Hello folks! Before we start today, I would request that you take a look at the previous chapters. I've spent the majority of the week following my return rewriting them, as mentioned, and changed a decent amount of what I had previously; expanded some descriptions, fixed errors, etc...

All done? Brilliant, let's get on with the show!

Chapter VII: First Contact

"...this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.

But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Winston S. Churchill

Hauptmann Gerhard Köln

Near the Berlin Evacuation Route

1st May 1945

0024 hours

Gerhard stared into the Tiger for more than a minute in total silence, prompting Gunther to climb up on the hull next to him. "Hauptmann, what is it?"

Hastily composing himself, Gerhard looked to his second-in-command, mind moving somewhere in the millions of kilometers an hour. He wasn't exactly sure how to break the news of there being five young women inside the Tiger, from some many years in the future, who also happened to be Japanese. 'Not really something they shoot for in officer training.'

Hoping that the grizzled veteran at least remembered what Gerhard had told him many years ago, even if he'd laughed it off as a fever dream, the hauptmann backed off from the turret, slightly, and motioned for Gunther to approach. He did, peering inside and stopping cold; Gerhard swore he could see the dots connecting in the stabsfeldwebel's head.

"Well fuck me."

Gerhard took a breath as he finished his extensive retelling of the events of winter 1941. Behind him, Maho Nishizumi, along with her crew, sat watching the reactions of Seventh Squad warily. The young commander of the Tiger had interjected here and there, correcting the hauptmann on some details that had grown fuzzy over the years. Now, he stood, silent, as his soldiers digested the story.

"So…" Bernard started, the question dying on his lips as he presumably went over everything in his head once more. Gerhard sighed, knowing this would take a bit; he'd experienced it too, and had the same issue. However, there was irrefutable evidence in front of them now, and Gerhard liked to think that his squad trusted him enough to at least provide the benefit of the doubt.

"I mean, as hard as it is to believe," Hans stated, wringing his hands as he spoke. "…it seems pretty hard to deny it." He nodded towards the five young women watching them, only one of whom seemed to be following the conversation.

"It isn't so much a question of believing us as it is of figuring out what to do from here." Maho said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Her German was nearly impeccable, Gerhard noted idly, and figured that she'd probably studied it with all the same fastidiousness that she had shown in combat when he first met her.

Gerhard was surprised when Leopold, out of all of them, emit a short laugh, then looked around as if he'd meant to keep that internal to himself. "I agree is all. Not much we can do to change what happened." The normally quiet marksman continued to speak, saying more in one go that Gerhard had ever heard him say at once before. "Best thing we could hope for is to keep them safe and wait for that storm to come back, like you say happened to you."

There were a few quiet murmurs of agreement among Seventh Squad, and Gerhard nodded his head once; he looked back to the five girls, and caught Maho's eye momentarily before she looked away evasively; the hauptmann had not mentioned his relationship with Maho, beyond her and Nicole being his primary companions and guides when he'd been spirited away to the future. Whether or not she agreed with that, he didn't know, and right now, he had a few other concerns.

"So, is there a plan?"

Gerhard sighed as he looked to Ella. She was looking between him and the crew of the Tiger, an expression he couldn't quite place written on her face. The others looked to him as well, even Maho. Despite having grown used to literally all eyes being on him at times, the feeling was still unsettling. The captain remained silent for a few moments as he thought about the best course of action from here onward.

"We'll rest here for the night." he finally decided. "It's too late to start moving now, and if we don't rest now, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to later." The squad relaxed at that, though Gunther, Hans, and Nikolas all looked less so than the others. "Tomorrow morning, we'll see about helping dig out the Tiger; at the very least, we can get a ride back to camp." He pointedly left out how he'd explain the night's events to any higher-ranking officers, as it'd be hard to hide the matter with the amount of attention a Tiger would draw; that was a matter for later. Seemingly satisfied, at least for now, with their commander's explanation and plan for the immediate future, Seventh Squad broke apart and started looking for shelter for the night. Gunther paused for a moment, glancing at Gerhard for a brief moment before nodding towards and retiring to a nearby building. The hauptmann watched him go, then turned about and approached the crew of the Tiger, who watched him warily as he did. Especially one in particular.

"Well..."

Maho raised an eyebrow at Gerhard's poor stab at making conversation, then took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose thanks are in order."

Now it was Gerhard's turn to raise an eyebrow; time had passed, yes, but the young woman was being especially reserved; perhaps Gerhard had expected too much from their reunion, failing to keep in mind that she was not really one to show emotion. Or perhaps it had to do with his omission of her true role in his story. "No need, really." he replied, gesturing to the open space beside her. "May I?"

Without hesitation, she nodded, scooting over slightly to make room. Gerhard sat, groaning as his weight shifted off his feet and he was able to stretch. It'd been a long day, even without the sudden appearance of Maho and her crew. He motioned to the rest of the Tiger's crew, who were still sitting around, seeming unsure of what to do. "They're good to lie down. I'm the first one to take watch normally, and we don't expect you to have to do anything."

Maho relayed the information to her fellow classmates, who retreated back to the steel beast hidden in the ruins a short distance away. Gerhard realized how much his Japanese had deteriorated as she spoke; four years on the Eastern Front had severely reordered his priorities, and remembering another language wasn't up that high when you considered the fact that every day could have been his last if his head wasn't on right.

The two remained silent a while longer, the soft breeze and the various insects nearby providing white noise to what was otherwise a quiet night. Gerhard thought back to the last few years, all that had happened between then and now, and thought about the road ahead from here, which had just gotten much more complicated. As he did, he took a moment to lean back and stretch his arms out, back popping as he did.

"You still have it."

"Wha-?"

Maho motioned towards Gerhard's wrist, where the thin chain bracelet glistened in the starlight. He paused for a moment, processing her words, before his mind caught up. "Always kept it close." he said, fiddling with the clasp. "Good memories, you know. Helped a lot these last few months, actually." The young woman smiled, if just a little, at the revelation. Her hand ducked into her jacket, clasping around the small medal she'd similarly kept, just not withdrawing it. Gerhard didn't notice, seeming to be content with running his free hand over the small chain on his wrist. "Glad to hear it's helped you."

He nodded, hand dropping back to his rifle barrel as he repositioned it into a more ready position. An awkward silence reigned for a few more moments until he spoke again. "Are you alright?"

"Of course." Maho replied immediately. "Other than the whole 'Welcome to 1945 Berlin, hell on earth for anyone left around, enjoy your stay!' bit, I won't complain." Releasing the Iron Cross and bringing her hands back out and onto her knees, the young woman took another deep breath. "And despite the bad fortune of this happening in the first place, I think we're rather lucky you were the one to find us."

The hauptmann nodded, equally grateful to Lady Luck for that development. A more romantic person might have called it fate or some sort of tragic comedy, but the man was under no illusions, nor was he a poet. His time on the Eastern Front had driven all thoughts of fate out of his mind; anyone who had survived as long as he had had the ancient gods of fortune on their side, no way around it. "I think I'm lucky to have found you, honestly." At the girl's inquisitive expression, he grew a sly grin and said "I can make some good memories for when this is all over and I'm back home."

A look of hurt flashed across Maho's face, too quick for the German captain beside her to see before it disappeared. Maho opened her mouth to say something, and then decided against it; as much as she wanted to, it might not be best to tell the former pilot that he would die. Besides, with the sudden intervention of herself and her crew, perhaps the stream of fate would change just enough to allow a different course of events. Yet again, silence settled between the two; Maho starting to close her eyes as Gerhard's strained, looking into the darkness around them, watching for the slightest movement of shadows, and ears keyed for the quietest whispers. Just as the commander of the Tiger behind them was about to fall asleep, the hauptmann gently shook her, bringing her back to a more alert state.

"C'mon, let's get you back to your tank."

Maho nodded sluggishly, allowing the soldier to help her up. He stabilized her as they walked to the Tiger, keeping her steady as they traversed the uneven ground. In a few moments, they'd arrived at their destination, and the woman climbed up onto the engine deck before turning back around. "Thanks."

Gerhard nodded, making eye contact with Maho as he did. They stared at each other for another moment, before the hauptmann cleared his throat. "Maho, you aren't at all mad about-"

Before he could finish, the young woman cut him off with an abrupt giggle, which caught the soldier off-guard. Stifling her laugh, she looked down at him with a genuine smile on her face and the barest of humor in her eyes. "No, don't worry about that." she reassured as she opened up the commander's hatch. "It's probably for the best, for now at least, that no one knows." The girl climbed into the turret, stopping halfway outside of the tank and looking back at the German captain below her. "I've just...been thinking a lot since we saw each other again."

Gerhard grinned. "Well, try not to lose too much sleep. We'll be moving out early; I'd hate to see you tired." Maho stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing into the turret, the hatch shutting with a final 'thud'. Gerhard watched the spot for a few more seconds before returning to his self-imposed post.

Maybe the next few days wouldn't be all that bad.

Gerhard woke the next morning to the sunlight blinding him as it streamed through the windows of the small shop he and the rest of the squad had taken shelter in. After Bernard and Amelia had relieved him, the hauptmann had immediately crashed, finding a mostly-comfortable spot up against the wall and sleeping hard. After assembling himself and ensuring he had all his gear, he bent over backwards, cursing loudly as his back and shoulders popped; comfortable as he had been, his body didn't take kindly to the accommodations from the prior evening.

"Kommandant! Breakfast!"

Grumbling something about morning people and the need for them to start waking up later, Gerhard stumbled outside into the street, where some of the squad was gathered around a fire flickering in the mid-morning sun. Accepting a cup of coffee from Hans, he took a long sip, ignoring the scalding of his mouth as the caffeine entered his system. Now ready to actually talk, he looked around at the assembled personnel; Hans, Ella, and Leopold were around the flames, eating their rations as they stayed close to the flames for warmth. Some few meters away, Nikolas was back in his sketchbook, and Bernard and Amelia were presumably napping, attempting to get some sort of sleep in before they were required to wake a little later. As he composed himself and continued sipping his drink, Maho and one other of the Tiger's crew approached. "How are things?"

"Quiet." Ella replied between mouthfuls. She spooned in another and swallowed before continuing. "Gunther is somewhere on watch right now. Said he needed some time to think." The hauptmann grunted his agreement; the old veteran probably had had his world shaken just a little the previous night. He glanced at the two young women standing to the side before motioning for them to join them around the fire.

Without a word, the two took the offer and joined Gerhard's squad, kneeling across the flames from Ella, who glanced at them suspiciously as they produced some sort of food and began preparing it over the campfire. The fire popped and crackled in the morning sun as the various members of Gerhard's squad and their unexpected guests took a moment to themselves, enjoying the rare lull of peace.

"Hauptmann."

Gerhard turned to see Bernard trudging up behind him, looking every bit as haggard as one might expect from the ones standing the last watch. Without a word, the young boy reached for the coffee pot and checked it, cursing under his breath as he poured out what little was left into his tin. Gunther and Hans shared a sly grin with their squad leader as they watched their junior collapse into a seat and stare at the fire disapprovingly.

"Rough night?"

The young man looked up at Gerhard, highly unamused, and grunted non-committaly before resuming his staredown with the campfire. The others smiled at his response, and even Maho cracked a grin as Gerhard reached down and retrieved the now-empty coffee tin. "I'll make some more." he stated before checking the time. "Gunther, go ahead and get Amelia up as well; I want to move out within the hour if we can afford it." The stabsfeldwebel nodded and made to carry out the request as Gerhard retrieved some water from the shop he'd spent the night in. The man listened to the world around him for a few moments before returning to the small camp, where the other members of both his squad and the Tiger's crew had assembled.

Seeing him returning, Ella stood and took the coffee tin from Gerhard, flashing a brief smile as she busied herself preparing the next batch of caffeine. The hauptmann said his thanks and went to sit by Gunther, the older man sliding over to make room for him. After a few moments and another swig of his drink, Gerhard noticed most, no, all of the eyes on him, waiting for his guidance. He sighed, taking a look at the ruined town around them before speaking.

"Alright, same thing as last night. Let's get packed up here in about a quarter-hour, and then see what we can do to dig out that tank." He motioned to the derelict heavy tank some meters away, letting Maho translate his words to her crew before continuing. "From there, we can head to one of the fuel depots we captured in the push and see about getting some supplies before returning to the corridor and reporting to command." Looking at each of his charges in turn, both the hauptmann's voice and expression hardened. "Remember, the enemy is going to be coming, and they will not stop trying to harm or kill you, no matter who you are. Keep a sharp lookout, and let myself, Gunther, or Hans know if you see anything out of the ordinary." Receiving affirmative responses or nods from everyone, the German captain grinned. "Alright then; let's get this day started."

Oberleutnant Freidrich Bohm

Königswald

South of Evacuation Route

3rd May 1945

0831 hours

"Schiesse! Verflucht dieses blöde Stück..."

"Quiet, Franz!"

The young gefreiter glanced up at Friedrich as the officer passed him before returning to quickly reassembling his rifle, his cursing now slightly quieter. The oberleutnant jumped down into a shallow trench along with the majority of his squad as German troops did the same all along the treeline, ducking into cover around trees, behind sandbags, or in the hastily-dug foxholes scattered around. Freidrich crouched next to his radioman, checking his magazine before looking back up. "Anything yet, Dieter?"

The veteran soldier shook his head in response, and Freidrich grunted. The shouts of alarm and sound of movement settled down as the platoon got into position, allowing him to hear that which had caused the sudden call to action just minutes ago.

"Ozhidayetsya popadaniye vraga cherez dvesti metrov! Vsem otryadam, gotov'tes' k deystviyam!"

"Da, Kommisar!"

"Slomayem im nastroyeniye i sokrushim eto melkoye soprotivleniye! Boytsy Krasnoy Armii, atakuyte! Za Rodinu!"

The call echoed through the trees as the still-unspotted Soviet troops repeated the battle cry, causing the German troops in the trenches to waver; like a howling pack of wolves, the enemy's words let the defenders know just how many were advancing to the attack. Friedrich gripped his machine pistol tightly, sharing a grim look with Dieter as the sound of tank treads joined in, their squealing and clacking causing even the hardiest of veterans to begin to rethink their choices leading to this.

Suddenly, the battalion commander's voice bellowed out through the trees. "Soldiers of Germany! Do not waver! Show the enemy your resolve, and fight until the last bullet has been expended! For your families! Your friends! For sacred Germany!"

Just like the Soviets', the German battle cry carried on the wind, the words hardening the resolve of the defenders as they defiantly cried out against the approaching enemy. Freidrich, caught up in the spirit, gave his own cheer before readying himself once more, seeing a flash of movement amongst the trees ahead.

"Enemy sighted!"

"Ready weapons!" the oberleutnant shouted. The sound of safeties clicking off and dust covers snapping open filled the air briefly as the defensive line watched the Soviets approach their positions. The line held steady, waiting for the command to fire.

Then, suddenly, a shot whizzed by, followed by shouting as the German defenders ducked down. A few more pops sounded tentatively, as though the Soviets were unsure if they'd actually seen anything. 'If that's the case, then let's confirm their suspicions.' Taking a deep breath, Freidrich straightened his back. "Eighth Platoon, feuer frei!"

Immediately, the loud report of an MG42 sounded out, the infamous and feared 'buzzsaw' throwing tracers downrange in short bursts. As Freidrich did the same with his submachine gun, the Soviet troops ducked into cover, some of their number being cut down as the rest of the battalion joined in the fight. Rifles snapped, men shouted, and the occasional thump of a mortar being fired all came together in a familiar symphony of death as the ragtag Twelfth Army squared off against the Soviet Guards throwing themselves against their line.

"Dieter!" Friedrich called out, getting the radioman's attention. "Radio command, let them know we have contact and have engaged Soviet mechanized infantry and armor south! Request any available artillery support to be tasked here!" The man nodded and began relaying the information through the handset as the oberleutnant fired off a few more bursts, dropping a Soviet machine gunner before he could get into cover.

"Sani! Sanitater!"

A few heads turned at the call for help, and Freidrich glanced over to see one of the older Volksturm recruits on his back, blood spurting every few seconds from his chest as another man tried to stem the flow. The call was repeated, seemingly unheard as the line focused on the fight; if the medics answered, then good. But there was no point in taking rifles off the firing line to aid what most likely was a fatal wound. Shunting aside the repeated calls for the medics, Friedrich dropped an empty magazine and slammed another into the MP40's receiver, yanking back on the bolt to charge the weapon again.

"Enemy tanks! T-34!"

'BOOM!'

The defenders winced as the battalion's single anti-tank gun fired on the sighted tank, the round glancing off the turret cheek. The gun crew shouted as they slammed another shell into the breech, adjusting their aim as the T-34 lined up on them to take a return shot.

'BOOM!'

Another shot flew out of the cannon, just as the enemy fired. The Soviet shell clipped some trees and slammed into the dirt, the German defenders nearby covering up as wood splinters blinded them. Over the cacophony of noise, though, the sound of rending metal and ammo cookoffs signaled the gun crew's success, and Friedrich looked up to see the T-34 gushing jets of fire out of multiple hatches. A cheer went up from the German lines as the Soviets faltered, if just for a moment. "Focus! Don't let up!"

As if in response to the battalion commander's reprimand to his troops, the Soviets charged again, a few coming dangerously close to the trenches before either being downed or forced to find cover. Friedrich directed his squad to try and pick off those closest before they could lob any grenades this direction, fighting to keep their lines, and in particular their own trench, in the fight.

"More tanks! Left!"

At the callout, Freidrich spun and cursed. Two more T-34s were moving, full speed, towards them. As they sprinted through gaps in the trees, both took a single potshot at the position of the anti-tank-gun just behind the German line. One missed, but through a stroke of incredibly bad luck, the second shell slammed into the dirt right next to the PaK cannon, flipping it and sending the crew flying. "Panzerfausts!"

One of the few Wehrmacht troops nearby jumped out of his trench at the brief order, moving a few meters up before ducking behind a tree. Friedrich and the others laid down as much fire as they could to suppress the charging Red Army troops. A Volksturm soldier, perhaps too eager, tried to take advantage of the cover and jumped up out of the trench, carrying his own Panzerfaust. Before anyone could say anything, though, the young boy was shredded by automatic fire, his blood spraying the remaining defenders as his corpse collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

'Dummkopf.' Freidrich thought as he eyed the boy's corpse pitifully. He sighed, then returned to the fight; it wasn't the time to think about that. As his eyes returned forward, he saw as the first soldier readied his rocket at the closest T-34, yelling a warning to the others behind him before firing.

With a long trail of flames, the Panzerfaust rocket flew through the air, punching through the Soviet tank's front plate like paper and exploding inside. The tank ground to a halt, the crew inside presumably killed. The second tank, however, kept charging forward, leading a slew of infantry to break through the line and wreak havoc. Seeing the danger, Friedrich and another officer redirected their efforts towards them, trying to prevent the enemy from breaking through so soon.

Suddenly, a deep rumble echoed through the trees of the Königswald, audible even over the din of the battle. Even as another two rockets slammed into the remaining T-34, Friedrich and the others ducked for cover, recognizing the sound; from their sudden shouts of alarm, so did the Soviets.

Preceded by a screaming more than a whistle, the first shell landed some twenty meters from Friedrich's trench, throwing clumps of dirt into the air and shattering nearby trees. More quickly followed, pounding the earth just in front of the German lines and turning the battlefield into a killing zone as trees collapsed and splinters, both wooden and metal, flew through the air at high speed. The ground trembled with the force of the artillery barrage, and the pressure of each blast pounded at Friedrich's skull as he curled up, trying to get as low as he could in the shallow trench. The barrage carried on for nearly a minute, before finally petering out, a few last-second rounds impacting amongst the trees. As the final rounds landed, the defenders readied themselves again, immediately opening fire on a few Soviet troops that took advantage of the sheltering defenders to try and rush their positions. The sudden and accurate fire brought down a few more and halted the advance, finally breaking the Soviet's resolve. "Otstupat'! V tochku sbora!"

Freidrich breathed a heavy sigh as the Soviets turned back, retreating into the denser woods to regroup. Shortly after, the call to cease firing came, and a cheer went up from the majority of the German troops, having repelled the first counterattack from the First Guards Army with success. Interspersed were the shouts for medics and calls for assistance as cleanup began, a few of the officers taking no breaks and immediately working on strengthening the defenses with what little they had. Within minutes, the defensive line was back to business, not daring to spend a single moment idle while they could prepare. Friedrich, a small smile on his face, trudged back to where he'd left his radioman earlier. "Nice call with that artillery..."

He stopped short as he processed the scene before him. Dieter was unmoving, propped up against the wall of the trench with glazed eyes. He knelt down, looking over his friend and squadmate as he sat, radio handset clenched tightly in his fist, as though his last action was to call in the artillery strike that had broken the enemy's back. With naught else to be done, the officer dipped his head in respect before shutting Dieter's eyes for the last time.

"Glück sei mit dir, wohin auch immer die Engel dich gebracht haben, Bruder."

Hauptmann Gerhard Köln

North of Evacuation Route

1144 hours

Gerhard grunted as he tightened down one of the last bolts on the engine deck cover of the Tiger, handing off the wrench to the driver of the tank. 'Yukiko, was it?'

Her name aside, she and him had just finished cleaning out the air filter assembly for the tank, which had, unsurprisingly, gotten clogged with various bits of building when they had tried to start the engine up. Gerhard, having worked on the Luftwaffe equivalent of the Maybach engine for so long before his transfer, jumped at the chance to get his hands dirty with engine grease again.

'A fact I regret.' the former pilot bemoaned internally. He'd heard stories of the Tiger's suspension being a nightmare to maintain, but didn't think the complication of the design extended further than that. To his chagrin, it did. Both his squad and the Tiger's crew, however, seemed to have gotten a kick at his annoyance as he had cursed out the designers of the tank throughout the repair process.

Taking a step back, the hauptmann watched as his companion clambered into the tank, disappearing briefly into the hull. As he wiped his hands off with a rag, he heard dirt crunching behind him, and turned to see Gunther lackadaisically walking his way, a cigarette in his mouth. Stopping beside him, the man blew out a cloud of smoke before grinning. "Have fun?"

"For the most part." Gerhard answered, ignoring the not-so-subtle jab at his misfortune. It'd been nice getting his hands dirty with an engine once more, even if the process to reach the part he wanted was extremely pointless. "Let's just hope the damn thing-". Before he could finish his sentence, the hauptmann was cut off as the engine sputtered to life, chugging a few times before finally turning over. "-starts."

Yukiko's head popped back out of the tank, and though she and Gerhard could barely understand each other's language, the wide grin she gave him left little to the imagination on her opinion of him. As she turned and started jabbering away in Japanese to her fellow crew, Gunther and Gerhard walked back to where the squad was sitting, taking a break from the work of digging out the treads of the Tiger to the point where it could move. Amelia and Ella were playing a card game with Nikolas and Bernhard, the players appearing to have nothing staked on the game further than their honor as a decent player.

Further away, Leopold was working with his rifle. As with all things, he kept it in excellent condition, and took his time and effort caring for the weapon that, in return, would take care of him. Gerhard noted that the young man's hair had grown a bit too long, and would have to have him get a trim next time around. As lenient as the hauptmann oft was, there were still standards to be kept, even in times such as these. Next to him, Hans was sharpening his knife, with his shaving supplies not far off.

The two senior soldiers of the squad observed the scene for a bit, allowing Maho to walk up beside them. She remained silent for a few moments, her presence briefly drawing the attention of the four card players. "Things are good on our end." the young woman stated. "Whenever you're ready, we can go." Gerhard nodded, giving a sidelong glance to Gunther, who copied the movement before walking off.

As the stabsfeldwebel worked on rounding up the squad, the two leaders of the separate groups turned to each other; Gerhard searched Maho's face for any tell on her current emotions, but as always, she remained impassive. He caught a glint in her eye, and as he made to mention it, the woman's mouth broke into a small smile. "Sorry, couldn't help it." she apologized, giggling a bit at the hauptmann's unamused look. "You're always looking around like that nowadays; weren't you the one that once told me it's unhealthy?"

Gerhard sighed, remembering that particular conversation. He put it to the side, however, and resumed his train of thought. "We'll be ready in a few moments. If you get her out and onto the road, we'll embark there and be on our way."

Maho nodded, more than understanding her companion's urge to get moving. She wasn't eager to experience another nerve-racked night wondering if she would suddenly be at the mercy of the Red Army, and the best way to avoid that would be to move on from here. "Will do. Do you have any plans for us, or is it just all from the hip like normal?"

Gerhard saw another small grin, taking it in stride this time. "I'll have you know all my actions back then were well thought out." he huffed theatrically. "It wasn't my fault I didn't realize the horde of T-34s behind me at the time were crewed by young women." As Maho let out a quiet laugh, the hauptmann sighed. "But to answer you; yes, there is a plan...of sorts. For now, though, let's just get moving."

With a quiet word of affirmation, the young tank commander jogged off, jumping up on the hull of the heavy tank with practiced ease and sliding into the hatch in the turret. Ella walked up behind him as he watched her appear again in the commander's hatch, shortly followed by the steel monster slowly departing where it had been stuck. "Kommandant?"

"Ja?"

Ella studied her captain for a few moments, noting his weary look and stance. After a few moments of prolonged silence, he turned to her, an inquisitive look on his face. "Is something wrong, Ella?"

She started a little, having gotten a little deeper in thought than she intended. Regaining her bearings, she shook her head. "No, I was just thinking about something; I'll just ask later." Gerhard nodded, going back to watching the Tiger roll up beside them and come to a halt. "Alright...just remember, try to get it off your chest sooner rather than later; you never know if you'll get another chance."

With that blunt statement, the hauptmann clambered up onto the Tiger, taking a seat on the rear of the turret. Ella and the others quickly followed suit, dropping their belongings in the middle so they wouldn't fall off during the ride. With the others taking their seats, Gerhard pulled out his map and started directing Maho on where they would be going, and before too long, the unlikely allies were on the move, heading into whatever events awaited them.

General der Infanterie Walther Wenck

Dallgow-Döberitz

12th Army Headquarters

1655 hours

"Another one, Herr General."

"Very well, give it here."

The lieutenant handed over the transcribed radio message from the frontline to General Wenck, who swiftly read it before sighing and setting it to the side. Reports had been coming in all day of attacks along the corridor, both north and south. The front had held, but despite the force behind these pushes, the experienced general knew they were only probing the lines, looking for weakspots. It wouldn't be long before the bulk of the 1st and perhaps even 2nd Guards Armies sent to respond to the breakout effort arrived, and once that occurred, there would be little hope.

Materially, logistically, and even numerically, the ragtag Twelfth Army was outclassed by even the weakest Soviet divisions in vicinity of Berlin. While that had been the case ever since the fall of Seelöwe Heights, there was never such a discrepancy on his hands as there was now. For every panzer under his command, there would be five or six T-34s; for every artillery piece, down to handheld mortars, the Soviets would have at least three heavy guns alone. And for every man...

Well, the Soviets certainly were following the doctrine of full mobilization in that regard.

Regardless, the general believed in the heart of the troops under his command. Always had Germans answered the call to duty when the Fatherland called for it, and this was no exception. Wenck believed in the power of the mind and heart, and this challenge he had placed before his troops would require every bit of both from them.

Taking a break from the more foreboding reports, he turned back to one that had come in around noon-scouts sent to watch the Elbe crossing at Tangermünde had confirmed that the first remnants of the Ninth Army had peacefully surrendered to American and British forces stationed there, and the civilian refugees were being taken in, some with family arriving to spirit them even further away from the chaos rampant in east Germany. It was a ray of hope in the otherwise gloomy fortunes of war he had been party to.

Perhaps, soon, Germany would be at peace again. The only question he had was what sort of peace he, his men, and all of Germany would have when this war was said and done.

And here we are; the first truly new chapter of my return! The longest insofar for Heart of the Reich, but I hope to continue lengthening chapters as we go.

Again, time delays will continue for some time; I am still working away from home with limited computer access, and will be doing so for a while longer. I will work when able, especially now that I have a clear plan going forward, and will try my best to get chapters to you all in as timely a manner as I can.

I want to, again, profusely thank those who gave me OCs. You people were so very invested in this story from the start! And in light of that, I also wish to apologize; it has come to mind that I haven't really utilized the backstories some of you gave me, and I mean to rectify that here soon.

Always remember that you can get the latest updates on my work via my profile page, which I keep updated for all issues and progress being made.

Until next time, KTA334, signing off!