Chapter 42: The Final Preparations

Lisette stared at herself in the mirror in her hotel room. For the first time in over a year, she was wearing a Sensha-do uniform and for the first time, a Freikorp Oarai uniform. I hope they won't be too mad at me… she thought with a solemn sigh. It was out of her control though, so she steeled herself and left her room. Waiting for her outside the hotel was William in his own uniform. "How long has it been since you've worn a Sensha-do uniform?" William asked, "a year or so?"

Lisette giggled. "Well, I stopped after I got pregnant with Natalie, so it's probably closer to a year and a half. Don't worry, I can catch up though," she replied.

"Alright, just so you know… Ross's crew probably won't be happy at first to work with you. I'll try to get them to fall in line," William said.

"I can't blame them. I'd probably be mad too," Lisette replied, "so tell me about this Kuromormine we'll be facing."

The pair started walking down the street to the Sensha-do field. "They're probably one of, if not the best Sensha-do team in Japan. They managed to get our Tiger IIs and Jagdtigers working," he explained.

"Really?!" Lisette exclaimed, "that's kind of impressive. Even Joseph couldn't get them to run for more than a few minutes."

"They probably swapped everything but the armor and gun out," William added, "probably cost a fortune too."

Lisette nodded. "But they will be tough to take out. So what else can we expect?" she asked.

"Well I've looked at what they've used so far, Panthers, Jagdpanzer IV(V)s, a Tiger flag tank, and probably something new to throw us off," William answered.

Lisette thought for a moment. "With something like that, they'll probably prefer to fight stand-off style. Use their excellent range to keep them out of range for our tanks. I took a look at some of the videos of our team that are online and most of our tanks are most effective at close to medium range, with a few exceptions," she proposed.

"Maybe, but Kuromormine is… peculiar. They focus heavily on the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do, and that doesn't lend well to long-range combat, despite their nearly unparalleled effective range. It's almost considered dishonorable. They prefer to get closer than they really should. Not as close as our Stroßtruppen tactic, but closer than they should. Also, they fight directly and never out of formation. Independent thinking and individual initiative are discouraged. Basically, the captain and anyone she delegates power to aiscompletely in control of the team."

"Yeah that worked out well for the Germans," Lisette commented.

"Or any other insane dictator who's paranoid and incompetent," William added.

"So we fight asymmetrically, break down their outer defenses, fight retreat-style, lure them in, ambush, and all the fun tactics that turn that strategy into mush?" Lisette asked.

"Not quite. Kuromormine makes up for that centralized structure with ridiculously high levels of skill and precision. They practically don't miss," William replied, "and also the thick armor and powerful guns…"

Lisette nodded and tapped her chin in thought. "Perhaps we could counter them with artillery? Break up their tight formations and pick them off?" she proposed.

"Possibly. A direct confrontation on even terms won't work, since they'll just overpower us," William replied.

The pair passed through the gate that led to the Sensha-do field. "Perhaps we could wear them out. Use our fast tanks to take potshots at them and make them start and stop. Stack up a bunch of minor inconveniences until we can take them out on even terms," she suggested.

William nodded. "If we remain flexible, strike at the right time, and use our resources correctly, that could be a viable strategy," he agreed.

The pair stopped in front of Garage 1. "Hey, Leopard Team, we need to talk for a moment," William called out.

Jody popped out of the commander's hatch. "Sure what-" she froze when she saw Lisette. She immediately recognized her and jumped down from the tank. She glared at her with her fists clenched as if she was ready to fight. "William… is this who I think it is?" she asked menacingly.

"Yes, don't try anything," he warned.

"Then start talking. Now," Jody demanded, "you've got a lot of nerve

coming here in that uniform after what you've done to Ross and Natalie."

Lisette nodded sadly and frowned. She silently unstrapped the Stalhelm and took it off her head. "I left so I didn't burden them with my condition…" she whispered, holding the helmet to her chest.

"Oh my God…" Alex whispered. She, Chloe, and Tandy were standing around the Type 100 with their mouths agape and eyes wide.

Jody was completely silent. On the one hand… she wanted to pummel the girl for leaving Ross and Natalie… but on the other, she felt sympathetic and even somewhat understanding. "I-I'm sorry for presuming…" she quietly admitted, looking away.

"Thank you," Lisette said.

"Thank you for understanding, Jody," William added, "Lisette has volunteered to command Leopard Team for the finals. Natalie's timeframe for recovery has extended past it and Ross doesn't feel comfortable leaving her for the finals."

Jody stared silently at the two. "Fine, but I expect that her command is good enough to pay Ross back," she relented.

"I'll do everything I can," Lisette assured.

"Well then, we've got a lot of work to catch you up," Jody said.

"I'll be a quick learner."

000

Miho opened a laptop in her lap back in Natalie's ICU room. Thankfully, she had stabilized enough to return to her room. Ross sat beside her while they sat next to the bed. He gently stroked the palm of Natalie's open hand while watching Miho open a video call app.

In the Sensha-do headquarters, Joseph had another laptop open and the video app opened. "C'mon, connect already…" he mumbled while leaning over the table. The rest of the commanders stood around the table in front of him looking at him expectantly. The computers connected and Miho's face appeared on the computer screen. "Alright," Joseph said happily.

"Can you hear me?" Miho asked. The audio and video weren't perfect, but it'd work.

"Yep! It'll do," Joseph replied. He spun the laptop around so that it faced the rest of the commanders. Twenty commanders, plus Momo and Yuzu were in the room, reflecting Oarai's massive growth. It was a bit hard to get everyone in the room and on-screen though.

"Alright, perfect!" Miho exclaimed, "let's get down to business."

"Yes ma'am!" everyone else replied.

"So, first things first, Kuromormine beat St. Gloriana in their semi-finals match, so that will be who we are facing," Miho stated, "I just want everyone to know… I know I came from Kuromormine, but I consider Oarai my alma mater now, so I won't give them an inch, and I hope you'll do the same."

"I won't either," Koume added, "I may be from Kuromnomrine as well, but I've got no intention of letting them win without a fight!"

"I don't think that was in any doubt," William said with a smile.

"Just making it clear," Miho replied, "alright, so the JSF decided to go all out with the finals this year. We're going to Kumamoto, Kuromormine's home prefecture, and fighting in the Aso-Kuju National Park."

Joseph whistled. "A battlefield with a volcano in the center. Risky, but I like it!" he exclaimed.

"Don't worry, while it's active, there's no activity expected to happen anytime soon," Miho assured, "I've actually visited this park quite a few times when I was younger. It has mountains, grassland, and forest. Overall it's a very diverse battlefield."

"It seems like it'd be a tough place for heavy tanks like Kuromomine's to fight in," Erwin commented.

"Yes, but they are very familiar with the terrain. They'll know how to use everything to its fullest and how to apply the Nishizumi style in this context," Miho replied.

"That and the schachtellaufwerk will give most of their tanks a great ride barring any mechanical issues," William added, "of course, the Tiger H2 has the same suspension, so we'll have that advantage as well."

Anzu hummed to herself when she had a great idea. "How about we use our new 105 to blow up their suspension?" she suggested, "knock out a few of those wheels and they'll be immobile right?"

"Yes," William answered, "you're on to something there. We can use our less ranged or weaker guns to tear up their suspensions and hit-and-run them to degrade their forces, ultimately until an opportunity to knock out their flag tank shows itself."

"I like that idea," Miho agreed, "Kuromormine isn't prepared for those tactics. They prefer parade marching and direct confrontation." She picked up a whiteboard sitting next to her chair with 25 markings on it depicting Kuromormine's tank force. Up front were 20 tanks in a curved formation facing up with five tanks behind it, one surrounded by four others on all sides. "They will likely employ this style of formation, with their flag tank protected in the rear; however, they will still be within their effective firing range, so around a kilometer or so behind the front, with the front around another kilometer in front of the enemy. Thus, these tanks in the rear will be Kurmormine's best guns surrounding their Tiger 1 flag tank."

"So we'll just flank around their formation to attack from the rear," Joseph suggested.

"We'd need some cover from their rear guns to do that though, otherwise they'd just knock the flank out," Azusa countered.

"What about a strike from above to knock the guard out?" Melitta suggested.

"Now that you bring it up, we need to address that," Miho said, "Kuromormine has a lot of resources, and they'll know that we have a flying tank. They'll probably mount anti-aircraft machine guns on their tanks, like the Panthers and Tiger. If they use armor-piercing bullets, they'll be able to damage your wings, or even penetrate the weaker spots of your hull."

"Right, but if we fly low over the treetops, we can get the jump on them," Melitta added.

"Maybe, it'll depend on where you are. We can still have you do reconnaissance, but such a large formation Kuromormine employs won't be hard to spot and should still keep you out of their range," Miho replied.

"Man, hopefully we can still do some close air support," Melitta hoped.

"That will depend on the circumstances we find ourselves in," Miho said, "so, now let's come up with a general strategy. We've identified the elements we can take advantage of, but how should we compose our forces to best exploit them?"

"Let's group our forces together too," William suggested, "we'll use our own big guns to make them think we're going to counter them collectively, then have individual tanks break away and harass the enemy on their own. It will require a lot of work and awareness, but it'll allow them to evade detection."

"Luring them in… hmm," Miho pondered for a moment, "it's risky for the individual tanks, as you said, but Kuromormine wouldn't expect it. We might get more use from our weaker tanks doing that."

"The Type 95 would be perfectly suited for that role," Fukuda commented excitedly, "it's small and fast, and our small gun wouldn't matter if we're just harassing the enemy."

"And our speed is unmatched!" Noriko exclaimed, "we'll hit spike after spike on them until they give in!"

Miho giggled at her teammate's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're confident about that strategy," she said, "let's set up a dedicated guerrilla group. Pheasant and Duck Team, do you think you'll do well in that role?"

"Absolutely!" Noriko and Fukuda exclaimed.

Miho smiled. "Glad to hear it. How about we add Turtle and Eagle Team to that group to give you a boost in firepower? If you need to knock a tank out in an emergency, they can help," she suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Patty replied.

"I agree," Anzu commented.

"Alright… now let's talk about our main group then…" Miho began.

000

Miho closed the laptop and sighed. "That took longer than I expected," she muttered.

"I'm sure it will be worth it though. It sounds like a sound strategy," Ross assured.

Miho smiled at him. "Thanks, we'll do everything we can to bring back a victory."

Ross smiled back before stealing a quick kiss, causing Miho to blush. "I'll be cheering you on until the end," he said.

"Geez…" Miho mumbled embarrassed, "you're so sudden sometimes."

"I guess," Ross replied, turning back to look over Natalie. She was still motionless, save for the gentle rising and falling of her chest as she breathed with the help of the ventilator. What if this is… he thought momentarily before shaking the thought from his head.

"What's wrong?" Miho asked.

"I-I just thought… what if she doesn't wake up? What do we do then…" he mumbled.

Miho squeezed his hand. "It'll be okay…"

Ross slowly nodded. He wasn't so sure.

000

Taiga Ou stepped into the student council office with a folder in her hand. "Oh Taiga, you're here!" Anzu exclaimed from her reclined chair.

"I am," she replied seriously, "I have the things you wanted." She stepped up to the desk and handed them to Momo, who was standing next to it.

"Good," Momo replied. She flipped open the folder and looked through it. "I trust the cover worked?" she asked.

"I think so," Taiga answered, "I'll have to put out the financial report in a story to finish the facade, but that's easier than getting financial records from the administration."

Anzu waved her off. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad!" she exclaimed, "after all… who would suspect a student being involved in this investigation?"

"Well media has the reputation of being snitches," Taiga replied.

"Oh well, hopefully, this is the last thing we'll need to justify an audit from Tokyo. After that, we'll be able to return to normal," Anzu said.

Taiga nodded. "I definitely prefer reporting about school events over corruption investigations," she replied.

"I guess you're not looking into a career in investigative journalism then?" Yuzu commented jokingly.

She shook her head. "No, I think that's off the table," Taiga answered.

"Well still," Yuzu continued, "thank you for your help. We couldn't get this without you. At least not without raising suspicion."

"You're welcome. If it helps get Oarai back on its feet, then it's worth it," Taiga replied. She bowed. "I'll dismiss myself now," she said as she rose.

"Of course, have a good day," Yuzu said with a friendly wave.

As she left, Momo turned to Anzu and handed her the folder. "So with this and our last report, do you think this will get an audit from Tokyo?" she asked.

Anzu took the folder and flipped it open. She whistled as she saw all the data. "No kidding… she went all out. This should definitely be enough," she answered.

"Good… maybe we can make some actual progress before we graduate," Momo added.

Anzu waved her off. "Oh sure… we've got until March, by the time we hand things over, we'll probably have a sister ship like everyone else," she joked.

"Maybe even two sister ships like Tokyo!" Yuzu exclaimed.

Anzu giggled. "Yeah sure, we'll see."

000

Lisette softly touched the side of the Type 100's hull. "I can do this…" she whispered before stepping onto the suspension wheels. Alex and Jody were standing behind her, ready to catch her if she fell. She climbed over the edge of the hull and onto its top. "Man… I haven't done this in ages…" she muttered as she sat onto the hull roof.

"You sure about all this?" Jody asked skeptically, "you looked like you were really struggling."

"I'll be fine," Lisette answered. She got up and went over to the turret. It was a struggle as well, but she shakily climbed onto the turret roof and into the commander's cupola. I can do it… she thought as she lowered herself into her position.

"Huh, she actually did it," Tandy commented.

"Still, I'm not sure if this is a good idea…" Chloe said.

"Me either," Jody agreed, "but if Ross and Miho think she can do it, then we should too."

Lisette knelt in the turret. She looked around with wide eyes. Everything was just as it was in her Type 100. It brought a nostalgic feeling, being in a tank again. For some time, she had come to terms with the fact that she was going to die soon, but now that she was reliving a time before all the drama… she wished it would last forever.

She shook her head. "There's no point wishing now," she muttered. She moved out of the way of the hatch to allow the rest of the crew to enter. "Man, now I remember how annoying it was having only two hatches in the entire tank."

"You can say that again," Chloe agreed, "seriously, German tanks had driver and radio operator hatches on practically every tank they operated. What drove them to remove them for the Type 100?"

"Space maybe?" Jody suggested.

"Yeah, that makes sense, because your fat 88mm needs a big turret!" Chloe jabbed playfully.

"Oh sorry! I'll go switch it out with a short 75mm, then we sit still and fire on the enemy and absolutely bounce off their armor!" Jody jabbed back.

Lisette giggled at her new crew's antics. "Alright, let's focus and get to practice," she interrupted.

000

July dragged on. While the temperature climbed and their school uniforms switched to short sleeves, things seemed to stagnate. There was no point in looking for new tanks since there was no longer enough time to train them for the finals. Natalie's condition didn't change. Everyone just felt anxious about the slowly approaching finals. As the month came to a close, Ross and Miho were watching Natalie the night before the finals while Chi stepped into the room. They looked up and saw her holding a folder with a smile on her face. "Take a look at this," she said, handing Ross the folder.

Ross flipped the folder open and saw x-rays of Natalie's lungs and scans of her brain. He cringed when he saw that half of her right lung was completely gone, but as he examined the pictures, he saw something that gave him hope. "The white stuff… it's almost disappeared," he whispered.

"That's the influenza and pneumonia receding. She's recovering from the infection," Chi stated.

Ross and Miho stared at the pictures with wide eyes and hopeful hearts. "Does that mean she'll be okay?" Miho asked.

"There's a good chance she will," Chi answered, "and look at her brain." Miho and Ross looked over the scans of her brain. At first they struggled to make anything out of the images. "Look at the center, where the grey matter is," Chi advised.

"Is it supposed to look like this," Ross asked, "I don't really understand how the brain is supposed to look in a scan like this."

Chi smiled. "Well, it is supposed to look like that. Because of your CPR and quick action, her brain looks to be undamaged. I think it's fair to say that if she wakes up, she'll have no problem functioning normally."

Ross's eyes watered. "Really?" he whispered. When Chi nodded, the dams burst and he started crying. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

Miho smiled and hugged him. "She's going to be okay," she assured, this time comfortingly.

Ross embraced her as well. "I-I'm so relieved to hear that…" he stuttered. He cried tears of joy into her shoulder.

Chi stepped back and gave them some space. After some time, Ross collected himself and took Natalie's hand. "I can't wait to see her awake again…" he whispered.

000

The next morning, Miho awoke a little earlier than normal. She carefully got out of bed so that she didn't wake Ross and got ready for the day. As she finished in the bathroom, she found herself staring at herself in the mirror in her Sensha-do uniform. She nearly didn't recognize herself.

So much has changed since I came to Oarai… she thought. I'm glad though. I'm happy here. I don't want it to end… "I- no… we can do this," she said to herself, "Oarai can win." She smiled and nodded to herself before leaving the bathroom.

She found Ross sitting on their futon. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning," Miho replied with a smile.

"Are you ready for today?" Ross asked.

Miho nodded confidently. "I am. We have a good strategy and everyone has been working hard. Even Lisette is doing well with Leopard Team."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ross replied. He stood up and walked over to her. "I'm sorry I won't be able to make it…"

Miho took his hand into hers. "Listen, I don't blame you for staying here, okay? It's out of your control and I know its better that you're here with Natalie over being in a tank."

"I know it's just…"

"No, we'll be okay without you. If we lose, it won't be because you weren't there. If we lose, it will be up to skill and luck. Don't go beating yourself up over this. Family is more important," Miho reassured.

Ross stared into her eyes and took her hands with his other hand. "Okay, go make your mother feel that way too," he said.

Miho nodded with determination. "I won't be afraid. The battlefield is where convictions are tested, and I know ours is stronger than theirs."

"Then good luck. I know you can do it," Ross stated.

Before she turned to leave, Miho surprised him by getting on her toes and kissing him gently. As she pulled away, she gazed at him lovingly. "Thank you," she said.

Ross smiled with a blush. "You're welcome. I love you."

"I love you too. Be sure to cheer us on, okay?"

"I will."

000

As Miho walked along the garages, she stopped to look into Garage 1. Since she was early, she only saw one person, but to her surprise, their face was mostly covered under a black balaclava-like mask that covered their mouth, chin, neck, and nose. If she wasn't wearing the Freikorps uniform, she would've thought she might've been a criminal. The person turned to her and waved. "Morning Captain!" Lisette called out.

Miho walked over. "What's with the mask?" she asked.

"Oh, this!" Lisette replied while pointing to her face, "it's a mask infused with activated carbon. It'll help filter any fumes without the clunkiness of a gas mask. Since I'm not as strong as you guys are, I don't want to risk any fume exposure taking me out of the action."

"Right, you are weaker because of your condition…" Miho muttered.

"Don't worry though. I'll be fine out there. This Kuromormine won't know what will hit them!" Lisette exclaimed.

"Right, just don't get arrogant," Miho warned.

Lisette gave her an energetic thumbs up. "No worries Captain!" she assured.

"Alright, well, be ready to move out once everyone gets here," Miho stated. Lisette nodded and went back to the Type 100 as Miho turned around and began to walk around the garages. She greeted a few members with a wave as they looked over their own tanks.

As people filed in, the garage started to fill up. We've come so far… Miho reminisced. She looked into Garage 2 and saw that the Stridsvagn M/41 SII had changed into a Stormartillerievagn M/43. Its turret was gone and its hull reshaped into a casemate with slightly angled sides and riveted armor. Tracks were welded on spots of the armor where they were welded historically. In a large ball mount was the 105mm that was fitted to the tanks in 1946, but was planned to be fitted earlier. They were delayed, but considered legal because it was in the specified design before 1945.

Hopefully Turtle Team is accustomed to the new design. Miho thought. In the corner of her vision, she saw Asuza running toward her. "Captain," she exclaimed, "I'm glad to see that you're here."

"I'm glad to be back," Miho replied with a friendly smile.

"How's Natalie?" Azusa asked.

"She's doing well actually! The doctors think she'll make a full recovery soon," Miho answered happily.

"That's wonderful!" Azusa exclaimed. The pair turned when they heard other commanders running over.

"Oh wow," Miho said as a small crowd gathered around her. Everyone told her how happy and appreciative that she was back. "Okay guys, I hear you," Miho insisted, "I'm glad to be back as well, but we need to focus."

"She's right, we need to focus on the finals now," Momo stated, "everyone go finish your preparations."

As everyone dispersed, they left Momo, William, and Miho alone to converse. "So how has the team been without me?" Miho asked.

"Fairly well. It took some adjustment, but I think our performance hasn't suffered. Accuracy is good, reactions are actually improving, and communication is better than ever. I think the leadership shift actually helped us in that by forcing us out of our comfort zone," William answered,

"I'm glad to hear that. We'll need every advantage we can get," Miho replied. She checked the time on her phone. "We'll need to get moving soon, so let's get to our tanks. I'll do the usual radio call before we leave."

"Yes ma'am!" Momo and William said before rushing off to their own tanks.

Miho ran over to Anglerfish Team and found them working diligently. Even Mako wasn't lazing around like usual. "Hey guys!" she called out.

"Miho! You're back!" Yukari exclaimed. She quickly loaded the shell she was holding into the turret and jumped down. "I'm glad you're back."

"I am too Yukari," Miho replied.

"How is Natalie?" Hana asked as she leaned out of the gunner's hatch.

"She's recovering. We'll know more in the future," Miho answered, "let's focus on the finals right now. I'm sure she'll want us to come back with a victory."

"Right!" Hana and Yukari replied eagerly.

Mako and Saori welcomed her back as well before the crew resumed work eagerly to prepare their tank. After some time, crews started radioing in to confirm they were ready to go. Once everyone was in their positions and readied up, Miho finally returned to her commander's cupola. She opened the hatch and faced the open garage doors ahead of her. The morning sun glimmered down ahead of them. She touched her throat microphone confidently to activate it to give her order.

"Panzer vor!"

000

I haven't put any author's notes in the past few chapters since I felt that it would dampen the drama and cliffhangers and that'll stay the same for the final battle. But even without them, I am grateful for all the support you readers have given me. I swear I'll find some time to respond to the reviews. See you next time, because big things are going to happen!

Up Next on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces…

Chapter 43: The Final Battle Begins