered, while Maho only raised an eyebrow, suspecting where Erwin was going with this.
"Ever heard of 'He who knows not his history is doomed to repeat it'? Rivalry and arguments in the military aren't exactly the key to success, now are they? Which you guys would know, if you at all read up on your history!"
"Oh just stay out of this, you-"
"Erwin's right," Maho said shortly. "This arguing gets us nowhere, and just eats time we're already short on. So fine, I'll amend the order. Each tank takes a vote on whether they want to go for the Firefly, which we know where it is, or the flag tank, which could be literally anywhere."
A murmur of agreement quieted Momo down slightly, and after a few minutes discussion, the decision was made. The Panzer IV, the StuG III, and the 38(t), to Momo's anger and annoyance, would head towards where they had lured the Firefly, while the Type 89 would try to find Saunders' flag tank, and report its position to the rest of the team.
Kay looked with incredulity at the empty field before her forces, scanning the horizon for any sign at all of the enemy.
"Alysa," she said, annoyed, into the handset. "You did say Ooarai were sending all their tanks to SW9085 didn't you?" she asked while confirming their position on her map.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Alysa was quick to answer. "That's exactly where they're heading!"
"Then, would you please tell me why NO ONE IS HERE?!" Kay yelled both into her handset and the open air, slamming a fist onto the roof of San Francisco's turret.
"Wait, what…" Alysa mumbled to herself. "N-no, I… I know they're heading there. Just… Just stick around a little longer, and they're sure to show up any moment now! I swear!" She turned off her radio before Kay could ask more questions, and opened the hatch of New Orleans to let some fresh air in. "Did they… did they trick us? But…" She looked up out of the hatch and gave a quick cursory glance around them, but of course, couldn't see much for all the bamboo they were hiding amongst. "But where are Ooarai's tanks then?"
"Commander…" Yukari said in a low voice as they continued to creep slowly through the forest leading to the Firefly's position. "Contact, dead ahead. It's the enemy Firefly."
Maho raised her binoculars to take a look, and on a hill in the distance, she could indeed just make out the hull of the American tank. It was still a bit too far away for them to be in range to take it out with one shot though.
"Good spot, Yukari…" Maho said in an equally low voice. "Saori, text Erwin. Let them know we've found the Firefly, and as soon as we're in range to take them out, we're taking the shot and joining back up with them."
"Got it!" Saori responded and started to type away on her phone. To make sure they didn't blow their own ruse, they had decided to use their cellphones to communicate instead of the radio. Once they had gotten near to the Firefly's supposed position, the StuG III and 38(t) stayed behind to keep watch, and to make sure the Firefly couldn't get off a shot on the flag tank in case they were spotted. Meanwhile, Maho had taken the Panzer IV into the forest to get within range, and to take out Saunders mobile sniper position. The closer they got, the more Maho felt her blood begin to boil up. She almost wished she herself was in the gunner's seat, but simply ordering the killshot would be enough for her.
"Eh… Maho…" Saori called up in a hushed voice.
"What?" Maho answered shortly.
"It's… It's Noriko… Erwin says they're… well... Apparently they're on the radio right now…"
"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Saori…"
"It's not a joke…" Saori noted. "She's really on there…"
Noriko was enjoying the faint wind caressing her face as the Type 89 made its bumpy way through the bamboo forest. The sensation became even greater once she climbed out of the turret and instead placed herself behind it, which gave her room to stretch her legs. Seeing the next bump coming up, she braced herself for the inevitable, and a few moments later, the entire tank rocked like a duck on a choppy sea as it clambered over the small ridge.
What she could not brace herself for, was the sight she found beyond the low growth of bamboo they knocked over as they crested the bump.
There, hidden in a small clearing they had unintentionally invaded, stood a Sherman, with a tall flagpole and a red flag on it. Saunders flag-tank, and sticking out of the turret, the girl with pig-tails who had mocked them earlier before the match.
A moment of awkward silence gripped the scene, as Noriko and the girl could do nothing but stare in stunned surprise at each other. A second passed, and then another, with neither girl quite willing to move, as if that would make them visible to the other.
"Uhm… Hi?" Noriko said awkwardly, and raised a hand in greeting just as awkwardly.
"Uhhh… yeah… H-hi…" the girl answered, and raised her own hand in return.
"Uhm…" Noriko mumbled, and gave the roof of the Type 89 a few panicked knocks. "Come on, Go-go-go! Get us outta here!"
Finally the engine of the Japanese tank left its pitiful rumble behind as it roared to life, and they rushed off through the bamboo, with the Sherman also waking up behind them, a shot passing awfully close by Noriko as they drove, and she managed to clamber herself back into the relative safety of the turret.
"Taeko, get me the Commander! Double-quick!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Noriko, what the hell?!" Maho growled as she pressed her throat mic. "What part of 'we're gonna communicate over our phones' don't you understand?"
"IT'S THE FLAG TANK! HEEELP!"
"What are you talking about?"
"WE FOUND THE FLAG TANK! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, BUT WE FOUND IT AND THEY'RE CHASING US!"
Maho glanced over towards the hilltop where she could still see the Firefly. It would be so easy to just wait another minute to send help, just to get to take out that arrogant crew… She drew a deep breath, and closed her eyes to think. She could just wait. Team B would be fine for another couple of minutes, wouldn't they?
It was a familiar thought, and her memory insisted on reminding her why. She had thought the same thing during the finals against Pravda last year. Surely Koume and Emi could wait another five or ten minutes while she took out Pravda? But of course, they couldn't. She knew that now, and she knew it then. She had been using time Koume and Emi didn't have, and now she was contemplating using time Noriko and the rest of her crew might not have.
She sighed, hating how much she knew this was the right thing to do, and how little she actually wanted to do it. "Alright, fine. We're on our way. Lead them to point NE3015, and we'll link up with you there. Got it?"
"Crystal clear, Commander! Just please hurry!"
"Alright Mako, you heard those muscle-brains, get us turned around. We're gonna link up at NE3015."
"You got it, Boss," Mako muttered in reply, and the tank began to turn.
"But, Maho…" Hana asked, "What about the Firefly?"
Maho gave a final, longing glare towards the Firefly, which had evidently also received news of the chase their flag tank was taking part off, as it started to move. "That's not our objective anymore…" She sighed again, clenched her fists, and reached back up to her mic. "Alright, all Ooarai tanks, we're gonna link up at NE3015 and take out the flag tank. Everyone, Panzer Vor!"
"Commander!" Alysa called in a panic over the radio. "Please send us some reinforcements!"
"What? Why?" Kay asked, confused.
"It's Ooarai! They're chasing us!"
"WHAT? How did they find where you were? And how did you manage to send us so wrong?"
"Well… uhm… you see… I… I think maybe… maybe they… uhm… maybe they figured out that I was listening to their communications?"
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
"I just… I just wanted to help us win…"
On the other end, she could hear Kay sigh. "I've told you time and time again to always play fair. When this is over, you and I are going to have a long conversation about this. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am…" Alysa almost cried in reply. "Just… just please send us those reinforcements…"
Among the scattered shots both Ooarai's remaining forces and Saunders' flag tank fired off, Maho could hear something else. There were more explosions than shots fired. Looking behind her, she could see the source; three more of Saunders tanks.
"Contact. three Shermans," she called to her team. M4A6, 75mm M4, and the Firefly. 5 klicks behind us, heading towards us." Strange that they fired off a salvo when they're not even remotely in range? And why only three tanks? she thought. Maybe Kay actually wanted to alert us to her presence? It was a tactical blunder to say the least, but one which fit with what little info Maho had on Kay. She didn't seem the type to win by sneak attack. "All tanks, let's end this before the enemy's reinforcements can get here. Accelerate to top speed, and let's take out this eavesdropper."
The Panzer IV took on a burst of speed, and to either side of her, Maho could see the StuG III and 38(t) do the same. It still wasn't enough to let them decisively catch up with the Sherman they were chasing however. On the other hand, the Sherman didn't seem capable of catching up to the Type 89 either. It was a strange, and under any other circumstance, comical column they formed. The Type 89 at the front, trying it's best to fire on the Sherman behind it, which in turn tried to dodge the shells Ooarai's forces were throwing at it, and further behind still were Kay's relief force.
The chase continued across the open plain without any major changes for the next five minutes, which only turned the situation in Saunders' favor as the reinforcements slowly began to creep into range. A lucky shot from the flag tank didn't help the situation, as the Type 89 was hit and spun on its axis, rolling limply to a stop with its white flag popping out moments later.
"Duck team, you guys all ok?" Saori asked over the radio, to which the answer was a resounding "WE'RE ALL FINE!", with what sounded like a fire extinguisher being used in the background.
Just like earlier in the match, Maho could feel the proverbial noose tightening around them as shells from Kay's relief forces began to fall closer and closer to their position, signalling that they were slowly creeping into range.
"This is just like Benkei's last stand," Saemonza noted as she tried her best to aim her next shot, but it too missed its mark.
"This may look like the end, but we must still believe in the final victory," Erwin countered as she and Caesar looked at the fast approaching enemy behind them.
"A tank filled with holes. For that is what we shall be. Boom we go, goodbye." Oryou said, even if her sense of poetry wasn't very appreciated by her crewmates.
"This isn't the time for a parting haiku, Oryou!" Caesar protested, and loaded another shell.
"This… this is over… isn't it?" Momo said, defeated.
"Not yet it isn't," Anzu said with a complete lack of sense for the gravity and seriousness the situation seemed to require. "Here, have some dried sweet potato and you'll feel a lot better! Right Yuzu?!"
"Just as the President says, Sweetie. Now just try to actually hit when you fire, and it'll all be over soon."
"Don't… don't call me Sweetie… We can't do this Yuzu!"
"It'll be fine, Momo, just fine…"
"They've closed in!"
"They're about to be on top of us!"
"They've got us!"
"This isn't going to work…" Maho said in a low voice to herself. "We're not gonna make it…" The pain in her back flared up again, and the burning agony spread across her body anew. She was defeated. It was just a matter of time.
She could almost feel the shadowy tendrils start to tug at her again, pulling her towards the dark abyss as voices and images in her head teased and taunted her for her hubris and her failure. She could feel one particularly aggressive tendril on her knee. It was cold, and rough, and far more solid than the others. Another soon appeared on her other knee, even if this was far smoother.
Looking down, she saw that Hana and Yukari had placed one hand each on her knees, in an apparent attempt to reassure her.
"It's not over yet, Commander Nishizumi!" Yukari said with a cheerful smile.
"I agree with Yukari, Maho. We only lose when we give up."
"Yeah, Hana's right! It's just like with love! You just gotta get back in and attack, attack, attack until you get a bullseye!"
"No," Hana noted with an uncharacteristic sternness to her voice. "One shot, one kill. We're finishing this here and now."
Maho drew a deep breath, and tried her best to push the darker thoughts in her mind away. "Alright," she said in a show of determination. "What's the plan?"
"That hill up ahead. We're going to take them out from the high ground."
"You sure?" Maho said as she inspected the hill Hana had meant. "It's a big risk."
"High risk, high reward, no?"
"I suppose you're right. Mako, you up to speed?"
"You got it. Up the hill we go."
"What? Why's Nishizumi breaking away from the pack?" Kay asked herself as her platoon closed in on Ooarai. Seeing the hill before them, and how Alysa was turning to move around it, she instantly understood. "Naomi," she called, "The Panzer IV's moving in for a shot from the high ground. Shut them down."
"Copy that," Naomi said coldly, and ordered her tank to follow at top speed.
As they made their way up the hill, Maho heard an explosion behind them, and a shell impacting uncomfortably close to their position. As she turned around to look for the source, she could see the Firefly closing in, following them towards and up the hill.
"Damnit…"
"What is it? Is it the enemy?" Yukari asked.
"Worse… It's the Firefly…"
"Want me to take them out?" Hana asked, ready to turn the turret and fire.
Maho pondered the possibility for a moment. She was so tempted to say yes. Taking revenge on the Firefly was still quite high on her list of priorities, and it would certainly help win them the match to take out the enemy sharpshooter.
She sighed, and collapsed back in her seat. "No… the enemy flag tank's more important right now. Mako?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"Zigzag as much as you can. We can't let the Firefly get a shot in on us."
"I'll do what I can. The left tread's been feeling off for a little while though, so I can't guarantee it'll hold for long."
"What? Any idea why?"
"Dunno. Maybe it took more damage than it appeared to when we broke through Saunders in the beginning."
"Just do what you can. The hilltop is in sight, so it doesn't need to hold for long."
Another shot from the Firefly missed, even closer still than the last shot had been. Another call over the radio made things even more urgent.
"This is Hippo. Sorry to say it, but we're out…"
"NISHIZUMI!" Momo cried over the radio. "HURRY UP AND DO SOMETHING!"
In her head, Maho was counting the seconds until the Firefly would be reloaded and ready to fire again. She also counted the seconds it would take for them to crest the hilltop and get in position to fire. The two counts were far closer than she would prefer. They would only have moments to aim and fire.
With a great big lurch, the Panzer IV lifted itself over the top of the hill, and onto the downward slope on the other side, with Hana indicating she was just about ready to fire. Maho was about to give the order, but was interrupted by a metallic snapping noise, and the entire tank careening wildly to the side. The tread had snapped from the pressure, and suddenly Hana's aim was off by almost ninety degrees. She tried in vain to turn the turret back to it's correct orientation, but the Firefly was too quick to reload.
The Panzer IV rattled wildly for a moment as the 17-pounder slammed a shell into their side, and a "schwipp" was heard as the white flag raised above their hull.
Standing up in her seat, Maho was left powerless, her only remaining contribution being to watch the 38(t) fire one last hopeless salvo towards Saunders flag tank, before a well-aimed shell from Kay's M4A6 punched into the Student Council's rear, and their tank crawled to a halt.
"No…" Maho whispered softly. Despite having predicted it herself, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
But the call from the judges didn't care what Maho believed. It simply stated the obvious.
"The Panzer 38(t), Ooarai Girls Academy's flag tank is no longer functional. Saunders University High wins the match, and advances to the next round."
Next time on Dein Weg ist Mein Weg: The battle is lost. Will Ooarai and Maho be able to weather the storm, or is their story truly over?
Author's Notes:
And thus, the battle against Saunders draws to a close. I suppose I could say quite a lot here, but I'll be brief today. Ooarai has lost, and is heading for closure. How will this all resolve itself? Find out next week, dear readers, as the story of this (now incredibly) alternate universe continues.
For reviews from last week, I'd just like to say thank you to reza0807 for the kind words about the battle, and a great big thank you to ARXENIX, who I hope will be able to understand me when I say thank you so so much for the incredible energy and excitement you bring whenever you leave a review.
As always, thoughts, feedback, or other input is always welcome, so feel free to leave a review. It's incredibly appreciated, positive or negative.
Until next week, Aloha!
/Rihno