Chapter 3:

Fifteen minutes later, Luna team's Panzer was leading the two other tanks of Blue team through a shallow valley. With Azusa's M3 Lee behind and to the left of Makoto's tank, and Momo's Hetzer trailing to the right, the vee-shaped formation cautiously advanced into Red team's end of the practice grounds.

Makoto spoke into her microphone, "Usagi-chan, double-check your radio to make sure you're not broadcasting to Red team. Talk to our tanks individually, ok? No sense in making Miho's job any easier."

The odango-haired blonde replied over the Panzer's intercom, "Hai. One tank at a time, Mako-chan. I'll make sure I don't use the frequency everyone can hear."

Rei spoke, "I have to admit it, Usagi-chan. You're a lot better with that radio than I ever could've imagined you'd be."

"Thanks a lot for being so confident in my abilities, Nasty-chan" Usagi muttered. "You can even make a compliment sound sarcastic."

"Don't mention it!" the miko laughed.

Standing with her upper body exposed above the turret, Makoto swept the area beyond her three tanks with her binoculars as they trundled along. They soon encountered a wooded plot and she guided Blue team into it, seeking better cover. Makoto told her crew, "Minna, I don't like this. I'd swear Miho is somewhere close by and doing what she does best, setting a trap for us to blindly stumble into."

"I'm getting the same feeling, Mako-chan" Ami replied. She giggled nervously, "It's rather unsettling!"

"I hate creeping so slowly between all these silly trees!" Minako griped, the blonde fidgeting restlessly in her driver's seat. "I want to speed up, Mako-chan!"

"Not yet. Keep us moving nice and slow for now. I'm sure you'll get the chance to terrify everyone with your insanely fast driving soon enough."

The brunette's Panzer clattered up a shallow grade, and as they neared the top, Makoto suddenly spied a lone tank far in the distance, sitting motionless and facing away from them. "Minako-chan, stop us here! Usagi-chan, tell our teammates to hold their position! Miho's Panzer is directly ahead of us!"

"Hai!" both girls replied. While Usagi worked the radio, Ami peered through her gunner's scope, swinging her turret a few degrees left. "I have a shot, Mako-chan, but the enemy tank is at the extreme limit of our gun's effective range. We certainly won't disable them from this distance."

"Let's zoom in and blast them from up close!" Minako urged her commander, her foot poised above the accelerator.

Makoto frowned. "No. I smell a trap, Minako-chan. We need to make sure Red team's other two tanks aren't hiding anywhere near... nani? What on earth is Momo doing?" The brunette yelled into her microphone, "Usagi-chan, tell Momo's Hetzer to stop!"

"I did already, Mako-chan!" her radio operator's voice crackled back.

"Tell them again!"

In the Hetzer, Momo had instructed her driver, "Ignore Makoto's ridiculous order and step on it, Yuzu! Drive us straight at Miho's Panzer! This is the perfect opportunity to take her tank out of today's skirmish." She grinned evilly, "I'll get even with Mako for calling me Momo-chan!"

"But Makoto said-"

"I don't care what she said! She's being far too cautious! Just do it!"

"Hai." Yuzu reluctantly put the Hetzer in gear and accelerated the tank hard. "We're going to get in trouble for disobeying orders" she fretted.

"Anzu, shoot as soon as we're close enough!" The student council public relations manager cackled, "We'll knock that sleeping Panzer out before Miho knows what hit her! I'm going to make sure Reizei Mako will be walking out of here today!"

Makoto stared in disbelief as the Hetzer roared past her tank and crested the grade, making a beeline toward Miho's seemingly oblivious Panzer. "That girl is just asking for trouble" she sighed. "Minako-chan, follow Momo's tank, but stay well back. Usagi-chan, tell Rabbit team to follow us!"

Minako pushed the accelerator down and her short-barreled Panzer chased after the Hetzer, with Makoto watching closely for any sign of movement from their target. The brunette didn't have to wait long, for just as she had expected, Miho's tank suddenly bolted away, zig-zagging just enough to tease the Hetzer into continuing to chase after it, while preventing its fixed gun from achieving an accurate aim.

Thirty meters in front of Makoto's tank, Momo stubbornly forged ahead with her wild charge, her mind bent on getting revenge on the Panzer's driver. "Faster, Yuzu! We need to finish them before they can attack us!"

"I'm doing my best!"

"Miho is running into heavier cover" Makoto told her team. "Minako-chan, please try not to hit any trees this time!"

"Of course I won't, silly!" Minako giggled, "At least, I'll try not to!"

. . . . .

In the long-barreled Panzer of Red team, Miho watched the Hetzer race towards her. "Saori, let our teammates know we're being followed. Mako, drive us between those two big trees we're using as markers and keep zig-zagging at top speed until we can spring our little trap."

"With pleasure, Miho-san" Mako replied, smoothly working the track control levers while keeping the pedal beneath her right foot pressed firmly to the floor.

Yukari giggled, "Your plan is so cleverly devious, Nishizumi-dono! I love it!"

"I thought you'd enjoy it" Miho smiled appreciatively at her loader. "Now that we have our catch on the line, let's reel it in."

"Hai!"

. . . . .

"Can't you shoot them yet, Anzu?" Momo impatiently hissed. "We're close enough now!"

"Mako is swerving her Panzer all over the place, Momo! I can't get a clean shot!" the council president snapped back. "She has to drive straighter when the gap between the trees gets narrow up ahead. I'll take my shot then!"

"Hurry up and do it! I can't wait forever!" Momo gloated, "I want to brag to everyone at school about us being the first Ooarai tank to knock out Nishizumi Miho's Panzer!"

She was startled by a sudden loud blast as a shell from the Panzer cratered the ground in front of her Hetzer.

"I wouldn't start bragging yet if I were you!" Anzu grinned from the gunner's seat as they bounced over the hole.

. . . . .

As her tank followed Momo's Hetzer and its rapidly retreating quarry deeper into the forest, Makoto glanced behind to make sure the first-year girls' Lee was still following her. But when she again looked ahead, she caught a brief glimpse of the end of a long gun barrel protruding menacingly from the trees ahead and to the left of Miho's fleeing tank.

"That's Erwin's STuG!"

Another shape caught her eye in the brush off to her right, quickly revealing itself to be Isobe Noriko's Mitsubishi Type 89, sitting poised to strike.

"Minako-chan, hit the brakes!"

"Doing it!"

Makoto's tank skidded to a halt not a moment too soon.

Now realizing what Miho had planned, the Luna team commander could only grimace as she watched the Hetzer speed directly between the other two tanks of Red team, driving obliviously into the trap the young Anglerfish commander had set.

Riko's STuG fired first, and an instant later the gun of Noriko's tank joined in the carnage. Just as Anzu was about to pull her gun's trigger, Momo's tank was struck simultaneously on both sides of its hull and it clattered noisily to a stop, its white flag popping up and gently waving in the afternoon breeze.

With her half-glasses hanging crookedly down her cheek and her ears ringing from the deafening twin impacts of the shells, Momo looked in stunned shock at her gunner. "What just happened?"

"We're dead, Momo!" Anzu laughed. "That's what happened!"

. . . . .

"Shimatta!" Makoto growled from the turret of her Panzer. "I knew something like this was bound to happen! Ami-chan, target the Type 89 and let 'em have it!"

"Hai!"

Having anticipated the brunette's order, Ami skillfully finished rotating her turret twenty degrees to the right, nudged her gun's elevation a touch higher and pulled the trigger. Her shell disabled Noriko's tank with a single shot to its left track.

"At least we got the volleyball team" Makoto muttered while Rei quickly slid a fresh round into the breech of her weapon. "Usagi-chan, tell Rabbit to fire at the STuG then fall back! Ami-chan, try to cover them when they retreat! Minako-chan, as soon as the Lee shoots, get us out of here!"

A moment later the Lee fired its main gun, dealing a harmless glancing blow to the sharply-angled front armor of Erwin's now-moving tank.

Inside the Lee, panic reigned as Azusa frantically ordered her driver to turn around. "Two of Red team's tanks are trying to aim at us!" she gasped. "Turn faster, Karina-chan!"

But it was too late for the first-year students to make good on their escape. Hana calmly squeezed her trigger and another shell burst from the long barrel of Miho's Panzer IV, embedding itself deeply into the hull of the tall, ungainly-looking Lee and giving the soft-spoken girl her first kill of the day.

"We're the only Blue team tank left" Makoto told her stunned crew. "Minako-chan, you've been itching to drive fast all day! Now's your chance!"

. . . . .