Chapter 10: The Sun Never Sets
For its last day in port, the Zuikaku had a guest in the school ship port. Towering over the already massive school ship was the HMS Ark Royal, based on the Second World War aircraft carrier of the same name. Unlike its predecessor, the school ship completely eclipsed the Zuikaku in height and length.
On the Zuikaku's disembarkment ramp, the column of tanks fielded by Oarai was the size of ants compared to St. Gloriana's school ship. Although Alex and Jody were busy looking up in awe at the ship, Ross was staring through a pair of binoculars at its disembarkment ramp. "Still nothing on St. Gloriana's tank line-up…" he said into his radio.
Like Jody and Alex, the crew of the Panzer IV looked up at the Ark Royal as well. "It's so big…" Saori whispered.
Miho activated her throat microphone. "Okay, if you see anything of importance, don't be afraid to let me know," she replied.
"Affirmative, I couldn't be afraid of you if I tried," Ross joked with a smirk.
Miho just shook her head while looking back at the Type 100. Ross gave her a thumbs up and resumed looking through his binoculars. Yukari spoke up, "Look! There are St. Gloriana's tanks!" She pointed up to a deck where the tanks of St. Gloriana drove along an open-air passageway.
"What'd you see Ross?" Miho asked.
Through his binoculars, Ross identified a couple of the tanks through the shade. "I think I see a Churchill, but I'm not sure which variant and a few of Matildas. That's odd, there are only five tanks up there. Didn't we agree on an eight on eight match?" he reported.
"We did. Are the other three further behind perhaps?" Miho asked.
"Not that I can see," Ross answered. Oarai's tanks left the port and St. Gloriana's tanks were no longer in view as they drove towards the meeting point of the match grounds. "This may just be me, but if they're trying to hide three tanks from us, then we should expect a surprise of some sort. Considering they could be fielding anything from a Mark I to a Centurion we should be on alert. Should we make any changes to the plan, Miho?" Ross asked.
"Let's stick to the plan, Momo's ambush spot should allow us some room to react if something happens," Miho answered.
000
Large television screens on a stand that resembled a train carriage were the center of the several viewing areas set up around the city of Oarai. Since parts of the city were included in the battle area most people were either evacuated or in a safe zone for spectators. "It seems like everybody in town has come for the match. I haven't seen this many people gather in Oarai for some time," Yoshiko commented as she and Jungoro sat down at one of the many temporary grandstands. She sat Natalie in her lap and put on some noise-dampening earmuffs over her ears that Ross had packed. Natalie relaxed into her lap while sucking on her thumb now that she wasn't overwhelmed by the lively crowd of spectators.
"I'm not surprised since the carrier is in port for the last day and the Ankou Festival is tonight. Hopefully, traffic isn't too bad for the team," Jungoro replied.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, I'd get out of the way if I saw a tank in my rearview mirror!" Yoshiko joked with a laugh. Natalie imitated and laughed as well.
000
In a field east of the main city, the two opposing teams met. The eight tanks of Oarai's team were lined up together as the tanks of St. Gloriana approached them. Each commander of Oarai's tanks stood in front of their tanks while the eight St. Gloriana tanks lined up in front of them. So they did bring eight tanks, Miho noted.
In front of the Panzer IV was a dark green Churchill Mk. VII which was followed by four tan Matilda IIs and three silver Crusader IIIs. Miho, William, and Momo stepped forward as the captain of St. Gloriana's team jumped down gracefully from the Churchill, followed by two of her crewmates. The girls sported red tanker jackets with golden buttons similar to Freikorp Oarai's tunics. They also wore black skirts. The captain had yellow blonde hair in a nice bun while one of her crewmates had straight blonde hair and the other had orange hair in a bun similar to her commander.
"You three must be commanders from Oarai, correct?" she asked in a formal, but pleasant tone. "I am Darjeeling, captain of St. Gloriana's Sensha-do team."
Miho stepped forward. "I'm Captain Miho Nishizumi," she introduced.
"William Valentine, it's a pleasure to meet you," William said with a slight bow.
"I am Momo Kawashima, vice president of the Oarai Student Council. I was the one who contacted your school about setting up this match," Momo followed.
Darjeeling nodded in acknowledgment. "I see, typically that would be the captain's duty, would it not?" she asked.
"Yes, but Miho was busy at the time, so I handled it for her," Momo answered.
William shook his head slightly, but it wasn't noticed by anyone. More like they dropped it in front of us and demanded a signature… he thought, Regardless...
"I see, still, it is a pleasure to be your opponent for your first match. It shall be a fun experiment to face boys on the battlefield for the first time," Darjeeling said, "Have you heard this quote before? 'All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better'?"
William's eyes widened. "Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, With Annotations - 1841-1844," he stated.
Darjeeling smiled warmly. "Correct, it's a pleasant surprise to meet someone familiar with one of my quotations. Usually, only dear Orange Pekoe here can identify them," she said while gesturing to the girl with orange hair.
"Indeed, it is a pleasant surprise," Orange Pekoe replied somewhat shyly.
An official stepped forward between the teams. "Is everybody ready to begin?" she asked.
The six tank commanders silently nodded. "Very well, then please bow," she requested.
"Let's have a good match!" each commander shouted while bowing to each other.
The official nodded in approval while looking over her clipboard. "Good, now head to your assigned starting points and wait for the match to begin," she directed.
"Yes ma'am," Miho and Darjeeling responded formally.
The six tankers returned to their vehicles. William dropped into his cupola and pulled open a map. Below him, Quinn and Addison sat in their positions with anticipation. "Those Gloriana girls are rather ladylike aren't they?" Quinn noted rhetorically.
"Those girls probably don't know what it's like to put on a good sweat! We'll pound them easily!" Addison jeered.
"Don't underestimate those British tanks. The Crusaders are fast and those two and six-pounders can punch well above their weight. Let's see if Kawashima's plan is as good as she thinks," William said while putting on his headset, "Alright Leslie, take us to the starting point."
"Understood," Leslie replied while shifting the tank into gear. The rest of the crew put on their own headsets.
"If those guns can knock us out, then why don't we keep our distance? We should be able to knock them out from outside their range," Quinn asked.
"We need to stick with the rest of the teams outside the Freikorp. Even the long 75s will have problems with their armor, so we'll stick together and strike them together from a range where they can penetrate Gloriana's armor as well," William explained, "Of course, should things go south, we can escape through the trench behind us and regroup," he paused to show Quinn and Addison the map. "If that's necessary then we can try to outrange them, but that Churchill will be hard to take out without exposing its side."
His gunner nodded in agreement. "I guess 152mm will be hard for us to get through even with our heavy guns," he replied.
"Well if this works out then we won't need to worry. Hyena Team will get through them at practically all combat ranges. They'd need to be over 3,000 meters away before the Churchill can take a round directly through its frontal armor," William reassured.
"Well then, let's show these little ladies how real tankers fight!" Addison cheered while slamming a round into the gun.
William sighed. "We haven't begun the match, remove the round and don't load them without my orders," he scolded.
Addison stuck out her tongue but unloaded the round. "You're no fun…" she bemoaned while putting the shell back on the ammo rack.
"Give me five minutes and you can load all the shells you want," he replied before activating his microphone as the tanks lined up at Oarai's starting position. "Atrox Team is ready."
A chorus of affirmations from the other teams followed. The crews waited for the officials to begin the match. The air became tense with anticipation, but it was broken with a loud explosion as anti-aircraft guns placed at each of the spectator zones fired. "Match begin!" an official declared over everybody's radio and over the intercoms at the spectator areas.
"All tanks proceed to the ambush point as planned in Operation: Sneaky Sneaks. Panzer vor!" Miho commanded.
Oarai's tanks came to life and drove off. They reformed a straight column of tanks that pushed through a small hillside forest that was their starting point. Anglerfish Team led the column with Leopard Team following behind. The heavy tanks of Atrox and Hyena Team were the column's rearguard. The forest turned into rocky plains that overlooked the city and port.
"All tanks, follow Anglerfish Team onto the hillside," Miho ordered with her map in hand. The tanks began climbing up a path that took them up the hillside. Miho analyzed her map with a critical eye. "Alright so if we take this path that will lead us to a point where we can overlook St. Gloriana's tanks." She tapped a finger on a spot of the path where the rocks lining the pathway parted to form a perfect spot to look over the battlefield. "From there, Anglerfish and Leopard Team will bait them into a confrontation and lead them into our ambush," she directed.
"Hell yeah, about time we let loose a few rounds!" Jody shouted, which was picked up by Ross' radio.
Miho giggled as Ross scolded his gunner without turning off his radio. "Roger that Jody," she replied.
"Don't encourage her…" Ross complained. He pushed his headset microphone up to mute it and stood back up through the commander's cupola of the Type 100. The crisp wind nearly knocked him back as he held onto his headset to prevent it from falling to an inconvenient and expensive death. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the light easier. "I wish there were some clouds so it wouldn't be so bright," he wished while shading his eyes with his hand to alleviate the glare of the morning sun.
An eerie calm fell onto the column as they climbed up the hillside. Thankfully nobody had any problems driving up the incline, not even the Elefant, which was often a reliability nightmare. Ross jumped up onto the wall of the cupola to sit for a moment. On his right, the loader's hatch popped open, and Alex stuck her head out to observe the Japanese countryside with him. Jody had to settle with the gunner's sights and periscope. "Looks like St. Gloriana's taking their sweet time heading through the rice paddies," Ross noted after pulling his binoculars out. A quick look through them to the northwest revealed plenty of undisturbed fields, canals, and rice paddies that bordered the Naka and Hinuma River. Across from the Naka River was the city of Hitachinaka.
"Could've gone through the town," Alex suggested dryly.
Ross looked down at the port city. "I've got nothing," he reported.
"Not surprising since most British tanks are as slow as an A39," Jody added.
Ross raised an eyebrow at his gunner while looking down into the turret. "A39? What do-..." he paused to sigh, "seriously?"
"What? Tortoises are pretty slow aren't they?" Jody said with a snickered.
"Never mind…" Ross tried his best to not give Jody any more satisfaction by holding in a giggle. "Eyes ahead everyone, we're approaching the overlook!" Ross ordered, "Tandy, park us to the right of Anglerfish when we stop."
Anglerfish and Leopard Team came to a stop at the overlook while the rest of the column, now led by Turtle Team, drove past the two teams as they made their way to the ambush point. Ross looked over Oarai and the countryside again with his binoculars quickly. "Nothing yet," he noted, "Just where are they?"
000
"Rosehip, report please," Darjeeling requested through her radio.
The commander of the Crusader tanks energetically pulled up her binoculars and radio. "We're on the outskirts of Oarai right now. I can see two of Oarai's tanks overlooking the town on the hillside. Can we please attack them?! Please?" Rosehip begged.
"No dear, wait for the infantry tanks to regroup on your position. Continue observing them from your position, but please make sure you aren't seen," Darjeeling ordered. She picked up a cup of tea from the roof of the Churchill's turret. They were moving so slowly and smoothly through the town that the delicate teacup could sit on the roof without spilling a single drop of tea. She sipped the tea slowly before returning to the inside of the turret. She gently set the cup and saucer onto a tray with a kettle.
"If I may, Miss Darjeeling?" Orange Pekoe asked.
"You may speak dear," Darjeeling said.
"Wouldn't going through the fields be quicker for our infantry tanks? I understand why you sent the Crusaders through the town, but why are we following them?" Orange Pekoe asked.
"We wouldn't want to dirty our tanks and uniforms doing something like that, would we? It would also be a shame to damage the farmer's hard work," Darjeeling answered.
Orange Pekoe nodded in understanding. "I see... I suppose that's the honorable thing to do," she replied.
"And how does St. Gloriana fight dear?" Darjeeling asked.
The girls smiled together. "With honor and respect," Orange Pekoe replied.
The slow infantry tanks arrived at the western outskirts of Oarai. Rosehip waved over her captain excitedly from her Crusader Mk. III's commander's hatch. "Over here Darjeeling!" she called. The Crusaders had taken refuge behind a few buildings that sat at the edge of the town. Beyond the street was the Himuna River and behind it was the rocky plains and the hillside where Rosehip reported two enemy tanks.
The Churchill stopped in front of the hidden Crusader tanks. "Good work scouting Rosehip," Darjeeling praised.
"Thank you, captain!" Rosehip gushed while hastily bowing, nearly spilling a cup of Rosehip tea she had sat on the roof of the Crusader.
Darjeeling smiled and turned to the other two Crusaders, which were hidden in the alley across the street. "And good work to you two as well," she praised to the commanders, Vanilla and Cranberry. She turned forward. "Now ladies, let's head towards the tanks that you sighted."
000
St. Gloriana tanks crossed the Himuna river by bridge and entered the fields that Anglerfish and Leopard team looked over. "This is Leopard team, we've located the enemy team," Ross reported.
Miho looked through her binoculars and found the enemy as well. "Distance looks to be about 3,000 meters. We'll open fire when they reach 1,000. They won't be able to penetrate from that range if our hulls are angled. We may be able to knock out a Matilda or Crusader, but not the Churchill," she said.
"Given they're at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour they'll be at that distance in maybe 15 minutes," Ross estimated.
Miho activated her radio. "Ambush team, are you at the ambush point?" she asked.
"Affirmative, but we've run into a problem with Hyena team," Casey answered from Atrox team.
000
Elliot and Tanner pushed open their hatches desperately as smoke belched out from the engine behind them. Gauges that read the various fluid temperatures of the engine were maxed out and although there weren't any flames coming from the engine vents yet, the inside of the Elefant was blisteringly hot. As the two boys scrambled out of the front compartment, the other hatches of the tank destroyer flew open to release the trapped hot air within. White smoke rose from the engine vents under the gun and into the air.
Tanner dove back into the radio operator's compartment and grabbed a small fire extinguisher stored beside his seat. He fought off a coughing fit and set the extinguisher loose onto the engine. White dusty carbon dioxide covered the gun barrel and vents. The smoke dissipated and Tanner jumped down from the hull. The rest of the crew followed him as he and Elliot sat down on the ground.
"Jesus Christ…" Tanner wheezed between a fit of coughs. The combined petrol smoke and CO2 did not do his lungs any favors.
Joseph leaned down next to him and patted his back firmly. "Thanks for your quick reaction buddy," he gratefully said.
"I guess that incline was more of a strain than I thought it would be," he replied quietly before coughing again.
"Save your energy, we're done for today. Anything you guys need from the Elefant?" Joseph asked.
Everyone shook their heads as a tank recovery vehicle stopped behind them with a medical van following it. "Well, there's our ride," Joseph dryly joked.
The Elefant's radio crackled to life. "This is Atrox team, Hyena team, what's going on? Are you guys okay?" Casey asked.
Joseph stood up and ducked into the frontal compartment. "We've suffered a mechanical failure, Hyena Team is done," he reported.
"Is everyone okay?!" William and Miho asked urgently.
"We'll be fine, nothing a little R & R won't fix," Joseph answered.
William scowled. Without the Elefant destroying the Churchill will be a much harder task… he thought. "Alright, stay safe, we'll do what we can to bring a victory back for you guys," he responded.
He turned to his crew. "Alright, without Hyena team the task of destroying that Churchill falls to us. We can pierce its frontal armor at ranges of roughly 750m as long as we aim for the upper flat armor on the hull. It'll be a tough shot, but I have faith in you guys." He fired up his radio again. "So Miho, I think we can take out the Churchill if we can focus on them. We just need a couple of tanks to cover our flanks."
"Okay, Rabbit Team and Duck Team you'll serve as Atrox Team's flank guards. Make sure none of St. Gloriana's tanks can approach from his sides," Miho ordered.
"A-alright, we'll try our best," Azusa stuttered.
"Yes ma'am! We'll keep Atrox safe!" Noriko exclaimed.
I wish I had that confidence, Azusa thought to herself.
At the overlook, St. Gloriana's tanks approached. "Load HE," Miho and Ross ordered. Yukari and Alex shoved a high explosive round into the cannons of their tanks. "Take aim," Miho and Ross followed up. Jody and Hana pressed their faces against the sights of their guns. They inched the guns into position until the British tanks were insight. The Crusaders were leading the charge while the Matildas protected the Churchill in a V formation. Like an eagle watching prey, the gunners locked onto the group of tanks advancing.
"Leopard Team is ready," Ross reported.
Miho calmed herself with a deep breath. "Open fire!" she shouted. The two guns fired, setting loose a pair of shells followed by a blast of fire. The shells flew through the air before hitting the ground behind the Crusaders and caused a cloud of dust to cover the infantry tanks.
When the Matildas emerged from the smoke they were already turning their turrets towards Leopard and Anglerfish Team. "Retreat to the ambush point!" Miho ordered. Tandy shifted the Type 100 into reverse and accelerated backward quickly due to its electric transmission. The Panzer IV followed and the medium tanks began speeding down the trail, making sure to leave a noticeable cloud of dust behind them.
St. Gloriana's tanks had no trouble climbing onto the hillside trail and passed through the cloud of dust Oarai left behind. "Pursue them Rosehip, we'll be behind you," Darjeeling calmly commanded. In response, the Crusaders sped forward and began closing the distance.
Miho and Ross were looking behind them above their cupolas. Ross turned the Vickers rocket gun towards the quickly approaching Crusaders. "Permission to open fire with the Vickers?" Ross asked.
"Just be careful," Miho responded.
Ross smirked and loaded a round into his cupola-mounted cannon. The Crusaders fired a barrage of shells which impacted around Oarai's tanks, causing them to swerve to dodge the rounds. Ross fired back with a high explosive shell which made a smaller impact in front of the lead Crusader.
"This is Anglerfish team, we'll be at the ambush point soon, be ready!" Saori reported. In the distance, the narrow trenches cut into the hillside widened and led to a small cliffside where the rest of Oarai awaited St. Gloriana's tanks. It was the perfect ambush point with an escape route should things go wrong.
Something that Darjeeling was more than aware of. "Rosehip split up and send two of your tanks to the left and one to the right. There should be pathways that will allow you to outflank the enemy. Matildas split evenly and approach from both sides," she ordered.
The tanks maneuvered so that the Matildas now formed the center of the formation with the Crusaders flanking each side. The trench widened and the Crusaders hugged the sides as they entered the opening swiftly.
"Fire! Fire at them all!" Momo shouted. The various guns of Oarai's tanks fired erratically, sending shells which only impacted the ground around St. Gloriana's tanks.
Leopard and Anglerfish Team spun around on the left pathway next to the Stridsvagn M/41 and the Sturmgeschutz III. "Don't just fire randomly! Aim for their treads and sides!" Miho shouted into her radio.
"Turn us around, the Churchill's approaching from the other side!" William exclaimed. The Tiger turned around as fast as it could, but from the right pathway, the Crusaders had already closed in and his flank guards were overwhelmed.
"We can't break through their armor!" Noriko reported as one of her rounds harmlessly exploded on the frontal armor of a Matilda.
The crew of the M3 "Grant" was in complete disarray as the Crusaders sped past. "They're so fast, we can't hit them!" Azusa shouted. Aya and Ayumi couldn't choose which tanks to fire at and Karina stuttering the tank back and forth didn't help. Saki simply stared.
"Return fire," Darjeeling calmly ordered. The Crusaders and Matildas began returning fire. A shell struck the front of Rabbit Team and knocked them out of the match. The other three shells were sent into the side of the Tiger while the Type 89B reversed behind it to save themselves.
"This is Atrox Team, we've been knocked out…" William reported solemnly. Rabbit Team was still panicking and didn't report their status.
On the left, the Type 100 and Panzer IV had knocked out a Crusader and Matilda, but the remains of Oarai's team were nearly encircled. "Don't give them an inch! Keep firing!" Momo demanded.
With shells flying around them, Miho gave her next order, "All tanks fall back through the escape route!"
The remaining tanks fell back, peppering their foes with machine-gun fire and smoke shells. Ross could barely hear Momo's shouts of denial at Miho's order over the chaos as everybody but the Stridsvagn retreated.
All alone and refusing to retreat, the Stridsvagn was encircled by St. Gloriana's tanks. A barrage of cannon fire knocked it out of the match and left its golden paint job scorched and smoking.
The remaining four tanks regrouped and escaped from the hillside with a few scratches and ringing ears, but still in the match. "We were able to destroy two of their tanks and we've lost four, including our two best guns. What next?" Ross asked as the team headed towards Oarai on one of the countryside roads.
Miho contemplated her options for a moment. "If we head into town, we'll have to adjust how we fight so that we can avoid getting caught on buildings, but I think we'll be able to fight them better. With what we have left we'll need to be within a few hundred meters to knock out the Churchill. Fortunately, we can still outrange the Matildas and Crusaders," she said. After another moment she came to a decision. "Let's head into town and split up. Anglerfish, Duck Team Hippo Team will form one squadron that will focus on the Churchill and Leopard Team will break off to focus on the Crusaders."
"Alright, we'll do our best!" Leopard Team replied.
"Duck Team will attack them with guts!" Noriko responded.
"We shall strike them down like Caesar did to the Gauls at Alesia!" Caesar declared.
"Alright, our job is to take out their Crusaders. We've got two tanks to eliminate and then we'll regroup with Miho if they haven't taken out the others yet," Ross explained to his crew.
Jody knocked on his knee to grab his attention. "That's a great plan and all, but how are we going to take them out?" she asked.
"We'll just have to start and stop constantly. Maybe if we're lucky we can outmaneuver them and knock out both Crusaders at the same time," Ross answered. The column passed through a small seaside intersection that led onto the beachside section of Oarai while another led to the section of town that bordered the Hinuma River. They passed under an impressive Shinto shrine. "Chloe, send a message to Anglerfish to tell them that we're breaking away."
"Got it," Chloe replied. "Anglerfish Team, this is Leopard Team, we're breaking off."
"Affirmative Leopard Team, good luck!" Saori responded.
As St. Gloriana's tanks closed in behind them, Ross chose a route to split onto. "Alright take a right up here, we'll head into the western part of the city," Ross ordered.
The Type 100 broke away from the Panzerbefehlswagen IV, Type 89B Sturmgeschütz III. Leopard Team drove deeper into the city while everybody else drove along the shore.
000
"Rosehip, pursue the Type 100 and eliminate them," Darjeeling ordered. The fast cavalry tanks left the formation and crossed the lane divider with their targets in sight.
"Don't let up on them, full speed ahead!" Rosehip demanded. The Crusader's engines roared with more RPMs and the gap between the tanks shrank as they raced past city blocks.
Ross looked behind the Type 100 towards his chasers. "Let's see if this will work," he whispered to himself. "Okay at the next intersection try to turn the turret around so that you're aiming behind us," he commanded.
"Right!" Jody replied. Once the Type 100 crossed into an intersection, Jody began to rotate the turret. She managed to get it halfway turned around before it hit a traffic light and knocked it down in front of the Crusaders. Ross ducked to avoid the lights as they fell to the ground with a loud crash. "Damn it! Sorry for the damage!" Jody shouted.
"We'll survive. That put some distance between us which is what we need. Once we get to the next intersection, we'll turn right and stop a little way in," he instructed. A few moments after he finished the Type 100 reached the next intersection. "Hard right! Jody be prepared to fire once the Crusader passes the corner!" Ross shouted.
Tandy harshly jerked the Type 100 to the right and flew over the corner of the curb onto another street. "Full stop!" Ross shouted. The tracks stopped turning and sparks flew out from under them as the tank slid to a stop. Come here, little cruiser tank, Ross thought. "Be prepared to reload quickly Alex!"
The first Crusader rounded the bend. "Fire!" Ross commanded. The 88mm cannon fired and the Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing shell tore through the Crusader's thin armor easily and knocked it out. "Reload!"
The breach clicked shut as a new shell was loaded by Alex immediately after the previous shell was ejected. Just as it shut the second Crusader came into view while passing the street. "Fire!" Ross ordered.
The gun fired again for the second time in seconds and its shell crashed into the side of the second Crusader before it had the chance to pass. Ross pumped his fist before diving back into the turret. "We got 'em guys! Good work!" he cheered.
"Hell yeah!" Jody followed. Alex simply gave everyone a thumbs up, but she had a small smile on her face.
"Anglerfish Team, this is Leopard Team. We've cleared out the Crusaders without any casualties. What are your orders?" Ross reported.
000
The Panzer IV, Type 89B, and StuG III sped along the seaside road that led back to the port. Behind her, the Matilda IIs were surprisingly keeping up with the tanks as they passed Mentai Park Oarai. "What's our plan captain?" Erwin asked through the radio.
Miho activated her throat microphone. "Let's set up an ambush. We'll take them out one by one, but we'll have to ambush them in different ways or they'll find a way to counter us," she replied,
"Alright! How are we gonna do that?" Erwin asked.
"Yukari, how many smoke shells do we have?"
Yukari quickly counted the smoke shells that they had left. "We have six left!" she answered.
Miho quickly formulated a plan while the tanks veered back and forth to dodge the Matilda II's barrage. "Hana, turn the turret around. Yukari load high explosive. If we can disrupt them with return fire then we should be able to put enough distance to execute the next step of the plan," Miho ordered.
Yukari pulled an HE shell off the ammo rack while Hana began to turn the turret around. With some fumbling and shaking from the rotation, Yukari pushed the shell into the breach. When the breach clicked shut, the turret was now facing backward. "Ready to fire!" she exclaimed
"Fire!" Miho shouted.
"Right!" Hana replied before pulling the trigger. The shell flew out of the barrel with a loud explosion and flew towards their pursuers. It struck the ground right in front of the lead Matilda II, who veered to the right to avoid it. The second Matilda II followed and they both returned fire, but they had lost some distance to the Panzer IV.
"Load smoke now!" Miho ordered.
Yukari quickly grabbed another shell and loaded it into the breach. "Ready to fire!" she exclaimed.
"Fire!" Miho ordered.
Hana pulled the trigger. A smoke shell flew from the cannon with a roar and blinded the Matildas with a thick cloud of smoke. "Quickly turn right and floor it!" Miho shouted.
"On it," Mako calmly replied. The Panzer IV jerked right onto a sidestreet followed by the StuG III. The tanks sped past the Oarai Public Library and Oarai Culture Center and headed north.
"Take another right at the next intersection," Miho ordered. The tanks took another right turn and passed the back of the library. The road curved back to the north. As they continued on the road, they passed a small park to their right where many spectators watched the tanks with awe. As they neared the park a clicking sound caught the tank crew's attention.
"What was that?" Hana asked.
"We're entering a no-fire zone so a safety mechanism deactivates all weaponry," Miho answered. "Let's regroup at the town hall and come up with a plan." The tanks followed the road they were on north to the front of the town hall while Miho tried to create a plan.
"Have you come up with a plan, captain?" Noriko asked over the radio.
Miho thought for a moment. "The city is conducive for surprise attacks and ambushes. The StuG III will do well here. Let's create a couple of ambush points where the Panzer IV can lead the Matildas into. You guys have more experience with the local terrain so we'll leave the ambushes to you."
"Why not? Oarai is our neighborhood after all," Erwin noted.
"So do you two know where you can best ambush them?" Miho asked.
Noriko answered first, "There's an underground car park that has an elevator that could be used in an ambush."
"Oarai has many side streets and alleyways that are just wide enough for the StuG to sneak into. We'll be guaranteed a knockout if we hit them from the side!" Erwin exclaimed.
"Alright then, take your positions and be ready to ambush them when Anglerfish leads them to you. Commence Operation: More Sneaky Sneaks!" Miho ordered.
Hippo Team broke off and hid in an alley beside a small shop while Duck Team hid in an underground car park's elevator. After marking their positions on the map, Anglerfish Team ventured back onto Sun Beach Street, the road that leads to the port facilities of Oarai. Down the street to the south was the Oarai Marine Tower, which was being used as a spectator zone. Just outside of the no-fire zone were the tanks of St. Gloriana, which patrolled the road and were heading north towards Anglerfish Team.
"To our right! Three Matilda IIs and a Churchill heading our way. Saori spray them with our machine gun, Yukari load HE, Hana be prepared to fire, Mako angle the hull so that neither our front nor side armor is directly facing the enemy and be prepared to turn around quickly!" Miho ordered.
Saori grabbed the grip of the hull-mounted MG34 and fired bursts of bullets towards the British tanks. Yukari slammed an HE round into the breach while Hana eagerly aimed the cannon. The Panzer IV slowly rotated to the left so that their armor was angled and thus harder to penetrate. "Fire, Hana!" Miho shouted.
"Right!" Hana shouted in response. The cannon fired a high explosive round towards the enemy which exploded between the slow-moving tanks.
The tanks shook violently despite their heavy armor. "No matter what you do, St. Gloriana will never allow a single drop of tea to spill," Darjeeling calmly stated while firmly holding her tea. "Return fire."
The cannons of St. Gloriana's tanks returned a volley of shells that exploded or bounced off of the Panzer IV's armor. "Turn around and drive into the city toward the corner store the StuG III is hiding at," Miho ordered.
"Right," Mako replied and quickly reversed the tank back into the city before spinning around in an intersection.
Miho stared through the back of her commander's cupola. Not long after they began moving deeper into the city, the Matilda IIs and Churchill Mk. VII followed them by turning onto their street. "Swerve erratically from left to right to avoid getting hit!" Miho ordered.
The Panzer IV swung to the left before swinging back to the right, causing the girls to grip their seats. "Are you ready, Hippo Team?" Miho asked.
"We're ready Miho!" Erwin replied.
The Panzer IV sped past the corner store and an alleyway where, concealed in the shadows, hid the StuG III. When the first lead Matilda II passed in front of the alleyway the StuG III fired its gun. A shell impacted the side of the Matilda II followed by an explosion which knocked it out instantly.
"Quickly, reverse us out of here!" Erwin demanded. Oryou tugged on the steering sticks after shifting the tank destroyer into reverse. The StuG III snuck out of the alleyway and onto another side street. "Good shooting Saemonza!" Erwin praised. "Let's follow the fence line, the StuG's got a low profile so they shouldn't be able to see us," Erwin decided.
The tank destroyer drove forward along a fence line that separated the streets when a shell from a Matilda II crashed through the fence and impacted the side of the StuG III. Although the StuG III was shorter than the fence, its many decorative flags poked over the top of the fence. The tank destroyer stuttered to a stop and a white flag popped out from the top of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, the Panzer IV passed through the entrance of the underground parking lot and onto the street beyond it. The Churchill turned left before the elevator and followed the Panzer IV while the Matilda II entered the lot. The commander, a girl with brown hair in a braid, stood up in her cupola. The elevator made loud beeping sounds accompanied by a flashing light that made it clear that the elevator was in use.
"Idiots," Rukuriri taunted while her tank turned to the elevator building.
Behind her, a lift opened from the ground revealing another elevator with the Type 89B in it. Rukuriri looked in confusion at the empty elevator building in front of her when she only saw her and her tank's reflection in a mirror on the back wall. She gasp when the lift fully emerged from behind her with the Type 89B aimed directly at her rear armor.
"Behind us!" Rukuriri panicked while ducking into her tank,
"Volleyball!" Noriko shouted.
The rest of the girls in the Type 89B followed. "Volleyball!" they shouted while the Type 89B's main gun fired into the back of the Matilda II. A wall of fire separated the two tanks as the shell exploded.
"Alright, we got them!" Noriko cheered. But when the fire settled, the Matilda II lacked a white flag and had their gun pointed directly at the Type 89B. "They're fine!?"
"What do we do now?" Taeko panicked.
"Take this!" Akebi shouted while firing another round harmlessly into their opponent. "Now they've got the serve!"
The 2-pdr gun of Rukriri's Matilda fired into the center of the Type 89B's frontal armor, knocking it out instantly.
"This is Duck Team, we got hit and are out!" Noriko reported.
"This is Hippo Team, we put up a good fight, but we're out. Sorry," Erwin reported.
Miho assessed her situation and her map intensely. "We're the only ones left of our squadron…" Yukari noted.
"But we aren't on our own yet," Miho replied as her radio crackled to life.
"Anglerfish Team, this is Leopard Team. We've cleared out the Crusaders without any casualties. What are your orders?" Ross reported.
Miho smiled. We can still pull this through! She thought despite the losses. "We've lost Duck and Hippo Teams, but the enemy is down to the Churchill and one Matilda. If we regroup then we'll be able to take them out. What is your position?" she asked.
"Uh, somewhere west along the Hinuma River. I'm still working on learning kanji so I can't really pick out any details that might give you a specific location," Ross reported.
Miho giggled. "It's fine, we can still meet up somewhere," she replied. A 75mm shell from the Churchill flew over and into the side of a house causing Miho to duck into her cupola. "That was close…" she muttered.
"Where should we regroup?" Ross asked.
"Oaraimichi Fire Department HQ, it's a fairly central location so we should be able to regroup quickly," Miho decided after a quick assessment of her map.
Ross pulled out his own map and plotted out a route from his own cupola. When we were speeding through the city I saw some pretty intensive roadwork on the south-eastern and northern approaches… he thought while plotting a course. "Alright, Tandy, take a left at the next intersection," Ross ordered.
Miho quickly plotted her own route while under fire. The Matilda II, while left with an unpleasant scorch mark over its engine deck, was still in action and had caught up with the Churchill and Anglerfish Team. They had put some distance on the enemy tanks, but they were still in pursuit. "Mako, we're regrouping with Leopard Team at the Oaraimichi Fire Department HQ, do you need directions?" she asked over the intercom.
"I can get us there," Mako replied.
The Panzer IV turned left at the next intersection heading deeper into the main city. The enemy tanks naturally followed, no matter how many twists and turns Anglerfish Team took, they never shook away their pursuers. Mako's knowledge of the town meant that Miho didn't need to give her directions, which saved them time.
However, a one-way street that would have led to the fire station was blocked off with barricades and construction equipment. The Panzer IV screeched to a stop as sparks flew out from under the tank. They barely managed to stop before crashing into the barricade.
"Quick turn us around!" Miho ordered desperately. Mako complied silently and swiftly, turning the tank around so they could find an alternative route. In front of them; however, were the final two tanks of St. Gloriana's team.
Miho stared down the barrel of the Churchill's 75mm gun as they slowly approached. She grasped to the edges of her cupola as her body suddenly went cold. She shivered as memories of Kuromormine broke into her mind. Fear, anxiety, and trauma prevented her from giving her the order to fire. At least then they would go down with another tank, leaving Leopard Team to fight on even ground.
You are not fit to be a tank commander. You are not fit to be a Nishizumi. Get out of my sight, a cold, dark voice echoed in her mind.
Darjeeling stood outside of her commander's hatch, quietly sipping her tea while the two tanks aimed at Anglerfish Team. She placed her cup on a fancy saucer before speaking. "Are you aware of this saying? 'All is fair in love and war,'" she questioned. She took another sip of tea while waiting for a response from her opponent. She sighed when no response came. "Very well, open-"
"FIRE!" Ross shouted as Leopard Team slid to a stop between Anglerfish Team and St. Gloriana. The mighty 8.8cm Kwk 36 L/56 cannon roared, firing a round directly into the frontal armor of the remaining Matilda, knocking it out with a large explosion.
"Return fire!" Darjeeling quickly ordered. The 75mm gun of the Churchill Mk. VII returned fire, knocking out Leopard Team with another explosion.
The burning wreckage of the Type 100 in front of her caused another voice to ring in Miho's mind. You shouldn't judge your own worth based on what other people say.
"Mako, push through on the sidewalk and then slide around to the side of the Churchill, Yukari load AP, Hana be ready to fire!" Miho commanded with renewed determination.
The crew of the Panzer IV sprung to life. As the tank sped forward over the curb, Yukari slammed another round into the gun while Hana eagerly awaited her shot. The Churchill's turret turned to them and began to track the Panzer IV as it sped past the wreckage of the Type 100.
After picking up what speed she could, Mako quickly yanked the right lever backward, sending the tank sliding back onto the pavement. As the tank slid to a stop, the Churchill's turret stopped as well, and both commanders gave their last order. "Fire!" they commanded.
Their guns erupted as they launched shells into their opponent. A cloud of smoke covered both tanks and obscured the result of the showdown. Smaller fires sparkled around the cloud creating an ominous sizzling sound. As the smoke cleared the result became clear.
The Panzer IV bore a large scorch mark, an indented shell in its frontal armor, and a white flag adorning its turret. The Churchill had a large chunk of its tread armor ripped off where the Panzer IV's gun was aimed and a shell that failed to penetrate the turret armor. The most important factor; however, was the lack of a white flag.
"Oarai's final tank is inoperable, St. Gloriana takes this match!" the announcer declared.
000
"My, my, what an exciting finish," Yoshiko commented while bouncing Natalie gently on her knee.
"It's a shame they couldn't win, but they did their best," Jungoro followed.
Natalie continued imitating their speech, but only managed stuttery babbles. "You know, I bet the Ankou Festival will cheer them up," Yoshiko assumed.
000
Most of the teams that crewed Oarai's tanks watched in awkward silence as their tanks were carried away to the garages on the carrier by recovery vehicles. Rabbit Team was nowhere to be found and Hyena Team was getting quick check-ups after the match.
Each of the tanks donned its own unique damages and streaks of charred paint. "Well, we lost…" Miho muttered bluntly.
"And that means…" Hana muttered.
The other teams glanced at each other with confusion. Yukari stared at the ground while awkwardly kicking one of her feet lightly at the concrete. Saori crouched on the ground groaning with her hands on her head.
"It means?" William and Ross asked together.
"We'll have to do the Ankou Dance, as punishment for losing," Mako stated.
"We'll never live it down…" Yukari grumbled.
"I'll never be able to get married!" Saori whined.
The remaining Oarai natives froze in fear. "Not the Ankou Dance!" Akebi gasped.
"A greater humiliation than the Battle of Bardia…" Erwin commented.
Anzu stepped forward. "Now, now, it won't be so bad, especially if we do it all together!" she encouraged.
"Prez, you can't mean!" Yuzu objected.
"Of course, we can all squeeze on a couple of trucks, right?" Anzu asked.
"Logistically speaking, we'd need at least one, maybe even two more trucks to do it," Momo pointed.
"Why not use Nixe II?" an unexpected voice suggested.
Everyone turned to Jody. "Wait, you actually want to do this?!" Saori asked.
Jody shrugged. "If it's so bad then sure, I'd love to see my old pal over here," she paused to adopt her Ross-mocking accent, "To see him do somethin' funny an' embarrassin', even if I have to do it as well."
Ross sighed and removed his helmet. He took it into one hand and promptly smacked Jody over her head. She crouched to the ground with her hands over her head. "Worth it…" she whimpered. Ross replied by kicking her in the shin.
"Anyway, let's just all forget about this Ankou business and enjoy our last day in port. Is that agreeable?" Ross suggested.
The evil, mischievous eyes of Anzu didn't convince anyone that his suggestion was going to be considered.
000
The opening of the Ankou Festival was to follow the match. The festival began with a parade that consisted of the usual school clubs and sports teams, a handful of private businesses, and the public services of Oarai. The finale of the parade would be Oarai's new Sensha-do team.
"So we may not be able to use any of our usual tanks, since they all got knocked out, but I think two flatbeds and Nixe II should do the job just fine," Anzu explained.
The natives of Oarai simply nodded emotionlessly while the team prepared for the opening parade although Freikorp Oarai still didn't exactly know what the Ankou Dance entailed.. They had been given a small lot near the starting point to prepare. Two flatbed trucks and Nixe II joined them.
Anzu cheerfully handed everyone a pair of stapled papers which had steps to a strange dance that caused Ross to raise one of his eyebrows in confusion. He flipped over to the next page in the packet where the lyrics that would play over a speaker were displayed. As he looked through the packet, he finally somewhat understood why the native Oarai students were so horrified at the proposition. He looked up and noticed his fellow transfer teammates slowly grow more and more unsettled as they read through the packet. The only exception was Jody and Alex.
"Okay, now this is funny. Hopping around like a fish out of water while this crap plays has to be one of the best things I've ever seen," Jody said while holding back giggles.
"Whatever," Alex muttered while already trying to perform some of the moves.
"How can you be so okay with this!" Saori demanded.
"Again, this will be a funny memory to look back on!" Jody replied, "We'll all look back and laugh at how stupid Ross look-" she was promptly interrupted with a helmet bash from Ross.
"I don't really care about embarrassment. I've never cared about what others thought of me," Alex answered with a monotone.
Saori scowled but stomped away to one of the trailers which had a large box on it. "Maybe this will show you how horrible this is!" she shouted while opening the box and pulling out a bright pink, shiny jumpsuit with a cartoony anglerfish hat. "Look at this!" she shouted while holding the outfit out in front of Jody and Alex.
"Aw man, we get to wear these!" Jody exclaimed while grabbing the suit, "These look ridiculous. Hey Ross, think this will look good on y-" she was interrupted again by Ross hitting her over the head. She looked up with a dazed expression. "Totally worth it…"
"Oh yeah!" Anzu exclaimed. She pulled out another box from one of the trucks. "We got these for the A7V as well!" She pulled out giant cartoony stickers of Anglerfish that looked similar to those used on the Panzer IV.
000
Crowds of people lined up on Sun Beach Street, where the parade would pass through, starting at a Shinto Shrine and ending just past the Oarai Marine Tower. Yoshiko and Jungoro sat on folding chairs they had brought on the sidewalk that overlooked the beach. Natalie bounced in Yoshiko's lap excitedly as the vehicles with bright, flashing lights and activity passed by. A few members of the parade threw out candy to children on the curb. Near the end of the parade, a loud, repetitious song overcame the sound of the firetrucks and other vehicles, followed by the sound of ancient diesel engines.
"Hey look, it's the Sensha-do team!" Yoshiko exclaimed while pointing to the rear of the parade.
"Are they doing the Ankou Dance?" Jungoro asked.
Two flatbed trucks drove alongside each other slowly. On the back was the members Anglerfish and Turtle Team dancing the Ankou Dance in the Ankou outfit on the left side facing the sea. On the right side was an identical truck with Hippo and Duck Team performing the same dance. Behind them followed Nixe II, covered in anglerfish stickers which even covered the school logo of Schwarzadler and the Iron Cross emblems on the side. It was a steel, pink abomination. On the hull roof, Atrox and Leopard Team sat, unenthusiastically waving and tossing out candy. Despite the crowd's cheers, the Americans felt incredibly out of place and the pink jumpsuits did not help.
The native girls, on the other hand, were doing their best not to break down from embarrassment while performing the silly dance except for the student council. While Momo and Yuzu lacked any discernible expression, Anzu performed the dance with cheer and energy.
"Now I'll really never be able to get married!" Saori cried.
"There's not much you can do about it now," Yukari replied.
Hana tried to soothe her friend. "If you think about it as embarrassing, then it'll only make it more embarrassing. Try not to think about it," she comforted.
"That's not helping!" Saori cried.
000
Well, well, well, aren't I on a roll? Three chapters in such a short period of time, that's pretty impressive. Anyways, I hope the first large battle in the story was exciting to read. The next chapter should be just as interesting as well, but I won't spoil any of it. Next time on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces...
Chapter 11: Reopening the Wounds