Chapter 17: Shermans Will March to the Sea, Part II
Oarai's tanks were arranged on a pre-match lot in ten separate stalls marked by gravel pathways between them. Parked on vibrant patches of freshly cut grass, each tank waited for the call to battle with their crews each eagerly running through the final checklists, just to be completely certain that each tank was ready for battle. Their paint jobs had been restored to more accurate and effective schemes while their logos and the school logo of Oarai were retained.
William walked along the main center pathway. His boots crunched the gravel underneath as he looked over everyone's tanks before stopping at the U.S Army Green M3 Grant. "Hi Rabbit Team, how are things going?" he asked.
Azusa popped out of the commander's hatch with a fully marked clipboard. "We're all ready for battle, Mr. Valentine!" she shouted.
"Hey, I said you could just call me William!" he shouted back with a smile.
Azusa giggled and fell back into the turret before climbing out of the right side escape hatch. "Anyways, am I missing anything on the list?" she asked.
William took her clipboard and looked over her list. He nodded in approval. "It looks good Azusa! I'm glad to see that you took my advice on preparation to heart," he said with a smile while handing the clipboard back to her.
"Thank you! We won't let you down sir!" Azusa exclaimed.
William's smile grew and he patted her shoulder. "Alright! Let's do our best!" he encouraged.
"Yes sir!" she replied with a salute that made them both giggle. William walked off, heading towards the T34 Caliope and the KV-1K.
On the engine deck behind the rocket launchers, Vandenburg and Canaveral were checking the wiring that would ignite each of the 60 rockets. "How's it looking?" William asked.
"Looks like we're ready for launch!" Canaveral said and jumped down from the tank followed by Vandenburg. "By the way, how're you feeling? Those blackshirt girls can be a nasty bunch."
"I feel fine, thank you," William replied.
"Good to hear, we can't have you running off and being reserved you know?" Canaveral said.
William raised an eyebrow. "No, why would I do that?" he asked.
"Well, that's what happens to most of the boys who get jumped. The Blackshirts tend to attack boys that stand out or aren't protected by their clubmates or friends. Even then, they've been known to cause trouble with boys regardless," Canaveral explained and sighed. "Alexei and Vandenburg got jumped once before our club split. They don't talk as much as they used to, and we have to act like their guards sometimes to keep those delinquents off our backs."
"I didn't know it was that bad…" William muttered.
Canaveral sadly nodded before perking up a bit. "Enough about that, let's focus on the battle! We've got rocket support ready for when you front liners need it!" she said.
"Hopefully you've brought a few calculators, you're gonna need them," William replied with a smirk.
Canaveral smirked back. "Well, for us it's just rocket science. Azimuth and inclination is our thing," she joked.
"Well then, let's go get that victory!" William encouraged. Canaveral nodded and gave him a thumbs-up before William left to return to his own tank. As he stood in front of the fierce-looking Tiger H2 when he started to hear faint singing getting closer.
"You see, my jolly comrades, we are ripe and prime for battle!" Patty sang while playing her Bouzouki.
Jennifer and the rest of the girls who transferred to Saunders followed behind her, "We heeded not the cannon's roar nor grape shot's hissing rattle!"
"We were sworn to death or victory for our Union, God defend her!" Patty sang.
"And to only take from rebels… unconditional surrender!" the girls chanted as they approached the prep lot on a gravel road, "Unconditional, unconditional, unconditional surrender!"
"Amidst the din of warfare and the shrieks of hosts a-dying, we heard a shout of triumph, saw the flag of truce a-flying," Patty opened the next verse.
"And we knew the rebel leader a petition came to tender!" her girls followed.
Patty and the girls sang together again, "But our gallant general granted unconditional surrender. Unconditional, unconditional, unconditional surrender!"
"'Tis unchivalric treatment to a man in my condition. But I yield me,' said their leader, so our armies gained admission!" Patty started.
"Then our flag went up instanter, as she must when braves defend her!" her girls cheered.
The group sang together again, "And while our leaders have this war cry: Unconditional surrender! Unconditional, unconditional, unconditional surrender!"
"Hurrah then for our Union, our Flag and Constitution!" the group sang, "While we've hands and hearts for battle we will have no dissolution! Hurrah then for our Union, peace, and liberty attend her and henceforth be this our war cry: Unconditional surrender!"
The girls chanted one final time, "Unconditional, unconditional, unconditional surrender! Unconditional, unconditional, unconditional surrender!"
As they stepped onto the lot, Nora and Jennifer's gunner, Harriet, stepped forward each holding a bundled flag. They let the flag unwind itself and it hung from the oak poles Nora and Harriet held. Nora held the American flag with 36 stars while Harriet held out the flag of the Army of the Tennessee, a bright blue flag with gold fringe. In the middle of the flag was a red, white, and blue tricolor surrounded in a gold border with a gold arrow above a black shield bearing the words "Forty Rounds" with a yellow circle under the text with "U.S" displayed in the circle in silver.
Patty and Jennifer stepped past them while the rest of the girls stood behind the flags rigidly. The two girls removed their cavalry hats and bowed in greeting to the crowd of Oarai students that had formed to watch them approach. "Greetings, students of Oarai, I'm Patty Taggart, one of your opponents for today's match," she greeted.
"My name is Jennifer Johnson, another opponent from Saunders," Jennifer greeted. The two put their hats back on. "May we speak to your commander?" Jennifer asked.
Miho stepped forward, took off her helmet, and bowed in greeting. "I am Captain Miho Nishizumi," she greeted before putting her helmet back on.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Nishizumi. We've come to invite you to meet our own team captain with your team and enjoy a meal with us," Patty invited.
Miho looked back at her team, who didn't oppose the idea. "Okay, we'll accept your offer."
Patty and Jennifer smiled widely. "Well then, follow us!" Patty said. She turned to her crewmates. "Back to camp!" she shouted. As she and Jennifer walked past the flag girls, they turned to follow them, and they were followed by the rest of the Civil War girls and Oarai's team.
"Oh, have you heard the glorious news!" Patty sang.
"Is the cry from every mouth!" Jennifer followed.
"Charleston is taken, and the rebels put to route!" the two sang as they marched.
000
"We'll squash poor Jeff's Confederacy and then get hunky-dory!" the Civil War girls cheered as they led the group to Saunder's encampment, which unlike Oarai's was filled with food trucks and other truck-based services.
"Here's our camp and all the possibly fresh, mostly engineered, and definitely not healthy fast food you can eat!" Patty exclaimed, "Alright girls, you're dismissed until the match." The rest of the Civil War girls ran off to do their own thing except for Jennifer and Nora, who safely stored their flags in long sports bags and slung them over their shoulders.
Kay, Alisa, and Naomi sat at one of the picnic tables set up near the gravel road that led to their encampment. "Hey, welcome back Patty!" Kay exclaimed before taking a quick, big bite of a large cheeseburger that she set back on a paper plate on the table. She stood up and ran over to greet Oarai. "Wow, brought over the whole crew Nishizumi?" she asked, "Bold, intimidating, I like it!"
"Oh no, we just didn't want to decline your invitation," Miho replied meekly.
Kay slung her arm around Miho's neck, causing the girl to stiffen up anxiously. "No need to be shy, girl!" Kay exclaimed, "Everyone can have as much as you'd like! It's on me!"
Everyone dispersed and ordered food before converging on the dozens of picnic tables set up around the camp. Anglerfish Team and Kay, Naomi, and Alisa sat at one table to eat and chat. "I have to ask Miho, what's it like being the captain of a co-ed team? I bet the boys give you constant trouble," Kay asked.
"Oh no, they've been incredibly helpful and friendly actually," Miho answered.
"Is that so?" Kay asked before finishing her cheeseburger. "I'm excited to fight you guys today. Darjeeling said you were a fun challenge during your exhibition match."
Naomi nudged Kay's shoulder and subtly gestured towards Yukari, who was hiding at the other side of the table beside Hana. Kay's eyes widened. "Hey! Sergeant Oddball!" she exclaimed cheerfully and waved.
"She found me!" Yukari squealed before abandoning her seat to hide behind Hana.
"C'mon Oddball! There's no need to be shy. Here have some french fries!" Kay cheerfully offered. She took some of her fries and tossed them onto Yukari's plate.
Yukari poked her head out from behind Hana. "Y-you're not upset that I spied on your school?" she stuttered.
"Nah, it's all in good fun right?" Kay said. The narrowed eyes of Alisa and Naomi didn't convince Yukari, nor did the allure of freshly cooked french fries. Kay noticed the looks her friends were giving Yukari and frowned. "C'mon guys, lighten up!" she urged before slapping their backs. "No harm, no foul, right?"
Alisa rolled her eyes. "Seriously Kay, she exposed our line-up to the enemy and you just wanna let it go?" she asked.
"Yes, yes I do, and that is an order," Kay said becoming stern, "Don't you know that it's rude to intimidate a guest?"
Alisa just nodded and resumed eating her food followed by Naomi. "Now Sergeant Oddball I gotta ask, what's your actual name?" Kay asked.
"Yukari…" she replied while sitting back at the table.
"Cool, cool, do you mind if I keep calling you Sergeant Oddball? I like the name. Did you get it from Kelly's Heroes?" Kay asked.
Yukari nodded shyly causing Kay to smile. "Cool! That's gotta be like my third favorite movie, maybe next to Bridge at Remagen," she exclaimed.
Yukari gasped. "You like war movies too!?" she asked excitedly.
"Heck yeah, that's my thing! What's your favorite?" Kay asked.
"It has to be Fury!" Yukari answered happily.
"Nice! Me too!" Kay exclaimed, "Doesn't your team have a Tiger? You fielded one in the St. Gloriana match right?"
"Yeah a Tiger H2. That one is actually operated by one of our transfer crews," Yukari answered.
"Awesome! Now I really can't wait for the match to begin!" Kay said. She turned to Alisa and nudged her with her elbow. "How much longer till we're called to the opening ceremony?"
Alisa looked at her watch. "'Bout an hour," she answered.
"Man, can't we start now? I wanna take out the Tiger like they did in Fury! We're gonna sweep around and fire into its rear!" Kay complained.
"Couldn't you just use the Firefly to take it out from further away?" Yukari asked.
"No way, that'd be boring!" Kay replied, "I've wanted to reenact that scene for ages, but Kuromormine would be too hard to try it and nobody else has fielded a Tiger against us!"
"Kay, shouldn't we be more focused on winning the match?" Alisa asked.
"We can do that and still have fun with it! Lighten up a little will ya?" Kay replied causing everyone to laugh.
000
In one of the temporary suites set up for JSF officials to officiate the match and for important JSF figures to observe the match, a lone old man stood at a wide-open window, relishing the summer breeze while slowly waving a paper fan. A door behind him opened and a lone woman where a black suit with long black hair with straight cut bangs entered with a piercing stare at Shichiro Kodama as he gazed out the window. Shichiro turned to greet her. "Ah Shiho, you came after all," he said pleasantly.
"I only came to watch as my point is proven. Nothing more," Shiho sharply stated.
Shichiro sighed and looked back out the window. "Your point is it? Or perhaps you only want to see Oarai fail because your daughter is leading them?" he asked.
Shiho scowled as she sat down to out the window down at the main spectator zone where the match would be followed on a massive TV screen. "She betrayed the Nishizumi ideals, she is not my daughter," she coldly said, "Watching Oarai get knocked out of the tournament in the first round like they should have in '89 is just extra."
"I wouldn't be so sure about them losing. Miho is certainly skilled in Sensha-do, even if her talent does not fall in line with your own," Shichiro replied.
Shiho grit her teeth. "She threw away her talent when she abandoned victory. Anything left would be consumed by the incompetence and arrogance of her subordinates," she said.
"I suppose we'll just have to see if her boys can perform as well as her girls. I believe that an accurate judgment of their talent is unlikely if you're only working with two sample sizes," Shichiro explained, "After all, averages are more accurate when you have a large group to work with."
"What are you getting at?" Shiho asked with annoyance.
"What I mean is, you cannot assume the average talent and skill of male students in Sensha-do at this moment because they have entered the sport on only two occasions. 1989 and now."
"On the contrary, I believe there already is a large enough sample size. The general populace of teenage boys is not fit for Sensha-do. They're too reckless, incompetent, and cowardly. There's no need to prove something already proven," Shiho replied. She looked over the crowd when she saw Ross at the bottom of the grandstands handing Natalie to Yoshiko. Her eye twitched when she saw that he wore a uniform with Oarai's logo and recognized it as the transfer student's of Oarai's uniform. "For example… him, the boy with the baby girl. Not only can he not keep his hands to himself, but he also forces her onto others. I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves her mother to do all the work."
Shichiro sighed again. "Ah, Ross Huot. He was the one who needed the exception for his daughter at the drawing ceremony," he stated.
"Where you and Miss Chono worked against me."
"Like I said back then, your proposal to officially ban boy-"
Shiho interrupted him, "I am well aware of the Strengthening Committees decision."
"Regardless, I have to say, you don't know anything about his situation. I don't think you've made a fair judgment of his character," Shichiro said.
"The proof is plain for everyone to see," Shiho countered, "not only does he have a child at his age, but despite that still engages in Sensha-do, a sport that requires extreme levels of time and effort better spent on his child, regardless of how illegitimate she is." Shiho shook her head. "To have a child before marriage, how reckless."
Shichiro just sighed again and sat down next to Shiho. "Very well, let's see if your assumption is correct."
"It is not an assumption, it is a fact."
000
In the center of a large open field, the two opponents for today's match gathered. Miho, William, and Momo stepped forward to meet Kay, Alisa, Naomi, and the chief referee for the match, Ami Chono. "Welcome to your first-round match of the 63rd National High School Sensha-do Tournament. Are both teams ready to begin?" Ami asked.
"Dang right we are!" Kay cheered.
"We are," Miho answered.
"Very well then. All participants, bow!" Ami commanded.
"Let's have a good match!" everyone shouted with a bow.
When they rose from their bow, Kay shot Miho a toothy smile that turned into a smirk. "Good luck Oarai, you're gonna need it!" she playfully jeered.
"And to you as well," William replied with a similar smirk. He turned to Miho "Let's go Miho, let's show them how strong we really are."
Miho nodded. "Let's do our best!" she exclaimed. The three commanders returned to their tanks. "Alright everyone, take your positions and prepare to head to our starting point at my signal!" she ordered before meeting with her crew. "Is everyone ready?" she asked them.
"We're ready when you are commander!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Wait, let's do a cheer just like the volleyball team does!" Saori suggested.
The five girls placed one of their hands on the hull of the Panzer IV. "Ready?" Miho asked.
"Let's do our best!" Hana encouraged.
"1, 2, 3, Oarai!" they cheered. As they finished, the engines of Oarai's tanks fired to life, filling the area with a loud rumble. Anglerfish Team climbed into their tank. Miho stood at her commander's cupola with the hatch open.
After taking a deep breath she activated her throat microphone. "Panzer Vor!"
"Freikorp Voran!" William followed. The Panzer IV drove onto the gravel road that would take them to their starting position. In a single-file line, they drove through hilly fields that took them to their starting position, a wide-open field that was slightly elevated over the rest of the valley, but was so far away that they couldn't make out anything other than the wide view of the entire valley. Enemy tanks or pathways in forests were obscured
As their tanks fell into position, Ross pulled out his binoculars and examined the ridges of the right side of the valley. He activated his headset microphone. "I think I can make it to the ridge as we planned," he radioed to Miho.
"Okay, you know what you need to do," Miho replied.
"Find and take out that Firefly. I've always wanted to try bug catching," he joked.
Miho giggled. "Okay then, have fun!" she replied.
Ross looked over to Miho from his cupola and shot her a thumbs up before ducking into his turret. "Alright gang, we've got approval to gun it to the first ridge. Tandy, you know the route?" he asked.
"I've got the map, but I memorized the route last night," Tandy answered.
"Good, Alex when the match begins load standard AP and look out your hatch for any enemies. Jody, be ready to fire at my commander. Chloe, you know what to do with that MG if any tanks start looking at us funny," Ross ordered.
As he finished he heard the loud explosion of various anti-aircraft guns firing simultaneously. "Match begin!" Ami Chono shouted over the loudspeakers.
Oarai's tanks lurched forward before Leopard, Medaka, and Mongrel Team broke away. The rocket tanks broke to the left pathway into the valley towards their firing positions while Leopard Team raced down the right pathway into the valley towards their ridge. Miho and the main force drove down the central pathway towards the forest that would take them to the central hill.
Alex rammed a fresh armor-piercing round into the 88mm gun of the Type 100 before joining Ross looking outside the turret. The tank sped down the gravel path. At some flatter parts of the winding path, the tank was able to push over 30 miles per hour. Ross held onto his cupola firmly as the tank bounced along the uneven path. He spared a quick glance to a portion of the map he had cut off and placed in a cardholder hanging from a lanyard. We're about halfway there. We're making quick time! He thought cheerfully.
"This is artillery support, we've reached our position and we're ready to support the main force," Canaveral radioed in.
"Excellent work A.S, we'll keep you updated on the central group's progress, over," Saori replied.
"Since we're giving updates," Ross stated, "This is Leopard Team. We're about halfway to the ridge position, over."
"Roger that Leopard Team," Saori replied, "Central group is entering the forest, now codenamed 'Point Argonne.'"
"Affirmative, Leopard Teams first ridge objective will now be codenamed 'Point Messine'" Ross replied. He flipped his microphone up to mute it. "No sign of the enemy…" he whispered. The Type 100 approached a dead-end where the pathway ended and the hill began to rise. "Don't let up, push through the foliage," he ordered after setting his headset to the Type 100's intercom system.
"Affirmative, pushing through," Tandy replied. Ross ducked into his cupola as branches and bushes were crushed, shredded, and pushed aside as the Type 100 clawed its way through the wilderness until they emerged from the greenery and began climbing the hill.
Tandy clenched his teeth tensely and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the Type 100's steering sticks. The tracks tore into the dirt of the hillside as the Type 100 began climbing upwards. Don't fail me now… we've gone through worse he thought as the tank began to slow. He quickly shifted the tank down a gear and the Type 100 began to climb at a steadier rate. "Up, up, and away!" Tandy cheered as the tank climbed over the edge of the ridge before crashing down over the edge, crushing a log barrier in the process.
"This is Leopard Team, we have arrived at Point Messine- Firefly nine o'clock!" Ross shouted. On the Saunders path up the ridge, he saw the enemy tank making its way towards him. He quickly set his headset to intercoms only. "Firefly, 9 o'clock! Tandy, angle the hull, Jody take aim- shit it's gotta be at least 2000m out we're not gonna penetrate its frontal armor from here." Thankfully for him, the Firefly had yet to see them, so he had a precious few moments to formulate a plan.
Ross scanned the valley overlook site for any detail he could use to his advantage. The overlook was shaped like a large oval with a gravel surface. The only structure other than a viewing deck was a brick building that was used as an outhouse. That's our only cover huh… this is a crappy situation, Ross thought, wait a minute… no, stay focused. "Tandy, park us behind that outhouse!" he ordered.
"Yes sir," Tandy replied and went to work. The tank kicked up gravel as its treads spang back to life. The tank quickly drove around to the backside of the outhouse, which was long enough to obscure the tank from the Firefly's view.
Please let this outhouse be enough to stop a Firefly shell… that's all the time we need, Ross prayed.
As the Firefly approached the ridge, Naomi ordered it to stop. Although she was the commander of the tank, she also was the gunner, with a spotter in the regular commander's spot. "First kill of the day," she muttered and locked in on the outhouse. "Firing," she warned calmly after the tank stopped 500 meters from the ridge.
The 17-pounder gun fired with a resounding noise that echoed through the valley. The 76.2mm gun spat a burst of fire and a shell towards Ross's hiding spot. The shell crashed into the wall of the outhouse. Ross braced for impact, but it never came. He poked his head out of the cupola for a moment to meet the shell face to face. It had succeeded in penetrating the building but wedged itself in the final brick wall. "Thank God," Ross whispered. "Tandy, give Jody a shot!" he ordered.
Without a response, the tank lurched forward just enough to poke the turret past the destroyed restrooms before skidding to a stop. The 88mm gun glared at the Firefly and fired with a roar. The shell sped towards the Firefly but glanced off the side of the turret. Without needing to be ordered, Alex slammed another shell into the breach, but before Jody had a chance to fire again, the coaxial M1919 machine gun began firing into the turret of the Type 100. "I can't get a shot, they've blinded me!" Jody shouted with panic.
Ross rushed to his periscope only to see red. No countryside, no Firefly, no ruined restrooms, just red. "What the hell?" he shouted, "Shit, Tandy reverse us out of here, we've been blinded! The slope's our only choice!"
"Got it!" Tandy shouted and slammed the tank into reverse. The gasoline-electric drive spang into action and the tank sped backward. A shell from the Firefly bounced off the hull, which narrowly escaped a destroying shot. The Type 100 crashed through the log barrier again and fell backward down the slope. "Hold on!" Tandy warned.
The tank slid down the slope roughly, bounced constantly, and kicked up clouds of dirt. The entire crew cursed and shouted in panic as the tank fell, barely staying upright before it crashed into a tree and snapped it in half. The Type 100 came to a stop in a patch of bushes that completely covered it in greenery.
Ross and his crew tried to catch their breath. They each fell back in their seats and took deep breathes to calm down. "Holy crap," Ross wheezed.
"Is it time to go home yet?" Chloe asked.
Ross weakly pulled himself up and pushed the cupola hatch open. Twigs and branches fell aside and he met the warm sun and the path of destruction leading to the tank. He slowly looked down at the hull which was covered in red splatters. Ross reached down to his periscope lens and wiped up a bit of the red liquid. With a quick smell, he confirmed what the substance was. "What the hell? This is paint!" he exclaimed. He dove back down into the turret and put on his battered headset. "This is Leopard Team, we've just escaped combat with the Firefly, the Firefly has taken Point Messine," he reported.
"Affirmative Leopard Team, are you damaged or hurt?" Miho asked.
"No, we took a pretty rough fall, but we're okay. They were able to spray red paint at us and blinded us," he replied.
"Red paint?" Miho asked.
"Affirmative, possibly sprayed from the MG mount or they're firing paintballs," Ross answered.
In the forest, Miho took the center route while Rabbit and Duck Team took her flanks. She activated her microphone to reach out to all tanks. "This is Anglerfish Team sending out a warning to all tanks. The enemy seems to be applying some paint spraying or shooting device that fires red paint to blind us. Be on alert," she warned.
"Paint spraying? Is that legal?" Hana asked.
Yukari flipped through the small rule book supplied to every member of every team. "Well, there's nothing that specifically bans it…" she answered.
"We'll just keep pushing. If we hit them first then we won't need to worry about their paint," Miho said, "remain vigilant everyone!"
Just as she finished, Azusa from Rabbit Team radioed in. "Captain, we're taking fire from six enemy Shermans and two T22s!" she reported, "We've been blinded by white and blue paint!"
"They're sending in everything on our left flank!" Miho exclaimed. "Duck Team, Atrox Team, meet up with us and advance on Rabbit Team's position!"
"Affirmative!" William replied.
"We're with you Miho!" Taeko exclaimed. The Type 89B sped to the left and regrouped with Miho while Atrox Team closed in from behind.
The thundering roar of 75mm guns met their ears as they closed in on the edge of the forest. "Anglerfish Team is coming with support, Rabbit Team!" Miho exclaimed. They cut through the uneven ground and emerged on Rabbit Team's pathway. Far ahead of them, the M3 Grant sped away from the enemy tanks to their left with white and blue paint covering its left side. "Open fire!" Miho ordered.
Rabbit Team's reinforcements came to a stop and fired their guns. Each resounding explosion was met by various shells flying towards Saunders. The shells crashed into the ground in front of the eight attacking tanks. "Wow, nice barrage!" Kay exclaimed. She eagerly reloaded her M2 Browning .50 cal machine gun and turned to her new enemy. The machine gun rattled with each bullet fired as a burst of new machine gun paint bullets splattered Rabbit Team's reinforcements with paint, blinding their vision devices.
Miho jumped to action and opened her map. "Medaka Team, we've got a firing mission! Give me a ten barrage square coordinate R7, inner position, A19!" she ordered.
In the clearing, the rocket launcher elevated into position above Oarai's own M4 Sherman. "Calculations confirmed!" Kennedy said after punching in a few numbers and writing on some paper.
"Blastoff! Ten barrages!" Canaveral shouted with excitement. The first rocket screamed to life, followed by another within a second. After ten seconds all ten rockets were fired and on their way to Miho's coordinates.
Saunders tanks slowly advanced on Anglerfish Team and her allies. The Shermans were able to use their gun-stabilizers to slightly keep aim on their enemy. Kay kept up the fire from her M2 when Alisa came onto her radio in complete panic. "Kay you gotta get out of there! They're using their Calliope!" she shouted.
"Huh? The Caliope?" she asked stopping her machine gun. Through the tank engines and gunfire, she heard a faint whistling. "Shit their rockets!" she shouted and quickly picked up her radio. "All tanks fall back! Rocket strike inbound!"
Everyone scrambled to close their hatches and reversed as fast as they could. The first rocket tore through the trees and exploded right where they were advancing merely seconds before. A wall of fire and smoke erupted between the combatants that only grew with each strike. After what seemed like forever, the final rocket exploded, and the only sound heard on the battlefield was the crackling of small, sparkling fires, and the rumbles of Saunders' tank engines.
During the bombardment, Miho and her allies sped away from their positions. They regrouped with Rabbit Team and the rest of the teams, minus Leopard Team, and continued their advance through the forest. With the quick respite, the free crew members of each tank cleared the paints from their viewing devices the best they could. "This is so cheap! Who cares how much money you have…" Saori complained as she wiped off the hull devices of the Panzer IV.
Miho only frowned and radioed into her rearguard, Hippo, Turtle, and Hyena Team. "Is there anything to report rear?"
"Negative looks like Saunders cleared out after the rocket strike," Elliot reported.
"Alright, stay on alert and keep Turtle Team safe," Miho ordered.
"Yes ma'am," Elliot replied.
Miho leaned back in her cupola and took a deep breath. "We can still make our plan work, we just have to move quick," she said to herself. She looked past the branches and leaves to the blue sky above when she saw something strange. A balloon? She thought to herself. She tried to rack her brain for answers when she remembered a training match she had against Saunders' middle school team when she was in middle school.
000
A pair of Panzer II Ausf. Fs and a Panzer III Ausf. L stopped at the top of a hill. "Just as I suspected," Maho said from the commander's cupola of the Panzer III.
"What is it Maho?" Miho asked from the cupola of a Panzer II.
"There, look, a ballon," Maho pointed out. In the distance, a lone plain white weather balloon floated above a hill. "Gunner, fire at that balloon. Saunders is using it to tap our communications," Maho ordered.
The 50mm cannon of the Panzer III fired and the shell tore through the balloon, completely destroying it. "It seems that they can't help but use disgraceful methods even in a training match."
000
Miho narrowed her eyes before ducking into the turret. She silently tapped Hana on the shoulder to get her attention. Hana turned to her with confusion. "Miho, what's wrong?" Hana asked
"They have a device in the air tapping into our communications," Miho whispered into Hana's ear.
"What? But isn't that against the-" Hana started.
Miho clapped her hand over Hana's mouth and held up a finger to her own mouth. "Shh…" She pushed the power button on her throat microphone turning it off. "Turn off all your microphones for the intercom and radio for a moment," she ordered quietly.
Yukari and Hana nodded and turned off their throat microphones. Yukari knelt down into the hull to tell Saori and Mako to do the same. After she turned off her microphone, Saori turned off the radio. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Saunders is using a weather balloon to listen in on our communications. They've done it before when I faced their middle school team on Kuromormine's middle school team."
"And that's not against the rules either?" Hana asked.
Yukari shook her head. "No, I already checked," she answered.
"Then what can we do?" Hana asked.
Miho brainstormed ideas for a moment before she had a realization. "Our phones!" she said. She pulled out her phone and opened it. "I'll form a group call for the commanders and Saori can form a group call for the radio operators. It'll be more rudimentary than our radios, but Saunders won't be able to listen in on us anymore!" she explained.
"That's a great idea!" Saori said and pulled out her own phone.
Miho quickly pulled up her contacts list and called every
commander. All the lines connected quickly, but before anyone could say anything she spoke up, "Everyone listen up and be quiet. Do not say a word until I'm finished and you've completed my instructions. I want you all to turn off your intercoms and your radios. I'll explain why after everyone has completed that task," she ordered.
She waited for a few moments in silence while everyone did what they were told. Once they confirmed that all their communication systems were off she continued, "Saunders is using a weather balloon to tap into our communications so we're using our phones to communicate from now on. But we're also going to give them false information through our own radios. Until the match is over, do not follow any orders given by radio, only by phone, and keep all your intercoms off."
After she was finished explaining, Saori called all the radio operators. "This is Saori from Anglerfish Team speaking, can everyone hear me?" she asked.
Everyone replied affirmative, so their new plan could be put into action. "Alright everyone, Operation: Baity Bait is a go!" Miho exclaimed.
000
Alisa sat silently in her tank with her headset pressed against her ear in one hand so her other ear could be free, but the channel she had specifically reserved for Oarai's communication had been silent for some time. "Is there something wrong with this thing?" she wondered to herself while fiddling with the dials.
"Everyone this is Anglerfish Team," Miho said over the radio.
"Oh finally, you're gonna make a move," Alisa said with relief.
"We can't take out the enemy flag tank until we take out the Firefly, so I want all tanks, minus the flag tank, to regroup at Messine Point by taking the third route up the ridge. From there we'll track down the Firefly and hit it from the high ground. I want our flag tank to hide at point 0765," she ordered.
"Going all in huh? Well, it's not going to work out the way you want it to," Alisa said mischievously, "Kay it seems like they're all going to Point D44 to attack the Firefly."
"Huh? Are you sure? Why do you figure that?" Kay asked.
"Female intuition. I did get you out of that rocket strike you know," Alisa answered.
Kay chuckled. "How reliable. I guess you're right though. All tanks head to Point 44R," she ordered.
"Wait, wait, send Charlie and Dog to Point 0765. That's where their flag tank is hiding," Alisa said.
"Okay, okay, you'll have to tell me how you're getting all this information after the match though," Kay replied in a singsong voice.
Alisa nervously chuckled. "Well, let's focus on winning the match," she deflected.
"Alright! All tanks, go ahead!" Kay ordered eagerly.
000
"Alright ambush team, are you in position?" Miho asked, using her cellphone.
Behind a line of bushes on a hill, two tanks barely poked their guns through the foliage. Hyena and Hippo Team overlooked a dip in the hilly countryside where a pathway led straight to Point 0765, a gravel pit. Behind mountains of sand and gravel, Anglerfish and Rabbit Team hid in ambush as well. "We're all ready," Joseph answered.
"Ready to fire captain!" Erwin said.
"Coordinates locked in Medaka Team?" Miho asked.
"Affirmative," Canaveral replied.
"Wait for the order to fire," Miho finished. They sat in silence, with even their engines turned off. In various points around the ridge of the pit, the rest of Oarai's Team hid behind the top of the ridge, waiting to fire up their engines, drive over the edge, and knock out any survivors.
The sound of Wright R-975 engines approaching put everyone on alert. Two lone M4 Sherman tanks drove into the middle of the pit. Inside, the commanders were perplexed. "Where's the enemy?" one of them asked into the radio.
"I've got nothing," the other one replied while their turrets scanned the area. The girl looked through her periscope where her eyes scrutinized a bush on the edge of the ridge. "What's- Jesus Christ!" she shouted as the bush flashed.
A rain of armor-piercing rounds fired towards the tanks. With spectacular explosions, the two Shermans went up in flames. The Tiger H2 and Type 89B emerged from the ridgeline to surround them, but the damage was already done. Both tanks were smoldering wreckages when the Elefant and StuG III were done with them.
000
The crowd sat in shock and awe as the cameras focused on the destroyed M4 Shermans. At the top of the screen, the scoreboard changed to eliminate two M4 Shermans. The score was now 8-10 in Oarai's favor.
Erika and Maho sat in their own folding chairs at one of the spectator areas. Nearby, Darjeeling and Orange Pekoe watched in their own chairs. "Oarai actually managed to destroy a tank?" Erika asked in shock.
"Two, it would seem," Maho replied stoically.
"What a surprising turn of events," Darjeeling said before sipping her tea.
"Oarai could win this match after all!" Orange Pekoe exclaimed.
Darjeeling giggled. "Becoming a fan of them, are you?" she asked.
Orange Pekoe lightly blushed. "Well, it is nice to root for the underdog once in a while," she admitted.
Darjeeling nodded with a smile. "'When 99% of people doubt your idea, you're either gravely wrong or about to make history.' Let's see if Oarai can continue making history," she quoted.
000
Oh hey, look it's me again... I thought college would get in the way of Tank Aces. I guess not. I SEE NO GOD UP HERE, OTHER THAN MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Ahem... anyway, I hope this battle sticking a little close to canon was alright, I hope the added stuff keeps it a bit fresh. If not, don't worry there's still a long way to go and new stuff to be explored. I also hope the shoot shooty bang bang was exciting... I will never say that I am so sorry.
Up Next on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces!
Chapter 18: Shermans Will March to the Sea, Part III!